Thoughts on Durga and Athena

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I find story of Durgā very interesting. And the seed of this new understanding is actually in Stephen Fry’s observation on Sherlock Holmes - he is born a fully developed character the moment we meet him first. He doesn’t “grow” in story to become a great detective. We see Sherlock Holmes for the first time we meet him - as a fully formed, fully armed character. He stays like this throughout. 

Stephen Fry likens Holmes to Greek Goddess Athena. Her birth story is fascinating. She emerges from Zeus’s head - fully armed, all wise, fully formed. 

I have read Durgā saptashati many times (all Hindus should - especially during Chaitra and Ashwin navarātra). I always wondered how dèvī (in her Durgā form) just comes into being - all-knowing fully armed (by all dèvatā- for one purpose - to kill mahishāsura). We all know the story. So I won’t repeat it. 

Other avatāra (with exception of Narasimha, kūrma and varāha) have a growth story. How they eventually grew (physically, in character sense, in sense of a journey in life). They did many things. Apart from their momentous task. 

But not Durgā. SHE just comes into being. All powerful, all-armed, all knowing - for one single purpose. WAR and Destruction of mahishāsura. That’s it. This single-agenda of durgā (also varāha-narasimha-kūrma) avatarāra is what really sets HER apart. From other avatāra.

Beautifully captured in famous Marathi ārati of durgā

हारि पडिलो आता संकट निवारी

(I am about to lose now, just remove the sankaTa) 

चारही श्रमले परंतु न बोलवे काही

सहाही विवाद करता पडले प्रवाही 

(Vedas are tired now, cannot be uttered. All six darshans argued but to no avail). When all our world-views (darshans) argue, brain-storm and fail at finding an amicable, sustainable and dhārmik resolution to problem of asuras... 

When it starts threatening to the very existence of Shruti... That is when Durgā appears. For complete physical destruction.

It is important that the due process of argumentation, brainstorming, experimentation and genuine conflict resolution is tried out first. Most of the problems (even a fundamental one like Buddha) was solved this way. 

Not everyone is Durgā. Heck - even dèvī is not Durgā every time. When times are so bad (or about to be so bad) that it denies any scope of organic response to asuras, that is when Durgā comes into existence. For one single purpose. 

I shudder to think what happens then. We don’t want HER to be coming into existence every now and then, do we?