Bhagavathy (Bhagavathi) or
Devi is considered as female aspect of the divine Shakthi, as conceived
by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. Shakthi is considered as the female
counterpart without whom the male aspect remains impotent. Shakthi
is the energy and Shakthi worship is a vital part of Hindu Tradition.
Devi is the manifestation of supreme lord “Prakriti” where male aspect
of the divine is considered as “Purusha”.
Devi manifests herself as Creator (Durga or the Divine Mother), Preserver
(Lakshmi, Parvathy and Saraswaty) and Destroyer (Mahishasura-Mardini,
Kali). Devi is worshipped mostly in the form of divine mother. One
of the important aspects of the Female divine is the various Shakti
Peethas spread all across the country, where over 51 body parts of
Devi Sathi, first wife of Lord Siva fell after being broken apart by
the Sudarshana Chakra of Lord Vishnu.
Another notable aspect is Mahavidyas, which denotes the supreme knowledge,
revelations and manifestations, refer to a group of ten goddesses.
They constitute an important aspect of Mahadevi theology, which emphasizes
that the Devi has a tendency to manifest and display herself in a variety
of forms and aspects. Ten Mahavidyas are: Kali, Tara, Chinnamasta,
Bhuvanesvari, Bagla, Dhumavati, Kamla, Matangi, Sodasi, and Bhairavi.
Devi is worshipped as Durga, Kaali, Lakshmi, Saraswathy, Rajarajeswari,
Parvathy and many more. In kerala, we can see most of the devi temples
are woshipped devi as Badra kali (kaali). Though she is eternal, the
goddess becomes manifest over and over again to protect the world.
