Tantric Saivism is the most significant school of religious philosophy which has flourished across the Indian sub-continent through several sub-schools. The stream of Saivism originated in Kashmir exists as the most distinguished one through the significant position obtained by it in the developed milieu of philosophy. In the early stages of the development of Kashmir Saivism, Saktitattva, which obviously has a feminine connotation, appears to have been conceived as a concept in the absence of which the Śivatattva could not have been imagined. Then there was a noteworthy change by the end of the first millennium CE and when it comes to the second millennium CE, the Sakti principle in Kashmir Saivism had not been the same. It may well be said that without a thorough interrogation into the nature, function and evolution of this feminine principle called Sakti, the understanding of Tantrism Saivism and the history of philosophic systems of India would be in complete. For a more unequivocal comprehension of Kashmir Saivism, the nature and function of the Sakti principle becomes a desideratum. Hence, the present study entitled The Principle of Sakti in Kashmir Saivism-Function and Evolution is an attempt to take up this issue.
