Kapalini Kali Symbolism: Decoding the Story of the Fierce Goddess
According to the famous mantra from the Kalika Purana, Kali is called Kapalini (the Skull-Bearer). Etymologically, kapala means the upper part of the forehead or skull, the hemispherical portion resembling a pot’s upper half. Yet, contrary to popular belief, the Goddess is not called Kapalini merely because of the garland of severed heads around Her neck.
“Om Jayanti Mangala Kali Bhadrakali Kapalini
Durga Shiva Kshama Dhatri Swaha Swadha Namostute.” (Kalika Purana Mantra)
Story Of Kali As Kapalini
The ending of one yuga and beginning of one yuga is an
unimaginable transition undertaken by Goddess Kali. Such a transition occurs
amid great cataclysm and destruction.
In that cosmic dissolution, nothing and no one exists except Mahakala and Mahakali.
In the fierce and turbulent mahapralaya (great deluge), everything perishes,
and the universe disappears.
Then, Goddess Kali (Adi Shakti) holding the skulls (kapalas)
of Brahma and other deities in Her hands. Thus She preserves their divine
essence, their Brahma-sara. From that preserved essence, the new world will be
fashioned.
Therefore, in every cosmic cycle, She is the Primordial
Power — the unfathomable, the Infinite Kapalini, the Bearer of Skulls, the
Keeper of the Seeds of Creation.
Tantric Interpretation
According to the Tantras, the skull (karoti or kapala) in
the hands of the Goddess Tara — the second of the Mahavidyas — symbolizes the
liberation (moksha) of the practitioner.
Bone and skull signify the ultimate state — the attainment of siddhi (spiritual
perfection).
In Tantra, siddhi means release from the eternal cycle of birth and death and
becoming an ornament of the Goddess — that is, finding one’s place in the
Mother’s lap.
Just as a corpse attains Shivatva (becomes Shiva) through divine realization, so too does the devotee’s skull, held in the hand of the Goddess, signify that all gross elements have been dissolved — and the subtle self has found rest in the Mother’s essence.