|
|
Devi Bhagavatam (Devi
Puranam)
Chapter XXVI
On the killing of Chanda and Munda
1-17. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus ordered, the two strong warriors Chanda
and Munda hurriedly went to the battle, accompanied by a vast army. There
they saw the Devī, intent on doing good to the Gods. Then they began to
address Her in conciliatory words. O Lady! Dost Thou not know that the
extraordinarily strong Sumbha and Nisumhha, the Lords of the Daityas have
crushed down the Devas and vanquished Indra and have become intoxicated with
their victory? O Fair One! Thou art alone! Only Kālikā and Thy Lion are with
Thee! It is Thy foolishness that Thou art desirous to conquer Sumbha, who
is endowed with all power. I think there is no adviser to Thee, man nor
woman; the Devas have sent Thee here simply for Thy destruction. Think, O
Delicate One! over the powers of Thine as well as those of Thy enemy. Vainly
dost Thou boast of Thy having eighteen hands. Before the great warrior
Sumbha, the conqueror of the Devas, many hands and many weapons will be
useless; they will prove mere burdens. So dost Thou fulfil what reigns in
the heart of Sumbha, the destroyer of the legs and the uprooter of the
teeth of Airāvata elephant. Vain is Thy boast, O Beloved! Follow my sweet
words; they will do good to Thee, O Large-eyed One! They will destroy Thy
pains and give Thee bliss. Those actions that lead to pain are to be avoided
by the wise; and those that bring in happiness are to be served by the
Pundits, versed in the Sāstras. O Sweet speaking one! Thou art clever. Look
at the great strength of Sumbha with Thy eyes. He has enhanced his glory by
crushing down the Devas. And if Thou thinkest the gods superior, that is
false, for the wise men do not rely on the mere guess, full of doubts; they
believe what they actually see. Sumbha, hard to be conquered in battles, is
the great enemy of the Gods; they have been crushed down by him, and have
therefore sent Thee here. O Sweet smiling One! Thou hast been deceived by
their sweet words; they, prompted by their selfish ends, have sent Thee here
simply to give Thee trouble. The friends that come with certain business and
selfish ends are to be rejected. Friends out of religious motives are only
to be sought for refuge. Verily I tell Thee that the gods are terribly
selfish. Therefore dost Thou serve Sumbha, the conqueror of Indra and the
lord of the three worlds; he is a hero, beautiful, lovely, cunning and
thoroughly expert in the science of amorous love. Thou wilt get the
prosperity of all the worlds by the mere command of Sumbha; therefore make
a firm resolve and serve that splendid husband Sumbha.
18-30. Vyāsa said :-- O King! The Universal Mother, hearing the words of
Chanda spoke with a voice deep as thunder. O Boor! Why do you use false
deceitful words? Fly away just now. Why shall I make Sumbha my husband,
disregarding Hari, Hara and the other Devas? O You, a veritable Fool! I have
no necessity for My lord; I have got nothing to do with my lord. I Myself am
the Lord of all the beings; and I preserve this whole Universe with all the
lords and beings therein. Note this. In ancient times I saw thousands and
thousands of Sumbha and Nisumbha and I slew them all. I sent hundreds and
hundreds of Daityas and Demons to the realm of Death. Before Me the hosts of
Devas were destroyed in yugas after yugas. Today the Daityas again will go
unto destruction. The Time has come to destroy the Daityas; why, then, are
you struggling in vain with your followers for your lives? Fight now and
keep the Dharma of the warriors; death is inevitable; thinking thus, the
high-souled ones should keep their name, fame, and respect. What business
have you to do with Sumbha and Nisumbha? Follow the warriors Dharma and
go to Heavens, the abode of the gods. Sumbha, Nisumbha and your other
friends and followers, all will follow you and will come here no doubt. O
Stupid One! I will put an end to all the Dānavas today. Therefore cast aside
your weakness and go on, fight. I will slay you and your brother just now;
next I will kill the proud Rakta Vīja, Nisumbha and Sumbha and the other
Dānavas in the battle field and will then go to My desired place. Now remain
here if you like or fly away quickly. You have been fed in vain because you
fear to fight. What use is there now in using sweet words like a weak and
distressed man. Well! Take up your arms now and fight.
31-61. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Chanda and Munda, elated with pride got
excited at the Devīs words, became angry and made a violent noise with
their bow strings. The Devī, too, blew Her conchshell so loudly that the ten
quarters of the sky reverberated; in the meanwhile, the powerful lion became
very angry and roared loudly. Hearing that sound Indra and other Devas, the
Munis, Yaksas, Siddhas, and Kinnaras became all very glad. A dreadful fight
than ensued between Chandikā and Chanda with arrows, axes and other weapons,
causing terror to the weak. Then Chandikā Devī became very wrathful and cut
off to pieces all the arrows shot by Chanda and then hurled arrows
serpent-like on him. Then the sky over the battle ground seemed to be
overcast with arrows just as the clouds get covered over with locusts,
dreadful to the cultivators. In the meanwhile Munda, exceedingly terrible,
came up to the field, taking with him his army and becoming impatient with
anger began to shoot arrows. Seeing that multitude of arrows, Ambikā got
very angry; out of Her frowny look, Her eyebrows became crooked, Her face
became black, and Her eyes turned red like Kadalī flowers; at this time
suddenly came out of Her forehead Kālī. Wearing the tigers skin, cruel,
covering Her body with elephants skin, wearing a garland of skulls,
terrible, with a belly like a well dried up, mouth wide open, with a wide
waist, lip hanging loosely, with axe, noose, Sivas weapon, in Her hands,
She looked very terrible like the Night of Dissolution. She began to lick
frequently and forcibly dashed into the Dānava army and began to destroy it.
She angrily began to take the powerful Dānavas by Her arms and pouring them
into Her mouth crushed them with Her teeth. Taking the elephants with bells
by Her own power in Her hands She put them all into Her mouth and swallowed
them all with their riders and began to laugh hoarsely. Thus camels, horses
and charioteers with chariots all She put into Her mouth and began to chew
them all grimly. O King! Seeing that the forces were being thus destroyed,
the two great warriors Chanda and Munda began to shoot arrows after arrows
without intermission and covered the Devī with them. Chanda hurled the
Sudarsan-like disc, lustrous like the Sun, with great force against the Devī,
and frequently shouted thundering cries. Seeing him roaring and the lustrous
disc coming towards Her like another sun, She shot at him arrows sharpened
on stones so that the warrior Chanda became overpowered by them and lay down
senseless on the ground. The powerful Munda seeing his brother unconscious
became very much distressed with grief; but he got angry and began to shoot
arrows immediately on the Devī. Chandikā Devī hurled the weapon named Īsikā
and thus cut off to pieces all the dreadful arrows of Munda in a moment and
shot Ardha Chandra (semi-circular) arrow at him. With this arrow the
powerful Asura was deprived of his pride and made to lie down unconscious on
the earth. Munda thus lying on the ground, a great uproar arose amidst the
army of the Dānavas; and the Devas became delighted in the sky. In the
meanwhile Chanda became conscious and taking a very heavy club hurled it
violently on the right hand of Kālikā. Kālikā rendered that blow useless and
instantly tied down that Asura by Her Pāsa weapon, purified by Mantras.
Munda again rose up, and, seeing his brother in that fastened condition,
came to the front well armoured and with an exceedingly strong weapon called
Sakti. Seeing the Asura coming, She instantly fastened him down like his
brother. Taking the powerful Chanda and Munda like hares and laughing
wildly, Kālī went to Ambikā, and said :-- I have brought the two beasts
very auspicious as offerings in this sacrificial war. Kindly accept these.
Seeing the two Dānavas brought, as if they were the two wolves, Ambikā told
her sweetly :-- O Thou, fond of war! Thou art very wise; so dost not commit
the act of envy nor dost leave them; think over the purport of my words and
know that it is Thy duty to bring the Devīs work to a successful issue.
62-65. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of Ambikā, Kālikā spoke
to Her again :-- In this war-sacrifice there is this axe which is like a
sacrificial post; I will offer these two as victims to Thy sacrifice. Thus
no act of envy will be committed (i.e., killing in a sacrifice is not
considered as envy). Thus saying, the Kālikā Devī cut off their heads with
great force and gladly drank their blood. Thus seeing the two Asuras killed,
Ambikā said gladly :-- Thou hast done the service to the gods; so I will
give Thee an excellent boon. O Kālikā! As Thou hast killed Chanda and Munda,
henceforth Thou wilt be renowned in this world as Chāmundā.
Here ends the Twenty-sixth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of
Chanda and Munda in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, the Mahā Purānam, of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXVII
On the description of the war of Raktabīja
1-14. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Seeing the two Dānavas killed in the battle,
the remnant soldiers all fled away back to Sumbha. Some of them were cut
and wounded in many places by arrows, some had their arms severed, some were
bleeding; thus they entered crying into the sky. On reaching the lord of the
Daityas, they began to make frequently the noise indicative of danger and
exclaimed, O King! Save us, Save us; Kālikā is devouring everything today.
The two great warriors Chanda and Munda, the tormentors of the Devas, were
slain by Her; all the soldiers were devoured by Her; we have fled away
panic-stricken. O Lord! Kālikā has rendered the battlefield horrible by the
dead bodies of elephants, horses, camels, warriors, and foot soldiers. A
river of blood is flowing there of which the flesh of the soldiers is
sufficient mud, their hairs are like aquatic plants, the broken chariot
wheels are like whirlpools, the severed arms and feet are like fishes and
their heads look like Tumbi fruits (long gourds). O King! Save your line; go
quickly to Pātāla. The Devī has become angry and will, no doubt, destroy our
race. Even the lion is eating away the Dānavas; and the Kālikā Devī is
killing innumerable Dānavas by Her arrows. Therefore, O King! What
intentions are you cherishing in your mind? Is it that you have desired to
be merely slain with your younger brother Nisumbha! And what good purpose
will this cruel woman, destroying your race, serve, for Whose sake, you have
desired to kill all your friends? O King! Victory or defeat in this world
are under the Daīva. The wise never risk to meet with great difficulties for
the gratification of an ordinary whim. O Lord! Look at the wonderful deeds
of that Great Creator! What more wonder can there be than this that a woman
alone killed all the Dānavas. O King! You have conquered by the help of your
army all the Lokapālas (guardians of the quarters of the sky); but now that
Lady, though alone and unsupported by anybody, is challenging you to fight.
15-24. O King! In ancient times, in the holy pilgrimage of Puskara, the
sacred place of the Devas, you performed austerities when Brahmā, the
Grandsire of all the worlds, came to you to grant a boon. Then you asked the
boon and wanted to become to be immortal. But when Brahmā refused to grant
it you wanted from him and were granted that you would not be killed by any
male being, be he a Deva, Dānava, a man, Nāga, Kinnara, Yaksa, or any other
person. O Lord! For that very reason we think now that this Lady has timely
come to kill you. Think over it seriously and cease fighting. O King! This
Devī is the great Mahā-Māyā, the Highest Prakriti; It is She that devours
everything at the end of a Kalpa . This auspicious Devī is the Creatrix of
all the worlds and the Devas. She is the embodiment of the three qualities,
endowed with all the powers. She is Tāmasi, i.e., is the Destructrix of the
whole world. This Devī can never be conquered, Imperishable, Eternal, She is
the Sandhyā and the Refuge of the Devas. She is Gāyatrī, the Mother of the
Vedas. She is All-knowing and always manifested. This Undecaying Lady is
void of any Prakritic attributes, though She at times possesses attributes.
She is Success Incarnate and bestows success to all; She is Bliss Herself
and gives bliss to all. This Gaurī bids all the Devas discard all their
fears. She is Suddha Sattva. Thus knowing, O King! Quit thy inimical
feelings to Her; seek refuge unto Her; the Devī would then certainly protect
you. Be obedient to Her and save your race. Then the remnant Dānavas will be
able to live for a very long time.
25. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus, Sumbha, the conqueror of the Devas,
told them truly in words becoming of a hero.
26-42. Sumbha said :-- O Fools! Hold your tongue.You have fled because
your desire to live is very strong. So you better go to Pātāla without any
delay. This world is under the control of Fate; so I need not think about
Victory. I am under this Fate just as Brahmā and other Devas are under it.
Brahmā, Visnu, Rudra, Yama, Agni, Varuna, Sūrya, Chandra, and Indra are all
under the sway of this Destiny. O Fools! Whatever is inevitable will
certainly come to pass. What need I think over it then? The effort also
comes to be of such a nature as will lead to that ordained by Fate. Thus
thinking, the wise never grieve; especially the wise ones never leave their
own Dharma for fear of death. The happiness, pain, longevity, birth and
death of all the embodied souls are all determined by Fate when their proper
time arrives. See! When the time is over, Brahmā, Visnu and Mahādeva, the
lord of Pārvatī die away; on the expiration of their terms of lives, Indra
and other Devas go to destruction. Similarly I am also completely under the
sway of time; so what doubt is there that I, too, will go to destruction
when I have observed my own Dharma! This Lady is challenging me to fight of
Her own will; how can I fly away and live hundreds of years. I will fight
today. Let the result come whatever it may. I will gladly take the victory
or defeat whatever the case may be. The learned approving of the cause of
effort declare Fate as fictitious; those who realise their sayings know that
they are full of reason. Without exertion no end can be achieved; weak
persons depend on the destiny. Foolish persons say that Fate is strong; but
the wise do not say so. There is no proof whether Fate exists or not; in
fact what is called Fate is invisible; how can it then be seen? Has anybody
seen Fate? It is simply a scare for the illiterate; remedy only to console
ones mind in times of distress. Simply proximity to a grindmill without any
mans effort cannot grind a material. Therefore if exertion be made in
proportion to the gravity of the work, success is sure to ensue; if exertion
be made less in proportion, the work does not come to a successful issue. If
time, place and ones enemies forces be correctly taken into account and
then if the proper attempts be made, success follows; thus Brihaspatī has
said.
43-44. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus making a firm resolve to send the
powerful Raktabīja to the battle with a vast army; Sumbha said :-- O
Raktabīja! You are a very powerful hero; therefore do you go to the battle.
O Fortunate One! Fight as you are the strength of your forces.
45-46. Raktabīja said :-- O King! You need not be a bit anxious for this
work.Certainly I will either slay Her or I will bring Her under your
control. Please see my skill in this warfare; that Lady, favourite of the
gods, is worth nothing; I will just now conquer Her and make Her your
slave.
47-50. Vyāsa said :-- O Best of Kurus! Thus saying, the powerful Raktabīja
mounted on his chariot and went to the battle accompanied by his forces. The
battalion consisted of cavalry, infantry, chariots and elephants. Thus
surrounded he departed from the city for that Devī, seated on a mountain
top. Then the Devī, seeing him coming, blew Her conchshell; the Dānavas were
terrified at that sound and the joy of the Devas increased. Hearing that
sound Raktabīja came very hurriedly to Chāmundā and began to speak to Her
sweetly.
51-62. O Girl! Do you think me weak and thus want to terrify me with the
sound of a conchshell? O Lean One! Have you taken me to be a Dhūmralochana?
O Sweet speaking one! My name is Raktabīja; I have come here for Thy sake.
If Thou desirest to fight, be prepared; I am not a bit afraid of that. O
Dear! You saw those who were weak; I do not belong to that class. Therefore
dost Thou fight as Thou likest and then Thou wilt be able to ascertain my
strength. O Beautiful! If Thou didst serve the old persons before, if Thou
hadst heard the science of politics and morals, if Thou hadst studied the
political economy, joined the assemblage of the Pundits or if Thou hast been
well versed in literature and Tantras, then hear this my good counsel which
will serve as a medicinal diet to Thee. Out of the nine sentiments, the
Sringāra (Amorous love sentiments) and Sānti (Peace) are considered as the
chief by the assemblage of the Pundits. Again out of these two, the love
sentiment is the king. Drenched with this sentiment, Visnu lives with Kamalā;
Brahmā, the four-faced, lives with Sāvitri; Indra with Sachī and Sankara
resides with his wife Umā. The tree stands with creepers surrounding it, the
deer lives with his female deer, the pigeon lives with the female pigeon;
thus all the beings are very attached to this sentiment of remaining in
couples. Those who cannot enjoy owing to certain disease or illness, they
are deprived by Fate of such enjoyments. Those who are ignorant of this love
sentiment in couples, they are deprived of it by the sweet jugglery of words
of the cheat and yet attached to the Peace sentiment. When delusion, the
destroyer of Buddhi, the common sense, occurs, when the violent indomitable
anger, greed, and lust arise, where, then, is the place for knowledge and
dispassion? Therefore, O Auspicious One! Dost Thou marry the beautiful
Sumbha or the powerful Nisumbha.
63. Vyāsa said :-- O King! When Raktabīja spoke all these words, standing
before the Devī Kālikā, Ambikā and Chāmundā began to laugh.
Here ends the Twenty-seventh Chapter of the Fifth Book on the description of
the war of Raktabīja in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, the Mahā Purānam, of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXVIII
On the description of the fighting of the goddesses
1-5. Vyāsa said :-- O King! The Devī, hearing thus, laughed and spoke the
following reasonable words, in a voice deep as a rumbling cloud :-- O Dull
brained one! Already I told to that messenger before in reply to you; why
then do you boast in vain? If there be any such in the three worlds who can
stand equal to Me in appearance, strength, and prosperity, I will marry him.
Go to Sumbha and Nisumbha and inform them that thus I promised before;
therefore let any of them conquer Me in battle and then marry Me according
to the prescribed rules. You have come here to execute the order of Sumbha;
so either stand up and fight or fly to Pātāla with your King.
6-11. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing the Devīs words, the Dānava was filled
with anger and began to shoot dreadful arrows at once on the Lion. Ambikā,
then, ready-handed, seeing the multitude of arrows coming in the sky like
serpents, cut them off in a moment to pieces by Her sharp arrows. The Devī,
then, drawing Her bow, shot arrows sharpened on stone at the great Asura
Raktabīja. Then that wicked Demon, thus shot at by the arrows, fell
unconscious on the chariot. When he lay thus senseless, a great uproar arose
amidst his army and the soldiers began to cry aloud saying, Alas! We all
are killed. Then Sumbha, the king of the Asuras, hearing the sound of
Boombā (a danger cry by hands and mouth) ordered all the Dānavas to be ready
for the battle.
12. Then Sumbha said :-- Let all Kāmbojas go to the battle with all their
forces; let other powerful heroes, especially the Kālakeyās, too, who are
very strong heroes, go up for the battle. (Note: Kāmboja, name of a people
and their country. They inhabited the Hindoo Koosh mountain which separates
the Giljit valley from Balkh and probably extended up to little Tibet and
Lādak. The Kālakeyās may be the Afridis.)
13-33. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus ordered, all the fourfold army of Sumbha,
viz., cavalry, infantry, elephants and chariots went out, intoxicated for
war, to the battle ground where the Devī existed. The Devī Chandikā, seeing
the Dānava forces coming near, made at once terrible sounds frequently. The
Ambikā Devī also made the sound with Her bowstring and blew Her conchshell.
Kālī, then, shouted aloud opening Her mouth widely. The powerful Lion, the
Devīs Vāhana, hearing the terrible sounds, roared so loudly that the
Dānavas were struck with strange terror. The powerful Dānavas, then, hearing
that sound became impatient with anger and shot arrows after arrows on the
Devī. The wonderful horrible battle, then, ensued, causing horripilation and
the Saktis of Brahmā and the other Devas began to come to Chandikā Devī.
The Devīs, the wives of the several Devas, then went, to the battlefield in
their respective forms with ornaments and Vāhanas as generally on such
occasions. The Sakti (wife) of Brahmā named Brahmāni, mounting on the back
of Her Swan came there with a string of beads and Kamandalu (an wooden
waterpot used by ascetics). The Vaisnavī with Her yellow robes came there
mounted on Garuda (the sacred bird of Visnu, the carrier of Him) with conch,
discus, club, and lotus in Her hands. The Devī Sankarī, the wife of Siva,
the Auspicious One, arrived on the back of Her Bull. The emblem of half-moon
was on Her forehead while in Her hands She held snake, bracelet, and trident
(Trisūla) and the sign of fearlessness for Her devotees. The beautiful wife
of Kārtika, Kaumāri Devī, looking like Kartika, came to fight there mounted
on a peacock. The fairfaced Indrānī, decked with ornaments on Her several
limbs, came there to fight, with thunder-bolt in Her hand, mounted on the
elephant Airāvata. The Vārāhī Devī looking like a female boar, came also,
seated on an elevated seat of departed souls (Preta). The Nārasimhī,
resembling Nrisimha (the Man Lion Incarnation) came there. The wife of Yama,
looking fearful like Yama arrived there on the battlefield smiling and with
staff in Her hand and mounted on the back of a buffalo. Thus the wives of
Kuvera, Varuna, and other Devas came there with proper forms, Vāhanas,
ornaments, accompanied by their forces and all excited. Seeing them all, the
Devī Ambikā became glad; the Devas, too, became peaceful and expressed their
great joy; the Dānavas were afraid at the sight of them. Sankara,
auspicious to all the beings, came there to the battlefield, surrounded by
these goddesses and thus said to Chandikā :-- Slay quickly all these Asuras,
Sumbha, Nisumbha and all other Dānavas to serve the cause of the Devas.
Let all the goddesses destroy the Dānava race and thus free the world from
dangers; they may, then, return to their own abodes. Let the Devas get their
shares of sacrifices, let the Brāhmanas perform the sacrificial acts, and
let all the creatures, moving or not moving, be happy. Let all calamities
such as proceed from drought, excessive rain, rats, foreign invasion,
locusts and birds, bats, etc., come to an end. Let the clouds bestow rains
regularly and let the cultivation yield ample harvests. Note here that rats
bring in plague.
34-40. Vyāsa said :-- O King! When Sankara, the Lord of the gods and
Auspicious to all, said thus, a wonderful female ensued out of the body of
Chandikā, very furious, horrible, with hundreds of jackals surrounding and
yelling; then that Sakti, of dreadful appearance, said to the five-faced
Siva, smiling :-- O Deva of the Devas! Go quickly to the lord of the
Daityas; do the duty of a messenger for us, O Destroyer of lust! O Sankara!
Tell that haughty lustful Sumbha and Nisumbha leave the Heavens and go to
Pātāla. Let the Devas reign in the Heavens; Indra go to his own beautiful
throne; let all the Devas go to their appropriate places in Heaven and
receive their sacrificial offerings duly. And if the Demons desire to live,
let them go quickly to the city of Pātāla where other Dānavas are dwelling.
Else, if they like to die, let them go quickly to the battlefield and let
their flesh be eaten up by Her jackals.
41. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing Her words, Sūlapāni went quickly to
Sumbha, the lord of the Dānavas, seated in the assembly, and said thus :--
42-44. O King! I am Hara, the Destroyer of the Asura Tripurā; now I have
come to you for your good as a messenger of Ambikā Devī. Quit the Heavens
and Earth and go quickly to Pātāla where reside the powerful Bali and
Prahlāda, or if you like to court Death, come to fight; I will slay you all
in a moment. O King! The Great Queen Ambikā Devī has sent me with these
instructions for your welfare and information.
45-63. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus conveying the nectarlike, beneficial
words of the Devī to the chief Daityas, Siva, the Holder of the trident,
returned to his own place. The Sakti that sent Sambhu as a messenger to
the Dānavas is known in three worlds as Siva Dūtī. The Daityas, thus
hearing the rigorous words of the Devī, put on their coats of armour and
taking their bows and arrows quickly went out to fight. They came with great
force to the battlefield, stretched their bows to their ears and shot
piercing arrows, sharpened on stone and tipped with iron, at the Chandikā
Devī. The Kālikā Devī, too began to strike some with the trident, some with
Sakti weapon, and some with clubs and rent them asunder and devoured them
all, and began to roam in the field. Brahmāni began to pour water from Her
Kamandalu on the powerful Dānavas in the battlefield and thus destroyed
them. Mahesvarī, mounting on Her Bull gave violent blows by Her trident and
thus lay them dead on the ground. Vaisnavī, with the blow of Her club, took
away the lives of many Daityas and striking them with Her Discus out off the
heads of several others. Indrānī hurled Her thunderbolt on the chief Dānavas,
already struck by the feet of the elephant and lay them dead on the field.
Nārasimhī tore the strongest Dānavas with the sharp nails and, devouring
them, walked to and fro and made dreadful sounds. Siva Dūtī began to laugh
hoarsely and laid the Dānavas flat on the field, when they were at once
devoured by Kālikā and Chandikā. Kaumāri, seated on a peacock, by drawing
the bowstring to Her ears hurled arrows sharpened on stone on the enemies
and killed them to serve the cause of the gods. Vāruni tied down the Dānavas
by Her Pāsa weapons in a face to face fighting; thus they lay down senseless
on the ground. O King! Thus the Mātrikās, the goddesses, crushed the forces.
Then the other powerful soldiers fled away terrified. The Boombā danger
cry rose then loudly; on the other hand, the Devas began to shower flowers
on the Devīs. Hearing the distressful agonies of the Asuras and the shouts
of victory of the Devas, Raktabīja, the chief of the Dānavas became very
angry. Seeing specially the Dānavas flying away and the Devas shouting, that
powerful Demon came hurriedly to the battlefield with anger. Then with eyes
reddened with anger, and with various weapons came before the Devī,
Raktabīja mounting on a chariot, and making sounds unusual with his
bowstring.
Here ends the Twenty-eighth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the description of
the fighting of the goddesses in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam the Mahā Purānam,
of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXIX
On the killing of Raktabīja
1-21. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Please hear attentively about the extraordinary
boon that was given by Mahādeva, the God of gods, to the great warrior,
Raktabīja. Whenever a drop of blood from the body of that great warrior will
drop on the surface of the earth, immediately will arise innumerable Dānavas,
equal in form and power to him; thus the Deva Rudra granted the Demon the
wonderful boon. Thus elated with the boon, he entered into the battlefield
with great force in order to kill Kālikā with Ambikā Devī. Seeing the
Vaisnavī Sakti, lotus-eyed, seated on the bird Garuda, the Demon struck Her
with a violent weapon (named Sakti). She then baffled the weapon by Her
club and hurled Sudarsana disc on the great Asura Raktabīja. Thus struck by
the disc, blood began to ooze out from his body as the red stream of soft
red sandstone comes out of a mountain-top. Wherever on the surface of the
earth drops of blood fell from his body, then and there sprang out thousands
and thousands of demons like him. Indrāni, the wife of Indra, became very
angry and struck the terrible Raktabīja with his thunderbolt. Streams of
blood then began to ooze out from his body. No sooner the drops of blood
fell from the Demons body, than were instantaneously born from the blood
many powerful Asuras, of similar forms, having similar weapons and hard to
be conquered in battle. Brahmānī then becoming enraged struck at him with
the staff of Brahmā with greater force. Māhesvarī rent the Dānava asunder
by striking him with Her trident. Nāra Simhī pierced the Asura with Her
nails; Vārāhī struck at him with Her teeth. Then the Dānava becoming angry
shot at them all with sharpened arrows and pierced them all. Thus when the
Mātrikā Devīs were pierced by the club and other various weapons of that
great Asura, they got very angry and pierced the Dānavas in return with
shots of arrows. Kaumārī, too, struck at his breast with Her weapon, named
Sakti. The Dānavas then got angry and hurled on them multitude of arrows
and began to pierce them. O King! The Chandikā Devī, getting angry, cut off
his weapons into pieces and shot violently at him other arrows. O King! Thus
struck by severe blows, when blood began to flow in profuse quantities from
his body, thousands and thousands of Dānavas resembling Raktabīja sprang out
instantly from it. So much so, that the heavens were all covered over with
Raktabījas that sprang up from the blood. They all covered all over their
bodies with coats of armour, began to fight terribly with weapons in their
hands. Then the Devas, seeing that the innumerable Raktavījas were striking
the Devī, became very much frightened and were distressed with sorrow. They
began to talk with each other with sorrowful countenances that thousands and
thousands of huge bodied warriors were springing from the blood. These were
all very powerful; so how could they be destroyed! In this battlefield there
were now left only the Mātrikās, Kālikā, and Chandikā. It would be certainly
extremely difficult for them to conquer all these Dānavas. And if at that
moment, Sumbha and Nisumbha were to join them with his army, certainly a
great catastrophe would occur.
22-28. Vyāsa said :-- O King! When the Devas were thus extremely anxious,
out of terror, Ambikā Devī said to the lotus-eyed Kālī :-- O Chāmundā! Open
out your mouth quickly, and no sooner I strike Raktabīja with weapons, you
would drink off the blood as fast as it runs out of his body. Instantly I
will kill those Dānavas sprung from the blood with sharpened arrows, clubs,
swords and Musalas; and you would then be able to devour them all at your
will, and, then, roam in this field as you like. O Large-eyed One! You would
drink off all the jets of blood in such a way that not a drop of it escapes
and falls on the ground. And then when they will all be devoured, no more
Dānavas would be able to spring. Thus they will surely be extirpated;
otherwise they will never be destroyed. Let me begin to strike blows after
blows on Raktabīja and you better drink off quickly all the blood, being
intent on destroying the forces. O Chamunde! Thus, the Dānavas being all
exterminated, we will hand over to the Indra, the lord of the Devas, his
Heavens without any enemy; and, thus, we can go peacefully and happily to
our own places.
29-47. Vyāsa said :-- O King! The Chāmundā Devī, of furious strength,
hearing thus the Devīs words began to drink the jets of blood coming out of
the body of Raktabīja. The Devī Ambikā began to cut the Demons body into
pieces and Chāmundā, of thin belly, went on devouring them. Then Raktabīja,
becoming angry, struck Chāmundā with his club. But though She was thus hurt
severely, She drank off the blood and then devoured all the limbs thereof. O
King! Thus Kālikā Devī drank off the blood of all other powerful wicked
Dānava Raktabījas that sprang out of the blood. Ambikā thus destroyed them.
Thus, all the Dānavas, created out of the blood were devoured; then, there
was left, lastly, the real Raktabīja. Ambikā Devī then cut him asunder into
pieces by Her axe and thus killed him. Thus, when the dreadful Raktabīja was
slain in the battle, the Dānavas fled away trembling with fear. Without any
weapons, covered all over their bodies with blood, and void of consciousness
they uttered, dumb confounded Alas! Alas! What has happened, what has
happened. Thus crying, they told their King Sumbha thus :-- O King of
Kings! Ambikā Devī has killed Raktabīja and Chāmundā has drunk off all their
blood. The carrier (Vāhana) of Devī, the powerful ferocious Lion killed
other powerful warriors and Kali devoured the remaining soldiers. O Lord of
the Dānavas! We have fled and come to you to give the news of the battle and
to describe the wonderful doings of that Chandikā Devī in the battlefield. O
King! In our opinion, no one will be able to conquer that Lady, be he a
Daitya, Dānava, Gandarbha, Asura, Yaksa, Pannaga, Chārana, Rāksasa, or an
Uraga. O King of Kings! The other Goddesses, Indrāni and others, have come
to the battle, on their own carriers respectively and are fighting with
various weapons. O Lord of the Dānavas! The Dānava forces are all slain by
them with the excellent weapons in their hands. Even Raktabīja has been
slain in no time. That Lion, of indomitable prowess, killed the Rāksasas in
the battle; The Devī alone is hard to conquer; how much more would it be
impossible to conquer Her, when She has been joined with other goddesses. So
consult with the ministers and do what is reasonable. In our opinion it is
better to make treaty with Her and quit your enmity. O King! Think over the
fact that that Lady destroyed all the Dānavas and at last drank off the
blood of Raktabīja and at last killed him. What on earth can be more
wonderful than this? O King! The Devī Ambikā killed all the other Daityas
and Chāmundā devoured their blood, flesh, and all. Considering all this, it
is now better for us to serve the Devī Ambikā or fly away to Pātāla. No more
fighting is desirable. She is not an ordinary woman; She is Mahā Māyā, there
is not the least doubt in this. Only to serve the cause of the Gods, She has
manifested Herself and is now destroying the Rāksasas race.
48. Vyāsa said :-- Hearing thus, Sumbha got confounded by Kāla (Death), as
his end was coming nigh, and said the following words, his lips quivering
with anger.
49-54. You are struck with fear; so you all take the refuge of Chandikā or
fly down to Pātāla; but I will kill Her with all my exertion and effort. I
conquered all the hosts of Devas and I have enjoyed their kingdom; shall I
now, out of the fear of one Lady, fly and enter into the Pātāla. All my
attendants, Raktabīja and other heroes, are now slain in the battle and is
it possible that I will now fly away out of the sake of preserving my life
only. See! The death of all the beings is ordained by Kāla and it is
unavoidable. No sooner a being is born, he is liable to the fear of death.
How can a man, then, out of fear of death, quit all his name and fame? O
Nisumbha! I will now go immediately to the battle, mounting on my chariot
and will return after slaying Her in battle. And if I cannot kill Her, I
will not then return any more. O Best of warriors! Better stand on my side
with all your forces and kill that Lady in no time, with sharp arrows.
55-58. Nisumbha said :-- Today I will go to the battle and slaying that
Kālikā, will shortly return here with Ambikā. O King! Do not think at all
for that Lady; see my world-conquering strength and look at that weak woman;
there is a vast difference. Cast aside your this great mental anxiety and
trouble. Enjoy, O Brother, excellent things. I will bring that dignified
Lady with all honours before you. O King! You ought not to go to the battle
when I am alive. I will presently go to the fight and bring for you that
Lady as a sign of our victory.
59-60. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus saying, the younger brother, proud of his
own strength, went hurriedly to the battlefield, mounting on his big
chariot. He was protected all over his body by his coat of armour and he was
well provided with various weapons and all other accoutrements of war. The
bards began to sing hymns to him and various other propitious ceremonies
were being performed.
Here ends the Twenty-ninth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of
Raktabīja in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, the Mahā Purānam, of 18,000 verses by
Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXX
On the killing of Nisumbha
1-10. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus making a firm resolve that there would be
either victory or death, the great warrior Nisumbha went to fight with the
Devī, with great excitement and with all his forces. Sumbha, too the Lord
of the Daityas, accompanied by his forces, went after Nisumbha; Sumbha
knew full well the rules of warfare; therefore he remained a witness there.
Indra and the other Devas and Yaksas, all stationed themselves in the
celestial space, eager to see that fight, covered with clouds. Nisumbha
came to the field, and, taking the strong bow made of horns, began to shoot
arrows after arrows at the Divine Mother with the object of frightening Her.
Seeing Nisumbha with his excellent bow, shooting arrows, Chandikā began to
laugh frequently. With a soft slow voice She spoke to Kālikā :-- O Kālī!
See their foolishness! They have come before me, courting death. They are so
much deluded by My Māyā, that they yet expect victory when they have already
witnessed the death of Raktabīja and many Dānavas. Hope is so very strong
that it never quits a man. How wonderful is this that some of their armies
are destroyed, some are wounded, some are rendered senseless, some made
powerless, some have fled; seeing all these, yet, they have come to fight,
as it were, fastened by the cord of hope of victory. O Kālī! Today I will
certainly slay Nisumbha and Sumbha. Their death is nigh; deluded by the
Daivī Māyā, they have come to Me. Therefore, in the face of all the Devas, I
will kill them today.
11-24. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus saying, and suddenly drawing Her bow,
Chandī covered Nisumbha, in front, all over with a multitude of arrows.
Nisumbha, too, cut off those arrows into pieces by his sharp arrows; thus
the fight became more and more dreadful between them. At this time, the lion
of Bhagavatī, came down upon the forces, quivering his manes, like a
powerful elephant going down into a lake. By his nails and teeth, he tore
asunder the bodies of the Dānavas that fell before him and devoured them, as
if they were infatuated elephants. That lion thus crushing down the
soldiers, Nisumbha came forward hurriedly, drawing his excellent bow.
Hundreds of other generals of the Dānavas came up there to kill the Devī,
biting their lips and with their eyes reddened with anger. In the meantime
Sumbha killed Kālikā and came very hurriedly there with his forces to
capture the Divine Mother. Coming to the battlefield Sumbha saw that the
Divine Mother was standing before him; though She was looking very
beautiful, fit for love sentiment, yet She was filled also with the
sentiment of fiery wrath. At that time the large eyes of Bhagavatī, the
Beautiful in the three worlds, though naturally red, looked more red due to
wrath. When Sumbha saw Her lovely features, the desire to marry Her and the
hope of victory all vanished away from his mind; and he stood there with bow
in his hand, firmly holding in his mind that he would die. Seeing the Dānava
in that state, She smiled and began to say, so that all the Dānavas could
hear. O Wretched Fools! If you all want to live, quit all your weapons here,
go to the Pātāla or to the middle of the ocean. Or be slain in the battle by
My arrows and go to heavens and enjoy there without any fear all the
enjoyments and sports there. Weakness and heroism, both cannot be expected
at one and the same time and at the same individual; therefore I am ordering
you to dispel your fears. Now go wherever you find your ease and happiness.
25-35. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words of the Devī, that haughty
Nisumbha ran forward, holding in his hand the sharpened axe and shield
adorned with eight Chandras (embossed) and firstly struck with sword
violently on the proud lion; then, whirling with great force that sword,
hurled it upon the Divine Mother. The Devī, then, thwarted off the blow of
the sword by Her club and struck at his arm by Parasu. The warrior
Nisumbha, thus struck at his arm, patiently bore that hurt and struck at
Chandikā by his axe. The Devī then made such a terrible noise of bells that
all the Daityas were struck with terror. Then She, desiring to kill
Nisumbha, began to drink nectar frequently. O King! Thus the terrible fight
went on between the Devas and Dānavas both trying to defeat the other party.
Then began to dance in the battlefield, the cruel voracious dogs, jackals,
vultures, herons, crows and other birds, very much gladdened. The
battlefield was drenched with blood and the dead carcasses of innumerable
Dānavas, elephants, and horses. Nisumbha, then, seeing the Dānavas dead on
the field, became very angry and ran forward with his terrible club before
the Devī. That proud Asura struck first at the head of the lion with that
club and laughed again and again and struck the Devī with that same club.
The Devī, too, got very angry seeing Nisumbha before Her and striking at
Her. She then spoke thus :--
36. O You Stupid! Wait till I sever your head from your body by this axe.
Soon you will be sent unto death with your head severed off your body.
37-64. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Thus saying the Chandikā Devī instantly cut
off the head of Nisumbha by Her axe with great caution.
The head thus severed from the body by the blow of the Devī, the headless
Demon began to roam there with great force with club in his hand. The Devas
then got very much frightened; The Devī, then, cut off the hands and feet of
that headless Demon with sharpened arrows. That vicious wretch fell down
lifeless, on the ground like a mountain. The powerful Daitya Nisumbha being
thus killed, a great uproar arose amidst his panic stricken forces. The
soldiers, covered all over their bodies with blood, left all their weapons
in the field, began to make Boombā sound (a piteous cry with mouth and hands
as sign of danger) and fled away to the King Sumbha. He, the tormentor of
the foes, then asked them coming :-- Where is Nisumbha now? Why have you
fled away from the field? Thus hearing the Kings words, they bowed down
and said :-- O King! Your brother Nisumbha is lying dead on the
battlefield. O King! The Devī killed all the Dānava warriors that attended
your brother; only we are left and have come here to give you the
information. O King! Nisumbha has been killed by the weapons of the Devī.
So we think you ought not to go to the battle. Know this as certain that the
Lady, the Highest Cause of this Universe has come here to destroy the
Dānavas, the object being to serve the cause of the Gods. This Lady is not
an ordinary woman; She is the Supreme Force; Her doings are inconceivable;
what more can be said than the fact that the Devas never can know Her! This
Devī can assume various forms; She is the origin of Māyā; She is very
clever; She is adorned with various ornaments and is holding various weapons
in Her hands. Her doings are incomprehensible; She is like a Second Night of
Dissolution (at the end of the world); She is Perfect, endowed with all
auspicious signs, capable to go beyond the insurmountable. This wonderful
Devī is serving the cause of the gods and the Devas from the sky are singing
hymns to Her. O King! It is now your paramount duty to fly away and save
your life; if you live, you may have the chance for gaining the victory when
time will turn out favourable; there is no doubt in this. It is Time that
makes a strong man weak; and it is that very Time that makes that weak man
strong again and stimulates him for victory. Time makes a generous donor a
beggar and it is Time that makes the same beggar again a generous donor.
Brahmā, Visnu, Mahesa, Indra and other Devas are all under the sway of this
Time; so Time is the Sovereign of all. Therefore, O King! Wait for this
Time. Now Time is favourable to the Gods and inimical to you. Therefore Time
is destroying now the Daityas. But the course of Time is not the same
throughout. O King! The actions of Time are various no doubt. Time creates
men and Time destroys them. The time of creation is different from the time
of destruction, this is evident to you before your eyes. See! When Time was
favourable to you, you subject Indra and all other Devas and made them pay
taxes to you; and now Time is unfavourable to you; so an ordinary weak woman
is killing the powerful Dānavas; Time, therefore, is doing favourable things
and also unfavourable things. The host of Devas or the woman Kālī is not the
cause thereof. O King! The present Time is not favourable to you and the
Daityas; knowing this, do as you like. See! Indra, Visnu, Varuna, Yama and
other prominent Devas all fled before in battle, quitting the weapons. So,
knowing this world as subject to the control of Time, you can now fly away
and go quickly to the Pātāla. For if you live, you will get in future all
the pleasures; and if you be killed, your enemies will all be very glad and
roam everywhere fearlessly, singing propitious songs.
Here ends the Thirtieth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of
Nisumbha in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam, the Mahā Purānam, of 18,000 verses by
Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Next >
Devi Puranam index
Email
this page to a friend
|
|
