Sahasranama position 497 of the 1,072 names

Kritya

कृत्या

Kṛtyā

What Kritya means

Kritya is name 497 in the Adya Mahakali Sahasranama, the 1,072-name devotional text to Maa Kali. The Doer of All Actions, the Cause of All Creation.

Also spelled

  • Krtya
  • Source transliteration: KRIITYA

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 Doer of All Actions, the Cause of All Creation.

Elaboration

The name Kriitya comes from the Sanskrit root "kṛ," meaning "to do," "to make," or "to create." It presents Kali as the Doer, the power behind action itself, and the cause from which creation unfolds. In this name, She is not a distant deity standing outside existence, but the living force at work within it.

The Ultimate Agent Kriitya reveals Mahakali as the primal agent behind the movement of the cosmos. Every action, event, creation, and dissolution unfolds through Her divine will and Shakti. She is not merely an observer, but the active principle, Prakriti itself, that sets the universe in motion and sustains it at every level.

The Source of All Creation As the Cause of All Creation, Kriitya represents the dynamic creative aspect of the unmanifest Brahman. From Her arise all forms, worlds, and beings. She is both the fertile ground and the generative power from which existence emerges. This reflects the Advaitic understanding that the one ultimate reality appears as the many through the power of Māyā, and that power is none other than Her.

The Giver of Karma and Its Fruits In a deeper sense, Kriitya is also intimately connected with Karma. As the Doer of All Actions, She governs the field in which beings act and receive the fruits of what they do. Every deed, thought, and intention, whether benevolent or harmful, is held within Her cosmic order. Through Her unwavering justice, the results of action return, guiding beings either toward liberation or into deeper entanglement according to their actions.

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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