Shaktism

1 Origins and history

One of the earliest evidence of reverence for the feminine aspect of God in Hinduism appears in chapter
10.125 of the Rig Veda, also called the Devi Suktam
hymn:[11][12][13]
I am the Queen, the gatherer-up of treasures, most thoughtful, rst of those who merit
worship.
Thus gods have established me in many places
with many homes to enter and abide in.
Through me alone all eat the food that feeds
them, each man who sees, breathes, hears the
word outspoken.
They know it not, yet I reside in the essence of
the Universe. Hear, one and all, the truth as I
declare it.
I, verily, myself announce and utter the word
that gods and men alike shall welcome.
I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make
him nourished, a sage, and one who knows
Brahman.
I bend the bow for Rudra [Shiva], that his arrow may strike, and slay the hater of devotion.
I rouse and order battle for the people, I created Earth and Heaven and reside as their Inner
Controller.
On the worlds summit I bring forth sky the Father: my home is in the waters, in the ocean as
Mother.
Thence I pervade all existing creatures, as their
Inner Supreme Self, and manifest them with
my body.
I created all worlds at my will, without any
higher being, and permeate and dwell within
them.
The eternal and innite consciousness is I, it is
my greatness dwelling in everything.
Devi Sukta, Rigveda 10.125.3
10.125.8,[11][12][13]

Shaktism is a goddess-focussed tradition of Hinduism.[1][2]

Shaktism (Sanskrit: kta, ; lit., doctrine of

energy, power, the Goddess) is a major tradition of
Hinduism, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered
feminine and the Devi (goddess) is supreme.[1][2][3] It includes a variety of goddesses, all considered aspects of
the same supreme goddess.[1][4] Shaktism has dierent
sub-traditions, ranging from those focussed on gracious
Lakshmi to erce Kali, and some Shakti sub-traditions
associate their goddess with Shiva or Vishnu.[5][6]
The Sruti and Smriti texts of Hinduism are an important historical framework of the Shaktism tradition. In
addition, it reveres the texts Devi Mahatmya, the DeviBhagavata Purana, and Shakta Upanishads such as the
Devi Upanishad.[7] The Devi Mahatmya in particular,
is considered in Shaktism to be as important as the
Bhagavad Gita.[8]
Shaktism is known for its various sub-traditions of
Tantra,[9] as well as a galaxy of goddesses with respective systems. It consists of the Vidyapitha and
Kulamrga. The pantheon of goddesses in Shaktism
grew after the decline of Buddhism in India, wherein
Hindu and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form
the Mahavidya, a list of ten goddesses.[10] The most common aspects of Devi found in Shaktism include Durga,
Kali, Amba, Lakshmi, Parvati and Tripurasundari.[4]
The goddess-focussed tradition is particularly popular in
West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Nepal and the neighboring regions, which it celebrates through festivals such
as the Durga puja.[5] Shaktisms ideas have inuenced
Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions, with the goddess
considered the Shakti of Vishnu and Shiva respectively,
and revered prominently in numerous Hindu temples and
festivals.[2]

The Vedic literature reveres various goddesses, but far

less frequently than gods Indra, Agni and Soma. Yet,
they are declared equivalent aspects of gender neutral
Brahman, of Prajapati and Purusha. The goddesses
oft mentioned in the Vedic layers of text include the
Ushas (dawn), Vac (speech, wisdom), Sarasvati (as river),
Prithivi (earth), Nirriti (annihilator), Shraddha (faith,
condence).[4] Goddesses such as Uma appear in the
1

Upanishads as another aspect of Brahman and the knower

of ultimate knowledge, such as in section 3 and 4 of the
ancient Kena Upanishad.[14][15]
Hymns to goddesses are in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata, particularly in the later (100 to 300 CE) added
Harivamsa section of it.[16] The archaeological and textual evidence implies, states Thomas Coburn, that the
Goddess had become as much a part of the Hindu tradition, as God, by about the third or fourth century.[17]
The literature on Shakti theology grew in ancient India,
climaxing in one of the most important texts of Shaktism
called the Devi Mahatmya. This text, states C. Mackenzie Brown a professor of Religion, is both a culmination
of centuries of Indian ideas about the divine feminine, as
well as a foundation for the literature and spirituality focussed on the feminine transcendence in centuries that
followed.[16] The Devi-Mahatmya is not the earliest literary fragment attesting to the existence of devotion to a
goddess gure, states Thomas B. Coburn a professor of
Religious Studies, but it is surely the earliest in which
the object of worship is conceptualized as Goddess, with
a capital G.[18]

THEOLOGY

Lakshmi and Parvati. I am the Sun and I am

the Stars, and I am also the Moon. I am all
animals and birds, and I am the outcaste as
well, and the thief. I am the low person of
dreadful deeds, and the great person of excellent deeds. I am Female, I am Male in the form
of Shiva.[lower-alpha 1]
Shaktisms focus on the Divine Feminine does not imply
a rejection of masculine. It rejects male-female, soulbody, transcendent-immanent dualism, considering nature as divine. Devi is considered to be the cosmos itself she is the embodiment of energy, matter and soul,
the motivating force behind all action and existence in the
material universe.[33] Yet in Shaktism, states C. MacKenzie Brown, the masculine and the feminine are aspects of
the divine, transcendent reality.[34] In Hindu iconography,
the cosmic dynamic of masculine-feminine interdependence and equivalence, is expressed in the half-Shakti,
half-Shiva deity known as Ardhanari.[35]

The philosophical premises in many Shakta texts, states

June McDaniel a professor of Religious Studies, is
Other important texts of Shaktism include the Shakta syncretism of Samkhya and Advaita Vedanta schools of
(literally,
Upanishads,[19] as well as Shakta-oriented Upa Pu- Hindu philosophy, called Shaktadavaitavada
[36]
the
path
of
nondualistic
Shakti).
ranic literature such as the Devi Purana and Kalika Purana,[20] the Lalita Sahasranama (from the Brahmanda
Purana).[21][22] The Tripura Upanishad is historically the
2.1 Devi Gita
most complete introduction to Shakta Tantrism,[23] distilling into its 16 verses almost every important topic
The seventh book of the Devi-Bhagavata Purana presents
in Shakta Tantra tradition.[24] Along with the Tripura
the theology of Shaktism.[37] This book is called Devi
Upanishad, the Tripuratapini Upanishad has attracted
Gita, or the Song of the Goddess.[37][38] The Goddess
scholarly bhasya (commentary) in the second half of
explains she is the Brahman that created the world, as2nd-millennium, such as by Bhaskararaya,[25] and by
serting the Advaita premise that spiritual liberation oc[26]
Ramanand.
These texts link the Shakti Tantra tradicurs when one fully comprehends the identity of ones
tion as a Vedic attribute,[27] however this link has been
soul and the Brahman.[37][39] This knowledge, asserts the
contested by scholars.[28][29]
Goddess, comes from detaching self from the world and
meditating on ones own soul.[37][40]

Theology

The Devi Gita, like the Bhagavad Gita, is a condensed

philosophical treatise.[41] It presents the divine female as
a powerful and compassionate creator, pervader and protector of the universe.[42] She is presented in the opening chapter of the Devi Gita as the benign and beautiful world-mother, called Bhuvaneshvari (literally, ruler
of the universe).[43][41] Thereafter, the text presents its
theological and philosophical teachings.[42]

Shaktas conceive the Goddess as the supreme, ultimate,

eternal reality of all existence, or same as the Brahman
concept of Hinduism. She is considered to be simultaneously the source of all creation, its embodiment and the
energy that animates and governs it, and that into which
everything will ultimately dissolve.[30][4] According to V.
The soul and the Goddess
R. Ramachandra Dikshitar a professor of Indian history, in Shaktism theology Brahman is static Shakti and [My sacred syllable ] transcends,[a]
the distinction of name and named,
Shakti is dynamic Brahman.[31]
beyond all dualities.
Shaktism views the Devi as the source, essence and subIt is whole,
stance of everything in creation.[4] Its texts such as the
innite being, consciousness and bliss.
Devi-Bhagavata Purana states:
One should meditate on that reality,
within the aming light of consciousness.
I am Manifest Divinity, Unmanifest DivinFixing the mind upon me,
ity, and Transcendent Divinity. I am Brahma,
as the Goddess transcending all space and time,
Vishnu and Shiva, as well as Saraswati,
One quickly merges with me by realizing,

3
the oneness of the soul and Brahman.

1. ^ Antonio Rigopoulos (1998). Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara: A Study of the
Transformative and Inclusive Character of a Multifaceted Hindu Deity. State University of New York
Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7914-3696-7.
2. ^ Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1992). Auspicious Wisdom: The Texts and Traditions of Srividya Sakta
Tantrism in South India. State University of New
York Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7914-1145-2.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or

{{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not
show without a {{reist|group=lower-alpha}} template or
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Devi Gita, Transl: Lynn Foulston, Stuart Abbott
Devibhagavata Purana, Book 7[44]
The Devi Gita describes the Devi (or Goddess) as universal, cosmic energy resident within each individual. It thus weaves in the terminology of Samkhya
school of Hindu philosophy.[42] The text is suused with
Advaita Vedanta ideas, wherein nonduality is emphasized, all dualities are declared as incorrect, and interconnected oneness of all living beings soul with Brahman
is held as the liberating knowledge.[45][46][47] However,
adds Tracy Pintchman a professor of Religious Studies and Hinduism, Devi Gita incorporates Tantric ideas
giving the Devi a form and motherly character rather
than the gender-neutral concept of Adi Shankaras Advaita Vedanta.[48]

2.2

Tantra

A 9th-century Durga Shakti idol, victorious over demon

Mahishasura, in Indonesia.[52]

3 Principal deities
Shaktas approach the Devi in many forms; however, they
are all considered to be but diverse aspects of the one
supreme goddess.[53][54] The primary Devi form worshiped by a Shakta devotee is his or her ishta-devi, that is
a personally selected Devi.[55] The selection of this deity
can depend on many factors, such as family tradition, regional practice, guru lineage and personal resonance.[56]

Some forms of the goddess are widely known in the

Hindu world. The common goddesses of Shaktism, popular in the Hindu thought at least by about mid 1stmillennium CE, include Durga, Kali, Amba, Tripurasundari, Lakshmi (and her avatars such as Radha, Sita),
Saraswati and Parvati (Uma).[57][4] The rarer forms of
Devi found among tantric Shakta are the Mahavidyas,
particularly Tara, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Kamala and
Buvaneshwari.[58][59] Other major goddess groups include the Sapta-Matrika (Seven Little Mothers), who
The roots of Shakta Tantrism are unclear, probably an- are the energies of dierent major gods, and described as
cient and independent of the Vedic tradition of Hin- assisting the great Shakta Devi in her ght with demons,
duism. The interaction between Vedic and Tantric tra- and the 64 Yoginis.[60]
ditions trace back to at least the sixth century,[50] and
the surge in Tantra tradition developments during the late
medieval period, states Georey Samuel, were a means
to confront and cope with Islamic invasions and political 4 Tantric traditions
instability in and after 14th-century CE.[51]
Sub-traditions of Shaktism include Tantra, which refers
to techniques, pratices and ritual grammar involving
mantra, yantra, nyasa, mudra and certain elements
of traditional kundalini yoga, typically practiced under
the guidance of a qualied guru after due initiation
(diksha) and oral instruction to supplement various written sources.[49] There has been a historic debate between
Shakta theologians on whether its tantric practices are
Vedic or non-Vedic.[50][28][29]

4.1

WORSHIP

Vidypha

The Vidypha is subdivided into Vmatantras, Ymalatantras, and aktitantras.[61]

4.2

Kulamrga

The Kulamrga preserves some of the distinctive features

of the Kplika tradition, from which it is derived.[62] It is
subdivided into four subcategories of texts based on the
goddesses Kulevar, Kubjik, Kl and Tripurasundar
respectively.[63] The Trika texts are closely related to
the Kulevar texts and can be considered as part of the
Kulamrga.[64]

Worship

Shaktism encompasses a nearly endless variety of beliefs

and practices from primitive animism to philosophical
speculation of the highest order that seek to access the
Shakti (Divine Energy or Power) that is believed to be the
Devis nature and form.[65] Its two largest and most visible
Sri Lalita-Tripurasundari enthroned with her left foot upon the
schools are the Srikula (family of Sri), strongest in South
Sri Chakra, holding her traditional symbols, the sugarcane bow,
India, and the Kalikula (family of Kali), which prevails in ower arrows, noose and goad.
northern and eastern India.[65]

5.1

Srikula: family of Sri

The Srikula (family of Sri) tradition (sampradaya) focuses worship on Devi in the form of the goddess LalitaTripura Sundari, who is regarded as the Great Goddess
(Mahadevi). Rooted in rst-millennium Uttarakhand,
Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir Valley, Srikula became
a force in South India no later than the seventh century,
and is today the prevalent form of Shaktism practiced in
South Indian regions such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Tamil areas of Sri Lanka.[66]
The Srikulas best-known school is Srividya, one of
Shakta Tantrisms most inuential and theologically sophisticated movements. Its central symbol, the Sri
Chakra, is probably the most famous visual image in all
of Hindu Tantric tradition. Its literature and practice is
perhaps more systematic than that of any other Shakta
sect.[67]
Srividya largely views the Goddess as benign [saumya]
and beautiful [saundarya]" (in contrast to Kalikulas focus on terrifying [ugra] and horrifying [ghora]" goddess
forms such as Kali or Durga). In Srikula practice, moreover, every aspect of the Goddess whether malignant or
gentle is identied with Lalita.[68]
Srikula adepts most often worship Lalita using the abstract Sri Chakra yantra, which is regarded as her subtle form. The Sri Chakra can be visually rendered either as a two-dimensional diagram (whether drawn tem-

porarily as part of the worship ritual, or permanently engraved in metal) or in the three-dimensional, pyramidal
form known as the Sri Meru. It is not uncommon to nd
a Sri Chakra or Sri Meru installed in South Indian temples, because as modern practitioners assert there is
no disputing that this is the highest form of Devi and that
some of the practice can be done openly. But what you
see in the temples is not the srichakra worship you see
when it is done privately.[lower-alpha 2]
The Srividya paramparas can be further broadly subdivided into two streams, the Kaula (a vamamarga practice) and the Samaya (a dakshinamarga practice). The
Kaula or Kaulachara, rst appeared as a coherent ritual system in the 8th century in central India,[70] and
its most revered theorist is the 18th-century philosopher
Bhaskararaya, widely considered the best exponent of
Shakta philosophy.[71]
The Samaya or Samayacharya nds its roots in the work
of the 16th-century commentator Lakshmidhara, and is
ercely puritanical [in its] attempts to reform Tantric
practice in ways that bring it in line with high-caste
brahmanical norms.[72] Many Samaya practitioners explicitly deny being either Shakta or Tantric, though scholars argues that their cult remains technically both.[72]
The Samaya-Kaula division marks an old dispute within
Hindu Tantrism,[72] and one that is vigorously debated
to this day.

5.3

5.2

Festivals

Kalikula: family of Kali

pointed teeth, and a necklace of skulls but

inwardly beautiful. She can guarantee a good
rebirth or great religious insight, and her worship is often communal especially at festivals, such as Kali Puja and Durga Puja. Worship may involve contemplation of the devotees union with or love of the goddess, visualization of her form, chanting [of her] mantras,
prayer before her image or yantra, and giving
[of] oerings.[73]
At Tarapith, Devis manifestation as Tara (She Who
Saves) or Ugratara (Fierce Tara) is ascendant, as the
goddess who gives liberation (kaivalyadayini). [...] The
forms of sadhana performed here are more yogic and
tantric than devotional, and they often involve sitting
alone at the [cremation] ground, surrounded by ash and
bone. There are shamanic elements associated with the
Tarapith tradition, including conquest of the goddess,
exorcism, trance, and control of spirits.[73]
The philosophical and devotional underpinning of all
such ritual, however, remains a pervasive vision of the
Devi as supreme, absolute divinity. As expressed by the
nineteenth-century saint Ramakrishna, one of the most
inuential gures in modern Bengali Shaktism:

Kali in her Dakshina Kali form

The Kalikula (family of Kali) form of Shaktism is most

dominant in Nepal, northern and eastern India, and is
most widely prevalent in West Bengal, Assam, Bihar
and Odisha, as well as parts of Maharashtra, Bangladesh
and some parts of Kerala. Kalikula lineages focus upon
the Devi as the source of wisdom (vidya) and liberation (moksha). They generally stand in opposition to the
brahmanic tradition, which they view as overly conservative and denying the experiential part of religion.[73]
The main deities of Kalikula are Kali, Chandi and Durga.
Other goddesses that enjoy veneration are Tara and all
the other Mahavidyas as well as regional goddesses such
as Manasa, the snake goddess, and Sitala, the smallpox
goddess all of them, again, considered aspects of the
5.3
Divine Mother.[73]

Kali is none other than Brahman. That

which is called Brahman is really Kali. She
is the Primal Energy. When that Energy remains inactive, I call It Brahman, and when It
creates, preserves, or destroys, I call It Shakti
or Kali. What you call Brahman I call Kali.
Brahman and Kali are not dierent. They are
like re and its power to burn: if one thinks of
re one must think of its power to burn. If one
recognizes Kali one must also recognize Brahman; again, if one recognizes Brahman one
must recognize Kali. Brahman and Its Power
are identical. It is Brahman whom I address as
Shakti or Kali.[74]

Festivals

In Nepal devi is mainly worshipped as Kali, Bhawani,

Matrika and Navadurga.There are many shakti peeth in
Nepal including the main shakti peeth Guhyeshwari Temple of Guhyeshwari Devi also called as Guhekali Bhagawati on the bank of holy Bagmati river. She is one
of the important deity in kalikula. Two major centers
of Shaktism in West Bengal are Kalighat in Calcutta and
Tarapith in Birbhum district. In Calcutta, emphasis is on
devotion (bhakti) to the goddess as Kali:

Shaktas celebrate most major Hindu festivals, as well as

a huge variety of local, temple- or deity-specic observances. A few of the more important events are listed
below:[75]

She is the loving mother who protects her

children and whose erceness guards them.
She is outwardly frightening with dark skin,

The most important Shakta festival is Navratri (lit., Festival of Nine Nights), also known as Sharad Navratri because it falls during the Hindu month of Sharad

5.3.1 Navratri
Main article: Navratri

WORSHIP

(October/November). This festival often taken together with the following tenth day, known as Dusshera or
Vijayadashami celebrates the goddess Durgas victory
over a series of powerful demons described in the Devi
Mahatmya.[76] In Bengal, the last four days of Navaratri
are called Durga Puja, and mark one episode in particular:
Durgas iconic slaying of Mahishasura (lit., the Bualo
Demon).[77]
While Hindus of all denominations celebrate the autumn
Navratri festival, Shaktas also celebrate two additional
Navratris one in the spring and one in the summer. The
spring festival is known as Vasanta Navaratri or Chaitra
Navatri, and celebrated in the Hindu month of Chaitra
(March/April). Srividya lineages dedicate this festival to
Devis form as the goddess Lalita. The summer festival
is called Ashada Navaratri, as it is held during the Hindu
month of Ashadha (June/July). The Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu, with Vaishno Devi considered an aspect of
Durga, celebrates Navaratri.[76][78] Ashada Navaratri, on
the other hand, is considered particularly auspicious for
devotees of the boar-headed goddess Varahi, one of the
seven Matrikas named in the Devi Mahatmya.[79]

5.3.2

Vasant Panchami

Main article: Saraswati Pooja

Fifth day of Magha Gupta Navratri is very important for
all branches of Shakta-pantha. Specially in Vindhyachal
mahashakti peetham, thousands of chandipatha and other
secret rituals performed this day to please Aadishakti.
This is the festival of union of Shakti & Shiv (ShivaShiv). On the same basis Shiva-Shiv Sammoh is formed
by Awadhoot Kripanandnath at Awadhoot Ashram, Vindhyachal in 1980.

5.3.3

Diwali and others

Main article: Diwali

Lakshmi Puja is a part of Durga Puja celebrations by
Shaktas, where Laksmi symbolizes the goddess of abundance and autumn harvest.[80] Lakshmis biggest festival, however, is Diwali (or Deepavali; the Festival of
Lights), a major Hindu holiday celebrated across India
and in Nepal as Tihar. In North India, Diwali marks the
beginning of the traditional New Year, and is held on
the night of the new moon in the Hindu month of Kartik
(usually October or November). Shaktas (and many nonShaktas) celebrate it as another Lakshmi Puja, placing
small oil lamps outside their homes and praying for the
goddesss blessings.[81] Diwali coincides with the celebration of Kali Puja, popular in Bengal, and some Shakta
traditions focus their worship on Devi as Kali rather than
Lakshmi.[82]

A gopuram (tower) of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, a Shakta

temple at Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, which was nominated in
the "New Seven Wonders of the World" competition in 2004.

Jagaddhatri Puja is celebrated on the last four days of the

Navaratis, following Kali Puja. It is very similar to Durga
Puja in its details and observance, and is especially popular in Bengal and some other parts of Eastern India. Gauri
Puja is performed on the fth day after Ganesh Chaturthi,
during Ganesha Puja in Western India, to celebrate the arrival of Gauri, Mother of Ganesha where she brings her
son back home.
Major Shakta temple festivals are Meenakshi Kalyanam
and Ambubachi Mela. The Meenakshi Kalyanam is a part
of the Chithirai Thiruvizha festival in Madurai around
April/May, one of the largest festivals in South India,
celebrating the wedding of goddess Meenakshi (Parvati)
and Shiva. The festival is one where both the Vaishnava
and Shaiva communities join the celebrations, because
Vishnu gives away his sister Meenakshi in marriage to
Shiva.[83] Ambubachi Mela or Ameti is a celebration of
the menstruation of the goddess, by hundreds of thousands of devotees, in a festival held in June/July (during the monsoon season) at Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati, Assam. Here the Devi is worshiped in the form of
a yoni-like stone, and the site is one of Shakta Pitha or
pilgrimage sites in Shaktism.[84]

5.4 Animal sacrice

Shaktism tradition practices animal sacrice to revere
goddesses such as Kali in many parts of India but particularly in the eastern states of India and Nepal. This is
either an actual animal, or a vegetal or sweet dish substitute considered equivalent to the animal.[86] In many
cases, Shaktism devotees consider animal sacrice distasteful, practice alternate means of expressing devotion
while respecting the views of others in their tradition.[87]
In Nepal, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam, animal sacrices are performed at Shakti temples, particular to mark

7
the legend of goddess Durga slaying the bualo demon.
This involves slaying of a goat, chicken or a male water
bualo. This practice is rare among Hindus, outside this
region.[85]
In Bengal, animal sacrice follows the guidelines in texts
such as Mahanirvana Tantra are followed in selecting the
animal, then a priest oers a prayer to the animal, then
recites the Gayatri Mantra in its ear before killing it.[88]
The meat of the sacriced animal is then eaten by the
Shakta devotee.[85]
In Nepal, animal sacrice en masse occurs during the
three-day-long Gadhimai festival. In 2009 it was speculated that more than 250,000 animals were sacriced
during this event.[89][90]
In Odisha, during the Bali Jatra, Shaktism devotees sacriThe Hindoo Goddess Karle, an illustration from Dr. Scudders
ce male goats to the goddess Samaleswari in her temple Tales for Little Readers About the Heathen, by Dr. John Scudin Sambalpur, Orissa.[91][92]
der (London, 1849).
The Rajput of Rajasthan worship their weapons and
horses on Navratri, and formerly oered a sacrice of a
goat to a goddess revered as Kuldevi a practice that con- this sort issued from an Indian scholar in the 1920s:
tinues in some places.[93][94] The ritual requires slaying of
the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was
considered a rite of passage into manhood and readiness
The Tantras are the Bible of Shaktism,
as a warrior. The ritual is directed by a priest.[95] The
identifying
all Force with the female principle
Kuldevi among these Rajput communities is a warriorin
nature
and
teaching an undue adoration of
pativrata guardian goddess, with local legends tracing rev[96]
the
wives
of
Shiva
and Vishnu to the neglect of
erence for her during Rajput-Muslim wars.
their male counterparts. It is certain that a vast
Animal Sacrice of a bualo or goat, particularly during
number of the inhabitants of India are guided
smallpox epidemics, has been practiced in parts of South
in their daily life by Tantrik [sic] teaching, and
India. The sacriced animal is dedicated to a goddess,
are in bondage to the gross superstitions inand is probably related to the myth of goddess Kali in
culcated in these writings. And indeed it can
Andhra Pradesh, but in Karnataka, the typical goddess
scarcely be doubted that Shaktism is Hinduism
is Renuka. According to Alf Hiltebeitel a professor of
arrived at its worst and most corrupt stage of
Religions, History and Human Sciences, these ritual anidevelopment.[101]
mal sacrices, with some dierences, mirrors goddessrelated ritual animal sacrice found in Gilgamesh epic
and in texts of Egyptian, Minoan and Greek sources.[97]
The tantra practices are secretive, subject to speculations
In the 19th-century through the early 20th-century, In- and criticism. Scholars variously attribute such criticism
dian laborers were shipped by the British Empire into to ignorance, misunderstanding or sectarian bias on the
colonial mining and plantations operations in the Indian part of some observers, as well as unscrupulous practices
ocean and the Caribbean regions. These included sig- by some Shaktas. These are some of the reasons many
nicant number of Shakta devotees. While instances of Hindus question the relevance and historicity of Tantra
Shakta animal sacrice during Kali puja in the Caribbean to their tradition.[102][29]
islands were recorded between 1850s to 1920s, these
were relatively uncommon when compared to other rit- Beyond tantra, the Shakta sub-traditions subscribe to varuals such as temple prayers, community dancing and re ious philosophies, are similar in some aspects and dier
in others. These traditions compare with Shaivism, Shakwalking.[98]
tism and Smartism as follows:

Shaktism versus other Hindu

traditions

7 Temples and inuence

Shaktism has at times been dismissed as a superstitious,

black magic-infested practice that hardly qualies as a Further information: List of Shakti Temples and Shakti
true religion at all.[99][100] A representative criticism of Peethas

TEMPLES AND INFLUENCE

from the Ajanta Caves, dated to the 6th to 7th-century

CE, show Buddhist Matrikas (mother goddesses of Shaktism) next to the Buddha.[134] Other goddesses in these
caves include Durga. The goddess iconography in these
Buddhist caves is close, but not identical to the Hindu
Shakta tradition. The seven goddess mothers are found
in other Buddhist caves and literature, such as their
discussion in the Buddhist text Manjusrimulakalpa and
Vairocanabhisambodhi.[134][135]

Jwala Ji
Kanyakumari
Manasarovar
Puri
Kolkata
Guwahati
mother goddesses are found in both Shakta-Hinduism
The map depicts location of Shakti Peethas in South
and Vajrayana-Buddhism.[136][132]
Asia, major (blue) and minor (red) .
Shakta temples are found all over South Asia. Many
towns, villages and geographic landmarks are named for 7.2 Jainism
various forms of the Devi.[124] Major pilgrimage sites of
Shaktism are called "Shakti Peethas", literally Seats of In Jainism, ideas similar to Shaktism tradition are found,
such as the Vidyadevis and the Shasanadevis.[131]
the Devi. These vary from four to fty one.[125]
Some Shakta temples are also found in Southeast Asia,
the Americas, Europe, Australia and elsewhere.[126] Ex- 7.3 Sikhism
amples in the United States include the Kali Mandir in
Laguna Beach, California;[127] and Sri Rajarajeswari Pee- The secondary scripture of Sikhs, Dasam Granth attam,[128] a Srividya temple in rural Rush, New York.[129] tributed to Guru Gobind Singh, includes numerous secSome feminists and participants in New Age spiritual- tions on Shakta goddesses, particularly Chandi the
[137]
According
ity who are attracted to goddess worship, suggest Shak- erce warrior form of the Hindu goddess.
tism is a symbol of wholeness and healing, associated to Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh a professor of Religious
especially with repressed female power and sexuality. Studies, the stories about goddess Durga in the Dasam
[138]
However, these are adaptions and do not share Shakta Granth are reworkings of ancient Shakti mythologies.
[126]
A signicant part of this Sikh scripture is based on the
theology.
teachings in the Shakta text Devi Mahatmya found in the
Markandeya Purana of Hinduism.[139]

7.1

Buddhism

There has been a signicant sharing of ideas, ritual grammar and concepts between Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana
tradition) found in Nepal and Tibet and the Tantric
Shakta tradition of Hinduism.[130][131] Both movements
cherish female deities,[132] view the female creativity
as the power behind the universe, and the feminine as
the ontological primary. According to Miranda Shaw,
the conuence of Buddhism and Shaktism is such
that Tantric Buddhism could properly be called Shakta
Buddhism.[133]
The Buddhist Aurangabad Caves about 100 kilometers

7.4 Other ancient religions

Some Westerners believe that many central concepts of
Shaktism including aspects of kundalini yoga as well
as goddess worship were once common to the Hindu,
Chaldean, Greek and Roman civilizations, but were
largely superseded in the West, as well as the Near and
Middle East, with the rise of the Abrahamic religions:
Of these four great ancient civilizations,
working knowledge of the inner forces of
enlightenment has survived on a mass scale

9
only in India. Only in India has the inner
tradition of the Goddess endured. This is the
reason the teachings of India are so precious.
They oer us a glimpse of what our own
ancient wisdom must have been. The Indians
have preserved our lost heritage. [...] Today it
is up to us to locate and restore the tradition of
the living Goddess. We would do well to begin
our search in India, where for not one moment
in all of human history have the children of the
living Goddess forgotten their Divine Mother.
Linda Johnsen[140]

See also

[6] Yudit Kornberg Greenberg (2008). Encyclopedia of Love

in World Religions. ABC-CLIO. pp. 254256. ISBN
978-1-85109-980-1.
[7] Constance Jones; James Ryan (2014). Encyclopedia of
Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. p. 399. ISBN 9780816054589.
[8] Rocher, Ludo (1986). The Puranas. Otto Harrassowitz
Verlag. p. 193. ISBN 978-3447025225.
[9] Katherine Anne Harper; Robert L. Brown (2012). The
Roots of Tantra. State University of New York Press. pp.
48, 117, 4053. ISBN 978-0-7914-8890-4.
[10] Sanderson, Alexis. The aiva Literature. Journal of Indological Studies (Kyoto), Nos. 24 & 25 (20122013),
2014, pp. 80.
[11] June McDaniel 2004, p. 90.

Hecate the Greek goddess of magic, ghosts, and [12] Cheever Mackenzie Brown 1998, p. 26.
necromancy

[13] The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 125 Ralph T.H. Grifth (Translator); for Sanskrit original see: :
.

Palden Lhamo the erce Buddhist guardian goddess found in Tibet, and the goddess of war in Mongolia
[14] Paul Deussen (1980). Sixty Upaniads of the Veda, Part
Shaivism
Smarta Tradition
Vaishnavism

Notes

[1] Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, VII.33.13-15, cited in Brown

1991[32]
[2] A senior member of Guru Mandali, Madurai, November
1984, cited in Brooks 1992.[69]

1. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 207208, 211213 verses

1428. ISBN 978-81-208-1468-4.
[15] Charles Johnston, Kena Upanishad in The Mukhya Upanishads: Books of Hidden Wisdom, (19201931), The
Mukhya Upanishads, Kshetra Books, ISBN 978-1-49594653-0 (Reprinted in 2014), Archive of Kena Upanishad Part 3 as published in Theosophical Quarterly, pages 229
232
[16] NB Saxena (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist
Theology (Editors: Mary McClintock Fulkerson, Sheila
Briggs). Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780-19-927388-1.
[17] Coburn 2002, p. 7.
[18] Coburn 1991, p. 16.

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Fla: Yoga Research Foundation, 1994. ISBN 0934664-58-7
Tracy Pintchman (2005). Guests at Gods Wedding:
Celebrating Kartik among the Women of Benares.
State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-07914-6595-0.
Tracy Pintchman (2014). Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great Goddess.
State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-07914-9049-5.

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Tracy Pintchman (2015). The Rise of the Goddess in

the Hindu Tradition. State University of New York
Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-1618-2.
Rocher, Ludo (1986). The Puranas. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3447025225.
Sarma, S. A. (2001). Kena Upanisad: A Study From
Sakta Perspective. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Shankarnarayanan, S. (2002b) [1971]. Sri Chakra
(4th ed.). Chennai: Samata Books.
Smith, Frederick M. (2006). The Self Possessed:
Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature.
Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13748-6.
Suryanarayana Murthy, C. (2000) [1962]. Sri Lalita
Sahasranama with Introduction and Commentary.
Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Urban, Hugh B. (2003). Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics and Power in the Study of Religion. Berkeley:
University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-52093689-8.
Winternitz, M. (1973) [1927]. History of Indian Literature. New Delhi.

12

External links

The Sakta Traditions, The Oxford Centre for Hindu

Studies
Devi, The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer
Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution
The Portrait of the Goddess in the Dev-mhtmya,
David Kinsley (1978)
The Indian Religion of the Goddess Shakti, Hans
Koester (1929)

EXTERNAL LINKS

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13.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Shaktism Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaktism?oldid=748159814 Contributors: Edward, Andres, Imc, Carlossuarez46,

Goethean, Nurg, Sam Spade, Davidcannon, Sethoeph, HangingCurve, Michael Devore, Wmahan, Adashiel, Mike Rosoft, Jayjg, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Dbachmann, Bender235, ESkog, Kwamikagami, QuartierLatin1968, Nicke Lilltroll~enwiki, Idleguy, Raj2004,
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File:1849_engraving_of_\char"0022\relax{}the_Hindoo_Goddess_Karle.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/

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