Tales of Durga

Goddess Durgais as widely worshipped as Vishnu and Shiva. She is the fierce form of Devi who, as Shakti, is considered the personification of universal energy. According to the Devi Bhagavata the Universe is but Her manifestation - and even Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva worrship Her. Durga is worshipped in sixt-four forms as Ambika, Kali, Chamundi, Devi, Uma, etc. The worship of kDurga is supposed to be more than 4,000 years old in India. The names of Uma and Parvati occur in the Taittiriya Aranyaka and the Kena Upanishad. Some Indologists are of the opinion that the figure seated on a lion in the coins of Azes I; the Shaka ruler (c.5 B.C. to A.D.30), represents Ambika or Durga. Durga is worshipped in one form or another in almost every Indian village. This Amar Chitra Katha is based on the Durga-Saptashati of the Markandeya Purana.

Of Related Interest:

Durga : Narrative Art of an 'Independent' Warrior Goddess

Every Woman a Goddess: The Ideals of Indian Art

Mother Goddess as Kali - The Feminine Force in Indian Art

Lakshmi and Saraswati - Tales in Mythology and Art

Parvati the Love Goddess: Tales of Marriage and Devotion in Art and Mythology

Wisdom Goddesses : Mahavidyas and the Assertion of Femininity in Indian Thought

The Divine and Demoniac Mahisha's Heroic Struggle with Durga