Shakti
The male deity is purusha, pure consciousness, which creates the universe through the female creative energy of Shakti, which is prakriti, 'nature'.
[8] Much has been written in an effort to describe, define and delineate the principle of Shakti, which is held as the "most complex" goddess related theological concept.
[8] Shakti is believed to constitute such important factors as: "cit (consciousness, intelligence), ananda (joy, bliss), iccha (will), jnana (knowledge), and kriya (action)".
[14] Scholars assume goddess worship was prevalent in the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300–1300 BCE) as many terracotta female figurines with smoke-blacked headgears, suggesting their use in rituals, had been found in almost all the houses of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.
"[16] This use of the term Śacī is seen as a major step in the later conception of Śakti as the divine power that is separate from a deity and something which is not inherently present within it.
[16] In later Hindu texts, the idea of Shakti as divine feminine energy became more pronounced as wives of the gods began to personify the powers of their husbands.
[16] Despite arriving at this stage, it was only later, after a lot of philosophical speculation and understanding the connecting factor underlying the universe that the idea of Shakti as being the feminine unity pervading all existence was developed.
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad portrayed Brahman as "manifest Lord or Īśvara", thereby enabling a "theistic relationship" between a deity and devotee.
They were largely complemented by Puranas, a body of literature that built upon the ideas of Upanishads but were primarily made up of myth and legend that proclaimed the supremacy of a particular deity and equated their nirguna (unmanifest) form with the Brahman.
The Kurma Purana (1.1.30) portrayed the goddess Śrī or Lakshmi as a being lower to her husband, the god Vishnu, who "takes possession" of her when she appears at the churning of milk.
[17] Nevertheless, the Kurma Purana (1.1.34) likewise described Lakshmi as the impetus of Vishnu, who calls her "that great Śakti (potency) of my form".
[17] An inseparable bond between the goddess and her consort was formed when she was projected as an embodiment of three important principles — "śakti (energy), prakṛti (primordial or primary matter) and māyā (illusion)", thus founding a relationship between "female divinity and creative power".
[18] The Devi Mahatmya bolstered the concept of the Mahadevi or the great goddess, an amalgamate of manifold powers, with numerous epithets.
[19] The text described the all-pervasive Mahadevi as being both devi (goddess) and asuri (demoness), for she represents positive as well as negative aspects of power and energy.
[20] Of noteworthy, is the fact that the goddess of the Devi Bhagavata Purana is invariably presented as being "independent of any male authority and control".
[20] The goddess here, addressed as "Ādya or Primordial Śakti", is unambiguously presented as "the source of all goddesses, from the highest to the lowest forms", with higher forms presenting prominent aspects of her energy or power and conform with the three traits or the gunas in all life, namely: "sattva (purity, goodness, the illuminating principle), rajas (activity, passion, the energetic principle) and tamas (darkness, inertia, dullness)".
[20] The Devi Bhagavata Purana, differing from Samkhya and other traditions, specifically Advaita Vedanta, presents prakṛti in a more favourable manner as an intrinsic aspect of the goddess' power.
These goddesses usually have fully developed mythologies, with assurance from textual sources and are highly found in temples, both large and small, where they are represented anthropomorphically.
The benign goddesses are usually depicted as being smaller than their husband and are commonly shown in a subordinate role, as with Lakshmi, who is often portrayed sitting at the feet of Vishnu.
The benign goddesses, in their role as wife, present an outline of characteristics like loyalty and assistance, making them an ideal example for Hindu women in general, and often a symbol of the supreme devotee.
[24] While Durga is seemingly in accord with the ideal of Brahmanical womanhood-being represented with an attractive face and many hands holding different weapons, Kali remains firmly on the outskirts of what is commonly considered as orthodox, on the borders of acceptability.
[24] Though many villages have shrines and festivals for the Brahmanical deities, they are often referred by different names; such as Sundaresvarar for Shiva in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
[25] Local goddesses symbolize an outlook of Shakti based in the mundane or earthly aspects, and present an easily accessible "power source" for people living in a particular location.
[25] This approach involves shaping her character, similarly, to those of pan-Indian or Brahmanical deities, usually achieved by minimizing evidently local traits, such as approval of blood offerings.
[25] Another feature of this process is, what has been called as 'spousification', wherein an independent goddess is ritually married, either "temporarily, annually or – if fully Hinduised – permanently", to a celebrated god, usually Shiva.
[25] The pan-Indian goddesses are clearly more orthodox and can be regarded as being essentially pure, they are paid respect to when needed and they stay at fringes of local life without necessarily intervening in the daily lives of people.
[6] The Devi Bhagavata Purana considers the nature of Shakti as being made up of three existential qualities, similar to prakriti in Samkhya: Sattva (calm and balanced), Rajas (passionate and active), and Tamas (lethargic and inactive).
[44] In the Smarta Advaita tradition, Shakti is one of the five equal personal forms of God, as in the panchadeva system, advocated by Adi Shankara.
The Smarta tradition rejects theistic sectarianism, and is notable for the domestic worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal—Ganesha, Shiva, Adi Parashakti, Vishnu and Surya.
There has been a considerable overlap in the ideas and practices of the Smarta tradition with other denominations within Hinduism, namely Shaivism, Brahmanism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.
