Durga

Durga
18th-century painting of Durga slaying the buffalo demon Mahishasura

Goddess Durga , lit. the one who is difficult to approach, or the undefeatable one, or the inaccessible one, is a form of the Hindu goddess Parvati. She is one of the major deities in Hinduism worshipped as the supreme goddess and is known by different names such as Shakti or Adi Parashakti. She is often depicted with ten, eight, four or eighteen arms killing evil demons like Mahishasura granting peace and restore Dharma (righteousness). She is regarded as the eternal power and mother of the whole universe. She has importance in other religions such as Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism and in other denominations like Shaivism and Vaishnavism.

Goddess Durga :-

Mother goddess;

Goddess of Power, destruction, strength, protection, war, devotion, Maya, victory, destruction, fertility, harmony and motherhood

Para Brahman, the supreme being in Shaktism.

Member of the Pancha Prakriti and the Panchayatana Puja.

Member of Tridevi (as Parvati).

One of the highest forms of the supreme goddess Mahadevi.

Goddess Durga is one of the most powerful forms of the supreme goddess Mahadevi. She is considered to be the eternal energy (Shakti) of lord Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. She is known by different names such as Kali, Adi Shakti and Chamunda. She is primarily worshipped in West Bengal and Gujarat. She is often identified with Goddesses like Parvati, Kali and other forms of Shakti. She is one of the five equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition. Durga is a warrior goddess and is often depicted as a goddess with multiple hands fighting and killing demons like Mahishasura and their army of demons. She is generally depicted riding a lion or tiger. In Southern India, She is generally worshipped as Mariamman, the south indian goddess of Weather.

Durga has a significant following all over Nepal, India, Bangladesh and many other countries. She is mostly worshipped after spring and Autumn harvests, especially during the major festivals of Durga Puja, Durga ashtami, Vijayadashami, Deepavali, and Navratri. According to many Hindu traditions, She is one of the five main forms of prakriti (Nature). She is also one of the most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. She is often adressed as Aparajita (the absolutely unconquered and undefeatable one) which represents her supreme and unconquered nature as the remover of all obstacles and the destroyer of negative energies. She is identified as the supreme Brahman and is considered to be the most beautiful and is called Rajarajeshwari (the supreme governess, creator and ruler of the whole creation and all existence).

She is often considered to be an ocean of kindness for her devotees, making her a kind mother goddess for her devotees.

Etymology and other names:-

The name Durga translates to the undefeatable goddess and her name also translates to a fort. She is worshipped across India and other countries like Nepal with different names. In Nepal, she is generally worshipped as a Tantric goddess named Taleju Bhavani and is also the main deity of the Malla Dynasty of the country. In Tamil language, she is addressed with many names such as Poleramma, Karumariamman, Adi Parashakthi, Amman, Meenakshi Amman, and is most famously adressed and worshipped as Mariamman. Her enormous temples are found with many deities portrayed on the top of the temples while Mariamman (Durga) being the main deity. She is known by many different names like Mahishasura Mardini (the slayer of the buffalo demon), Adi Parashakti (the absolute supreme consciousness directly considered to be the physical form of the supreme formless Brahman), Durgati Nashini (the destroyer of all obstacles and dangers), Shakti (the embodiment of all power across the creation), Kali (the goddess of time and death), Chamunda (the fierce manifestation of Durga) and Bhuvaneshvari (the queen and governor of the whole creation). The Mariamman temple in Singapore is a grand temple dedicated to Mariamman (Durga) and attracts a large number of tourists per year. The Vaishno Devi temple in India is one of the most famous and holiest Hindu sites dedicated to goddess Durga and attracts a large number of devotees across India and other countries. The goddess is also identified as Ishwari (the supreme goddess) and it is believed that a single speck of dust from her feet is enough for the creation, preservation and destruction of the whole creation as written in the Saundarya Lahiri, a major Shakta text praising the Divine Mother written by Adi Shankara. She is believed to be the ultimate source for all food and nourishment (Annapoorna) and the ultimate source of spiritual liberation (Moksha). Her other names include Amba (the supreme mother), Katyayani, and Mahalakshmi (the great Lakshmi).

Origins :-

Durga is believed to have originated from the Indian subcontinent as an ancient goddess worshipped by indigenous mountain dwellers before being established in the main hindu pantheon by the 4th century CE. She is associated with strength, wars and battles, motherhood, creation, preservation and destruction. In important texts of Shaktism, Devi Mahatmaya and Devi Bhagavata Purana, where Devi (often Durga) is considered to be the primordial creator of the universe, the Bramhan (ultimate reality) and consider her to be the embodiment of prakriti and Maya (Illusion). Mahishasura Mardini (the slayer of Mahishasura) is among her various epithets which she recieved after slaying the bovine demon Mahishasura. In Vaishnavism, she is considered to be the sister of Vishnu and is known as Yogamaya. In Bengali traditions and worship, she is considered to be the mother of the deities Lakshmi, Sarasvati, lord kartikeya and lord Ganesha. She is one of the most important deities in Hinduism. Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi & Kamala are the ten Mahavidyas (great wisdom goddesses) and are considered to be the form of the Goddess Adi Parashakti (Durga). She is a prominent deity in Hinduism. The Durga Suktam found in the Yajurveda, is her earliest mention which praises her as the absolute protector and the goddess who helps and protects her devotees in their difficult times or troubles. Durga is also considered to be a direct name for the supreme goddess Mahadevi. She is also identified as the supreme Brahman (the ultimate reality who manifests all Gods in Hinduism) and is considered to be the mother of the whole existence in Shaktism. Her origins are directly linked to the Devi Suktam found in the Rigveda, which directly praises the supreme goddess (Devi) as the all mighty and supreme mother who is said to bend the bow of Rudra to destroy evil in the Devi Suktam. While her name originates later in the Yajurveda, the concept of Supreme goddess who later gains the name Durga originates simply as Devi in the Devi Suktam. The legends of the goddess as the slayer of evil demons originate primarily in the Devi Mahatmayam of the Markandeya Purana. Her name Durga originating in the Yajurveda translates to the Inaccessible one, or the undefeatable one. She is constantly invoked and praised in the Devi Mahatmayam through different hymns like the Tantroktam Durga Suktam, Tantroktam Ratri Suktam and many more. Slowly, she became a major deity. She is depicted having a fire like complexion and Durga Gayatri Mantra originates from the Durga Suktam. In puranic texts like the Devi Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Mahatmaya which is a part of the Markandeya Purana, she is first depicted as a fierce supreme warrior goddess with multiple hands and a third eye fighting and killing evil demons. She became a prominent name for the supreme goddess Mahadevi.

Detailed History and literature:-

Durga as Mahadevi (the primordial reality) :-

Durga in Shaktism, appears to be the creator of everything in existence and the mother of the universe and is viewed as the supreme primordial reality who is the Brahman herself and is also addressed as Adi Parashakti (the primordial unmanifested cosmic power from which all gods and existence originates. The foundational scriptures like the Rigveda, the Devi Mahamaya, and the Devi Bhagavata Purana assert that the mother goddessShakti (often Durga) is the absolute supreme reality. She is regarded as the material, efficient, and intelligent cause of the universe, governing creation, preservation and dissolution (Pralaya).

  1. The dispeller of difficulties and supernatural energies: As stated in the traditional Sanskrit lexicons and commentary. She recieved the name Durga because she rescues living beings from obstacles and severe distress (durgati) and destroys massive internal and external obstacles.

2. Epithets of supremacy: Throughout classical literature, the goddess is continuously praised by various epithets:-

Legends:-

According to scriptures, Durga got her name after defeating the demon Durgamasura, a demon who took control over the Vedas but was ultimately defeated by the goddessShakambari (a form of Durga). She is worshipped mainly during Durga Puja and Navratri.

According to scriptures like the Devi Mahatmayam (the glory of the goddess Durga), after a sage named Katyayana performed penance to please the goddess, the goddess Durga (Mahadevi) gave a boon to him that she will be born as his daughter. A bovine buffalo demon named Mahishasura, performed extreme penance to Lord Brahma and as a result, Lord Brahma gave him a boon that he could only be defeated by a woman. The gods, defeated by Mahishasura, together formed a mountain from their inner fury (tejas) and helplessness (according to Devi Mahatmayam), the supreme goddess Mahadevi then choose to shed her formless presence and manifest out of the mountain and transformed from the supreme, Nirguna (formless) Brahman (the ultimate reality) into the mother Goddess Durga and emerged from the mountain. The gods offered multiple weapons to the goddess like the Trishula, Scimitar and pasha (noose). Later the goddess Mahadevi was born as the sage katyayana's daughter and was named Katyayani. After defeating the bovine demon Mahishasura in her Durga form, she chose Vindhyas as her earthly abode and gained the name Vindhyavasini (the goddess who lives on the Vindhyas). The Devi Mahatmayam is one of the most prominent scriptures dedicated to the goddess Durga. The scripture contains the legends of the goddess and contains hymns dedicated to her like the hymn Sarvani Suryo Tanayo, the Tantroktam Durga Suktam and the Tantroktam Ratri Suktam and others. The scripture depicts the story of how she defeated the demon brothers Shumbha and Nishumbha in her Kaushiki form. It also depicts the story of her slaying the demon generals of Shumbha and Nishumbha like Dhumralochana, Raktabija, Chanda and Munda in her various forms like Kali and the story of her defeating the demon Durgamasura in her primary three forms which are Satakshi (the one who has thousands of eyes), Shakambari (the bearer of vegetables) and Durga (the slayer of demons). It is depicted that when Durgamasura stole the Vedas, the balance of the universe was disrupted and the gods were unable to perform rituals like Yajna and the earthly humans faced extreme famine and drought for nearly hundred years. After seeing her earthy devotees facing extreme starvation, thousands of eyes appeared on her whole body and tear drops started falling from all of her eyes. This caused a flood on earth and rivers, oceans and seas were formed. This form of her is known as Satakshi (the thousand eyed one). To feed all the beings, she took the form of Shakambari (the goddess of food and nourishment). And ultimately, she took the form of Durga to defeat the demon Durgamasura and his army of demons. Legends also describe her as the goddess of food and nourishment taking forms like Shakambari and Annapoorna to feed her earthly devotees and gods.

There are several legends stating that the goddess Durga once destroyed the pride of the Gods in her Jagadhatri Avatar. The goddess is also believed to be the ultimate power source of the Trimurti and all other gods who allows them to function for the creation, preservation and destruction of the creation.

Manifestations:-

Goddess Durga is worshipped in her various forms like Kali and Kaushiki. She is believed to be the mother of the Universe and is depicted as a fierce deity. In many depictions and traditions, especially in South India, guardian deities like Bhairava and Mahamuneeshwara are seen guarding her temples and her during battles especially in her Mariamman form. In Shaktism, Durga (Mahadevi) declares herself as the supreme goddess and the creator of everything in existence and the Trimurti and other gods are shown worshipping her. In other traditions such as the Smarta Tradition sees her alongside the deities Ganesha, Shiva, Surya, and Vishnu as manifestations of the same supreme reality Brahman. The Saundarya Lahiri depicts Tripura Sundari (a form of Durga or Parvati) as the supreme mother of all creation. It beautifully depicts her absolute supreme nature and also states that Brahma can create, Vishnu can preserve and Shiva can destroy with a single speck of dust from her divine feet. The gods and the goddess are either considered equal or are believed to be able to function with just a fraction of power of the goddess.

Worship:-

Durga is primarily worshipped in West Bengal and Gujarat. She is worshipped during the festivals named Navratri, Durga Puja, and Dusshera. Her name forms are worshipped for nine days during Navratri. Gujaratis perform a dance form called Garba every night during this festival. Goddess Durga is worshipped in Hindu temples including the famous Vindhyachal Temple, Renwal Dham and Maa Vaishno Devi temple. During Durga Puja, She is worshipped by the people of Bengal for five days. Durga Puja is West Bengal's biggest festival. Just like Gujarati people, Bengali people perform a dance form called Dhunuchi Nritya during Durga Puja. Goddess Durga is worshipped all over India and has importance in Other religions like Buddhism. She is also worshipped in other countries and Islands like Bali and Nepal. In Nepal, she is worshipped as Taleju Bhavani, a tantric deity and the primary goddess of the Malla Dynasty of Nepal. Durga is worshipped in Hindu Temples across India and Nepal by Shakta hindus. She is also worshipped as Vishnu Durgai (the combined form of lord Vishnu and goddess Durga) and Maheshwari (one of the eight matrikas and a combined form of lord Shiva and goddess Durga or Parvati) to show her unity with the major deities. In these depictions, she is depicted with the iconography of Vishnu or Shiva with two or four arms identical to the deities and holding their weapons like the Trishula and Damaru of lord Shiva and the Sudarshana Chakra and Shankha of lord Vishnu. In South India, she is worshipped as Mariamman or as a Gramadevata (village Deity). In West Bengal, she is one of the most important and most worshipped deities.

History and texts:-

Devi's epithets synonymous with Durga appear in Upanishadic literature. Such as kali in verse 1.2.4 of the Mundaka Upanishad dated to about the 5th century BCE. The single mention describes Kalika as "terrible yet Swift as thought", very red and smoky coloured manifestation of the divine with a fire- like flickering tongue, before the text begins presenting it's thesis that one must seek self- knowledge and the knowledge of the eternal Bramhan. She is described as a goddess who is adorned with a crescent moon on her crown.

Durga, in her various forms, appears as an independent deity in the Epic periods of Ancient India, that is the centuries around the start of the common Era. Both Yudhishthira and Arjuna characters of the Mahabharata invoke hymns to Durga. Various Puranas from the early to late millennium CE dedicate chapters of inconsistent legends associated with Durga. Of these, the Markandeya purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana are the most significant texts on Durga. The Devi Upanishad and other Shakta Upanishads , mostly dated to have been composed in or after the 9th century, present the philosophical and mystical speculations related to Durga as Devi and other epithets , identifying her to be the same as the Bramhan and Atman (self,soul). The Skanda purana and Shiva Purana and many other Puranas identifies Durga as the warrior form of goddess Parvati. The Mahishasuramardini stotra by Adi Shankara was written in her Praise.in Yajurveda and Atharvaveda she has been invoked as the goddess who grants protection and bliss. In the Puranas, Durga has been described as the Vana Durga, Jaya Durga, Mahishasur - mardini Durga, Vindhyavasini Durga, Maha Durga and Anala Durga. In the ancient Siddheshwari Tantra, the Durga Apad Uddharaka Stotram is a hymn and a significant part of the Tantra which praises her as the supreme refuge and protector and praises her as the fierce goddess Chandika. Her idols, carves on cave walls have been discovered from different regions and countries like China, Gujarat, Afghanistan (Ghazni), Indonesia (Java), India (Vidisha, Gujarat, Mahabalipuram), Karnataka, Bangladesh. In the Yajurveda (specifically in the Krishna Yajurveda tradition), the Durga Suktam has been found which was written in the praise of Goddess Durga.

In other religions :-

In Sikhism:-

Durga is exalted as a creation of the divine in Dasam Granth , a sacred text of Sikhism that is traditionally attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.According to Eleanor Nesbitt , this view has been challenged by the Sikhs who consider Sikhism to be monotheistic, who hold that a feminine form of the supreme and a reverence for the Goddess is unmistakably of Hindu character.

In Buddhism:-

The Tantric Buddhist Vajrayana traditions adopted several Hindu deities into its fold, including Durga. Numerous depictions of Durga slaying the buffalo demon have been found at Buddhist temple sites (c. 8th- 11th century) in Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Northeastern India. Durga Statues have also been found in major Buddhist sites like Nalanda and Vikramashila. In Bengal, late indian Mahayana Buddhists during 17th century worshipped Durga during traditional Yogini Puja celebrations, and some traces of these Mahayana Durga rites survive today, even though the Bengalis who perform them are no longer Buddhist.Images of Buddhist Durga have also been found in Bali (surrounded with images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas) and date from the 10th and 11th centuries. Durga also appears in the Tantra called Sarva Durgati Parisodhana tantra, though in this text, she appears not in her demon slaying form, but mounted on a Lion. Several aspects of the popular Vajrayana Buddhist goddess Tara are believed to have originated as a form of goddess Durga.

In Jainism:-

The Sacciya mata found in major medieval era Jain temple mirrors Durga, and she has been identified by Jainism scholars to be the same or sharing a more ancient common lineage. In the Ellora Caves, the jain temples feature Durga with her Lion mount. However, she is not shown as killing the buffalo demon in the jain cave, but she is presented as a peaceful deity.

Depiction and Attributes:-

She is generally depicted with multiple arms which vary in numbers in different cultures and is generally shown fighting and slaying demons like Mahishasura, Dhumralochana, Shumbha and Nishumbha, Durgamasura, Raktabija, Chanda and Munda. She is generally depicted wearing gold, silver or pearl ornaments and is shown adorned with a Crown (Mukuta) and a crescent moon. She is depicted with three eyes in most of the depictions or with thousands of eyes in some depictions, especially in her forms like Shakambari. In her fierce forms like Chamunda, Kali and Chandi, she is depicted wearing a garland of skulls or freshly severed demon heads (Mundamala). She is generally depicted riding a Lion or Tiger. She is also depicted welding weapons like Scimitar, Sword and Trishula. She is either shown as a peaceful deity or a fierce goddess defeating and killing evil demons. Her ancient sculptures found at various sites like Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Rani ki Vav (Gujarat) depict her as a fierce deity slaying the buffalo demon Mahishasura. She symbolises power, protection and the cosmic energy of the universe. Depictions of her are also found in Jain Caves.

Attributes:-

Multiple arms:- She is shown having four, eight, ten or eighteen arms carrying multiple weapons to fight and slay demons.

Multiple weapons:- she is shown carrying multiple weapons like the Trident, Sudarshana Chakra, and Scimitar in her multiple arms each carrying the cosmic energy to create and destroy.

Crescent moon - she is depicted bearing a majestic crescent moon on her Crown (Mukuta).

Multiple eyes:- she is mostly depicted with a third eye on her forehead but in her specific incarnations like Satakshi, she is described bearing thousands of eyes on her whole body.

Mount:- she is generally shown riding either a lion or tiger.

Jewellery:- she is shown wearing either pearl or Gold Jewellery.

Garlands:- she is shown wearing garlands made of flowers.

skull garland (Mundamala):- In her fierce forms like Kali, she is shown wearing a garland of skulls or freshly severed heads of Demons (Mundamala).

Kapala and Akshaya Patra:- in various depictions, she is shown holding a bowl (Akshaya Patra) or a skull bowl (kapala) full of demon blood.

Somanandi:- Somanandi is a lion and the mount of goddess Durga. He is depicted helping goddess Durga in fighting and killing demons.

Vindhyachal:- the Vindhya ranges, also known as Vindhyachal, is a mountain range and is considered to be the beloved abode of goddess Durga. There is also a temple named Vindhyachal Temple dedicated to the goddess Durga in her Vindhyavasini Avatar.

Vaishno devi temple:- Vaishno Devi is the beloved temple of goddess Durga that is dedicated to goddess Durga in her Vaishno Devi Avatar and is one of the most famous and holiest sites in Hinduism.

Khadga (scimitar):- A Scimitar (khadga) is one of the main symbols of goddess Durga and Kali.

Influence:-

Durga as the mother goddess is the inspiration behind the song Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, during the the Indian independence movement, later the official national song of India. Durga is present in Indian Nationalism where Bharat mata i.e. Mother India is viewed as a form of Durga. This is completely secular and keeping in line with the ancient ideology of Durga as mother and protector to Indians. She is present in pop culture and blockbuster Bollywood movies like Jai Santoshi maa. The indian army uses Hindustani phrases like "Durga Mata ki jai" and "Kali mata ki jai". Any woman who takes up cause to fight is said to have the spirit of Durga in her.

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