Durga, the Divine Mother

Hinduism Concepts

by Jayaram V

In Hinduism, Durga is a form of Devi, the supreme goddess, also identified with Parvati. As a mother goddess, she is frequently called Maa Durga and is sometimes referred to as the mother of Kartik, Ganesh, Lakshmi, and Saraswati (in some traditions she is also an incarnation of Saraswati or Lakshmi).


Durga in the Hindu tradition

According to the narrative from the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana, the form of Durga was created as a warrior goddess to fight the demon Mahishasura. His father Rambha, king of the demons, once fell in love with a water buffalo, and Mahishasur was born out of this union. He is therefore able to change between human and buffalo form at will (mahisha means "buffalo"). Through intense prayers to Brahma, Mahishasura had the boon that he could not be defeated by any man or god. By virtue of this power, he invaded the gods, who went for help to the supreme trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra), but Mahishashura defeated all of the gods including the trinity themselves. He unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds.

Eventually, since only a woman could kill him, the trinity bestowed a dazzling beam of energy upon Uma/Parvati, the wife of Shiva, transforming her into the goddess, Durga. Her form was blindingly beautiful with 3 lotus-like, blood-bordered eyes, ten powerful hands, hair in the form of black pearls, golden glow from her skin. Her face was sculpted by Shiva, torso by Indra, breasts by Chandra (the moon), teeth by Brahma, bottom by the Earth, thighs and knees by Varuna (wind), and her three eyes by Agni (fire).

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 white fierce lion. On the end of the 8th & 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 toungue 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 strength, reflects the warrior aspect of the goddess, embodying a traditional male role. But she is also strikingly beautiful, and initially Mahishasura tries to marry her. Other incarnations include Annapurna and Karunamayi (karuna = kindness).

The Worship of Durga

The 4 day Durga Puja is the biggest annual festival in Bengal and other 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 Dashami (East and South India), Dashain (Nepal) or Dussehra (North India) - these words literally mean "the tenth" (day), vijayA means "of-victory". In Kashmir she is worshipped as shaarika (the main temple is in Hari Parbat in Srinagar).





Durga Puja

Durga Puja is the biggest festival of Bengali Hindus. It is also called Akalbodhan, Vijaya Dashami, Dashain, and Dussehra. The actual period of the worship however may be over the preceding nine days Navaratri or five days ("Sasthi", "Saptami", "Asthami", "Nabami" & "Vijaya Dashami").

Durga Puja in Bengal

Modern symbolic depiction of Durga.The worship of Durga (Durgapuja) in the autumn (Shôrot) is the year's largest Hindu festival in West Bengal, Orissa, Tripura, Assam and other parts of East India as well as in Bangladesh. Durga Puja is also celebrated in Nepal and Bhutan according to local traditions and variations. Puja means "worship," and Durga's Puja is celebrated from the sixth to tenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Ashshin, which is the sixth month in the Bengali calendar. Occasionally however, due to shifts in the lunar cycle relative to the solar months, it may also be held in the following month, Kartik. In the Gregorian calendar, these dates correspond to the months of September/October.






Bangladesh, with its 10% Hindu population celebrates the puja in many temples, an estimated 18,000 puja mandaps set up across the country, including more than 140 pujas taking place in the capital Dhaka alone. The Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad is one of the largest bodies overseeing the annual celebrations across the country. Unlike in India where politicians usually keep a low profile at the pujas, in Bangladesh Durga Puja is a major occasion for leading politicians of the major political parties to to reach out to their Hindu constituents. Official statements are made by the President, Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, and leaders of the political parties are seen at the largest Durga Puja mandaps such as those at Dhakeshwari Mandir and Rama Krishna Mission. The last day of Durga Puja, Bijaya Dasami is a national holiday in Bangladesh, and all government offices and most private companies remain closed.

Among the diaspora

Across the world, Durga Puja serves as a community gathering and a connection to roots for the widespread Bengali diaspora. Tokyo has nearly ten Pujas, and North America has several hundred. Some of the oldest Durga Puja celebrations outside Bengal have been taking place in the United Kingdom for over seventy years. In recent years, Bengali communities in Australia, France and Germany have also started annual Durga Puja celebrations.

In the Middle East, restrictions by local governments on minority religious practices have prevented many Bengali communities from celebrating. The most consistent Durga Puja in the Gulf region has been celebrated in Muscat, Oman, since 1982. The permanent venue for the annual celebration since 1994 has been the Hindu temple in Sohar, in old Muscat.



Durga puja mood starts off with the Mahishasuramardini' – a radio program that has been popular with the community since the 1950s. While earlier it used to be conducted live, later a recorded version began to be broadcast. Bengalis traditionally wake up at 4 in the morning on Mahalaya day to listen to the enchanting voice of of the late Birendra Kishore Bhadra and the late Pankaj Kumar Mullick on All India Radio. as they recite hymns from the scriptures 'Devi Mahatmyam

During the week of Durga Puja, in the entire state of West Bengal as well as in large enclaves of Bengalis everywhere, life comes to a complete standstill. In play grounds, traffic circles, ponds -- wherever space may be available -- elaborates structures called pandals 'are set up, many with nearly a year's worth of planning behind them. The word pandal means a temporary structure, made of bamboo and cloth, which is used as a temporary temple for the purpose of the puja. While some of the pandals are simple structures, others are often elaborate works of art with themes that rely heavily on history, current affairs and sometimes pure imagination.'






Durga Puja in other parts of India











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Source: Adapted from different articles from the Wikipedia under the G.N U Free Docmentation License.