On the superiority of Rudra over Visnu [ p. 353 ] 1-5. The Risis said :— “The great legendary story, the life of S’rî Krisna, supremely divine, destructive of all sins, has been narrated by you, O Sûta! But, O Blessed One! You, though highly intelligent, have dwelt on it not at a great length; hence many doubts are cropping up in our minds. A very difficult tapasyâ was performed by Vâsudeva the part incarnate of Visnu, who had to go to forest to worship S’iva. Next, it has been known that the Devî Pârvatî, the part incarnate of the Great Mother, the Mother of the universe, the Supreme, and Perfect offered boons to S’rî Krisna. How did it then come to pass that S’rî Krisna, being himself the God, had to worship Pârvatî and Mahâdeva? Is it that S’rî Krisna was inferior to Mahâdeva and Pârvatî? This is our doubt.”
6-7. Sûta spoke :— “Hear then, the reasons, O noble Risis! that I heard from Vyâsa; I will now sing before you those meritorious deeds S’rî Krisnâ.” The son of Parîksit, the intelligent Janamejaya had also the same doubts that you now have, when he heard the story before from Vyâsa; and he asked the same questions that you now ask.”
8-11. Janamejaya said :— “O son of Bhagavatî! I have heard from you much about the Supreme Goddess, the Highest Cause; still the doubts are not leaving me. O Fortunate One! Krisna the Deva of the Devas, the Visnu incarnate, worshipped Sambhû and had to perform dire penances; this is my great wonder! He is the soul of all the Jîvas, the One Ruler and Lord of this world and He is able to confer all the Siddhis; how is it, then, that the Lord Hari had to perform very difficult asceticism like an ordinary mortal. He who is able to create this universe, moving and non-moving, He who is able to preserve and destroy it, why did He practise such a terrible penance.”
12-54. Vyâsa said :— “True it has been said by you that Vâsudeva the Janârdana, is the destroyer of the Daityas and He is able to create [ p. 354 ] and preserve the Devas and do all other acts for them. But the Great Lord assumed a human body; therefore he had to perform his duties like a man and observe the Varna and Âs’rama Dharmas pertaining to human beings. Respecting the elderly persons, worshipping the spiritual teachers, doing service to the Brahmânas, adoring and propitiating the Devas, feeling sorrow at times of sorrow, feeling pleasure at times of happiness, feeling dejection or expressing censure or scandal, or having sexual intercourse with women, in other words, to feel lust, anger, greediness and other passions when their proper time arises. All these are natural to all human beings; how can, then, S’rî Krisna though intrinsically of pure qualities, become Nirguna (devoid of human qualities) when he assumed a human body which is Saguna, i.e., with qualities. O Ruler of men! The extinction of the Yâdava race by the curse of Gândhârî, the daughter of Subala, and the curse of a Brâhmin, Krisna’s leaving his human coil, the stealing away of his wives, the robbing of their wealth on the way by the dacoits of the Âvîra tribe, Arjuna’s becoming powerless to hurl any weapons on those dacoits, Krisna’s not knowing anything about the stealing away of Pradyumna and Aniruddha from his Dvârkâ palace, these all correspond verily to exertions and failings appropriate to human bodies. Again the Risi Nârâyana is the part incarnate of Visnu, and Vâsudeva is the part incarnate of the Risi Nârâyana; hence what wonder is there, if Vâsudeva be seen to adore and propitiate S’iva? S’iva is the God of gods; and He is the Lord of all the causal bodies that exist; in the state of Susupti (deep sleep). In this respect, S’iva is the creator of Visnu and Visnu worships Him in this light. Râma, Krisna and others are all part incarnations of Visnu; so there is no wonder if they worship S’iva. The letter A is Bhagvân Brahmâ ; the letter “U” is Bhagvân Hari; the letter “M” is Bhagvân Rudra and the half letter m is Mahes’varî, the Supreme Mother of the universe. The sages, therefore, consider Visnu superior to Brahmâ; they again consider Rudra superior to Visnu and Mâhes’varî (Turîya State) again superior to Rudra. The speciality of the half letter is that it can never be uttered; it is the symbol of the Eternal Devî. In all the S’âstras, therefore, the superiority of the Devî is established. Visnu is superior to Brahmâ; Rudra is superior to Visnu. Therefore no doubt can arise in Krisna’s worshipping S’iva. It is through the will of S’iva that a second Rudra originated from the forehead of Brahmâ to offer boons to him (i. e., to Brahmâ). This second Rudra is venerable and entitled to all worship; what to speak of the First Rudra? O King! It is through the proximity of the Devî that the importance and superiority of S’iva is thus established. Thus the incarnations of Hari arise in yugas after yugas through the intervention of the Yoga [ p. 355 ] Mâyâ; so there is no need to discuss on this point. Why to Achyuta alone, to Brahmâ and S’iva also She gives troubles for getting involved into incarnations, She the Yoga Mâyâ who is indirectly, with the twinklings of Her eyes, creating, preserving and destroying this universe. It is the Yoga Mâyâ that caused Krisna to be transferred from his lying-in chamber to the village Vraja and then protected him in the house of the cowherd Nanda; afterwards took him to Mathurâ for the destruction of Kamsa, whence he was led again out of Jarâsandha’s fear to the city Dvârkâ. It is She that created from Her Ownself the eight Nâikâs (the leading mistresses) and also sixteen thousand and fifty women for the pleasure and enjoyment of Krisna Bhagwân, the incarnation of Ananta (Visnu Bhagavân); thus Krisna Bhagavân was made completely subservient to them just like a perfect slave. When a young woman, though she is alone, can bind a man down by the network of Mâyâ, like strong iron chain, what wonder is there that the sixteen thousand and fifty women would make Krisna play in their hands like a S’uka bird and make him an instrument to serve any purpose that they liked. S’rî Krisna got himself so much under the control of Satyabhâmâ that He went gladly under her commands to Indra’s heavens to get the Pârijâta flowers. There he had to fight with Indra and subsequently stole away the Pârijâta tree and gave it to Satyabhâmâ as a very valuable ornament to be kept in her room. Behold! The same Krisna, by His own prowess, defeated S’is’upâla and others for the preservation of religion and then stole away Rukminî, the daughter of Bhîma and afterwards married her as his legal wife; where is the rule, then observed that it is a sin to take away another’s wife? Thus all embodied beings get themselves subdued by Ahamkâra and do acts, good or bad, confounded and deluded by the network of Moha that always drags one down below. From the Mûlâ Prakriti are born Brahmâ, Visnu, and Hara and from the Tâmasic Ahamkâra of Prakriti is created this whole cosmos, moving and non-moving. The lotus-born Brahmâ becomes free when he is free from Ahamkâra; otherwise He becomes engaged in this world affairs. When freed from this Ahamkâra, all the Jîvas become free; and their houses, wealth, wives, sons and brothers are quite powerless to tie them down; but when bound by Ahamkâra, the Jîvas come under their control. O king! This Ahamkâra is the cause bondage to all the beings; “I am the doer, this work is done by my power; or this I will do myself” thinking thus, the embodied beings fall themselves under this bondage. An earthen pot cannot be made without earth; no effects can be visible without a cause; consequently Visnu is preserving this universe, because of this Ahamkâra (imposed on [ p. 356 ] him by Prakriti). The human beings are always drowned in their cares and anxieties simply because they are bound by this Ahamkâra; when they become free from this Ahamkâra, their cares and anxieties at once vanish. Moha (delusion) comes out of Ahamkâra; world and the enjoyments thereof come out of Moha; otherwise how can it be accounted for, that Hari and others, the mine of all good and auspiciousness, take their several incarnations in various wombs? Neither Moha nor this world comes to those that are bereft of Ahamkâra. Men are of three kinds, Sâttvic, Râjasic, and Tâmasic; O king! Brahmâ, Visnu and S’iva are sprung respectively from the Râjasic, Sâttvic, and Tâmasic Ahamkâras. In these three, the three Ahamkâras are always to be found, so the Munis, that have realised the Real Essence, declare. They are all bound by this Ahamkâra; there is no doubt in this. The Pundits of dull intellect, and deluded by Mâyâ declare that Visnu takes various incarnations out of his own free will; for when it is seen that men of even inferior intellects do not entertain any desire to enter into the wombs, painful and terrible; how will Visnu, then, the Holder of the discus, like to come into this womb! The slayer of Madhu, the Vaisnavas say, entered all at once into the wombs of Kaus’alyâ and Devakî, full of faeces and other dirty things, of His own free will. But you must think out what happiness can Madhusûdana, quitting his Vaikuntha Heavens, attain in this womb, full of so many troubles, and where arise, like poisons, hundreds of cares and thoughts to torment an individual! Especially when it is seen that human beings perform asceticism, sacrifice Yajñas and do various charities, that they would avoid thus entering in wombs, which is very painful and terrible. How can Bhagavân Visnu be called independent? If so, He would never have yielded to enter into various wombs. Therefore, O king! Know this that this whole universe is under the control of Yoga Mâyâ; the Devas, men, birds, what more everything from Brahmâ down to a blade of grass are all under the control of Yoga Mâyâ. Brahmâ, Visnu and Hara all are bound by the rope of Her Mâyâ. So they roam easily by Her Mâyâ from womb to womb like a spider.
Here ends the First Chapter of the Fifth Book on the superiority of Rûdra over Visnu in the Mahâ Purânam of S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa, consisting of eighteen thousand verses.
On the birth of Dânava Mahisa [ p. 357 ] 1-2. The king said :— “Lord! You have described fully the glory of the Mahâ Mayâ Yoges’varî; now describe Her Life and Character; I am very eager to hear them. This whole universe, moving and nonmoving, has been created by Mahes’varî; who is there that desires not to hear Her Glory!”
3-7. Vyâsa spoke :— O king! You are very intelligent; I will describe in detail all this to you; whoever does not describe Her Glory to the peaceful and faithful, is certainly low-minded? In days of yore, a terrible battle ensued between the Devas and Dânava forces on this earth when Mahisâsura was the Ruler of this world. O king! Mahisâsura went to the mountain of Sumeru and performed a very severe and excellent tapasyâ, wonderful even to the gods. O king! Meditating on his Ista Devatâ (the deity for his worship) in his heart, elapsed full ten thousand years, when Brahmâ the Grandfather of all the Lokas, was pleased with him. The fourfaced Brahmâ, arrived there on his vehicle the swan, asked Mahisâsura “O One of virtuous soul! Ask from me what is your desired object; I will grant thee boon.”
8. Mahisa said :— “O Lord, Lotus-eyed! I want to become immortal! therefore O Thou, the Grandfather of the Devas! Dost thou do for me so that I have no fear of death.”
9-11. Brahmâ said :— “O Mahisa! Birth must be followed by death, and death must be followed by birth; this is the eternal law of nature. Then know this as certain that when one is born, one must die; and when one dies, one will be born. O Lord of the Dânavas! What more to say than this, that high mountains, vast oceans, and all the beings will die when time will come. O Ruler of the earth! You are virtuous; therefore ask any other boon than this immortality; I will grant that to you.”
12-13. Mahisa said :— “O Grand Sire! Grant, then, that no Deva, Dânava, nor human being of the male sex can cause my death. There is none among women who can cause my death. Therefore, O Lotus-eyed! Let woman be the cause of my death; how can women slay me! The are too weak to kill me!”
14. Brahmâ said :— “O Lord of the Dânavas! Your death will certainly occur, at any time, through a woman; O Highly Fortunate One! No man will be able to cause your death.” [ p. 358 ] 15. Vyâsa said :— Thus granting him the boon, Brahmâ went to his own abode; the lord of the Dânavas, too, returned to his place, very glad.
16. The king said :— “O Bhagavân! Whose son was this powerful Mahisâsura; how his birth took place? and why, too, did he get a body of a buffalo?”
17-26. Vyâsa said :— O king! Rambha and Karambha were the two sons of Danu; these two Dânavas were far famed in this world for their pre-eminence. O king! They had no issues; hence, desirous of issues, they went to the sacred banks of the Indus (Pañcha Nada) and there performed severe asceticism for long years. Karambha got himself submerged in water and thus began his severe tapasyâ; while the other, Rambha, had recourse to a juicy peepul tree (haunted by Yakshinîs) and there began to worship Fire. Rambha remained, engaged in worshipping the Five Fires; knowing this, Indra, the Lord of S’achî, was pained and hurried thither, being very anxious. Going to Pañcha Nada, Indra assumed the form of a crocodile and caught hold of the legs of the wicked Karambha and killed him. Hearing of the death of his brother, Rambha got very much enraged and wishing to offer his own head as an oblation to the Fire, he wanted to cut off his own head; he, being infuriated, held the hairs of his head by his left hand, and, catching hold of a good axe, by his right hand, was on the point of cutting it, when the Fire gave him knowledge, desisted him from this act and spoke thus :— You are stupid; why have you desired to cut off your own head; killing one’s ownself is a great sin; and there is no means of deliverance from this sin. Why are you then ready to execute it? Do not seek your death now; what end will that serve you? Rather ask boons from me; thus you will get your welfare.
27-31. Vyâsa said :— O king! Hearing thus the sweet words of Fire, Rambha quitted the hold of his hairs and said :— O Lord of the Devas! If thou art pleased, grant my desired boon that a son be born unto me, who will destroy the forces of my enemy and who will conquer the three worlds. And that son be invincible in every way by the Devas, Dânavas and men, very powerful, assuming forms at will, and respected by all. The Fire said :— O highly Fortunate! You will get your son, as you desire; therefore desist now from your attempting suicide. O highly fortunate Rambha! With any female of whichever species, you will co-habit, you will get a son, more powerful than you; there is no doubt in this. [ p. 359 ] 32-50. Vyâsa said :— O king! Hearing thus the sweet words of the Fire as desired, Rambha, the chief of the Dânavas, went, surrounded by Yaksas, to a beautiful place, adorned with picturesque sceneries; when one lovely she-buffalo, who was very maddened with passion, fell to the sight of Rambha. And he desired to have sexual intercourse with her, in preference to other women. The she-buffallo, too, gladly yielded to his purpose and Rambha had sexual intercourse with her, impelled as it were by the destiny. The she-buffalo became pregnant with his semen virile. The Dânava, too, carried the she-buffalo, his dear wife, to Pâtâla (the lower regions) for her protection. On one occasion, another buffalo got excited and wanted to fall upon the she-buffalo. The Dânava was also ready to kill him. The Dânava came hurriedly and struck the buffalo for the safety of his wife; whereon the excited buffalo attacked him with his horns. The buffalo struck him so violently with his sharp horns that Rambha fell down senseless all on a sudden and finally died. Seeing her husband dead, the she-buffalo quickly fled away in distress and, with terror, she quickly went to the peepul tree and took refuge under the Yaksas. But that buffalo, excited very much and maddened with vigour, ran in pursuit of her, desiring intercourse with her. On seeing the miserable plight of the weeping she-buffalo, distressed with fear, and seeing the buffalo in pursuit of her, the Yaksas assembled to protect her. A terrible fight ensued between the buffalo and the Yaksas, when the buffalo, shot with arrows by them, fell down and died. Rambha was very much liked by the Yaksas; so they cremated his dead body for its purification. The she-buffalo, seeing her husband laid in the funeral pyre, expressed her desire to enter also into that fire. The Yaksas resisted; but that chaste wife quickly entered into the burning fire along with her husband. When the she-buffalo died, the powerful Mahisa rose from his mother’s womb from the midst of the funeral pyre; Rambha, too, emerged from the fire in another form out of his affection towards his son. Rambha was known as Raktavîja after he had changed his form. His son was thus born as a very powerful Dânava and became famous by the name of Mahisa. The chief Dânavas installed Mahisa on the throne. O king! The very powerful Raktavîja and the Dânava Mahisa, thus took their births and became invincible of the Devas, Dânavas and human beings. O king! I have now described to you the birth of the highsouled Dânava Mahisa and his getting the boon, all in detail.
Here ends the Second Chapter of the Fifth Book on the birth of Mahisa Dânava in the Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam composed of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the Daitya armies getting ready [ p. 360 ] 1-14. Vyâsa said :— The very powerful Asura Mahisa, puffed up with vanity on his getting the boon, obtained sovereignty and brought the whole world under his control! He, being the paramount power, began to protect the sea-girt earth acquired by the power of his own arms, over which he had the sole sovereignty, there being no other rival king nor any cause of the slightest fear. His Commander-in-Chief was then the very powerful Chiksura, maddened with pride; and Tâmra was in charge of the Royal Treasury, guarded by many soldiers. There were, then, many generals Asilomâ, Vidâla, Udarka, Vâskala, Trinetra, Kâla, Bandhaka and others, very proud, and each in charge of his own corps respectively and occupying this sea-girt earth. O king! The powerful kings that reigned before were made subservient and tributary; and those, that fought valiantly befitting the Ksattriya line, were slain by Mahisa. The Brâhmanas over the earth became subservient to Mahisa and gave their Yajña offerings to him. When that Mahisâsura got the sole sovereign sway of this world, he, proud of his boons, desired to conquer the Heavens. Then Mahisa, the Lord of the Daityas, desirous to send an envoy to Indra, the Lord of S’achî, instantly called for the messenger and spoke to him thus :— Go, O hero! O valiant one! to Heaven. Act as my messenger and tell Indra fearlessly thus :— “O thousand-eyed one! Quit the Heavens; go anywhere you like, or offer your service to the high-souled Mahisa! He is the lord; and if you take refuge unto him, he will certainly protect you. Therefore, O Lord of S’achî, better seek the protection of Mahisa. If, O Balasûdana! Not willing, wield your Vajra at once; we know your powers; you were, in days of yore, conquered by our ancestors. O chief of the Sûras! You are the paramour of Ahalyâ; your strength is well known, give battle or go anywhere you like.”
15-21. Vyâsa said :— Hearing the messenger’s words, Indra became very indignant and laughed and said :— I did not know, O you stupid, that you were maddened with vanity; I will shortly give medicines for your master’s disease. Now I will extirpate him by the roots; wise persons do not slay messengers; I therefore let you go. Better go and tell him what I say :— “Son of a buffalo! If you are willing to fight, better come and do not delay. O Enemy of horse! (Buffaloes and horses are always at war with each other) Your strength is well known to me; you are a grass eater and your appearance is stupid, idiotic; out of your horns I will make a good bow. You depend on your horns for your strength; [ p. 361 ] that I well know. You are clever in striking with your horns; you don’t know anything about warfare; therefore I will out off your both the weapons and render you powerless. You are very much puffed up with vanity due to that.”
22. Vyâsa said :— Indra having spoken thus, the messenger quickly returned to his haughty master Mahisa and saluting, spoke :—
23-28. The messenger said :— Indra counts you not even a fig, as he is surrounded by his Deva forces and considers himself quite sufficient. It ought one’s servant to speak true and pleasant before one’s master; how can I utter the words before my master, that are spoken by that brute Indra. Whereas the well known maxim reigns in my mind withal that I am your well-wishing servant and I ought to speak truth before you, my master, and that truth is to be pleasant to hear also. If pleasant words I speak only, then I fail in my duty; at the same time, harsh words ought not to be spoken by me, your sincere well-wisher. My Lord! The cruel poison-like words that come from the mouth of an enemy, how can I, a servant of yours, utter those harsh sayings! O Lord of the Earth! I will never be able to utter those rude sayings that Indra has spoken.
29-53. Vyâsa said :— Hearing the messenger’s words full of meaning the grass-eater Mahisa Dânava got very angry and, waggling his tail behind his back, passed urine; then his eyes reddened with anger, he called the Dânavas before him and said :—O Dânavas! The Lord of the Devas is firmly resolved on battle; therefore collect your forces; we will have to conquer that devil, the chief of the Sûras. Who can stand for him a my rival here! If hundreds and thousands of warriors like Indra come I do not fear any of them at all; O Dânavas, we will thoroughly put a end to him. His heroism is before those only that are peaceful and quiet before the ascetics that have become lean and thin by the penances; he is licentious and can only seduce other’s wives by craftiness and arts. He is a thorough rogue and hypocrite, vicious and faultfinding; otherwise why does he put obstacles before others, depending for his strength only on the beauties of the Apsarâs or heavenly prostitutes. He is treacherous to his very core; therefore he, being afraid at the very outset, took oaths, and entered into agreement with the high-souled Namuchi; afterwards, when his time turned favourable, that villain broke his treaty and treacherously killed him. Again the powerful Visnu is a thorough master of treachery and hypocrisy, the mine in taking oaths and can only show his vanity and is expert in that. He can assume many forms at will by his Magic power. For these very reasons Visnu had to take the form of a boar and [ p. 362 ] kill Hiranyâksa; and again he had to take up a man-lion form to kill Hiranya Kas’îpu. O Dânavas! Never shall I surrender myself to Visnu, for I never place my trust in the words or deeds of Visnu and his Devas. What can Indra or Visnu do against me, when the most powerful Rudra is not able to fight against me in the battle-field! I will instantly defeat Indra, Varuna, Yama, Kuvera, Fire, Sun and Moon and get possession of their Heavens. On our conquering the Devas, we all shall get our share of Yajñas and we along with other Dânavas drink the Soma juice and enjoy ourselves in Heaven. O Dânavas! I have got the boon; what do I now care for the Devas. My death is not from men too. What can a woman do to me? O my emissaries! Call without any delay the chief Dânavas from the nether regions and the mountains and make them my generals? O Dânavas! I can alone conquer all the Devas; only to make the war arrangements look nice, that I am taking you to defeat them. There is no fear of mine from the Devas, consequent on the boon conferred on me. I will kill them by my hoofs and horns. I am not to be killed by Suras, Asuras, as men; therefore get yourselves ready to conquer the Devas. O Dânavas! After conquering the Heavens we will be garlanded with Pârijâta wreaths and we will enjoy the Deva women in the Nandana Garden. We will drink the milk of the heavenly milching cow (the cow that yields all desires) and, intoxicated with the heavenly drinks, we will hear and see the music and singing the dancing of the Gandarbhas there. You will all be served there with various bottles of wine by Urvasî, Menakâ, Rambhâ, Ghritâchî, Tillottamâ, Pramadvarâ Mahâsenâ, Mira Kesî, Madotkatâ, Viprachitti and others. Then be all ready at once for this auspicious occasion to march to Heavens and fight there with the Suras. And be pleased to call that pure-souled Muni S’ukrâchârya, the son of Bhrigu and the Guru of the Daityas and worship him and tell him to perform sacrificial ceremonies for the safety and victory of the Dânavas. O king! Thus, ordering the chief Dânavas, the wicked Mahisa went to his abode, with gladness.
Here ends the Third Chapter of the Fifth Book on the Daitya armies getting ready in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam by Maharsi Vedavyâsa of 18,000 verses.
On the war counsels given by Indra [ p. 363 ] 1-17. Vyâsa said :— O King! The messenger of the Dânavas having departed, Indra, the lord of the Devas, Yama, Vâyu, Varuna, and Kuvera and other Devas, called an assembly and addressed thus :— O Devas! the most powerful Mahisa, the son of Rambha, is now the king of the Dânavas; he is particularly expert in hundreds of Mâyâs (magic) and has become haughty on the strength of his boon. O Devas! Mahisa has sent his messenger; he wants to take possession of the heaven; he came down to me and spoke thus :— “O Indra! Quit your this heaven and go any where you like, or be ready to pay your homage to the highsouled Mahisâsura, the Lord of the Dânavas. The Dânava Chief never becomes angry with his opponent who becomes submissive like a servant; if you surrender and serve him, he will, out of mercy, grant an allowance to you. O Lord of the Devas! If this does not like you, then collect your forces and be ready for fight; no sooner I return, the Lord of the Dânavas will come here at once ready to give battle to you.” Thus saying, the messenger of that wicked Dânava departed. Now what are we to do? O Devas! Think on that. O Devas! Even a weak enemy is not to be overlooked by a powerful opponent, especially when the enemy is powerful by his own powers and is ever energetic, never is he to be overlooked. It is always incumbent on us to make our efforts, as best as we can, both by our body and mind as far as lies in our power; the result, victory or defeat depends entirely on Fate. It is useless to make treaty with a deceitful and dishonest person; we therefore never should make treaty with this person; you are all honest; that Dânava is dishonest; therefore ponder and ponder deeply and ponder again; do you that which is proper. It is not advisable to go out at once for fight when we are unaware of our enemy’s strength; let us therefore send spies truthful, honest, motiveless, quick, to ascertain their strength, those who can easily enter amongst our enemies and yet who have no relation, nor any interest with them. The arrangements of their forces, their movements, their numbers, they will ascertain correctly who are their generals, what is their number and what is their strength, they will thoroughly examine and return here quickly. First, we will ascertain the strength of the forces of our opposite party and then we will decide at once whether we will start for battle or seek protection within forts. Wise persons always consider before they act; any act done rashly leads in all respects to many troubles, and anything done after mature [ p. 364 ] prejudgments leads to happiness; so the wise do. The Dânavas are all one in their heart and mind; therefore it is not advisable, in any way to apply the principle of Bheda (sowing principles of discord). Let our spies go there, ascertain their strength, return and inform us; we will then judge what principle is proper and apply to the expert Dânavas. Any act done contrary to policy and expediency will undoubtedly produce effects contrary in every way just like a medicine which we have not tried already.
18-22. Vyâsa said :— O King! Thus counselling with the Devas; Indra sent expert spies to ascertain the true state of affairs. The spies, too, went into the abode of the Daityas, with no delay and made their searches thoroughly into every nook and corner and returned and told Indra all the strength of the Dânava forces. Indra was very much startled to know, then, of their arrangements. He immediately bade all the Devas be ready for battle and called for his High priest Brihaspati, expert in giving advices and began to consult with him how to carry on the warfare with that indomitable enemy, the Lord of the Asuras. On Bhihaspati, the best and famous of the Angirâ family, taking his excellent seat.
23-25. Indra thus said :— “O Guru of the Devas! O Learned! Please say what are we to do now in this critical juncture? You are omniscient; to-day you are our guide. The Demon Mahîsa has become very powerful, very haughty; surrounded by Dânavas he is now coming to fight with us. You are expert in mantras; find out the remedy for us. S’ukrâchârya is the remover of all obstacles on their side; and that you are our safe guard is well known to us.”
26. Vyâsa said :— Hearing these words of Indra, Brihaspati, who is always ready to effect the Deva’s purposes, thought intently on the subject, said very shortly thus :—
27-51. Brihaspati spoke :— O Lord of the Devas! O Venerable One! Be peaceful; have patience; when a difficulty comes, one should not, all on a sudden, lose one’s patience. O Chief of the Immortals! Victory or defeat is completely under the control of destiny: therefore intelligent ones should always be patient. O S’atakratu! What will unavoidably be done must come to pass; knowing this as certain, one would always be an enthusiast and exert one’s powers. Everything is guided by Fate. Knowing this, the Munis devote themselves at all times solely filled with energy in their meditation and Yoga practices for their final liberation. Therefore, to show one’s energy, according to the rules of the daily [ p. 365 ] practices, ought to be indispensably done; and one should not repel or feel pleasure on failure or success; for that is under Fate. Success sometimes comes without the exercise of one’s own powers, as seen in cases of the lame and the blind; and that is not the reason why one should be very glad. The embodied beings are all under Daiva (Fate); therefore even if success be not attained, though one’s own powers are exercised thoroughly, no one is to blame for that. O Lord of the Suras! What to say of forces, Mantras, or advices, what of chariots or weapons, nothing to lead to success; It is Daiva, and only Daiva that makes one successful. This whole universe is under Daiva; it is, therefore, that we see powerful persons suffering pains, and weak ones getting happiness; the intelligent ones sleeping without any food and fools enjoying merrily; distressed persons getting victory and powerful ones suffering defeats; what cares, then ought one to entertain in this. O Lord of the Suras! Whatever is inevitable to come to pass, be it success or failure, one will lead one’s energies to that end; therefore one needs to consider beforehand whether one’s energies will be successful or not. In times of distress, one sees distress too much and in times of pleasure, one seeks pleasure too much; one’s self, therefore one should not surrender to one’s enemies, pleasure and pain. Pain and suffering is not felt so much in patience as is felt when impatient; therefore one must practise patience when pain or pleasure comes. Indeed it is very difficult to bear oneself up in distress or happiness; therefore wise persons try not to let these feelings crop up at all from the very beginning. “I am always full, undiminishable, I am beyond these Prâkritic qualities. Who is there to suffer? What is suffering?” Thus one ought to think at that moment. I am beyond the twenty-four Tattvas; what pleasure or pain can, then, arise to me? Hunger and thirst are the Dharma of Prâna; pain and insensibility is the Dharma of mind, age and death belong to this physical body. I am free from these six diseases; I am S’iva. Grief and delusion are the qualities of this body what then do I care for them? “I” am not the qualities of the body nor “I” am the soul pertaining to that. I am beyond the seven transfigurations, changes, e. g., Mahat, etc., I am beyond this Prakriti, Nature, and beyond the sixteen changes wrought out by Prakriti; I am therefore eternally happy, I am beyond Prakriti and its transformation, then why am I to suffer pain always? O Lord of the Suras! Think on these and be without any passion. O S’atakratu! This attachment is the root of all miseries and non-attachment is the source of all happiness; non-attachment therefore, is the chief means of the extirpation of all your troubles. Lord of S’achi! Nothing can be happier than contentment. In case you find it difficult to practise dispassion, apply, then, discrimination and [ p. 366 ] think of Fate, that what comes inevitably to pass. O Lord of the Suras! Actions already done cannot die out without their effects being enjoyed. O Best of the Suras! Let all your intelligence be brought to action, let all the Devas lend their helping hands to you; what is inevitable must come to pass; what then can you care for your happiness or pain? O King! Happiness is felt for the expiation of good deeds and pain is felt for the expiation of bad deeds; therefore wise persons get thoroughly delighted when their punya ends. O King! Judge and hold a council to-day; then try your best. But what is unavoidable will come to pass, even if you try your best.
Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the counsels given by Indra in the Mâhâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the defeat of the Dânava forces of Mahisa [ p. 366 ] 1-6. Vyâsa said :— The thousand eyed Indra, hearing this, again asked to Brihaspati that he would make preparations for war against Mahisâsura. Without effort kingdoms are not attained; no - nor happiness, nor fame, nor anything; those who are weak, they extol effortlessness; but the powerful never praise that. Knowledge is the ornament of the ascetics and contentment is the ornament of the Brâhmanas; but those who desire lordship over powers, effort and prowess to destroy one’s enemies are their excellent ornaments. O Muni! I will kill this Mahisâsura by my heroism as I had, of old, destroyed Vritra, Namuchi and Balâsura. You are the Deva Guru; therefore you and my thunderbolt are my strength. The immortal Hari and Hara also will help me in this. O Guru! Preserver of my honour and prestige! Now recite the mantras calculated to remove all the obstacles towards my victory. I, too, am making preparations and raising up my own forces to wage up war against that Dânava Mahisa.
7-13. Vyâsa said :— On hearing Indra’s words, Brihaspati smiled and said “O Lord of the Devas! I see you are bent on fight. I will neither stimulate you to fight nor shall I make you desist from the purpose. The issue is doubtful. There may be defeat or there may be victory. O Lord of S’achî! You are not to blame at all in this matter; what is written in the Book of Fate will come to pass, be it victory or defeat. I am not aware of the future in this respect. O Child! You know already what an amount of suffering I had to endure in times gone by when my wife had [ p. 367 ] been stolen. O Destroyer of the enemies! My wife had been stolen by Moon who turned out my enemy; living in my stage of an householder I was put to all sort of miseries, deprived of all my happiness. O Lord of the Suras! I am renowned in all the worlds as a man of much wisdom and intelligence. Where then was my intelligence, when Moon carried away, perforce, my wife. O Lord of the Suras! To my mind, the success or failure depends entirely on destiny; yet intelligent ones should always resort to efforts and be energetic.
14-17. Vyâsa said :— O King! On hearing the words of Brihaspati, pregnant with truth, Indra went with him to Brahmâ, took his refuge and saluting him said :— O Grand Sire! The Dânava is collecting a big army, and wants to conquer and take possession of the Heavens. All the other Dânavas have enrolled themselves in the list of his army; they are eager to fight and they are all very powerful and skilled in arts of warfare. I am therefore very afraid and have come to you. You know everything; please help me in this matter.
18-20. Brahmâ said :— We all will go today to the Mount Kailâs’a and take S’ankara with us and go to Visnu. There all the Devas, assembled, will hold a council and consider the time and place, when it will be settled whether it is proper or not to fight. For one who dares to do any act without considering one’s strength and without any judgment, certainly courts his own downfall.
21-35. Vyâsa said :— O King! Hearing this, Indra with the other Lokâpalas and Devas, headed by Brahmâ, went to Kailâs’â. Then they came to S’ankara and sang vedic hymns to him. Mahes’vara became very much pleased and they taking Him went to Vaikuntha, the abode of Visnu. Indra saluted Visnu and sang hymns to him, and told him about his errand thus :— “Mahisa has become very haughty on account of the favour bestowed on him and therefore we are very afraid (and therefore ask your help to relieve us from this danger).” Visnu, then, hearing the cause of fear, told them :— “We all will fight and kill that Demon.” Vyâsa said :—O king! Thus settling the question, Brahmâ, Visnu, and Hari and Indra and the other Devas riding on their own Vâhanas (means of conveyance) respectively dispersed. While Brahmâ on his vehicle Swan, Visnu on his Garuda, S’ankara on his Bull, Indra on his elephant Airâvata, Kârtika on his peacock, and Yama, the god of death on his Vâhana, the Buffalo, were on the point of going with the other Deva forces, the army of the Dânava Mahisa met them on their way, all fully equipped with arms and weapons. A dreadful fight then ensued between the Devas and the Dânavas.
[ p. 368 ]
Arrows, axes, Prâsas, Musalas (clubs), Paras’us (pick axes), Gadâs (clubs), Pattis’as, S’ûlas (tridents), chakras (discus) S’akti (weapons), Tomaras, Mudgaras, Bhindipâlas, Lângalas, and various other deadly weapons appeared on the scenes with which they fought against one another. The Commander-in-Chief of Mahisa, the very powerful Chiksura, shot five sharp arrows at Indra. The ever-ready and light-handed Indra too, with his arrows cut off all of them and struck at his heart heavily with his Ardhachandra (half moon) arrow. The Commander-in-Chief, struck by this arrow fell senseless on the back of his elephant. Indra, then struck the trunk of the elephant with his Vajra (thunderbolt); the elephant then severely struck with the Vajra fled away into the Dânava’s forces. The Lord of the Dânavas seeing this, got very angry and addressed the general Vidâla “O Hero! You are very powerful; go then and kill first that haughty Indra; then kill Varuna and other Devas and come back to me.”
36-57. Vyâsa said :— The very powerful Asura Vidâla, on receiving the order came up at once to Indra, mounted on a very furious elephant. Seeing him coming, Vâsava shot at him angrily with very terrible and most powerful arrows that looked like deadly snakes. But the Demon, too, out off those arrows at once with his excellent arrows and quickly shot at Vâsava fifty arrows, sharpened on stones. Indra cut off all those and, being infuriated, shot again sharp deadly serpent-like arrows at him, and cutting off again all his enemies’ arrows by arrows discharged from his bow, struck the elephant’s trunk with his Gadâ (club). The elephant, being thus struck on his head, cried aloud in a distressed tone and being afraid turned back, thus killing the Dânava forces as he fled away. The general Vidâla, seeing the elephant fleeing away from the battle-field, mounted on a beautiful chariot and instantly appeared before the Devas to fight with them. Seeing the Dânava coming again on a chariot, Indra shot at him sharp arrows after arrows like venomous snakes. The powerful Dânava, too, infuriated hurled at him terrible arrows; then a sharp conflict ensued between Vâsava and the Dânava. Finding the Dânava powerful, Vâsava’s senses were confounded with anger; he then took his son Jayanta before him and began to fight. Jayanta stretched his bow tight and shot at the breast of the Dânava swelled with pride, five sharp arrows with his full strength. Thus shot at by the network of arrows, the Dânava fell unconscious on the chariot; the charioteer then fled away with his chariot from the battle-field. Thus on the Dânava Vidâla becoming unconscious and being taken away from the field, the Dunduvis (drums) of the Devas were resounded and great acclamations [ p. 369 ] of “Victory to the Devas” were heard. The Devas were very glad and sounded hymns before Indra; the Gandarbhas began to sing and the Apsarâs began to dance. O king! Hearing the loud acclamations of victory to the Devas, Mahisa became very angry and ordered the Dânava Tâmra, the destroyer of enemy’s pride, to go to the battle-field. Tâmra appeared in the battle, and, coming face to face with many Deva warriors, hurled on them showers of arrows. Varuna appeared with his Pâs’a weapon and Yama, mounted on his buffalo, appeared with his Danda (staff). A terrible fight then ensued between the Devas and Dânavas and the weapons, arrows, axes, Musalas, S’aktis and Paras’us glittered in the fields. Yama raising his Danda with his hands struck at Tâmra; but the powerful Tâmra, though severely struck, was not at all moved and remained firm in his place in the field. On the other hand Tâmra, violently drawing his bow, hurled a mass of sharp arrows at Indra and the other Devas. The Devas got angry and shot at the Dânava multitudes of divine arrows sharpened on stone, and frequently called aloud “Wait, wait.” The Dânava Tâmra thus shot at by the arrows of the Devas, fell unconscious in the battle-field; the Dânava forces got afraid and a cry of universal consternation and distress arose.
Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the defeat of the Dânava forces of Mahisa in the Mâhâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.
On the Deva Dânava fight [ p. 369 ] 1-8. Vyâsa said :— O King! On the Daitya Tâmra becoming unconscious Mahisa became very angry and, raising his Gadâ (club), came up before the Devas and said :— “Devas! O Ye powerless like crows; wait; with one stroke of Gadâ, I will kill you.” Thus saying, the powerful Mahisa swelled with pride, seeing Indra before him mounted on his elephant instantly struck him on his arms. Indra, again lost no time, and struck violently with his thunderbolt and cut the Dânava’s Gadâ into pieces, and came up very close, wanting to strike at him. Mahisa, too, becoming very angry took up his lustrous sword and came to Indra to attack him with this weapon. A fight then occurred between the two, terrible to all the Lokas and wonderful to the Munis, where various weapons were showered from both the sides. The Demon Mahisa spread then his S’âmvarî Mâyâ, destructive to all the worlds and fascinating to the Munis.
[ p. 370 ]
Hundreds and hundreds of powerful buffalo-like appearances resembling Mahisa became, then, visible on the battle-field; they all began to kill the Deva forces with weapons in their hands.
9-14. Seeing this magic of the Dânava, Indra became thunderstruck and very much confounded with terror. Varuna, Kuvera, the Lord of wealth, Yama, Fire, Moon, Sun, and other Devas all fled with terror. Indra then, being surrounded by the network of magic, began to call Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a in his mind. At the instant when they were called in mind, Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a riding on respective conveyances Swan, Garuda, and Bull, came up there with best weapons in their hands for Indra’s protection. Visnu seeing the play of that fascinating magic hurled his bright discus, Sudars’an; and caused the magic to vanish at once. Seeing the three, the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer, the Dânava Mahisa came up there with his Parigha (a club tipped with iron) weapon, desirous to fight with them.
15-16. Then the general Chiksura, Ugrâsya, Ugravîrya, Asilomâ, Trinetra, Vâskala, Andhaka and other warriors came up to fight.
17-23. Those Proud Dânavas, clad in armour and mounted on chariots with bows in their hands besieged the Devas, like a tiger attacking an heifer. Then those Dânavas swelled with pride began to shower on arrows after arrows; the Devas, too, began to do the same, desiring to extirpate them.The General Andhaka, coming up to Hari, drew his bow with great force up to his ear and shot at him five sharp arrows tipped with poison. Vâsudeva, the Destroyer of the enemies, cut off those arrows no sooner they came up before him; and He shot at the Dânavas five arrows. Then Hari and the Dânava struck each other with various weapons and arrows, swords, discus, Musala, clubs, S’akti, and Paras’u. Here, on the other hand, the fight lasted for fifty days between Mahes’a versus Andhaka; and it was a very close conflict, causing horripilation. Thus severe fights ensued between Vâskala and Indra, Mahisa and Rudra, Trinetra and Yama, Mahâ Hanu and Kuvera, Asilomâ and Varuna.
24-39. The Dânava Mahisa struck Garuda, the conveyance of Hari, with his club; Garuda, being very much distressed with the blow, sat down, gasping. Visnu then comforted the powerful Garuda, the son of Vinatâ and made him calm and quiet. Wanting to kill Andhaka, Janârdana became infuriated, and, drawing his bow made of horn, call S’ârnga, shot at him arrows after arrows. The Dânava cut off all those arrows to pieces with his own mass of arrows. Then, becoming very angry, he shot fifty sharp arrows at Hari. Vâsudeva quickly made all those arrows useless [ p. 371 ] and hurled Sudars’ana Chakra with thousand spokes on the Dânava with great violence. Andhaka thwarted this with his own discus and shouted aloud with such a great force that all the Devas became confused and confounded. Visnu’s Chakra being baffled, the Devas became distressed with grief and the Dânavas got elated. Seeing the Devas thus grieved, Visnu held aloft his Kaumodakî Gadâ (club) and came hurriedly before the Dânava. Hari struck then with his Gadâ on the Dânava’s head whereon he fell senseless on the ground. The hot-tempered Mahisa, seeing Andhaka senseless, bellowed aloud and, terrifying Hari, came up there. Seeing him there, Vâsudeva made such a thundering noise with his bow string that the Devas became highly glad. Then the Bhagavân shot showers of arrows on Mahisa; and Mahisa, too, cut those arrows while they were seen in the air. O king! Then a very close fight ensued between the two, Kes’ava struck on the head of the Dânava with his club. Thus struck, he fell in a swoon on the ground and a general cry of distress arose amongst the Dânavas. In a moment the Dânava got up again, free from trouble; he then struck again on Visnu’s head with his Parigha (a club mounted with iron, a mace). Struck by that mace, Janârdan lay senseless; Garuda, seeing him thus unconscious, immediately took him away from the battle field.
40-55. When Visnu thus fled, Indra and the Devas were much distressed with fear and began to cry aloud. Hearing the Devas cry, S’ankara became wrathful and, quickly coming before Mahisa, struck him with his trident (S’ûla). The wicked Mahisa made his weapon ineffectual and bellowed aloud and struck on the breast of S’ankara with his S’akti (a kind of missile). Thus wounded in his breast S’ankara did not feel any pain; rather, with his eyes red with anger, He struck him again with Trisûla. Seeing S’ankara engaged with Mahisa, Hari becoming conscious came again on the battle-field. Seeing the two powerful Deva-chiefs, Hari and Hara, in the battle-field Mahisa became very much angry: he then assumed a buffalo body and wagging his tail to and fro came in front of them with a desire to fight. That terrible Mahisa of a huge body shook his horns and bellowed so deep like a thunder cloud that even the Devas got frightened. He began to hurl the huge mountain peaks with his two horns. The two powerful Devas Hari and Hara, began to shoot at the Dânava deadly arrows after arrows. Seeing these two gods shower arrows upon him, Mahisa began to hurl mountains on them by his tail. Visnu cut off those mountains into hundred pieces by his arrow; and struck at him instantly with his Chakra. Struck thus by Chakra, the Lord of the Dânavas fainted, but he instantly rose up with a human body. The mountain-like terrible Dânava with [ p. 372 ] a club in his hand frightened the Devas and uttered grave sounds like those of rumbling rain clouds. Hearing that, the Bhagavân Visnu sounded a more terrible sound with his Pañchajanya S’ankha (conchshell). Hearing the sound of that conchshell, the Dânavas were struck with terror and the ascetic Risis and Devas became exalted with joy.
Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the Deva Dânava fight in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 versus by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the going of the Devas to Kailâsa [ p. 372 ] 1-3. Vyâsa said :— O King! Mahisa seeing the Dânavas afflicted with grief, quitted his buffalo appearance, assumed a lion form and spreading this long manes began to roar aloud and fell amidst the Deva forces; then the Devas were terrified on seeing his sharp nails. That lion-form Mahisa first attacked so severely the Garuda with his nails, that his whole body was besmeared with blood; then he attacked Visnu’s arms with his nails.
4-11. Seeing the Dânava, Vâsudeva Hari raised his discus in anger and attacked him with great force to kill him. Just when Hari struck the Dânava violently with his Chakra, the powerful Dânava quitted immediately his lion-form, assumed the buffalo form and struck Hari with his two horns. Vâsudeva, thus pierced in his breast with the horns, became confounded and fled away as best as he could till he reached his own abode, Vaikuntha. Seeing Hari thus fleeing away, S’ankara, too, thought him invulnerable and fled to his Kailâs’a mountain with fear. Brahmâ, too, fled to his own abode with terror; but the powerful Vâsava took patience and remained steady in the battle. Varuna taking his S’akti waited patiently for battle. Yama, too, with his staff remained there ready to fight. Kuvera, the Lord of the Yaksas, remained very busy in close fighting with the Dânavas; Fire, taking S’akti, also waited. The Sun and Moon, the Lord of the stars, both remained in firm resolve to fight with Mahisa, the lord of the Dânavas.
12-22. O King! In the meanwhile, the Dânava forces got angry and attacked them on all sides, shooting at the enemies a mass of dangerous serpent-like arrows. The Lord of the Dânavas, Mahisa, too, assuming the buffalo appearance, reigned supreme in the middle. At this moment fierce sounds of the warriors on both the sides were heard. During the [ p. 373 ] sharp contest of the Devas and Dânavas, the sounds from the bowstrings and the clappings of the hands were heard like the roarings of thunder. The powerful Dânava, then, swelled with pride, began to hurl the mountain tops with his horns, thus killing the Deva forces. Some by hoofs and some by the lashing of the tail, that angry Mahisa, very wonderful to behold, sent to the region of Death. Then the Devas and Gandarbhas became very much frightened; so much so, that Indra fled away at once on the sight of Mahisa. Indra thus retreating from the field, Yama, Kuvera, and Varuna all quitted the battle-ground with fear. Indra fled away quitting his Airâvata elephant and Uchchais’ravâ horse; so Mahisa got the possession of the elephant and the horse, as well the heavenly cow of the Sun. So the Dânavas considered themselves pre-eminently victorious and returned to their abodes. Next they wanted to go, as early as possible, to the Heavens, with all their forces. In no time Mahisa went to the abode of Indra, deserted by all the terror-stricken Devas and got the possession thereof. Then taking his seat on the beautiful throne of Indra, he made the other Dânavas occupy the several seats of the other Devas.
23-27. Thus fighting full one hundred years, the Dânava Mahisa, puffed up with pride, acquired the seat of Indra, his desired object. He banished the Devas from the Heavens; the Devas, thus tormented began to wander in the caves of hills and dales for a period of good many years. O King! The Devas, at last, were quite tired and took the four-faced Brahmâ, the Creator’s refuge. At that instant, the Lord of the world, the Rajas incarnate, the Originator of the Vedas, was seated on His lotus seat; surrounding Him were standing his mortal sons Marîchi, etc., with their passions subdued, mind calm and beyond the sphere of the Vedas and Vedângas; there were there also Siddhas, Gandarbhas, Kinnaras, Châranas, Uragas, and Pannagas. The terrified Devas then began to praise and chant hymns to Brahmâ, the Lord of the world.
28-33. The Devas said :— “O Creator! O Lotus-born! O Thou, the Remover of the pains and afflictions of all this world! How is it that you are not moved with pity towards the Devas, seeing that we are defeated by the lord of the Dânavas and have been banished from our abode; what more shall we say, our troubles are now indescribable, as we are living in the caves of hills and dales. O Creator! A son may be a hundred times guilty of offence; is it, then, that the father, devoid of any feeling of covetousness, deserts his sons and gives them trouble! We are oppressed by the Dânavas, we who are wholly devoted to your lotus-feet, why are you today showing signs of indifference towards us! That wicked Dânava is thoroughly enjoying to-day the Heavens of the Devas, is forcibly taking their share of the oblations of clarified butter in the Yajñas (sacrifices) [ p. 374 ] from the Brâhmanas; is enjoying the Pârijâta tree and also the heavenly milching cow, the jewel of the ocean. What more shall we describe to you the strange doings of the Asuras; O Lord of the Devas! You are perfectly aware of all that they strive and execute; for, by your knowledge, you know everything of this world; therefore, O Lord! We lie prostrate at your feet. That vicious Dânava, of wicked character and full of mischievous actions, gives us troubles in various ways wherever we go; O Lord of the Devas! Thou art our only Protector; therefore, O Lord! Do what is good to us. Thou art the Awarder of the desires of the Devas. Thou art the First Creator of the world, and Preserver; therefore if Thou dost not do us our good, to whom else shall we take refuge, when we are so severely oppressed as if we are burnt in a forest conflagration! Who else is more lustrous, more beneficent and more peace-giving Governor?
34-35. Vyâsa said :— O king! All the Devas, praising Him thus, bowed down to the Lord of creation with folded hands and saluted him, with their faces very heavy, overladen with deep sorrow. The Grand Sire of all the Lokas, seeing the plight of the Devas, consoled them with sweet words and made them happy.
36-43. O Suras! What shall I do? The Dânava has become exceedingly haughty on account of his getting boons; he can be killed by females only; He is invulnerable by any male. What remedy is there now? Therefore, O Suras! Let us all go to Kailâsa, the best of all the mountains; thence we will take S’ankara, the expert in doing the works of Gods, and go to Vaikuntha, where Visnu, the Deva of the Devas resides. There we all will unite and hold a counsel and decide what is best to do, to serve the purpose of the gods. Thus making out the programme, Brahmâ riding on his Hamsa went to Kailâsa, accompanied by all the Devas. At the same time S’iva came to know out of his introspection about the coming of Brahmâ and the other Devas and soon came out of his dwelling abode. When they met each other, they saluted each other and felt very glad. The Devas then bowed down to them. Seats were given to the Devas; and when they sat respectively on their Âsanas, the Lord of Pârvatî also took his own seat. S’iva asked the welfare of Brahmâ and the Devas and asked the reasons of their coming to Kailâsa.
44. O Brahmâ! What has caused you to come here along with Indra and the other Devas? O highly fortunate one! Please mention it.
45-47. Brahmâ said :— O Deva of the Devas! The Dânava Mahisa is oppressing all the Devas in the Heavens; they therefore terrified are wandering hither and thither in the caves and hills with Indra. Mahisa [ p. 375 ] and the other Dânavas are now accepting their share of Yajñas; the Lokopâlas, being oppressed, have come to-day and are now taking shelter of Thee. O S’ambhu! Considering the situation serious, I have taken them with me here; therefore, O Deva, do that which is reasonable and by which the purpose of the Devas can be carried out. O Bhûta Bhâvana! (The creator of the world) The whole charge and responsibility of all the Devas devolves on Thee.
48. Vyâsa said :— O King! Hearing thus, S’ankara smiled a little and spoke charming words to the Lotus-born in the following manner :—
49-55. O Bibhu! It is You that gave before this boon to Mahisa; and therefore it is you that have wrought this mischief. The Dânava has become so strong a hero that he has caused terror to all the Devas even. Now where can we get such a noble woman who becomes able to kill that Dânava, elated with pride. My wife nor your wife ought to go to battle; even if they, the good ladies go, how will they be able to fight? The fortunate wife of Indra, too, is not expert in the art of warfare; where else there is another lady who can kill this demon, blinded with pride. I, therefore, propose this; let us all go today to Visnu and, praising him with hymns, engage him quickly to this cause of the gods. Visnu is foremost amongst the intelligent; therefore it is highly advisable to execute all actions after duly consulting with him. He, by dint of his high intelligence, will find out means and effect our purpose.
Vyâsa said :— O King! Brahmâ and the other Devas heard Rudra and approved heartily and saying, “Be it so” instantly rose up. At the time, seeing all the auspicious signs concerning the success of the gods, they all became glad; and, riding on their respective vehicles, drove towards the abode of Visnu. Favourable fragrant winds, pleasant to touch, began to blow gently, birds began to chant hymns of praise and signs of success were seen all along their way. The sky was clear and the quarters became free; in short, everything showed favourable all along their way.
Here ends the Seventh Chapter on the going of the Devas to Kailâsa in the Fifth Skandha of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the description of the origin and the form of the Devî [ p. 376 ] 1-4. Vyâsa said :— Soon the Devas reached Vaikuntha, protected by Visnu; they at once began to look at the exquisite indescribable beauty of the place. At intervals they saw nice lovely divine houses, shining and appearing very splendid; pools and lakes were seen in front of them beautified with Kalhâra lotus flowers. They began to see, at other places, rivers flowing; swans, cranes, Chakravâkas and other aquatic birds were swimming there easily and warbling lovely sounds. At other places again, beautiful gardens came to their sight adorned exquisitely by Champaka, As’oka Mandâra, Bakula, Âmrâtaka, Tilaka, Kuruvaka and Mallikâ and various other flower trees, the cuckoos were seen there cooing melodiously, bees humming gently and peacocks dancing beautifully.
5-6. In the centre was situated the golden palace of Hari, towering to heavens, the rooms and quadrangles were all charming; at places, they were bedecked with gems and jewels and adorned with various paintings. There was the Divine Seat in the centre, composed wholly of gems and jewels; and Visnu was occupying this place. There were Visnu’s Pârisadas or attendants, Sunanda, Nandana, and others; they were so much devoted to their master that their hearts never become attached to any other thing; so they were devotedly singing His praises and chanting His hymns with undivided attention.
7-10. There were dancing the Apsarâs (celestial nymphs) and the Devas, Gandarbhas, and Kinnaras were singing in melodious tunes. Those who love the chanting of the Vedas, such calm-tempered Munis were reciting the Vedic Sûktas and thus highly extolled Him. The two lovely gate-keepers Jaya and Vijaya were waiting at the entrance gate with golden sticks in their hands; the Devas coming nigh the city of Visnu caught sight of them and said :— “Any of you may go and inform Visnu that Brahmâ, Rudra, and the whole host of gods are waiting at His door to see Him.”
11. Vyâsa said :— O king! Hearing their words, Vijaya went away at once to Visnu; and, saluting Him, informed Him of the arrival of the Devas.
12-13. Vijaya said :— O Lord! Thou destroyest the enemies of the gods; hence Thou art the most worshipped of them. O Lord of Ramâ! The whole hosts of gods have come and are waiting at Thy door, O Bibhu!
[ p. 377 ]
Brahmâ, Rudra, Indra, Varuna, Fire and Yama and other gods, anxious to see Thee, are all praising Thee by proper hymns.
14-32. Vyâsa said :— Hearing Vijaya’s words, Visnu, the Lord of Ramâ became very anxious and soon went out of his room to see the Devas. Hari came up to them and seeing the Devas waiting at the doors very morose and tired, cheered them up by casting a favourable glance full affection and love. The gods bowed down and praised hymns to Jagannâtha the Deva of the Devas, the enemy of the Daityas and revealed in the Vedas. O Deva of the Devas! Thou art the Creator, Preserver and the Destroyer of the worlds; Thou art the ocean of mercy and the sole refuge of this Universe; O Lord! We have come to Thee as our Great Refuge; therefore dost Thou save us from the present difficulty. Thus praised by the gods, Visnu said :— O Immortals! Take your respective seats and speak how are you all? Why have you all in a body come here? Why are you so much depressed and worn out with cares? Why do you look so melancholy? Say soon for what purpose you with Brahmâ and Rudra have come here. The Devas said :— “O Lord! The Asura Mahisa is very cruel and wicked; always addicted to vicious acts; now that most sinful Dânava has become very much puffed up with pride and is tormenting us always. What more shall we say than this, he is appropriating to himself the share of the Yajñas performed by the Brâhmins; we are therefore, terror-stricken and are wandering in mountains and fastnesses. O Destroyer of Madhu! He has become unconquerable due to his being granted the boon; considering, therefore, the gravity of our situation we have taken refuge unto Thee. O Krisna! Thou art acquainted with all the tricks and Mâyâ of the Daityas; therefore Thou art capable to kill them. Therefore Thou alone art able to deliver us from the present difficulty; be pleased, therefore; to Devîse means for that purpose. The Creator Brahmâ has granted him this boon that the demon could not killed by any man; therefore we are asking you where can we get a female who will be able to kill that hypocrite in battle. Mahisa has turned out very wicked on the strength of that boon; say, therefore, who amongst Umâ, Laksmî, S’achî, or Vidyâ or any other woman will be able to kill him. Therefore, O Gracious One to faithful worshippers and attendants! Thou art the Preserver of this world; now Devîse specially the cause of his death and carry out the purpose of the gods.” Vyâsa said :— O king! Visnu on hearing their words, spoke smiling “We fought before; but this Asura could not at that time be killed. Hence if some beautiful female Deity be now created out of the collective energy and form of the S’aktis of each of the Devas, then that Lady would be able easily to destroy that Demon [ p. 378 ] by sheer force. The Lady Deity then sprung from the collective energy of ours, would at once be able to destroy that Mahisa, elated on his getting the power, though he is skilled in hundreds of Mâyâs (magics). Therefore ask ye now all, with your wives respectively, boons from that portion which resides in you all in the form of Fiery Energy, that the collected energy thus manifested may assume the form of a Lady. We will then offer unto Her, all the Divine weapons, the trident, etc., that belong to us. That Deity, then, full of energy and with all the weapons in Her hands would kill that wicked Demon, vicious and swelled with vanity.”
33-46. Vyâsa said :— On Visnu, the Lord of the Devas, saying thus, came out spontaneously, at once, of the face of Brahmâ, the brilliant fiery energy, very difficult to conceive. That energy looked red like gems and pearls, hot, at the same time, a little cool, having a beautiful form, and encircled by a halo of light. O King! The high-souled Hari and Hara, of mighty valor, were astonished to see this Fire, emitted from Brahmâ. Next came out of the body of S’ankara, His fiery spirit, quite in abundance and very wonderful to behold; it was silvery white, terrible, unbearable, and incapable of being seen even with difficulty. It extended like a mountain and looked horrible as if the incarnation of the Tamo Guna like another Tamo Guna (S’iva is the incarnation of Tamo Guna that destroys everything). It was very surprising to the Devas and very fearful to the Daityas. Next a dazzling light of blue colour emanated from the body of Visnu. The light that came out of the body of Indra was hardly bearable, of a beautiful variegated colour, and comprised in itself the three qualities. Thus masses of lights came out respectively from Kuvera, Yama, Fire and Varuna. The other Devas, too, gave their shares of fiery lights, very lustrous and splendid. Then these all united into a great Mass of Fire and Light. Like another Himalayan mountain shone full their lustrous Divine light; Visnu and the other Devas were all extremely surprised to see this. While the Devas were thus looking steadfastly on that Fire, an exquisitely handsome Lady was born out of it, causing excitement and wonder to all. This Lady was Mahâ Laksmî; composed of the three qualities of the three colours, beautiful, and fascinating to the universe. Her face was white, eyes were black, her lips were red and the palms of her hands were copper-red. She was adorned with divine ornaments. The Goddess was now manifest with eighteen hands, though She had a thousand hands (in Her unmanifested state). Now She became manifest out of the mass of fire, for the destruction of the Asuras. [ p. 379 ] 47-52. Janamejaya said :— O Best of the Munis! O Krisna! You are highly fortunate and you are all-knowing. Kindly describe, in detail the birth of Her body. O Deva! Please say whether the energies of all the gods united into one or remained separate? Whether Her body and Her limbs were all luminous. Was it that Her face, nose, eyes, etc., and all other parts of Her body were created out of the different fires respectively or whether was it that those limbs were fashioned when the different fires blended into one huge mass? Describe, in detail, the origin of the body and the several limbs thereof; also inform me the limbs that were produced out of the corresponding Deva’s fiery part; as well tell me the several ornaments and several weapons given by the several Devas respectively. I am very desirous to hear all these from your lotus-like mouth. O Brahmân! Hearing from your lotus-like mouth the life and doings of Mahâ Laksmî, the sweet juice as they are, I am as yet not satiated (and am desirous to hear more).
53. Sûta said :— Veda Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî, hearing his words addressed him in the following sweet words :—
54. “O Best of Kuras! Very fortunate you are. I will describe in detail, to the best of my understanding, the origin of Her body.
55. Even Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’a and Indra are never competent enough to describe Her form properly.
56. As I already told you that She sprung at the instant the word was spoken, how then can I ascertain the form or likeness of the Devî.
57. She is constant, She is always existent; though She is one, yet She assumes different forms for the fulfilment of the Deva’s ends, whenever their positions become serious.
58-59. Though the actor is one, yet for the entertainment of the spectators, he assumes different forms in the stage, so the Nirgunâ Devî, though formless, assumes in Her pastime, many different forms of Sâttvic, Râjasic or Tâmasic qualities, to fulfill the Deva’s purposes.
60. There are various names given to Her, according as the works done by Her vary immensely in their natures, just as the meanings of one root vary, some being principal and some secondary, according to the meanings and objects they convey.
61. O King! I will now describe to you as far as my knowledge goes, the Excellent Form that came out of that mass of Celestial Light. [ p. 380 ] 62. Her grand beautiful white lotus-like face was created out of the fiery energy of S’ankara.
63. Her glossy black beautiful hairs of the head, overhanging to the knees, were formed out of the light of Yama; these all came to a fine pointed end.
64. Her three eyes came out of the energy of Fire; the pupils of those eyes were of a black colour; the middle parts were of a white colour and the ends were red.
65. The two eyebrows of the Devî were black and came out of the spirit of Sandhyâ (twilights); they were nicely curved and were looking spirited, like the bow of the Cupid and they were shedding, as it were, cooling rays.
66. From the light of Vâyu (air), Her two ears were created; they were not very long, nor very short, beautiful like the swinging seat (rocking chair) of the God of Love.
67. Her nose was fashioned out of the fire of Kuvera, the Lord of wealth; it looked like the til flower, glassy and exquisitely charming.
68. O King! Her pointed rows of glossy and brilliant teeth, looking like gems, came out of the energy of Daksa; they looked like the Kunda flowers.
69. Her lower lip was deep red and it came out of the fire of Aruna (the charioteer of the Sun); Her beautiful upper lip came out of the energy of Kârtika.
70. Her eighteen hands came out of the Tejas of Visnu and Her red fingers came out of the Tejas of the Vasus.
71. Her breasts came out of the energy of Soma and Her middle (navel) with three folds was created out of the spirit of Indra.
72. Her thighs and legs were from Varuna and Her spacious loins came out from Earth.
73-74. O King! Thus from the various Tejas, contributed by the Devas, that Heavenly Lady came out. Her body and the several parts thereof were beautiful; Her form was incomparably graceful and the voice was exquisitely sonorous and lovely. The Devas, oppressed by Mahisâsura, became overpowered with joy seeing this well decorated Devî, having beautiful eyes and teeth, and charming in all respects.” [ p. 381 ] 75. Visnu then addressed all the Devas to give all their auspicious ornaments and weapons, He said :— “O Devas! Better give, all you the various arms and weapons, endowed with strength, created out of your own weapons and give them all today to the Devî.”
Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the description of the origin and the form of the Devî in S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the worship by the gods to the Devî [ p. 381 ] 1-22. Vyâsa said :— On hearing Visnu’s words, the Devas became very glad and presented immediately their own weapons, ornaments and clothings. The Ksiroda (Milk) Ocean presented to Her gladly, the well fitted necklace, clear as crystal, and a pair of divine cloths, of a red colour, never becoming old and very fine. Vis’vakarmâ was very much gratified in his heart and presented a divine jewel to be worn in Her diadem or crest blazing like hundreds of suns; white earrings; bracelets for Her wrist, bracelets for Her upper arm, and other bracelets decked with various gems and jewels and anklets brilliant like gems, of a clear Sun-like lustre, decked with jewels, and tinkling nicely. The architect of the gods, the ocean of intellect, Vis’vakarmâ gave Her as offerings beautiful ornaments also for the neck, all very beautiful, as well as for the fingers decked with gems and jewels, all shining splendidly. Varuna gave for Her head garland of lotuses, never fading away, of such a sweet fragrance as bees constantly hover round them and the Vaijayantî garland for Her breast. The mountain Himâlyâ gladly offered Her various gems and a beautiful lion, of a golden colour for Her conveyance. Then that beautiful Lady, having all the auspicious signs, wishing welfare to all, and decorated with the divine ornaments began to look grand and splendid, mounted on Her conveyance, the Lion. Visnu then created another thousand spoked discus (Chakram) from His own Chakra, capable to take off the head of any Asura, and offered it to Her. S’ankara created another excellent Tris’ûla from his own Trident, terrible and demon-killing, and offered it to the Devî. Varuna created another bright conch from his own conch and offered it gladly to the Devî. Fire offered Her a weapon named S’ataghni which kills violently the demons, as if that is another god of death. Maruta (wind), the chief of the gods, offered Her a wonderful bow and arrow case filled with arrows. The bow can be drawn with great difficulty and emits a very harsh sound. Indra created another dreadful thunderbolt from his own thunderbolt and gave it at once to the Devî; as well the beautiful sonorous bell that used to hang from the elephant [ p. 382 ] Airâvata. Yama, the God of Death, created another beautiful staff from his own sceptre which takes away when time comes, the life of all beings. Brahmâ gladly gave Her a divine Kamandalu, filled with the Ganges water; and Varuna offered Her a weapon called Pâs’a. O King! Time gave Her an axe and a shield and Vis’vakarmâ gave Her a sharp Paras’u. Kuvera, the Lord of wealth, gave her a golden drinking cup, filled with wine; and Vâruna offered Her a divine beautiful lotus. Vis’vakarmâ became very glad and gave Her the Kaumodakî gadâ, capable to kill the enemy of the gods and whence hundreds of bells are hanging, an impenetrable armour and various other weapons. The Sun gave to the Divine Mother his own rays. The Devas, seeing Her adorned with ornaments and weapons, began to praise and chant hymns to that most Auspicious Goddess, the Great Enchantress of the three worlds.
23-29. The Deva said :— “Salutation to S’iva, Salutation to the Most Auspicious; Thou art peace and nourishment; we salute again and again to Thee. Salutation to Thee, the Bhagavatî Devî; Thou art the Goddess Rudrânî (the terrible), we always salute again and again to Thee. Thou art the Kâlarâtri (the night of destruction at the end of the world); Thou art the Indrânî. Thou art the Mother, we salute again and again to Thee; Thou art the success, Thou art the intelligence, Thou art the growth, Thou art the Vaisnavî; salutation again and again to Thee. Thou art within the earth; yet the earth does know know Thee. Thou art again the inmost of the earth and controllest the things within this earth; we offer our salutations to that Supreme Cause, the Highest Goddess. Thou art within this Mâyâ (the unborn) yet the Mâyâ does not know Thee. Thou residest again within the innermost of the Mâyâ and directest that Unborn One, the Mâyâ, we salute again and again to that Supreme Cause, the Great Directress, the S’ivâ (the most auspicious). O Mother! Do what is good to us; we are oppressed by our enemy, dost then protect us; by Thy own power dost Thou overpower and kill that Mahisa. That demon is vulnerable by woman only, he is deceitful, cunning, dreadful, and swollen with pride on his having got the blessing; he assumes many forms and torments the Devas. O One, devoted to the Bhaktas! Thou art the only refuge of all the gods; O Thou art the supreme goddess, we are very much harassed and oppressed by the Dânava; therefore dost Thou now protect us; we bow down to Thee.”
30. Vyâsa said :— When the Devas had praised thus, the Highest Goddess, the Giver of all happiness, then smilingly said in the following auspicious terms :— [ p. 383 ] 31. “O Devas! Today in the battle ground I will overpower that wicked Mahisa, of cruel disposition and take away his life.”
32-40. Vyâsa said :— Speaking thus in a melodious voice, the Supreme One smiled and again said :— “This world is all full of error and delusion. Really, it is very wonderful that Brahmâ, Visnu, Indra and other gods are all shuddering out of fear from Mahisa Dânava. The power of Destiny is exceedingly great and terrible; its influence cannot be overcome even by the best of the Devas. O king! The Time is the Lord of happiness and pain; Time is, therefore, the God. The wonder is this that even those who can create, preserve and destroy this world, they are being overpowered and tormented by Mahisa. The Devî, thinking thus, smiled; then laughed and laughed very hoarsely; it seemed that a roar of laughter then arose. And the Dânavas were struck with terror at that very dreadful sound. The earth trembled at that extraordinary sound; the mountains began to move and the vast oceans that remained calm began to be agitated with billows. The uproar filled all the quarters and the mountain Meru trembled. Then the Dânavas, hearing the tumultuous uproar, were all filled with tremendous fear. The Devas became very glad and said thus :— “O Devî! Let victory be Yours; save us.” The intoxicated Mahisa, too, hearing those words, became very angry. Mahisa, struck with terror at those words, asked the Daityas “O Messengers! Go and ascertain how has originated this sound.
41-48. Who has made this harsh sound? Bring that devil who has made this hoarse noise, be he a Deva, Dânava, or anyone else unto me and I will kill that roaring villain, who, it seems, has been puffed with egoism and vanity. The Devas are not making this noise, for they are vanquished and terror-stricken; The Asuras are not doing so, for they are my subjects; then, who is the stupid fellow that has done so? Surely he is of very little understanding; his days are numbered; and I will carry him to the home of Death. Go you, ascertain the cause of sound and come back to me; then I will go there and destroy that wretch who made this noise to no purpose.” Vyâsa said :— No sooner the messengers heard these words of Mahisa, than they at once went to the Devî and saw that Her body and the several parts thereof were all very beautiful; She had eighteen hands, She was decorated completely with various ornaments all over Her body, all the auspicious signs were being seen in Her body and that She was holding excellent divine weapons. That auspicious Goddess beautiful, was holding in Her hands, the cup and drinking wine again and again. Beholding Her this form, they were afraid and fled at once to the Mahisa and informed him the cause of that sound. [ p. 384 ] 49-54. The Daityas said :— “O Lord! We have seen one grown up woman; whose whereabouts we are quite ignorant. The Devî is decorated with jewels and ornaments all over Her body; She is not human nor Asurî but Her form is extraordinary and beautiful. That noble Lady is mounted on a lion, holding weapons on all Her eighteen hands and is roaring loudly; She is drinking wine; so it seems that She is puffed up with liquor. It is quite certain that She has no husband. The Devas are gladly chanting praises from the celestial space that Let Victory be to Her side and that She save the Devas, O Lord! We don’t know at all who is that handsome woman? or whose wife is she; why has she come there? and what is Her motive? Sentiments of love, heroism, laughter, terror and wonder are all fully shining in Her; therefore we are very much overpowered by the halo emitted from Her; and we could not even see Her well.
Note :— Rasas means sentiments. The rasas are usually eight. Sringâra, Hâsya, Karunâ, Raudra, Vîra, Bhayânakâh, Bibhatsâdbhû tasangau, Chetyastau, Natyan, Rasâh smritâh but sometimes Sântarasah, is added thus making the total number nine; sometimes a tenth, Vâtsalyarasa is also added.
55. O King! In compliance with your order, we have come back to you no sooner we had seen the Lady, without even addressing Her in any way. Now order us what we are to do.”
56-58. Mahisa said :— “O Best of ministers! O Hero! Under my command, go there with all the forces and use the means, conciliation, etc., and bring that woman, having a beautiful face (like the Moon), to me. If that Lady do not come even when the three policies, Sâma (conciliation), Dâna (making gifts), and Bheda (sowing dissensions in an enemy’s party and thus winning him over to one’s side, one of the four Upâyas or means of success against an enemy) are adopted by you, then apply the last resort Danda, (or war) in such a way that Her life be not destroyed and bring that beautiful woman to me. I will gladly make Her, of black curling hairs, my queen-consort. In case that deer-eyed one comes gladly, then do my desires without causing any unpleasant feeling; (a cessation of sentiment). I am enchanted on hearing about Her beauties and wealth.”
59-67. Vyâsa said :— The prime minister, on hearing the words of Mahisa, took with him elephants, horses, and chariots and hurriedly went to the desired place. On coming near to the Devî, the minister began to address Her in sweet words from a sufficient distance in a very humble and courteous way. O Sweet speaking! Who art Thou? What has caused Thee to come here? O Highly fortunate! My master has asked through me these [ p. 385 ] questions. My master cannot be killed by all the Devas and men; he has conquered all the Lokas (worlds). O Beautiful-eyed! On account of getting his boon from Brahmâ, the Lord of the Daityas has become very powerful and consequently being very proud, assumes different forms at will. He, our King-Emperor Mahisa, the lord of the earth, hearing about Thy beauty and dress, has expressed a desire to see Thee. O Beautiful one! Whether he will appear before Thee in a human form? He will do whatever Thou likest. O Deer-eyed One! Be pleased now to go to that intelligent King. In case Thou dost not go, we will bring the King, Thy devotee, to Thee. O Lord of the Devas! Our King has heard of Thy beauty and grandeur and has become very much submissive to Thee. We will therefore do exactly what Thou desirest. Therefore, Thou having thighs thick and round like those of a young of an elephant! Be pleased to express what Thou likest and we will do quickly as Thou
desirest.
Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the worship offered by the gods to the Devî and the weapons offered by them in the Mahâ Purânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhagâvatam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
On the messenger’s news to Mahisa [ p. 385 ] 1-16. Vyâsa said :— The Mahâ Mâyâ, that Excellent Lady, hearing thus the words of the prime minister of Mahisa, laughed and spoke with a voice, deep like that of a cloud, thus :— O Minister-in-chief! Know Me as the Mother of the gods; my name is Mahâ Laksmî. It is I that destroy all the Daityas. I am requested by all the Devas to kill Dânava Mahisa; they have been oppressed and deprived of their share of Yajña offerings. Therefore I have come here today alone, without any army to take away his life. O Good One! I am pleased with your sweet words of welcome, in showing me marks of respect. Had you not behaved thus, I would have certainly burnt you to ashes by my fiery sight, which is the universal conflagration at the break up of the world. O Minister! Who is there that gets not pleased with sweet words! Go you to Mahisa and speak to him the following words of mine “O Villain! Go down to Pâtâla (the nether regions) at once if you have any desire to live. Otherwise, I will slay you, the wicked one, in the battle-field; you will have to go to the house of Death, pierced by my mass of arrows. O Stupid One! Know that this is merely kindness shown unto you, that I have told you to go soon to Pâtâla and that the Devas get [ p. 386 ] possession of their Heaven, with no delay. O One of weak intellect! Therefore dost Thou leave possession of this sea-girt earth and go alone without any delay to Pâtâla, before my arrows are shot at you. O Asura! Or if you desire to fight, then come at once with your powerful warriors; I will destroy all of them. O One of dull intellect! I will kill you in battle, just as I killed before in yugas after yugas countless Asuras like you. O Passionate creature! Better shew that your efforts in holding weapons have been crowned with success by your being engaged in battle against Me; otherwise they will all be useless. O Stupid! You thought that you would be vulnerable alone to women hence you oppressed the Devas entitled to worship; O wicked one! No longer show your pride on the strength of your getting the boon from Brahmâ, that you would be vulnerable only to the females. Thinking it advisable to observe the words of the Creator, I have assumed this incomparable Eternal Female appearance and I have come here to slay you, O wicked one! O stupid one! If you have any desire for your life, then quit this Heaven and go to Pâtâla, infested with snakes, or anywhere else you like.”
17-28. Vyâsa said :— Hearing these words of the Devî, that minister, surrounded by forces, replied in reasonable words thus :— “O Devî! You are speaking in words befitting a woman and puffed up with pride. You are a woman; the lord of the Daityas is a hero; how can a battle be engaged between you two. It seems to me impossible. Your body is delicate, a girl in full youth; especially you are alone and Mahisa is of huge body and powerful; so the fight comes next to impossibility. He has elephants, horses, chariots, infantry, etc., and countless soldiers all armed with weapons. Therefore, O Beautiful One! He will find no difficulty in killing you in battle as an elephant finds no difficulty in treading over the Mâlati flowers. Rather, if I utter anything harsh to you, that would go against the sentiment of love, with you; therefore I cannot speak rudely to you out of my fear not to interrupt the above feeling. True, that our king is an enemy of the gods; but be has become extremely devoted to you. Therefore it is wise to speak words full of conciliation or generosity. Were it otherwise, I would have shot arrows at you and would have killed you in as much as you have thus boasted in vain and spoken so dire a falsehood, resting merely on the strength of your youthful pride and cleverness. My master has become fascinated on hearing your extraordinary beauty hardly to be seen in this world; it therefore behoves me to speak sweet words to you for the sake of pleasing my master. O Large-eyed! This kingdom and the wealth thereof are all yours; in fact, Mahisa will be your obedient servant; therefore, better forsake your anger, leading [ p. 387 ] to your death; and cultivate friendship with him. O Sweet Smiling One! I am falling at your feet; you better go to him and become at once queen-consort. O Handsome Woman! No sooner you become the queen of Mahisa than you will get at once all the pure wealth of the three worlds and the unbounding happiness of this world.”
29-45. The Devî said :— “Minister! I now speak what is pregnant with goodness and wisdom to you, according to the rules of the S’âstras, keeping in view also the cleverness that you have shown in using your words. Now I come to understand from your talk, that you are the chief secretary of Mahisa; and therefore your nature and intelligence are like those of a beast. And how can he be intelligent, whose ministership is occupied by a man of your nature! Nature has ordained connection between two persons of like nature. O Stupid One! Did you think a little beforehand the meaning of your words when you told me of my feminine nature? Though I am not apparently a man, yet my nature is that of the Highest Purusa (Man); I shew myself simply in a feminine form. Your master asked before from Brahmâ that he would prefer death, if possible, at the hands of a woman ; therefore, I consider him quite illiterate and ignorant of the sentiment, worthy of a hero. Because to die at the hands of a woman is very painful to one who is a hero; and this is gladly welcome to one who is a hermaphrodite. Now see that your master Mahisa has shown his intelligence, when he courted his death from the hands of a woman. For that very reason, I have come here in the shape of a woman to effect my purpose; why shall I fear, then, to hear your words, contradictory to those of the S’âstras. When Fate goes against any one, a grass comes like a thunderbolt; and when fate goes in favour of anyone, a thunderbolt becomes as soft as a bundle of cotton. What does it avail even when one possesses an extensive army or various weapons in abundance, taking shelter in a wide extending fort? What will his soldiers do to him, whose death has come close at hand? Whenever, in due time, the connection of the Jîva (the human soul) with this body is brought about, then his pleasures, pains and death are written. Know this as certain, very certain, that death will come to him in the manner as written by the hands of Fate; it will never be otherwise. As the birth and death of Brahmâ and other gods are ordained, your death has been similarly ordained; no, there is no need of taking the example further than this. Those who are tied up by the hands of death are surely fools and of extremely blunt intellect, if they think simply on the strength of their getting some boons “that they would never die.” Therefore go quickly to your king and speak to him what I have said; you will then surely obey what he commands you to do. If he wants [ p. 388 ] his life, he, with his retinue, would at once go down to Pâtâla; let Indra and the other Devas get possession of the Heavens and their share of Yajñas. If he holds a contrary opinion, let him be eager to go to the house of Death and come and fight with Me. If he thinks that Visnu and the other Devas have fled from the battle-fields, he has nothing to boast of; for he has not shewn his manliness at all even then; for his victory is solely due to his having got the boon from Brahmâ.”
46-52. Vyâsa said :— Hearing these words of the Devî, the Dânava began to think whether I ought to fight or to go to Mahisa? The King has become very enamoured and has sent me hither to negotiate for marriage; how then will I be able to go to him if I make this affair unpleasant and interrupted in the middle in its course of harmony. Now it is wise for me to go to the King without fighting; let me then go as early as possible in this way and inform him about this whole affair. The King is exceptionally intelligent and experienced; he will consult with his other experienced ministers and do what is best. Therefore I ought not to fight here rashly; for victory or defeat would alike be distasteful to my monarch. Whether this Lady kills me, or I kill this Lady, the king will be angry in either case. I will therefore go now to the king and tell him what the Devî has said; he will do whatever he likes.
53-66. Vyâsa said :— Thus that intelligent son of the minister argued and went to the king. Then, bowing down before him, he began to say thus :— O King! That excellent woman, fascinating to the world, the beautiful Devî is sitting on a lion with weapons in all her eighteen hands. O King! I told her “O Beautiful Lady! Be attached to Mahisâsura; you will become, then, the queen-consort of the king, the lord of the three worlds. You will certainly then be his queen-consort; he will pass his life, ever obedient to you like an obedient servant. O Beautiful One! If you choose to make Mahisa your husband, you will become fortunate amongst women and will enjoy ever all the wealth of the three worlds.” Hearing my these words, that large-eyed woman, puffed up with egoism, laughed a little and said thus :— “Your king is born of a buffalo and is the worst of brutes; I will sacrifice him before the Devî for the benefit of the gods. Is there any woman in this world so stupid as to select Mahisa as her husband? O You stupid! Can a woman like me ever indulge in bestial sentiments! A female buffalo has got horns; she, being excited with passion, may select your Mahisa with horns as her husband and come to him bellowing. I am not stupid nor like her so as to make him my husband. O Villain! I will fight and destroy the enemies of the gods in the battle-field. Or [ p. 389 ] if he desires to live, let him flee to Pâtâla. O King! Hearing those rough words uttered by Her in a moment of madness, I have come to you, thinking also how to redress this wrong. O King! Only I feared not to interrupt in your love sentiment; and therefore I did not fight with Her; especially, without Your command, how can I engage myself in useless excitement? O Lord of the Earth! That handsome woman rests maddened on Her own strength; I do not know what is in the womb of future or whatever is destined to happen, will surely come to pass. You are the sole master in this matter; I will do whatever you order me. The matter is very difficult to be reflected upon; whether it is better to fight or it is better to fly away, I cannot say definitely.”
Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the messenger’s news to Mahisa, in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.