2.13
अतुलंतत्रतत्तेजः सर्वदेवशरीरजम् ।
एकस्थंतदभून्नारीव्याप्तलोकत्रयंत्विषा ।
“Unequaled light, born from the bodies of all the [male] gods, coalesced into a female form and pervaded the three worlds with its splendor.”
2.32
अन्यैरपिसुरैर्देवीभूषणैरायुधैस्तथा ।
सम्मानिताननादोच्चैः साट्टहासंमुहुर्मुहुः ।
“Honored also by the other gods with adornments and weapons, the Devī [Goddess] laughed thunderously and defiantly again and again.”
2.33
तस्यानादेनघोरेणकृत्स्नमापूरितंनभः ।
अमायतातिमहताप्रतिशब्दोमहानभूत ।
“She filled the entire sky with Her terrible roar, and from the immeasurable din a great echo resounded.”
2.34
चुक्षुभुः सकलालोकाः समुद्राश्चचकम्पिरे ।
चचालवसुधाचेलुः सकलाश्चमहीधराः ।
“All the worlds shook, and the oceans churned. The earth quaked, and the mountains heaved.”
3.28
इतिक्रोधसमाध्मातमापतन्तंमहासुरम् ।
दृष्टवासाचण्डिकाकोपंतद्वधायतदाकरोत ।
“When She saw the great asura approaching, inflated with rage, Candikā aroused Her wrath and prepared to slay him.”
3.34
ततः क्रुद्धाजगन्माताचण्डिकापानमुत्तमम् ।
पपौपुनः पुनश्चैवजहासारुणलोचना ।
“Angered, Candikā, the Mother of the worlds, drank a divine potion, and with eyes reddened She laughed again and again”
3.37
देव्युवगच ।
“The Devī said:”
3.38
गर्जगर्जक्षणंमूढमधुयावत्पिबाम्यहम् ।
मयात्वयिहते’ त्रैवगर्जिष्यन्त्याशुदेवताः ।
‘Bellow, you fool, bellow for now while I drink this potion. After I have slain you, the gods will cheer in this very place.’
3.40
एवमुक्त्वासमुत्पत्यसारूढातंमहासुरम् ।
पादेनाक्रम्यकण्ठेचशूलेनैनमताडयत् ।
“Having declared that, She leapt upon the great asura, pinned his neck down with Her foot, and pierced him through with Her spear.”
– The Devī Mahātmyam
The Goddess arrived in Kolkata on the morning of October 10th, her ten delicate hands dyed red with alta as they brandished the gods’ weapons. Joyfully she comes year after year to the capitol city of West Bengal, India, where the city’s residents build thousands of clay murtis (idols) to honor her many forms. Brahmin priests invite Her spirit with Sanskrit chants and clamorous drums, methodically consecrating the murtis so that Maa Durga may reside among us.
For Bengalis, Durga Puja is the climax of the year. The Divine Mother’s presence on earth is tangible: an exuberant energy that compels us to don our finest outfits and dance in the streets. The entire city is transformed with colorful LED panels, pop-up fuchka stalls, wandering balloon vendors, and advertising billboards. Each neighborhood crafts elaborate pandals: temporary structures that house Devī murtis in every shape and style.
On the final day of the festival, devotees lovingly immerse their idols in the holy Ganges River, disintegrating them. They release the Goddess from her mortal form, and with melancholic praise, they bid Her farewell until next year.
Yet, this year, beneath the din of festive music, devotional mantras, and friendly chatter, a dissonant thrum builds to a crescendo. A wrathful chorus of wails, issued by a growing mob. They have gathered in the streets to demand justice.
Two months prior to Durga Maa’s well-anticipated arrival, Kolkata was rocked by the discovery of a female doctor’s lifeless body in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The young woman was found naked and bleeding from her genitals, mouth and eyes. Despite blatant evidence of a brutal rape and murder, the case was initially declared a suicide by the hospital’s president, who has since been accused of conspiring with local police to destroy evidence. It would seem that he is not the only one to have obstructed the investigation – for while the autopsy report clearly indicates multiple perpetrators, federal authorities continue to insist that one conviction is enough.
This crime and its subsequent mishandling have sparked protests across India. Protesters – largely women – have raised questions as to the structures of power within the hospital and within India at large that enable these horrific abuses. Indeed, this incident, as harrowing as it is, is not altogether unfamiliar. The 2024 events at RG Kar harken back to the 2012 Nirbhaya case – involving the gang-rape and fatal assault of a physiotherapy intern on a Delhi bus – which likewise drew international attention to the alarming trend of gender-based violence in India.
Across the country, nearly 100 cases of rape are reported each DAY – to say nothing of the countless acts of sexual violence that go unreported. Due to the slim chances of conviction and the pervasive stigma against women’s sexuality, published statistics only convey a fraction of the dangers faced by Indian women. India is plagued by sexual assault, domestic violence, female infanticides, dowry deaths, and honor killings. And despite its ancient history of Goddess worship, India remains the most dangerous country in the world for women.
Herein lies the problem with ancient Indic scriptures, written always by men and for men: Śakti, the cosmic feminine force, is thought to animate our reality – and yet this power may only be cultivated and controlled by men. Woman’s life is given by man, and it is forever liable to be taken by man as well. How is it that men reserve the right to desecrate the body of the Holy Mother, be she doctor, intern, or else, even as they consecrate her form sculpted from clay? How can those very same men claim to venerate the Divine Feminine while they beat and batter women, leaving them to die excruciating deaths on street sides and in seminar halls?
Perhaps what we need now is not reverence for the Goddess, but rather unbridled fear. When She bares her teeth to issue an earth-shattering roar, men should not bow but cower. They should tremble and beg for Maa Durga’s mercy, knowing that they have not done enough to keep Her daughters safe.
In her last moments on earth, a young woman at RG Kar was made to cry tears of blood. This Durga Puja, she returns to Kolkata in the form of the Great Goddess, her eyes blazing red with unfettered rage. Through the clay idols of Devī, through the sorrowful shouts of every woman who has ever known pain, she will exact her revenge. She, and we, will know justice by her sacrifice.
Let us arouse our wrath in service of our fallen sister, a promising young medic who had so much of her life ahead of her. Like Mahadevī, her life was designed and dissolved at the hands of men – taken too soon by a system that treats female bodies as less than male desires. May the oceans churn and may the mountains heave with the force of our rage and terrible grief, which we offer unto the world so that our daughters may live in a kinder world than do we. After we have slain this demon of our modern times – this violent, senseless patriarchy – we will not wait for the gods to cheer. We will laugh defiantly again and again, reclaiming our śakti as our own.
Join the Fight:
- Donate to Parichiti, a Kolkata-based women’s group that works towards gender equity by empowering women AND educating men.
- Donate to MAVA (Men Against Violence and Abuse), an outreach organization dedicated to dismantling violent and patriarchal modes of socialization among young men.
- Donate to Swayam, a feminist NGO committed to advancing women’s rights and ending gender-based violence.
- Spread awareness about gender-based violence and injustices in India – even if you don’t live here. International visibility is highly effective in catalyzing social change.
- Advocate for legal and social accountability – both the perpetrators of violent crimes and the bureaucrats who cover them up must be brought to justice.
- Talk to your male friends & family members about what they can do to protect women. Gender-based violence is NOT only women’s problem to solve.
