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Home , Durga, Mahishasura

14 OURE Hindu

Hindu Ideas about the Enquiry: what can we learn from a religious artefact? For the teacher: This example of RE work uses an artefact from Hindu tradition, a statue or of the goddess . The activity models a process of enquiry. It is flexible: any intricate religious artefact can be used. OFSTED have recently been criticisng RE for lacking rigorous enquiry models, and for spoon feeding children with little facts. Use ideas like this with 7-9 year olds to prove the inspectors wrong. The work connects to the essentials for learning in RE (QCDA, 2010), picking up the themes of different forms of religious expression and asking questions of meaning and purpose.

A seven step process for deeper enquiry and building understanding 1. Objects tell stories. Talk to the class about the ways in which objects can tell stories. Ask them to think of examples: what can we learn from a conker? How does the oak tree get inside the acorn? What does a person’s dress tell you about what they like? If you meet someone holding a gun, and someone holding a bunch of flowers, what might these objects say about them? Ask the children in pairs to come up with three things to hold that are clues to the character they are thinking of, and see if others (or yourself?) can guess the person. E.g. wand / schoolbook / glasses (Harry Potter). Red shirt / silver cup / shin guard (Wayne Rooney). Ask them to think up some more examples. 2. Enquiry: asking good questions. Use the the outline on page16 to get pupils to see that different kinds of questions help us to enquire into an object. If the page had the FA Cup, or a pet rabbit, a Ferrari car, the coronation crown or Britney ’ I-POD in it, then the questions might help us to understand the object, and get at its story. Ask pupils to choose an object – perhaps froma religion other than – draw it int othe middle of the grid, and work with a partner to suggest answers to all the questions about the object. Encourage guessing and speculation, which matter more than correctness here! 3. Questioning an image of Durga the goddess. Tell pupils that they are going to try and ask good questions about an image of a Hindu goddess. Even if they don’t know much yet, the questions will be the tools for finding out all about the image. Give pairs of pupils a copy of the blank sheet on page 17, and ask them to put four good questions at least into each of the boxes. Then get the pairs to join up into fours and add each other’s best questions to their own sheets. 4. Using 9 pieces of information. Give pupils a copy of page 18 and ask them to read together in fours about the goddess. Which of their questions can they now answer? You might ‘drip feed’ the information in the nine boxes into the groups of pupils (allow them to turn over one card at a time perhaps?), and keep them answering as they assemble the full picture. What questions are left? The nine information boxes all have a question in them as well. Use these for discussion in groups and with the whole class. 5. A story of Durga: Read the story of Durga – or retell it in your own dramatic way – with the class. Ask pupils to choose four key words from the story, and to make a picture or symbol for each of those words in the picture boxes that run down the page. Get them to group up and share the words they chose and the images they made. Does this story answer any more of their questions? 6. Labelling a picture. Ask pupils to put a picture of durga in the centre of a large sheet of paper, and work as a group to label everything they can about it in as much depth, detail and thoughtfullness as they can – make a competition of this if your pupils respond well to such approaches.

7. Discussion questions: • Why do many people say ‘he’ for God, but not ‘she’? • What did you learn about the Durga murti? • Why are some sacred objects worth more than money?

• What is the ‘story’ of this object?

15 OURE Hindu

PPT on the RE Today website: See www.retoday.org.uk (password inside the back cover of this term’s magazine) for a PowerPoint and supplementary worksheets and images to download, accompanying this article.

Assessment outcomes for this work: Pupils tackling these tasks will show achievement at different levels. The ‘I can…’ statements provide a clear guide to the learning the activity seeks and the progression you may find.

Level Description of achievement: I can... • Use religious words to identify the symbols in a durga murti 2 • Retell a story about the goddess Durga • Ask lots of questions about the durga murti, and look for some answers. I can... • identify and describe some symbols in a murti of Durga the goddess • identify correctly some of the meanings of the murti and its symbols 3 • describe some objects that might symbolise myself, and notice similarities and differences between these and the symbols of Durga the goddess I can... • use the right words to show that I understand the significance of Durga for Hindu worshippers • apply the ideas of symbolism, and 4 worship for myself, making use of what I learned about Hindu traditions • enquire into Hindu artefacts, giving reasons for my answers to questions about Hindu beliefs and ideas about God. 16 OURE Hindu

17 OURE Hindu

18 OURE Hindu

How Durga was born from light to save the Earth from terror

Once long ago in the misty times before history Mahishasur the evil demon terrorised the world, undefeated and fierce, he was the invincible, the conqueror demon. Strong and wise gods, and humans were all in despair: no one could stop Mahishasur!

At last all the gods and goddesses agreed together that something must be done, and led them all to the place where the universe began, where sleeps upon a mighty snake in the first ocean. Vishnu was communing with . Brahma told them how the Earth was terrorised, and as he spoke, the fury of the great gods, Vishnu and Shiva, rose: how could the people of Earth suffer so? Mahishasur must be challenged! The energy of their anger sent flames of light, bolts of brightness, flying through the air. Blinding beams of light flashed from all the gods and goddesses, fiercely flying into the atmosphere, and light a bolt of lightning they all struck together, smashing to the Earth at the home of a priest whose name was Katyan. The exploding energy of the fury of gods looked like a sea of light. From inside the sea of light, a figure emerged. Full of furious energy, but also like an ocean of light, the figure was the amazing Durga. She introduced herself: “I am the energy of the Ultimate Reality. I am the form of the One!”

Her beauty and lightness were obvious: he hair was beautifully curled, her skin glowed like red gold, her forehead carried a mark of a crescent moon, and she had a third eye. With ten powerful hands she greeted all the gods and goddesses with and splendour.

Her clothes were golden, shining with light, and her jewellery of ocean pearls was amazing. At once, the different gods and goddesses felt she might be able to challenge the evil Mahishasur. They stepped forward and gave her gifts, a discus, a thunderbolt, a trident, until every hand held a weapon.

She mounted a , and raced to attack the evil . He saw her coming. He wasn’t bothered: "How can a woman kill me, Mahishasur — the one who has defeated gods and humans? He laughed. Then Durga roared with laughter, and it sounded like an earthquake. Then Mahishasur was worried: if she laughs like an earthquake, what is she like when she fights?

Mahishasur went on the rampage, changing forms many times. First he was a buffalo demon: Durga defeated him with her sword. The he became an elephant, and grabbed her tiger with his trunk. Durga sliced his trunk neatly off. Mahishasur morphed into a : she killed it. He came back as a man: gracefully, she put him to the sword. Mahishasur tried to turn back into a buffalo again. Durga, patient and angry at the same time, sipped divine wine from a cup. She smiled and said "Roar while you can! You can’t even read! I’m just going to have a drink, then I will get you!” She drank, and the light flowed from her body, paralysing Mahishasur. She cut him down.

It was the fierceness of her compassion that won the battle for Durga. 19 OURE Hindu

The Goddess Durga: 9 pieces of information

In a Hindu family home, or in a In Britain today, there are temple, you might see a statue of In , many people are . hundreds of thousands of Hindu Durga the goddess. She rides a The Hindu religion began people. Many of them honour tiger, and carries many weapons thousands of years ago. Many Durga, or another form of the in her many arms! There are gods and goddesses are goddess. The murti in the picture many stories of Durga for Hindu worshipped by Hindu people comes from a shop in worshippers to learn and think today. Hindus use one word for Birmingham that sells religious about. She is the divine partner of ‘Reality’ – . All the gods objects. It is 12cm tall, and made Lord Shiva. , the and goddesses are aspects of from vacuum-formed plastic, elephant-headed god who Brahman. Do you agree with the brightly painted. It cost £6, but removes obstacles, is their son. If Hindu idea that God is one, but what is it worth to the Durga’s fierceness was on your seen in many forms? worshipper? side, what would you ask her to

attack? Why? In one of her hands, Durga carries a conch shell. When blown, it A Durga murti (statue) often Hindu goddesses show different makes the sound of creation: shows the goddess in red or aspects of the feminine. is Aum. A thunderbolt in one hand, purple clothes. These colours are the , and a snake in another can make her a sign of action. There are many is goddess of learning. look fearsome, but one of her stories of Durga in which she But Durga is all about female hands is held up open in a rides on her tiger to fight evil. She energy: she uses her power greeting that means: ‘Don’t be is always busy defending what is fiercely to fight evil. Think about afraid.’ She is herself fearless, good against evil enemies. What some mothers you know: what patient, always good humoured. do you believe is a weapon for do they use their powers for? Do you know anyone who is both goodness in a world of evil? fierce and fun? Do you want to be fierce, or fun, or both? She has her own festival: Durga The name of this loving, fiercely is celebrated all over India, She has ten arms (sometimes compassionate feminine icon but especially in West . even more!). This is a sign of her comes from a word for During the week of festivities, powers. She carries lots of ‘fortress’. Strong and people bring murtis of Durga different weapons: not all evils inaccessible, Durga is the from the many temples in her can be defeated by one method. embodiment of a mother’s fierce name out onto the streets for all Her mace, trident and sword are love for her children. Some say kinds of celebration. Everyone used to fight different kinds of this is what makes her the most has a good time and lets their wrong. Can you think of five worshipped of all Hindu hair down. 2010 dates: 13th – 17th things you think are evil? Can you goddesses. Look online or lots of October. What would get you suggest different ‘weapons’ that images of durga – there are dancing in the streets? Do you make it possible to fight these hundreds of thousands. Which have memories that are evil things? ones seem most modern to you? celebrated every year?