The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2074 page)

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(Skt.,
akti
, ‘power’). A Hindu tradition or current of thought with
akti
, divine female power, as the focus of its worship. This power is either the supreme being conceived as female or a consort of one of the Hindu gods.
The origins of
aktism as Goddess worship can probably be traced to the Indus Valley culture, and iconographical evidence dates back to the pre-Christian era. The goddess
Durg
appears as a powerful deity in the sixth book of the
Mah
bh
rata
and the fifth book of the
Vi
u
Pur
a
(5th cent. CE), but it is in the Dev
m
h
tmya portion of
M
rka
eya Pur
a