Religion and Theology

In Sanskrit, the word Goddess is called Devi and mostly this word is used by the people who follow Hinduism. It is believed by the Hindus that this word comes from the Shakti tradition of the Hindus and it is basically the female aspect of divine. Hindu Goddesses who are worshiped by the Hindus are referred as Devis who are the female counterparts of the male Gods and this basically represents discrimination. The female Goddess is also known as Prakriti and she balances the male aspect of Purusha. According to Hindu tradition of Shaktism, Devi is considered to be supreme while the Smartha tradition believes the Devi as a primary form of God. According to other Hindu traditions, the energy and the power of the males such as Shiva and Vishnu is embodied by the Devis called Parvati and Lakshmi.
Origin of this concept
The origins of this concept come from the Indus Valley Civilization from where these Hindu religious practices began. Some of the names of the most significant Goddesses are Ushas, Prithivi, Aditi, Saraswati, Vac, Nirrti, Ratri, Aranyani while some those have not received much recognition are Puramdhi, Parendi, Raka and Dhisana.
Durga
Durga is referred as the creator while Lakshmi, Parvati and Saraswati are referred as the preserver however Mahishasura-Mardini, Kali  Smashanakali are referred as the destroyer. Mahadevi is one great female Goddess and the Hindus strongly believe in her. Besides Mahadevi, Hindus also give respect to Durga who is one of the most popular Hindu Goddess and she is referred as a warrior and thus, invincible. She was also associated with Shiva, the Hindu God and she had a homely character. Moreover, the most famous celebrations that are associated with Durga and this festival is celebrated in the month of Ashvin i.e. Sepetember to October. This is denoted by Durga Puja and this festival is called Navaratri.
Saraswati
Besides Durga, Saraswati has also got a lot of recognition by the Hindus and she has been frequently talked about in the Rig Veda. (Sanatanssociety.org, n.d.). Initially, this Goddess was denoted by Saraswati River but with time, this belief changed and now she is known as the Goddess of speech and learning. Saraswati created Sanskrit as well as the language in the Vedas, she was a Brahma and the Jains and the Buddhists also belief in her strongly. She is also associated with art, science and culture and this is completely different from the characteristics of the other Goddesses. Saraswati is shown with four arms and some of the most common things the statue of Sarwasti Devi holds are a book, lute, mala and a water pot and all these have various associations. For instance, the books shows learning while the mala and the water pot denotes the religious rites. According to the Hindu calendar called Basant Panchami, Saraswati is worshipped on the first day of spring. (Hindu Deities, n.d.)
Lakshmi
 Sri is most commonly known as Lakshmi and she is also worshiped by the Hindus and the ten qualities as well as the objects that Lakshmi represents are food, royal power, universal sovereignty, knowledge, power, holy luster, kingdom, fortune, bounteousness, and beauty. She is associated with Vishnu and is known to be his wife and is worshiped by the Hindus on the festival of Diwali, a new moon night. The concept of Diwali is to dispel darkness from the hearts of the people i.e. her devotees. (Das, n.d.).

Parvati
 She is the Goddess of power and is known as the daughter of the Himalyas. Parvati is also regarded as Sagun or Adi Shakti. Parvati was the first wife of Shiva and was destroyed by Shiva by self-immolation due to reason that her father Daksha offended him. Parvati is known by many names such as Durga, Ambika, Gauri, Bhavina , Kali and Shyama.
Kali
She is not associated with a male God and she has creative as well as destructive power and her temples are built far from the areas where humanity persists. Some of the most famous battles she fought are mentioned in Devi Mahatmya and it is said that when she used to get angry, her face used to turn pitch dark. Moreover, she wears a garland made up of human heads and is clothed with the skin of the tiger along with the skull of a human being.