Seshasayi Vishnu

Look at the panel on your left as you enter the Mahishasura Mardhini cave. This panel depicts another story from the Hindu scripture, Devi Mahatmiyam - the story of Seshasayi Vishnu.

As we saw earlier, according to Hindu belief, between each cycle of the creation and destruction of worlds, Vishnu rests on the divine serpent, Adi Sesha, floating over the cosmic ocean of milk. At that moment all activity is suspended. However, during one such pause, something unexpected happened.

Two pieces of earwax fell from Vishnu’s ears into the ocean of milk. On contact with the divine ocean, they developed a life of their own and turned into two demons - Madhu and Kaitabha. They prayed to the supreme goddess, Devi and received a boon that they could not be killed unless they themselves expressed the wish to die. Emboldened by the boon, they went on a rampage. Vishnu woke up to retaliate, but the boon had made the demons invincible. Vishnu appealed to Devi for help, and she appeared on the battleground as a beautiful maiden. While the demons were distracted by her, Vishnu praised them for their valour and offered to grant them a boon. But the demons were overcome with arrogance and were eager to show off their own power to the beautiful maiden. They refused Vishnu’s boon, and offered him a boon instead. Vishnu accepted and promptly asked the demons to wish for their own death. The demons were left with no choice and were swiftly beheaded by Vishnu’s swirling disc or the Chakra.

Look closely at the panel. You can see Vishnu serenely resting on Adi Sesha. But trouble has already broken out on the right side. Madhu and Kaitabha have entered the quiet sanctuary and their faces show evil intent. Adi Sesha has raised his head and is hissing fire. The two flying figures above Vishnu are his weapons - the war-conch, Panchajanya and the mace, Kaumodaki. They have literally come alive in the battle, and are shown as personifications. Below Vishnu’s form are two more personified weapons: Sudarshana the disc and Nandaka the sword. They are ready to attack. Next to them is Bhudevi, the earth-goddess, praying to Vishnu.

The panel is unique because it shows Vishnu’s four weapons not as inanimate objects but in their anthropomorphic forms: they are the Ayudha Purushas or demi-gods. Many Vishnu temples have separate shrines for his weapons.