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Kali

Hindu Goddess

Kali | Hindu Goddess of Time, Change & Empowerment

Kali's power is formidable and destructive, representing the fierce aspect of the divine feminine and the force that annihilates negativity.

Origin

काली (kali) - black; time.

Description

In Hinduism, Kali is the goddess of time, doomsday, and death. The name also signifies the "black goddess." Her origins are traced to local deities of South Asia, gradually absorbed and transformed by Sanskritic traditions. Kali prominently appears in the Devi Mahatmya, dating to the 6th century CE. Her iconography associates her not only with death but also with sexuality, violence, and paradoxically, motherly love in some later traditions. Depictions of Kali often show her as black or blue, partially or completely naked, with a long tongue, multiple arms holding weapons, a skirt or girdle of human arms, and a necklace of decapitated heads. She is portrayed standing or dancing on her husband, the god Shiva. Kali is worshipped throughout India, particularly in regions like Kashmir, Kerala, South India, Bengal, and Assam. In modern times, feminist scholars interpret Kali as a symbol of feminine empowerment, while some in New Age movements find liberation in her more violent sexual manifestations.