Adi parashakti

Adi Parashakti (Adi Shakti)
Mother of Trimurti
Sanskrit Transliteration Adi Parashakti
Affiliation Divine Mother
Abode Devi loka
Mantra om hring durge durge rakshini svah
Weapon trishul
Mount Chariot of seven lions

According to Hindu mythology, Adi Parashakti—the Goddess, Devi—is the Supreme Being and recognized as Para Brahman.[1] The Devi Bhagwata Mahapurana suggests that She is the original creator, observer and destroyer of whole universe. Hence She is Param prakriti. Parvati, the goddess of power is considered as her Sagun Swaroop. That is to say that Parvati is the truest material form of the Goddess, possessing the three qualities (Sattva, rajas, or tamas). However, ultimately the Goddess Adi Parashakti is also considered to be truly spirit without form. She is the creator of the Trimurti, the Hindu male trinity. She is the Great Goddess, and therefore the source of all other goddesses.

Contents

Etymology

Adi Parashakti means "The Eternally Limitless Power". That is, she is the Power beyond this universe. She is the active energy of God that both creates and dissolves the entire universe. The greatest difference between Shakti and Adi Parashakti is that Shakti can refer to the power of the trimurti or any other deity. In contrast, Adi parashakti is the Hindu deity referred to as the Power of Para Brahman. Some sacred texts state that she is the goddess Bhuvaneshvari, the fifth Mahavidya.

Importance

In the Devi Gita, it is suggested that before incarnating as Parvati, she appeared to King Himalaya and revealed divine, eternal knowledge to him. She explained herself, in the words of the Vedas, as having neither beginning nor end and as being neither male nor female. She is the only, eternal truth. The whole universe is her creation and she is nondifferent from Para Brahman. She is one without second. She is the only victor and the manifestation of victory itself. She is manifested (Lord Brahma), transcendent (Lord Shiva) and unmanifested (Lord Vishnu) divinity. She then displayed her scarcely seen form to him: Satyaloka was located in her forehead; the created universe were her hairs; the sun and moon were her eyes; in her ears were the four directions; the Vedas were her words; death, affection and emotion were her teeth; maya was manifested by her smile.[2] This appearance revealed that all gods and goddesses, including the trimurti and tridevi, are merely her various forms.

Legends

Role in Creation of Universe

In the Devi Bhagavata Purana, the Goddess states in front of the trimurti that,

I am Adi Parashakti, goddess Bhuvaneshvari. I am the owner of this universe. I am the Absolute Reality. I am dynamic in feminine form and static in masculine form. You are three parts of me. You all are my partial expansions. You have appeared to govern the universe under my jurisdiction. You are the masculine form of Absolute Reality, while I am the feminine form of that Reality. I am beyond form, beyond everything, and all the powers of God are contained within me. You will admit that I am the Eternally Limitless Power. I shall now assign each of you a task. She then commanded: Brahma! You will be generator of the universe; the Goddess Sharada is your Shakti, my form by which I will be recognized as the goddess of wisdom and the primeval sound. Lord Brahma, this goddess will be with you when you create the universe.

She continued: Lord of Lords, Narayana! You are the Supreme, Immortal Spirit. You are formless, yet you take form. I assign you to be the preserver of the universe. You will take a different incarnation in order to save this universe's inhabitants. Oh Narayana! You are the Supreme of all the deities with form. You have created Lord Brahma, and Brahma will further create thirty-three-thousand other gods and goddesses. My Great Power, goddess Mahakali, has been born from your mystic sleep. You are the Paramatman. Your consort will be goddess Shri, who is none other than the incarnation of my light, as without light, one can neither see nor be seen. When life evolves, you will take the form of Vishnu, the one who will perform the task of observing and preserving this universe.

Oh Lord Rudra, the Greatest God, you are the personification of time, which is above all. You will perform the task of destroying and regenerating this universe. When you are formless, time stands still. It is due to my power that you become dynamic and are capable of bringing about the destruction and regineration of this universe. Your consort is goddess Mahakali, but due to meditation, you will be able to surpass all of my forms. It is then that I will incarnate from your left half in my manifested form. This form will be my truest manifested form. Lord Shiva, she will perform the task of destroying evil and will be your consort.[3]

Aum Shakti is used to describe the name of the goddess when she is without attributes.

Adi-Parashakti forms

  1. Parvati, Sati, or Durga is the original manifested form of Mother Adi-Parashakti. She is Adi- Parashakti herself. The Devi Gita declares her to be the greatest Goddess who is beyond reach even to her consort Lord Shiva, her brother Lord Vishnu, and her greatest devotee Lord Brahma. Thus, She is considered the supreme Goddess and primary deity in Shaktism, occupying a place similar to Lord Krishna in Vaishnavism. Whatever deity one is worshiping, ultimately, they are worshiping her. She is every other goddess. She is Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati in her mild form; Goddess Kali and Goddess Chandi in her wrathful form. Moreover, she is Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva in masculine forms. Her clothing is white, illustrating that she is the embodiment of purity.
  2. Mahasaraswati is the first partial expansion of Goddess Adi Parshakti. She represents the Sattva Guna and is the shakti of Lord Brahma. She is the goddess of wisdom, creation, and learning. She is the source of all of the arts. It is she who slew Sumbha and Nisumbha, who are symbols of ignorance. She was created from the body of Mother Parvati and is the embodiment of her hard work, spirituality and devotion. She wears yellow clothes when she takes form. When she is without form, she becomes the Primordial Sound.
  3. Mahalakshmi is the second partial expansion of Goddess Adi Parshakti. She is the goddess of the material world and its preservation. She also brings good fortune and spiritual satisfaction. She is the shakti of Lord Narayana and is the bestower of all wealth and pleasure. She wears red and is the slayer of Mahishasura. She was born from Goddess Parvati's mind and later took birth as Katyayani. Mother Mahalakshmi is the primary deity of the Raja Guna. When she is formless, she becomes light.
  4. Mahakali is the third partial expansion of Goddess Adi Parshakti. She is the goddess of spiritual fulfillment as well as presiding over the destruction of the universe. She gives salvation to mankind. She is the shakti of Lord Shiva. She helped Lord Mahavishnu slay the demons Madhu and Kaitabha. She was born from the eyes of Mahavishnu. Mother Mahakali wears blue and presides over the Tamas Guna. When she is formless, she becomes heat.

Adi Shakti diversion to groups

Iconography

Adi Parashakti's appearance is described in the Kalika Purana, the Lalita Sahasranama, and the Devi Bhagavata Purana. According to the Devi Bhagavata Purana, the Goddess once invited the Trimurti to her celestial abode. When Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva entered her palace, they took on the forms of women. They saw the goddess sitting on a jeweled seat in a chariot drawn by seven lions. Her face contained the radiance of millions of stars and her celestial beauty was so great that the Trimurti were not able to look at her. They then realized that she was the creator, preserver, and destroyer of the whole universe.

Abode

Adi Parashakti's resides in the "Imperishable Abode", or Akshara Dhaam. It is a celestial palace where all goddesses, apsaras, yakshinis, and kinnaris reside.

Notes

  1. ^ Srimad Devi Bhagwatam, Devi Gita, Brahmand Purana, Sunder Lehri
  2. ^ http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/dg/
  3. ^ Website: astrojyoti.com/devibhagavatamindex.htm

References

Gods
Goddesses
Texts