Guest guest Posted February 24, 2002 Report Share Posted February 24, 2002 You're right Adi, this is an unusual depiction of Kali Devi. Like so much Tantric art, it is full of shocking imagery that forces us to come to terms not only with meaning - but with our own reaction to that meaning. In this painting, Shiva - upon whose corpse Kali is usually shown treading - is absent. In his place are two figures representing, I believe, Kama (Earthly Love/Lust) and his consort Rati (Sexual Intercourse). They appear to be dead, and are about to be consumed by cremation fire, which is symbolism more commonly associated with the Chinnamasta form of Devi. The difference is, with Chinnamasta, the copulating couple is usually shown as alive. Obviously, the "meaning" of that symbolism could be the subject of a lifetime of meditations, or at least a scholarly dissertation. Chinnamasta in some way represents Devi as the Cycle of Nature, endlessly sacrificing Herself to nourish Her children, but in time consuming those children in order to replenish Herself. The copulating couple graphically illustrates the fecundity of Creation, drawing energy from Chinnamasta even as She draws energy from them. In this rendering, Kali represents Devi as Cosmic Destruction - the end of Nature's Cycle. So I guess it would only make sense that Kama and Rati would be consumed by Her with the rest of Creation. Moreover, Kali's partial exposure of Her Yoni seems to portend the imminent return of all to the Source from which it originally emerged. The dark, inchoate "cloud" in the background reminds me of the primordial "nothingness" that reigns between periods of creation and destruction. That's my two-minute analysis, at least. I'm sure that you, Adi, or many other members could throw further light on this interesting subject. Aum Maatangyai Namahe --- adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16 wrote: > hi db, a question for you! > > i find the iconography of 'kali' rather intiguing > and unique... kali > is depicting not on the usual supine figure of shiva > but another > woman who is lying on another person... cannot make > out who that > is... > > could you kindly expain this ? its origins as well ? > > > love > > Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games http://sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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