Once students have studied the Kumari, they will be interested in studying Durga. Remind students that the Kumari are worshipped as the human, living forms of Durga.

1. Begin class by providing each group with one of the following images of Durga:

2. Each group should brainstorm different words to describe Durga. Create a list poem using the words they use.

3. In groups, students will read the following excerpt provided by the Rubin Museum of Art in their pamphlet entitled: Storytelling in the Himalayan Region.

In one version of this Hindu story, a shape-shifting demon named Mahisha
conquered the world. Mahisha was impossible to defeat because a prophecy
said no man or beast could defeat Mahisha during the day or night. The
greatest of the Hindu gods—Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma—were furious.

Parvati, the wife of Shiva, offered to battle Mahisha. The Hindu gods were
grateful for her courage and each gave her a weapon and their power. Parvati
transformed into the warrior goddess Durga, with eighteen arms and a great
lion as her vehicle.

Mahisha sent two servants to subdue her. Durga tied ropes around their necks
and threw weapons into their chests, defeating them easily. Realizing the
danger he was in, Mahisha transformed into a buffalo and hid among a herd
of other buffaloes. However, his disguise did not fool Durga. She chased him
on her lion and tackled him to the ground. They fought furiously for a long
time, and finally, in the evening when the sun had just set, she cut off his
buffalo head and pierced his heart with her spear. Durga defeated Mahisha
and saved the world.

4. Students will then watch the following youtube clip: