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Indian Goddesses - K
Kadru
The Hindu mother of the Nagas (the serpent race); the wife of Kasyapa. |
Kali
The goddess in the aspect of Liberator. Unlike much Western mythology,
Hinduism at all times has recognized the feminine principle, most prominently
in the form of Kali, the consort to Shiva or Shiva-Shakti. The male power,
inert, is useless without this energizing female power, conceived of in
its benign form as Parvati, and in its fierce or destructive form as Kali.
In this terrifying aspect, the goddess drips blood from her devouring
mouth, and her huge sword has beheaded the demon Ignorance, while her
other two hands signify the blessing implied by this penultimate spiritual
deed. The Ancient Goddess, in her warrior aspect of Inanna, Medusa or
Athena, served a similar psycho-spiritual function in western cultures.
She is the Mother who purges us of fear, anger, jealousy and grief, then
nurses us back to balance in the ultimate act of soul-healing. Beneath
her frightening appearance lies the truth that life, though sometimes
fraught with suffering, is rooted in joy. "The whole universe is
created by Kali," says the Shiva Purana. Her luxuriantly flowing
hair and outstretched arms reveal her power over Time, while quiet-gazing
Shiva supports her. Kali's garland of demon heads represents both her
detachment from the world and her inner nature of deep compassion. Her
fierce wisdom slays ignorance, giving bloom to flowers of hope and healing.
Kubler-Ross and other psychotherapists (especially the practitioners of
Gestalt therapy and Re-evaluation Counseling) insist on our need to ventilate,
externalize, or discharge these feeling, either through tears, rageful
yelling, or symbolic destroying. Kali of the fearsome form is the patroness
of such healing. Kali emanates from the warrior goddess Durga in times
of peril, and like a bloodthirsty whirlwind slays the demons of ignorance
which conflict the human mind. In her greatest of such archetypal battles,
Lord Shiva had to throw himself at her feet to halt her. Dancing upon
his body, she calmed and brought the universe back to life, as symbolized
by Shiva's enigmatic smile.
Her dance of destruction is ultimately the destruction of evil, and seekers
who throw themselves at her feet are reborn out of pain into vitality,
spontaneity, and appreciation of the full joy and beauty of existence.
Hindus recognize that beneath her frightening appearance is the truth
that life, though fraught with suffering and terminated in death, is ultimately
rooted in joy.
All ancient traditions created archetypes of this wisdom. The Greek Medusa,
the medieval Hecate, the Yoruban Oya, the Celtic Morrigan, the Norse Valkyerie,
and the Mayan Ixchel each tell us that to realize this joy, suffering
and death must be faced. Only by conquering them through recognizing them
as portals of rebirth, thereby reconciling them with ones hopes and expectations,
can peace and joy be found.
Kali is the destructive aspect of the goddess. She is usually pictured
as a black goddess, for time has no color. The string of arms around her
waist represent the lives that are born again and again in the cycle of
reincarnation or samsara. She holds a cup in which she has caught the
blood of the head she has just decapitated. But Kali's raised right hand
is in the mudra "Be not afraid." She is dancing on her consort,
Lord Shiva. One interpretation of this image is that after the goddess
slew the buffalo demon, she got drunk on its blood and started to destroy
indiscriminately and with wild abandon. (Remember, the problem is not
power, but how to keep power under control.) In an effort to calm her,
Shiva lay down and let her dance on him, bringing an end to her rampage.
Kali is represented with four arms; in one hand she has a sword, in another
the head of the demon she has slain, with the other two she is encouraging
her worshippers. For earrings she has two dead bodies and wears a necklace
of skulls ; her only clothing is a girdle made of dead men's hands, and
her tongue protrudes from her mouth. Her eyes are red, and her face and
breasts are besmeared with blood. She stands with one foot on the thigh,
and another on the breast of her husband.
Black Earth Mother, Conqueror of Time, Goddess of fertility, death and
regeneration. Dark Mother, Hindu triple Goddess of creation, preservation
and destruction. Birth and Death Mother. Treasure house of Compassion,
Giver of Life to the World. Her mantras brought into being the very things
whose names She spoke for the first time, Originator of the creative word
or Logos. A triple Goddess - Maiden, Mother, Crone. Lady of the Dead.
The Ocean of Blood at the beginning and end of the world. Also known as
Jagadamba.
Kali's fierce appearances have been the subject of extensive descriptions
in several earlier and modern works. Though her fierce form is filled
with awe- inspiring symbols, their real meaning is not what it first appears-
they have equivocal significance:
Kali's blackness symbolizes her all-embracing, comprehensive nature, because
black is the color in which all other colors merge; black absorbs and
dissolves them. 'Just as all colors disappear in black, so all names and
forms disappear in her' (Mahanirvana Tantra). Or black is said to represent
the total absence of color, again signifying the nature of Kali as ultimate
reality. This in Sanskrit is named as nirguna (beyond all quality and
form). Either way, Kali's black color symbolizes her transcendence of
all form. She is also known as Kalikamata ("black earth-mother")
and Kalaratri ("black night"). Among the Tamils she is known
as Kottavei. Kali is worshipped particularly in Bengal. Her best known
temples are in Kalighat and Dakshineshvara.
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Kalindi
A Hindu goddess, one of the later wives of Krishna. |
Kamashi
('wanton-eyed') One of the benign aspects of Parvati, she may have been
an early Hindu fertility goddess. |
Kangra
Goddess, The
A Hindu goddess. The Rajahs of Kangra claim to be descended from the perspiration
of her brow. |
Kanya
('girl') One of the most ancient Hindu goddesses, she is represented the
the constellation Virgo. |
Kariteimo
Originally an Indian Buddhist goddess who devoured children, she later
became a protectress of children whose cult spread to China and Japan.
She is depicted standing, with a baby at her breast holding a flower of
happiness; or seated and surrounded by children.
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Khamadhenu
(Khamden) ('Cow of Plenty') A Hindu mother goddess universally worshipped
in India, capable of granting all desires. She is regarded as the ancestress
of the Mlechchas (everyone in the world outside of the four Hindu castes. |
Kisa
Gotami
An Indian Buddhist who is said to have been the first of an order of nuns
set up by Buddha, in spite of his reservations about women. |
Krittikas,
the
The Hindu goddesses associated with the constellation Pleiades. |
Krtya
Hindu Goddess of witchcraft.
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Kubjika
Hindu goddess of pottery.
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Kuhu
The Hindu goddess of the new moon. |
Kumari
('girl', 'daughter') A Hindy and Tamil goddess who was celebrated by girls
who ran races along the beaches in her honour. An aspect of Parvati, she
is probably of earlier origin. |
Kundalini
('coiled') The feminine serpent force, especially in relation to organic
and inorganic matter; the universal life force manifested in electricity
and magnetism. This force moves in a counter-clockwise spiral from the
base of the spine up to the brain, and can be devastating if the initiate
is not properly prepared. |
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