Main Pauranik Tantrik References along with Research papers and Books by Various Authors Used by us to understand Facts about Maa Kali – The Great Mother Goddess.
1.) MAIN REFERENCES ARE :- (you can find the snapshots about the facts which we have listed from The references stated below )
1.) Yogini Tantra
“Importance :- The Work gives us the description ” of four armed iconography of Mother Kali and also is important as tells us about the goddess who is knows as “MahaKali”.
Yogini Tantra is work from Tantrik Literature category. Like most other works of this discipline Yogini – Tantra is in the nature of dialogus between lord Shiva and Maa Parvati.
“It is divided into Two Parts – 1.) Purvardha (first part) & 2) Uttarardha (second part) “
While the First Part begins with the description of the glory of Guru and is followed by vivid description of Kali Maa. Here various methods and rituals of initiation , worship, meditation, practice of rituals, and many mythological concepts are described.
The Second part describes mainly about pilgrimages in ancient -medieval Assam known as “Kaam Rupa”. Hence the second part is aptly called “Kamarupadhikara” or “Kamarupapithadhikara” or “Kamarupanirnaya.”
But the sad fact about this text is that this text have faced sevear distortion and damage due to ignorance. plus the second part looks like has been more given importance than the first one .
ZONE OF ORIGIN:– it is not certain but the manuscript was originated in Assam and Some parts from outside Assam but some resources describe be from 10-11 Cen .
FAMOUS MANUSCRIPTS :- There are 5 different manuscripts of Yogani-Tantra in the collections of the Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies , Government of Assam, Gauhati. M.M. Haraprasad Shastri in the descriptive catalogue of Sanskrit manuscripts, Preserved in the library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta mentions three manuscripts of Yogini tantra. But sadly none of the manuscripts is complete. Two to the end of the first part (19th patala), the third one is up to the end of the 7th patala of the first part.
FAMOUS PUBLICATION:- Yogini tantra is published from different places by different scholars and publishers, of which the following are important .
Bengali Script compiled by Rasikmohan Chattopadhyaya, Son of Anandamohan Chattopadhyaya of the village Bhutani of Manthiganj of Decca (Bangladesh) and published from Dacca (date not known) along with some other tantras under the title “Vividha-tantra-samuccaya”.
Bengali Script published by Narayan Bandhyopadhaya, Calcutta, 1887 A.D.
Devanagari Script published by Jibananda Vidyasagar, Culcutta, Second Edition , 1897 A.D. (2,796 verses)
Devanagari Script by Khemraj Sri Krishna Das’s Edition , Bombay 1904 A.D.
Bengali Script Published by Kalimohan Bhattacharya with a Bengali translation, Culcutta 1900 A.D (2,786 verses)
Hindi Script Edited by pt. Kanhayalal Mishra of Moradabad and published from Kalyan Bombay , 1656 AD (the version used for the refrence ) (2,819 verses)
Published from Gauhati with Assamese translation in 1972 8.) publication by Biswanaryana Shastri published from Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan, Delhi , first edition , June 1982. is based on Sanskrit Sanjivani Sabha and the Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, Gauhati and National library , Calcutta and Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta. (3,400 verses).
** as per publication by Biswanaryana Shastri the Kanhayalal Mishra edition hindi translation is as per the bengali publication of Kalimohan’s Edition . and it has been said by Biswanaryana Shastri that the variation in the number of verse it seems there were perhaps three yogani tantra. the manuscript of two are lost or yet to be discovered.
THE DATE :- It is very difficult to state a precisely the time of composition of this work but by looking at some events, it looks like the work originated in 16th -17th century Assam. But some evidence suggest it to be around 12th Century AD.however as yogani tantra is been a work compiled by many so their is controversy in the aspect of date.
Publications Used for the reference :- REF 1:- Sanskrit to Hindi Edition by pt. Kanhayalal Mishra and REF 2:- Sanskrit edition by Biswanaryana Shastri
2.) Devi Mahatmya, देवीमाहात्म्यम् (or Durga Saptasati, दुर्गासप्तशती), meaning “Glory of the Goddess”
Importance :- The Work gives us the description of “Pauranik Kali” and the great battle of Durga Maa and Demons.
Devī Māhātmya or the Durgā Saptaśatī, is embedded in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa and which circulates independently as a popular recitational text in the śākta traditions. It is recited during Navratri celebrations, the Durga Puja festival, and in Durga temples across India. This text in attributed to sage Markendeya.
A research paper presented in University of Calgary, Alberta entitled “Goddesses, Monsters, and Monstrous Goddesses” by Kendra Darynne Brougham Marks dated Jan , 2011, states that Devī Māhātmya comprises chapters 81 through 93 of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa . he entire text is considered as one single Mantra and a collection of 700 Mantras. The text includes hymns to saguna (manifest, incarnated) form of the Goddess, as well as nirguna (unmanifest, abstract) form of her . ZONE OF ORIGIN :- According to Pargiter, this purāṇa was most likely composed somewhere in western India, north of the Narmada river valley .
THE DATE:- The Devī Māhātmya is a purāṇic narrative dated approximately to the 6th century CE, which is embedded within the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa and which plays an important role within Hindu śākta, or goddess oriented, devotional traditions .Scholars now accept Frederick Eden Pargiter‘s placement of the text between 300-600 CE. Hillary Rodrigues notes that most scholars date the text to the 5th or 6th centuries CE, although some, such as Charlotte Schmid, consider the text‘s composition to be during the 7th century CE. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purana is dated to the ~3rd century CE, and the Devi Mahatmya was added to the Markandeya Purana either in the 5th or 6th century. Devī Māhātmya is generally dated between 400-600 CE. Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty dates the Devi Mahatmya to c. 550 CE, and rest of the Markandeya Purana to c. 250 CE.
Publications Used for the reference :- REF 1:- Sanskrit to Hindi Edition
3.) Kalika Puran ( कालिका पुराण )
Importance :- The Work gives us the description of “Bhadrakali” and about the boon of salvation Demon Mahishasur asked . This also accounts of why mother Parvati is given the name “Kali” and their is also a brief reference of Mahakali Maa.
Kalika puran is one of the eighteen minor Puranas (Upapurana) in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. This text in attributed to sage Markendeya. The text celebrates the power of the divine feminine in her various manifestations centering round the goddess Kamakhya or Kalika. To this day it is used in the worship of the goddess and is greatly revered by her devotees. In the text the goddess is portrayed as the supreme deity who can manifest in various forms in accordance with the need of the time . Sometimes she is in benign form providing wealth to her devotees, while in some other episodes she is in terrible form destroying the evil (demon). Thus the Goddess in the Kalika Purana is many-sided figure. She is called by more than fifty names or epithets, while many of these names are simply honorific (for example, Mahamaya, Maheswari, Jaganmayi). This article seeks to discuss the different forms of the goddess as portrayed in the text. The Puranas also belong to group of Smriti (derive from one body of oral tradition) and they claim a connection with the Vedas.
ZONE OF ORIGIN :- most likely from Assam.
THE DATE:– as per a research paper entitled ” The Portrait of the Goddess in the Kalika Purana ” by Rashmi Rekha Bhuyan presented to Dept. of History Dibrugarh University Dibrugarh, India describes that Kalika Purana is a Hindu religious text belongs to the genre Puranic literature which was written around the 10th-11th century AD.
FAMOUS PUBLICATIONS :- The earliest printed edition of this text was published by the Venkateshvara Press, Bombay in 1907 CE, followed by the Vangavasi Press, Calcutta in 1909 CE.
Publications Used for the reference :- Hindi edition , English to Sanskrit Edition and Sanskrit Edition.
4.) Shiva Puran (शिव पुराण)
IMPORTANCE :- 1.) The Work gives us the description of Mahakali in a different way , here she is seen a a great worrior she is seen as a seperate goddess from Bhadrakali.. 2.) Bhadrakali is also described in a manner of a great fighter and a journal of lord shivas army 3.) who is goddess Kaushaki ? this has also been told here .
The Shiva Purana is one of eighteen Purana genre of Sanskrit texts in Hinduism, and part of the Shaivism tradition. It primarily centers around the Hindu god Shiva and goddess Parvati, but references and reveres all gods. Shiva Purana consisted of 100,000 verses set out in twelve samhitas (books),
ZONE OF ORIGIN :– The surviving manuscripts exist in many different versions and content, with one major version with seven books (traced to South India), another with six books, while the third version traced to the medieval Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent with no books but two large sections called Purva-khanda (previous section) and Uttara-khanda (later section) The two versions that include books, title some of the books same and others differently.
THE DATE:– Klaus Klostermaier, place the text around 10th- to 11th-century CE. But Some chapters of currently surviving Shiva Purana manuscripts were likely composed after the 14th-century.
Publications Used for the reference :- Hindi edition printed by Geeta Press & Sanskrit Hindi Publication from AHARISHI UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT VEDIC LITERATURE COLLECTION.
5.) Devi-Bhagavata Purana
(देवी भागवतपुराण)
IMPORTANCE :- The Work gives us the description of the battle of Durga Maa and other Demons but their is considerable similarity and variation accounted .
Shrimad Devi Bhagvatam or the Devi Bhagavatam, Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa. According to some of the Hindus it is the real Bhagavata Mahapurana. The text consists of twelve Skandha (sections) with 318 chapters. Along with Devi Mahatmya, it is one of the most important works in Shaktism, a tradition within Hinduism that reveres Devi or Shakti (Goddess) as the primordial creator of the universe and the Brahman (ultimate truth and reality). It celebrates the divine feminine as the origin of all existence, the creator, the preserver and the destroyer of everything, as well as the one who empowers spiritual liberation.While all major Puranas of Hinduism mention and revere the Goddess, this text centers around her as the primary divinity. The handout from Book 7 of this Purana is called Devi Gita.
THE DATE:–Some Scholars have placed the date to be between 6th Century CE , but most believe that the text originated from 9th and the 14th century. Both Devi Mahatmya and Devi Bhagavata Purana have been very influential texts of the Shakta tradition, asserting the supremacy of the female and making goddess a figure of devotional (bhakti) appeal .
Publications Used for the reference :- Hindi edition printed by Geeta Press
2.) Some References Which are Considered Here for writing the Tab page entitled Why Kali Maa Has Her Tongue Out ?(Reference Page are be displayed as A Snapshot in each TAB) :-
Mahakala Samhita Uttara Khanda :– Kamakala Kali Khand written by Dr Kishor Nath Jha [ Reference Book]
“Studies on The Tantras” which was published by “The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture” In Year 1989. [ Reference Book]
Research paper Written By Sikha Sarkar for PDH (Arts) In History in Year 1997 from University of Burdwan, West Bengal Entitled “The Cult of Mother-Goddess in Bengal :- Its Origin And Development Upto 12th Century AD. ” [Research Paper]
“Cidg gana Chandrika” by Kalidas (Translated to English by Arthur Avalon) [ Reference Book]
“Tantraloka” by Abhinava Gupta [As Cidga Gana Chandrika quoted Tantraloka [ Reference Book]
“Kali Rahasaya” Hindi Vyakhya by Pandit Shivdatt Misra Shastri [ Reference Book]
“Kali Tantra” by Acharya Ajay Kumar Uttam. [ Reference Book]
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ICONOLOGY OF KALI [Maa Kali ] IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE by Sangita Chaudhuri, M.A. B.Ed. M.Phil(Pali) in a Thesis submitted under the supervision of Dr. Narendra Nath Bhattacharyya for the Ph. D. (Arts) Degree in Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta, 2001 [Research Paper]
“Kali , The Feminine Force “written by Ajit Mookerjee [ Reference Book]
“Indian Mother Goddess” written by N.N. Bhattacharyya, Indian Mother Goddess, New Delhi 1977. [ Reference Book]
“Mohenjo-Daro And The Indus Civilization” by Sir John Marshall. [ Reference Book]
“Magic in the Image : Women in the clay at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa” by Shreen Ratnagar. [ Reference Book]
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** It Should Be Noted That the Webpage contains More references than the Listed above . and their are many references and research work which is based on Maa Kali which we have used and are continuously adding so .. We Will UPDATE THE CONTENT AS SOON AS PER ADD MORE KNOWLEDGE TO OUR SELF WITH THE GOAL OF TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUE NATURE AND FACTS ABOUT MAA KALI .
JAI MAA KALI..
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“Jai Kali Maa”
(PLEASE NOTE :- we are researching the great ancient text and other resources to know more about Mata Mahakali and with our concrete evidences we will update this webpage, as we proceed further in our study ..
Please Support Us By Sharing The Correct Understanding about Maa Kali. People Now a Days thinks That She is the Goddess of Destruction, and this false Idea is started to accumulate in the Minds of modern civilization. People Now a days Have just Forgotten of the correct Understanding of Her .
Our effort here is Just to explain that she is Not The Goddess of Destruction , She is The Mother of all Creation , She is A Protector , She is a Mother . So Please Promote the Correct Understanding by telling others the correct understanding of Mata Maha Kali .
*** “May the Divine Mother Kali endow us with Her Motherly Love and Wisdom.” ***
AS WE RESEARCH FURTHER WILL UPDATE THE CONTENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND WITH TRUE EVIDENCE …. )
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Kāli Maa Conceptual Devotional Exploration 