Goddesses in World Religions, Research Paper Example

Of central importance to the Hindu faith is the goddess Kali. The goddess occupies a pivotal role in the Hindu pantheon of Gods in two key senses. Firstly, there is Kali’s relation to other important Gods, such as her status as the consort of Shiva and her position atop the hierarchy of the ten Tantric Goddesses known as the Dasa Mahavidyas. Secondly, there is Kali’s own symbolic status in the Hindu cosmology and mythology, as the goddess represents a certain eschatological symbol, who signifies concepts such as death, time and a specific conception of ontology, in which Kali remains the closure of finite existence – Kali is known as the destroyer and is associated with destruction. This is not to deny that the precise role of Kali – regardless of her consistent importance – is fluid in accordance with the particular interpretation of Hinduism at stake, as for example, in various tantric interpretations of the Hindu theology. Accordingly, Kali is susceptible to the same general heterogeneity of meaning that is ascribed to gods and goddesses in any other mythology. However, this does not prevent the presentation of a possible “biography” of Kali, as there are certain clear tropes associated with the “Black Goddess”. In the following, we shall present a synopsis of Kali, through an account of the etymology of the name Kali; a description of Kali’s appearance; and various portrayals of Kali in significant texts and narratives of Hindu mythology and wisdom.  Accordingly, this biography shall support the thesis that there exists what we have termed an eschatological symbolism inherent to the goddess.

The biography of Kali as a deific figure in Hindu religion may begin with an analysis of the etymology of the name Kali in Sanskrit language. The etymological root of Kali remains consistent with various characteristics and functions attributed to Kali in both mythology and worship. Mircea Eliade traces the etymology of Kali to two crucial words in Sanskrit – the word kala, which means “time” and the word kali itself, which means black. It is thus that, for Eliade, Kali “has naturally been connected with the Sanskrit word kala ‘time’”. (64-65) That is to say, Kali may be interpreted as a certain personification of time. Moreover, it is the connection between the “Black” and time associated with the goddess Kali that recapitulates her primary function in the Hindu pantheon as a destroyer. As Eliade note this relation between time and black “is structurally justifiable: Time is “black” because it is irrational hard and pitiless; and Kali, like all the other Great Goddesses is the mistress of Time, of all the destinies that she forges and fulfils.” (65) The function of Kali is thus, as Eliade notes, related to the crucial connection between time and black: the image is that of a certain void of time, time as destroyer, insofar as the ascription of the color black to time suggests mortality and finitude in the sense that all things eventually are destroyed. This crucial etymological contiguity between “black” and “time” thus confers to Kali a certain destructive capability, one that is entirely consistent with, as we shall see, the portrayal of Kali in mythological narratives.

The concepts of death and time associated with Kali are reflected in both the descriptions and iconographic portrayals of Kali. These portrayals carry a meaning that suggests her specific deific role as introducing death into the realm of existence. This is especially clear in the physical description of Kali, which remains consistent across interpretations, as David Kinsley notes: “The goddess Kali is almost always described as having a terrible, frightening appearance.” (Hindu Goddesses, 116) Such consistent representations of Kali describe her as having black and dark skin, “naked” with “long, disheveled hair.” (Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, 116) Kali also bears fangs, with blood stains on either her mouth or on her arms, and wears “freshly cut heads as a necklace, children’s corpses as earrings, and serpents as bracelets.” (Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, 116) Such imagery lucidly suggests the violence associated with Kali. The depiction of Kali in the Kali Tantra recapitulates this image: “Most fearful, her laughter shows her dreadful teeth. She stands upon a corpse. She has four arms. Her hands hold a sword and a head and show the gestures of removing fear and granting boons…Her tongue hangs out. She wears a garland of heads.” (Danielou, 271)

The violent and murderous aspect of the physical appearance of Kali suggests the further continuity between the Black Goddess and the Hindu conception of time. Insofar as Kali etymologically refers to time, time is essentially destructive. Recalling Eliade’s above description, this destructiveness therefore does not merely suggest an “irrationality” conferred to time in the Hindu mythology, but rather a conception of time that goes beyond some binary opposition of rationality and irrationality, which would suggest some epistemological grounding of time. Rather, the depiction of Kali suggests that the Hindu conception of time is an ontological version of time, to the extent that Kali designates destruction, violence and death in her description. This is to say that time is not epistemological, something related to what can be known, but rather that time refers to a particular ontological destruction, the destruction of being itself. Alain Danielou’s account of Kali intimates such an interpretation: “Kali is represented as the supreme night, which swallows all that exists. She therefore stands upon “nonexistence,” upon the corpse of the ruined universe.” (271) Kali as the black of night, as the black of time, marks existence’s passage into nonexistence. Accordingly, we can understand that the Hindu ontology ends with time as nonexistence, as death, an ending point marked by Kali. As Danielou further describes this aspect of Kali, “She is, from the point of view of finite existence, the fearful destroyer of all that exists. As such she is known as the Power of Time.” (274) This eschatological function of Kali thus emphasizes the ontological annihilation synonymous with the Goddess.

Such a portrayal of Kali is also supported by a consideration of Kali’s relation to other divine figures in the Hindu pantheon.  Two such relations are of particular importance: Firstly, the role of Kali in relation to the goddesses of the Mahavidyas, in which she functions as the eschatological, ontological closure of black finitude; secondly, her crucial relationship as consort to Shiva. The Mahavidyas are the ten aspects of the goddess or the Divine Mother, otherwise known as Devi. These ten aspects are not only related to various forms of female divinity, but also present in their combined structure a manifestation of various ontological and non-ontological aspects. Kali is the crucial goddess of the Mahavidyas, as represented in the primary role she is given amongst the ten aspects. As Kinsley notes, “Although the order, number, and names of the Mahavidyas, may vary, Kali is always included and is usually named or shown first.” (Tantric Visions, 68) Thus, both the consistent presence of Kali within the Mahavidyas and the common depiction of Kali as occupying a primary position within the Mahavidyas affirms her centrality to this particular aspect of Hinduism. Moreover, according to Kinsley, it can be suggested that this importance of Kali suggests that “in some cases it seems apparent that the other Mahavidyas originate from Kali or are her differing forms.” (Tantric Visions, 68) Such an account is supported, as Kinsley notes, by the scripture of the Saktisamgama-tantra, which Kinsley cites: “All the deities, including the Mahavidyas, Siddhi-vidyas, and Upa-vidyas, are different forms that Kali assumes.” (Tantric Visions, 68) Thus, Kali, alongside her primary function as the eschatological end of ontology and finite existence, also manifests herself in the various aspects of the Mahavidyas. These various aspects can thus be understood as particular manifestations of various finite, ontological, beings such as the Mahavidya Devi of Lalita-Tripurasundan, the beautiful goddess. However, insofar as Kali is the ultimate goddess, this beauty is itself subject to the ultimate aspect of the Mahavidya, the death that is symbolized by Kali.

The terms of Kali’s relationship to the god Shiva are also of crucial importance to an understanding of the Goddess. Many scholars have debated the precise origin of Kali. Some associate her with a non-Aryan goddess according to her absence from the Book of Vedas. (Kinsley, The Sword and The Flute, 84) Others view her as a continuation of the Aryan goddesses of the Vedas (Kinsley, The Sword and the Flute, 84) Nevertheless, the exact origin of Kali is, in essence, secondary to the significance she has always been given, a significance, which as Kinsley notes, can be understood of as a product of “her association with Shiva.” (The Sword and The Flute, 101) Shiva’s prominence within Hinduism is great, whether in the Shaiva tradition as equivalent to a Supreme God, or as one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition. Thus, the association of Kali with such a significant god in the various Hindu traditions attests to her significance within the pantheon.

The forms of Kali’s relationship to Shiva are of particular importance to a comprehension of the Black Goddess. As Kinsley notes, there is a tradition of the portrayal of Kali and Siva “as mad partners in a cosmic dance that is destined to destroy the worlds.” (The Sword and the Flute, 105) Considering the aforementioned significant status of Shiva, the potentiality for Kali to partake in such a dance with Shiva, with the consequences of worldly destruction, supports the image of Kali in her destructive, eschatological form. Nevertheless, as Kinsley notes about the different versions of the narrative of the dance contest, “in every case Shiva is victorious.” (The Sword and the Flute, 105) Such an interpretation would at first glance seem to suggest that Shiva’s defeat of Kali, a goddess who is the “dark of night” destroying “finite existence” means that the interpretation of Kali’s role as ultimate destroyer is a misreading of the goddess. However, such an interpretation perhaps confuses the ultimate, final eschatological significance of Kali with the significance of Kali in the context of her specific relations with Shiva. That is to say, when considered in relation to Shiva, Kali’s destructive potential is minimized; however, when Kali is considered as a solitary figure this very potential becomes prominent. This difference becomes clear when Kinsley discusses the variants of this dance contest according to various local narratives: “The context of the tournament differs. In one case it is arranged to settle a debate about the superiority of the sexes.” (The Sword and the Flute, 105) Thus, in this case Kali could be understood not in terms of her ultimate eschatological significance, but rather as a femininity that is consistent with her role in relation to the feminine Devi of the Mahavidya. Kinsley describes another variation of this dance myth as follows: “Kali had just slain the demons Sumbha and Nishumba and becomes intoxicated by drinking their blood. She begins to create havoc and threatens the world itself. Siva is summoned to save the situation…She threatens to kill him but finally agrees to a dance tournament, in which she is eventually defeated and pacified.” (The Sword and the Flute, 105) This variation of the dance myth is important in two senses. Firstly, it recapitulates the destructive essence of Kali, insofar as she threatens the annihilation of the world according to drunken violence, one that is random, recalling Eliade’s association of Kali with the irrational as opposed to the rational. Secondly, the story once again demonstrates the subordination of Kali to Shiva. As in the first version of the story, this would seem to suggest a certain minimization of the destructive potentiality of Kali when placed in relation with Shiva: in these accounts of the dance myth, Shiva overcomes the eschatological destruction of Kali. This would seem to contradict the absolute destructiveness applied to Kali, rather representing a typical cyclical mythical battle between good and evil: Kali becomes this evil contrasted to the deific good of Shiva, and, in the last instance, this good overcomes evil. Nonetheless, despite such myths, there are also common iconographic depictions of Kali standing on the body of Shiva, as if to mark the ultimate defeat of Shiva and the end of ontological existence through the eschatological symbol of Kali. This depiction of Kali is consistent with the myth of Kali as the Killer of Raktabija, a demon. Raktabija, wounded by Durga in battle, does not die, but multiplies for every drop of his blood that strikes the ground. Kali is called to kill Raktabija, which she does by sucking the blood from his body, preventing him from multiplying. In her victory dance, she pounces on the dead bodies killed during the battle with Raktabija, one of which is Shiva. This myth thus suggests that the relationship between Shiva and Kali is not always one in which Shiva is victorious – the famousness of the Raktabija story and Kali’s ultimate victory would seem to indicate once again her eschatological supremacy.

Kali’s appearances in myth, her iconographic depictions and physical descriptions, her status in the Pantheon, and the Sanskrit etymology of her name demonstrates the importance of the Black Goddess in the Hindu pantheon as a figure of destruction and death. However, what is crucial to note is the very central role this goddess of destruction plays. Kali is essentially, as we have endeavored to show, an eschatological goddess, meaning that she is primarily a marker of the end of the world and of time. Kali thus lies outside of ontology: Kali is death, the death of individual beings and the death of being as a whole, thus evincing her importance to Hindu thought.

Works Cited

Danielou, Alain. The Myths and Gods of India. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1991.

Eliade, Mircea. Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991.

Kinsley, David R. Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1988.

Kinsley, David R. Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997.

Kinsley, David R. The Sword and the Flute: Kali and Krsna, Dark Visions of the  Terrible and the Sublime in Hindu Mythology. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1977.