Of all the forms of the Hindu pantheon, that of Kali is perhaps the most enigmatic to the modern mind. Who will not recoil in horror and disgust form the form of a dark
nude woman wearing an apron of human hands and a garland of human heads, especially if she is also holding a freshly severed human head and the chopper used in the slaughter, dripping with blood? Throughout its history, mankind has been baffled by profound symbology. More so when it does not conform to its own 'sweet and refined' standards. Even when one particular group or cult success¬fully assimilates it and starts revering it, other groups or cults continue to abhor it. It is natural for one group to abhor the symbols of all others, forgetting conveniently
that the 'other groups' are doing the same! The picture of the 'Slain Lamb' or the cultus of the 'Sacred Heart' are just two illustrations to show this. On the other hand, a close look at such symbols will not only dispel our ignorance about them but can also produce positive admiration. Is not the water of the sea, which appears as dark blue or green from a distance, really colourless and transparent when examined at close quarters?
The word 'KalI' comes from the wellknown word Kala, time. She is the power of time. Time, as we are all well aware, is all-destroying, all-devouring. That is why the Lord says in the GUZi (11.32) that He is time which has grown to infinite proportions and is destroying the worlds.
A power that destroys has got to be depicted in terms of awe-inspiring terror.
Let us now turn to the Kall imagery as normally I
found in the scriptures, pictures and icons. The background is a cremation ground or a burial ground or a warfield, showing the dead bodies including the mutilated ones. She herself is standing in a challenging posture, on a 'dead'
body, which is her own spouse, Siva himself If Siva is pure white, she is deep blue in colour bordering on black¬
ness. She is completely naked, except for an apron of
human hands. She is wearing a garland of fifty human heads or skulls. Her luxuriant hair is completely dishev-elled. She has three eyes and four hands. In her upper hands she is holding a freshly severed and bleeding human
head, as also the sword (or chopper) used in the carnage. The two lower hands are in the Abhaya and Varada Mudras. Her face is red and the tongue protruding.
The background or the setting is in complete harmony with the theme. The severed head and the sword are gra¬
phic representations of destruction that has just taken place.
God is said to have created this universe and then entered into it. (TaWirlyopani::;ad 2.6). So the universe becomes a veil, a cloak for the divinity. When that is destroyed, the divinity remains unveiled. This is the mean¬ing of KalI being naked. She is hence termed 'Digambara' ('clad in space'), having the vast limitless space itself as her only vesture.
Being the embodiment of Tamas, the aspect of energy responsible for dispersion ad ip.finitum producing limitless
void, a void that has swallowed up everything, she is black.
She represents the state where time, space and causation have disappeared without any trace as it were. Hence she is black.
The hand represents the capacity for work. Hence the apron of severed hands can signify that she is so pleased with the offerings of our works and the fruits thereof that she wears them on her body.
The hand can also stand for kinetic energy. Therefore, severed hands can stand for potential energy, the energy that has stopped all outward manifestation, and yet is tremendously powerful, ready to manifest itself when desired.
The dishevelled hair, for which she is called 'Mukta¬kesl,' bespeaks her untrammelled freedom.
And then, the garland of skulls or heads which number fifty. They represent the fifty letters of the alpha¬bet, the manifest state of sound, or sound (Sabda) in general, from which the entire creation has proceeded. To show that the manifest creation has been withdrawn, she is wearing the garland on her body. The skulls or severed heads indicate the state of destruction.
Since she is the supreme energy responsible for the dissolution of the created universe, her form as depicted here naturally strikes awe and fear. But then she is the creatrix, the Mother also. Hence she is reassuring her fearstricken children through the Abhaya Mudra saying, 'Don't be afraid! I am your own dear Mother!' Simultane-ously she is also exhibiting her desire to grant boons through the Varada Mudra.
So far, so good! But what about Siva Mahadeva being 'trampled' under her feet? According to one of the mytho¬logical accounts, Kall once destroyed all the demons in a battle and then started a terrific dance out of the sheer joy of victory. All the worlds began to tremble and give way under its impact. At the request of all the gods Siva himself asked her to desist from it. She was too intoxicated to listen. Hence Siva lay like a corpse among the corpses on
which 'she was dancing in order to absorb its shock into himself When she stepped upon him she suddenly realised her mistake and put out her tongue in shame!
Siva Mahadeva is Brahman, the Absolute which is beyond all names, forms and activities. Hence he is shown lying prostrate like a sava, corpse. Kal1 represents his sakti or energy. The energy however can never exist apart from its source or act independently of it. It can manifest itself and act only when it is based firmly on the source. It is exactly this that is meant while showing Kall standing on the chest of Siva.
From all this, one should not jump to the conclusion that Kall represents only the destructive aspect of God's power. What exists when time is transcended, the eternal night, of limitless peace and joy, is also Kall (Maharatri). Again it is she who prods Siva Mahadeva into the next cycle of creation. In short, she is the power of God in all His aspects.