Durga: The Adi- Shakti. Durga, the most highly worshipped goddess of Indian masses held in alike reverence in all sectarian lines, even Buddhist and Jain, in her form as Durga or in one of her many transforms - the ferocious Tara of Buddhists or the nurturing mother Ambika of Jains, is the ultimate of divine power capable of eradicating every evil and every wrong, and nurturing and sustaining life in whichever form it exists. Not a mere epiphenomenal expansion of a visual culture that the Indian land is known to have now for millenniums, or a disembodied divine authority sustaining in believing minds, Durga is perceived as a dynamic presence with a form, or rather in any form engaged in eradicating the dark and everything adverse to life and sustaining good and righteous. The Puranic tradition inclines to venerate Durga as just one of the names of Devi, the cosmic Divine Female who created, sustained and destroyed. Despite such preference of the Puranas for the term 'Devi' for defining the overall vision of the cosmic Divine Female even initially Durga acquires among Devi's other manifestations a distinction denotative of a class which is not the same as epithets like Jagad- mata, Jagadamba, Vishveshwari, or whatever. The term Durga brings to mind a specific image which these epithets do not, perhaps because they are used with some kind of commonness for Devi's all forms. This in the Mahabharata like early texts and sculptures of the early centuries of the Common Era is the Durga's role. Quite significant as it is, the Devi- Mahatmya uses the term 'Durga', as it uses the term 'Devi', in its all sections devoted to either of Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati, which indicates that these are as much the Durga's manifestations, as they are the Devi's. The text perceives Devi primarily as the redeemer of 'durgam' - the most difficult, a situation, act, or objective, and hence, Devi is Durga - the redeemer of 'durgam', in her every aspect. In the 'Viniyoga' - the fore- verse or the introductory couplet of the second Canto, the Devi- Mahatmya asserts this supremacy of Durga metaphysically too. It alludes to Durga as 'Durga bijam', that is, Durga, the seed. All major 'Mantras' - mystic syllables, or hymns pregnant with mystic powers, have their 'bija- mantras', their essential pith out of which the related mantra's body evolves. Accordingly, the term 'Durga bijam' suggests that the text perceives Durga as the basic essence of the Devi's all manifestations. Thus, the Devi- Mahatmya might be seen as considering Devi and Durga as one, and this same reflects in most of the commentaries of the Devi- Mahatmya part of the Markandeya Purana that have often preferred calling this section of the text as 'Durga- Saptashati'. 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This statement has two implications, one that she preceded not only Vishnu but the great Trinity, and the other, that she was Vishnu's 'shakti' by invocation and by her favour, not by Vishnu's authority. Thus, by whatever name, the Great Goddess preceded all forms, their creator, sustainer and destroyer, the time that spanned them and the space where they evolved. Ironically, sage Markandeya sought to subordinate her to Vishnu as his 'shakti' but overwhelming him, or rather the entire Trinity, the goddess bowed them to her subordination. In the tradition gods, even Trinity, are often seen bowing to her in devotion but Durga is never seen bowing to any, divine or demonic, justifying her name 'Jaya'. It is only the date of her earliest appearance in a medium, text, or iconography, by which her antiquity is determined. When in the eleventh Canto of the Devi- Mahatmya Devi declares that in the twenty- eighth eon of Vaivasvata Manvantara she would incarnate and kill the demon Durgam and assume Durga as her name, sage Markandeya does not suggest the period of Durga's emergence as posterior to the period of his text. The concurrent age is Vaivasvata Manvantara but it is only by very complicated astronomical calculations that one can know when exactly its twenty- eighth eon passed, perhaps millions of years ago, and hence, it is not known when Devi assumed Durga as her name. Thus, mythically the Great Goddess manifested as Durga in the twenty- eighth eon of this Manvantara, but it is simply a period beyond human calculation. It seems that the Devi's form as Durga, a goddess of battlefield always in action, as nurturing mother or as avenging warrior engaging in battle one demon or other, has been conceived in stark contrast to the passive non- operating votive image of the Mother Goddess of Indus settlements, and the nature- deities of the 'Yajna' of the Rig- Veda, perhaps around the same time when the other two cults were in greater prevalence. Excavations of Indus or Harappan sites reveal no signs of a warrior goddess, and barring a few contentions, such as makes S. Ramachandra Rao who contends in his Durga- Kosha that Durga is one of the goddesses that the Rig- Veda enumerates, broadly Durga is not considered a goddess from the Rig- Vedic pantheon. Whatever the merit of such claims and counter- claims in regard to Durga's position in the Rig- Veda, there is absolute unanimity in regard to Durga's presence in the Mahabharata, the great epic datable broadly to sixth- fifth century B. C. The Mahabharata lauds Durga, by her name as Durga, not Devi, as Tribhuwaneshvari - the goddess that ruled all three worlds. Though the Mahabharata does not use the term 'durgam', which is repeatedly used in the Devi- Mahatmya comprising the primary contextual basis for her name as Durga, in the Mahabharata too, the Great Goddess is commemorated in situations which are 'durgam'. The Mahabharata does not confound Durga with Devi as the Devi- Mahatmya seems to sometimes do. The great epic alludes to her in all clarity and with absolute distinction as 'Devim Durgam Tribhuwaneshvari' - goddess Durga, the ruler of three worlds, and at another place, as 'Parajayaya shatrunam Durgastotra mudiraye' - commemoration of Durga Stotra defeats enemies. Open Digital Education. A repository of tutorials and visualizations to help students learn Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering basics. All india kshtriya federation is a federate organisation of all the kshtriya/rajput registered organisations of india. Invalid hint answer,only character and space are allowed. Your Answer *: NGO Details : Invalid Name of VO/NGO,only character and space are allowed. They decide to disguise as cook, tutor, attendant etc. Before they enter the city of Virata, Yudhishthara along with his brothers commemorate 'Devim Durgam Tribhuwaneshvari', obviously for the accomplishment of their errand. Again, just when the Great War is in the offing and the forces of Kauravas and Pandavas are arrayed in the battlefield, Krishna commands Arjuna to commemorate with pure heart 'Durga- stotra' - hymns dedicated to Durga, for 'Parajayaya shatrunam', that is, for the defeat of the enemy. Arjuna commemorates Durga and then she appears in the sky and grants Pandavas the boon of victory. In 'Devim Durgam Tribhuwaneshvari' the Mahabharata uses the term 'Devim' as Durga's defining epithet, not like the Devi- Mahatmya where 'Durga' is Devi's epithet. Notably, it is Krishna, Vishnu's incarnation, who perceives in Durga the ultimate power, obviously even beyond Vishnu, to defeat enemies. Durga, multi- armed, as also normal two- armed, carrying various weapons in her hands and sometime crammed into her coiffure, is with absolute clarity the goddess of battlefield. This Devi- form, avenging tormenters and wrong- doers, was essentially the ultimate goddess of battlefield and represented iconically the Mahabharata's Durga who ruled all three worlds and defeated enemies in the battlefield. The goddess is seen still carrying in her hands the instruments of annihilation, but is also seen carrying in her left arm a child. Pratapaditya Pal has rightly perceived it as the phase when the avenging Goddess had synthesized into her being also the 'nurturing Mother': The absolute vision of Durga, the Universal Mother and the Ultimate Protector. Perhaps for greater dimensional breadth or for unity between different sectarian groups sage Markandeya first alternated Durga with Devi, a far more inclusive and somewhat abstract term, and then split her form into her three manifestations: Mahalakshmi. Mahasaraswati. all multi- armed, all carrying in their various hands instruments of destruction, and all conceived with large breasts full of milk and motherly attributes, representing Durga's warlike bearing as also her motherhood. These new forms, viz., Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati, were more in line with the 'Tri- murti' cult. However, the Devi- Mahatmya's models of Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati were different from both. Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati seem to have been modeled after Durga, and Mahakali, is textually too, a transform of the principal goddess of the battlefield, Devi or Durga. The term 'Devata' does not denote a specific divinity because of such Devatas' plurality. Devi's singularity makes the term 'Devi' synonymous to Durga. Even in Puranic tradition the Devi's Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati manifestations seem to have failed to long retain at least their Durga- like martial role. Mahalakshmi, as Lakshmi and Mahasaraswati, as Saraswati, shed finally their warlike bearing and join Lord Vishnu's and Brahma's households with roles completely different from what they had in their proto Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati forms. Whatever about the early prevalence of the cult of a Kali- like ferocious goddess, the earliest known allusions to Parvati are from the Puranas, though in a brief span, from around seventh century onwards, there crops up not only a huge body of myths but also her numerous icons mostly representing her as engaged in 'panchagni- tapa' - performing penance in the midst of five fires. As suggests 'Parajayaya shatrunam Durgastotra mudiraye', people around the period of the Mahabharata invoked her by reciting her 'stotra' - commemorative verses.
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