List of Hindu deities in the context of "Kali (god)"

Kali (/ˈkɑːliː/; Sanskrit: काली, IAST: Kālī), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who provide liberating knowledge. Of the numerous Hindu goddesses, Kali is held as the most famous. She is the preeminent deity in the Hindu tantric and the Kalikula worship traditions, and is a central figure in the goddess-centric sects of Hinduism as well as in Shaivism. Kali is chiefly worshipped as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, and Divine feminine energy.

The origins of Kali can be traced to the pre-Vedic and Vedic era goddess worship traditions in the Indian subcontinent. Etymologically, the term Kali refers to one who governs time or is black. The first major appearance of Kali in the Sanskrit literature was in the sixth-century CE text Devi Mahatmya. Kali appears in many stories, with the most popular one being when she manifests as personification of goddess Durga's rage to defeat the demon Raktabija. The terrifying iconography of Kali makes her a unique figure among the goddesses and symbolises her embracement and embodiment of the grim worldly realities of blood, death and destruction.

Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community. Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches. Other forms of forest usage like honey collection and deadwood collection are sometimes allowed on a sustainable basis. NGOs work with local villagers to protect such groves. Traditionally, and in some cases even today, members of the community take turns to protect the grove. The introduction of the protected area category community reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 has introduced legislation for providing government protection to community held lands, which could include sacred groves.

Around 14,000 sacred groves have been reported across India, which act as reservoirs of rare fauna, and more often rare flora, amid rural and even urban settings. Experts believe that the total number of sacred groves could be as high as 100,000. Threats to the groves include urbanization, and over-exploitation of resources. While many of the groves are looked upon as abodes of Hindu deities, in the recent past a number of them have been partially cleared for construction of shrines and temples. Sacred groves are places of yatra (pilgrimage) in Indian-origin religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.