DURGA

From Verul - Ellora

DURGA.

Though the wife of Siva, she acted as an ordinary woman, and manifested womanly virtues; as Durga she was a most powerful warrior, and appeared on earth, under many names, for the destruction of demons who were obnoxious to gods and men.

She obtained the name Durga because she slew an asura named Durga, the name of the goddess being the feminine form of the demon's name. The " Skanda Purana" gives the following account of this occurrence. Kartikeya, being asked by Agastya, the sage, why his mother was called Durga, says: "A giant named Durga, the son of Ruru, having performed penance in favour of Brahma, obtained his blessing, and grew so mighty that he conquered the three worlds, and dethroned Indra and the other gods. He compelled the wives of the Rishis to sing his praise, and sent the gods from heaven to dwell in the forests, and by a mere nod summoned them to reverence him. He abolished religious ceremonies; Brahmans through fear of him gave up the reading of the Vedas; rivers changed their course; fire lost its energy, and the terrified stars retired from sight. He assumed the shape of the clouds, and gave rain whenever he pleased; the earth, through fear, yielded an abundant harvest, and the trees flowered and gave fruit out of the proper season."

The gods in their distress appealed to Siva. Indra, their king, said, "He has dethroned me!" Surya said, "He has taken my kingdom!" Siva, pitying them, desired Parvati to go and destroy this giant. She, accepting the commission willingly, calmed the fears of the gods, and first sent Kalaratri (Dark Night), a female whose beauty bewitched the inhabitants of the three worlds, to order the demon to restore things to their ancient order. He, however, full of fury, sent his soldiers to lay hold of Kalaratri; but by the breath of her mouth she reduced them to ashes. Durga then sent 30,000 other giants, who were such monsters in size that they covered the surface of the earth. At the sight of these giants, Kalaratri fled to Parvati, followed by the giants. Durga, with 100,000,000 chariots, 120,000,000,000 elephants, 10,000,000 swift-footed horses, and innumerable soldiers, went to fight Parvati, on the Vindhya mountain. As soon as he drew near, Parvati assumed 1000 arms, called to her assistance different beings, and produced a number of weapons from her body (a long list of these is given in the Purana). The troops of the giant poured their arrows on Parvati as she sat on the mountain Vindhya, thick as the drops of rain in a storm; they even tore up trees, mountains, etc., and hurled them at her; in return she threw a weapon which carried away the arms of many of the giants. Durga himself then hurled a flaming dart at the goddess, which she turned aside; another being sent, she stopped it by a hundred arrows. He next aimed an arrow at Parvati's breast; this too she repelled, and two other weapons, a club and a pike. At last coming to close quarters, Parvati seized Durga and set her left foot on his breast, but he, managing to disengage himself, renewed the fight.

Parvati then caused a number of helpers to issue from her body, which destroyed the soldiers of the giants. In return, Durga sent a dreadful shower of hail, the effect of which Parvati counteracted by an instrument called Sosuna. The demon now assumed the shape of an elephant as large as a mountain, and approached the goddess; but she tied his legs, and, with her nails, which were like scimitars, tore him to pieces. He rose again in the form of a buffalo, and with his horns cast stones, trees, and mountains, tearing up the trees by the breath of his nostrils. Parvati then pierced him with her trident; he reeled to and fro, and, renouncing the form of a buffalo, assumed his original body as a giant, with a thousand arms, having a weapon in each. Approaching Parvati, she seized him by his arms, and carried him into the air, whence she threw him to the ground with fearful force. Seeing that the fall had not destroyed him, she pierced him in the breast with an arrow, whereupon blood issued from his mouth in streams, and he died. The gods were delighted at the result, and soon regained their former splendour.