Indian goddess Durga

The Indian spiritual tradition is polytheistic, that is, a worship-based set of gods and goddesses. We will talk about one of them - Durga - in this article.

Meaning of the name

The name worn by the Indian goddess Durga means "invincible". However, it contains much more information than it might seem at first glance. Thus, the syllable "do" means four great demons called asuras. These demons are the personifications of hunger, poverty, suffering and bad habits. "R" in the name of this goddess means illness. And the final syllable "ha" is cruelty, unbelief, sins and other things that are evil. All this is opposed to the goddess Durga. The meaning of her name lies in the victory and overcoming of all this.

In addition, in the sacred scripture of the admirers of Durga "Durga-saptshati" there is a list consisting of one hundred and eight of its names. This suggests that the goddess Durga, whose image is shown above, is not just a goddess, but is the fullness of femininity in a deity. In other words, she is the Great Mother Goddess, the highest manifestation of the divine power in her feminine aspect.

Veneration and Worship

Among the adherents of Hinduism, the goddess Durga is one of the most revered female deities. Myths tell that with her help the legendary Rama defeated the demon lord named Ravana. Krishna also prayed to her, as well as a number of other mythical characters.

Worshipers of the god Vishnu are widely worshiped by Durga. In Shivaism, the goddess Durga is considered to be the wife of Lord Shiva. The devotees of Shaktism consider her Parvati, thus expressing her belief that in the person of Durga the root cause of our world - the world of illusion, matter, forms and names is concentrated.

The appearance of Durga

One of the myths that tell how the goddess Durga appeared is contained in the Markandeya Purana. According to this story, from the mouth of the Hindu trinity-Trimurti (Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu) in the time of anger the fiery sphere came forth. Then the same spheres came out of all other gods and demigods. Slowly they merged into one huge ball of fire and light, which gradually transformed into a radiant and beautiful goddess. Her face is made of the light of Shiva. Rama's hair was woven by Rama's radiance. And the effulgence of Vishnu the goddess Durga owes her own hands. The light of the moon gave her a pair of breasts, and the light of the sun (Indra) - the trunk. The deity of the waters of Varuna rewarded her with her hips, and from the energy of the goddess of the land of Prithvi her buttocks arose. The steps of Durga appeared from the light of Brahma, and the rays of the sun turned into the fingers of her feet. The keepers of the eight sides of the world rewarded her with their fingers. Light Kubera - the god of wealth - gave Durga a nose, and the eyes of the goddess Durga, of which exactly three, appeared from the radiance of the three-headed god of fire Agni. The ears came from the glitter of the deity of the air of Maruta. Similarly, other parts of Durga's body came from the light and radiance of various deities.

Further, the legend tells how all the gods presented Durga with a weapon. For example, Shiva gave her a trident, exactly the same as he owns himself. From Vishnu she got a disk, from Varuna - a shell, from Marut - a bow and arrows. From other gods, she received an ax, sword, shield and many other means of protection and attack.

This whole story shows that the goddess Durga, is a collective image that combines all aspects of divinity, mobilized in opposing evil. This goddess carries within herself the essence of each of the gods and unites them in a common struggle with darkness, affirming the law of the Dharma.

There are other myths that tell about its appearance. They differ in details, but the general concept remains the same - in Durga all divine forces are combined. Therefore, in some texts it is even identified with the Absolute.

Durga in Mythology

Many more or less similar narratives about Durga create its image as a generalization of all divine forces - such is the nature of the mother goddess. According to Indian mythology, a great mother can incarnate in various forms, so that a balance and harmony are established on the earth. Anyway, all the stories about Durga have a common leitmotif - the struggle with the forces of darkness personified in demons. This struggle is a natural for our world of names and forms that exists through the struggle and interaction of opposites. The forces of evil in the world are very powerful, strong, but ultimately they lead to self-destruction. The bright side embodies creativity and progress, but its power is somewhat sluggish and takes time.

The initial advantage, as a rule, is on the side of evil, the forces of which quickly unite and begin to act, breaking the balance. However, then, when the forces of light, personified in the image of a god or a goddess are gradually consolidated, the evil is defeated and the lost balance is restored. The forces of evil are based on such qualities as envy, selfishness, self-interest, power thirst, hatred and violence. Good always consists in nonviolence, self-sacrifice, repentance, love, sacrificial service, and so on.

Spiritual significance of myths about Durga

The opposition of good and evil, according to Hinduism, proceeds continuously, first of all, inside each person. Evil is activated whenever anger arises, hatred, pride, greed appear and attachments are demonstrated. Their opposite is devotion, mercy, compassion, nonviolence willingness to sacrifice their own interests for the sake of others. The image of this struggle within each person represents all the myths about Durga. Thus, they have an important psychological and spiritual dimension and significance, allowing a person to strive to rise and develop, overcoming their bad sides and inclinations.

Durga herself, whose photo icon is below, represents a personification of everything good, right and positive in a person. Therefore, her veneration and strengthening of the prayer-spiritual connection with her allows a person to take root in truth, goodness and justice and develop in the right direction.

Theological significance of Durga

Going from the subjective psychological field to the theological description of this goddess, we must first of all note that it is a symbol of the non-dual existence of consciousness, full of energy. As a great mother, Durga overcomes disharmony, which violates the natural order of things and the course of history. She always wishes everyone good. This fully applies to the demons with whom she fights. The nature of its struggle is such that it leads not to the destruction of vice and not to the punishment of evil entities, but to their internal fundamental transformation. This is illustrated in one of the myths, where Durga explains that if she simply destroyed the demons with her divine power, they would end up in hell, where, tormented, they would end their evolution. But the battle with them on an equal footing led them to the possibility of inheriting a higher rebirth and, in the end, to turn into good beings. This is the transforming energy of the goddess Durga.

Images of Durga

Iconographically, Durga is portrayed as a beautiful woman with eight hands. However, the number of hands can vary and reach even twenty. In them she holds her arms and various religious symbols. The throne for her is most often a tiger or a lion. In general, there is a rather wide variety in the images of Durga. This applies to both the details and the general concept of the icon.

Mantra

The main mantra to the goddess Durga sounds like this: "Om dum Durgaya namaha". There are, however, others. For example, nine different manifestations of Durga are known in the image of the nine goddesses of Navaratri. Each of them also has its own mantra.

Honoring beyond India

The cult of Durga began to spread outside of Hindustan due to the flow of cultural processes in the XX-XXI centuries. Firstly, this is due to the interest in the West that has arisen in the East and exotic spirituality. Its consequence was a huge stream of pilgrims, who eagerly absorbed all forms of Indian religiosity.

The second reason was the flow in the opposite direction, when many Eastern, and Indian including religious teachers and gurus flooded the West, organizing their schools there and asserting the cults of Indian deities. The popularity of yoga is another factor that played an important role in spreading the veneration of Durga. Finally, the interest of Western musicians in Indian music and mantras has also had an impact. A domestic example of this can serve, for example, the track of the RZB - the eyes of the goddess Durga, or the composition of Calm Gothic - Durga.