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ubdued to the will of devi and are entirely dependent on her 53 identification with brahman edit the devi bhagavata purana repeatedly describes the goddess as being eternal the basis of everything and identical with brahman 53 e 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 53 26 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 53 f reverence for maya prakriti edit 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 53 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 53 also maya is treated with respect instead of disdain and is held a necessary factor in creation 58 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 59 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 58 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 60 g 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 62 personification of shakti by pan indian goddesses edit goddess classifications edit the many personified goddesses represent the closest accessible visible expression of śakti 62 h the numerous hindu goddesses are nominally categorized into two groups pan indian goddesses and local goddesses 62 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 62 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 epitomizing liberation and protection 62 evidently the personifications of the benign saumya aspects of shakti like lakshmi and saraswati differ from kali and durga who personify the fierce raudra aspects of shakti 62 64 divine ambivalence edit the devi mahatmya consistently reaffirms 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 65 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 62 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 62 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 62 the benign side of shakti edit the infinite facets of the divine feminine s nature is discernible by the many perspectives on her 62 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 66 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 67 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 67 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 67 the fierce side of shakti edit 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 67 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 67 goddess as divine warrior edit 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 67 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 68 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 69 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 67 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 67 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 67 shakti embodiment by local goddesses edit 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 67 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 66 also the local people may attribute to the deities various qualities that can be uncommon in mainstream hinduism 70 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 70 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 70 local and pan indian goddesses relation edit local goddesses are generally not seen as local counterparts of pan indian goddesses 70 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 70 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 70 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 70 consolidating local and pan indian goddesses edit 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 70 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 70 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 70 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 70 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 70 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 70 the local deities and devotees lives are so inextricably interlaced that it seems they are in an intimate relationship 70 tantric realization of shakti edit 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 71 these different ideas were interconnected to some extent by their speculation about the nature of sound shabda brahman and its role in creation 71 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 71 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 72 shakti the one unit existence edit in tantric theology shakti is the creative female pole of the inseparable bipolar pair shiva shakti which ultimately forms the indivisible self brahman 73 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 i by identifying purusha with shiva and prakriti wi...