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Devi Bhagavatam (Devi
Puranam)
Chapter XVI
On the conversation between the Devī and Mahisāsura
1-7. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing those words, the King Mahisa in anger
addressed the charioteer Darūka :-- Bring over my chariot quickly. That
chariot is drawn by one thousand excellent horses, is bedecked with banners,
flags, and ensigns, is furnished with various arms and weapons, and is
endowed with good wheels of a white colour, and beautiful poles in which the
yoke is fixed. The charioteer brought the chariot instantly and duly
informed the king, O King! I have got the chariot ready at your door, your
beautiful chariot, bedecked with beautiful carpets and various arms and
weapons. Hearing that the chariot had been brought, Mahisa thought, the
Devī might not care him, seeing him ugly faced with a pair of horns and
therefore decided to assume a human shape and then go to the battle. The
beauty and cleverness are the delights of women; therefore I will go before
Her, with a beautiful body and with all the cleverness and dexterities. For
I will never be delighted with anything but that woman looking at me with
fondness and becoming passionately attached to me.
8-33. Thus thinking, the powerful King of the Demons quitted the buffalo
appearance and assumed a beautiful human shape. He put on beautiful
ornaments, armplates, etc., and wore divine cloths and had garlands on his
neck and thus shone like a second Kandarpa, the god of Love. Taking, then,
all the arrows and weapons, he mounted on the chariot, and attended by his
army, went to the Devī, elated with power and vanity. The Devī blew Her
conchshell when She saw Mahisāsura, the lord of the Dānavas, come before Her
with a handsome appearance, tending to captivate the minds of mistresses and
surrounded by many powerful and valiant warriors. The King of the Demons
heard the blow of the conchshell, wondrous to all, came up before the Devī
and smilingly spoke to Her thus :-- O Devī! Whatever person there exists in
this world, this wheel of Samsāra (the eternal round of births and deaths),
be he or she a man or a woman, everyone always hankers after pleasure or
happiness. And that pleasure is derived in this world by the combination of
persons with each other; never is it seen where this combination is absent.
Again this combination is of various kinds; I will mention them; Hear. Union
is of various kinds according as it arises out of affection or out of
natural consequences. Of these, I will now speak of unions coming out of
affection, as far as my understanding goes. The union that comes between
father, mother and their sons arises out of affection; it is therefore good.
The union between brother and brother is middling, for mutual interests of
give and take are there between the two. In fact, that union is considered
as excellent which leads to happiness of the best sort and that union which
leads to lesser happiness is known as mediocre. The union amongst the
sailors, coming from distant lands, is known as natural. They come on
various errands concerning their varied interests. This combination, because
it offers the least amount of happiness, is considered as worst. The best
union leads in this world to best happiness. O Beloved! The constant union
of men and women of the same age is considered as par excellence; for it
gives happiness of the very best sort. Both the parties, men and women, are
elevated when they want to excel each other in their family connections,
qualities, beauty; cleverness, dress, humility and propriety of conduct.
Therefore, O Dear! If you establish with me that conjugal relation, you will
get, no doubt, all the excellent happiness. Specially I will assume
different forms at my mere will. All the Divine jewels and precious things
that I have acquired after defeating Indra and the other Devas in battle,
and others are lying in my palace; you can enjoy all of them as my queen
consort or you can make a charity of them as you like. O Beautiful One! I am
your servant; consequently, at your word, I will no doubt quit my enmity
with the Devas. In short, I will do anything that leads to your pleasure and
happiness. O Sweet speaking One! O Large-eyed One! My heart is enchanted
very much with your beauty; I will do, therefore, as you order me. O One
having a broad hip! I am very much distressed; I now take refuge unto You. O
One having beautiful thighs! I am very much struck with the arrows of Cupid,
and I am very much discomforted; therefore, save me. To protect one who has
come under ones refuge is the best of all virtues. O One of a somewhat
whitish body! O One having a slender waist! I will spend the remaining
portion of my life in serving you as your obedient servant. Never will I act
contrary to your orders to the risk even of my life. Take this as literally
true and do accordingly. I now throw aside all my weapons before Your feet;
O Large eyed! I am very much distressed by the arrows of Cupid; dost Thou
therefore show Thy mercy on me. O Beautiful One! Never I showed my weakness
to Brahmā and the other Devas; but today I acknowledge that before You. I
have defeated Brahmā and others; they are fully acquainted with my prowess
in the battlefield. But, O Honoured Woman! Though I am so powerful, I now
acknowledge myself as your servant. Better look at me and grant your mercy.
34. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Mahisa, the lord of the Daityas, having said so,
that beautiful Bhagavatī laughed loudly and spoke smiling :--
35-45. The Devī said :-- I do not desire any other body than the Supreme
One! O Demon! I am His Will-power; I therefore create all these worlds. I am
His Sivā (auspicious) Prakriti (Nature); That Universal Soul is seeing Me.
It is owing to His proximity that I am appearing as the Eternal
Consciousness, manifesting Itself as this Cosmos. As irons move owing to the
proximity of magnets, I, too, though inert, owing to His proximity, work
consciously. I do not desire to enjoy the ordinary pleasures; you are very
dull and stupid; there is no doubt in this, when you desire sexual union.
For women are considered as chains to hold men in bondage. Men bound up by
iron chains can obtain freedom at any time, but when they are fastened by
women, they can never obtain freedom. O Stupid! You now want to serve the
source of urine, etc. Take refuge under Peace; peace will lead you to
happiness. Great pain arises from connection with women; you know this; then
why are you deluded? Better avoid your enmity with the Devas and roam over
the world anywhere you like. Or, if you desire to live, go to Pātāla; or
fight with Me. Know this for certain that I am stronger than you. O Dānava!
The Devas collected have sent Me here; I tell you this very truly; I am
satisfied with you by your words of friendship; therefore dost thou fly away
while you are living. See! When words are uttered seven times amongst each
other, friendship is established between saints. That has been done so
amongst us; so there is friendship now between you and me; I wont take away
your life. O hero! If you desire to die, fight gladly; O powerful one! I
will, no doubt, kill you.
46-65. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing the Bhagavatīs words, the Dānava,
deluded by passion, began to speak in beautiful sweet words :-- O Beautiful
One! Your body and the several parts thereof are very delicate and
beautiful. A mere sight of such a lady makes one enchanted. Therefore, O
Beautiful faced one! I fear very much to strike against your body. O
Lotus-eyed One! I have subjugated Hari, Hara, the Lokapālas and the several
other Devatās; I therefore ask whether it is proper for me to fight with
you! O Fair one! If you like, you marry and worship me, or you can return to
your desired place whence you have come. You have declared friendship with
me; I therefore do not like to strike any weapons on you. I have now spoken
for your good and welfare. You can gladly go away. O beautiful one! You are
a fair woman with beautiful eyes; what fame shall I earn by killing you! O
One of slender waist! Murdering a woman, a child, and a Brāhmin certainly
makes the murderer liable to suffer the consequences thereof. I will
certainly carry you today to my place without killing you. If I use force to
you, I will not get happiness; for, in such cases, the application of force
leads to no happiness. O One having good hairs! I salute before you and
speak that a man cannot be happy without the lotus face of a woman;
similarly a woman cannot be happy without a mans lotus face. Where comes
off the good combination between these two, then the highest pitch of
happiness is conceived and pain arises on the disjunction thereof. True that
you are well decked with ornaments all over your body but you seem wanting
in cleverness; for you are not worshipping me. Who has advised you to
renounce enjoyments? O Sweet speaking One! If this be true; then surely he
is your enemy; he has deceived you. O Dear! Leave your this stubbornness and
marry me; both of us shall then be happy. Visnu shines well with Kamalā,
Brahmā looks splendid with Savitrī, Rudra is well associated with Parvatī
and Indra with Sachī, so I will shine well with you; there is no doubt in
this. No woman can ever be happy without any good husband. And why are you
not then, acknowledging me your husband even when you have got him. O
Beloved! Where is now that Cupid of dull intellect? Why is he not troubling
you with his maddening delicate five arrows? O Fair one! I think that Madana
(the god of Love) out of his pity to you, seeing that you are very weak is
not striking his arrows on you as he has done to me. O One looking askance!
Or it may be that I have got some enmity with that Cupid; else why is he not
shooting arrows at you? Or my enemies the Devas have advised the God of Love
not to dart his arrows on you. O One of slender body! As Mandodarī had to
marry afterwards, when she became passionate, a hypocrite, and so she had to
repent thinking that she had not married before a beautiful auspicious king,
so I think, O One, having eyes like the young of a deer! You, too, will have
to repent like her if you decline to marry me now.
Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the conversation
between the Devī and Mahisāsura in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, the Mahāpurānam,
of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XVII
On Mandodarīs accounts
1-2. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus, the Devī asked the Dānava, Who is
that Mandodarī? Who is that king who was not first taken by her? And who is
that king whom she married afterwards? And how did she repent afterwards?
Describe all these in detail to me.
3-26. Thus asked by the Devī, Mahisa began to say :-- O Devī! There is a
place, named Simhala, noted in this earth and decorated with various trees
and prosperous with wealth and grains. A virtuous king, named Chandrasena,
used to reign there; he was calm, peaceful, truthful, heroic, charitable,
steady, forbearing, well versed in polities, ethics and morals vast as a
wide ocean, learned in Sāstras, knowing all forms of religions and much
skilled in archery. He was mindful in governing his subjects and he used to
punish according to the laws of Justice. The king had a beautiful
well-qualified wife, very handsome and broad-hipped. She was very much
devoted to her husband and always engaged in religious acts and of good
conduct. This wife, endowed with all auspicious signs, gave birth to a
beautiful daughter in her first delivery. The King Chandrasena, the father,
was very pleased to have this beautiful daughter and gladly called her by
the name of Mandodarī. This daughter began to grow daily like the phases of
the Moon. When she grew ten years old, she became very handsome. The King
now became anxious to have a suitable bridegroom and used to think of it
everyday. The Brāhmins then told the king that there was a prince named
Kambugrīva, the intelligent son of the powerful king Sudhanvā of Madra; this
prince was endowed, with all kingly qualifications and versed in all
knowledge and was therefore a fit match for your daughter. The king then
asked his dear qualified wife that he would like to marry his daughter to
Kambugrīva. The queen, hearing this, asked her daughter Mandodarī that her
father was desiring to marry her to Kambugrīva, the son of the king of Madra.
Hearing her mothers words, Mandodarī spoke thus :-- O Mother! I have got
no desire to marry; I will not accept any husband; I will take the vow of
leading a chaste virgin life and thus pass the rest of my life. O Mother!
There is nothing more miserable in this ocean of world than dependence; I
therefore prefer to lead incessantly a life of severe asceticism. The
Pundits versed in the Sāstras say that taking up the vow of separateness
and independence leads to salvation; I will thus be liberated; I have no
need for a husband. At the time of marriage ceremony, one has to say before
the consecrated Fire that one will remain always a dependent to ones
husband in every way; besides in a father-in-laws house, one has to pass
ones time as a slave, as it were, to ones mother-in-law and to husbands
(younger) brothers; again one will have to think oneself as happy when ones
husband is happy and as unhappy when ones husband is unhappy; this is the
worst of all miseries. Again if the husband marries again another woman,
then this misery of having a co-wife is extreme. O Mother! Jealousy arises
then towards even ones own husband and therefore suffering is endless.
Therefore what happiness can there be in this dream-like worlds; especially
with women who are made dependent by Nature? O Mother! I heard that in days
of yore the religious son of Uttānapāda, Uttama was younger than Dhruva; and
yet he became King. And the King Uttānapāda banished his dear wife, solely
devoted to her husband, without any cause, to the forest. Therefore women
have to suffer such diverse pains while their husbands are living; and if by
chance the husband dies, then women get interminable pains; the widowhood
becomes the only source of grief and sorrow. Again if the husband be in
foreign lands, women become subjected to the fire of Cupid, and then the
house becomes an object of more agony. Thus whether the husband lives or
dies, there is no happiness at any time. Thus, according to my opinion, I
ought never to accept any husband.
27-31. The Mother then told her husband all about what the daughter had
said. Mandodarī would accept the vow of a life-long virgin; she had no
desire to marry. She had brought forward many faults in a worldly life and
thus would perform vows and Japams and pass her time alone.
She did not yearn after a husband. The King, hearing thus, came to know,
that his daughter had no intention to marry and so began to pass his time
without giving away his daughter in marriage. Thus the daughter lived in
family protected by her father and mother; by that time signs of puberty
were seen in the body of the daughter. Her comrades requested her repeatedly
to select a bridegroom; but she spoke many words of wisdom and did not show
any inclination for marriage.
32-44. Once, on an occasion, that beautiful faced woman went out with her
female attendants on a pleasure trip to a garden, beautified with various
trees. There the slender bodied one began to play and enjoy with her
comrades in picking up various flowers and beautiful flowering creepers.
Just at that time, the famous King of Kosala, the powerful Vīrasena came
there accidentally. Alone he was on his chariot, attended by a few soldiers;
his large army and retinue were coming slowly behind him at some distance.
Her comrades, then, looking at that King from a distance, told Mandodarī, O
friend! See! Somebody, strong and beautiful, like a second God of Love is
coming towards us, mounted on a chariot. I think some King he will be and we
are very lucky that he has come here. While thus talking, the King arrived
there. The King, looking on that blue coloured woman with beautiful eyes
became surprised and getting down from the chariot, asked the maidservant,
O Gentle one! Who is this woman with large eyes! Who is her father? Tell me
this without any delay. The attendant smiling, told him thus :-- O
Beautiful-eyed One! Pray speak first who are you? What for have you come
here? What do you want to do here? The female attendant thus asking him, the
King replied :-- There is a very beautiful country named Kosala, in this
earth; I am the King of that place; my name is Vīrasena. My fourfold army is
coming at my will at my back. I have lost my way and have come here. Know me
as the King of the country Kosala.
45-49. The female attendant said :-- O King! This lotus-eyed one is the
daughter of the King Chandrasena; her name is Mandodarī. She has come here
in this garden for sporting. Hearing thus the attendants words, the King
replied :-- O Sairandhri! You appear to be smart; therefore make the Kings
daughter understand my following words clearly! O Sweet-eyed one! I am the
King descended from the Kakutstha line; O fair woman! Marry me according to
the rules of Gandarbha marriage.
Note :-- Gandharva marriage: one of the eight forms of marriage; this form
of marriage proceeds entirely from love or the mutual inclination of a youth
and maiden without ceremonies and without consulting relatives.
O broad hipped One! I have no other wife; you are a beautiful woman, of a
good family and of a marriageable age; I therefore like to marry you? Or
your father may marry you to me according to rules and ceremonies; if so, I
will no doubt be your husband as you desire.
50-55. Mahisa said :-- O Devī! The female attendant, expert in the science
of love, hearing the Kings words, spoke to the daughter smilingly and in
sweet words. O Mandodarī! A very good-looking beautiful King of the solar
dynasty has come here; he is very pretty, powerful, and of your age; O
Beautiful! The King is entirely devoted to you and loves you very much. O
Large-eyed One! Your time of marriage has come and yet you have not married;
rather you are against it. Your father is, therefore, always very sorry and
remorseful. See! How many a time your father sighed and told us, O
attendants! Always serve my daughter and awaken her to this. But you are
engaged in penances and austerities, in Hatha Dharma; therefore we cannot
request you on this matter. The Munis have said :-- To serve the husband is
the highest virtue of a woman. O Large-eyed! Women get Heaven if they serve
their husband; therefore you better marry according to rules and
ceremonies.
56. Mandodarī said :-- I am not going to marry; better that I should perform
an extraordinary tapasyā (asceticism); O Girls! You go and ask the King
desist in his request; why is he shamelessly looking at me.
57-59. The female attendant then said, O Devī! Passion is very hard to
conquer; time is also surmountable with difficulty; so know my advice as the
medicinal diet and keep my request. And if you do not keep it, surely danger
will befall you. Hearing this, Mandodarī replied, O attendant! I know
whatever is ordained by Fate will inevitably come to pass; for the present,
I am not going to marry at all.
60-61. Mahisa said :-- The female attendant, knowing this her obstinate
view, told the King :-- O King! This woman likes not a good husband; you
would better go wherever you like. The King heard and did not want to marry
that woman any more; and, being sad and broken-hearted, went back with his
army to Kosala.
Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on Mandodarīs
accounts in the Mahāpurānam, Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, of 18,000 verses by
Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XVIII
On the killing of the Dānava Mahisāsura
1-4. Mahisa said :-- O Devī! Mandodarī had a sister Indumatī; unmarried and
endowed with all auspicious signs. She grew up in time to a marriageable
age. The Svayambara assembly (a marriage in which the girl chooses her
husband from among a number of visitors assembled together) was then called
for the marriage of the maiden Indumatī. The Kings from various parts came
there and the maiden Indumatī selected from among them a beautiful strong
king, of noble lineage and endowed with all auspicious signs. At that time,
by the undescribeable power of Destiny, Mandodarī seeing the deceitful,
cunning, and hypocrite King of Madra, became passionate and desired to marry
him.
5-17. That slender woman Mandodarī then addressed her father thus :-- O
Father! Seeing the King of Madra in this assembly, I am desirous to marry
him; so perform also my marriage ceremony now. When the king heard this
request from her own daughter privately, he became very glad and began with
promptness, to make preparations for the marriage. He invited the King of
Madra to his own palace and gave him in marriage his own daughter Mandodarī,
according to due rites and ceremonies with an abundance of dowry and wealth.
The King of Madra Chārudesna became very glad to marry the beautiful
Mandodarī and went back with her to his own abode. The King Chārudesna then
enjoyed her for good many days; when one day a maid-servant found the king
in sexual intercourse with another maid-servant in a lonely place and
divulged this to Mandodarī; she finding the king in that state became angry
and rebuked him with a slight smiling countenance. Again, on another
occasion, Mandodarī saw the king willingly engaged in amusements and sports
with an ordinary beautiful woman and became very sorry and thought thus :--
When I saw him in the Svayamvara, I could not recognise him as a cheat; I am
deceived by this King; Oh! What a wrong act have I done through delusion.
This King is a rogue and he is totally shameless and has no dislike for
contemptible things; it is now too late to repent for him. How can I have
any affection for this husband; fie on my living now! I forsake from this
very day all the pleasures with my husband and all other worldly pleasures,
and I take recourse now to contentment alone. I have committed a very wrong
act that I ought never to have done; therefore it causes intense pain to me
now. If I now commit suicide, then that sin will never forsake me, and I
must have to enjoy the consequences thereof. And if I return to my fathers
house, I will not be happy there, for my companions seeing me thus will, no
doubt, ridicule me. Therefore, it is now advisable for me to avoid all the
sensuous pleasures, become dispassionate and remain here patiently and abide
by the strange combinations of Time.
18-20. Mahisa said :-- Thus that women lamented and remorsed and began to
remain there, very much sorrowful and distressed, renouncing thoroughly all
the pleasures of the world. O Auspicious One! I am the king, yet you are
showing your dislike for me; know, eventually, you, too, will be passionate
and entertain afterwards an illiterate coward. Keep my word even now, it
will be of great benefit and it will serve as a medicinal diet to you as to
all women. In case you do not follow my advice, you will have to meet with
extreme pain and misery, certainly.
21-25. Hearing the words of Mahisāsura, the Devī said :-- O you fool! Go to
the lower worlds or stand up for fight; I will send you and the other
Dānavas unto death and then go away at my pleasure. O Demon! I take up form
to preserve the righteous, whenever they suffer pain in this earth. O Lord
of the Daityas! Formless, birthless I am; yet, at times, I take up form and
be born to save the Devas. Know this firmly. O wicked Mahisa! The Devas
prayed to Me for your destruction. Therefore I will not rest until I kill
you. I speak all these truly to you. Therefore fight or go to Pātāla, the
abode of the Asuras; I speak truly to you again that I will destroy you
wholly.
26-51. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the Devīs words, the Dānava took
up his bow and came to the battle, fully stretching the string of his bow up
to his ears, and began to shoot sharpened arrows with great force at the
Devī. The Devī, too, hurled with anger, arrows tipped with iron and cut off
the Asuras arrows to pieces. The fight between them rose to such a terrible
pitch that it caused terror to both the Devas and the Dānavas, trying hard
to be victorious over each other. In the midst of the terrible encounter,
the demon Durdhara came up to fight and made the Devī angry and shot arrows,
all terribly poisonous and sharpened on stones, at Her. The Bhagavatī, then,
got very angry and hit him hard with sharp arrows. Durdhara, struck thus,
fell down dead on the battlefield like a mountain top. The demon Trinetra,
well skilled in the uses of arrows and weapons, seeing him killed, came up
to fight and shot at the Great Goddess with seven arrows. Before these
arrows came on Her, She cut them to pieces with Her sharp arrows and by Her
trident killed Trinetra. Trinetra thus killed, Andhaka quickly came in the
battlefield and struck violently on the head of the lion with his iron club.
The lion killed that powerful Andhaka by striking the demon with his nails
and, out of anger, began to eat his flesh. Mahisāsura became greatly
astonished at the death of these Asuras and began to shoot pointed arrows,
sharpened on stone, at Her. The Devī Ambikā cut his arrows into two before
they came on Her and struck the Demon on his breast by Her club. That vile
Mahisāsura, the tormentor of the Devas, fell in a swoon under the stoke of
the club but patiently bore it and, at the next moment, came again and
struck the lion on his head by his club. The lion, too, by his nails rent
that great Asura to pieces. Mahisāsura, then, quitting the man-form took up
the lion-form and by his claws cut the Devīs lion and wounded him very much
by his nails. On Mahisāsura taking up this lion-form, the Devī became very
angry and began to shoot arrows after arrows at him all very terrible, sharp
and like poisonous snakes. Then the Asura quitting the lion form assumed the
appearance of a male elephant, oozing out juice from his temples and began
to hurl the mountain tops by his trunk. Seeing the mountain peaks thus
hurled on Her, She cut them off to pieces by Her sharp arrows and began to
laugh. The Devīs lion on the other hand, sprang on the head of the elephant
Mahisa and by his claws rent him to pieces. To kill the Devīs lion, then,
Mahisa quitted his elephant-form and assumed the appearance of a Sarabha,
more powerful and terrible than lion. The Devī seeing that Sarabha became
angry and struck on the head of that Sarabha with Her axe; the Sarabha, too,
attacked the Devī. Their fight became horrible; Mahisāsura, then, assumed
the appearance of a buffalo and struck the Bhagavatī by his horns. That
horrible Asura, of hideous appearance, swinging his tail, began to attack
the thin bodied Devī. That violent Asura caught hold of the mountain peaks
by his tail and, whirling them round and round, hurled them on the Devī.
That vicious soul, then, maddened with his strength, laughed incessantly and
addressed thus :-- O Devī! Be steady in the battlefield. I will send you
today unto death, and your youth and beauty too. You are an illiterate
fellow as you have come maddened to fight with me. Really you are deluded in
your pretensions that you are very strong; this idea of yours is absolutely
false. I will kill you first and the hypocrite Devas after who want to
vanquish me by standing up a woman in their front.
52-53. The Devī said :-- O Villain! Do not boast; keep yourself firm in the
fight. Today I will kill you and make the Devas discard their fear. O
Wretch! You are a Sinner; you torment the Devas and terrify the Munis. Let
me have my drink of sweet decoction of grapes. And then I will slay you
undoubtedly.
54-70. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Saying thus, the Devī, wrathful and eager to
kill Mahisāsura, took up the golden cup filled with wine and drank again and
again. When the Devī finished Her drink of the sweet grape juice, She
pursued him with trident in Her hands, to the great joy of gladdening all
the Devas. The Devas began to rain showers of flowers on the Devī and
praised Her and shouted victories to Her with Dundubhi (a Divine drum) Jai,
Jīva; victory, live. The Risis, Siddhas, Gandarbhas, Pisāchas, Uragas, and
Kinnaras witnessed the battle from the celestial space and became very much
delighted. On the other hand, Mahisāsura, the hypocrite Pundit, began to
assume various magic forms and struck the Devī repeatedly. The Devī Chandikā,
then, infuriated and with eyes reddened, pierced violently the breast of
that vicious Mahisa with Her sharp trident. The Demon, then, struck by this
trident, fell senseless on the ground; but got up in the next moment and
kicked the Devī forcibly. That Great Asura, thus kicking the Devī, laughed
repeatedly and bellowed so loudly that the Devas were all terrified with
that noise. Then the Devī held aloft the brilliant discus of good axle and
of thousand spokes and loudly spoke to the Asura in front :-- O Stupid!
Look! This Chakra will sever your throat today; wait a moment, I am sending
you instantly unto death. Saying this, the Divine Mother hurled the Chakra.
Instantly that weapon severed the Dānavas head from his body. The hot
streams of blood gushed out from his neck as the violent streams of water
get out from mountains, coloured red with red sandstones. The headless body
of that Asura moved, to and fro, for a moment and then dropped on the
ground. The loud acclamations of Victory were sounded to the great joy of
the Devas. The very powerful lion began to devour the soldiers that were
flying away, as if he was very hungry. O King! The wicked Mahisāsura thus
slain, the Demons that remained alive were terrified and fled away, very
much frightened, to Pātāla. The Devas, Risis, human beings and the other
saints on this earth were all extremely glad at the death of this wicked
Demon. The Bhagavatī Chandikā quitted the battlefield and waited in a holy
place. Then the Devas came there with a desire to praise and chant hymns to
the Devī, the Bestower of their happiness.
Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of the
Dānava Mahisāsura in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, the Mahā Purānam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XIX
On the prayer and hymns to the Devī
1. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Then Indra and all the Devas became very glad to
see the great Mahisāsura slain; they all began to praise and chant hymns to
the World-Mother.
2-33. The Devas said :-- It is by thy Power that Brahmā becomes able to
create this world, Visnu, to preserve, and Mahesvara to destroy during the
Pralaya time (the Great Dissolution) of this universe. But when they are
bereft of Thy Power, they are quite unable to do such. Therefore, O Devī!
Thou art undoubtedly the Prime Cause in the preservation and destruction of
this whole Universe. O Devī; Thou art, in this world, Fame, idea and ideal,
memory; Thou art the goal, mercy, compassion, faith, constancy, earth; Thou
art Kamalā, the Mantra Ajapā, respiration and perspiration, nourishment,
Jayā, Vijayā (the destroyer of obstacles; a name of Durgā); Thou art
contentment, correct notion, measure, intellect, Ramā (Laksmī), (wealth),
knowledge, forgiveness, beauty, intelligence; Thou art the Sakti (power) of
Rudra, Thou art Girijā and the Energy of God Umā and all other forces in
this universe; this is known to everyone in the three worlds. Without any or
all of these forces, no one is able to perform any action. Thou art the
Supreme Cause of all this world. Therefore everything rests on Thee. If Thou
wert not the upholding Power, how could Kurma (in the Tortoise Incarnation)
and Ananta have upheld this world? O Mother! Wert Thou not this Earth, could
all these world-load of things have rested on the sky? O Mother! Those human
beings that worship Brahmā, Visnu, Rudra, Moon, Fire, Yama, the God of
Death, Vāyu, Ganesa, and the other Devas, they are certainly deluded by Thy
Māyā. Could all those Devas do any action or any favour without Thy Energy?
O Mother! Those that offer in any Sacrifice, a profuse quantity of ghee
(clarified butter) as oblations to the several Devas, they are certainly
conceived to be of very narrow views; Wert Thou not the Svāhā, could it have
been possible for those Devas to get the offered oblations at that very
instant? Certainly, therefore, they are fools and ignorant persons. There is
no doubt in this. O Mother! Thou givest the several objects of nourishment
and enjoyment to all the beings in this universe by Thy parts (the several
transformations of these material things); it is Thou that nourishest the
Devas, Thy devotees, as well as the others (the Dānavas, according to their
Karma). O Mother! As the owner of any garden plants, with pleasure, the
beautiful trees in his garden for his delight and, finding some of them not
to bear any fruits or leaves or of a bitter taste, does not cut them off by
their roots, so, O Devī! Thou hast brought into existence these Daityas out
of their inferior Karmas and Thou art supporting them. Knowing that the
Daityas like to enjoy the celestial nymphs, Thou hast, out of compassion,
killed them by their arrows in the battlefield, to afford them facilities in
their re-birth in Heavens and thus to enjoy the Deva women which they could
not have got in any other possible way. Therefore this Thy dealings with
them are to fulfil their intentions and not to kill them. O Mother! It is a
great wonder that to kill these Asuras Thou hadst to assume this Divine
Body; Thou couldst have done so by Thy mere will. It seems that this act of
Thine is but a mere Pastime. There is no other cause for this. O Devī! Those
human beings that do not worship Thee in this dreadful age of Kālī, they are
certainly deceived by the cunning Purāna makers who have deluded them to
worship Hari and Hara, who are Thy creations. Oh! What an amount of evil has
befallen to those poor souls! O Devī! Those men know that the Devas,
tormented by the Asuras, are Thy devotees, and yet they worship them;
certainly such fellows, holding the lighted torches in their hands, plunge
deep into the darkest waterless wells. O Mother! Thou art the Vidyā
(Blissful Intelligence) and Thou grantest pleasure and liberation; Thou art
the Avidyā, (Great Delusion) and thus Thou causest bondage and pain in this
world. O Mother! Thou only destroyest the affliction of the human beings;
those that want liberation worship Thee, and those that are ignorant and
attached to worldly enjoyments do not worship Thee. What more can be said
than this, that Brahmā, Visnu, Mahesa and the other Devas incessantly
worship Thy adorable lotus-feet; but those men that are of dull intellect
and are mistaken, they do not meditate Thy feet and, therefore, they come
again and again into this ocean of world. O Chandikā! It is through the
grace of the dust of Thy lotus-feet that Brahmā, Visnu, and Mahesvara are
creating, preserving and destroying this universe. Therefore, O Goddess!
Those men that do not serve Thee, are certainly very unfortunate. O Mother
of the Universe! Thou art the Goddess of speech of the Suras and the Asuras;
thus if Thou didst not dwell in their mouths, they would not have been able
to utter a single word; therefore, O Goddess! How can men speak, when they
are thus deprived of Thee! O Mother! It is due to the curse of Bhrigu Muni
that Hari takes several incarnations as Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Man-Lion, and
deceitful Dwarf Incarnations; all these show clearly the dependence of Hari,
*N.B. - The Devas and the Daityas are the opposite polarities of the same
creation.
How, then, can they avoid the fear of death when they serve these dependent
incarnations! O Mother! It is well known that the male generative organ of
Sambhu, the Mahādeva fell unto the ground, owing to the curse of Bhrigu
Muni, when he went to the hermitage of the Risis. How can, then, happiness
come in this world or in the next, to those who worship such a Sambhu who
wears human skulls on His body! O Devī! Those that worship Ganesa, born of
the above qualified Mahā Deva are awfully mistaken; they are especially
quite ignorant of Thee, the Goddess of the Universe, that can be easily
worshipped and that can give the fourfold aims of human existence. O Devī!
It is out of Thy kindness that Thou hast slain with Thy arrows the enemies
and thus hast translated them into Heavens; otherwise they would have
certainly gone down to Hell owing to their own Karmic effects. Brahmā, Hari,
Hara and the other Devas cannot realise Thy greatness; how can, then,
ordinary men know Thee, when they are deluded by immeasureably strong Sāttva,
Rājas and Tāmas qualities. O Mother! Those who do not worship Thy lotus-feet
as very hard to be brought within this mind and therefore worship this
visible Sun and Fire, they cannot grasp the Essence of the Vedas,
demonstrated by hundreds of passages of Sruti; they are deluded and simply
suffer pains. O Mother! I think that the influences of Thy Sāttva, Rājas and
Tāmas qualities are widely known in this world; those qualities as taught in
various deluding schools of Tantras by various persons, stimulate people to
the worship of Visnu, Mahesvara, Sun and Ganesa and thus detract them from
worshipping Thee. O Mother! Those that detract thus the Brāhmanas from
worshiping Thy lotus-feet and advise them through the Āgamas, to worship
Hari, Hara and others, Thou dost not get angry with them, rather Thou dost
shew Thy kindness to them and make them widely celebrated as possessing the
occult powers of enchanting, bringing others under their control, or
attracting towards them various other persons. In the Satya Yuga, Sāttva
Guna was more powerful and therefore the untrue Sāstras could not rear
their heads; but in this Kālī Age, owing to the Sāttva Guna being not so
powerful, the lower qualities have got preponderance; so these so-called
clever Pundits instead of worshipping Thee, worship Hari, Hara and the other
Devas, the products of their fancy and hide Thee. O Mother! Thou art the
Brahmā Vidyā, the knowledge of the Supreme Consciousness, Thou givest
liberation to Thy devotees when they succeed in their Yogas. Therefore the
pure Sāttvik Muni meditate on Thee and Thee alone. Those that get themselves
diluted in Thee, they are very blessed; what more to speak of them in their
praise, they will no longer have to suffer any pains in their mothers
wombs! O Mother! Thou art inherent as Chit Sakti (the power of
consciousness) in the Supreme Spirit and therefore He is become manifest
specially as this Great Cosmos and becomes known as the Creator, Preserver,
and Destroyer of this world, fashioned out of five elements. O Devī! What
male can by his own power work out this Jagat Prapancha, enjoy it and move
in this, without the aid of Thy power. O Bhagavatī! This universe has been
created by Thee; Thou art, therefore, its Mother. The twenty-four Essences
or Tattvas are inert; how can they without Thy Chitsakti, create this
universe? O Devī! Never can these senses and organs, endowed with Guna and
Karma, do any work or bestow any fruits without Thy energy.
O Mother! Wert thou not Svāhā, the instrumental cause in the sacrifice, how
could the Devas have got their shares of the ghee offered in the Yajńās by
the Munis! Therefore, O Devī! Thou art, no doubt, preserving this universe.
O Bhagavatī! It is Thou that hast created this world in the beginning; it is
Thou that art preserving the gods Hari, Hara and others; it is Thou that art
destroying this universe. Therefore, O Brāhman! The Devas cannot know Thy
deeds; how can, then, the men who are of dull intellect, know Thee. O
Mother! Thou hast now saved the Devas by killing this terrible Mahisāsura. O
Mother! All the Vedas have not been able to know exactly all Thy movements;
how can we, of dull intellect, praise Thee! O Mother! Thou has served our
cause by killing our enemy, the wicked Dānava, the inconceivable source of
pain to all the world by this act of Thine, Thy fame has spread far and wide
in this universe; therefore, O Thou of renowned prowess! Thou art the Mother
of this world; save us, and maintain us by Thy mercy.
34-35. Vyāsa said :-- O King! The Devas having praised the Devī thus, the
Devī addressed them gently :-- O Devas! Say if you have any other difficult
thing for Me to do; remember Me whenever any difficult crisis occurs to you;
I will destroy that evil.
36-42. The Devas said :-- O Devī! All our purposes have been served when
Thou hast killed lately our enemy Mahisāsura. Now dost Thou do for us so
that we can always recollect Thy lotus feet, and our Bhakti be firm and
steadfast towards Thee. It is only the Mother the bears the thousand
offences of the son; we, therefore, cannot say why men, knowing this, do not
worship the Mother of the Universe. There are two birds always dwelling in
this body, Jivātmā (human soul) and the Paramātmā (the Supreme Soul). They
are so very intimate friends toward each other that they never separate. But
there is no other third friend that can bear the faults of these two.
Therefore the embodied soul that forsakes Thee, his friend, can never attain
any welfare; what more to say on this! That vicious soul is very unlucky
amidst the Devas and men, no doubt. He who on attaining this excellent human
body, attained with much difficulty, does not remember Thee frequently by
words and deeds, is certainly the vilest of men. O Devī! Whether in times of
distress or happiness, Thou art our Saviour; therefore dost Thou protect us
with Thy best weapons. O Devī! There is no other means of our security than
the Grace of the dust of Thy Feet.
43. Vyāsa said :-- O King! The Devas having prayed to the Devī thus, the
Devī vanished then and there. The Devas, seeing the disappearance of the
Devī, were sufficiently struck with surprise.
Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the prayer and hymns
to the Devī in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, the Mahā Purānam of 18,000 verses
by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XX
On the peace of the world
1-11. Janamejaya said :-- O best of Risis! I have now seen the wonderful
excellent deeds of the Devī for the enhancement of peace in this world.
Though I have heard from thy lotus face these nectar-like words, still I am
not satisfied. O best of Munis! What did the chief Devas do when the Goddess
disappeared, kindly say to me. O Bhagavān! I think those Jīvas cannot fully
comprehend these excellent sacred deeds of the Devī, that are less fortunate
and have done not many meritorious deeds in this world. O Muni! What to
speak of the less fortunate souls, even the Mahātmas who are well versed in
hearing such things, can hardly be satiated on hearing the Devīs deeds. O!
Fie to those, that do not hear of these things, the essence of essences, on
hearing which men become Immortals. The Mothers Līlā is to preserve the
Devas as well as the great Munis and to serve as a boat for the human beings
to cross this ocean of world. How can, then, the grateful souls forsake Her?
The Pundits versed in the Vedas declare, that the Devīs life is able to
fulfil all the desires. Therefore the liberated souls that want liberation,
the worldly souls, the diseased all ought to drink incessantly the
nectar-like nectar of Devīs doings. Especially the kings that are engaged
in Dharma, in earning wealth and in enjoyments, ought to hear Her life. O
Muni! When the liberated souls drink the nectar-like doings of the Devī,
what doubt can there be with the ordinary human beings, to listen with rapt
devotion those wondrous things! O Best of Munis! It is those that worshipped
the Goddess Bhavānī in their previous births with beautiful Kunda flowers,
Champaka flowers and Bel leaves, they have, it is inferred, in their present
births become possessed of rich enjoyments. And those devoid of any
devotion, that obtained this human body in the land of Bhārata and did not
worship the Mother Goddess, they are, in the present births, without grains
and riches, diseased, and void of any issues. Wander they always as
servants, carrying out orders, and bearing on the burden loads; day and
night, they seek for their own selfish ends, yet they cannot get their belly
full meals. The blind, deaf and dumb; lame and lepers suffer pain and misery
in this earth; seeing them, it should be inferred that they never worshipped
the Goddess Bhavānī. And those that are wealthy, prosperous, attended by
numerous attendants and are always enjoying, like kings, it is to be
inferred that they certainly worshipped the lotus feet of the Mother Goddess
in their past lives.
12-15. Therefore O Son of Satyavatī! As you are kind-hearted, kindly narrate
before me the excellent deeds of the Devī. O best of Munis! Where did the
Goddess, Mahā Laksmī, created out of the energies of all the gods, depart
after She had slain the Mahisāsura and had been worshipped and praised by
the Devas? O highly Fortunate one! You told me that She vanished from the
sight of the Devas; now I like to know where is She staying now, whether in
the Heavens or in the Land of Mortals? Did She melt away then and there or
did She descend to Vaikuntha or did She go to the mountain Sumeru? O Muni!
Narrate all these duly before me.
16-50. Vyāsa said :-- O King! I told you before about the beautiful Mani
Dvīpa; that island is the place of sport to the Devī and very dear to Her.
In that place Brahmā, Visnu, Mahādeva were transformed into females; they
afterwards became males and were engaged in their respective duties. That
place is grand and splendid and is in the centre of the ocean of Nectar; the
Devī Ambikā assumes various forms there as She likes; and She sports there.
To that Mani Dvīpa the auspicious Devī departed after She had been praised
by the Gods, to that place where sports always the eternal Bhagavatī
Bhuvanesvarī, the incarnate of Para Brahmā. When the Highest Goddess
vanished, the Devas installed, on the throne of Mahisāsura, the powerful
King Satrughna, endowed with all auspicious qualities, the Lord of Ajodhyā
and descended from the Solar line. After making him thus the King, Indra and
the other Devas went to their respective abodes on their own conveyances. O
King! The Devas having gone to their places, the subjects were governed on
this earth according to Dharma; and they passed their times in ease and
comfort. It used to rain, then, timely and the earth was covered with plenty
of grains and wealth; the trees were all filled with fruits and leaves and
gave enjoyment to people. The cows with their udders full like earthen pots
gave such a profuse quantity of milk that men began to milk them whenever
they liked. The rivers waters were all clear and cooling; and they flowed
full in regular channels; the birds grouped round them. The Brāhmanas,
versed in the Vedas, were engaged in performing sacrifices; the Ksattriyas
observed their virtues and were engaged in doing charities and in their
education; the kings held their rods of justice and were engaged in
governing their subjects; though the several kings were busy with various
arms and weapons, they all became fond of peace. Thus no wars nor quarrels
were seen amongst the subjects; and the mines yielded plenty of wealth to
the people. O best of Kings! There were the Brāhmans, Ksattriyas, Vaisyas
and Sūdras who became the devotees of the Goddess. The Brāhmanas and
Ksattriyas used, then, to perform so many sacrifices that, at every nook and
corner in this globe, the sacrificial altars and the sacrificial posts
became visible. The female sex became gentle and of good behaviour, truthful
and chaste towards their husbands respectively. Atheism and unrighteous acts
vanished entirely from the face of the earth; the people left all dry
discussions; they argued only about the Sāstras that did not go in
contra-distinction to the Vedas. Nobody liked to quarrel with each other;
poverty, and evil inclinations were checked; the people everywhere lived in
happiness. Untimely death was not there; so the people had no bereavements
with their friends; no distress was seen. Famine, want of rains, and deadly
plagues were out of sight. The people had no illness even; and jealousies
and quarrels vanished. O King! all men and women began to sport merrily
everywhere like the Gods in Heaven. Theft, atheism, deceit, vanity,
hypocrisy, lustfulness, stupidity, and the anti-Vedic feelings were not to
be seen. O Lord of the Earth! All the men were then extremely devoted to
their Dharma and engaged in serving the Brāhmanas. The Brāhmins were also,
according to the three-fold plan of the creation, Sāttvik, Rājasik and
Tāmasik. The Sāttvik Brāhmins were all versed in the Vedas, clever and
truthful; they were kind, they controlled their passions and they did not
accept any presents from others. Filled with their ideas of Dharma, they
used to perform their Purodāsa and other such sacrifices with Sāttvik rice,
etc., but never, never did they immolate any animals.* O King! The Sāttvik
Brāhmanas gave charities, studied the Vedas and offered sacrifices for
themselves. These were their three ordained actions. They were busy in
these. O King! The Rājasik Brāhmanas were versed in the Vedas and acted as
priests to the Ksattriyas and ate flesh as sanctioned by recognised rules.
They were busy with their six duties. They offered sacrifices on their own
behalf, assisted others in sacrifices, took gifts, made charities, studied
and taught others the Vedas. The Tāmasik Brāhmanas were angry, attached to
worldly objects, and jealous. They studied very little of the Vedas and
spent most of their time in serving the kings. O King! Mahisāsura was
killed, all the Brāhmanas were glad and began to practise Dharma according
to the Vedas, observed vows and made charities. The Ksattriyas began to
govern the subjects, the Vaisya carried on their trading business and the
other tribes went on with their agriculture, preservation of the cows, and
lending money on interest. Thus all men became vary glad on the death of
Mahisa. Devoid of cares and anxieties, the subjects got much wealth! The
cows were endowed with suspicious signs and gave plenty of milk and the
rivers flowed full of waters. The trees looked splendid with abundance of
fruits; men were without diseases: in short, people had no mental agony and
too much or too little of rains were not there; Salavas, mice, birds, and
seditions we not extant. O King! The beings died not prematurely; rather
enjoyed incessantly, their full health and possessed lots of riches;
especially beings, engaged in the Vedic Dharma, served the lotus feet of
Chandikā and thus spent their lives.
Here ends the Twentieth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the peace of the world
in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda
Vyāsa.
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