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TheKalika Purana (Sanskrit:कालिकापुराणम्, Kālikā Purāṇa), also called theKali Purana,Sati Purana orKalika Tantra, is one of the eighteen minorPuranas (Upapurana) in theShaktism tradition ofHinduism.[1][2][3] The text was likely composed inAssam orCooch Behar[4]region ofIndia and is attributed to the sageMarkandeya. It exists in many versions, variously organized in 90 to 93 chapters. The surviving versions of the text are unusual in that they start abruptly and follow a format not found in either the major or minorPurana-genre mythical texts of Hinduism.[1] Various types ofanimal sacrifices for devi are detailed in the Purana.
The text starts off with the legends ofDevi trying to bringShiva back from ascetic life into that of a householder's by making him fall in love again.[1] According toLudo Rocher,Markandeya describes how Brahma, Shiva andVishnu are "one and the same" and that all goddesses (Sati, Parvati,Menaka,Kali and others) are manifestation of the same feminine energy.[1][2] It glorifies goddessKamakhya, orKamakshi, and details the ritual procedures required for worshiping her. It also describes in detail the rivers and mountains atKamarupatirtha and mentions the Brahmaputra River and theKamakhya Temple.[1][5]
Chapters 67 through 78 of the text constitute theRudhiradhyaya which discussesbali (animal sacrifice) and ofVamacaraTantrism.[1] TheRudhiradhyaya section is notable for its uncommon discussion of human sacrifice. The text states that a human sacrifice may be performed to please the goddess, but only with the consent of prince before a war or cases of imminent danger. The text also states that anyone who is physically disabled, related to a Brahmin, or "is not willing to die" through the sacrifice is unfit for the ritual. The text describes the rituals associated with abali, or a rice-paste substitute for enemies prior to a war, but does not describe how the sacrifice was actually done.[6]
The work belongs to the goddess-orientedShakta branch ofHinduism. Most probably it was composed in or near medievalKamarupa (modernAssam). It is a late work, states Hazra, byNibandha writers regardingShakti worship.[3] It is also one of the rare Hindu texts that actually mentions the word "Hindu".
According to Hazra, there existed a text that was older than the extant one, and that the origin of that text wasBengal.[3] This is denied by Shastri, who claims that the evidence provided by Hazra for an earlier text can be explained by other means, without invoking an older text.[7] According to Shastri, the local descriptions; the exposition of the myth ofNaraka from who all the dynasties ofKamarupa drew their lineage; the description of the myth of Brahmaputra river; and the claim in the text that Kamarupa was holier than evenVaranasi points to the text having been composed in Kamarupa.[8]
References toKālidāsa andMagha suggests that it is not one of the early Puranas.[8] The mention of places and events associated withRatna Pala (920-960) of Kamrupa region places the text to after the 10th-century.[9] The explanation in the text for theMlechchha population, and the indication of a parallel explanation in Harjaravarman's (815-832) Hyunthal copper plate inscription places the text closer to his reign.[9] According to Rocher, the mention of king Dharmapala of Kamarupa has led to proposals of Kalika Purana being an 11th- or 12th-century text. However, estimates for different sections of the text range from 7th to the 12th-century.[1][10]
The earliest printed edition of this text was published by the Venkateshvara Press, Bombay in 1829Saka Era (1907 CE), followed by the Vangavasi Press, Calcutta in 1316Bangabda (1909 CE).[citation needed]