Ambika (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: अम्बिका,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: Ambikā) is generally the name of Adi Shakti,

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

, the consort of

Sadashiva Sadasiva ( sa, सदाशिव, , ta, சதாசிவம் ), is the Supreme Being, also known as Paramashiva, in the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition of Shaivism. Sadasiva is the omnipotent, subtle, luminous absolute, the highest manifestatio ...

, the Cosmic Male. She has eight arms, holding multiple weapons. She is also known as Bhagavati or

Chandi Chandi ( sa, चण्डी, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is another form of Mahadevi, similar to Durga. Chandika is a powerful form of Mahadevi who manifested to destroy evil. She is also known as ''Kaushiki'', '' Katyayan ...

. She is also considered to be

Adi Parashakti Mahadevi ( sa, महादेवी, ), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, Adi Shakti, and Abhaya Shakti, is the supreme goddess in the Shaktism sect of Hinduism. According to this tradition, all Hindu goddesses are considered to be manifesta ...

herself and Mother of the Universe as well as all beings, which is also the meaning of the name "Ambika". In Skanda Puran, she slayed the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. She is also identified as Amba,

, Bhagavati, Lalitambika,

Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...

, Ambe Maa, Sherawaali, Mata Raani, etc.

Manifestations and aspects of Ambika

In Srimad Devi Bhagavata, Ambika is the lineal progenitor of all other goddesses. She is worshiped as one with many forms and names. Her form or incarnation depends on her mood. For example: *

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

is an aspect of Ambika who is the first wife of Lord Shiva, who immolated herself. She is also known as Dakshayini. *

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ), also known as Mahakali and Kali, is a Hindu goddess. According to Shaktism, she is one of the fierce forms of the Supreme Goddess Shakti, or Adi Parashakti, mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Vaishnavism, ...

is one of the fiercest forms of Ambika. She destroyed the yagna of Daksha Prajapati. *

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

is the complete incarnation of Ambika, also known as Gauri and Uma. She is the wife of Lord Shiva. *

is a demon-fighting form of Parvati who killed the demon Durgamasura. *

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

is another ferocious form of Parvati, as the goddess of time and change, with Vedic origins in the deity Nirriti. *

is the epithet of Durga, considered to be the power of Ambika; she is black in color and rides on a lion, slayer of the demon

Mahishasura Mahishasura is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in literature to be a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of Mahisi (Buffalo) and the great-grandson of Brahmarshi Kashyapa. He was ultim ...

. * Ten

Mahavidyas The ''Mahavidya'' ( sa, महाविद्या, , lit. ''Great Wisdoms'') are a group of ten Hindu Tantric goddesses. The 10 Mahavidyas are usually named in the following sequence: Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi , ...

are the ten aspects of Shakti. In tantra, all are important different aspects of Mahakali. * 52

Shakti Peethas The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...

suggests all goddesses are expansions of the goddess Shakti. *

Navadurga Navadurga ( sa, नवदुर्गा, translit=Navadurgā), also spelled Navdurga and Navadurgas, are nine manifestations and forms of Durga in Hinduism, especially worshipped during Navaratri and Durga Puja. They are often considered collec ...

, the nine forms of the goddess Durga. *

Matrikas Matrikas (Sanskrit: मातृका (singular), IAST: mātṝkās, lit. "divine mothers") also called Matar or Matri, are a group of mother goddesses who are always depicted together in Hinduism. The Matrikas are often depicted in a group o ...

, a group of seven mother-goddesses *

Meenakshi Meenakshi (Sanskrit: ; Tamil: ; sometimes spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ), is a Hindu goddess and tutelary deity of Madurai who is considered an avatar of the Goddess Parvati also referred to as Durga. She is the divine consort of ...

, the goddess with eyes shaped like a fish. *

Kamakshi Tripura Sundari (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरा सुन्दरी, IAST: Tripura Sundarī), also known as Rajarajeshwari, Shodashi, Kamakshi, and Lalita is a Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of supreme goddess Mahadevi m ...

, goddess of love and devotion. * Lalita, the playful Goddess of the Universe; she is the highest form of the

Devi 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 also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

. *

Akilandeswari Akhilandeshwari () is one of the main forms of the Hindu Goddess Adi Parashakti. The famous abode of Akhilandeshwari is the Jambukeswarar Temple of Thiruvanaikovil. Other important forms of Adi Parashakti (Dandini/Parvati) are Meenakshi of Ma ...

, found in coastal regions of India, is the goddess associated with water.Subhash C Biswas, India the Land of Gods, , pp 331–332 *

Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...

is the representation of all that is complete and of food. She is a form of Shakti * The 64 yoginis are 64 forms or aspects of Goddess Durga.

References

{{HinduMythology Destroyer goddesses Hindu goddesses War goddesses Shaktism

Manifestations and aspects of Ambika

See also

References