Mahishi (demoness)
Ringkasan
Mahishi adalah sosok iblis perempuan dalam mitologi Hindu yang kisahnya berkaitan dengan Ayyappa dan Sabarimala.
Mahishi is a demoness in Hindu mythology whose story concerns Ayyappa and Sabarimala.
Kisah dan tradisi
Mahishi adalah sosok iblis perempuan dalam mitologi Hindu yang kisahnya berkaitan dengan Ayyappa dan Sabarimala. Sumber ini menyebutnya saudari Mahishasura, iblis berwujud kerbau. Sree Bhoothanaathopakhyaanam menampilkan Mahishi sebagai kelahiran kembali Leela, istri resi Dattatreya, yang menjadi kerbau betina setelah perselisihan ilahi dan kutukan. Kerala Tourism menuturkan bahwa Mahishi ingin membalas dendam ketika kakaknya dibunuh Dewi Durga; setelah bertapa keras, Brahma menganugerahinya bahwa hanya anak Vishnu dan Shiva yang dapat membunuhnya. Dengan anugerah itu Mahishi mengamuk dan menimbulkan kehancuran hebat, sehingga para Dewa yang cemas meminta pertolongan Vishnu. Kelahiran Ayyappan menjawab syarat anugerah tersebut melalui persatuan Shiva dengan Mohini, penjelmaan perempuan Vishnu. Ayyappan menangkap tanduk Mahishi dan menjatuhkannya ke bumi dalam pertarungan. Kerala Tourism menuturkan bahwa Manikandan menghadapi Mahishi di Devaloka dan melemparkannya kembali ke bumi; setelah pertarungan sengit ia menaiki dada Mahishi dan menari dengan dahsyat, lalu Mahishi menyadari bahwa anak itu putra Shiva dan Vishnu dan tak lama kemudian mati. Kerala Tourism juga menjelaskan bahwa misi kelahiran Ayyappa adalah menghapus ancaman Mahishi. Ketika Mahishi mengembuskan napas terakhir, kutukan terangkat dan Leela terbebas dari wujud iblisnya. Menurut legenda, ia meminta menikahi Ayyappan, tetapi Ayyappan menolak karena ia pertapa selibat abadi, lalu memberinya tempat pemujaan di kuilnya, tempat ia dipuja sebagai Maalikapurathamma. Sumber lain mencatat bahwa sebagian pemuja percaya Malikappurathamma adalah seorang gadis bernama Poonkodi yang mencintai Ayyappa.
Mahishi is a demoness in Hindu mythology whose story concerns Ayyappa and Sabarimala. This source calls her the sister of the buffalo demon Mahishasura. The Sree Bhoothanaathopakhyaanam presents Mahishi as a rebirth of Leela, wife of the sage Dattatreya, who became a she-buffalo after a divine quarrel and a curse. Kerala Tourism tells that Mahishi wanted vengeance after her brother fell to Goddess Durga; following harsh austerities she won Brahma's promise that only a child of Vishnu and Shiva could slay her. Armed with that gift, Mahishi rampaged and caused great destruction, so the alarmed Devas turned to Vishnu for help. The birth of Ayyappan meets the condition of the gift through Shiva's union with Mohini, the female form of Vishnu. Ayyappan grabs Mahishi by the horns and sends her crashing to Earth during the fight. Kerala Tourism says Manikandan met Mahishi in Devaloka and threw her back down to earth; after a fierce battle he stood on her chest and danced with a force that shook the worlds, and Mahishi realized the child was the son of Shiva and Vishnu before she died shortly after. Kerala Tourism also describes Ayyappa's birth mission as removing the threat posed by Mahishi. When Mahishi breathed her last, the curse was broken and Leela was freed of her demonic shape. Legend says she asked Ayyappan to marry her, but he refused as an eternal celibate and gave her a place of worship at his shrine, where she is revered as Maalikapurathamma. Another source notes that some devotees believe Malikappurathamma was a girl named Poonkodi who loved Ayyappa.
Fakta utama
- Budaya / Culture
- Tradisi Hindu
- Kawasan / Region
- Asia Selatan
- Klasifikasi / Classification
- Demon