Guest guest Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Adi Shankara's song 'AyI Giri Nandini ' in the melodious voice of the late Smt M.S. Subbalaxmi. Every Stanza in the song ends with this refrain 'Jaya jaya he Mahisasura MAardini Ramyaka Vardini Shailasute . 'Simply translated, this means "Be Victorious , Be victorious, Slayer of demon Mahisa , Daughter of the Mountain , who makes the whole world happy! The Triumph of Good over evil! The goddess Durga represents all that is pure, good and auspicious (sattwic gunas) and Demon Mahisasur represents all that is impure, evil and inauspicious. ( tamasic qualities) The Mahisasur story Mahisasur was the powerful demon who had the features of a Buffalo and the temperament of an Asura . Due to many austerities performed by his father, Mahisasur ( mahisa means buffalo and asur means demon) had obtained a boon that he could never be slain by devas or men. hen Mahisasur was arrogant and was invincible and became the undisputed King of three worlds. The gods then decided that the only way to Vanquish this all powerful demon was to create a 'woman' of radiant beauty and empower her with all the mighty weapons. Here is the beautiful description of how Devi Durga was created in the Saptashati. Durga's dazzling form was blindingly beautiful, with a face sculpted by Shiva, torso by Indra, breasts by Chandra (the moon), teeth by Brahma, bottom by the Earth, thighs and knees by Varuna (wind), and her three eyes by Agni (fire). Each god also gave her their own most powerful weapons - Shiva, the trident, Vishnu , the discus,Varuna the conch, Agni , the spear, Yama , the cudgel, Vayu, the bow, Surya , the arrow, Indra the vajra, Kuber gave the mace, Kala, the sword and the axe was given by Parshurama. She was beautifully decked with ornaments and jewels as well. Her mount was the lion ( simhavahini) . 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 might 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 !!! She is pure consciousness ! Chid-rupa Swarupini! Mahishasura nirnaashi bhaktaanaam sukhade namah Rupam dehi jayam dehi yasho dehi dvisho jahi To you who caused the destruction of the Great Ego, Giver of happiness to devotees We bow to you Grant us your form, Grant us victory, Grant us welfare, remove all hostility Wishing everyone a very happy and auspicious Durgashtami! Jai durge maa ambe Bhavani ! adi_shakthi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shalaka Posted November 13, 2013 Report Share Posted November 13, 2013 Superb stotra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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