Kali

Kali (; Sanskrit: काली, IAST: Kālī), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death, and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, goddesses who provide liberating knowledge. Of the numerous Hindu goddesses, Kali is held to be the most famous. She is the preeminent deity in the Hindu tantric and the Kalikula worship traditions, and is a central figure in the goddess-centric sects of Hinduism as well as in Shaivism. Kali is chiefly worshipped as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, and Divine feminine energy. The origins of Kali can be traced to the pre-Vedic and Vedic era goddess worship traditions in the Indian subcontinent. Etymologically, Kali refers to one who governs time or is black. The first major appearance of Kali in Sanskrit literature is in the sixth-century CE text Devi Mahatmya.