The Powerful Devi Durga

By Vijay Gopinath


According to Hindu mythology, Durga devi is the mother to all living and non-living beings and the force which makes creation, protection and destruction possible. Her name in Bengali means 'the unvanquishable' and in Sanskrit 'the inaccessible'. Worshippers say 'Maa' whenever they refer to her. The womanly forces of creation and destruction is embodied by her. She has many aspects, each of which represents a different quality. The inherent attributes of Durga are courage and forbearance. She is also at times depicted as the mother of Lakshmi, Ganesha, Kartik and Saraswati.
Durga is the courageous avtar of the absolute power Shakti and she was created in order to kill the demon king Mahishasura. Mahishasura was terrorizing the heavens, the Earth and also the nether worlds. He had been blessed by Lord Brahma and therefore could not be killed by any man. As they were too afraid of the king they approached the gods Lord Vishnu and Shiva who then formed Durga, a female fighter out of the power that they radiated in their fury.

Immediately after the creation, she headed towards the battleground to fight with Mahishasura. Even when entering the battlefield to face her, Mahishasura never thought that a woman could beat him. After fighting with him for ten days and in his many mortal forms, Durga finally killed him. In the end goodness won and evil force was destroyed. A big army was formed by Durga to destroy the evil forces used by the Mahishasura, the demon king. When they won the battle, she rewarded them for their services by imparting the wisdom of gold crafting and ornament making upon them.

Often, her depiction shows her with 10 arms and 10 different weapons. She carries a lotus in one hand, which signifies the power of creation. Her vehicle is shown
Immediately after the creation, she headed towards the battleground to fight with Mahishasura. Even when entering the battlefield to face her, Mahishasura never thought that a woman could beat him. After fighting with him for ten days and in his many mortal forms, Durga finally killed him. In the end goodness won and evil force was destroyed. A big army was formed by Durga to destroy the evil forces used by the Mahishasura, the demon king. When they won the battle, she rewarded them for their services by imparting the wisdom of gold crafting and ornament making upon them.

Often, her depiction shows her with 10 arms and 10 different weapons. She carries a lotus in one hand, which signifies the power of creation. Her vehicle is shown to be a lion or a tiger, which symbolize fearlessness. She is also known to manifest herself in different avtars, each with their own divine quality. The goddess of violence and the wife of Shiva, Kali, is one of her forms.

The festival of Durga puja is celebrated with fervour among the eastern states like Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Bengal. Dashain is what people of Nepal call it. It is a ten day long festival out of which 5 days are celebrated with immense joy. The last day when goddess Durga defeated Mahishasura in the battle is known as Vijayadashami and Dussehra.




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