Abu's Tableau of Dolls

Abu's home looks festive on the ninth day of Navaratri. There are fresh flowers and decorations, the fragrance of incense and rosewater, as the family gathers in the morning before the tableau of dolls to worship Saraswati, the goddess of learning, whose special day it is. The children's school books and their parents office files are piled neatly, decked with silk, jewels and a garland of flowers. After the worship, the children sing hymns praying for intelligence and knowledge. "Please let me get all my sums right in school". That is Abu's secret plea.

After a wonderful lunch with sweet pudding and crisp vada Abu tugs his mother's arm. 'Now tell me the story of this festival. Why is tomorrow called Vijaya Dashami?"

Mother sits down on the mat with Abu snuggling close to her and begins:

This is a wonderful story, which Sage Vyasa told King Janamejaya. He wanted to make the King understand the glory and the greatness of the mother goddess - the Devi.

A long, long time ago two wicked brothers, Ramba and Karamba, decided to pray for sturdy sons. One stood in the middle of fire on the banks of the river Panchanata, while the other went under water. The jealous Indra, the king of gods, took the form of a crocodile and killed the submerged Karamba. Ramba was about to kill himself in grief when the Sun-god appeared on his chariot drawn by seven white horses.

"If you are pleased with my penance, O Surya", cried Ramba," give me a brave son who will conquer even the gods and punish Indra."

Ramba's wife was a she-buffalo and their child was born half demon and half beast. He was called Mahishasura, which means buffalo-demon.

The young Mahisha wanted to become the strongest demon ever, mightier than the gods. So he decided to test his powers very early, to capture and rule the fourteen worlds of the universe.

Well, he realised that first of all, he needed some divine assistance. So he climbed to the top of the Meru peak on the Himalayas and started on his penance to Brahma, the god of creation. Brahma was so pleased with Mahisha's determination that he floated down before him on his white swan and asked, "What boon do you want?"

The delighted Mahisha replied, "Oh, great creator! Since I am already the most powerful of all beings, my only enemy is death. Please make me live forever!"

"That cannot be," the Creator shook his four heads. "All creatures born must die at some time or the other. Ask me for some other gift."

Mahishasura thought he was clever enough to outwit the god. "Then let me not be killed by any bird, animal, man, demon or god." He did not mention women because he thought they were too weak to oppose him.

Armed with the great boon, there was no stopping Mahisha's cruelty or pride. Soon he had every world under his control, except for the heavens. He challenged Indra, the king of the gods, and all his commanders, to open battle. Indra laughed in scorn.

"What! Am I to be frightened by a buffalo? A stupid beast? Let us go and teach this creature a lesson." Taking the blessings of his guru Brihaspati, Indra rode into battle on Airavata, his majestic white elephant. He was surrounded by Varuna, Vayu, Agni, Surya, Chandra, Mitra and the other gods who joyfully followed their leader. Vishnu, the Protector of the universe, flew in to assist them on Garuda, his noble kite.

The war between the gods and the demons was a terrible affair. Though at first it seemed that the gods would win, the demons were sure of success when Mahisha unfolded his powers of black magic. He created not one, but tens of thousands of creatures like himself, buffalo-headed, sharp-horned, each with the strength of a thousand elephants. They razed the enemies, by mowing them down, causing terror by their ferocity. Mahisha himself enjoyed goring the gods with his horns.

Vishnu tried to destroy the darkness with his shining discus, the famous sudarshana chakra, but Mahisha had more fearful weapons, and wounded severely by one of them, Vishnu fainted away. Garuda at once spread his wings and bore the god to safety. Seeing this, Brahma's swan too flew away from the scene of battle with his master. The demons rejoiced and began to drive the gods like cattle, while Mahisha captured and rode Airavata, the divine royal mount. He swept into the heavens and crowned himself on Indra's throne. The demons now had a free hand to terrorize the universe.

Some of the chief gods, including Indra, escaped and hid in the dark caves of snowy mountains. Weeping in despair they made their way to Brahma's world and begged the father to save them. Unable to help them himself, Brahma guided them to Mount Kailasa to seek the advice of Siva, the awesome Destroyer.

Siva smiled and said, "My dear Brahma! What can I do when it was you who armed Mahisha with such a powerful boon? The only way to get rid of him is to find a woman powerful enough to destroy him. Have you created such a woman? Perhaps Vishnu the Protector can give us some new ideas."

Vishnu sighed as he admitted that there was nothing more that the gods could do except wait for the appearance of the great goddess of power and strength, the Devi who alone could save them all from wicked oppression. Humbly and sorrowfully, all the gods prayed together for her divine appearance.

The wives of three gods of Creation (Brahma), Protection (Vishnu), and Destruction (Siva) were Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. Moved by the misery of the gods they began to pray. Eyes closed, hands folded, they stood in utter concentration for nine days and nine nights waiting for the rise of power. On the tenth day, the waiting gods saw a marvelous sight.

Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati had combined into a single form of great beauty capable of striking terror into all. It was as if all the glory and energy of all the gods had been absorbed by the new goddess, dressed in silks and jewels, her hair like a dark cloud beneath a crown that shone like the sun. She had a third eye on her forehead and eighteen arms of immense strength.

The gods at once sank to their knees in wonder and worshipped the Devi. They brought to her their own weapons as gifts. Siva offered his trident, Vishnu his discus, Agni gave her his shatagni, Vayu his bow and quiver of arrows, Indra his thunderbolt and Yama his death-dealing dandayudha, Varuna his pasha, Viswakarma the parashu and Tvashta a magical armour. Himavan, the king of the Himalayas, brought an awesome lion for her to ride on. The gods were thrilled when they saw the Devi seated on the lion, because now they were certain that their days of slavery were over. Surely Mahisha's end was near. This was going to be a day of victory, the Vijaya Dashami.

The goddess laughed aloud. The lion roared. Together the sound shook all the worlds. Even mountains and rivers trembled, while the demons were thunderstruck. When they saw that it was a woman riding a lion who was challenging Mahisha to a fight, they were even more astonished. Their master had suppressed the universe. Who was this young woman who dared to oppose him?

When Mahisha emerged to discover the cause of the uproar, he was stunned to see that it was a woman, and such a beautiful woman at that.

"Stop this warfare and marry me. Together we will rule all the worlds," he cried.

The goddess laughed again, this time more fearfully than before. Her eyes flashed, sparks of fire flew around her.

"Mahishasura! Though you have been most cruel to all creatures, I will show you mercy. If you want to live, surrender and slink back into the under-world. If not, fight and die by my hand right now, right here!"

Mahisha had never been opposed before. He had never faced harshness or humiliation. To be treated thus by a woman was nothing but, poison to him. The demon stamped his hooves, tossed his head and rushed into battle. With him came his troops of demons. At first Mahisha watched as his generals fought. When he saw them falling like bamboo sticks under the axe, his rage knew no bounds.

He rained arrows upon the goddess in an unending stream. When his quiver was exhausted, he hit the lion with his spiked mace. Maddened, the lion scratched the asura's hide with its sharp claws. To fight all the more fiercely Mahisha became a lion himself. The Devi's arrows turned into serpents as they touched him and began to bind him like ropes. To free himself he turned into an enormous elephant, uprooting rocks and hills with his tusks to hurl at his opponent.

The lion leaped on the elephant's head to tear it apart. So the demon changed into a snake, raising its hood to strike. As its tail was snipped in blow, the snake once again became the buffalo-headed demon, swinging his dangerous horns.

It was a brutish sight to watch.

At last the goddess decided to bring relief to the spectators, both gods and human beings. Mahisha tried to escape by changing his form into many shapes and sizes, but the goddess raised her trident with a silent force and pierced his chest. Such was is brute strength that he did not die, but rose out of a swoon to attack with greater vigour.

At last, with reddened eyes, the goddess chose the discus and hurled it at Mahishasura. Sparkling with myriad rays of light, the discus raced swiftly to its target and beheaded him. Head and body fell separately on the ground.

Aghast and shrieking the remaining demons rushed away to save their lives, hiding themselves in the depths of the underworld.

The fourteen worlds of the universe were full of joy at their release. All creatures sang and danced and praised the Devi for setting them free. The darkness melted away. The sun returned to the sky. The gods got back their kingdom and showered the Devi with flowers, precious gems, rosewater and sandal paste. They named her Mahishasuramardini - Destroyer of the Buffalo Demon - and paid homage to her with gratitude and happiness.

Abu's Tableau of Dolls