![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (September 2022) |
Mahakali | |
---|---|
Mother Goddess Goddess of Time and Death[1] | |
Member of Mahavidya | |
![]() Mahakali, National Museum, Delhi | |
Devanagari | महाकाली |
Sanskrit transliteration | Mahākālī |
Affiliation | Parvati, Shaktism, Kali, Lakshmi, Tridevi, Saraswati |
Abode | Manidvipa |
Mantra | ॐ क्रीं कालिकायै नमः oṁ krīṁ kālikāyai namaḥ ॐ काली महाकाली कालिके परमेश्वरी सर्वानंद करे देवी नारायणी नमोस्तुते: om Kali Mahakali Kalike Parameshwari Sarvanand kare Devi Narayani Namostute |
Weapon | Dhāl shield, trishul, sword, dagger, akshay patra, bow and arrow, scimitar, cobra, gada, the Vedas, chakram, noose, vajra, conch |
Mahakali (Sanskrit: महाकाली, romanized: Mahākālī) is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. She is also known as the supreme being in various Tantras and Puranas.
Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the consort of Bhairava, the god of consciousness, the basis of reality and existence. Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is etymologically the feminised variant of Mahakala, or Great Time (which is also interpreted as Death), an epithet of the deities Narasimha and Shiva in Hinduism.