The Goddess is not just motherly or maidenly. She can be fierce, protective, and warrior-like.
Warrior goddesses and protective goddesses exist in all traditions. They are there to fight off evil and also protect humanity.
One famous warrior goddess that you find in museums, for example, is Durga, She is considered a Great Mother and warrior goddess of the Hindu tradition. She symbolizes strength, valor, and protection. She is actively worshipped by millions over the world, she is a particular patron to women, who regularly direct their morning worship and daily prayers to her attention.
She is the first personification of the Divine Female in the Hindu pantheon, having emerged from the cumulative powers of all the gods, who called her forth—and conjured her, some say, by breathing fire— when they could no longer fight Mahisasura, the Buffalo Demon who threatened the world. Brandishing the weapons given to her by the gods and representing their fiercest forces of good, Durga set off on her lion to find and destroy him. With her eight arms and numerous weapons, ornaments, and apparel, she was the only one who could reach the nasty demon and stop him. (Her name, in Sanskrit, means "a fort," or a protected place that is difficult to reach.)
In addition to being a slayer of evil, she is also the Great Mother, a nurturer, a comforter, and loving protectress, so her divine powers help sooth people through destructive times, offering a shoulder to cry on as well as a sword to go into battle. She is seen as an Indian woman with eight arms (sometimes ten); dressed in a sari, she rides a lion and sometimes a tiger, each hand holding a weapon or poised in a sacred stance.
- Laurie Sue Brockway