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Durga
Protima styles over the ages
Today’s
most authentic form of the Bengalee Durga is that of a ten
handed goddess modelled out of clay astride a lion. Each of
those hands carry a separate weapon in them except two, which
holds the spear which has been struck into the chest of the
demon, Mahishasura. Half the body of the demon, i.e. the lower
portion of it, is still a buffalo, and the demon seems to be
coming out of that form. In most of the cases, the head of a
buffalo is seen lying beneath. One majestic thing about the
image of Durga is that, the face shows more of motherly
feelings than that of a demon killer. This form of the Goddess
is actually the representation of Uma, the daughter of Daksha
(Himalaya) and Menoka, than the fiery devi Durga, the killer
of the demon. Therefore, to add to these feelings, the four
children of the Goddess had also been added to the iconography
- Laxmi (The goddess of wealth), Saraswati (the Goddess of
knowledge), Kartick (the God of beauty as well as warfare) and
Ganesha (the 'Siddhidata' or the starter of everything in good
sense).
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