Kalaratri lकालरात्रि, is the seventh of the nine Navadurga forms of the goddess Mahadevi. She is first referenced in the Devi Mahatmya. Kalaratri is one of the fearsome forms of the goddess.
It is not uncommon to find the names, Kali and Kalaratri …
Kalaratri lकालरात्रि, is the seventh of the nine Navadurga forms of the goddess Mahadevi. She is first referenced in the Devi Mahatmya. Kalaratri is one of the fearsome forms of the goddess.
It is not uncommon to find the names, Kali and Kalaratri being used interchangeably, although these two deities are argued to be separate entities by some. Kali is first mentioned in Hinduism as a distinct goddess around 300 BCE in the Mahabharata, which is thought to have been written between the 5th and 2nd centuries BCE (with possible oral transmission from a much earlier period).
Kalaratri is traditionally worshipped during the nine nights of Navaratri celebrations. The seventh day of Navaratri puja in particular is dedicated to her, and she is considered the fiercest form of the goddess, her appearance itself invoking fear. This form of the goddess is believed to be the destroyer of all demon entities, ghosts, evil spirits and negative energies, who are said to flee upon knowing of her arrival.
The Saudhikagama, an ancient Tantric text from Orissa referenced in the Silpa Prakasha, describes goddess Kalaratri as being the goddess ruling over the night portion of every calendar day. She is also associated with the crown chakra (also known as the sahasrara chakra), said to yield the worshipper siddhis (supernatural skills) and nidhis (riches): knowledge, power and wealth in particular.
Kalaratri is also known as Shubankari (शुभंकरी), meaning auspicious/doing good in Sanskrit, due to the belief that she always provides positive results to her devotees. Hence, it is believed that she makes her devotees fearless.
Other, less well-known names of this goddess include Raudri and Dhumorna.
One of the earliest references to Kalaratri is found in the Mahabharata (first written down in the 5th century BCE, with additions and alterations continuing on through the 1st century BCE), specifically in the tenth part of the Sauptika Parva (Book of Sleeping). After the battle of the Pandavas and Kauravas, Ashwatthama, the son of Dronacharya, vows to avenge the death of his father. Going against the rules of war in the stealth of the night, he creeps into the Kuru camp dominated by Pandava followers. With the power of Rudra, he attacks and kills the followers in their sleep.
During his frenzied assaults on the followers, Kalaratri appears on the spot.
“.....in her embodied form, a black image, of bloody mouth and bloody eyes, wearing crimson garlands and smeared with crimson unguents, attired in a single piece of red cloth, with a noose in hand, and resembling an elderly lady, employed in chanting a dismal note and standing full before their eyes.”
This reference is seen to depict Kalaratri as the personification of the horrors of war.
The first part of the word kalaratri is kala. Kala primarily means time, but also means black. This is a masculine noun in Sanskrit. Time, as perceived by ancient Indian mystics, is where everything takes place; the framework on which all cr
