Hinduism is one of the world's most ancient religions and the goddess Durga sits right at its heart.
This is Kamakhya Temple, high in the hills of Assam, one of the most sacred goddess temples in India.
For nine days every year, hundreds of thousands of Hindus come to worship Durga and to celebrate a great festival in her honour, the Durga Puja.
Bettany:
Hi, nice to meet you. Do you love the goddess here?
Boy:
Yes.
Bettany:
Yeah. Why do you love her?
Boy:
Because she gives us protection and she also loves us very much. She gives us many things, like lives, and then things to eat, things to wear.
Bettany:
So she really looks after you?
Boy:
Yes.
Bettany:
The festival celebrates the birth of the goddess Durga and her epic battle with the evil demon king. This famous story was first recorded in the 5th or 6th centuries AD in one of the most important religious texts in Hinduism, called the Devi Mahatmya. According to the sacred text, the demon king takes the form of a buffalo and terrorises the heavens and earth. Neither man nor god can defeat him, so the gods combine their celestial power to create Durga, the Shining One.
She appears riding a lion and carrying a fearsome weapon in each of her many arms. After a titanic series of battles, Durga slays the buffalo demon, liberating humanity and the gods. Each year, all over India, Hindus celebrate Durga's victory.
I’ve come to Kolkata in Bengal, where her festival the Durga Puja, has taken over the city.
Like most Bengalis, Tanushree Ghosh is celebrating Durga’s festival. She's invited me to join her as she gets ready for its finale.
Bettany:
So it's a really big day for everyone round here, isn't it?
Tanushree:
Yeah, over here it’s a very big day because it happens once a year. We wait for these four days. And also today is a very women-centric day because today women do the pujas, the majority of them, its for them.
Bettany:
So this is where you do your makeup?
Tanushree:
We do. This is Lotha.
Bettany:
Hi, namaste.
Lotha:
Hi, namaste.
Tanushree:
Please have a seat.
Bettany:
Thank you.
Tanushree:
And this is where all the makeup happens for the four days that we get ready for the puja, all the saris, everything. So this is where we get dressed and all the heavy makeup. This is the only time when we put on very heavy makeup and heavy jewellery, not before this.
It's important for Tanushree to follow traditional customs, but this is also an opportunity to keep up with the latest fashions.
Tanushree is taking me to her community’s pandal – a temporary shrine built especially for the festival.
When you think of the goddess, what’s in your mind? Do you think she actually exists as a creature with eight or ten arms?
Tanushree:
She does exist. For us, she’s a living being who’s always around us, blessing us, protecting us, taking care of us. So, for us, we've seen her drawn like this throughout, yet, actually, we don’t believe she has ten arms, but it shows that, you know, she’s multi-tasking, a woman who’s multi-tasking.
Bettany:
So really she’s a kind of role model goddess?
Tanushree:
She controls the world, so she’s a role model for men and for women because, in a different way, she shows women how to control and she also shows men that even if women can be quiet but still, you know, don’t meddle with her too much, don’t mess with her then she can you know take up ten weapons in ten hands and kill you, and can be the monster.
Bettany:
Are we a bit late?
Tanushree:
Yeah, we are late.
Bettany:
OK.
Every year, thousands of different neighbourhoods all over Kolkata come together to create their own special Durga shrine.
Woman:
Are you married?
Bettany:
I am married, yes.
Woman:
So then we put it in our hair.
Clay and water from the sacred Ganges as used to make the image of Durga. Described by many as the Mother of India, for nine days she is celebrated, worshipped and treated with the greatest respect.
Bettany:
Thank you very much. She’s not a goddess to be messed with, is she?
Woman:
She's the power god. Everybody finds solace and power, everything. And everybody come and pray, give us the power to sustain another year.
At the end of the festival, Durga will return home. She'll be taken to the sacred Ganges, which flows from the Himalayas, the seat of the gods. But first she must be prepared.
So the idea is that I’ve given the goddess food for her journey, I’ve looked after her, that’s why I’m smoothing her cheeks, and because she’s married I’m giving her the red mark on her forehead. But all the time I have to remember just how powerful she is and do it right.
The paint is the colour of blood and reflects, not only Durga's life-giving qualities, but also the brutal terror she can bring.
Bettany:
Hi, are you enjoying yourselves today?
Girl:
Very much.
Bettany:
I hear that some girls come here and you meet up with young boys, is that true, at this festival?
Girls:
Yeah! (Laughter)
The festivities carry on throughout the rest of the day and well into the night.
Bettany:
Now we’re on the way to the Ganges, where the idol’s going to be immersed in the river. So how many of these idols will go down? How many pandals?
Tanushree:
Around 200,000?
Bettany:
Will you be sorry to see her go?
Tanushree:
Yes, it's very emotional, because you’re going to wait another year for her to come back, so it's like your mother going away.
Bettany:
Like you mother leaving for a year?
Tanushree:
Absolutely.
(Shouting)
Bettany:
What are they saying?
Tanushree:
"To the glory of Mother Durga" and "we will celebrate again next year".
Bettany:
OK.
We’re actually on the banks of the Ganges now, and it's heading down to the sacred water.
Durga's journey home is about to begin.
This is the moment that Hindus think that she’s starting to return to heaven, to her husband, Shiva.
Across the globe, the goddess has pretty much been consigned to history. But just like those great ancient goddesses of antiquity, here she’s celebrated and worshipped with a wild and heartfelt passion. And also, just like them and I suspect like the women who’ve worshipped her for centuries, she’s thought to be both protective and threatening.
Someone who demands respect and inspires devotion.
Video summary
Bettany Hughes looks at the role of women in modern Hinduism.
She visits the Kamakhya Temple to learn about the Durga Puja.
She discovers what the festival means to the people celebrating.
She tells the story of the birth of the goddess Durga and her battle with the demon king.
Then Bettany travels to Kolkata to join some young women and prepares for the festival.
She discusses what they believe about the goddess and what the importance of the female is in Hinduism.
Bettany gives her respects to the goddess and joins the celebrations as the goddess is taken to the River Ganges.
As they go they are joined by many others.
The celebrations continue as Bettany watches the statue being carried into the Ganges and she shares her thoughts about the Durga Puja.
This is from the series: Divine Women
Teacher Notes
Students could be asked to identify what it is about Durga that makes her important to modern Hindus.
They could identify what is special about a female goddess compared to a male god.
They could examine the apparent contradictory aspects of Durga.
Students might reflect on the ways in which young people celebrate the festival and remind themselves of aspects of their faith.
This clip will be relevant for teaching Religious Studies at KS3, KS4, and GCSE in England and Northern Ireland.
Also at 3rd and 4th Level in Scotland.
This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, CCEA and SQA.
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