Name Susan Barton Young
School Deering High School
Project Title Kali: Cross-Cultural (Mis)Understandings

 

3. Emaciated Body

Kali is almost always portrayed as naked and emaciated, but sometimes with very full breasts.  Her nakedness is viewed as a sign of her “freedom from veils of illusion.”  Her emaciation is a sign that her hunger and thirst for blood can never be filled, but her full breasts suggest her nurturing side. 

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This site was created by (Susan Barton Young) at the NEH Summer Institute "Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region," held at the College of the Holy Cross, Summer 2006