Durga
Indian mythology · deity · protection, divine power (shakti)
The warrior goddess formed from the combined radiance of all the gods to slay the buffalo demon Mahishasura, whom no male god could defeat. In Shakta tradition she is not an emanation of the gods but the supreme power behind them.
Stories
Durga Slays Mahishasura
The buffalo demon Mahishasura, invincible against any male, drives the gods from heaven. Their combined radiance takes form as Durga, who rides into battle on a lion and, after nine nights of combat, beheads the shape-shifting demon.
Kali and the Blood-Seed Demon
Every drop of Raktabija's spilled blood springs up as another of him, until the battlefield drowns in duplicates. From Durga's brow leaps black Kali, who spreads her tongue across the earth and drinks each drop before it lands; the demon's army ends inside her.