Durga

(“inaccessible, impassable”) A particular
form of the Hindu Mother Goddess,
although the name is often used as a
more general title for the mother goddess in her fierce and powerful form. As
depicted in images and pictures, Durga
rides on a lion and holds in her eight
hands the weapons of all the gods. Both
of these features correspond to the
description of the great goddess in the
Devimahatmya, the earliest and most
important mythic text used for the
worship of the Goddess as the
supreme divine power. The general
identification of Durga with this great
Goddess is underscored by the
Devimahatmya’s other common name,
the Durgasaptashati (“The 700 [verses]
on Durga”). As a form of the great
Goddess, Durga is a major divinity in the
Hindu pantheon and in modern Hindu
life. The eighth day in the waxing and
waning halves of the lunar month are
considered sacred to her, and her rites
are practiced on those days. Her most
important festivals are the Nine Nights
(Navaratri), which occur in both the
spring and the fall. In each of these festivals Durga is worshiped in her nine
forms (Navadurga), one on each
consecutive night. The variety of
goddesses as which she is worshiped
again shows us how Durga is conceived
as the embodiment of the Goddess in all
her forms.