Talk:Bhadrakali

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Clarifying etymology of her name[edit]

The Sanskrit etymology is a folk one, so I'm adding the more common grammatical one. "Bhadra" literally means "Good" in everyday speech, so while the folk etymology of the Sanskrit version is a legitimate religious interpretation in Hinduism, this is the common form of the name in Kerala. The fiercer the deity, the kinder the name--as Bhadrakali is a fierce aspect, she is propitiated by calling her "Good Kali". Snowgrouse (talk) 17:52, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. I have the dhyan mantra ( iconography) of 4 handed Bhadrakali. Can I add this ? Ayantik Basu (talk) 15:51, 12 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Merger proposal[edit]

  • Oppose: Kali and Bhadrakali are two different Deities.--Sankarrukku (talk) 15:27, 26 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose: Bhadrakali is a distinct enough variation on Kali with her own mythology and rites, which could not possibly be explored in enough detail on another article.--Snowgrouse (talk) 19:31, 11 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

An ancient temple of Bhadrakali is situated in the Bageshwar District of Uttarakhand State. It is about 30 K.M. from District HQ. Bageshwar. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.141.141.149 (talk) 09:24, 15 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Removing bowdlerisation[edit]

Someone keeps changing "horse-sacrifice" into "horse-worship". Yes, modern Hindus frown on animal sacrifice. This is a well-known fact. However, it does not change the fact that the Vedic ritual being referred to was a horse sacrifice. Changing it into "horse-worship" is a bowdlerisation, and I've changed it back to "horse-sacrifice" repeatedly, only for someone to come and change it back to "horse-worship" again. Even when the ritual's own page describes it as "horse-sacrifice". Please, with all due respect, don't try to rewrite historical facts because the current practices are different. It's okay to disapprove of animal sacrifice, but pretending it did not happen in ancient times and that it wasn't described in the Vedas is not NPOV. Let's not confuse opinions with historical facts. Thank you. --Snowgrouse (talk) 21:30, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]


Suggestions[edit]

Bhadrakali = An avatar of original Kali/Shakti ( Like Krishna and Vishnu) Same, but different. But, devotees worship this Bhadrakali form in the esoteric, deeply spiritual way.

Kaali= Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, Mahasarasvati- associated with triple avatar or incarnation of Shakti, more details are available with Sri Ramakrishna teachings, Tantra etc.

There are some Tantras according to which Mother Kaali is the supreme Shakti. Just like how ISKCON, Gaudiya Vaishnavites consider Krishna the supreme, not as an incarnation of Vishnu. For example: Krishna created Vishnu etc..as per Brahma Vaivarta Purana..etc.

Bhadrakali is more Puranic like Krishna, later avatar, but repeatedly manifesting. At least 3 times. The Darika-Bhadrakali battle, and Kerala's Kalarippayattu tradition is a famous one, just like Krishna worship. More puranic, slightly Tantric, highly spiritual, subtle and esoteric also. Ujjain's Vikramaditya, Kalidasa versions are somewhere near this tradition. This is highly devotional and involves oracle tradition also.

The Daksha Yaga version, and the Devi Mahatmya version are also puranic, but, involves more Tantric, and Ten Mahavidya traditions, also Kaula and other forms, and this greatly differs from earlier mentioned highly puranic southern version. However, this also sometimes appears here and there in Kerala, Tamil Nadu also. But, not like in Bengal. Very different, it looks, but the inner philosophy same. Just as different and same at the same time as Krishna worship and Vishnu worship.

Please gather information on 'Bhadrakali' the incarnation(Puranic, Tantric, and Vedic) and traditions from each state in India, in Indian languages and translate them. Internet is more rich with info on Kali, Mahakali etc, not about 'Bhadrakali' and it's a long time expected for original research. Books are available in Malayalam, Tamil and Sanskrit, not in English, right now. Mostly as local temple traditions and stories, oracles, miracles etc about "Bhadrakali". Highly interesting topic! Research still going through infancy, sorry for any possible mistakes, thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sathyasaagar001 (talk • contribs) 21:23, 10 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Massive cleanup[edit]

I just did some massive cleanup. I straightened out the English and reorganised the article so the details weren't all over the place (like with the origin myths); I sorted them into their appropriate sections. I also straightened out the summary part, fixed the etymology stuff and so on. I gave up with the temple section because the English was so bad it didn't make any sense and it seems to be degenerating into a list of advertisements for different temples. Might be a good idea to just split the temples list into a separate page because it's really getting out of hand and it makes the article less Wikipedia-y.

Also, I'm not sure if the tiny image in the infobox is as good a depiction of Bhadrakali as the miniature paintings in the article are--the image of the deity is very small and the details are indistinct, whereas the miniatures are more colourful and depict her better. Shall see if I can change it, and I hope people can understand that the infobox image really should be a good representation of the subject--no offense intended. Snowgrouse (talk) 19:11, 16 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Possible copyright problem[edit]

This article has been revised as part of a large-scale clean-up project of multiple article copyright infringement. (See the investigation subpage) Earlier text must not be restored, unless it can be verified to be free of infringement. For legal reasons, Wikipedia cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions must be deleted. Contributors may use sources as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously. Moneytrees🏝️Talk🌴Help out at CCI! 17:51, 8 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Split proposal[edit]

I propose we split off the list of temples into a list article. However, it is not clear to me whether there should be multiple artilces: List of Kali temples, List of Mahakali temples, and List of Bhadrakali temples, or whether there should be just one, the first. Skyerise (talk) 11:57, 9 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi @Skyerise,
Considering there is a long list of temples dedicated to Bhadrakali then it would be appropriate to create a separate list.
As for the name, perhaps "List of Bhadrakali temples" would more more suitable since most of the temples I found on the list are dedicated to that particular form of the goddess. Anyone more experienced in this matter can chime in on this. Chilicave (talk) 23:20, 21 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Forms[edit]

This section is not related Bhadrakali it should be moved to Mahakali but there is no reference available to support this claims and unreferenced tag is placed since September 2022 , so i am removing this section, if any editors found sources than feel free to add this content on Mahakali article.


Bhadrakali is primarily worshipped in four forms: Darikajit (as the killer of the demon Darika), Dakshajit (as the killer of Daksha), Rurujit (as the slayer of the demon Ruru) and as Mahishajit (as she who killed Mahishasura). There are at least five traditional versions regarding the origin-incarnations or avatar of Bhadrakali:

  • Darikajit

In Kerala, where the worship of Bhadrakali is prevalent even today, she is worshipped most commonly as "Darikajit," the slayer of Darika, based on a story that originated in the Markandeya Purana, and is called the "Bhadrakali Mahatmyam" or "Darika-vadham".

The asura Darika was said to have a very chaste wife, Manodari, who had in her possession a special mantra that would keep her husband invincible, and thus her marriage forever safe. Darika used his newfound invincibility to torment the lokas and usurp the kingdom of the devas. When Shiva learned of the demon Darika's misdeeds, he opened his fiery third eye and the massive ferocious form of Bhadrakali emerged. Shiva ordered Bhadrakali to destroy Darika, with a Vetala as her vehicle.

However, the goddess found it impossible to kill the demon as he was ever in the protection of his wife's mantra chanting. The goddess split her form into that of her fierce warrior self that continued to engage in combat and that of a common woman. The goddess went to Manodari, claiming to be the wife of a soldier who was fighting for Darika in his army in the losing battle. With this, Manodari broke her chanting to console the worried woman, breaking Darika's invincibility shield. Kali immediately disappeared from Manodari's presence while on the battlefield she had already managed to injure Darika.

As Darika lay at her feet, about to be killed, he was said to have appealed to her motherly nature as a last resort, with faux praises and prayers. But the devas gathered there began to sing praises to the goddess (such as the mantra "Kante Kalatmaje Kaali, Kante Kali Namostute"), thus reminding the goddess of the atrocities Darika had committed that caused her birth in the first place. Turning a blind eye to Darika's faux innocence, Bhadrakali severed his head and held it aloft in her left hand as she danced around on the battlefield.

But her anger would not succumb and so the devas invoked Shiva to intervene and calm Kali down, as when in anger Kali had the tendency to reduce the universe into nothingness. Shiva lay in her path as a crying baby and this time (Gandakarna), Kali's true motherliness was awakened. A now calm Kali expressed her wish to stay at the spot and protect the local people till the end of time. The spot where she remained is said to be the Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple. Bhadrakali at Kodungallur remains one of her 3 most auspicious temples in Kerala, along with Thirumandhamkunnu Temple and Parumala Valiya Panayannarkavu Devi Temple. It is also listed as one of the 13 'kaavu' temples of Kali and as one of the main 64 Bhadrakali temples in Kerala.

  • Chamundi

Another version of the Bhadrakali story is from the Devi Mahatmyam of the Markandeya Purana, during the battle between Raktabija and goddess Kaushiki (Durga). Kali was born from the wrath of goddess Kaushiki, from her forehead. She slew Chanda and Munda and earned the epithet 'Chamundi'. She also slayed the demon Raktabija, which is her most famous feat. This Chamundi-Kali form is said to be the leader of the Sapta-Matrikas and is the most popular form of the goddess in Northern India.

  • Dakshajit

Another popular story on Bhadrakali is associated with Daksha and his yajna, according to the Shiva Purana, Vayu Purana and the Mahabharata. Goddess Bhadrakali was born from the matted locks of Shiva's hair. He ordered her to free Veerabhadra who was imprisoned by Vishnu, as the latter was protecting Daksha. She succeeds and is later heard of as assisting in Daksha's assassination, and hence earned the title 'Dakshajit'.

  • Mahishajit
Pahari painting depicting the Trimurtis woshipping Bhadrakali after she slays Mahishasura, Basohli, Jammu c. 1660–1670

According to the Kalika Purana, Bhadrakali is said to have appeared in Treta Yuga to slay the 2nd out of the 3 Mahishasuras. It is believed that when the third Mahishasura wished to know how he would die, he was given a vision of the fair-skinned Bhadrakali who rose out of the milky ocean and slew him in his previous incarnation. He asked to die again at her hands and the goddess promised that she would incarnate as the eighteen-armed Mahishasura Mardini (the account detailed in the Devi Mahatmyam) and slay him. This version of Bhadrakali is worshiped as 'Mahishajit'.

  • Rurujit

According to the Varaha Purana, the goddess Roudri (incarnation of mother Parvati) was meditating at the foot of the Neeli mountain. She came across the devas who were fleeing, unable to bear the atrocities of the demon Ruru. Angered by the injustice she witnessed, Roudri created Bhadrakali from the embers of her rage and sent her to kill Ruru. Bhadrakali successfully did so and was awarded the epithet 'Rurujit'. Bhadra 782 (talk) 14:12, 11 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Don't confuse[edit]


Rama and Parashurama is an avatars of Vishnu and they are same god but their legend is different , the same way Mahakali, Kali, Bhadrakali is same goddess but their legend is different. Here Mahakali is supreme goddess and Kali, Bhadrakali is her forms/avatar.

Don't mix Kali and Mahakali contents into Bhadrakali article. Bhadra 782 (talk) 10:04, 13 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I fully agree that they should be distinguished, but Mahakali is not the supreme goddess of Shaktism, that would be Mahadevi/Adi Shakti, who has her own article. Please do not make further overarching changes without seeking consensus. Thank you. Chronikhiles (talk) 12:25, 15 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Haryana Subsection[edit]

I cleaned up some spelling and grammatical issues in the Haryana subsection of Temples. However, a lot of the info seems very horribly biased ("our scriptures"), and more of it is generally poorly written. Some things need to be changed but I can't figure out how to do that without making the coherency worse; any and all help, advice, and other means of good fortune are most appreciated. Jan Silija (talk) 04:26, 3 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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