“Durga is my muse, my views are intimate and my art is my own…”

Every year, on Navratri, I am drawn to think of the qualities that the Goddess Durga holds and how they transpire in our society. During those 9 days, we hear the prayer of each of the 9 forms and we dress in their colors. But what we don’t realize is that we also adorn ourselves with her qualities. Let’s have a look at the story of Mahishasur Mardhini and how she is present in the modern woman. 

The story

Bajoria (2019) from the Times of India, describes the well-known story of Goddess Durga against the demon Mahishasur. Mahishasur wanted to become immortal and rule over Earth and Heaven. He prayed obstinately to the Gods and was granted his wish by Lord Bramha. The demon began to misuse his power and brought about mayhem on Earth. He was even able to displace most Gods from their heavenly abodes. The latter rushed to Bramha for help, following which, Bramha, Vishnu, and Mahesh created Goddess Durga. Several Gods contributed to this by offering power and weapons to Durga. For example, a Trishul was given to her by Shiva and the God of the Himalayas gave her a Lion to ride on. Thus, Durga became the only match for Mahishasur. The Goddess descended from the heavens, and after a lengthy and tough battle that lasted ten days, Durga decapitated Mahishasur, reestablishing peace and order. 

The multitasker

According to Bajoria (2019), in this story, Durga is represented as a woman of many virtues and powers who triumphs over malevolence. He further elaborates that Durga bears a resemblance with our society today, where the strength and determination of a woman are unstoppable. These qualities lead to the empowerment of women by transforming into various roles in their daily life: as a wife, a mother, an employee, or a sister amongst others. She has the applaudable quality of a high conviction with great mental strength. Moreover, just like Durga, women today draw from people around them who encourage and support them: parents, their husbands, their teachers, to reach great heights. She inspires women, by showing that fear exists, but one must not fall prey to it, and instead, face it and lead oneself towards triumph. In all, She empowers women to be protectors as well as caregivers. 

Good leader – Bad Leader

Along with being caregiver, Dhar (2017) agrees that Maa Durga is the epitome of feminine power, the destroyer of evil, and the protector of the good. In the story of Mahishasur, the buffalo demon represents evil traits like selfishness, jealousy, hatred, anger, and ego. Thus, women can imbibe the leadership skills of Maa Durga to annihilate those negativities in their surroundings. Whether in the business industry, sports, journalism, politics, medical science amongst many, we are always surrounded by people with the mahishasur- like bad qualities. And hence, women can take the lead to tame that evilness by portraying good examples of leadership. 

Already empowered 

However, Pitre (2019) questions the debates around the world about the sensitization of women’s empowerment and claims that women were already empowered. To back this, she alludes to the female icons in mythology that already existed since ancient times. She believes that if women believe that ‘I’m Durga’, then, it can empower them to face the smallest to biggest problems with insight and grace. She purports that Goddess Durga is a celebration of human values that will help a society to be empowered, grow and live in peace and prosperity. 

The woman who takes care of herself

Vanamali (2008), in her book ‘Shakti- realm of the divine mother’ states that Goddess Durga goes against the norm of the model Hindu woman: she is not submissive, nor subordinate to a male deity, and she does not fulfill household duties. Instead, she is on the frontline battling the wicked and safeguarding the good. She does not lend her power to male deities but takes from them to perform heroic exploits. She exists outside normal social constructs and she represents a feminist ideology. She defies the law of books Manu which declares that a woman should always be protected by a man: her father, her husband, or her sons. In this persona, she ‘violates all the rules’, and takes a stand as able to take care of herself and everyone. 

“I am Durga!”

To me, Durga could represent woman nature or qualities that women should aspire to. Whether you see Durga as a mother figure or a flagship for feminism, I am sure that each and every one of us idealises some aspect of Durga that is personal to us. Look inside, look around, we hold busy time tables multitasking around and challenging difficulties. Durga is my muse, my views are intimate and my art is my own(Muse: inspiration, views: thoughts, art: actions). A simple mantra during this Navratri and even after that would be ‘I am Durga’, and we will start to realize our innate qualities and eventually spread this positive energy to others. 

Thrive, women! Happy Navratri. 

References:

Durga- a symbol for women’s empowerment- The Times of India. 

Maa Durga: Symbol of Women Empowerment- The daily observer. 

How Navratri appreciates female empowerment- The CSR Journal. 

Shakti: Realm of the Divine Mother by Vanamali, G.Y