Kālá (Sanskrit: काल, IPA: [kɑːˈlə]) is a Sanskrit word which means "Time".[1] It is also the name of a deity, in which sense it
is not always distinguishable from kāla meaning "black". It often used as one
of the various names or
Etymology
Monier-Williams's widely
used Sanskrit-English dictionary[2] lists two distinct words
with the form \.
·
kāla 1 means "black, of a dark colour, dark-blue
..." and has a feminine form ending in ī – kālī – as mentioned in Pāṇini 4-1, 42.
·
kāla 2 means "a fixed or right point of time, a
space of time, time ... destiny, fate ... death" and has a feminine form
(found at the end of compounds) ending in ā, as mentioned in the ṛgveda Prātiśākhya. As a traditional Hindu unit
of time, one kālá corresponds to 144 seconds.
According to Monier-Williams, kāla 2 is from the verbal
root kal "to
calculate", while the root of kāla 1 is uncertain, though
possibly the same.
Kāla as a deity
As applied to gods and goddesses
in works such as the Devī Māhātmya and the Skanda Purāṇa, kāla 1 and kāla 2 are not readily distinguishable. Thus Wendy
Doniger, translating a conversation between Śiva and Pārvatī from the Skanda Purāṇa, says Mahākāla may mean " 'the Great Death' ... or 'the
Great Black One' ".[3] And SwāmīJagadīśvarānanda, a Hindu
translator of the Devī Māhātmya, renders
the feminine compound kāla-rātri (where rātri means "night") as "dark night
of periodic dissolution".[4]
As Time personified, destroying all things, Kala
is a god of death sometimes identified with Yama.
Kāla in
other cultures
In Javanese mythology, Batara Kala is the god of destruction. Batara Kala
is depicted as giant,
born of the sperm of Bathara Guru, the kings of
gods.
In Borobudur, the gate to the
stairs is adorned with a giant head, making the gate look like the open mouth
of the giant. Many other gates in Javanese traditional buildings have this kind
of ornament. Perhaps the most detailed Kala Face in Java is on the south side of Candi Kalasan.
References
1.
^ Roshen Dalal (5
October 2011). Hinduism: An
Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. pp. 185–. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
Retrieved 19 December 2012.
3.
^ Doniger
O'Flaherty, Wendy; Hindu Myths; Penguin, 1975; ISBN
0-14-044306-1 footnote to page 253.
4.
^ Jagadīśvarānanda trans; Devi Mahatmyam (Sanskrit and
English); Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1953; chapter 1 verse 78.
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