Durga

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A principal goddess in Hinduism, often depicted as a warrior, symbolizing the victory of good over evil through her fierce empowerment
2. A revered figure in various traditions, representing strength, protection, and the nurturing aspects of femininity while embodying martial prowess
3. An important deity who rides a lion and is celebrated for her role in dispelling darkness and ignorance, embodying both power and compassion

Etymology: The Sanskrit "durgā" is built from "durga," meaning "inaccessible" or "difficult to reach," a compound of "dur" ("difficult, bad") and "ga" ("going"), so the name originally described a place or state hard to approach rather than a goddess. That sense survives in the goddess's most famous epithet, Durga as protector, since her name reflects a fortress-like inaccessibility that shields her devotees from danger. The word was later applied to the goddess as her cult grew across the Indian subcontinent. English took the name directly from Sanskrit, so it reached the language as a proper name for the deity rather than as a common noun. Its spelling and pronunciation have stayed close to the original, which is why the word reads almost the same as its Sanskrit source.

Synonyms: goddess Durga, Devi, Shakti, Mahadevi, Bhavani