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{{Italic title}}{{Infobox religious text|religion=[[Hinduism]]|author=[[Adi Shankara]]|language=[[Sanskrit]]|caption=Painting of Durga slaying Mahishasura, Anant Shivaji Desai, Ravi Varma Press|image=File:Durga Mahishasura-mardini, the slayer of the buffalo demon.jpg|verses=21|name=''Mahishasura Mardini Stotra''}}{{Short description|Hindu hymn in praise of Durga}}
The '''''Mahishasura Mardini Stotra''''' ({{Langx|sa|महिषासुरमर्दिनीस्तोत्रम्}}, {{IAST3|Mahiṣāsuramardinīstotraṃ}}) is a [[Hinduism|Hindu]] ''[[stotra]]''. Comprising 21 verses,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Narayan |first=Jay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1-5EAAAQBAJ&dq=mahishasura+mardini+stotra&pg=PA156 |title=Namaste: An Illustrated Guide to the Hindu Way of Life |date=2023-04-17 |publisher=JL Samskritam Publications |isbn=978-1-3999-5295-8 |pages=156 |language=en}}</ref> the work extols the goddess [[Durga]], a principal aspect of the supreme goddess [[Mahadevi]], and her act of slaying the [[asura]] [[Mahishasura]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Flueckiger |first=Joyce Burkhalter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0inWBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |title=Everyday Hinduism |date=2015-05-06 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-6021-6 |pages=28 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Constance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA139 |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |last2=Ryan |first2=James D. |date=2006 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5 |pages=139 |language=en}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
''Mahiṣāsuramardinī'' is an epithet of Durga, literally meaning, "the slayer of the demon Mahisha",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Balkaran |first=Raj |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=48xmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT212 |title=The Goddess and the King in Indian Myth: Ring Composition, Royal Power and The Dharmic Double Helix |date=2018-07-27 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-88068-1 |pages=212 |language=en}}</ref> and a ''stotra'' is a eulogistic work.

== Description ==
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]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shiva Rahasya Maha Itihasa Maheshwar Part 1 Jangamwadi Math Collection |url=https://archive.org/details/eGcz_shiva-rahasya-maha-itihasa-maheshwar-part-1-jangamwadi-math-collection/page/n3/mode/2up}}</ref> The hymn is based on the text ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campos |first=Ricardo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wixQBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 |title=Popular and Visual Culture: Design, Circulation and Consumption |last2=Pinho |first2=Rúben |last3=Sarmento |first3=Clara |date=2014-10-02 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-6831-0 |pages=121 |language=en}}</ref> referencing a number of legends of the goddess Durga such as slaying Mahishasura, [[Raktabīja|Raktabija]], as well as [[Chanda and Munda]], as well as generally praising her attributes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marlow |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFvTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA168 |title=Navaratri: Prayers, Praises and Hymns |date=2019-10-29 |publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=978-0-244-22986-3 |pages=168 |language=en}}</ref>

According to the ''Devi Mahatmya'', in the legend called the ''Mahishasura Vadha'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Srivastava |first=Dr Vishnulok Bihari |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eaCbv1NcbHwC&q=pg%3DPT173 |title=Dictionary of Indology |last2=Srivastava |first2=Vishnulok Bihari |date=2009 |publisher=Pustak Mahal |isbn=978-81-223-1084-9 |pages=173 |language=en}}</ref> furious about the asuras under Mahishasura expelling the [[Deva (Hinduism)|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDaniel |first=June |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rHs8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 |title=Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal |date=2004-08-05 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-516790-0 |pages=215 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkC1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT377 |title=The Markandeya Purana |date=2019-10-24 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-93-5305-671-1 |pages=377 |language=en}}</ref>

== Hymn ==
The first hymn of the mantra describes the attributes of Durga:<ref>{{Cite book |last=SUVRATSUT |url=http://archive.org/details/MahishasuramardiniStotramEnglish |title=Mahishasuramardini Stotram English |date=2017-09-06}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=''aigiri nandini nanditamēdini viśvavinōdini nandinutē girivaravindhyaśirōdhinivāsini viṣṇuvilāsinijiṣṇunutē bhagavati hē śitikaṇṭhakuṭumbini bhūrikuṭumbini bhūrikṛtē jaya jaya hē mahiṣāsuramardini ramyakapardini śailasutē''|title=|source=Verse 1}}{{Blockquote|text=O auspicious daughter of the mountain, who delights all of creation, who rejoices with the universe, who is praised by Nandi who resides on the peak of Vindhyas, who dwells on Vishnu, who is praised by Indra, O goddess, who is the consort of the blue-throated one, who has a universal family, who created abundance Victory to you, victory to you, O slayer of Mahishasura, who has beautifully braided hair, who is the daughter of the mountain}}

== See also ==

* ''[[Ashtalakshmi Stotra]]''
* ''[[Shiva Tandava Stotra]]''
* ''[[Rama Raksha Stotra]]''

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Hindu mantras]]
[[Category:Shaktism]]
[[Category:Hindu devotional texts]]
[[Category:Stotras]]

Mahishasura Mardini Stotra - Revision history

Kishore121 at 13:02, 27 September 2025