Devi
goddess in Hinduism, supreme feminine principle
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.
Etymology
Devi and deva are Sanskrit terms found in Vedic literature around the 3rd millennium BCE. Deva is masculine, and the related feminine equivalent is devi. Monier-Williams translates it as 'heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of high excellence, exalted, shining ones'.
Etymologically, a cognate of devi is Latin dea.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Devi” is goddess in Hinduism, supreme feminine principle. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Devi, goddess and Hinduism, not as a finished interpretation.
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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 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q494511. VIAF identifies the subject as 30384159. 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 “Devi” 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.