kascit vagviseshatah?”). Kalidasa gave
his answer over time, using the three
words in his wife’s question as the first
words of his three greatest works—
Kumarasambhava, Meghaduta, and
Raghuvamsha. He is also the author of
the dramas Abhijnanashakuntala,
Vikramorvashiya, and the Malavikagnimitra.
These works reportedly gained him
the patronage of king Vikramaditya,
with whose court Kalidasa is
traditionally associated.
Legend also recounts that Kalidasa’s
miraculous gift of learning caused his
death. Since his wife had spurred his
search for learning, Kalidasa thought of
her as his guruor religious teacher. Out
of respect, he refused all sexual relations
with her. Enraged at his refusal, she
cursed him to meet his death at the
hands of a woman. Many years later, a
king composed a line of verse and
offered a large prize to the person who
could compose the best ending.
Kalidasa heard about this contest while
enjoying the company of a courtesan
and effortlessly composed the perfect
ending. In her greed for the prize, the
courtesan stabbed and killed Kalidasa.
Although her crime was discovered and
she was punished, this legend illustrates
the Hindu belief in the unstoppable
power of fate, particularly when driven
by a curse.
Kalighat
Temple dedicated to the goddess Kaliin
the southern section of modern
Calcutta. This temple is several hundred
years old and is considered one of the
most important temples in Calcutta.
The city’s name is supposedly an
anglicized version of the temple’s name.
Local tradition claims that Kalighat
is one of the Shakti Pithas, a network
of sites sacred to the Goddess. Each
Shakti Pitha marks the site where a body
part of the dismembered goddess Sati
fell to earth, taking form there as a
different goddess; in the case of
Kalighat the body part was one of Sati’s
toes. See also pitha.
Kalika Devi
Name of both a shrine in the Shiwalik
Hills(foothills of the Himalayas) and of
its presiding deity. Kalika Devi is one of
the nine Shiwalik goddesses and is
believed to be a form of the goddess
Kali. The temple itself is in the town of
Kalka, on the road between the cities of
Chandigarh and Simla. As is the
case with many of the other Shiwalik
goddesses, the image of Kalika Devi is a
natural stone outcropping. This is con-
sidered a self-manifested (svayambhu)
form of the Goddess. Unlike many of the
other Shiwalik goddesses, the Hindilit-
erature on this shrine does not claim
that the temple is one of the Shakti
Pithas, a network of sites sacred to the
Goddess, mythically connected as
places where a body part of the dismem-
bered goddess Satifell to earth. Instead,
the literature simply commends the
temple for its power and majesty. The
literature does note, however, that local
priests claim it as the place where Sati’s
hair fell to earth. This illustrates both the
influence that pamphlet literature can
have in channeling pilgrim traffic and
the need to tie one’s site into the net-
work of the Shakti Pithas.
The stone outcropping that forms
Kalika Devi’s image is considered to be
her head. According to tradition, Kali
took the form of a beautiful woman and
came to the temple to sing festive songs
during the festival of Navaratri. The
local monarch was so smitten by
her voice and beauty that he asked
her to marry him. Enraged at this insult,
Kali cursed the king to lose his kingdom.
As a further sign of her displeasure,
she caused the temple image to begin
sinking into the earth. At the plea of
an ardent devotee, she allowed the
head of the image to remain visible.
See also pitha.Kalimath
(“Kali’sDwelling”) Village and sacred
site (tirtha) in the Himalayamountains
of Uttar Pradesh state. Kalimath is
located on a small tributary of theKalighat