We should understand that Vedic “Gods” and “Goddesses” are, essentially, ideas and concepts. Human mind is feeble and just cannot grasp the ultimate abstractness of satyam. We need some corporeal representations with which we can operate. In a way, each Vedic “god” is an expression of some fundamental concept in a form understandable to humans. Because of its vastness and complexity we cannot grasp it entirely so we describe it by various names which express one of its sides. Therefore, one of the ways to understand the essence of a name is to go to the original meaning of the word used in the description.
Kali is a fusion of two words. The principal one is the dhātu (root) kala which has several meanings 1) to count; 2) to push on, drive forward, to impel , incite; 3) to carry off. If you sum up these meanings you will see that the combined meaning represents the entire cycle of life: impelling, inciting (birth), time (kalā - time (as leading to events, the causes of which are imperceptible to the mind of man), destiny, fate and also time (as destroying all things), death and carrying away. Because time has always been imagined as an eternal wheel (kolo is, actually,”wheel” in Russian) birth and death are inseparable.
The other word related to Kali is kalā meaning “black, of a dark colour, dark-blue”. This explains the way she is usually presented. But kalā was also one of the seven tongues of Agni and also one of the names of Shiva's wife Durgā which are separate interesting stories. Now, kalā “black, dark blue” is inseparable from Kṛṣṇa “black, dark blue” which is another complex concept. Kṛṣṇa is also perceived as the other side of Viṣṇu. Again we see the unity of creation and destruction. Kali is also intricately connected with another fundamental concept of Shiva and Shiva is inseparable from Rudra…. You see, how vast and complex it all becomes! You cannot understand the nature of any Hindu God or Goddess separately. सुबमस्तु
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