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{{Hindu scriptures}}<br />
The '''Kalika Purana''' ({{lang-sa|Kālikā Purāṇa}}), also called the '''Kali Purana''', '''Sati Purana''' or '''Kalika Tantra''', is one of the eighteen minor [[Purana]]s (''[[Upapurana]]'') in the [[Shaktism]] tradition of [[Hinduism]].{{sfnp|Rocher|1986|pp=179-183}}{{sfnp|Dalal|2010|p=187}}{{sfnp|Hazra|2003|p=280}} The text was likely composed in the [[Assam]] region of India and is attributed to the sage [[Markandeya]]. 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 minor [[Purana]]-genre mythical texts of Hinduism.{{sfnp|Rocher|1986|pp=179-183}}<br />
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== Content ==<br />
This text starts off with the legends of [[Devi]] trying to bring [[Shiva]] back from ascetic life into householder's life by making him fall in love again.{{sfnp|Rocher|1986|pp=179-183}} According to [[Ludo Rocher]], [[Markandeya]] describes how Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are "one and the same" and that all goddesses (Sati, Parvati, Menaka, Kali and others) are manifestation of the same feminine energy.{{sfnp|Rocher|1986|pp=179-183}}{{sfnp|Dalal|2010|p=187}} It glorifies the goddess ''[[Kamakhya]]'', or ''Kamakshi'', and details the ritual procedures required for worshiping her. It also describes in detail the rivers and mountains at ''[[Kamarupa]]'' ''[[Tirtha (Hinduism)|tirtha]]'' and mentions the Brahmaputra River and the [[Kamakhya Temple]].{{sfnp|Rocher|1986|pp=179-183}}{{sfnp|Dowson|1984|p=143}}<br />
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=== Rudhiradhyaya ===<br />
Chapters 67 through 78 of the text constitute the ''Rudhiradhyaya'' which discusses ''bali'' (animal sacrifice) and of Vamacara [[Tantrism]].{{sfnp|Rocher|1986|pp=179-183}} The ''Rudhiradhyaya'' 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 handicapped, 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 a ''bali'', or a rice-paste substitute for enemies prior to a war, but does not describe how the sacrifice was actually done.{{sfnp|Lawrence|1976|pp=232-234|ps=, with footnotes}}<br />
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== History ==<br />
The work belongs to the goddess-oriented ''[[Shaktism|Shakta]]'' branch of [[Hinduism]]. Most probably it was composed in or near medieval ''Kamarupa'' (modern [[Assam]]). It is a late work, states Hazra, by ''Nibandha'' writers regarding ''[[Shakti]]'' worship.{{sfnp|Hazra|2003|p=280}} It is also one of the rare Hindu texts that actually mentions the word "Hindu".<br />
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=== Date ===<br />
According to Hazra, there existed a text that was older than the extant one, and that the origin of that text was Bengal.{{sfnp|Hazra|2003|p=280}} 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.{{sfnp|Shastri|1994|p=23}} According to Shastri, the local descriptions; the exposition of the myth of [[Naraka]] from who all the dynasties of [[Kamarupa]] drew their lineage; the description of the myth of Brahmaputra river; and the claim in the text that Kamarupa was holier than even Varanasi points to the text having been composed in Kamarupa.{{sfnp|Shastri|1994|p=24}}<br />
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References to [[Kālidāsa]] and [[Magha (poet)|Magha]] suggests that it is not one of the early Puranas.{{sfnp|Shastri|1994|p=24}} The mention of places and events associated with [[Ratna Pala]] (920-960) of Kamrupa region places the text to after the 10th-century.{{sfnp|Shastri|1994|p=25}} The explanation in the text for the ''Mlechchha'' population, and the indication of a parallel explanation in Harjaravarman's (815-832) Hyunthal copper plate inscription places the text closer to his reign.{{sfnp|Shastri|1994|p=25}} 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 end of 11th-century.{{sfnp|Rocher|1986|pp=179-183}}<br />
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=== Printed editions ===<br />
The earliest printed edition of this text was published by the Venkateshvara Press, Bombay in 1829 [[Saka Era]] (1907 CE), followed by the Vangavasi Press, Calcutta in 1316 [[Bangabda]] (1909 CE).<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist|15em}}<br />
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== Bibliography ==<br />
{{refbegin|2}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Dalal |first1=Roshen |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC |year=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Dowson |first1=John |title=A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, and Religion, Geography, History |publisher=Rupa & Co. |location=Calcutta |orig-year=1879 |year=1984}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Hazra |first1=R.C. |orig-year=1962 |year=2003 |contribution=The Upapuranas |editor1-last=Radhakrishnan |editor1-first=S. |title=The Cultural Heritage of India |volume=2 |location=Kolkata |publisher=The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture |ISBN=81-85843-03-1}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Bruce B. |title=Shahrastani on the Indian Religions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yYUgAAAAQBAJ |year=1976 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-080099-9}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Shastri |first1=Biswanarayan |title=Kalikapurane Murtivinirdesah |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publications |year=1994}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Rocher |first1=Ludo |title=The Purāṇas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0-4RJh5FgoC |year=1986 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-02522-5}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
*[http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/puranas.htm Contents of 18 Puranas and a list of Upapuranas (lesser Puranas)]<br />
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{{Puranas}}<br />
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[[Category:Puranas]]<br />
[[Category:Shaktism]]<br />
[[Category:Animal sacrifice]]<br />
[[Category:Human sacrifice]]</div>->Scyrme