Page:Durga Puja - With Notes and Illustrations.djvu/28

 The Dawn and the Gloaming may without violence to imagination be called terrific-mouthed, as they both, as it were swallow the universe, and the goddess Durga is ten-armed, for she embraces the universe from the ten quarters of the globe. As darkness abides in the ten quarters of the globe, Dawn challenges Darkness residing in the ten quarters all at once and with ten weapons. Dawn hides her face in water, for the rays of the sloping sun skim over the surface of water, and in the blaze of day she may be said to hide her face under it, rising once more at the gloaming time with the setting sun. The fountain and the stream are therefore considered the proper places to deposit the image of Durga, so that she may come again, for the Dawn comes again. On the death of Sati, Siva became mad, and filled with grief travelled round the world, and was about to end his solitary life wrapt in devotion for her sake, but regained his senses when Parvati married him. The Sun (Puroravas) travelled round the world and regained Dawn in her image of Gloaming at the threshold of Death. The Puranas and Tantras have developed the gloaming image of Dawn into Syama, Kali, who is also an image of Durga. The beauty of Dawn is said to have deepened in gloaming darkness, and Durga becoming Masi-coloured was metamorphosed into Kali. In the war with Mahisasura the Markandeya Purana describes Durga as the invincible lady who challenged the demon and vowed—

Siva accepted the challenge, and vanquished her, and so became her husband. In the Vedas Indra is said to