Kali: The Goddess of Destruction (Hindu Mythology/Religion Explained)

Many see Kali as a destructive force, one who represents fury, sexuality and even some form of evil. But in actuality, there is a lot more to Kali than meets the eye where she is portrayed as a primordial mother of goodness.

➧Check out these playlists!

Music by Brandon/Derek Fietcher

Artwork: Contact me for credit if I have used your artwork

Artwork from the computer games Smite and Minerva Knights used.

#Hinduism #Mythology

[krushna]

When I was a little child and got scared of dark places or my imaginary ghosts, demons etc., My mother would show me Goddess Kali and tell me to take her name and remember her and she would take care of the demons. It was really helpful.

[kotaniyumiko]

A mother protecting her children 🙏 In nature male animals get aggressive when their territory is threatened but female animals? They get aggressive to protect their offspring, that is what Kali is.

[--Paws--]

In other words a man's rage is quelled by a woman's touch but nothing can surpass the wrath of a woman scorned.

[samanthalewin]

She is a very misunderstood goddess. In the west a lot of people view her sa evil, but when you understand what she stands for, you learn to respect her.

[nilli]

My favourite maa kali story is the one where she goes to battle and her rage almost destroys the world but lord Shiva comes in the form of a child and her maternal instincts calm her down. To me she is all women. Jai maa kali

[basedbattledroid]

I remember growing up in a fairly abusive home, Dad was an alcoholic and very violent, tried to drown me, pushed my brother and I in front of a train, very violent towards my mother, brother and I.

Mum was Hindu but Dad was Catholic, but as things got desperate and stuff like Child Protective services were useless; Mum started turning to religion, seemed like her only option, she even sat us down and said "I'm going to invoke Kali, because I want you two to be safe" she showed us a painting of Kali, said that she looks scary but she's not a monster, she deals with monsters. Probably the goriest image I remember seeing as a child was the garland of severed heads but Mum explained they're all the severed heads of criminals and murderers and bad people.

And one day, almost directly after we finished doing the prayer to ask for Kali's protection; Dad was coming home all drunk, ready to beat us when he suddenly stopped frozen, got in the car and left. It was extremely out of character, We were all shocked.

It wasn't until later when Mum was seeing a psychic and the psychic kind of got a fright from seeing her, she immediately asked "did you invoke Kali?" Mum asked "how did you know?" She then said "She's standing right behind you".

Her psychic then recommended that for most cases; if you want protection, it's more wise to invoke Durga for most cases, Kali is great for emergencies when you have no other option; but she can be brutal, walks a fine line.

So I thank Kali for everything she's done to protect us, although I hope that the circumstances that caused us to pray to her to begin with don't arise.

[bizarreworld]

Mother Kali personifies destruction in the way that if her loved ones are hurt, her rage will destroy the people who hurt them.

[arijitpalit]

We Bengalis literally have a section of our folk songs dedicated to her, those are known as shyama sangeet.

[matyewlelikovna]

I'm Russian and have no ties to india, but I'm drawn to kali and I'm fascinated by her. she's the queen.

[ladycrystalr-u.s.a]

She's my absolute favorite of the Hindu gods/goddesses. I mention her name almost daily.

[r.h.]

Its so fascinating to me that in hinduism the god of power (shakti) is a goddess, a woman and she is mother of god of war, Kartikeya and warriors used to pray to Goddess Durga/Kali/Shakti to give them power....seems to me hinduism indicates that women are more powerful then men and they should be respected as well

[Chitipotro]

Goddess Kali represent all women's hidden power, girls are not weak, if she create and protect then she also be strong

[saffiyehbrandhijaffer-mcne]

She is not ever a soul devouring Evil Goddess...
She Kills the Demons of Sinfullness.Anger. Hatred.Addiction.
She Never Hurts Lord Shiva. It Means She is Poweful Enough to Even rise over God . She is manifested from Durga yes.

[Tony_TK]

Durga: *gets mad fighting demons
Demons: why do I hear doom music?

[akshaykumar-hrcx]

Kali is the goddess of Time. Her devotee becomes free from the effect of time and can travel freely past and future.

[PARALLELPEOPLEAKSHAYB]

I find great symbolic meanings and great lessons from every Hindu God and Goddess... Such a beauty and freedom of thought I never get from other religions...

[TheLeoGoddess]

I loved her in High School which my Hindu friends in college were shocked I knew who she was and that I loved her. I never feared her but I knew never to cross her.

[mokshakalidas]

I am an ardent devotee of Maha Kali... she is my mother . She loves me protects me.

[Emeronite]

Parvati = Base form
Durga = Super Saiyan
Kali = Super Saiyan Blue.

[sharmsoobramoney]

Thank you for doing this. You approach Hinduism with an open-mind and are very respectful with our stories. I appreciate that.