Durga is the invincible warrior form of Devi, forged from the combined radiance of all the gods when no male deity could slay the buffalo demon Mahishasura — she rode a lion into battle and destroyed him after nine days of combat.
In Shaiva tradition, Durga is Parvati's fierce warrior form — the gentle mountain goddess transformed into an invincible warrior when the gods needed a champion against the unconquerable Mahishasura.
Kali emerged from Durga's forehead during the battle against the demon armies of Shumbha and Nishumbha. As Durga's most ferocious emanation, Kali consumed the demon Raktabija's blood to prevent his clones from multiplying, securing the Goddess's victory.
Durga slew the buffalo demon Mahishasura after nine days of ferocious battle — she pinned him with her foot as he shifted from his buffalo form and drove her trident through his chest, ending the demon king's tyranny over the three worlds.
Durga fought the demon Raktabija whose every drop of blood spawned a duplicate warrior. Unable to slay him by conventional means, Durga emanated Kali, who drank Raktabija's blood as fast as it spilled while Durga delivered the killing blow.
The gods, dispossessed by Mahishasura, pooled their divine radiance to forge Durga and armed her for battle — Shiva gave his trident, Vishnu his discus, Indra his thunderbolt and the bell from Airavata, Yama his staff of death, Vayu his bow, and Himavan gave the lion she rode into war.
Brahma granted Mahishasura the boon that made him invincible to men and gods, inadvertently creating the crisis that required Durga's creation. When the dispossessed gods approached Brahma, he joined them in emitting the divine tejas that formed the Goddess.
Durga as Yogamaya assisted Krishna's birth by being born simultaneously as Yashoda's daughter and swapped with the infant Krishna. When Kamsa tried to kill her, she revealed her divine form as the eight-armed Goddess and warned him that his destroyer had already been born.
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