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by Kayur Shah, Clarksville Middle School

Devi is the Divine Mother of the Hindu culture. Her name means "goddess." She has many names and forms such as the warrior Durgha and the bloodthirsty Kali or she can be gentle as Parvati, mother of the elephant god Ganesha. Devi is the consort (wife) of Shiva which is Parvati. Shiva is the god of generation and destruction. Devi is the "Mother Goddess," meaning she is the mother of all. In her hands she holds joy and pain, right hand; and life and death is held on her left hand. Devi is the god of nature and life because she brings rain and protects against disease. Devi is mild and loving. This was the personality of Devi as mother of life.

As mother of death, she is terrible. In her description, Devi has eight arms, only one arm has a sword. When she is fighting against evil, she is usually mounted on a lion or a tiger. Devi holds the universe in her wombs. Devi is the warrior Durgha when she is the mother of death. Gods begged Durgha to kill and protect from the evil Mahisasura. Devi is in all the women's soul and she can also turn into the religious Uma.

Devi's diagram is called her mansions. In the middle of her forehead, she has a Bindu (drop or dot) which in some ways seems to be masculine. Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu is an incarnation of Devi. She is the goddess of creative power and represents all women in the universe.