qualities. Her benevolent manifestations include
Uma, Gauri, Parvati, Lakshmi, Sarasvati; her ter-
rifying ones include Chamunda, Kali, Durga, the
Mahavidyas, the Yoginis, and Matrikas.
In the Shakta tantras Shakti becomes Para-
shakti, the supreme reality who before manifest-
ing through the physical world remains in a
state of unmanifest repose. In this respect she is
ineffable and indescribable. She is worshipped as
Mahamaya or Mahadevi in addition to the numer-
ous epithets that emphasize the myriad facets of
her all-pervading nature.
The acknowledgment and worship of the
nature of reality as female, as the mobilizing
energizing primordial force called Shakti, speaks
strongly to the inherently autonomous nature of
women. This concept of divinity as female ulti-
mately lies in the biological reality of the female
body, in particular the power of the womb. Today
statues, YANTRAS, and other iconic objects of Shakti
worship are not mere representations of Goddess
and her ultimate power, but rather embodiments
of her Shakti.
Further reading: Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, His-
tory of the Shakta Religion (New Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharial, 1996); Pushpendra Kumar, Shakti Cult
in Ancient India (Varanasi: Bhartiya Publishing House,
1974); Ajit Mookerjee, Kali: The Feminine Force (New
York: Destiny Books, 1988); Jadunath Sinha, Shakta
Monism: The Cult of Shakti (Calcutta: Sinha Publishing
House, 1966); Jagdish Narain Tiwari, Goddess Cults in
Ancient India (with special reference to the first seven cen-
turies A.D.) (Delhi: Sundeep Prakashan, 1985); David
Gordon White, Kiss of the Yogini (Chicago and London:
University of Chicago Press, 2003); Sir John Wood-
roffe, Sakti and Sakta: Essays and Addresses (Madras:
Ganesh, 1965).
shaktipat
Shaktipat (pat, descent, of Shakti, spiritual energy)
is an act found in TANTRISM and tantric-derived tra-
ditions such as that of Swami MUKTANANDA’S SID-
DHA YOGA, in which the GURU confers the grace of
spiritual transformation upon the adept through
touching. This touch is intended to awaken and
make the KUNDALINI force rise from the base of the
spine. The touching is usually done by the hand,
but sometimes with a feather or other object,
upon the adept’s head.Further reading: Swami Muktananda, Kundalini: The
Secret of Life South (Fallsburg, N.Y.: SYDA Foundation,
1983); ———, Play of Consciousness: Chitshakti Vilas:
A Spiritual Autobiography, 3d ed. (South Fallsburg, N.Y.:
SYDA Fdn., 2000); Swami Sivom Tirth, A Guide to Shak-
tipat (Thune: Devatma Shakti Society, 1985).shakti pithas
Shakti pithas (seats or altars of the SHAKTI) are
sites sacred to the divine mother that are embed-
ded in the Indian landscape. Legends around
these sites can be found in the puranas and tantras
(see TANTRISM), however, the stories and number
of actual pithas vary; most commonly shakti pithas
are located in India, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh.
The most popular story of how these pithas
were created is found in the Puranas and tantras
(Devibhagavata, VII, ch. 30; Kalika Purana, XVIII)
and dates to the late medieval period. In this later
development of a much earlier legend, the god
DAKSHA is hosting a YA J N A (fire sacrifice) but does
not invite his daughter, SAT I, because she has mar-
ried the ascetic god SHIVA, and Daksha does not
approve of Shiva’s antisocial qualities.
When Sati learns that all the other deities have
been invited to this ceremony and only she and
her husband have been excluded, she is outraged
and confronts her father at his temple. Staying
true to his socially defiant ways, Shiva shows no
concern about this family insult and refuses to go
with her.
Sati arrives alone and confronts her father.
According to this version of the myth, Daksha
grossly insults both his daughter and her waywardK 400 shaktipat