Mahishasura

According to Hindu mythology, Mahishasura was a combination of both an Asura and a Mahisha(buffalo). He intended to annihilate all the Devas since they were the arch enemies of Asuras.The legend of Mahishasura is important in Hindu mythology since it was to slay him that Goddess Durga was born. Hence his story is an important part of shaktiism which venerates Goddess Durga.

The mythology of Mahishasura

Rambha the king of Asuras was enticed with the beauty of a she buffalo and eventually he married her.Out of this strange union was born a child which was half buffalo and half human.This child was named Mahishasura(Mahisha literally means buffalo).Mahishasura being an Asura wanted to wage war against their archenemies the Devas and hence to make himself invincible,performed a tapas to Brahma and requested that he be granted immortality.Brahma refused him the boon of immortality and instead gave him a boon such that his death will happen only at the hands of a woman.Mahishasura considered himself immortal since he felt that it was impossible for a woman to slay a person of his strenth. Thus with this belief,Mahishasura started a war with the Devas and a battle took place.The Devas led by the Indra were defeated.The Devas requested the trinity of Shiva,Brahma and Vishnu requesting help, subsequently they combined their thejas and created a woman.The Goddess thus created was Durga and she eventually led a battle against Mahishasura and Killed him,thus fulfilling the prophecy that he would meet his death at the hands of a woman.