Durga means “impenetrable
like a mountain fort.” As Durga, she is in her punishing or threatening
mode. This is the darker form of Shiva’s consort. Lord Shiva is in charge of
destruction, which he carries out with the help of his material energy, Durga.
Her carrier may be a tiger or a lion. She may
have four or eight arms, and holds knives and
severed heads. With her other hands, she makes a
gesture of “Fear not,” and grants boons. She may
also hold a cup, a wheel, a conch shell, a bell,
an arrow, a trident, a snake, a sword, a club,
and a water pot. Snakes and
scorpions adorn her body. She may ride a tiger, breathe fire, and wear a
garland of human skulls and snakes. She has
blazing eyes and is often depicted with her long
tongue protruding.
Durga is
also known as Kali, Parvati, and Uma. Durga is sometimes seen as a
beautiful woman. She has a yellow complexion. Durga means “impenetrable
like a mountain fort.” As Durga, she is in her punishing or threatening
mode. This is the darker form of Siva’s consort. Lord Siva is in charge of
destruction, which he carries out with the help of his material energy,
Durga. Her carrier may be a tiger or a lion. She may be seen seated in a
yogic posture on a lotus throne. She is also seen carrying weapons to
destroy the demons. Durga is often worshiped in her own temples. She is
known as the shakti energy of the Lord and is powerful. She is often
worshiped to attain material boons.
There are nine forms of Durga. She may have four or eight
arms, and holds knives and severed heads. With her other hands, she makes
a gesture of “Fear not,” and grants boons. She may also hold a cup, a
wheel, a conch shell, a bell, an arrow, a trident, a snake, a sword, a
club, and a water pot. She is also called
Mahishasura-mardini, because she killed the buffalo demon. It is said that
Durga took birth to kill Mahishasura, because he had received a boon from
Brahma that neither man, woman, nor animal could kill
him. In the form of Chamundi she
has a terrifying aspect and wears a garland of skulls. Snakes and
scorpions adorn her body. Chamundi was created to kill the demons Chanda
and Munda. Kali
is a fierce form of Lord Siva’s consort. She may ride a tiger, breathe
fire, and wear a garland of human skulls and snakes. Kali means “black,”
and thus her skin is black. In this form, she is also known as Bhadrakali
or Mahakali. She has blazing eyes and is often depicted with her long
tongue protruding. She wears snakes around her neck and carries weapons in
each of her ten hands (sometimes she is depicted with only eight hands).
If she has eight hands, she carries a bow, an arrow, a disc, a sword, a
shield, a noose, a spear, and a conch. If she has ten hands, she also
carries a skull and a moon disc.
DEITIES
Krishna
