Durga: The Goddesses of Power

Dr. Biswajit Satpathy, Ph.D. D.Sc

Professor, Dept. of Business Administration

Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar, Burla

SAMBALPUR, ODISHA, INDIA- 768019

“Hindu worship of the divine Mother can be traced back to pre-vedic, prehistoric India. Ramprasad Chanda writes the following about the development of Durga from primitive goddess to her current form: 

....it is possible to distinguish two different strata – one primitive and the other advanced. The primitive form of Durga (Parvati) is the result of syncretism of a mountain-goddess worshiped by the dwellers of the Himalaya and the Vindhyas, a goddess worshiped by the nomadic Abhirashepherd, the vegetation spirit conceived as a female, and a war-goddess. As her votaries advanced in civilization the primitive war-goddess was transformed into the personification of the all-destroying time (Kali), the vegetation spirit into the primordial energy (Adya Sakti) and the saviouress from “samsara” (cycle of rebirths) , and gradually brought into line with the Brahmanic mythology and philosophy.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga)

“Durga represents the empowering and protective nature of motherhood. From her forehead sprang Kali, who defeated Durga's enemy, Mahishasura. Kali (the feminine form of Kaal" i.e. "time") is the primordial energy as power of Time, literally, the "creator or doer of time"—her first manifestation. After time, she manifests as "space", as Tara, from which point further creation of the material universe progresses. The divine Mother, Devi Adi parashakti, manifests herself in various forms, representing the universal creative force. She becomes Mother Nature (Mula Prakriti), who gives birth to all life forms as plants, animals, and such from Herself, and she sustains and nourishes them through her body, that is the earth with its animal life, vegetation, and minerals. Ultimately she re-absorbs all life forms back into herself, or "devours" them to sustain herself as the power of death feeding on life to produce new life. She also gives rise to Maya (the illusory world) and to prakriti, the force that galvanizes the divine ground of existence into self-projection as the cosmos. The Earth itself is manifested by Adi parashakti. The primordial feminine creative-preservative-destructive energy, Shakti, is considered to be the motive force behind all action and existence in the phenomenal cosmos. The cosmos itself is purusha, the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality that is the Divine Ground of all being, the "world soul". This masculine potential is actualized by feminine dynamism, embodied in multitudinous goddesses who are ultimately all manifestations of the One Great Mother. Mother Maya or Shakti, herself, can free the individual from demons of ego, ignorance, and desire that bind the soul in maya (illusion). Practitioners of the Tantric tradition focus on Shakti to free themselves from the cycle of karma.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_goddess)

“The supreme soul is otherwise called Shakti (power). From this power, generates all forms of knowledge of the world and it is accepted as vital cause of creation, existence and destruction. According to 'Shree Durga Shaptshati- Rahasyam', the original power is Mahalaxmi that created three pairs of Supreme Powers. They are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as male and Saraswati, Laxmi and Parvati as female, and they married respectively. Maha Saraswati is well known as Brahmani, Mahalaxmi as Vaishnavi and Mahakali as Maheswari. Durga Shakti is the original cause of all the present or past worldly occurrences. Durga Shakti is called as Adhyashakti, Paramatma Shakti or Ati Prakrutika Shakti. She is creating and controlling other two powers: Natural and General. Natural Power is called as Atma Shakti, Prakrutika Shakti, Pancha Mahabhuta Shakti etc. This Shakti creates and controls the General Energy. General Energies are called Jada Shakti or Tamashakti. By the blessings of Durga Shakti, the mother of the Universe, man is able to get his emancipation or salvation and indulge in enjoyments in performance of his daily activities. So Vyasadev, the eminent poet of "Devi Bhagwat", has aptly described "Rudrahinam Vishnuhinam na vadanti janastatha Shaktihinam Yathasarbe probodhanti Naradhamam". The powerless persons are despised as mean persons. So, by being devoted to the Supreme, we should be strong and powerful by her grace.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga)

Kant defines power (Macht) as “a capacity that is superior to great obstacles” (KU 5:260). The will to power (German: der Wille zur Macht) is a prominent concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche believed to be the main driving force in humans – namely, achievement, ambition, and the striving to reach the highest possible position in life. These are all manifestations of the will to power.  There are some misconceptions of the will to power, even by Nazis. Nietzsche's philosophy distinguish between kraft (force) and macht(power). Kraft is primordial strength that may be exercised by anything possessing it, while Macht is, within Nietzsche's philosophy, closely tied to sublimation and "self-overcoming", the conscious channeling of Kraft for creative purposes. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_to_power)

“Martin Heidegger  suggested that raw physical or political power was not what Nietzsche had in his mind. This is reflected in the following passage from Nietzsche's notebooks:

“I have found strength where one does not look for it: in simple, mild, and pleasant people, without the least desire to rule—and, conversely, the desire to rule has often appeared to me a sign of inward weakness: they fear their own slave soul and shroud it in a royal cloak (in the end, they still become the slaves of their followers, their fame, etc.) The powerful natures dominate, it is a necessity, they need not lift one finger. Even if, during their lifetime, they bury themselves in a garden house!”

Opposed to a biological and voluntary conception of the Wille zur Macht, Heidegger also argued that the will to power must be considered in relation to the Übermensch and the thought of eternal recurrence—although this reading itself has been criticized by Mazzino Montinari as a "macroscopic Nietzsche". Gilles Deleuze also emphasized the connection between the will to power and eternal return. Both Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze were careful to point out that the primary nature of will to power is unconscious. This means that the drive to power is always already at work unconsciously, perpetually advancing the will of the one over the other. This thus creates the state of things in the observable or conscious world still operating through the same tension. Derrida is careful not to confine the will to power to human behavior, the mind, metaphysics, nor physical reality individually. It is the underlying life principle inaugurating all aspects of life and behavior, a self-preserving force. A sense of entropy and the eternal return, which are related, is always in-dissociable from the will to power. The eternal return of all memory initiated by the will to power is an entropic force again inherent to all life.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_to_power)

Since the will to power works in our unconscious state of mind and drives our life and behavior and is the self preserving force, men have always tried to expand and enrich this force. People often prefer to worship gods who have a great deal of power, even if that power is viewed as dangerous. The purpose of worship is to glorify, honor, praise, exalt, and please God. Worship not only honors and magnifies God, but it is also for own edification and strength. Worship helps to develop a God-like character. Worshiping God develops such traits as forgiveness, tenderness, justice, righteousness, purity, kindness, love and mental strength. Men believe that worshiping God would enable him with infinite power.

“Vedas attribute the idea of infinity to Gods. The Devas like Indra, Varuna, Vayu, are first worshipped as gods and have the status of the Supreme Being, who is the ruler of the universe. On committing evil deeds people become afraid and ask Varuna for pardon. In Rig Vededic hymns we have record of the worshiping of the half-personified forces of nature like fire, wind, and rain to the realization of the Absolute Spirit. Vedas are the early form of monotheism. But this monotheistic idea did not satisfy men. There was an attempt to get behind these powerful gods and grasp the ‘power; of which they were the manifestations. A well known hymn says: ‘that Being is one which the wise call by various names as Agni, Yama, and Matarishvan’. Rig vedic hymns manifest these powers as ‘Pita mata sadaminmanusanam; Agni is always father and mother to humans’ (Rig Veda 6.I.5 ); ‘mateva yadbharase paprathano janam janam; (Agni) sustains all beings like a mother’ (5.15.4) and ‘vayam syama maturna sunavah; (O Usha!) let us be dear to you like sons to a mother (7.8i.4). Heaven and earth were worshiped as Father and Mother and prayed for protection from sin and guidance in the moral order. The ‘Durga Sukta of the Taittiriya Aranyaka is one of the most beautiful hymns in the Vedas. Therein Agni is conceived of as the Divine Mother Durga, the resplendent goddess, blazing in her power:

Tamagnivarnam tapasa jvalantim vairocanim karmaphalesu justam

Durgam devim saranamaham prapadye sutarasi tarase namah

I take refuge in the Goddess Durga, fiery in her luster and radiant with ardency, who is the power of the Supreme manifest in diverse forms, residing in actions and their results. O thou skilled in deliverance us, you steer us expertly across difficulties; salutations to thee.

In the Durga Saptashati Mother Durga is given many epithets ending with the word ratri or night----kalaratri, maharatri, and so on. Rishi Kushika invokes Night as Mother. The concept of the Divine as Shakti in the Vedas is found in the ‘Devi Sukta’. The whole hymn is an ecstatic outpouring of the realization of Brahman by Vak, the daughter of the sage Ambhrina. Realizing her all pervasive identity she exclaims:

It is I (as identical with Brahman) who move in the form of the Rudras, the Vasus, the Adityas and all other gods… I am the sovereign power (over all the worlds ) bestower of all wealth, cognizant (of the Supreme Being) and the first among those to whom sacrificial homage is to be offered; the gods in all places worship but me, who am diverse in form and permeate everything… I give birth to the infinite expanse overspreading the earth my birthplace is in waters deep in the sea; there from do I permeate variously all the worlds, and touch the heaven above with my body. It is I who blow like the wind creating all the worlds; I transcend the heaven above, I transcend the earth below this is the greatness I have attained.

The Mundaka Upanishad also speaks of seven female powers----kali, karali, and so on---personifications of the flames of the sacrificial fire. The Shvetashvatara, a later theistic Upanishad, refers to the ‘innate power of the Supreme, concealed by its own nature. The sages realized that this power, maya, is none other than Prakriti or primordial nature of infinite variety, with knowledge and action as its natural forms’ (4.10;6.8) The Devi Bhagavata dwells elaborately on the legend of Indra’s adoration of the Supreme Mother through various hymns. According to Shankaracharya and Sayanacharya, Uma, who imparts the knowledge of Brahman, is Vidya or ‘Spiritual Knowledge’ personified.

In the ‘Balakanda’ of the Ramayana the story of goddess Uma, the youngest daughter of Mount Himavan, who was married to Rudra and was 'highly respected by all gods, including Brahma has been written. The Mahabharata also mentions Pradyumna’s worship of Goddess Katyayani and Aniruddha’s hymn to Goddess Chandi. Of particular importance is King Yudhishthira’s hymn to Goddess Durga. This hymn contains some descriptions of the Goddess familiar from the Puranic times. In some text we find another hymn to Durga chanted by Arjuna at the instance of Sri Krishna.

It is observed that all existent objects were associated with intrinsic powers. So the Supreme Being, who is responsible for the creation, preservation, and destruction of the universe, must posses infinite powers to carry out these functions. The very fact of its existence presupposes infinite powers. The belief in the powers of the Divine is universal. Thus Shakti came to occupy an important place in the religious consciousness. In the Chandi the goddess has been named as Devi but she became well-known in later times as Durga. In Tanta the Mother Goddess saves us from every misery and affliction, from all danger and difficulty. She is also called Chandi, the fierce goddess, in which form she incarnates herself for the purpose of destroying the Asuras whenever they threaten the mental peace and heavenly dominion of the Devas. Durga is also worshipped as Annapurna or Annada, the giver of food, and as Jagaddhatri, one who upholds the world. In spring she is worshipped as Vasanti, the spring goddess. In the ‘Devi Kavacha’ an auxiliary of the Chandi, the Devi is conceived of in nine forms, Nava-Durga. The Devi is also conceived of in three forms according to the preponderance of each of the three gunas: of sattva, Maha-saraswati; of rajas, Maha-lakshmi,and of tamas, Maha-Kali. The ten Mahavidyas i.e Kali, Tara, Shodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Matangi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagala, and Kamala are another set of representations of the Devi. Their origin is narrated in connection with the legend of Shiva and His consort Sati.

The Durga Saptashati gives us a glimpse into the nature of the Divine mother in the hymns addressed to her by Brahma, the Creator:

You are verily that which cannot be uttered specifically. You are Savitri (the liberating mantra) and the Supreme mother of the gods.

By you this universe is borne, by you this world is created, by you it is protected, O Mother Divine and you always consume it at the end. O you who are ( always ) of the form of the whole world, at the time of creation you are of the form of the creative force, at the time if sustentation you are of the form of protective power, and at the time of dissolution of the world, you are of the form of destructive power. You are the supreme knowledge as well as the great nescience, the great intellect and contemplation and also the great delusion. The power of good is yours; the power of evil too is yours.

You are the primordial cause of everything, bringing into force the three gunas---sattva, rajas and tamas---You are the dark night of periodic dissolution. You are the great night of final dissolution and the terrible night of delusion. You are the goddess of good fortune, the ruler, and modesty, intelligence characterized by knowledge bashfulness, nourishment, contentment, tranquility and forbearance. Armed with various weapons you are terrible. Again you are pleasing, yea, more pleasing than all the pleasing things and exceedingly beautiful. You are indeed the Supreme Empress, beyond the high and low. And whatever, or wherever a thing exists, conscient or non-conscient, whatever power all that possess is you.” (Worship of god as Mother in the Indian Tradition, Swami Satyasthananda, 2009, www.esamskriti.com › Essays)

In the Chandi the Devi is referred to be present in all living and non-living i.e Matter ( Bhuta) as the Nature, Blessings, the Ruler, Power of Consciousness, Wisdom, Sleep, Hunger. Shadow of Absolute, Power, Thirst, Forbearance, Form of all genus, Modesty, Peace, Faith, Beauty, Fortune, Activity, Memory, Kindness, Mother, Delusion, Senses, Contentment and Consciousness. 

So we can conclude that Shakti is the Absolute personified, Consciousness that becomes a subject and the object. Shakti is worshiped in Indian culture for all-round happiness and power and thought to be present in all spheres both in material world and non-material world.   

References:

Brihaddevata, 2.74-9

Golomb, Jacob (2002). Nietzsche, Godfather of Fascism? On the Uses and Abuses of a Philosophy.

Great women of India, ed. Swami Madhavananda and Rameshchandra Majumdar ( Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama,

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/

Mahabharata, ‘Virata Parva, chap.6

Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva, chap. 23

McDaniel, June (2004). Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516791-0. p. 214

Rig  Veda ,

Shvetashvatara Upanishad

Swami Budhananda, ‘Worship of God as Mother, Vedanta Kesari,

Taittiriya Aranyaka

The complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 9 vols (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, i-8, i989, 9, I997)

Worship of god as Mother in the Indian Tradition, Swami Satyasthananda, 2009 www.esamskriti.com › Essays