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In India, part of God has been worshipped
as a woman for a thousand years
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Parvati, the consort of Shiva, is represented as a fair and beautiful woman. To the relief of bewildered non-Hindu males – she has only two arms, two hands and no superfluity of other limbs or appurtenances. Few miraculous deeds are claimed for her. It is only when she appears as Durga, (her other self) or Kali or some other deity, that she manifests divine powers and exhibits a very different spirit.
When Parvati is shown in one of her independent forms, she may hold a javelin and a mirror in her two hands. |
If she is four-handed, two of her hands exhibit the protection and boon-giving attitudes, and two carry a javelin and a chisel.
This is not good for simple-minded males. . |
In Hinduism, the deities representing women have been independent for at least a thousand years longer than the concept of female status in any other culture in the world. The pantheon of female power is sublime, the number of deities overwhelming.
Even a long lifetime of devotion will not enable you to count all the goddesses who are worshipped – or feared. Apart from the innumerable village goddesses there are regional goddesses and others who are worshipped by the whole of the sub-continent. There are important groups of goddesses, such as the Nava-Durgas, the Sapia Matrikas and the Ten Mahavidyas. There are the consorts of the creators, and the mother of all mother goddesses.
Devi, or Mahadevi is the most complex and the most powerful, for her descent can be traced back to the Mother of all Goddesses of ancient times and to shakti, the active dimension of the godhead, the divine power that underlies the godhead's ability to create the world and to display itself. Shakti has 15 terrible forms, including the deities Kali and Tara, and 13 benign forms, including the very important goddesses Lakshmi and Sarswati.
Devi and thjose descended from her assume both benign and terrifying forms, which range from fertility and cultural creativity to guardian of the cosmos in the guise of a frightening, fierce-looking female warrior.
The most important of these forms are embodied in Shiva’s consorts, Durga and Parvati.
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Durga normally has eight arms and may hold any of the following items in her hands: a trident, a sword, a snake, a bell, a drum, a shield, a cup, a bow, a wheel, a conch-shell, a mace, an arrow and a water pot. She is shown seated in a 'sukhasana' (yogic) posture on a double lotus throne or on a tiger/lion. She may wear a garland of skulls |
Durga is the 'shakti' of the Impersonal Absolute and as being worthy of worship for material gains in this world and spiritual advancement in the next. Not only is she worshipped in her own right, she is also nine other female deities with many special qualities. These popular forms are called Nava-Durgas.
One obvious conclusion to be drawn from this vast pantheon of female divinity is this: While it may be fruitless to classify popular human descriptions of supernatural concepts, it is not hard to find a female deity to turn to for one’s own individual needs, comfort or fears.
[If you find the above summary confusing, the reason is that it is confusing.
It is not possible for an outsider like me to summarise what is already a simple - or rather, an uncluttered – explanation given by the Rajasthan author Darham Vir Singh. I urge you to find and read his book Hinduism, an Introduction from which my summary and sample illustrations are taken. The book is published by Travel Wheels, B-14, Bhawani Singh Road, Jaipur – 302 001.]
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