Kali – Dark Mother

Kali, more commonly known as Kali Ma (think Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), is the Hindu triple-goddess of creation, preservation, and destruction, though in western society, the destruction is the only aspect that leaks through most socially distorted goggles.

In more ancient teachings, Kali was the first of all Gods, creator of all. But through the metamorphoses through which all belief systems change over time, Kali was created by the Goddess Durga as a means of defeating an army of demons, and her destructive form is considered an incarnation of Durga’s wrath, while her other incarnations are considered to be the incarnation of other Goddesses, like Parvati. Kali and Parvati are modernly understood to be opposite forces in Shiva’s existence (being on of his concubines or wives), and Shiva has, through the patriarchal turn of society, come to take responsibility for Kali’s tri-power. As her son, lover and consort, Shiva’s worship did not enter the picture until several hundred years after Kali’s widespread worship, but in an increasingly male-dominant society, it was felt that her attributes had to be assigned to male gods, and so that is what the Brahmans did. Shiva’s three parts are Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Mahasvara (Shiva), the destroyer. One Tantra (a basic Hindu scripture) proclaims: “O, Mother! Cause and Mother of the world! Thou art the One Primordial Being, Mother of innumerable creatures, Creatrix of the very gods; even of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer!”

In response to the myth of her creation, she is most commonly depicted in her destructive form, holding the head of one of the demons she slayed, the bloodied sword, a scepter symbolizing her royalty, and a bowl symbolizing feminine spirit of creation – the womb. She often stands on Shiva, he is quiet beneath her, symbolizing her responsibility as the active creative force in the universe, while his creation is passive, relying on her ability to bring forth life from her womb. Other depictions, and far less common, include Kali sitting complacently on the back of a lion, a symbol of Shiva, as well as a more sexually explicit depiction involving Kali crouched over Shiva’s dead body, devouring his organs as her yoni (vagina) sexually devours his lingam (penis).

Kali balances the universe through her creative, preservative, and destructive powers. She takes life that new life may have a place and not throw off the balance through too many mouths to feed and not enough food; she sends natural disasters to destroy the lands that they may be renewed to a healthy state once more. She embodies all nature’s cycles of rejuvenation.

The nearest justification I can see that would lead westerners to believe her to be a purely dark demoness are such factors as her demand for ritual sacrifice, though it must be noted that the prescribed sacrifice was only of the drained blood of male animals, leaving the best of the fatty meats for the use of the pious for food, demanding far less than ancient Judaism did, which required a sacrifice including a portion of the meat to be left for the religious higher-ups. Also, to familiarize themselves with the blatant consistency of death throughout the world, her sages would seek communion with her in crematorial grounds.

She is recognized by the Buddhists as Kali, and worldwide throughout other religions by other names, but always in an undeniably parallel form. The Buddhists appreciate her natural balancing act of the universe, especially for her motherly approach to death. It is said that those who fear Kali do so because they fear death, but her only intention is to remind us that death is a natural part of life, nothing to be feared, but to be taken as the next step in a grand adventure. Her mother and creator aspect is personified through women on earth, said to be her conduit of love and her agents on earth.

---

Reference:

Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., New York, 1983. (pg. 488-494)

By Crystal Nichols in Religion on February 13, 2005