The Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana refers to three principal forms of the female force: Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasarasvati. Every woman would like to be a combination of all three : the Goddess Lakshmi of her house, feared like the Goddess Kali and eternally wise and virtuous like the beautiful Sarasvati. If I had to choose one form , it would be Kali, the one freed of having to look beautiful, the problem solver, destroyer of injustice and divinely energetic.

Each goddess has a Vahana , an animal companion without whom she is incomplete. As the assistant of a deity, the vahana serves the function of doubling his or her powers. Durga the warrior could not have destroyed the demon Mahishasura without the aid of her mount, Manashthala the lion.

Lakshmi represents the beautiful and bountiful aspect of nature. As Bhoodevi, the earth-goddess, she nurtures life; Lakshmi bestows power, pleasure and prosperity on those who deserve her grace, dispensing both material and spiritual riches from her mount, Uluka the owl. One of her names is Ulkavahini: One who rides an owl. One full moon in autumn, the brightest night of the year, it is believed that she showers wealth and takes away the darkness of poverty, stagnation, anger and laziness from our lives. Her owl represents penetrating sight and intelligence..

Durga is the unconquerable form of the female goddess.She contains within her the power of all the gods combined and destroys evil. Durga’s vahana is a lion which represents heroism. In her gentlest form she is Parvati, the consort of Shiva. But Parvati has a lion as a vahana too which since Shiva has the bull, makes a statement. The imagery is slowly changing from lion to tiger as the word sher stands for both . But both animals are symbols of power and truth over lies.

Sarasvati the goddess of art, music and learning, is the river of consciousness. To realize her one must go beyond the pleasures of the senses and rejoice in the serenity of the spirit. Sarasvati’s vahana is a peacock or Hams the swan. The swan is a symbol of spiritual purity, and those who have transcended the material nature are sometimes called supreme swans, or "paramahamsa".

The seven mothers (Matrikas) who are all forms of the goddess(Devi) :

BRAHMANI: This goddess has four faces and a body bright as gold.. She is seated upon a red Lotus and has the Hamsa as her Vahana as also the emblem of her banner.

VAISHNAVI: She has a lovely face is of dark complexion. She wears a yellow garment and all the ornaments generally worn by Vishnu. The emblem of her banner as well as her vahana is Garuda the eagle.

INDRANI: Indrani has three eyes and four arms; The colour of goddess is red. Her vahana and the emblem of her banner is the elephant.

CHAMUNDA: The Goddess Chamunda has four arms and three eyes and is red in colour. Her hair is abundant and thick and bristles upwards. Her Vahana is an Owl and the emblem of her banner an Eagle. She is surrounded by jackals.

MAHESVARI. Mahesvari has four arms. Her Vahana and banner is the Bull.

KUMARI: She is the feminine of Subrahmanya who is known as Kumara. Her Vahana and emblem is the Peacock.

VARAHI. Varahi has the face of a boar and the colour of the storm-cloud. Her Vahana as well as the emblem on her banner is the elephant.

While every village goddess has her own animal companion spirit, other important Devis are the tiger-riding Jagaddhatri and the snake-goddess Manasa. Shashthi is the goddess of fertility and her vahana is the cat. All three are important deities of Bengal .

The goddess Ganga, the personified river Ganges has a makara or crocodile, riding on a makara which is half elephant or crocodile or deer with a fish tail .I think it should be a full crocodile who really does take care of the rivers Yamuna, the personification of the river Jamuna, has a tortoise (not turtle) as her vahana.

The donkey is the Vahana of Goddess Kalaratri and of Goddess Shitala. Goddess Kalaratri is one among the nine goddesses worshipped during Navratri. Shitala is the goddess of fever and small pox.

Kama’s consort, Rati’s companion is a parrot who stands for love

In Bengal Gauri’s emblem is the Monitor Lizard or what is now known as Sita’s Lizard (Sitana ponticerinaor) or chameleon. The name of the Vahana is Godhika

Many of the vahanas have a divine history of their own. For instance, According to the Kanda Puranam, the Tamil version of the Sanskrit Skanda Purana, Shiva’s son, Murugan, (Kartikeya) defeated the demon Simhamukhan. On his defeat, Simhamukhan begged forgiveness so Murugan blessed him to turn into a lion and serve as the vehicle of Durga.

The peacock, representing splendor and majesty. This apparently incongruous relationship has been traced to the bird’s formidable ability to destroy snakes. The hansa or goose/swan represents the arts, the power of discrimination and peace. The Hamsa is said to have the quality of separating milk and water meaning the quality of separating good and bad.Lakshmi’s owl is a warning against distrust and isolationism and selfishness.

If you respect and worship the goddess then you must respect their vahanas, many of whom represent divine attributes, as well. Not eat them or hurt them or think of them as lesser beings.

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