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I read that Lakshmi is the avatar of Durga in this article:

Gauri is seen as a milder form of Kali, which is why she wears a saree and ties her hair with a string of flowers. Sometimes, she comes as a single woman, and sometimes in a pair: the Jyestha Gauri (elder Gauri) and Kanishtha Gauri (younger Gauri), who are identified sometimes as Ganesha’s mothers or Ganesha’s sisters, or just friends. They are occasionally identified as Mahalakshmi++, who is not so much Vishnu’s wife but rather a local form of Durga, who is Shiva’s wife.

Also, in some movies and other articles (such as Wikipedia), they say that Durga incarnates as all the other goddesses, even Saraswati and Lakshmi, who are the Tridevi. They claim that Durga is more powerful than all of them and that only she is Adi Shakti.

Aren't the Tridevi suppose to be equal in power? Aren't all of them Adi Shakti? Also, if we follow these claims of only Durga being the ultimate, how can her avatars marry Brahma and Vishnu when Durga herself is already married to Shiva?

++ In this question, please do not assume that Mahalakshmi is a more powerful form of Lakshmi and whatnot.

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  • 1)Worship of Adi para sakthi is different from the worship of Maha Lakshmi.So,from the worship/mantras point of view they are certainly not the same.2)The Goddess who come closest to match the description of Para Shakti given in scriptures is Sri Kamakshi of Kanchi.3)Thats why Maha Tripura sundari is considered the supreme in Sri Kula where as in Kali Kula Sri Kali or Durga is considered the supreme.
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 6:08
  • @Rickross I don't understand your answer. In my question,I mean Adi Shakti as the supreme shakti(goddess).I don't mean her as a seperate goddess,I refer to her as the Tridevi(although according to the above mention contexts,only Durga is Adi Shakti)
    – user4627
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 9:55
  • @K Vickneshvara The answer to your moot question is no.Lakshmi and Durga are separate deities ,&the former is not an avatar of the later.Adi sakti is worshipped in a variety of ways and in a variety of forms like Rajarajeswari ,Tripura sundari,Durga,Kali,Tara,Chinnamasta etc.But the form which resembles most the description that we have of Adi Para shakti in scriptures is the one of Sri Kamakshi Devi ,the presiding deity of kanchipuram kamakshi temple.
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 17:52
  • @Rickross Is Adi sakti worshipped as Lakshmi too?
    – user4627
    Commented Feb 9, 2016 at 4:52
  • @K Vickneshvara NO.The highest form of Shakti worship is Sri Vidya/Sri Chakra sadhana.Goddess Lakshmi is different from Adi Shakti in many ways.
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 11, 2016 at 6:25

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Goddess Adi Shakti is energy. Just pure, powerful and vivacious energy. She is too powerful to be seen by even devas. She has 3 divine tangible forms - Goddess Parvati / Durga , Laxmi and Saraswathi. As Parvati, she is married to Lord Shiva as Laxmi to Lord Vishnu and Saraswathi to Lord Brahma.

The Tridevis combined together are still not as great as Adi Shakti.

They are just her divine tangible forms.

For example, your 6 yrs old , 5 yrs old and 3 years old self cannot stand a match with you . Can they?

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  • Goddess Parvathi can be considered as Durga herself. Goddess Kali, Bhairavi, etc are manifestations of Goddess Durga and are called Mahavidyas. The Tridevis cannot be compared with each other. Goddess Parvathi or Durga is an empitome of strength and power , Goddess Laxmi is that of Wealth and prosperity and Goddess Saraswathi us that of knowledge and music.
    – Good Guy
    Commented Jun 17, 2016 at 5:01
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How can the mother who feeds you, takes care of you (power of sustenance) be different when the same mother teaches you values of life etc (power of creation/knowledge) or when she is angry with you (power of destruction) only to teach you and gets angry on all others who try to harm you...the same mother takes different forms to nurture us in different ways.

They all are same and an aspect of Shri Adhya Shakti

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