Raktadantika () is a form of the Hindu goddess
Durga
Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...
. According to the ''
Devi Mahatmya
The ''Devi Mahatmya'' or ''Devi Mahatmyam'' () is a Hindu philosophical text describing the Goddess, known as Mahadevi, Adi Parashakti or Durga, as the supreme divine parabrahma, ultimate reality and creator of the universe. It is part of th ...
'', Raktadantika incarnated to slay the descendants of the
asura
Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...
Viprachitti
Viprachitti is a danava featured in Hindu literature, a son of Kashyapa and Danu.A Classical Dictionary of India, p. 173 According to the Mahabharata, he becomes the king of the Danavas after his brother Puloman was killed by Indra. Viprachi ...
. Another account describes her as a form of
Kali
Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
, with an entirely red body.
Etymology
Raktadantika means “she whose teeth are red in colour”.
Legend
According to the ''Devi Mahatmya'', Durga is described to have incarnated as Raktadantika to slay and devour the
danava children of the asura Viprachitti. Her teeth are described to have turned as red as the flowers of a pomegranate, a consequence of which she was named Raktadantika. This legend is also featured in the Markandeya Purana.
She has been described as living in a pomegranate tree.
Her red teeth are analogous to red pomegranate seed pods.
References
{{Reflist
Hindu goddesses