In this episode of “5 Minutes”, Dr. Robert Svoboda explores Durga, the supreme Shakti, her victory over Mahishasura, and the deeper meaning of her worship.
Durga literally means “she who is difficult to reach.” She is difficult to reach because of the greatness of who she is.
Her story is the second of the three stories that make up the Durga Saptashati, the seven hundred verses in praise of Durga. The first story provides the foundation. In it, Mahamaya, the transcendent Shakti who deludes everything in the universe, is invoked by the Creator, Brahma, to destroy the two demons born from Vishnu’s earwax.
Later, the entire universe comes under the oppression of Mahishasura, the buffalo demon. The buffalo symbolizes tamas—inertia, dullness, and a form of focused activity driven entirely by the ego. Internally, Mahishasura represents the ego that seeks to dominate. Externally, he represents those who are motivated solely by selfishness and personal power.
At that moment, the Shaktis—the energies of all the gods—come together. From their combined radiance emerges one transcendent deity: Durga, the embodiment of Mahamaya.
Durga is usually depicted riding a lion, and sometimes a tiger. She has many arms, each holding a divine weapon given to her by the gods.
After battling the armies of Mahishasura, she pauses to drink a divine drink, described as a form of mead. While Mahishasura bellows and boasts, she declares:
“Roar on, O fool, while I drink this mead. The gods will soon roar in this very place after I have slain you.”
She then destroys Mahishasura.
Many images of Durga depict her pinning the buffalo beneath her trident while cutting off the head of Mahishasura’s original form. In doing so, she brings all destructive and ego-driven forces under control.
This is the central story of Durga. She destroys the buffalo demon, defeats those who seek to dominate the world, and also destroys the selfish ego within us. She does not destroy the healthy ego that allows the body to function, but the ego that separates us from proper alignment with the universe.
Durga is especially worshipped during the autumn Navaratri. Because this festival takes place during Sharad, the Sanskrit word for autumn, she is sometimes known as Sharada.
These nine nights culminate in Vijaya Dashami, when Durga slays Mahishasura and Rama defeats Ravana. During Navaratri, devotees worship Durga to accumulate her Shakti and to overcome those parts of themselves that have become hardened by tamas—the habits, attachments, and egoic tendencies that no longer serve them.