page_title: Kali
section_title: Physical form
hierarchical_section_title: Kali / Symbolism / Physical form
caption_attribution_description: English: Maa Bhavatarini's face @ Dakshineshwar Kali Temple
context_page_description: Kali, also known as Kālikā or Shyāmā, is a Hindu goddess. Kali is the chief of the Mahavidyas, a group of ten Tantric goddesses.
  Kali's earliest appearance is that of a destroyer of evil forces. She is the most powerful form of Shakti, and the goddess of one of the four subcategories of the Kulamārga, a category of Tantric Saivism. She destroys the evil in order to protect the innocent. Over time, Kali has been worshipped by devotional movements and tantric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Adi Shakti, or Adi Parashakti. Shakta Hindu and Tantric sects additionally worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. She is also seen as the divine protector and the one who bestows moksha, or liberation. Kali is often portrayed standing or dancing on her consort, the Hindu god Shiva, who lies calm and prostrate beneath her. Kali is worshipped by Hindus throughout India and Nepal.
context_section_description: There are many varied depictions of the different forms of Kali. The most common form shows her with four arms and hands, showing aspects of both creation and destruction. The two right hands are often held out in blessing, one in a mudra saying "fear not" (abhayamudra), the other conferring boons. Her left hands hold a severed head and blood-covered sword. The sword severs the bondage of ignorance and ego, represented by the severed head. One interpretation of Kali's tongue is that the red tongue symbolizes the rajasic nature being conquered by the white (symbolizing sattvic) nature of the teeth. Her blackness represents that she is nirguna, beyond all qualities of nature, and transcendent.
  The most widespread interpretation of Kali's extended tongue involve her embarrassment over the sudden realization that she has stepped on her husband's chest. Kali's sudden "modesty and shame" over that act is the prevalent interpretation among Oriya Hindus. The biting of the tongue conveys the emotion of lajja or modesty, an expression that is widely accepted as the emotion being expressed by Kali. In Bengal also, Kali's protruding tongue is "widely accepted... as a sign of speechless embarrassment: a gesture very common among Bengalis."
  The twin earrings of Kali are small embryos. This is because Kali likes devotees who have childlike qualities in them. The forehead of Kali is seen to be as luminous as the full moon and eternally giving out ambrosia.
  Kali is often shown standing with her right foot on Shiva's chest. This represents an episode where Kali was out of control on the battlefield, such that she was about to destroy the entire universe.  Shiva pacified her by laying down under her foot to pacify and calm her. Shiva is sometimes shown with a blissful smile on his face. She is typically shown with a garland of severed heads, often numbering fifty. This can symbolize the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet and therefore as the primordial sound of Aum from which all creation proceeds. The severed arms which make up her skirt represent her devotee's karma that she has taken on.
caption: In Bengal and Orissa, Kali's extended tongue is widely seen as expressing embarrassment over the realization that her foot is on her husband's chest.[25][33][34][35]
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