Mahavidyas
A collective name for ten fierce and
powerful manifestations of the Goddess.
According to tradition, the goddessSati
assumes these forms one after another,
in an attempt to persuade her husband,
the god Shiva, to allow her to attend a
sacrifice given by her father Daksha.
These ten forms are all frightful and
fearsome, even to Shiva, showing the
ultimate superiority of the Goddess over
Shiva. These ten forms are Kali, Tara,
Chinnamasta, Bhuvaneshvari, Bagala,
Dhumavati, Kamala, Matangi, Shodashi,
and Bhairavi. Some of these forms, par-
ticularly Kali, have become important
deitiesin their own right. For further
information see David R. Kinsley, Hindu
Goddesses, 1986.
Mahayuga
A unit of cosmic time. According to tra-
ditional Hindu reckoning, time has nei-
ther beginning nor end, but alternates
between cycles of creation and activity,
followed by cessation and quietude.
Each of these cycles lasts for 4.32 billion
years, with the active phase known as
the Day of Brahma, and the quiet phase
as the Night of Brahma. In one reckon-
ing of cosmic time, the Day of Brahma is
divided into one thousand mahayugas
(“great cosmic ages”), each of which
lasts for 4.32 million years. Each
mahayuga is composed of four eras,
named the Krta Yuga, Treta Yuga,
Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. Each is
shorter and more evil than its predeces-
sor; by the end of the Kali Yuga, things
have gotten so bad that the only solu-
tion is the destruction and recreation of
the earth, at which time the next Krta
Yuga begins.
Mahendravarman
(r. 600–630) Ruler in southern India dur-
ing the Pallava dynasty, when it was a
stronghold of Tamil culture. According
to tradition, Mahendravarman was born
a Jain, but became a devotee (bhakta) of
the god Shivaunder the influence of the
poet-saint Appar. Mahendravarman
was a cultured man and a patron
of the arts, as well as the author of
the play Mattvavilasa (“Sport of
Drunkards”), which was popular
throughout southern India. The rock-
cut temples at Mahabalipuramwere
built during his reign. He fought
with the surrounding monarchs, espe-
cially theChalukyaking Pulakeshin II;
it was in battle with Pulakeshin’s forces
that Mahendravarman met his death.Mahesh
(“Great Lord”) Epithet of the god Shiva.
See Shiva.Maheshvar
(“Great Lord”) Epithet of the god Shiva.
See Shiva.Mahipati
(1715–1790) Writer and hagiographer of
the devotional (bhakti) poet-saints, par-
ticularly those saints connected with the
Varkari Panth, to which Mahipati him-
self belonged. The Varkari Panth is a reli-
gious community centered around the
worshipof the Hindu god Vithoba,
whose temple at Pandharpur is in
the modern state of Maharashtra.
According to tradition, Mahipati was a
civil servant in his home town. One day
he was summoned to his job without
being able to finish his daily worship.
Mahipati did the business at hand, but
then resigned his position, vowing never
to use his pen except in the service of
the saints. Mahipati freely admitted that
much of his material on the saints was
drawn from earlier works, particularly
the Bhaktamal written by the poet-
saint Nabhadas. As with Nabhadas, he
presents each of his subjects as a para-
digm of devotion; the stories reinforce
and validate the power of devotion to
overcome all obstacles. His major
works are the Bhaktavijayaand the
Bhaktililamrta; the former has been
translated by Justin E. Abbott and
Narhar R. Godbole as Stories of IndianMahipati