Devi
Kali mantra
ॐ क्रीं कालिकायै नमः
Oṁ Krīṁ Kālikāyai Namaḥ
Simple reading: Om kreem kaa-li-kaa-yai na-mah
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 what is feared most — endings — and finds a mother's face on it.
When to recite it
Kali Puja night and Amavasya evenings hold it; taken up at endings — of habits, chapters, 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.