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Devi Bhagavatam (Devi
Puranam)
Chapter VI
On the coming in this world of Laksmī, Gangā and Sarasvatī
1-10. Nārāyana said :-- O Nārada! Sarasvatī lives always in Vaikuntha close
to Nārada. One day a quarrel arose with Gangā, and by Her curse, Sarasvatī
came in parts as a river here in this Bhārata. She is reckoned in Bhārata as
a great sanctifiying holy and merit-giving river. The good persons serve Her
always, residing on Her banks. She is the Tapasyā and the fruit thereof of
the ascetics. She is like the burning fire to the sins of the sinners. Those
that die in Bhārata on the Sarasvatī waters with their full consciousness,
live for ever in Vaikuntha in the council of Hari. Those that bathe in the
Sarasvatī waters, after committing sins, become easily freed of them and
live for a long, long time in Visnu-Loka. If one bathes even once in the
Sarasvatī waters, during Chāturmāsya (a vow that lasts four months), in full
moon time, in Aksyayā or when the day ends, in Vyatīpāta Yoga, in the time
of eclipse or on any other holy day or through any other concomitant cause
or even without any faith and out of sheer disregard, one is able to go to
Vaikuntha and get the nature of Srī Hari. If one repeats the Sarasvatī
Mantra, residing on the banks of the Sarasvatī, for one month, a great
illiterate can become a great poet. There is no doubt in this. Once shaving
one's head, if one resides on the banks of the Sarasvatī, daily bathes in
it, one will have not to meet with the pain of being again born in the womb.
O Nārada! Thus I have described a little of the unbounded glories of Bhārata
that give happiness and the fruits of all desires.
11. Sūta said :-- O Saunaka! The Muni Nārada hearing thus, asked again at
that very moment to solve his doubts. I am now speaking of that. Hear.
12-15. Nārada said :-- O Lord! How did the Devī Sarasvatī quarrel with the
Devī Gangā and how did she by Her curse turn out in India, into a holy river
in giving virtues. I am becoming more and more eager and impatient to hear
about this critical incident. I do not find satiety in drinking your
nectar-like words. Who finds satiety in getting his good weal? Why did Gangā
curse Sarasvatī, worshipped everywhere. Gangā is also full of Sattva Gunas.
She always bestows good and virtue to all. Both of them are fiery and it is
pleasant to hear the cause of quarrels between those two. These are very
rarely found in the Purānas. So you ought to describe that to me.
16-21. Nārāyana said :-- Hear, O Nārada! I will now describe that incident,
the hearing of which removes all the sins. Laksmī, Sarasvatī and Gangā, the
three wives of Hari and all equally loved, remain always close to Hari. One
day Gangā cast side-long glances frequently towards Nārāyana and was eagerly
looking at Him, with smile on Her lips. Seeing this, the Lord Nārāyana,
startled and looked at Gangā and smiled also. Laksmī saw that, but she did
not take any offence. But Sarasvatī became very angry. Padmā (Laksmī) who
was of Sattva Guna, began to console in various ways the wrathful Sarasvatī;
but she could not be appeased by any means. Rather Her face became red out
of anger; she began to tremble out of her feelings (passion); Her lips
quivered; and She began to speak to Her husband.
22-38. The husband that is good, religious, and well qualified looks on his
all the wives equally; but it is just the opposite with him who is a cheat.
O Gadādhara! You are partial to Gangā; and so is the case with Laksmī. I am
the only one that is deprived of your love. It is, therefore, that Gangā and
Padmā are in love with each other; for you love Padmā. So why shall not
Padmā bear this contrary thing! I am only unfortunate. What use is there in
holding my life? Her life is useless, who is deprived of her husband's love.
Those that declare you, of Sattva Gunas, ought not to be ever called
Pundits. They are quite illiterate; they have not the least knowledge of the
Vedas. They are quite impotent to understand the nature of your mind. O
Nārada! Hearing Sarasvatī's words and knowing that she had become very
angry, Nārāyana thought for a moment and then went away from the Zenana
outside. When Nārāyana had thus gone away, Sarasvatī became fearless and
began to abuse Gangā downright out of anger in an abusive language, hard to
hear :-- O Shameless One! O Passionate One! What pride do you feel for your
husband? Do you like to show that your husband loves you much? I will
destroy your pride today. I will see today, it will be seen by others also,
what your Hari can do for you? Saying thus Sarasvatī rose up to catch hold
of Gangā by Her hairs violently. Padmā intervened to stop this. Sarasvatī
became very violent and cursed Laksmī :-- No doubt you will be turned into
a tree and into a river. In as much as seeing this undue behaviour of Gangā,
you do not step forward to speak anything in this assembly, as if you are a
tree or a river. Padmā did not become at all angry, even when she heard of
the above curse. She became sorry and, holding the hands of Sarasvatī,
remained silent. Then Gangā became very angry; Her lips began to quiver
frequently. Seeing the mad fiery nature of the red-eyed Sarasvatī, she told
Laksmī :-- O Padme! Leave that wicked foul-mouthed woman. What will she do
to me? She presides over speech and therefore likes always to remain with
quarrels. Let Her shew Her force how far can she quarrel with me. She wants
to test the strength of us. So leave Her. Let all know today our strength
and prowess.
39-44. Thus saying, Gangā became ready to curse Sarasvatī and addressing
Laksmī, said :-- O Dear Padme! As that woman has cursed you to become a
river, so I too curse her, that she, too, be turned into a river and she
would go to the abode of men, the sinners, to the world and take their heaps
of sins. Hearing this curse of Gangā, Sarasvatī gave her curse, You, too,
will have to descend into the Bhurloka (the world) as a river, taking all
the sins of the sinners. O Nārada! While there was going on this quarrel,
the four-armed omniscient Bhagavān Hari came up there accompanied by four
attendants of His, all four-armed, and took Sarasvatī in His breast and
began to speak all the previous mysteries. Then they came to know the cause
of their quarrels and why they cursed one another and all became very sorry.
At that time Bhagavān Hari told them one by one :--
45-67. O Laksmī! Let you be born in parts, without being born in any womb,
in the world as the daughter in the house of the King Dharma-dhvaja. You
will have to take the form of a tree there, out of this evil turn of fate.
There S'ankhachūda, the Indra of the Asuras, born of my parts will marry
you. After that you will come back here and be my wife as now. There is no
doubt in this. You will be named Tulasī, the purifier of the three worlds,
in Bhārata. O Beautiful One! Now go there quickly and be a river in your
parts under the name Padmāvatī. O Gange! You will also have to take
incarnation in Bhārata as a river, purifying all the worlds, to destroy the
sins of the inhabitants of Bhārata. Bhagiratha will take you there after
much entreating and worshipping you; and you will be famous by the name
Bhagirathī, the most sanctifying river in the world. There, the Ocean born
of my parts, and the King S'āntanu also born of my parts will be your
husbands. O Bharatī! Let you go also and incarnate in part in Bhārata under
the curse of Gangā. O Good-natured One! Now go in full Amsas to Brahmā and
become His wife. Let Gangā go also in Her fullness to S'iva. Let Padmā
remain with Me. Padmā is of a peaceful nature, void of anger, devoted to Me
and of a Sāttvika nature. Chaste, good-natured, fortunate, and religious
woman like Padmā are very rare. Those women that are born of the parts of
Padmā are all very religious and devoted to their husbands. They are
peaceful and good-natured and worshipped in every universe. It is forbidden,
nay, opposed to the Vedas, to keep three wives, three servants, three
friends of different natures, at one place. They never conduce to any
welfare. They are the fruitful sources of all jealousies and quarrels.
Where, in any family females are powerful like men and males are submissive
to females, the birth of the male is useless. At his every step, he meets
with difficulties and bitter experiences. He ought to retire to the forest
whose wife is foul-mouthed, of bad birth and fond of quarrels. The great
forest is better for him than his house. That man does not get in his house
any water for washing his feet, or any seat to sit on, or any fruit to eat,
nothing whatsoever; but in the forest, all these are not unavailable. Rather
to dwell amidst rapacious animals or to enter into fire than remain with a
bad wife. O Fair One! Rather the pains of the disease or venom are bearable,
but the words of a bad wife are hard to bear. Death is far better than that.
Those that are under the control of their wives, know that they never get
their peace of mind until they are laid on their funeral pyres. They never
see the fruits of what they daily do. They have no fame anywhere, neither in
this world nor in the next. Ultimately the fruit is this:-- that they have
to go to hell and remain there. His life is verily a heavy burden who is
without any name or fame. Never it is for the least good that many co-wives
remain at one place. When, by taking one wife only a man does not become
happy, then imagine, how painful it becomes to have many wives. O Gange! Go
to S'iva. O Sarasvatī! Go to Brahmā. Let the good-natured Kamalā, residing
on the lotus remain with Me. He gets in this world happiness and Dharma and
in the next Mukti whose wife is chaste and obedient. In fact he is Mukta,
pure and happy whose wife is chaste; and he whose wife is foul-natured, is
rendered impure unhappy and dead whilst he is living.
Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the coming in this world of
Laksmī, Gangā and Sarasvatī in the Mahāpurānam S'rī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of
18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter VII
On the curses of Gangā, Sarasvatī and Laksmī
1-2. Nārāyana said :-- O Nārada! Thus saying, the Lord of the World stopped.
And Laksmī, Gangā and Sarasvatī wept bitterly, embracing one another. All of
them then looked to S'rī Krisna, and gave vent to their feelings one by one
with tears in their eyes, and with their hearts throbbing with fears and
sorrows.
3-4. Sarasvatī said :-- O Lord! What is now, the way out of this curse, so
severe and paining since our births? How long can helpless women live,
separated from their husbands? O Lord! I certainly say that I will sacrifice
my body when I go to Bhārata, by taking recourse to yoga. The Mahātmās
always protect all the persons without fail.
5-6. Gangā said :-- O Lord of the Universe! Why have I been abandoned by
You. What fault have I committed? I will quit my body. And You will have to
partake of the sin due to the killing of an innocent woman. He is surely to
go to hell even if he be the Lord of all, who forsakes in this world an
innocent wife.
7-15. Padmā said :-- O Lord! Thou art of the nature of Sattva Guna in
fullness; what wonder, then, how Thou hast become angry! However let Thou be
pleased now with Sarasvatī and Gangā. Forgiveness is the best quality of a
good husband. I am ready just now to go to Bhārata when Sarasvatī has cursed
me. But tell me, how long I will have to stay there? After how many days I
shall be able to see again Thy lotus-feet? The sinners will wash away their
dirts of sins in my waters by their constant baths and ablutions? By what
means shall I be freed again and get back to Thy lotus-feet. How long shall
I have to remain in my part, the daughter of Dharma Dhvaja, at the expiry of
which I will be able to see Thee again? How long shall I have to assume the
form of Tulasī tree, the abode of Thine. O Thou, the Ocean of mercy! Say,
when wilt Thou deliver me? And if Gangā have to go to Bhārata, by the curse
of Bhārata, when shall She be freed of the curse and sin and when shall She
see back Thy feet? Again if Sarasvatī have to go to Bhārata out of Gangā's
curse, when will that period of curse expire? How many days after shall She
be able to come back to Thy feet? Now, be pleased to cancel Thy order for
them to go to Brahmā and S'iva respectively. O Nārada! Thus speaking to
Jagannātha, the Devī Kamalā bowed down at His feet and embracing them by Her
own hairs of the bead, cried frequently.
16-37. Now the lotus-navelled Hari, always eager to shew favour to the
devotees, smiled and with a gracious heart took up Padmā on His breast and
said :-- O Sures'varī! I will keep my own word, also I will act according
as you like. O Lotus-eyed! Hear. How the two ends can be made to meet. Let
Sarasvatī go in her one part to have the form of a river and in her one half
part to Brahmā and remain with me in Vaikuntha in Her full parts. Gangā will
have to go in one part to Bhārata - to purify the three worlds as she will
be urged eagerly to do so by Bhagiratha. And She will remain in her one part
in the matted hair of Chandra S'ekhara (the Mahādeva with Moon on his
forehead), obtained with a great difficulty, and so will remain there purer
than her natural pure state. And let her remain with me in full parts. O
Padme! O Lovely-eyed One! You are most innocent; so part of your part will
go to Bhārata and be the Padmāvatī river and you will be the Tulasī tree.
After the expiry of five thousand years of Kali Yuga, your curse will
expire. Again you all will come to My abode. O Padme! Calamities are the
causes of the happiness of the embodied beings. Without dangers no one can
understand the true nature of happiness. The saint worshippers of My mantra
who will perform their ablutions in your water will free you all of your
curse by touch and sight. O Fair One! By the sight and touch (Darsan,
Spars'an) of My bhaktas (devotees), all the sacred places of pilgrimages in
the world will be purified. For uplifting and sanctifying the holy earth, My
mantropāsakas, i.e., S'aivas, S'aktas, Gānapatyas, etc., that are devoted to
Brahmā all are residing in Bhārata. Where My Bhaktas reside and wash their
feet, that place is undoubtedly reckoned as the holy places of pilgrimages.
So much so that by the sight and touch of My devotees, the murderer of a
woman, of a cow, of a Brāhmin, the treacherous and even the stealer of the
wife of one's Guru will be sanctified and liberated while living. Those who
do not perform the vow of Ekādas'ī, who do not perform Sandhyās, who are
Nāstikas (atheists), the murderers, all are free of their sins by the sight
and touch of My devotees. By the sight and touch of My devotees, those who
live on their swords, pens, and the royal officials, the beggars in a
village and the Brāhmanas who carry (deal in) bullocks are also freed of
their sins. The traitors, the mischief makers of their friends, those who
give false evidence, those that steal other's trust properties, are also
freed of their sins by the sight and touch of My devotees. Those who are
foul-mouthed, bastards, the husbands and sons of unchaste women are all
purified by the sight and touch of My Bhaktas. The Brāhmin cooks of S'ūdras,
Brāhmins of an inferior order (who subsist upon the offerings made to the
images which he attends), the village mendicants, those who are not
initiated by their Gurus, these all are purified by the sight and touch of
My devotees. O Fair One! The sins of those persons who do not maintain their
fathers, mothers, brothers, wives, sons, daughters, sisters, the blind,
friends, the families of the Gurus, the fathers-in-law, the mothers-in-law
are also removed by the sight and touch of My devotees. Those that cut the
As'vattha trees, that slander My devotees, and the Brāhmins that eat the
food of S'ūdras, are also freed of their sins. Those who steal the Deva's
articles, the Brāhmana's articles, those that sell lac, iron, and daughters,
those who commit Mahā Pātakas (Brahmāhatyā, Surāpānam, Steyam,
Gurbanganāganah, Mahānti pātakānyāhuh, tatsam-sargahseha Pańchamam) and
those that burn the S'ūdrā's dead bodies, these also are freed of their
respective sins by the sight and touch of My devotees.
38-42. Mahā Laksmī said :-- O Thou gracious to faithful attendants! What
are the characteristics, the marks of those Bhaktas of Thine that Thou hast
spoken of just now whose sight and touch destroy instantly the Mahāpātakas
(five great sins), that are destroyed after a long time by the water of the
Tīrthas and the earthen and stone images of the Gods. The sins of the vilest
of men, devoid of Hari bhakti, vain and egoistic, cheats, hvpocrites,
slanderers of saints, vicious souls are destroyed by your Bhaktas, whose
touch and ablations sanctify the sacred places of pilgrimages; by the touch
of the dust and water of whose feet, the earth is purified; whom the Bhaktas
of Bhārata always pray to see; and there is nothing higher than the meeting
of those Bhaktas. Sūta said :-- O Great Risi! Thus hearing the words of
Mahā Laksmī, the Lord smiled and began to speak about the secret things or
the marks of the Bhaktas.
43-54. O Laksmī! The marks of the Bhaktas are all mentioned very hiddenly in
S'rutis and Purānas. These are very sanctifying; destructive of sins, giving
happiness, devotion, and liberation. These are never to be described to
deceitful persons; these are the essences and to be kept hidden. But you are
very simple and like my life. I therefore speak to you. Hear. O Fair One!
All the Vedas declare him to be holy and the best of men, in whose ears are
pronounced from the mouth of a Guru, the Visnu mantra. At the very moment of
his being born into this world, one hundred generations back of that person,
whether they be at that time in heaven or hell, get instantaneous liberation
and if any of them happen to be born then as Jīvas, they become liberated at
once while living and finally get Visnupadam (the place of Visnu). That
mortal is My Bhakta (devotee) who is full of devotion to Me, who always
repeats My glories and acts according to My directions, who hears with all
his heart My topics, and hearing which, whose mind dances with joy, whose
voice gets choked and tears incessantly flow out from whose eyes, who loses
his outward consciousness. Such a man is indeed, My Bhakta. My Bhaktas do
not long for happiness or Mukti, or the four states Sālokya, Sāyujya,
Sāmīpya and Sārstī, nor the Brahmāhood, nor the Devahood (the state of
immortality); they want only to do Sevā (service) to Me and they are solely
intent on doing this. Even in dreams they do not desire the Indraship,
Manuship, the state of Brahmā so very difficult to be had; nor do they want
the enjoyment of kingdoms and heavens. My Bhaktas roam in Bhārata, eager to
hear My glories, and always very glad to recite My sweet glorious deeds. The
birth of such Bhaktas in Bhārata is very rare. They purify the world and go
ultimately to My abode, the best of all Tīrthas (sacred places). Thus I have
spoken O Padme! all that you wanted to hear. Now do as you like. Then Gangā
and others all went to obey the order of Srī Hari, Who went to His own
abode.
Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Ninth Book on the curses Gangā,
Sarasvatī, and Laksmī and the way to freedom thereof in the Mahāpurānam
S'rīmad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter VIII
On the greatness of Kali
1-110. Nārāyana said :-- A part of Sarasvatī descended in this Bhārata Punya
Bhūmi (land of merits), owing to the curse of Gangā; and She remained in
full in Visnu's region, the abode of Vaikuntha. She is named Bhāratī, on
account of Her coming to Bhārata; she is called Brāhmī because she is dear
to Brahmā; and She is called Vānī as She presides over Speech. Hari is seen
everywhere, in tanks, in wells, in running streams (i.e., in Saras). Because
He resides in Saras, therefore He is called Sarasvān. Vānī is the S'akti of
that Sarasvān; therefore She is denominated Sarasvatī. The river Sarasvatī
is a very sacred Tīrtha. She is the burning fire to the fuel of sins, of
sinners. O Nārada! Through the curse of Sarasvatī, the Devī Gangā also
assumed the form of a river in part. She was brought down to this earth at
the request of Bhagīratha. Hence she is called Bhāgirathī. While Gangā was
rushing down to the earth S'iva capable to bear the great rush of Her, held
Her on His head at the request of the Mother Earth. Laksmī also, through the
curse of Sarasvatī came in part of parts Bhārata as the river Padmāvatī. But
She remained in full with Hari. Laksmī appeared also in Her other part as
the well-known daughter Tulasī of the king Dharmadhvaja in India. Last of
all, through Bhāratī's curse and by the command of S'rī Hari, she turned
into the Tulasī tree, purifying the whole world. Remaining for five thousand
years of Kali, all them will quit their river appearances and go back to
Hari. By the command of Srī Hari, all the Tīrthas save Kāsī and Bindrāban
will go along with them to Vaikuntha. Next at the expiry of the ten thousand
years of Kali, S'ālagrāma S'ilā (the stone piece worshipped as Nārāyana)
S'iva, and S'iva S'akti and Purusottama Jagannātha will leave the soil of
Bhārata and go to their respective places, (i.e. the Māhātmyas of those will
be extinct from Bhārata). There will then cease to be the saints of S'iva
S'ākta, Gānapatya and Vaisnava sects, (eighteen) Purānas, the blowing of
conch shells (auspicious signs), S'rāddhas, Tarpanas, and all the rites and
ceremonies dictated by the Vedas. The worship and glorification of the Gods,
the recitation of their praises, their names will be extinct. The Vedas with
their Amgas will no longer be heard of. All these will disappear with them.
The assembly of the Sādhus, the true Dharma, the four Vedas, the village
Devas and Devīs, the Vratas (vows) the practising of the austerities,
fasting, all will disappear. All will be addicted to the Vāmāchāra ritual
(the left-hand ritual Tāntrik form of worship; sarcastically used in the
sense of drinking wine and eating flesh, etc.) They will speak falsehood and
be deceitful. If anybody worships, his worship will be void of Tulasī
leaves. Almost all will be deceitful, cruel, vain, egoistic, thievish and
mischievous. Men will be at variance with one another; women will be at
variance with one another; no fear will exist in marriage ties. Properties
will be only of those that will make them (i. e. there will cease to be any
inheritance from father to son and so forth ). Husbands will be obedient to
their wives; unchaste women will be in every house. Wives will rebuke their
husbands by incessant noisings and chidings. Wives will be the sole
mistresses of houses and husbands will stand before them as servants with
folded palms. Fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law will be their servants. The
brothers of wives, and their friends will be the managers of the household
affairs. But there will be no friendship with one's own class fellows. The
brothers and friends of the house owners (masters of the house) will appear
quite strangers as if they are new-comers. Without the command of the
house-wives, the masters of the houses will be unable to do anything. The
divisions of caste (Brāhmanā, Ksattriya, Vaisya, and S'ūdra) will entirely
disappear. Far from practising Sandhyā Bandanam and other daily practices,
the Brāhmanas will cease to hold the holy threads even on their bodies. The
four colour-classes will practise the doings of the Mlechchas, read the
S'āstras of the Mlechchas and forsake their own S'āstras. The Brāhmins,
Ksattriyas, and Vais'yas will become the slaves of S'ūdras, will become
their cooks, runners and carriers of buffaloes. Every one will be devoid of
truth. Earth will not yield any grains; trees will not yield any fruits and
women will be issueless. The cows will not yield milk; even if there be a
little milk, ghee will not come out of it. The affection between husband and
wife will die out and the families will be devoid of truth. The King will
not wield any power; the subjects will be over burdened with taxes. The ever
flowing big rivers, the petty streams, the caves of mountains all will
gradually have very little water in them. The Four Varnas will be devoid of
Dharma and Punya (merit, virtue). One in a lakh may be virtuous. Afterwards
that too will cease. Men, women, boys, all will be ugly and deformed. They
will utter bad words and vile sounds. Some villages and towns will be
completely deserted by men and will look terrible; at some others few
cottages with few inhabitants will be seen. Villages and towns will be
jungles and jungles will become filled with men. The inhabitants of the
forests will become heavily taxed and disconsolate. The beds of rivers and
lakes will become dry owing to want of rains and will be cultivated. The
Kulīnas of high families will become very low. The whole earth will be
filled with liars, untruthful cheats and hypocrites. The lands, though
cultivated well, will yield grains in name. Those who are well known as the
millionaires, they will become poor and those who are devoted to the Devas
will be atheists. The towns folk will have no trace of mercy; rather they
will hate and envy their neighbours and turn out murderers of men. In the
Kali age, males and females will be everywhere, of a dwarfish stature,
diseased, shortlived, and of very little youthful virility. The hairs will
turn out grey no sooner the people reach their sixteenth year. And they will
be very old when they become twenty years old. The girls of eight years will
have menstruation and will become pregnant. They will deliver every year.
Old age will attack them when they become sixteen years old. Some women will
have their husbands and children living. Otherwise almost all will be
barren, childless. The four Varnas will sell their daughters. The paramours
of the mothers, wives, son's wives, daughters, and sisters will be the
source of support to them all. No one will be able, without money, to
collect the merits by repeating the name of Hari. Persons will make gifts
for name and fame and ultimately will take back what they had made as gifts.
If there be any gifts made by one's own self or by one's forefathers or for
a Deva purpose or for Brāhmins or for the families of the Gurus, there will
not be found wanting attempts to take back those gifts. Some will go to
daughters, some to mothers-in-law, some to the wives of sons, some to
sisters, some to mothers of co-wives, some will go to the brother's wives.
In every house, those who are unfit to be mixed will be mixed with,
excepting one's mother. In Kali Yuga who is whose wife? And who is whose
husband? There will be no certainty; who is whose subject and what village
is to whom? There will be no surety that such a property belongs to such and
such a man. All will turn out to be liars, licentious, thieves, envious of
other's wives, and murderers of men. In the houses of the Brāhmins,
Ksattriyas, and Vais'yas, the three higher castes, the current of sin will
flow. They will live by selling lac, iron, and salts prohibited by the
S'āstras. The Brāhmins will drive buffaloes, burn the dead bodies of the
S'ūdras, eat the food of the S'ūdras and go to unchaste women. There will be
no more faith existing in the five Risi Yajńas. Almost every Brāhmin will
not observe the vows of Amāvasyā Nis'ipālana. The holy threads will be cast
away and the Sandhyā Bandanam and cleanliness and good practices will cease
altogether. The unchaste women who deal in giving loans, etc., and live on
interests and the procuresses during menstruation will cook in Brāhmin
families. There will be no distinction of food, no distinction of wombs, no
distinction of Ās'ramas, and no distinction of persons. All will turn out
Mlechchas. O Nārada! Thus, when the Kali will have its full play, the whole
world will be filled with Mlechchas, the trees will be one hand high and the
men will be of the size of a thumb. Then the most powerful Bhagavān Nārāyana
will incarnate in His part in the house of a Brāhmin named Visnujas'ā as his
son. Mounted on a long horse, holding a long sword He will make the world
free of the Mlechchas in three nights. Then he will disappear from the face
of the Earth and She will be without any sovereign and be filled with
robbers. There will be incessant rain, for six nights and it will rain and
rain and the whole earth will be deluged; no traces of men, houses, and
trees. After this the Twelve Suns will rise simultaneously and by their rays
the whole water will be dried up and the earth will become level. Thus the
dreadful Kali will pass away when the Satya Yuga will come back, Tapasyā and
the true religion and Sattva Guna will prevail again. The Brāhmins will
practise Tapasyā, they will be devoted to Dharma and the Vedas. The women
will be chaste and religious in every house. Again the wise and intelligent
Ksattriyas devoted to the Brāhmanas will occupy the royal thrones and their
might, devotion to Dharma and love for good deeds will increase. The
Vais'yas will again go on with their trades and their devotion to their
trade and the Brāhmins will be reestablished. The S'ūdras, too, will be
again virtuous, and serve the Brāhmins. Again the Brāhmins, Ksattriyas, and
Vais'yas and their families will have Bhakti towards the Devī, be initiated
in Devī Mantras and all will meditate on the Devī. Again there will be
spread the knowledge of the Vedas, the Smritis, and the Purānas, all will go
to their wives in menstruation periods. No Adharma (unrighteousness) will
exist and the Dharma will reign in full, with all the parts (Kalās)
complete. When the Tretā Yuga comes, the Dharma will be three footed; when
the Dvāpara Yuga will come; the Dharma will be two-footed and when Kali will
begin, the Dharma will be one-footed, and when Kali will reign supreme, no
Dharma will exist, even in name. (O Nārada! Now I will speak of time.) The
seven days of the week, Sunday, &c., the sixteen tithis, Pratipada &c., the
twelve months Vais'ākha &c., the six seasons Summer, &c., the two fortnights
(dark and bright) and the two Ayanas (Northern and Southern) are rendered in
vogue. One day consists of four Praharas, one night consists of four
Praharas; a day and a night constitute one so-called day. Thirty such days
make one month. In the computation of time, five kinds of years (Varsas)
were already mentioned (in the 8th Skandha). As the Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara
and Kali roll on turn by turn, so the days, months and years also roll on in
turn. One day, according to the Devas, is equal to one year, according to
men; three hundred and sixty human Yugas equal to one Deva Yuga. Seventy-one
Deva Yugas make one Manvantara. The life period of Indra, the Lord of S'achī,
is one Manvantara. Twenty-eight Indras' lives equal to one day of
Hiranyagarbha (the golden wombed) Brahmā. One hundred and eight such years
equal to the life of one Brahmā. When this Brahmā dies, there is the
Prākrita Pralaya. The earth is not visible then. (The dissolution of
Prakriti takes place.) The whole Brāhmanda is deluged by water; Brahmā,
Visnu, Mahes'vara and the other wise Risis get diluted in Para Brahmā whose
substance is all truth and consciousness. That time, the Prakriti Devī, too,
gets merged in Para Brahmā. The fall of Brahmā and the dissolution of
Prakriti are called the Prākrita Pralaya. The duration of this Pralaya is
one Nimesa of the Para Brahmā Mūla Prakriti united with Māyā. All the
Brāhmandas (universes) are destroyed at this time. When this Nimesa expires,
the creation begins again in due order. So one cannot count the endless
numbers of times when this creation and dissolution work are going on. So
who can tell how many kalpas had past away, or how many Kalpas will come,
how many Brāhmandas were created or how many Brāhmandas will be created. Who
will be able to count how many Brahmās, how many Visnus or how many
Mahes'varas there have been. But One and Only One Para Brahmā Parames'vara
(the Great God) is The Supreme Lord of these countless Brāhmandas. The
Parames'vara of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss is the
Highest Spirit of all. All others, Brahmā, Visnu, Mahes'vara the Great Virāt,
the Smaller Virāt, all are His parts. This Brahmā is Mūlā Prakriti and from
That has appeared Srī Krisna, the Lord of his left half which is woman (Ardha
Nārīs'vara). It is She that divided Herself into two forms; in Her one form,
She resides as the two armed Krisna in the region of Goloka; and as the
four-armed Nārāyana in Vaikuntha. All the things from Brahmā, the Highest,
to the mere grass the lowest, all are originated from Prakriti. And all the
Prakriti-born things are transient. Thus the True, Eternal Para Brahmā,
beyond the three gunas, the Source of all creation, Whose substance is
All-Will is the Only Substance beyond the region of Prakriti. He is without
Upādhis (conditions, as time, space, causation and attributes); He is
without any form; and the forms that He assumes, they are for shewing His
Grace to the devotees only. The Lotus-born Brahmā is able by His Power of
Knowledge to create the Brāhmanda. It is by His Grace that S'iva, the Lord
of the yogis is named Mrityumjaya (the Conqueror of Death), the Destoyer of
all, and the Knower of all Tattvas. By His Tapas, S'iva has realised Para
Brahmā and therefore has become the Lord of all, All-knowing, endowed with
great Vibhūtis (lordly powers), the seer of all, omnipresent, the protector
of all, the bestower of all prosperities. The devotion and service towards
Para Brahmā have alone made Srī Visnu the Lord of all; and it is through
the power of Para Brahmā, that Mahāmāyā Prakriti Devī has become omnipotent
and the Goddess of all. Bhagavatī Durgā has got His Grace by Her devotion
and service to Him and has become Mūla Prakriti of the nature of Being,
Consciousness and Bliss. And so has the Devī Sāvitrī, the Mother of the
Vedas, become the presiding Deity of the Vedas and She is worshipped by the
Brāhmanas and the Knowers of the Vedas. That She presides over all the
branches of knowledge, is worshipped by all the learned assemblies and by
the whole Universe is the result only of worshipping the Prakriti Devī. That
Laksmī has become the bestower of all wealth and the presiding Deity of all
the villages and the mistress of all, worshipped by all and the bestower of
sons to all is also the result of worshipping Her. Thus it is through the
worship of Prakriti that Durgā, the Destroyer of all calamities and troubles
has appeared from the left side of Srī Krisna; and Rādhā has become the
presiding Deity of His Prāna (vital airs), and She is worshipped by all and
possessed of all knowledge. It is by the worship of S'akti that Rādhikā has
so much excelled in love, has become the presiding Deity of the prāna of
Krisna, has got love and respect, has been placed on His breast and is
exceedingly beautiful. With the object of getting Krisna for her husband,
She practised severe austerities for one thousand Deva years on the mountain
S'atas'ringa in Bhārata to get the Mūla Prakriti's Grace. And when the
S'akti Mūla Prakriti became graciously pleased towards Her, Srī Krisna
seeing Rādhikā increasing in beauty like the Crescent Moon took Her to His
breast and out of tenderness wept and granted Her highest boons so very rare
to others and said :-- O Beautiful One! You better remain always in My
breast and devoted to Me amongs all my wives; let you be superior to them
all in good fortune, respect, love and glory. From today you are my greatest
best wife. I will love you as the best amongst them all. O Dear! Always I
will be submissive to you and fulfil what you say. Thus saying, Srī Krisna
selected her as his wife without any co-wives and made Her dear to His
Heart. The other Devīs besides the five Prakritis, already mentioned, also
derived superiorities by serving Mūla Prakriti. O Muni! What shall I say,
everyone reaps the fruits as he practises Tapasyā. Bhagavati Durgā practised
on the Himālyās tapasyā for one thousand Deva years and meditated on the
lotus-feet of Mūla Prakriti and so has come to be worshipped by all. The
Devī Sarasvatī practised Tapasyā for one lakh Deva years and is come to be
respected by all. The Devī Laksmī practised Tapasyā at Puskara for one
hundred Divine Yugas and, by the Grace of Mūla Prakriti has become the
bestower of wealth to all. The Devī Savitrī worshipped Sakti for sixty
thousand divine years in the Malaya mountain and is respected and worshipped
by all. O Bibhu! Brahmā, Visnu, and Mahes'vara worshipped S'akti for one
hundred Manvantaras and so have become the Preservers, etc., of this world.
Srī Krisna practised for ten Manvantaras terrible austerities and therefore
obtained his position in the region of Goloka and is remaining there today
in greatest bliss. Dharma Deva worshipped Sakti with devotion for ten
Manvantaras and has become the lives of all, worshipped by all, and the
receptacle of all. O Muni! Thus all, whether the Devīs, Devas, Munis, Kings,
Brāhmanas, all have got their respect in this world by the worship of Sakti.
O Devarsi! I have thus described to you all that I heard from the mouth of
my Guru, in accordance with the rules of the Vedas. What more do you want to
hear?
Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the Greatness of Kali in
the Mahā Purānam Srīmad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda
Vyāsa.
Chapter IX
On the origin of the Sakti of the Earth
1-4. Srī Nārada said :-- In the twinkling of an eye of the Devī, the
Pralaya takes place; and in that very time also the Brahmānda (cosmos) is
dissolved, which is called the Pralaya of Prakriti. During this Pralaya, the
Devī Vasundharā (Earth) disappears; the whole world is deluged with water
and all this appearance of five elements called Prapańcha vanishes in the
body of Prakriti. Now where does Vasundharā (Earth), thus vanished, reside?
And how does She again appear at the beginning of the creation! What is the
cause of her being so much blessed, honoured and capable to hold all and
victorious. So tell about Her birth, the source of all welfare.
5-23. Srī Nārāyana said :-- O Nārada! So it is heard that the Earth appears
at the very outset of the creation. Her appearance and disappearance so
occur in all the Pralayas. (This earth) the manifestation of the great
Sakti, sometimes becomes manifest in Her and sometimes remains latent in
Her (the Sakti). It is all the will of that Great Sakti. Now hear the
anecdote of appearance (birth) of the earth, the cause of all good, the
source of destruction of all calamities, the destroyer of sin and the cause
of furtherance of one's religious merits. Some say that this earth has come
out of the marrow of the Daityas, Madhu and Kaitabha; but that is not the
fact. Hear now the real fact. Those two Daityas were greatly pleased with
Visnu's valour and prowess in the fight between them and Visnu; and they
said :-- Kill us on that part of the earth which is not under water. From
their words it is evident that the earth was existent during their lifetime
but she was not visible. After their death, the marrow came out after their
bones. Now hear how the name Medinī came to be applied to the earth. She
was taken out of the water, and the marrow came to be mixed with the earth.
It is on account of this mixing that she is called Medinī, Now I will tell
you what I heard before in Puskara, the sacred place of pilgrimage, from the
mouth of Dharma Deva, about the origin of earth, approved by the S'rutis,
consistent, and good. Hear. When the mind of Mahā Virāt, merged in water,
expanded all over his body, it entered into every pore of his body. Next the
Mahāprithvī or the Great Earth appeared at the time of Pańchī Karana (mixing
of one-half of each of the elements with one-eighth of each of the other
four elements). This Mahāprithvī was broken into pieces and placed in every
pore. It is this differentiated earth that appears during creation and
disappears during Pralaya. From this mind, concentrated in every pore of the
body of Mahā Virāt, is born this earth, after a long interval. In every pore
in the skin of this Virāt Purusa there is one earth. She gets manifested and
she disappears. This occurs again and again. When she appears, she floats on
the water; and when she disappears, she gets merged in the water. There is
this earth (world) in every universe; and along with her, there are
mountains, forests, seven oceans, seven islands, Sumeru mountain, the Moon,
the Sun and other planets, Brahmāloka, Visnuloka (the abode of Visnu)
S'ivaloka and the regions of the other Devas, sacred places of pilgrimage,
the holy land of Bhāratavarsa, the Kānchanī Bhūmi, seven heavens, seven
Pātālas or nether regions, on the above Brahmāloka, and Dhruvaloka. This law
holds good in every world in every universe. So every universe is the work
of Māyā and thus it is transient. At the dissolution of Prakriti, Brahmā
falls. Again when creation takes place, the Mahā Virāt appears from Srī
Krisna, the Supreme Spirit. Eternal is this flow of creation, preservation
and destruction; eternal is this flow of time, Kasthā; eternal is this flow
of Brahmā, Visnu and Mahes'a, etc. And eternal is this flow of Vasundharā
who is worshipped in the Vārāha Kalpa by the Suras, Munis, Vipras,
Gandarbhas, etc. The S'ruti says that the Presiding Deity of this eternal
earth is the wife of Visnu in His boar-form. Mangala (Mars) is the son of
that earth and Mangala's son is Ghates'a.
24-26. Nārada said :-- In what form was the Earth worshipped by the Devas in
Vārāha Kalpa. The Vārāhi, the receptacle of all things, moving and
non-moving, how did she appear, by what method of Pańchī Karana, from the
Mūlaprakriti? What is the method of her worship in this Bhūrloka and in the
Heavens (Svarloka). Also tell me, O Lord! in detail, the auspicious birth of
Mangala (Mars).
27-34. Nārāyana spoke :-- In ancient days, in the Vārāha Kalpa, Varāha Deva
(the boar incarnation) when entreated and praised by Brahmā, killed the
Daitya Hiranyāksa and rescued the earth from the nether regions Rasātala. He
then placed the earth on the waters where she floated as the lotus leaf
floats on water. In the meantime Brahmā began to fashion the wonderful
creation on the surface of the earth. Bhagavān Hari, in His boar form and
brilliant like ten million suns saw the beautiful and lovely appearance of
the presiding deity of the earth, possessed of amorous sentiments. He then
assumed a very beautiful form, fit for amorous embraces. They then held
their sexual intercourse and it lasted day and night for one Deva year. The
beautiful Earth, in the pleasant amorous plays, fainted away; for the
intercourse of the lover with the beloved is exceedingly pleasant. And Visnu,
too, at the same time was very much exhausted by the pleasant touch of the
body of the Earth. He did not become conscious even how days and nights
passed away. When full one year passed away, they got back their senses and
the amorous man then left his hold of the loved. He assumed easily his
former Boar form and worshipped Her as the incarnate of the Devī, with
incense, lights, offerings of food, with vermilion (Sindur, red-powder),
sandal-paste, garments, flowers and various other offerings of food, etc. He
then said :--
35-37. O Auspicious One! Let Thou beest the receptacle of all things. All
the Munis, Manus, Devas, Siddhas, and Dānavas, etc., will worship Thee with
pleasure and willingness. On the day the Ambuvāchi ceremony closes, on the
day when the house construction, i.e., the foundation is laid, on the day
when the first entry is made into the newly built houses, when the digging
of the well or tank commences, and on the day when tilling the ground
commences, all will worship Thee. Those stupid fools that will not observe
this, will certainly go to hell.
38-41 The Earth spoke :-- O Lord! By Thy command I will assume the form of
Vārāhī (female boar) and support easily on my back this whole world of
moving and non-moving things, but the following things, pearls, small
shells, S'ālagrām, (a black stone, usually round, found in the river Gandakī,
and worshipped as a type of Visnu), the phallus or emblem of S'iva, the
images of the goddesses, conch-shells, lamps (lights), the Yantras, gems,
diamonds, the sacred upanayana threads, flowers, books, the Tulasī leaves,
the bead (Japa mālā), the garland of flowers, gold, camphor, Gorochanā
(bright yellow pigment prepared from the urine or bile of a cow), Sandal,
and the water after washing the S'ālagrāma stone, I will not be able to
bear. I will be very much pained in case I were to bear these on Me.
42-45. Srī Bhagavān said :-- O Fair One! The fools that will place the
above articles on Thy back will go to the Kālasutra hell for one hundred
divine years. O Nārada! Thus saying, the Bhagavān Nārāyana remained silent.
Now the Earth became pregnant and the powerful planet Mars was born. By the
command of Srī Hari, all began to meditate on Earth according to what is
mentioned in Kānvas'ākhā and began to praise Her. Offerings of food were
given, uttering the root Mantra. Thus became extant all over the three
worlds Her worship and praise.
46. Nārada said :-- O Bhagavān! Very sacred is the meditation, hymn and the
root Mantra of the Earth. I am very anxious to hear them. Kindly describe it
in detail.
47-48. Nārāyana said :-- The Earth was first worshipped by Varāha Deva; next
She was worshipped by Brahmā. Next She was worshipped by all the Munis,
Devas, Manus and men. O Nārada! Now hear the Dhyān, praise and Mantra of the
Devī Earth.
49-51. The Earth was first worshipped by Bhagavān Visnu with this root
Mantra (mūl mantra) On Hrīm Srīm Klīm Vasundharāyai Svāhā. Next He said
:-- O Devī Earth! O Thou Smiling One! I worship Thee, who art worshipped by
the three worlds, whose colour is white like white lotus, whose face is
beautiful like the autumnal moon, who art the Store-house of all gems and
jewels, and in whose womb all the precious stones and pearls are inbedded,
and who has put on a raiment purified by fire. All then began to worship Her
with this Mantra.
52-63. Srī Nārāyana said :-- Now hear the hymn sung before Her according to
Kānva S'ākhā :-- O Thou, the Giver of Victory! Holder of water! Endowed with
water, full of victory; Consort of the Boar Incarnation, Carrier of victory!
Bestow victory on me. O Thou Auspicious One! The Store-house of all good, O
Thou incarnate of all auspiciousness! Bestower of good, Thou, the Source of
all good to bestow all sorts of welfare! Bestow all things that are good and
auspicious to me in this world.
O Thou! The Receptacle of all, the Knower of all, all powerful, the Bestower
of all desires, O Devī Earth! Give me the fruits that I desire.
O Thou! Who art all merits, Thou, the Seed of all religious merits, O Thou,
the Eternal, the receptacle of all religious merits, the home of all
religious persons, Thou bestowest merits to all.
O Thou! The Store-house of all grains, enriched with all sorts of corns,
Thou bestowest harvests to all; Thou takest away all the grains in this
world and again, Thou producest all corns of various kinds here. O Earth!
Thou art all-in-all to the landlords, the Best Source of refuge and
happiness. O Bestower of lands! Give me lands. The above hymn yields great
religious merits. He becomes the sovereign of the whole earth for millions
and millions of births who rising early in the morning reads this stotra.
Men who read this acquire merits due to giving away lands as gifts. People
become certainly freed of their sins, if they read this stotra, who take
back the lands after making them as gifts, who dig earth on the day of
Ambuvāchī, who dig wells without permission on another's well, who steal
other's lands, who throw their semen on earth, who place lamps on the earth.
Religious merits, equivalent to one hundred horse sacrifices accrue from
reading this stotra. There is no doubt in this. This stotra of the great
Devī is the source of all sorts of welfare and auspiciousness.
Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the origin of the Sakti of
the earth in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter X
On the offences caused to the Earth and punishments thereof
1-3. Nārada said :-- I am now desirous to hear about the merits acquired by
making gifts of land, the demerits in stealing away lands, digging wells in
other's wells, in digging earth on the day of Ambuvāchī, in casting semen on
earth, and in placing lamps and lights on the surface of the earth as well
the sins when one acts wrongly in various other ways on the surface of the
earth and the remedies thereof.
4-30. Srī Nārāyana said :-- If one makes a gift of land in this Bhārata of
the measure of a Vitasti (a long span measured by the extended thumb and
little finger) to a Brāhmana who performs Sandhyā three times a day and is
thus purified, one goes and remains in Siva Loka (the abode of Siva). If
one gives away in charity a land full of corn to a Brāhmin, the giver goes
and lives in Visnu Loka in the end for a period measured by the number of
dust particles in the land. If one presents a village, a plot of land, or
grains to a Brāhmin, both the giver and the receiver, become freed of their
sins and go to the Devī Loka (the abode of the Devī). Even if one be present
when a proposal for a gift of land is being made and says This act is
good, one goes to Vaikuntha with one's friends and relatives. He remains in
the Kālasutra hell as long as the Sun and Moon exist, who takes back or
steals away the gift to a Brāhmin, offered by himself or by any other body.
Even his sons, grandsons, etc., become destitute of lands, prosperity, sons,
and wealth and remain in a dreadful hell named Raurava. If one cultivates
the grazing land for the cows and reaps therefrom a harvest of grains, one
remains for one hundred divine years in the Kumbhīpāka hell. If one
cultivates any enclosure for cows or tanks and grows grains on them, one
remains in the Asipatra hell for a period equivalent to fourteen Indra's
falls. One who bathes in another's tank without taking off five handfuls of
earth from it, goes to hell and one's bath is quite ineffectual. If anybody,
out of his amorous passion casts his semen privately on the suface of the
ground, he will have to suffer the torments of hell for as many years as are
the numbers of dust particles on that area. If anyone digs ground on the day
of Ambuvāchī, one remains in hell for four Yugas. If, without the permission
of the owner of a well or tank, a stupid man clears the old well or tank and
digs the slushy earth from the bottom, his labour goes in vain. The merit
goes to the real owner. And the man who laboured so much goes to Tapta Kunda
Naraka for fourteen Indra's life-periods. If any one takes out five handfuls
of earth from another's tank, when he goes to bathe in it, he dwells in
Brahmā Loka for a period of years amounting to the number of particles in
those handfuls of earth. During one's father's or grandfather's S'rādha
ceremony, if one offers pinda without offering any food (pinda) to the owner
of the soil, the S'rādha performer goes certainly to hell. If one places a
light (Pradīpa) directly on the earth without any holding piece at the
bottom, one becomes blind for seven births; and so if one places a
conch-shell on the ground (S'ankha), one becomes attacked with leprosy in
one's next birth. If any body places pearls, gems, diamonds, gold and
jewels, the five precious things on the ground he becomes blind, if one
places the phallic emblem of Siva, the image of S'ivāni, the S'ālagrāma
stone on the ground, he remains for one hundred Manvantaras to be eaten by
worms. Conchshells, Yantras (diagrams for S'akti worshippers), the water
after washing S'ilas (stones) i. e., Charanāmrita, flowers, Tulasī leaves,
if placed on the ground, lead him who places these, verily to hells. The
beads, garlands of flowers, Gorochana (a bright yellow pigment prepared from
the urine or bile of a cow), and camphor, when placed on the ground, lead
him who places so to suffer the torments of hell. The sandal wood, Rudrāksa
mālā, and the roots of Kus'a grass also, if placed on the ground, lead the
doer to stay for one manvantara in the hell. Books, the sacred Upanayana
threads, when placed on the ground make the doers unfit for Brāhmin birth;
rather he is involved in a sin equivalent to the murder of a Brāhmin. The
sacred Upanayana thread when knotted and rendered fit for holding, is worth
being worshipped by all the castes. One ought to sprinkle the earth with
curd, milk, etc., after one has completed one's sacrifices. If one fails to
do this, one will have to remain for seven births in a hot ground with great
torment. If one digs the earth when there is an earth quake or when there is
an eclipse, that sinner becomes also devoid of some of his limbs in his next
birth. O Muni! This earth is named Bhūmi since She is the abode of all; she
is named Kās'yapī since she is the daughter of Kas'yapa; is named
Vis'vambharā, since she supports the Universe; She is named Ananta, since
she is endlessly wide; and She is named Prithivī since she is the daughter
of the King Prithu, or she is extensively wide.
Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the offences caused towards
the surface of the earth and punishments thereof in hells - in the
Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
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