AN INTRODUCTION TO KALI

On looks alone, Kali is not a goddess with which to

mess around. Usually represented with four or ten
arms, she carries several formidable weapons, and
one hand holds a bleeding severed head. She has a
garland of heads or skulls, either 51 of them or
108 of them. She wears a skirt of human arms, and
she’s crushing some poor guy under her foot.

In the vernacular, we could say that Kali looks

like one bad-ass bitch. But she’s really not that
bad—she’s just drawn that way.

The name Kali derives from the Sanskrit world kala

meaning black or dark. Kali is often referred to as
dark, although many paintings of her show her with
blue, shining skin. The word kala also means time,
and in the case of Kali, refers to the destructive
aspect of time. However, she has different role
than Yama, who is the lord of bodily death. Kali’s
role is to destroy the ignorance of ego and the ego
blocks that prevent us from moving forward in life.

The symbolism of Kali reflects this role of

dissolving ignorance. The severed skull in her hand
represents the ego, the force of which can keep us
from achieving our spiritual goals in life. In her
four-arm depictions, she carries a sword and a
trident. The sword is the tool for severing the
head of ego. The trident represents the three main
energy channels of the body that must be
strengthened and opened to allow for spiritual
enlightenment. The skulls around her neck represent
the seed sounds in Sanskrit and, in images with 108
skulls, the traditional prayer beads or mala. Her
three eyes represent the three qualities (or gunas)
of the universe: inertia, kinetic energy, and
purity.

But what about that tongue? Notice the poor guy

underneath her feet? That’s Shiva, who is sometimes
presented as Kali’s consort. According to one
story, Kali emerged from the psychic chakra of
Durga to aid her in the destruction of a horde of
demons. Kali became so overcome with bloodlust that
she would not stop her rampage. The gods and
goddesses looked on in horror until Shiva threw
himself into the battle. Not recognizing him, Kali
knocked Shiva to the ground. At that moment, she
suddenly realized what she had done, and stuck out
her tongue as a sign of her remorse. In this way,
Shiva helped to tame some of Kali’s wildness, and
teach her to control her powers.

In spite of her fierce exterior, Kali is understood

to be one of the most compassionate goddesses. To
her devotees, she is thought of as the source of
all creation, and her fierceness is motivated by
a desire to assist her devotees in their spiritual
growth. Kali continues to be worshipped and revered
by millions as the quickest path to spiritual
growth and enlightenment.