Shakti 

(Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability"[1]) is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe[2] in Hinduism, and especially Shaktism, a major
tradition of Hinduism. Shakti is the personification of the Energy that is creative, sustaining, as well as destructive, sometimes referred to as auspicious source energy.

As the Shakti or Creatrix, She is known as "Adi Shakti" or "Adi Para Shakti" (i.e., Primordial Inconceivable Energy). On every plane of creation, Energy manifests itself in all forms of matter, thermal energy, potential energy, gravitational energy etc. These are all
thought to be infinite forms of the Paraa Shakti. But Her true form is unknown, and beyond human understanding. She is Anaadi (with no beginning, no ending) and Nitya (forever).

In Shaktism, Adi Parashakti is worshipped as the Supreme Being. Shakti embodies the active dynamic energy of Shiva (as Devi Shivaa / Shive) and is synonymously identified with Tripura Sundari or Parvati.

Contents

 1Origins
 2Evolution
 3Shaktism
o 3.1Adi Parashakti
o 3.2Smarta Advaita
 4Shakti Peeths
 5Bhajans and mantras
 6See also
 7Notes
 8References
 9Further reading
 10External links

Origins[edit]
One of the oldest representations of the goddess in India is in a triangular form. The Baghor stone, found in a Paleolithic context in the Son River valley and dating to 9,000–8,000 BCE,[3] is considered an early example of a yantra.[4] Kenoyer, part of the team that
excavated the stone, considered that it was highly probable that the stone is associated with Shakti.[5] The worshipping of Shiv and Shakti was also prevalent in Indus valley civilization.[6]

Evolution[edit]
The Shakti goddess is also known as Amma[a] in south India, especially in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. There are many temples devoted to various incarnations of the Shakti goddess in most of the villages in South
India. The rural people believe that Shakti is the protector of the village, the punisher of evil people, the cure of diseases, and the one who gives welfare to the village. They celebrate Shakti Jataras with great interest once a year. Some examples of Shakti names
are Mahalakshmi, Kamakshi, Parvati, Lalita, Bhuvaneshwari, Durga, Meenakshi, Mariamman, Yellamma, Poleramma, and Perantalamma.

Shaktism[edit]

Sri Guru Amritananda Nath Saraswati, performing the Navavarana Puja, an important ritual in Srividya Tantric Shaktism, at the Sahasrakshi Meru Temple at Devipuram, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Shaktism regards Devi (lit., "the Goddess") as the Supreme Brahman itself with all other forms of divinity considered to be merely Her diverse manifestations. In the details of its philosophy and practice, Shaktism resembles Shaivism.
However, Shaktas (Sanskrit: शक्त, Śakta, ), practitioners of Shaktism, focus most or all worship on Shakti, as the dynamic feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine. Shiva, the masculine aspect of divinity, is considered solely transcendent, and Shiva's worship is
usually secondary. [7]

From Devi-Mahatmya:

By you this universe is borne, By you this world is created, Oh Devi, by you it is protected.[8]

From Shaktisangama Tantra:

Woman is the creator of the universe, the universe is her form; woman is the foundation of the world, she is the true form of the body.

In woman is the form of all things, of all that lives and moves in the world. There is no jewel rarer than woman, no condition superior to that of a woman.[9]

Adi Parashakti[edit]
Main article: Adi Parashakti

Smarta Advaita[edit]
In the Smarta Advaita sect of Hinduism, Shakti is considered to be one of five equal personal forms of God in the panchadeva system advocated by Adi Shankara.[10]

Shakti Peeths[edit]
Main article: Shakti Peetha
According to some schools, there are four Adi Shakti Pitha and 51 Shakti centers of worship located in South Asia (four Adi Shakti Pitha are also part of 51 Shakti pithas but they are four major parts of Devi Sati's body. So, they are adi shakti pithas). They can be
found in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tibet and Pakistan. These are called Shakti Peethas. The list of locations varies. A commonly accepted list of Shakti Peethas and their temple complexes includes:

 Hinglaj  Mataji Balochistan
 Tara Tarini (Brahmapur, Odisha)
 Katyayani (Chattarpur, Delhi)
 Bhadrakali (Kodungallur, Kerala)
 Kamakhya (Assam)
 Kali at Kalighat (Kolkata, West Bengal)
 Guhyeshwari Temple Devi (Kathmandu, Nepal)
 Ambaji  (Gujarat)
 Vishalakshi Temple (Varanasi)
 Chandranath Temple (Sitakunda, Bangladesh)
 Jwalaji (Himachal)[11]
 Naina Devi Temple  (Uttarakhand)[12]
 Mangala Gauri (Bihar)

Other pithas in Maharashtra are:

 Tuljapur  (Jagdamba)
 Kolhapur (Mahalaxmi)
 vani-Nashik (Saptashrungi)
 Mahurgadh  (Renukamata)

Bhajans and mantras[edit]

Kundalini-Shakti-Bhakti Mantra
Adi Shakti, Adi Shakti, Adi Shakti, Namo Namo!
Sarab Shakti, Sarab Shakti, Sarab Shakti, Namo Namo!
Prithum Bhagvati, Prithum Bhagvati, Prithum Bhagvati, Namo Namo!
Kundalini Mata Shakti, Mata Shakti, Namo Namo!
Translation
Primal Shakti, I bow to Thee!
All-Encompassing Shakti, I bow to Thee!
That through which Divine Creates, I bow to Thee!
Creative Power of the Kundalini, Mother of all Mother Power, To Thee I Bow!

— Yogi Bhajan[13](p79)

"Merge in the Maha Shakti. This is enough to take away your misfortune. This will carve out of you a woman. Woman needs her own Shakti, not anybody else will do it
... When a woman chants the Kundalini Bhakti mantra, God clears the way. This is not a religion, it is a reality. Woman is not born to suffer, and woman needs her own
power."

~ Yogi Bhajan (Harbhajan Singh)[13]