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I am interested to learn more about the hindu goddess Durga, can anyone tell me what she is known for and how she helps people?

Great question, I didn't know so I googled it and this is what I found on Wikipedia - (it's the tip of the iceberg).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


In Hinduism, Durga (Sanskrit: "the inaccessible"[1], Bengali: দুর্গা) is a form of Devi, the supreme goddess. In Bengal, she is said to be the mother of Ganesha, Kartikeya as well of Saraswati and Lakshmi.[2]

Durga is depicted as a warrior woman riding a lion or a tiger with multiple hands carrying weapons and assuming mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. This form of the Goddess is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy (Shakti).

Exactly Spectrum, Durga is a warrior woman who rides a tiger...her story appears primarily in the Skanda Purana, (a part of the Markandeya Purana- one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text, is in the style of a dialogue between the sage Jaimini, and the sage Markandeya).

The story goes that the gods lost their empire to two great antigods (asuras), Shumbha and Nishumbha, and prayed to the Goddess for help. Needless to say that the ever compassionate Devi took on these proud antigods and vanquished them utterly.

To this end, she assembled an entire army of Shaktis similar to her and when things became very tough, projected Kalika out of her third eye. She is called Durga because she slayed the son of the arch-demon Durga.