Durga

The Character

For #internationalwomensday, I was inspired to  draw one of the most kick-ass and independent women in Indian Mythology, the magnificent Durga. 

The Story

Legends tell us that when the demon Mahishasura unleashed a reign of terror on Earth, the deities were all powerless to stop him. And so they combined all of their powers together and from that combined energy emerged the Goddess Durga. Armed with celestial weapons and divine armor, she rode into battle atop a fierce lion and destroyed the evil demon and his entire demonic horde.

The Art

Most drawings of her just have her in a red saree which I felt wasn't practical for a Goddess leading armies into battle, so I added a set of golden plate armor. I wanted to draw her with a lot more arms, each independently fighting off demons (such as actually shooting something with a bow and arrow or deflecting a blade with a shield or crushing something with a mace or stabbing something with her trident) but realized how complex this would get and in the end settled on just 4 arms, standing triumphant. Perhaps some day I will expand on this further :-)

I finished the piece off with Durga holding the head of the demon in his half-buffalo form, conclusively showing to all around her that the battle was won and that evil had been conquered.