The Sanskrit word for “power” or “energy,” śakti is the energizing material power of a given Hindu (See Hinduism entries) god, a power that is personified as his wife. Often depicted in a state of sexual union, the god and his śakti together represent the Absolute, the god being nonactivated Eternity, the goddess being activated Time. The Goddess, or Devī (See Devī), is śakti or the “Universal Power.” As Prakṛti (See Prakṛti) she is the śakti or female energy by which the original Puruṣa or primal man becomes creation (See Puruṣa). As Lakṣmī (See Lakṣmī) she is the manifestation of the divine energy associated with Viṣṇu (See Viṣṇu). Śiva's śakti takes many forms that includes Umā (See Umā), Durgā (See Durgā), the terrifying Kālī (See Kālī), and the motherly Pārvatī (See Pārvatī. By extension, Sītā (See Sītā) is Rāma's (See Rāma, Avatars of Viṣṇu) śakti (see the Rāmāyana) and Draupadī (See Draupadī) is the śakti of the Pāṇḍavas (See Pāṇḍavas) in the Mahābhārata (See Mahābhārata). And by further extension, the Hindu wife is a manifestation of her husband's śakti. Thus, śakti is present in all women.
