Within the Shakta vision, the Divine Mother is understood as Śakti, also called Devī or Mahādevī, the supreme, all-pervading feminine power and ultimate reality. She is not regarded as a mere consort to a male deity, but as the very ground of being itself, the primordial cosmic energy from which all existence arises. In this perspective, the Divine Mother is the source and mother of all gods and beings, the one from whom every form and every force in the cosmos ultimately derives. She encompasses both the transcendent and the immanent: beyond all attributes, yet also present as the living fabric of the universe.

This supreme Śakti manifests in many divine forms, each revealing a particular facet of her nature and power. Goddesses such as Durgā, Kālī, Lakṣmī, Sarasvatī, and Tripurasundarī are revered as distinct yet inseparable expressions of the one Mahādevī. These manifestations range from fiercely protective and world-transforming to gently nurturing and bestowing wisdom, wealth, and auspiciousness. In this way, the many goddesses of the Shakta tradition are not separate deities in competition, but different windows into a single, inexhaustible Divine Mother.

Philosophically, Śakti is understood as the dynamic, creative force that brings forth creation, sustains it, and dissolves it when its time is complete. She is the active principle of the cosmos, the energy that moves, shapes, and animates all things, while also being the very substance out of which they are formed. Some Shakta traditions describe her as both the formless absolute and the world of forms, uniting transcendence and manifestation in a single, seamless reality. To contemplate the Divine Mother in this way is to see all life, including one’s own inner life, as a direct expression of that supreme, all-nourishing power.