Guest guest Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 Who is the Woman yonder who lights the field of battle? Darker HER body gleams evn than the darkest storm-cloud, AND FROM HER TEETH THERE FLASH THE LIGHTENING'S BLINDING FLAMES! Dishevelled Her hair is flying behind as she rushes about, undaunted in this war between the gods and the demons laughing her terrible laugh, she slays the fleeing asuras. and with her dazzling flashes She bares the horror of war. How beautiful on Her brow the drops of moisture appear! about the dense black hair the bees are buzzing swarms; The moon has veiled its face, beholding the *sea of beauty* Tell us who can She be, this SORCERESS? *wonder of wonders* Siva HIMSELF, like a corpse, lies vanquished at HER feet Kamalkanta has guesseed who SHE is , with the elephant gait; She is none other than KALI, MOther of all the worlds. POET KAMALKANTA- A KALI BHAKTA Jai mahakali! jai gurudeva! ********************************************************************** now , some questions for kali-bhaktas... 1) is goddess kali different from kali of the mahavidyas? 2) why is the apex in the kali sri yantra pointing downwards ? 3) kali was born out of the brow of maa furga as per devi mahatmiyam - so that makes kali the daughter of Durga maa. but , the puranas also say that kali is another name for parvati - since shiva teased parvati about her 'dark' complexion, parvati reincarnated as 'kali' (the black goddess) and also as 'gauri' the golden hued goddess.... so is kali another name for parvati? members, please share your wisdom and insights on this great mahavidya. love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2002 Report Share Posted May 23, 2002 Dear Adi_Shakthi, >now , some questions for kali-bhaktas... >1) is goddess kali different from kali of the mahavidyas? <snip> >3) kali was born out of the brow of maa furga as per devi mahatmiyam - > so that makes kali the daughter of Durga maa. but , the puranas also >say that kali is another name for parvati - since shiva teased >parvati about her 'dark' complexion, parvati reincarnated as 'kali' >(the black goddess) and also as 'gauri' the golden hued goddess.... >so is kali another name for parvati? >members, please share your wisdom and insights on this great >mahavidya. Very interesting questions! As your first question suggests, the name Kali doesn't necessarily mean exactly the same thing in different writings. Sometimes it refers to a fighting goddess born from the brow of Durga. Sometimes it refers to Parvati, the daughter of the mountain god Himalaya. Sometimes it refers to the eternal Goddess, who is said to incarnate as Parvati. A verse from the Kalika Purana (chapter 44 verse 54 of the text as edited by Pancanana Tarkaratna) evam kali mahamaya yoganidra jagatprasuh purvam dakshayani bhutva pascad girisutabhavat I translate.. Thus Kali Mahamaya Yoganidra who gives birth to the world first became the daughter of Daksha and afterwards the daughter of the mountain. The names Mahamaya and Yoganidra are also found in the Devi Mahatmya. They refer to the Great Goddess, the World Mother. There is also a verse in the Devi Mahatmya (chapter 12 verse 38) where the Great Goddess is called Mahakali. Is this Great Goddess the same as the Kali (also called Chamunda) who is born out of the brow of Durga, and who merges back into Durga before the duel with Shumbha? I don't think so. That Chamunda Kali is an embodiment of the consuming wrath of the World Mother. She represents an essential part, yet only a part, of the Mother's character. Returning to your first question: >1) is goddess kali different from kali of the mahavidyas? There is a narrative about Kali of the Mahavidyas in the Mahabhagavata Purana, cited at length in the book _Principles of Tantra_ edited by Sir John Woodroffe. (The Mahabhagavata Purana is not the same book as the Devibhagavata Purana, or even the Bhagavata Purana!) In this text, Sati tells Shiva that she intends to attend Daksha's yajna. Shiva tried to forbid her from going. Sati then vanishes from Shiva's sight. In her place, Shiva see Dakshina Kali. He is frightened, although Kali cries "Fear not!". He tries to run away, but sees a different Mahavidyas in each of the eight points of the compass, and also above and below him -- ten in all. Shiva then begs Kali to tell him who she is, where Sati has gone, and who the Mahavidyas are. Kali declares that she is the Mahaprakriti (English equivalent: 'Great Nature'), the creator and destroyer; and that it is she who has incarnated as Sati; and that the other Mahavidyas are her forms. Shiva then says: "Devi, I know that Thou art Paramesvari, the best, perfect and supreme Prakriti. Pardon me the unbecoming words which, overpowered by delusion, I have in forgetfulness used towards Thee. Thou are the primal supreme Vidya who existeth in all created things. Thou art independent and supreme. Thou art Shakti. Who is there to order Thee to do or to desist from doing anything? ... Do Thou as it pleases Thee." Om Shantih, Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2002 Report Share Posted May 23, 2002 Namaste, colin! thanks for a detailed response. you never cease to amaze me! colin, there is a newcomer to this group . Her name is merrilynwiz. She seems to be genuinely interested in learning all aspects of the divine mother worship. she has neen reading the 'old' posts from the archives and asking some pertinent questions. please read post 2115 - merrilyn asks " is there nature worship in shaktism " etc.... i tried to answer but i just borrowed from a web source saying 'prakriti' means nature and the divine mother is called prakriti as she is the supreme creatrix . (pra- means supreme- krithi -art of creation) and then i explain how in vedic times, we worshipped AGNI, WIND, WATER ETC.,.. but, colin, could you please read her post and give merrilyn a more satisfactory explanation ? thanks.... ********************************************************************** here is a poem to celebrate kali tattwa The black bee of my mind is drawn in sheer delight to the blue lotus flower of mother shyama's feet the blue flower of the feet of kali, siva's consort tasteless. to the bee, are the blossoms of desire, my mother's feet are black, and balck too is the bee black is made one with black! this much of the mystery my moral eyes behold, then mostly retreat but kamalakanta's hopes are answered to the end he swims in the sea of bliss, unmoved by joy or pain. kamalkant- a kali bhakta ********************************************************************** love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2002 Report Share Posted May 23, 2002 Yes we do have nature worship in Shaktism Vandurga is all about that and akin to the wicca way of invoking powers of nature. We still consider Vayu, Varun as demi-gods. Will think more on this and post for Lynn. Kallikaputri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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