Kalika Purana

The Kalika Purana (कालिकापुराणम्, Kālikā Purāṇa), also called the Kali Purana, Sati Purana or Kalika Tantra, is one of the eighteen minor Puranas (Upapurana) in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. The text was likely composed in Assam or Cooch Behar region of India and is attributed to the sage Markandeya. It exists in many versions, variously organized in 90 to 93 chapters. The surviving versions of the text are unusual in that they start abruptly and follow a format not found in either the major or minor Purana-genre mythical texts of Hinduism. Various types of animal sacrifices for devi are detailed in the Purana. The text starts off with the legends of Devi trying to bring Shiva back from ascetic life into that of a householder's by making him fall in love again. According to Ludo Rocher, Markandeya describes how Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are "one and the same" and that all goddesses (Sati, Parvati, Menaka, Kali and others) are manifestation of the same feminine energy. It glorifies the goddess Kamakhya, or Kamakshi, and details the ritual procedures required for worshiping her. It also describes in detail the rivers and mountains at Kamarupa tirtha and mentions the Brahmaputra River and the Kamakhya Temple. Chapters 67 through 78 of the text constitute the Rudhiradhyaya which discusses bali (animal sacrifice) and of Vamacara Tantrism. The Rudhiradhyaya section is notable for its uncommon discussion of human sacrifice. The text states that a human sacrifice may be performed to please the goddess, but only with the consent of prince before a war or cases of imminent danger. The text also states that anyone who is physically disabled, related to a Brahmin, or "is not willing to die" through the sacrifice is unfit for the ritual. The text describes the rituals associated with a bali, or a rice-paste substitute for enemies prior to a war, but does not describe how the sacrifice was actually done. The work belongs to the goddess-oriented Shakta branch of Hinduism. Most probably it was composed in or near medieval Kamarupa (modern Assam).