Durga or Maha Durga : Divine mother goddess in Hinduism, Hindu belief
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Durga or Maha Durga : Durga is a malignant form of Devi, the Mother Goddess.
(Devi's other common forms are Kali and Parvati.) According to myth,
the gods could not defeat the demon Mahisha, who had taken on the
form of a great buffalo. They begged Shiva for his assistance, and
Shiva advised all the gods to release their shaktis (spiritual prowess)
locked within their bodies.
The
shaktis of the gods emerged in female form. These goddesses fused
together in blinding light from which arose a magnificent goddess
with many arms. She was as beautiful as she was deadly.
The
gods called this goddess Durga, the invincible one, and they armed
her with their weapons. Thus armed, Durga rode to the top of a mountain
on a lion. In a bloody battle, she destroyed Mahisha and his army
of demons.
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