Devi

now that we're talking about indian culture, i would like to talk about the most the coolest religion ever, hindu.

seriously. the artwork, the narrative, epic.

i think we can learn a lot about the idealized female in ancient Indian culture through a set of goddesses, the devi. they represent female divinity.

I'm going to nerd out on everyone here and talk about a few of them briefly:

Mahadevi - the one female goddess that all of the other ones come from. in some cases, she represents the only female goddess.

Durga - a warrior goddess that calmed demons after many male gods could not contain them

Daraswati - associated with art, science and culture

Sri Lakshmi - associated with power, higher capability, knowledge, and being a good wife

Paravati - dark skinned goddess associated with the mother of time

Kali - not associated with any male god, which is unique to the other Devi. Her face turns black when she is angry, is best known for destroying a male entity, and carries a sword with a human head on it.


I think Sri Lakshmi is the most interesting, because she is an idealized wife, and yet holds a position of power. To me, this makes sense because pious Hindu women could pray to her for strength, and look up to her if they ever worried that being a wife was oppressive.