Sahasranama position 194 of the 1,072 names

Puratani

पुरातनी

Purātanī

What Puratani means

Puratani is name 194 in the Adya Mahakali Sahasranama, the 1,072-name devotional text to Maa Kali. The Ancient One, eternally existing before all creation.

Also spelled

  • Source transliteration: PURATANI

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 Ancient One, eternally existing before all creation.

Elaboration

The name Puratani means "the Ancient One" or "She who is most ancient." It points to Her timeless, primordial nature, existing from an inconceivable past and beyond the limits of sequential time.

The Primordial Mother Puratani signifies that Kali is the Mūlaprakṛiti, the root substance or primordial matrix from which all creation unfolds. She is the first, the original, the uncreated source. Before the universe arose, before space, before time, She simply was, abiding as undivided consciousness and pure potential.

Transcendence of Time This appellation directly denies the idea that Kali has a beginning. She is beyond Kāla (Time), and thus She is the eternal witness of every cycle of creation, sustenance, and dissolution. She is the ultimate past, present, and future, present in all moments while remaining completely beyond them.

Source of All Wisdom As the Ancient One, Puratani embodies the oldest and deepest wisdom. She holds within Herself the memory of countless universes, the hidden laws of existence, and the ultimate truth of reality. To approach Her is to draw near the primal knowledge of all that was, is, and ever will be.

Eternal Presence For the devotee, meditating on Kali as Puratani awakens a deep connection to the unchanging, eternal aspect of the Divine. It offers solace amid the world's impermanence and flux, reminding one that an ancient, steady, all-pervading consciousness remains untouched. This realization helps dissolve the fear of change and the illusion of temporal limitation.

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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