Meaning and elaboration
Meaning: Assuming the form of the Lingam.
Elaboration
Linga-Rupa-Dhriit means "She who assumes the form of the Lingam." This name reveals Mahakali's identity with Lord Shiva in his aniconic form, the Lingam. It points to her non-duality with Shiva and to her role as the power through which the cosmos arises and into which it returns.
The Lingam as an Ultimate Symbol In Shaivism, the Lingam is a central symbol. It points to the formless ultimate reality, Brahman, and to Shiva as the cosmic masculine principle, Purusha. It also signifies creation, dissolution, and the recurring movement of existence. When Mahakali is said to assume the form of the Lingam, the meaning is not that she merely stands beside Shiva as consort or attendant. It means she is the power and presence within the Lingam itself.
Shakti as the Essence of Shiva In Tantra and Shaktism, the Lingam is often shown arising from or resting within the Yoni, the cosmic feminine principle. This expresses the inseparable union of Shiva and Shakti. Linga-Rupa-Dhriit emphasizes that Kali, as Shakti, is the active power within Shiva's still and unmanifest form. She is the creative impulse, the transformative force, and the conscious intelligence that animates the universe Shiva silently pervades in his Lingam form.
Union of Opposites and Non-Duality This name underlines the non-duality of masculine and feminine, stillness and movement, form and formlessness. Kali as Linga-Rupa-Dhriit is the power hidden within the unmanifest, the potential within the absolute. The name teaches that ultimate reality is the union of static consciousness, Shiva, and dynamic power, Shakti. It also shows that her fierce and terrifying aspects rest in the serene and formless truth of the divine. Her destructive power is therefore not chaotic but aligned with the cosmic order the Lingam represents.