Shri Navdurga

After saving the cosmos from the human-headed buffalo demon, Durga promised to transform into her martial form only when she is needed. She is the patron goddess of war, warrior caste, ksatrias and rajputs, enthroned on her vahana, on the lion, and accompanied by her helpers from the battlefield, whom she has created from within herself. Although they personify her rage, they appear to be well-rounded here. The scene is surrounded by victory garlands of the gods. Durga had to become tamed and good-natured, and abandon the idiosyncratic role that does not appeal to the stereotypes of the average Hindu woman, in order to be established today, like Vishnu, as the guardian of dharma.[Durga is mixed with Kali in mythology, and also iconographically. She is also associated with fertility rituals; bloody sacrifices were made to her in order to revive her powers. Such rituals are still performed today in Orissa (Durgapuja) and in Nepal. As the consort of Shiva, she was later also identified as Parvati, thus integrating the original tribal goddess into modern Hinduism]