The Story of Durga: As Told in the Devi Mahatmya

The most-told story of the goddess Durga lives inside a single Sanskrit work. The Devi Mahatmya — also called the Durga Saptashati or the Chandi — is a 700-verse text composed sometime between the 4th and 7th centuries CE. It is the thirteenth section of the Markandeya Purana. The text is structured as three episodes, called charitas. The second and third describe how Durga was made, and what she did with the form the devas gave her.

Before her

The Devi Mahatmya opens its second charita on a cosmic war. Mahishasura — a shape-shifter who could take the form of a buffalo — has defeated the devas in a battle that lasted a hundred years. He has taken Indra's throne and the offerings meant for the celestial beings. The devas, displaced, approach Brahma. Brahma leads them to Vishnu and Shiva.

The text describes what happens next not as a decision but as a physical event. As each deva listens to the account of their defeat, anger gathers in him as light. The light pours from his mouth. The lights of all the devas converge.

"It was like a flaming mountain," the text says, "filling the directions with its blazing radiance."

From that single concentrated mass, a form takes shape: a woman.

What each god gave her

The Devi Mahatmya lists, in close sequence, the gifts of the devas. Shiva draws a trident from his own trident and gives it to her. Vishnu does the same with his discus. Varuna gives her a conch. Agni gives her a spear. Vayu gives her a bow and two quivers full of arrows. Indra gives her his thunderbolt and a bell from his elephant Airavata. Yama gives her his staff. Brahma gives her a kamandalu and a rosary. Kala gives her a sword and shield. Vishvakarma gives her an axe, armour, and ornaments. Surya places his rays into the pores of her skin. The ocean gives her garlands and garments. The Himalaya gives her a lion as her mount.

She accepts each gift. She mounts the lion. The text describes her laugh: it fills the three worlds, and the mountains around them tremble.

The battle

Mahishasura hears the sound. He sends his armies.

The Devi Mahatmya names the generals: Chiksura, Chamara, Udagra, Karala, Uddhata. Each leads a vast force. She destroys them. The text describes her laughing as she fights. Her lion attacks alongside her.

Mahishasura comes himself. He fights her first in his buffalo form. He charges. He lashes mountains with his tail and hurls them. She binds him with her noose. He abandons the buffalo body and takes the form of a lion. She cuts off the lion's head. He takes the form of a man with a sword. She fires arrows at him. He takes the form of an elephant. She severs its trunk. He returns to his original buffalo form.

She pierces him in the chest with her trident. The text says he half-emerges from the buffalo's mouth, partly transformed, and in that moment she cuts off his head.

After the battle

When Mahishasura falls, the devas return to their stations. They praise her in a hymn the text records in full — known later as the Aparajita-stotra. In it they call her by many names, among them Durga, Ambika, Chandika.

The Devi Mahatmya does not specify that the battle took nine days. That count is preserved in the festival that has commemorated this episode for more than a thousand years: Navaratri, "nine nights."

How she is worshipped

Navaratri is observed four times in the traditional Hindu calendar. Sharad Navaratri, in September or October, is the most widely celebrated. The tenth day is Vijayadashami, also called Dussehra. Across India, the festival takes different forms:

• In West Bengal, Durga Puja installs large clay murtis of Durga in community pandals over the final four to five days, ending with their immersion in water.
• In Gujarat, the nine nights are marked by Garba and Dandiya Raas — circle dances performed around an image or lamp representing the goddess.
• In Karnataka, Mysuru Dasara is a state festival with a procession that descends from the ceremonies of the Vijayanagara empire.
• In Tamil Nadu, Golu is the display of dolls and figurines arranged on stepped shelves over the nine nights.
• In North India, Ramlila performances coincide with Navaratri, ending in the burning of Ravana effigies on Vijayadashami — drawing on the Ramayana's parallel narrative.

How she appears in art

Durga images vary in the number of arms. Eight-armed, ten-armed, and eighteen-armed forms are all attested in classical Indian sculpture and painting. The Bengali Durga Puja idol typically shows the ten-armed (Dashabhuja) form. The weapons in her hands correspond to those listed in the Devi Mahatmya's creation account.

Her vahana is most often a lion. In some regional traditions, including parts of Bengali iconography, she is shown with a tiger or both animals together.

Two features recur across nearly all depictions: a third eye, set vertically between her brows, and an ornate crown.

How the Anahat Durga design represents her

The Anahat Durga goddess graphic t-shirt is illustrated against a black background. The print shows Durga's face with the third eye and crown, her multiple arms holding traditional weapons, and a chromatic palette of reds, yellows, and golds drawn from Bengali pandal art. The composition references classical iconography rather than any single regional school.

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FAQ

Which text contains the story of Durga?
The most complete and widely cited account is the Devi Mahatmya, a 700-verse Sanskrit text that forms part of the Markandeya Purana. It is also called the Durga Saptashati or Chandi.

When was the Devi Mahatmya composed?
Most scholars date it to between the 4th and 7th centuries CE. The earliest surviving manuscripts are later.

How many arms does Durga have?
The number varies across traditions and images. Eight, ten, and eighteen are all attested. The Bengali Durga Puja idol most often shows the ten-armed form.

What is Mahishasura?
According to the Devi Mahatmya, Mahishasura is a shape-shifting being who can take the form of a buffalo. The text describes him defeating the devas in a hundred-year war before Durga is created to confront him.

Why is Durga worshipped during Navaratri?
Navaratri — nine nights — commemorates Durga's battle with Mahishasura. The tenth day, Vijayadashami, marks his defeat. The festival is observed differently across India, with West Bengal's Durga Puja and Gujarat's Garba among the most widely known.