purana
देवीभागवतपुराण
Devi Bhagavata Purana
Devībhāgavatapurāṇa
A large Shakta Purana presenting the Goddess as supreme reality, including the philosophical Devi Gita.
Primary sourceSource not yet ingested
- Tradition
- Shaktism · Epics & Puranas (Itihasa-Purana) · Vedanta
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Attribution
- Vyasa (Veda Vyasa)Traditionally attributed to Vyasa; composite authorship
- Period · language
- Scholars commonly place it between roughly the 9th and 14th centuries CE; dates are debated · Sanskrit
- Themes
- The Goddess · Devotion · Knowledge · Cosmology
Why read this?
It is the most extensive Puranic statement of Goddess-centred theology, joining myth and ritual with Vedantic philosophy. Its Devi Gita is a Goddess-centred counterpart to the Bhagavad Gita.
Questions it answers
- ?How can the supreme be understood as feminine?
- ?How does the Goddess relate to Brahman?
Key teachings
Editorial overview
1
The Goddess as Brahman
The Devi is identified with Brahman, the ground of all, and the male gods act through her power.
2
The Devi Gita
In the seventh canto the Goddess teaches the mountain king Himalaya about the Self, yoga and devotion, drawing on Upanishadic and Vedantic ideas.
3
Retold myths
Many familiar stories are retold so that the Goddess is the decisive agent.
Structure
- Twelve cantos (skandhas)Traditionally about 18,000 verses
- Devi GitaCanto 7, commonly counted as chapters 31–40
Source not yet ingested
The text of the Devi Bhagavata Purana is not part of this version. What you see here is an editorial overview with passage references. No verses have been reproduced or invented. The architecture is ready for the text to be added.Concepts
Conceptशक्तिShaktiPower, energy; in Shakta and Shaiva thought, the dynamic aspect of the divine, often worshipped as the Goddess.Conceptब्रह्मन्BrahmanThe ultimate reality, the ground from which everything arises.ConceptमायाMayaThe power of appearance — why the world seems other than it is.Conceptभक्तिBhakti — devotionLoving devotion to God, as a path and as an end in itself.ConceptयोगYogaJoining or disciplining — a path of practice toward freedom.Conceptज्ञानJnana — knowledgeLiberating knowledge — seeing reality and the Self as they are.Conceptप्रकृतिPrakriti — naturePrimal nature or matter — everything that changes, including the mind.
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Source type: Primary source. Overview text on this page is editorial.