The Goddess Goes to War
Mahishasura had become the ruler of Heaven and of the universe, and the gods had been driven from their positions. But with the appearance of Devi, the situation changed. The Great Goddess, created from the combined powers of the gods and armed with their weapons, now stood before the armies of the demons.
The demons saw her and went out to meet her. Their armies surrounded the Goddess, and the battle began. Devi faced them with all the weapons that had been given to her, while the demons attacked from every side. The conflict grew more violent as one demon after another came against her, but the Goddess continued to destroy those who stood in her way.
Mahishasura himself took different forms during the battle. He appeared as a buffalo, then as a lion, and again in other forms, attempting to overcome the Goddess. Yet none of these forms could protect him from her power. The battle continued until Devi finally destroyed Mahishasura and defeated the army that had followed him.
The victory of the Goddess restored the gods to their former positions. The demons who had conquered Heaven were defeated, and the gods once again praised the Great Mother who had come to their aid.
But the story did not end with the defeat of Mahishasura. Another demon was waiting, and his power was unlike anything the Goddess had encountered before.
His name was Raktabija.
Raktabija possessed a terrible power. Whenever a drop of his blood fell upon the earth, another demon was born from it, possessing the same strength as the original. Thus, every wound inflicted upon him created another enemy. The more he was attacked, the greater the number of demons became.
The Goddess and her forces fought against him, but the situation became increasingly difficult. Every time Raktabija was wounded and his blood touched the ground, new demons appeared. The battlefield filled with them, and what had begun as a single enemy became an ever-growing army.
It was then that the fierce form of the Goddess appeared.
Kali came forth with her terrible and powerful presence. She stretched out her tongue and began to drink the blood of Raktabija before it could fall upon the earth. In this way, the demons could no longer arise from his blood. Kali continued to consume the blood while the Goddess attacked Raktabija, and eventually his power was overcome.
The appearance of Kali in this battle reveals another aspect of the Great Mother. She is not always gentle or beautiful. When faced with a force that continues to reproduce itself, she becomes fierce and terrible. Her purpose is not simply to fight the demon but to prevent the source of his power from creating more demons.
After Raktabija had been defeated, Kali continued her terrible dance. The battle had awakened a force that was difficult to restrain, and the destruction did not immediately come to an end. It was then that another figure would enter the story, one whose presence would finally bring Kali's dance to a stop.
That figure was Shiva.
Source & Note
This article is based on Elizabeth U. Harding’s Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar (Nicolas-Hays, 1993). The material has been edited and adapted for this publication.
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