Devadatta Kali

 “You may find the descriptions of Kali unsettling at first, but know that behind every detail of her appearance lies a sublime truth. Usually we think of Kali in a more benevolent form than Chamunda. For example, the auspicious Dakshinakali. Her untamed hair hints at unrestrained power and boundless freedom. Some say it represents the veil of illusion, woven from the strands of space and time. Her three eyes represent omniscience, for she sees past, present, and future.

Nothing is unknown to the all-knowing Mother. The garland of skulls around her neck is not a symbol of death as you might think, but of creative power. How can that be? you wonder. Each of the fifty skulls stands for a sound of the alphabet, and from these sounds, these vibrating energies, the Mother brings forth the entire universe. So this garland of skulls is, in fact, the alphabet of creation! Kali's full breasts show how she nurtures us. The girdle of severed arms around her waist betokens her power to sever the bonds of karma--to free us from the accumulated deeds that keep us in bondage.

Her nakedness represents freedom from illusion, and her blacker-than-black skin, like the endless blackness of the night sky, tells us that she is infinite.”