Kali

{{Short description|Major deity and fierce form of the Hindu Goddess}}
{{about|the form of [[Parvati]]|the goddess of time and death |Mahakali|the consort of [[Virabhadra]]|Bhadrakali|demonic entity in Hinduism|Kali (asura)|other uses|Kali (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}

{{Infobox deity<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology-->
| type = Hindu
| name = Kali
| deity_of = Mother Goddess;<br/>Goddess of Time, Change, Creation, Power, Destruction and Death
| abode = [[Shmashana Adhipati|Cremation ground]]s (but varies by interpretation), [[Manidvipa]]
| consort = [[Shiva]]
| mantra = *Om Jayanti Mangala Kali Bhadrakali Kapalini. Durga Kshma Shiva Dhatri Swaha Swadha Namostute
*Om Kreem Kalikaye Namah
| weapon = [[Scimitar]], [[Trishula]] ([[Trident]])
| image = Kali lithograph.jpg
| festivals = [[Kali Puja]], [[Navaratri]]
| caption = Angered goddess Kali trampling on god [[Shiva]]
| affiliation = [[Adi Shakti]], [[Durga]], [[Parvati]], [[Mahakali]], [[Bhadrakali]], [[Mahavidyas]], [[Devi]], [[Shakti]], [[Tara (Mahavidya)|Tara]], [[Chinnamasta]]
| gender = Female
| member_of = the Ten [[Mahavidyas]]
|day=[[Tuesday]] and [[Friday]]
| texts = [[Devi-Bhagavata Purana]], [[Devi Mahatmya]], [[Kalika Purana]], [[Shakta Upanishads]], [[Tantras]]
| mount = [[Indian wolf|Wolf]], [[Fox]]
}}
{{Saktism}}
'''Kali''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑː|l|iː}}; {{lang-sa|काली}}, {{IAST3|Kālī}}) or '''Kalika''' is a major [[Hinduism|Hindu]] [[Devi|goddess]] associated with time, change, creation, power, destruction and death in [[Shaktism]].<ref name="EY">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kali |title=Kali |date=22 July 2023 |website= |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date= |quote=}}</ref> Kali is the first of the ten [[Mahavidyas]] in the Hindu [[Tantras (Hinduism)|tantric]] tradition.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://m.timesofindia.com/religion/rituals-puja/the-significance-of-dus-mahavidya/articleshow/68206997.cms|title=The Significance of Dus Mahavidya|website=[[The Times Of India]]|access-date=4 April 2019}}</ref>

Kali's earliest appearance is when she emerged from [[Durga]]. The goddess is stated to destroy evil in order to defend the innocent. Over time, Kali has been worshipped by devotional movements and Tàntric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Principal energy [[Adi Shakti]].<ref name="Hawley">{{Cite book|last1=Hawley|first1=John Stratton|title=Sri Ramakrishna: The Spiritual Glow|last2=Wulff|first2=Donna Marie|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1982|pages=152}}</ref><ref name="Harding">{{cite book|last1=Harding|first1=Elizabeth U.|title=Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4woiJbQTsBQC|year=1993|publisher=Nicolas Hays|isbn=978-8120814509}}</ref><ref name="McDaniel">{{cite book|last1=McDaniel|first1=June|title=Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> [[Shaktism|Shakta]] Hindu and [[Tantra|Tantric]] sects additionally worship her as the ultimate reality or ''[[Brahman]]''.<ref name="McDaniel" /> She is also seen as the divine protector and the one who bestows ''[[moksha]],'' or liberation.<ref name="Hawley" /> Worshipped throughout South Asia but particularly in Nepal, South India, Bengal, and Assam, Kali is a central figure in the goddess-centric traditions of Hinduism as well as in Shaivism.<ref name="EY"/>

==Etymology==
Kālī is the feminine form of Kāla (an epithet of [[Shiva]]) and thus the consort of Shiva.<ref name="McDermott2001">{{cite book |last1=McDermott |first1=Rachel Fell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FeMX2g8lqkAC&pg=PA175 |title=Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kali and Uma from Bengal |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0198030706}}
</ref> The homonym ''{{IAST|[[Kāla (time)|kālá]]}}'' (time) is distinct from ''kāla'' (black), but these became associated through [[popular etymology]]. She is called Kali Mata ("the dark mother") and also ''kālī''  which can be read here either as a [[proper name]] or as a description "the dark or black one".<ref name="Coburn111-112">{{cite book|last1=Coburn|first1=Thomas|title=Devī-Māhātmya – Crystallization of the Goddess Tradition|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi|year=1984|isbn=978-81-208-0557-6}}
</ref>

==Origins==
Although the word ''{{IAST|Kālī}}'' appears as early as the [[Atharva Veda]], the first use of it as a proper name is in the ''Kathaka Grhya Sutra'' (19.7).<ref name="Urban">{{cite book
| last  =Urban
| first = Hugh B.
| author-link= Hugh Urban
| chapter = India's Darkest Heart: Kali in the Colonial Imagination
| year = 2003
| editor-last  = McDermott
| editor-first = Rachel Fell
| editor-last2 = Kripal
| editor-first2 = Jeffrey J. 
| title  = Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West
| publisher = University of California Press
| page = 171
| isbn = 978-0-520-92817-6
}}
</ref>
Kali originated as a tantric and non-Vedic goddess. Her roots are most probably connected to the Pre-Aryan Period .<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mohanty |first1=Seema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3KyfCUvoAtoC |title=The Book of Kali |last2=Seema |date=July 2009 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-306764-1 |language=en}}</ref>

==Legends==
Kali's most famous appearance is on the battlefield in one of the sixth century text ''[[Devi Mahatmyam]]''. The deity of the first chapter of ''Devi Mahatmyam'' is Mahakali, who appears from the body of sleeping [[Vishnu]] as goddess Yoga Nidra to wake him up in order to protect [[Bramha|Brahma]] and the world from two [[asuras]] (demons), [[Madhu-Kaitabha]]. When Vishnu woke up he started a war against the two asuras. After a long battle with Lord Vishnu when the two demons were undefeated Mahakali took the form of Mahamaya to enchant the two asuras. When Madhu and Kaitabha were enchanted by Mahakali, Vishnu killed them.<ref name="Kinsley1997">{{cite book |last1=Kinsley |first1=David |title=Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas |publisher=Berkeley: University of California Press |year=1997 |pages=70}}
</ref>

In later chapters, the story of two asuras who were destroyed by Kali can be found. [[Chanda and Munda]] attack the goddess [[Kaushiki]]. Kaushiki responds with such anger it causes her face to turn dark, resulting in Kali appearing out of her forehead. Kali's appearance is dark blue, gaunt with sunken eyes, and wearing a tiger skin [[sari]] and a [[Mundamala|garland of human heads]]. She immediately defeats the two asuras. Later in the same battle, the asura [[Raktabija]] is undefeated because of his ability to reproduce himself from every drop of his blood that reaches the ground. Countless Raktabija clones appear on the battlefield. Kali eventually defeats him by sucking his blood before it can reach the ground, and eating the numerous clones. Kinsley writes that Kali represents "Durga's personified wrath, her embodied fury".<ref name="Kinsley1997" />

Other origin stories involve Parvati and Shiva. Parvati is typically portrayed as a benign and friendly goddess. The ''[[Linga Purana]]'' describes Shiva asking Parvati to defeat the asura [[Daruka]], who received a boon that would only allow a female to kill him. Parvati merges with Shiva's body, reappearing as Kali to defeat Daruka and his armies. Her bloodlust gets out of control, only calming when Shiva intervenes. The ''[[Vamana Purana]]'' has a different version of Kali's relationship with Parvati. When Shiva addresses Parvati as Kali, "the dark blue one", she is greatly offended. Parvati performs austerities to lose her dark complexion and becomes Gauri, the golden one. Her dark sheath becomes ''[[Kaushiki]]'', who while enraged, creates Kali.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />

===Slayer of Raktabīja===
In Kāli's most famous legend, [[Durga]] and her assistants, the [[Matrikas]], wound the demon [[Raktabīja]], in various ways and with a variety of weapons in an attempt to destroy him. They soon find that they have worsened the situation for with every drop of blood that is dripped from Raktabīja, he reproduces a duplicate of himself. The battlefield becomes increasingly filled with his duplicates.<ref name="Kinsley1997" /> Durga summons Kāli to combat the demons. The  ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]m'' describes:

{{blockquote|Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strange [[khatvanga]] (skull-topped staff), decorated with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great [[asuras]] in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas and caught the blood of Raktabīja before it could fall to the ground, stopping him from creating more duplicates.<ref>{{cite book
|last1=Jagadiswarananda
|first1=Swami
|title=Devi Mahatmyam
|year=1953
|publisher=Ramakrishna Math
}}</ref>}}

Kali consumes Raktabīja and his duplicates, and dances on the corpses of the slain.<ref name="Kinsley1997" /> In ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'' version of this story, Kali is also described as a ''Matrika'' and as a ''[[Shakti]]'' or power of [[Durga|Devi]]. She is given the epithet ''{{IAST|Cāṃuṇḍā}}'' (''[[Chamunda]]''), i.e. the slayer of the demons [[Chanda and Munda]].<ref name ="Wangu2003">{{cite book
|last1=Wangu
|first1=Madhu Bazaz
|title=Images of Indian Goddesses
|year=2003
|publisher=Abhinav Publications
|isbn=978-81-7017-416-5}}</ref>{{rp|72}} ''Chamunda'' is very often identified with Kali and is very much like her in appearance and habit.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|241 Footnotes}} In Tantric Kali Kula Shaktism, Kali is the supreme goddess and  source of all  goddesses. In [[Yogini Tantra|Yoginī Tantra]], Kālī kills [[Kolasura]] and [[Ghorasura]].

==Iconography and forms==
The goddess has two depictions: the popular [[Chaturbhuja|four-armed]] form and the ten-armed Mahakali avatar. In both, she is described as being black in colour, though she is often seen as blue in popular Indian art.  Her eyes are described as [[Red eye (medicine)|red]] with intoxication and rage. Her hair is disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth, and her tongue is lolling. Sometimes she dons a skirt made of human arms and a [[Mundamala|garland of human heads]]. Other times, she is seen wearing a tiger skin. She is also accompanied by [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpents]] and a jackal while standing on the calm and prostrate Shiva, usually right foot forward to symbolize the more popular ''[[dakṣiṇācāra]]'' ("right-hand path"), as opposed to the more infamous and transgressive [[vamachara]] ("left-hand path").<ref name="Rawson">{{cite book
|last1=Rawson
|first1=Philip
|title=The Art of Tantra
|url=https://archive.org/details/tantra00phil
|url-access=registration
|year=1973
|publisher=Thames & Hudson
}}</ref> These serpents and jackals are shown to drink the blood of [[Raktabīja]] head, which is dripping while the goddess carries it in her hand, and preventing it from falling on the ground.

In the ten-armed form of Mahakali, she is depicted as shining like a blue stone. She has ten faces, ten feet, and three eyes for each head. She has ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Shiva.<ref>{{cite book
|last1=Sankaranarayanan
|first1=Sri
|title=Glory of the Divine Mother: Devi Mahatmyam
|year=2001
|publisher=Nesma Books India
|isbn=978-8187936008|page=127}}</ref>

The ''Kalika Purana'' describes Kali as "possessing a soothing dark complexion, as perfectly beautiful, riding a lion, four-armed, holding a sword and blue lotus, her hair unrestrained, body firm and youthful".<ref name="White2000">{{cite book
|last1=Gupta
|first1=Sanjukta
|editor-last1=White
|editor-first1=David Gordon
|editor-link=David Gordon White
|chapter=The Worship of Kali According to the Todala Tantra
|title=Tantra in Practice
|year=2000
|publisher=Princeton Press
|page=466
|isbn=0-691-05778-8
|ref=refWhite2000}}</ref>

When [[Ramakrishna|Sri Ramakrishna]] once asked a devotee why one would prefer to worship Mother over him, this devotee rhetorically replied, "Maharaj, when they are in trouble your devotees come running to you. But, where do you run when you are in trouble?"<ref name="Saradananda1952">{{cite book
|last1=Saradananda
|first1=Swami
|title='Sri Ramakrishna: The Great Master
|year=1952
|publisher=Ramakrishna Math
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hati|first1=Kamalpada|title=Sri Ramakrishna: The Spiritual Glow|last2=P.K.|first2=Pramanik|publisher=Orient Book Co.|year=1985|pages=17–18|ref=refHati1985}}</ref>

===Popular form===
[[File:Goddess Kali.jpg|thumb|upright|A Tamil depiction of Kali.]]
Classic depictions of Kali share several features, as follows:

Kali's most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a Khadga (crescent-shaped sword or a giant sickle), a [[Trishul (weapon)|trishul]] (trident), a severed head, and a bowl or skull-cup ([[kapala|kapāla]]) collecting the blood of the severed head. This is the form of Bhima Kali.

Two of these hands (usually the left) are holding a sword and a severed head. The sword signifies divine knowledge and the human head signifies human ego which must be slain by divine knowledge in order to attain [[moksha]]. The other two hands (usually the right) are in the [[mudra#Abhaya Mudrā|abhaya]] (fearlessness) and [[mudra#Varada Mudrā|varada]] (blessing) [[mudra]]s, which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshipping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter.<ref name="White2000" />{{rp|477}} This is the form of Dakshina Kali.

She wears a [[Mundamala|garland of human heads]], variously enumerated at [[108 (number)|108]] (an auspicious number in Hinduism and the number of countable beads on a [[japa]] [[japa mala|mala]] or rosary for repetition of [[mantras]]) or 51, which represents Varnamala or the Garland of letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, [[Devanagari]]. Hindus believe [[Sanskrit]] is a language of [[dynamism (metaphysics)|dynamism]], and each of these letters represents a form of energy, or a form of Kali. Therefore, she is generally seen as the mother of language, and all mantras.<ref name="White2000" />{{rp|475}}

She is often depicted naked which symbolizes her being beyond the covering of [[Maya (Hinduism)|Maya]] since she is pure (''nirguna'') being-consciousness-bliss and far above Prakriti. She is shown as very dark as she is Brahman in its supreme unmanifest state. She has no permanent qualities—she will continue to exist even when the universe ends. It is therefore believed that the concepts of color, light, good, and bad do not apply to her.<ref name="White2000" />{{rp|463–488}}

===Mahakali===
{{Main|Mahakali}}
[[File:Goddess Mahakali - National Museum, Delhi.jpg|thumb|Mahakali, goddess of time and death, depicted with a black complexion with ten heads, arms and legs.]]
Mahakali ([[Sanskrit]]: Mahākālī, [[Devanagari]]: महाकाली, [[Bengali language|Bengali]]: মহাকালী, [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]: મહાકાળી), literally translated as "Great Kali," is sometimes considered as a greater form of Kali, identified with the Ultimate reality of [[Brahman]]. It can also be used as an honorific of the Goddess Kali,<ref name="McDaniel"/>{{rp|257}} signifying her greatness by the prefix "Mahā-". Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is etymologically the feminized variant of [[Mahakala]] or ''Great Time'' (which is interpreted also as ''Death''), an epithet of the God Shiva in Hinduism. Mahakali is the presiding Goddess of the first episode of the ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]''. Here, she is depicted as Devi in her universal form as [[Shakti]]. Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order to be restored.

Kali is depicted in the Mahakali form as having ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs. Each of her ten hands is carrying a various implement which varies in different accounts, but each of these represents the power of one of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] or Hindu Gods and are often the identifying weapon or ritual item of a given Deva. The implication is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an "ekamukhi" or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms, signifying the same concept: the powers of the various Gods come only through her [[Divine grace|grace]].

The name ''Mahakali'', when ''kali'' is rendered to mean "black", translates to Japanese as [[Daikokuten#Goddess Daikokutennyo|''Daikoku'' (大黒)]].

===Dakshinakali===
[[File:Goddess Kali dancing on Shiva. Wellcome L0043631.jpg|thumb|upright|Dakshina Kali, with Shiva devotedly at her foot.]]
Dakshinakali is the most popular form of Kali in Bengal.<ref>{{cite book
|last1=Harper
|first1=Katherine Anne
|last2=Brown
|first2=Robert L.
|title=The Roots of Tantra
|year=2012
|publisher=SUNY Press
|isbn=978-0-7914-8890-4|page=53}}</ref> She is the benevolent mother, who protects her devotees and children from mishaps and misfortunes. There are various versions for the origin of the name ''Dakshinakali''. ''[[Dakshina]]'' refers to the gift given to a priest before performing a ritual or to one's guru. Such gifts are traditionally given with the right hand. Dakshinakali's two right hands are usually depicted in gestures of blessing and giving of boons. One version of the origin of her name comes from the story of [[Yama]], lord of death, who lives in the south (''dakshina''). When Yama heard Kali's name, he fled in terror, and so those who worship Kali are said to be able to overcome death itself.<ref name="Kinsley1998pp86-90">{{cite book
|last1=Kinsley
|first1=David R.
|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgTOZEyrVtIC
|year=1988
|publisher=[[University of California Press]]
|isbn=978-8120803947 |pages=86–90}}</ref><ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}}

Dakshinakali is typically shown with her right foot on [[Shiva]]'s chest—while depictions showing Kali with her left foot on Shiva's chest depict the even more fearsome Vamakali. Vamakali is usually worshipped by non-householders.<ref name="Pravrajika Vedantaprana 2015 p.16">Pravrajika Vedantaprana, Saptahik Bartaman, Volume 28, Issue 23, Bartaman Private Ltd., 6, JBS Haldane Avenue, 700 105 (ed. 10 October 2015) p.16</ref>

The pose shows the conclusion of an episode in which Kali was rampaging out of control after destroying many demons. Lord Vishnu, Kali's brother, confronted Kali in an attempt to cool her down. She was unable to see beyond the limitless power of her rage and Lord Vishnu had to move out of her way. Seeing this the devas became more fearful, afraid that in her rampage, Kali would not stop until she destroyed the entire universe. Shiva saw only one solution to prevent Kali's endless destruction. Lord Shiva lay down on the battlefield so that Goddess Mahakali would have to step on him. When she saw her consort under her foot, Kali realized that she had gone too far. Filled with grief for the damage she had done, her blood-red tongue hung from her mouth, calming her down. In some interpretations of the story, Shiva was attempting to receive Kali's grace by receiving her foot on his chest.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinsley |first=David R. |editor1-last=McDermott |editor1-first=Rachel Fell |editor2-last=Kripal |editor2-first=Jeffrey J. |chapter=Kali |title=Encountering Kali: in the margins, at the center, in the West |year=2003 |publisher=University of California Press |page=36 |isbn=978-0-520-92817-6}}</ref>

[[File:Daksina Kali clay statue of Bengal.jpg|thumb|upright|The goddess is generally worshipped as Dakshina Kali (with her right feet on Shiva) in Bengal during Kali Puja.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pattanaik |first=Devdutt |author-link=Devdutt Pattanaik |year=2014 |title=7 Secrets of the Goddess |publisher=Westland |page=62 |isbn=978-93-84030-58-2}}</ref>]]

There are many different interpretations of the pose held by Dakshinakali, including those of the 18th and 19th-century bhakti poet-devotees such as [[Ramprasad Sen]]. Some have to do with battle imagery and tantric metaphysics. The most popular is a devotional view.

According to Rachel Fell McDermott, the poets portrayed Shiva as "the devotee who falls at [Kali's] feet in devotion, in the surrender of his ego, or in hopes of gaining ''moksha'' by her touch." In fact, Shiva is said to have become so enchanted by Kali that he performed austerities to win her, and having received the treasure of her feet, held them against his heart in reverence.<ref name="Dold2003">{{cite book |last1=Dold |first1=Patricia |editor-last1=McDermott |editor-first1=Rachel Fell |editor2-last=Kripal |editor2-first=Jeffrey J. |chapter=Kali the Terrific and Her Tests |title=Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMUJyU_C-LkC |year=2003 |publisher=University of California Press |page=54 |isbn=978-0-520-92817-6}}
</ref>

==Dakshina Kali and Krishnananda Agamavagisha==
The popularity of the worship of the Dakshinakali form of Goddess Kali is often attributed to [[Krishnananda Agamavagisha]]. He was a noted 17th-century Bengali Tantra thinker and author of ''Tantrasara''. Devi Kali reportedly appeared to him in a dream and told him to popularize her in a particular form that would appear to him the following day. The next morning he observed a young woman making cow dung patties. While placing a patty on a wall, she stood in the ''alidha'' pose, with her right foot forward. When she saw Krishnananda watching her, she was embarrassed and put her tongue between her teeth, Agamavagisha realized that this was the divine form of maa kali he was looking for.<ref name="Dold2003"  />{{rp|54}}<ref name="Sircar1998">{{cite book
|last1=Sircar
|first1=Dineschandra
|author-link=Dineschandra Sircar
|title= The Śākta Pīṭhas
|year=1998
|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ
|isbn=978-81-208-0879-9|page=74}}</ref> Krishnananda Agamavagisha was also the guru of the Kali devotee and poet [[Ramprasad Sen]].<ref name="Harding" />{{rp|217}}

===Samhara Kali===
Samhara Kali, also called Vama Kali, is the embodiment of the power of destruction. The chief goddess of Tantric texts, Samhara Kali is the most dangerous and powerful form of Kali. Samhara Kali takes form when Kali steps out with her left foot holding her sword in her right hand. She is the Kali of death, destruction and is worshipped by tantrics. As Samhara Kali she gives death and liberation. According to the Mahakala Samhita, Samhara Kali is two armed and black in complexion. She stands on a corpse and holds a freshly cut head and a plate to collect the dripping blood. She is worshipped by warriors, tantrics – the followers of [[Tantra]].<ref name="Harding" />

===Other forms===
Other forms of Kali popularly worshipped in Bengal include Raksha Kali (form of Kali worshipped for protection against epidemics and drought), Bhadra Kali and Guhya Kali. Kali is said to have 8, 12, or 21 different forms according to different traditions. The popular forms are Adya kali, Chintamani Kali, Sparshamani Kali, Santati Kali, [[Siddhikali Temple|Siddhi Kali]], Dakshina Kali, Rakta Kali, Bhadra Kali, Smashana Kali, Adharvana Bhadra Kali, Kamakala Kali, Guhya Kali, Hamsa Kali, Shyama Kali, and Kalasankarshini Kali.<ref name="Pravrajika Vedantaprana 2015 p.16"/>

==Symbolism==
Interpretations of the symbolic meanings of Kali's appearance vary depending on Tantric or devotional approach, and on whether one views her image in a symbolic, allegorical or mystical fashion.<ref name="Kinsley1998pp86-90" />

===Physical form===
[[File:Maa Bhavatarini's face @ Dakshineshwar Kali Temple.JPG|thumb|upright|In Bengal and Odisha, Kali's extended tongue is widely seen as expressing embarrassment over the realization that her foot is on her husband's chest.<ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}}<ref name="Kali's Tongue" /><ref name="Dutta2011" /><ref name="McDaniel"/>{{rp|237}} Pictured is the idol of Kali at the [[Dakshineshwar Kali Temple]].]]
There are many varied depictions of the different forms of Kali. The most common form shows her with four arms and hands, showing aspects of both creation and destruction. The two right hands are often held out in blessing, one in a mudra saying "fear not" ([[abhayamudra]]), the other conferring boons. Her left hands hold a severed head and blood-covered sword. The sword severs the bondage of ignorance and ego ([[Tamas (philosophy)|tamas]]), represented by the severed head. One interpretation of Kali's tongue is that the red tongue symbolizes the [[rajasic]] nature being conquered by the white (symbolizing [[sattvic]]) nature of the teeth. Her blackness represents that she is ''[[nirguna]]'', beyond all qualities of nature, and transcendent.<ref name="Kinsley1998pp86-90" /><ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}}

The most widespread interpretation of Kali's extended tongue involve her embarrassment over the sudden realization that she has stepped on her husband's chest. Kali's sudden "modesty and shame" over that act is the prevalent interpretation among [[Hinduism in Odisha|Odia Hindus]].<ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}} The biting of the tongue conveys the emotion of ''lajja'' or modesty, an expression that is widely accepted as the emotion being expressed by Kali.<ref name="Kali's Tongue">{{cite book |last1=Menon |first1=Usha |last2=Shweder |first2=Richard A. |title=Emotion and Culture: Empirical Studies of Mutual Influence |chapter=Kali's Tongue: Cultural Psychology and the Power of Shame in Orissa, India |editor-last=Kitayama |editor-first=Shinobu |editor2-last=Markus |editor2-first=Hazel Rose |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=American Psychological Association |date=1994 |pages=241–284}}</ref><ref name="McDaniel"/>{{rp|237}} In Bengal also, Kali's protruding tongue is "widely accepted... as a sign of speechless embarrassment: a gesture very common among Bengalis."<ref name="Dutta2011">{{cite book|author=Krishna Dutta|title=Calcutta: A Cultural and Literary History (Cities of the Imagination)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZq_BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT18|year=2011|publisher=Andrews UK Ltd|isbn=978-1-904955-87-0|page=18}}</ref><ref name="Harding" />{{rp|xxiii}}

The twin earrings of Kali are small embryos. This is because Kali likes devotees who have childlike qualities in them.<ref name="Pravrajika Vedantaprana 2015 p.16"/> The forehead of Kali is seen to be as luminous as the full moon and eternally giving out ambrosia.<ref name="Pravrajika Vedantaprana 2015 p.16"/>

Kali is often shown standing with her right foot on Shiva's chest. This represents an episode where Kali was out of control on the battlefield, such that she was about to destroy the entire universe.  Shiva pacified her by laying down under her foot to pacify and calm her. Shiva is sometimes shown with a blissful smile on his face.<ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}} She is typically shown with a garland of severed heads, often numbering fifty. This can symbolize the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet and therefore as the primordial sound of [[Aum]] from which all creation proceeds. The severed arms which make up her skirt represent her devotee's karma that she has taken on.<ref name="Kinsley1998pp86-90" />

===Mother Nature===
The name Kali means [[Kāla (time)|Kala]] or force of time. When there were neither the creation, nor the sun, the moon, the planets, and the earth, there was only darkness and everything was created from the darkness. The Dark appearance of Kali represents the darkness from which everything was born.<ref name="Harding" /> Her complexion is black. As she is also the goddess of Preservation, Kali is worshipped as the preserver of [[nature]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Kali is standing calm on [[Shiva]], her appearance represents the preservation of mother nature.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Her free, long and black hair represents nature's freedom from [[civilization]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Under the third eye of kali, the signs of both sun, moon, and fire are visible which represent the driving forces of nature.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Kali is not always thought of as a Dark Goddess.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Despite Kali's origins in battle, she evolved to a full-fledged symbol of Mother Nature in her creative, nurturing and devouring aspects.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

There are several interpretations of the symbolism behind the commonly represented image of Kali standing on Shiva's supine form. A common interpretation is that Shiva symbolizes ''[[purusha]]'', the universal unchanging aspect of reality, or pure consciousness. Kali represents ''[[Prakriti]]'', nature or matter, sometimes seen as having a feminine quality of creation of life. The merging of these two qualities represent ultimate reality.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|88}}

A tantric interpretation sees Shiva as consciousness and Kali as power or energy. Consciousness and energy are dependent upon each other, since Shiva depends on Shakti, or energy, in order to fulfill his role in creation, preservation, and destruction. In this view, without Shakti, Shiva is a corpse—unable to act.<ref name="Dold2003"/>{{rp|53}}

==Worship==
===Mantras===
Kali could be considered a general concept, like Durga, and is primarily worshipped in the Kali Kula sect of worship. The closest way of direct worship is Maha Kali or [[Bhadrakali]] (Bhadra in Sanskrit means 'gentle'). Kali is worshipped as one of the 10 [[Mahavidya]] forms of Adi Parashakti. One mantra for worship to Kali is:<ref name="Chawdri">{{cite book
|last=Chawdhri
|first=L.R.
|title=Secrets of Yantra, Mantra and Tantra
|year=1992
|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
}}</ref>

{{verse translation|lang=sa|italicsoff=y
|सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
ॐ जयंती मंगला काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी । दुर्गा क्षमा शिवा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तु‍ते ॥
|Sarvamangal-māngalyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē. Śaraṇyē tryambakē Gauri nārāyaṇi namō'stu tē.
Oṃ jayantī mangala kālī bhadrakālī kapālinī . Durgā kṣamā śivā dhātrī svāhā svadhā namō'stu‍tē.
ॐ काली काली महाकाली कालिके परमेश्वरी । सर्वानन्दकरी देवी नारायणि नमोऽस्तुते ।।
}}

In fact, chanting of Mahishasura Mardhini is a daily ritual in all Hindu Bengali homes especially during Navratri / Durga Pujo as it is called.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

The chant of the first chapter of Durga Saptashati is considered a very important hymn to Sri Mahakali as Devi Mahatmyam / Durga Saptashati dates back to the Upanishadic Era of Indological literature.

===Tantra===
[[File:Kali Yantra.jpg|thumb|Kali [[Yantra]]]]

Goddesses play an important role in the study and practice of [[Tantra]] Yoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of reality as are the male deities.  Although [[Parvati]] is often said to be the recipient and student of [[Shiva]]'s wisdom in the form of ''Tantras'', it is Kali who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} In many sources Kāli is praised as the highest reality or greatest of all deities. The ''Nirvana-tantra'' says the gods [[Brahma]], [[Vishnu]], and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea, ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source unchanged. The ''Niruttara-tantra'' and the ''Picchila-tantra'' declare all of Kāli's mantras to be the greatest and the ''Yogini-tantra'', ''Kamakhya-tantra'' and the ''Niruttara-tantra'' all proclaim Kāli ''vidyas'' (manifestations of ''Mahadevi'', or "divinity itself").  They declare her to be an essence of her own form (''svarupa'') of the ''Mahadevi''.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|122–124}}

In the ''Mahanirvana-tantra'', Kāli is one of the epithets for the primordial ''ṥakti'', and in one passage Shiva praises her:

{{blockquote|At the dissolution of things, it is Kāla [Time] Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahākāla [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahākāla Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kālika. Because Thou devourest Kāla, Thou art Kāli, the original form of all things, and because of Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [the Primordial One]. Re-assuming after Dissolution Thine own form, dark and formless, Thou alone remainest as One ineffable and inconceivable. Though having a form, yet art Thou formless; though Thyself without beginning, multiform by the power of Maya, Thou art the Beginning of all, Creatrix, Protectress, and Destructress that Thou art.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|122–124}}}}

The figure of Kāli conveys death, destruction, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even death itself. In the ''Pancatattva'' ritual, the ''[[sadhaka]]'' boldly seeks to confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a vehicle of salvation.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|122–124}} This is clear in the work of the ''Karpuradi-stotra'',<ref>{{cite book
|last1=Woodroffe
|first1=John
|author-link=John Woodroffe
|title=Karpuradi Stotra, Tantrik Texts Vol IX
|year=1922
|publisher=Calcutta Agamanusandhana Samiti
}}</ref> short praise of Kāli describing the ''Pancatattva'' ritual unto her, performed on [[charnel ground|cremation grounds]]. (''Samahana-sadhana'');

{{blockquote|He, O Mahākāli who in the cremation-ground, who wear skull garland and skirt of bones and with dishevelled hair, intently meditates upon Thee and recites Thy mantra, and with each recitation makes offering to Thee of a thousand Akanda flowers with seed, becomes without any effort a Lord of the earth. Oh Kāli, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Shakti [his energy/female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet, a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|122–124}}}}

The ''Karpuradi-stotra'', dated to approximately 10th century CE,<ref>{{cite book
|last1=Beck
|first1=Guy L.
|title=Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound
|year=1993
|publisher=University of South Carolina Press
|isbn=978-1-64336-404-9|page=145}}</ref> clearly indicates that Kāli is more than a terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who serves [[Durga]] or [[Shiva]]. Here, she is identified as the supreme mother of the universe, associated with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, she creates and destroys worlds. Her appearance also takes a different turn, befitting her role as ruler of the world and object of meditation.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|124–125}} In contrast to her terrible aspects, she takes on hints of a more benign dimension. She is described as young and beautiful, has a gentle smile, and makes gestures with her two right hands to dispel any fear and offer boons. The more positive features exposed offer the distillation of divine wrath into a goddess of salvation, who rids the ''sadhaka'' of fear. Here, Kali appears as a symbol of triumph over death.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|125}}

===In Bengali tradition===
[[File:Kali Shakespeare Sarani Arnab Dutta 2010.JPG|thumb|upright|Statue of Kali trampling on [[Shiva]], worshipped in [[Bengal]].]]
[[File:Idol of goddess Kali kept near Nimtala ghat for Visarjan or Immersion in the waters of river Hooghly.jpg|thumb|Idol of goddess Kali kept near Nimtala ghat for Visarjan or Immersion in the waters of river Hooghly]]

Kali is a central figure in late medieval [[Bengal]] devotional literature, with such notable devotee poets as [[Kamalakanta Bhattacharya (West Bengal)|Kamalakanta Bhattacharya]] (1769–1821), [[Ramprasad Sen]] (1718–1775). With the exception of being associated with [[Parvati]] as [[Shiva]]'s consort, Kāli is rarely pictured in Hindu legends and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengāli tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|126}}

The Tantric approach to Kāli is to display courage by confronting her on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee adopts the attitude of a child, coming to love her unreservedly. In both cases, the goal of the devotee is to become reconciled with death and to learn acceptance of the way that things are. These themes are addressed in Rāmprasād's work.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|125–126}} Rāmprasād comments in many of his other songs that Kāli is indifferent to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to nothing and his worldly goods to ruin. He also states that she does not behave like a mother should and that she ignores his pleas:

{{poemquote|Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone? [a reference to Kali as the daughter of Himalaya]
Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord?
Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you, Mother.
You have cut off the heads of the children of others, and these you wear as a garland around your neck.
It matters not how much I call you "Mother, Mother." You hear me, but you will not listen.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|128}}}}

To be a child of Kāli, Rāmprasād asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kāli is said to refrain from giving that which is expected. To the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go beyond the material world.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|128}}

A significant portion of Bengali devotional music features Kāli as its central theme and is known as [[Shyama Sangeet]] ("Music of the Night"). Mostly sung by male vocalists, today women have taken to this form of music.

Kāli is especially venerated in the festival of [[Kali Puja]] in eastern India – celebrated when the new moon day of [[Ashwin]] month coincides with the festival of [[Diwali]]. The practice of animal sacrifice is still practiced during Kali Puja in Bengal, Orissa, and Assam, though it is rare outside of those areas. The [[Hindu temple]]s where this takes place involves the ritual slaying of goats, chickens and sometimes male water buffalos. Throughout India, the practice is becoming less common.<ref name="Fuller Christopher John 2004 83">{{cite book|last=J. Fuller|first= C.|title=The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India [Paperback] |edition=Revised|year=2004|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-0-691-12048-5 |page=83|quote=Animal sacrifice is still practiced widely and is an important ritual in popular Hinduism|id=  {{ASIN|069112048X|country=uk}}}}</ref> The rituals in eastern India temples where animals are killed are generally led by [[Brahmin]] priests.<ref name="Fuller Christopher John 2004 83"/>{{rp|84, 101–104}} A number of [[Tantra|Tantric]] [[Puranas]] specify the ritual for how the animal should be killed. A Brahmin priest will recite a mantra in the ear of the animal to be sacrificed, in order to free the animal from the cycle of life and death. Groups such as People for Animals continue to protest animal sacrifice based on court rulings forbidding the practice in some locations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McDermottb|first1=Rachel Fell |title=Revelry, rivalry, and longing for the goddesses of Bengal: the fortunes of Hindu festivals |date=2011 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |location=New York; Chichester |isbn=978-0-231-12918-3 |page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggBeH_lmUu8C&pg=PR10 |access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref>

===In Tantric Buddhism===
[[File:Troma Nagmo closeup.jpg|thumb|upright|Tröma Nagm in Tibetan Buddhism, shares some attributes of Kali.]]
Tantric Kali cults such as the Kaula and Krama had a strong influence on [[Tantric Buddhism]], as can be seen in fierce-looking [[yogini]]s and [[dakini]]s such as [[Vajrayogini]] and Krodikali.<ref>{{Cite book |last=English |first=Elizabeth |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50234984 |title=Vajrayoginī: her visualizations, rituals & forms: a study of the cult of Vajrayoginī in India |publisher=Wisdom Publications |year=2002 |isbn=0-86171-329-X |edition=1st Wisdom |location=Boston |pages=38–40 |oclc=50234984}}</ref>

In Tibet, Krodikali (alt. Krodhakali, Kālikā, Krodheśvarī, Krishna Krodhini) is known as ''Tröma Nagmo'' ({{lang-xct|ཁྲོ་མ་ནག་མོ་}}, [[Wylie transliteration|Wylie]]: {{lang|bo-Latn|khro ma nag mo}}, English: "The Black Wrathful Lady").<ref>[http://www.himalayanart.org/pages/vajrayogini/index.html The Forms of Vajrayoginī] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821222811/http://www.himalayanart.org/pages/vajrayogini/index.html |date=21 August 2008 }} Himalayan Art Resources</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/490.html|title=Vajrayogini (Buddhist Deity) – Krodha Kali (Wrathful Black Varahi) |work=HimalayanArt}}</ref> She features as a key deity in the practice tradition of [[Chöd]] founded by [[Machig Labdron]] and is seen as a fierce form of [[Vajrayogini]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simmer-Brown |first=Judith |author-link=Judith Simmer-Brown |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54964040 |title=Dakini's warm breath: the feminine principle in Tibetan Buddhism |year=2002 |isbn=1-57062-920-X |edition=1st paperback |location=Boulder |publisher=Shambhala |pages=146 |oclc=54964040}}</ref> Other similar fierce deities include the dark blue Ugra Tara and the lion-faced [[Simhamukha]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shaw |first=Miranda Eberle |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62342823 |title=Buddhist goddesses of India |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-691-12758-1 |location=Princeton |pages=340, 426|oclc=62342823}}</ref>

===In Sinhala Buddhism===
[[File:Temple_Guardian_(45106290361).jpg|alt=Temple_Guardian_(45106290361)|thumb|Statue at the [[Pathirakali Amman Temple]] of a guardian with a very similar appearance to Kali]]
In Sri Lanka, Kali is venerated and called upon by Buddhists and Hindus. She is a type of mother goddess, sometimes invoked to fight disease,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Three aspects of the 'Dhammika Paniya' controversy |url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Three-aspects-of-the--%E2%80%98Dhammika-Paniya%E2%80%99--controversy/172-202661}}</ref> and a maid of the Goddess [[Pattini]].<ref name=":0" /> In Sinhala Buddhism, her origin is explained through her arriving at Munneśvaram from South India, eating humans, and attempting to eat Pattini, who instead tames her.<ref name=":2" />

She is regarded as having seven forms; Bhadrakāli (who is associated with business and gold trade, and prominently worshipped at the Tamil Hindu [[Munneswaram temple|Munneśvaram]] temple, though over 80% of its patrons are Sinhala Buddhists. Bhadrakāli priests here interpret her tongue as symbolizing revenge, rather than embarrassment, and she tramples the demon of ignorance<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Bastin |first=Rohan |date=September 1996 |title=THE REGENERATIVE POWER OF KALI WORSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY SINHALA BUDDHISM |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23171698 |journal=Social Analysis: The International Journal of Anthropology}}</ref>), Mahābhadrakāli, Pēnakāli, Vandurukāli (Hanumāpatrakāli), Rīrikāli, Sohonkāli, and Ginikāli.<ref name=":0" /> These forms are subordinate to Kāliammā (the mother of Kāli). Red flowers, silver coins, blood, and oil lamps with mustard oil are offered to her, and as Pattini's servant, she accepts offerings on her behalf.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Hewamanage |first=Wimal |date=January 2018 |title=The History of the Kāli Cult and its Implications in Modern Sri Lankan Buddhist Culture |journal=Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review}}</ref> Sohonkāli is the form venerated in one of her most popular temples, the Mōdara Kāli temple in [[Colombo]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Kali is not alien to Sinhala-Buddhism |url=https://dailyexpress.lk/commentary/5609/}}</ref>

Her worship in Sri Lanka dates back to at least the 9th century CE, and [[Dharmasena Thera]] created the [[Sadharma Ratnavaliya]] in the 13th century based on an older 5th century work, which actively recontextualizes Kali in a Buddhist context,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sri Kali and Sri Lanka |url=http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/12/sri-kali-and-sri-lanka.html?m=1}}</ref> exploring the nature of violence and vengeance and how they trap people in cycles until justification, guilt, and good and evil become irrelevant.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thera |first=Dharmasena |title=The Jewels of the Doctrine |year=1991 |isbn=0-7914-0489-7 |language=English |translator-last=Obeyesekere |translator-first=Ranjini}}</ref> Kali has been seen as both a demon (though a tamed one, thanks to Pattini<ref name=":2" />) and a goddess in Sri Lanka.<ref name=":1" /> She and mythical Sinhala Buddhist kings both use demonic fury as a necessary condition of conquest.<ref name=":2" />

Yantras are used in relation to her, sourced from the [[Pali Canon]], later Buddhist  [[paritta]] chants, and from non-Buddhist yantras and mantras. The Sādhakayantra is popular,  and its corresponding mantra includes Arabic words and Islamic concepts.<ref name=":1" />

===Worship in the Western world===
====Theorized early worship====
A form of Kali worship may have already transmitted to the west already in Medieval times by the wandering [[Romani people|Romani]]. A few authors have drawn parallels between Kali worship and the ceremonies of the annual pilgrimage in honor of [[Saint Sarah]], also known as ''Sara-la-Kali'' ("Sara the Black", {{lang-rom|Sara e Kali}}), held at [[Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer]], a place of [[pilgrimage]] for Roma in the [[Camargue]], in southern [[France]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDowell |first=Bart |title=Gypsies: Wanderers of the World |pages=38–57}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fonseca |first=Isabel |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32387216 |title=Bury me standing: the Gypsies and their journey |others=Mazal Holocaust Collection, David Lindroth Inc. |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-40678-6 |edition=1st |location=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |pages=106–107 |oclc=32387216}}</ref> [[Ronald Lee]] (2001) states:

{{blockquote|If we compare the ceremonies with those performed in France at the shrine of Sainte Sara (called ''Sara e Kali'' in Romani), we become aware that the worship of Kali/[[Durga]]/Sara has been transferred to a Christian figure... in France, to a [[folk saint|non-existent "sainte"]] called Sara, who is actually part of the Kali/Durga/Sara worship among certain groups in India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Ronald |title=The Rom-Vlach Gypsies and the Kris-Romani |pages=210}}</ref>}}

====In modern times====

An academic study of modern-day western Kali enthusiasts noted that, "as shown in the histories of all cross-cultural religious transplants, Kali devotionalism in the West must take on its own indigenous forms if it is to adapt to its new environment."<ref name="McDermott1998p281-305">{{cite book
| last  =McDermott
| first = Rachel Fell
| chapter = The Western Kali
| editor-last  = Hawley
| editor-first = John Stratton
| title  = Devi: Goddesses of India
| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass
| date = 1998
|pages=281–305}}</ref> Rachel Fell McDermott, Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures at [[Columbia University]] and author of several books on Kali, has noted the evolving views in the West regarding Kali and her worship. In 1998 McDermott wrote that:

{{blockquote|A variety of writers and thinkers have found Kali an exciting figure for reflection and exploration, notably, [[Feminism|feminists]] and participants in [[New Age]] spirituality who are attracted to goddess worship. [For them], Kali is a symbol of wholeness and healing, associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality. [However, such interpretations often exhibit] confusion and misrepresentation, stemming from a lack of knowledge of Hindu history among these authors, [who only rarely] draw upon materials written by scholars of the Hindu religious tradition&nbsp;... It is hard to import the worship of a goddess from another culture: religious associations and connotations have to be learned, imagined or intuited when the deep symbolic meanings embedded in the native culture are not available.<ref name="McDermott1998p281-305" />}}

By 2003, she amended her previous view.
{{blockquote|... crosscultural borrowing ''is'' appropriate and a natural by-product of religious globalization—although such borrowing ought to be done responsibly and self-consciously. If some Kali enthusiasts, therefore, careen ahead, reveling in a goddess of power and sex, many others, particularly since the early 1990s, have decided to reconsider their theological trajectories. These [followers], whether of South Asian descent or not, are endeavoring to rein in what they perceive as excesses of feminist and New Age interpretations of the Goddess by choosing to be informed by, moved by, an Indian view of her character.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McDermott |first1=Rachel Fell |title=Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMUJyU_C-LkC |year=2003 |publisher=University of California Press |page=285 |isbn=978-0-520-92817-6}}</ref>
}}

====In Réunion====

In [[Réunion]], a part of France in the Indian Ocean, veneration for Saint [[Expeditus]] ({{Lang-fr|Saint Expédit}}) is very popular. The [[Malbars]] have Tamil ancestry but are, at least nominally, Catholics.
The saint is identified with Kali.<ref name="Suryanarayan">{{cite journal |last1=Suryanarayan |first1=V. |title=Tamils In Re-Union: Losing Cultural Identity – Analysis |journal=Eurasia Review |date=12 October 2018 |url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/12102018-tamils-in-re-union-losing-cultural-identity-analysis/ |access-date=3 March 2021 |language=en |quote=Saint Expedit, worshipped locally, is identified with Goddess Kali.}}</ref>

==Comparative scholarship==
Scholar Marvin H. Pope in 1965 argues that the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] goddess Kali, who is first attested in the 7th century CE, shares some characteristics with some ancient Near Eastern goddesses, such as wearing a necklace of heads and a belt of severed hands like [[Anat]], and drinking blood like the Egyptian goddess [[Sekhmet]] and that therefore that her character might have been influenced by them.{{sfn|Pope|Röllig|1965|page=239}}

=== Levantine Anat ===
The Bronze Age epic cycles of the [[Levant]]ine city of [[Ugarit]] include a myth according to which the warrior goddess [[Anat]] started attacking warriors, with the text of the myth describing the goddess as gloating and her heart filling with joy and her liver with laughter while attaching the heads of warriors to her back and girding hands to her waist{{sfn|Pope|1977|pages=606–607}} until she is pacified by a message of peace sent by her brother and consort, the god [[Baal|Baʿlu]].{{sfn|Pope|1977|page=601}}

The Hindu goddess Kālī similarly wore a necklace of severed heads and a girdle of severed hands, and was pacified by her consort, Śiva, throwing himself under her feet. The sickle sword wielded by Kālī might also have been connected to similar sickle swords used in [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|early dynastic]] [[Mesopotamia]].{{sfn|Pope|1977|pages=608}}

=== Egyptian Sekhmet ===
According to an [[Ancient Egypt]]ian myth, called {{transliteration|en|The Deliverance of Mankind from Destruction}}, the ancient Egyptian supreme god, the Sun-god [[Ra]], suspected that mankind was plotting against him, and so he sent the goddess [[Hathor]], who was the incarnation of his violent feminine aspect, the [[Eye of Ra]], to destroy his enemies.{{sfn|Pope|1977|pages=607–608}}

Hathor appeared as the lion-goddess [[Sekhmet]] and carried out Ra's orders until she became so captured by her blood-lust that she would not stop despite Ra himself becoming distressed and wishing an end to the killing. Therefore, Ra concocted a ruse whereby a plain was flooded with beer which had been dyed red, which Sekhmet mistook for blood and drank until she became too inebriated to continue killing, thus saving humanity from destruction.{{sfn|Pope|1977|pages=607–608}}

Similarly, while killing demons, Kālī became ecstatic with the joy of battle and slaughter and refused to stop, so that the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] feared she would destroy the world, and she was stopped through ruse when her consort Śiva threw himself under her feet.{{sfn|Pope|1977|pages=608}}

==In popular culture==
[[File:The Rolling Stones' logo.svg|thumb|upright|100px|[[Tongue and lips logo|The Rolling Stones' logo]], based on the out stuck tongue of Kali]]
{{see also|Thuggee#In popular culture}}
In the [[Beatles]]' 1965 film ''[[Help! (film)|Help!]]'', [[Ringo Starr]] is pursued by Kali worshippers intending to sacrifice him.<ref name="Magic Circles">{{cite book |last1=McKinney |first1=Devin |title=Magic Circles: The Beatles in Dream and History |date=2003 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-01202-8 |page=78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NODXwtg3SIkC&dq=%22Help!%22+Beatles+Kali&pg=PA78 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vampires' Most Wanted">{{cite book |last1=Enright |first1=Laura |title=Vampires' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Bloodthirsty Biters, Stake-wielding Slayers, and Other Undead Oddities |date=30 June 2011 |publisher=[[Potomac Books]], Inc. |isbn=978-1-59797-752-4 |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kbM7fOH5SI0C&dq=%22Help!%22+Beatles+Kali&pg=PT12 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[tongue and lips logo]] of the band [[The Rolling Stones]], created in 1971, was inspired by the stuck-out tongue of Kali.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/arts/music/art-of-the-rolling-stones-behind-that-zipper-and-that-tongue.html|title=Art of the Rolling Stones: Behind That Zipper and That Tongue|last=Coscarelli|first=Joe|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=7 June 2015|access-date=9 June 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611105409/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/arts/music/art-of-the-rolling-stones-behind-that-zipper-and-that-tongue.html |archive-date=11 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fornatale |first1=Peter |title=50 Licks: Myths and Stories from Half a Century of the Rolling Stones |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1408833834 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/50licksmythsstor00forn/page/126 126] |url=https://archive.org/details/50licksmythsstor00forn |url-access=registration |language=en}}</ref>

A version of Kali is on the cover of the first issue of feminist magazine ''[[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]]'', published in 1972. Here, Kali's many arms symbolize the many tasks of the contemporary American woman.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lemak |first1=Jennifer A. |last2=Hopkins-Benton |first2=Ashley |title=Votes for Women: Celebrating New York's Suffrage Centennial |date=2017 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=978-1-4384-6732-0 |pages=204 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tuo_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |access-date=2 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Donald |first1=Brooke |title=The feminist struggle continues, Gloria Steinem says, encouraging a Stanford audience toward 'one new subversive thing' |url=https://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/january/gloria-steinem-talk-012712.html |website=[[Stanford University]] |access-date=2 July 2020 |language=en |date=27 January 2012}}</ref>

A [[Thuggee]] cult of Kali worshippers are villains in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'' (1984), an action-adventure film which takes place in 1935.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ganguly |first1=Swagato |title=Idolatry and the Colonial Idea of India: Visions of Horror, Allegories of Enlightenment |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1351584678 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_0wDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Indiana+Jones+and+the+Temple+of+Doom%22+kali&pg=PT12 |access-date=6 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

''[[Mahakali — Anth Hi Aarambh Hai]]'' (2017) is an Indian television series in which  [[Parvati]] (Mahakali), Shiva's consort, assumes varied forms to destroy evil and protect the innocent.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nathan|first=Leona|date=2017-07-23|title=Mahakali – Anth Hi Aarambh Hai: Pooja Sharma Says, Playing Mahakali Is A Lifetime Experience|url=https://www.india.com/entertainment/mahakali-anth-hi-aarambh-hai-pooja-sharma-says-playing-mahakali-is-a-lifetime-experience-2342973/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News {{!}} India.com|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{commons Category|Kali}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bowker |first1=John |title=Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford Press |ref=refBowker2000}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bunce |first1=Frederick W. |title=A Dictionary of Buddhist and Hindu Iconography (Illustrated) |year=1997 |publisher=D.K. Print World |ref=refBunce1997}}
* {{cite book |last1=Craven |first1=Roy C. |title=Indian Art (revised) |year=1997 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |ref=refCraven1997}}
* {{cite book |last1=Doniger |first1=Wendy |author-link=Wendy Doniger |title=Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Kali |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kali |year=2015 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |ref=refDoniger2015}}
* {{cite book |last1=Harshananda |first1=Swami |title=Hindu Gods & Goddesses |year=1981 |publisher=Ramakrishna Math |ref=refHarshananda1981}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mishra |first1=T. N. |title=Impact of Tantra on Religion and Art |year=1997 |publisher=D.K. Print World |ref=refMishra1997}}
* {{cite book |last1=Santideva |first1=Sadhu |title=Ascetic Mysticism |year=2000 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |ref=refSantideva2000}}
* Loriliai Biernacki, ''Renowned Goddess of Desire: Women, Sex, and Speech in Tantra'' Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2007, {{doi| 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327823.001.0001}}, {{ISBN|978-0195327823}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Haussig |editor-first=Hans Wilhelm |editor-link=:de:Hans Wilhelm Haussig |last1=Pope |first1=Marvin H. |author-link1= |last2=Röllig |first2=Wolfgang |author-link2=:de:Wolfgang Röllig |date=1965 |title=Götter und Mythen im Vorderen Orient |trans-title=Gods and Myths in the Middle East |chapter=Syrien: Die Mythologie der Ugariter und Phönizier |trans-chapter=Syria: The Mythology of the Ugarites and Phoenicians |language=de |url= |location=[[Stuttgart]], [[Germany]] |publisher=[[:de:Ernst Klett Verlag|Ernst Klett Verlag]] |pages=217–312 |isbn=}}
* {{cite book |last=Pope |first=Marvin H. |author-link= |date=1977 |title=Song of Songs |series=[[Anchor Bible Series|The Anchor Bible]] |volume=7C |url= |location=[[New York City]], [[United States]] |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |isbn=978-0-385-00569-2 }}
* Shanmukha Anantha Natha and Shri Ma Kristina Baird, ''Divine Initiation'' Shri Kali Publications (2001) {{ISBN|0-9582324-0-7}} – Has a chapter on Mahadevi with a commentary on the ''Devi Mahatmyam'' from the Markandeya Purana.
* Ajit Mookerjee, ''Kali: The Feminine Force'' {{ISBN|0-89281-212-5}}
* [[Swami Satyananda Saraswati]], ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=in__-R6lm6sC Kali Puja]'' {{ISBN|1-887472-64-9}}
* [[Ramprasad Sen]], ''Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair: Selected Poems to the Mother Goddess'' {{ISBN|0-934252-94-7}}
* [[Sir John Woodroffe]] (a.k.a. Arthur Avalon) ''Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to Kali'' {{ISBN|81-85988-16-1}}
* Robert E. Svoboda, ''Aghora, at the left hand of God'' {{ISBN|0-914732-21-8}}
* [[Dimitri Kitsikis]], ''L'Orocc, dans l'âge de Kali'' {{ISBN|2-89040-359-9}}
* [[Lex Hixon]], ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HzNAYrZgtekC Mother of the Universe: Visions of the Goddess and Tantric Hymns of Enlightenment]'' {{ISBN|0-8356-0702-X}}
* Neela Bhattacharya Saxena, ''In the Beginning is Desire: Tracing Kali's Footprints in Indian Literature'' {{ISBN|81-87981-61-X}}
* ''The Goddess Kali of Kolkata'' ({{ISBN|81-7476-514-X}}) by Shoma A. Chatterji
* ''[[Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend]]'' ({{ISBN|0-500-51088-1}}) by Anna Dallapiccola
*  ''In Praise of The Goddess: The Devimahatmyam and Its Meaning'' ({{ISBN|0-89254-080-X}}) by Devadatta Kali
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-c_j8Xggl0gC Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great Goddess]'' ({{ISBN|0-791-45008-2}}) Edited by Tracy Pintchman
* ''[https://archive.org/details/riseofgoddessinh0000pint The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition]'' ({{ISBN|0-7914-2112-0}}) by Tracy Pintchman
* [https://www.academia.edu/19972617/Phalaharini_Kali_Prabuddha_Bharata_January_2016 Narasimhananda, Swami, Prabuddha Bharata, January 2016, The Phalaharini Kali.]
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kali Kali] at the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''

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[[Category:Kali| ]]
[[Category:Death goddesses]]
[[Category:Destroyer goddesses]]
[[Category:Creator goddesses]]
[[Category:Forms of Parvati]]
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