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| Durga Devi decapitates Mahishasura, King of the Asuras. Metropolitan Museum of New York |
For other posts in the Indian Mythology in Gurbani Series: Table of Contents
Suggested Pre-reading:
Devi - Part 1: The Goddess
Devi - Part 2: Shiv-Shakti
Much of the analysis of Gurbani related to the Devi was completed in Part 1 of the Devi series of posts. In that post, the case was made that the Devi in Indian mythology tends to be considered as one but with many forms with the majority of her forms relating to the Mother Earth and fertility. Tuks (lines) of Gurbani were examined and revealed that the Guru counts the Devi as a servant and creation of the One Lord, Waheguru and that the Guru encourages us to worship Waheguru directly rather than Devi-Devte (Goddesses-Gods). It was found that these conclusions about the Devi were upheld with regards to particular forms of the Devi including Lakshmi, Saraswati and Paarvati Devi. In the next post of the series we examined the dualistic philosophy of Shiv-Shakti and found that most references to this philosophy in Gurbani were used to refer to the binding of the soul with material phenomenon rather than referring to the Deva Shiva or the Devi Shakti. It was also found that Waheguru does not require a Shakti (Creative-force) in order to create and that duality is not fundamental to the nature of the Universe. Now, we turn to Durga in order to complete the Devi series. There are not many direct references of Durga Devi in Sri Guru Granth Sahib however references to her are abundant in Dasam Granth. This post will provide an overview of Durga and Kali Devi in order to provide some reference to students of the Dasam Granth and perhaps shed some light on why Guru Gobind Singh Ji may have chosen to invoke the imagery of Durga Devi in Their Bani.
Durga Devi
Durga is often thought to be the ultimate form of the Devi (Goddess). One of Durga Devi's most common names is Shakti which - as we established in the Shiv-Shaki post - means power or force. Recall that the concept of Shakti can be traced back to the ultimate mother as her ability to give birth to material phenomena is the ultimate proof of her power. Recall also that in traditional Indian philosophy every Devta (God) needs his Shakti (Power or Goddess) in order to fully function. Therefore, Shakti can be thought to refer to the all Devis and to the ultimate Devi simultaneously. Durga Devi tends to represent Shakti in her most pure form hence why Devi bhagats (devotees) prefer to call themselves Shaktas.
Other forms of Shakti such as Lakshmi, Saraswati and Paarvati tend to be depicted with their masculine husbands: Brahma, Vishn and Mahesh, respectively. However, Durga Devi is almost always depicted and referred to by herself, without a husband. As the embodiment of Shakti her iconography features symbols of power including a large number of weapons and shields which she holds in multiple arms. Also, she rides on a powerful mount which is either a tiger or a lion that further symbolizes her power and ferocity. While at once the very picture of feminine beauty she is also fearsome and awe-inspiring. She simultaneously reflects her two, interrelated roles of fertile mother and power-personified. In the Purans, it is this fearsome form of the Devi that the Devtas often call upon when a Rakshas (Demon) or Asura (God-Demon) become too powerful and threaten to plunge the world into adharma. Once on the warpath, Shakti becomes unstoppable and cannot be contained until the offending demons are slain and order is returned. She becomes a one woman army, charging on her roaring tiger, decapitating heads and launching piercing missiles into anyone that stands in her way. Durga Devi's most famous battle is with the nearly invincible King of Asuras, Mahisasur which is also the topic of Chandi di Vaar of Dasam Granth. This story is also found in multiple Purans (epic books related to Hindu Dieties) and other Hindu literature. The name Durga is believed to mean a fortress or that which is unassailable. Other names of Durga Devi that are important for Sikh students is Chandi meaning fierce and Bhagwati or better known to Sikhs as Bhaguati which the feminine noun of holy or divine (feminine version of Bhagwan).
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| Durga depicted with Rajput weapons and armour. Painting by Kailash Raj |
In Sir John Woodroffe’s translation of a hymn to the Devi from the Markandeya Puran we can see the Devi’s role as a slayer of demons:
How can we describe Thy thought-transcending form, Or, Thy greatly abounding strength which destroyed the Asuras, Or, O Devī! those great deeds of Thine, Done in battle midst hosts of Devas, Asuras, and others?Due to her association with temporal power, her image as the wielder of many weapons and her legendary exploits in battle, Durga Devi became a favourite deity among the Rajputs and other Hindu warriors of India. As such she was often depicted on battle standards to inspire soldiers and was even used in the battle standards of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Durga Devi in Gurbani
References to the Devi in Gurbani can be considered to address Durga or Shakti Devi and the general message of those references was established in the Devi Part 1 post. In summary, the Guru teaches us that the Devi along with Brahma, Vishn and Shiv Ji are created by and subservient to Waheguru. We also learned that Waheguru is Without-Form (Nirankaar) and so is limited to neither male nor female. One of the few (perhaps only) reference to the Devi where Guru Granth Sahib specifically uses the name Durga is found in an Ashtpadee of Bhagat Kabir Ji, on page 1162. It re-affirms our previous conclusions:
ਕੋਟਿ ਸੂਰ ਜਾ ਕੈ ਪਰਗਾਸ ॥
Millions of Suns shine forth.
ਕੋਟਿ ਮਹਾਦੇਵ ਅਰੁ ਕਬਿਲਾਸ ॥
Millions of Mahadevs (Shivas) and Mount Kalaishs.
ਦੁਰਗਾ ਕੋਟਿ ਜਾ ਕੈ ਮਰਦਨੁ ਕਰੈ ॥
Durgas, millions who massage (Your feet).
ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਕੋਟਿ ਬੇਦ ਉਚਰੈ ॥੧॥
Brahmas, millions uttering Vedas. 1.So, clearly Durga Devi cannot be considered as an ultimate form of Waheguru and so worshiping Durga is considered unnecessary for Sikhs and can even be a distraction from realizing the true nature of Waheguru.
Kali Devi
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| Kali Devi in typical depiction stepping on Shiv Ji. |
Kali or Kalika meaning black (or the feminine noun for time and/or destruction) is considered to be the Goddess of Death and Destruction by Shaktas (devotees of the Devi). She can be considered to be the feminine counterpart to the God of Destruction, Shiv and in fact, is sometimes is considered to be a form of Shiv Ji's wife, the Devi Paarvati. Kali Devi is also considered to be the more destructive and angry aspect of Durga. In the story of Mahisasur, Durga takes the form of Kali Devi toward the end of the climatic battle with Mahisasur and proceeds to rain down destruction even after he is slain. She only stops and returns to her Durga form when Shiv Ji interrupts her by laying down in her path.
Kali can easily be identified as she is often depicted with black (or dark blue) skin, a fearsome expression on her face, wearing a necklace of skulls and often brandishing bloody weapons in her hands. Although she is fear-inspiring as the Goddess of Destruction she is also considered to be the destroyer of evil things and obstacles in one's spiritual pursuits. References to Kali Devi are very few in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. However, there are many reference to the Kali Devi in Dasam Granth.
Durga Devi in Dasam Bani
As mentioned earlier, the names of Durga are used often in Dasam Granth and entire Shabads are composed under such names. For example, Chandi di Vaar is a vaar (ballad) written for Chandi which we know is another common name of Durga. When reading such Shabads many have claimed that Guru Gobind Singh Ji was a bhagat of the Devi. As I am not familiar with the Dasam Granth I will not attempt to interpret it's Shabads here. However, one thing is clear to me and that is that the Guru could not be a bhagat of the Devi. Recall first that Guru Gobind Singh Ji compiled the Guru Granth Sahib and declared Them to be the Guru before merging His Light with the Light. As such, the Guru would not have violated His own beliefs with regards to the Devi which we have analyzed in the preceding section of this post as well as in the Devi Part 1 post. All interpretation of the Dasam Granth must conform to the Guru Granth Sahib. If there is a contradiction then the interpretation in incorrect.
At the risk of venturing on to a topic of which I have virtually no knowledge I will offer my incomplete opinions on the use of Durga's name by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Please take the following with a huge grain of salt. Many Sikhs, in rejecting that the Guru was a bhagat of the Devi tend to swing so far to the other side that they reject the entire symbolism and imagery that the name of Durga conjures up (or should conjure up).
In my humble opinion, the Guru used the name of Durga to highlight an aspect of Waheguru that was needed to be brought forth to prepare the Khalsa for the trying times that lay ahead of it. In using the imagery and symbolism of Durga, Guru Ji wanted to highlight that Waheguru not only creates and nurtures but also wields awesome, destructive power. It is to remind the Sikhs of this powerful and destructive side of the Divine that Guru Gobind Singh Ji refers to Waheguru as Chandi/Bhagauti (Durga) and Rudr (the angry form of Shiv). It does not mean that Guru Sahib believed these to be the literal forms of Waheguru. Guru Ji wanted to prepare His Khalsa so that when they witnessed the horrors of war they saw Waheguru pervading even there. Guru Sahib wanted to show the Khalsa that sometimes to restore dharam in the world, Waheguru uses destructive means just as Chandi Devi used her destructive powers to kill Mahisasur and his generals to restore the natural order. Guru Gobind Singh Ji was preparing the Khalsa to become a weapon of Waheguru to be used to restore and protect dharam in Bharat (India).
In our modern, Westernized/Christianized thinking we often only associate that which is good, nurturing and beautiful as being the Hukam (Will) of Waheguru but the truth is that even the destruction, horrific and painful is the Hukam of Waheguru. Waheguru is both the Creator and the Destroyer and we should remember Waheguru in Dukh (pain) equally as in Sukh (contentedness). As the Guru says in Japji Sahib:
ਕੇਤਿਆ ਦੂਖ ਭੂਖ ਸਦ ਮਾਰ ॥
Many pains, hunger and ever hurting.
ਏਹਿ ਭਿ ਦਾਤਿ ਤੇਰੀ ਦਾਤਾਰ ॥
Even these gifts are Your's O' Giver.
Conclusion
With this final post of the series it should be clear that the concept of the Devi is very deep and complex in Indian mythology. However, Waheguru, who is without gender and without form should not be worshipped in the form of a Devi nor a Devta. But that also does not mean that we should completely discard and erase all memory of the imagery of these Devi and Devte because the Guru uses this imagery to teach us something.
As always, the above interpretation is just this one student's understanding.
Bhul chuk maaf karna. Forgive my mistakes and negligence.
WJKK WJKF
