śrī kālikāṣṭakam

(Salutations to devi Kalika) from her neck is hanging a garland of (severed) heads from which blood is dripping down, she is making a very terrific sound revealing her large teeth, and her appearance is extremely dreadful to look at, she is without any clothes and residing in the cremation ground; her hair is let loose and free (as is her entire appearance), her entire being is manifesting the great yearning to merge with mahakala (to take the devotees beyond samsara); she is Kalika, the great dark goddess.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) with her left pair of hands, she is holding a head and a sword (symbols of death),... and in like manner with her right pair of hands, she is depicting the vara (boon-giving) and abhaya (fearlessness) mudras (gestures) (assurance of taking the devotees to the world beyond death), her well-built middle torso is slightly bent with the weight of her lofty breasts, her pair of lips are shining with redness (the colour of blood), at the corner of which is playing a beautiful smile (of death).

(Salutations to devi Kalika) her pair of ear rings are displaying the symbols of corpse (death) and she is having a beautiful long hair, her shining girdle in the waist is made up of the (severed) joined hands of the dead, she is mounted on the platform of corpses;.. and jackals... from all four directions are making howling sounds (of terror);... and in the midst of all these is reigning Kalika, the great dark goddess.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) viranchi (sri brahma) and the other devas of the trinity, by taking recourse to your three gunas,... and equally considering Kali as their aradhya (worshippable), have become the chief among the devas, you are without any beginning, you are the beginning of all devas (i.e. the primordial power giving birth to the devas), you are the beginning of all sacrifices (i.e. the primordial power to which all sacrificial oblations go), you are the beginning of all the worlds (i.e. the primordial power giving birth to the worlds), even the devas do not know your transcendental nature.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) you are the power enchanting the worlds, and (what more), you are the power proclaiming speech itself, you are the power which nourish the good-hearted, and you are the power which destroy the enemies (i.e. evil hearted), you are the power which can supress the speech, and what more, you are the power which can eradicate speech itself (i.e. destroy the vain pride of enemies), even the devas do not know your transcendental nature.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) you can give heaven itself (i.e. great prosperity), and again like a wish-fulfilling creeper... fulfill the mind-born wishes uttered with true devotion, thus, to you the world is always grateful, even the devas do not know your transcendental nature.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) you take great delight drinking the sura (liquor signifying transcendental bliss) and you are pleased with sincere devotees, within the heart shining with purity, you always manifest yourself,... the heart which is cleansed of impurities by the nectar of japa (repetition of god's name), dhyana (meditation) and puja (worshipping god), even the devas do not know your transcendental nature.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) you are a form within the sky of consciousness of spiritual bliss and you make your presence felt by smiling gently (deep within), your form is like the moon in the autumn sky (of spiritual consciousness) which reflects the million rays contained within it, the sages and the enlightened feel your presence within the caves of their hearts, even the devas do not know your transcendental nature.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) you are black like the great cloud and also deep red, and again white, sometimes you assume various forms through your yogamaya, you are neither a small girl, nor an old woman, and also not of any age filled with love desires (i.e. youth), even the devas do not know your transcendental nature.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) please forgive my mistake (if any), (because) your great hidden nature... has been revealed by me in the midst of the world, it has been revealed by the childlike nature (within me) which has been made pure by meditation on you, even the devas do not know your transcendental nature.

(Salutations to devi Kalika) if any person reads this with meditative devotion,... then he will become great in all the worlds, in the house (i.e. while living in this world) he will get the eight siddhis, and after death he will attain liberation, even the devas do not know your transcendental nature.