Geography/Culture: Hindustani. Especially associated with the Samkhya philosophical system founded by the sage Kapila who probably lived during the 7th century BCE.
Linguistic Note: the prefix pra- indicates a natural pro-cess or urge; -krti in this context has both an active and a passive sense, producing and produced. It is as much action as function. Or: probably from Sanskrit prakrita, 'original, natural, unrefined, vulgar, vernacular'; f. pra-, 'before', and -kri, 'make'. Derived word: prakrit, general name for vernacular dialects developed from Sanskrit. Related English words: our pre-fixes pro-, pre- and para- are all related to pra; create and creature are related to Kri.
Description: Creator, Preserver, Destroyer; Primordial material force; the Power of manifestation; the Urge to produce; She Who is the immanent quality of productivty; Goddess of the cosmic will in the evolutionary process; active Female principle through which the inactive male principle of the cosmos is manifested, together they constitute Nature and its dual function of generation and destruction which are of necessity interdependent; Ultimate cause of the world; She Who is Nartaki, the cosmic dancer.
To whom are sacred: Pradhana, primary, or crude matter (with which She is equated); dance (of dynamism).
Male associate: consort Purusa, Mankind, (man, male) - the inactive male principle of the cosmos; also called Prajapati, Lord-of-Creation.

Titles, Variants, etc:
• She is the materiality which is percieved in consciousness as Maya, qv. {since there is so little for Prakrti, She and Maya should prob. not be distinguished, ie: put Her under Maya in the 19 year revision, if there is another Goddess Who could replace Her.}
• Variant: Prakri.
• Related to: Sakti, Divine-Energy.
• Her consort Purusa is also associated with Viraj, below.

• By Her connection with Purusa perhaps to be identified with Prakrti, above.