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Devi Bhagavatam (Devi
Puranam)
Chapter XI
On the killing of Madhu Kaitabha
1-2. The king Suratha spoke :-- O Best of the twice born! Who is that Devī
that you spoke just now? Why the Devī deludes all these beings? What for
does She do so? Whence is the Devī born? What is Her Form? and what are Her
qualities? O Brāhmin! Kindly describe all these to me.
3-9. The Muni spoke :-- O King! I will now describe the nature of the Devī
Bhagavatī and why does She take Her Form in due time. Listen. In ancient
days, when Bhagavān Nārāyana, the king of the Yogis, was lying in deep sleep
on the ocean on the bed of Ananta, after He had destroyed the Universe,
there came out of the wax of his ear the two Dānavas, Madhu and Kaitabha, of
monstrous appearances. They wanted to kill Brahmā, who was lying on the
lotus coming out of the navel of Bhagavān. Seeing the two Daityas Madhu and
Kaitabha and seeing also Hari asleep the Lotus-born Brahmā became very
anxious and thought :-- Now Bhagavān is asleep; and these two indomitable
Daityas are ready to kill me. Now what am I to do? Where to go? How shall I
get ease? O Child! Thus thinking, the high souled Lotus born suddenly came
to a practical conclusion. He said :-- Let me now take refuge to the
Goddess Sleep, Nidrā, the Mother of all and under Whose power Bhagavān Hari
is now asleep.
10-24. Brahmā then began to praise Her thus :-- O Devī of the Devas! O
Upholdress of the world! Thou grantest desires of Thy devotees. O Thou
auspicious! Thou art Para Brahmā! By Thy Command all are doing respectively
their works in their proper spheres! Thou art the Night of Destruction (Kāla
Rātri); Thou art the Great Night (Mahā Rātri). Thou art the greatly terrible
Night of Delusion (Moha Rātri); Thou art omnipresent; omniscient; of the
nature of the Supreme Bliss. Thou art regarded as the Great. Thou art highly
worshipped; Thou art alone in this world as highly intoxicated; Thou art
submissive to Bhakti only; Thou art the Best of all the things; Thou art
sung as the Highest; Thou art modesty; Thou art Pusti (nourishment); Thou
art forgiveness (Ksamā); Thou art Beauty (Kānti); Thou art the embodiment of
mercy; Thou art liked by all; Thou art adorned by the whole world; Thou art
of the nature of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep; Thou art the Highest;
Thou art alone Highest Deity; Thou art highly attached to the Supreme Bliss.
There is no other thing than Thee. There is One only and that is Thee. Hence
Thou art denominated as One; Thou becomest again the two by contact with Thy
Māyā. Thou art the refuge of Dharma, Artha and Kāma; hence Thou Thou art
Three; Thou art the Turīya (the fourth state of consciousness) hence Thou
art Four. Thou art the God of the five elements; hence Thou art Panchamī
(five); Thou presidest over the six passions Kāma, anger, etc.; hence Thou
art Sasthī; Thou presidest over the seven days of the week and Thou grantest
boons seven by seven; hence Thou art Seven. Thou art the God of the eight
Vasus; hence Thou art Astamī; Thou art full of the nine Rāgas and nine parts
and Thou art the Goddess of nine planets; hence Thou art Navamī. Thou
pervadest the ten quarters and Thou art worshipped by the ten quarters;
hence Thou art named Das'amī (the tenth day of the fortnight); Thou art
served by the Eleven Rudras, the Goddesses of eleven Ganas and Thou art fond
of Ekādas'ī Tithi; hence Thou art denominated Ekādas'ī; Thou art twelve
armed and the Mother of the twelve Ādityas; hence Thou art Dvādas'ī; Thou
art dear to the thirteen Ganas; Thou art the presiding Deity of Visve Devas
and Thou art the thirteen months including the Malas Māsa (dirty month),
hence Thou art Trayodas'ī. Thou did grant boons to the fourteen Indras and
Thou gavest birth to the fourteen Manus; hence Thou art Chaturdas'ī. Thou
art knowable by the Pańchadas'ī. Thou art sixteen armed and on Thy forehead
the sixteen digits of the Moon are always shining; Thou art the sixteenth
digit (ray) of the Moon named Amā; hence Thou art Sodas'ī. O Deves'ī! Thou,
though attributeless and formless, appearest in these forms and attributes.
Thou hast now enveloped in Moha and Darkness the Lord of Ramā, the Bhagavān,
the Deva of the Devas. These Daityas, Madhu and Kaitabha are indomitable and
very powerful. So to kill them, Thou better dost awake the Lord of the Devas.
25-34. The Muni said :-- Thus praised by the Lotus-born, the Tāmasi
Bhagavatī (the Goddess of sleep and ignorance), the Beloved of Bhagavān,
left Visnu and enchanted the two Daityas.
On being awakened, the Supreme Spirit Visnu, the Lord of the world, the
Bhagavān, the Deva of the Devas, saw the two Daityas. Those two monstrous
Dānavas, beholding Madhu Sūdana, came up before Him, ready to fight. The
hand-to-hand fight lasted amongst them for five thousand years. Then the two
Dānavas, maddened by their great strength, were enchanted by the Māyā of
Bhagavatī and told the Supreme Deity, Ask boon from us. Hearing this, the
Bhagavān Ādi Purusa, (the Prime Man) asked the boon that both of them would
be killed that day by Him. Those two very powerful Dānavas spoke to Hari
again, Very well. Kill us on that part of the earth which is not under
water. O King! Bhagavān Visnu, the Holder of the conch and club, spoke :--
All right. Indeed! Let that be so.
Saying this He placed their heads on His thigh and severed them with His
disc (chakra). O King! Thus Mahā Kālī, the Queen of all the Yogas arose on
this occasion when the praise was offered Her by Brahmā. O King! Now I will
describe another account how this Mahā Laksmī appeared on another occasion.
Listen.
Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Tenth Book on the killing of Madhu
Kaitabha in the Mahā Purānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by
Mahārsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XII
On the anecdote of Sāvarni Manu
1-6. The Muni said :-- O King! The powerful Asura Mahisa, born of a
she-buffalo, defeated all the Devas and became the Lord of the whole
universe. That indomitable Dānava seized forcibly all the rights of the
Devas and began to enjoy the pleasures of the kingdom over the three worlds.
The Devas, thus defeated, were expelled from their abodes in Heavens. They
took Brahmā as their Leader and went to the excellent regions where Mahā
Deva and Visnu resided and informed them of all that had been done by that
vicious Asura Mahisa. They said :-- O Deva of the Devas! The insolent
Mahisāsura has become unbearable and he has taken possessions of the rights
and properties of the whole host of the Devas and he is now enjoying them.
Both of you are quite capable to destroy the Asura. So why do you not devise
means to annihilate him in no time!
7-10. Hearing these pitiful words of the Devas, Bhagavān Visnu became quite
indignant. Sankara, Brahmā and the other Devas all were inflamed with
anger. O King! From the face of the angry Hari, then emanated an Unusual
Fire, brilliant like thousand Suns. Then by and by emanated fires also from
the bodies of all the Devas who were filled then with joy. From the mass of
fire thus emanated there came out a beautiful Female Figure. The face of
this figure was formed out of the fire that emanated from the body of Mahā
Deva. Her hairs were formed out of the fire of Yama and Her arms were formed
out of the fire that emanated from Visnu.
11-21. O King! From the fire of the Moon came out two breasts; from the fire
of Indra came out Her middle portion; from the fire of Varuna, appeared Her
loins and thighs; from the fire of Earth, Her hips were formed; from the
fire of Brahmā, Her feet were formed; from the fire of the Sun, Her toes
were formed; from the fire of the Vasus, Her fingers were formed; from
Kuvera's fire, Her nose came out; from the excellent tejas of Prajāpati,
teeth; from the fire of Agni, Her three eyes; from the fire of the
twilights, Her eye-brows and from the fire of Vāyu, Her ears appeared.
O Lord of men! Thus Bhagavatī Mahisamardinī was born of the Tejas (fiery
substances) of the Devas. Next Siva gave Her the Sūla (weapon spear);
Visnu gave Sudars'ana (Chakra); Varuna gave the conchshell; Fire gave S'akti
(weapon); Vāyu gave Her bows and arrows; Indra gave Her thunder bolt and the
bell of the elephant Airāvata; Yama gave Her the Destruction Staff (Kāla
Danda); Brāmā gave Her the Rudrāksa, rosary and Kamandalu; the Sun gave Her,
in every pore the wonderful rays; the Time (Kāla) gave Her sharp axe and
shield; the oceans gave Her the beautiful necklace and new clothes (two in
number); Vis'vakarmā gladly gave Her the crown, ear-rings, kataka, Angada,
Chandrārdha, tinklets; and the Himālayās gave Her the Lion as Her Vehicle
and various gems and jewels.
22-30. Kuvera, the Lord of wealth gave Her the cup filled with the drink;
Bhagavān Ananta Deva gave Her a necklace of snakes (Nāghāra). Thus the World
Mother, the Devī, became honoured by all the Devas. The Devas, very much
oppressed by Mahisāsura, then, chanted various hymns of praise to the World
Mother Māhes'varī Mahā Devī.
Hearing their Stotras, the Deves'ī, worshipped by the Devas, shouted aloud
the War-Cry. O King! Mahisāsura, startled at that War-Cry, came to Bhagavatī
with all his army corps. Then that great Asura Mahisa hurled various weapons
in the air and overcast the sky with them and began to fight with great
skill. The several generals Chiksura, Durdhara, Durmukha, Vāskala, Tāmraka,
Vidālāksa and various other innumerable generals as if Death incarnate,
accompanied Mahisa, the chief Dānava. A fierce fight then ensued. Then the
Devī Who enchants all the beings, became red-eyed with anger and began to
kill the generals of the against party. When the generals were killed one by
one Mahisāsura, skilled in the science of magic, came up quickly to the
front of the Devī.
31-40. The Lord of the Dānavas, then, by his magic power, began to assume
various forms. Bhagavatī, too, began to destroy his those forms. Then the
Daitya, the crusher of the Devas, assumed the form of a buffalo and began to
fight. The Devī then fastened the animal, the Asura, the Death of the Devas,
tightly and cut off his head by Her axe. The remainder of his forces, then,
fled away in terror and disorder with a loud cry. The Devas became very glad
and began to chant hymns to the Devī. O King! Thus the Laksmī Devī appeared
to kill Mahisāsura. Now I will describe how Sarasvatī appeared. Listen. Once
on a time the two very powerful Daityas Sumbha and Nis'umbha were born.
They attacked the Devas, oppressed them and seized their houses and rights.
The Devas became dispossessed of their kingdoms and went to the Himālayās
and offered stotras to the Devī with the greatest devotion :-- O Devesī! O
Thou, skilled in removing the difficulties of the Bhaktas! Victory to Thee!
O Thou, the Sinless One! Old age and death cannot touch Thee. O Thou! Death
incarnate to the Dānavas! O Devesī! O Thou, of mighty valour and prowess! O
Thou, the embodiment of Brahmā, Visnu and Mahes'a! Unbounded is Thy might;
Thou canst be easily reached by the power of devotion. O Thou, the Creator,
Preserver and Destroyer! O Mādhavī! O Thou, the Giver of Bliss! Thou dancest
with great joy at the time of the dissolution of all the things (Pralaya).
41-50. O Thou, full of mercy! O Deva Devesī! Be gracious unto us. O Thou,
the Remover of the sufferings of the refugees! We now come unto Thy
protection. The terror of Sumbha and Nis'umbha is like an endless ocean
unto us. Save, save us from their fast clutches. O Devī! save us O King!
verily. When the Devas praised thus, the daughter of the Himālayās,
Bhagavatī became pleased and asked What is the matter? In the meanwhile,
there emitted from the physical sheath of the Devī another Devī Kaus'ikī who
gladly spoke to the Devas :-- O Suras! I am pleased with Thy Stotra. Now
ask the boon that you desire. The Devas then asked for the following boon
:-- O Devī! The two famous Daityas Sumbha and Nis'umbha have attacked
forcibly the three worlds. The wicked Lord of the Dānavas, Sumbha, has
overcome us by the power of his arm and is now tormenting us without any
break. Kindly devise some means to kill him. The Devī said :-- O Devas! Be
patient. I will kill these two Daityas, Sumbha and Nis'umbha and thus
remove the thorn on your way. At an early date I will do good to you. Thus
saying to Indra and the other Devas the merciful Devī disappeared at once
before their eyes. The Deva with their hearts delighted went to the
beautiful Sumeru Mountain and dwelt there in the caves thereof.
Here the servants of Sumbha and Nis'umbha Chanda and Munda, while they were
making their circuits, saw the exquisitely beautiful Devī, the Enchantress
of the world, and came back to Sumbha their King and said :--
51-60. O Destroyer of enemies! O Giver of honour! O Greal King! You are the
Lord of all the Daityas and are fit to enjoy all the gems and jewels. To-day
we have seen an extraordinary beautiful woman jewel. She is fit to be
enjoyed by you. So now you would better bring that perfectly beautiful woman
and enjoy. No such enchanting women can be seen amongst the Asura women Nāga
Kanyās Gandharbha women, Dānavīs or men. Hearing thus the words of the
servant, Sumbha, the tormentor of the foes, sent a Daitya named Sugrīva as
a messenger to Her. The messenger went to the Devī as early as possible and
spoke to Her all that Sumbha had told him. O Devī! The Asura Sumbha is
now the conqueror of the three worlds and respected by the Devas. O Devī! He
is now enjoying all that is best, the gems and jewels; O Devī! I am his
messenger sent here to convey to you his message as follows :-- O Devī! I am
the sole enjoyer of all the jewels. O Beautiful-eyed! You are a gem; so you
would worship me. O Fair One! All the gems and jewels that are in the Deva
loka, in the Daitya loka, or amongst the regions of men, are under my
control. So you would lovingly worship me. The Devī said :-- O Messenger!
True that you are speaking for your King; but I made a promise before, how
can I act against it? O Messenger! Hear what I promised.
61-70. Whoever in the three worlds will conquer Me by sheer force and thus
crush My vanity, whoever will be as strong as Myself, He can enjoy Me. So
the King of Daityas can prove My promise true and by sheer force can marry
Me. What is there with him that he cannot do? So, Messenger! Go back to your
master and tell him all this so that the powerful Sumbha may fulfil My
promise. Hearing thus the words of the Great Devī, the messenger went back
to Sumbba and informed him everything regarding the Devī's sayings. The
very powerful Lord of the Daityas, Sumbha became very angry at the
unpleasant words of the messenger and commanded the Daitya named Dhumrāksa
:-- O Dhumrāksa! Listen to my words with great attention. Go and catch hold
of that wicked woman by her hairs and bring her to me. Go quickly; do not
delay. Thus commanded, the very powerful and the best of the Daityas,
Dhumrāksa, went at once to the Devī with sixty thousand Daityas and cried
aloud to Her :--
O Auspicious One! You would better worship quickly our Lord Sumbha, who is
very powerful and mighty; you will then acquire all sorts of pleasures; else
I will hold you by your hairs and take you to the Lord of the Daityas.
71-80. Thus addressd by Dhumrāksa Daitya, the enemy of the Devas, the Devī
said :-- O Powerful One! O Daitya! What you have spoken is perfectly right,
but tell me first what you or your king Sumbha can do to Me? When the Devī
said thus, the Daitya Dhūmralochana rushed on Her at once with arms and
weapons. With one loud noise, Māhes'varī burnt him immediately to ashes. O
King! The other forces were partly crushed by the Lion, the vehicle of the
Devī and partly fled away in disorder to all the quarters; some became
senseless out of fear. Sumbba , the Lord of the Daityas, became very angry
to hear this. His face assumed a terrible form with eyebrows contracted.
Then he became impatient with anger and sent in order Chanda, Munda and
Raktabīja.
The three powerful Daityas went to the battle and tried their might to
capture the Devī. The Devī Jagaddhātrī, of violent prowess, seeing that
these three Daityas were coming to Her, killed them by Her trident and laid
them prostrate on the ground. Hearing their death with all their army,
Sumbha and Nis'umbha came in their own persons arrogantly to the
battlefield. Sumbha and Nis'umbha fought for a time with the Devī a
terrible fight and became tired, when the Devī killed them outright. When
the Bhagavatī, Who is all this world, killed Sumbba and Nis'umbha, the
Devas began to praise Bhagavatī the Supreme Deity of Vāk (Word) incarnate.
81-93. O King! Thus I have spoken to you in due order the manner in which
the beautiful Kālī, Mahā Laksmī and Sarasvatī incarnated themselves on the
earth. That Supreme Deity, the Devī Parames'varī thus creates, preserves,
and destroys the Universe. You better take refuge of that highly adored Devī,
that causes the distinction and the delusion of this Universe. Then only you
will attain success. Nārāyana said :-- The king Suratha, hearing these
beautiful words of the Muni, took refuge of the Devī, that yields all
desired objects. He built an earthen image of the Devī and, with
concentrated attention, thought wholly of the Devī and began to worship Her
with devotion. When the worship was over, he offered sacrifices of the blood
of his body to the Devī. Then the World-Mother, the Deity of the Devas,
became pleased and appeared before him and asked him :-- Accept the boon
that you desire. When the Devī said thus, the king asked from the Mahes'varī
that excellent knowledge whereby the ignorance is destroyed and as well the
kingdom free from any dangers or difficulties. The Devī said :-- O King! By
My boon, you will get your foeless kingdom in this very birth as well as the
Jńānam that removes ignorance. O King! I will tell you also what you will be
in the next birth. Hear. In your next birth, you will be the son of the Sun
and be famous as Sāvarni Manu. By My boon you will be the Lord of the
Manvantara, become very powerful and you will get good many sons. Thus
granting him this boon, the Devī disappeared. By the Grace of the Devī,
Suratha became the Lord of the Manvantara. O Sādhu! Thus I have described to
you the birth and deeds of Sāvarni. He who hears or reads this anecdote with
devotion, will be a favourite of the Devī.
Here ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Tenth Book on the anecdote of Sāvarni
Manu in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahārsi
Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XIII
On the account of Bhrāmarī Devī
1-21. Srī Nārāyana spoke :-- O Child Nārada! Hear now the wonderful
anecdotes of the births of the remaining other Manus. The mere remembrance
of these birth anecdotes causes Bhakti to grow and well up towards the Devī.
Vaivasvata Manu had six sons :-- viz., Karusa, Prisadhra, Nābhāga, Dista,
Saryāti, and Tris'anku. All of them were stout and strong. Once they all
united went to the excellent banks of the Jumnā and began to practise
Prānāyama without taking any food and became engaged in worshipping the Devī.
Each of them built separately an earthen image of the Devī and worshipped
Her with devotion and with various offerings. In the beginning, they took
the dry leaves of the trees that dropped of themselves for their food; then
they drank water only, then breathed air only; then the smoke from the fire
of the Homa; then they depended on the Solar Rays. Thus they practised
tapasyā with great difficulties. The continual worship of the Devī with the
greatest devotion made them conscious of their clear intellect, destructive
of all sorts of vanities and delusions, and the Manu's sons thought only of
the Hallowed Feet of the Devī; their intellects were purified and they were
greatly wondered to see within their Self the whole Universe. Thus they
practised their Tapasyā full twelve years when Bhagavatī, the Ruling
Principle of this Universe resplendent wiih the brilliance of the thousand
Suns, appeared before them. The princes with their intelligences thus
purified saw Her, bowed down and, with their lowly hearts, began to chant
hymns to Her with greatest devotion. O Īs'ānī! O Merciful! Thou art the
Devī presiding over all. Thou art the Best. So Victory to Thee! Thou art
known by the Vāgbhava Mantra. Thou gettest pleased when the Vāgbhava Mantra
is repeated. O Devī! Thou art of the nature of Klīm Kāra (of the form of
Klīm). Thou gettest pleased with the repetition of Klīm Mantra. O Thou, that
gladdenest the Lord! Thou bestowest joy and pleasure in the heart of the
King of Kāma. O Mahā Māyā! When Thou art pleased, Thou givest that
Unequalled Kingdom. O Thou that increasest the enjoyments! Thou art Visnu,
Sūrya, Hara, Indra and the other Devas. When the highsouled princes praised
Her thus, Bhagavatī became pleased and spoke to them the following sweet
words :-- O Highsouled Princes! You all have worshipped Me and practised,
indeed, very hard tapasyās and thus you have become sinless and your
intellects and hearts have become thoroughly purged and thus purified. Now
ask boons that you desire. I will grant them ere long to you. The Princes
said :-- O Devī! We want unrivalled Kingdoms, many sons of long longevity,
continual enjoyment of pleasures, fame, energy, freedom in all actions, and
as well the good and keen intelligence. These will be beneficial to us. The
Devī said :-- Whatever you have desired, I grant them to you all. Besides I
give you another boon. Listen attentively. By My Grace you all will be the
Lords of the Manvantaras and acquire strength that will experience no
defeat, and you will get prosperity, fame, energy, powers, and a continual
line of descent and abundant full enjoyments.
22-32. Nārāyana said :-- After the World Mother Bhrāmarī Devī granted them
these boons, the princes chanted hymns to Her and then She instantly
vanished. The very energetic princes acquired in that birth excellent
kingdoms and abundance of wealth. They all had sons and thus established
their families, and became the Lords of Manvantara in their next births. By
the Grace of the Devī, the first of the princes Karusa became the Ninth
Manu, the exceedingly powerful Daksa Sāvarni; the second prince Prisadhra
became the Tenth Manu, named Meru Sāvarni; the third prince, the highly
enthusiastic Nābhāga became the Eleventh Manu, named Sūrya Sāvarni; the
fourth prince Dista became the Twelfth Manu, named Chandra Sāvarni; the
powerful fifth prince S'aryāti became the Thirteenth Manu named Rudra
Sāvarni and the sixth prince Tris'anku became the Fourteenth Manu named
Visnu Sāvarni and became the celebrated Lord of the world.
33-41. Nārada questioned :-- O Wise One! Who is that Bhrāmari Devī? What is
Her Nature? What for She takes birth? Kindly describe all this beautiful and
pain destroying anecdotes to me. I am not satiated with the drinking of the
nectar of the Glories of the Devī; my desire to hear further more is as
strong as ever. As the drink of the nectar takes away death, so the drink of
this anecdote of the Devī takes away the fear of death. Nārāyana said :-- O
Nārada! I will now narrate the wonderful glories of that unthinkable,
unmanifested World Mother, leading to Mukti. Hear, as a Mother behaves
towards Her child kindly and without any hypocrisy, so the World Mother in
all Her lives manifests Her merciful sincere dealings for the welfare of the
humanity. In days gone by, in the nether regions, in the city of the Daityas,
there lived a powerful Daitya named Aruna. He was a furious Deva Hater and a
pākkā hyprocrite. With a view to conquer the Devas, he went to the banks of
the Ganges in the Himālayās, practised a very bard Tapasyā, to Brahmā,
taking Him to be the Protector of the Daityas. First influenced by Tamo
Guna, he withheld in his body the five Vāyus and partook only the dry leaves
and repeated, the Gāyatrī Mantra and practised austerities. Thus he
practised for full ten thousand years. Then for another ten thousand years
the Daitya lived drinking some drops of water only; then for another ten
thousand years he remained by inhaling air only; and then for another ten
thousand years he did not take any thing and thus practised he his wonderful
Tapasyā.
42-49. Thus practising his Tapasyā a sort of wonderful halo of light emitted
from his body and began to burn the whole world. This thing then appeared a
great wonder. All the Devas then exclaimed. Oh! What is this! Oh! What is
this! And they trembled. All were very much terrified and took refuge of
Brahmā. Hearing all the news from the Devas, the four-faced Bhagavān rode on
His vehicle, the Swan, and with the Gāyatrī went very gladly to where the
Daitya was practising his austerities and saw that the Daitya was immersed
in meditation with his eyes closed; and he looked, as it were, blazing with
fire, as if a second Fire himself. His belly had become dried up, body
withered and the nerves of the bodies, too, became almost visible; only the
life breath was lingering there. Brahmā then spoke to him :-- O Child!
Auspices to you! Now ask the boon that you desire. Hearing these gladdening
nectar-like words from the mouth of Brahmā, Aruna, the chief of the Daityas
opened his eyes and saw Brahmā in his front. Seeing Brahmā before him with a
rosary of beads and Kāmandalu in his hand and attended by Gāyatrī and the
four Vedas, muttering the name of the Eternal Brahmā, the Daitya rose up and
bowed down to Him and sang to Him various Stotras.
50-59. Then the intelligent Daitya asked from Brahmā the following boon that
I shall not die. Grant this. Brahmā then gently explained to him :-- O
Best of the Dānavas! See that Brahmā, Visnu, Mahes'vara and others are not
free from this limitation of death! What to speak then for others! I cannot
grant you a boon that is an impossibility. Ask what is possible and just.
The intelligent persons never show an eagerness to an impossibility.
Hearing the above words of Brahmā, Aruna again said with devotion :-- O
Deva! If Thou art unwilling to grant me the above boon, then, O Lord! Grant
me such a boon, as is practicable, that my death shall not be caused by any
war, nor by any arms or weapons, nor by any man or any woman, by any biped
or quadruped or any combination of two and grant me such a boon, such a
large army as I can conquer the Devas. Hearing the words of the Daitya,
Brahmā said Let that be so and went back instantly to His own abode. Then,
puffed up with that boon, the Daitya Aruna called on all the other Daityas
that lived in the nether regions. The Daityas, that were under his shelter,
came and saluted him, as their king and, by his command, they sent
messengers to the Heavens to fight with the Devas. Hearing from the
messenger that the Daityas were willing to fight with the Devas, Indra
trembled with fear and went instantly with the Devas to the abode of Brahmā.
Taking Brahmā, too, along with them from there, they went to the Visnu Loka
and took Visnu with them and all went to the Siva Loka.
60-70. There they all held a conference how to kill the Daitya, the enemy of
the Gods. While, on the other hand, Aruna, the king of the Daityas
surrounded by his army, went ere long to the Heavens.
O Muni! The Daitya, then, through the power of his Tapas, assumed various
forms and seized the rights and possessions of the Moon, the Sun, Yama, Agni
and all the othars. All the Devas, then, dislodged from their stations went
to the region of Kailas'a and represented to Sankara about their own
troubles and dangers respectively. Then, what was to be done on this
subject, on this, great discussions cropped up. When Brahmā said, that the
death of the Daitya would not ensue from any fight, with any arms or
weapons, from any man or woman, biped, quadruped or from any combination of
the above two. Then the Devas became all anxious and could not find out any
solution at that instant, when the Incorporeal Voice was clearly heard in
the Heavens :-- Let you all worship the Queen of the Universe. She will
carry out your work to success. If the king of the Daityas, always engaged
in muttering the Gāyatrī, forsakes the Gāyatrī any how, then his death will
occur. Hearing this gladdening Celestial Voice, the Devas held the council
with great caution. When it was settled what ought to be done, Indra asked
Brihaspati and said :-- O Guru Deva! You would better go to the Daitya for
the carrying out of the Devas' ends and do so that he forsakes the Devī
Gāyatrī Paramesvarī. We will all now go and meditate on Her. When She will
be pleased, She will help us.
71-77. Thus commanding Brihaspati and thinking that the beautiful
Protectress of Jāmbū Nada would protect them the Devas all started to
worship Her and, going there, began the Devī Yajńa and with great devotion
muttered the Māyā Vīja and practised asceticism. On the other hand,
Brihaspati went ere long in the garb of a Muni to the Daitya Aruna. The king
of the Daityas then asked him :-- O Best of Munis! Whence and why have you
come here. Say, O Muni! Where have you come? I am not one of your party.
Rather I am your enemy. Hearing the above words, Brihaspati said :-- When
you are worshipping incessantly the Devī whom we too worship, then say how
you are not a one on our side! O Saint! The vicious Daitya, hearing the
above words and deluded by the Māyā of the Devas, forsook the Gāyatrī Mantra
out of vanity and therefore he became weak, bereft of the Holy Fire.
78-85. Then Brihaspati, having succeeded in his work there, went to the
Heavens and saw Indra and told him everything in detail. The Devas became
satisfied and worshipped the Highest Deity. O Muni! Thus, a long interval
passed, when one day the World Mother, the Auspicious Devī appeared before
them. She was resplendent with the brilliance of ten million suns and looked
beautiful like ten millions of Kandarpas (Gods of love). Her body was
anointed with variegated colours, etc.; She wore a pair of clothings; a
wonderful garland suspended from Her neck; Her body was decked with various
ornaments and in the fists of Her hands there were wonderful rows of hornets
( large black bees). Her one hand was ready to grant boons and Her other
hand was ready to hold out no fear. On the neck of Bhagavatī, the Ocean of
Mercy, and peaceful, were seen the variegated garlands with large black bees
all round. Those male and female bees singing incessantly all round Her the
Hrīmkāra Mantra (the First Vibration of Force), kotis of black bees
surrounded Her. The All-auspicious Bhagavatī, praised by all the Vedas, Who
is all in all, composed of all, Who is all good, the Mother of all,
Omniscient, the Protectress of all, was adorned fully with dress.
86-96. Seeing suddenly the Devī, in their front Brahmā and the other Devas
became surprised and by and by they got relieved and gladly began to chant
hymns of praise to Bhagavatī, Whose Glories have been written in the Vedas.
The Devas said :-- O Devī! Obeisance to Thee! Thou art the Highest
Knowledge and the Creatrix, Preservrix and the Destructrix of the Universe.
O Thou, the Lotus-eyed! Thou art the Refuge of all! So we bow down to Thee.
O Devī! Thou art collectively and individually Vis'va, Taijasa, Prājńa,
Virāt and Sūtrātmā. O Bhagavatī. Thou art differentiated and
undifferentiated; Thou art the Kūtastha Chaitanya (the Unmoveable,
Unchangeable Consciousness). So we bow down to Thee. O Durge! Thou art
unconcerned with the creation, preservation and destruction; yet Thou
punishest the wicked and art easily available by the sincere devotion of Thy
Bhaktas. O Devī! Thou scorchest and destroyest the ignorance and sin of the
embodied souls. Hence Thou art named Bhargā. So we bow down to Thee. O
Mother! Thou art Kālikā, Nīla Sarasvatī, Ugra Tārā, Mahogrā; Thou assumest
many other forms. So we always bow down to Thee. O Devī! Thou art Tripura
Sundarī, Bhairabī, Mātangī, Dhūmāvatī, Chhinnamastā, S'ākambharī and Rakta
Dantikā. Obeisance to Thee! O Bhagavatī! It is Thou that didst appear as
Laksmī out of the milk ocean (Ksīra Samudra). Thou hadst destroyed
Vritrāsura, Chanda, Munda, Dhūmralochana, Rakta Bīja, Sumbha, Nis'umbha and
the Exterminator of the Dānavas and thus, Thou didst do great favours to the
Devas. So, O Gracious Countenanced! Thou art Vījayā and Gangā; O Sārade! We
bow down to Thee. O Devī! Thou art the earth, fire, Prāna and other Vāyus
and other substances. O Merciful! Thou art of the form of this Universe; the
Deva form, and the Moon, Sun and other Luminous forms and of the Knowledge
Form.
97-109. O Devī! Thou art Sāvitrī; Thou art Gāyatrī; Thou art Sarasvatī; Thou
art Svadhā, Svāhā, and Daksinā. So we bow down to Thee. Thou art, in the
Vedas, the Āgamas, Not this, not this. Thou art what is left after the
negation of all this. This all the Vedas declare of Thy True Nature thus as
the Absolute Consciousness in all. Thus Thou art the Highest Deity. So we
worship Thee. As Thou art surrounded by large black bees, Thou art named
Bhrāmarī. We always make obeisance to Thee! Obeisance to Thee! Obeisance to
Thy sides! Obeisance to Thy back! Obeisance to Thy front! O Mother!
Obeisance to Thy above! Obeisance to Thy below! Obeisance to everywhere
round of Thee! O Thou, the Dweller in Manī Dvīpa! O Mahā Devī! Thou art the
Guide of the innumerable Brahmāndas! O World Mother! Let Thou be merciful to
us. O Devī! Thou art higher than the highest. O World Mother! Victory be to
Thee! All Hail! O Goddess of the universe! Thou art the Best in the whole
universe; Victory to Thee! O Lady of the world! Thou art the mine of all the
gems of qualities. O Parames'varī! O World Mother! Let Thou be pleased unto
us. Nārāyana said :-- Hearing those sweet, ready and confident words of the
Devas, the World Mother said in the sweet tone of a Mad Cuckoo:-- O Devas!
As far as granting boons to others is concerned, I am ever ready. I am
always pleased with you. So, O Devas! Say what you want. Hearing the words
of the Devī, the Devas began to express the cause of their sorrows. They
informed Her of the wicked nature of the vicious Daitya, the neglect of the
Devas, the Brahmānas and the Vedas and the ruins thereof, and the
dispossession of the Devas of their abodes and the receiving by the Daitya
of the boon from Brahmā; in fact, everything what they had to say, duly and
vigorously. Then the Bhagavatī Bhrāmarī Devī sent out all sorts of black
bees, hornets, etc., from Her sides, front and forepart.
110-120. Innumerable lines of black bees then were generated and they joined
themselves with those that got out of the Devī's hands and thus they covered
the whole earth. Thus countless bees began to emit from all sides like
locusts. The sky was overcast with the bees; and the earth was covered with
darkness. The sky, mountain peaks, trees, forests all became filled with
bees and the spectacle presented a grand dismal sight. Then the black bees
began to tear asunder the breasts of the Daityas as the bees bite those who
destroy their beehives. Thus the Daityas could not use their weapons nor
could they fight nor exchange any words. Nothing they could do; they had no
help but to die. The Daityas remained in the same state where they were and
in that state they wondered and died. No one could talk with another. Thus
the principal Daityas died within an instant. Thus completing their
destruction, the bees came back to the Devī. All the people then spoke to
one another Oh! What a wonder! Oh! What a wonder! Or like this :-- Whose
Māyā is this! What a wonder that She will do like this! Thus Brahmā, Visnu
and Mahes'a became merged in the ocean of joy and worshipped the Devī
Bhagavatī with various offerings and shoutings of chants Victory to the
Devī and showered flowers all around. The Munis began to recite the Vedas.
The Gandharbas began to sing.
121-127. The various musical instruments, Mridangas, Murajas, the Indian
lutes, Dhakkās, Damarus, S'ankhas, bells, etc., all sounded and the three
worlds were filled with their echoes. All with folded palms chanted various
hymns of praise to the Devī and said O Mother! Īsānī! Victory to Thee! The
Mahā Devī became glad and gave to each separate boons and when they asked
for unshakeable devotion to Thy lotus feet, She granted them that also and
disappeared before them. Thus I have described to you the glorious character
of the Bhrāmārī Devī. If anybody hears this very wonderful anecdote, he
crosses at once this ocean of the world. Along with the glories and
greatness of the Devī, if one hears the accounts of Manus, then all
auspiciousness comes to him. He who hears or recites daily this Greatness of
the Devī, becomes freed from all his sins and he gets himself absorbed in
the thoughts of the Devī (Sājuya). Note :-- The Mantra is here not merely
the Seed, the Spiritual Password, but it connotes, besides the idea of the
password, the Ādi First vibration and it exhibits the First Spiritual Form,
endowed with the highest feelings of Faith, Wisdom, Bliss and Joy, displayed
with the grandest colours, startling thrills, rapt enchanting signs,
gestures, and postures, the shooting forth of all powers, the sources of
Siddhis, that cannot be ordinarily conceived in the worldly concerns. Their
faint echoes govern this mighty world. The Mantras are seated in the six
chakras or plexuses or the six Laya centres in the spinal cord. Within these
chakras, the transformations of the Tattvas take place. Some vanish. Some
appear and so on. Remark :-- In this chapter we find clearly the mention of
the several names of the ten Das'a Mahā Vidyās.
Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter of the Tenth Book of the account of
Bhrāmarī Devī in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses
by Mahārsi Veda Vyāsa and here ends as well the Tenth Book.
The Tenth Book completed.
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