22 October 2001, 12:15am IST
M N CHATTERJEE.
The autumn festival of durga puja commemorates the victory of goddess durga over the buffalo-demon mahishasura and celebrates her annual visit to the terrestrial home of her parents. the central image of the mother goddess is, more or less, in iconographic conformity to her description in devi mahatmyam, popularly known as chandipath, which is recited during the puja. flanked by goddesses lakshmi, saraswati, kartikeya and ganesha, the 10-armed embodiment of shakti has a weapon in each hand, with lion as her mount, and the spear thrust into the chest of the demon in human form, half-emerged from the carcass of a slain buffalo. durga or shakti is the militant manifestation of parvati, lord shiva’s consort. according to the skanda-purana she derives her name from the demon durga who she slayed after assuming the form of a warrior goddess, at shiva’s bidding. according to markandeya purana, durga assumed 10 forms to overpower sumbha and nisumbha, two demons who were the scourge of the world. as dasabhuja or the 10-armed, she slew a part of their army; as singhavahini or mounted on a lion, she fought with raktabija; as mahishasuramardini she slew sumbha who appeared in the form of a buffalo, as jagaddhatri or mother of the world she defeated the demons, as kali, she killed raktabija, as muktakesi or with flowing hair, she defeated another army of the demons, as tara she slew sumbha, the demon in his true form; as chhinnamastaka or the headless, she killed nisumbha and as jagadgauri she acknowledged the greetings of the gods. in the vishnu-purana, vishnu seeks her help to delude a demon king who threatens the infant krishna. she helps lord vishnu in overpowering the demons madhu and kaitabha. she is best known as mahishasuramardini, the killer of the buffalo-demon, who had the boon of invincibility, and who oppressed the gods. durga challenged the asura or demon. shiva gave her his trident. vishnu his chakra or disc, kubera or the god of wealth, a club and indra, the chief of devas or gods, his thunderbolt. with lion as her mount she killed the demon despite the deceptive changes in his appearances. some of the traits of durga’s persona may be perceived in the context of certain hindu philosophical ideas. the devi mahatmyam refers to her identification with shakti or power, maya or illusion and prakriti or nature. as shakti, she epitomises divine power and surpasses the gods in what is considered to be a male preserve. as the personification of maya, in the madhu-kaitabha legend she deludes the demons so that vishnu can overpower them. the armour given to her by vishnu is the elusive maya which makes her invisible. maya as a complex concept can be a positive force when resorted to by the deity as a necessary aid to subdue the evil elements. the destruction of evil forces seems to be a kind of leela or game for her. as prakriti, she is inseparably connected with the physical world. according to the scriptures, she personifies earth itself and stands for cosmic stability, sustains the creatures of this earth and provides the food for all, from her own body. the cult of the sakti pithas, is taken to be a demonstration of the hindu belief that the earth is a goddess. interestingly, though durga is created by the gods because of their failure to meet the cosmic crisis precipitated by the rampaging demons, she fights for the divine cause, by creating female helpers from herself such as kali and the other deities known as matrikas or mothers. as the repository of supreme power, she reverses the traditional role of women. the bengali ramayana by krittivasa, speaks of the customary practice of worshipping durga in the spring. but, rama badly needed her blessings to be able to invade lanka and rescue sita from ravana’s clutches. he, therefore, worshipped durga at autumn time, and thus started the autumnal festival of the puja, which came to be known as akal bodhan or untimely worship. vijaya dashami or dussehra is celebrated in many parts of india to mark the victory of rama over ravana. the battle between durga and the buffalo-demon symbolises the struggle between the spiritual urge and the animal instinct in man, and the dogged resistance of the demons represents the persistence of the unwholesome influences in our life. the devi’s ultimate triumph signifies hope and joy.
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