SIDDHI, SIDDHIS – A concept

Siddhi is a central concept of Hindu mythology; the term means “power” or “supernatural ability.” The siddhis, often listed as eight, could be acquired by austerities (tapas).
These supernatural abilities included the ability to obtain anything (prapti), having an irresistible will (prakamya), the ability to subdue anything to one’s own will (vashitva), and having a sweet mouth (madhu pratika). Invisibility, the ability to walk through barriers, teleportation, clairvoyance, and clairaudience also appear in the myths.
There are terms that were used in the myths that link the person who acquired powers by austerities with magic: for example, mayavi and tapaswini (both meaning roughly “magician”). The practice to acquire magical powers was called siddha-sadhana (discipline). The logic of ritual and private magic is disĀ­cussed in chapter 1.

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