She rides a tiger. A trident, a scimitar and a thunderbolt are among her favoured weapons. Yet she smiles and clasps a lotus in one of her ten hands.
She is Durga, champion of compassion - one of the many faces of the divine feminine - Shiva's equal, demon's bane.
And her annual festival is being celebrated by millions of people across India right now, in the days between the New Moon in peaceful Libra and the Full Moon in the sign of the warrior, Aries.
Go figure.
