Vedic Kathas

Kali and Raktabija

The demon Raktabija had a boon that each drop of his blood that fell to earth became a new demon, so no weapon could kill him.

The story of Kali and Raktabija is told in the Devi Mahatmya, the great scripture of the Goddess, and it is from this battle that the fierce Kali first strides into the world.

The demon who could not die

In the war between the Goddess and the demon brothers Shumbha and Nishumbha, their most dreadful general was Raktabija, whose name means "blood-seed".

The birth of Kali

Seeing that no ordinary assault could win, the Goddess did what only she could do. Her brow darkened with wrath, and from the furrow of her frown sprang Kali, gaunt and black and vast, with sunken reddened…

How Raktabija was defeated

Kali understood at once what had to be done. As Durga and the shaktis fell upon Raktabija and struck him again and again, Kali ranged across the field with her tongue outstretched and her mouth gaping wide,…

The dance that shook the world

But the frenzy of battle did not leave Kali when the demon fell. Drunk on the blood she had drunk and the slaughter she had wrought, she danced across the earth in a fury that threatened to crack the worlds…

The meaning of the story

Raktabija is often read as the ego, or as desire and anger: strike at them head-on, and from every blow they multiply. They cannot be defeated by a force that only scatters their seed.

What it means

Raktabija is read as the ego, or desire and anger, which multiply whenever they are struck down directly. Kali conquers by drinking the blood at its source, a sign that craving is overcome not by endless…