Mother Kali - 5

[Guest guest]

O Kali, my Mother full of Bliss! Enchantress of

the almighty Shiva!<br>In Thy delirious joy Thou

dancest, clapping Thy hands together!. . . .<br>Thou art

the Mover of all that move, and we are but Thy

helpless toys.<br><br>(I am not sure about the poet who

wrote this. If anyone can help I would be glad. It may

be Kamalakanta or Ramaprasad. Ramprasad's songs -

majority of them are based on the Prasad raag {again I

think so, I am not sure}The original Bengali version is

:<br>Sadananda Moi Kali, Mahakaler MonoMohini<br>Tumi aapni

naacho, aapni gao<br>Apni dao ma

korotali......<br>...............<br>tomar kormo tumi koro ma, lokey boley kori

aami<br>.........)<br><br>Kali and her attendants dance to rhythms pounded out

by Shiva (Lord of destruction) and his animal-headed

attendants who dwell in the Himalayas. Associated with chaos

and uncontrollable destruction, Kali's own retinue

brandishes swords and holds aloft skull cups from which they

drink the blood that intoxicates them. Kali, like

Shiva, has a third eye, but in all other respects the

two are distinguished from one another. In contrast

to Shiva's sweet expression, plump body, and ash

white complexion, dark kali's emaciated limbs, angular

gestures, and fierce grimace convey a wild intensity. Her

loose hair, skull garland, and tiger wrap whip around

her body as she stomps and claps to the rhythm of the

dance.<br><br>Many stories describe Kali's dance with Shiva as one

that "threatens to destroy the world" by its savage

power. Art historian Stella Kramrisch has noted that the

image of kali dancing with Shiva follows closely the

myth of the demon Daruka. When Shiva asks his wife

Parvati to destroy this demon, she enters Shiva's body

and transforms herself from the poison that is stored

in his throat. She emerges from Shiva as Kali,

ferocious in appearance, and with the help of her flesh

eating retinue attacks and defeats the demon. Kali

however became so intoxicated by the blood lust of battle

that her aroused fury and wild hunger threatened to

destroy the whole world. She continued her ferocious

rampage until Shiva manifested himself as an infant and

lay crying in the midst of the corpse-strewn field.

Kali, deceived by Shiva's power of illusion, became

calm as she suckled the baby. When evening approached,

Shiva performed the dance of creation (tandava) to

please the goddess. Delighted with the dance, Kali and

her attendants joined in. <br><br>(Tarapeeth, in

today's Bengal has pictures of Kali as the mother and

Shiva as the child. BamaKhepa or Khepa thakur used to

worship Kali here). <br><br><br>.....contd.