The name of a buffalo-demon slain by the deity Aiyappa in Hindu mythology.
Mahishi is granted the ability to be killed only by someone
who was not born from the union of male and female.
Aiyappa is born of a marriage of the gods Shiva and Vishnu,
when the latter adopts the guise of the enchantress Mohini, to evade this
curse.
Lila, a feminine form, comes from Mahishi's corpse after she
is slain.
Lila want to marry Aiyappa, and he promises to marry her in the
year when no celibate pilgrim visits him at Shabari Malai.
Lila is still waiting for this commitment to be fulfilled
since women of reproductive age are banned to visit Shabari Malai, and those
who do must remain celibate.
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