Durga – Exploring Images of the Devi in Rajasthani Art

Did you know that Goddess Durga reigns supreme and is the divine feminine as Devi in Hinduism? She is a divine mother fondly called Mata. The legend of Durga appears as an avatar of Parvati, who is angry, ferocious and has eight to ten arms, holding weapons and skulls, riding a lion or tiger. She is a warrior goddess who kills Mahishasura whom the male Gods were unable to control. Durga is a unified form of all Gods. Let’s know more about this much revered Goddess through depictions in the art of Rajasthan, India. 

Durga – The legend

The mythology of Durga is described in the Devi Mahatmya, a part of the Markandeya Purana from the 4th to 6th century. There is anothee version in the Shiva Purana which says Lord Shiva invoked Durga from his left half to create and together both created Shivaloka.  As per the Devi Mahatmya, Mahishasura, son of demon Rambha unleashed terror on earth and defeated the Gods. The Gods then approached Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Together they created a woman on whom they bestowed weapons and she was Durga. Durga as Mahishasuramardini is one of the manifestations of the Divine mother whose primary aim is to combat demons who threaten the cosmos. She has many arms and each has a different weapon. She rides on a lion and defeats the buffalo demon Mahishasura who has been given a boon that no-one can defeat him except a woman. The demon’s entire army was challenged by Durga. Mahishasura attacked Durga as a buffalo-demon whom Durga kills with a trisula (trident) after a fierce battle.

The image of Durga as Mahisasuramardini is very much seen in art of India. A sculpture in the Dallas Museum made of phyllite from Rajasthan shows her standing having vanquished Mahishasura.

Amulets are worn in India to protect and ward off evil energies. Shown here is a silver amulet from Rajasthan where Durga is shown with her weapons and emblems.

Durga – Manifestations

The nine manifestations of Durga or Navadurga are worshipped during Navaratri in the month of Ashwin of the Hindu calendar; Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta,Skandamata,Katyayani,Kaalratri,Mahagauri and Siddhidaatri. Durga is associated with two mountain ranges, the Himalayas in the north and the VIndhyas in central India. She is Paravati in the Himalayas; daughter of the mountains. Durga images have been found in Afghanistan (ancient Gandhara) and also in Tibet. 

The Devi Mahatmya has three episodes. In the first Durga is the sleep state or yoga nidra of Lord Vishnu. The demons Madhu and Kaitabha are threatening to destroy the cosmos. Brahma calls upon the Goddess to emerge and she comes out through Vishnu’s eyes, mouth, nose, arms and chest. Thus Vishnu becomes awake and vanquishes the demons. The second episode is the story of Durga as Mahisasuramardini. The male Gods have been defeated by demons or asuras whose leader is Mahishasura. A strong rage or the tejas of all the Gods takes the form of a woman, Durga who rides lion and is armed with weapons given by the Gods and slays the buffalo-demon, Mahisasura. In the third episode too, the Gods are defeated by the demons or asuras Chanda and Munda and Shumbha and Nishumbha. This time the Devi or Durga emerges from the skin of Parvati who is the consort of Lord Shiva and during the battle from her forehead emerges Kali with a tongue dripping with blood and who wears a necklace of skulls and who finishes off the evil beings. The Devi Mahatmya is a religious text which describes the Devi as the supreme power and creator of the universe.  This text is used by Shakta groups (who worship the Devi as supreme), Vaishnavas, Shaivas and others.

Durga in other texts

In the 10th or 11th century another text the Devi Bhagavata Purana and the Shakta poem Soundaryalahiri became important. Thus Devi or Durga as Lord Shiva’s consort, Mahishasuramardini, cosmic power, divine feminine became an important part of Indian religious tradition and culture.

The Devi Bhagavata Purana looks upon the Devi or Shakti as the creator of the Universe and as the Brahman or ultimate reality. This text celebrates the divine feminine and is a mix of mythology, metaphysics and about the conflict between Gods and asuras or good and evil. Durga is described as the eternal truth, the nirguna or formless, saguna, with form, the unchanging reality or purusha and the changing reality or prakriti and the very soul of living beings.

Soundaryalahiri is a poem written by Adi Shankara and sage Pushpadanta about the beauty and grace of Goddess Parvati. It is tantra text book with instructions about pujas, offerings and various yantras.

The matrikas are seven female divinities, together called saptamatrikas; Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshwari, Indrani, Kaumari,Varahi and Chamundi. They assist Lord Shiva to battle Andhakusura and assist the devi in their fight with demons.

Forms of the Devi

Durga is Sachika in the Jodhpur area of Rajasthan. She is called Sharika in Kashmir, Meenakshi in the south, Kamakhya in the east. All over India local goddesses are identified with Durga. She is Chandi in Punjab and Haryana. In Kerala she is Bhagavati and worshipped as Bathukamma in Telangana. The earliest evidence for the feminine aspect of God appears in the Rigveda as Devi suktam. Hymns to the Devi or Goddess appear in the epic Mahabharata too. By the 3rd or 4th century, the devi became an important aspect of Hindu tradition. The mahadvidyas are a group of ten aspects of Adi Parashakti (Durga) in Hinduism. The mahavidyas include Buddhist goddesses too and are important aspect in Shaktism; and include Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala.

Every year during the month of Ashwin(which falls during late September and early October),Durga Puja is celebrated in many Indian states especially West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Bihar, Tripura, Meghalaya and Jharkhand. Durga Puja celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga over the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. She is worshipped as destroyer of evil and protector of her devotees with great pomp and festivities.

References –

1. Pal, Pratapaditya,ed./Goddess Durga : the power and the glory, Mumbai: Marg Publications,2009.
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devi_Mahatmya(accessed 23.10.2023) 
3. https://deccanviews.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/durga-in-indian-art-some-miniature-and-sculpture-depictions/(accessed (22.10.2023)