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Default Hindu Goddesses of War

In article >,
arah > posted:
>
> Hindu Goddesses of War
>
> One of the astonishing phenomena in ancient mythology is the existence
> of goddesses of war, which contrasts with the absence of women from
> the actual scene of war. For hundreds or even thousands of years of
> wars between rival tribes, peoples and countries, women have been
> excluded from one of the central occupations of human beings; but the
> appearance of goddesses of war persisted as long as there were any
> goddesses left in any pagan pantheon all round the globe, from America
> to the Far East to the Near East and Europe.
>
> A Great Mother goddess of war is also the Hindu Kali, known both for
> her cruelty and for her motherly care for all creation. Kali is
> sometimes considered an aspect of another Hindu war goddess, Durga,
> about whom the following story is told on the site =91Goddesses of War=92:
>
> Durga, a fierce warrior, was born during a lengthy battle between the
> Hindu gods and an army of demons. In desperation, the gods gathered
> together and breathed in unison. A ferocious fire blazed forth from
> their mouths, out of which Durga was born =97 a fully grown warrior,
> ready to fight.
>
> The gods quickly gave her a lion (or, some say, a tiger), to mount,
> and a weapon for each of her ten hands. Durga advanced toward the
> demons =97 one of them in the form of a buffalo, which is reminiscent of
> the Chinese story cited above. As her arms flashed with their weapons,
> within moments she had slaughtered all the demons.
>
> On a site dedicated to her particularly, Durga is said to represent
> the power of the Supreme Being Shiva, to whom she was married, who
> preserves moral order and righteousness in creation. She is called
> =93Divine Mother=94, and one of her epithets is Maha, which means =93Great=
> =94
> or =93Terrific.=94 She had three divine children, two sons and a daughter.
>
> Durga=92s festival is celebrated in the autumn, in the months
> corresponding to September/October; and the Wikipedia comments that
> =93The worship of Durga in the autumn is the year=92s most major festival
> in East India.=94 These autumn months are when the monsoon=92s torrential
> rains hit India. These rains are both punishing in their destructive
> force and the killing of many people and beneficial by being India=92s
> main source of fertility.
>
> Taking Durga as an example of an all-around war goddess, it has been
> said that she =93protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying
> evil forces such as selfishness, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger,
> and ego.=94; At another website it is said that she =93symbolizes triumph
> over evil.=94 But the idea of evil has no place in the pagan, natural
> scheme of things; it is an artificial idea, that fits more into the
> late Hindu religion of ideas than into the natural world, to which the
> Great Mother (as Durga is said to be) would belong. The Great Mother,
> as a ruler of the Underworld besides being the ruler of Earth and
> Heaven, is also a goddess of wisdom and judgment. On the whole, she is
> both beneficial and punishing, as any good mother should be.


Jai Durga Devi!

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti