According to ancient legend, there once existed a powerful demon, or asura, named Raktabija, who posed a significant threat to both gods and mortals. The source of the gods' fear was his near-immortality: each time someone attempted to kill him, every drop of his blood that touched the ground would give rise to countless clones of himself. Many tried to defeat him, but all failed, except one.

Kali, whose name translates to "the black one" or "the dark one," emerged from the brow of Goddess Durga during a fierce battle against the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. As Durga fought, her anger grew, turning her blue with rage. It was at this moment that Kali, in her terrifying form, took control of the battlefield. Wearing a tiger skin sari and a garland of human heads, Kali swiftly killed the two asuras.




When Raktabija appeared, Kali faced him head-on. Aware of his deadly ability to multiply from his own blood, she defeated him by catching and drinking his blood before it could reach the ground, thereby preventing the creation of new clones. She swallowed his duplicates whole, ensuring that no new demons could rise. Once the battle was over, she danced triumphantly on the corpses of her enemies.

Raktabija had been granted a boon by Lord Brahma, allowing him to increase his strength every time his blood touched the ground. This made him a nearly unstoppable force, terrorizing both the people of Earth and the gods. Desperate for a solution, the gods sought help from Lord Shiva, who used his divine energy, or shakti, to produce a being powerful enough to destroy Raktabija. The result was the emergence of the fierce Goddess Kali.

In many depictions, Maa Kali is portrayed in her fearsome form as the slayer of demons. She is often seen standing or dancing on a collapsed Lord Shiva, holding a severed head in one hand. She wears a skirt of severed demon arms, a necklace of decapitated heads, and earrings made from the demons she has slain. Her fearsome expression, complete with a lolling tongue dripping with blood, adds to her terrifying yet powerful presence.

In her final battle with Raktabija, Kali decimated his vast army by swallowing them whole, leaving him isolated. As she struck him, she extended her enormous tongue to catch and drink every drop of his blood before it could fall to the ground, effectively draining him of his power. With no blood left to spill, Raktabija was defeated, reduced to nothing more than a lifeless corpse.

Source / Image Credit : Knowledge Of Hinduism, thejuggernaut