Riding a lion into battle, she slew the buffalo by cutting off its head and then she destroyed the spirit of the demon as it emerged from the buffalo’s severed neck. She is known as Ashta Dasa Bhuja Mahalakshmi. She has a complexion of coral and is seated on a lotus. The Goddess is described as eighteen- armed bearing string of beads, battle axe, maze, arrow, thunderbolt, lotus, bow, water-pot, cudgel, lance, sword, shield, conch, bell, wine-cup, trident, noose and the discus sudarsana. The male Gods, fearing total annihilation endowed Durga with their powers. The world was under attack by Mahishasura the most evil demon in the world, who took many different forms, including that of a buffalo. Here she is depicted as Devi in her universal form as Shakti. Goddess Mahalakshmi is the presiding Goddess of the middle episode. The sage instructs by recounting three different epic battles between the Devi (Goddess) and various demonic adversaries the three tales being governed by, respectively, Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. “The framing narrative of Devi Mahatmya Presents a dispossessed king, a merchant betrayed by his family, and a sage whose teachings lead them both beyond existential suffering. Lajjagauri was intially a two dimensional figure.Īs years passed Shakti that was represented by Paravati3 and Durga4 was also manifested in three different forms namely Mahalakshmi, Mahakali and Mahasaraswati. Therefore the mere stone representation was improvised to the form of Lajjagauri (female figure with a prominent womb). He wished to give a better representation to the Shakti. The birth of the universe and in turn his own birth had intrigued him. The finite form of the Goddess was further refined by Man. These places then became popular as pilgrimage sites. All the four were thus called the Shaktipeeths (seat of the Goddesses that embodies energy). In Maharashtra they were identified in Kolhapur, Tuljapur, Mahur and Vani. Such sites were discovered all over India. The main places where such Mahamatruka (the great divine mother) were established came to be known as Mahamantrukasthan (abode of the great divine mother).

The earliest form was of Pashan1 or Tandula2 (stone) and Varula (ant hill). In the process he first named that finite structure as Matruka (representation of energy in the form of a divine mother). He aspired to give a finite structure to the infinite energy.

When Man pondered over his birth and the person responsible for it, he realized that mother is at the root of the genesis, and it is she who embodies the Shakti. In early days, this Shakti was witnessed in the form of five basic elements of Prithvi (earth), Aap (water), Tej (light), Vayu (wind), Akash (space).

Kolhapur mahalaxmi hd images