Diya Prayer & mantra guide
Goddess Kali: Who Ma Kali Is, Her Story, Symbols and Mantra
Who Goddess Kali is: the fierce form of the Mother Goddess, Kali Ma. Her story in the Devi Mahatmya, what her dark skin, tongue and skulls mean, and her mantra.
The short answer
Kali (Kali Ma, Mahakali) is the fierce form of the Hindu Mother Goddess, the form she takes when she rises in anger against evil.
Her name means "she who is black", and she is the embodiment of time (kala). She is shown dark-skinned, with a garland of skulls and a raised sword, and her fierceness is understood as protection: she destroys the ego and evil so her devotees can be free. Her story is told in the Devi Mahatmya, and she is worshipped above all in Bengal, at Kali Puja on the night of Diwali.
Who is Goddess Kali?
Kali (also Kali Ma, Mahakali, Kalika) is the form of the Hindu Mother Goddess in which she appears angered and aroused to take on the torment of the world. She is the embodiment of time (kala), and the female form of Shiva as time. Her name literally means "she who is black".
In Hindu understanding, all goddesses can be seen as forms of the one Devi. In some forms she is gentle, like Lakshmi and Parvati; in others, like Durga and Kali, she is fierce. But in every form she helps her devotees. Kali is the Mother at her most protective.
The story of Kali
Kali's origins and purpose are told best in the 13 chapters of the Devi Mahatmya (also called Durga Saptashati or Chandi Path), part of the Markandeya Purana. Other stories of her birth appear in the Linga and Vamana Puranas.
In the Devi Mahatmya, the Goddess defeats a series of demons who have overrun the gods: Madhu and Kaitabha, Mahishasura, Chanda and Munda, Raktabija, and Shumbha and Nishumbha. Kali destroys Chanda and Munda, which is why she is also called Chamunda. The demon Raktabija had a boon that every drop of his blood that fell on the battlefield would rise as another demon. So the Goddess called on Kali to drink his falling blood before it could touch the ground, and Raktabija was defeated.
What do Kali's symbols mean?
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Dark or black skin | Time, and the vastness that holds all colors and forms; her name means "she who is black" |
| Garland of skulls | Cutting away the "skeletons in our closet", the things we hide |
| Sword and severed head | Her victory over demons, and over the ego |
| Standing on Shiva | Shakti (power) active on Shiva (pure consciousness) |
| Fierce face and outstretched tongue | Her fury against evil |
Underneath the fierce image, the meaning is freedom: Kali symbolizes the death of the ego on the way to moksha, liberation. Sri Ramakrishna, the 19th-century saint of Bengal who worshipped her at Dakshineswar, put it this way: you see her as black only because you are far away from her.
Is Kali good or bad?
Kali is not a goddess of evil. She is a mother who destroys what harms her children. Sri Ramakrishna found in her the benign, all-loving Mother. Many devotees call her simply Ma, mother.
Kali mantra
A common short mantra to Kali is Om Krim Kalikayai Namah, "Om, salutations to Kalika". Diya's prayer library has the invocation to Kali and the Devi Mahatmya verse Jayanti Mangala Kali, both with their meanings, in the mantra table on the Durga page. To chant the most famous hymn of the warrior Goddess, see Aigiri Nandini and Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu.
When is Kali worshipped? Kali Puja
- Kali Puja is held on Dipanvita, the new-moon night of the month of Kartik, the same night known as Diwali in North India. It is the great festival of Bengal and of Bengali communities in the US. While much of India worships Lakshmi that night, Bengal worships Kali.
- Navaratri and Durga Puja honor all the forms of the Mother, Kali among them.
- New-moon nights are traditional nights for her worship.
Diya, the app, has prayers to the Goddess in all her forms and a diya to light each day. Diya is available for iPhone. See the Diya app.
Related reading
Questions people ask
Who is Goddess Kali?
Kali is the fierce form of the Hindu Mother Goddess (Devi). She appears when evil must be destroyed, and she stands for time, which ends all things, and for the death of the ego.
Is Kali good or evil?
Kali is a protective mother goddess. Her frightening appearance is aimed at evil and at the ego, not at her devotees. The saint Ramakrishna, her most famous devotee, saw her as the all-loving Mother.
Who is the husband of Goddess Kali?
Shiva. Kali is understood as a form of Shiva's consort Parvati, and as the female form of Shiva as time (Kala). She is often shown standing on Shiva.
Why is Kali shown with her tongue out?
In the best-known image she stands on Shiva, and her outstretched tongue is often explained as her realizing, in the fury of battle, that she has stepped on her husband. Other traditions read it as her drinking the blood of the demon Raktabija so it cannot multiply.
What is the mantra of Kali?
A common short mantra is "Om Krim Kalikayai Namah". Diya's prayer library has the invocation to Kali and the Devi Mahatmya verse "Jayanti Mangala Kali" with their meanings, on the Durga page.
Research notes
Sources
Follow the reading behind this article through the references below. Each source represents its own author, institution, or tradition.
- Ma Kali
Sivagami Natesan, Hindu American FoundationPublished by Hindu American Foundation
- Puja: How do I identify Devi: the Hindu goddess?
Smithsonian Institution, Freer and Sackler GalleriesPublished by Smithsonian Institution
- Kali Drinking the Blood of Raktabija, Folio from a Devimahatmya (Glory of the Goddess), circa 1780
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Kali Puja
Banglapedia, Asiatic Society of BangladeshPublished by Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
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