? The story of Mahishasura’s killing ?
In ancient times, a very powerful demon named Mahishasura was born, who was the son of a demon named Rambha and was the king of demons. He defeated all the gods in the war and took over Indra’s throne. He was unprecedentedly powerful and elusive. He defeated the gods easily.
He started ruling the three worlds from Indralok and the defeated gods, troubled by him, went to Brahma ji for refuge. Brahma ji heard the pain of all those gods and took all the gods with him to the place where Lord Vishnu and Lord Shankar were present.
? Who was Mahishasura Mardini ?
After reaching there, she informed Lord Shiva and Vishnu ji about Mahishasura’s atrocities. After hearing everything from Brahma ji, Lord Vishnu and Shankar ji became very angry with all the demons including Mahishasura. In anger, a great light started emanating from Lord Vishnu’s mouth. Similarly, light started appearing from the bodies of gods like Lord Shankar, Brahma Ji, Devraj Indra etc.
The light coming out of the mouth of all the gods gathered together and turned into a great shining light, due to which all the directions became illuminated with light, which finally transformed into a beautiful woman like a very fierce lightning.
That woman was Mahishasura Mardini, Maa Durga herself, on whose appearance the gods were pleased and praised her and gave her ornaments and weapons. Mahishasura Mardini, Maa Durga made a surprising and fierce roar and echoed the entire space, due to which there was a commotion in all the three worlds, the earth trembled and the seas of various worlds started jumping beyond their limits.
All the gods were praising the Goddess with choked voices, chanting Jai-Jaikaar, whose wonderful words made the demons take up their weapons. They understood that a fierce battle was knocking at the door.
?How did Maa Durga kill Mahishasur’s generals ?
Mahishasur, along with all the demons, ran towards the sound, where the demons saw such a form of Goddess Durga, in which the earth was being pressed by the weight of the Goddess’ feet and all the three worlds were being illuminated by her light. Mahishasur’s general Chikshur attacked the great Goddess Durga. In no time, the demons started the war.
Chaturangini also attacked Durga with her army. Udgra, Mahahanu, Bashkal and Asiloma were all the leaders of the charioteer soldiers, among whom Asiloma’s attack was as sharp as a Roman sword. All of them came to the battlefield and started fighting with the Goddess and in this way the elephant riders and horse riders also surrounded the Goddess from all sides and started attacking her with weapons. Goddess Durga cut down the weapons of all of them in a playful manner.
At that time, Durga attacked the demons in the form of Nishwaas Gana and within no time, Durga killed many great demons by showering her trident, mace and Shakti. So much blood fell from the bodies of elephants, horses and demons in the army of demons that many pools of blood were formed there. Just like fire burns a pile of straw, similarly Durga Devi destroyed the entire demon army in a short time. The gods were delighted and started showering flowers on Goddess Durga.
Seeing the destruction of his army, the commander Chikshur was furious and started showering arrows on Durga. The goddess cut his arrows with her arrows and also killed the horses and charioteers of his chariot and also cut his bow and flag. Chikshur was very proud of his spear, so he attacked Durga with full force with his spear; But as soon as it reached Durga, the spear broke into pieces.
The pieces of his spear started blazing in the sky; and Durga broke his spear into hundreds of pieces with the blow of her spear and made Chikshur also a traveller of Yamaloka. Udgra also fell down with the blow of Durga’s weapon and went to Yamaloka.
?Mahishasura Vadh ?
Now Mahishasura took the form of a buffalo and started tormenting the Ganas born from the breath of Goddess Durga. After that he also attacked the lion of Goddess Durga, seeing which the fury of the Goddess increased.
Mahishasura became more and more furious and was digging the earth with his hooves and uprooting mountains with his horns and throwing them towards Durga, roaring at the same time. Due to his speed, cracks started appearing in the earth and the clouds broke into pieces due to the blow of the horns. He attacked Goddess Durga with great force but the Goddess tied him with a noose. After being tied, he abandoned the form of a buffalo and took the form of a lion.
When Parameshwari wanted to cut off his head, he ran in the form of a man with a sword. Durga showered arrows and tied him with a noose, after which he took the form of an elephant and started pulling Bhagwati’s lion.
Bhagwati cut off his trunk after which he again assumed the form of a buffalo from the demon. The whole world was terrified to see him maneuvering like before. Seeing the gods frightened, Goddess Durga jumped on Mahishasura and pressed him with her feet and struck his throat with a spear.
Mahishasura had again assumed another form and was half transformed when Goddess Durga stopped him from transforming completely. When he started maneuvering even in that state, Durga cut off his head with a sword. The remaining army of Mahishasura ran away. Thus, Mahishasura, who was tormenting the gods, was destroyed.
All the gods started praising Goddess Durga and the Gandharvas started singing Jai. The Apsaras of Dev Lok started dancing in honor of Goddess Durga with joy. Everyone lovingly worshipped Goddess Durga with sandalwood, whole rice grains, divine flowers and incense etc. and after giving blessings to the gods, Jagadamba disappeared.
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? Story of Shri Ram and Navratri ?
We are all familiar with the glory of Navratri festival, but do you know that Lord Ram himself had also observed this holy fast for victory? Let us know through this story how Lord Ram had received the blessings of Goddess by observing this fast.
Although Navratri is a festival of worship of Adishakti, but in our religious texts, a story of Navratri is also associated with Lord Shri Ram. This story is described in the 26th to 30th chapter of the third chapter of Shrimadbhagvat. Let us read this interesting and virtuous story-
? Story Rama and Ravana ?
When Ravana had kidnapped Sitaji, Ram ji was very sad, and he had worked day and night to find Sitaji. During that time Narad ji came there playing his Veena and said to Lord Shri Ram, “O Lord, I have come to know that Ravana has kidnapped Mother Sita! Believe me Lord, by doing this he has invited his own death. Do not worry, I have come here to help you.”
Hearing this, Shri Ram asked Narad ji to tell him a way to win over Ravana. Then he said, “You should keep a fast on the Navratri coming in this Ashwin month and worship Mother Bhagwati. Chanting her name gives all kinds of siddhis, so in this difficult situation you must definitely keep this fast.”
Shri Ram said, “O Munivar! I will definitely keep this Navratri fast, but whose fast I have to keep, who is that goddess and from where has she incarnated, tell me in detail about her.”
Narad ji said, “That goddess herself is the form of Shakti, her glory is infinite. She is the Adi Shakti Devi, who is always present everywhere and does the welfare of the world.” After this, Lord Shri Ram observed this fast according to the instructions of sage Naradji.
According to Vedic texts, in the autumn season it is the night of the gods and during this period it is also the sleeping period of Mother Bhagwati. Because of this, the gods and goddesses do not remain awake during the night and sleeping period. But due to the difficult penance and devotion of Lord Shri Ram, in the middle of the night of Ashtami, Mother Bhagwati gave up her sleep and appeared before Shri Ram and blessed him to be victorious.
It is said that due to the blessings of Goddess Ji and fasting on Navratri, Lord Shri Ram was successful in the war with Ravana. And since then, devotees observe this fast with devotion to receive the blessings of the mother.
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? The Story of Sati and Shiva ?
Birth of Sati Long ago, King Daksha Prajapati, one of the sons of Lord Brahma, was a proud and powerful ruler. He and his queen, Prasuti, were blessed with a beautiful daughter named Sati. From a young age, Sati was devoted to Lord Shiva, the ascetic god who lived on Mount Kailash.
Despite Shiva’s unconventional appearance — ash-smeared body, matted hair, tiger skin clothing — Sati loved and revered him deeply.
Marriage of Sati and Shiva Sati undertook severe penance to win Shiva’s heart. Impressed by her devotion, Shiva accepted her as his wife. Their marriage symbolized the union of pure ascetic power (Shiva) and divine energy (Shakti).
However, Daksha disapproved of Shiva. He considered Shiva uncivilized and unworthy of his daughter.
Daksha’s Grand Yajna One day, Daksha organized a grand yajna (fire sacrifice) and invited all gods and kings — except Shiva and Sati. When Sati heard about it, she felt hurt but decided to attend anyway, hoping to reconcile with her father.
The Insult At the yajna, Daksha openly insulted Shiva, calling him unworthy and ridiculing his way of life. Sati, deeply pained by her father’s words, could not bear the insult to her beloved husband.
In grief and anger, she declared:
“This body is no longer worthy of being called your daughter’s body!”
She then sat in meditation and invoked her inner yogic fire, immolating herself in the sacrificial flames.
Shiva’s Rage When news reached Shiva, his sorrow turned into furious rage. He tore a lock of his hair and created the fierce warrior, Veerabhadra. Veerabhadra stormed the yajna, destroyed it, and beheaded Daksha.
The gods pleaded for mercy. Shiva calmed down, restored Daksha’s life by placing a goat’s head on him, and forgave him.
Rebirth as Parvati After Sati’s death, she was reborn as Parvati, the daughter of King Himavan (the Himalaya) and Queen Maina. This birth was to fulfill the destiny of reuniting with Shiva.
From childhood, Parvati showed deep devotion to Shiva. To win him back, she performed severe penance for years, living only on fruits, then on leaves, and eventually giving up food entirely.
Shiva Accepts Parvati Moved by her dedication; Shiva appeared before her and accepted her as his consort once again. Their reunion brought balance to the universe — the union of Shiva (pure consciousness) and Shakti (divine energy).
Connection to Navratri Some traditions say that the nine nights of Navratri represent:
- The nine nights Parvati spent in intense meditation to unite with Shiva.
- Each day, she took a different form, symbolizing her strength, patience, and spiritual power.
- The festival thus honors her journey of devotion, sacrifice, and reunion.
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