The Fantastic and Awesome Goddess Devi

One of the main gods that we associate with Hinduism today, Brahma, is actually something of a johnny-come-lately to the Hindu pantheon as, in fact, all of the supreme male dieties appear to be...

Originally, the dark-skinned peoples of the Indus Valley worshipped many different dieties -- included among them a supreme female diety. It was only after the invasion of the lighter-skinned Aryan race from Europe in 1,500 BC that brought with it a male-centered society (and a god named "Brahma") that the female diety fell from popular favor:

The veneration of Devi can be traced as far back as 20,000 BC. A bone image of the Great Mother was discovered at Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh dating back to that period. She was also revered at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley from 2,500 BC.(3)

Along with them, the Aryans also brought the concept of birth "castes" -- assigning the original darker-skinned inhabitants and goddess worshipers to the lowest orders.(2)

For the Hindus, Devi is a powerful goddess...

The Goddess Devi (1)

In some Hindu creation myths, it is Devi who commands the male gods of the pantheon to create and destroy on a global level from behind the scenes (4) while, in others, the other powerful goddesses of Durga, The Unapproachable (who battles the demon Mahisha) and Kali, The Black (who wears the skulls and severed hands of her victims and dances upon the bodies of those she has slain), are merely different aspects of Devi. (5)

The Goddess Devi (2)

However, it is in the myth of the creation of the goddess "Durga" that, just perhaps, the older, goddess-centered religion of the original inhabitants of the Indus Valley receives its validation:

On a barren plain that stretches off into the horizon, a buffalo-demon by the name of Mahisha serves his penance by burning in an eternal fire and calling out the name of Brahma, the supreme god, over and over again -- asking for pity. Finally, after many centuries, Brahma takes pity on Mahisha, releases him from his torment and bestows upon him the gift of invincibility -- except for one tiny detail: Mahisha can only be killed by a woman's hand...(1)

However, this gift of invincibility proves to be a vast mistake because Mahisha becomes very powerful and goes about the earth killing everyone and everything in sight. Then, he rallies all of the other demons and mounts assault after assault upon the very mountains where the gods -- or "Devas" -- dwell, causing most of them to flee in terror.(1)

Angered by Mahisha's arrogance and destruction, the three most powerful gods, Brahma, Vishnu and  Shiva, sit upon the mountaintop meditating and chanting and, soon, the power of their thoughts takes on a physical form that swirls about them in rainbow hues.(1)

Suddenly the rainbows of their energies crystalize into the form of the goddess, Devi (or "Durga"), riding a tiger (some myths say "lion"). (1)

She is possessed of eight arms (some myths say "ten") and, for each hand, the Devas bestow a different object for her to carry. (1)

Several of the objects are weapons: A sword, a shield, a bow, a discus, a trident... One of them, however, is a glass of wine which Devi uses to toast the demise of Mahisha and another is a conchshell trumpet which she blows as she rides off to meet the demon in battle.(1)

Durga battles the buffalo-demon, Mahisha

During the fierce battle, she rings a bell given to her as one of the gifts of the Devas. This confuses Mahisha and she seizes upon his confusion to drive her trident into his body -- holding him in place while her sword beheads him (1) thus saving, not only the Earth, but the Devas themselves.

Thus, in contrast to the male-oriented Brahmanist world view, in the myth of Durga, we find the world saved by a woman.

To those of us in the West, the gods, goddesses and demons of the Hindu religion with their blue skin, many visages and arms and "super powers" seem fantastic -- almost to the point of science-fiction. Such fascination, however, might account for the actions of some Western converts who have been known to give up all of their worldly possessions in order to sell sticks of incense in airports...

REFERENCE WORKS:

(1) The Bhagavad Gita

(2) Structure and Change in Indian Society, by Milton and Bernard S. Cohn, 1968, Wenner-Gren Foundation.

(3) http://www.adishakti.org/new_age_children/devi_the_great_goddess.htm

(4) Microsoft's "Encarta" -- 2002 edition

(5) The Rig Veda

IMAGES:

Devi (1): Lakshmi Poster, contemporary chromolithograph of Lakshmi, photo by Neil Greentree courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution at www.asia.si.edu.

Devi (2): Detail of "Bhadrakali Appears to Rishi Chyavana." Folio 59 from the Tantric Devi series. India, Punjab Hills, Basohli, ca 1660-70. Opaque watercolor, gold, silver, and beetle-wing cases on paper courtesy of Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution F1997.8 at www.asia.si.edu.

Durga: An 18th century work (artist unknown) of the goddess durga battling the buffalo-demon, Mahisha, courtesy of Wikipedia "public-domain" images.