Hindu goddesses with several limbs

As a sign of multitasking I thought, and unusual way of expressing self in a self portrait but here I learned something new.....

Kali (/ˈkɑːliː/; Sanskrit: काली, IAST: Kālī, ISO: Kālī), also known as Dakshina Kalika (Sanskrit: दक्षिणा कालिका, Dākshinā Kālikā, ISO: Dākshinā Kālikā), is a Hindu goddess, who is considered to be the Master of death and time. She is also said to be the Paramshakti, that is the supreme of all powers, or the ultimate reality.

Kali's earliest appearance is when she emerged from Lord Shiva. She is the ultimate manifestation of Shakti and the mother of all living beings.She destroys the evil in order to protect the innocent. Over time, Kali has been worshipped by devotional movements and tantric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Adi Shakti, or Parvati.^[1]^[2]^[3] Shakta Hindu and Tantric sects additionally worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman.^[3] She is also seen as the divine protector and the one who bestows moksha or liberation.^[1] Kali is portrayed standing on Lord Shiva, with her right foot forward. Her skin color appears to be dark, and she is wearing a garland of 50 skulls, denoting 50 letters of sanskrit alphabet. She is four armed, holding a Kharag, in her top left arm, denoting strength. In her lower hand, she is holding a severed head denoting ego, which Kali hates. Both of her right hands are in abhay mudra, denoting that she is a kind mother, who protects and nurtures her children. She is completely naked, denoting that she is above this material world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali

Durga (Sanskrit: दुर्गा, IAST: Durgā) is a major deity in Hinduism. She is worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Devi and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction and wars.^[7]^[8]^[9] Her legend centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity, and Dharma the power of good over evil.^[8]^[10] Durga is believed to unleash her divine wrath against the wicked for the liberation of the oppressed, and entails destruction to empower creation.^[11]

Historians of religion and art tend to trace the earliest depiction of Durga to the seals of Indus Valley Civilization. However this claim lacks direct visual evidence from the site. There are several hints to her in the early Vedic texts and by the time of the epics, she emerges as an independent deity. According to Hindu legends, Durga is created by the gods to defeat the demon Mahishasura, who could be only killed by a female. Durga is seen as a motherly figure and often depicted as a beautiful woman, riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon and often defeating demons.^[2]^[12]^[13]^[14] She is widely worshipped by the followers of the goddess centric sect, Shaktism, and has importance in other denominations like Shaivism and Vaishnavism. Under these traditions, Durga is associated and identified with other deities.^[15]^[10]

The two most important texts of Shaktism, Devi Mahatmya and Devi-Bhagavata Purana, reveres Devi or Shakti (goddess) as the primordial creator of the universe and the Brahman (ultimate truth and reality).^[16]^[17]^[18] While all major texts of Hinduism mention and revere the goddess, these two texts center around her as the primary divinity.^[19]^[20]^[21] The Devi Mahatmya is considered to be as important a scripture as the Bhagavad Gita by the Shakta Hindus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga

In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability"^[1]) is the primordial cosmic energy, and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the universe.^[2] This energy is thought of as creative, sustaining, as well as destructive, and is sometimes referred to as auspicious source energy.

Shakti is sometimes personified as the Creatrix, and is known as "Adi Shakti" or "Adi Para Shakti" (i.e., Primordial Inconceivable Energy). In Shaktism, Adi Parashakti is worshipped as the Supreme Being/God. On every plane of creation, energy manifests itself into all forms of matter; these are all thought to be infinite forms of Para Shakti. However, the true form of Para Shakti is unknown, and beyond human understanding. She is described as Anaadi (with no beginning, no ending) and Nitya (forever).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakti

Minor Project

Confirm copying