The Kalika Purana depicts her as the "Adi Shakti" (Fundamental Power) and "Para Prakriti" or beyond nature. The tenth century Kalika Purana venerates Kali as the ultimate reality or Brahman.Īccording to David Kinsley, Kali is first mentioned in Hinduism as a distinct goddess around 600 CE, and these texts "usually place her on the periphery of Hindu society or on the battlefield." She is often regarded as the Shakti of Shiva, and is closely associated with him in various Puranas. She most famously appears in the sixth century Devi Mahatmyam as one of the shaktis of Mahadevi, and defeats the demon Raktabija. She is called Kalaratri (literally, "black night") and appears to the Pandava soldiers in dreams, until finally she appears amidst the fighting during an attack by Drona's son Ashwatthama. The first appearance of Kali in her present form is in the Sauptika Parvan of the Mahabharata (10.8.64). Kali is the name of one of the seven tongues of Agni, the Rigvedic God of Fire, in the Mundaka Upanishad (2:4), but it is unlikely that this refers to the goddess. Hugh Urban notes that although the word Kali appears as early as the Atharva Veda, the first use of it as a proper name is in the Kathaka Grhya Sutra (19.7). However, the words Kali ("black, time") and kali ("weak, crude, inarticulate") are etymologically unrelated, and the goddess Kali is not associated with Kali Yuga in Hinduism. Kali is frequently confused with the word kali, as in Kali Yuga or the demon Kali. Kali's association with blackness stands in contrast to her consort, Shiva, whose body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation ground (Sanskrit: smasana) in which he meditates, and with which Kali is also associated, as smasana-kali. Coburn notes that the name Kali can be used as a proper name, or as a description of color. Other names include Kalaratri ("black night"), as described above, and Kalika ("relating to time"). The nineteenth century Sanskrit dictionary, the Shabdakalpadrum, states: ? - ? kala? siva? tasya patniti kali - "Shiva is Kala, thus his wife is Kali." Kala primarily means "black," but also means "time." Kali means "the black one" and also "time" or "beyond time." Kali is strongly associated with Shiva, and Shaivas derive her feminine name from the masculine Kala (an epithet of Shiva). Kali is the feminine of kala ("black, dark coloured"). She is the foremost among the Dasa Mahavidyas, ten fierce Tantric goddesses. She is associated with many other Hindu goddesses like Durga, Bhadrakali, Sati, Rudrani, Parvati and Chamunda.
Kali is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kali as a benevolent mother goddess. She is also revered as Bhavatarini (literally "redeemer of the universe"). Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shakta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence. Hence, Kali is considered the goddess of time and change. Since Shiva is called Kala - the eternal time, Kali, his consort, also means "the Time" or "Death" (as in time has come). "She who destroys".The name Kali comes from kala, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali (Sanskrit: ?, IPA: Bengali: ? Tamil: ?) Telugu: ?), also known as Kalika (Sanskrit: ?, Bengali: ?), is the Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy. Appendices that include a Quick Grammar Reference Section, tables on measurements, conversions, chemical elements, etc have been included to help users access such information easily. Another feature that has been expressly added to help with comprehension, particularly of scientific and technical vocabulary, is the inclusion of diagrams and line-drawings. Given the interest in the country in acquiring good spoken skills in English, apart from lots of help with vocabulary, a lot of attention has been paid in the dictionary in providing help with pronunciation through the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. The dictionary carries a large number of usage notes in Tamil that explain key elements of English grammar and writing as well as help with active vocabulary building.
It also includes many words relevant to the cultural context of the Indian Subcontinent as also Indian English words that have become a part of English usage. The word list covers areas such as computing, business studies, sciences, geography, mathematics, literature, the arts, agriculture, law and politics. This English-English-Tamil dictionary, the first of its kind in India, is a bilingual dictionary covering a wide range of vocabulary from different subject areas and interests.