Sahasranama position 886 of the 1,072 names

Bhaga Linga Svarupa Cha

भग लिंग स्वरूप च

Bhaga Liṃga Svarūpa Ca

What Bhaga Linga Svarupa Cha means

Bhaga Linga Svarupa Cha is name 886 in the Adya Mahakali Sahasranama, the 1,072-name devotional text to Maa Kali. The true form of the feminine and masculine divine principles, inseparably one.

Also spelled

  • Bhaga Limga Svarupa Ca
  • BhagaLingaSvarupaCha
  • Source transliteration: BHAGA LINGGA SWA-RUPA CHA

Sanskrit names travel into English in several romanizations. This page keeps the common spelling, the IAST form, and the source transliteration together so the same name is discoverable under each spelling readers use.

Meaning and elaboration

Meaning: The true form of the feminine and masculine divine principles, inseparably one.

Elaboration

Bhaga Lingga Swa-Rupa Cha describes Kali as the very essence, the "Swa-Rupa" or true form, of both the masculine (Lingga) and feminine (Bhaga) divine principles in their inseparable unity. This name points to the ultimate non-dual nature of the Divine as embodied by Mahakali.

The Union of Opposites (Ardhanarishvara Principle) "Bhaga" here refers to the Yoni, the sacred feminine principle, symbolizing creation, manifest energy (Shakti), and the womb of the universe. "Lingga" refers to the Shiva Linga, representing the masculine principle, pure consciousness (Shiva), and the unmanifest ground of being. The term "Cha" means "and," explicitly joining the two. Thus, "Bhaga Lingga Swa-Rupa Cha" implies that Kali is the inherent self-form, or essential nature, that encompasses and transcends both the Yoni and the Linga. She is the union of Shiva and Shakti, the active and the receptive, consciousness and energy, the still and the dynamic.

The Source of All Creation By embodying both the Bhaga (Yoni) and Lingga (Shiva Linga), Kali is revealed as the primordial source from which creation, sustenance, and dissolution arise. She is not merely one half or the other, but the complete, indivisible reality that gives rise to the entire cosmos with its many male and female forms, energies, and relationships. All dualities arise from her unified being and finally dissolve back into it.

Beyond Gender and Form This name places Kali beyond conventional gendered understandings of the Divine. While she is depicted as feminine, "Bhaga Lingga Swa-Rupa Cha" declares that she intrinsically contains and is the very essence of masculinity as well. She is the ultimate trans-gender or supra-gender reality, the Absolute that encompasses all possible expressions without being limited by any of them. To worship her in this aspect is to acknowledge her as the foundational consciousness and power from which all distinctions arise, while she herself remains unified and whole.

Text and sources

The name list follows the Adya Mahakali Sahasranama as compiled for this project. The English meaning and elaboration are interpretive notes for devotional study, not a translation of a single critical edition.

Read the editorial method and source notes →

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