Mahakali (महाकाली, IAST: Mahākālī) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu girl-name meaning “The great dark goddess beyond time and death”. Mahā means 'great' and Kālī derives from kāla meaning 'time' or 'dark,' together naming the supreme form of the Goddess who transcends time itself—here revealing Lakshmi's identity with this ultimate divine power.

Meaning, etymology & significance

Mahākālī is composed of mahā, meaning great or supreme, and Kālī, derived from the root kāl, relating to time, darkness, and the dissolution of all that is temporal. As an epithet of Lakshmi in the Aṣṭottaram, this name reveals the Śākta theological understanding that Śrī and Kālī are not separate beings but two faces of the one Supreme Goddess—one bestowing creation and abundance, the other presiding over transformation and liberation. The Devī Māhātmya and Tantric texts explicitly identify Mahālakṣmī with Mahākālī at the cosmic level.

Mahākālī is revered as a powerful given name in traditions that honor the universal Mother in all her aspects. Pronounced ma-hā-kā-lī, it is bold, sacred, and carries the transformative energy of the timeless Goddess.

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Scriptural source

Mahakali appears in the Lakshmi Ashtottaram, among the sacred names of Lakshmi.

Astrology — nakshatra, rashi & numerology

By the standard Vedic correspondence between a name’s first syllable and the lunar mansion, Mahakali aligns with the Magha nakshatra, under the Simha rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 9.