Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c9.2002

c9.2002

Now, about Śakti idols. Śakti is the Devī closest to Śiva. In South India there are special Śakti temples called Śaktipīṭhalayas. Durgā is the most important among the manifestations of Śakti. There are idols of Durgās as standing in the lotus flower and also as mounted on the lion. Āgamas refer to nine kinds or forms of Durgā i.e. Nīlakaṇṭhī, Kṣemaṅkarī, Harasiddhī, Raudrā, Vanā, Agni, Jayā, Vindhyavāsini, and Rīpunāśinī. Durgā’s most terrible form is Mahiṣāsura-mardini, found at Mahābalipuram, Ellora and other places. Durgā is also called Caṇḍikā and Kātyāyanī. Durgā is worshipped as Nandā, Bhadrakālī, Ambā, Rājamātaṅgī etc.