DurgaShakti.org uses sources according to the question being asked. A scripture supports an account of what that text says; an inscription or documented foundation can support a historical date; a temple’s announcement can establish its own current observance. No single source category answers every kind of question.
Texts, editions and translations
Primary texts are the starting point for claims about a passage, story or mantra. Where possible, articles identify the text, chapter or verse and the translation being followed. Companion hymns and ritual additions are distinguished from the core work when that distinction matters.
Reliable translations make a text accessible, but translators can differ over vocabulary and interpretation. Historical English translations remain useful with their date and limitations understood. A Sanskrit text repository is valuable when its preparation and provenance are stated; a circulating attribution without an identifiable source needs further checking.
Scholarship and object evidence
Academic books and research help place texts, practices and theological arguments in historical and regional context. University presses and specialist scholarship are preferred for questions that require more than a general introduction. An author’s interpretation is attributed rather than presented as the unanimous view of a tradition.
Museum and archive records are used for the identity, period, region and material of particular works. Government and heritage institutions can support building history and conservation context. A museum’s object date is not automatically the date when its subject first appeared in literature, and a heritage description does not turn a sacred narrative into archaeology.
Traditional institutions and living communities
Recognized traditional institutions, temple authorities and regional or community sources are important for accounts of worship, festivals and the meanings given to sacred forms. Their testimony is presented in its setting, with the institution or community named where useful. It can show how people understand a practice without proving every historical claim in its origin story.
Where traditions differ, articles preserve the difference. Shakti Peetha lists, divine relationships and festival sequences can vary across texts and regions. The account being followed is identified, and uncertain dates or attributions are qualified. Modern symbolic interpretations are kept distinguishable from an older textual statement.
Dates and current information
Historical dates are tied to the evidence available and may be given as approximate periods. Religious-calendar dates require a year and, where relevant, a location and time zone. Community events may occur on dates different from the observance they celebrate. Current temple notices take precedence over an evergreen guide for access arrangements and local schedules.
Images, captions and rights
An image must have a supportable identity and clear reuse rights before publication. Captions retain the source, artist or photographer, date or period, region and institution when known, together with the applicable license or public-domain information. Alt text describes the actual visible subject rather than supplying speculative symbolism.
Unclear-rights images are not published. A useful research candidate may remain in a separate research-only archive while identity or permission is investigated. Public access to a museum catalogue, a government website or a social post is not itself a reuse license.
For reading beyond an article’s own references, use Resources. The Editorial Standards explain how these principles shape prose, transliteration, mantra attribution and visual choices. Source corrections can be sent through Contact, with a link to the relevant passage.