Meaning and elaboration
Meaning: Whose abdomen is as deep as a great lake.
Elaboration
TADAGA NIMNA JATHARA refers to the Goddess whose abdomen (Jathara) is as deep (Nimna) as a great lake or pond (Tadaga). This poetic image points to the boundless and mysterious nature of Mahakali.
Boundless Capacity and Containment The deep lake or pond (Tadaga) symbolizes immense depth and capacity. Just as a great lake holds vast waters and sustains life within its hidden depths, Mahakali's abdomen is described as containing the entire cosmos. This expresses her all-encompassing nature: creation, preservation, and dissolution all abide within her being.
The Primordial Womb Philosophically, the abdomen is the seat of the womb, the source of creation. Describing it as a deep lake points to her as the ultimate creative source, the primordial womb from which everything emerges. This depth is not merely physical but symbolic of unfathomable potential and the hidden mystery of existence itself. She is the source from which all manifested forms arise and the depth into which they finally recede.
Unfathomable Mystery and Non-Duality A deep lake also suggests unfathomable mystery. Its depths are dark, unknown, and full of hidden things. This highlights Kali's nature as beyond ordinary comprehension and beyond dualistic understanding. She is the ultimate reality, never fully grasped by the intellect. Her "deep lake" abdomen symbolizes the Mahāśūnya (the Great Void) from which she appears and which she eternally embodies: profound, ever-changing, and yet still at its core.
The Devourer of All In another interpretation, the immense depth of her abdomen alludes to her power to swallow and consume all creation at the time of cosmic dissolution (Pralaya). Just as a deep lake receives mighty rivers, her "deep lake" abdomen expresses her capacity to absorb all manifested existence back into her formless essence.