Interpretations of Durga

Here are some rare art representation of the Goddess.

The first is a batik print of Durga Mahisasuramardhini or Durga, the Slayer of the demon Mahisa.

The second is a Cambodian sculpture of Durga from the fifth century. Though almost identical to many other statues from Cambodia from the Surywavarman, Jeyavarman era, the Goddess stands on a buffalo head, thus confirming Her identity as Durga. The buffalo is symbolic of the stubborn, impure human ego or the demon Mahisa.

The final image is a Western interpretation of the Devi. Sadly, they have decided to paint an aged representation of the Goddess, most probably because She is such a powerful being. In reality, Durga is said to be a virgin of not more than 16 years old but born fully grown when She was created by the other gods to save the world.

Maa Mokambika

My only reason ever wanting to go to India is to visit the temple of this great goddess in Kollur,, near Mnaglore in Karnataka state. Of course I wish to go to Tiruptahy and worship Lord Balaji and go to Chidambaam and see Lord Nataraja, or go to Madurai to see the Goddess with fish-like eyes - Meenakshi Amman, go to Trichy to see ord Lambhodara and Palani to see Lord Skanda but... if given a choice, this temple will be my first choice.

But as one friend remarked, the great Goddess has to will it first before one gets the darshan or opprotunity to worship her. It obviously hasn't happened for me yet. All in due time.

Many years ago, when the movie Thai Mookambikga was shown, the devotional songs in the movie could reduce one to tears, especially the song Thaye Mookambigay, jagan maye lohambikay...

Devi Mookambika is the supreme incarnation of goddess Mahalakshmi and here's the puranic origins of these beautiful Mother.

'Kollur Mookambika temple has been attracting pilgrims from all over India in large numbers. A village situated in Kundapur Taluk of Karnataka, about 140 KMs from Mangalore, Kollur is surrounded by thickly wooded hills and has a natural formation resembling the Sri Chakra. It is said that this temple was constructed around 2000 years back.

Tradition has it that this is one of the seven shrines created by Parashurama, the axe wielding sage. It is significant to note that of these seven, Kollur is the only shrine devoted to Devi, while the six others are devoted to Lord Shiva, Vinayaka and Muruga.

The temple is situated in the banks of the river, Sauparnika. It is believed that it is in the banks of this river that Suparna, a vulture - Garuda - performed penance and attained salvation and hence the name Sauparnika. Kola Maharishi, a sage was performing austerities in Aranyapuram, in the banks of Sauparnika. The place was known as Kolapuram, after him. He found a swayambu lingam and was offering ablutions and was worshipping it regularly.

Now, there was an ogre who lived in the place, called Kamsasuran. He was performing penance for being invested with the boon of immortality. The celestials were afraid that if this boon was granted to him, he would become uncontrollable and his misdeeds could not be stopped by anyone. They then prayed to Devi that such a boon should not be granted to him. Devi, along with Veerabadra, Ganapathi and Lord Shiva, rendered him dumb so that the boon could not be asked for at all. Mooka is Sanskrit for a dumb person. It was thus that Kamsasuran became Mookasuran.

Devi then slayed Mookasura with her Chakra - the divine disc - on the midnight of Jyeshta Sukla Ashtami. Because she slayed Mookasura, she is known as Mookambika. Her divine energy then became one with the swayambu lingam worshipped by Kola Maharishi. The Lingam is the main deity in the temple, and is known as Jyothirlingam. This Joythirlingam is in front of the idol of Mookambika. A golden line divides the Lingam into two unequal parts. The golden line could be seen only when the light from the sun is reflected and pointed at the lingam.

The left part of the Lingam is larger than the right part. The comparatively smaller right half is said to represent the Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as the conscious static principles.

The left portion, which is larger, represents the consorts of the Trinity, Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Parvathi, the creative energy. According to the tradition, Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and their consorts Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Parvathi emerged out of it.

Adi Sankara installed the image of Mookambika, made of metal, behind the Lingam. Devi is seen with three eyes and four arms, with the divine disc and conch in her hands. The roof of the temple is made of copper and is gold crested. Adi Sankara is said to have composed his Soundharya Lahari when he was here.

There are the Veerabadra and Gopalakrishna sannadhis on the northeast and on the southeast, there is the sannadhi for Subramanya. The sannadhis of Panchamuka Ganapathi, Nanjundeswara and Partheswara are situated on the west and there is a sannadhi for Hanuman on the northwest. The gnana peetam on which Adi Sankara used to sit in meditation is found inside the sanctum sanctorum. The sukla theertham, agni theertham and govindha theertham surround the temple.

Decoration is the only rite that is performed to the idol of Mookambika. All the other rituals like abhisheka and aradana are performed only to the Lingam. The theertham for abisheka is brought from the Sauparnika river.

The sanctum sanctorum is opened at 5.30 a.m. All the regular rites would be completed by 9.00 a.m. and prasada with sandalwood paste, theertham and flowers would be distributed. The after-noon puja (or the uchchi kala puja) would be started by 11.30 a.m. and would end by 1.00 p.m. The temple is opened again at 3.00 p.m. The deepa-aradana is performed at 7.00 p.m. with naivedhya. In addition to this, another rite known as Seeveli is performed during the evening puja. The priest - archaka - carries the utsava moorthi is carried on his head and goes around the prakara thrice. This rite is known as Seeveli.'

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Symbolism of Durga

This brings us to that ever-present question amongst modern Hindus and non-HIndus - why worship so many gods and goddesses?

Simple, Hinduism makes it easy for its believers to approach the Divine. It allows you to pick and choose which aspect of the Almighty you are attracted to. Ganesha stands for the gentle strength of god, Skanda stands for valour and steadfastness, Hanuman for unwavering devotion, Lakshmi for prosperity, Saraswathy for wisdom etc.

Durga stands for the combined energies of all the aspects of the Divine. For this you will have to read Her origins and the reason for Her being. I will post that later. For this posting, here's an excerpt from Bansi Pandit who explains the symbolism of Goddess Durga, from www.koausa.org

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.

Durga

Durga, the unreachable One. That's is what the Supreme Mother's name means. Quite daunting actually if you think about it, as she is said to be the most difficult of goddesses to reach. The Sanskrit word 'durga' is said to mean 'unattainable'. However, as a feminine energy and a mother figure, She isn't the detached energy Her name may stand for. A simple prayer of a child to his Mother is all that is required to reach her.

The Durga sect (a misnomer actually since the proper expression is the Sakta sect or followers of Shakti) has become increasingly popular lately. In the past, in Malaysia at least, one hardly heard of Durga Puja or her worship on Tuesdays. Goddess Mariamman and Goddess Kali were popular but Durga was always a shadowy goddess. Now, She is in the forefront, adored by all and fervently worshipped.

This could mean two things. One, people are tuning themselves to higher manifestations of the goddess or two, Her time to make an appearence has come. The latter possibility is not very promising as the Puaranas (mythological text) say that Durga incarnates when the world falls into total chaos and evil needs to be vanquished.