The demon king Mahisasura had a boon that he could not be killed by a man. He became arrogant and had even defeated Indra. The Gods prayed to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, from whose bodies emanated a great brilliance. The tejas (lustre, power) emanating from other gods united with this initial tejas of the supreme deities and these various lusters became Durga. Each god generated a weapon from their own customary one. All these weapons were bestowed upon Her. Mahishasura was so enamoured by the Devi that he wanted to marry her. Instead, a mighty battle took place between Durga and the demon warriors of Mahisasura. The battle raged for a long time because the demon could change his form as he pleased. Finally, the goddess bound him with Her noose. The lion on which She was riding, stepped on the demon and Durga decapitated him with Her sword. The army of demons was thus demolished and the gods rejoiced. Since Durga was constituted from the combined lustres of the gods, She is considered most powerful in the universe.

Source: Veena Das, “The Goddess and The Demon.”

Picture: Iconic Sculpture from Mahabalipuram, Shutterbug Iyer.

Mahisasura means the buffalo bodied demon (Mahisha – bull). The demon riding a buffalo in iconography is a representation of this. Mahisasura appears in the Mahabharata as a demon slain by Skandha. Therefore, in the Mahabharata, Mahisasura is neither connected with the Goddess and, despite his name, nor with the buffalo form. The elaboration of Durga as the killer of Mahisasura is a contribution of Puranas. Archaeological evidence suggests a female deity often identified with Durga from the 1st cent CE. However the female deity was linked with the theme of Durga slaying Mahisasura only from the Gupta period. In the Varaha Purana, there is an account of the slaying of Mahisa by the goddess and his parentage is mentioned. He is supposed to be the son of the demon Rambha by a female buffalo. According to the later Kalika Purana, the demon Rambha was a great devotee of Shiva. He pleased Shiva with his austerities and asked that Shiva be born to him as a son. Shiva then took the female buffalo form. From Shiva and Rambha was born Mahisasura with the body of a buffalo. In yogic terms, Mahisha is said to be sloth to be slain by energy.

Source: Veena Das, “The Goddess and The Demon.”

Picture: In Goa, Rajan Parrikar.

Mysore is named after a demon—Mahisha Asura. Originally, the city was known as “Mahishuru,” which means “Mahisha’s City.” Gradually, it came to be called Mysuru, which was later anglicized to Mysore. Devi slayed Mahishasur near the top of a 1,000-metre hill here called Chamundi. Thus Devi gets names like Mahisha Asura Mardini (The Slayer of Mahisha Asura) and Chamunda Isvari (The Goddess of Chamunda). If one climbs the 1,000 steps to the top of Chamundi Hill, one will find not only the Chamundeswari Temple, but also a massive statue of Mahisha Asura—with a snake in one hand and a dagger in the other. At the 800th step, there is also a 15-foot high and 24-foot long granite statue of Nandi, the devoted bull ridden by Lord Shiva.

Source: https://www.amritapuri.org/3635/mysore.aum

Picture: National Museum

During their battle with the Devi, Sumbha-Nisumbha sent an army under the leadership of a demon called Dhumralochana. They were to drag the impudent goddess by her hair and bring her before them. When Dhumralochana tried to drag her, Kaushiki burnt him to ashes by uttering the single syllable hum. His army was destroyed by her lion. Dhumralochana means whose gaze (lochana-eyes) could reduce anyone to smoke (Dhumra/ Dhund – haze).

Source: Veena Das, “The Goddess and The Demon.”

Picture: Odisha Sculpture Bhubaneswar. Monidipa Dey.

After Dhumralochana, Sumbha-Nisumbha sent the next group of demon warriors sent under the leadership of Chanda and Munda, with the same purpose of dragging Kaushiki by the hair to the court of the demon kings. At the sight of them, Kaushiki was enraged. From her forehead, fierce with an angry frown, emanated a terrible goddess called Kali, with a sword and noose in her hands. Kali killed a host of demons. Then she killed Chanda and Munda and carried their heads to Kaushiki. Because she had carried their heads, Kali became known as Chamunda.

Source: Veena Das, “The Goddess and The Demon.”

Picture: Pala, Bengal. Monidipa Dey.

Sumbha and Nisumbha called forth various families of demons. One demon called Raktabija could not be killed because every drop of his blood that fell to the ground gave rise to a new Raktabija. Kaushiki suggested to Kali that the best way of killing Raktabija was to drink every drop of his blood before it fell to the ground. Kali stood with her mouth agape, drinking up every drop that fell from Raktabija’s body while Kaushiki killed him. The tales of Devi Mahtmaya are allegories of outer and inner experience. Raktabija represents desire, one is fulfilled but it gives birth to other desires.

Source: Veena Das, “The Goddess and The Demon.”

Picture: 16th Century Bengal Terracota, Ajoy Konar.

Vishnu withdrew into a deep sleep during the period between the dissolution of the universe and its re-creation. He was under the influence of Yoganidra (sleep of Yoga). Two demons emerged from the ear wax of Vishnu, Madhu and Kaitabha. They attacked Brahma who prayed to Yoganidra, to release Vishnu. Vishnu woke up and fought the two demons but the strength of the demons persisted. Vishnu prayed to Yoganidra. The goddess cast a spell upon the demons and lured them into believing that they were more powerful than Vishnu. The deluded demons granted a boon to Vishnu who asked for a boon to kill them. The demons had to grant the boon but put a condition that they can be killed only on dry land. Amidst the ocean, Vishnu took the demons on his thighs and killed them there. Yoganidra represents the tamsik aspect of Devi, also worshipped as Mahasarasvati. It is a powerful influence that has to be propitiated even by Vishnu to get into action. A slightly different version of the story is told in the Mahabharata.

Source: Veena Das, “The Goddess and The Demon.”

Picture: Wikimedia Picture of Vishnu killing Madhu and Kaitabha.

The demons Sumbha and Nisumbha expelled the gods from heaven. The gods went to Himalayas and approached the invincible Goddess and sang about her greatness. Kaushiki sprang from the sheath (kosha) of Parvati’s body. Parvati then became the dark and terrifying Kalika. The demons wanted to marry Devi Kaushiki. She replied that She would marry the one who would defeat Her in battle. The demons kept sending one general after another to subdue Devi Kaushiki but to no avail. In the end, Sumbha-Nisumbha were also slain by the Devi. Scholars argue that these stories of multiple demon warriors, represents how the feminine principle is required to absorb the evils of the world. In the Ramayana, Sumbha and Nisumbha are part of Ravana’s army and are slain in battle.

Source: Veena Das, “The Goddess and The Demon.”

Picture: Dallas Museum

The Varaha Purana states that the demon Andhakasura became very powerful after boons from Brahma. The gods appealed to Shiva who came to fight him. But like Raktabija, every drop that Andhakasura shed became another demon if the drop of blood hit the ground. Then Siva and other Gods created seven mothers from the fire emanating from their mouths. These seven mothers caught the blood drops before they could reach the ground. And thus, Shiva was able to defeat Andhakasura. The Saptamatrikas became popular during the Gupta period and were held in special esteem by deccan dynasties like Chalukyas and Kadamabas. The first sculptures of the seven mothers are from the Kushana period (2nd-3rd cent CE) but scholars have identified earlier references. The Mahabharata has one such reference though it could be a later interpolation. The Rig Veda states that Agni has seven mothers who correspond to the seven rays of the sun called sapta-rashmi. The Mundaka Upanishad has names of these seven mothers without reference as a group. Some Harappan seals with figures of seven women standing in a row have been interpreted by some to represent the seven mothers.

Source: MK Dhavalikar, “The Origin of Saptamatrakas.”

Picture: Nalanda Seal from Gupta Period. Monidipa Dey.

The iconic representations of Durga almost always include the representation of Mahisasura being killed by her. According to the story in Kalika Purana, before being killed, the demon prayed to Durga that he should not be completely deprived of all sacrificial offerings. Durga replied that since all the sacrificial offerings had already been allocated to the gods, nothing could be spared for Mahisasura. She, however, offered to share the worshipful offerings of her devotees with Mahisasura. Submitting to his fate, the demon agreed to be killed on condition that the goddess promise not to destroy his body. Convention has it that because of this boon given by Durga to Mahisasura, it became a tradition for visual representations of Durga to include the representation of Mahisasura.

Source: Veena Das, “The Goddess and The Demon.”

Picture: Mahishasuramardini in a boat, Goa. Rajan Parrikar.

On the eighth day (Ashtami) of Navratri (or the ninth day), devotees invite nine little girls (or sometimes 18) to their respective homes. They wash their feet with water, wipe them and ask them to sit on a special pedestal. A sacred thread(moli) is tied to their wrists and vermillion is applied to their foreheads. They are worshipped and people touch their feet and seek blessings. A host of special dishes (kanjak) such as poori, chana, ghee halwa, sweets, and kheer are offered to them. They also are given gifts like new dresses, bangles and money. We believe that the Mother Divine resides in these kanyas (girls below age of 12) and worshipping them brings good fortune, wealth, and happiness to people’s lives. We believe that Goddess Durga had taken the form of a kanya (young girl) to defeat the demon Kalasura and end his tyranny over the world. Also called kumari puja, the ritual celebrates the divine feminine in its most innocent form

Source: artofliving.org

Picture: Baijnath, Himachal. Shutterbug Iyer.

Many people believe that the Vedas were male-centric. However, the Devi Sukta is in Rig Veda. It characterizes the Goddess as the “sovereign” divinity. Devi Suktam occurs in the Rig Veda, 10th Mandala. The seer of the Devi Suktam is sage Vaak, the daughter of Sage Ambharin. Another Rig Vedic hymn in the same mandala, Ratri Suktam mentions the Devi. The seer of Ratri Suktam is Kushika and Ratri (Kalika, a form of Adishakti) is the deity. It is a description of the power of Mother Goddess and what She can do for Her devotees. She is able to give us everything we desire for. She can remove the obstacles, our enemies and make us free from all negativities. Ratri Suktam is recited at the start of Devi Mahatmya and Devi Suktam at the end.

Source: https://bidyutbiswas59.medium.com/devi-suktam-meaning-and-benefits-d5559be57f59

Picture: 2nd Century, Kushan Period Durga. Monidipa Dey.