Story

At this time Mahishi, the powerful Demoness, resumed her atrocities against the Devas and, unable to bear her oppression, they sought the lotus feet of Lord Bhootanatha (Manikantha) at Ponnampalam, praying Him in His mercy to redress their grievance by ending her life.

“Oh Lord Bootanatha, Lord of the Universe, incarnation of mercy and love, we seek refuge in you to relieve us from our oppression by Mahishi. What else than your lotus feet shall we cling to for our rescue? To whom else shall we turn for succor?”

Who was this Mahish? Why did she oppress the Devas? And why did the Devas seek succor at the feet of Lord Bhootanatha?

When the Trinity took up human forms for the establishment of dharma in the world there emerged from them a shakti or force which they named Datta. Perhaps he is the same as Dattatreya, a popular God of the North. There is no record to confirm this but it is generally believed to be so. References are also found to Datta as Dattatreya Maharshi.

Correspondingly, the consorts of the Trinity, by their Yogamaya, took human form and came to the world as the daughter of Maharshi Galava. The Maharshi named her Leela and in due course gave her in marriage to Datta.

Young as they were, Datta and Leela descended to the world and roamed about in the forests enjoying worldly pleasures of a youthful life. Forgetting herself, Leela became made after mundane desires and Datta acquiesced in her wishes. Thus they spent a long time in the world.

In due course Datta became conscious of his Divine nature and decided to withdraw from his alliance with her. This was resented by Leela for her desires were still unsatiated. She besought Datta not to leave her, pleading:

Leela: My Lord, do not withdraw from me. I am not satisfied yet with may enjoyment of worldly pleasures. Therefore do not leave me.

Datta: What! You talk like a mortal. Your desire is illfounded.

Leela: My Lord, beloved of my heart! Do not utter such hard workd!

Datta: Do not be a woman of the world. The desire for worldly pleasures is endless and it can lead only to sorrow. Therefore overcome it. Withdraw yourself from indulgence in mundane pleasures. That which you desire most unhappiness. Verily this body, which today is, is not tomorrow. It is transitory. The riches of the world are no permanent happiness in the world. Seek eternal happiness. Be above mundane pleasure; live to know the eternal truth in you. Do not run after the pleasures of the world. Carnal desires are ruinous. Do not allow your soul to be destroyed by them.

Thus Datta tried his best to enlighten Leela and to restrain her, but mundane pleasures had gained the mastery over her. She was blinded by desire and could not resist her temptations or bear the thought of separation from him. Seeing that a passive mode of appeal had no effect she challenged him saying: “You cannot forsake me thus and go away. I am your Mahishi.”

Datta’s anger was instantaneously roused and he cursed her:

“Why do you impede me by calling yourself my ‘Mahishi’? May you be born as a mahishi (she-buffalo) in the family of Asuras.”

Hearing this, Leela was dismayed. In a burst of anger she in turn cursed Datta:

“When I am born a mahishi you shall be born a mahisha and become my consort and spend your time with me.”

Even as Datta had forewarned, the thing that Leela held most dear, her blind desire for his company, proved to be the most dreadful weapon for her undoing. Her hot pursuit of mundane happiness ended in a terrible tragedy.

What havoc has desire not played in this world! But alas, men are still prone to be slaves to this monstrous enemy, the very destroyer of their soul. The history of the world is full of individual, racial and national suicide, destruction and devastation, resulting from the pursuit of the objects of desire by each in his own way. The tow great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata teach us great lesions on the disastrous and destructive outcome of the pursuit of desire. Was it not desire that cost Ravana his life? And did it end with him? No, his whole tribe was exterminated and his kingdom destroyed, never to rise again. No less is the lesson we learn from the latter epic, the Mahabharat. Was it not their desire for power and possessions that led to the annihilation to a man of the Kauravas and their supporters? Desire is the great evil in man that successfully veils the spirit in him, thereby holding him in its sway. So long as desire for worldly gains rules our lives, we shall continue to follow one another like dumb cattle in the field, remaining its slaves and dancing to its tune. In our effort to accomplish the true purpose of our lives, therefore, desire, the great obstacle, has to be renounced, for where there is desire reason fails, and when reason fails, everything fails.

In consequence of Datta’s curse, Leela took birth as Mahishi, with the face of a buffalo, being the daughter of Karamba, an Asura. Mahishasura was the son of Karamba’s elder borher Ramba. The Goddess Chandika killed Mahishasura. To avenge his death, Mahishi went into tapasya on the Vindyas to propitiate Lord Brahma. He, pleased with her devotion, asked her to choose any boon she desired except physical immortality. At her request He granted the following boon:

“Thou shalt rule Devloka. Devendra shall become thy slave. Thy tribe shall increase. Thy end shall not come except at the hands of Hari and Hara and who has spent twelve years as the servitor of a mortal.”

What then was the wrong done to Mahishasura by the Goddess Chandika and why did Mahishi desire to enslave Devendra and rule Devaloka?

Ramba and Karamba were two Asuras, sons of Dhanu. Both were great devotees. Neither had sons to perpetuate their tribe. In order to beget sons, both of them went into severe tapasya to propitiate Lord Agni-Ramba in blazing fire and Karamba in water. The intensity of their tapasya shook Devendra. Fearing that this position might be usurped by one of them, he decided to end their lives. He took the form of a crocodile and killed Karamba. Disheartened by the death of his dear brother, Ramba decided to commit suicide by beheading himself. When he was on the point of driving home the sword, Lord Agni appeared before him to console him and desired him to choose whatever boon he wanted. Ramba expressed the desire to have a son who would not be killed by Devas, Asuras or men. Lord Agni granted the boon, saying:

“You will get a son such as you desire by whomsoever you love.”

Ramba was pleased with the boon and on his way back, while in the world of Yakshas, he saw a pregnant she-buffalo and, falling in love with it, took it to a secluded place in the underworld. A buffalo in the underworld fell in love with it and, while attempting to win it, chased Ramba. Ramba fled for safety to the world of the Yakshas. The buffalo followed and killed him. The Yakshas cremated Ramba’s body and the she-buffalo walked into the blazing funeral pyre. From out of the pyre Mahishasura emerged. Ramba again took birth in the family of Asuras under the name of Raktabija.

Mahishasura went into tapasya and propitiated Lord Brahma, who thereupon asked him to choose any boon except physical immortality. Mahishasura desired that he should not be killed by any man, but he forgot to mention woman, perhaps considering death at their hands an impossibility. Lord Brahma granted the boon.

Mahishasura conquered the whole world and ruled as King of kings. Unable to endure the atrocities committed by him the Devas and the Trinity assembled and decided to put an end to him. To overcome the boon he had obtained at the hands of Lord Brahma they united all their spiritual energy to evoke the form of a beautiful woman with eighteen hands and three eyes, whom they named Chandika Devi. All the various Gods presented her with their different weapons.

The Devas praised her and in her ecstasy she laughed, laughed so loud that the three worlds shook. Maishasura’s anger was aroused by the laughter and he ordered his people to find out and bring before him for judgment the impertinent person responsible for it. They soon discovered that the culprit was Chandika Devi but they were powerless against ber. They fled back to Mahishasura and reported their inability to fulfil his orders. Mahishasura immediately sent his first lieutenant to bring her down to his presence. He however, failed to entice the Devi; on the contrary he was sent back with a rebuke. Mahishasura then went himself, and a fierce battle raged between him and the Devi, in which he met his end at her hands. Peace ruled in the world; the Goddess blessed the world and then merged back into the Energy from which she had arisen.

Mahishi desired to avenge the death of Mahishasura and therefore chose the boon already mentioned, in order to enslave the Devas and to rule their kingdom.

Immensely pleased with the boon she received, she wasted no time. She went straight to Devaloka, provoked war with Devendra, defeated him and usurped his throne. Devendra was enslaved and Mahishi began to torment the Devas. Her oppression became unbearable and at last Devendra followed by the Devas, went to Lord Brahma to pray for redress. Lord Brahma went to Lord Vishnu and Lord Siva. The merged in them, again emerged, this time in the form of a buffalo which they named Sundara Mahishi. Thus Leela’s curse on Datta took effect. Lord Vishnu blessed Sundara Mahisha saying:

“Go to Devalok where Mahishi has deposed Devendra and is ruling. Take her down to the earth.”

Blessed by Lord Vishnu, Sundara Mahisha went to Devaloka. At the very sight of him Mahishi was enamoured. She left her throne and stood by his side. Forgetting herself, she followed him. They spent some time together in Devaloka and then he took her down to the earth.

How deceitful and blind is desire! Mahishi who had devoted her life to tapasya to avenge her brother’s death was so blinded by carnal desire that she became a slave to it and forgot all about her revenge. Let not desire get the better of us, lest we forget the purpose of our lives, even as Mahishi forgot her revenge, which she had only been enabled to win at the cost of great self-sacrifice.

Devendra, thus temporarily relieved of Mahishi, returned to his kingdom. However he did not feel quite safe until she was destroyed. She might return at any time and resume her ignoble activity.

How could she be killed? Only by one born of Hari and Hara, both positives. The Devas went to Lord Siva, praised Him and sought succor at His feet deliverance from the atrocities committed by Mahishi. Mahishi’s aim was to attain physical immortality and thus remain a perpetual terror to the Devas. However, in asking her to choose a boon, Lord Brahma had explicitly excluded physical immortality. She had, therefore, very cleverly, chosen death at the hands of one born of two positives, that is two males, thinking thereby to circumvent the limitation placed by Brahma, since, on the human plane, on which she was, such a birth is an impossibility.

Our Puranas, however, give scope for overcoming the difficulty, for had there not been the transformation of Lord Vishnu into Mohini, a female, at the time of Amritamanthan, to snatch away the pot of Amrita from the hands of the Asuras? But for this the emergence of Lord Bhootanatha from the union of the two positives, Hari and Hara, would have been beyond understanding in human terms.

Lord Siva went to Lord Vishnu and asked to see the form of the enchanting Mohini which he took to deceive the Asuras. Both the Lords knew the purpose of the request. It was not the desire for carnal satisfaction that prompted Lord Siva but the fulfillment of a Divine purpose, the evocation of a force from the union of the two which would annihilate Mahishi. Lord Vishnu transformed himself into Mohini. They united and the “Tarakabrhma”, Lord Bhootanatha, emerged from the union.

We have thus overcome the impossibility of birth from the union of two positives by ushering in Mohini, but that is not all. We are confronted with yet another problem by the fact that Lord Bhootanatha has been said to be “Ayonijatah”. We are faced here with the strange fact that, though born of the union of a positive and a negative (Male and Female), He was not born of a physical union or through the physical organ.

Here we must pause for a moment and go back to the granting of the boon to Mahishi. Analyzing the situation in human terms, did not Lord Brahma know that it was impossible for a child to be born by the union of Hari and Hara, two positives? If he did, how could he accept the qualification for mortality demanded by Mahishi, which was apparently impossible? It is obvious from the very granting of the boon that Mahishi’s choice was not really a safeguard against mortality and that a son by the union of Hari and Hara was possible. It would be a misconnection to imagine that Lord Bhootanatha was created as a result of the physical union of the two Lords. He is the one Force created by the fusion of the two Divine Forces, Siva and Vishnu, and projected by them at Will. It is only in order to make this emergence understandable in human terms that the idea of Mohini has been brought in. So let us not be misled by the notion of birth from physical union; let us take more enlightened view of projection by the Divine Will.

Our Puranas also do not fail to enlighten us on projection by and at will. We have only to look at the birth-story of Skanda for an example of this. He is said to be the son of Lord Siva and His consort Parvati, the six sparks projected by Lord Siva by his will into the Saravana Lake being collected by his Devi, Paravati, as a boy with six faces, “Arumukha”.

Lord Bhootanatha went to Kailas with Lord Siva under whose guidance he grew up. After some time Lord Siva called him one day and said: ‘Son, you know the purpose of your incarnation. It is to kill Mahishi who has dethroned Devendra and rules over Devaloka, committing atrocities on the Devas. She has earned a boon at the hands of Lord Brahma of which you know. Before you can kill her you must spend twelve years in the world as the servitor of a human. To this end, therefore, take the form of a child and lie on the banks of the Pampa. The childless king of Pantalam, Rajasekhara, will go there while hunting. You will attract his attention and he will take you to his palace. You will stay with him for twelve years as his son and servitor. You will then acquire the power to kill Mahishi. On your neck you will wear a golden bell, owing to which you will acquire the name Manikantha.”

In obedience to Lord Siva, Lord Dharma Sasta took the form of a child with a golden bell on his neck and lay on the banks of the Pampa river. The rest of what happened we have narrated earlier.

Subdued by Sundara Mahisha, Mahishi, a slave to her desire, was roaming with him wherever he went, forgetting herself and the sacrifice she had made in order to avenge her brother’s death. Desire is blind, endless and insatiable. While she was thus enslaved by Sundara Mahisha, Asuras came to her to return to Devaloka. This reminded her and tearing herself away from her consort, she immediately returned there and resumed her heinous atrocities with renewed vengeance.

His purpose over, Sundara Mahisha left the world and merged again in the Trinity.

It was when Mahishi made this renewed attack on them that the Devas sought the lotus feet of Lord Bhootanatha and prayed him to kill her. The Lord blessed them and instantly left for Devaloka.

Lord Bhootanatha was ushered into the Divine world on the last day of the month of Dhanus (corresponding to about 13th January) on a Saturday when the star Uttara was in ascendance. The Devas rejoiced at the birth of their saviour and praised the Trinity and the Lord who had come to redeem humanity, His teachings a safe boat in which to cross the abysmal ocean of life swollen with the mighty waves of mundane desires. Facing, Mahishi, He caught hold of her horns and threw her down to the earth on the banks of the river Alasa, where following her down, He danced on her fallen body. Lord Siva came down to the world to see the destruction of evil. The Devas praised the Lord as Mahishi was killed.

From the fallen body of Mahishi, as the Lord danced, Leela emerged redeemed from her curse. Making obeisance to Lord Bhootanatha and praising him, Leela prayed to be taken by Him as His consort. In reply the Lord said:

“In this incarnation I am a brahmachari; therefore I cannot take you. Yet you shall be assigned a place as my Sakti on my left side.”

The place where the body of Mahishi was dumped is called Kallidumkunnu and the place where Lord Siva tethered his bull when he came down to witness the destruction is called Kalaketti Asram.