Devi
Kali mantra
ॐ क्रीं कालिकायै नमः
Simple reading
Om kreem kaa-li-kaa-yai na-mah
Oṁ Krīṁ Kālikāyai Namaḥ
About this mantra
The seed-mantra of Kali, the Mother as time itself: fierce compassion that cuts through fear and ends what binds.
Meaning
Om. Kreem. Salutations to Kalika. The seed-sound is sharp because she is: Kali is time in person, the Mother who ends what has finished so that what must live, can. Her devotees call the fierceness tenderness at full strength. The reciter bows to endings, what is feared most, and finds a mother's face on them.
Learn it by heart
Say the first line until it comes without reading, then add the next line and say both, until the whole mantra comes on its own.
Whole mantra
This mantra is a single line. Learn it whole, then add it to your review deck so it comes back for a check.
ॐ क्रीं कालिकायै नमः
Oṁ Krīṁ Kālikāyai Namaḥ
0not said yet
Aim for eleven. Stop reading as soon as the whole mantra comes on its own.
Progress stays on this device.
When to recite it
Kali Puja night and Amavasya evenings hold it; taken up at the ending of habits, chapters and fears, and in grief that needs a fierce mother rather than a gentle one.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- क्रींkrīṁ
- the bīja of Kali
- कालिकायैkālikāyai
- to Kalika, the Mother as time
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Traditional bīja-mantra of the Devi worship corpus
Note: Given here in its commonly used form; wording can vary slightly between family and regional traditions.