Shakti
personification of divine feminine energy and power in Hinduism
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti as devi refers to the personified energy or power of a male deity, often personified as the complementary force of the given Hindu god.
In Tantric Shaktism, Shakti is the foremost deity, akin to Brahman. In Puranic Hinduism, Shiva and Shakti are the masculine and feminine principles that are complementary to each other. The female deity is prakriti, the active, dynamic and creative principle. The male deity is purusha, the passive, unchanging and observing principle. The interaction of both principles is what creates the universe.
The term Shakta is used for the description of people associated with Shakti worship. The Shakti pithas are shrines, which are believed to be the sacred seats of Shakti.
The public source identifies “Shakti” as personification of divine feminine energy and power in Hinduism. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Shakti, personification and divine.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19103. The Library of Congress control number is n2018245486. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Shakti” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.