Kali

Kali is a powerful and fearsome Hindu goddess, considered the fiercest manifestation of the Divine Mother, Devi. She is often depicted with a dark complexion (black or deep blue), a necklace of skulls, a girdle of severed arms, a protruding tongue, and four arms. In her hands, she typically holds a sword and a freshly severed head. Kali embodies the destructive aspect of the divine, representing time (kala) and change, and the ultimate dissolution of the universe. While her appearance can be terrifying, she is also worshipped as a compassionate mother figure who grants liberation to her devotees. She emerged from the brow of Durga to destroy the demon Raktabija, whose drops of blood created new demons. Kali is revered in Shaktism as the ultimate reality, and her fierce form is understood as a means to destroy ignorance and illusion, leading to spiritual liberation.