Meaning and elaboration
Meaning: The primordial Male Principle, Purusha, the attributeless ground of consciousness.
Elaboration
Puman, derived from "Puruṣa," is one of Mahakali's more subtle and philosophically charged names. Kali is most often revered as the supreme feminine power, Shakti, yet this name reveals her non-dual fullness. It identifies her not only with the dynamic feminine principle, but also with the primordial masculine principle.
The Puruṣa Principle In Sankhya philosophy, Puruṣa is pure consciousness: changeless, witnessing, and distinct from Prakriti, the field of nature and manifestation. It does not act in the ordinary sense; it illumines. When Kali is called Puman, the meaning is not that she is "male" in any limited or gendered sense, but that she is also the transcendent, attributeless consciousness, Nirguṇa Brahman, that underlies all existence.
Beyond Gender Duality This name dissolves the apparent division between male and female, Shiva and Shakti. It declares that Kali, as the Supreme Reality, stands beyond every dual category, including gender. She is not only the power that animates Shiva, but also the silent awareness identified with Shiva himself. In that sense, the name reflects the Advaitic understanding that ultimate reality is one, indivisible, and beyond conceptual division.
The Source of All Manifestation As Puman, Kali is the still ground from which the many forms and movements of the universe arise. She is dynamism and repose together, energy and pure awareness in one reality. This name affirms her absolute completeness: she is not only the force of transformation, but also the unchanging truth that makes every transformation possible.