Meaning and elaboration
Meaning: The Great Goddess, supreme among all deities.
Elaboration
Maha-Devi means "The Great Goddess." Maha means "great" or "supreme," and Devi means "goddess." In the Shakta understanding, this is more than an honorific title. It declares her as the highest divine reality, the one from whom all other deities and all manifested existence arise.
The Supreme Universal Feminine Maha-Devi names the primordial feminine principle, Adi-Shakti, who is the source and underlying ground of the entire cosmos. She is not one goddess among many. She is the Great Goddess from whom all gods and goddesses emerge and receive their power. All the diverse forms of the divine are gathered and unified in her.
Source of All Creation (Prakriti) In many Shakta traditions, Maha-Devi is identified with Prakriti, the unmanifest cosmic energy that, in union with Purusha, often understood as Shiva, gives rise to creation itself. She is the material cause of the universe, the very substance of existence in both its subtle and gross forms.
Transcendent and Immanent As Maha-Devi, she is both beyond all form and present in every form. She is the transcendent reality, untouched by attributes, and at the same time the immanent presence that pervades every atom of existence. She is both the formless Brahman and the manifested universe. Her greatness lies in holding these seeming opposites within her boundless being.
The Ultimate Reality For the devotee, especially within Shaktism, Maha-Devi is the highest truth, Para-Brahman known as the Divine Mother. To recognize her as Maha-Devi is to worship her as supreme, to know her as the giver of moksha, and to understand her as the mother who nourishes, sustains, and finally draws all creation back into herself.