Tales of the Mother Goddess (Comic Book)

Tales of Durga This Amar Chitra Katha narrates some tales of the mighty Goddess Durga. She is as widely worshipped as Vishnu and Shiva. She is the fierce form of Devi, who, as Shakti, is considered the personification of universal energy. Shakti, the female principle, activates Shiva and is therefore worshipped as Durga. The worship of Durga can he traced to the mother worship of the ancient pre-Aryan cults, over 4,000 years old. The names of Uma and Parvati occur in the Taittiriya Aranyaka and the Kena Upanishad. Some Indologists are of the opinion that the Figure seated on a lion in the coins of Azes I, the Shaka ruler (C. 5B.C. to A.D. 30), represents Ambika or Durga.

According to the Devi Bhagvata, the Universe is but Her manifestation - and even Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva worship her. Durga is worshipped in sixty-four forms. In essence, Parvati, Durga, Devi, Uma, Ambika and kali or Chamundi are all powerful manifestations of the supreme female Shakti. The great Goddess Durga is created from the powerful rays of lights that emanated from the faces of all the Gods. Her thousand arms carry the greatest of all the Gods' weapons - Shiva's trident, Vishnu's discus and Indra's thunderbolt, among others.

Durga is worship in one form or another in almost every Indian village. This Amar Chitra Katha is based on the Durga-Saptashati of the Markandeya Purana.

Back of The Book In the Hindu pantheon, Shiva represents the supreme consciousness as well as the male principle, which acquires the power to create and destroy the elements only in conjunction with Shakti, the female principle. Thus Shiva's consort is the manifestation of the supreme consciousness.

This Amar Chitra Katha special issue special narrates three powerful tales of the Mother Goddess.

In the first, Brahma and Vishnu are keen to see the ascetic Lord Shiva married. They appeal to Goddess Uma to become Shiva's consort and she is thus born to Brahma's son Daksha. She is named sati. With severe penances, young Sati wins the love of Shiva and they marry. Later, when Daksha insults Shiva, the eve-dutiful Sati immolates herself as she wishes to be reborn to a father she can respect.

True to her, Sati is reborn as Parvati in the second story of this volume. She is the daughter of the great Mountain King, Himavat, and the lovely nymph, Menaka. Parvati fervently woo Shiva with charm, pence and servitude, in turn. The help of Kama, the God of Love, is also engaged in this romantic tale. Eventually, Parvati is united with her beloved Shiva, never to be separated from him again.

The third part of this volume narrates three tales of the mighty Goddess Durga. Shakti, the female principle, Activated Shiva and is therefore worshipped as Durga, the personification of universal energy. The worship of Durga can be traced to the mother worship of the ancient pre-Aryan cults. Durga is created from the powerful rays of lights that emanated from the faces of all the Gods. Her thousand arms carry the greatest of all the Gods' weapons - Shiva's trident, Vishnu's discus and Indra's thunderbolt, among others. In essence, Parvati, Durga, Ambika and Kali Chamundi are all powerful manifestations of the supreme female Shakti.