Yogamaya

Yogamaya (Sanskrit: योगमाया, lit. 'illusory potency', IAST: Yogamāyā) is a Hindu goddess who serves as the personification of Vishnu's powers of illusion. In Vaishnava tradition, she is accorded the epithet Narayani—"the sister of Narayana"—and is regarded as the benevolent aspect of the goddess Durga. According to Hindu texts, Yogamaya plays the role of the facilitator of the earthly birth of Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu. She took the avatar of the daughter of Yadava cowherd Nanda and Yashoda, after which her place is swapped with Krishna to protect the latter from the tyrant ruler Kamsa. After warning Kamsa about his impending death, Yogamaya vanished and resided in the Vindhya hills, due to which she is accorded the epithet Vindhyavasini. Yogamaya is also an important goddess in Shaktism sect, and is worshipped as a form of Mahadevi.