Photos of a Hindu goddess' idols being handcrafted for the Durga festival in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — Leaning on his 10-armed creation, Govind Nath is ready to breathe life into the Hindu goddess Durga, a beloved deity who will be revered by tens of thousands of worshippers during the Durga Puja festival.

After molding and shaping the handcrafted idol with bamboo, clay and mud, he is painting her large, doe-shaped eyes. The deity will then be adorned with lavish clothes and sparkling jewels.

“Her smile has to be perfect. Whoever sees her face should feel she is our mother Goddess,” said Nath, 52, who belongs to a family of traditional idol-makers from Kolkata.

Durga Puja is the biggest festival for India’s Bengali community and is marked by the installation of huge, elaborately decorated images of the goddess, with feasts, music and dance to celebrate the victory of good over evil.

The festival also celebrates the feminine divine by venerating Goddess Durga, who is worshipped as the mother of the universe and for her triumph over the mythological demon Mahishasura.

In a cluster of dimly lit temporary structures in the heart of New Delhi, artisans have been sculpting idols of Durga and the elephant-headed god Ganesh for an annual festival that begins later this week.

They work with a range of vibrant colors, sometimes using their arms as a palette to mix the perfect hue.

Durga is usually portrayed as a fearsome goddess riding a lion, with Mahishasura crushed under her foot.

Her idols will soon be placed in homes and elaborate community shrines, with paths leading up to them lined with flowers and echoing with devotional chants.

Ritual prayers with intoxicating drumbeats and fragrant incense smoke will venerate the mother goddess during the festival, after which the Durga idols will be ceremonially lowered into rivers or other bodies of water.

Durga Puja festival in West Bengal’s capital city Kolkata has been given UNESCO’s recognition as part of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity."

Devotees sprinkle water and throw flower petals on the road through which they will be taking out the Hindu goddess Durga idol on a truck to a place of worship ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025.. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Workers use ropes to secure an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga on a truck as it is transported to a place of worship ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Devotees sing and dance as they gather at a temporary shelter to take an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga to their place of worship ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Devotees sing and dance as they transport an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga to their place of worship ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Workers pull ropes tied to the base of an idol of Durga as they move it onto a truck for transportation to a place of worship ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Devotees sing and dance as they gather at a temporary shelter to take an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga to their place of worship ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Devotees react upon seeing the idols of the Hindu goddess Durga as they arrive to take them to their place of worship ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Devotees sing and dance as they prepare to take an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga to their place of worship ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Artists give the final touches to idols of the Hindu goddess Durga ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Workers and artists bathe while visitors look at an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga, which was created ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An artist prepares idols of Hindu gods ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An artist attaches a crown to an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Idols of Hindu goddess Durga are kept for transportation ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An artist walks past his living quarters in a temporary shelter where he and others are creating idols of Hindu gods and goddesses ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An artist attaches a colorful dress to an idol of a Hindu god ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Discarded hay models used as the base layer for creating idols of Hindu deities are kept aside ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An artist from Kolkata prepares different colors for painting idols of Hindu deities ahead of the Durga Puja festival at a temporary shelter in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Govind Nath from Kolkata paints the eye of an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An artist from Kolkata paints an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Idols of Hindu gods and goddesses are prepared ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Workers take a break while creating idols of Hindu deities ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A worker makes tea for fellow artists who are creating idols of Hindu deities ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An artist from Kolkata paints an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga ahead of the Durga Puja festival in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A woman uses smoke as a prop to photograph her child, who is dressed as the Hindu goddess Durga, at a temporary shelter where idols of Hindu gods and goddesses are being made ahead of the Durga Puja festival, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An artist from Kolkata prepares idols of Hindu goddess Durga ahead of the Durga Puja festival, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.

South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.

Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.

On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.

No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.

After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.

Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)