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{{Short description|Mother goddess of Indian origin}}
{{Other uses|Ambika (disambiguation){{!}}Ambika}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| image = File:Raja Ravi Varma, Ambika (Oleographic print).jpg
| name = Ambika
| caption = Painting of Ambika by [[Raja Ravi Varma]]
| affiliation = [[Mahadevi]], [[Durga]]
| god_of = Mother Goddess, Mother of the Universe and all Beings
| abode = [[Manidvipa]]
| weapon = [[Discus]], [[Shankha|Conch Shell]], [[Trident]], [[Gada (mace)|Mace]], [[Bow and arrow|Bow]], [[Sword]], [[Lotus Flower]]
| mount = [[Lion]] or [[Tiger]]
| texts = [[Markendeya Purana]], [[Shiva Purana]], [[Skanda Purana]]
}}

'''Ambika''' ({{langx|sa|अम्बिका}}, {{IAST3|Ambikā}}) is generally an epithet or form of [[Mahadevi]], the supreme goddess of Hinduism. In [[Shaktism]], she is revered as [[Adi Parashakti]], the mother of the universe and all beings. She is often identified with various incarnations such as [[Chandi]], [[Durga]], [[Bhagavati]], [[Tripura Sundari|Lalitambika]], [[Bhavani]], [[Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur|Ambabai]] and many others.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC&pg=PA18 |title=Ambika |work=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |page=18 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2010 |access-date=22 June 2016|isbn=9780143415176 }}</ref>
In her iconography, she is typically depicted with eight arms holding multiple weapons.

== Legend ==
According to the ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'', after the [[asura]] [[Mahishasura]] was slain by Durga, the divinities embarked on a pilgrimage to the [[Himalayas]] and sang a hymn of praise in honor of the supreme goddess. Meanwhile, Goddess [[Parvati]] had come to the source of the [[Ganges]] to bathe and observed the hymn. She asked the divinites to whom the hymn was dedicated. Before they could respond, she shed her outer corporeal form, revealing her true and auspicious form, who is then named Ambika.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Padma |first=Sree |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Jn_AwAAQBAJ&dq=ambika+form+of+mahadevi&pg=PA221 |title=Inventing and Reinventing the Goddess: Contemporary Iterations of Hindu Deities on the Move |date=2014-07-03 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-9002-9 |pages=221 |language=en}}</ref> When identified with Parvati, Ambika is seen as the consort of [[Shiva]].  

In the Vedic tradition, Ambikā is  described as the sister of [[Rudra]] (Śiva).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Müller |first=Friedrich Max |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yp9MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA389&dq=sister+rudra+ambika%C2%A0&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjK76jrrc-QAxXBOzQIHXV9N5oQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=sister%20rudra%20ambika%C2%A0&f=false |title=Vedic Hymns: Hymns to the Maruts, Rudra, Vâyu, and Vâta |date=1891 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-81-7030-755-6 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Yajurveda]] (Śukla recension, 3.57) invokes Rudra “together with his sister Ambikā” (svasrā-ambikā). The [[Shatapatha Brahmana]] (2.6.2.9) explains this line by stating explicitly that “Ambikā is the name of his (Rudra’s) sister.” A similar reference occurs [[Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa]] (1.6.10.5), where Ambikā is again identified in this ritual context. In the [[Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad]] of the [[Atharvaveda]], Lord [[Narasimha]] is described using various names, including  ''Ambikāpati'' ''(husband of Ambika).'' In later Puranic literature, however, the name Ambika is also applied to Parvati.

==See also==
*[[Ambika (Jainism)]] - ''Yakshi'' of the 22nd [[Tirthankara]] [[Neminatha]], portrayed with children in sculpture.

==References==
{{Reflist}}{{More citations needed|article|date=May 2025|find=empty string}}{{HinduMythology}}

[[Category:Destroyer goddesses]]
[[Category:Hindu goddesses]]
[[Category:War goddesses]]
[[Category:Shaktism]]