Dating from circa 550 CE, the Devimahatmya (Glory of the Goddess) is a devotional text of 700 Sanskrit verses that extol the Goddess (Devi) as the supreme power and creator of the universe. The verses were interpolations to the earlier Markandeya Purana dating from circa 250 CE and then extracted as a stand-alone text. The Devimahatmya describes the Goddess in her various aspects triumphing over the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, Mahishasura, Dhumralochana, Chanda and Munda, Raktabija, and Shumbha and Nishumbha.
This unfinished or preparatory drawing illustrates the climax of Chapter 3, “The Slaying of Mahishasura.” After the demon Mahishasura had assumed his sequential manifestations as a buffalo, lion, warrior with a sword, and elephant, each of which was defeated by the Goddess, Mahishasura resumed his buffalo form and then began to revert to his true demonic form. As his head emerged from the buffalo’s mouth, the Goddess jumped on his neck and beheaded him (Devimahatmya 3:39-42). The Goddess’s lion mount maws the buffalo’s decapitated head. The Goddess is drinking one of several cups of wine, which she drank to energize herself during the battle. Beside her is tray with a ewer and wine cups, and a lota with a lotus. The thousand-eyed Indra bows in reverence. The gods and celestial divinities herald the auspicious event.
See also its series mate M.77.154.29.
