The favorite Utsav of Bengalis, Durga Puja, is coming. Durga Puja, also known as Sharadotsav, is a celebration of the victory against the evil forces. When the heaven, hell, and earth were howling from the torment of Asura Mahishasur, Devi Durga appeared for the salvation of them. As the Durga Puja is around the corner, let us reminisce about the epic tale of the Mahishasura Mardini.
The Sanskrit word Mahishasura is a concordat of Mahisha and Asura, where the latter defines buffalo and later denotes demon. Mahishasura Mardini is the eradication of the buffalo demon.
However, who was this devil? Why did it assault the world? Take a look at the subversion of this vainglorious demon:
Legend of Mahishasura:
Mahishasura was a shape-sifter with a head of a buffalo. He was also an intent devotee of Lord Brahma. With his years of penance, Mahishasura was able to please Lord Brahma. Therefore, God granted him his wish. Blinded by his greed for power, Mahishasura asked for a gift of immortality where he couldn’t be killed by a man or animal. Without any choice to deny, Brahma granted him the wish. However, he told him that a woman would become the end of him.
Nonetheless, the haughty demon could not believe that a mere woman would be the one to destroy him, and even the strongest person in the world could not cause him any harm. So, Mahishasura ignored the word of God.
The Tyranny of Mahishasura
With his new gained power of immortality, Mahishasura became a tyrant. Hestarted striking the Trilok, earth, heaven and hell with his followers. The universe became unstable with his torture. However, he did not stop, rather became more aggressive. He even went to defeat Indra and seize Indralok.
Raged by the audacity of the demon, gods decided to wage a war against Mahishasura. However, with the blessing of Lord Brahma, Mahishasura was invincible, and the gods couldn’t win against him and his army. Without seeing any way to get out of this situation, the gods went to seek help from Lord Vishnu.
The Emergence of Devi Durga
After understanding the solemnity of the situation, Lord Vishnu sought deliberation with Lord Brahma and Lord Maheshwar. The three Gods of creation, rearing, and destruction came to the conclusion to bring into being a woman, to defeat Mahishasura. Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva combined all their powers to give birth to a beautiful yet mysterious woman. This began the tale of Shakti Roopini Devi Durga.
The confront of Devi Durga & Mahishasura
As the Devi emerged on earth, she began defeating one after another the army of Mahishasura. Being aware of the situation, a fearsome general of Mahishasura, Chakshura, decided to fight Devi Durga himself. Nonetheless, she won by slaughtering him into hundreds of pieces. Soon after, another general, Chamara, rushed to fight against Devi on top of an animal. However, Devi’s Vahan, the lion, jumped in and butchered him.
After seeing the adversity of his army, Mahishasura decided to fight with her himself. He took the form of a fierce Buffalo and dashed to the troops of the Devi Durga, hitting, trampling, lashing, and tearing. After destroying the military force, Mahishasura rushed to slay the lion of the Devi. Enraged by the condition of her troop, Devi confronted Mahishasura. They fought for ten whole days resulting in the death of Mahishasura. Devi Durga pierced him with her Trishool and ended his tyranny.
Thus ends the tale of Mahishasura Mardini.
Conclusion:
The victory of Goddess Durga against the evil forces is a festival to the human world. To commemorate the conquest of morality, several parts of India celebrates this days as Durga Puja, or Navaratri.