Archaeological excavations have been studied to trace the origins and development of goddess worship cultures. One of the earliest representation of a mother goddess dates back to the
Upper paleolithic period in Europe 20,000 years ago. Though goddess worship cults prevailed since antiquity in India, they gained popularity in the post
Gupta era (6th century CE), much of it attributed to their esoteric practices. Apart from the
Indian sculptures, the
Vedas, the
Puranas, and the
Tantras constitute the major literary sources detailing the development of goddess culture in Hinduism.
Pre-Vedic goddess worship The origins of Shakti concept are
prevedic. Sites related to the worship of the mother goddess or Shakti were found in
Paleolithic context at the
Son River valley, where a triangular stone known as the
Baghor stone, estimated to have been created around 9,000–8,000
BCE was found. The excavation team, which included
Kenoyer, considered it highly probable that the stone was associated with Shakti or the female principle. The representation of Shakti in a stone is an early example of
yantra. Scholars assume that goddess worship prevailed in the
Indus Valley Civilisation (3300–1300 BCE), as many
terracotta female figurines with smoke-blacked headgear suggesting their use in rituals had been found in almost all the houses of
Mohenjo-daro and
Harappa. Numerous
artefacts that appear to portray female deities were also found. This development however is not assumed to be the earliest precursor of goddess worship in India; it has evolved over a long period of time before.
In the Vedic era The
Veda Samhitas are the oldest scriptures that mention Hindu goddesses. The
Rigveda and the
Atharvaveda are the main sources about various goddesses from the
Vedic period ().
Ushas, the goddess of
dawn was the most praised. Though male deities such as
Indra and
Agni have been more popular in the Vedic era, female deities were represented as personifications of important aspects like Earth (
Prithvi), Mother of Gods (
Aditi), Night (
Ratri), and Speech (
Vāc/Vāk). The
Devīsūkta in the
Rigveda, addressed to the goddess
Vāc, became the progenitor of goddess theology that evolved later. Here (10.125.6), Vāc states: "I bend the bow for
Rudra that his arrow may strike and slay the hater of devotion. I rouse and order battle for the people, and I have penetrated Earth and Heaven". This hymn presented the goddess as an all powerful pervasive being, who is both "immanent and transcendent", and is bestower of power to both gods and humans. Prominent characteristics of Vāc were later incorporated into the identity of
Saraswati, who was a minor river goddess in the Vedas, but later became the goddess of knowledge and the "Mother of the Vedas".
Precursors to later conceptions of Shakti Most of the goddesses in the Vedic era were presented as the wives (gnās) of the gods. They had no special powers nor an individual name either, rather, they took their respective husband's name with feminine suffixes, as with
Indrani, the wife of
Indra. Though the goddesses had no power, one Rigvedic hymn (10.159) addressed Indrani as
Śacī Poulomī and presented her as the "
deification" of Indra's power. The term
Śacī meant "the rendering of powerful or mighty help, assistance, aid, especially of the 'deeds of Indra'." 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, but something not inherently present within it. In later
Hindu texts, the idea of Shakti as divine feminine energy became more pronounced as the wives, the gnās, the divine females accompanying the gods, began to personify the powers of their husbands. 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.
Late Vedic-Upanishad era The
Upanishads did not feature goddesses notably. However, the ideas devised during this era became significant in later conceptions of Shakti. The theory of Shakti advocated in
Shakta Upanishads was predicated on the upanishadic idea of
Brahman, a gender-neutral
Absolute, considered God, whose nature is all-encompassing. The all-pervasive nature of Brahman gave rise to the belief that both human and divine, are in essence similar. This led to the concept of a connecting factor between the absolute and human — called
Atman. At this time, unsurprisingly there was no emphasis on the divine feminine, as Brahman is regarded neither male or female. The early Upanishads postulated a transcendental absolute — it cannot be depicted or understood, but be known only through
Jñāna (insight, intuition). The later Upanishads however presented the idea of
Saguna Brahman (manifest absolute), thus giving
it an accessible form. The
Shvetashvatara Upanishad portrayed Brahman as "manifest Lord or
Īśvara", thereby enabling a "theistic relationship" between deity and devotee.
During the classical period The complete identification of goddess with Shakti was not fully realised until the
classical period of Hinduism ( to 1200 CE). This period saw the epics
Ramayana and
Mahabharata, including the
Bhagavad Gita. These were largely complemented by
Puranas, a body of literature built upon the ideas of Upanishads, but primarily made up of myth and legend proclaiming supremacy of a particular
deity and equating their
nirguna (unmanifest) state with Brahman. Most Puranas were dedicated to male deities, particularly
Vishnu and
Shiva, later Shakta puranas were allotted to goddess. Shakti worship that receded in the
Vedic period became prominent from the classical period onward during which
she was personified as
Devi (Goddess).
Development in the Puranas Most of the Puranas presented the goddesses as consorts of the gods. The
Kurma Purana (1.1.30) portrays 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. Nevertheless, the
Kurma Purana (1.1.34) likewise describes Lakshmi as the impetus of Vishnu, who says she is "that great Śakti (potency) of my form". An inseparable bond between the goddess and her consort was formed when she was projected as the embodiment of three important principles — "śakti (energy),
prakṛti (primordial or primary matter) and
māyā (illusion)", thus establishing a relationship between "female divinity and creative power". In the puranic era, though the goddess was viewed as the source behind manifest creation, she was, nonetheless, a personification of her consort's energy and was referred to as prakṛti, still subordinated to her consort's will. While there was an individual goddess named
śakti, the term essentially referred to a quality held by both male and female deities. An apparent identification between feminine divinity and cosmic energy was not yet vouched.
Development of metaphysical Shakti Textual basis The perception of divine feminine was radically altered by two texts: the earlier
Devi Mahatmya and the later
Devi Bhagavata Purana. The
Devi Mahatmya, initially part of the
Markandeya Purana, is the most prominent goddess-centric text to clarify the concept of an all-encompassing goddess or the
Mahadevi (great goddess). Allegorically, through the mythical warring deeds of the goddess, it was asserted, rather by a deduction, than by plain words that she's the "ultimate reality". When the
asuras (demons) endangered the existence of the
devas (gods), the gods created an all-powerful goddess from their combined anger (
Devi Mahatmya 2.9–12) by channelling their essential powers, which took the form of a feminine being who is assented as the Mahadevi, the supreme goddess wholly independent of the gods and deemed the embodiment of śakti with additional powers of her own. Here, when the goddess finishes her work, she doesn't return to her source, the gods, but instead vanishes.
Ideation of her form The Vedantic-Upanishadic perception of the goddess to be either the
wife of, or the
Para-Brahman, was always accompanied by a morphic vision of her form as the
macranthropic feminine encapsulating all existence. In deliberations over her form in relation to male divinities, the
Devi Mahatmya is filled with
duality-
nonduality tension, the
Kalika Purana provides an erotic duality-in-unity framework. Eventually,
Saundarya Lahari, considered the text where the goddess truly came into her own, presents a
monistic vision of her as "an eternal ground of
supraconscious being"; thus provisioning a cosmic
anthromorphic view of the ultimate reality.
Existence is held whatever the goddess as the
eternal form sees acceptable to her, thus establishing her power of
sat and
asat—being and non-being. The
Devi Mahatmya nevertheless bolstered the concept of the Mahadevi or the great goddess—an amalgamate of manifold powers—with numerous epithets. Besides the term
Devi, the most general name for the goddess is
Chandi or Caṇḍikā (meaning "violent and impetuous one"), this was the first mention of this term in a Sanskrit text and was probably conceived for this distinct incarnation represented in an aggressive and often unorthodox mode with an affinity for drink and approval of blood offerings. She, as Chandika, is declared to exist eternally, and is lauded for being the foundation of the universe, as well as for maintaining and protecting this world. The traditional creator-god,
Brahma, extols her as "thou who containest the world," thus suggesting a
panentheistic imagery for her being as the eternal world-soul that resides in everything, and is the queen of the universe. Ultimately, the goddess is believed to be beyond all form and character. Nonetheless, she is held in three fold: the supreme (para) being, which, as the
Vishnu-Yamala tantra says, "none know(s)"; the second, subtle (sukshma) form which contains
mantra; the next, for the sake of comprehension by man, gross (sthula) or physical form with face and body which the Puranas and Tantras cherish.
Character assesment The idea of independence and not confirming to widely held notions of goddesses has been an intriguing trait of her character in the
Devi Mahatmya. The goddess here, primarily identified as
Durga, is not dependent on a male consort and she successfully handles male roles herself. In battles, she fights without a male ally, and when needed aide, creates female peers from herself like
Kali. Also, the ideation of the goddess as a personification of Shakti varies, instead of providing power to a male consort like other puranic era goddesses, here she
takes powers from the gods–who all "surrender their potency to her" at the time of her manifestation. The
Devi Mahatmya elucidated the goddess very meticulously, clarifying the changeableness of her character and making it clear that she cannot be characterized readily, as she is the embodiment of all facets of energy—being concurrently "creative, preservative and destructive" (
Devi Mahatmya 1.56–58). The goddess is described as "eternal, having as her form the world. By her is all pervaded" (
Devi Mahatmya 1.47). The text explains 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. Here, the ultimate reality was completely equated with Devi, who is presented as the power enabling the
trimurti—Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma—to engage in the "preservation, dissolution and creation" of the universe respectively (
Devi Mahatmya 1.59). Devi appears at cosmic crisis, accordingly her role is assumed to be identical to
Vishnu, who in his various
avatars vows to manifest himself at times of crisis. Similarly, Devi, also vows to manifest whenever her help is needed (
Devi Mahatmya 12.36).
Brahminical synthesis Scholars point that
Devi Mahatmya exemplifies the notion of 'Brahminical synthesis' as postulated by Thomas J. Hopkins.
Thomas B. Coburn explains it, stating that in the
Devi Mahatmya, the pre-Aryan goddesses were gradually incorporated into the Aryan/Brahminical fold, all under the title
Devi. The inclusion of pre-Aryan goddesses like Kali,
Neeli,
Sooli,
Periyachi,
Nagamma, etc., into the canon of Aryan/Brahminical goddesses (Parvati, Saraswathi, Lakshmi etc.), had consolidated the powerful, phallic potency of the transcendent mother from the proto-Dravidian civilizations, and made possible the emergence of a complex Hindu goddess or Devi with contradictory characteristics: being the primal matter or prakriti, as well as the transcendent spirit or Brahman; the consort of the Vedic gods, as well as the divine mother of pre-Aryan civilizations.
Shakti and the Devi-Bhagavata Purana Scriptural fulfillment The largest and possibly the most exhaustive Shakta purana, seen as "justification or vindication of the Goddess tradition, as well as an elaboration of it" is the
Devi Bhagavata Purana. Compiled some five to ten centuries after the
Devi Mahatmya, the
Devi Bhagavata Purana presents a Shakta reply to the various
androcentric puranic ideals. The
Devi Gita, which forms skandha (book) 7, chapters 30–40 of the
Devi Bhagavata Purana, is modeled after the
Bhagavad Gita, but with a Shakta outlook. The
Devi Bhagavata Purana is metaphysically more coherent than the earlier
Devi Mahatmya and includes a rendition of the later, with a retelling of the many pauranic myths. The
Devi Bhagavata Purana (3.30.28) constantly extols the goddess as the "Eternal" and "Ever Constant Primordial Force", who is also "the power behind all other deities". A noteworthy fact about the goddess of the
Devi Bhagavata Purana is that she is invariably presented as a being "independent of any male authority and control". It is rather the gods who are completely subdued to the
will of Devi, and are entirely dependent on her.
Identification with Brahman The
Devi Bhagavata Purana repeatedly describes the goddess as being "eternal, the basis of everything and identical with
Brahman". Addressed here as "Ādya or Primordial Śakti", she 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. She also conforms with the three traits or the
gunas in all life: "
sattva (purity, goodness, the illuminating principle),
rajas (activity, passion, the energetic principle) and
tamas (darkness, inertia, dullness)". Corresponding with sattva, she is
Maha-Lakshmi; with rajas, she is
Maha-Saraswati; and with tamas, she is
Maha-kali. Still, Devi is held as "being beyond all form", and is declared nirguna (not having gunas or unmanifest), thus making her incomprehensible. However, to liberate her devotees, Devi "becomes saguna (with gunas or manifest) in a form that can be known and appreciated".
Reverence for Maya, Prakriti The nature of the Mahadevi in the
Devi Bhagavata Purana comprises the twofold realities of
Samkhya philosophy — "
prakṛti (material nature), in its unmanifest and manifest forms, and
puruṣa (pure consciousness)". Differing from Samkhya and other traditions, specifically
Advaita Vedanta, the text presents
prakṛti in a more favourable manner as an intrinsic aspect of the goddess' power. Also,
Maya is treated with respect instead of disdain and is held a necessary factor in creation. In the shakta cosmogonic worldview,
Maya is the source of all natural
phenomena and/or human delusion, as well as the liberative milieu through which the goddess, "as Liberatrix", delivers man "from the ignorance of the forms which are of Her making." While in the
Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu is the "controller and possessor of māyā", in the
Devi Bhagavata Purana, the goddess apart from being the wielder of "the power of māyā, actually
is māyā". The text quotes the goddess saying, "What is real can only be born.... Thus ... there does not arise any inconsistency in My being every-thing." In the
Devi Bhagavata Purana, the workings of the universe appear way more deeply related with the goddess for Devi recourses to none but herself, whereas Vishnu and Shiva seek the assistance of their respective Shaktis.
Personification of Shakti by pan-Indian goddesses Goddess classifications The many personified
goddesses represent the closest accessible "visible expression of Śakti". The numerous Hindu goddesses are nominally categorized into two groups: "pan-Indian goddesses" and "local goddesses". The goddesses referred to as "pan-Indian" are known widely across India and are chiefly "Brahminical and consequently orthodox", though some of them tend to be unorthodox. 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. While goddesses like
Lakshmi, associated with prosperity and luck, and
Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, have become known outside India; the most famous Hindu goddess happens to be
Kali, who is frequently mistaken to be the "goddess of death and destruction". Despite being associated with death and although having destructive qualities, Kali, represents a greater power embodying liberation and protection. Evidently, the personifications of benign aspects of Shakti, like goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati, differ from goddesses Kali and Durga, who personify the fierce aspects of Shakti.
Divine ambivalence The
Devi Mahatmya consistently reaffirmed the ambiguous nature of the Goddess. Two significant names for the goddess are
Ambika ('mother dear' or 'good woman') representing her auspicious and benign side, and
Chandika (fierce, cruel, impetuous) representing her fierce and inauspicious side. She is also called mahadevi, mahasuri: 'the great goddess, the great demoness'. In much of
Hindu thought, there is no concept of a singular benignant god or goddess and a distinct evil power. All the deities are facets of the one
Brahman, the progenitor of everything, including both positive and negative aspects of life. However may the many goddesses appear on the outside, they are essentially embodiments of Shakti. In this context, the pan-Indian goddesses personify both the positive and negative, or benign and fierce aspects of Shakti. There are goddesses who personify benign aspects of Shakti - "the power of devotion, wisdom, love or compassion, etc", and then there are goddesses who are described as "essentially fierce", they personify the more active powers of protection and destruction, and need their worshippers to confront their fears to receive the goddess's grace. A significant fact to be remembered here is that the "goddesses are
essentially benign and
essentially fierce". Those goddesses who are benign are not completely so, as they may have a fierce side to their personalities. Similarly, the fierce goddesses may have a benign aspect to their characters. This dualistic nature of the goddesses emphasize the contradictory nature of divine power or any power or energy. Evidently, the power of fire, needed to sustain life, can and does decimate it. Likewise, the power responsible for creation is the same power that will destroy it regularly, or more accurately dematerialize
life, transmuting it into unmanifest state again.
The benign side of Shakti The infinite facets of the divine feminine's nature is discernible by the many perspectives on her. The goddesses, regarded as essentially benign, award their devotees divine grace; these goddesses include
Radha, the lover of Krishna;
Sita, the wife of Rama;
Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom;
Sri Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu, and the goddess of luck and prosperity; and
Parvati, the example of ultimate devotee and the wife of Shiva. The benign goddesses are highly beautiful and enchanting in their looks. They are very amiable and lure the devotee into having a "close and loving relationship with the divine". The essentially-benign goddesses reveal to the devotee their dharma (individual duties, responsibilities) in a benign way and help in their fulfillment by making them prevail over obstacles. Devotees who approach the benign goddesses need not be fearful, as above all, these goddesses provide "the power of love and grace". The benign goddesses are mostly consorts of several gods, and in this respect, they symbolize the power of each of their husbands as his respective shakti. Each goddess is usually depicted as being smaller than her husband and is commonly shown in a subordinate role, as with Lakshmi, who is often portrayed sitting at the feet of Vishnu. In their roles as wives, the benign goddesses provide loyalty and assistance to their husbands, qualities that set ideal examples for Hindu women in general and often symbolize the supreme devotee.
The fierce side of Shakti The more aggressive personifications of Shakti are represented by the
essentially fierce goddesses such as
Kali,
Durga and
Chandi. The character and imagery of these goddesses reflect the most profound understanding of the nature of cosmic power. The devotee is brought to face "the dark side of divinity" by these fierce goddesses, who appear to shatter all taboos. In numerous instances, the power of the benign goddesses is subtle, while that of the fierce goddesses is brazen and they seemingly delight in displaying their power. Though described as married, they are inherently independent and are undoubtedly powerful on their own accord. When depicted along with their husbands, the goddesses Kali and
Tara are normally shown in the dominant position, often being involved in copulatory postures. Kali is the most glaring exemplar of this idealism as she is commonly depicted standing on the prostrated body of Shiva.
Goddess as divine warrior The divine warrior trope is one of the most common themes in the portrayals of fierce goddesses, usually seen in representations of Durga. Here, the goddesses have protective functions and operate as destroyers of evil, commonly depicted as demon. By the Puranic era, the
ontological polarization of the Universe, good/evil, was understood as the visible form of an eternal
Daivāsuram conflict between the
Asuras and the
Devas. In this milieu, goddesses Durga-Kali are engaged in constant confrontation with the asura of the asuras,
Mahishasura (buffalo demon). The depiction of a warrior goddess, shows the continuity and retelling of the vedic-brahminic-puranic
Indra slaying
Vritra episode (
shruthi), only now with the characters transformed into Devi and Mahishasura. This development is seen as a testimony to both the remembrance (
smriti) and the rediscovery of the
essence of the earlier shruti. Principally, goddesses Durga and Kali incorporate "the power of protection", and will protect anyone who comes to them with a spirit of humility or the attitude of a child. 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. The terrifying iconography of Kali—naked except for a garland of severed heads and a skirt of severed limbs, clasping a sword, holding a severed head, and standing on Shiva in a crematory—has made her a completely misunderstood figure. Accordingly, Kali is the "most grossly misrepresented Hindu goddess." In the
West, she is depicted as the goddess of death and destruction, discarding her positive and elusive characteristics for her more dramatic qualities. Nevertheless, the sword of Kali destroys evil and cuts the worldly attachments that produce in man a keen sense of their self-importance.
Shakti embodiment by local goddesses For the majority of people living in the many Indian villages and
towns, more than the
Hindu deities, it is the local deities, especially goddesses, who are of greater significance. 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. Also, the local people may attribute to the deities various qualities that can be uncommon in mainstream Hinduism. While goddesses such as Durga and Kali are forever engaged in fighting devils and in maintaining the
cosmic order, it is the local goddesses who concern themselves with devotees' problems, such as finding jobs and spouses for the petitioners, protecting their caste groups and communicating the whereabouts of lost cattle. Local goddesses symbolize an outlook of Shakti based in the mundane or earthly aspects, and present an easily accessible "power source" for the people living in a particular location.
Local and pan-Indian goddesses relation Local goddesses are generally not seen as local counterparts of pan-Indian goddesses. Though they are often regarded as having no connection with the Brahmanical goddesses or the concept of shakti, there is, still, a fundamental understanding that all goddesses personify divine power, and between all goddesses there is a correspondence. Per scriptures, both local and Brahmanical pan-Indian goddesses are
Mahadevi manifestations. The idea that all goddesses emerge from one reality is expounded in the
Brahma Vaivarta Purana and the
Devi Bhagavata Purana, which states (9.1.58) 'Every female in every Universe is sprung from a part of
Śrī Rādhā or part of a part'. The
Kurma Purana, in praise of
Parvati (1.12.64), emphasizes pan-Indian goddesses themselves have many manifestations; one of the epithets is
Ekānekavibhāgasthā, meaning 'stationed in one as well as in many divisions'. Such similitudes are speculated as genesis of the popular phrase 'all the mothers are one'.
Consolidating local and pan-Indian goddesses An interplay between the pan-Indian and local goddesses commonly occurs in the local areas where efforts can be made to "Brahmanise, Sanskritise or Hinduise" a local goddess. 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. Another feature of this process is what has been called 'spousification', wherein an independent goddess is ritually married, either "temporarily, annually or – if fully Hinduised – permanently" to a celebrated god, usually Shiva. Again, conversely, the localisation of some pan-Indian goddesses took place, with them being conferred on with more popular names and forms and folklore that would relate them to a location. 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. Local goddesses, on the contrary, concern themselves with devotees' everyday issues which can most easily be addressed to the nearby goddess who would then solve the problem no matter how trivial. It can be asserted that local goddesses are of utmost importance in the daily functioning of Hindu life. The local deities and devotees lives are so
inextricably interlaced that it seems they are in an intimate relationship.
Tantric realization of Shakti The concept of Shakti as the all-pervasive divine power evolved with a long complex history incorporating various ideas in its philosophical development: from the Vedic belief of the male deities having female partners or aspects which acted as their creative powers; the upanishadic idea of a single powerful supreme divinity (which was not necessarily recognised as female); to the idea of an abstract energy immanent in creation. These different ideas were interconnected to some extent by their speculation about the nature of Sound (
Shabda Brahman) and its role in creation. Eventually, it was within
Tantra that the idea of Shakti reached its fruition, here the "feminine principle (as Śakti—
Śakti in goddess form)" was raised to the level of the
Absolute. Shakti is here understood in two ways: as a plural phenomena where the gods (including Śakti) are considered having
Śaktis by which they act, and as a singular universal phenomenon where Shakti
is the Goddess.
Shakti—the Unit Existence , which, ultimately forms the indivisible self
Brahman. In
Devi Mahatmya, the goddess came to be identified with
prakriti (materiality)—the feminine principle Hindus believe is the created world through which everything is made manifest. Initially developed in
Samkhya philosophy, prakriti was posited against
purusha (consciousness), with the two being eternally opposed forces behind the universe. This duality was resolved in the Tantras which view all existence as one whole
inseparable from the divine. By identifying purusha with shiva and prakriti with shakti, the Tantras advocate nonduality of the two, asserting shiva and shakti are ultimately One and the same, thereby implying that "the divine essentially
is creation"—thus making the goddess immanent in creation.
John Woodroffe states that the goddess "does not cease to be the cosmic cause because it evolves as the universe its effect." Shakti is the "creative dynamic energy" that permeates and animates all. In the
Brihannila Tantra, the God Shiva says: "O Goddess I am the body (
deha) and you are the conscious spirit within the body (
dehin)". "Shiva without Shakti is but a corpse, it is said." Making redundant a classical problem of
metaphysics that seeks to know how or why the imperturbable
infinite One has become operative, Shakta
ontology posits creation as an
act of love between Shiva and Shakti, who join to produce the
Bindu, the seed of the Universe. States Woodroffe, "the production of the Universe is according to the Śākta an act of love, illustrated by the so-called erotic imagery of the Śāstra. The Self loves itself whether before, or in creation. The thrill of human love, which continues the life of humanity is an infinitesimally small fragment of and faint reflection of the creative act". This
sādhanic nature of love makes it possible for one to experience in the union of Śakti and Śākta—
that, which is ultimately real, but remains incomprehensible at the level of critical thinking. In the
Hindu tantric belief, Shakti correlates with
Kundalini energy. The metaphysics of
Shiva-Shakti symbology asserts the presence of centers of consciousness called
chakras (or lotuses) over the length of the
spinal cord, along which the Kundalini Shakti that sits at the bottom of the
spinal column rises to meet Shiva at the top. The fusion of Shakti with Shiva is a continuous process of one's transformation into higher self, bringing in greater awareness of being, truth, and realization of the Unit existence (i.e. there can be no Shiva without Shakti and no Shakti without Shiva).
Worship and salvation In classical
Indian thought, Shakti is characterized as the divine principle in man, the creatrix of spiritual intuition and comprehension. Shakta anthropology holds man to be a
theophany of the goddess as incarnate consciousness (Śāktiman). However, man's consciousness is in unliberated state, caught between the fact of being (creator, thought,
cit-Śakti) and an expression of effect (
namarupa, name-form, creation). Shakta's worship is essentially an endeavour to elevate ones consciousness to that of the supraconscious being.
Salvation then, in a shakta view, is not
deterministic but
evolutionary, which makes liberation a continuous process of Self-actualization taking into consideration ones' life experiences and profundity for truth.
Shakti as Shabda Brahman Tantric theories of creation posit Shakti as
Shabda Brahman (the ultimate reality as absolute sound), which engages in creation by a process of "
phonic evolution (or sonic emanation)" from motionless causal sound.
Agehananda Bharati suggests the use of words "manifestation' or "emanation" instead of "creation" as the idea of producing something out of nothing is absent in Indian thought. Accordingly, all of
existence is said to be a transmuted expression of Shakti, who permeates it all as
sound. In
Hindu cosmogony view, Shakti informs all manifestation by the means of
nada (sound vibrations); provisions divine
will, and manifests herself as subtle fields of
resonance, through which existence is sustained. In Tantra, all sound is eternally related to Shakti (
she as absolute sound);
Word(s) as
mantra are deemed subtle manifestations of the Goddess and possess power to induce vibrations in the mental constitutions and vital atmosphere resulting in effects, actions and even material forms in the physical plane referred to as attainment of
siddhis (magical powers). The development of
mantra being considered as Shakti, of the archetypal Word (
Vak or
Logos) being regarded as a tangible expression of the spirit, is seen as reconciling the duality between spirit and matter.
Divergence in Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism The term
Śakti is used in both Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism to indicate the feminine aspect of a god. However, while Hinduism identifies shakti as a kind of feminine energy that is active and dynamic, Buddhist interpretation diverged diametrically opposite. In Hindu Tantrism, creation is seen as a result of the union of the active feminine (Śakti) and the passive masculine element (Śiva). Buddhist Tantrism views this creative movement as anathema in the path of approaching the undifferentiated state of
sunyata. In Buddhism, Shakti is the power that creates
maya (illusion), which it so deplores. Liberation from maya is sought by union with the female element (identified as
Prajna), which is held as the non-active and static counterpart to the active and dynamic male element, referred to as
Upaya, for it represents the
Means to liberation. In Buddhist Tantrism, the feminine element of the divine is not active, but static, and is represented by a female figure in union with male element.
Anagarika Govinda states that the concept of Shakti forms the focus of interest in Hindu Tantras as the feminine divine power, but it does not play any role in Tantric Buddhism, where the central idea is Prajna. While Prajna refers to the non-active female element, the active female element is referred to as
Dakini. Theological scholars, such as
E. Dale Saunders, recommend the use of the term
Shakti be restricted to Hindu tantrism as it represents concepts that are in direct opposition to Buddhist tantric doctrine. ==Beliefs and traditions==