On the ninth and concluding night of Navaratra, Durga slays demon Mahisha bringing peace and prosperity on the earth. This leads to the celebration of Dasara or Dussehera festival across India. The myth of Goddess and buffalo is prevalent in India from ancient times. While the main motif of Goddess killing demon Mahisha remains constant in the myth, the narrative changes from region to region. The following is the Tamil version of Goddess and buffalo myth, noted in Arunalachalam Puranam which differs from the popular version of the myth in Devi Mahatmya.

Once, while playing a game of dice Shiva and Devi (Parvati) quarrelled. Impulsively, Devi covered the eyes of Shiva and the whole world plunged into darkness. Shiva had to open his third eye so the world could be be restored to normalcy and sages could continue with the sacrificial rituals .

Shiva told Devi since she had brought the disaster upon the world, albeit for few moments by closing his eyes, she would have to go through a period of renunciation and cleansing to make amends for her impulsive action. Devi was thus sent to Kanchipuram to perform penance. Devi made a linga out of sand and started worshiping it.To test her devotion, Shiva flooded the earth, washing away the whole world, But Devi stayed firm by embracing the sand linga and salvaged it from disintegrating in the flood waters. Pleased by her devotion, Shiva directed her to Arunachalam mountain where she could continue her tapas.

Soon a congregation of gods from devloka approached Devi, complaining about the demon Mahisha who had created havoc in devloka. ” He takes hold of Adisesha by his head and tail and flings him like a sling rocking Vishnu and disturbing his sleep” said one god.  “He has stolen Agni’s ram” complained another , ” And of course he was seen riding Indra’s Airavat …” echoed the rest of the gods. Hearing these misdeeds Devi got angry and instructed Durga to kill Mahisha. Durga aided by Arunanayaki , Shaktis, and Bhairavas, along with the army of seven mothers engaged in a fierce battle with Mahisha. Finally Durga killed him by severing his head with her trident. But to the horror and amazement of all , as soon Durga pierced Mahisha’s neck, a crystal linga sprang out of his severed neck. Mahisha was actually a staunch devotee of Shiva.

Durga, handed over the crystal linga to Devi as a war trophy . But as soon as Devi took the linga in her hands it got stuck to her palm. Alas! Devi had committed a sin by killing the devotee of Shiva. To expiate herself from the sin of killing of Mahisha, she asked Durga to strike the Mountain ( Arunachalam ) with a sword. When Durga executed the command, water gushed out of the mountain in great force . Devi stood beneath the water spout till the linga got detached from her hand. She then circumambulated the mountain with the linga in her arms. Shiva was pleased by her devotion and granted her request to merge with his body by becoming the left half of Shiva.

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat
Text Source: Tamil Temple Myth by David Dean Shulman
Location: Tamil Nadu
Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

Every year, on the day after Markar Sankranti (summer solstice), Santal tribes of Odisha celebrate an archery competition known as ‘bheja tun’, which literally means shooting the banana tree.The origin of this tradition is revealed in this story.

Once there was a King who ruled over his vast kingdom. Though he was married for many years, the king and the queen had no children. As a result their relationship got strained day by day. The queen had a secret lover, a black Cobra. Whenever the king was away hunting, the Cobra would visit the queen and both of them would have a good time in each other’s company. Eventually, the king got wind of the matter and he decided to catch them. Once when the queen and the cobra were together, the king tracked and found them, and shot an arrow to the cobra’s head killing him instantly. The Queen was heartbroken and distraught with grief. All of a sudden she heard the voice of the cobra lover in her ear, telling her “Oh my sweetheart don’t cry. Bury my head at the entrance of your palace and we will meet each other again soon”. The queen followed his instructions and buried the head and soon a tree grew in that spot. But no one knew the name of this strange tree.

Meanwhile, the relationship of the king and queen deteriorated to such an extent that they would argue everyday. One day the queen set up a condition and told the king ” Let us put an end to this day to day argument of ours. I will ask you a simple question. If you fail to answer it, then you will be killed by an arrow shot through your heart. But if you answer it correctly then you can shoot an arrow, pierce my heart and kill me. Thus we can finally put an end to our endless quarrels.” the king agreed. He sent an invitation to all his relatives and his friends to be the witness of this strange game. He thought, if it had to be his last day of his life, then he would prefer to die with his loved ones surrounding him. So the queen asked the question ” Tell me the name of the plant that is at the entrance of our palace?” The king did not know the answer. He was in a fix and realised he would have to die, as per the rules of the game.

Meanwhile the king’s sister who stayed far away and was also invited to attend the ceremony was on her way travelling on a palanquin . While on the way she rested under a tree and she heard a huge vulture nesting on a high branch of the tree talking to her children. The mother vulture told her children, “Tomorrow all of you will fly off from this nest”. “But why tomorrow?” asked one of the young vultures. Mother answered “Tomorrow the King will be killed if he loses the challenge. Then I will bring you human flesh to eat. Our tradition is after eating human flesh the young vulture babies will have to move out of the nest and find their own destinies.” “But why will the king be killed?” asked the baby vulture. ” Oh Baby! The queen has asked the king to tell the name of the plant which is at the entrance of the palace gate. But the king does not know that it is the cobra- the lover of the queen that has grown into a plant. It’s a Banana plant”.The king’s sister who was resting under the tree overheard the conversation. She gave up resting and immediately resumed her journey. As soon as she reached the palace, she ran to her brother the king and whispered the name of the plant in his ear.

When the time for the question ceremony arrived the king revealed the name of the plant to the queen and won the competition. It was the turn of the queen to be killed by the arrow. She was tied to the banana tree. All the tribal chieftains strung their bows, took aim and got ready to shoot their arrows at the queen. As soon as the arrows were released, the queen’s lover, the cobra, pulled her into the Banana plant. The queen disappeared within the plant without a trace, and the arrows merely pierced the tree trunk.

The Santal tribes call this tree ‘Kaira’, meaning Banana tree. Till today the ritual of shooting the banana tree is conducted among the few tribal hamlets of Odisha on the day after summer solstice.

Story collected by Vidya Kamat
Textual Source: Folklore of Tribal Communities by Nityanand Patnaik
Location: Odisha

Image Copyright: Vidya kamat