Maa Durga is the mother goddess and represents the powers of all Gods. She is the protector of the righteous and the destroyer of evil. She is associated with protection, strength, and wars. Her legends are mostly around destroying demons. Goddess Durga is usually pictured as a beautiful woman and multi-limbed so that she may always be ready to battle evil from any direction. She carries a variety of weapons and other items that she uses in her fight against evil. Each of the weapons are special and are gifted to her by Gods. She is frequently depicted riding a lion, which represents power, will, and determination.

According to legends, Goddess Durga was created by the holy Trinity- Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh to slay the buffalo demon – Mahishasura. She is the collective energy and Shakti of the Holy Trinity and her creation also has some contribution by the other Gods. It is believed that all Gods gave Durga her body form when she arose from the Ganga River in a spirit form. Lord Shiva gave her the face, Lord Indra built her torso, Lord Brahma crafted her teeth and Lord Agni built her eyes. Many Gods gave her their weapons. This is how the great force to fight the demon Mahishasura was born.

 Mahishasura was the ruler of the underworld called Pataal-lok which is the home of the demons. He was strong and greedy and wanted to conquer the Swarglok (where the Gods and Goddesses resided) and Bhumi-lok (earth where humans lived). The demon Mahishasura had done penance to win Lord Brahma’s blessing. As a reward for his hard work, he asked the Lord to grant him the boon of immortality. But the Lord told him that it is the rule of the cosmos that who is born has to die. So Lord Brahma asked him to choose how he would like to die. That’s when Mahishasura said that he wished to be killed at the hands of a woman as he thought no woman could match his strength and hence indirectly he would continue to remain immortal. With this boon, he became even more evil and started causing chaos in the Universe. To bring an end to his misdeeds was the reason to create Maa Durga to vanquish the demon. Lord Shiva handed over his Trishul, Lord Vishnu gave her a disc, Lord Indra gave his lightning rod and other Gods gave their other special weapons along with a ferocious lion. In a huge fight between Maa Durga and the demon, the Goddess killed him and emerged victorious. Hence, she is called the Invincible Goddess.