| Religion: | Hinduism |
| Author: | Adi Shankara |
| Language: | Sanskrit |
| Caption: | Painting of Durga slaying Mahishasura, Anant Shivaji Desai, Ravi Varma Press |
| Verses: | 21 |
| Mahishasura Mardini Stotra | |
The Mahishasura Mardini Stotra is a Hindu stotra. Comprising 21 verses,[1] the work extols the goddess Durga, a principal aspect of the supreme goddess Mahadevi, and her act of slaying the asura Mahishasura.[2] [3]
Mahiṣāsuramardinī is an epithet of Durga, literally meaning, "the slayer of the demon Mahisha",[4] and a stotra is a eulogistic work.
The authorship of the Mahishasura Mardini Stotra is attributed to the theologian Adi Shankara. This hymn is mentioned in the 53rd chapter of the 1st portion of the text Shivarahasya Purana.[5] The hymn is based on the text Devi Mahatmya,[6] referencing a number of legends of the goddess Durga such as slaying Mahishasura, Raktabija, as well as Chanda and Munda, as well as generally praising her attributes.[7]
According to the Devi Mahatmya, in the legend called the Mahishasura Vadha,[8] furious about the asuras under Mahishasura expelling the devas and overrunning Svarga, the Trimurti (supreme trinity) of the deities Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva combined their energies, which assumed the form of a goddess called Durga. Armed with the weapons and attributes of the deities, Durga slew the shape-shifting Mahishashura, who assumed the forms of a lion, elephant, and a buffalo, and finally a man. She was glorified by the deities as the primordial being and the origin of the Vedas. Pleased by their hymns, the goddess promised the deities salvation whenever they faced danger.[9] [10]
The first hymn of the mantra describes the attributes of Durga:[11]