Chandi

Chandi, also called Chandika, is the fierce warrior form of the Great Goddess in the Shakta tradition, closely identified with Durga. She is the central figure of the Devi Mahatmya, also known as the Chandi or Durga Saptashati, a text of seven hundred verses recited in worship. In Odisha, Cuttack Chandi is regarded as the presiding goddess of the city of Cuttack, and Charchika, a form of Chandi, is worshipped at Banki. She is honoured with special intensity in Navaratri and Dasahara.

The Devi Mahatmya is a section of the Markandeya Purana, thought to have been composed about the fifth or sixth century. In it the goddess is called Chandika or Chandi. It tells how the buffalo demon Mahishasura, then the demon brothers Shumbha and Nishumbha, overcame the gods, and how the gods...