I’ve always found the relationship between Kali and Shiva to be so energetic and timeless. It’s as if they were an expression of Yin and Yang, opposites. In many ways they are, and I am sure many of you know that. But in so many ways they are alike. Yin and Yang are opposite and complimentary forces. In many ways, I feel we all have a twin flame like this. A complete opposite of what we are. Have you ever wondered if such a person exists for you? They do. It’s a principle of the universe. Everything has an opposite, and opposites attract. They may not be our lover, they maybe our worse enemy. For some, they are lovers united. That’s what I am basically celebrating with this picture of the union of Kali and Shiva. Eternal forces, part of a larger picture.
Photo credit: Lord_Siva_and_Goddess_Kali_by_nidhi_rathish on deviant art.
Kali is the fearful and ferocious form of the mother goddess. She assumed the form of a powerful goddess and became popular with the composition of the Devi Mahatmya, a text of the 5th - 6th century AD. Here she is depicted as having born from the brow of Goddess Durga during one of her battles with the evil forces. As the legend goes, in the battle, Kali was so much involved in the killing spree that she got carried away and began destroying everything in sight. To stop her, Lord Shiva threw himself under her feet. Shocked at this sight, Kali stuck out her tongue in astonishment, and put an end to her homicidal rampage. Hence the common image of Kali shows her in her mêlée mood, standing with one foot on Shiva’s chest, with her enormous tongue stuck out.
I did a series of cosmology maps for the RPG game Hero’s Journey. Its been a long time since I completed them, but as the game is now readying to launch, I can finally post them.
Here’s the Hindu one. This was by far the hardest one I did, because Hindu mythology is definitely not one of my strong points, and there’s just… so much! But I think it turned out alright.
