Apart from the Devi Mahatmayam which talks about Kali coming and killing Chanda and Munda, she also appears in other scriptures.
She, as Mahakali, appears in the begining of Devi Mahatmayam. She is the one who has all under her spell (Maya). And it is to her that the Gods pray so that Vishnu can kill Madhu and Kaitava.
She, as Mahakali, appears in the begining of Devi Mahatmayam. She is the one who has all under her spell (Maya). And it is to her that the Gods pray so that Vishnu can kill Madhu and Kaitava.
She is the first of the ten Mahavidyas.
The Goddess makes an appearance in the Shiva Purana in a ferocious form. When Sati sacrificed herself, angered Shiva, on hearing this news plucked a lock of his matted hair and dashed it onto the ground. From this hair were born Veerbhadra and MahaKali.
Shiva Puran talks about another take about how Kali was born. This goes back to the tale of the asuras Shumbha and Nishumbha, who have been mentioned in the Devi Mahatmayam. They had a boon that would be killed by a form of Parvati, who was not born from the womb and who had no desires. If the asuras ever looked at this being with passion and desire, they would meet their doom in her hands.
Sitting on the Mandrachal hill one day, Shiva one day told Parvati that her complexion had darkened in the sun, and called her Kali (dark). Parvati then shed this form, Kali, which remained with Shiva and while she became Gauri and killed the demons.
Linga Puran has a different story. There lived a demon named Daruk. He had acquired divine powers by the virtue of his penance. He started tormenting the deitiesand rishis. All the deities went to Lord Shiva and requested him to give protection from Daruk. Lord Shiva then requested Parvati to help the deities. One part of Parvati's consciousness entered into the body of Lord Shiva. But, the deities were not aware of this happening. Goddess Parvati then attained her physical form with the help of poison stored in the throat of Lord Shiva. The effet of poison had made her complexion dark. Lord Shiva then brought her out from within his body through his third eye.
The deities became frightened after seeing her terrific appearance. She was none other than Goddess Kali. Goddess Kali then killed Daruk with the permission of Parvati. But, even after the death of Daruk, her anger did not subside and the whole world was ablaze due to her anger. Lord Shiva then incarnated as a small child and started crying as if he was hungry. Goddess Kali could not decipher the illusions of Shiva and thought that the child was crying because of hunger. She started feeding the child her breast-milk. In the process of sucking milk, Shiva also sucked out her anger. A similar tale is told about Tarapith, which is located in West Bengal. In Tarapith, they say Shiva became unconscious when he swallowed the poison coming from the cosmic ocean, and became unconscious. The divine mother, then breast fed Shiva, in the form of Tara.
After her anger had subsided Goddess Kali became unconscious. Lord Shiva then performed his famous dance--Tandav to bring Kali back to consciousness. When Kali regained her consciousness she found Shiva dancing. She too started dancing and this is the reason why she is also called Yogini.
Below is the Adya Stotra, composed by Annada Thakur, who founded the Adya Peeth in Dakshineshwar, West Bengal.
Adya Stotra
The Goddess makes an appearance in the Shiva Purana in a ferocious form. When Sati sacrificed herself, angered Shiva, on hearing this news plucked a lock of his matted hair and dashed it onto the ground. From this hair were born Veerbhadra and MahaKali.
Shiva Puran talks about another take about how Kali was born. This goes back to the tale of the asuras Shumbha and Nishumbha, who have been mentioned in the Devi Mahatmayam. They had a boon that would be killed by a form of Parvati, who was not born from the womb and who had no desires. If the asuras ever looked at this being with passion and desire, they would meet their doom in her hands.
Sitting on the Mandrachal hill one day, Shiva one day told Parvati that her complexion had darkened in the sun, and called her Kali (dark). Parvati then shed this form, Kali, which remained with Shiva and while she became Gauri and killed the demons.
Linga Puran has a different story. There lived a demon named Daruk. He had acquired divine powers by the virtue of his penance. He started tormenting the deitiesand rishis. All the deities went to Lord Shiva and requested him to give protection from Daruk. Lord Shiva then requested Parvati to help the deities. One part of Parvati's consciousness entered into the body of Lord Shiva. But, the deities were not aware of this happening. Goddess Parvati then attained her physical form with the help of poison stored in the throat of Lord Shiva. The effet of poison had made her complexion dark. Lord Shiva then brought her out from within his body through his third eye.
The deities became frightened after seeing her terrific appearance. She was none other than Goddess Kali. Goddess Kali then killed Daruk with the permission of Parvati. But, even after the death of Daruk, her anger did not subside and the whole world was ablaze due to her anger. Lord Shiva then incarnated as a small child and started crying as if he was hungry. Goddess Kali could not decipher the illusions of Shiva and thought that the child was crying because of hunger. She started feeding the child her breast-milk. In the process of sucking milk, Shiva also sucked out her anger. A similar tale is told about Tarapith, which is located in West Bengal. In Tarapith, they say Shiva became unconscious when he swallowed the poison coming from the cosmic ocean, and became unconscious. The divine mother, then breast fed Shiva, in the form of Tara.
After her anger had subsided Goddess Kali became unconscious. Lord Shiva then performed his famous dance--Tandav to bring Kali back to consciousness. When Kali regained her consciousness she found Shiva dancing. She too started dancing and this is the reason why she is also called Yogini.
Below is the Adya Stotra, composed by Annada Thakur, who founded the Adya Peeth in Dakshineshwar, West Bengal.
Adya Stotra
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