Durga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
It has been suggested that Dhruti be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
| Durga | |
 Image of Durga, shown riding her tiger and attacking the demon Mahishasura |
|
| Vengeance / Victory | |
| Devanagari | दुर्गा |
|---|---|
| Bengali | দুর্গা |
| Affiliation | Avatar of Devi |
| Abode | Kailash |
| Mantra | Om Dum Durgayei Namaha Om Aing Hring Kling Chamundayei Vichche |
| Weapon | Trishula (trident), Chakram, Scimitar, Snake, Conch shell, Mace, Bow, Talwar (longsword), Lotus, Thunderbolt |
| Consort | Shiva |
| Mount | Dawon (tiger or lion) |
In Hinduism, Durga (Sanskrit: "the inaccessible"[1] or "the invincible"[2]) or Maa Durga (Mother Durga) is a form of Devi, the supreme goddess. Goddess Durga is considered by Hindus to be the mother of Ganesha, Kartikeya, as well as Saraswati and Lakshmi.[3] She is thus considered the fiercer, demon-fighting form of Shiva's wife, goddess Parvati.
Durga is depicted as a warrior aspect of Devi Parvati with 10 arms who rides a lion or a tiger, carries weapons and assumes mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. This form of the Goddess is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy (Shakti).
Contents |
[edit] Durga in Hinduism
The Great Goddess Durga is said to be exquisitely beautiful. Her form is blindingly bright (devi), with three lotus-like eyes, ten powerful hands, lush hair with beautiful curls, a red-golden glow from her skin and a quarter moon on her forehead. She wears a shiny oceanic blue attire emitting fierce rays. Her ornaments were carved beautifully of gold, with ocean pearls and precious stones embedded in it. Each god also gave her their own most powerful weapons, Rudra's trident, Vishnu's discus, Indra's thunderbolt, Brahma's kamandal, Kuber's gada, etc. Himalayas gifted her a fierce whitish golden lion. On the end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th day of waxing moon, Chanda and Munda came to fight the goddess. She turned blue with anger and goddess Chamunda leaped out of her third eye. Her form was the most powerful one with 3 red eyes, blood-filled tongue and dark skin; who finally killed the twin demons with her sword. This form of the divine goddess is worshipped during the sandhikshan of Durga Puja festival, as sandhi/chandi puja. Finally on the tenth day of waxing moon, goddess Durga killed Mahishasura with her trident.
The word Shakti, meaning sacred feminine force, and Durga reflects the warrior aspect of the goddess, embodying a traditional male role. She is also strikingly beautiful, and initially Mahishasura tries to marry her! Other incarnations include Annapurna and Karunamayi (karuna = kindness).
According to the narrative from the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana, the form of Durga was created as a warrior goddess to fight a demon. The demon's father Rambha, king of the demons, once fell in love with a water buffalo, and Mahish Asur (the demon Mahish) was born out of this union. He is therefore able to change between human and buffalo form at will (mahish means "buffalo"). Through intense prayers to Brahma, Mahishasur had the boon that he could not be defeated by any man or god. He unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds.
Eventually, since only a woman could kill him, the Holy Male Trinity went down to the river Ganges and prayed the mantra, "Om Namo Devaye", imploring of the great goddess Devi to save their realm from ruin. They were blessed with her compassion when the goddess Durga was born out of the river.
[edit] Worship of Durga
The 4 days Durga Puja is the biggest annual festival in Bengal, celebrated likewise with much fervour in the other extremity of India, Gujarat, and parts of Eastern India, but it is celebrated in various forms throughout the Hindu universe.
The day of Durga's victory is celebrated as Vijaya Dashmi (East and South India), Dashain (Nepal) or Dussehra (North India) - these words literally mean "the Victorius Tenth" (day), vijaya means "of-victory". In Kashmir she is worshipped as shaarika (the main temple is in Hari Parbat in Srinagar).
The actual period of the worship however may be on the preceding nine days followed by the last day called Vijayadashami in North India or five days in Bengal, (from the sixth to tenth day of the waxing-moon fortnight). Nine aspects of Durga known as Navadurga are meditated upon, one by one during the nine-day festival by devout shakti worshippers.
In North India, this tenth day, signifying Rama's victory in his battle against the demon Ravana, is celebrated as Dussehra - gigantic straw effigies of Ravana are burnt in designated open spaces (e.g. Delhi's Ram Lila grounds), watched by thousands of families and little children.
In Gujarat it is celebrated as the last day of Navaratri, during which the Garba dance is performed to celebrate the vigorous victory of Mahishasura-mardini Durga.
The Goddess Durga worshipped in her peaceful form as MahaGauri, The Fair Lady, Shree Shantadurga also known as santeri , is the patron Goddess of Goa. She is worshipped by all Goan Hindus irrespective of caste and even by some Christians in Goa.
Goddess Durga is worshipped in many temples of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.
Another important text on Durga is the 21-verse long Mahishasura Mardini Stotram (Prayer to the Goddess who killed Mahishasura) written by Sri Sri Sri Shankara Bhagavatpadacharya.
[edit] Notable Durga temples in India
- Matrimandir in the city of Auroville near Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu.
- Ambika Mata Temple in the village of Jagat near Mount Abu in Rajasthan, India.
- Bhairabi Devalaya, in Tezpur, Assam
- Kalighat Temple, Kolkata.
- Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati, Assam
- Kanaka Durga Temple, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
- Shanta Durga temple in Goa
- Shila Devi temple at Amber Jaipur Rajasthan
[edit] See also
- Durga Puja
- Shantadurga
- Hindu Goddess
- Kala, husband of Durga in Javanese mythology.
- List of women warriors in folklore, literature, and popular culture
[edit] References
- ^ "Durga." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 25 Feb. 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9363243/Durga">.
- ^ "Durga" Sanatan Society <http://www.sanatansociety.org/hindu_gods_and_goddesses/durga.htm>.
- ^ Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal By June McDaniel p.225
[edit] Further reading
- Durga Puja: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Sudeshna Banerjee, Rupa and Co, Calcutta, 2004. (ISBN 81-291-0547-0)
- Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions, David Kinsley. (ISBN 81-208-0379-5)
- Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair : Selected Poems to the Mother Goddess, Ramprasad Sen (1720-1781). (ISBN 0-934252-94-7)
- Durga Puja Beginner, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir, 2001. (ISBN 1-887472-89-4)
- "Chandi Path", Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir (ISBN 1-877795-52-6)
- "Chandi Path: Study of Chapter One", Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir (ISBN 1-877795-58-5)
- "Chandi Path: Study of Chapter Two", Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir (ISBN 1-877795-60-7)
- "Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs", Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir (ISBN 1-877795-61-5)
- "Devi Gita", Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir (ISBN 1-877795-56-9)
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||
