Bengaluru: If you have looked at the portrait of Mother Kali intently, you have seen her stamping the chest of a man lying on the ground, with her tongue lolling out and a garland of heads around her neck. 

Ever wondered what it meant and why she was so furious and finally, who that man under her feet is? 

Make no mistake. That man under her feet is none other than her husband Lord Shiva! 

The story goes that when demons wanted to defeat gods and rule the earth, the gods were utterly helpless. They turned to mother Durga for help. But there was one demon named Raktabijasura who had been given a boon by brahma that a hundred such Raktabijasuras would be born from the drop of his blood that spilled. Mother Durga could not tackle him. So a new form of Maa Durga, called mother Kali was given birth to.

In a bid to kill Raktabijasura, mother Kali extended her tongue and drank every blood that fell from his body. As more and more Raktabijasuras sprang up, the mother devoured all of them, ultimately killing him. 

Now, after the final killing of the demon, mother Kali was still furious and aggressive and began dancing in a scary manner. She even gave out a loud shriek which terrified the gods. 

These gods pleaded with mother Kali to become calm, but she was in no mood to listen to them. 

Ultimately, they turned to Lord Shiva and pleaded with him to save them. He, based on their fervent pleas, came to the site of mother’s furious dancing and tried his best to calm her down. 

When that too didn’t work, he thought of an idea. And that was to lie at her feet! 

As she danced wildly, she stepped on Lord Shiva’s chest, initially, not recognising what she had done. 

And when she did realise what she had done, she became embarrassed and finally, regained her calm and composed nature.