Hinduism is perhaps the only living religion that has a long and thriving tradition of Goddess Worship dating from ancient times. The Worship of Mother Goddess is found in the Indus valley civilization and terracotta Mother Goddess figures dating back to 1000 BC has been found in other parts of
It must be noted here that that Mother Goddess cult developed and flourished in
Rig Veda considered to be the earliest religious text has several goddesses like Gayatri, Sarasvati (River Goddess), Aditi (mother of Devas or demi gods) and Prithvi (Earth). The long list of Goddesses in Rig Veda indicates that there existed a strong worship of Goddess in
Most of the Goddesses worshipped in
All the popular Goddesses were incorporated in the Atharva Veda and in the Puranas in the middle ages. During the same period, the Shakti cult emerged which claimed that She is one without a second and everything in the universe is but a tiny expression of her power. Brahman – the core concept of Santana Dharma – was visualized in female energy – Shakthi.
The various forms of Goddesses worshipped is known in groups like Nava Durga (nine forms of Durga), the sixty four yoginis in Orissa, Bengal, Tripura etc, Sapta Matrika (seven mother goddesses), Nava Chandi, Ashta Durga, Pancha Kanya and Dasa Vidya.
The most popular group that became celebrated in Hinduism is the triad of Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Parvati. They are associated with Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. Parvati is Shakti and majority of the Goddesses are her incarnation or associated with Shiva like Kali.
The most popular Goddess in modern times is Durga. She is sometimes considered as female counterpart of Shiva. But she is also believed to have an independent existence and is believed be the source of all. Yet again an attempt to give form to Brahman. In fact, the origin of Durga is mentioned in such a way that she is formed from the power of all Gods to annihilate Mahisha and thus she is the most powerful.
Even today the form of Goddess in Hinduism is of folk and tribal origin. There name and form are different but there is a common factor – all Goddesses are an attempt to give form to the various aspects of Nature or to give form to Brahman – the formless.
On meditating on Goddess, we will see the different aspects of Nature. Soon it will be replaced by silence and then there is the unexplained state of ‘That.’