Awesome or Off-Putting is a weekly delve into cryptozoology, ufology, medical marvels, scientific wonders, secret societies, government conspiracies, cults, ghosts, myths, ancient artifacts, religion, strange facts or just the plain unexplainable.

This week: Strange Facts/Religion

Many parents only hope to give birth to a future doctor, legal judge, or much-acclaimed movie director. The more unabashed baby-makers may even think their loin-juice good enough to create a future president, tsar or dictator. And then there's the occasional couple that are lucky enough to give birth to a multi-armed Goddess of Indian folklore, which when born is instantly worshipped by throngs of money-leaving zealots.

That last one – it's rare, but it just happened.

A little girl has been born in Bihar, India, but she wasn't born with a typical baby body. Instead she was born with several tumours resembling additional appendages. These tumours, in turn, have made thousands of Indians believe the child is the reincarnation of Durga – an eight-armed Goddess in Indian folklore.

Legend has it Durga was originally created to be a warrior. Her primary task was to defeat a demon who was the sexy-time byproduct of his father, the king-demon, humping a particularly attractive water buffalo – honest to goodness. Durga has eight arms, and is generally depicted with a weapon in every hand.

Local police superintendent Amit Kumar Jain said of the child's birth:

“People from far-flung areas have started to pour into the village after hearing that the reincarnation of the goddess Durga was born here.”

Worshippers have left gifts like money, food, and flowers for the child, who was born to an impoverished couple. The parents are said to not even have enough money to take the girl to the hospital for a thorough examination.  

So maybe that gifted money will do some good after all.

Read More:

Deformed infant worshipped as goddess – news.com.au