Encyclopedia for Epics of Ancient India

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Durga

Read about Durga at Wikipedia or the Urday website.

DURGA [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] `Inaccessible.' The wife of Siva. See Devi.

ANNAPURNA. [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] 'Full of food.' A form of Durga, worshipped for her power of giving food CJ. the Roman Anna Perenna.

BHADRAKALI [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] Name of a goddess. In modern times it applies to Durga.

CHAMUNDA [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] An emanation of the goddess Durga, sent forth from her forehead to encounter the demons Chanda and Munda. She is thus described in the Markandeya Purana: "From the forehead of Ambika (Durga), contracted with wrathful frowns, sprang swiftly forth a goddess of black and formidable aspect, armed with a scimitar and noose, bearing a ponderous mace, decorated with a garland of dead corpses, robed in the hide of an elephant, dry and withered and hideous, with yawning mouth, and lolling tongue, and bloodshot eyes, and filling the regions with her shouts." When she had killed the two demons, she bore their heads to Durga, who told her that she should henceforth be known, by a contraction of their names, as Chamunda.

CHANDA, CHANDI [Source: Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology] The goddess Durga, especially in the form she assumed for the destruction of the Asura called Mahisha.


Modern Languages MLLL-4993. Indian Epics. Laura Gibbs, Ph.D. The textual material made available at this website is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You must give the original author credit. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one. No claims are made regarding the status of images used at this website; if you own the copyright privileges to any of these images and believe your copyright privileges have been violated, please contact the webmaster. Page last updated: October 16, 2007 12:22 PM