The Inviolability of a Married Woman

The ten-armed Durga rides her realistically rendered ferocious lion wearing a pink wedding sari. The flare of the pallu can be seen to her right. Nine of her arms hold different weapons while a tenth grips a conch. This conch when blown, heralds the war cry of the Great Goddess.

Placing her left leg on his thigh, and poising the right one in reverse, she springs agily, and with her trident strikes the final blow into the tyrant's body. Both the sickle held in the right hand and the trident have an eye painted on them. This is the wisdom eye which enables her weapons to distinguish between good and evil.

The three-eyed goddess is beautiful. A pinkish glow illuminates her fleshiness, which the artist has charmingly captured in her numerous arms and the skilfully chiselled face, rich in feminine beauty and allure. Her head supports an elaborate and haloed crown which is adorned with paisley motifs. The parting between her hair is filled with red vermilion, signifying her married status. Indeed it was the villain's temerity in asking for her hand in marriage that angered the goddess and awakened her wrath. A married woman is inviolable, beyond reach, unattainable and unavailable. Bound in holy matrimony, a husband and wife have a total commitment towards each other. Thus the robust, embattered man in the foreground, had attempted to violate the integrity of a married woman, the mere presumptuousness behind his action, the injudicious pride underlying it, all added up in angering the virtuous woman who loved only one - her rightful and deserving husband Shiva.

Of Related Interest:

Durga : Narrative Art of an 'Independent' Warrior Goddess

Shiva - The Sensuous Yogi

Durga and the Untamability of Nature

Durga Pendant

Tales of Durga

Victory To Durga, The Mother of the World

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