Durga's name means the goddess nobody can get past
Durga shares a root with the Sanskrit word for fortress, and her name means impassable or beyond defeat. Pictured riding a lion or tiger with a weapon in each of her many hands, she is revered as a fierce protector and a mother, and she may have begun as a goddess of mountain peoples.
Durga is among the most important deities in Hinduism. For followers of Shaktism, the goddess-centred tradition, she is the principal aspect of Mahadevi, the ultimate reality, and in their key scriptures, the Devi Mahatmya and the Devi Bhagavata Purana, the Goddess is the creator of the universe and the embodiment of power, nature and illusion. She also matters to Shaivas and Vaishnavas, and in the Smarta tradition she is one of five deities honoured as equals.
Her best-known title, Mahishasura-mardini, celebrates her victory over Mahishasura, a demon who was half buffalo. Her stories centre on defeating forces that threaten peace, dharma and cosmic order. Worshippers recite a list of 108 of her names, and she is honoured in nine forms known as the Navadurga, among them Shailaputri and Kalaratri. Another epithet, Vindhyavasini, places her in the Vindhya Mountains.
Her history shows layers. The word Durga occurs in several Rigveda hymns and in the Atharvaveda, but without the rich legends of later centuries. Scholars believe she started as a goddess of indigenous hill peoples before entering the main Hindu pantheon by the fourth century CE. Asko Parpola has argued that a seal from Kalibangan in the Indus Valley shows a Durga-like war goddess linked with a tiger. Often portrayed as a celibate warrior, she later became identified as Śiva's wife and with Parvati, taking on domestic and maternal roles; in Bengal she is seen as mother of Ganesha and other gods. In Vaishnava contexts she appears as Yoganidrā, the divine sleep, a younger sister of Vishnu.
Devotion is widespread in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Worship peaks after the spring and autumn harvests, during festivals such as Navaratri, Durga Puja and Vijayadashami.
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