Mahishasura's True Colors - Mythology & Science Ep.3
Hello and welcome you to the 3rd episode of Mythology and Science in which I narrate fantastic stories from the Greek and Indian mythology and explain their scientific implications. Today, because of the internet, many things have become common knowledge. Similar things were done in the olden days by the bards and street theatre artists who told us stories. Let me tell you an interesting one today.
You can 'watch' the following story by clicking on this link 👇
https://youtu.be/DOZJn_I018s
Story
Mahishasura was born to a demon (Asura) father and a buffalo mother.
Just like any of us, he too wanted power, success and a long life. After many
years of his intense Tapas or prayers, Brahma (the creator of the world)
descended and offered him a boon. Mahishasura asked that may no man, animal or
God be able to defeat or kill him. Brahma granted him the boon and the Asura then
became invincible.
If it is a big deal to discipline
yourself and earn that kind of superpower, it is a bigger deal to not misuse
it; but Mahishasura did just that. He gathered an army of asuras and wreaked
havoc everywhere including the Devlok. The Devas (Agni, Vayu, Varun and Indra)
couldn’t even so much as slow him down. They hurried to the Holy Trinity
(Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) and pleaded for help.
The Trimurtis who were well aware of his boon, came up with a clever plot.
They combined their powers to invoke a feminine force that could defeat the
Asura. And out of that combination emerged a potent yellow Goddess gleaming
like a thousand suns, she was Devi Chamundeeshwari also known as Durga. She
carried the weapons given by the Trimurtis, mounted a tiger and left to fight
with Mahishasura.
Chamundeeshwari had to first encounter the
Asura army’s general who she got rid of at the blink of an eye. That really
ticked Mahishasur off, he realised that he underestimated the woman and decided
to fight the Devi himself. He took the form of a strong buffalo and charged at
her, she cut his head off. He quickly resurrected as a lion, this time Devi’s
tiger fought and subdued him. He then rose up as an elephant only to let Devi
cut off his trunk instantly. Unrelented, he came back to his original buffalo
form and fought fiercely. The Goddess countered his every stroke with ease.
Their fight lasted nine days at the end of which Devi Chamundeeshwari killed
Mahishasur with her Trident. The menacing asuras receded back to their
underworld and peace was restored.
Science
This is quite a popular story in India, the
9 days battle between the Goddess and the Asura is celebrated as Navrartri.
But, like I say, mythological stories have many layers to them, let me uncover
one for you.
In most ancient mythologies across the
world, the goddess is a representation of nature. Interestingly, in the stories about the
Indian Goddess, the Asuras denote a kind of bacteria, virus or any living cell
that harms the human body. The Goddess’ incarnation denotes a piece of nature
that acts as an antidote to the condition caused by these micro-organisms. The
combat between the Goddess and the Asura, can be seen as the biological battle
for survival inside our body. So, what do Mahishasur and Chamundeeswari
represent?
Mahisha means Buffalo and asur denotes a
harmful microrganism. So Mahishasur is a micro-organism from a buffalo. Modern
science identifies, Brucella as a bacterium that is found predominantly in
buffaloes and causes brucellosis, a disease that human's contract from
buffaloes due close contact or consuming their milk.
Our
immune system fights against harmful microbes on a daily basis. But, weak
bacteria can gradually evolve into stronger ones. When they become too powerful
for our immune system, we fall sick. This is explained as Mahishasur performing
Tapas to become powerful and then unleashing terror everywhere.
Devas like Vayu, Agni and Varun are metaphors for the Tridoshas of the
body, I.e. Vatam, pittam and kapham. Ayurveda states that people fall sick when
the Tridoshas lose balance. Indriya means our senses and Indra denotes the
medium of our senses which is the nervous system. Trimurtis are the human
consciousness. So, the devas appealing to the trimurtis is actually our tridoshas
losing balance and the nervous system signalling the brain that our health
needs attention.
Devi Chamundeeshwari created by the Trimurtis, is the concocted antidote
to brucellosis. When the goddess slays the asura, he resurrects as a lion and
an elephant. That is nothing but the variants of the bacteria. A research
conducted in Ugandan national parks states that brucella has been found in high
numbers in lions, only next to buffaloes. Also in elephants, but very rarely . Surely,
the antidote has been potent enough to kill all these mutations.
Now, take a moment to guess who the yellow goddess might be? It is none other than our good old Turmeric!
Haldi! Manjal! Curcuma Longa! Curcumin is yellow chemical produced by turmeric,
it has great antibacterial, antiviral and antimicrobial properties. Modern medicine uses doxycycline and rifampin
to treat brucellosis, ongoing research states that mixing curcumin to
doxycycline has helped in faster recovery from brucellosis in the lab
specimens.
Turmeric which is a staple of Indian cuisine, is added to boiled milk
and consumed as medicine for various health complaints. While milk is popularly
known to strengthen the bones with calcium it also helps increase immunity.
Drinking turmeric milk regularly increases immunity and prevents any
requirement for antibiotics; I say that with personal experience.
As we wade through the second wave of the
pandemic, I can’t help but wonder what kind of a story can be made out of this
Corona virus? Batasura takes the world by storm.....Tell me about it in the
comment box and I’ll meet you soon with another mind-blowing story. By-bye!
Mahishasuramardini story
https://www.artofliving.org/navratri/durga-saptshati-story-4-the-slaying-of-mahishasura
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahishasura
What is brucellosis?
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/brucellosis-symptoms-treatment
Brucellosis, buffaloes, lions, Elephants
and Humans
https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-021-02782-4
file:///C:/Users/justs/Downloads/Publicationbrucellosis.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3297602/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7566264/
What are the Tridoshas?
Find
Your Body Type- A Comprehensive Guide to Vata, Pitta& Kapha
How
to Balance Vata Pitta Kapha in Vasanta(Spring Season)
Indra means Indriya
"Physiology
of Indriya" - by Dr. Vandana Verma
Curcumin (Turmeric) for treating
Brucellosis
Turmeric - Curcuma Longa- medicinal effects
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/9/767/htm
Brucellosis affects bones
https://iai.asm.org/content/88/4/e00822-19
Golden milk / turmeric milk
#mythologyandscience #mythology #science
#balancingact #mahishasur #durga #chamundeeshwari #mahishasuramardini #brucella
#brucellosis #curcumalonga #curcumin #navratri #story #storytelling
#indianmythology #india #milk #turmeric #ayurveda #ayurvedicmedicine
#scientificresearch
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