Raktabija

Indian mythology · asura · self-replication

The demon whose every drop of spilled blood birthed a duplicate of himself, drowning the battlefield in his own copies, until Kali spread her tongue across the earth and drank every drop before it fell.

Stories

Kali and the Blood-Seed Demon

Every drop of Raktabija's spilled blood springs up as another of him, until the battlefield drowns in duplicates. From Durga's brow leaps black Kali, who spreads her tongue across the earth and drinks each drop before it lands; the demon's army ends inside her.