Shaiva Kali: Ninety-Six

Kali is not merely a goddess, but consciousness itself in its highest form—the source of all knowing, yet free within that knowing. Shaiva philosophy tells us that consciousness possesses certain powers: creation, preservation, destruction, concealment, and grace. All these powers ultimately merge into Kali alone. She is the center and final refuge of all forces.

She is called adhishṭhātrī saṁvit—the consciousness that pervades everywhere and works from within all things. Yet she is never divided in two: she simultaneously knows (as knower) and exists as the object of knowledge (as known). Thus she is called parama-jñātā—the supreme knower, who knows not through any process of knowing, but through her very existence knows all things.

In this state, Kali is no separate goddess; she is the supreme lord herself—the living manifestation of Shiva-consciousness, who both reveals herself (creation) and draws herself back (dissolution). This is why Krama philosophy calls Kali śuddha-saṃvid—pure consciousness, completely untainted, with no thought, concept, or sense of limitation attached to it.

She is called the presiding deity of Śuddhā Vidyā (Pure Knowledge)—that state where consciousness is its own knowledge, where no distinction remains between knower and known. Here "knowing" means no concept, but direct experience—where knowing and being, light and reflection, experience and experiencer all become one.

The term "Śuddhā Vidyā" has two meanings:

First, as goal—the ultimate experience of liberation or self-realization, where the soul recognizes itself in its true form.

Second, as means—that truth-seeking or right inquiry which leads us toward this realization.

Kali symbolizes the first of these—she is that ultimate realization where consciousness, piercing through all obstacles, recognizes itself within itself. This knowing is no work of the intellect; it is pure perception (śuddha vedana)—where agent, action, knower, known all merge into one silent radiance.

This pure knowledge is no mental or intellectual level; it is the experience of witness-consciousness (sākṣī saṁvit), who sees all things but remains untouched by anything—from whom all happens, but who herself remains always untainted, peaceful, and pure.

Here Kali is called "kāl-kṣayaṅkarī," "anākhyā," or "anākhyā-parameśvarī" because she symbolizes that trans-sequential principle where time, measure, number, and before-and-after—all sequential markers lose their meaning entirely. "Trans-sequential" means such a level of consciousness where no sequence operates at all; time there is not flow, but undivided presence. Thus Kali here is grasped as the power beyond time—where even the possibility of time dissolves before it can arise.

At this level, the duality of "is/is not"—"existence/non-existence"—also becomes inapplicable, because both "existence" and "non-existence" stand upon sequence, comparison, and mental concepts. Kali overturns this conceptual framework; she is not merely existential or logical transcendence, but the supreme stillness beyond name, form, and thought—such silent truth-experience where the language of thought stops, yet consciousness's radiance does not dim.

This is why she is called "anākhyā"—the unnameable, indefinable. Anākhyā does not mean emptiness; it is absorbing silence—where all manifestation returns to its source, as waves return to become the ocean itself. Here, even beyond parā vāk (supreme speech)—where word and meaning are still undivided—lies one dense un-manifestation, yet the radiance (light) there does not fade. Thus "anākhyā" and "bhāsā"—silence and light—though conceptually separate, are experientially one.

This experience of non-difference is captured in Tantric symbolism as the thirteenth goddess (trayodaśa-devī)—where all pairs of duality (existence/non-existence, time/timelessness, sound/silence, manifestation/withdrawal) dissolve into ultimate unity. In that unity, Kali is not merely "destroyer of time"; she is the silent-light before time's birth—alone silent, alone radiant, where creation's expansion and dissolution's withdrawal exist together in one breath.

This consciousness is Kali—who is simultaneously knower, knowledge, and known; who illuminates the entire universe in her own inherent silent light and again absorbs everything into that same light.

Within her, creation and dissolution are not two different events—but two breaths of the same consciousness, two aspects; in one silent inhalation the universe is born, in the next exhalation it dissolves.

This rhythm of eternal breathing is Kali—the eternal dance of supreme consciousness, where each moment proclaims the same truth: "so'haṃ"—I am That.

The Agamic tradition tells us that this world, manifested in countless forms, forces, and experiences, does not originate from some external creator's will, but is the result of constant vibration within an inherent sequence or krama.

This krama flows like a current emerging from the silent depths of supreme consciousness, manifesting at each level—developing step by step through forms, sounds, ideas, and experiences. Both the primal source and ultimate dissolution of this krama lie within Kali. She is the timeless womb of all time (Garbha of the Timeless Time), from whose heart all existence awakens and into which it returns.

This stream of multiplicity, which creates a sequential continuity in the perception of time and experience, finally dissolves at the level of anākhyā—where no names, forms, or differences remain. "Anākhyā" means that consciousness which is unmanifest, unmarked, and beyond language. There all conditions of difference disappear, because difference is the foundation of language, and when difference is erased, language too stops. Anākhyā symbolizes that pure experience (śuddha-anubhava)—where time, space, and concept—all boundaries dissolve.

Jayaratha, the distinguished commentator and theorist of the Krama school, has grasped the concept of "anākhyā" as such a subtle point of supreme philosophy where all boundaries of idea, time, and experience merge. In his discussion, we see that within Kashmir Shaiva philosophy there are two powerfully opposing perspectives on this concept of anākhyā.

According to the first group, ultimate reality (Paramārtha-tattva) can be grasped in two ways—on one side it is completely formless, transcendent, beyond conception, where no manifestation or form exists; on the other side, that same reality manifests in stages as twelve (sometimes sixteen) kālikās or goddess forms—which are the twelve stages of consciousness's expansion or opening doors of experience. Each kālikā indicates a specific state of consciousness or level of sequence—through which consciousness learns to recognize itself by turning outward.

According to the other group, beyond even these twelve levels or sequences lies a thirteenth principle (Trayodaśa-tattva)—called anākhyā. This is such a level where sequence itself dissolves—meaning the inherent, non-sequential presence of that consciousness which gives birth to all streams of experience. Here consciousness is no longer movement, but undivided silent radiance, beyond all stages, all ideas.

Jayaratha has accepted both views together. In his explanation, the first view shows the functional aspect of multiplicity or manifestation—where supreme consciousness gradually reveals itself at various levels. The second view indicates that unity or non-dual truth—where all manifestation is actually the play of one consciousness. These two together create an integrated vision—where multiplicity and unity, manifestation and silence, time and timelessness are all different faces of the same consciousness.

This is why the Krama school has said: Mahā-bhairava-caṇḍogra-ghora-kālī—meaning "the great, fierce, terrible Kali"—is the symbol of this thirteenth level. She is the ultimate goddess because she declares: "I am the supreme goddess, I am beyond manifestation and dissolution, I am the culmination of all names and forms." In her, manifestation, withdrawal, and emptiness are united together.

In this state, three fundamental levels of experience—object (viṣaya), knower or agent (pramātā), and means of knowledge (pramāṇa)—all become unified. And "knowledge" is then no action; it is its own reflection—self-consciousness (svasaṁvedana). Here all externals, all differences are merely waves of bliss (ānanda). Knowing and being, manifestation and reflection, experience and experiencer—all merge into one complete fullness, where Kali is no longer any form—she is consciousness's own inherent light.

Pramātā: The one who knows or the agent of knowledge (The Knower/The Subject)

Prameya: That which can be known or the object of knowledge (The Object of Knowledge)

Pramāṇa: The means or method through which knowledge is gained (The Means of Knowledge)

Svasaṁvedana: Self-consciousness, self-realization, or consciousness as its own object (Self-Awareness, Self-Cognition)

Ānanda: Eternal and unconditional supreme bliss or supreme happiness

The symbolic name for this state is Kāla-saṅkarṣiṇī, meaning "she who draws time into herself"—who dissolves time, sequence, and measurement into her interior. She is also called Rudra-Raudreśvarī—meaning "the fierce agent of Rudra" or "supreme controller of Rudra-power." This title is found in the Tantric text called Śrī-Kāla-saṅkarṣiṇī-paryāya-Rudra-Raudreśvarī. Though its usage belongs to esoteric Tantric literature, its philosophical meaning is clear—it symbolizes the unity of consciousness's two aspects—the meeting point of śakti and īśitṛtva.

Śakti means the creative aspect of consciousness—the power that accomplishes creation, preservation, destruction, concealment, and grace. And īśitṛtva means "lordship" or "sovereign power"—that all-pervading consciousness which maintains independent control over all actions and results. Kāla-saṅkarṣiṇī is the unity of these two—here śakti itself is the lord, the lord itself is śakti; agent and action are no longer different. In creation's dance, duality disappears, because both instrument and instrumenter are one infinite consciousness.

This concept is explained even more subtly in the Vyoma-Cakra text—'Vyoma-Cakra' means "sky-circle" or "celestial circle of consciousness." There it is said that this level is called the "sixty-fifth principle"—such a state of consciousness that, though included within the sixty-four principles, transcends them. This is that consciousness which, amid all movement, remains established as pure harmony (samarasya). In Vyoma-Cakra it is called "the lord of harmony's supreme flood"—where all movement, opposites, and conflicts melt into one undifferentiated consciousness.

This level belongs to no active power; it is pure stable equilibrium-consciousness—where even the subtlest waves of will, movement, and change are stilled. Thus it is called kṛśā and kṛśatanu.

Kṛśā means "extremely subtle"—such consciousness that has transcended all movement and will. Kṛśatanu means "bearer of subtle body" or "having extremely subtle form." This is such a point of consciousness where no momentum of action remains—only motionless radiance.