Mahisasura was the Lord of the Asuras. There was an ongoing war between the devas and asuras for years and years . After defeating all the devas includng Lord Inra , Mahisasura became the Lord of Heaven .
Lord Brhama could not tolerate the havoc and atrocities committed by Demong king Mahisasura and therefore Brahma approached Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu for help. On hearing the various tales of atrocities committed by Demon Mahisasura from Brahma and other devas , Lord and lord Siva got angry and distraught .
Here in the following verse is Described how A 'light' emanated in the form of Goddess Durga - please read the poetic description of this all pervading Light!
" Born out of the bodies of all the Gods,
that unique efflugence, combined into a mass of light,
took the form of a woman,
pervading the triple worlds with its lustre.
In that efflugence, the light of Shiva formed the face.
The Tresses were formed from the light of Yama and
the arms from the light of Vishnu Bhagwan
The two breasts were formed
from the moon's (Somanath's) light,
the waist from the light of Indra,
the legs and thighs from the light of Varun , and hips from the light of the Earth (Bhoodev)
The feet from the light of Brahma
and the toes from Surya's (sun) light,
the fingers of the hand
from the light of the Vasus(the children of Ganga
and the nose from the light of Kuber .
The teeth were formed from the light of Prajapati, the lord of beings; likewise the Triad of her eyes was born from the Light of Agni (fire)
two Sandhyas (sunrise and sunset);
the ears from the light of the wind(Vayu).
From the lights of other gods as well,
the auspicious goddess was born. "
Shiva ( Pinakapaani) gave Goddess Durga his weapon Trident; (Chakrapaani) presented His (chakra) to Her; Varuna Gave Her A Conch ; Agni Gave Her A Spear t presented it to her; and Vishnu bringing forth a discus out of his own discus gave her. Varuna gave her a conch, Agni a spear; and Maruta gave a bow as well as two quivers full of arrows.
Indra, lord of devas, gave Goddess Durga (his own) thunderbolt and a bell from that of his elephant Airavata. Yama gave a staff from his own staff of Death and Varuna, the lord of waters, a noose; and Brahma, the lord of beings, gave a string of beads and a water- pot.Kuber gave her the Mace . Kala gave Her the sword and Parsurama , the Axe!
Durga 's mouunt was Lion ! Thus , Goddess Durga also known as Simhavahini was born. Thus , Durga , a Goddess of Radiant beauty and invicible power was born ! mighty weapons.
Mahisasur was totally captivated by Durga's dazzling beauty and asked Durga to marry him. Devi challenged him to a fight and she would marry Mahisa only if he defeated her in battle.
For nine days a fierce battle was fought. Mahisa changes forms many times from Buffalo to Lion to man to elephant every time putting up a great fight. But Durga's infinite power (shakti) was finally able to pin down Mahisa 's buffalo form beneath her foot and she thrusts her spear into his heart and her mighty sword cuts his head into two while her mount lion (tiger) attacks mahisa's groins!
Attend any Durga puja ( held by Bengalees) in your area, This imagery is very powerful as well as very symbolic - the triumph of Good over evil. And along with Durga Mata we are also saluting the Demon Mahisasur under her feet. Yes, when slain by the great goddess Durga, Mahisasur attained Moksha or salvation.
Each weapon in Durga's 10 arms ( eight handed durga is also popular) is symbolic of something more significant.( this will be explained another time. )
Wht does Mahisasur stand for - a real demon? or demonic tendency? . The head is the 'ego' in a man/woman. Ahamkar- refusal to bow down to anyone - superior wisdom.
Have you ever seen a buffalo in India - it is very stubborn - once it sits down, it refuses to get up . Such is a man/woman's Ego.
Also, when someone is ignorant, we say 'kala akshar bhains barabar' that is all black letters are represntative of a buffalo-that is he/she is an ignorant fool.
Mahisa had all thse tamasic qualities- arrogance, ahamkar (false pride), ignorance , . lust (Moha for the beautiful form of Durga) and uncontollable anger ... and he was mighty destructive too!
If YOU read the saptashati, you will notice that Mahishasura's mighty form trampled the earth , his Heavy breaths tossed mountains into the air, his lashing tail causes the oceans to overflow, and above all his sharp horns tore the gently floating clouds to shreds.
In fact, MahiSAsur was nothing short of a major Tsunami, in modern parlance .
The victory of Durga is the victory of the all that is Good over all that is evil !!!
Mahishasura nirnaashi bhaktaanaam sukhade namah Rupam dehi jayam dehi yasho dehi dvisho jahi
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