शवारूढां महाभीमां घोरदंष्ट्रां हसन्मुखीम्।
चतुर्भुजां खड्गमुण्डवराभयकरां शिवाम्॥
मुण्डमालाधरां देवीं ललज्जिह्वां दिगम्बराम्।
एवं सञ्चिन्तयेत् कालीं श्मशानालयवासिनीम्॥

Kali is one among the Dasha Mahavidyas.

This is one of the dhyana shlokas of Kali.

Why is Devi's this form so terrifying ?

Because she has to perform all three: creation, maintenance and elimination.

Elimination can not be soft and gentle.

Elimination is always harsh.

Can you demolish a structure with a gentle painting brush?

No.

You do it with a bulldozer and big hammers.

A lot of hard blows.

Then the structure comes down.

Because in the world everything is interconnected.

Everything is held together by energies flowing between them.

Even a piece of plastic, it has so many molecules in it.

But what is between the molecules holding them all together in that particular shape?

It's some kind of energy.

Some kind of vibration.

Then that piece of plastic is sitting on the ground.

There is gravitational force between them.

If you try to move the piece of plastic the ground resists.

There is frictional force between them.

This is just one piece of plastic.

Imagine the trillions of trillions of objects, beings, forces, actions- all these have to be demolished.

At one go.

So imagine the power required.

Her size has to be enormous.

She is Mahabheema.

And her ghoradamshtras show her ferociousness.

But she is doing it playfully- hasanmukhi.

For her it is just a play.

She is not taking revenge on someone.

This is her play.

If she withdraws from the world, she takes her power out, she separates herself from the world, she comes out of the world, then the world is dead.

Then there is no more action in the world.

World will be like a dead body.

Sitting on top of a dead body, this is what Devi is showing.

I am different from lifeless dead matter.

I only infuse life, power, strength into everything.

In her upper hands she is holding a sword and a skull and with the other two she is showing mudras of protection and blessing.

Sword stands for the primary act which is elimination of the world.

Skull stands for what remains after elimination also the mundamala garland of skulls.

Skull is what remains after life goes from the body and cremation is performed.

So whatever remains after elimination, even that is around her neck or in her hand.

That doesn't have any independent existence.

She only supports the state after pralaya also, after elimination also.

And her abode is the cremation ground. shmashana again standing for where everyone and everything has to go ultimately.

But till the time she becomes active, as the eliminator, she is there to protect you and bless you with whatever you ask for.

Because she is Shiva, she is so auspicious.

She will just scare away your enemies with her tongue hanging out.

She is so scary to the evil.

Not to the noble.

To the noble, her hands are always showing the signs of protection and blessing, abhaya and vara mudras.

Digambara has got two meanings.

One- she is naked.

Two- her clothes are the directions, the dishas.

Where is the clothe?

Clothe is on the periphery of the body.

The clothes that we wear, they start where the body ends, right?

You go in any direction, no matter where you go she is still there.

You go towards East, keep on going.

There is no dead end where it stops.

You can keep on going.

You can not see her clothes which are worn above her body, which are beyond her because her body itself doesn’t have an end.

That is why Devi is depicted as naked.