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Kali

Goddess Kali (also called Mahakali) is the Hindu goddess of time, change and death. She is known as the powerful, terrifying embodiment of Shakti, which is the all-encompassing power inherent within all men and women. She is commonly picturised as a dark blue-skinned woman with loose and long untamed hair, open-mouthed with her tongue out, with a garland of skulls around her neck, a scythe, and a severed head in her hand, held by the hair. Kali's most prominent appearance within ancient Hindu texts is within the Devi Mahatmyam that describes the Goddess as the supreme being and creator of the universe.

Kali is perceived in various ways by her devotees; despite her fierce representation, she is worshipped as an unrelenting and powerful feminine force dedicated to justice and protecting the helpless, as well as a manifestation of the ultimate motherly protectiveness. Moreover, for many she is a symbol of unapologetic sexual liberation and referred to multiple times in tantra.

Inspiration originating from Goddess Kali can also be seen within popular Western culture; the Rolling Stones band's logo of a red mouth with the tongue stuck out was based on the famous image of Kali herself and the idea of eternal energy.

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Ragamala paintings

A series of illustrative paintings from medieval India based on Ragamala or the ‘Garland of Ragas', depicting various Indian musical modes, Ragas

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