Story
In the Devi Bhagwath Puranas, Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma were faced with a serious and grim problem. The menace of rakshashas had to be addressed and people residing on earth had to be relieved of this menace.
The trinity of the supreme devata’s met in a cave location in the Satpuda ranges. This secret location is the present day Shree Manudevi temple and its surrounding vicinity.
While they were deep in meditation of finding a solution to the menace of the rakshashas, by their breathing process and the powerful environment that was created in the cave by their presence and meditation, there appeared a very bright illumination of shakti (meaning power and energy inherent in goddess) in the form of lightening. These illuminated rays culminated into a combined form into Goddess Manudevi. She signifies the combined strength, intelligence and power of the Trinity, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva.
On appearing, the Goddess asked the assembled devatas the motive of their assembly in the cave. The devatas namely Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Mahesh prayed to Goddess Manudevi, saying “O Adishakti, we are caught up in a severe problem“. The demon Mahishasur is inflicting a lot of pain and injustice and his menace is the cause of our worry. O Goddess, we pray to you to annihilate him from earth by assuming an angry form of your distinct personality. We need your help in getting rid of this demon and thus enforcing peace and serenity to earth and its inhabitants.
The Goddess started ravaging the forces of the demon and reached the banks of River Tapi. The battle took place in an area known as Shiragadh. This place became known as “Shirgadh’s AshtaBhujaa Devi”. From this location Goddess Manudevi moved to Nandra (Bajara) for the next battle. There is a temple of the goddess in the form of AshtaBhujaa Devi here as well.
From here the Goddess moved to an area known as Paatna, where a fierce battle was fought between her and the demonic forces. Tired from the battle the Goddess rested in this location, and thus in this location she became known as Goddess “Paatna Devi”. The serene and graceful form of Goddess Manudevi was transferred into Goddess AshtaBhujaa Devi.
The final stage of the battle took place on SapthaShrung mountains, where the Goddess had to battle the demon for a period of seven years. The battle between dharma and adharma was fierce. The Goddess form was transitioned into Goddess SapthaShrunga Devi. This was the enforcer form of Devi, which was fearsome to wrongdoers. In this form the devi destroyed and killed the demon Mahisasur and his forces, ultimately. Folklore has it that this place was known as the devis home place namely Khandesh.