Diwali: Goddess Kali in her 10 slendid forms

Nov12,2023

Maa Kali is also known as Chamunda as she had slayed the two notorious demons, Chanda and Munda. This violent form of the Goddess has blood flowing from her mouth.

Kali

She is the violent reincarnation of the Goddess of Knowledge, Saraswati. Being a tantric Goddess she lives at the edges of the organised Hindu religion.

Matangi Kali

Chinna Masta means beheaded. This Kali avatar holds its own severed head and the head drinks the blood coming out of the stump of her throat.

Chhinnamasta

She is the divine Goddess who presides over the affairs of the crematorium.

Shamsana Kali

She has a comparatively lighter complexion and is shown pulling out the tongues of the demons.

Bagala Kali

She is described as the harbinger of death in the scriptures and actually, she is only a Mother defending her children from the evils.

Bhairavi Kali

The most distinct feature of this violent form of Kali is her light blue colour. She is often shown naked to the waist and then clad in tiger skin.

Tara

She is just an adolescent girl rising from the navel of Lord Shiva and the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishu and Maheshwar (Shiva) are paying their respect to her.

Shodoshi

Down South, this form of Goddess Kali is worshipped as 'Gaja Lakshmi' as she has two elephants by her side

Kamala Kali

This is an exceptional representation of the Goddess as a widow. She is probably the only widowed Goddess in Hindu mythology.

Dhumavati