Durga: Invincible Durga Is Always On Call  

By NITI PAUL MEHTA  

Durga: Invincible Durga Is Always On Call  

The Markandaya Purana and the Vamana Purana chronicle how Mahishasura, the wicked buffalo-king, a demon possessing monstrous power and deadly weapons of destruction, waged a war against the gods and defeated them.

Mahishasura dislodged Indra and occupied the throne. Indra fled to save himself. This shook the celestial world and so enraged Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva that they began to emit fire from their eyes. From the fusion of these beams of fire, carrying the radiant divine energy, a female figure, Goddess Durga, was born.

Durga had 10 arms and rode a tiger. So she also came to be known as Sinha-Vahini. She was armed with Shiva's trident, Vishnu's chakra and Indra's thunderbolt. Thus armed she fought Mahishasura and destroyed him. Born out of the combined divine energy of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, Durga is the most powerful of Hindu gods and goddesses. Killing Mahishasura, she emerged the saviour of the gods. She is worshipped as Durga, Kali and Shakti.

Durga's most important role is as the goddess who waged war against evil. Soldiers invoke her to seek her blessings before going to battle. Even Lord Rama worshipped her before facing Ravana in battle. Answering his prayers, she appeared before him and blessed him, assuring him of victory. The Pandavas, too, sought a boon from her. Before going into hiding during the last year of their exile, they prayed to her. Pleased, Shakti blessed them and assured them that the Kauravas would not be able to find them during the year of their hiding.

Besides destroying evil, Ma Durga protects the virtuous and the needy. She is generous and is specially kind to the weak, poor and the deprived. She is believed to answer their prayers during times of disease, disaster, floods and droughts.

The Durga Puja festival is celebrated at the end of the rainy season. It is the time when the breeding season for mosquitoes and other disease-bearing germs and viruses (both water-borne and air-borne) draws to a close. With the end of the rains the weather changes for the better. Navratras are observed for nine days, marking the advent of the new season. Fasting and eating a different kind of food purifies the system.

Durga as protector of life is thanked for helping devotees tide over the long period of disease and drought. As she is also Mother Earth (Bhoodevi), the goddess of vegetation. She is also Goddess Shakambhari, the goddess of agriculture. The soil is prepared for the cultivation of the new crop. In some homes the ritual of sowing and sprouting of barley in small pots is observed.

Durga is a symbol of woman power and also of emancipation and self-reliance. Simultaneously, Durga is portrayed as being beautiful and bejewelled - an enchantress (sur-muni mohini) or one who can distract even a confirmed ascetic. She is perceived also as a dominating and all-subjugating force.

Durga's most popular image is that of the Mother Goddess. As Mother of the Universe, Durga is all-pervasive. She is Jagdamba, the mother of the world. She is benevolent, loving, selfless, sacrificing, forgiving and full of concern equally for all her children. Like a good and kind mother, she cares equally for all her children, good or bad. Idols of the goddess for the Durga Puja festival are made from chunks of earth collected from the entire locality. The most important chunk of earth for this comes from the commercial sex workers' courtyard. Ma Durga's image remains incomplete and is considered not worthy of puja if this component is found missing.

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See also: Durga, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)