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Devi
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The word Devi
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Devi
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The word Devi is used for the omnipresent, Aadishakti (foremost power), multi-form mother of the world. According to the Shakt belief, the entire universe is her creation. Lord Vishnu is enchanted by her charm while Lord Shiv also worships her.
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Devi is also known as nature and is a complement of Brahma, the male form.
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Worship of Devi is the most ancient form of worship in India whose earliest evidence is available from Paleolithic Stone Age (about 20,000 years ago). In the Neolithic Age (like Mehargarh) and Early Historical Period (Harappa civilization), she had been worshipped as the Goddess of fertility.
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In the Devi-Sukt of Rigved, the omnipresence of Devi has been mentioned. According to it, her powers have appeared in the form of all the Gods like Rudra, Vasu, Indra, Agni, Som, Varun etc.
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Devi (Aadishakti) expresses herself in 3 early forms of Mahalaxmi, Mahasaraswati and Mahagauri. These 3 forms appear as various incarnations in different ages for the welfare and well-being of the world.
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His holiness, Shankaracharya, prays to her in his composition Saundarya Lahri and refers to her as the one worshipped by Lord Shiv, Vishnu and Brahma.
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Markandeya Puran mentions that all the art forms of the universe are nothing but the different forms of Devi. According to it, there is only 1 tatva (element) prevalent in the world and which is the Devi-tatva.
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Devi is worshipped in both the forms - gentle (Laxmi, Parvati, Saraswati etc) and fierce (Durga, Kali, Chamunda etc). Similarly, she is also worshipped at various places in the 3 different forms - a child like Vaishnodevi, a young girl like Kanyakumari, and a mother like Sharda, Meenakshi, and Vindhyavasini etc.
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According to the Tripuropnishad, the triad Gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, are capable of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe only due to the possession of the supreme powers of Aadishakti.
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The prevalence of Devi worship is so widespread in India that not only villages, but each and every Hindu home of Jambu dweep (a mythological region, of which India is a part) certainly worships some or the form of Devi.
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