Bhadrakaalii

[Guest guest]

I'm so happy to find this group. I have a two related questions that I

have spent a large amount of time researching and cannot find answers

for. I have posted them on a couple of related groups, so for anyone

in them as well, I apologize.

 

Traditionally, Dakshinaa Kaalii is portrayed with sword and severed

head in upper and lower left hands, while Her upper and lower right

hands are showing abhaya and boon-giving mudras. However, there are a

number of right-food forward images of Mother Kaalii in which She is

holding severed head and skull bowl in upper and lower left hands,

sword and trident in upper and lower right hands. Is this considered a

seperate form of Kaalii with a specific name? What is the significance

of the iconographic differences?

 

The other question is concerning Bhadrakaalii. What is her traditional

iconographic portrayal. How does She differ from Dakshina Kaalii?

 

I have suspected for a while that the form mentioned in my first

question is Bhadrakaalii, but having done considerable research, I

cannot find out for certain. I once saw a picture of a kholam made at

the beginning of a mudiyettu performance in Kerala of Bhadrakaalii

represented in this way.

 

Without access to a translation of the Tantrasaara, I cannot find

definitive answers to my questions, and it may be that regional

differences in India make "definitive" answers impossible, but any

light that anyone could share on this topic would be so greatly

appreciated by this idiot son of our Glorious Kaalii Maa, the Ruler of

All Universes and Mother of All Creatures.

 

Jai Kaalii Maa

--Aravind

[Guest guest]

Greetings Aravind

 

Thank you for posting your questions, and welcome to the group. I

asked almost the same question sometime back with regards to

Dakshinaa Kali [ see post 2118 ]. You will be able to get your answer

in http://www.kalimandir.org

 

Om ParaShaktiye Namaha

[Guest guest]

Namaskar Aravind!

 

A little while back, you asked, "concerning Bhadrakaalii ... what is

her traditional iconographic portrayal?" And in your message to Adi,

again referenced "Bhadrakali, which I have been trying to find a

description of for a very long time."

 

I had meant to offer some reply to your first query, but -- as my

recent absence from the message board suggests -- I've been

preoccupied with some offline concerns. I do not have the specific

book you about Adi about, but I do have some iconographical

information on Bhadrakali that *might* be helpful to you.

 

Unfortunately, I can only quote a secondary source -- namely, a

series of 32 miniature paintings executed by an unknown artist

between 1660 and 1670, in Basohli, a former principality in the

Punjab Hills. These 32 paintings were part of an original set of at

least 70, each illustrating one shloka (hymn) of a Tantric series

devoted to Devi. Several portray different aspects of Bhadrakali and

are accompanied by Her descriptive dhyanas.

 

But what is the original source text? That's the question. An essay I

read on the subject ("Mysterious Origins: The Tantric Devi Series

from Basohli," by Terence McInerney) says the hymns came from "an

unidentified Sanskrit text that invokes the Great Goddess in language

of incantatory power. ... Varying in length from two to nine lines,

each poem is neatly inscribed in devanagari script on the reverse

side of the painting it accompanies. ... The poems and paintings

focus on the presiding figure of Devi with single-minded intensity."

 

This so-called "Tantric Devi Series" of paintings, with their

accompanying shlokas, are now spread all over the world: 11 in India

and Pakistan; eight in Europe and the U.S.; and 13 in various private

collections around the world. Sixteen of them were gathered together

in 1999 for an exhibit at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C., and

you can find excellent-quality reproductions of them in the

exhibition book, "Devi: The Great Goddess," edited by Vidya Dehejia.

 

(Continued ...)