350--Q&A WITH SWAMIJI--Depictions of Kali

[Guest guest]

Question from Kalidas:

How many heads does kali have in her garland? 108, or 50 for the

letters of the sanskrit alphabet?

 

Swamiji's response:

Different images have various amounts. I have seen both of those and

many others, often determined by the convenience of the artist.

 

Question from Kalidas:

What does it mean when Kali sometimes seems to be depicted holding a

sword, trident, head and skullcup, as opposed to a sword, head, and

the two mudras? i seem to be attracted to the second version, and it

seems easier for me to visualize, too, for some reason.

 

Swamiji's response:

The first is Kali and the second Chamunda.

[Guest guest]

Jai Maa!

 

May I ask a follow up question? I have a poster of

the Chamunda image mentioned below. I do not perform

my Kali Puja to it, even though I love it dearly,

because it does not match the Dakshina Kali dhyanam.

Is it OK to perform the puja to this image without the

dhyanam matching, or is there a Chamunda dhyanam I

should use instead. Would then the sankalpa and mula

mantra for the puja need to change?

 

My prostrations at the lotus feet of Shree Maa and

Swamiji

 

Aravind

 

> Question from Kalidas:

> What does it mean when Kali sometimes seems to be

> depicted holding a

> sword, trident, head and skullcup, as opposed to a

> sword, head, and

> the two mudras? i seem to be attracted to the second

> version, and it

> seems easier for me to visualize, too, for some

> reason.

>

> Swamiji's response:

> The first is Kali and the second Chamunda.