Saints, 1982; parts of the latter by Justin
E. Abbott as The Life of Eknath, 1981,
and The Life of Tukaram, 1980.
Mahishasura
In the Devimahatmya, the earliest and
most important source for the mythology
of the Goddess, Mahishasura is the
buffalo-demonwho is responsible for
the birth of the Goddess. Mahishasura
receives the boon that he cannot be
killed by any male and is able to van-
quish the gods. They are driven from
their heavenly realm and take shelter in
the mountains. While they are there, the
assembly of the gods let forth their col-
lected radiance (tejas), coalescing into
the figure of the Goddess, who repre-
sents all their collected power. The
Goddess rides off on a lionto challenge
Mahishasura. He falls in love with her,
but when he proposes marriage, she
declares she will only marry the man
who can defeat her in battle. A fierce
battle ensues; Mahishasura is defeated.
He tries to elude the Goddess by chang-
ing his form several times, but she keeps
striking each one with her sword, finally
killing him by cutting off his head.
Mahishi
In Hindu mythology, the name of a
buffalo-demoness killed by the god
Aiyappa. Mahishi receives the boon that
she can only be killed by a person not
born from the union of male and female.
To circumvent this boon, Aiyappa is
born of a union of the gods Shivaand
Vishnu, when the latter takes the form
of the enchantress Mohini. When
Mahishi is killed, the female figure of
Lilarises from her body. Lila wants to
marry Aiyappa; he agrees that he will
marry her in the year a celibate pilgrim
does not come to visit him at Shabari
Malai. Since womenof childbearing age
are forbidden to visit Shabari Malai, and
those men who come are required to be
celibate, Lila is still waiting for this vow
to be fulfilled.
Mahishmati
Ancient city on the Narmada Riverin
central India. During the fifth century
B.C.E., Mahishmati was the outer bound-
ary for the expansion of the Aryan.Mahmud of Ghazni
(998–1030) Turkish ruler whose capital
was at Ghazni (now in modern
Afghanistan). Between 1001 and 1027,
Mahmud made seventeen raids into
India, lured by the tales of India’s fabu-
lous wealth. His plundering was aided
by the fragmented political life in north-
ern India, which prevented Hindus from
forming any effective opposition.
Mahmud struck at many of the centers
in northern India, particularly pilgrim-
age centers, which were renowned for
their wealth: Multan, Mathura,
Thanesar, Kanauj(which never recov-
ered after being sacked in 1018), and
finally Somnath, from which he report-
edly took tremendous booty. Although
these raids often entailed iconoclasm
(the destruction of religious imagery),
as at the Shiva temple in Somnath,
Mahmud’s fundamental motives were
economic—replenishing his coffers
with as much plunder as possible,
and returning to Ghazni before the
advent of the hot season. As such he is
different from some of the later Muslim
kings, such the Moghuls, who actually
exercised political sway over much of
India. Aside from his pillaging raids,
Mahmud is associated with the scholar
Alberuni. Alberuni accompanied
Mahmud on one of these expeditions,
later using his observations to write an
account of Hindu life and culture. See
also Moghul dynasty.Maithila
Northern Indian brahminswho make
up Pancha Gauda, one of the five north-
ern brahmin communities; the other
four communities are Kanaujia, Gauda,
Utkala, and Saraswat. Maithila brah-
mins are a small community, found only
in the Mithilaregion in the northernMahishasura