Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 751: Shri Maha kali (ōṃ mahākālyai namaḥ)

The Divine Mother is the great Kali.

The Divine Mother is Infinite Time, If we analyze the widely spread universe and the time factor, we can realize they all are part of the Divine Mother. Nobody can visualize the Divine Mother fully.

The Divine Mother is the Supreme Kali. That means She is entirely black; Kali has in all directions black colour as Her dress. She spreads eternally all over the universe which is called the “Tigambarai”. She wears garlands made with the skulls of even force (asuras), Therefore She is also called ‘Munda Malini’.

In all nature’s levels of the souls, they rise and fall due to time (kala) factor.

Mahakali’s fearful face and structure is to give fear to Her enemies and blessings to Her devotees. She has two conflicting things within her. Every soul has its time factor fixed. To correctly use such time is equal to worshiping the Divine Mother. For these who use their time purposefully, She is the blessing deity and for those who misuse their time, She is a fearful deity. Through suffering and fear, She punishes people misusing their time, to correct them to right means. So, these two aspects of Her nature within her are Her strength and glory.

All universal creatures have anxieties over the Divine Mother’s universal actions which are either positive or negative in nature. Those people with an egoistic nature ultimately suffer. Those devotees who understand Divine Mother know all things that are happening due to the Divine Mother’s blessings. They fall in the correct way and their ego disappears.

In Her one hand She has sword, and, in another hand, She has the head of asura, whom She had defeated and killed. So, those who go in inappropriate ways will have the punishment is the indication of the sword and dead man’s head in Her hands. Some people doing wrong things think that they have escaped the punishment, but their conscience creates fears within them. Ultimately this results in punishments for them.

Her two right hands have apaya mudra meaning protection for good people and Varatha mudra meaning boons for the good people, She blesses such people with Shivapadam for ultimate happiness. There is nothing more than this boon one needs in life. This is Mahakali’s excellent action.

Kali dark in complexion can be pronounced in two ways kali and Kalee, with the same meaning. Dark in complexion, She brings all beings from wandering to one directional focus. She destroys evil. While the Supreme Maha Vishnu is asleep, Brahma is disturbed by four asuras; Brahma prays to the Divine Mother who appears as Mahakali with Her ten hands and weapons and ten legs, three eyes and directs the MahaVishnu to destroy the auras. (The Shiva in Ujjain is called Mahakala which is a part of the twelve Jyothir lingams and Mahakali is His spouse or Shakti).

Kali is one who has transcended time or one who controls time. In fact, She is Time. The Divine Mother is Maha Kali with great prowess. One who transcends time and lifts us to the knowledge of Self, which is beyond past, present and future.

There is another belief that Kali was born out of Shiva’s third eye. Kali is black in colour; the deity installed in Ujjain is Mahakali. Also, today’s Kolkata was originally Kalighatta but became famous because of Kali.

The Divine Mother is the great Kali.

 

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 14 February 2022. Updated 01 May 2025.

References:

1.   The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.   Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.    The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sithbavandar