Durga is one of the main Hindu goddess. 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. Durga literally means the Remote and Inaccessible Goddess. She is usually depicted with multiple arms, wielding a rather dazzling selection of arms from the ancient world and mounted upon a very fearsome lion. Sometimes this animal becomes a tiger, and she is called Amba then. The number of arms and weapons she carries varies too. There are six armed forms, eight armed forms, ten armed forms and twenty armed forms. Her basic function in the popular mythology is to beat up the Cosmic bad guys, especially when the other gods have failed. She is therefore, a weapon of last resort and final appeal, an instinctive feminine answer to the problems of the world, when masculine logic fails.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 two sons, Ganesha and Karttikeya, and a daughter Jyoti.
The story of Durga's origin is given in an episode of Devi Mahatmya in the Markandeya Purana. The Devi episode dates from 700 CE. According to legend, Durga was created for the slaying of the buffalo demon Mahisasura by Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the lesser gods, who were otherwise powerless to overcome him. Embodying their collective energy (shakti), she is both derivative from the male divinities and the manifested representation of their power.
