The Goddess is NOT Ashamed
The goddess Kali – a manifestation of the primordial Shakti.
A destroyer goddess, she is worshipped by
both munshis and murderers.
Every year, she is celebrated in eastern India.
But all the Kali idols everywhere have their
tongues sticking out.
Why?
The story goes: once Kali was overcome by
an insatiable, mad rage.
The spectacular violence of her tandav
was destroying the universe.
The devas – Indra and his ilk – were in heaven,
quaking in their dhotis and cowering at her fury.
How would they stop her from
destroying their universe – and eventually ...
...them?
After considerable deliberation, the devas decided to use to
oldest patriarchal
device known to man.
Shame.
They summoned Shiva – her lord consort – and instructed
him to go lie at her feet.
Kali's apocalyptic anger was only contained when
she was shamed into submission.
Only after she realised that she had,
in fact, stepped on her husband.
The husband's authority was called upon
to tame the powerful goddess.
And so, the patriarchal universe was
saved.
But what if Kali had felt
no shame?
Imagine what our world would be.
