By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
In the Vedas, one does find references to individual Goddesses like Usha, Vak and Aranyani who represent dawn, speech, and forests, respectively. In the Puranas, there is Lakshmi, Durga and Saraswati, embodiments of wealth, power and knowledge. However, in practice, Hindus often worship Goddesses in groups. In these groups, individual Goddesses may not have unique characteristics. What matters is the whole. For example, during Navaratri, people worship Nav Durgas. This worship of Goddess clusters has a long history.
