DŪRGA.
The consort of Shivŭ derives her name from the giant Doorgŭ, whom she slew. A short account of the Dasera, a festival held in honour of this goddess, has been given in [Vol. I. p. 34]. Dūrga has a thousand names, and has assumed innumerable forms, among which are Kalī, the black goddess, worshipped at Kalī Ghat; Bhŭvanī, the wife of Shivŭ; Pārvutī, the Daughter of the Mountain; the Inaccessible, the Terrible, the Mother of the Universe. Kalī, under the name of Phŭlŭ-Hŭrēē, is described in [Vol. I. p. 164]; and Dūrga, as Bhagwan, will be hereafter mentioned. I have an ancient and curious brazen image of Dūrga, with ten arms, which I procured at Prāg. Also numerous images of Anna-Purna Devi, the goddess who fills with food, a very common household deity; most families in the Mahratta country include her among their Dii penates. She is represented as a woman sitting cross-legged, and holding a spoon with both hands across her lap.
Pārvatī, Bhavani, Dūrga, Kali, and Devi, or the Goddess, are names used almost indiscriminately in the writings and conversations of the Hindūs. The history of Satī has been given in [Vol. I. p. 94].