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Durga (, ) is a major Hinduism Devi, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity, and dharma, representing the power of good over evil. Durga is believed to unleash her divine wrath against the wicked for the liberation of the oppressed, and entails destruction to empower creation. Durga is seen as a motherly figure and often depicted as a beautiful woman, riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon and often defeating demons. She is widely worshipped by the followers of the goddess-centric sect, Shaktism, and has importance in other denominations like Shaivism and Vaishnavism.
The most important texts of Shaktism, Devi Mahatmya and Devi Bhagavata Purana, revere Devi (the Goddess) as the primordial creator of the universe and the Brahman (ultimate truth and reality). She is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. She is also considered to be the younger sister of Vishnu according to Bhagavata purana.
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 festivals of Durga Puja, Durga Ashtami, Vijayadashami, Diwali, and Navaratri.
The word Durga and related terms appear in the Vedic literature, such as in the Rigveda hymns 4.28, 5.34, 8.27, 8.47, 8.93 and 10.127, and in sections 10.1 and 12.4 of the Atharvaveda.Maurice Bloomfield (1906), A Vedic concordance, Series editor: Charles Lanman, Harvard University Press, page 486;
Example Sanskrit original: "अहन्निन्द्रो अदहदग्निरिन्दो पुरा दस्यून्मध्यंदिनादभीके।
दुर्गे दुरोणे क्रत्वा न यातां पुरू सहस्रा शर्वा नि बर्हीत्॥३॥ – Rigveda 4.28.8, Wikisource A deity named Durge appears in section 10.1.7 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka. While the Vedic literature uses the word Durga, the description therein lacks the legendary details about her that is found in later Hindu literature.
The word is also found in ancient post-Vedic Sanskrit texts such as in section 2.451 of the Mahabharata and section 4.27.16 of the Ramayana. These usages are in different contexts. For example, Durg is the name of an Asura who had become invincible to gods, and Durga is the goddess who intervenes and slays him. Durga and its derivatives are found in sections 4.1.99 and 6.3.63 of the Ashtadhyayi by Pāṇini, the ancient Sanskrit grammarian, and in the commentary of Nirukta by Yaska.
There are many epithets for Durga in Shaktism and her nine appellations are (Navadurga): Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayini, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. A list of 108 names of the goddess is recited in order to worship her and is popularly known as the "Ashtottarshat Namavali of Goddess Durga".
Other meanings may include: "the one who cannot be accessed easily", "the undefeatable goddess".
Durga is also known as Durgati Nashini, meaning one who eliminates suffering.
Her other names include Chandika, Sharada, Ambika, Vaishnavi etc.
Reverence for Devi, the feminine nature of God, first appears in the 10th Maṇḍala of Rig Veda, one of the scriptures of Hinduism. This hymn is also called the Devi Suktam hymn (abridged):
I am the Queen, the gatherer-up of treasures, most thoughtful, first of those who merit worship. – Devi Sukta, Rigveda 10.125.3 – 10.125.8, The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 125 Ralph T.H. Griffith (Translator); for Sanskrit original see: ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १०.१२५Thus gods have established me in many places with many homes to enter and abide in.Through me alone all eat the food that feeds them, – each man who sees, breathes, hears the word outspoken.They know it not, yet I reside in the essence of the Universe. Hear, one and all, the truth as I declare it.I, verily, myself announce and utter the word that gods and men alike shall welcome.I make the man I love exceedingly mighty, make him nourished, a sage, and one who knows Brahman.I bend the bow for Rudra, that his arrow may strike, and slay the hater of devotion.I rouse and order battle for the people, I created Earth and Heaven and reside as their Inner Controller.On the world's summit I bring forth sky the Father: my home is in the waters, in the ocean as Mother.Thence I pervade all existing creatures, as their Inner Supreme Self, and manifest them with my body.I created all worlds at my will, without any higher being, and permeate and dwell within them.The eternal and infinite consciousness is I, it is my greatness dwelling in everything.
Devi's epithets synonymous with Durga appear in literature, such as Kali in verse 1.2.4 of the Mundaka Upanishad dated to about the 5th century BCE. This single mention describes Kali 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 its thesis that one must seek self-knowledge and the knowledge of the eternal Brahman.
Durga, in her various forms, appears as an independent deity in the Epics period of ancient India, that is the centuries around the start of the common era. Both Yudhisthira and Arjuna characters of the Mahabharata invoke hymns to Durga. She appears in Harivamsa in the form of Vishnu's eulogy, and in Pradyumna prayer. Various from the early to late 1st 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 Brahman and Atman (self, soul).
In the Narada Purana, Durga is associated as a form of Lakshmi. In the Garuda Purana and the Vishnu Purana, Lakshmi is considered Prakriti (Mahalakshmi) and is identified with three forms — Sri, Bhu and Durga. In Pancharatra texts such as the Lakshmi Tantra, Lakshmi has Durga as one of her forms and acquires the name Durga after killing the demon Durgamasura. These texts identify Durga as Vishnu's māyā".
The Mahishasura Mardini Stotra by Adi Shankara was written in her praise.
Epigraphical evidence indicates that regardless of her origins, Durga is an ancient goddess. The 6th-century CE inscriptions in early Siddhamatrika script, such as at the Nagarjuni hill cave during the Maukhari era, already mention the legend of her victory over Mahishasura (buffalo-hybrid demon).
Durga as a demon-slaying goddess was likely well established by the time the classic Hindu text called Devi Mahatmya was composed, which scholars variously estimate to between 400 and 600 CE. The Devi Mahatmya and other mythologies describe the nature of demonic forces symbolised by Mahishasura as shape-shifting and adapting in nature, form and strategy to create difficulties and achieve their evil ends, while Durga calmly understands and counters the evil in order to achieve her solemn goals.
According to Vaishnavism tradition, Durga is among the various epithets and avatars of Vindhyavasini, the personification of the illusory power of Vishnu. Vishnu offers Durga the task of transferring the Balarama of Devaki into the womb of Rohini, as well as being born on earth as the infant daughter of Yashoda and Nanda, so that she could be swapped with Krishna. When Kamsa attempted to slay her, she manifested her true form of an eighteen-armed goddess, wearing a garland of lemons. The goddess announced that Kamsa's slayer had already been born, before vanishing. Durga is often conceptualised in this role as a sister of Vishnu.
Archeological discoveries suggest that these iconographic features of Durga became common throughout India by about the 4th century CE, states David Kinsley – a professor of religious studies specialising on Hindu goddesses. In the north wall of a granite cave in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu there is a large relief of Durga slaying Mahisasura, carved around 630–674 CE.
Durga iconography in some temples appears as part of Mahavidyas or Matrikas (seven mothers considered forms of Durga). Her icons in major Hindu temples such as in Varanasi include relief artworks that show scenes from the Devi Mahatmya.
In Vaishnavism, Durga and her mount of a lion, is considered one of the three aspects or forms of Goddess Lakshmi, the other two being Sri and Bhu, in place of Niladevi. According to professor Tracy Pintchman, "When the Lord Vishnu created the gunas of prakriti, there arose Lakshmi in her three forms, Sri, Bhu and Durga. Sri consisted of sattva, Bhu as rajas and Durga as tamas".
Durga appears in Hindu traditions in numerous forms and names, but ultimately all these are different aspects and manifestations of one goddess. She is imagined to be terrifying and destructive when she has to be, but benevolent and nurturing when she needs to be. While anthropomorphic icons of her, such as those showing her riding a lion and holding weapons, are common, the Hindu traditions use aniconic forms and geometric designs (yantra) to remember and revere what she symbolises.
The Vedic Texts concluded Durga alone to be the Supreme and the Absolute facet of Brahman, as stated in the Devi-Atharvashirsha
यस्याः परतरं नास्ति सैषा दुर्गा प्रकीर्तिता॥२४॥Her temples, worship and festivals are particularly popular in eastern and northeastern parts of Indian subcontinent during Durga puja, Dashain and Navaratri.She who is renowned by the name "Durga" is the being superior to whom, no one exists.
The day of Durga's victory is celebrated as Vijayadashami (Bijoya in Bengali), Dashain (Nepali) or Dussehra (in Hindi) – these words literally mean "the victory on the Tenth (day)".
This festival is an old tradition of Hinduism, though it is unclear how and in which century the festival began. Surviving manuscripts from the 14th century provide guidelines for Durga puja, while historical records suggest royalty and wealthy families were sponsoring major Durga puja public festivities since at least the 16th century. The 11th or 12th century Jainism text Yasatilaka by Somadeva mentions a festival and annual dates dedicated to a warrior goddess, celebrated by the king and his armed forces, and the description mirrors attributes of a Durga puja.
The prominence of Durga puja increased during the British Raj in Bengal. After the Hindu reformists identified Durga with India, she became an icon for the Indian independence movement. The city of Kolkata is famous for Durga puja.
During the first nine days, nine aspects of Durga known as Navadurga are meditated upon, one by one during the nine-day festival by devout Hindus. Durga is usually worshipped as a celibate and independent goddess. However, in some popular devotional practices—especially in Eastern India, such as in Bengal’s Shaktism folk traditions, she is venerated alongside Shiva, who is regarded as her consort. These traditions also include the worship of Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, who are considered to be her children.
Some Shaktas worship Durga's symbolism and presence as Mother Nature. In South India, especially Andhra Pradesh, Dussera Navaratri is also celebrated and the goddess is dressed each day as a different Devi, all considered equivalent but another aspect of Durga.
In Bengal, late Indian Mahayana Buddhists during the 17th century worshiped 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 the 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 Sarvadurgatipariśodhana 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 Tārā are believed to have originated as a form of the goddess Durga or to have been influenced by Hindu stories of Durga, including Tara's Wrathful deities.Mallar Ghosh (1980). 812150208X, Munshiram Manoharlal. 812150208X One form of Tara is even called Durgottāriṇī-tārā who specializes in saving devotees from evil and rides a lion mount, the traditional mount of Durga. Durgottāriṇī appears in the Sādhanamālā (237.10; 237.21; 238.4).
In Nepalese Buddhism, the Buddhist tantric goddess Vajrayogini is "often worshiped interchangeably with Durga" during Durga festivals. Newar Buddhism also worship Durgottāriṇī-tārā during some of their Prajnaparamita rituals.
In Japanese Buddhism, the deity Cundī, also known as Butsu-mo (仏母, sometimes called Koti-sri), shares many features with Durga, and some scholars have the two deities as related. However, as Gimello notes, they are not the same deity, though they are often confused.
Likewise, in Tibetan Buddhism, the goddess Palden Lhamo also has similar features to the protective and fierce Durga.
According to Eleanor Nesbitt, this view has been challenged by 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 Cambodia, during its era of , Durga was popular and numerous sculptures of her have been found. However, most differ from the Indian representation in one detail. The Cambodian Durga iconography shows her standing on top of the cut buffalo demon head.
Durga statues have been discovered at stone temples and archaeological sites in Vietnam, likely related to Champa or Cham dynasty era.
Outside the Indian subcontinent
Archeological site excavations in Indonesia, particularly on the island of Java, have yielded numerous statues of Durga. These have been dated to be from the 6th century onwards. Of the numerous early to mid medieval era Hindu deity stone statues uncovered on Indonesian islands, at least 135 statues are of Durga. In parts of Java, she is known as Loro Jonggrang (literally, "slender maiden").
Trudy Jacobsen (2025). 9788776940010, Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Press. . ISBN 9788776940010
Influence
Durga as the mother goddess is the inspiration behind the song Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, during 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 a cause to fight for goodness and justice is said to have the spirit of Durga in her.
See also
Notes
Bibliography
Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1992). 9780791411452, State University of New York Press. . ISBN 9780791411452
Cheever Mackenzie Brown (1998). 9780791439395, State University of New York Press. . ISBN 9780791439395
External links
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Devi Durga, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution
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