JOIN USIf Shiva is often symbolised as Purusha or self knowledge and viewed in the nature of auspiciousness, Shakti is often symbolised as nature or prakriti.
She is the creative impulse of the universe. There is no place where She is not. She is inside and outside, She is within and without and She is the root cause of everything that exists. She is that without which all this would not be possible. Nothing can function in this universe without Her consent.
Rajarajeshwari literally means one who presides over even the king of kings. She is an aspect of Lalitha. She rules over the trinity of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva and Kubera, the lord of wealth, each of whom is known as the “king of kings”. Her nature can never be fully grasped by the human mind.
She is this and that but yet beyond both. She exists in all duality but is beyond duality. Her infinite power, might and glory cannot be fully comprehended. Her energy is inexhaustible. She derives Her energy from Shiva and Shiva derives His energy from Her.
She is also widely known as Parvati, Ambal or Durga. No amount of praise can adequately describe her magnificence.
An entire purana has been dedicated to Her. It is widely known as the Devimahatyam. It is also known as the Durgasaptasati or Chandi and forms an integral part of the Markendaya purana.
“She is the inscrutable power,” writes Swami Harshananda of the Ramakrishna Math, “by which the whole universe is permeated and energised. She is the personification of all wealth, power, beauty as also all virtues.
She is the embodiment of yagna (sacrifice), paravidya (the highest knowledge concerning the spirit), as well as aparavidya (knowledge of the secular sciences). It is she who bestows wealth – both material and spiritual – dispels difficulties and annihilates the evil ones. Her beauty as well as valor is incomparable.”
She is also the personification of maya or the power of involution that is said to belong to Lord Vishnu. Her mount is the lion, symbolising the need to keep animal instincts under control if we wish to progress upon the spiritual path. She exists in all planes of existence including the gross, the subtle and the causal.
She is also known as Lalitha Tripurasundari. The Sri Chakra is Her emblem. Regular worship of the Sri Chakra is said to bestow innumerable blessings including the fulfillment of desires of devotees. It is a yantra or the geometrical abode of the deity. When it is properly drawn and installed, it gets charged and pulls the contemplated deity to itself. Her mystery can never fully be comprehended.