why is durga shown riding a tiger ?!!

[sambya]

hello everyone .

well , in northern india we come across images of devi riding on tiger . but in shastras she is shimhavahini--rider of lion . and till date i have not yet come across any shastra where she is said to ride a tiger . so this question have always remained in my mind -- ' why this deviation ' ?

there might be many regional goddesses who rides on tigers(like in some parts she has monitor lizards as her vahan !! ) , but im not concerned with them . im speaking about major deities like durga when they are shown on tigers

personally i think this has resulted from the element of confusion in hindi language . both tiger and lion are 'sher' in hindi . hence shera-wali(on lion) became tiger-wali quickly .

but im looking forward to hear what others know or think in this respect ...

[Onkara]

Hi Sambya
My guess is that the tiger became more prominent in relation to Bangladeshi imagery of Maa Durga. The tiger is the national animal of Bangladesh (Royal Bengal Tiger).

In the Srimad Devi Purana there is a reference to Durga

"The face of the Dûrgâ Devî was thought of as that of a tiger."

and later to the Lion as her vehicle:

"O Lord of men! Thus Bhagavatî Mahisamardinî was born of the Tejas (fiery substances) of
the Devas. Next S’iva gave Her the S’ûla (weapon spear); Visnu gave Sudars'ana (Chakra);
Varuna gave the conchshell; Fire gave S'akti (weapon); Vâyu gave Her bows and arrows;
Indra gave Her thunder bolt and the bell of the elephant Airâvata; Yama gave Her the
Destruction Staff (Kâla Danda); Brâmâ gave Her the Rudrâksa, rosary and Kamandalu; the
Sun gave Her, in every pore the wonderful rays; the Time (Kâla) gave Her sharp axe and
shield; the oceans gave Her the beautiful necklace and new clothes (two in number);
Vis'vakarmâ gladly gave Her the crown, ear-rings, kataka, Angada, Chandrârdha, tinklets;
and the Himâlayâs gave Her the Lion as Her Vehicle and various gems and jewels."

Would be still interested in others input :)

[sambya]

helo snip . thanks for your input . but bangladesh , which historically speaking is bengal has durga depicted on lion . bengali depcitions are always on a lion . this lion is sometimes shaped like a mythical horse like creature , like gaja-simha of orissan archtiecture . actually in old stone sculptures lions were often depicted with heavy embellishments and ornaments with long necks and ornamental manes . this still continues in some areas in bengal .

[sambya]

this is traditional orissan lion of durga

[sambya]

the first one is lion of thai art .

second is a lion of traditional bengali art .

[devotee]

hello everyone .

well , in northern india we come across images of devi riding on tiger . but in shastras she is shimhavahini--rider of lion . and till date i have not yet come across any shastra where she is said to ride a tiger . so this question have always remained in my mind -- ' why this deviation ' ?

there might be many regional goddesses who rides on tigers(like in some parts she has monitor lizards as her vahan !! ) , but im not concerned with them . im speaking about major deities like durga when they are shown on tigers

personally i think this has resulted from the element of confusion in hindi language . both tiger and lion are 'sher' in hindi . hence shera-wali(on lion) became tiger-wali quickly .

but im looking forward to hear what others know or think in this respect ...

The reason is that we have killed most of the lions and there is hardly any left for Devi to have a ride on ! :)

Seriously speaking, the reason is most probably mixing up of lion and tiger somewhere. But I don't know ... not much strong in pauranic stories.

OM

[sambya]

The reason is that we have killed most of the lions and there is hardly any left for Devi to have a ride on ! :)

hahaha . thats a good one .

[Krisda4]

Durga is known by 9 forms , one of which is "Kushmanda" , she is seen on tiger .

Please check the link : http://www.hindudevotionalpower.com/2010/03/kushmanda-devi.html

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

I believe I have your answer. Let me introduce you to Maa Byaghra Devi of Kullada, Orissa.

There are various famous centers of Shaktism such as Uddiyan, Karmrup, Purngiri and Jalandhar, and even though Orissa is not part of Bengal and uses a different Mother Tongue, the two both Orissa and Bengal are tightly coupled in regards to the manifestation of Devi Durga including her form on the Tiger.

Kullada is about 400 km or about 250 miles from Kolkata (Calcutta, WB) (shown in the MODERN map below).

Orissa is also known as Odra, and Orissia is noted for Devi in the Mahabharata.

Byaghra in Sanskrit means tiger. “Bagh” is an outcrop from that word. Shubhra or Shubra in Sanskrit means white - I note this as She is often seen on White Tiger which is found in the ancient Himalayas. The Devi form of Durga who rides the tiger is called Byaghra also known as Bagdevi. Where she resides is also known as Paschima Dwara (shown in location number 71 in the Shakta map below).

Maa Byaghra Devi (Bagdevi) is the Sherawali form of Durga and the Kuladevata Goddess of the Bhanja Dynasty of the Ghumsar Royal family of Southern Orissa, worshipped in Kulad fort of Ghumsar in Ganjam district. She originally manifested in a cave in that place and Her worship was on Tuesdays, but she was given residence in a temple by Dhananjaya Bhanga who is the Grandfather of the renowned poet Updendra Bhanja. By Her blessings, Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja attained Siddhi by the Taraka Mantra and become Kabi Samrat or King of Poets. She is ancient from the hoary past, She has 8 arms and holds a bow and arrow and rides the Tiger, and She is seen stepping down upon a dead monster. Now there are two temples for Bagdevi at this place, one at the top of the mountain where an original Murthi is found, and one below more modern.

Note, in 1999 the Orissa State Museum (Bhubaneswar report Jan 28, 1999) discovered two sets of ancient copper plates from the Bhanja Dynasty composed between the 9th and 12th Century during “the Bhanja Dynasty’s goldern rule”. The Dynasty goes back to the 900’s AD.

Here is a video of the mountain temple:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvrnDeAD71Y

This manifestation of Durga on Sher or Tiger also was revealed and spread to Bengal where She is known as Sherawali. She is indeed a Goddess of Durga form who rides on a tiger.

Om Namah Sivaya

[Necromancer]

Namaste.

When I asked this question, I was told that tigers, lions and other big cats of India = Pride. Sometimes bears too are associated with being very proud creatures.

It's where we get our saying from: "a pride of lions".

When Yogis sit on tiger/lion/bear skins, it means they have overcome their pride and ego. They also wear them too.

Devi sitting on a tiger/lion is a message to all followers to subdue false pride.

Whether she is sitting on a tiger or a lion depends on locational sect.

Sometimes, she can even sit on a dog.

Aum Namah Shivaya