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 Goddess
Durga represents the power of the
Supreme Being that preserves moral order and righteousness in the
creation. The Sanskrit word Durga means a fort or a place that is
protected and thus difficult to reach. Durga, also called Divine Mother,
protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying evil forces such as
selfishness, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, and ego.
The worship of Goddess Durga is very popular among Hindus. She is
also called by many other names, such as Parvati, Ambika, and Kali In
the form of Parvati, She is known as the divine spouse of Lord Shiva and
is the mother of Her two sons, Ganesha and Karttikeya, and daughter
Jyoti. There are many temples dedicated to Durga's worship in India.
In Her images, Goddess Durga is shown in a female form, wearing red
clothes. She has eighteen arms, carrying many objects in Her hands. The
red color symbolizes action and the red clothes signify that She is
always busy destroying evil and protecting mankind from pain and
suffering caused by evil forces. Following is the symbolism associated
with Goddess Durga:
A tiger symbolizes unlimited power. Durga riding a tiger
indicates that She possesses unlimited power and uses it to
protect virtue and destroy evil. The eighteen arms of Durga
signify that She possesses combined power of the nine
incarnations of Lord Vishnu that have appeared on the earth at
different times in the past. The tenth incarnation, the Kalkin
(a man on a white horse), is still to come. Thus, Goddess Durga
represents a united front of all Divine forces against the
negative forces of evil and wickedness.
The sound that emanates from a conch is the sound of the
sacred syllable AUM, which is said to be the sound of creation.
A conch in one of the Goddess's hands signifies the ultimate
victory of virtue over evil and righteousness over
unrighteousness.
Other weapons in the hands of Durga such as a mace, sword,
disc, arrow, and trident convey the idea that one weapon cannot
destroy all different kinds of enemies. Different weapons must
be used to fight enemies depending upon the circumstances. For
example, selfishness must be destroyed by detachment, jealousy
by desirelessness, prejudice by self-knowledge, and ego by
discrimination.
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