Devi

Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva. Devi and Deva mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are gender-specific terms for deity in Indian religions. Reverence for the divine feminine in Hinduism appears in the Vedas, composed around the 2nd millennium BCE. Though the goddesses did not play a vital role in that era, goddesses such as Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Parvati, Radha, Saraswati, Sita and Rukmini have continued to be revered into the modern era. The medieval era Puranas witnessed a major expansion in mythology and literature associated with Devi, with texts such as the Devi Mahatmya, wherein the goddess is revered as the ultimate truth and supreme power. The goddess centric tradition within Hinduism, namely Shaktism, is centred around Devi. Further, Devi is considered a central figure in the Hindu tradition of Shaivism. In Indian religions, the concept of Shakti explores the idea of divine feminine, and women are regarded as manifestations of Devi, as seen in the Kumari worship.