Kali
Kali (; Sanskrit: काली, IAST: Kālī), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death, and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, goddesses who provide liberating knowledge. Of the numerous Hindu goddesses, Kali is held to be the most famous. She is the preeminent deity in the Hindu tantric and the Kalikula worship traditions, and is a central figure in the goddess-centric sects of Hinduism as well as in Shaivism. Kali is chiefly worshipped as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, and Divine feminine energy.
The origins of Kali can be traced to the pre-Vedic and Vedic era goddess worship traditions in the Indian subcontinent. Etymologically, Kali refers to one who governs time or is black. The first major appearance of Kali in Sanskrit literature is in the sixth-century CE text Devi Mahatmya. Kali appears in many stories, the most popular recounting her personification of the goddess Durga's rage to defeat the demon Raktabija. The terrifying iconography of Kali makes her unique among the goddesses and symbolises her embrace and embodiment of the grim worldly realities of blood, death and destruction.
Kali is stated to protect and bestow liberation (moksha) to devotees who approach her as a child towards a mother. Devotional songs and poems that extol the motherly nature of Kali are popular in Bengal, where she is most widely worshipped as the Divine Mother. Shakta and Tantric traditions additionally worship Kali as the ultimate reality or Brahman. In modern times, Kali has emerged as a significant symbol for women.
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