Śaktism (worship of Śakti as the female goddess)

The term śaktism means the school of philosophy which covers the śākta religion and culture of Hinduism. In the śakti cult, it is represented that the śakti is the incarnation of the power which upholds the whole universe and is worshiped by all. In Hinduism, śakti is personified as the female goddess who is portrayed as the female aspect of the universe.

According to Radhakrishanan,

“Śakti is determinate Brahman endowed with icchā (will), jñāna (knowledge) and kriyā (action), projecting the whole objective universe.”^[1]

Śakti is known by various names acquired by her various incarnations and forms such as, Devī, Candī, Umā, Durgā, Mahāmāyā, Kālī, Pārvatī etc.

Most of the time, it is believed that the idea of mother goddess came from the Vedic period in the Hindu tradition. Some of the female deities like Uṣā, Rātri, Vāk, Sarasvati etc. are eulogised imposing upon them some powers or śaktis. In the Ṛgveda there is one famous sūkta called Vāksūkta or Devī-Sūkta.^[2] In this sūkta, goddess Vāk, identifying herself with the Paramātman, declares herself to be the possession of supreme power, declares herself to be all in all. The word śakti means energy in general. The whole universe is governed by the eternal energy. This energy is referred to as śāśvata and sanātaṇa.

This idea can be found in the Ṛgveda as—

ekaṃ sadviprā vahudhā vadanti agniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānamāhuḥ //^[3]

The description of śaktism is mainly traced from the Caṇḍī part of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa. These ślokas of Caṇḍī are based on the glory of Śaktism.^[4] Some similarities are also found in the content of the hymn of the Atharvaveda.^[5] Śakti, is identified as Devī-māhāmāya who is endured with the power of great illusion in this Purāṇa.^[6] Devī exists in all the creatures, she is stated to be the mother of Indra .^[7] The Devī-māhātmya portion of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, shows the goddess in this splendour and brings out the wider implications of the concept of power that moves the world as a female principle.^[8] Killing of Mahisasura can be cited as an example. No one can extol śakti, because the trinity of Gods i.e. Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva made her to assume bodies.^[9] In the Śākta philosophy, śakti is considered as superior to Śiva, Viṣṇu and Brahmā.

Nature of Śakti

The nature of Mahāmāyā is identified with various names and objectives. She is called omnipresent because she is described as having her hands, feet, head, mouth, ears and nose everywhere.^[10] In this section, we find some philosophic attributes mentioned which are directly or indirectly related to Śaktism. Such as—Mahāmāyā^[11]—means great illusion or one who possesses great deceptiveness.^[12] At first her creative powers are counted as māyā and then the whole idea of creativity is focused as shapeless expression. This name is referred to the supreme form of the Goddess. Yoganidrā^[13] -means sleep of devotion, the active principle of illusion or māyā, avidya or mahāmāya.^[14] She is the mother of god and universal nature. She personifies motherhood and fertility not only to the visible world but also to the abstract. According to Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, yā devī sarvabhūteṣu mātrirupena saṃsthit ā^[15] means the supreme mother is the mother of all the divine power. She is inseparably connected with the supreme soul. Thus she is illuminated by the eternal consciousness of the supreme soul. The author of the Purāṇa considers that the conscious Prakrti is incorporeal goddess. Tamasā^[16]—means darkness. Goddess takes tāmasī form in the world or parameṣṭhī which is predominant.

As the mother, she takes the initiative in releasing the dynamic forces of creativity^[17] on the form of Jagatpratiṣṭh ā^[18],

1. Sārā^[19],
2. Paramāmāy ā^[20],
3. Guṇamayā or Guṇāśrayā^[21],
4. Dhruvā^[22] etc.

Some other terms are also applicable to Mahāmāyā, such as—

1. ajā (Unborn)^[23],
2. nityā,
3. sanātani^[24] (eternal)

She is ever-present, unconditional by time and space. Here Mahāmāya is shown as the higher knowledge while conditioned by time space relates. She is the cause of bondage and delusion.^[25]

She is called:

1. akṣarā^[26] (immutable),
2. parā,
3. paramā^[27] meaning the highest.

In this Purāṇa, Mahāmāyā is stated as the highest queen and highest of all things high and low. Mahāmāya is the one that transcends the normal categories of comparison.^[28]

She is simply called as:

1. sarvakāriṇī^[29] (all creating),
2. viśvāśrayā (resort of the universe),
3. viśvātmikā^[30],
4. Jaganmayi^[31],
5. sarvasvarūpā (omniform),
6. sarvaśaktisamanvitā^[32] (omnipotent),
7. akhilatmakā^[33] (all embracing).

The Goddess comprehends both the existent i.e. sat and non-existent i.e. asat. So, she is known as the all embracing. She is beyond all the categories contrasted as sat and asat.^[34]

It is also believed that a male god is weak, ineffective and immobilized without the female counterpart who is known as śakti. In the chapter namely Mahiṣāsura vadha, the male deities come together and contribute their strength and vigour to create the goddess Durgā to destroy the demon Mahiṣāsura. Again, the energy and heat that the gods contributed during her formation is called tejas.^[35] Her power and action as such is a fitting representation of the idea of śakti. Goddess Mahāmāyā is the endless and powerful Viṣṇu’s energy.^[36] Goddess Mahāmāyā is the one who created the three guṇas. These three gunas are the cause behind the entire universe.^[37] During the fight, her gaṇas were produced out of her breaths.

1 In the first story of Yoganidrā, the philosophical aspect has been shown in the form of Tamoguṇa. Yoganidrā, is the incarnation of goddess Mahamāyā.With the help of Goddess Yoganidrā, god Viṣṇu slayed the demons. Here, it is shown how the tāmasikaguṇa impact our mind with special significance and importance. In the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, there is one verse where tamasī form is shown.

It is shown, in this verse, how the person knows about the tamasa form, which is one of the incarnations of Goddess Durgā,

tat kimetanmahābhāga yanmoho jñāninorapi /
mamāsya ca bhavatyeṣā vivekāndhasya mūḍhatā //^[38]

2 In the next story of Mahāmāyā and Mahiṣāsura, some points of rajoguṇa are noticed. Being defeated by the demon Mahiṣa, the gods went to the trinity of gods for their help. Then the gods brought all the energy together and created the genesis of Durgā or Mahisāsuramardinī. Here, we see that all the three guṇas are taking place in this story. Sattavaguṇa is expressed in Mahāmāyā’s mature deliberation and thought, sympathy and manoeuvring on the battlefield. The continuous unusual activity of the goddess Mahiṣāsuramardini signified her supremacy of the element of rajoguṇa. The bearer of the goddess i.e. lion is the symbol of rajoguṇa. This rajas is found to be per-excellence among the three guṇas. Due to the presence of tamoguṇa, the goddess was able to slay the demon easily. Her affection for drinks indicates her tamoguṇa. These tamoguṇa shows one of the constituents. All these three guṇas developed the mantel power and body of the goddess.

3 In the Śumbha-Niśumbha story, the goddess Ambikā was found to emerge from the goddess Pārvatī. In this story, we find the predominance of svattaguṇa. There are some dialogues which indicate her svattaguṇa. For example, when the messenger of Sumbha told goddess Ambikā to go with him then she expressed before the messenger that who would vanquish her in the battle, who would force her pride from her and who was her match strength in the world, he would be her husband. The speech of goddess Ambikā before the demon, Dhūmralocana unfailingly pointed to the preponderance of svattaguṇa. Then Goddess Ambikā became dark black colour immediately. This indicates that the svatta element in Parvatī was taken out by goddess Ambikā. Her very colour of the body indicates the preponderance of svatta element. Her mental status found its expression in her complexion of the body. Her mild disposition, absence of arrogance, unassuming tactful conversation, and fairness of character pointed to her preponderance of svattaguṇa.

4 In the next story, goddess Parvati’s temporary preponderance of rajoguṇa and tamoguṇa has been expressed. She subdued it by evolving Kālī. Raktabija was slain by goddess Caṇḍikā i.e. Kālī, another form of Mahāmāyā. Similarly, she was slain by the demon Niśumbha and Śumbha and showed her primordial matter fully exposed. Though she showed demon Sumbha her actual form, he could not recognise her actual identity because of his perverted mind. Here, the svattaguṇa and the tamoguṇa have been represented as Caṇḍikā and goddess Kālī. This fight took place mainly between the svatta and tamoguṇa. Sometimes tamas got the upper hand, but finally svattaguṇa with the help of her tamoguṇa, she defeated the demon Śumbha. Ultimately goddess Durgā got the victory with the help of svattaguṇa. There is no one other than goddess Mahāmāyā. She had clearly used the svatta, rajas and tamas in the battle and got the victory. That is why goddess Mahāmāyā is also identified as trigunātmikā.

Śakti is the Cause of Creation of the World

Goddess Mahāmāyā is visible to the universe in the form of śakti.^[39] The identification of goddesses with the world is unambiguous. She is eternal i.e. nityā and all pervading. She is said to be born whenever she reveals herself in order to accomplish the purposes of the gods. Nobody has control except herself. That is why she is known as the eternal one i.e. nityā.^[40] She is known as Dhātrī, Jagaddhātr ī^[41] means upholder or supporter. Jagad means earth, dhātrī means by whom it is supported i.e. ‘supporter of the universe’. Goddess Mahāmāya is found once in the uncompounded form jagatāṃ dhāt ṛ^[42] and on another occasion she is simply called dhātrī.^[43] Mahāmāyā is the supreme goddess of the universe. She is known as Viśveśvarī.^[44] She is the mother of the entire universe.^[45] Her power makes worldly existence permanent. So she is saṃsārasthitikāriṇaī. She is the cause of everything. She is īṣvarī of everything that creates the whole moveable and immoveable world. She also gives liberation to men from this universe.^[46] She is the one who always devours.^[47] For example, she takes the incarnation of Mahākālī at the time of destruction of the earth to have control over Brahmā and brings the universe into existence. She is the great epidemic at the time of destruction. She takes the incarnation of Mahālakṣmī, at the time of preservation of the world, to give wealth and prosperity to the earth. She ensures the preservation of beings when the time far arrives. She is known as alakṣmī or Jyeṣṭhā devī at the time of destruction of the wealth and prosperity. When she is not present, she is in the form of alakṣmi and brings about destruction.^[48] Goddess Mahāmāyā supports the whole universe by her power. She does exist in the form of the earth. She also exists in the form of water and fills the universe by her power.^[49] She feeds the world. All-pervading character of śakti is expressed clearly.

Śakti is described as the cause of existence of the universe and is depicted as the original nature i.e. Prakṛti. These are some points where she represents the Prakṛti of Sāṃkhya philosophy. Here , Prakṛti, the supreme nature manifesting as the three guṇas are accepted as an important form of goddess Mahāmāyā. In this context, there are other theological parts found where goddess Durgā is identified with Prakṛti and jagat. Here Prakṛti is the physical universe. Prakṛti means nature or primordial matter. The word Prakṛti bears three different meanings of this section. In the first hymn i.e. 78.59, Brahmā praises Mahāmāyā that she is the Prakṛti of all and manifesting the triad of constituent strands.^[50] In the second hymn i.e. 81.6, Prakṛti is the cause of all the worlds, triguṇā i.e. possessed of three qualities, Prakṛti is unknown, unfathomable by Hari, Hara and other gods. Prakṛti resorts of all, the entire world is Prakṛti . Prakṛti is the supreme, original and untransformed.^[51] And the third one i.e. 82.7 indicates the final usage which is simple, unelaborated hymnic invocation. Prakṛti is the main source of matrix of all objects of the universe. Goddess Durgā is closely connected with the physical universe as the form of Prakṛti. She creates, protects and sustains the universe by her various incarnations.^[52] She is the Supreme Prakrti without any form. In the Devī māhātmya portion, goddess Durgā is considered as all in one. This fact is proved in various parts of Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa.^[53] In the incarnation as śakti she nourishes, protects and provides support to all beings. Goddess Durgā provides the earth food and vegetables from her own body. For this reason, she is famous on earth under the name of Śākambhar ī^[54] or Herb-bearing.^[55] She protects herself in her form as the earth itself. As continuous in the earth goddess Durgā is equated with the earth. To maintain of harmony on earth, this heavenly queen i.e. Durgā descends from time to time on earth.^[56] Also she fulfils the wishes of her devotees desiring final emancipation. Goddess Mahāmāyā upholds the universe.^[57] She holds the power of creation, permanence and destruction.^[58] She, who pervades the whole world, is known as citi i.e. thinking mind.^[59] She is the power that leads to the destruction of the universe. Everything in this universe originates from her parts. She is the original one.

In the form of Caṇḍikā, she saves as in the east, west, south. She uses her whirling trident to save us in the north. Her amiable form surprises around in the three worlds. She protects the world on all the sides.^[60] She exists in the form of consciousness, pervading the entire universe.^[61] Goddess Mahāmāyā pacifies all the evil portents, great epidemics and the three kinds of calamities i.e. ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika and ādhibhautika.^[62] In this way, the illustrious goddess repeatedly manifests herself to protect the world who deserves to be worshipped by everyone, who resides in the three worlds, she bestows boons on the world, she is the welfare of the universe.^[63] To protect the three worlds (trailokyasya hitārthye) from the demon and to kill the evil forces Goddess Mahāmāyā takes the various forms in different births.^[64] Goddess Durgā reduces the sufferings of all creatures and provides fulfilment and happiness to them.

Relation of Śakti with Jīva

The relation between śakti and jiva is connected to each other. Śakti is the main root of all actions and the cause of the intellect. According to this Purāṇa, Devī possesses two śakties-v ivecanā and āvaraṇī. The vivecanā śakti stands for discriminative knowledge, while the āvaraṇī śakti denotes perverted outlook of ignorance. The power of Mahāmāyā i.e. great illusion (māyā) established in the universe. The word māyā stands for divine power. Māyā deceives people and makes them realize to be the centre of the world by preventing them from seeing things as they really are.^[65] Above this māyā one can obtain the eternal enjoyment and below this māyā there is only transitory and perishable enjoyment.^[66] Basically, māyā is the energy of the Supreme Lord. The Lord uses this energy of māyā to create, maintain and influence the material world. With the help of māyā, the Lord performs all the activities.^[67] Sometimes, when one mistakenly thinks itself independent of the supremacy of lord and the material world is somehow separated for the God that is called illusion or māyā.^[68] This Supreme Lord, is unlimited by time and space of his won will. Also his omnipresence power takes upon himself the limited forms of time and space, knows that the world, although appearing as substantial in it, it is a void, being merely an appearance created by the images and vagaries of the mind. Know the world to be an enhanced scene, presented by the magic of māyā.^[69]

Mahāmāyā is the female form of māyā. This external energy, Mahāmāyā, is personified as Durgādevī.^[70] As Mahāmāyā attracts the whole world by her magical power, she is considered as Mahāmāyā.^[71] According to the Ṛgveda, the word mahāmāyā is the power which corresponds to Mahī śacī.^[72]

Nīlāmbarācārya, a commentator, commented on Devī-mahātmya’s philosophical background.

He starts his commentary by Vedāntic concept with obeisance to māyā as—

ekā citirjanmavikārahīnā bhūtendriyākhyāḥ sakalāḥ kalāstāḥ /
pragṛhya veśa natavadavireje māyeti tāṃ prāhuramī namaste //^[73]

When Durgā is associated with māyā, then both creation and delusion are suggested as connotation. Goddess Durgā bewitches the creatures that she has created after defeating the universe through her extreme power.^[74]

This fact can be justified by the some instance found in the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇ. In the episode of Madhu and Kaitabha, Durgā is clearly found to be the incarnation of māyā. In this story goddess Durgā deludes the demons so that lord Viṣṇu can kill them. When the lord Viṣṇu was engrossed in Yoga and asleep, then lord Brahmā pray her and she originated from Viṣṇu and confounded the entire world.^[75] She is mentioned again and again as Mahāmāyā and as Viṣṇu’s māyā (viṣṇumāyā)^[76] i.e. the illusive power of Lord Viṣṇu^[77].

In the 78th chapter of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, some interesting facts about the Vedānta philosophy are found. This arises some common thought as why intelligent people are found to be victimised by māyā or lack of proper knowledge.^[78] In the story of king Suratha, he is thinking about his followers that why all the subjects certainly follow the other king after lost his kingdom.^[79] On the other hand, Vaiśya’s greedy family has taken away his riches and deceived him. But he i.e. Vaiśya thinking about his home was well or not.^[80] As a solution to this enquiry, the Mahāmāyā is the contemplation sleep of Hari. Hari, lord of the world, completely misleads the world. Mahāmāyā the adorable goddess also forcibly draws the minds of the intelligent people. He is also found to be caught in the meshes of māyā.^[81] Vaiśya’s love for home is the part of Maya, because he was affectionate towards his family. Through the Maya, the supreme power can easily change the mind of the subjects of king Suratha.

A person gets final emancipation or liberated from the bondage of saṃsāra, if he propitiates Mahāmāyā with faith and selfless devotion.^[82] She is the supreme knowledge (vidyāparama) and eternal cause of final emancipation (mūktirhetubhūta) and is the cause of the bondage of worldly existence (saṃsārabandhahetu).^[83] She is unthinkable cause behind emancipation. She is the great vow and objective of attentive self control. She is the essence of truth and knowledge sought by sages who cleanse all their taints for the sake of emancipation.^[84] When she is pleased, she is the cause behind liberation from the earth. Through the power of illusion, Durgā discriminates the Vaiśya and other men, and the universe is bewitched by her power. People can emancipate from existence on the earth by pleasing her.

Some philosophical terms are found in the context of describing goddess Mahāmāyā’s distinctive nature and her identification. Goddess Durgā is mainly identified with śakti, māyā and Prakṛti. In some way, goddess Durgā represents a dramatic picture of the sakti, māyā and Prakṛti. These ideas can be recognized by her philosophical nature.^[85] Śakti is always the basic of the god. These features of God allow and stimulate creative activity. Śakti is personified as goddess in her visible form. These śakti, Prakṛti and māyā, being combined , give an immediate and tangible quantity to the earth. Goddess Durgā associates with the creation itself to express these ideas. She protects the earth by her power and strength.

The śakti of Mahāmāyā beautifully described in the Bhāgavatapurāṇa as-acciyānti manuṣyāntāṃ sarvakāmavareśvarīm/dhūṇoṇahāṣa valibhiḥ sarvakāmavaśapradam nāma dharyāni kurvanti snāṇāṇi caranābhuvi /durgeti bhadrakāśīti vijayā vairatavīti ca /kumudā candikā kṛṣṇā mādhavī kaṇyaketi ca/māyā ṇārāyanī śāṇī śāradvaityamimvaketica/^[86]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

S. Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, Vol.2, p.735

[2]:

Ṛgveda, 10.125

[3]:

Ibid, 1.66.46

[4]:

Laksmi Murulidharmohonty, The Goddess of Wealth and Fortune, p.76

[5]:

Atharvaveda, 6.38.1-4

[6]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 78. 45

[7]:

siṃhavyāgrānuyāto vā vane vā vanahastibhiḥ /
rājñā kruddhena cājñapte vadhye bandhagato’pi vā // Ibid., 89.26

[8]:

Pratima Bowes, The Hindu Religious Tradition a Philosophical Approch, p.256

[9]:

viṣṇuḥśarīragrahaṇamahamīśāna eva ca /
kāritāste yato’tastvaṃ kaḥ stotuṃ śaktimān bhavet // Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 78.65

[10]:

sarvataḥ pāṇipādānte sarvatokṣiśiromukhe /
sarvataḥśravanagrāṇe nārāyaṇi namo’stute // Ibid. , 88.23

[11]:

mahāmāyānubhāvena yathā manvantarādhipaḥ /
sa babhuva mahābhāgaḥ sāvarṇistanayo raveḥ // Ibid., 78.2

[12]:

B. Coburm Thomas, Devī Mahātmya, p.123

[13]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 78.41,49,52

[14]:

H.H. Wilson, The Viṣṇu Purāṇa, p.400

[15]:

yā devī sarvabhuteṣu mātṛrūpeṇa saṃsthitā /
namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaḥ // Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 82.35

[16]:

Ibid. , 78.68; 88.22

[17]:

Vasudeva.S. Agarawala, Devī-māhātmyaṃ Glorification of the Goddess, p.187

[18]:

raudrāyai namo nityāyai gauryai dhātryai namo namaḥ /
namo jagatpratiṣṭhāyai daivyai kṛtyai namo namaḥ // Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 82.8

[19]:

Ibid., 82.10

[20]:

tvaṃ vaiṣṇavīśaktiranantavīryā viśvasya bījaṃ paramāsi māyā /
sammohitaṃ devi samastamet tvaṃ vai prasannā bhuvi muktihetuḥ // Ibid., 88.4

[21]:

sṛṣṭisthitivināśānāṃ śaktibhūte sanātani /
guṇāśraye guṇamaye nārāyaṇi namo’stu te // Ibid., 88.10

[22]:

lakṣmilajje mahāvidye sraddhe puṣṭe svadhe dhruve /
mahārātre mahāmāye nārāyaṇi namo’stu te // Ibid., 88.21

[23]:

saiva kāle mahāmārī saiva sṛṣṭirbhavatyajā /
sthitiṃ karoti bhūtānāṃ saiva kāle sanātanī // Ibid., 89.36

[24]:

Ibid., 78.44, 47, 48, 54, 55; 81.8; 88.32

[25]:

Vasudeva.S. Agarawala, Devī mahātmyaṃ Glorification of the Goddess, p.168

[26]:

sudhā tvamakṣre nitye tridhāmātrātmikā sthitā // Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 78.54

[27]:

Ibid., 78.55,62; 81.14; 78.44,62; 81.6,8,13

[28]:

parāparāṇāṃ paramā tvameva parameśvarī / Ibid., 78.62 b

[29]:

durgāyai durgapārāyai sārāyai sarvakāriṇyai // Ibid., 82.10 b

[30]:

viśveśvarī tvaṃ paripāsi viśvaṃ viśvātmikā dhārayasīti viśvam /
viśveśavandyā bhavatī bhavantī viśvāśrayā ye tvayi bhaktinamrāḥ // Ibid., 88.33

[31]:

nityaiva sā jaganmūrttistayā sarvamid tatam /
tathāpi tatsamutpattirbahudhāśrūyatāṃ mama // Ibid., 78.47

[32]:

Ibid., 88.24

[33]:

yacca kiñcitkvacidvastu sadasadvā’khilātmake / Ibid., 78,63 a

[34]:

Ibid., 79.63

[35]:

Ibid., p.104

[36]:

tvaṃ vaiṣṇavīśaktirnantavīryā / Ibid., 88.4 a

[37]:

Ibid., 81.7

[38]:

Ibid., 78.33

[39]:

nityaiva sā jaganmūrtistayā sarvamid tatam /
tathāpi tatsamutpattirbahudhāśrūyatāṃ mama // Ibid., 78.47

[40]:

devānāṃ kāryasiddhyarthamāvirbhavati sā yadā /
utpanneti tadā loke sā nityāpyabhidhiyate // Ibid., 78.48

[41]:

Ibid. , 78.53

[42]:

khḍgaśūlagadādini yāni cāśtrāṇi te’mbike /
karapallavasaṅgīni tairasmānrnakṣa sarvataḥ // Ibid., 81.27

[43]:

tayāsmākaṃ varo datto yathāpatsu smṛtākhilāḥ /
bhavatāṃ nāśayiṣyāmi tatkṣṇātparamāpadaḥ // Ibid., 82.5

[44]:

Ibid., 78.53

[45]:

Ibid., 88.2

[46]:

tvamīśvarī devī carācarasya / Ibid., 88.2b;
kayā visṛjyate viśaṃ jagadetaccarācaram /
saiṣā prasannā varadā nṛṇāṃ bhavati mūktaye // Ibid., 78.43

[47]:

Ibid., 78.47-50

[48]:

Ibid., 89.34-37

[49]:

ādhārabhūtā jagatastvamekā mahīsvarūpeṇa yataḥ sthitāsi /
apāṃ svarūpasthitayā tvayaitadāpyāyyate kṛtsnamamalaṃghyavīrye // Ibid., 88.3

[50]:

prakṛtistvaṃ ca sarvasya guṇatrayavibhāvinī / Ibid., 78.59 a

[51]:

hetuḥ samastajagatāṃ triguṇāpi doṣairna jñāyase harihāradibhirapyapārā /
sarvāsrayākhilamidaṃ jagad aṃśabhūtam avyākṛtā hi paramā prakṛtis tvam ādyā // Ibid., 81.7

[52]:

visṛaṣṭau sṛṣṭirūpā tvaṃ sthitirūpā ca pālane /
tathā saṃhṛtirūpānte jagato’sya jaganmaye // Ibid., 78.57

[53]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 78.2-3,5-6;88.2; Devīmāhātmya, 11.2-3,5-6

[54]:

Ibid., 88.46-47

[55]:

F.E. Pergiter., The Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, p.402

[56]:

evaṃ bhagavatī devī sā nityāpi punaḥ punaḥ /
sambhūya kurute bhūpa jagataḥ paripālanam // Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 89.33

[57]:

yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat / Ibid. , 90.1 b

[58]:

sṛṣṭisthitivināśānāṃ śaktibhūte sanātani / Ibid. , 88.10 a

[59]:

citirūpeṇa yā kṛtsnametad vyāpya sthitā jagat / Ibid., 82.38 a; 78.47; 88.2

[60]:

Ibid., 81. 3-4

[61]:

Ibid., 81.28

[62]:

Ibid., 89.3-4,7

[63]:

Ibid., 88.17

[64]:

itthaṃ yadā yadā bādhā dānavotthā bhaviṣyati /
tadā tadāvatīryāhaṃ kariṣyāmyarisaṃkṣayam // Ibid., 91.51

[65]:

David Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, p.104

[66]:

mā lakṣmīḥ karmabhogo vai yāti māyeti kathayate /
mā lakṣmi jyña bhogo vai yāti māyeti kathyate // Vidyesvarasaṃhitā, 17.69-70

[67]:

Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami, Acyuta Dāsa, ed. Māyā the Devine Energy of the Supreme, p.19

[68]:

Ibid., p.25

[69]:

Karan Singh, Vedanta, p.67

[70]:

Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami, Acyuta Dāsa, (ed.), Māyā the Devine Energy of the Supreme, p. 20, 257

[71]:

mahāmāyā hareścaiṣatayā saṃohyate jagat /
jñānināmapi cetāṃsi devī bhagavatī hi sā //
balādākṛṣya mohāya māhāmāyā pratacchati /
tayā visṛjyate viśvaṃ jagadetaccarācaraṃ // Durgāsaptaśati., 55-56

[72]:

indro brahmendra ṛṣirindraḥ purū puruhūtaḥ/
mahānmahībhiḥ śācībhiḥ // Ṛgveda, 8.16.7

[73]:

Mukunda Lalji Wadekar, (ed.), Devīmāhātmyam with the Commentary of Nilāmbarācārya, p.32

[74]:

David Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, p.104-105

[75]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 78.49-52

[76]:

Ibid., 78.39-42; 82.6,12

[77]:

vidyā tathaiva kriyate bhagavadviṣṇumāyayā /
tathā tvameṣa vaiśyaśca tathaivānye vivekinaḥ /
mohyante mohitāścaiva mohameṣyanti cāpare // Ibid., 90.2

[78]:

tat kenaitammahābhāga yan moho jñāninorapi /
mamāsya ca bhavatyesa vivekāndhasya mūḍhatā // Ibid., 78.33

[79]:

Ibid., 78.11-12

[80]:

Ibid., 78.18-21

[81]:

jñānināmapi cetāṃsi devī bhagavatī hi sā /
balādākṛṣya mohāya mohāmāyā prayacchati // Ibid., 78.42
cf. jñānināmapi cetāṃsi paramā prakṛtiḥ kila /
balādākṛṣya mohāya praya cehati mahīpate // Devībhāgavata, 95.33.52

[82]:

tayā visṛjyate viśvaṃ jagadetaccarācaram /
saiṣā prasannā varadā nṛṇāṃ bhavati muktaye // Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa., 78.43

[83]:

sā vidyā paramā mukterhetubhūtā sanātanī /
saṃsārabandhahetuśca saiva sarveśvareśvar // Ibid. , 78.44; ārādhitā saiva nṛṇāṃ bhogasvargāpavargadā / Ibid., 90.3 b

[84]:

Ibid., 81.9

[85]:

David Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, p.104

[86]:

Bhāgavatapurāṇa., 10.2; 10.12