Kali, also known as Kalika, is one of the main Hindu Goddesses who is the chief of the Mahavidyas, a group of ten Tantric goddesses who each form a different aspect of the mother goddess Parvati. She is also the Goddess of Time, Creation, Destruction and Power.

She is the most ferocious form of Shakti, depicted as the destroyed of all evil forces and protects the innocent by annihilating the evil. She is worshipped in the various forms of Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Adi Shakti, or Adi Parashakti.

Kali is usually depicted in 2 forms- the prevalent four-armed form and the 10 armed Maha Kali form. For both of her forms, she is portrayed as having dark or black colored skin, but in Indian art, it is usually dark blue colored.

Her eyes are shown to be red in rage and intoxication, with her hair disheveled and/ or curly, small fangs may protrude from her mouth and her tongue rolling out. She is shown as wearing a skirt made of human arms, and a garland of human/ demon heads/ skulls.

Alternatively, she can also be shown as wearing a tiger skin instead of the skirt. She is shown standing on the calm Shiva’s chest with her right foot, who is lying at her feet.

Legend Behind the Kali Puja

Durga, when battling a demon army, was faced with 2 demon generals- Chanda and Munda. In order to defeat them, Durga’s face turned dark and Kali emerged from Durga’s forehead with a sword and noose in her fearful form. No sooner had she emerged, that she filled the sky with her roars of anger.

She fell countless heads of the demon army and defeated Chanda and Munda, bringing their heads back to Durga. This heroic feat earned her the name Chamunda/ Chamundeswari.

Further, the demon lord Raktabeej came forward to lead the battle. Durga and her army of matrikas tried to slay him but they found out that the demon lord had gained a powerful boon. Raktabeej had it so that for every drop of his blood that fell to the ground, there would be another clone of him emerging from the spot.

The situation was made worse and Durga called upon Kali. Kali used the human skull as a bowl to drink the blood of Raktabeej and consumed him and his clones this way. This much anger flowing through her made her impetuous, and in her rage, she lost control and started killing innocents after all the demons were dead.

Even as the fires on the battleground still burned, many gods and goddesses tried to calm her down to no avail. They rushed to Shiva for help, as Kali is considered to be his consort. To resolve the situation, Shiva decided to place himself beneath her feet as she walked.

This made her tongue come out in surprise as her right foot stepped on Shiva’s chest. She immediately realized her mistake and calmed down. This moment is usually portrayed in her idols and pictures.

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