SHAKTISM IN SOUTH INDIA South India has had a long heritage of goddess worship. The Shakta traditions that hail the divine feminine has been in vogue since time immemorial. She is the only deity worshipped in the three modes of Hindu ritual of Mantra or the chanted word, Tantra or the coded ritual and Yantra or advanced esoteric geometrical diagrams that connect energy lines. Across the landscape of South, you find ancient temples dedicated to the goddess in one of these three forms. In addition to these are the numerous artistic tributes to the Devi. In poetry, sculpture, temple architecture and classical music and dance, the goddess has been worshipped since undated times. In fact, through all these artistic ventures one can trace back the history of human evolution in South India. While it is impossible to enumerate all the spaces and their details in South India, we take a look at some of the most significant artistic odes to the Devi in sculpture, poetry and architecture. There ar