Ancient goddess spotlight: Durga

July 23, 7:03 PMWomen's Issues ExaminerJuliette Fretté

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   Goddess Durga fighting buffalo-demon (early 18th c.)

~The inaccessible, unattainable goddess~

The Indic goddess Durga (pronounced der-gah) is a very specific and limited manifestation of exalted femininity. Though she is not particularly friendly or nurturing, but rather aggressive and relatively straightforward, her unique presence without a doubt contributed to ancient notions of balance and divine order.

Known by some as "the inaccessible, unattainable goddess," she appears to be relatively unusual in her one warlike function, yet she does share characteristics with other ancient goddesses worldwide, namely the power, the glory, and the respect. Not to mention her occasional snakes, which have been shown to coil from her arms not unlike ancient Cretan goddess figures, who are often featured topless with snakes encircling their arms.

Still, Durga is but one part of a whole -- a glimmer of the great multifunctional Hindu goddess known as Devi.

An all-consuming deity whose aspects include the dark and the light, Devi's version of Durga is a projection of the fearsome quality of her character. Similar to the chaotic warrior goddess Kali (yet another sliver of Devi), Durga is the other warrior sister, terrifying in her own right. Or rather, she is mostly terrifying to those who challenge the natural order of the universe: namely demons.

In fact, as written in the Devi Mahatmya, the vanquishing goddess derived her name from a major battle when Devi was called forth to extinguish a rather persistent demon known as Durga, as no other god had succeeded in destroying him.

Personifying but one of her terrifying aspects, the original goddess Devi rode atop a tiger armed with weapons in order to confront the "anti-god". Attacking the creature herself, she caused it to transform from its monstrous expression into a more benign being: a harmless buffalo.

Having neutralized the offending entity, the victorious goddess named one of her warrior avatars after the defeated demon, calling herself Durga.

Sources:
The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky (2002)
Whence the Goddesses: A Source Book by Miriam Robbins Dexter (1990)

Other articles of interest:

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Juliette Frette