History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c37.115

v3.c37.115

The worship of Durgā has prevailed from ancient times.¹⁷⁵⁸ She is worshipped under various names and aspects. In the Tai. Ār. X. 18 Śiva is said to be the husband of Ambikā or Umā. In the Kena Upaniṣad (III. 25) Umā Haimavatī is mentioned as imparting to Indra the knowledge of the Great Being. The various names of Durgā are Umā, Pārvatī, Devī, Ambikā, Gaurī, Caṇḍī or Caṇḍikā, Kālī, Kumārī, Lalitā &c. The Mahābhārata (Virāṭaparva 6 and Bhīṣma 23) contains two hymns addressed to Durgā in which she is stated to be Vindhyavāsinī and fond of blood and wine, and in Vanaparva 39. 4 it is stated that Umā became a kirātī when Śiva became a kirāta to test the prowess of Arjuna. In the Kumārasambhava Kālidāsa speaks of Pārvatī, Umā, Aparṇā and derives the latter two words (I. 26 and V. 28). Yāj. I. 290 speaks of Ambikā as the mother of Vināyaka. The Devīmāhātmya in the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa (chap. 81-93) is the principal sacred text of Durgā worshippers in Northern India. E. I. vol. 9 p. 189 shows that about 625 A. D. Durgā was invoked as a supreme goddess. Bāṇa in his Kādambarī gives a graphic description of the temple of Caṇḍikā and refers to offerings of blood made to her (para 28), to her trident (triśūla) and her slaughter of Mahiṣāsura. The Kṛtyaratnākara (p. 351) quotes verses from the Devīpurāṇa that the 8th of the bright half of a month is sacred to Devī (and particularly of Āśvina), that a goat or a buffalo may be sacrificed for her.¹⁷⁵⁹ These bloody rites are still continued in the Kālī temple in Bengal and a few other shrines of Durgā. In Bengal the worship of Durgā in Āśvina has been most popular.¹⁷⁶⁰ Raghunandana in his Durgārcana-paddhati gives an elaborate description of the worship of Durgā in Āśvina. Durgā is also worshipped as Śakti. The influence of Śākta worship has been great throughout India and will be briefly surveyed later on.