Mahākālī

Mahākālī is the first manifestation of the Devī, the supreme Śakti of Parabrahman. She first appeared on Phālguna Śukla Daśamī, when Brahmā prayed to her during the danger from Madhu and Kaiṭabha. She is Yoganidrā, the cosmic yoga-sleep itself. She is the Mahāmāyā who keeps Bhagavān Vishṇu asleep during the dissolution of the world and withdraws from him at creation. She is the final cause behind all the work of the cosmos.

The Umā Saṃhitā names her as a form of Umā-Devī, one of Umā’s chief manifestations through the yugas.

Who she is

Mahākālī is both the cosmic Māyā that binds and the Vidyā (knowledge) that frees. The ṛshi Medhasa teaches Suratha and Samādhi Vaiśya that she is the Śakti of Parabrahman. She is not a separate devī. She is the working power of the Supreme, through which every cosmic task is done. She moves through the three guṇas: sattva, rajas and tamas. Through her Brahmā creates, Vishṇu preserves and Rudra dissolves. The Umā Saṃhitā teaches this in Chapter 45.

Brahmā’s prayer names her in these ways:

  • Yoganidrā-svarūpā, the form of cosmic sleep that holds Vishṇu during pralaya (dissolution)
  • Mahāpralaya-rātrī, the night of the great dissolution
  • Moha-rūpā, the source of the first delusion that binds all beings
  • Jagat-kāraṇa, the final cause of the universe
  • Vidyā-svarūpā, the form of all knowledge and all vidyās
  • Svāhā for the devas and Svadhā for the pitṛs
  • Kshamā (forbearance), Pushṭi (nourishment), Śānti (peace), Tṛshṇā (hunger) and Kṛpā (compassion)

All these are declared to be her own form (svarūpa). The Umā Saṃhitā gives this in Chapter 45.

Prādurbhāva: her first appearing

Madhu and Kaiṭabha had arisen from the earwax of the sleeping Vishṇu. They were about to destroy Brahmā. Brahmā prayed to Mahāmāyā to save him, and she answered on Phālguna Śukla Daśamī.

She came out of Vishṇu’s eyes, his face and his whole body. She drew back her yoga-sleep and so woke him. She spoke from the sky:

“Brahmā, do not fear. I will slay Madhu and Kaiṭabha.”

The power of the Devī, working through Vishṇu, then led to a fight of five thousand years. She cast moha (delusion) on Madhu and Kaiṭabha, so that they offered Vishṇu a vara (a boon). In the end they were slain on the wide expanse of Vishṇu’s thigh, the only dry land in the flooded world. The Umā Saṃhitā tells this in Chapter 45.

This event is the first occasion for the name Mahākālī. She dwelt as the great night of dissolution (mahā-kālarātrī) and as the great darkness (mahā-kāla) of the first delusion.

The Umā Saṃhitā says plainly that Mahākālī is one of the manifestations of Umā-Devī:

“Ākāravikāra-rahitā (without attributes and forms) though the Devī is, she manifests in every yuga to remove the afflictions of the devas. She sports with avatāras to give her devotees occasion to sing her glories. This entire universe is merely the play of her icchā-śakti.”

In this account the appearing of Mahākālī stands beside that of Mahālakshmī (in the opening of Chapter 46) and the forms of Mahishamardinī, as successive manifestations of the one Devī.

Her form

In this chapter the Umā Saṃhitā does not describe the form of Mahākālī in detail. It does describe Devī Mahishamardinī at length, whose limbs are made from the tejas (radiance) of all the devas. The main picture of Mahākālī is her rising out of the body of Vishṇu. She is not apart from Bhagavān Vishṇu until the moment of her own manifestation.

In the Umā Saṃhitā the name Kālī points to the Mahā-kāla-rātri side of her: the all-pervading darkness of dissolution and cosmic sleep.

Her day

The Umā Saṃhitā fixes Phālguna Śukla Daśamī as the tithi (lunar day) of the prādurbhāva of Mahākālī.

Sources

  • Umā Saṃhitā, Chapter 45
  • Umā Saṃhitā, Chapter 46 (the opening)