Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c7.2882

c7.2882

3) Grāmadevatā temples. Worship of Bhadrakālī existed in India from very early times. When Mohanjoḍaro and Harappa were excavated idols of Devī (goddess) more than 4000 years old, were obtained from there. During the prevalence of Buddhism in India the goddesses Yakṣī and Hāritī were worshipped in India. Later when Hinduism was revived these goddesses took their places in it as the goddesses of Hindu Purāṇas and epics. The Kālī temples of Ujjayinī and Calcutta are famous. In the Cidambara temple also the main deity is Kālī. The legend is that Paramaśiva defeated Kālī in a dance. In Mysore Cāmuṇḍī (Kālī) is worshipped as chief goddess or family goddess. Kāmākṣī in Kāñcī, Mīnākṣī in Madura (South India), Mūkāmbikā in North Karṇāṭaka and so on are the gentle and peaceful forms of Kālī.