Devi Bhagavata Purana

by Swami Vijnanananda

This translation was first published in 1922

This ebook edition was published by Global Grey on the 19th February 2025

You can download this book on the site:

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Contents

Foreword

The First Book

The Second Book

The Third Book

The Fourth Book

The Fifth Book

The Sixth Book

The Seventh Book

The Eighth Book

The Ninth Book

The Tenth Book

The Eleventh Book

The Twelfth Book

Foreword

What is S’rîmad Bhâgavat is to the Vaisnavas, the Devî Bhâgavatam is to the S’âktas. The question of the priority of the two Bhâgavatas has been often discussed more in the spirit of partisans rather than that of sober scholars. We reserve our opinion on the subject till the publication of the complete translation of this work.

This translation has been inscribed to the sacred memory of my friend the late Râi Bâhâdur S’rîs’ Chandra Vidyârnava who induced me to undertake the translation of this work. He had thoroughly read the two Bhâgavatas and it was his opinion that the priority of composition belonged to the Devî Bhâgavatam. The other Bhâgavat, according to him, is a modern compilation attributed to Bopadeva – the author of Mugdhabodha Vyâkaranam.

The First Book

Chapter 1. On The Questions By S’aunaka And Others

1. I meditate on the beginningless Brahmâvidyâ who is Sarvachaitanyarûpâ, of the nature of all-consciousness;  May She stimulate our buddhi to the realisation of That (or who stimulates our buddhi in different directions).

2. S’aunaka said :-- “O highly fortunate Sûta! O noble Sûta! You are the best of persons; you are blessed inasmuch as you have thoroughly studied all the auspicious Purânas.

3. O sinless one! you have gone through all the eighteen Purânas composed by Krisna Dvaipâyana; these are endowed with five excellent characteristics and full of esoteric meanings.

Note :-- The characteristics are to make the mantras reveal to one's own self, to realise, to transfer to others the S’akti, force thereof, to prove the various manifestations of the several effects thereof, etc.

4-5. O Sinless one! It is not that you have read them like a parrot, but you have thoroughly grasped the meaning of them all as you have learnt them from Vyâsa himself, the son of Satyavati. Now it is our good merits that you have come at this divine holy excellent Vis'vasan Ksettra (place), free from any defects of the Kali age.

6-10. O Sûta! These Munis assembled here are desirous to hear the holy Purâna Samhitâ, that yields religious merits. So describe this to ns with your mind concentrated. O all-knowing Sûta! Live long and be free from the threefold sorrows of existence. O highly fortunate one! Narrate to us the Purâna equivalent to the Vedas. O Sûta! Those persons that do  not hear the Purânas, are certainly deprived by the Creator, though they have apparently the organ of hearing, of the power of tasting the sweet essence of words; because, the organ of hearing is gratified then and then only when it hears the words of the wise men, just as the organ of taste is satisfied then and then only when it tastes the six kinds of rasas (flavour, taste) (sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, salty, and astringent). This is known to all. The serpents that are void of the organ of hearing are enchanted by sweet music; then why should not those persons that have the organs of hearing and are averse to hear the Purânas, be thrown under the category of the deaf?

11-18. O Saumya! Hence all these Brâhmins, being distressed with the fear of this Kali, have come here to this Naimisâranya, eager to hear attentively the Purânas, and are staying here with this one object. Time must be spent away anyhow or other; those that are fools while away their times in sports and other evil practices and those that are learned pass away their times in meditating on the S’âstras; but these S’âstras are too vast and very varied; they contain Jalpas (debates or wrangling discussions to win over the opposite party), Vadas (sound doctrines to arrive at just conclusions), and various Arthavâdas (explanations and assertions, recommending Vidhis or precepts by stating the good arising from its proper observance and evils arising from its omission and also by adducing historical instances for its support; praises and eulogies) and filled with many argumentations. And, amongst these S’âstras again, the Vedânta is the Sâttvik, the Mimâmsas are the Râjasik and the Nyâya S’âstras with Hetuvâdas, are the Tâmasik; so the S’âstras are varied. Similarly, the Purânas are of three kinds :-- (1) S’attvik, (2) Râjasik and (3) Tâmasik. O Saumya! (one of gentle appearance) you have recited those Purânas endowed with five characteristics and full of many narratives; of these, the fifth Purâna, equivalent to the Vedas and with all the good qualities, the Bhâgavata yields Dharma and Kâma (religion and desires), gives liberation to those who desire for emancipation and is very wonderful; you mentioned this before but ordinarily; you did not dwell on this specially. Now these Brâhmanas are eager to hear gladly this divine auspicious Bhâgavata, the best of the Purânas; so kindly describe this in detail.

19-25. O knower of Dharma! By your faith and devotion to your Guru, you have become Sâttvik and thus have thoroughly known the Purâna Samhitâs spoken by Veda Vyâs. O Omniscient one! Therefore it is that we have heard many Purânas from your mouth; but we are not satisfied as the Devas are not satisfied with the drinking of the nectar. O Sûta! Fie to the nectar even  as the drinking of nectar is quite useless in giving Mukti. But hearing the Bhâgavata gives instantaneous Mukti from this Samsâra or round of birth and death. O Sûta! we performed thousands and thousands of Yajñas for the drinking of the nectar (Amrita), but never we got the full peace. The reason being that Yajñas lead to heaven only; on the expiry of the period of punya (good merits, the heavenly life ceases and one is expelled, as it were from the Heavens. Thus incessant sojourns in this wheel of Samsâra, the constant rounds of births and deaths never end. O Knower of every thing! Thus, without Jñâna (knowledge, wisdom) Mukti never comes to men, wandering in this wheel of Time (Kâlachakra) composed of the three Gunas. So describe this holy Bhâgavata, always beloved of the Mumuksas (those that desire Mukti), this secret work yielding liberation, holy and full of all sentiments (rasas).

Thus ends the first chapter of the first Skandha on the questioning about the Purâna by Saunaka and other Rishis in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Here ends the First Chapter of the First Skandha of S’rîmad Devi Bhâgavatam on the questions by S’aunaka and other Risis.

Chapter 2. On Questions Put By S’aunaka And Other Rsis

1-5. S'rî Sûta said :-- “I am highly fortunate; I consider myself blessed and I am purified by the Mahâtmâs (high souled persons); inasmuch as I am questioned by them about the highly meritorious Purâna, famous in the Vedas. I will now speak in detail about this Purâna, the best of the Âgamas, approved of by all the Vedas and the secret of all the S’âstras. O Brahmins! I bow down to the gentle lotus feet, known in the three Lokas, of the Devî Bhagavatî, praised by Brahmâ and the other devas Visnu, Mahes’a and others, meditated always by the Munindras and which the Yogis contemplate as their source of liberation. Today I will devotedly describe, in detail and in plain language, that Purâna which is the best of all the Purânas, which gives prosperity and contains all the sentiments (Rasas) that a human being can conceive, the S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam. May that Highest Primal S’akti who is known as Vidyâ in the Vedas; who is omniscient, who controls the innermost of all and who is skilled in cutting off the knot of the world, who cannot be realised by the wicked and the vicious, but who is visible to the Munis in their meditation, may that Bhagavatî Devî give me always the buddhi fit to describe the Purâna! I call to my mind the Mother of all the worlds who creates this universe, whose nature is both real (taking  gross, practical point of view) and and unreal (taking a real point of view), preserves and destroys by Her Râjasik, Sâttvik and Tâmasik qualities and in the end resolves all these into Herself and plays alone in the period of Dissolution - at this lime, I remember my that Mother of all the worlds.

6-10. It is commonly known that Brahmâ is the creator of this universe; and the knowers of the Vedas and the Purânas say so; but they also say that Brahmâ is born of the navel-lotus of Visnu. Thus it appears that Brahmâ cannot create independently. Again Visnu, from whose navel lotus Brahmâ is born, lies in Yoga sleep on the bed of Ananta (the thousand headed serpent) in the time of Pralaya; so how can we call Bhagavân Visnu who rests on the thousand headed serpent Ananta as the creator of the universe? Again the refuge of Ananta is the water of the ocean Ekârnava; a liquid cannot rest without a vessel; so I take refuge of the Mother of all beings, who resides as the S’akti of all and thus is the supporter of all; I fly for refuge unto that Devî who was praised by Brahmâ while resting on the navel lotus of Visnu who was lying fast asleep in Yoga nidrâ. O Munis! meditating on that Maya Devî who creates, preserves and destroys the universe who is kuown as composed of the three gunas and who grants mukti, I now describe the whole of the Purânas; now you all better hear.

11-16. The Purâna S’rimad Bhâgavat (Devî Bhâgavat) is excellent and holy; eighteen thousand pure S’lokas are contained in it. Bhagavân Krisna Dvaipâyan has divided this Purâna into twelve auspicious Skandhas (Books) and three hundred and eighteen chapters. Twenty chapters compose the first Skandha; twelve chapters in the second Skandha; thirty chapters in the the third Skandha; twenty-five chapters in the fourth Skandha, thirty-five, in the fifth; thirty-one, in the sixth; forty, in the seventh; twenty-four, in the eighth; fifty chapters in the ninth; thirteen, iu the tenth; twenty-four in the eleventh and fourteen chapters are contained in the twelfth Skandha, O Munis! Thus the Dvaipâyan Muni has arranged his chapters in each Skandha.

17-20. Thus the Mahâtmâ Veda Vyâs has divided this Bhâgavata Purâna. into so many Skandhas and into so many chapters; and that the number of verses is eighteen thousand is already stated. That is denominated as Purâna which contains the following five characteristics :-- (1) Creation of the universe, (2) Secondary creation, (3) Dynasties (4) Manvantaras and (5) The description of Manus and other kings. S’iva is beyond Prâkritic attributes, eternal and ever omnipresent; She is without any change, immutable, unattainable but by yoga; She is the refuge of the universe and Her nature is Turîya Chaitanya. Mahâ Lakshmi is Her Sattvikî S’akti; Sarasvati is Her Râjasik S’akti and Mahâ Kâlî is Her Tâmasik S’akti; these are all of feminine forms.

21-25. The assuming of bodies by these three S’aktis for the creation of this universe is denominated as "Sarga" (creation) by the high souled persona (Mahârpurusa), skilled in S’astras. And the further resolution of these three S’aktis into Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a for the creation, preservation, and destruction of this universe is denominated (in this Purâna) as Pratisarga (secondary ereation.) The description of the kings of the solar and lunar dynasties and the families of Hiranya Kasipu and others is known as the description of the lineages of kings and their dynasties. The description of Svâyambhûva and, other Manus and their ruling periods is known as Manvantaras. And the description of their descendants is known as the description of their families. (Thus these are the five characteristics in the Purânas.) O best of Munis! all the Purânas are endowed with these five characteristics.

26-32. So is Mahâbhârata writen by Vedavyâsa, characterised by these five things. This is known as the fifth Veda and Itihâsa (history.) In this are something more than one lakh slokas. S’aunaka said :-- “O Sûta! What are those Purânas and how many verses are contained in each? Speak all those in detail in this holy Ksettra; we, the residents of Naimisâranya are all very eager to hear this. (Why we call ourselves as the residents of Naimisâranya, hear; you will realise then that no other place exists in this Kali age for hearing the holy discourses on religion) :-- When we were afraid of the Kali age, Brahmâ gave us a Manomaya Chakra (wheel) and I said to all of us :-- Follow this wheel, go after it and the spot where the felly of the wheel will become thin (so as to break) and will not roll further, that country is the holy place; Kali will never be able to enter there; you all better remain there until the Satya age comes back. Thus, acording to the saying of Brahmâ, we have got orders to stay here. On hearing the words of Brahmâ, wo went out quickly keeping the wheel go on, our object being to determine which place is best and holiest. When we came here, the felly of the wheel become thin and shorn before my eyes; hence this Ksettra is called Naimis; it is the most sanctifying place. Kali cannot enter here; hence the Mahatmas, Munis and Siddhas, terrified by the Kali age, have followed me and resorted to this place. We have performed yajñas with Purodâsa (clarified butter as is offered in oblations to fire) where no animals are sacrificed; now we have no other important work to do except to pass our time here until the arrival of Satyayuga. O S’ûta! we are extremely fortunate in all respects that you have come here; purify us to-day by narrating to us the names of the Purânas equivalent to the Vedas. O S’ûta! you are also a learned orator; we, too, are ardent listeners, with no other works to bother our heads; narrate to us to-day the auspicious holy Bhâgavata Purâna. O S’ûta! Long live you; and no ailings, internal, external, or from the Devas torment you. (this is our blessing to you). We have heard that in the most sanctifying Purâna, narrated by Maharsi Dvaipâyan, all about Dharma (religion), Artha (Wealth) and Kama (desires) are duly described as well the acquiring of Tattvajñan and liberation are also spoken of. O S’ûta! our desires are not satisfied the more we hear of those beautiful holy words. Now describe to us the highly pure S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam where all the Lilas (the dramatic acts) of the Mother of the three worlds purifying the sins, adorned with all the qualifications are described as yielding all the desires like the Kalpa Vriksa (the celestial tree yielding all desires).

Thus ends the second chapter of the first Skandha on the description of the Purâna (the text) in Mahâ Purâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Here ends the Second Chapter of S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam on questions put by Saunaka and other Risis.

Chapter 3. On Praising The Purânas And On Each Vyâsa Of Every Dvâpara Yuga

1-11. Sûta said :-- “O best of the Munis! I am now telling you the names of the Purânas, etc., exactly as 1 have heard from Veda Vyâsa, the son of Satyavati; listen. The Purâna beginning with "ma" are two in number; those beginning with “bha” are two; those beginning with “bra" are three; those beginning with "va” are four; those beginning respectively with “A”, “na”, “pa”, “Ling”, “ga”, “kû” and “Ska” are one each and “ma” means Matsya Purâna, Mârkandeya Purâna; “Bha” signifies Bhavisya, Bhâgavat Purânas; “Bra” signifies Brahmâ, Brahmânda and Brahmâvaivarta Purânas; “va” signifies Vâman, Vayu, Visnu and Varaha Purânas; “A” signifies Agni Purâna; “Na” signifies Narada Purâna; “Pa” signifies Padma Purâna; “Ling” signifies Linga Purânam; “Ga” signifies Govinda Purânam; Kû signifies Kurma Purâna and “Ska” signifies Skanda Purânam. These are the eighteen Purânas. O Saunaka! In the Matsya Purâna there are fourteen thousand slokas; in the wonderfully varied Markandeya Purânam there are nine thousand slokas. In the Bhavisya Purâna fourteen thousand and five hundred slokas are counted by the Munis, the seers of truth. In the holy Bhâgavata there are eighteen thousand S’lokas; in the Brahmâ Purâna there are Ajuta (ten thousand) S’lokas. In the Brahmânda Purâna there are twelve thousand one hundred S’lokas; in the Brahmâ Vaivarta Purânam there are eighteen thousand S’lokas. In the Vaman Purâna there are Ajuta (ten thousand) S’lokas; in the Vayu Purânam there are twenty-four thousand and six hundred S’lokas; in the greatly wonderful Visnu Purâna there are twenty-three thousand S’lokas; in the Agni Purânam there are sixteen thousand S’lokas; in the Brihat Narada Purânam, there are twenty-five thousand S’lokas, in the big Padma Purâna there are fifty-five thousand s'lokas; in the voluminous Linga Purâna eleven thousand s’lokas exist; in the Garuda Purânam spoken by Hari nineteen thousand s'lokas exist; iu the Kurma Purâna, seventeen thousand s'lokas exist and in the greatly wonderful Skanda Purâna there are eighty-one thousand s'lokas, O sinless Risis! Thus I have described to you the names of all the Purânas and the number of verses contained in them. Now hear about the Upa Purânas.

12-17. The first is the Upapurâna narrated by Sanat Kumâra; next comes Narasimha Purâna; then Naradiya Purâna, S’iva Purâna, Purâna narrated by Durvasa, Kapila Purâna, Manava Purâna, Aus’anasa Purâna, Varuna Purâna. Kalika Purâna, Samva Purâna, Nandi Kes’wara Purâna, Saura Purâna, Purâna spoken by Parâs’ara, Âditya Purâna, Mahesvara Purâna, Bhâgavata and Vasistha Purâna. These Upa Purânas are described by the Mahatmas. After compiling the eighteen Purânas, Veda Vyâsa, the son of Satyavati composed Mahabharata, that has no rival, out of these Purânas.

18-24. At every Manvantara, in each Dvâpara Yuga, Veda Vyâsa expounds the Purânas duly to preserve the religion. Veda Vyâsa is no other person than Visnu Himself; He, in the form of Veda Vyâsa, divides the (one) Veda into four parts, in every Dvâpara Yuga, for the good of the world. The Brahmânas of the Kali age are shortlived and their intellect (Buddhi) is not sharp; they cannot realise the meaning after studying the Vedas; knowing this in every Dvâpara Yuga Bhagavân expounds the holy Purâna Samhitas. The more so because women, S’udras, and the lower Dvijas are not entitled to hear the Vedas; for their good, the Purânas have been composed. Tne present auspicious Manvantara is Vaivasvata; it is the seventh in due order; and the son of Satyavati, the best of the knowers of Dharma, is the Veda Vyâsa of the 28th Dvâpara Yuga of this seventh Manvantara. He is my Guru; in the next Dvâpara, Yuga Asvatthama, the son of Drona will be the Veda Vyâsa. Twenty-seven Veda Vyâsas had expired and they duly compiled each their own Purâna Samhitas in their own Dvâpara Yugas.

25-35. The Risis said :-- “O highly fortunate Sûta! kindly describe to us the names of the previous Veda Vyâsas, the reciters of the Purânas in the Dvâpara Yugas. Sûta said :-- In the first Dvâpara, Brahmâ Himself divided the Vedas; in the second Dvâpara, the first Prajapati Vyâsa did the same; so S’akra, in the third, Brihaspati, in the fourth, Surya in the fifth; Yama, in the sixth, Indra, in the seventh, Vasistha, in the eighth; Sarasvata Risi in the ninth, Tridhama, in the tenth; Trivrisa, in the eleventh, Bharadvâja, in the twelfth; Antariksa, in the thirteenth; Dharma, in the fourteenth; Evaruni in the fifteenth; Dhananjaya, in the sixteenth; Medhatithi in tba seventeenth; Vrati, in the eighteenth; Atri, in the nineteenth; Gautama in the twentieth, Uttama, whose soul was fixed on Hari, in the twenty-first, Vâjasravâ Vena, in the twenty second; his family descendant Soma iu the twenty-third; Trinavindu, in the twenty-fourth; Bhârgava, in the twenty-fifth; Sakti, in the twenty-sixth, Jâtûkarnya in the twenty-seventh and Krisna Dvaipâyana became the twenty-eighth Veda Vyâs in the Dvâpara Yugas. Thus I have spoken of the 28 Veda Vyâsas, as I heard. 1 have heard the holy S’rimad Bhâgavat from the month of Krisna Dvaipayana. This removes all troubles, yields all desires, and gives Moksa and is full of the meanings of the Vedas. This treatise contains the essence of all the S’astras and is dear always to the Mamuksas (those who want Moksa or liberation).

36-43. O best Munis! Thus, compiling the Purânas Veda Vyâsa thought this Purâna to be the best; so (without teaching it to other persons) he settled that his own son the high-sould S’uka Deva born of the dry woods used for kindling fire (excited by attrition), having no passion for the worldly things, would be the fit student to be taught this Purâna and therefore taught him; at that time I was a fellow student along with S’aka Deva and I heard every thing from the mouth of Vyâsa Deva and realised the secret meanings thereof. This has happened through the grace of the merciful Guru Veda Vyâsa.

Here ends the Third Chapter of S’rimad Devi Bhâgavatam on praising the Purânas and on each Vyâsa of every Dvâpara Yuga.

Chapter 4. On The Excellency Of The Dev

1-3. The Risis said :-- O Saumya! How was S’uka Deva born? Who studied these Purâna Samhitâs; by which wife of Vyâsa Deva? And How? O highly intelligent one! You have just spoken that S’uka Deva was not born from womb, in the natural way; he was born of the dry pieces of wood for Homa sacrifice. But we heard before that the great ascetic was Yogi even in his mother's womb, so a great doubt comes to our minds. You better remove that to-day; how he studied also these Purânas, as vast in their nature; say this.

4-5. Sûta said :-- In long-past days, Satyavati's son Vedas Vyâs, while in his own hermitage on the banks of the river Sarasvati, was greatly wondered to see a pair of Châtakas (Sparrows). He saw the pair putting  the beak of their young one, just born of the egg, of beautiful body, red mouth, and greasy body. They do not care at all for their own hunger and toil; all they are caring for is to nurture their young one. He said also that the pair are rubbing their bodies over the body and kissing lovingly the mouth of the young one and feeling the highest pleasure. Seeing this wonderful affection of the two sparrows towards their young, Veda Vyâs became very anxious and thought over the following in his mind.

9-14. Oh! What wonder is there, when the birds have so much filial affection towards their child, that men, who want services from their sons, would show their affection towards their sons! This pair of sparrows will not perform the happy marriage of their young one and will not see the face of their son’s wife; nor when they will grow old, that their child would become very religious and serve them to attain great merits in Heaven. Nor do they expect that their child would earn money and satisfy them nor the child would perform when they die, their funeral obsequies duly and help them in their sojourn in the next world; nothing of all these. Nor will the child perform the S’râdh ceremony at Gayâ; nor will the child offer the oblation of a blue bull on the day of offering the sacrifice to its ancestor (the bull is then let loose and held sacred); yet the pair of sparrows have so much affection towards their young one! Oh! in this world to touch the body of the son, especially to nurture the sons, is the highest happiness in life.

15-27. There is no prospect in the after birth of the sonless; never, never will Heaven be his. Without son, there is none other who can be of help in the next world. Thus in the Dharma S’âstras, Manu and other Munis declare that the man who has sons goes to Heaven and the sonless one can never go to Heaven. The man possessing a son is entitled to the Heavenly pleasures can be vividly seen, rather than imagined. The man with son is freed from sins; this is the word of the Vedas. The sonless man becomes very much distressed even at the time of death and while lying on bed that is ground at that time, mournfully thinks. “This all my vast wealth, various things, this my beautiful house, who will enjoy all these?” When the sonless man is thus perplexed in his mind at the time of his death and becomes restless, then it is sure that his future career is full misfortunes; unless one’s mind is calm and serene at the time of death, can never attain a good goal. Thus thinking variously, the Satyavati's son Veda Vyâs sighed heavily and became unmindful. He thought of various plans and at last, coming to a definite conclusion, went to the Sumeru mountain to perform Tapasyâ. On reaching there, he thought which Deva he will worship! Visnu, S’iva, Indra, Brahmâ, Surya, Ganes’a, Kârtikeya, Agni, or Varuna? Who will grant him boon quickly and thus satisfy his desires. While thus cogitating in his mind, came there the Muni Nârada, of one mind with lute in hamd, accidentally in his course of travels. Seeing Nârada, the Satyavati’s son Veda Vyâsa gave him a hearty welcome, with great gladness, offering him Arghya and Âsan (seat) and asked about his welfare. Hearing this question of welfare, Nârada Muni spoke :-- “O Dvaipâyan! Why do you look so care worn! First speak this out to me”.

28-30. Veda Vyâsa said :-- “ The sonless man has no goal; therefore there is no happiness in my mind; I am always anxious to get a son and therefore I am very sorry. To-day my mind is sorely troubled with the one idea, which Deva I may satisfy by my tapasyâ, who will grant me my desires; now I take your refuge. O merciful Maharsi! You are omniscient; say this quickly; which Deva I will take for my refuge, who will grant me a son”.

31-37. Sûta said :-- Thus questioned by Krisna Dvaipâyan Veda Vyâsa, the high souled Nârada Muni, well versed in the Vedas, became very glad and spoke thus :-- O highly fortunate Parâs'arâ’s son. The question that you have asked me to-day was formerly asked by my father to Nârâyana. At this, Nârâyana Vasudeva, the Deva of the Devas, the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of the Universe, the husband of Laksmî, the four armed, wearing yellow garment, holding conchshell, discus, club and with the mark S’rîvatsa (a mark or curl of hair on the heart of Visnu) adorning His breast and decorated with  Kaustuvagem, the Divinity Himself, became merged in great Yoga; at this my Father became greatly surprised and said :-- “O Janârdana! Thou art the Deva of the Devas; the Lord of the Present, the Past and the Future, the Lord of this Universe; why art thou meditating in Yoga? And what is it that Thou art meditating? O best of the Devas! Thou art the Lord of the entire Universe and yet Thou art now merged in deep meditation. At this I am greatly surprised (my surprise is not without foundation; Thou canst Thyself see). What more wonderful than this can happen?

38-43. O Lord of Rama! I am sprung from the lotus from thy navel and have become the Lord of this whole universe; who is there in this universe that is superior to Thee; kindly say this to me. O Lord of the world? Thou art the Origin of all, the Cause of all causes, the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer and the capable Doer of all actions. O Maharaja! at Thy will, I create this whole universe and Rudra destroys iu due time this world. He is always under Thy command. O Lord! By Thy command the Sun roams in the sky; the wind blows in various auspicious or inauspicious ways and the fire is giving heat and the cloud showers rain. I don’t see in the three Lokas any one superior to Thee. Then whom art Thou meditating while being questioned by his very intelligent son S’uka Deva! not born in the usual way from womb, Dvaipâyana expounded all the secret excellent meanings of the Purâna and thereby I also came to know them also. O saintly persons! Thus S’uka Deva, sincerely earnest to cross this endless bottomless ocean of S’amsara, tasted of the wonderful traits of the Veda, the Kalpa tree, this S’rimad Bhâgavata with its numerous stories and anecdotes with great eagerness and intense pleasure.

38-43. Oh! Who is there in this world that is not freed from this terror of Kali, after he has heard this Bhâgavata. Even if the greatest sinner, void of the right ways of living and Achara as ordained in the Vedas, hears on a pretence this excellent Devî Bhâgavata, the chief of the Purânas, he enjoys all the great enjoyments of this world and in the end attains the eternal place occupied by the Yogis. She who is rare, in Her Nirguna aspect, to even Hari and Hara, who is very dear as Tattva Vidya to the Jñanins whose real nature can be realised only in Samâdhi, She resides always in the cavity of the heart of the hearers of the Bhâgavata Purâna. He who getting the all qualified human birth and getting the reciter of this Purâna, the boat to cross, as it were, this world, does not hear this blissful Purâna, he is certainly deprived by the Creator. How is it that the way-ward dull-headed persons, getting the vicious ears, can hear always the faults and calumnies of others, that are entirely useless, and cannot hear this pure Purâna that contains the four Vargas :-- Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Mokhsa? This is my main point of doubt. O One of good vows! I am Thy devotee; be merciful to me and speak this to me. There is almost nothing that is secret to Mahâpurusas; this is a well-known fact”.

44-50. Thus hearing Brahmâ's words, Bhagavan Nârâyana spoke :-- “O Brahmân! I now speak out my mind to you; listen carefully. Though the Devas, Dânavas and men and all the Lokas know that You are the Creator, I am the Preserver and Rudra is the Destroyer, yet it is to be known that the saints, versed in the Vedas, have come to this conclusion by inference from the Vedas that the creation, preservation, and destruction are performed by the creative force, preservative force and destructive force. The Rajasik creative force residing in you, the  Sattvik preservative force residing in me, and the Tamasik destructive force residing in Rudra are the all-in-all. When these Saktis become absent, you become inert and incapable to create, I to preserve and Rudra to destroy. O intelligent Suvrata! We all are always under that Force directly or indirectly; hear instances that you can see and infer. At the time of Pralaya, I lie down on the bed of Ananta, subservient to that Force; again I wake up in the time of creation duly under the influence of Time.

51-54. I am always subservient to that Maha S’akti; (under Her command) I am engaged in Tapasyâ for a long time; (By Her command) some time I enjoy with Lakshmî; some time I fight battles, terrible to all the Lokas, with the Dânavas, involving great bodily troubles. O Know of Dharma! It was before Your presence that I fought hand to hand fight for five thousand  years before Your sight on that one great ocean in long-past days with the two demons Madhu and Kaitabha, sprung from the wax of my ear, maddened with pride; and by the grace of the Devî, successfully killed the two Dânavas.

55-61. O highly fortunate one! you realised then the great S’akti, higher than the highest and the cause of all causes; then why are you asking again and again that question. By the will of that S’akti, I have got this idea of man and roam on the great ocean; in yuga after yuga, I assume by Her will, the Tortoise, Boar, Man-Lion, and Dwarf incarnations. No one likes to take birth in the womb of inferior animals (especially birds). Do you think that I willingly take unpleasant births as in the womb of boars, tortoise, i.e., certainly not. What independent man is there who abandons the pleasurable enjoyment with Laksmi and takes birth in inferior animals as fish, etc. or leaves his seat on the seat of Gaduda and becomes engaged in great war-conflicts. O Svayambhu! In ancient days you saw before your eyes that my head was cut off when the bowstring suddenly gave way; and then you, brought a horse's head and by that help, the divine artist Visvakarma, stuck that on to my headless body. O Brahmâ! Since then I am known amongst men by the name of  “Hayagrîva”. This is well-known to you. Now say, were I independent, would such an ignominy have happened to me? Never. Therefore I am not independent; I am in every way under that S’akti. O Lotus-born! I always meditate on that S’akti; and I do not know any other than this S’akti”.

62-66. Nârada said :-- Thus spoke Visnu to Brahmâ. O Muni Vedavyâs! Brahmâ spoke these to me. So you, too, better meditate the lotus feet of Bhâgavati calmly in the lotus of your heart for the success of your idea. That Devî will give you all that you wish. Sûta said :-- At these words of Nârada, Satyavati's son Veda Vyâsa went out to the hills for Tapasyâ, trusting the lotus feet of the Devî as the all-in-all in this world.

Thus ends the fourth chapter of the first Skandha on the excellency of the Devî in the Mahapurâna S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 5. On The Narrative Of Hayagrîva

1-4. The Risis said :-- “O Sûta! Our minds are merged in the sea of doubt, hearing your this most wonderful saying, surprising to the whole world. The head of Janârdan Mâdhava, the Lord of all, was severed out of His body! And He was afterwards known as Hayagrîva, the horse-faced! Oh! what more wonder can there be than this? Whom the Vedas even praise, all the Devas rest on Whom, Who is the Cause of all causes, the Âdi Deva Jagannath (the Lord of the universe), Oh! how is it that His head came to be severed! O highly intelligent one! Describe all this to me in detail”.

5-9. Sûta said :-- O Munis! Hear all attentively the glorious deeds of the supremely energetic Visnu, the Deva of the Devas. Once on a time the eternal Deva Janârdana became tired after the terrible continuous battle for ten thousand years. After this the Lord Nârâyana seated Himself on Padmâsan (a kind of posture) in some lovely place on a level plot of ground and placing his head on the front of his bow with the bow strung and placed erect on the ground fell fast asleep. Visnu, the Lord of Ramâ, was exceedingly tired and thus he fell soon into deep sleep. At this time Indra and the other Devas, with Brahmâ and Mahesâ began a sacrifice.

10-13. Then they, for the sake of success in Deva's well, went to the region of Vaikuntha to meet with the Deva Janârdana, the Lord of sacrifices. There the Devas, not finding Visnu, came to know by their Dhyân (meditation) where Bhagavân Visnu was staying and thither they went. They saw that the Lord Visnu, the Deva of the Devas was lying unconscious, being under the arms of Yoganidrâ (the yogic sleep). Therefore they took their seats there. Seeing the Lord of the universe asleep, Brahmâ, Rudra and the other Devas became anxious.

14-18. Indra then addressed the Devas :--“O best of the Suras! Now what is to be done! How shall we rouse Bhagavân from His sleep? Now think of the means by which this can be effected”. Hearing Indra's words S’ambhu said :-- “O good Devas! Now we must finish our sacrificial work. But if the sleep of Bhagavân be disturbed, He would get angry.” Hearing S’ankara's words, Paramesthî Brahmâ created Vamrî insects (a sort of white ants) so that they might eat up the forepart of the bow that was lying on the ground causing the other end rise up and thus break His sleep. Thus the Deva's purpose will, no doubt, be fulfilled. Thus settling his mind, the eternal Deva Brahmâ ordered the white ants Vamrîs to cut the bow string.

19-22. Hearing this order of Brahmâ, Vamrî spoke to Brahmâ, thus :-- “O Brahmân! How can I disturb the sleep of the Devadeva, Lord of Laksmî, the World Guru? To rouse one from one's deep sleep, to interrupt one in one's speech, to sever the love between a couple husband and wife, to separate a child from one's mother, all these are equivalent to Brahmâhatyâ (murdering a Brahmân). Therefore, O Deva! how can I interrupt the happiuess of sleep of the Devadeva? And what benefit shall I derive by eating the bowstring, so that I may incur this vicious act? But a man can commit a sin if there be any interest of his; I am ready to eat this, if I get a personal interest”.

23-24. Brahmâ said :-- We will give you, too, share in this our Yajña (sacrifice); so hear me; do our work and rouse Visnu from His sleep. During the time of performing Homa whatever ghee will fall outside the Homa-Kund (the sacrificial pit) will fall to your share; so be quick and do this.

25-30. Sûta said :-- Thus ordered by Brahmâ, the Vamrî insect soon ate away the fore end of the bow that rested on the ground. Immediately the string gave way and the bow went up; the other end became free and a terrible sound took place. The Devas bcame afraid; the whole universe got agitated; the earth trembled. The sea became swollen; the aquatic animals became startled; violent wind blew; the mountains shook; ominous meteors fell. The quarters assumed a terrific aspect; the Sun went down the horizon. In that time of distress the Devas became anxious what evil might come down. O ascetics! while the Devas were thus cogitating, the head with crown on it of the Devadeva Visnu vanished away ; no body knew where it fell.

31-36. When the awful darkness disappeared, Brahmâ and Mahâdeva saw the disfigured body of Visnu with its head off. Seeing that headless figure of Visnu they were greatly surprised; they were drowned in the ocean of cares and, overwhelmed with grief, began to weep aloud. O Lord! O Master! O Devadeva! O Eternal one! what unforeseen extraordinary mishap occurred to us to-day! O Deva! Thou canst not be pierced nor cut asunder, nor capable of being burnt; how is it then that Thy head has been taken away! Is this the Mâyâ (majic) of some. Deva? O all pervading one! The Devas cannot live when Thy condition is thus; we do not know what affection dost Thou have towards us. We are crying because of our selfish ends; perhaps this therefore has occurred. The Daityas, Yaksas, or Râkhsasas have not done this; O Lord of Laksmî! Whose fault will we ascribe this to? The Devas themselves have committed this loss to themselves?

37-41. O Lord of the Devas! The Devas are. now dependent! They are under Thee. Now where are we to go? What are we to do? There is none to save the dull stupid Devas! At this juncture, seeing S’iva and the other Devas crying, Brihaspati, supremely versed in the Vedas, consoled them thus :-- “O highly fortunate one! what use there will be in thus crying and repenting? it ought you now to consider the means that you should adopt to redress your calamities. O Lord of the Devas! Fate and one's own exertion and intelligence are equal; if the success comes not through Fate (Luck or chance) one is certainly to show one's prowess and merit”.

42-46. Indra said :-- Fie to your exertion when, before our eyes, the head of Bhagavân Visnu Himself has been carried off! Fie, Fie to your prowess and intelligence! Fate is in my opinion, the supreme.

Brahmâ said :-- Whatever, auspicious or inauspicious, is ordained Daiva (Fate), every one must bear that; no one can go beyond the Daiva. When one has taken up a body, one must experience pleasure and pain; there is no manner of doubt in this. See, in long-past days, by the irony of Fate, S’ambhu severed my head; His generative organ, too, dropped down through curse. Similarly Hari's head has, to-day, fallen into the salt ocean. By the influence of time, Indra, the Lord of Sachi, had thousand genital marks over his body, was expelled from Heaven and had to live in the Mânas sarovar in the lotuses and had to suffer many other miseries.

47-50. O Glorious ones! When such personages have suffered pains, then who else is there in the world, that dues not suffer! so you all cease sorrows and meditate on the Eternal Mahâmâyâ; who is the Mother of all, who is supporter of all, who is of the nature of Brahmâvidyâ (the Supreme Knowledge) and who is beyond the Gunas, who is the Prime Prâkriti, and who pervades the three Lokas, the whole universe, moving and unmoving; She will dispense our welfare. Sûta said :-- Thus saying to the Devas, Brahmâ ordered all the Vedas, that were incarnate there in their forms, for the successful issue of the Deva's work.

51-54. Brahmâ said :-- “OVedas! Now go on and chant hymns to the Sacred Highest Devî Mahâmâyâ, who is Brahmâvidyâ, who brings all issues to their successful issues, who is hidden in all forms.” Hearing His words, the all-beautiful Vedas began to chant hymns to Mahâmâyâ who can be comprehended by Jñân, and who pervades the world. The Vedas said :-- Obeisance to the Devî! to the Mahâmâyâ! to the Auspicious One! to the Creatrix of the Universe! We bow down to Thee, who is beyond the Gunas, the Ruler of all the Beings! O Mother! Thou givest to S’ankara even His desires. Thou art the receptacle of all the things; Thou art the Prâna of all the living beings; Thou art Buddhi, Laksmî (wealth), S’obhâ, Ks'hamâ (forgiveness), S’ânti (peace), Sraddhâ (faith), Medhâ (intellect), Dhriti (fortitude), and Smriti (recollection).

55. Thou art the vindu (m) over the Prânava (om) and thou art of the nature of semi-moon; Thou art Gâyattri, Thou art Vyârhiti; Thou art Jayâ, Vijayâ, Dhâtri (the supportress), Lajjâ (modesty), Kîrti (fame), Ichchâ (will) and Dayâ (mercy) in all beings.

56-57. O Mother! Thou art the merciful Mother of the three worlds; Thou art the adorable auspicious Vidyâ (knowledge) benefitting all the Lokas; Thou destroyest the Universe and Thou skilfully residest (hidden) in the Vîja mantras. Therefore we are praising Thee. O Mother! Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’vara, Indra, Sûrya, Fire, Sarasvatî and other Regents of the Universe are all Thy creation; so none of them is superior to Thee. Thou art the Mother of all the things, moving and non-moving.

58-61. O Mother ! When Thou dost will to create this visible Universe, Thou createst first Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'vara and makest them create, preserve and destroy this universe; but Thou remainest quite unattached to the world. Ever Thou remainest constant in Thy one form. No one in this Universe is able to know Thy nature; nor there is any body who can enumerate Thy names. How can he promise to jump across the illimitable ocean, who cannot jump across an ordinary well. O Bhagavatî! No one amongst the Devas even knows particularly Thy endless power and glory. Thou art alone the Lady of the Universe and the Mother of the world.

62-68. The Vedas all bear testimony how thou alone hast created all this unreal and fleeting universe. O Devî! Thou without any effort and having no desires hast become the cause of this visible world, thyself remaining unchanged. This is a great wonder. We cannot conceive this combination of contrary varieties in one. O Mother! How can we understand thy power, unknown to all the Vedas even, when thou thyself dost not know thy nature! We are bewildered at this. O Mother! It is that thou dost know nothing about the falling off of the Visnu's head! Or knowingly thou wanted to examine Visnu's prowess. Is it that Hari incurred any heinous sin. How can that be! Where is sin to thy followers who serve Thee! O Mother! Why art Thou so much indifferent to the Devas! It is a great wonder that the head of Visnu is severed! Really, we are merged in great misfortunes. Thou art clever in removing the sorrows of Thy devotees. Why art Thou delaying in fixing again the head on Visnu's body. O Devî! Is it that Thou taking offence on the gods hast cast that on Visnu! or was it that Visnu became proud and to curb that, Thou hast played thus! or is it that the Daityas, having suffered defeat from Visnu went and practised severe tapasya in some beautiful holy place, and have got some boons; and so Visnu's head has thus fallen off! Or is it, O Bhagavatî! that Thou wert very eagerly interested to see Visnu's headless body and therefore Thou hast seen thus! O Prime Force! Is it that Thou art angry on the daughter of the Sindhu (ocean); Laksmî Devî! Else, why hast Thou deprived Her of Her husband? Laksmî is born as a part of Thine; So Thou oughtest to forgive Her offence. Therefore dost Thou gladden Her by giving back Her husband's life. The principal Devas, engaged in Thy service, always make their Prânams (bow down) to Thee; O Devî! Beest Thou kind enough and make alive the Deva Visnu, the Lord of all and crossest us across this ocean of sorrows. O Mother! We cannot make out anything whatsoever where Hari's head has gone. We have no other protectress than Thee who canst give back His life? O Devî! Dost Thou give life to the whole world as the nectar gives life to all the Devas.

69-73. Sûta said :-- Thus praised by the Vedas with their Angas, with Sâmagânas (the songs from the Sâma Veda), the Nirgunâ Mahes'vari Devî Mahâmâyâ became pleased. Then the auspicious voice came to them from the Heavens, gladdening all, and pleasing to the ears though no form was seen: “O Suras! Do not care anything about it; you are immortal (what fear can you have?) Come to your senses. I am very much pleased by the praise sung by the Vedas. There is no doubt in this. Amongst men, whoever will read this My stotra with devotion, will get all what he desires. Whoever will hear this devotedly, during the three Sandhyas, will lie freed from troubles and become happy. When this stotra has been sung by the Vedas, it is equivalent to the Vedas.

74-75. Does anything take place in this world without any cause? Now hear why Hari's head was cut off. Once on a time, seeing the beautiful face of His dear wife Laksmî Devî, Hari laughed in presence of Her.

76-82. At this Laksmî Devî came to understand that “He has seen surely something ugly in my face and therefore He laughed; otherwise why my Husband would laugh at seeing me. But what reason can there be as to see ugliness in my face after so long a time. And why shall He laugh without seeing something ugly, without any cause. Or it may be, He has made some other beautiful woman as my co-wife”. Thus arguing variously in her mind, Mahâ Laksmî gradually got angry and Tamo guna slowly possessed Her. Then, by turn of Fate, in order that god’s work might be completed, very fierce Tamas Sakti entered into Her body. She got very angry and slowly said :-- “Let Thy head fall off”. Thus, owing to feminine nature and the destiny of Bhagvan, Laksmî cursed without any thought of good or bad, causing Her own suffering. By the Tâmasî S’akti possessing Her, she thought that a co-wife would be more painful than Her widowhood and thus She cursed Him.

83-86. Falsehood, vain boldness, craftiness, stupidity, impatience, over-greediness, impurity, and harshness are the natural qualities of women. Owing to that curse, the head of Vasudeva has fallen into the salt ocean. Now I will fix the head on His body as before. O Sura Sattamas! There is another cause, also, regarding this affair. That will bring you great success. In ancient days a famous Daitya, named Hayagrîva practised severe tapasya on the bank of the Sarasvatî river.

87-92. Abandoning all sorts of enjoyments, with control over his senses and without any food, the Daitya did Japam of the (repeated) one syllabled Mâyâ-Vija-mantra and, meditating the form of the Utmost Sakti of Mine, adorned with all ornaments, practised very terrible austerities for one thousand years. I, too, went to the place of austerities in My Tâmasî form, meditated by the Daitya and appeared before him. There, seated on the lion's back, feeling compassion for his tapasya I spoke to him :-- “O glorious One! O one of good vows! I have come to grant boon to Thee!” Hearing the words of the Devî, the Daitya instantly got up and falling down with devotion at Her feet, circumambulated Her. Looking at My form, his large eyes became cheerful with feelings of love and filled with tears; shedding tears, then, he began to chant hymns to Me.

93-95. Hayagrîva said :-- “Obeisance to the Devî Mahâmaye! I bow down to Thee, the Creatrix, the Preserver, and the Destructrix of the universe! Skilled in shewing favour to Thy devotees! Giver of the devotee's desires! Obeisance to Thee! O Thou, the giver of liberation! O Thou! The auspicious one! I bow down to Thee. Thou art the cause of the five elements -- earth, water, fire, air, and Akasa! Thou art the cause of form, taste, smell, sound and touch. O Mahes’vari! the five jñânendriyas (organs of perception) eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin and the five organs of action Karmendriyas :-- hands, feet, speech, arms, and the organ of generation are all created by Thee.

96-100. The Devî said :-- “O child! I am very much satisfied with your wonderful tapasya and devotion. Now say what boon do you want. I will give you the boon that you desire”. Hayagrîva said ;-- “O Mother! grant me that boon by which death will not come to me, and I be invincible by the Suras and Asuras, I may be a Yogi and immortal”. The Devî said :-- “ Death brings in birth and birth brings in death; this is inevitable.” This order of things is extant in this world; never its violation takes place. O best of the Râksasas! Thus knowing death sure, think in your mind and ask another boon. Hayagrîva said: -- “O Mother of the universe! If it be that Thou art not willing at all to grant me immortality, then grant me this boon that my death may not occur from any other than from one who is horse-faced. Be merciful and grant me this boon that I desire.”

101-105. O highly fortunate one! “Go home and govern your kingdom at your ease; death won't occur to you from any other beings then from one who is horse-faced.” Thus granting the boon, the Devî vanished. Becoming very glad on getting this boon, Hayagrîva went to his residence. Since then the wicked Daitya is troubling very much all the Devas and Munis. There is none in the three worlds to kill him. So let Visvakarmâ take a horse's head and fix it on the headless body of Visnu. Then Bhagavân Hayagrîva will slay the vicious wicked Asura, for the good of the Devas”.

106-112. Sûta said :-- Thus speaking to the Devas, Bhagavatî S’arvânî remained silent. The Devas became very glad and spoke this to Visvakarmâ :--  “Kindly do this Deva work and fix Visnu's head. He will become Hayagrîva and kill the indomitable Dânava.” Sûta said :-- Hearing these words, Visvakarmâ quickly cut off with his axe, the head of a horse, brought it before the Devas and fixed it on the headless body of Visnu. By the grace of Mahâmâyâ, Bhagavân became horse-faced or Hayagrîva. Then, a few days after, Bhagavân. Hayagrîva killed that proud Dânava, the Deva's enemy, by sheer force. Any man, hearing this excellent anecdote, becomes freed, certainly of all sorts of difficulties. Hearing or reading Mahâmâyâ's glorious deeds, pure and sin destroying, gives all sorts of wealth.

Thus ends the fifth chapter of the first Skandha on the description of the narrative of Hayagrîva in the Mahâ Purâna S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 6. On The Preparation For War By Madhu Kaitabha

1-44. The Risis said :-- “O Saumya! Just now you have spoken of the fight for five thousand years, in that great ocean, between Bhagavân S’auri and Madhu Kaitabha. How was it that the two greatly powerful Dânavas, invincible of the Devas came to be born there? And why did Bhagavân Hari kill them? O highly intelligent one! Kindly describe that greatly wonderful event. We all are extremely eager to hear it, and you are the great Pundit and speaker, present before us. It is our good luck that we have come across you here. As the contact with the illiterate is very painful, so the contact with the literate is very happy like nectar. The animals in this world live like illiterates; they eat, call for their nature, void urines and faeces, and know wonderfully well the sexual intercourse. Only they want discriminative knowledge of right and wrong, of the real and unreal, and a knowledge of discrimination, leading to Moksa or final liberation; this is the only point of difference. Therefore the persons that have no liking to hear of Bhâgavata and books like it, are like beasts; there is no doubt in this. Behold! Deer and some other animals can enjoy well the sense of hearing like men; and the serpents, though wanting in the organ of hearing, become charmed quite like men, as if tasting the pleasure of hearing sweet sounds. Verily out of the five organs of perception the organ of hearing and the organ of sight are benefitting, for the knowledge of things arises from hearing and the heart is pleased by seeing. Therefore the Pundits divide in three classes, the objects of hearing, as :-- (1) Sâttvik, (2) Râjasik and (3) Tâmasik. The Vedas and other S’âstras are Sâttvik; the literature Sahitya is the Râjasik and war news and finding fault with others is Tâmasik. The wise persons again sub-divide the Sâttvik in three sub-classes :-- good, middling and worst. That which gives Moksa is good or excellent; that which gives Heavens is middling and that which gives this worldly pleasure is worst. In the same way, the literature Sahitya is of three kinds :-- That which describes the people to live with their legitimate wives is the best; which describes about prostitutes is the middling; and that which makes people live with other's wives is the worst.

The seers of Sâstras, the learned men divide the subjects of the Tâmasik hearing into three classes :-- That in which fight with the enemies is described is best; where the fight, as of the Pandavas, with the enemies out of hatred, ill-feeling, is described is middling; and that where fighting is described without any cause is worst. Therefore, O highly intelligent one! Hearing the Purânas is far superior to hearing other S’âstras, for thereby sins are destroyed, intellect is increased and Punyam (good merits) is stored. So, O intelligent one! Kindly describe to us, the Purânas, fulfilling all the requirements of life, that you heard before from the mouth of Krisna Dvaipâyana”. Hearing these words of the Risis, Sûta said :-- “O highly fortunate ones! When you all are desirous to hear the Purânas and I am ready to tell them, then both of us are blessed on the surface of the earth”. In days of yore, in the time of Pralaya (universal dissolution) when the three lokas and the entire universe dissolved in water, when the Devadeva Janârdana was lying asleep on the bed of Ananta, the thousand headed serpent, arose from the was of the ear of Bhagavân Visnu, the two very powerful Daityas Madhu and Kaitabha; they grew in the waters of the ocean and played around in the waters and thus passed some of their time. Once, on a time, when the two huge bodied Dânavas were playing with each other like two brothers, they thought that the general rule of the universe is that no effect takes place without a cause and nothing can rest without the receptacle thereof. But we cannot understand what is our receptacle or who is resting on us. Whereon rests this pleasant expanse of wide ocean? Who was it that created this? How was this created? Why are we living here merged within the water? Who created us? and who are our father and mother. Nothing of a these we know. Thus thinking, when they could not come to any conclusion, Kaitabha spoke to Madhu, beside him, within the waters :-- “O Brother! It seems to me the great immoveable force that makes us rest in this water is the cause of all. This whole mass of water, too, pervaded by that force, rests on that; that Highest Devî must be the Cause of us”.

When the two Asuras, merged in this thought, understood this, they heard in the air the beautiful Vâgvîja (the seed mantra of Vâk, the speech, the Devî Sarasvatî). They then began to pronounce repeated the Vâgvîja mantra and practised it with the great steadfastness. Next they saw, risen high up in the air, the auspicious lightning and thought that certainly our mantra that we are repeating has made Herself visible in this form of light and thus we have seen certainly in the air, the saguna form (form with attributes) of Sarasvatî, the goddess of Speech. Thus thinking in their minds they, without any food, with their minds controlled, constantly thought of that, with their whole mind collected on that, and repeating and meditating the mantra became one with that. Thus they passed one thousand years in practising that great tapas; when the Highest Âdyâ S’akti became pleased with them and seeing the two Dânavas, steadfast in the practice of Tapas, tired, address them, invisibly in the way of celestial voice thus :-- “O two Dânavas! I am exceedingly pleased with your tapasyâ; so ask boon whatever you desire; I will grant it.” Hearing, then, the celestial voice, thus the two Dânavas said :-- “O Devî! O Suvrate! Grant us that we will die whenwe will.” Hearing this, Vagdevî said :-- “O two Dânavas! Certain by My grace, you two will die when you will and you two brothers will be invincible of all the Suras and Asuras. There is no doubt in this”.

Sûta said :-- When the Devî granted them this boon, the two Dânavas, puffed up with pride, began to play with the aquatic animals in the ocean. O Brâhmins! Some days thus passed away when the two powerful Dânavas saw the Brahmâ, the Prajâpati, seated on the lotus of navel of Hari. Doubt came on their minds and they told him with a view to fight :-- “O Suvrata! Either fight with us, or leave off this lotus seat and go any where you like. If you be so weak, this auspicious lotus seat not fit for you. For this should be enjoyed by the heroes. So if you be a coward, leave it quickly”. Hearing these words of the Dânavas, Prajâpati, engaged in the practice of Tapasyâ, saw the two great powerful heroes and began to think anxiously “What should be done now” and waited there.

Thus ends the sixth chapter of the first Skandha on the preparation for war by Madhu Kaitabha in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 7. On The Praise Of The Devî

1-26. Sûta said :-- Seeing the two Dânavas very powerful, Brahmâ, the knower of all the S’âstras, thought of the means Sâma, Dâna, Bheda, Danda (conciliation, gifts, bribe, or sowing dissensions and war or punishment); which of these four he should apply. He thought thus :-- “I do not know their strength and it is not advisable to enter into war without knowing their strength. Again if I offer praises to them puffed up with pride, it will be simply displaying my own weakness; and when they will come to know this, only one of them will be sufficient to kill me and this they will do certainly. To offer bribes is not also advisable; and how can I sow dissensions. Therefore it is best that I should rouse the four armed Janârdana Visnu, who is very powerful, from his sleep on the thousand headed Ananta serpent. He will remove my difficulties”.

Thus thinking in his mind, Bhagavân Brahmâ, the lotus-born remained in the tubular stalk of the lotus from Visnu's navel and thence took refuge mentally of Visnu, the remover of difficulties and began to chant auspicious hymns composed of various metres to Jagannâth Nârâyana, involved in deep Yoganidrâ (meditative sleep). He said :-- “O Refuge of the poor! O Hari! O Visnu! O Vâmana! O Mâdhava, Thou art the Lord of the universe and omnipresent. O Hrisikes'a! Thou removest all the difficulties of Thy devotees; therefore leave your Yoganidrâ and get up. O Vâsudeva! O Lord of the Universe! Thou residest within the hearts of all and knowest their desires.

O Thou, holder of the disc and club! Thou always destroyest the enemies of Thy devotees; O Omniscient One! Thou art the Lord of all the Lokas and all-powerful; no one can know what is Thy form; O Lord of the Devas! Thou art the destroyer of all pains and sufferings! So get up and protect me. O Protector of the Universe! nothing is concealed from Thy eyes! Every one becomes pure by hearing and chanting Thy name. Thou art Nirâkâra (without any form); yet Thou createst, preservest and destroyest the Universe. O Cause of the world! O Supporter of all! Thou art shining as king of kings over all and yet Thou dost not understand that the two Dânavas, puffed up with pride have become ready to kill me. If thou dost neglect me, seeing me very much distressed and under your protection then Thy name as Preserver will become quite useless. Thus praised, when Visnu did not get up, Brahmâ thought that "Bhagavân Visnu is now surely under the influence of sleep of the Primal Force Âdyâ S’akti and is not therefore getting up; what am I to do now, thus distressed! These two Dânavas, elated with pride are ready to kill me; now what am I to do and where shall I go? I don't find any body who can protect me any where.” Thus thinking, Brahmâ came to the conclusion and decided to chant hymns to Yoga Nidrâ Herself with one pointed heart. Discussing in his mind, He thought that that Âdyâ S’akti (the Prime Force) which kept Bhagavân Visnu, senseless and motionless would alone be able to save him. As a dead man cannot hear any sound so Hari, merged in deep sleep, knows not anything. When I have praised Him so much and when He has not awakened, then it is certain that sleep is not under Hari, but Hari is under sleep, and he who is under another becomes his slave; so this Yoga Nidrâ is now exercising Her control over Hari. Again she, too, who brought Hari under control, that daughter of the Krsîra (milk) ocean is now under the control of Yoga Nidrâ; so it seems that that Bhagavatî Mahâmâyâ has brought the whole Universe under Her control.

Whether it be Myself, or Visnu or S’ambhu, or Sâvitrî or Ramâ or Umâ, all are under Her control; there is nothing to be doubted here? What to speak of other high souled persons! Now I will chant hymns to Yoga Nidrâ, under whose influence Bhagavân Hari even is lying, under deep sleep, inert like an ordinary man. When the eternal Vâsudeva Janârdana will be dispossessed by Her, He will no doubt fight with the Dânavas. Thus deciding, Bhagavân Brahmâ, seated on the tubular stalk of the lotus, began to chant hymns to Yoga Nidrâ, residing on the body of Visnu, thus :--

27-32. Brahmâ said :-- “O Devî! I have come to understand on the authority of all the words of the Vedas, that Thou art the only One Cause of this Universal Brahmânda. The more so when Thou hast brought the best Purusa Visnu, endowed with discrimination above all beings, under the control of sleep, then the above remark is self-evident.

O Thou, the Player in the minds of all beings! O Mother! I am extremely ignorant of the knowledge of Thy nature; when Bhagavân Hari is sleeping inert by Thy power, then who is there amongst Kotis and Kotis of wise men, who can understand completely the Pastime, Leelâ, full of Mâyâ of Thine, who art beyond the Gunas. The Sânkhya philosophers say (that the Purusa (the male aspect of S’akti) is the pure, conscious being and that Thou art the Prakriti, without any consciousness, material inert, Creatrix of the universe; but, O Mother! art Thou really inert like that? Never like that; had it been like that, how is it that Thou hast made Bhagavân Hari, the receptable of the world quite unconscious like this? O Bhavâni! Thou, being beyond the Gunas art displaying like a dramatic performance these various dramatic plays by the conjunction with the three Gunas. It is Thy three qualities, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas that the Munis meditate every day in the morning mid-day, and evening, the three Sandhyâs; but no one is aware of Thy ways of doings. O Devî! Thou art of the nature of the judgment and understanding giving rise to knowledge of all the beings in the Universe; Thou art always the S’ri (wealth and prosperity) giving pleasures to the Devas. O Mother! Thou art reigning in all as Kîrti (fame), mati (intellect), Dhriti (fortitude). Kânti (beauty) S’raddhâ (faith) and Rati (enjoyment). O Mother! Now I am put to great difficulties and therefore I have got eye witness of Thy nature; no need of further reasoning and discussing about it.

27-50. I have now known that verily, verily Thou art the only Mother of all the worlds as Thou hast brought Hari under the influence of sleep. O Devî! Now when it is evident that all the worlds, etc., have come from Thee, then the Vedas have also come from Thee; what doubt is there? So the Vedas, too, do not know fully Thy nature; for the effect can never know its cause. So, it is very true that Thou art incomprehensible of the Vedas, O Mother! When I, Hari, Hara and the other Devas and my son Nârada and other Munis have not able to realise Thy nature fully, then who else can be so intelligent in this world that will realise all Thy nature? So Thy glory is beyond the speech of all beings. O Devî! If, in the place of sacrifice, the ritualists, the knowers of the Vedas, do not utter Thy name Svâhâ, then the Devas, participators of the offerings in Yajña, do not get their share, however hundreds of oblations be offered; so Thou art also the giver of sustenance allowances to the Devas. O Bhagavatî! In previous Kalpas, Thou hadst saved me terrified from the fear of the Dânavas. O Devî Varade! now, too, I am terrified at the sight of the terrible forms of Madhu and Kaitabha and take Thy refuge. O high-minded one! Now I thoroughly see that by Thee, by Thy power Yoganidrâ the whole body of Bhagavân Visnu is senseless; but how is it that Thou dost not realise my sufferings. So, either dost Thou leave possession of this Âdi-Deva, or destroy Thyself these two Danavendras -- lost do either of the two as Thou likest. O Devî! Those that do not know Thy extraordinary powers, those stupid ones meditate Hari, Hara, etc. But, O Mother! By Thy grace, I realise to-day, as eye-witness, that Visnu even is to-day lying unconscious in deep sleep, totally senseless of anything outside by Thy force. O Bhagavatî! Now, when Kamalâ, the daughter of Sindhu is unable to rouse Her husband Hari, by her effort, or rather Thou hast made Her, too, perforce, sleep unconsciously, it seems she is without any effort and does not know anything of what is going on outside. O Devî! Verily those are blessed who worship Thy lotus feet with their whole heart full of devotion and without any hope of getting rewards, abandoning the worship of other Devas and knowing Thee as the Creatrix of the whole world and the giver of all desires. Alas! now the intelligence, beauty, fame, and all good qualities have forsaken Hari and fled away to some unknown quarters. O Bhagavatî! Thou art really adorable in the three worlds for, by Thy power of Yoganidrâ, Hari has been kept in prison, as it were, in this way. O Mother! Thou art the S’akti of all this universe and endowed with all prowess and energy; all other things are Thy creation. As a dramatic player, though one, plays in the theatre, assuming many forms, so Thou, too, being one, playest always in this charming theatre of world, created by Thy Gunas, in various forms.

O Mother! Thou, in the beginning of the Yugas, dost manifest first the Visnu form and givest him the pure Sattrik Sakti, free from any obscuration and thereby madest Him preserve the Universe; and now it is Thyself that hast kept Him thus unconscious; therefore, it is an undoubted fact that Thou art doing whatever Thou willest, O Bhagavatî! I am now in danger; if it be Thy desire not to kill me, then dost break the silence, look on me and show Thy mercy. O Bhavâni! If it be not Thy desire to kill me, then why hast Thou created these two Dânavas, my death incarnate; or is it that Thou wantedest to put me to ridicule. I have come to know of Thy wonderful acts; Thou createst this whole Universe, and Thyself remaining aloof, playest always and in the time of Pralaya resolvest everything again into Thee. Therefore, O Bhavâni, what wonder is there, that Thou wouldst want to kill me in this way? But, O Mother! I won't feel any pain if Thou willingly killest me but this is to my great dishonour that being given power over these beings, I would then be made an object to be killed by the Daityas; this, indeed, is hard to me. So, O Thou Leelâmayî like a sportive girl! get up! O Devî! assumest the wonderful form Thyself and killest me or the two Daityas, as Thou willest; or rouse Hari who will then kill the Daityas. All these are in Thy hands.”

Sûta said :-- Thus praised by Brahmâ, the Nidrâ Devî (the goddess of sleep), of the nature of Tamo Gunas, quitted the body of Bhagavân Hari and stood by him. When thus left completely by the Devî Yoga Nidrâ, of unequalled brilliance and splendour, for the destruction of Madhu Kaitabha, Visnu began to move his body and at this Brahmâ became very glad.

Thus ends the seventh chapter of the First Skandha on the praise of the Devî in the Mahâ Purânam S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Vedavyâs.

Chapter 8. On Deciding Who Is To Be Worshipped

1-7. The Risis said :-- “O highly fortunate one! A great doubt has arisen on your statement. This is ascertained by all the wise men as written in the Vedas, Purânas and other Sâstras that Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'var, these three Devas are eternal. None is superior to them in this Brahmânda. Brahmâ creates all the beings, Visnu preserves and Mahes'var destroys all in due time. These are the causes of creation, preservation and destruction. The Trinity Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a are really one form, indeed, Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity.

Being endowed respectively with Sattva, Raja and Tamo Gunas they do their respective works. Amongst these, again, Purushottam Âdideva Jagannâth Hari, the husband of Kamalâ is the best; for he is capable of doing all the actions; no other than the Visnu, of unrivalled prowess is so capable. How is it, then that Yogamâyâ has overpowered Hari with sleep and made him altogether senseless? O highly fortunate one! whither did, then, go that extraordinary self knowledge and power, etc., of Hari while alive? This is our greatest doubt; so kindly advise us that our this doubt be removed and our well-being be thus ensured.

8-30. What is that S’aktî? Which you mentioned to us before; as well by whom Visnu is conquered? Whence is She born? What is the power of that S’aktî and what is Her nature? O Suvrata! explain to us these fully.

How was it that Yogamâyâ overpowered with sleep the Highest Deity Bhagavân Visnu who is everlasting-intelligence bliss! who is the God of all, the Guru of the whole world, the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer, who is omni-present, an incarnate of purity and holiness and beyond Rajoguna; how was such a personage brought under the control of sleep? O Sûta! You are very intelligent and the pupil of Vyasa Deva; destroy our this doubt by the sword of wisdom.

Hearing this, Sûta said :--“O highly fortunate Munis! There is none in the three Lokas who can clear your this doubt; the mind-born sons of Brahmâ, Nârada, Kapila and other eternal sons get bewildered by these questions; what can I, then, say on this very difficult point! See, some persons call Bhagavân Visnu omnipresent, the preserver of all and the best of all the Devas; according to them all this universe moving and non-moving, is created by Visnu; they bow down before the Highest Nârâyan Hrisikes'a Janârdana Vâsudeva and worship Him, whereas others worship Mahâdeva S’ankara, having Gauri for the other half of his body, endowed with all powers, residing in Kailâs'a, surrounded by hosts of bhutas, that destroyed the Daksha's sacrifice, who is mentioned in the Vedas as S’as'is'ekhara (having moon on his forehead), with three eyes and five faces and holding trident in his hand and known as Vrisadhaja and Kaparddi. O highly intelligent ones! There are some other persons, that know the Vedas and worship the Sun everyday in the morning, mid-day and in the evening with various hymns.

In all the Vedas, it is stated that the worship of the sun is excellent and they have named the high-souled sun as Paramâtmâ (the Highest Deity). Whereas there are other Vedavits (the knowers of the Vedas) who worship the Devas, Fire, Indra, and Varuna. But the Maharsis say, that as Gangâ Devi (the river Ganges), though one, is expressing Herself by many channels, so the one Visnu is expressing in all the Deva forms. Those who are big Pundits, declare perception, inference, and verbal testimony as the three modes of proofs. The Naiyâyik Pundits add to the above three, a fourth proof which they call upamâ, resemblance, similitude and some other intelligent Pundits add another fifth proof called Arthâpatti, an. inference from circumstances, presumption, implication. It is deduction of a matter from that which could not else be; it is assumption of a thing, not itself perceived but necessarily implied by another which is seen, heard or proved; whereas the authors of the Purânas add two other, called Sâksî and Aitijhya, thus advocating. seven modes of proofs. Now the Vedânta S’âstra says that the supreme being (Param Brahmâ), the Prime cause of the Universe, cannot be comprehended by the above-mentioned seven proofs. Therefore, first of all, adopt the reason leading to sure belief, the Buddhi, according to the words of the Vedas and discriminate and discuss again and again and draw your inference about Brahmâ. And the intelligent person should adopt what is seen by perception as self-evident and what is inferred by the observance of good conduct. The wise persons say, and it is also stated in the Purânas, that the Prime Force is present in Brahmâ as the Creative Force; is present in Hari as the Preservative Force; is present in Hara as the Destructive Force; is present in Kurma (tortoise) and in Ananta (the thousand headed Snake) as the earth supporting Force; is present in fire as the Burning Force, is present in air as the moving Force, and so is present everywhere in various manifestations of forces.

31-51. In this whole Universe, whoever he may be, all are incapable of any action if he be deprived of his force; what more than this, if S’iva be deprived of Kula Kundalinî S’aktî, He becomes a lifeless corpse; O great ascetic Risis! She is present everywere thus in every thing in this universe from the highest Brahmâ to the lowermost blade of grass, all moving and non-moving things. Verily everything becomes quite inert, if deprived of force; whether in conquering one's enemies, or in going from one place to another or in eating -- one finds oneself quite incapable, if deprived of force. Thus the omnipresent S’aktî, the wise call by the name of Brahmâ. Those who are verily intelligent should always worship Her in various ways and determine thoroughly the reality of Her by every means. In Visnu there is the Sattviki S’aktî; then He can preserve; otherwise He is quite useless; so in Brahmâ there is Rajasi S’aktî and He creates; otherwise He is quite useless; in S’iva, there is Tamasi S’aktî and He destroys; else He is quite useless. Thus, arguing again and again in one's mind, everyone should come to know that the Highest Âdya S’aktî by Her mere will creates and preserves this Universe and She it is who destroys again in time the whole Brahmânda, moving and non-moving; no one is capable to do his respective work be he Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'var, Indra, Fire, Sun, Varuna or any other person whatsoever; verily all the Devas perform the respective actions by the use of this Âdya S’aktî. That She alone is present in cause and effect and is doing every action, an be witnessed vividly. The intelligent ones call that S’aktî twofold; one is Sagunâ and the other is Nirgunâ. The people, attached to the senses and the objects, worship the Sagunâ aspect, and those who are not so attached worship the Nirguna aspect. That conscious S’aktî is the Lady of the fourfold aims of life, religion, wealth, desires, and liberation. When She is worshipped according to due rules, She awards all sorts of desires. The worldly persons, charmed by the Mâyâ of this world, do not know Her at all; some persons know a little and charm others; whereas some stupid and dull-deaded Pundits, impelled by Kali, start sects of heretics, Pâsandas for the sustenance of their own bellies. O highly fortunate Munis! In no other Yugas were found acts as prevalent in this Kali Yuga, based on various different opinions and altogether beyond the pale of the Vedic injunctions. Behold again, if Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a be the supreme Deities, then why do these three Devas meditate on another One beyond speech, beyond mind and practise, for years, hard austerities; and why do they perform Yajñas (sacrifices) for their success in creation, preservation, and destruction? They know, verily, the Highest Supreme Being, Brahmâni Devî S’aktî eternal, constant and therefore they meditate Her always in their minds. Therefore the wise man, knowing this firmly, should serve in every way the Highest S’aktî. O Munis! This is the settled conclusion of all the Sâstras. I have heard of this great hidden secret from Bhagavân Krisna Dvaipâyan. He heard it from Nârada, and Nârada heard it from his own father Brahmâ. Brahmâ heard this from Visnu. O Munis it is well that the wise even should not hear or think anything to the contrary from other sources; they should with their concentrated heart serve the Brahmâ Sanâtanî S’aktî. It is clearly witnessed in this world that if there be any substance wherein this conscious S’aktî does not exist, that becomes inert, quite useless for any purpose. So know this fully that it is the Highest Divine Mother of the Universe that is playing here, residing in every being.

Thus ends the eighth chapter of the first Skandha on deciding who is to be worshipped in the Mahapurâna Sri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Vedavyâsa.

Chapter 9. On The Killing Of Madhu Kaitabha

1-49. Sûta said:--O Munis! When the excellent Tâmasi S’akti, the Goddess presiding over sleep came out from the eyes, mouth, nose, heart, etc., of the body of the World-Guru Visnu and rested in the celestial space, then the powerful Lord Visnu began to yawn and got up. He saw the Prajâpati Brahmâ, terrified and spoke to him in words, deep like rumbling in the clouds :-- “O Bhagavân Padmayone! What makes you come here, and leave your tapasyâ? Why do you look so terrified and anxious?” Hearing this, Brahmâ said: “O Deva! The two very powerful and very terrible Daityas, Madhu Kaitabha sprung from the wax of Thy ears approached to kill me; terrified thus, I have come to Thee. So, O Lord of the Universe! O Vâsudeva! now I am quite out of senses and terrified; save me.” Visnu, then, said :-- “Now go and rest in peace, without any fear; let those two stupids, whose life has been well nigh exhausted, come to me for battle; I will certainly kill them.”

Sûta said :-- While Bhagavân Visnu, the Lord of all the Devas, was thus saying, those two very powerful Dânavas, elated with pride, came up there, in their search for Brahmâ. O Munis! The two proud Daityas stood there in the midst of the Pralaya water without anything to stand on and with calm attitude. They then spoke to Brahmâ as follows :-- O You have fled and come here? You cannot escape. Go on and fight. I will kill You before this one.

Then I will kill him also who sleeps on this bed of serpent. Either give us battle or acknowledge yourself as our servant. Hearing their words, Janârdan Visnu addressed them as follows:-- “O two Dânavas, mad for war! Come and fight with me as you like; I will surely curb your pride. O two powerful ones! If you trust me, come and fight”. Hearing this, the two Dânavas in the midst of that mass of water resting without any support, came up there to fight, with their eyes rolling with anger. The Daitya, named Madhu, became very angry, came up quickly to fight while Kaitabha remained where he stood. Then the hand-to-hand fight ensued between the  two mad athletes; Bhagavân Hari and Madhu became tired; Kaitabha came up and began to fight. After that Madhu and Kaitabha joined and, blind with rage, began to fight again and again hand to hand with the very powerful Visnu. And Bhagavân Brahmâ and the Prime Force Âdyâ S’akti witnessed this from the celestial Heavens. So the fight lasted for a long, long, time; yet the two Dânavas did not feel a bit tired: rather Bhagavân Visnu became tired. Thus five thousand years passed away; Hari then began to ponder over their mode of death. He thought :-- “I fought for five thousands of years but the two formidable Dânavas have not been tired anything, rather I am tired; it is a matter of great surprise. Where has gone my prowess? and what for the two Dânavas were not tired; What is the cause? This is a matter, now, seriously to be thought over”. Seeing Bhagavân Hari thus sunk in cares, the two haughty Dânavas spoke to him with great glee and with a voice like that of the rumbling of cloud :-- “O Visnu ! If you feel tired, if you have no sufficient strength to fight with us, then raise your folded palms on your head and acknowledge that you are our servant; or if you can, go on fighting. O intelligent one!

We will take away your life first; and then slay this four-faced Brahmâ”. Hearing the words of the two Dânavas, resting there without any support in the vast ocean, the high-minded Visnu spoke to them in sweet consoling words :-- “See, O heroes! no one ever fights with one who is tired, afraid, who is weaponless, who is fallen and who is a child; this is the Dharma of the heroes. Both of you fought with me for five thousands of years. But I am single handed; you are two, and both equally powerful and both of you took rest at intervals. I will therefore take rest for a while, and then fight with certainty. Both of you are very powerful and very much elated in vanity. Therefore rest a while. After taking rest for a while I will fight with you according to the just rules of warfare.” Hearing these words of Hari, the two chief Dânavas trusted and remained far aloof, ready to fight again.

Now the four-armed Vâsudeva, seeing them at a sufficient distance, began to ponder in his mind thus :-- “How their death can be effected? Thinking for a time, he came to know that they have been granted, by the Supreme S’akti Devî, death at their will (Ichchâmrityu); and therefore they are not getting tired. I fought so long with them uselessly; my labour went in vain. How then can I now fight, with this certain knowledge. Again if I do not fight, how these two Dânavas, elated with their boon and giving troubles to all, be destroyed? When the boon is granted by the Devî their death is also well nigh impracticable. Who wants his own death, even placed in very great distressed circumstances. Attacked by terrible diseases, reduced to indigent poverty no one wants to die; so how can it be expected that these two haughty Dânavas would want their death themselves? Therefore it is advisable me to take refuge of that Âdyâ S’akti, the giver of the fruits of all desires. No desires can ever be fructified unless She is thoroughly pleased. Thus thinking, Bhagavân Visnu saw the beautiful Devî Yoga Nidra S’iva, shining in the air. Then the supreme Yogi, Bhagavân Visnu, of immeasurable spirit began to praise with folded palms that great Bhuvanes'varî Mahâ Kâli, the giver of boons for the destruction of the Dânavas. “O Devî! I bow down to Thee O Mahâmâyâ, the Creatrix and Destructrix! Thou beginningless and deathless! O auspicious Chandike! The Bestower of enjoyment and liberation I do not know Thy Saguna or Nirguna forms; how then can I know Thy glorious deeds, innumerable as they are. To-day Thy undescribable prowess has been experienced by me, I being made senseless and unconscious by Thy power of sleep. Being tried again and again by Brahmâ with great care to bring me back to my consciousness, I could not become conscious, so much my senses were contracted down. O Mother! By Thy power, Thou didst keep me unconscious and Thou again hast freed me from sleep, and I also fought so many times. O giver of one's honour! Now I am tired; but Thou hast granted boon to the two Dânavas and therefore they are not getting tired. These two Dânavas, puffed up with pride, were ready to kill Brahmâ; and therefore I challenged them to fight with me and they too are fighting fiercely with me in this vast ocean. But Thou hast granted them the wonderful boon that they will die whenever they will; and therefore I have now come to Thy refuge, as Thou protectest those that come under Thy shelter. Therefore, O Mother, the remover of the Devas' troubles! These two Dânavas are become exceedingly elated by Thy boon and I, too, am tired. Therefore dost Thou help me now. See! those two sinners are ready to kill me; without Thy grace, what can I do now? and where to go?”

50-59. Thus praised by the eternal Vâsudeva Jagannâtha Hari, with humility and pranams, the Devî Mahâ Kâli, resting in the air, said smiling :-- “O Deva deva Hari! Fight again; O Visnu! These two heroes, when deluded by My Mâyâ, would be slain by you; I will delude them certainly, by My side long glance; O Nârâyana! then slay quickly the two Dânavas, when conjured by My mâyâ”.

Sûta said :-- Hearing these loving words of Bhagavatî, Bhagavân Visnu went to the scene of battle in the middle of that ocean, when the two powerful Dânavas of serene tempers and eager to light, became very glad on seeing Visnu in the battle and said :-- “O four-armed one! we see your desire is very lofty indeed; well  stand! Stand! now be ready for battle, knowing that victory or defeat is surely dependent on Destiny. You should think now thus :-- Though it is generally true that the more powerful one wins victory; but it also happens sometimes that the weak gets the victory by queer turn of Fate; so the high souled persons should not be glad at their victories, nor should express their sorrows at their defeat; so don’t be glad, thinking, that you on many former occasions fought with many Dânavas who were your enemies, and got the victory; nor be sorry that now you are defeated by the two Dânavas”. Thus saying, the powerful Madhu Kaitabha came up to fight. Seeing this, Bhagavân Visnu struck them immediately by fist with great violence; the two Dânavas, elated with their strength, struck Hari in return with their fists. Thus fighting went on vigorously.

60-87. Now seeing the two Dânavas of great powers, fighting on incessantly, Nârâyana Hari cast a glance expressive of great distress, towards the face of the Devî Mahâkâli. Seeing Visnu thus distressed, the Devî laughed loudly and began to look constantly with eyes somewhat reddish and shot towards the two Asuras side-long glances, of love and amorous feelings which were like arrows from the Cupid. The two vicious Daityas became fascinated by the side-long glances of the Devî and took great pleasures in them; being extremely agitated by these amorous darts, looked with one steady gaze towards the Devî, of spotless lustre. Bhagavân Hari, too, saw the wonderful enchanting pastime of the Devî. Then Hari, perfectly expert in adopting means to secure ends, began to speak smiling and in voice like that of the rambling cloud, knowing the two Dânavas enchanted by Mahâmâyâ, thus :--

O two heroes! I am very glad at the mode of your fighting. So ask from me boons. I will grant that to you. I saw many Dânavas before, fighting; but never I saw them expert like you, nor I heard like this. I am therefore, very much satisfied by your such unrivalled powers. Therefore, O greatly powerful pair of Dânavas! I wish to grant both of you any boon that you want. Seeing the Devî Mahâmâyâ, the gladdener, of the Universe, the two Dânavas felt themselves amorous; and therefore they became proud on hearing Visnu's those words and told Visnu, with their lotus-like eyes wide open, thus :--

O Hari! what do you like to give us? We are not beggars; we do not want anything from you. O Lord of the Devas! Rather we will give you whatever you desire; we are donors; not receivers. So O Vâsudeva! Hrisi Kesa! We are glad to see your- wonderful fight; so ask from us any boon that you desire. Hearing their words, Bhagavân Janârdan said :-- “ If you both are so much pleased with me, then I want this that both of you be killed by me.” Hearing these words of Visnu, Madhu Kaitabha became very much wondered and thinking “we are now cheated” remained for some time merged in sorrow. Then reflecting that there is water everywhere and solid earth nowhere, they said :--

“O Janârdana Hari! We know that you are truthful; therefore now we want this desired boon from you that you wanted to grant us before now grant us this desired boon of ours. O Madhusûdana! We will be slain by you; but kill us, O Mâdhava! on a solid earth, free from any water; and thus keep your word.

S’ri Bhagavân Hari laughed and remembering His Sudarsan disc said :-- “O two highly fortunate ones! Verily, I will kill both of you on the vast solid spot without any trace of water. Thus saying, the Devadeva Hari expanded His own thighs and showed to those Dânavas the vast solid earth on the surface of water and said :--

“O two Dânavas! See, here is no water. Place your two heads here; thus I will keep my word and you would keep your word.” Hearing this, Madhu Kaitabha thought over in their minds and expanded their bodies to ten thousand Yojanas. Bhagavân Visnu Hari also extended his thighs to twice that amount. Seeing this, they were greatly, suprised and laid their heads on the thighs of Visnu. Visnu of wonderful prowess, then cut off quickly with His Sudarsan disc the two very big heads over His thighs. Thus the two Dânavas Madhu Kaitabha passed away; and the marrow (meda) of them filled the ocean. O Munis! For this reason, this earth is named Medinî and the earth is unfit for eatable purpose.

Thus I have described to you all that you asked. The sum and substance is this that the wise persons should serve Mahâmâyâ with all thei hearts. The Supreme S’akti is worshipped by all the Devas. Verily verily, I say unto you that this is decided, in all the Vedas and other S’astras that there is nothing higher than this Âdyâ S’akti. Therefore this Supreme S’akti should be worshipped anyhow; either in Her Saguna form or in Her Nirguna state.

Thus ends the ninth Chapter of the first Skandha on the killing of Madhu Kaitabha in the Mahâpurana S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 10. On S’iva’s Granting Boons

1-37. The Risis said :-- “O Sûta! You told before, that Vyâsa Deva, unrivalled spirit, composed all the Purânas and taught them to his own S’uka Deva; but how did Vyâsadeva, who was incessantly engaged in tapasyâ, procreate S’uka? Describe to us in detail what you heard direct from Krisna Dvaipâyana Vyâsa”. Sûta said :-- “O Risis! Hear how S’uka Deva, the best of the Munis and the foremost of the Yogis, was born of Vyâsa Deva, the Satyavati's son.

On the very beautiful summit of Mount Meru, Vyâsa, the son of Satyavati, firmly determined, practised very severe austerities for the attainment of a son. Having heard from Nârada, he, the great ascetic, repeated the one syllabled mantra of Vâk and worshipped the Highest Mahâmayâ with the object of getting a son. He asked, Let a son be born to me as pure and as spirited and powerful as fire, air, earth, and Âkâs’a. He thought over in his mind that the man possessed of S’akti is worshipped in this world and the man devoid of S’akti is censured here, and thus came to the conclusion that S’akti is therefore worshipped every where; and, therefore,worshipped Bhagavân Mahes'vara coupled with the auspicious Âdyâ S’akti and spent away one hundred years without any food. He began his tapasyâ on that mountain summit which was ornamented with the garden of Karnikâr, where all the Devas play, and where live the Munis highly ascetic, the Âdityas, Vasus, Rudras, Marut, the two As'vîns, and the other mindful Risis, the knowers of Brahmâ and where the Kinnaras always resound the air with their songs of music, etc.; such a place Vyâsa Deva preferred for his tapasyâ.”

The whole universe was pervaded with the spirit of asceticism of the intelligent Parâsara's son Vyâsa Deva; and the hairs of his head were clotted and looked tawny, of the colour of flames. Seeing the fire of his asceticism, Indra, the lord of S’achi became exceedingly terrified. Bhagavân Rudra, seeing Indra thus afraid, fatigued and morose, asked him :-- “O Indra, why do you look so fear-stricken to-day? O Lord of the Devas! What is the cause of your grief? Never show your jealousy and anger to the ascetics; for the mindful ascetics always practise severe asceticism with a noble object and worship Me, knowing Me to be possessed of the all powerful S’akti; they never want ill of any body”. When Bhagavân Rudra said this, Indra asked him :-- “What is his object?” At this S’ankara said :-- For the attainment of a son, Prasâra's son is practising so severe austerities; now one-hundred years is being completed; I will go to him, and give him to-day the auspicious boon of a son. Thus speaking to Indra, Bhagavân Rudra, the Guru of the world, went to Vyâsa Deva and, with merciful eyes, said :-- “O sinless Vâsavi's son! Get up; I grant to you the boon, that you will get a son very fiery, luminous and spirited like the five elements fire, air, earth, water and Âkâs'a, the supreme Jñânî, the store of all auspicious qualities, of great renown, beloved to all, ornamented with all Sattvik qualities, truthful and valorous.

Hearing these sweet words of Bhagavân S’ûlapâni Maharsi Krisna Dvaipâyana bowed down to Him and went back to his own hermitage. Tired with the labour of penance for many years, he wanted to kindle fire by rubbing two fuels (Aranî) with each other. While doing this the high souled man suddenly began to think strongly in his mind about procreating a son. He thought :-- “Will it be that my son will be born as this fire is produced by the friction of the two churning sticks? I have not got the wife, which the Pundits designate a “Putrârani”, the youthful wife endowed with beauty, born of a noble family, the chaste one I have not got with me. But the wife, though chaste and fit to beget a son, is undoubtedly a chain to both the legs so how can I get such a one for my wife? This is known to all that a chaste wife, though clever in doing all household duties, beautiful and giving happiness to one's desires, is yet always a sort of bondage. What more than this, that the ever Bhagavân Mahes'vara is always under the bondage of woman. How, then, knowing and hearing all these I can accept this difficult householder's life? While he was thinking thus, the extraordinarily beautiful Apsarâ Ghritâchi fell to his sight close to him in the celestial air.

Though Vyâsa Deva was a Brahmâchâri (holding in control the secret power of generation) of a very high order, yet seeing suddenly the agile Apsarâ (a celestial nymph) coming close to him and looking askance at him, he became soon smitten with the arrows of cupid and feeling himself distressed, began to think what shall I do in this critical moment.

Unbearable amorous feelings now have come over me; now if I take this celestial nymph, knowing that Dharma is everywhere looking, and woman has come to take away my precious fire of spirit acquired by my tapasyâ, then I will be laughed at by the high souled ascetic Munis who will think that I have lost my senses altogether. Alas! Why I who have practised for one hundred years the most terrible ascetism, have become so powerless by the mere sight of this Apsarâ! The Pundits declare the household life as the source of getting son, one's heart’s desire and the source of all happiness; so much so that it leads all the virtuous souls to the pleasures of Heaven, and ordains Moksa (liberation) to those who are Jñânins; and if I get such unrivalled happiness from this householder's life, I can have this Deva Kanyâ (the celestial nymph) though blameable. But again that happiness will not occur to me through her; there is no doubt in this. So how can I take her. I heard from Nârada how, in ancient days, a king name Pururavâ fell under the clutches of Urvas'î and ultimately felt great pain, being defeated by her.

Thus ends the tenth chapter on S’iva's granting boon in the Mahapurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 11. On The Birth Of Budha

1-86. The Risis said :-- “O Sûta! Who is that King Pururavâ? and who is the Deva girl Urvas'î? And how did that high-souled King Pururavâ come into trouble? O son of Lomaharsana! Kindly describe now all these to me. We are now desirous to hear sweet words from the lotus of your mouth. O Sûta! Your words are sweeter and more full of juice than nectar even; so we are not satiated by hearing them as gods are not satiated with the drink of nectar.”

Hearing this Sûta said :-- O Munis! I am now telling you, as far as my intelligence goes, what I heard from the mouth of S'rî Vyâsa. Now hear that beautiful divine incident.

Once on a time the exceedingly beautiful dear wife of Brihaspati, named Târâ, full of youth and beauty, of the most beautiful limbs and intoxicated with pride went to the house of Chandra Deva (the Moon), the yajamân (Employer of priest Brihaspati at any sacrifice) of Brihaspati. Seeing Târâ of beautiful face like Moon, the Moon became very passionate; Târâ also fell amorous at the sight of Moon. Thus both of them became very much passionately attached to each other. Then they, the Moon and Târâ, being smitten by the arrows of Cupid and intoxicated with amorous passions began their sexual intercourse with reciprocal feelings of passionate love. Some days passed in this state. Brihaspati, then, being distressed with the pang of separation from his wife, sent his pupil to bring back Târâ; but Târâ was then submissive of Chandra and therefore refused to come. Brihaspati sent over and over again his pupil and when Chandra Deva returned the messenger, Brihaspati became very angry and went personally to Chandra's house and spoke angrily to the Moon who was puffed up with arrogance and somewhat smiling :-- “O Moon! Why are you committing this vicious act, contrary to Dharma? Why are you keeping my beautiful wife in your house? I am your Guru; you are my client; O stupid! why are you enjoying your Guru's wife and keeping her in custody in your house? Do you not know that he who kills a Brâhman, who steals gold, who drinks, who goes to wife of one's Guru are Mahâpâtakis (great sinners) and those who keep company of these are the fifth Mahâpâtakis? Therefore if you had enjoyed my wife, you are exceedingly vicious, blameable and a Mahâpâtaki (great sinner); you are not fit to live amongst the Devas. O wicked one! Now I say that even now you better forsake Târâ, who is of a blue colour and whose look is askance; I won't go from here without having Târâ. And if you do not give back Târâ, then you are certainly with her and undoubtedly I will curse you. When Brihaspati said so, Chandra, the husband of Rohinî, spoke to his Guru Deva, who was very angry, sorry and afflicted at the separation from his beloved wife, thus :-- In this world, the Brâhmins that know the Dharma S'âstras, that are devoid of anger, are fit to be worshipped; and those that are not so, they are objects of disrespect and not to be worshipped by all for their anger. O sinless one! The beautiful one will surely go to your house; what harm is there to you, if she waits here for a few days?

She is staying here of her own accord to enjoy pleasures and will go back of her own will. One word more :-- You gave out before this opinion of the Dharma S'âstras that as a Brâhman though guilty of committing vicious deeds, becomes pure again by the practice of Karmas as enjoined in the Vedas, so a woman, too, though guilty of adultery, becomes pure again when she is again in the period of her menstruation. At these words of Chandra Deva, Brihaspati, the Guru of the Devas, became exceedingly sorry and anxious and went back immediately to his own house, with a grievous heart, full of amorous feelings. After staying in his own house for some days Brihaspati, worn out with anxiety, came again quickly to the house of Chandra; but, no sooner he was to enter the gate, he was stopped by the door-keepers; he became very angry and stopped at the gate way. And when he saw that Chandra did not make his appearance, he became exceedingly angry and thought :--  “Oh! What a wonder is this? this irreligious Chandra, being my disciple, has done this vicious act and took by violence the wife of his Guru, who is reckoned as the mother; and I will now teach him a good lesson.”

Standing on the entrance gate way Brihaspati began to speak aloud :-- “O stupid, vicious, vilest of the Devas! Why do you now sleep in your inner room? Do return quickly my wife; else I will curse you at once. In case you do not bring me back my wife at once, I will now reduce you to ashes.” Hearing these foul words of Brihaspati, Chandra Deva the king of the Dvijas, quickly came out of the house and said smiling :-- “O Brâhmin! Why are you spending your stock of words for nothing? That all-auspicious lady, of a blue colour and looking askance, is not fit for you; therefore take another comparatively uglier woman for your use. Exceedingly youthful and lovely woman like her is not fit for a beggar's house. O stupid one! I see, you don't know anything about the Kâma S'âstra (the book that dwells on amorous passion); those wise men who are skilled in this S'âstra assign for the women, their lovers equivalent to their beauty in matters of amorous dealings. So, O stupid man! go away wherever you like. I won't give you back your wife. Do whatever lies in your power. I won't return your wife. When you have become passionate, your curse won't affect me in any way. This I say finally unto you :-- “O Guru! I will not give you back your wife; do what you wish.” Thus spoken by Chandra, Brihaspati became vary anxious and angry; he then went away quickly to the Indra's house.

Seeing Guru Deva morose and sorry, the very liberal minded Indra Deva worshipped him duly with pâdya, arghya, and Âchamanîya and asked :-- “O highly fortunate one! Why do you look so anxious? O great Muni! Why are you grievous and sorry? You are my Guru; is it that you are insulted by any one in my kingdom; say freely. All the Regents of the several quarters (the Lokapâlas) and all the Deva armies are under your command. Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'var and other Devas are ready to lend you every assistance, no doubt. So say what is the cause of your anxiety?” Hearing these words of Indra, Brihaspati said :-- “Chandra has stolen my beautiful-eyed wife. I asked for her, again and again, but that wicked soul is not returning me my wife at all. O Lord of the Devas! What am I to do now? You are my help and guide. O S'atakratu! You are the lord of the Devas; therefore I pray to you with a very grievous heart, help me in this matter.” Hearing this, Indra said :-- “O knower of Dharma! Do not be sorry. O Suvrata! I am your servant. O highly intelligent one! Surely I will bring you back your wife. I will send a messenger and even then if Chandra, mad with pride, do not return your wife, I will wage war with him and fight against him, with all our Deva armies.” Thus consoling Brihaspati, Indra sent a very clever man, who was a good speaker and wonderful in his capabilities, to Chandra. The clever and wise messenger went to the Chandra Loka (the region of the Moon) and spoke to Chandra, the husband of Rohinî, thus :-- “O Mahâbhâga! Indra has sent me to you to communicate his message to you. So O intelligent one! I will tell you what he has ordered me; hear.” He said :-- “O highly fortunate one! You know well Dharma and Nîti S'âstra (the science of morals); the more so, because the virtuous Maharsi Atri is your father. Therefore, O Suvrata! You ought not to commit such blameable act. See, all beings should protect their own wives always without remaining idle to the best of their powers; therefore, no doubt, quarrels would ensue necessarily on that point. O Sudhânidhi! as far as this point of protecting one's wife is concerned, your Guru Deva ought also to do his best. You ought to consider all persons like your own self.

O Sudhâkara! You have got twenty-eight exceedingly beautiful wives, who are the daughters of Daksa; why then do you desire to enjoy the wife of your Guru? The beautiful Apsarâs (celestial nymphs) Menakâ and others are always residing in the Heavens; you can enjoy them to your heart's content; leave off the wife of your Guru. In case any powerful man commits an unworthy act out of egoism, the illiterate ones would follow them; so the Dharma will decline. Therefore, O highly lucky one! Do such as does not lead, for nothing, quarrels amongst the gods and leave your Guru's wife, even beautiful.” Hearing these words from the messenger, the Moon (Chandra Deva) became somewhat angry and, making gestures, replied to the messenger, as if to Indra, thus :--

O mighty armed one! As you yourself are the lord of the Devas and the knower of Dharma, so your priest, too, has become like you; the head of both of you are the same. You will find many that can show their learning and give advice to others, but you will find always very rare such persons as will act themselves to their own advices when occasion arises and wants them to fulfil their own words. O Lord of the Devas! All the persons take the opinion of the S'âstras framed by Brihaspati then why the quarrel would ensue with me and the Devas when I an enjoying, according to his dictates, a woman who is herself willing? See also, that the rule in this world is might is right; all things go to the powerful man who can take by force; nothing falls to the lot of the weak; moreover this woman is mine and that woman is of another, this false notion comes to those whose brains are weak. When Târâ, is so much attached to me and is not at all attached to Brihaspati, the above rule applicable to me all the more; how then can I quit the lady so much attached to me, according to the laws of Dharma and the morals? You can see also, that happiness reigns in that family where the wife is according to the will of the husband; how, then, can the household happiness exist when the lady of the house is always dissatisfied? Therefore the household happiness of the Guru is impossible as Târâ is dissatified with Brihaspati since he enjoyed the wife of his younger brother Samvarta. Then the result comes to this, O thousand eyed one! How have you come to be thousand eyed! However that may be, you are the lord of the Devas; you can do whatever you like. O messenger! go and tell your lord of the Devas all that I have spoken; I will not return by any means that beautiful Târâ.

When Chandra spoke thus, the messenger went back to Indra and communicated to him all that Chandra Deva had spoken. Hearing this, Indra became angry and ordered all the Deva forces to be ready at once. Hearing this news of war, S'ukrâchârya, out of enmity to Brihaspati, went to Chandra and spoke thus :-- “O highly intelligent one! never return Târâ; in case if war ensues between you and Indra, I will help you by my Mantra-S'akti.” On the other hand, Bhagavân S'ankara, hearing of the vicious act of Chandra's, taking his Guru's wife, and knowing that S'ukrachârya was the enemy of Brihaspati, came to the assistance of the Devas. The great war, then, ensued between the Devas like the terrific war of Târakâsura; it continued for many years. Then the grandfather Brahma, seeing the great havoc in the lives of the Devas and Asuras, came there on his vâhan Hamsa, to secure peace and talked to Chandra :-- “Quit the Guru's wife; if not, I will call Visnu and destroy all of you party.” He also desisted the son of Bhrigu, S'ukrâcharya,  saying :-- “O highly intelligent one! why has this wicked idea possessed your mind? Is it due to the bad association?” Then S'ukrâchârya also told Chandra, the lord of the medicinal plants, not to wage war and said :-- “Better quit you now the Guru's wife. Your father Maharsi Atri has sent me to you for this purpose.” Chandra, then, hearing the strange words of S'ukrâchârya, returned to Brihaspati his wife Târâ, though she was not satisfied with him and became herself pregnant.

Brihaspati returned with joy to his house, accompanied by his wife; the Devas and Dânavas went away to their respective places. Brahmâ went to Brahmaloka and S'ankara went to Kailâs'a.

Brihaspati began to pass his time happily with his beautiful wife; Some days went away when the wife of Brihaspati, Târâ, gave birth to an all-auspicious son, having all the qualities of Chandra, on an auspicious day and under the influence of an auspicious star; seeing this new-born child, Brihaspati gladly performed the natal ceremonies of the child. Hearing that a son is born to him, Chandra sent a messenger to Brihaspati saying that “That the child is not his; but it is born out of the semen of mine; why, then, have you performed the natal ceremonies out of your own will?” Hearing these words of Chandra's messenger, Brihaspati said :-- “No, this child is mine, no doubt, as he resembles quite like me.” When Brihaspati said this, war again ensued. The Devas and Dânavas met each other again in battle field; and councils of war were held. Then, for the preservation of peace, Prajâpati Brahmâ went there; and before all desisted the Devas; and Dânavas, mad for war, and ready to fight against each other. Brahmâ, then, asked Târâ :-- “O auspicious one! say truly whose child is this? O beautiful one! if you say truly, then this war resulting in the loss of so many lives, will cease.” The handsome Târâ, looking askance, lowered her head with shame and gently spoke to Brahmâ :-- “This is the Chandra's child” and went inside. Chandra Deva, then, became very glad and took the child, put down its name as Budha and carried it, to his own house. Bhagavân Brahmâ, Indra and the other Devas went back to their respective places. All the spectators went also to their own places whence they came. O Munis! I have now described the birth of Budha, as the son of Chandra and in the womb of Brihaspati's wife, as I heard it from the mouth of Vyâsa Deva, the son of Satyavatî.

Thus ends the eleventh chapter of the 1st Skandha on the birth of Budha in the Mahâpurâna S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 12. On The Birth Of Pururavâ

1-53. Sûta said :-- O Mahârsis! The son of the above mentioned Budha is the greatly religious Pururavâ, of a very charitable disposition, and always ready to perform sacrificial acts; he was born of a kshattriya woman named Ilâ; and I will now describe how this Pururavâ was born of Ilâ and Budha, kindly listen.

In days of yore there was a king named Sudyumna, very truthful and highly capable in keeping his senses under control. Once on a time, wearing beautiful ear-rings, with extraordinary bow named Âjagab and holding the arrow-case full of arrows on his back, he went out on hunt to a forest, riding on a horse, born of the country Sindhu, surrounded by a few of his ministers. Going about in the regions of forest, the king got for his shikâr, buck, hare, boar, rhinoceros, bison, buffalo, young elephant, Srimar deer, wild fowl and various other animals fit for sacrificial purposes; thus he went on deep into the interior of the forest. This divine forest was adorned with rows of Mandâra trees and situated at the bottom of the mount Sumeru. Various trees and flowers were spreading the beauty of the forest all around; at places were Asoka creepers, Vakula, Sâl, Tâl, Tamâl, Champak, Panasa, mangoe, Nîp, Madhûka, pomegranate, cocoanut, Yûthikâ, plantain, kunda creeper, and various other trees and flowers; at some other places the bowers formed of Mâdhavi creepers enhanced the beauty and shed the lustre all around. There were tanks and reservoirs of water in the forest filled with swans, kârandavas, and other aquatic birds. The bamboo trees on their banks becoming filled with air were emitting sweet musical sounds; and at many places of that all blissgiving forest, there were bees humming sweetly and delighting the minds of people there. Now the Râjarsî Pradyumna became highly gladdened in his heart to see this interior of the forest, resonated with the cooing of the cuckoos and beautified by various lovely flowers; and no sooner he entered there than he was turned into a female and his horse, also, turned into a mare; the king, then, became seriously anxious. He began to think over and over again “What is this? How has this come to pass?” and became very ashamed and sorry and pondered over thus :--“What am I to do now? How can I in this woman condition go back to my house and how shall I govern my kingdom? Alas! Who has deceived me thus!” Hearing these astounding words of Sûta, the Risis said :-- “O Sûta! You have mentioned that the king Sudyumna equal to god has been turned into a woman; this is very strange indeed! Therefore, O Suvrata! What is the reason of his being turned into a mare? Kindly describe fully what that beautiful king did in the forest?”

Sûta, said :-- Once on a time, Sanaka and other Risis went to this forest to pay a visit to S'ankara, illuminating the ten quarters by their holy aura. But then Bhagavân S'ankara was in amorous dealings with S'ankarî. The beautiful Devî Ambikâ was then naked and sitting on the lap of S'ankara and therefore became very much ashamed at their sight; She got up hurriedly, and putting on her cloth, remained there shuddering, with great shame and sensitiveness. The Risis, also, seeing them engaged in amorous dealings, went away quickly to the hermitage of Nara Nârâyana.

Then Bhagavân S'ankara, seeing S'ankari too much sensitive, said :-- “Why are you so much bashful and shy? I am doing just now what will give you pleasure. O Beautiful one! Whoever male will enter from to-day and hereafter, within the precincts of this forest, will be instantly converted into a woman.” O Munis! Though the forest gave all delights to all, yet, having this defect, all the persons that know of this curse, carefully avoid the forest. No sooner did the King Sudyumna enter into the forest, out of ignorance, than he, as well as his attendants, were instantly turned into women; there could be no doubt in this. The king became overpowered with great care and anxiety and did not go back, out of shame, to his palace; but he began to wander to and fro on the outer skirts of that forest. He became known afterwards as the woman Ilâ. Now, once on an occasion, Budh, while he was wandering at his will, came up there and seeing the beautiful Ilâ with gestures and pastures and surrounded by women, became passionately attached towards her; and Ilâ, too, seeing the beautiful Budh, the son of Chandra deva, became desirous to have him as her husband. They became so very much tied in love towards each other, that intercourse took place there. Thus Bhagavân Budh generated, in the womb of Ilâ, Pururavâ; and Ilâ gave birth, in due time, the son Pururavâ in that forest. She then, with an anxious heart, recollected, while in the forest, her (rather his), family priest Vasistha Deva. Now then Vasistha Deva, seeing the distressed condition of the king Sudyumna became affected with pity and pleased Mahâdeva, S’ankara, the most auspicious Deva of all, by hymns and praises. When Bhagavân S’ankara wanted to grant him the boon that he desired, Vasistha Deva wanted that the king would be turned again into man as before. At this Bhagavân S’ankara said, in recognition of His promise, that the king Sudyumna would be alternately one month a man and the second month a woman and so on. Thus, by the favour of Vasistha Deva, the king Sudyumna got this boon and returned to his kingdom and began to govern it. When he used to be turned into a woman, he used to remain in the interior, and when he used to become a man, he governed his kingdom. At this the subjects became very anxious and did not welcome the king as they used to do before. Some days passed away in this way when the prince Pururavâ grew up into manhood. Then the king Sudyumna gave over to him the kingdom and made him the king of the new capital named Pratisthân; and started out to an hermitage to perform tapasyâ. He went to a beautiful forest, variegated with all sorts of trees, and got from the Devarsi Nârada the excellent mantra of the Bhagavatî Devî, consisting of nine letters. He began to repeat it incessantly, with an heart filled with love. Thus some days passed away when the all-auspicious Devî Bhagavatî, the Saviour of the whole Universe, became pleased with the king and appeared before the king, assuming the divine beautiful form, composed of attributes, intoxicated with the drink, and with eyes rolling with pride, and riding on vâhana, the lion. Seeing this divine form of the Mother of the Universe, the king Ilâ (in this form) bowed down before Her with eyes filled with love and gladly praised Her with hymns thus :-- “O Bhagavatî! What a fortunate being I am! That I have seen today the extraordinary world renowned benignant form of Thine granting grace and benefit to all the Lokas, I, therefore, bow down to Thy lotus-feet, granting desires and liberation, and served by the whole host of the Devas. O Mother! What mortal is there on this earth, who can fully comprehend Thy glories when all the Devas and Munis get bewildered in trying to know of them.

O Devî! I am thoroughly astonished to see Thy glories and Thy compassion towards the distressed and poor and helpless people. How can a human being, who is devoid of attributes comprehend Thy attributes when Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara, Indra, Chandra (moon), Pavana (wind), Sûrya, Kuvera, and the eight Vasus know not Thy powers. O Mother! Bhagavân Visnu, of unrivalled brilliancy, knows Thee as a part of Thine only, as Kamalâ of Sattva Gunas and giving one all one's desires; Bhagavân Brahmâ knows Thy part only as the form made of Rajo guna and Bhagavân S’ankara knows Thee as Umâ only made of Tamo Guna; but, O Mother! none of them knows Thy turîya form, transcending all the Gunas.

O Mother! where is my humble self, that is of very dull intellect and powerless, and where is Thy extremely propitious serenity and graciousness! Indeed such a gracious favour on me is certainly beyond expectation. Therefore, O Bhavâni! I have come to realise, in particular, that Thy heart is full of unbounded mercy; for Thou dost certainly feel compassion for these Bhaktas that are full of Bhakti towards Thee. O Mother! what more shall I say than this, that Bhagavân Madhusûdan Visnu, though married to Kamalâ, born from only a part of Thine, considers Himself unfit of Her and is therefore not happy; then the fact that He, the Âdi Purusa gets his feet shampooed by Kamalâ merely corroborates the fact that He wants His feet to become pure and all auspicious to the world by the holy touch of Kamalâ's hands. O Mother! It seems to me that the ancient Purusa Bhagavân Visnu wants gladly to be kicked by Thee like As'oka tree, for his own improvement and pleasure; and therefore it is that Thou dost want, as if Thou hast become angry to kick (beat with one's legs) Thy husband, stricken by Smara (cupid, love) and worshipped by all the Devas, who lies prostrate below Thy feet.

O Devî; when Thou always residest on the calm broad chest, as if on a great cot, adorned beautifully of Bhagavân Visnu, as lightning in deep dense blue clouds, then it is without doubt that He, becoming the Lord of the Universe, has surely become Thy vâhan (vehicle) (on account of carrying Thee on His breast), O Mother! If Thou forsakest Madhusûdana, out of wrath, He becomes at once powerless and is not worshipped by any body; for it is seen everywhere that persons, though calm and serene, if devoid of S’rî (wealth and power) are forsaken by their relatives as reduced to a state having no qualities. O Mother! I am not to be ignored by Thee, on account of my being a woman, for was it not the fact, that Brahmâ and the other Devas who always take shelter of Thy lotus feet, had not all to assume once youthful feminine forms, while in Manidvîpa, and I know this surely that Thou again didst make them of male forms. Therefore, O Thou of unbounded power! What shall I describe about Thy power? Indeed, there is great doubt in my mind whether Thou art masculine or feminine? O Devî! Whoever Thou mayst be, whether with attributes on transcending the attributes, whether male or female, I always bow down to Thee, with heart full of devotion towards Thee. O Mother! I want that I may have one unflinching devotion, towards Thee in my final state.”

Sûta said :-- Thus praising the Devî, the king Sudyumna, in the form of the feminine Ilâ, took refuge of the World Mother; and the Devî, becoming greatly pleased, gave to the king, then and there, union with Her own Self. Thus the king got the highest steady place, so very rare even to the Munis, by the grace of the Prime Force, the Devî Brahmâmayî.

Thus ends the Twelfth Chapter of the first Skandha on the birth of Pururavâ, in the Mahâpurânam S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 13. On Urvas’î And Pururavâ

1-34. Sûta said :-- O Maharsis! When the king Sudyumna had gone up to heavens, the religious king Pururavâ, endowed with great beauty and many qualities, and able to please the minds of his subjects began to govern his kingdom well, according to Dharma, with his heart intent on governing his people. No body knew what his counsel was, but he was very clever in knowing others' counsels. He was always highly energetic and his lordly power was great. The four methods of warfare, (1) con-ciliation, (2) giving gifts, (3) sowing dissensions and (4) war, were fully under his control. He saw that his subjects practised religion according to Varnâs'ram (Colours and stages of life), and thus he began to govern his kingdom. Pururavâ, the lord of men, performed various sacrifices with abundance of Daksinâs (sacrificial fees) and also gave away much in various charities, causing great wonder and astonishment. His extra-ordinary beauty and qualities, liberality and good nature, his unbounded wealth and prowess made the Apsarâ Urvas’î (celestial nymph) think of him often and she wanted him to satisfy her. Some time passed when that procud Urvas'î had to descend on this earth, due to a curse pronounced on her by a Brâhmin; and she chose the king Pururavâ as her husband, thinking him to be endowed with all the qualities. She then addressed the king and made the following contract :-- “O king, giving honour due to every body! I keep these two young sheep in trust and deposit with you; kindly look after these and, then, my honour will be preserved by you. O king! I will take ghee daily and nothing else for my food; and there is one word more; O king! Let me not see you naked, except when you hold sexual intercourse. O king I say this truly, that, in case there be any breach in this contract I will instantly leave you and go away.” The king accepted this contract of Urvas’î. Urvas’î, too, remained there according to the above contract and also with a view to pass away the period of her curse. During this time the king was fascinated with the love of Urvas’î and became so very much attached to her, that he left all his duties and dharma and remained long for many, many years in enjoying Urvas’î. The king's mind was so deeply absorbed in her, that he could not remain alone without her, even for a moment. Thus many years passed away, when, once on a time, Indra, the lord of the Devas, not seeing Urvas'î, asked the Gandarbhas and said :-- “O Gandarbhas! Better go and steal away the two young sheep in a proper time from the palace of Pururavâ, and then bring Urvas'î here. My Nandana garden is now void of all beauty without Urvas’î; so bring the lady here any how or other.” Thus spoken by Indra, Vis'vâvasu and other Devas went to Pururavâ's palace; and when it was dark in the night, and when Pururavâ was holding sexual intercourse with Urvas’î, stole away the two young sheep. They, when being carried away in the sky, cried out so piteously that Urvas’î came to hear that as if of her two sons, and angrily spoke to the king :-- “O king! Now the contract that I made with you is verily fulfilled! It is that I placed my implicit confidence on you that this my misfortune has befallen on me; See! the thieves are stealing away the two sheep, my sons as they were! How then are you sleeping here like a woman? Alas! I am ruined in having an impotent husband who vainly boasts of his prowess!

Where are my two young sheep to-day that are dearer to me than my life?” Thus seeing Urvas’î wailing, the king Pururavâ, the lord of the Universe, ran after the Gandharvas instantly without any sense as it were, left in him, naked. The Gandharvas, then, cast rays of lightning in that room, and Urvas’î, willing to leave, saw the king naked when the Gandharvas left the two young sheep there and went away. The tired king brought the two sheep back to his house in that naked state. Then Urvas’î, too, seeing the husband naked, went away immediately to the Devî loka. Seeing Urvas’î going away, the king wailed very much with a very grievous heart. Then, being very much bewildered by the bereavement of Urvas’î, with his senses beyond control, and deluded by passion, wandered about in various countries, crying and giving vent to sorrow. Thus, wandering all over the globe, he came once to Kuruksettra and saw Urvas’î; then with a gladdened face said :-- “O beloved! Wait, wait for a moment; my mind is all absorbed in you; it is quite innocent and submissive to you. So you ought not to forsake me in such a dire difficult time. O Devî! For the sake of you, I have travelled very far. O Beautiful one! The body that you embraced before, will now, forsaken by you, fall here and will be devoured by crows and wolves, and other carnivorous animals.” Seeing the king, tired and passion stricken, greatly distressed and with a very sorrowful heart and wailing, Urvas’î spoke out :-- “O king! You are certainly a quite senseless man; whither has gone your extraordinary knowledge now? O king! Do you not know that the pure unalloyed love of women cannot take place with any other as the love of a wolf cannot fall on any man. Therefore the earthly men ought never to trust a bit to women and thieves. So go back to your palace and enjoy the pleasures of the kingdom; do not drown your mind further in sorrows.” The king Pururavâ, though thus brought to senses by Urvas’î, was so much fascinated by her love that his heart did not feel any consolation; rather he felt indescribable pain, being held up in bondage by the love of Urvas’î. O Munis! Thus I have described to you the character of Urvas’î; it is described, in detail, in the Vedas; I have stated this in brief.

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter of the 1st Skandha of the characters Urvas’î and Pururavâ; in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Birth Of S’ûka Deva And On The Duties Of Householders

1-70. Sûta said :-- O Maharsis! (Now hear the main topic). Seeing the dark-blue lady looking askance at him, Vyâsa Deva thought :-- “Indeed! What is to be done now? This Devakanyâ Apsarâ Ghritâchî is not fit for my household.” Then, seeing Vyâsa Deva thus thoughtful, the Apsarâ thought that the Muni might curse her and got terrified. Confounded by terror, she assumed the form of a S’ûka bird and fled away; Vyâsa, too, became greatly surprised to see her in the form of a bird. The moment Vyâsa saw the extraordinary beautiful form of Ghritâchî, the Cupid entered then, into his body, and his mind was filled with the thought of sweet feminine form and was gladdened and all his body was thrilled with pleasure so that the hairs of the body stood on their ends. The Muni Vyâsa Deva tried his best and exerted his power of patience to its utmost, but failed to control his restless mind to enjoy the woman. Though he was very energetic, and he tried repeatedly to control his heart, enchanted with the beautiful form of Ghritâchî, yet he could not, as due to a state of things pre-ordained by God, control his mind. At this state, when he was rubbing the fire sticks to get the sacred fire, the two pieces of wood used in kindling the fire, his seed (semen) fell upon the Aranî (the two pieces of wood used in kindling the sacred fire). But he did not take any notice of that, and he went on rubbing the firesticks when arose from that Aranî the wonderfully beautiful form of S’ûka deva, looking like a second Vyâsa. This boy, born of Aranî fuel, looked there brilliant like the blazing fire of the sacrificial place, whereon oblations of ghee are poured. Seeing that son,Vyâsa Deva was struck with great wonder and thought thus :-- “What is this? How is it that my son is born without any woman.” Thinking for a while, he came to the conclusion, that this had certainly come to pass as the result of boon granted to him by S'iva. No sooner the fiery S’ûka Deva, was born of Aranî, he looked brilliant, like fire, by his  own tejas (spirit). At that time Vyâsa Deva began to look with one steady gaze the blissful form of his son as a second Gârhapatya Fire, brilliant with the Divine fire. O hermits! The river Ganges came there from the Himalayas and washed all the inner nerves of the child S’ûka Deva, by her holy waters and showers of flowers were poured on his head.

Vyâsa Deva next performed all the natal ceremonies of the high-souled child; the celestial drums were sounded and the celestial nymphs began to dance and the lords of the Gandharvas Visvâvasu, Nârada, Tumburu and others began to sing with great joy for the sight of the son. All the Devas and Vidyâ Dharas began to chant hymns with gladdened hearts at the sight of the Divine form, the son of Vyâsa, born of aranî. O twice born ones! Then were dropped down from the sky the divine rod (Danda), Kamandalu, and the antelope skin. No sooner the extraordinarily brilliant S’ûka Deva was born than he grew up, and Vyâsadeva, who is master of endless learning and how to impart them to others, performed the son's Upanayana ceremony. No sooner the child was born than all the Vedas with all their secrets and epitomes began to flash in the mind of S’ûka Deva, as it reigned in Vyâsa Deva. O Munis! Bhagavân Vyâsa Deva gave the name of the child as S’ûka as during the moment of his birth he saw the form of Ghritâchî in the form of the S’ûka bird. S’ûka then accepted Brihaspati as his guru and began devotedly, with his whole head and heart to perform duly the Brahmacharya vow (the life of studentship and celebacy). The Muni S’ûka remained in the house of his Guru and studied the four Vedas with their secrets and epitomes and all the other Dharma S'âstras and gave Daksinâ to the Guru duly according to proper rules, and returned home to his father Krisna Dvaipâyan. Seeing his son S’ûka, Vyâsadeva got up and received him with great love and honour and embraced him and took the smell of his head. The holy Vyâsa asked about his welfare and about his studies and requested him to stay in that auspicious Âs'rama. Vyâsa then thought of S’ûka's marriage and he became anxious and began to enquire where a beautiful girl of a Muni can be found. And he spoke to his son :-- “O highly intelligent one! You have now studied all the Vedas and Dharma S'âstras. Therefore, O sinless one! better marry now. O son! Take a beautiful wife, and leading a householder's life, worship the Devas and Pitris, and free me from debt. There is no other way of issueless persons; he can never go to heaven; so O highly fortunate son of mine! Now enter into the life of a householder and make me happy. O highly intelligent one! I have big expectations from you; now try to fulfill them. O greatly wise S’ûka! After a very severe asceticism, I have got you who are verily a Deva born without any womb. I am, therefore, your father; save me.” When Vyâsa spoke thus to S’ûka, making him sit close by, the highly dispassionate Sûka at once made out that his father was terribly attached to the world and replied :-- “O knower of Dharma! you have, by the power of your great intelligence, divided Veda into four parts; why are you therefore advising me so now? I am your disciple; so give me true advice. Certainly I will obey your order.” At this Vyâsa deva said :-- “O son! I have got you after I had performed very severe tapasyâ, for one hundred years, and worshipped Bhagavân S'ankara in the sole object of having you. O highly wise one! I will ask some king and will give you sufficient wealth for your family expenses. So that you, having attained this much desired youth, enjoy the householder's life.” Hearing these words of the father, S’ûka Deva said :-- “O father! Kindly say this to me what pleasure is there in this earth that is not mixed with pain. The happiness, that is mixed with pain, is not called happiness by the wise. O highly fortunate one! when I will marry, I will become certainly submissive to that woman; see then how happiness can be possible to one who is dependent; especially to one, dependent on one's wife. Rather freedom can be obtained one day when one is tied to an iron or wooden pillar; but never freedom will come to that man who is tied by his wife and children. As the body of man is full of urine and faeces, so is the body of the woman. The more so, when I am born of no womb, how can I find happiness there; not only in this birth, but in my previous birth, too, I had no desire to be born of any womb. How can I desire now to enjoy the pleasure of urine and faeces in the face of the bliss of self that has got no other bliss equal to it? The high-souled persons, that find pleasure in their selves, never go after the sensual pleasures of the objects of enjoyments? When I studied first, the Veda in detail, it struck me that the Vedas dealt with the S'âstra of Karma mârga (the way of action); and it is all full of Himsâ (injury to others). Then I took Brihaspati as my Guru to shew me the way to true wisdom; but soon I found that he, too, was attacked with the dreadful disease Avidyâ (ignorance) and plunged in the terrible ocean of world, full of Mâyâ. So it became quite clear to my mind, how could he save me? If the physician be diseased himself, how can he effect cures to other diseases? When I am desirous of liberation, how can I get it from a Guru who is himself deeply attached to the world; how can such a one treat my case to free me, from the disease of attachment to this world? It would be merely a farce. I bowed down to the Guru and now I am come to you to save me, frightened by this terrible serpent of Samsâra. Day and night the Jîvas travel in this awful wheel of Samsâra, this constellation of Zodiac; they are moving like the Sun and never get any rest. O father! If we discuss about the truth of Âtman, we will at once find that there is no trace of happiness in this Samsâra. As the worms enjoy pleasures in the midst of faeces, so the ignorant persons find pleasures in this Samsâra. Those who have studied the Vedas and other S’âstras and yet are attached to the world, are certainly deluded and blind like horses, pigs and dogs; no one is more stupid and ignorant than those persons. Getting this extremely rare human birth and studying the Vedanta and other S’âstras, if they be attached to this world, then who are the men that will attain freedom? What more wonder can you find in this world than the fact that persons, attached to wives, sons and houses; are denominated as Pundits? That man who is not bound by this Samsâra, composed of the three Gunas of Mâyâ, is Pundit; that man is intelligent and he has understood the real import of the S’âstras. What use can there be in studying the S’âstras, in vain, that teach how to bind men more firmly in this Samsâra, full of Mâyâ.

That S’âstra ought to be studied, which tells how a man would be liberated. The house is called "Griha" because it catches hold of a man firmly. So what happiness can you expect from the house which is like a prison? O father! I am therefore afraid. Those Pundits are certainly stupid and they are certainly deceived by the Creator, who having the birth even of men, become again imprisoned.” Hearing these words of S’ûka, Vyâsa spoke as follows :-- “O Son! The house is never a prison, nor is it the cause of any bondage; the householder whose mind is unattached, can get Moksa, in spite of his being such. Truthful, holy, earning wealth by just means and performing, according to rules the rites and ceremonies, as stated in the Vedas and doing S'râddhas duly, a householder can certainly get Moksa. See a man who is a Brahmachâri, who is an ascetic, who is a Vânaprasthî or follows any other method or vow, all have got to worship the householder after mid-day. The religious householder, too; welcomes them all, with sweet words, and gives them food, with great love and respect, and thus does them an amount of good. For this reason the householder's stage is the most excellent of all; and I have not seen or heard of any other Âs'rama superior to it. For this reason Vas'istha and other Âchâryas resorted to householder's life, in spite of their being endowed with great wisdom O highly fortunate one! If one performs duly the rites and ceremonies of the Vedas, there is nothing that is impracticable to him. Be it the birth in a good family, or the enjoyment of heavens say, or be it Moksa, whatever desires, it is fructifled to success. Also there is no such rule that one will have to remain in one and in the same Âs'rama throughout his life. The Pundits who know Dharma say that pupils can go from one Âsrama to another, Therefore, O child! accept Agni (the householder's fire) and try your best to do unremittingly your duties. O Son! Enter into a householder's life and appease the Devas, Pitris and men; procreate sons and enjoy the pleasures of household life. When old age will come, quit the house and take up the Vânaprasthâshram (the third stage) and go to a forest and perform the excellent vows and then take up the dharma of the Sannyâsa (renunciation of everything).

O Fortunate one! He who does not take a wife, is certainly maddened by these indomitable five organs of action, five organs of senses and mind. Therefore, the makers of the S’âstras say, that to save one self from the pernicious influences of these vicious senses, one is to take wife during his youth time and then be engaged in performing tapasyâ during his old age.

O fortunate one! In days of yore, the fiery Râjarsi Vis'vâmitra practised very severe tapasyâ without any food for three thousand years, and thought he was very strong and shining like fire, he was fascinated by the charm of the celestial nymph Menakâ. And an auspicious daughter was born from the womb of Menakâ by Vis'vâmitra. My father Parâs'ara, though a great ascetic, was struck with Cupid's arrows at the sight of the daughter of a fisherman, named Kâli and accepted her in the boat. What more than this, that Brahmâ seeing his  own daughter Sandhyâ was struck by passion and ran after her, when Bhagavân Rudra Deva made him unconscious by his Humkâr sound and made Brahmâ desist from the attempt.

So, O fortunate one! Take my word pregnant of good issues and marry a lady, born of a good family, and follow the path presented in the Vedas.”

Thus ends the fourteenth Chapter of the 1st Skandha, on the birth of S’ûka Deva and the duties of householders in the Mahâ Purâna S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Vedavyâs.

Chapter 15. On The Dispassion Of S’ûka And The Instructions Of Bhagavatî To Hari

1-67. Hearing these words of Vyâsa Deva S’ûka Deva said :-- O Father! I do not like at all to take to a householder's life; as I see clearly that it fastens men, as a cord fastens animals, and is a source of incessant pain. O Father! Where can you expect happiness from a householder who is always loaded with anxiety how and whence to get wealth? Those, who have greed for wealth, oppress their poor relatives, even; and extort money. Even one who is the lord of the three worlds, who is their Indra, he also is not so happy as a beggar, that has no desires. See, then, who else can be happy in this world? Whenever an ascetic is seen to practise severe asceticism, Indra, the lord of the Devas becomes anxious and sorry, and raises various obstacles in his way. See also that Brahmâ is not happy with his big samsâra (his creation which is his house). Bhagavân Visnu, though He has got His beautiful Kamalâ, the presiding Deity of all wealth and prosperity, is always suffering, since He is incessantly engaged in fighting with the Asuras; and though He is the husband of Laksmî and full of prosperity, He practises, almost, every now and then, terrible asceticism with great care and earnestness. So who else is there, who is possessed of constant happiness? I know also Bhagavân S'ankara, too, suffers incessant troubles and has to fight against the Daityâs. So, then, O Father: how can a poor householder be happy when the rich householder cannot sleep happily, with his constant care for wealth. O highly fortunate one! Knowing full well this truth of the world, why are you plunging me, your son, in this terrible Samsâra, full of pains and agonies.

O Father! What shall I say to you about the miseries of the world! There is pain in birth, pain in old age, pain in death, and pain in the life in the womb full of urines and faeces; but the pain, arising from desire and greed, is more terrible than all the pains mentioned above; and then, the pains experienced while asking for them are greater than the pangs of death. Alas! There is no other way for the Brahmâns to earn their livelihood than to accept gifts from others. Therefore the Brahmâns have to suffer daily death-like pangs in having to wait in expectation from others; can there be anything more regrettable than this? The Brahmânas, studying all the Vedas and Dharma S'âstras and acquiring wisdom, have got at last to go to the rich and praise them (in expectation of some money) carefully. O Father! if one does not become a householder, then what care is there to feed one's own belly? If there be contentment in the mind, any how the belly can be filled with leaves, roots and fruits; but if there be wife, sons and grandsons and many dependent relatives, then to feed them all, much trouble and anxiety are experienced. So how can you expect, O Father! perfect happiness in the world? So teach me, O Father! the S’âstras on Yoga and eternal truth that will give perfect happiness; no advice in karma kânda (the series of actions) will bring me pleasure. Now advise me how the karmas can be exhausted; how the root of the three sorts of karmas, Sanchita, Prârabdha, and Vartamâna, giving torments of birth, death, etc., the Avidyâ, the great ignorance, can be destroyed? The fools do not understand how the women suck the blood out of persons like leeches, for they get themselves deluded by their gestures and postures! The lady of the house, whom the people call kântâ, the beautiful one, steal away the semen virile, the strength and energy in the way of giving them happiness as sexual intercourse, and their minds and wealth and everything by their crooked love conversations; so see what greater thief can there be than a woman? In my opinion, those that are ignorant are certainly deluded by the Creator; they accept wife to destroy their own pleasure of happiness. They can never understand that the women can never be the source of pleasure; they are the source of all miseries. Hearing these words of S’ûka, Vyâsa became merged in the deep sea of cares and anxieties, thinking what to do then. The incessant tears of pain flowed from his eyes; his whole body began to shiver and his mind became too much worried.

Seeing this distressed and sorrowful state of his father, S'ûkdeva, with eyes full of wonder, said :-- Oh! What a power has Mâyâ got?

Oh!  He, whose words are accepted by all, with great love and care as equivalent to the Vedas, who is the author of the Vedânta Dars'ana, and before whom nothing is veiled in ignorance, Oh! that greatest Pundit, the knower of all the Tattvas, is now deluded by Mâyâ? Oh! what is that Mâyâ who has been able to delude Vyâsa Deva, the son of Satyavati, so skilled in the knowledge of Brahmâ Vidyâ; I also do not know how, with what great care, one is to practise Sâdhanâ towards Her.

Alas! He who has composed eighteen Mahâ Purânas and the great Mahâ Bhârata, who has divided the Vedas in four parts, the same Veda Vyâs has today been deluded by the power of Mâyâ! What to speak of other persons! Oh! Mâyâ has deluded Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara and others and the whole universe; then who is there in the three worlds that is not fascinated by Her influence! I therefore, take refuge unto the Internal Governess, the Devî Mahâ Mâyâ. Oh! what wonderful power She wields? By her own Mâyic power, She has kept God even under Her control, who is omniscient and the Controller of all. The Pundits, who know the Purânas say, that Vyâsa Deva is born of the part of Visnu; but, see the wonder, that he is today plunged in the sea of delusion like a merchant whose ship has been wrecked. Alas! How great is the wonderful power of Mâyâ! The all-knowing Vyâsa is today under the control of Mâyâ and is weeping like an ordinary man! So I have come to the firm conclusion that the wise Pundits are incapable to surpass the strength of Mâyâ. What a great error arises through the power of Mâyâ! See! indeed!! who is he and who am I? What for we have come here? There is no certainty, nothing whatsoever, about that. And, see, also, how he has got the nice idea of “father” on his body and the idea of “his son” in my body, that are composed of five elements.

This is now quite evident to me that, when the Brâhmin Maharsi Krisna Dvaipâyan is weeping under the influence of Mâyâ, She is the strongest of all; even those who are skilled in the great Mâyâ fall under Her prey.

Then S’ûka Deva bowed down mentally to the Devî, Mahâ Mâyâ, who is the Creatrix of Brahmâ and the other Devas and who is the Controller of them all; and then began to speak the following auspicious words pregnant with reason, to his father Vyâsa Deva, greatly distressed and plunged in the sea of sorrows :-- “O Father! you are exceedingly fortunate, for you are the son of the high souled Parâs'ara and you yourself are the instructor of real truth, the tattva jnâna, to all persons; so, O Lord! why are you giving vent to sorrows, like an ordinary bewildered man? O Mahâbhâga! why are you plunging yourself in this great error, though you are a high souled personage! See, it is quite true that now I am born as your son; but this I don't know what relation existed between you and me in my previous birth? So, O highly intelligent one! Open your eyes of wisdom, and be patient; do not throw yourself, in vain, in the sea of sorrows. All this universe is like a net of delusion; knowing this, abandon all your grief; why are you feeling yourself so much weak and distressed, for your attachment towards your son? Hunger is satisfied by eating something, and thirst is satisfied by the drinking of water; hunger is not satisfied by seeing the son. So the organ of scent is satisfied by smelling sweet scents; and the organ of hearing is satisfied by hearing sweet music; and when thirst arises to enjoy women, that is satisfied only by sexual intercourse; but what satisfaction can a son give? So what shall I do to you by remaining as your son? The son, in fact, is not the cause of any satisfaction to one's self. For this reason, in ancient days, the poor Brahmin Ajigarta gave his son to the king Harischandra, for necessary equivalent price in money, who wanted a man for his sacrifice where human beings are to be sacrificed as victims. In fact, those things that are urgently required as necessities give happiness; and all these articles can be obtained by wealth; so if you want to enjoy happiness, then earn money; of what use shall I be to you as your son? O Muni! you can see subtle things and you are greatly intelligent; so I pray to you, to look upon me as your son and open my eyes of wisdom, that I can be free for ever from this womb of birth. O Sinless one! To get a human birth in this land of Karma (in India) is very difficult; again to get a Brâhmin birth is extremely rare; so when I have got this so very rare birth, why shall I spend my time in vain? O Father! Though I have served many spiritual teachers, fraught with wisdom, for many years, yet the firm idea “I am, as it were, bound up in this net of Samsâra” the notion covered with dark darkness of ignorance, caused by desires, this net of Samsâra does not leave me.

When the son S’ûka Deva of extraordinary power and intelligence spoke thus, Vyâsa saw that his son was strongly inclined to take to the four Âs'ram, that of Sannyâsa and spoke thus :-- O Son! If your mind has become so, then read Bhâgavat Purâna, composed by me, highly auspicious, voluminous, and the second Vedas.

In this you have the chapters on Creation (Sarga) and secondary creation (upa sarga), etc., the five characteristics as in other Purânas and it is sub-divided into twelve Skandhas. Hearing of this Bhâgavata brings up to the mind that Brahmâ alone is real and all the universe is unreal and knowledge both intuitive and indirect springs up. For this very reason, the Bhâgavata treatise is considered as the ornament of the Purânas. Therefore, O highly intelligent one! you better study the Purâna. O Child! In days of yore, at the end of a Kalpa, Bhagavân Hari was lying, as a small child on a floating leaf of a banyan tree, and was thinking thus :-- “Who is the Intelligent One that has created me a small child? What is His object? Of what stuff am I made of? and how am I created? whence can I know all this?” At this moment the Devî Bhagavatî Who is all chaitanya, seeing the high-souled Bhagavân Hari musing thus, spoke out in the form of a celestial voice in the following half-stanza:-- “All this that is seen is I Myself; there is existent nothing other that is eternal.” Bhagavân Visnu, then, began to think deeply the above celestial voice :-- “Who has uttered this word, pregnant of truth, to me? How shall I come to know the speaker, whether that is female, male or a hermaphrodite?” Pondering over this for a long time, when he could not come to a definite conclusion, he began to repeat (make japam) frequently that word of Bhagavatî with a whole heart. When Hari, lying on a banyan tree leaf, became very anxious to know what the above words implied, then the all-auspicious Devî Bhagavatî with a beautiful face, calm and quiet appearance, appeared before Bhagavân Visnu, of unrivalled splendour, in the form of Mahâ Laksmî, who is all of Sattva Guna, surrounded by Her Vibhûtis, Her manifestations of attendents, Her smiling companions of the same age, decked with ornaments, and wearing divine clothings, and holding each in their four divine hands, conch shell, disc, club, and lotus.

The lotus eyed Visnu was very much surprised to see that beautiful Devî, standing without anything to rest on that water; He saw that on four sides of the Devî, were staying Rati, Bhûti, Buddhi, Mati, Kîrti, Smriti, Dhriti, S'raddhâ, Medhâ, Svadhâ, Svâhâ, Kshudhâ, Nidrâ, Dayâ, Gati, Tusti, Pusti, Ksamâ, Lajjâ, Jrimbhâ Tandrâ and other personified forces, each possessing a clear distinct form, and endowed with a clear distinct feeling. In the hands of them all were divine weapons; on their necks, necklaces and garlands of Mandâra flowers; and all the limbs of their bodies were decorated with divine ornaments. Seeing in that one mass of ocean the Devî Laksmî and Her S'aktis, Bhagavân Janârdan, the soul of all, became greatly astonished and thought within Himself thus :-- “What is this? Is this Mâyâ that I am witnessing? Whence have appeared these women? and whence have I come here, lying on this banyan leaf? How has the banyan tree come to existence in this one mass of ocean? And who is it, that has placed me here in the form of a child? Is this my Mother? Or is this some Mâyâ that can create impossible things?

Why has She made Herself manifest before me now? Or is there some hidden motive that She has appeared thus? What ought I to do now? Or shall I go to some other place? or shall I continue remaining here in this form of the child, silent and with vigilance.

Thus ends the fifteenth chapter of the 1st Skandha on the dispassion of S'ûka and the instructions of Bhagavatî to Hari in the Mahâpurâna S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On S’ûka’s Desiring To Go To Mithilâ To See Janaka

Vyâsa spoke :-- Then the Devî Mahâ Laksmî, seeing the Deva Janârdana lying on a banyan leaf and surprised, spoke to him, smiling :-- O Visnu! Why are you becoming so much astonished? Before this, since times immemorial (without any beginning) there had been many dissolutions (Pralayas); and many Sristis (creations); and at the beginning of every creation You came first into existence and every time I was united with You; but now You have forgotten me under the spell of that Mahâ S'akti.

That Highest Mahâ S'akti is transcendent of all the Gunas; but you and I are with Gunas. Know me as the S’akti, all of Sattva Guna who is widely known as Mahâ Laksmî. After this the Prajâpati Brahmâ, full of Rajo Gunas, the creator of all the Lokas, will come into existence from your navel lotus and will create the three worlds. Then he will perform severe tapasyâ and acquire the excellent power to create, and will create the three worlds by his Rajo Guna. That highly intelligent Prajâpati will create first, the five Mahâ bhûtas (great elements), all endowed with Gunas and then create mind with sensory organs and the presiding deities of the senses, and thus with all the ingredients, fit for creation, will create all the worlds. Therefore He is denominated by all as the Creator of Brahmânda. O highly fortunate one! You will be the Preserver of this Universe. When the Prajâpati Brahmâ will be angry at the beginning of the creation on his four mind-born sons, Rudra Deva will appear.

He will appear then from the centre of his eye brows. On being born this Rudra Deva will practise very severe tapasyâ and will get the Samhâra S’akti, who is all of Tamo Guna and at the end of the Kalpa will destroy all this universe of five elements. O highly intelligent one! So I have come to you for this work of creation, etc. So take me to you as your Vaisnavî S’akti full of Sattva Guna. O Madhusûdana! I will take refuge at your breast and will remain always with you. Hearing all this, Bhagavân Visnu spoke :-- “O beautiful Devî! The half stanza was ere long heard by me, in clear words; by whom was that spoken? Kindly speak to me on this great auspicious secret first. For a great doubt has come and possessed my mind. What more shall I say than this that as a poor man always thinks of wealth, so I am thinking of that again and again.” Hearing these words of Visnu, the Devî Mahâ Laksmî smilingly said, with great affection :-- “O Strong and Energetic one! I am now speaking in detail on this; listen. O Four-armed one! It is because I have come to you with form and endowed with Gunas that you have come to know me; but you have not known that Âdya S’akti, the Prime force, transcending all the Gunas, though She is the substratum of all the Gunas. O highly fortunate one! That Devî Bhâgavatî, transcendant of all the Gunas, uttered that all auspicious, highly sanctifying semistanza, the essence of all the Vedas. O destroyer of the enemies! I think that there is the highest grace of that Highest S’akti on you, that She spoke the greatest secret to you for your benefit. O one performing good vows! know those words uttered by Mahâvidyâ, as the essence of all the S’âstra. So firmly retain them within your heart; never forget them. There is no other thing, save that, worth being known in earnest. Because you are most beloved by the Devî! that She has spoken this to you.” Hearing the words of the Devî Mahâ Laksmî, the four-armed Bhagavân took that semi stanza as a Mantra to be repeated in right earnest within his mind and cherished that for ever within his heart. After some time, Brahmâ born of the lotus of the navel of Visnu, became afraid of the two Daityâs Madhu and Kaitabha, took refuge of Bhagavân Visnu; Visnu killed the two demons and began to do distinctly the japam of the semi-stanza. Brahmâ, born of the lotus, then asked Visnu with a gladdened heart :-- “O Lord of the Devas! what japam are you doing? Lotus eyed! Is there any other body more powerful than you? O Lord of the Universe! whom do you think and thus feel yourself so happy?” Hearing Brahmâ, Bhagavân Hari said :-- “O highly fortunate one! Think out yourself once of the Primordial Force, the auspicious Bhâgavatî Âdya S’akti who is reigning everywhere as the cause and effect and you will be able to understand everything. My presiding Deity is that immeasurable eternal Mahâ S’akti Brahmamyî; on whose S’akti, as a receptacle with form on this ocean rests the whole Universe; I am thinking of that, by which is created (often and often) this entire Universe, moving and non-moving. When the Devî Bhâgavatî, the giver of boons, become graciously pleased, the human beings become freed of this bondage of Samsâra; and again that highest Eternal Wisdom, the cause of Mukti, becomes the source of bondage to this world, of those who are deluded by Her.

She is the Îs'varî of the Îs'varas of this universe. O Brahmâ! You, I and all other things of the entire Universe are born of the Chit S’akti (the power of consciousness) of Her and Her alone; there is no manner of doubt in this. The semi-stanza by which She has sown within me the seed of Bhâgavata will get expanded by the beginning of the Dvâpara Yuga. While Bhagavân Brahmâ was resting on the navel lotus of Visnu, He got the seed of Bhâgavata. Then He gave it to His own son Nârada, the best of the Munis. Nârada gave it to me and I have expanded that into twelve Skandhas. Therefore, O Mahâbhâga! You now study this Bhâgavata Purâna, equal to the Vedas and endowed with five characteristics. In this the wonderful glorious deeds and life of the Devî Bhâgavatî, the hidden meanings of the Vedas and the wisdom, the truth are all described; hence this is the best of all the Purânas and sanctifying like the Dharma S’âstra. It is the substratum of Brahmâ Vidyâ; therefore if men study this, they will easily cross this sea of world; and those that are stupid and deluded get pleasure in hearing the death of Vritrâsura and many other narrations that are interspersed in this book. Therefore, O Mahâbhâga! hear this sanctifying Bhâgavata Purânam and retain it firmly within your heart. O best of persons! You are the foremost of those that are intelligent; so you are worthy to read this Purâna. Eighteen thousand S'lokas are in that Purâna and you better get them by heart; for if anybody reads or bears this Purâna, fit to be praised in every way, all-auspicious, capable to increase posterity by the addition of sons and grandsons, giving long life, happiness and peace, he sees the Sun of Wisdom, resting in his breast and dispelling all darkness of ignorance. Thus speaking to his son S’ûka Deva, Krisna Dvaipâyan, my Guru, studied us the Purâna and thought it was voluminous. I got the whole of it by heart. S'ûka studied the Purâna and stayed in Vyâsa's Âs'rama. But he was naturally dispassionate like Sanat Kumâra, etc., the mind-born sons of Brahmâ; therefore he could not get peace in studying the contents of the Purâna which deal with Karma-Kânda (actions) fit for the house-holders. He remained in a solitary place, his heart being troubled very much. He appeared, as if, with his heart void. He did not mind much for his food and he did not fast also. Once Vyâsa Deva seeing his son S'ûkdeva so thoughtful, said :-- “O Son! What do you think constantly? And why are you troubling yourself so much? Like an impoverished man, entangled in debt, you are always disturbed by your thoughts. O child! When I your father is living, what for do you care? Leave aside your inmost sorrows and be happy. Cast off all other thoughts and think of the wisdom contained in the S’âstras and try your best to acquire Vijñâna, the essence of wisdom. O Suvrata! If you do not get peace by my words then go, at my word to Mithilâ, the city of the King Janaka. O Mahâbhâga! That king Janaka, who is liberated while living, whose soul is religious and who is the ocean of truth will cut asunder the net of your delusion. O Son! Go to the king and question him on Varnâs'ram Dharma (Dharma relating to caste and stages of life) and remove your doubts.

That royal sage Janaka, the greatest Yogi, the knower of Brahmâ and liberated while living, is of pure soul, truthspeaking, of a calm and quiet heart and always fond of Yoga.” Hearing these words of Vyâsa Deva, the highly spirited S’ûka deva of unrivalled energy replied :-- “O virtuous one! Your word can never turn out false; but when I hear that the king Janaka is gladly governing his kingdom still he is liberated while living, and disembodied while he has body -- this your word appears to me quite contradictory like light and darkness at one and the same place and time, and seems that these two epithets simply indicate vanity and nothing else. O Father! This is my greatest doubt how can the royal sage Janaka govern his kingdom, being disembodied. It appears that your word about Janaka is quite false as the son of a barren woman. O Father! I have now got a desire to see the disembodied king Janaka; for my mind is plunged in great doubt how can he remain in samsâra unattached like a lotus leaf in water? O Greatest Orator! Is the liberation of Janaka according to Buddhistic doctrines or like the opinions of the materialistic Chârvâkas! O highly intelligent one! How can the royal sage Janaka, in spite of his being a householder, quit the usages of his senses? I cannot comprehend this. How can the things enjoyed by him appear to him, as if, unenjoyed and and how can his doings be his non-doings? How can the ideas of mother, wife, son, sister, prostitutes and various persons having different relations, arising within him vanish again altogether? And if that be not the case, how can his Jivanmuktahood be possible? If his taste be present of pungent, sour, astringent, bitter, and sweet things, then it is clear that he is enjoying all the most excellent things, O Father! This is my greatest wonder and doubt, that if he has got the sense of heat and cold, pleasure and pain, how can he be a Jivanmukta? That king is thoroughly expert in reigning his kingdom; how then the ideas of enemy, friend, taste and distaste, remaining absent in him, he can govern his state? How can he look with the same eyes a thief and an ascetic? And if he makes any distinction, how then is his liberation effected? I have never seen such a man, that is liberated while living and at the same time an expert king in governing his subjects. For these reasons, great doubt has arisen in me. I cannot understand how can the king Janaka be liberated, while he is remaining in his house? Whatever it be, I desire now greatly to see him after his Jivanmuktahood; so I desire to go to Mithilâ to solve my doubts.”

Thus ends the Sixteenth Chapter of the first Skandha on S’ûka's desiring to go to Mithilâ to see Janaka, in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 17. On S’ûka’s Displaying His Self-Control Amidst The Women Of The Palace Of Mithilâ

Sûta said :-- Thus speaking to his father about his intention to go to Mithilâ, the high-souled S’ûka Deva fell prostrate at his feet and with folded palms said :-- O highly fortunate one! Your word must be obeyed by me; now I desire to see, as you say, the kingdom of Janaka; kindly give me permission. O father! Again the doubt is coming within me how the king Janaka is governing his kingdom without sentencing any body? And if there be no punishment within his kingdom, no one will remain in the path of virtue. It is for the sake of preserving religion that Manu and the other sages have always prescribed for punishment; how, then, religion can be preserved without inflicting punishment. O Mahâbhâga! What you have spoken to me appears to me true like the sentence “My mother is barren.” So, O destroyer of foes! Permit and I will start for Mithilâ. Seeing the greatly wise son S’ûka, void of any desires, earnestly anxious to go to Mithilâ, gave him a cordial embrace and said :-- “O highly intelligent son S’ûka! Peace be on you! Have a long life. O child! Speak truly before me and go. O son! Say that after going to Mithilâ you will come back again to this Âs'rama; never that you will go anywhere else. O son! Seeing the lotus face of yours, I am passing my days happily; if I do not see you, I will suffer extreme pain. What more than this, that you are my life and soul. I am saying, therefore, after seeing Janaka and clearing your doubts come here again and remain at peace, and study on the Vedas.”

Vyâsa having spoken thus, S’ûka bowed down and circumambulated his most worshipful father, and went out; he began to walk very fast like an arrow, leaving the bow, and when it has left the bow. On his journey he saw various countries, various classes of persons, earning money, various gardens and forests, various trees; in some places he saw fields with green grains and grains standing on them; at others he saw ascetics practising asceticism, and initiated Yâjniks (performing yajñas, or sacrifices); in some places he saw yogis practising yoga, the high-souled Vânaprasthîs (in the third stage of life) residing in the forest, and at others he saw devotees of S'iva, S’akti, Ganes'a, Sûryâ and Visnu and many others. Thus he went on in his journey, in great wonder, towards his destination. In his passage he crossed Meru in two years and the Mount Himâlayâs in one year and then reached the city Mithilâ. Going there he found the place, full of wealth, corn, grains, etc., and all prosperities and the people were all very happy and they observed the rule of conduct as in the S'âstras. When he was about to enter into the city the guard in front of the gate stopped him, asking “Who are you? Sir. What for are you come here?” When the guard asked him thus, he replied nothing and went away to a distance and with great wonder could not help laughing in his mind and remained motionless like a statue. At this the guard said :-- “O Brâhman! Why have you remained silent? Kindly say what for you have come here? I know this well that no body goes anywhere without having something to do? The king has forbidden strangers whose parentage and character are unknown. Therefore O Brâhmin! Every one has to take the king's permission before he goes into the city.

It seems that you are a very energetic Brâhman and that you know the Vedas; so O giver of honour! speak out to me your object-in-view and go into the city as you like.” Hearing these words of the guard, S’ûka Deva began to say :-- “I have come to see the city of Videha Janaka; but now I see that persons like me find great difficulty to enter here; so O Gatekeeper! I have got the answer from you. I was a great fool that I was so much deluded that to see the king I crossed many countries and over topped the two mountains and have come here. O Mahâbhâga! What blame can I put on others? It is my father that has deluded me; or my karma done in my previous birth is now making me wander about. Alas! In this world greed for money is the sole cause to make a man knock about; but I have not got that even; my erroneous idea has brought me so far. I now realise that a man, having no desires, gets constant happiness if he be not plunged in the net of delusion; else he cannot have any such. O Mahâbhâga! Though I have no desire of anything, yet I am plunged in the sea of Moha. Alas! Where is Meru? and where is Mithilâ (a great distance intervenes) I have walked so great a distance on foot; alas! this is this the result of my so long a journey! Therefore I am thoroughly convinced that the Creator has deceived me. One must have to suffer for his Prârabdha karma, be it auspicious or inauspicious. One must make one’s effort, being always under the control of this Law of Karma. Though there be no apparent desire or cause, yet this Prârabdha Karma always puts a man into different actions.

This place is not a Tîrath (holy place) nor there are the Vedas personified here, that I have taken so much pains and trouble to come here -- only there is one thing here and that is the king Janaka; but there is no chance to see him even; for I have not been able to enter even within his kingdom.” Thus saying, S’ûka remained silent and began to stay as one who has taken the vow to remain silent. The guard then took him to be a very wise Brâhman and spoke in sweet words :-- “O Brâhman! Go to the place, as you like, where you have got your work. O Brâhman! I stopped you; so please excuse me for any offence incurred by me. Free persons like you have mercy alone as their greatest strength.” Hearing this S’ûka Deva said :--What is your fault? you are dependent on another; the servant ought to obey the words of his master and serve him by all means; and there is no fault of the king, too, in your not allowing me to enter; for the wise persons ought to ascertain by all means, whether the new comers are enemies or thieves? Hence when I am quite a stranger suddenly come to this place, that the fault is wholly mine. Every person knows that it is lowering oneself to go to another's house. The guard then said :-- “O great Brâhman! what is happiness? and what is pain? what ought to be done to by your well wisher? who is your enemy? and who is your benefactor? Now advise me on all these points.” Hearing this S’ûka Deva said :-- Everywhere men are divided, as far as their internal natures are concerned, into two classes; they are called attached or unattached. And the minds of these two classes are again of two kinds. The “attached” man is stupid and cunning and the “unattached” is sub-divided into three classes knowing, unknowing and middling. The cunning man is divided again into two classes :-- Whether his cunningness is according to the dictates of S’âstras or arising from his intellect. Again intellect is sub-divided into two whether it is Yukta (one-pointed) or Ayukta (Diverted) The guard spoke :-- “O Learned one! I cannot understand what you say; so explain them to me what they mean.” S’ûka Deva said :-- Those who are attached to this world are said to be “attached” persons. These attached persons feel frequently various pleasures and pains. When they get wives, sons, wealth, honour, rise, etc., they get pleasures; and if they do not get any of these they feel at every moment intense pain. Now the attached person sought to take such means as will secure them the pleasures of this world; so whoever acts against those means are denominated as breakers of their happiness and so they are enemies; and whoever aids in their acquiring pleasures are denominated as their friends. Of these the attached but at the same time cunning man does not get confounded and bewildered by them; whereas stupid attached man gets always bewildered everywhere. The man that is dispassionate and engaged in determining the “self” dwells in a solitary place, meditates on “self”, finds pleasure in studying the Vedânta  S’âstras and feels pain in all the topics on worldly affairs. The wise man that wants his real welfare and is averse to the worldly enjoyments finds that he has many enemies; lust, anger, palaces, etc., are his so many enemies. Contentment is his only friend in the three lokas and no one is his real self.

Hearing these words of S’ûka Deva, the watchman considered S’ûka Deva a very wise man and soon led him to a very beautiful compartment. S’ûka Deva then began to see that the town was full of three sorts of men, good, middling, and bad; and the shops were filled with various articles of merchandise. The many things were being incessantly purchased and sold there. Within that town, filled with many men, money and all sorts wealth and prosperities, almost everywhere were seen instances of attachment, hatred, lust, anger, greed, vanity and delusion; at some parts there were seen persons quarrelling with each other. Seeing thus the three sorts of persons, the highly energetic S’ûka, blazing like a second Sun went to the royal palace when the gateman stopped him. He stood there like a log of wood and began to meditate on “Moksa” (Liberation). He began to think the light and darkness as same; the greatly ascetic S’ûka became merged in Dhyâna (meditation) and remained at one place motionless. In an instant, a royal minister came out and saluting him with folded hands, took him to a second compartment. Here the minister showed him beautiful divine gardens adorned nicely with rows of divine trees bearing fruits and gave him a good reception and took him to a very beautiful palace. The minister next ordered the public women in royal service, expert in music and playing with instruments, and skilled in Kâma-S’âstra (the science of amorous dealings) to attend on S’ûka Deva and went out of the palace. S’ûka, the son of Vyâsa, remained there. Those prostitutes then prepared various dishes, suited to the time and place, and sought the satisfaction of S’ûka and then worshipped him duly with greatest devotion. Those ladies, then, residing within the four walls became enamoured to see the beauty of S’ûka Deva and showed him the gardens that existed in the inner compound. S’ûka was young and beautiful; over this he was extremely lovely, of nice limbs; his speech was soft and gentle; so he looked like a second Cupid (the god of love); all the ladies, struck with Cupid’s arrows, lost their consciousness. Then recovering, they considered S’ûka Deva to be the great controller of passions and began to serve him with great care. The pure minded S’ûka, born of Arani, looked on them like his mother. S’ûka, finding pleasure in self and the controller of anger was not pleased or displeased with anything; so though be saw that the ladies were disturbed with amorous feelings, he remained quite undisturbed, calm and quiet. The ladies, then prepared a very nice bed whereon S’ûka Deva would sleep; it was spread over with nice clean bed sheet; many nice pillows were placed. He, then, washed his feet and with vigilance, put on his finger the ring prepared of Kus'a grass, and completing his evening Sandhyâ, became merged in Dhyâna. Meditating on Supreme Brahmâ for three hours (one Prahara), slept for 6 hours and getting up, again became merged in Brahmâ Dhyâna for the last three hours of the night. Then at the Brahmâ mûhurta (one hour preceding the sunrise) he took his bath and completing his morning duties, became immersed in Samâdhi (inner enlightenment) and sat at ease.

Thus ends the 17th chapter of the 1st Skandha on S’ûka's displaying his self-control amidst the women of the palace of Mithilâ in the Mahâpurâna S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam.

Chapter 18. On Janaka’s Giving Instructions On Truth To S’ûka Deva

1-22. Sûta said :-- Mahârsis! When the king Janaka heard of the arrival of S’ûka Deva, the son of his Guru, he took his priest before him and attended by his ministers came before him in pure spirit. Then he duly worshipped S’ûka, offering him Pâdya, Arghya and an excellent seat, and a cow, yielding milk and then enquired about his welfare. S’ûka Deva accepted duly all the things offered by the king; and informed him of his well-being and asked the king in return, of his welfare and took his seat at ease on the Âsana. The king Janaka asked the son of Vyâsa, full of peace :-- “O Mahâbhâga Muni Sattama! You are devoid of any attachment and you have no desires. May I enquire why such a person as your honoured self has come to me.” S’ûka Deva said :-- O great king! my father told me thus :-- O child; take a wife; for the house-holder's life is the best of all the âs'ramas but I thought that will be the source of my bondage to this world and therefore did not obey his word, though he was my highest Guru. He then again said to me :-- If one takes a household life, it does not at once follow that he will be held in bondage; yet I did not agree to that. Then the Muni, thinking me still to be in some doubt, spoke this word of advice to me :-- “O Son! Do not be sorry; go to Mithilâ and have your doubts solved. There my disciple the king Janaka, is governing his kingdom without any source of danger. He is Jivanamukta (liberated while living) and is free from the ideas of body, etc., so everybody knows. When that royal sage, Janaka, though governing his kingdom, is not seen tied up by Mâyâ, then O Son! why are you afraid of this Samsâra, when you are living this forest life.

Therefore, O Mahâbhâga! Trust me and marry; and in case you doubt very much, then go and see the king Janaka; ask him and remove your doubts. He will certainly solve your doubts. But, O Son! After hearing him, come again quickly to me.” O king! When my father spoke thus, by his permission I have come now to your capital. O king! I don't want any thing, save Moksa (liberation); therefore O Sinless one! Kindly advise what am I to do, so that I attain Moksa. O Lord of kings! Practising asceticism, going to the holy places of pilgrimage, holding vratas (vows), performing sacrifices, studying the Vedas, or earning wisdom, whatever is the cause of Moksa, kindly say that. Hearing this, Janaka said :-- “O son of my Guru! I am telling what ought to be done by the Brâhmanas, following the path of Moksa; listen. After having the holy thread, a Brâhmin should live in the house of his Guru to study the Vedas, the Vedântas and pay the Dakshinâ (the fee) to the Guru according to rules; he will then return home and marry and enter into the householder's life; he should lead a life of contentment, be free from desires, sinless and truthful and earn his livelihood with a pure heart and according to the sanction of justice and conscience. He is to perform the Agnihotra and other sacrifices; and after getting sons and grandsons, he is to leave his wife under the care of his son and then to take the life of a Vânaprastha (3rd stage of life). That Brâhman, the knower of Dharma, must practise tapasyâ and become master of his six passions (enemies); and when he gets disgusted with the world and when the Vairâgyam (dispassion) will arise within him, he would enter into the fourth Âs'rama. For, the man is first to enter into the householder's life and when he will be quite dispassionate towards the world, he will then have a right to take the Âs’rama of Sannyâsa (Renunciation). A course contrary to this can never entitle one to the Âs’rama of Sanyâsa.

This is the beneficial word of the Vedas and it must hold true; it cannot be false; this is my firm belief. O S’ûka! In the Vedas are mentioned forty-eight Samskâras (consecrations; purificatory rites); out of which the learned Mahâtmas have reserved forty Samskâras for the householders and the last eight Samskâras (S'ama, Dama, etc.,) for the Sannyâsins. And this good usage is heard to come down from very ancient times. A Brâhmana ought to complete his previous Âs’ramas successively and then enter into the succeeding Âs’rama.

23-30. S’ûka said :-- If the pure Vairâgyam (dispassion) arising out of knowledge and wisdom (jñân and Vijñân) already arises (before taking to the grihasth Âs'ram), is it still necessary to pass through house holder’s life, Vânaprastha life, etc., or is one entitled then to take up at once the Sannyâsa Âs'rama, quit everything and reside in the forest? Janaka said :-- O! One giving honour to the S’âstras and Gurus! Though the powerful passions seem to be under control in the period of unripened Yoga (the imperfect yogic state), yet one ought not to trust them; for, it is generally seen, many imperfect Yogins find themselves disturbed by one or other of the senses. If the mind of one who has already entered into the Sannyâsa Âs’ram gets perturbed in his course, then, how can he, you can see this for yourself, satisfy desires of eating good things, sleeping nicely, seeing his son, or wishing any other desires, knowing them to lead to his degradation? He is then in a very serious state. The net of desires is very difficult to be conquered by men; that can never die out. Therefore, to put an end to them, the advise is to cut them slowly and slowly. He who sleeps on an elevated place has the danger of tumbling down; but one who sleeps in a low place has no such danger. So any man who has once taken the highest dharma Sannyâsa, and if he be fallen, then he never gets hold of the real track. As an ant begins to get from the root of tree, and, by and by, gets to the topmost part of the branches, so human beings go by degrees from one Âs'rama to another till they go to the highest; then and then only they are able to get easily their desired truth. The birds without anticipating any danger, get up to the skies very quickly and soon they get tired and cannot go to their desired place but the ant goes with rest to its desired place. This mind is very difficult to be controlled; for this reason the men of unripened minds, cannot conquer it all at once; and are advised to conquer it, by and by, observing the laws of one Âs’rama after another.

31-37. See also if anybody, remaining in his household life be of a quiet temper and of good intellect, and if he takes success and failure in the same light, and be not elated in times of pleasure and not depressed in times of pains and does his duty for duty’s sake without troubling his mind with cares, and anxieties, then that householder acquires pure happiness by the realisation of his self and acquires Moksha. There is no manner of doubt in this. O Sinless One! See, I am liberated while living, though I am engaged in preserving kingdom; if any source of pain or pleasure arises, I am not in any way affected by them. As I will attain in the end Videha Mukti (liberation from bodies) though I am always wandering at my free will, enjoying various things as I like and do various things as it pleases me, so you can do your duties and then be liberated in the end.

O Son of my Guru! When this material world, the cause of all error according to the Vedanta S’âstras, is simply an object of sight then how can this material substance, an object of sight, be the source of bondage to the Âtman, the Self? O Brâhman! Though the five material elements can be seen, their qualities or Gunas can be known only by inference, so the self is to be inferred; it can never be an object of sight; and also this self, known by inference, changeless and without any impurity or stain can never be bound by the visible changeful material thing. O Brâhman! This impure heart is the source of all pleasure and pains; so when the heart becomes pure and quiet, all the things then become fully pure, O Brâhmana!

38-41. If going often and often to all Tiraths and bathing there, do not make one's heart pure and holy, then all one's troubles are taken in vain. O Destroyer of enemies! It is the mind that is the cause of bondage or freedom; and not the body, nor the Jivâtmâ (the embodied soul), nor the senses. The Self or Âtman is always pure consciousness and is ever free so, truly speaking, it can never be bound. Bondage and freedom reside on in the mind; so when the Mind gets peace, the bondage of Samsâra is also at an end. He is an enemy, he is a friend, he is neither an enemy nor friend, all these different thoughts reside in the mind and arise out of duality; how can the ideas of differences exist, when everything has become all one pervading self?

42-47. Jîva is Brahmâ; I am that Brahmâ and nothing else; there is nothing to be discussed here. It is owing to the dualities that monism appears not clear and differences between Jîva and Brahmâ arise. O Mahâbhâga! This difference is due to Avidyâ and by which this difference vanishes, that is termed Vidyâ.

This difference between Vidyâ and Avidyâ ought to be always kept in view, by those that are clever.

How can the pleasure from the cooling effect of the shadow, be felt, if the heating effect of the rays of the Sun be not previously experienced? So how Vidyâ is to be experienced if Avidyâ be not felt before? Sattva, Rajas and Tamo Gunas reside naturally in things, made of Gunas; and the five principal elements reside naturally in substances made up of elements; so the senses reside naturally in their own forms, etc.; so how can there be any stain to the Âtman which is unattached? Yet to teach humanity, the high souled persons preserve always with greatest care the respect of the Vedas. If they do not do this, then, O Sinless One! the ignorant persons would act lawlessly according to their wishes, like the Chârvâkas; and Dharma will become extinct. When Dharma will become extinct, the Varnâs’rama will gradually die out; so the well-wishers should always follow the path of the Vedas.

48-56. S’ûka said :-- “O King! I have now heard all that you have said; still my doubt remains; it is not solved. O King! In the Dharma of the Vedas, there is Himsâ (act of killing and injuring); and we hear that there is much of Adharma (sin) in the above Himsâ.

So how can the Dharma of the Vedas give Moksha? O King! One can see before one's eyes that the drinking of Soma rasa, the killing of animals, the eating of fish and flesh and so are advised in the Vedas; so much so that in the sacrificial ceremony named Sautrâmana the rule of drinking wine and many other vratas are clearly mentioned; even gambling is advised in the Vedas. So how can Mukti be obtained by following the Veda Dharma? It is heard that, in ancient times, there was a great king, named S'as'avindu, very religious, truthful, and performing sacrifices, very liberal; he protected the virtuous, and chastised those that were wicked and going astray. He performed many Yajñas, where many cows and sheep were sacrificed according to the rules of the Vedas and abundant Dakshinâs (sacrificial fees) were presented to every one that performed their parts in the sacrifices. In these sacrifices, the hides of the cows that were sacrificed as victims, were heaped to such an enormous extent that they looked liked a second Bindhyâchal mountain. Then the rains fell and the dirty water coming out of that enormous heap of skins flowed down and gave rise to a river which was thence called the Charmanvatî river. And what a wonder? That cruel king left behind him an ineffaceable fame and went to Heavens. Whatever it may be, it can never come to my head that I should perform the Veda Dharma, filled with so many acts of killing and cruelties. Again, when the man find pleasure in sexual intercourses and when they do not have that intercourse, they experience pain, how can you expect such persons to attain liberation.”

57-61. Janaka said :-- “The killing of animals in a sacrificial ceremony is not killing; it is known as Ahimsâ; for that himsâ is not from any selfish attachment; therefore when there is no such sacrifice and the animals are killed out of selfish attachment, then that is real himsâ; there is no other opinion in this. Smoke arises from a fire when fuels are placed in it; and smoke is not seen when no fuel is added. So, O Munisattama! The himsâ, as prescribed in the Vedas, is free from all blemishes, selfish attachment, etc., and therefore it is unblameable. So it follows the himsâ committed by persons attached to objects, is the real himsâ; that can be blamed, but the himsâ of those persons who have no desires is not that sort of himsâ. Therefore the learned men that know the Vedas declare that the himsâ done by the dispassionate persons, with their hearts free from egoism, is no himsâ done at all. O Dvija! Really speaking, the killing of animals done by the house-holder attached to senses and their objects, and done under their impulses can be taken into account as a real act of killing; but, O Mahâbhâga of those whose hearts are not attached to anything of those self controlled persons, desirous of moksa, if they do an act of Himsâ out of a sense of duty, with no desires of fruits and with their hearts free from egoism that can never be reckoned as a real act of killing.”

Thus ends the 18th Chapter of the 1st Skandha on Janaka's giving instructions on truth to S’ûka Deva in the Mahâpurânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam.

Chapter 19. On The Description Of The Marriage Of S’ûka

1-4. S’rî S’ûka said :-- O king! This great doubt arises in my mind how a man can be free from desires and the rewards of their actions, when he lives in the midst of this Samsâra, that is all full of Mâyâ? When even by the acquiring of wisdom of the S’âstras and the capability to judge which is real and which is unreal, the delusion of the mind is not dispelled until one resorts to the practice of Yoga, how then can freedom from desires and liberation come to a householder? The darkness of a room is not destroyed by the mere mention of lamp, light; so the wisdom acquired by reading the S’âstras can never dispel the darkness of delusion that reigns in the inside of a man. O lion of kings! If one wants Moksa, one ought not to commit any act of revenge or injury or killing any being; how can this be possible to a householder?

5-17. Your desires to acquire wealth, to enjoy royal pleasures and to get victory in battle have not yet subsided; how then can you be a Jivan mukta? O king! You consider yet a thief, thief and a saint, saint; you consider a man as your relative or other than that; these ideas have not vanished from you; how then can you be called Videha? O king! You feel the pungent, bitter, astringent, sour tastes and the like; you feel good and bad rasas respectively; you become glad when success comes to you and you feel sorrow when you happen to fail; and you experience the three states, waking, dreaming, and deep sleep as an ordinary man does, how then can you be called to attain the Turîya (fourth) state? May I ask :-- Whether you cherish this idea that all these infantries, cavalries, chariots, and that all these elephants are mine; I am the lord of all the wealth and things? Or whether you do not cherish this idea? O king! I think you eat sweet and good things, and, at times, feel pleasure and, at other times, feel pain! So, O king! How can you look on the garland of flowers and the snake as one and the same? O king! He who is a Muktapurusa considers a lump of earth, a piece of stone, and gold as of one and the same value; he considers everything to be the same Âtmân and does good to all the beings. Whatever that may be, I do not find any pleasure at present with houses, wife, etc., or with anything, in fact. What my heart’s desire is that I roam alone always without any desires in my heart. Therefore I like not to have any companion; to be free from any attachment and to be peaceful, and calm; I do not wish to accept anything from anybody; I will forego all pleasures and pains from cold, warmth, etc., and I will sustain my life on roots, fruits, and leaves, obtained without any effort and will roam, as I like, like a deer. When I have not got the least attachment to the household life and when I am beyond all the attributes, what necessity have I then of house, wealth or a suitable wife? And when you think of various things with loving heart, and yet say that you are a Jivan mukta, that is nothing but a mere vanity of yours! O king! When you think and become anxious about your enemies, about your wealth or sometimes about your army, how then can you be said to be free from cares? What more can be said than the fact that many Munis, eating moderately and controlling their senses, and leading an anchorite's life, and knowing the unreality of the world, fall victims to the Mâyâ!

18-27. Then what need there is to talk of you? O king! know that the hereditary title “Videha” to your line of kings indicates downright insincerity; nothing can be other than this as the name “Vidyâ Dhara” (holder of knowledge) is applied to an illiterate man; as the name “Divâkara” (sun) is given to a born-blind man, as the name “Laksmîdhara” (holder of wealth) is given to even a poor man, as these names are quite useless to me. I have heard that the kings of your family who were your predecessors were called “Videha” in name only and not in deed. O king! In your family there reigned a king named “Nimi.” Once on a time that royal sage invited his Guru Vas’istha to perform a sacrifice, when Vas'istha said :-- “I am already invited by Indra, the lord of the Devas, to perform his sacrifice; so O king! let me first finish his work; I will then take up your work. Better go on collecting the sacrificial materials till my that work is complete.” Thus saying, Vas'istha went away to perform Indra's sacrifice; on the other hand, the royal sage Nimi selected another priest and made him his Guru and began his sacrifice. Hearing all this, Maharsi Vas’istha became angry and cursed him thus :-- “O forsaker of your Guru! For the crime of forsaking your Guru, let thy body be destroyed today!” At this, the royal sage, too, cursed Vas'istha in his turn “Let your body fall off also.” Then the bodies of both the persons fell. But, O king! this curiousity came to my mind, how the royal sage, whose body fell before, cursed his own Guru afterwards.

28-35. Janaka said :-- O Lord of Brâhmins! what you have said is, in my opinion, all quite true; nothing is false. Still hear. Know what my most worshipful Guru Deva has spoken to me is, in fact, true (and nothing else). You are now intending to quit the company of your father and go to the forest; well and good! but even then you will undoubtedly have the company of deer, etc.; see, also, that when the five elements, earth, water, air, etc., are present, encompassing everywhere, how, then, can you expect to be free from all companions? So, O Muni! when you will have to think always of your food, how, then, can you be said to be free from all cares? Again, even if you go to the forest, you will have to think there also for your staff, deer skin, etc.; so you can take my case, too, of thinking of my kingdom, whether I think or not, as your thinking of staff, deer skin, etc., your heart is tainted with Vikalpa Jñân (knowledge of doubt, duality, etc.); and therefore you have come here from a far-off country. But my heart is free from any such doubt and I am remaining quite cheerful here. O best of Brâhmins! I have got no doubt whatsoever on any point, and therefore I take my food and go to sleep with great pleasure. “I am not bound up by this world” this idea gives me constant happiness of the highest degree. But you consider that you are bound and therefore you feel always constant pain. So leave off your idea that you are bound, and be happy. “This body is mine” this knowledge leads to my bondage; and “This body is not mine” this knowledge leads to freedom so know this verily that all this wealth, kingdom, etc., are not mine.

36-45. Sûta said :-- Hearing these words of the royal sage, S’ûka Deva became exceedingly glad and pronounced “Sadhu” “Sâdhu” (true saint, indeed a true saint, well said) and went away without any delay to the pleasant Âs’rama of Vyâsa. Vyâsa, too, seeing his son come back, became very glad and embraced him and took the smell of his head and asked about his welfare again and again. Then S’ûka Deva, well conversant with the S’âstras and ever ready in studying the Vedas, sat by the side of his father, with an enlightened mind, in his lovely Âs’rama and thinking of the state of the highsouled Janaka in his kingdom, began to feel the highest peace. Though S’ûka adopted the path of Yoga, yet he married the daughter of a Muni, named Pivarî, very beautiful, fortunate, enhancing the glory of her father's family. Then were born first the four sons named Krishna, Gauraprabha, Bhûri, and Devas'ruta out of the sperm of S’ûka and the ovum of Pivari; and next a daughter was born named Kîrti of them. Vyâsa's son S’ûka, endowed with the fire of asceticism gave the daughter Kîrti in marriage in due time with the high-souled Anûha, the son of Vibhrâja. As time passed on, a son was born of the womb of Kîrti and the sperm of Anûha, a son who became the powerful king Brahmadatta, the knower of Brahmâ and endowed with wealth and prosperity. Some time elapsed when Anûha, the son-in-law of S’ûka Deva, getting from Nârada the Mâyâvîja and highest knowledge of Yoga handed over his kingdom to his son and went to the hermitage of Vadarikâ and became liberated.

The Devarsî Nârada gave him the mantra, the vîja of Mâyâ; and by the influence of that mantra and by the grace of the Devî, the knowledge of the Supreme Brahmâ, arose in him without any obstacle and gave him liberation.

46-51. On the other hand S’ûka Deva, always averse to any company, left his father and went to the beautiful mountain Kailâs'a. He began to meditate on the unmoving Brahmâ and thus remained there. After some time the highly energetic S’ûka Deva attained Siddhi (supernatural powers) Animâ, Laghimâ, etc., rose up high in the air from the top of the mountain and began to roam there, and then he appeared like a second Sun. When S’ûka arose from the peak, it severed into two and various ominous signs became visible. When S’ûka Deva, appearing like a second Sun by the dazzling brilliancy of his body, suddenly vanished away like air and became diluted in the Paramâtman, entering into everything and became invisible, then the Devarsis began to chant hymns to him. On the other hand, Vyâsa Deva became very much distressed with the separation from his son and cried out frequently “Oh, my son! Alas! my son Where are you gone?” and went to the summit of the mountain where S’ûka did go and wept bitterly. Then S’ûka Deva, who was then residing as the Paramâtman, the Internal controller of all the beings and with all the beings, knowing Vyâsa Deva as very much fatigued, distressed, and crying, spoke out as an echo from the mountains and trees thus :-- “O Father! There is no difference between you and me, considered in the light of Âtman; then why are you weeping for me?”

52-59. Even today the above echo is clearly heard (almost daily). Seeing Vyâsa Deva grieved very much for the separation from his son and always crying “Oh! my son! Oh! my son!” Bhagavân Mahes'vara came there and consoled him saying “O Vyâsa Deva! your son is the foremost of the Yogis; he has attained the highest state, so very rare to the ordinary persons that are not self controlled. So do not be sorry any more. O Sinless One! when you have realised the Brahmâ-tattva, then you ought not to express any sorrow for your S’ûka who is now stationed in that Brâhman. Your fame is now unrivalled, only on account of your having got a son like him.” Vyâsa Deva said :-- “O Lord of the Devâs! O Lord of the world! What am I to do now? My grief does not quit my heart anyhow or other. My eyes are as yet satisfied in seeing my son; they like still to see the son.” Hearing these sorrowful words of Vyâsa, Bhagâvan Mahâdeva said :-- “O Muni Sârdula! I grant this boon to you that you will see the form of your son abiding in shadow, very beautiful, by the side of you. O Destroyer of enemies! Now abandon your grief by seeing that shadow form of your son.” When Bhagavân Mahes'vara said so, Vyâsa began to see the bright shade form of his son. Granting thus the boon, Bhagavân Mahâdeva vanished then and there. When He vanished away, Vyâsa became very much distressed with sorrow for the bereavement of his son and returned with heavy heart to his own hermitage.

Thus ends the nineteenth chapter of the first Skandha on the description of the marriage of S’ûka in the Mahâpurâna S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 20. On Vyâsa  Doing His Duties

1-8. The Risis said :-- “O Sûta! What did Veda Vyâsa  do, when the highest Yogi S’ûka, Deva-like, acquired all the excellent supernatural powers? Kindly describe all these in detail.”

Hearing this question, Sûta spoke :-- O Rishis! Vyâsa  already had with him many disciples Asita, Devala, Vais'ampâyana, Jaimini, Sumantu and others, all engaged in the study of the Vedas. After their studies were over, they all went out to propagate Dharma on the earth. Then Vyâsa , seeing that the disciples went to the earth and his son S’ûka Deva had got to the next world, became very much distressed with sorrow and wanted to go to some other place. He then decided to go to his birth place and went to the banks of the Ganges and there remembered his auspicious mother Satyavatî, forsaken by him before, very sorrowful, and the daughter of a fisherman. He then quitted that heaven-like mountain, the source of all happiness and came to his own birth place. Reaching the island where he was born, he enquired the whereabouts of the beautiful faced, the fisherman's daughter as well the wife of a king. The fishermen replied that their king had given her in marriage to the king S'antanu. Then the king of fishermen, seeing Vyâsa there, gladly worshipped him and gave him a cordial welcome and spoke with folded palms, thus :--

9-16. O Muni! When I have become so fortunate as to see you, rare even to the Devas, then my birth has been sanctified today and you have purified my family. O Brâhmin! Kindly say what for have you come?

My wife, son and all my riches and every other thing that I have are at your disposal. Thus hearing the history of his mother Satyavatî, Vyâsa  erected an Âs’rama on the beautiful banks of the river Sarasvatî and remained there in tapasyâ with an enlightened mind.

Some time elapsed when the highly energetic S’antanu got through his wife Satyavatî two sons. Vyâsa  Deva considered them as his two brothers and became very glad, though he himself used to live in the forest. The first son of the king S’antanu was Chitrângada, endowed with all auspicious qualities, exceedingly beautiful, and tormenting his foes; the second son was Vichitra-vîrya; he was endowed with all qualities. The king S’antanu became very happy to get these children. S’antanu had one son before through his wife Gangâ; he was a great hero and very powerful; and the two sons of Satyavatî were equally powerful. The high souled S’antanu now seeing the three sons, all endowed with all auspicious qualities, began to think that the Devas were incapable to defeat him.

17-34. After some time, the religious S’antanu quitted his worn-out body as a man quits his clothes worn out in due time. After the king S’antanu had ascended the Heavens, the energetic Bhîs'ma performed duly his funeral obsequies and gave various things in charity to the Brâhmanas. He did not accept the kingdom himself; but placed Chitrângada on the throne and became known by the name of Devavrata (truthful in vow like the Devas). The pure souled Chitrângada, born of Satyavatî became so much powerful by sheer force of his arms, and became so great a hero that the enemies felt endless troubles. Now once on an occasion, the greatly powerful Chitrângada, surrounded by a great army, went on an hunting excursion to the forest in quest of rurû deer, etc., when the Gandarbha Chitrângada, seeing the king on the way, alighted from his chariot.

O ascetics! A fierce battle then ensued for three years on that sacred and wide expanse Kuruksettra between the two heroes, both equally powerful. In the battle, the king Chitrângada, the son of S’antanu was slain by the Gandarbha Chitrângada and went up to Heavens. Bhîs’ma, born of the womb of Gangâ, hearing the above news, expressed his sorrows and, being surrounded by the ministers completed all the funeral obsequies and installed Vichitravîrya on the throne. The beautiful Satyavatî became very much agitated by the death of her son; but when the ministers and the highsouled spiritual teachers consoled her, she became glad when she saw that her youngest son became king. Vyâsa  Deva, too, felt himself glad to hear that his youngest brother had been made king. After some time when the all auspicious, Satyavatî's son Vichîtravîrya attained his youth,

Bhîs’ma began to think of his marriage. At this time the king of Kâsî (Kâs'îrâj) called an assembly Svayamvara (where the kings are invited and the bride selects the bridegroom) for the marriage of her three daughters, endowed with all auspicious qualities, at one and the same time. Thousands and thousands of kings and princes from various countries were invited there in the assembly; and, worshipped duly, they went and decorated the hall. At that time the highly energetic fiery Bhîs’ma alone, mounting on his chariot, attacked the infantry and cavalry, and defeated all the kings assembled there, and perforce carried away the three daughters of Kâs'îrâj and took them to Hastinâpur. Bhîs’ma behaved towards those three daughters as if they were mothers, sisters or daughters and informed Satyavatî without any delay of everything that had happened.

35-39. Then he called for the astrologers and Brâhmins, versed in the Vedas and enquired about the auspicious day for their marriage. When the day was fixed and when every preparation was made, the religious Bhîs’ma wanted Vichitravîrya to marry them. At this time, the eldest daughter, beautiful-eyed spoke out modestly to the Gangâ's son Bhîs’ma :-- “O Gangâ's son, the illustrious son of your family and the best of the Kurus! You are the best knower of Dharma; therefore what more shall I say to you. In the Svayamvara assembly I mentally selected S'âlva and it struck me that he, too, looked on me with a very loving heart towards me. So, O tormentor of foes! Now do what is fit for that sacred family; O Gangâ's son! Not only you are extraordinarily powerful but you are also the foremost of the religious. Sâlva mentally wanted to marry me; now do as you like.”

40-44. When the eldest daughter spoke thus, Bhîs’ma asked the aged Brâhmanas, ministers and his mother “What ought to be done now” and, taking the opinions of all, spoke to that daughter :-- “O beautiful one! You can go wherever you like.” Thus saying, Bhîs’ma released her. Then the beautiful daughter of Kâsîrâj went to the house of Sâlvarâj and expressed to him her heart's desire :-- “O great king! Knowing me attached to yourself, Bhîs’ma has quitted me according to the laws of Dharma; I have therefore come to you now; marry me. O best of the kings! I will be your legal wife, for already I used to think you as my husband and you, too, must have thought me your wife.”

45-47. S'âlva replied as follows :-- “O beautiful one! When Bhîs’ma caught hold of your arm before me and took you to his chariot, then I won't marry you. You can say yourself what intelligent man can marry a woman touched by another? Therefore I won't marry you, though Bhîs’ma has quitted you, in the light of another.” Hearing these words of S’âlva, the daughter of Kâsîrâj wept bitterly; yet S’âlva quitted her. Therefore, finding no other way, she went back to Bhîs’ma weeping, and said as follows :--

48-50. O great warrior! S’âlva did not consent to marry me, as you first took me to the chariot and afterwards left me. So, O Mahâbhâga! You better look to Dharma and marry me, as you know best what is Dharma. If you do not marry me, I will certainly quit my life. Hearing her words Bhîs’ma said :-- O beautiful one! How can I accept you, when your mind has become attached towards another. So, O fair one! You better go back soon to your own father with a calm, clear mind. When Bhîs’ma said thus, that daughter of Kâsîrâj did not go back, out of sheer shame, to her father's house, but went to a forest and in a greatly solitary place of pilgrimage began to practise asceticism.

51-56. Now the other two daughters of Kâsîrâj, beautiful and all auspicious Ambâlikâ and Ambikâ became the wives of the king Vichîtravîrya. Thus the powerful king Vichîtravîrya began to enjoy various pleasures in the palace and in the gardens and thus passed his time. For full nine years the king Vichîtravîrya enjoyed the sexual pleasures and became attacked with consumption and fell into the jaws of death. Hearing the death news of her son Vichîtravîrya, Satyavatî became very sorry and surrounded by her ministers, performed his funeral obsequies. Then she spoke privately to Bhîs’ma with a grievous heart :-- “O highly fortunately son! now you better govern your father's kingdom and see that the family of Yayâti does not become extinct. So better take your brother's wife and try your best to continue your family line.

57-74. Bhîs’ma then said :-- "O Mother! Did you not hear of the promise that I already made before my father? So I cannot ever marry and govern the kingdom.” Hearing these words of Bhîs’ma, Satyavatî became anxious. She began to think as follows :-- “How now the continuity of the family be kept! And it is not advisable to remain idle when the kingdom has become kingless; no happiness can be derived in this state.” Thus thinking, she became exceedingly distressed; then the Gangâ's son, Bhîs’ma spoke to her :-- “O respected one! Do not worry your mind with cares; now take steps so as to secure a son from Vichîtravîrya's wife. Call some best Brâhmin, born of a good family and unite him with Vichîtravîrya's wife. There is no fault, as far as I know, in doing thus to keep up the family line. O sweet smiling one! Thus having begotten the grandson, give him this kingdom; I will also obey his commands.” Hearing these reasonable words of Bhîs’ma, Satyavatî remembered her own son, the sinless Vyâsa  Deva, who was born to her during her virginity. As soon as Vyâsa was remembered, he, the great ascetic and effulgent like the sun, came there and bowed down to his mother. The highly energetic Vyâsa was then worshipped duly by Bhîs’ma and welcome by Satyavatî and began to rest there like a smokeless fire. The mother Satyavatî then spoke to the chief Muni :-- “O son! Now procreate a beautiful son from your sperm and the ovum of Vichîtravîrya's wife.” Hearing the mother's words, Vyâsa  considered them as Veda's injunction and thought they must be obeyed and promised before her that he must obey and and fulfil her orders. He remained there, waiting for the menstruation period. When the due period of menstruation arrived, Ambikâ bathed and had a sexual intercourse with Vyâsa  and begot a very powerful son, but a blind one (since she closed her eyes at the sight of Vyâsa  during her intercourse). Seeing the son born blind Satyavatî became exceedingly sorry; she, then, asked her other son's wife :-- “Go soon and get a son born of you in the aforesaid manner.” When the menstruation period arrived, Ambâlikâ during the night time went to Vyâsa  and mixed and became pregnant. In due time a son was born; that child became of a very pale colour; so Satyavatî thought the new child, too, unfit for the kingdom; therefore at the end of the year again asked her son's wife Ambâlikâ to go to Vyâsa . She asked Vyâsa  also for the same purpose and sent Ambâlikâ to his bed room. But Ambâlikâ became afraid, and could not go herself but sent her maid servant for the purpose. Thus from the womb of the maid servant the high souled Vidura was born, having Dharma's parts and the most auspicious towards all. Thus Vyâsa  begot three very powerful sons Dhritarâstra, Pandu and Vidura for the continuity of the family line. O sinless Maharsis! Thus I have described to you how my Guru Vyâsa  Deva, who knows well all the Dharmas, kept up the continuity of his family and how he begot sons in the womb of his brother Vichîtravîrya's wives, according to the laws of Dharma, to keep up a family.

Thus ends the twentieth chapter of the 1st Skandha as well as the first Skandha on Vyâsa  doing his duties in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa .

The Second Book

Chapter 1. On The Birth Of Matsyagandhâ

1-5. The Risis said :-- “O Sûta! Your words sound wonderful to us indeed! but you have not as yet definitely spoken to us the original events in detail; so a great doubt has arisen in our minds. We know that the king S’antanu married Vyâsa's mother, Satyavatî. Now say, in detail in how Vyâsa became her son? How such a chaste woman Satyavatî, remaining in her own house, came to be married again by S’antanu? and how the two sons came to be born of S’antanu's sperm and Satyavatî's' ovum? Now O highly fortunate Suvrata? Kindly describe in detail this highly sanctifying historical fact. These Risis, who are observing vows, are desirous to hear of the birth of Veda Vyâsa and Satyavatî.”

6-23. Sûta said :-- I bow down with devotion to the Highest Primordial Force, the bestower of the four fold aims of existence of human life, who grants to all, their desires when so prayed by the help of the Vâgbhava Vîjamantra with their heart and soul, for the success of all their desires. The above vîja is so potent in its effect that even pronounced very lightly, even under a pretext, it grants all siddhis. So the Devî should be remembered by all means; and now saluting Her, I begin my narration of the auspicious Purânic events. In days gone by there reigned a king, named Uparichara; he ruled over the Chedi country and respected the Brâhmins; he was truthful and very religious. Indra, the lord of the Devas, became very pleased by his asceticism and presented him an auspicious celestial car (going in the air) made of pearls, and crystals, helping him in doing what he liked best. Mounting on that divine chariot, that religious king used to go everywhere; he never remained on earth; he used to remain always in the atmosphere and therefore be had his name as “Uparichara Vasu” (moving in the upper regions). He had a very beautiful wife, named Girikâ; and five powerful sons, of indomitable vigour, were born to him.

The king give separate kingdoms to each of his sons and made them kings. Once on an occasion, Girikâ, the wife of the Uparichara Vasu, after her bath after the menstruation and becoming pure came to the king and informed him of her desire to get a son; but that very day his Pitris (ancestors) requested him also to kill deer, etc., for their Srâddha (solemn obsequies performed in honour of the manes of deceased ancestors). Hearing the Pitris, the king of Chedi became somewhat anxious for his menstruous wife; but thinking his Pitris words more powerful and more worthy to be obeyed, went out on an hunting expedition to kill deer and other animals, with the thought of his wife Girikâ in his breast. Then while he was in the forest, he remembered his Girikâ, who was equal in her beauty and loveliness to Kamalâ, and the emission of semen virile took place. He kept this semen on the leaf of a banyan tree and thought “How the above semen be not futile; my semen cannot remain unfruitful; my wife has just now passed her menstruous condition; I will send this semen to my dear wife.” Thus thinking the time ripe, he closed the semen under the leaves of the banyan tree and charging it with the mantra power (some power) addressed a falcon close by thus :-- “O highly fortunate one! Take this my semen virile and go to my palace. O Beautiful one! Do this my work: take this semen virile and go quick to my palace and hand it over to my wife Girikâ for to-day is her menstruation period.”

24. Sûta said :-- “O Risis! Thus saying, the king gave that leaf with the virile therein to the falcon, who is capable of going quick in the air, took it and immediately rose high up in the air.

25-26. Another falcon, seeing this one flying in the air with leaf in his beak, considered it to be some piece of flesh and fell upon him. Immediately a gallant fighting ensued between the two birds with their beaks.

27. While the fighting was going on, that leaf with semen virile fell down from their beaks on the waters of the Jumnâ river. Then the two faIcons flew away as they liked.

28-39. O Risis! While the two falcons were fighting with each other, one Apsarâ (celestial nymph) named Adrikâ came to a Brâhmin, who was performing his Sandhyâ Bandanam on the banks of the Jumnâ. That beautiful woman began to bathe in the waters and took a plunge for playing sports and caught hold of the feet of the Brâhmana. The Dvija, engaged in Prânâyâma (deep breathing exercise), saw that the woman had amorous intentions, and cursed her, saying :-- “As you have interrupted me in my meditation, so be a fish.”

Adrikâ, one of the best Apsarâs, thus cursed, assumed the form of a fish Safari and spent her days in the Jumnâ waters. When the semen virile of Uparichara Vasu fell from the beak of the falcon, that fish Adrikâ came quickly and ate that and became pregnant. When ten months passed, a fisherman came there and caught in a net that fish Adrikâ. When the fish's belly was torn asunder, two human beings instantly came out the the womb. One was a lovely boy and the other a beautiful girl. The fisherman was greatly astonished to see this. He went and informed the king of that place who was Uparichara Vasu that the boy and the girl were born of the womb of a fish. The king also was greatly surprised and accepted the boy who seemed auspicious. This Vasu's son was highly energetic and powerful, truthful and religious like his father and became famous by the name of the king Matsyarâj. Uparichara Vasu gave away the girl to the fisherman. This girl was named Kâli and she became famous by the name of Matsyodarî. The smell of the fish came out of her body and she was named also Matsyagandhâ. Thus the auspicious Vasu's daughter remained and grew in that fisherman's house.

The Risis said :-- The beautiful Apsarâ, cursed by the Muni, turned into fish; she was afterwards cut asunder and eaten up by the fisherman. Very well! What happened afterwards to that Apsarâ? How was she freed of that curse? and how did she go back to the Heavens?

Thus questioned by the Risis, Sûta spoke as follows :-- When the Apsarâ was first cursed by the Muni, she was greatly astonished; she began to weep and cry like one greatly distressed and afterwards began to praise him. The Brâhmin, seeing her weeping, took pity on her and said :-- “O good one! Don't weep; I am telling you how your curse will expire. As an effect of having incurred my wrath, you will be born as a fish and when you will give birth to two human children, you will be freed of your curse.”

The Brâhmin having spoken thus, Adrikâ got a fish-body in the waters of the Jumnâ. Afterwards she gave birth to two human children and became freed of the curse when she, quitting the fish form assumed the divine form and went up to the Heavens. O Risis! The beautiful girl Matsyagandhâ thus took her birth and was nourished in the fisherman's house and grew up there. When the extraordinarily lovely girl of Vasu, Matsyagandhâ attained her youth, she continued to do all the household duties of the fisherman and remained there.

Thus ends the first chapter of the Second Skandha on the birth of Matsyagandhâ in the Mahâpurâna S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On The Birth Of Vyâsa Deva

1-10. Once on an occasion, the highly energetic Muni Parâs'ara went out on pilgrimage and arrived on the banks of the Yamunâ, and spoke to the religious fisherman who was taking his food then thus :-- “O fisherman! Take me on your boat and carry me to the other side of the river.” Hearing this, the fisherman spoke to the beautiful girl Matsyagandhâ :-- “O beautiful smiling one! This religious ascetic intends to cross the river; so take the boat and carry him to the other bank.” Thus ordered by her father, the exceedingly beautiful Vasu girl Matsyagandhâ began to steer the boat whereon sat the Muni. Thus while the boat was sliding on the waters of the Yamunâ; the Muni Parâs'ara saw the beautiful-eyed damsel Matsyagandhâ and became as if under the command of the great destiny, greatly enamoured of her. He desired to enjoy Matsyagandhâ, full of youth and beauty and with his right hand caught hold of her left hand; the blue coloured Matsya looking askance spoke out smilingly in the following words :-- O knower of Dharma! What are you going to do, pierced by the arrows of Cupid? What you desire now, is it worthy of your family or your study of the S’âstras or worthy of your Tapasyâ; see, you are born in the line of Vas'istha and you are well known as of good character. O best of Brâhmins! You are quite aware that the attaining of a man-birth in this world is very rare; and over and above this the attainment of Brâhminhood is, as far as my knowledge goes, particularly difficult.

11-14. O Prince of Brâhmins! You are the foremost and best as far as your family, goodness, and learning in the Vedas and other S’âstras are concerned; you are well versed in Dharma; how is it, then, that you are going to do this act, not worthy of an Ârya, though you see me possessed of this bad smell of fish throughout my body. O one of unbaffled understanding! O best of twice-born! What auspicious sign do you see in my body that you are stricken with passion on my account that you have caught hold of my hand to enjoy me? Why have you gotten your own Dharma? Thus saying, Matsyagandhâ thought within herself :-- “Alas! This Brâhmin has certainly lost his brains in order to enjoy me; certainly he will be drowned just now in his attempt to enjoy me in this boat; his mind is so much agitated with the arrows of Cupid that no body, it seems, can act against his will.” Thus thinking Matsyagandhâ spoke again to the Muni :-- “O highly fortunate one! Hold patience! let me first take you to the other side of the river; then you may do as you please.”

15-19. Hearing these reasonable words, the Muni let loose of her hand and took his seat on the boat and gradually got down on the other bank of the river. But the Muni, becoming again extremely passionate caught hold of Matsyagandhâ; when the young woman spoke to Parâs’ara, in front of her, shuddering :-- “O best of Munis! My body is emitting very bad smell; do you not feel this? You know very well that the sexual intercourse between male and female of similar types brings in happiness and comfort.” Thus spoken to, Parâs’ara made Matsyagandhâ emit sweet scent like that of musk to a distance of one Yojana (8 miles) and her body exceedingly lovely and beautiful and, becoming extremely passionate, again caught hold of her right hand.

20-34. Then the auspicious Satyavatî addressed Parâs’ara Muni, resolved to enjoy her, thus :-- “O Muni! Behold! all are looking at us; my father too, is there on the bank of the Yamunâ; so, O Muni! wait till night this beastly act before all is highly unsatisfactory to me. The wise persons declare it a great sin to commit sexual intercourse during day they have ordained night time as the best time of intercourse for men not the day time; the more so that many person's eyes are in this direction. So, O intelligent one! hold on your passion for a while; for the blame pronounced by the public is horrible.” Hearing these reasonable words, the liberal minded Parâs'ara created, by his influence of Tapasyâ, a dense fog so that both the banks of the Yamunâ became covered with darkness. Then Matsyagandhâ gently spoke to the Muni :-- “O best of Dvîjas! I am not as yet married; I am now a girl; you will go away after enjoying me; your semen virile is not fruitless; so Brâhman! What will be my fate? If I be pregnant today, what shall I say to my father? and what will be my future state? There is no doubt that, after enjoying me, you will go away; what will I do afterwards; kindly say.” Hearing these words of Matsyagandhâ, Parâs'ara said :-- “O beloved! after you have done my pleasant duty, you will remain a girl as you are now; yet, O timid one! ask from me any boon you like; I will grant it to you.” Satyavatî then said :-- “O best Brâhman, O giver of one's honour! grant me these things :-- That my father and mother do not know anything of this affair and that my virginity be again as ever the same. Also let an extraordinarily powerful energetic son be born to me like you; let this nice smell continue to remain always in my body and let my youth and beauty remain afresh and increase ever more. Hearing this, Parâs'ara said :-- “O beautiful one! a son, very pure and holy, will be born to you, from Nârâyana's part! his name will be famous in the three worlds. O beautiful one! never before my heart was agitated with such passion. I do not know why I have become so much passionate for you. I saw the unrivalled beauties of Apsarâs but I never lost my patience; but seeing you, I have become attracted to you; it must be under the direction of Providence; know it certain that there must be some mysterious cause in this. However Fate is unavoidable to all; otherwise you are full of so bad smell; why shall I be fascinated by your sight? O beautiful one! your son will be famed in the three worlds; will compose the Purânas and will sub-divide the Vedas.

Thus saying, the Muni Parâs'ara enjoyed Matsyagandhâ, who became quite submissive; and after bathing in the Yamunâ, quickly went away. On the other hand, the chaste Satyavatî, too, became pregnant and immediately gave birth on the island of Yamunâ to a son beautiful, as if the Second Kâmadeva, the god of Love, Kâmadeva. No sooner that son, very fiery and highly potent, was born than he devoted his mind to tapasyâ and spoke to his own mother Satyavatî thus :--“O Mother! now go wherever you like; I will also go to perform tapasyâ. O highly fortunate one; No sooner you remember me, I will come to you. O Mother! where you will have any onerous duty, remember me and I will instantly come to you. Let all good be unto you; now I go. Avoid all cares and live happily. Thus saying, Vyâsadeva went out. Matsyagandhâ, too, went back to his father. Vyâsa was named also Dvaipâyan (born in an island, a Dvîpa) in as much as Satyavatî gave birth to him in a Dvîpa island); and as he was born of Visnu's parts, he grew up no sooner he was born.

The Muni Dvaipâyana bathed in every Tîrtha and performed the highest asceticism. Thus Dvaipâyan Vyâsa was born of Parâs'ara in Satyavatî’s womb. Seeing the advent of Kali Yuga, he adorned the tree of the Vedas with many S’âkhâs (branches). It is because he expanded the Vedas many S’âkhâs, that he is denominated also as VedaVyâs; he composed eighteen Purânas, Samhitas, the excellent Mahâbhârat, subdivided the Vedas and made his disciples Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, Vaisâmpâyan, Asita, Devala and his son S’uka to study them.

Sûta said :-- “O Munis! Thus I have described to you the birth of the holy Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî and all the causes. O Munis! Do not allow any doubt enter your mind as regards his birth; for it is always advisable to take up only the good things as far as the lives of great persons and Munis are concerned. There must be some extraordinary mysterious cause owing to which Satyavatî was born of a fish, and she was first united to Parâs'ara and then to Sântanu. Otherwise how can one account for the fact of the Muni Parâs’ara being so much agitated by passion and why he would behave like a mean low person in the committal of a a grossly blameable act? Now has been spoken the wonderful birth story of Vyâsa Deva together with all incidents, and enveloped under the great mystery. If any man hears this holy narrative, he will be freed from sins and will never fall into difficulties and will always be happy.

Thus ends the Second Chapter of the Second Skandha on the birth of Vyâsa Deva in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 3. On The Description Of The Curse On Gangâ, Mahâbhisa And Vasus

1-8. The Risis said :-- “O Sinless Sûta! You have described to us in detail the birth of Vyâsa, of unrivalled fire, and of Satyavatî; but we have one great doubt in our minds though, O Knower of Dharma! which is not being removed by your words. O Sinless one! First, as regards the mother of Vyâsa, the all auspicious Satyavatî, we have this doubt how she came to be united to the virtuous S’antanu? The king S’antanu, of the family of Puru is a greatly religious man; how could he have married Satyavatî knowing her to be a fisherman's daughter and born of a low family? Now say who was the first wife of S’antanu and how Bhîsma, the intelligent son of S’antanu came to be born of the parts of Vasu? O Sûta! You have told before that Bhîsma, of indomitable valour, made the Satyavatî's son, the brave Chitrângada, king; and subsequent to his death made his younger brother Vichîtravîrya king. But when the elder brother Bhîsma, the greatly religious and beautiful was present, how was it that Chitrângada and Vichîtravîrya having been installed by Bhîsma himself could have reigned.”

9-12. Again on the demise of Vichîtravîrya, Satyavatî became very much grieved and got two sons born of her two son's wives by Vedavyâsa? How can we explain this fact? Why did she do this? Why did she not give to Bhîsma the kingdom? Why did Bhîsma not marry? And how was it that the elder brother Vyâsa Deva, of indomitable valour, did such an irreligious act as to beget two (Goloka) sons from the wives of the brothers? Vyâsa composed the Purânas and knew everything of religion; how then did he go to other's wives, especially, of his brother's wives?

13-14. O Sûta! Why did Vyâsa Deva do such a hateful act, in spite of his being a Muni? The actions of Vedas are inferred from their subsequent good conducts; how can this act of Vyâsa be calculated as one amongst them? O Intelligent one! You are the disciple of Vyâsa; therefore you are the best man to solve our doubts. We all of this Dharmakshettra Naimisâranya are very eager to hear this.

15-39. At this Sûta said :-- In ancient days there reigned a king named Mahâbhisa, in the family of Iksâku endowed with all the qualities of a great king; he was the foremost of all the kings, truthful and religious. That highly intelligent king performed thousand horse-sacrifices (Asva medhas) one hundred Vâjapeya sacrifices and thereby satisfied Indra, the king of the Devas and went to Heavens. Once, on an occasion, that king went to the abode of Brahmâ; the other gods also went there to serve Prajâpati. The great river, Gangâ Devî, too, assuming the feminine form, went to Brahmâ to serve him. Now, in the interval, violent winds arose and the clothing of Gangâ Devî went off; at this the Devas did not look at her; rather kept their faces downwards; but the king Mahâbhisa continued gazing at her. Gangâ also came to know the king and that he had become attached to her. Brahmâ, seeing that both of them are love-stricken and are shameless, became angry and cursed them immediately :-- O king! you better take your birth again in the human world and practise great meritorious deeds and come again to this Heaven. Thus saying, Brahmâ looked at Gangâ, who was attached to the king, and addressed her :-- “You too better go to the human world and become his wife.” Both of them, the king as well as Gangâ, came out of Brahmâ's abode, very much grieved in their hearts. The king Mahâbhisa thought of coming to this world and reflected on the kings thereof and settled to make the king Pratîpa of Puru's family his father. At this time the eight Vasus with their wives wandering in various places and enjoying as they liked came to the hermitage of Vas'istha. Amongst the aforesaid eight Vasus Prithu and others, one Vasu Dyau's wife seeing Nandini, the sacrificial cow (Kâmadhenu) of Vas'istha asked her husband :-- “Whose is this excellent cow that I see?  Vasu then replied as follows :-- “ O Beautiful one! This is Vas'istha's cow. Whoever, be he a man or woman drinks her milk gets his longevity extended to ten thousand years and his youth never ends.” Hearing this, the Vasu's wife said :-- “There is a very beautiful comrade (Sakhî) of mine, the daughter of the Rajarsî-Us'îna in the world, of auspicious qualities. O Mahâbhâga! Kindly bring to me from Vas'istha's hermitage that auspicious sacrificial milch cow Nandini together with her calf that yields all desires; my Sakhî will then drink her milk and be thereby free from disease, old age and become the chief amongst all mankind. Hearing thus, his wife's word, the Vasu Dyau, though sinless, stole away together with Prithu and the other Vasus the cow Nandini in utter defiance to the self-controlled Muni Vas'istha. When the cow Nandini had been stolen, the great ascetic Vas'istha came quickly to the hermitage with abundance of fruits.

The ascetic Muni Vas'istha, not finding, in his hermitage, his cow with her calf, searched for her in many forests and caves; but he, the son of Varuna, could not find out his cow even after prolonged searches; he, then, took recourse to meditation and came to know that the Vasus had stolen the cow and became angry. He expressed :-- “When the Vasus have stolen this my cow in utter defiance to my self, they must be born amongst men.” When the religious Varuna's son Vas'istha thus cursed the Vasus, they became very sorry and absent-minded; all of them went to Vas'istha's hermitage and saw him there; they began to supplicate him as much as they could; and took refuge under him. Seeing the Vasus standing before him in an extremely distressed condition, the virtuous Muni Vas'istha said :-- “You all will be free from the curse within one year; but the Vasu Dyau will dwell amongst men for a long, long period as he had stolen direct my Nandini with her calf.”

40-60. While the Vasus, thus cursed, were returning, they saw on the way the chief river Gangâ Devî also cursed and therefore distressed; all of them bowed down to her simultaneously and said: “O Devî! A serious thought is troubling our minds, how can we, who live on nectar, take our birth in human wombs; so, O best river! You better be a woman and give birth to us. O Sinless one! You better be the wife of the sage King S’antanu and no sooner we be born of your womb, kindly throw us in the river Gangâ (your water). If you do thus, O Gangâ we will certainly be freed of our curse.” Gangâ Devî replied “Well; that will be.” Thus spoken, the Vasus went to their respective places; and Gangâ Devî, too, thinking on the subject again and again, went out of that place. At this time Mahâbhisa became born as a son of the king Pratîpa and became known as S’antanu. He was exceedingly religious and true to his promise. One day while the King Pratîpa was praising the Sûrya Devî (the sun) of unequalled energy, Gangâ Devî assumed an extraordinarily beautiful feminine form and came out of the waters and sat on the right thigh, resembling like a sâl tree, of the king Pratîpa. The sage king Pratîp spoke out to the lady sitting on his right thigh, thus :-- “O beautiful faced one! Why, unasked, have you sat on my auspicious right thigh?” The lovely Gangâ then replied :-- “Hear why I have sat here. O best of Kurus! O king! Becoming attached to you, I have sat on your thigh; so please accept me.” At this the king Pratîpa spoke to the beautiful lady, full of youth and beauty, “I never go, simply out of passion to another's wife. There is another point; you have sat on my right thigh; that is the seat of sons and son's wives; so, when my desired son will be born, you will then, be my son's wife. And certainly, by your good will, my son will be born.” The lady, of divine form, said, Well; that will be done! and went away. The king returned to his palace, thinking of the lady. After some time, he had a son born to him and when the son attained his teens, the king desired to lead a forest life and communicated this matter to his son. He said also, if the aforesaid beautifully smiling girl comes to you to marry, then marry her. And I am also ordering you not to question her anything “who are you” and so forth. If you take her as your legal wife, you will certainly be happy. Thus saying to his son, the king Pratîpa handed over all his kingdom to his son and gladly retired into the forest. The king practised tapasyâ in the forest and worshipped Ambikâ; on quitting his mortal coil, he went by his sheer merit to the Heavens. The highly energetic king S’antanu, on getting his kingdom, began to administer justice according to the laws of Dharma and governed his subjects.

Thus ends the third Chapter of the Second Skandha on the description of the curse on Gangâ, Mahâbhisa and Vasus in the Mâhapurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 4. On The Birth Of The Vasus

1-8. Sûta said :-- On the king Pratîpa, ascending to the Heavens, the truly hero-king S’antanu went out a hunting tigers and other forest animals. Once, while he was roaming in a wild wilderness, on the banks of the Ganges, he saw a fawn-eyed well decorated beautiful woman. No sooner the king S’antanu saw her than he became addicted to her and thought within himself thus :-- “Certainly my father spoke of this beautiful faced woman who is looking like a second Laksmî, endowed with beauty and youth.” The king could not rest satisfied simply with seeing the lotus-like face. The hairs on his body stood on their ends and his heart was very much attracted to her. Gangâ Devî, too, knew him to be the king Mahâbhisa and became, in her turn, very much attached to him. She then went smiling towards the king. Seeing the blue-coloured lady looking askance at him, the king became very happy and consoled her in sweet words and said :-- “O, one of beautiful thighs! Are you Devî; Mânusî (human kind) Gandharvî; Yakshî, the daughter of Nâgas (serpents), or a celestial nymph? Whoever you may be, O beautiful one! be my wife; your sweet smiles, it seems, are brimful of love; so be my legal wife to-day.”

9-26. Sûta said :-- The king S’antanu could not recognise the lady to be Gangâ; but Gangâ knew that he is the king Mahâbhisa and is born as S’antanu. Hearing the above words of the king, Gangâ, out of her previous affections, spoke out to the king, smiling :-- “O king! I know that you are the son of the king Pratîpa. Behold! Though it is inevitable that woman will get their husbands, yet who is that beautiful lady that does not husband according to her liking and qualifications? But I can take you as my husband, if you make a certain promise to me. Hear my resolve afterwards I will marry you. O king! Whatever I will do, be it good or bad, auspicious or inauspicious, you must not hinder or interrupt me nor ever say that is not to your liking and satisfaction. Whenever you will break this my resolve, I will instantly quit you and go to another place wherever I like. The king S’antanu, then, said :-- “Well! That will be” and promised to the above effect; then Gangâ Devî recollected within herself Vasus' words and thought of the attachment of the king Mahâbhisa and accepted S’antanu as her husband. Thus married to the king S’antanu, the beautiful Gangâ in human form went to his abode. The king, on having got possession of her, began to enjoy in pleasant gardens. The lady, too, appreciated his mental feelings and began to serve him to his satisfaction. Thus many years elapsed in lovely enjoyments and intercourses between the couple who looked like Indra and his pair Sachî; and they did not feel at all how the time passed. The lady endowed with all qualities and the clever king, well-versed in the art of loving, began to enjoy incessantly like Laksmî and Nârâyana, in their divine palace.

Thus many years passed when the lovely eyed lady became pregnant of the king S’antanu's sperm and, in due time, gave birth to a son who was a Vasu. No sooner the son was born than Gangâ Devî threw it in the waters of the Ganges. Thus the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh sons were threwn successively on the waters. Then the king became very anxious and thought within himself :-- “What am I to do now? How my family be preserved? This my wife, incarnate of sin, has killed my seven sons; if I now desist her, she will instantly leave me and go away. Now this is the eighth pregnancy as desired by me. Now if I do not interrupt her, she will certainly throw my son in the Ganges. Whether a son will be born again or not is doubtful; and even if that be born, it is doubtful whether she will preserve that child; now what am I to do in this doubtful point? However I will try my best to continue the thread of my family line.”

27-46. Now, in due time, the Vasu who, having been influenced by his wife had stolen Vas’istha's cow Nandini, became born as the eighth son of Gangâ Devî; the king S’antanu, seeing this son fell unto Gangâ's feet and said :-- “O thin-bodied woman! I pray to you to give my life to-day; better nourish this my one son. O beautiful one! You killed in succession my seven exceedingly beautiful sons. O one of beautiful hips! I now fall at your feet. O beautiful one! save the life of this child of mine. If you ask from me any other thing to day, even that be very rare, I will give it to you; but you better now keep the thread of my family line. The Pundits, versed in the Vedas, say that he who has no issues cannot go to Heaven; so, O Beautiful one! To-day I pray to you to keep the life of this my eighth son.” Though thus spoken by S’antanu, Gangâ Devî was eager to take away the son to throw in the waters; the king became very sorrowful and angrily spoke out “O vile and vicious woman! What are you going to do? Do you not fear hell! of what villain are you the daughter, that you are always doing this vicious deed? O Sinner! go away wherever you will or remain here as yon like, it matters little; but my son will remain here. When you attempt to bring my family to extinction, what use is there in living with you?” When the king thus spoke to the woman who was ready to take away the son she angrily spoke as follows :-- O King! When you have acted against my promise, my word is broken and my connection with you has stopped from to-day. Therefore I will take this son to the forest, where I will nourish him. I am Gangâ; to fulfil God's work I have come here. The high-souled Vas'istha cursed before the eight Vasus :-- “Better be born as men”; they became very anxious; and seeing me they prayed :-- “O Sinless one! let you be mother of us all.” O best of kings! I granted them what they desired; and then for the purpose of serving god's ends, I became your wife. Know this my history. The seven Vasus already were born and were freed; now this is the last Vasu and he will remain here for sometime as your son. O S’antanu! now take this son offered by Gangâ. Know this to be the Deva Vasu and enjoy the pleasure of having a son. O highly fortunate one! This son will be famous by the name of Gângeya (Gangâ's son) and will be the most powerful of all. O King! To-day I will take this son to the place where I chose you as my husband; I will nourish him and when he attains his youth, I will return him to you. For, this son, if deprived of mother, will not be happy nor will he live.” Thus saying, Gangâ vanished with the son; the King S’antanu became very sorrowful and passed away his time in his palace. The king thought always of the separation from his wife and son and thus painfully governed his kingdom.

47-69. Thus some time passed on, when, once on an occasion, the king S’antanu went out a hunting and killed, with arrows, buffaloes, boar, and other wild animals and came to the banks of the Ganges. Here he saw with great wonder that a boy was playing with a great bow and was shooting arrows after arrows. The king's attention was more attracted towards the boy, but whether that boy was his or not, did not at all come to his mind. Looking at his extraordinary feats, his agility in shooting arrows with ease and quickness, his learning that can have no equal and his beautiful form, as if of Cupid, he became greatly surprised and asked him :-- “O Sinless one! whose son are you?” The hero boy did not reply anything but went away shooting his arrows. The king thought within himself “Who is this boy? Whose son is he? What to do now? To whom shall I go now?” Thus pondering, he recollected within himself and began to recite verses in praise of Gangâ; Gangâ, assuming her beautiful form as before, became visible to the king. Seeing her, the king said :-- “O Gangâ! Who is this boy that has just gone? Will you show him once more to me now?” Hearing these words of S’antanu, Gangâ said :-- “O king of kings! He is your son, he is that eighth Vasu. So long I have nourished him and now I hand him over to you. O Suvrata! This is the great ascetic Gângeya. He is the illustrious scion of your family. The glory of your line will be enhanced. I have taught him the whole science of archery. This pure son of yours dwelt in the hermitage of Vas'istha and has become versed in all the Vidyâs and skilled in all the actions. Your this son knows everything that Jamadgni Paras'urâm knew. So, O king of kings! Take now your son and be happy. Thus saying, Gangâ gave him his son and vanished; the king also became very glad and embraced his son; he smelled his head and took him to his chariot and drove towards his own city. On returning to Hastinâpur, the king held a great festival (utsab) in honor of the arrival of his son; he called all his astrologers and enquired what day was auspicious. He then called all his subjects and ministers and installed Gângeya as the Crown Prince. The religious S’antanu became very happy on making Gângeya, the Crown Prince; he forgot the pains due to Gangâ's bereavement. Sûta said :-- “Thus I have described to you the cause of the curse on Vasus, the birth of Bhîsma from the womb of Gangâ, the union of Gangâ and S’antanu, etc., He who hears in this world this holy story of Gangâ's birth and the birth of the Vasu, is freed of all sins and gets mukti. O Munis! I have described these meritorious holy accounts, as I heard from the mouth of Vyâsa. Any body who hears this holy S’rîmad Bhâgavatam, endowed with five characteristics and filled with various anecdotes, that came out of the mouth of Vyâsa, finds all his sins destroyed and attains peace and blessedness. O Munis! Thus has been described completely to you this holy history.

Thus ends the fourth Chapter on the birth of the Vasus in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 5. On The Marriage Of Satyavatî

1-20. The Risis said :-- “O son of Lomaharsana, O Sûta; you have described to us how the eight Vasus, cursed by Vas'istha, took their birth and how Bhîsma was born. O knower of Dharma! Now describe to us in detail how the greatly religious king S’antanu married the auspicious Yojanagandhâ, the chaste Satyavatî, the mother of Vyâsa, knowing full well that she was a fisherman's daughter? O Suvrata! Remove our this doubt. Sûta then said :-- The sage king S’antanu always used to go to forests on hunting expeditions, with his heart addicted to hunting buffaloes, deer and various other wild animals.

Thus, for four years that king went out a hunting, with his son Bhîsma, deer and other wild animals and got the highest happiness as Mahâdeva finds in company with Kârtikeya. Once, on an occasion, while he was shooting arrows at rhinoceros and boar, etc., he went so far as to reach a forest on the banks of the Yamunâ, the chief of the rivers. There he began to smell an excellent nice smell that could not be described in words; he tried to find out the source and wandered here and there, and on all sides of the forest; and thought that this enchanting smell was not that of Mandâra flowers, musk, champaka nor that of Mâlatî nor that of Ketaki flower; the air was blowing saturated with peculiar fragrant smell that he never experienced before. Thus thinking of that smell, the king S’antanu, being enchanted with that, followed to its source in that forest. At last he came to a spot on the banks of the Yamunâ the chief of the rivers, where a very beautiful girl, calm and quiet and with feminine gestures and posture amorous, lovely but ill-clad, was sitting; and he found out that the above beautiful smell was coming out of her body. The form of the lady was extremely beautiful; the smell was very wonderful, and captivating the hearts of all; her age then entered to youth and she was very auspicious. The king was greatly surprised and was eager to know who the lady was; whence she had come; whether she was a Deva girl, or a human or a Gandarbha daughter or a Nâga daughter? But, being unable to come to a definite conclusion and becoming passionate, he remembered Gangâ and asked that lady sitting on the bank of the Yumnâ, thus :-- “O dear! Who are you? Whose daughter are you? Why are you alone in this lovely forest? O beautiful eyed! Are you married? Or are you as yet unmarried? So answer to all these. O lovely eyed one!  Seeing your lovely enchanting form I am become extremely passionate. So, O dear! Describe in detail to me, who are you? and what do you intend to do?” When the king spoke thus the lotus eyed nice-teethed lady replied as follows :-- “O king! Know me as a fisherman's daughter and I am completely under my father's command. O king of kings! For Dharma's sake I carry ferry across this Yumnâ river. My father has gone to-day to our house. O Master of wealth! Thus I have spoken truth to you.” Thus saying the lady desisted; the passionate king then spoke to her :-- “I am the foremost hero of the Kuru family; so choose me as your husband; then your this youth will not go in vain.

21-32. O fawn-eyed one! I have no other wife existing; so you will be my legal wife. O Dear! Passion is giving much pains to me; therefore I am now become your obedient servant for ever. O Beloved! My former dear wife has abandoned me and gone away; but I have not married since then. Now seeing you beautiful, in all respects, I cannot bring my mind under control.”

Hearing these nectar-like beautiful words of the king, the sweet scented fisherman's daughter, though also turned extremely passionate, held patience and exclaimed :-- “O king! I also desire that which you have expressed; I am of opinion to act according to your wishes. But, what am I to do? I am not dependent. You are to know this. My father alone can give me in marriage to you. So better ask my father for me. Though I am a fisherman's daughter, still I am not wanton and wilful. I am always obedient to my father; if my father wills, you can marry me. And I will be obedient to you. O king! The god of love is tormenting me, who is endowed with youth; he does not torment you so much. Still I must regard my family manners and customs coming down from ancient times. I must hold my patience.” Sûta said :-- Thus passionately pleased with these fascinating words of the lady, the king went to the fisherman's house for the lady. Seeing the king coming, the fisherman was greatly bewildered and astonished and bowed down with great devotion and said :-- “O King! I am Thy servant. I am blessed by Thy presence. O great King! Now be graciously pleased to order me the cause of Thy arrival.” Hearing the fisherman's words, the King said :-- “O sinless one! This I tell you truly that if you give me your daughter in marriage I will certainly make her my legal wife.” The fisherman replied :-- “O king! What must be given ever, how can I say that is not to be given. Therefore if Thou askest for my daughter, I will certainly give her to Thee. But, O great King! Thou wilt have to make her son, the king of Thy kingdom; no other son of Thine could be king, after Thy absence.”

33-40. Hearing these words of the fisherman, the king S’antanu became very anxious. He remembered Gângeya and could not speak anything. He, being sick with love anxiously returned home; but he abandoned bathing, fooding, sleeping, etc. At this, the son Gângeya Bhîsma whose vow was equal to that of the gods, marking that the king was being troubled with some thought, went to him and asked why he was anxious :-- “O king! Say truly what is your anxiety; who is your enemy that is not conquered; whom do you went to bring under your control? O king! What use is there of having a son who does not understand the difficulties of his father, or does not try to remove these difficulties. A son can be called really the son, who is born to repay the debts incurred by him in previous births; there is no manner of discussion in this. See, Raghu's son Dâsarathî Râm abandoned his kingdom under the orders of his father and repaired to Chitrakûta forest with his brother Laksman and wife Sîtâ. The son of king Haris Chandra, Rohîta, ready to repay the debt of his father and sold by his father, worked as a servant at a Brâhmana's house. So the famous S’unahs'ephah, sold by his high souled father Ajigarta was tied for sacrifice in a sacrificial post; but he was afterwards freed by the Gâdhi's son Vis'vâmitra.

41-59. It is well known that, in ancient days, the Jamadagni's son Paras'urâm cut off his mother's head under the orders of his father. He considered the father's words more important, and hence could do such an unjust act. O king! This my body is at your disposal; I can certainly do what you order me to do. So say what am I to do? as long as I am living, you need not express any sorrow; if you permit, I will do what is even hardly practicable to do. O king! Say why you are anxious; I will remove that at once with this bow in my hand. If my body goes in carrying your mandate know that your desire will be fructified. Fie to that son, who, being capable, is averse to do what his father desires! What use is there in having a son who does not remove the cause of his father's anxiety? Hearing the words of the son, the king S’antanu felt much ashamed in his heart and said :-- “O son! This is now my gravest care that you are my only son; besides you are a hero very powerful, honoured and never showing your back in battles; therefore, if, out of ill-luck you become dead in some battlefield, I will become issueless; under such circumstances what am I to do? So, O son! My life is fruitless when I have got only one son; this is my gravest care; therefore I am sorry. O son! I have no other cares that I can mention to you.” Hearing these words of the father, Gângeya called the old ministers and said that the king was too ashamed to speak out to me the real matter; so I ask you all to know exactly the king's cares and communicate them to me as they are; I can carry them out, without any hitch, then. At these Bhîsma's words, the ministers went to the king, and learned the true cause, and spoke to Bhîsma; learning this, he began to think what ought to be done.

The Gangâ's son Bhîsma, then, accompanied by the ministers, quickly went to the house of the fisherman, and with words of humility and affection, spoke :-- “O tormentor of foes! I pray to you to give your beautiful daughter in marriage to my father. Your daughter will be my mother and I will be her servant.” The fisherman, then, said :-- “O highly lucky prince! Then the king's son will not be able to become king, in your presence; so kindly marry yourself my daughter.” At this Bhisma again said :-- Let your daughter be my mother; I will never accept the kingdom. The son of your daughter will, no doubt, become king. The fisherman said :-- “I know your words are true; but if your son be powerful, he can take forcibly the kingdom for himself.” At this Bhîsma again said :-- “O Sire! Know my words as true; I will never marry; from to-day I have accepted this difficult vow.” Sûta said :-- Hearing this firm resolve of Bhîsma; the fisherman gave over his beautiful daughter to the king S’antanu. Thus S’antanu married the dear Satyavatî; but he was quite unaware of the wonderful birth of Vyâsa Deva.

Thus ends the fifth Chapter of the second Skandha on the marriage of Satyavatî in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 6. On The Birth Of The Pândavas

1-12. Sûta said :—Thus S’antanu married Satyavatî; two sons were born to her and they died in course of time. Out of Vyâsa Deva's semen, Dhritarâstra was born. Ambikâ Devî, the mother of Dhritarâstra closed her eyes on seeing Veda Vyâsa; hence Dhritarâstra was born blind. Seeing Dhritarâstra blind Satyavatî asked Vyâsa to go to Ambâlikâ (Pându's mother); the princess Ambâlikâ, mother of Pându turned pale at the sight of Vyâsa; hence her son became of a pale colour out of Vyâsa's wrath. Hence the name of the son was Pându. Next the maid servant, expert in the science of amorous pleasures, satisfied Vyâsa; hence her son Vidura was born of Dharma's part and became truthful and holy. Though Pându was younger, the ministers installed him on the throne. Dhritarâstra could not become king, as he was blind. By the permission of Bhîsma the powerful Pându obtained the sovereignty; and the intelligent Vidura became his minister. Dhritarâstra had two wives Gândhâri and Sauvali; this Sauvali was Vaishyâ; she was engaged in the household affairs. The king Pându had two wives, too; the first was Kunti, the daughter of Sûrasena; and the other was Mâdri, the daughter of the Madra king. Gândhâri gave birth to one hundred beautiful sons; Vais'yâ Sauvali gave birth to one beautiful son named Yuyutsu. While Kunti was a virgin, she gave birth, through the medium of the Sun, the lovely Karna; next he became the wife of Pându. Hearing this, the Risis said :-- “O Muni Sûta! What are you saying ? First Kunti brought forth a child and afterwards she was married to Pându; this is wonderful, indeed! How was Karna, born of Kunti, unmarried? and how came Kunti to be married afterwards? describe all these in detail.”

13-35. Sûta then said :-- “O Dvija! While Sûrasena's daughter Kunti was a virgin girl, the king Kuntibhoja asked for Kunti that she might become her girl and Sûrasena gave her to the king Kuntibhoja who brought up this beautifully smiling girl. He put to her the service of Agni of Agnihotra. Once, on an occassion, Durvâsâ Muni, engaged in the vow, lasting for four months, came there; Kunti served him during that period; the Muni became greatly pleased and gave her a very auspicious, mantra, by virtue of which any Deva, when called upon by that mantra will come to Kunti and satisfy her desires. When the Muni went away, Kunti, remaining in her house, wanted to test the accuracy of the mantra and asked within herself  “What Devatâ to call upon.” Seeing the God Sûrya had arisen in the sky, Kunti uttered the Mantra and invoked him. The Sun, then, assuming an excellent human form, came down from the Heavens and appeared before Kunti in the same room. Seeing the Deva Sun, Kunti became greatly surprised and began to shudder and instantly became endowed with the inherent natural quality of passion (had menstruation). The beautiful-eyed Kunti, with folded palm; spoke to Sûrya Deva standing before :-- “I am highly pleased to-day seeing Thy form; now go back to Thy sphere.”

Sûrya Deva said :-- “O Kunti! What for you called me, by virtue of the Mantra? Calling me, why do you not worship me, standing before you? O beautiful blue one! Seeing you, I have become passionate; so come to me. By means of the mantra, you have made me your subservient so take me for intercourse.” Hearing this, Kunti said :-- “O Witness of all! O knower of Dharma! You know that I am a virgin girl. O Suvrata! I bow down to you; I am a family daughter; so do not speak ill to me.” Sûrya then said :-- “If I go away in vain, I will be an object of great shame, and, no doubt, will be laughed amongst the gods; So, O Kunti! If you do not satisfy me, I will immediately curse you and the Brâhmin who has given you this mantra. O Beautiful one! If you satisfy me, your virginity will remain; no body will come to know and there will be born a son to you, exactly like me.” Thus saying Sûrya Deva enjoyed the bashful Kunti, with her mind attracted towards him; He granted her the desired boons and went away. The beautiful Kunti became pregnant and began to remain in a house, under great secrecy. Only the dear nurse knew that; her mother or any other person was quite unaware of the fact. In time, a very beautiful son like the second Sun and Kârtikeya, decked with a lovely Kavacha coat of mail and two ear-rings, was born there. Then the nurse caught hold of the hand of the bashful Kunti and said :-- “O Charming one! What care can you possibly have as            long as I am living.” Kunti then, placed the son in a box and said :-- “O son! What shall I do? Being afraid of shame, I am leaving you, though you are dear to me as my life itself! I am exceedingly fortunate that I am casting aside this all auspicious son. May the attributeless Bhâgavatî Ambikâ, the World Mother and the Lady of all, endowed with attributes, protect Thee! May Kâtyâyani, the giver of all desires, feed you with Her milk! Alas! I am quitting you, born of Sûrya’s semen in this solitary forest like a vitiated wanton woman. I do not know, when shall I see your lotus like beautiful face, dearest to me like my self. Alas! I never worshipped in my former birth S’ivânî, the mother of the three worlds; I never meditated Her lotus like feet, the Giver of all happiness; hence I am so very unfortunate. O Dear son! I must perform great tapasyâ to expiate for this terrible sin, that I knowingly commit in relinquishing you in the forest.”

36-48. Sûta said :-- Thus saying to the son within the casket, Kunti gave over that to the hands of her nurse, terrified, lest some one might see her. Kunti then bathed and remained with a fearful heart in her father's house. A carpenter (charioteer?) named Adhiratha got accidentally that casket floating in the Ganges. The carpenter's wife Râdhâ, prayed for the son and nourished him under her care. Thus nourished in the carpenter's house, the famous Kunti's son Karna became a very powerful warrior. The king Pându then married Kunti in a Svayamvara, a marriage in which the girl chooses her husband from among a number of suitors, assembled together. And the all auspicious daughter of the king of Madra became also the second wife of Pându. Once, on an occasion, the powerful Pându, while hunting in the forest killed a Muni, in the form of a deer, engaged in the act of co-habitation, thinking it to be a deer. The dying Muni became inflated with wrath, cursed Pându :-- “If you co-habit, certainly you will die.” Thus cursed by the Muni, Pându became very sorrowful and abandoned his kingdom and began to live in the forest. O Munis! His two wives Kuntî and Mâdrî, followed their husband as chaste women do, to serve him in the forest. Dwelling in the hermitage of the Munis, Pându listened to the Dharma S’âstras and practised severe penance. Once while he was listening to the religious discourses of the Munis, he heard unmistakeably the Munis telling that the man who is sonless can never go to the Heavens; so he must get a son somehow or other. The Pundits declare that the sons born of the father's semen, the sons born of their daughters, the Ksettraja, the Goloka, the Kunda, the Sahoda, the Kânîna, the Krîta, one obtained in the forest, or one offered by another father, unable to nourish his son, all are entitled to inherit the wealth of the father; but the sons, enumerated successively are more and more inferior.

N.B.: Ksettraja - of a son, the off spring of the wife by a kinsman appointed to procreate issue to the husband.

Goloka - Bastard child of a widow.

Kunda - a child born in adultery.

Sahoda - the son of a woman pregnant at the time of marriage.

Kânîna - the son born of a young and unmarried woman.

Krîta - purchased

49-52. Hearing this, Pându spoke to the lotus-eyed Kunti to procreate sons for him soon by a great ascetic Muni :-- “By my order, you will not incur any sin in doing this. I heard that in ancient times the high souled kin Saudâsa got son from Vas'istha.” Kunti, then spoke to the king :-- “O Lord! I know one Siddha mantra; it was given to me before by the Muni Durvâsâ. Whichever Devatâ I will invoke by that Mantra, he will instantly come to my side, controlled by that Mantra.”

53-71. At the request of the husband, Kuntî invoked Dharma, the best of the Devas; and after being impregnated by him, gave birth to Yudhisthira. Then she got through Pavana Deva, the son Vrikodara; and through Indra the Lord of the Devas, Arjuna. Thus, in every year, Kunti gave birth to one son and so in three years she gave birth to three very powerful and mighty sons. At this Màdri spoke to her husband :-- “O king, the best of the Kurus! What shall I do now? Kindly suggest to me the means of procreating sons; O Lord, remove my pain.” Pându asked Kunti for this; Kunti, moved with pity, gave her the mantra, so that she might get one son. Then the beautiful Mâdrî, invoked the twin As'vin under the advice of her husband and got a pair of twins Nakula and Sahadeva through them. O Munis! Thus five Pândavas were born successively in every following year to the wives of Pându by the seed of the Devas. Once on a time Pându, whose end was drawing nigh became very passionate at the sight of Mâdrî in that solitary hermitage. He, though forbidden repeatedly by Mâdri, warmly embraced her, as if dictated by the great destroyer, and fell to the ground. As the creeper falls down when the tree is felled, so Mâdrî dropped on the ground and began to cry violently. Having heard the wailings of Mâdrî, Kunti and the five sons of Pându came there weeping and crying; a tumult then ensued and the great Munis also appeared on the scene. Then those Munis, practising great vows, knew that Pàndu was dead and performed duly, on the banks of the Ganges, the ceremony of burning the dead.

At that time Mâdri gave over to Kunti the charge of her two sons and followed the Satî practice along with her husband to go to Satyaloka.

The Munis, then, performed Tarpana ceremonies in honour of Pându and Mâdri and took Kunti and the five sons to Hastinâpur. Knowing that Kunti has come, Bhîsma, Vidura and the relatives of Dhritarâstra within the city, all came to Kunti. They all asked Kunti :-- “O beautiful one! Whose are these five sons?” Kunti, then, remembered the curse on Pându and sorrowfully expressed :-- “ These are the Deva's sons born in Kuru family.” In order to convince the people assembled there, Kunti invoked the Devas who came in the celestial space above and said :-- “Yes, these are the sons born of our seeds.” Bhîsma, then, paid respect to the words of the Devas and honoured duly the boys. Bhîsma then took the five sons and Pându's wife to Hastinâ and gladly nourished them. O Munis! The sons of Prithâ were thus born and nourished by Bhîsma.

Thus ends the sixth chapter of the second Adhyâya on the birth of the Pândavas in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam.

Chapter 7. On Shewing The Departed Ones

Sûta said :--  The chaste Draupadi was the common wife of all the five very beautiful sons of Kunti; and she bore five sons, one to every husband. Arjuna had one wife more; she was Subhadrâ, the sister of S’rî Krisna. By the order of S’rî Krisna, Arjuna stole her away (took her by force). The great hero Abhimanyu was born of Subhadrâ. This Abhimanyu and the five sons of Draupadi were killed in battle. Abhimanyu's wife Uttarâ was the charming daughter of the king Virât. She gave birth to one dead child, after all the boys, the descendants of the family were extinct. The above child died out of the arrows of As'vatthâmâ. The extraordinarily powerful S’rî Krisna Himself made alive again this his sister's dead grandson. As this son was born after the family had become extinct, he became known in the world by the name of Parîksit. When the sons were all destroyed, Dhritarâstra became very sorry, and, tormented by the arrow-like words of Bhîma, remained in the kingdom of the Pândavas. Gândharî, too, exceedingly distressed on the bereavement of the sons, remained there also. Yudhisthira, day and night, served Dhritarâstra and Gândhâri. The greatly religious Vidura always used to console, by the advice of Yudhisthira, his brother Dhritarâstra, who possessed the eye of wisdom and he remained by his brother's side. Dharma`s son Yudhisthira used to serve his uncle Dhritarâstra in such a way as he might forget the pain of the death of his sons. But Bhîma used to pierce his heart by his arrow-like words that he pronounced so loud as to reach the ears of the old king Dhritarâstra. Bhîma used to-say :-- “In the battle field I killed all the sons, of the wicked blind king (Dhritarâstra) and it was I that sucked well and drunk, full to the brim, the blood of the heart of Duhs'âsana. Now this blind king eats shamelessly like a crow and a dog, the mass of food (Pinda) given by me, and thus is bearing uselessly the burden of life. Daily Bhîma used to tell, thus, harsh words to him; whereas the religious Yudhîsthira used to console him, saying “Bhîma is a quite illiterate brute” and so forth. The king Dhritarâstra remained there with a grieved heart for eighteen years; the one day he proposed to the Dharma's son Yudhîsthira about his intention to dwell in forest thus :-- “To-day I wish to perform Tarpanas in the names my sons. True it is, that Bhîma performed the funeral obsequies of them all; but, having in view of the former enmity, he did not do anything for my sons. If you give me some money, I will, then, perform the funeral obsequies of my sons and then retire to the forest to perform tapasyâ that I can go to Heaven.” Vidura also asked Yudhîsthira privately pay to Dhritarâshtra the sum that he wanted; Yudhîsthira also intended to pay the required money. Then Yudhîsthira, the lord of the world call his younger brothers and addressed them as follows :-- “O highly fortunate ones! Our revered uncle is desirous to perform the funeral obsequies of his sons; so we will have to give him some money for the purpose.” Hearing these words of his elder brother of indomitable valour, Pavana's son, the mighty armed Bhîma became very angry and spoke out follows :-- “O highly lucky one! Is it that we will have to give wealth for the spiritual benefit of Duryodhana and others? What a great stupidity can there be than the fact that such a malevolent blind king is deriving so great happiness at your hands? O Ârya! It is by your bad counsel that we suffered endless troubles in the forest and the extremely good Draupadi was brought before the public in the hall by Duhs'âsana. O one of good vows! It is for your satisfaction alone that we, though we were very mighty, had to remain in the house of Matsya Râj Virât as servants. Had you not been our elder brother and not been addicted to the gambling, would it have been possible I, who killed Jarâsandha, would have been a cook to Virât Râj! Never we had been put to so great a trouble! Never would the mighty armed Arjuna, the Vâsava's son, have acted the part of an actress (a dancer), dressing himself in a female garb, under the name Vrihannalâ. Alas! What more painful could there be by assuming a human birth that the hands of Arjuna, that wielded always the Gândîva bow, would have worn bracelets befitting a woman? I would have been happy then had I, seeing the braid of hair on Arjuna's head and the collyrium in his eyes, cut off the head of Dhritarâstra!

O Lord of the earth! Without asking you, I set fire on the house, named Jatugriha (a lac-house, as built by Duryodhana in order to burn up the Pândavas) and therefore the vicious Virochana, who wanted to burn us, was himself burnt up. Again, O Lord of men! similarly, without asking you, I slew Kichaka; this is now the one thing I regret that I could not have killed in the same way the sons of Dhritarâstra before the public hall. O king of kings! It was simply your stupidity that you liberated Duryodhana and other sons, the great enemies of the Gandarbhas, when they had been imprisoned by them. Again to-day you are willing to give wealth for the spiritual benefit of those Duryodhana and others! But, O Lord of the earth, I would never give wealth, even if you request me specially to do this.

Thus saying, Bhîma went away. Dharma's son Yudhisthira then consulted with the other three brothers and gave abundance of wealth to Dhritarâstra. With this sum, the Ambikâ's son Dhritarâstra duly performed the Srâdh ceremony of his sons and gave away lots of things to the Brâhmanas. The king Dhritarâstra, thus performing all the funeral obsequies, became ready to go early to the forest with Gândhârî, Kunti and Vidura. By the help of Sanjaya, the highly intelligent Dhritarâstra became informed of the roads of the forest, and then went out of the house. Sûrasena's daughter Kunti, though stopped by her sons, followed them. Bhîma and other Kauravas went along with them weeping up to the banks of the Ganges and thence returned to Hastinâpura.

The ascetics went to the auspicious S’atayûpa hermitage on the banks of the Ganges and building a hut practised tapasyâ with their hearts concentrated. Thus six years elapsed when Yudhisthira, troubled by their bereavements, said to his younger brothers :-- “ I dreamt that our mother Kunti got very lean and thin. Now my mind wants bitterly to see mother, uncle, aunt, the high souled Vidura and the highly intelligent Sanjaya. If you approve, I want to go to there.” Then the five brothers, Pându's sons, became desirous to see Kunti, and taking with them Draupadî, Subhadrâ, Uttarâ, and other persons went to the Satayûpa hermitage and saw the persons there; but not seeing Vidura, Yudhisthira asked :-- “Where is Vidura?” Hearing this Dhritarâstra said :-- “Vidura has taken up Vairâgyam (dispassion) and has gone alone to a solitary place and is meditating in his heart the eternal Brahmâ.” Next day while the king Yudhisthira was walking along the banks of the Ganges, he saw in the forest Vidura, engaged in his vow and become lean and thin by his tapasyâ; he then exclaimed :-- “I am the king Yudhisthira; I am saluting you.” The holy Vidura heard and remained motionless like a log of wood. Within an instant a wonderful halo came out of Vidura's face and entered the mouth of Yudhisthira, both of them being Dharma's parts. Vidura then died; Yudhisthira expressed great sorrow. When the Vidura's body was going to be set on fire, a celestial voice was heard :--“O king! He was very wise; so he ought not to be burnt; you can go away as you like.” Hearing this, Yudhisthira bathed in the pure Ganges and returned to the As'rama and informed everything in detail to Dhritarâstra. While the Pândavas were staying in the hermitage with the other inhabitants of the city, Vedavyâsa, Nârada, and other high-souled Munis came there to Yudhisthira. Kunti then spoke to the auspicious Vyâsa :-- “O Krisna! I saw my son Karna, only just when he was born; my mind is being very much tormented for him; so, O great ascetic! Show him once to me. O highly fortunate One! You alone can do this; so O Lord! Satisfy my heart’s desire.” Gândhârî said :-- “O Muni! I did not see while Duryodhan went to battle; so, O Muni! Show me Duryodhana with his younger brothers.” Subhadrâ said :-- “O Omniscient one! I want very much to see the great hero Abhimanyu, dearer to me than my life even; O great ascetic! Show him once to me.” (33-57.)

Sûta said :-- Satyavatî's son Vyâsa Deva, hearing their words, held Prânâyama (deep breathing exercise) and meditated on the eternal Devî, the force of Brahmâ. When the evening time came, the Muni invited Yudhisthira and all others to the banks of the Ganges. He then bathed in the Ganges and began to chant hymns in praise of the Devî Brahmâmayî Prakriti, resting on the Purusa, the Dweller in the Mani Dvîpa, with attributes, at the same time transcending them, thus :-- “O Devî! When Brahmâ was not, Visnu was not, Mahes'vara was not, nor when existing lndra, Varuna, Kuvera, Yama, and Agnî, Thou alone existed then; my salutation to Thee.

When there existed not water, Vâyu, ether, earth and their Gunas, taste, smell, etc., when there were no senses, mind, Buddhi, Ahamkâra; when there existed no Sun, Moon nor anything, Thou alone existed then; so, O Devî! I bow down again and again to Thee. O Mother! Thou holdest all these visible Jîva lokas in the cosmic Hiranyagarbha; again Thou bringest this Hiranyagarbha, the sum-total of Linga Sarîras (the subtle bodies), with the Gunas Sattva, Rajas and Tamas to a state of equilibrium named Sâmyâvasthâ and remainest quite independent and apart for a Kalpa period. At that time even those that are possessed of the power of great discrimination and dispassion cannot fathom Thy nature. O Mother! These persons are praying to me to see their dead ones; but I am quite incapable to do that. So kindly shew them their departed ones early.” While Vyâsa praised thus the Devî, the Devî Mahâmâyâ, the Lady of the Universe, of the nature of Universal Consciousness called all the departed ones from the Heavens and showed them to their relatives. Then Kunti, Gândhârî, Subhadrâ, Uttarâ, and the Pandavas became very glad to see their relatives come to them again. Vyâsa, of indomitable valour, again remembering Mahâmâyâ, bade good bye to the departed ones; it seemed then, a great magic had occurred. The Pandavas and the Munis bade good bye to each other and went to their respective places. The king Yudhisthira talked on the way about Vyâsa and ultimately came to Hastinâ. (58-68.)

Thus ends the seventh chapter of the Second Skandha on shewing the departed ones in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 8. On The Extinction Of The Family Of Yadu And On The Anecdote Of Parîksit

1-23. Sûta said :-- On the third day after the Pândavas had returned to Hastinâpur, the king Dhritarâstra was burnt up together with Gândhari and Kunti, by the conflagration of fire in the forest. Sanjaya went away at that time, leaving Dhritarâstra in the forest, on a tour on pilgrimage. The king Yudhisthira heard all this from Nârada and was very sorry. Now after thirty six years after the Kuru family had become extinct, all the descendants of Yadu in the Prabhâs tîrtha were destroyed by the Brâhmana's curse. The high-souled descendants of Yadu, intoxicated by drinking wine, fought against each other and were extirpated in the presence of Krisna and Balarâm. Balarâm then quitted his mortal coil; the lotus-eyed Bhagavân Krisna quitted his life, struck by the arrows of a hunter, to pay respect to a Brâhmin's curse. Vasudeva heard of Hari's quitting his mortal coil, and meditated the Goddess of the Universe within his heart and left his holy life. Arjuna became very sorry; he went to Prabhâsa and performed the funeral obsequies of all duly. Seeing the dead body of Hari, Arjuna collected fuel and burnt his body together with his eight principal wives; he burnt also Balarâm's body with that of his wife Revatî. Arjuna, then, went to the Dvârakâ city and removed all the inhabitants of the city when the whole Dwârkâ city of Vâsudeva was drowned in the waters of the ocean. While Arjuna was taking all the persons with him after getting out of Dwârkâ, he felt himself very weak on the way; and therefore a band of robbers, known by the name of Âbhîras plundered all the wealth and all the wives of Krisna. Arjuna, of indomitable valour, after his arrival at Indraprastha made Vajra, Aniruddha's son, the king of the place.

Then the highly powerful Arjuna informed Vyâsa of his powerlessness when Vyâsa said :--“O highly intelligent one! When Hari and you will reincarnate in another Yuga, then your heroic strength will again be manifested. Hearing all these words, Prithâ's son Arjuna returned to Hastinâ with a sorrowful heart and informed everything to Yudhisthira, the Dharmarâja. Hearing the extinction of the Yâdavas and Hari's quitting His mortal coil, Yudhisthira wanted to go to the Himâlayâs. He installed Parîksit, Uttarâ's son who was then thirty six years old on the throne and went out of his palace in company of his brothers, and Draupadi to the forests of the Himâlayâs. Thus the Pândavas, Prîtha's son, reigned for thirty six years in Hastinâ and quitted their mortal coils in the Himâlayâs. Here the greatly religious sage-king Parîksit governed with vigilance all his subjects for sixty years. After this, Parîksit went once on an hunting expedition to a dense forest and shot a deer. He then searched for the deer and it became noon and he felt very thirsty, hungry, quite fatigued with his body, perspiring, when he saw a Muni merged in meditation; he asked the Muni “Where can water be had?” But the Muni held at that time the vow of silence; so he did not answer anything. Seeing this, the thirsty king, influenced by Kali, became angry and raised a dead serpent by the fore-end of his bow and coiled it round the Muni's neck. Even thus coiled with a snake round his neck the Muni remained as before motionless in his state of enlightenment and spoke nothing. The king also returned home.

24-49. Then the Muni's son, born from the cow's womb, S’ringî, a great ascetic, a fiery devotee of Mahâs'akti, heard of the above event, while he was playing in the forest. His friends spoke to him :-- “O Muni! Some body has now enclosed a dead serpent around the neck of your father.” Hearing their words, S’ringî became very angry and taking water in his hands, cursed thus :-- “He who has coiled to-day a dead serpent around my father's neck, let that villain be bitten by the serpent Taksak within one week from this day”. One disciple of the Muni then went to the king in his house and informed him of the Muni's curse. Abhimanyu's son Parîksit heard of the curse pronounced by a Brâhmin, and knowing infallible, spoke to the aged councillors :--

"O Ministers! Certainly it is through my fault that I have been cursed by a Brâhmin's son. Now find out and settle what is to be done though the persons versed in the Vedas say that death is inevitable under these circumstances; yet the wise ones should try their best to thwart this according to the S’âstras. Many sages who are the advocates of taking steps to redress any act, say that all the actions of wise persons are fructified by proper means; their solution does not remain unsolved.

Therefore I am saying that the powers of manis, mantrams and herbs (osadhis) are indescribable; if applied duly, do you think that they will bear no fruit in this case? I heard that when a Muni's wife died out of snake-bite, the Muni gave away the half of his life to his wife Apsarâ and made her alive again. It is not proper for the learned to depend on the maxim that what is inevitable must come to pass; one must try one's best to act for the living present.

O Ministers! Have you seen any person in the Heavens or in the world who remains idle, depending on fate alone? The Sannyâsins have renounced the world; but they must have to go to the houses of the house-holders, whether they be invited or not invited. See again. supposing that the food of a person is brought to him unasked and suppose it is thrown into the mouth by some one, can you conceive that food would go down into the belly, from the mouth without one's effort? Therefore one should exert one's own prowess from the very outset; though the intelligent ones should be satisfied with the thought “What can be done? It is not ordained in my fate.” When Parîksit said thus, the ministers asked :-- “Which Muni made his dead wife alive again, by giving her half his own life? And how did his wife die? Kindly describe all these in detail to me.”

The king said :-- Bhrigu Muni had a very beautiful wife Pulomâ. In her womb the world renowned Chyavana Muni was born. Sukanyâ, the daughter of S’aryâti was the wife of Chyavana. In her womb was born a beautiful son named Pramati; he was very famous. Pramati had his famous beautiful wife Pratâpî. In her womb was born the great ascetic son Ruru. At this time a person named Sthûlakes'a, a religious truthful man of great name, was practising tapasyâ. O Ministers! In the meanwhile, the chief Apsarâ Menakâ held sexual intercourse with Visvâvasu Gandharva on the banks of a river and became pregnant. She went out from that place to the hermitage of Sthûlakes'a on the river bank and gave birth to a very beautiful daughter. Seeing this girl quite an orphan and very beautiful, the Muni Sthûlakes'a began to rear up her and named her Pramadvarâ. This all-auspicious girl Pramadvarâ attained youth in due course when the Muni Ruru saw her and became smitten with passion.

Thus ends the eighth chapter of the Second Skandha on the extinction of the family of Yadu and on the anecdote of Parîksit in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgâvatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 9. On The Account Of Ruru

1-17. Parîksit said :-- When the Muni Ruru went to his room to sleep, his mind having become perturbed with passion, his father Pramati seeing him sorrowful, asked him :-- “O Ruru! Why do you look so absent minded?” Ruru was passionate then; so he said to his father :-- “I saw a girl named Pramadvarâ in the hermitage of Sthûlakes'a; I wish that she might become my wife.” Hearing this, Pramati went immediately to the hermitage of Sthûlakes'a, and pleased him by various conversations and asked for her beautiful daughter when Sthûlakes'a  promised that he would give her daughter in marriage on an auspicious day. Then both the high-souled persons Pramati and Sthûlakes'a began to work in co-operation and make arrangements for marriage ceremony and collected various articles in that hermitage when the fair eyed girl Pramadvarâ, while playing in the courtyard in the house, trod on a serpent and was bitten by it and consequently died. Seeing then Pramadvarâ dead, all the Munis of the place assembled and cried and wept with sorrowful hearts, when a great tumultuous uproar ensued. Though the life departed from Pramadvarâ’s body, yet seeing the brilliant lustre of her lifeless body lying on the ground, her nourisher and father Sthûlakes'a became very sorry and wept aloud. Hearing this cry of his, Ruru came there to see what had happened and perceived the girl, though lifeless, yet seeming alive and lying on the ground.

Seeing Sthûlakes'a and other Risis weeping, Ruru went out from that place and with a grievous heart, began to cry aloud. “Alas! Fate has certainly sent this serpent as the cause of all my miseries and to mar all my happiness. Alas! What am I to do now? Where to go? When my beloved has fallen unto the jaws of death, I do not want to live any longer, bereft of my wife. Oh! What an unfortunate creature I am? I have not been able to embrace this beautiful darling of mine. I am deprived of kissing her face and marrying her. Alas! Fie to my human birth! Let my life get out just now in as much as I could not, out of mere shame, throw myself on the burning pyre along with my beloved! Oh! When death comes not to the sorrowful person, even when prayed for, how then can I expect divine happiness in this world? So let me now drop myself down in a lake or enter in to a burning fire or drink venom or strangle myself by tieing rope round my neck!”

18-31. Thus Ruru wailed much on the bank of the river and long reflecting in his mind found out a way and thought what would be the advantage in death? “Rather an irretrievable sin would be incurred in committing suicide; and my father and mother would be sorry. Seeing me commit suicide, my bad luck and enemies will be gladdened; there is no manner of doubt; in this. What benefit will my beloved gain if I commit suicide or if I be distressed for her bereavement. Suppose I die, even then my beloved will not become mine in the next world; so there are many faults in my committing suicide but there is no fault if I preserve my life.” Thus coming to a conclusion Ruru bathed, performed Âchaman and became pure. He then took water in his hand and said :-- “Whatever good works, worshipping the gods, etc., that I have done and if I have performed, with devotion, the service to my preceptors and teachers and superiors, homa ceremonies, Japam, tapasyâ, if I have studied all the Vedas and if I have recited Gâyatri and worshipped the Sun then let my beloved have life and get up as an outcome of my Punyam. If my beloved does not get back her life, I will certainly quit my life.” Thus saying, he worshipped the Devas mentally and threw that water of his hands on the ground. Thus Ruru, with a sorrowful heart, was weeping. The Deva's messenger came down and said :-- “O Brâhman! Don't make this bold attempt; how can your beloved get back her life? The life-period of this beautiful girl, born of Gandharva's sperm and Apsarâ's ovum is now exhausted; now look for another beautiful woman. O one of very dull understanding! Why are you crying in vain? Where is the affection between you and this girl; she died in an unmarried state (without marrying you).” At this Ruru said :-- “O Deva messenger! I won't marry any other lady, whether my beloved gets back her life or does not get back her life; in case she does not regain this life, I will also forego my life at this instant.” At this greatest importunity of Ruru, the Deva messenger became glad and spoke the following truthful beneficent yet beautiful words :--

32-51. “O Brâhmana! I will suggest one way to you; kindly hear. The Devas ordained this long, long ago. You can give up your half life period, and with that you can make this girl alive soon.”

Ruru said :-- “O Deva messenger! I give half my life-period to this girl; there is no doubt in this. Let my beloved get back her life soon and get up.”

The king said :-- O Ministers! At this time Visvâvasu, knowing that his daughter Pramadvarâ is dead, descended from the Heavens in a celestial car and came to the place; then the Gandharva king and the Deva messenger both went to Yama, the Dharmarâj, and spoke thus :-- “O Dharmarâj! This Visvâvasu's daughter Pramadvarâ, the wife of Ruru, the Risis' son was bitten by a snake and has now come to your place. The Dvija Ruru is now desirous to quit his life; so, O Sun's son! Now let the girl again get her life through the influence of Ruru's brahmacharya (purity) as a consequence of his giving away half his life period for the girl.”

Dharma said :-- “O Deva messenger! if you want to make the girl alive again, let her get life as a consequence of half the life-period of Ruru being subtracted. Go immediately and give the girl to Ruru.”

The king said :-- “O Ministers! Yama having said thus to the Deva messenger, he went away immediately and made Pramadvarâ alive and handed her over to Ruru.

Thus, on an auspicious day, Ruru married her. Thus the Risis' daughter Pramadvarâ though fallen dead, got again her life by proper means. So, O Councillors! to save life, one should resort one's best duty according to the S’âstras, by the use of gems, mantras, and herbs and plants.”

Thus speaking to the ministers, the king Parîksit had a fine building of seven floors in height erected, placed the principal guards around it and stationed also the most powerful men well versed in the knowledge of mani (gems), mantrams, and plants for protection and immediately ascended to this building. To appease the wrath of the Muni S’ringî, the king sent the Muni named Gaurmukha to him and requested him repeatedly “Let the crime of the humble devotee be forgiven.” Then, for self preservation, the king brought from all sides the Brâhmanas, who are perfect in their knowledge and application of the mantras. The minister's son placed the elephants in proper places so that no body can ascend to the top of the building; what more can be said than the fact that even air could not find entrance there when once ordered “no admission” what to speak of others! The king Parîksit remained there and counted the number of days of the serpent Taksaka's coming there; he performed his bath, Sandhyâ Bandanams and fooding; even he consulted with his ministers and governed his kingdom from there. O Risis! At this time a Brâhman named Kas'yapa, versed in the mantras, heard of the curse of the king and thought that he would get abundant wealth if he could free the king from Taksaka's poison and proposed to himself that he would go to the place where the cursed king Parîksit was staying with the Brâhmanas. Pondering thus, the Brâhmana went out of his house, on the expectation of wealth from the king.

Thus ends the ninth chapter of the second Skandha on the account of Ruru in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 10. On The Death Of King Parîksit

1-3. Sûta said :-- “O Risis! On that very day when the Brâhmin Kas'yapa went out of his house, Taksak, knowing the king Parîksit cursed, assumed an aged Brâhmin's form and went out of his abode.

The serpent Taksak met the Brâhmin Kas'yapa on the way. Seeing the Brâhmana, versed in the Mantras, Taksak asked him “Where are you going so in haste, and what for are you taking this trouble?”

4-17. Thus questioned, Kas'yapa replied :-- I heard that the serpent Taksak will bite the king Parîksit; therefore I am going in haste to the king Parîksit to cure him of the serpent's poison. I know the mantra (mystic verse) that can destroy the effect of poison. If his life-period is not exhausted, I will certainly give him back his life. Taksak then. Said :-- “O Brâhmana! I am that Taksak; I will bite him and take away his life. So you better desist. Will you be able to treat him whom I bite; certainly you will not.” Kas'yapa said :-- “O chief of snakes! When you will bite the king who has been cursed by the Brâhman, I will no doubt make him alive by the power of my mantra.” Taksak said :-- “O chief of Brâhmanas! If you have so thought that you will make the king alive after I bite him, then shew me your strength before hand. O sinless one! I will bite this Nyagrodha tree (the Indian fig-tree); just now make it alive.”

Kas'yapa said :-- “Certainly I will make this tree alive, that will be burnt away by the venom of your teeth.” Sûta said :-- “The snake Taksak then bit the tree, which was reduced to ashes; and asked Kas'yapa to bring back that tree to life.” Seeing the tree reduced to ashes by the fire of venom of the snake, he collected all the ashes and said :-- “O highly venomous serpent. See to-day the power of my mantra. Behold! While you are witnessing, I will enliven this tree. Thus the great mantra-knower Kas'yapa took water in his hand, and impregnating it with his mantra power, sprinkled the water on the ashes. Immediately, on the sprinkling of the mantra saturated water, the Nyagrodha tree got back its life as before. Taksak became greatly astonished to see the tree enlivened again and said to Kas'yapa :-- “O chief of Brâhmans! What is your object in taking so much pains? Speak out what you want and I will fulfil your desires.” Kas'yapa said :-- “O chief of serpents! Knowing the king cursed, I am going to do good to him by my knowledge and to get in return abundant wealth.” Hearing this, Taksak said :-- “I will give you the amount of wealth that you desire; take that and go back to your house, and let my desire be also fulfilled.”

18-26. Kas'yapa, the knower of the highest state, heard Taksaka's words and pondered in his mind again and again. “What is to be done now? If I take this wealth and go back to my house, my name and fame will not be known in this world, simply for my greed; but if the king be made alive again, my undying fame, abundant wealth, and greater Punyam will accrue to me. Again fie to that wealth with which there is no fame; so one must try one's best to preserve one's fame. The king Raghu, in ancient days, gave away everything of his to the Brâhmanas for fame; the king Harischandra and Karna did not hesitate a bit to give away endless property. There is one point again to take into account, how can I trifle away the matter, seeing the king burnt up by the venomous fire?

If I can bring back the king's life, everyone will become happy. If the kingdom be without its king, the subjects will, no doubt, be ruined. So, following the king's death, sin will also incur on me due to the ruin of the subjects; and infamy will come on my head that I am a very greedy man.” Thus meditating in his mind, the highly intelligent Kas'yapa began to meditate, and plunged himself in Dhyân; he thereby came to know that the king's life period was spent up. Thus knowing the king's death imminent, the virtuous Kas'yapa took the desired wealth from Taksak and returned home.

27-48. Thus making Kas'yapa to retire to his house on the seventh day Taksak went on to Hastinâpur to bring death and destruction on to Parîksit. When he went close to the city, he heard that the king Parîksit was staying on the upper story of the palace; and the palace had been preserved by various gems, mantras, herbs and plant. Taksak became very anxious; and fearing, lest the curse of the Brâhmanas, will fall on his head, became very much agitated and thought. “How shall I now enter the palace? How can I cheat this stupid hypocrite vicious king, cursed by the Brâhmana, who causes troubles to the Brâhmanas. Not a single man has taken birth in the Pandava family ever since that he coiled a dead serpent round the neck of an ascetic Brâhmin. The king has committed a very heinous crime and knowing the course of time to be in fallible, has placed sentries on all sides of the palace and has ascended to the top-most story of the building, thinking thereby to deceive Death and is staying in a peaceful mind. How can then he be smitten, in accordance with the Brâhmana's word? The king, of dull intellect, knows not that death cannot be prevented; for that reason he has placed guards and sentinels round the building, and himself has got up the house and is happily whiling away his time; but he is quite ignorant that when Fate who can never be violated, ordains the death, how can it be prevented though thousands of attempts are made to thwart it? This scion  of Pandu family knows that his death is at hand and yet wants to live and therefore is staying in his own place with a tranquil mind. The king ought now to make charities and other meritorious works; it is only by acts of Dharma that disease is destroyed and life is prolonged.

And if that be not the object then a dying man ought to take bath, to make charities and to await his time of death; he thereby attains heaven; otherwise hell is inevitable. The king committed great sin in the act of causing pains and trouble to the Brâhmin or other similar acts and therefore death is so close that the Brâhmin curse has fallen thus on his head. Is there no such Brâhmin who can make him understand this; or the Creator has ordained his death now as inevitable.” Thus meditating, the chief serpent made other serpents following him assume then form of ascetic Brâhmanas and gave them roots and fruits to be taken to the king. The serpent Taksak himself entered within the fruits in the form of an insect. Then the ascetic serpents took the fruits and quickly went out of the place. They came to the palace where Parîksit was resting. Seeing them, the guards asked :-- “What for have you come here?” Hearing this, “We are coming from the hermitage to prolong the life of the hero king, the son of Abhimanyu and the son of the Pândava family, by chanting the mantras of the Atharvavedas, and we want to have an interview with the king; now you better go and inform the king that some Munis have come to see you. We will sprinkle water on him and give him some sweet fruits and then depart. We have never come across such gatekeepers in the family of Bharat as disallow the ascetic Muni visitors to go and see the king. We will ascend to the place where the Parîksit is staying and we will bless him, and wish him long life; we will communicate to him our orders and then depart to our own places.”

49-68. Sûtâ said :-- Hearing these words, the sentinels spoke as previously ordered by the king, as follows :-- “O Brâhmanas! We think verily you won't be able to have an interview with the king to-day; you, all ascetics can come to-morrow to this palace. O Munis! Owing to the Brâhmana's curse, the king has built this place; then it follows, as a matter of course, that the Brâhmanas are not allowed to get up to the palace.” Then the serpents, in the form of the Brâhmanas, spoke :-- “O good sentinels! Then take these roots and fruits and offer them to the king and communicate to him our blessings.”

The sentinels went to the king, and informed him of the arrival of the ascetic Brâhmanas. The king replied :-- “Bring here the roots and fruits offered by them and ask what for they have come. Give them my pranâms; to-day I cannot meet with them; let them come to-morrow morning.” The sentinels went to the ascetics and got from them their roots and fruits and offered them with great respect to the king. When the serpents in the guise of the hypocrite Brâhmins went away, the king took those fruits and spoke to his ministers :--

“Take these fruits and let all my friends eat them. I will take only this one fruit given by the Brâhmanas and will eat it.” Saying this, the Uttarâ's son Parîksit gave away fruits to the friends and took one ripe fruit for himself, broke it and saw within it a very fine copper-coloured black eyed insect. At this the ministers were astonished; the King spoke to them :-- “The sun has set; so there is no further chance of any fear from any poison to-day. I speak then to-day, fearing the Brâhman's curse, let this insect bite me.” Thus saying the king took that insect and placed it on his neck. That Taksak in the form of an insect, when placed, during the sun-set, on the neck by the king, immediately assumed the form of the terrible Kâla (Death), coiled round the king and beat him. The Ministers were greatly surprised and began to weep and cry with great pain and sorrow. Seeing that terrible serpent, the ministers, overwhelmed with terror, fled away on all sides. The guards cried out loudly. The terrible out-cry was raised on all sides. Then Uttarâ's son, the king Parîksit, coiled by the serpent, saw that all his efforts were rendered fruitless, and remained silent and held fast to his patience. From the mouth of the serpent Taksak the terrible venomous flames came out burning all and immediately killed the king. Thus taking away the life of the king, Taksak went up in the celestial atmosphere; the people then saw that the serpent was ready as if to burn the world. The king fell down lifeless like a burnt tree; and all the persons cried out seeing the king dead.

Thus ends the tenth Chapter of the Second Skandha on the death of the king Parîksit in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 11. On The Sarpa Yajña

1-4. Sûta said :-- “O Munis! seeing now the king lifeless, and his son a mere boy, the ministers themselves performed all his funeral ceremonies. First they burned the king on the banks of the Ganges without uttering any Mantra, as his death was an accidental one due to snake bite, afterwards they had an effigy of the king made of kus’a grass and placed it on a funeral pyre and burned it, with sandal and scented wood. The priest then performed and completed his funeral obsequies, repeating duly the Vedic mantras, and distributed various things in charities to the Brâhmins, together with sufficient quantity of gold, and varieties of food and clothings so that the king may attain heaven.

5-7. Next, on an auspicious moment, the ministers installed the boy prince on the throne that gladdened the hearts of the subjects and all the populace of the city, towns, and villages acknowledged the boy prince Janamejaya, endowed with all royal qualities as their king. The Dhâtreyi gave all instructions to the king about his duties. The boy prince gradually grew in years and became endowed with great intellect.

8-15. When Janamejaya became eleven years old, the family priest initiated him duly with the Gâyatrî mantra and he also studied it duly. Then Kripâ chârya taught him perfectly the science of archery (Dhanurveda) as Dronâchârya taught Arjuna and Paras'urâma taught Karna. Janamejaya learnt by and by all the sciences and became very powerful and indomitable to his enemies as he was skilled in the science of archery, he was similarly in the other branches of the Vedas. Truthful, self-controlled, religious, the king Janamejaya acquired full knowledge in the Dhârmas'âstras (philosophies and law books) and Arthas'âstras (economics) and governed his kingdom like the Dharma's son Yudhisthira.

The king of Kâs'î gave his all-auspicious daughter Vapustamâ in marriage to the king Janamejaya wearing golden coat of armour. The king Janamejaya, with the beautiful Vapus'amâ casting side-long looks, looked very happy as was the king Vichîtravîrya, when he got for his wife the daughter of Kâshirâj and also when Arjuna got his Subhadrâ. Then the king began to enjoy his lotus-eyed Vapustamâ in forest, and gardens like S’atakratu and S’achî. The able ministers conducted satisfactorily the reins of government; and the subjects, well governed passed away their time with cheerful hearts.

16-32. In the meanwhile, a Muni, named Uttanka, being much troubled by Taksaka, thought who could help him in his taking revenge on Taksak and, seeing the king Parîksit's son the king Janamejaya a proper person came to Hastinâ to the king and spoke out thus :-- “O good king! Thou dost not know when to do a thing that ought to be done; Thou art doing at present what ought not to be done; and thou art not doing what should be done now. There is nothing of anger or energy within Thee; Thou dost things as a child does; so Thou dost not know the meaning of the S’âstras nor dost Thou know Thy former enemy; so what shall I pray before Thee?”  Hearing this Janamejaya said :-- “O highly fortunate one! I do not know who is my enemy; what wrong is there to be redressed? please speak out what I am to do.” Uttanka said :-- “O king! the wicked Taksak killed Thy father; ask about the death of Thy father from Thy councillors.” Hearing these words, the king Janamejaya asked his ministers; they replied “Thy father died out of the snake Taksaka's bite.” Then the king spoke :-- “The cause of my father's death is the Brâhmin's curse; what is the fault of Taksaka in this matter; please say.” Uttanka said :-- It was Taksaka that gave abundance of wealth to Kâs'yapa who was coming to cure Thy father of Taksaka's poison and made him desist from his purpose; so O king! Is not that Taksaka, then, Thy father's great enemy and his slayer?

O King! In former days, when Pramadvarâ, the dearest wife of the Muni Ruru, died of snake bite in her unmarried state, Ruru made her alive again. But Ruru made then the promise “whichever serpent will see, I will take away its life by striking it with a club.” O King! Thus making the resolve, he began to kill snakes wherever he found with his club, and thus, in his course of travel all round the earth, he saw within a forest an aged terrible water-snake (Dhonda serpent) and immediately lifted his club to kill it and angrily struck a blow on it, when the snake replied :-

“O Brâhmana! Why are you striking me thus? I have not caused any offence to you.” Ruru said :-- “O serpent! My dearest wife died of snake bite; since then I have made this resolve, under great provocation and sorrow, to kill snakes.” Hearing thus, the water-snake Dundubha replied :-- “I do not bite; those who bite are a different class of snakes; simply on account of my bearing a body similar to them that you will strike me is not quite proper.” Hearing these beautiful humane words from the mouth of a serpent, Ruru asked :-- “Who are you? Why have you become this Dundubha snake?”

33-45. The snake replied :-- “O Brâhmana! I was formerly a Brâhman; there was a friend of mine named Khyâs, very religious, truthful and self-controlled. Once he was staying in his Agnihotra room and I foolishly terrified him much by placing before him an artificial snake created by me of the leaves of trees. He became so much bewildered with fear and shuddered so terribly that he at length cursed me saying :-- “O one of blunt intellect! As you have terrified me by this snake, having no poison, so you better be a snake of that type.” Immediately I turned into a snake and when I much entreated that Brâhmana, his anger abated a little and he said again :-- “O snake! Pramati's son Ruru will no doubt free you of this curse.” I am that snake; and you are also that Ruru; now hear my words in conformity with Dharma. The highest Dharma of the Brâhmana, is non-killing. There is no doubt in this. The wise Brâhmanas ought to show mercy to all. No harm or killing is to he committed anywhere except in Yajña (sacrifice); killing is only allowed in a Yajña; for at the sacrifice, the animal killed attains the highest goal; hence killing in sacrifice is not reckoned as an act of killing. Uttanka said :-- That Brâhmana was then freed of the serpent body; and Ruru, too, desisted from killing since then. O King! Ruru gave life back to that girl and married her but even then, remembering the former enmity he killed the snakes. But, O chief of Bharata's family! Thou art staying without any care, without any anger to the snakes and without any revenge to the previous wrong. O king of kings! Thy father died high up in the air without any bath or charity due to be done at the time of death. So rescue thy father by killing his enemies, the snakes. That son is dead, though living, who does not consider the act of his father's enemy as inimical. Until Thou dost kill the snakes, Thy father's enemies, Thy father's hell life will not be freed. O king! Now remember the wrong done to Thy father and perform the sacrifice to the Great Mother, denominated as the Sarpa Yajña (the sacrifice of snakes).

46-55. Sûta said :-- Hearing the words of Uttanka, the king Janamejaya sadly wept and shed tears, and thought within himself :-- “Alas! Fie to me! I am a great stupid; hence I feel myself proud but in vain. Where can his honour be whose father, bitten by a snake, has gone down to hell. Now I will, no doubt, commence the Sarpa Yajña and ensure the destruction of all the snakes in the blazing sacrificial fire and thus deliver my father from hell.” Thus coming to a conclusion, he called all his ministers and said :-- “O ministers! Better make arrangements duly for a great sacrifice. Have a suitable holy site on the banks of the Ganges, selected and measured by the Brâhmanas and have a beautiful sacrificial hall built up on one hundred pillars and prepare a sacrificial altar within this. O Ministers! When all these preliminaries will be completed, I will commence with great eclat the great Sarpa Yajña (sacrifice of snakes). In that Yajña, the snake Taksak will be the animal victim; and Uttanka, the great Muni, will be the sacrificial priest; so invite early the all-knowing Brâhmanas, versed in the Vedas. Thus at the command of the king, the able ministers collected all the materials of the sacrifice and prepared a big sacrificial altar. When the oblations were offered on the sacrificial fire, calling on the snakes, Taksak became greatly distressed with fear and took refuge of Indra saying “Save my life”. Indra, then, gave hopes to Taksaka, trembling with fear, and made him sit on his Âsana, encouraged him with words “No fear”. O! snake do not fear any more.

56-65. The Muni Uttanka, seeing that Taksak had taken Indra's protection and that Indra had given him hopes of “no fear”, called on Taksaka with Indra to come to fire with an anxious heart; Taksak, then, seeing no other way, took refuge of the greatly religious Âstik, the son of the Muni Jarat Kâru, born of the family of Yâyâvara. The Muni's son Âstik came to the sacrificial hall and chanted hymns in praise of Janamejaya; the king, too, seeing the Muni boy greatly learned worshipped him and said :-- “What for have you come? I will give you what you desire.” Hearing this, Âstika prayed :-- “O highly enlightened one! Let you desist from this sacrifice.”

The truthful king, prayed thus again and again, stopped the Sarpa Yajña to keep the Muni's word. Vais'ampâyana then recited the whole Mahâbhârata to the king to cheer up his heart. But the king, hearing the whole Mahâbhârata could not find peace and asked Veda Vyâsa “how can I get peace; my mind is constantly being burned with sorrow; say what am I to do? I am very miserable; hence my father Parîksit the son of Abhimanyu has died an unnatural death. O lucky one! See that a Ksattriya's death in a deadly battlefield or in an ordinary battle is praiseworthy; even his death in his own house, if followed up according to natural laws and Vidhis (rules) is commendable; but my father did not die such a death; under the Brâhmana's curse why did he, quite senseless, quit his life high up in the air? O son of Satyavatî! Now advise me so that my father who is now in hell can again go up to the heavens, and that my heart may find its way to peace.”

Thus ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Second Skandha on the “Sarpa Yajña” in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

Chapter 12. On The Birth Of Âstika

1-4. Sûta said :-- Hearing these words of the king, Vyâsa Deva, the son Satyavatî addressed to him before the assembly, thus :-- “O king! I am now reciting to you a Bhâgavata Purâna, holy, wonderful, filled with many anecdotes, and leading to auspicious results; listen. Before I made my son S'uka study this Purâna; O king! I will now recite before you that highest Purâna, with all the secrets contained therein. I have extracted this from all the Âgamas; it brings in Dharma (religion), Artha (wealth), Kâma (fructification of desires) and Moksa (liberation); hearing this gives always happiness and good results.

5-6. At this Janamejaya said :-- “O Lord! Whose son is this Muni Âstika? Why did he come as an obstacle in my Sarpa Yajña (sacrifice of snakes)? And what object had he in preserving the snakes? O highly fortunate one! Kindly describe all this in detail; after this recite the Purâna, also, in detail to me.”

7-18. Vyâsa Deva said :-- “O king! In former days there lived a Muni named Jaratkâru. He always remained in the path of peace; and did not marry. Once he saw, in a cave in a forest, his fathers and forefathers pendant. They spoke to Jaratkâru thus :-- “O son! Marry; we will thereby be greatly pleased; if there be a son of good character born to you, we all will be freed from all troubles and we would then able to go to Heavens.” Hearing this Jaratkâru said :-- “O Forefathers! If I get a girl of my name, without begging and asking and if she be entirely obedient to me, I will marry and lead a householder's life; thus I have spoken truly to you.” Thus saying to his forefathers, Jaratkâru went on tour to the holy places. Now it happened so, that at that very time Kadru, the mother of snakes cursed her sons, saying “May you be burnt by fire.” The matters of this incident run as follows :-- “At that moment Kadru and Vinatâ, the two co-wives of Kas'yapa saw the horses yoked in the chariot of the sun and thus argued with each other :-- Kadru, seeing the sun's horse, first asked Vinatâ “O good one! Tell me soon, what is the colour of this horse?” Vinatâ said :-- “O auspicious one! What do you think?” I said, the colour of the horse is white; you also better say before hand what is its colour? We will then lay a wager (and challenge). Kadru said :-- “O Smiling one! I think the the horse is black. Now come; let us challenge; whoever will be defeated will become the slave of the other.” Thus saying, Kadru told her sons that were obedient :-- “Cover by your bodies all the pores of the body of the horse of the chariot of the Sun, so it may look black; go and do it.” At this some snakes replied “That cannot be.” Kadru then cursed them saying :-- “Let you fall on the sacrificial fire of Janamejaya.” Then the other snakes tried to please their mother and coiled round the back of that horse so that the horse began to look black. Kadru and Vinatâ, the two co-wives went together and saw the horse. Vinatâ saw it black and became very sorry.

19-21. Now, Garuda, Vinatâ's son, very powerful and devourer of snakes was passing that way and seeing his mother very distressed asked her :-- “O Mother! Why do you look so very sorry? It seems as if you are weeping. Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun and I myself are your two sons living. Fie to us that, while we are living, you will have to suffer pains. O beautiful one! If mother suffers while the son is living, then what use is there in having such a son? So, O Mother, give out the cause of your grief and I will remove it at once.”

22-31. Hearing this Vinatâ said :-- “O son! What shall I say to you of my misery; I am now become the slave of my rival wife. By some pretext she defeated me and is now telling me to carry her on my back. O son! For this reason I am sorry.” Hearing these words of the mother, Garuda said :-- “Very well I will carry her on my shoulders wherever she wishes to go. O auspicious one! You need not be sorry; I will remove all your cares.” Vyâsa Deva said :-- Thus spoken to by Garuda, Vinatâ went to Kadru. At that time the highly powerful Garuda went there also to free his mother of her slavery and carried Kadru with all her sons on his back to the other side of the ocean. When Garuda went across the ocean, Garuda spoke to Kadru :-- “O mother! I bow down to thee; kindly say how my mother can be freed of your slavery. Hearing this Kadru said :-- “O son! If you can bring to-day by your sheer force nectar from the Deva loka and give it to my sons then you will be able to free your helpless mother. When Kadru said so, the highly powerful Vinatâ's son, Garuda immediately went to the abode of Indra and, fighting hard, stole away the jar of nectar and brought and gave it to Kadru and freed his mother Vinatâ from the slavery of Kadru. In the meantime, the snakes went for their bath, after which they would drink the nectar. Indra stole away that jar which contained nectar. O king! Thus, by the sheer strength of arms of Garuda Vinatâ was freed of her slavery. On the other hand, when the snakes returned from their bath and found that there was no jar of nectar, they began to lick the Kusa grass over which the jar of nectar was kept, thinking that they would thereby get some drops of nectar which might have trickled over; and the result was that by the sharp edges of kusa grasses, the tongues of all the snakes were cut asunder into two; hence the snakes are called Dvijihva.

32-36. The snake Vâsuki and others, whom Kadru, the mother of snakes, cursed, went to Brahmâ and took his refuge and informed all of the cause of their terror, the curse from their mother; when Brahmâ spoke to them :-- “Go and give the sister of Vâsuki, named Jaratkâru, in marriage to the great Muni Jarat Kâru, (both of the same name). In her womb, a son named Âstika will be born; and he will certainly deliver you from your difficulties. Hearing those beneficial words of Brahmâ, Vâsuki went to the forest and requested humbly the great Muni Jarat Kâru to accept in marriage her own sister when the Muni, knowing the girl to be of his name, spoke out thus :-- “But when your sister will act against my wishes, I will forsake her at once.”

37-46. Under these conditions, the Muni married her. And Vâsuki, after giving her sister in marriage according to her own wishes to the Muni, returned to her own abode. O Tormentor of foes! Then the Muni Jaratkâru built a white hut of leaves in that great forest and began to pass his days happily in enjoyment with his wife. Once, on an occasion, after he had taken his dinner he slept and told his wife not to awaken him under any circumstances and fell fast asleep. The beautiful sister of Vâsuki sat by his side. When the evening time came and the sun began to set, the Vâsuki's sister Jaratkâru became afraid at the thought that the evening Sandhya might not be performed by the Muni and thought thus :-- “What am I to do now? My heart finds not rest if I do not awaken him; and if I awaken him, he will forsake me at once. Now if I do not awaken him, the evening will pass away to no purpose. Whatever it be, if he quits me or if my death ensues, that is better than the non-observance of Dharma; for when Dharma is destroyed, hell ensues.

Thus thinking, the girl awakened him saying :-- “O One of good vows! It is evening time; so get up; etc.” The Muni got up in great anger and addressed his wife :-- “When you have disturbed my sleep, I now go away from you; you also better go to your brother's house.” When the Muni said so, Vâsuki's sister spoke out, trembling :-- “O One of indomitable lustre! How will the object be served for which my brother has given me in marriage with you.”

47-50. The Muni then spoke firmly to his wife Jaratkâru :-- “That is within your womb.” Jaratkâru then, forsaken by the Muni, went to the abode of Vâsuki. When her brother Vâsuki asked her about her son, she said :-- “The Muni has forsaken me, saying that the son is within your womb.” At this Vâsuki trusted; and said :-- “The Muni won't ever tell lies” and gave shelter to his sister. O Kurusattama! After some time, a famous boy named the Muni Âstika was born.

51-56. O king! That Muni boy, the knower of truth, had desisted you from your sacrifice of snakes for the preservation of his mother's family. It is well and good, befitting you, that you respected the words of the Muni Âstika, born of Yâyâvara family and the cousin of Vâsuki. O Mighty-armed! Let all auspiciousness come to you; you have heard the whole Mahâbhârata and gave away lots of things in charities. You have worshipped innumerable Munis. But, O king! Though you have done so many good things, yet your father has not attained heaven and you have not been able to sanctify your family. So, O king Janamejaya! Now install a capacious temple of the Devî with the highest devotion; then all your desires will be fulfilled. The all auspicious Devî, the Giver of all desires, makes the kingdoms more stable and increases the family, if She be always worshipped with the highest devotion.

57-64. O king! You better perform duly the Devîmakha Yajña Yotistoma and others, pleasing to the Devî, and hear the great Purâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, filled with accounts of the glorious deeds of the Devî. I will make you hear now that Divine Purâna, filled with various sentiments, highly sanctifying and capable to carry one across this ocean of world. O king! There is no other subject in this world worthy to be heard than the above Purâna and there is no other thing to be worshipped then the lotus feet of the Devî. O king! Those are certainly fortunate, those are intelligent and blessed, in whose hearts of love and devotion reign always the Devî Bhagavatî. O illustrious scion of Bharata's family! Know them to the always afflicted with troubles who do not worship in this world the great Mother Mahâmâyâ. O king! Who is there that will not worship Her when Brahmâ and all the Devas are always engaged in Her devotional service. O king! He who hears always this Purâna gets all his desires fulfilled; in former days Bhagavatî Herself spoke this excellent Purâna to Visnu. O king! Your heart will be appeased and become peaceful when you hear this; and, as a result of your hearing this Purânam, all your ancestors will attain endless Heavenly life.

Thus ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Second Skandha on the birth of Âstika in the Mahâpurânam S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa. Here ends as well the Second Book.

The Third Book

Chapter 1. On The Questions Put By Janamejaya

1-10. Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! What is that great Yajña (sacrifice) named Ambâ Yajña about which you referred just now? Who is the Ambâ? Where was She born? From whom and what for did Her birth take place? What are Her qualities? What is Her form and nature? O Ocean of mercy! You are all-knowing; kindly describe everything duly. Along with this, describe in detail the origin of Brahmânda. O Brahmâna! You know every thing of this whole Universe. I heard that Brahmâ, Visnu and Rudra are the three Devatâs, who are successively originated to create, preserve, and destroy this Universe. Are these three highsouled entities independent? or Do they do their respective duties, being subservient to another Person? Now I am very eager to know all these. So Pârâs'ara's son! Describe all these to me. Are these highly powerful Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'vara subject to Death like ordinary beings? Or are they of the nature of everlasting Existence, Intelligence and Bliss? Are they subject to the three fold pains arising from their own selves from elements and from those arising from gods? Are they subject Time? How and wherefrom were they originated? Do they feel the influence of pleasure, pain, sleep or laziness? O Muni! Do their bodies consist of seven Dhâtus? (blood, etc.) or are they of some other kinds? A great doubt has arisen in me on all these points. If these bodies be not made up of five elements, then of what substance are they built of? And of what gunas are their senses built also? How do they enjoy objects of enjoyments? How long is their longevity? O Brâhmana! where do they, Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'vara, the best of the gods live? And of what nature are their powers and prosperities? I like very much to hear all these. So describe all these in detail to me.”

11-24. Vyâsa said :-- “O highly intelligent king! The questions that you have asked me today whence and how Brahmâ, etc., were born ? etc., are very difficult. In ancient days, once, on an occasion, I asked many questions like you to the Muni Nârada. At first he was greatly suprised to hear my queries, afterwards he gave due replies to them. O king! I will answer to you in the same way; listen. Once I saw that the all-knowing, peaceful Nârada, the knower of the Vedas was sitting on the banks of the Ganges. I became very glad and fell at his feet. By his order I took one excellent seat. Hearing, then, of his welfare and seeing him sitting on the sands I asked him :-- “O highly intelligent One! Who is the Supreme Architect of this widely extended Universe? Whence is this Brahmânda born? Is it eternal or temporary? When it is an effect, then it is natural that it cannot be created without a cause. Now when the cause, the creator, is certain, is he one or many? O sage! as regards this wide Samsâra, I have expressed my doubt; now answer me what is the Real and True, and thus remove my doubts. Many believe Mahâ Deva, the Lord of all the other Devas as the Supreme God, the Cause of all. He is the source of deliverance to all the Jîvas; devoid of birth and death; always auspicious; peaceful in Himself and  the controller of the three gunas. He is the one and only cause of creation, preservation and destruction. Some Pundits believe Visnu as the God of all and praise Him as such. It is Visnu that is the powerful Supreme Self, the Lord of all and the First Person Âdipurusa. It is He that has no birth nor death, the Deliverer of the whole Jîvas, Omnipresent; His faces are everywhere; He is the Granter of enjoyments and liberation to the devotees. Some others call again Brahmâ, the Cause of all. It is He that is omniscient and the Stimulator of all beings.

The four-faced Brahmâ, the best of all the Devas is born from the navel lotus of some One of endless force. He resides in Satyaloka; He is the Creator of all and the Lord of all the Devas. Again some other Pundits call the Sun, Sûrya as God. In the morning and in the evening they chant His hymns, without any lack of slackness and laziness. Again there are some others, who say that Indra is the lord of all the Jîvas; He is thousand-eyed; it is Indra, the husband of S’achî, that is the God of all. Those who perform Yajñas (sacrifices) worship Vâsava, the king of the Devas. He drinks Soma juice Himself and those who drink Soma are his beloved. He is the one and only Lord of Sacrifices. Thus all men worship, according to their respective wishes, Varuna, Soma, Agni, Pavana (wind), Yama (the god of Death), Kuvera, the lord of wealth; there are some again who worship the elephant-faced Ganapati, the Fructifier of all actions, the Granter of desires of all the devotees, and the Giver of success to all in all enterprises, no sooner He is remembered. Some Âchâryas (professors) say again that the All auspicious the Âdi Mâyâ, the Great S’akti Bhavânî, the Giver of everything, Who is the nature of with and without attributes Who is not different from Brahmâ, who is both Purusa and Prakriti, the Creatrix, the Preservatrix and the Destructrix of all, the Mother of all the gods, beings and lokas, is the Great Goddess of this Brahmânda. She is without beginning and end, full, present in all the beings and everywhere. It is this Bhavanî that assumes the various endless forms such as Vaisnavî S’ânkarî, Brâhmî, Vâsavî, Vârunî, Vârâhî, Nara Simhî, Mahâ Laksmî the one and secondless Vedamâtâ, and others. It is this Vidyâ nature that is the One and the only Root of this tree of Samsâra (universe).

The mere act of remembering Her destroys heaps of afflictions of the devotees and fulfills all their desires. She gives Moksa to those who are desirous of liberation and gives rewards to those who want such. She is beyond the three Gunas and still She emanates them. Therefore the Yogis that want rewards meditate Her, Who is of the nature of Vidyâ and Who is devoid of attributes. The best Munis, the knowers of the truths of Vedanta meditate on Her as formless, immutable, stainless, omnipresent Brahmâ devoid of all Dharma. She is described in some Vedas and Upanishads as full of Light (Tejas). Some intelligent persons describe God as of infinite hands, infinite ears, infinite legs, infinite faces, peaceful, Virât Purusa and describe sky as the Pada (place) of Visnu. Other knowers of the Purânas describe Him as Purusottama. There are some others again who declare that this creation cannot be done by a single individual. Some atheists say that this inconceivable infinite Universe can never be created by one God. So there is no such definite God that can be called its Creator. Though without any creator, this Brahmânda is sprung from the Nature and conducted by Her. The followers of the Sâmkhya system say that Purusa is not the creator of this Universe; they declare that Prakriti is the Mistress of this Universe O Muni! Thus I have expressed to you what the Muni Kapila, the Achârya of the Sânkhyas and the other philosophers declare as their opinions; various doubts, thus, reign always in my breast. Owing to these doubts my mind is so confused that I cannot arrive at any definite conclusion. My mind is very much unsettled as to what is Dharma and what is Adharma. What are the characteristics of Dharma? I cannot make out them. For the Devas are all sprung from the Sattva Guna and are always attached to the true Dharma; yet they are frequently troubled by the sinful Dânavas. How, then, can I place my confidence on the permanence of the Dharma? My forefathers, the Pândavas were always endowed with good behaviours and good actions and they remained always in the path of the Dharma; yet they suffered a good deal of troubles and sufferings. In these cases it is very difficult understand the greatness of Dharma. So, O Father! Seeing all these, my mind is thrown into a sea of doubts and troubles. O Great Muni!

There is nothing impracticable with you; so remove my doubts. O Muni! I am always plunged and raised and plunged again in this sea of delusion. So save me by lifting me on a boat of wisdom and carry me across this ocean of samsâra (this world).

Thus ends the first chapter on the third Skandha on the questions put by Janamejaya in the Mahâpurâna S'rîmad Devî Bhagâvatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 2. On Rudras Going Towards The Heavens On The Celestial Car

1-19. Vyâsa said :-- O mighty armed Kuru! What you have asked me just now, I also asked the same thing to Nârada, the lord of the Munis and he gave me the following reply :-- O Vyâsa! What shall I say to you on this point more than this that a doubt occurred to me also in my former days. The question that you have put to me today rose in my mind before; and I went to my father Brahmâ, of endless energy and asked to him thus :-- O Lord! O Father! Whence is this whole Brahmânda born? Have You created it? Or is it Visnu or Mahes'vara? O all pervading soul! Who is there in this Brahmânda fit to be worshipped? O Lord of the world! Who is the top-most Lord ruling over everything? Kindly say. O Brahmân! I am plunged in this sea of Maya and perils; my heart is agitated with doubts; hence it is not appeased in any place of pilgrimage ; or in thinking any Deva or in practising any Sâdhan or in any other object. O Sinless one! Give me the answers duly and thus remove my doubts. O Tormentor of foes! Unless the highest truth is not known, peace is not found. This heart, distracted in various ways, cannot rest fixed on one subject. Whom am I to remember? Whom to worship? Where to go? Whom to praise? Who is the Supreme God this Universe? I do not understand these things. O Satyavatî's son! Hearing these my serious queries, Brahmâ, the grand-Sire of beings, replied to me as follows :-- O highly illustrious son! What more shall I say to you than this that even Visnu is unable to answer your questions; so difficult are they indeed! O great intelligent one! Nobody that is attached to the world knows anything about this. Those who are unattached to this world, who are free from any envy, these who are without desires and calm, those highsouled ones know the secret of all this. In former days when all was water, water everywhere and all things, moving and non-moving were destroyed, when five elements were sprung, then I was also born from the lotus navel of Visnu. Then not seeing Moon, Sun, trees, or mountains or anything and sitting on the centre (Karnikâ) of the lotus thought thus :-- When I am born in this great ocean of waters? Who has created me? Who is now my protector?

And Who will be my Destroyer when this cycle ends? There is no earth distinctly visible anywhere here; on what, then, this mass of water rests? Lotus is termed Pankaja because it springs from mud and dirt; so unless there exists the earth underneath with mud and dirt, how this lotus will come out here! Now let me try and find out where is the root of this lotus, where is the mud and dirt? If this be found, then the earth will be also certainly there. Thus thinking, I dived underneath the water and searched for one thousand years but could not find earth anywhere, when the celestial voice entered my ears “Practise tapasyâ (austerities).” Hearing this celestial voice, I sat on the lotus, my birth place, and practised tapasyâ for one thousand years.

20-30. Next, the celestial voice came again “Create.” Hearing this, I became quite confounded and began to think within myself “now what am I to create? What to do?” After this, the two terrible Daityas Madhu and Kaitabha came to me and affrighted me saying “Fight with us.” I became quite terrified and holding the stem of the lotus, I got down within the water. There I saw a wonderful person, sleeping on the Ananta serpent. He was of a deep blue colour like a rain-cloud, wearing yellow clothes, four-armed, garlanded with forest flowers, and the Lord of this whole Universe. On the four arms of this Mahâ Visnu there were conch-shells, disc, club, and lotus and other weapons. I saw this Achyuta Purusa, sleeping on the Ananta serpent bed, motionless and under the influence of Yoga Nidrâ. I then thought within myself “What am I to do?” Not being able to find out any other way, I recollected the Devî who was then of the nature of sleep and began to praise Her. The auspicious Devî Yoga Nidrâ, whose form could not be determined, immediately left the body of Visnu and decorated with divine ornaments, began to shine in the air. After She left the body of Visnu, Visnu immediately got up. And He fought terribly for five thousand years with the Dânavas Madhu Kaitabha; then by the grace of the Bhagavatî, He extended His own thighs and then, on those thighs, He slew the two demons. Where Visnu and myself were standing, Rudra Deva came also and joined with us. Then we three saw the beautiful Devî in the celestial space.

31-40. We three, then, commenced to chant hymns to Her and She gladdened our hearts by Her gracious look and said :-- “O Brahmâ! O Visnu! O Rudra! The two great Daityas are slain. Now forsake your laziness and do your respective works of creating, preserving, and destroying the Universe; create your own abodes, and live in happiness; create by your respective lordly powers, the fourfold beings.” Hearing the Devî's gentle sweet words, we spoke :-- “O Mother! There is no wide earth here; all is one mass of infinite ocean. No five elements, no five tanmâtrâs, no sensual organs, no Gunas, nothing exist here; how can we then execute the works of creation, etc. Hearing our words, the Devî smiled. Immediately there came from the sky overhead a beautiful aerial car. The Devî said :-- “O Brahmâ! O Visnu! O Rudra! Get in this car without any fear. To-day I will show you one wonderful thing.” At Her word, we got into the beautiful car without any fear. It was decorated with various gems and jewels, bedecked with pearls, emitting sweet tinkling sounds of bells and looking as the abode of the celestials. Seeing us seated without any fear, She made the car get high up in the sky by Her force.

Thus ends the second chapter of the third skandha on Brahmâ, Visnu and Rudra's going towards the heavens on the celestial car, given by the Devî in the Mahâpurâna S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 3. On Seeing The Devî

1-5. Brahmâ said :-- “We were very much astonished not to find water where our beautiful aeroplane landed us. We saw earth resonated with the sweet cooings of the cuckoos, filled with beautiful fruit-laden trees, forests and gardens. Big rivers, wells, tanks, ponds, water-springs, small pools, women, men all are there. Next we saw, in front of us, a nice city enclosed by a divine wall, containing many sacrificial halls and various palatial buildings and magnificent edifices. Oh! We thought :-- It is Heaven! What a great wonder! Who built this?

6-11. Next we saw a king looking like a Deva is going out on a hunting excursion in the forest. The Devî Ambikâ, Whom we saw before, is staying on the chariot. In an instant, our aeroplane, propelled by air got high up above the sky and reached in the twinkling of an eye at a lovely place. We saw there a divine Nandana garden. There Surabhi, the cow of plenty, was staying under the shade of the Parijâta tree. Close by her, there was an elephant having four tusks; and Menaká and other hosts of Apsarâs were there with their various gestures and postures, playing, dancing and singing. There were hundred of Yaksas, Gandharbhas, Vidyâdharas within that Mandâra garden playing and singing. Within this there was the Lord Satakratu with S'achî, the daughter of Pulomâ.

12-34. Next we saw with great wonder, Varuna, the lord of the aquatic animals, Kuvera, Yama, Sûrya (sun), fire and the other Devas; then we saw that in our front, Indra the Lord of the Devas, was coming out from a well decorated city. He was there situated in his palanquin, calm and quiet and carried by men. Then the car, where we were situated, began to get up high in the sky, and in the twinkling of an eye, we reached Brahmâ loka, that is saluted by all the Devas. There S'ambhu and Kes'ava were greatly bewildered to see Brahmâ of that place. In the council hall of Brahmâ, the Vedas with their Angas, the serpents, hills, oceans and rivers were seen. Seeing all these, Visnu and Mahes'vara asked me :-- “O Four-faced one! Who is this eternal Brahmâ? I replied :-- I do not know who is this Brahmâ? Who am I? and who is He? why has this error come over me? You, too, also are gods so you can better ponder over it.” Next our car, going with the swiftness of mind went, in the twinkling of an eye, to the beautiful all auspicious Kailâs'a mountain surrounded by bliss-giving Yaksas. It was beautified by the Mandâra garden, resonated by the sweet cooings of S'ukas and cuckoos and the sweet sounds of lutes and small drums and tabors. When we reached there we saw the five faced, three-eyed Bhagavân S'ashi S'ekhara, with ten hands, wearing tiger skin, and the upper garment of the elephant skin. He was then, getting out of his abode, riding on a bull. His two sons, the great heroes, Ganes'a and Kârtikeya, beautifully adorned, were attending Him as His body guards. Nandi and all other hosts were following Him, chanting victories to Him. O Muni Narâda! we were greatly wondered to see another S'ankara, surrounded by the Matrikâs. So much so, that perplexed with doubts, I sat down there. Next our aeroplane went on with the force of wind; and in an instant reached the abode of Vaikuntha, the amusement court of Laksmî. O Sûta! There at Vaikuntha, we saw a wonderful manifestation of power. Our companion Visnu was greatly surprised to see that excellent city. We saw there four-armed Visnu, of the colour of Âtasi flower, wearing yellow garments, adorned with divine ornaments sitting on Garuda. Laksmî Devî is fanning wonderful chowry to Him. Struck with wonder at the sight of the eternal Visnu, we took our seat on the car and looked at one another's face.

Next the balloon ascended with the swiftness of wind; and, in the twinkling of an eye, reached to the ocean of nectar, the Sudhâ-Sâgar, with waves playing sweetly on it. This ocean Sudhâ Sâgara is filled with aquatic animals and agitated with ripples. We saw and went along and came to a very wonderful place called the Mani Dvîpa (the island of gems) in the midst of the Ocean. It was adorned with Mandâra and Pàrijâta an other heavenly flower trees (plants?), with various beautiful carpets, with variegated trees As'oka, Vakula, Ketakî, Champaka, Kuravaka, etc., adorned with lustrous gems and pearls. It was resonated with the sweet cooings of the cuckoos and the humming sounds of bees; and it presented the sight of a sweet harmonious music playing there.

35-67. Sitting on our aeroplane, we saw, from a distance, within that Dvîpa, a beautiful cot known as S'ivâkâra (i.e. whose four legs represent Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, etc., and whose top portion represents Sadâ S’iva looking like a rainbow, with exquisitely beautiful carpet spread over it and decked with various gems and jewels and inlaid with pearls. We saw a Divine Lady, sitting on the cot, wearing a red garment and a garland of red cloth and bedewed with red sandal paste. Her eyes were dark-red; that beautiful faced red-lipped lady looked more beautiful than ten millions of lightnings and ten millions of Laksmîs and lustrous like the Sun. The Bhagavatî Bhuvanes'varî was sitting with a sweet smile on Her lips and holding in Her four hands noose, goad, and signs indicating as if She was ready to grant boons and asking Her devotees discard all fear. We never saw before such a form. Even the birds of that place repeat the mystic incantation Hrim and serve that Lady, Who is of the colour of the rising Sun, all merciful, and in the full bloom of youth. That lotus-faced smiling lady was adorned with all the beauties of Nature. Her high breasts defied the lotus bud. She was holding various jewelled ornaments, e.g., armplates, bracelets, diadems, etc.

Her lotus-face looked exceedingly beautiful with jewelled ear-rings of the shape of the S’rî Yantra (yantra of Tripurâ Sundarî). Hrillekhâ and other Deva girls were surrounding Her. There were Sakhis on the four sides -- always chanting hymns to Mahes'varî, the Lady of the world. She was surrounded on Her all sides by Ananga kusuma and other Devîs. She was sitting in the middle of the Satkona (six angled) Yantra. We were all wondered at the sight of this Wonderful Form never seen before and we thought :-- “Who is this Lady? What is Her name? we know nothing of Her, from such a distance.” Thus while we were gazing at Her, that four armed Lady became gradually thousand eyed, with thousand hands and thousand feet; so it seemed to us. O Nârada! We became very much embarrassed with doubts and thought within ourselves “Is She Apsarâ (nymph) or a Gandharva daughter or any other Deva Girl? who is She ?” At this juncture Bhagavân Visnu saw closely the sweet smiling Devî and by his intelligence came to a definite conclusion and spoke to us :-- “This is the Devî Bhagavatî Mahâvidyâ Mahâ Mâyâ, undecaying and eternal; She is the Full, the Prakriti; She is the Cause of us all. This Devî is inconceivable to those who are of dull intellects; only the Yogis can see Her by their Yoga-powers. She is eternal (Brahmâ) and also non-eternal (Mâyâ). She is the Will-force of the Supreme Self. She is the First Creatrix of this world.

This Devî with wide eyes, the Lady of the Universe, has produced the Vedas. The less-fortunate persons cannot worship Her. During the time of Pralaya, She destroys all the Universe, draws within Her body all the subtle bodies (Linga-Sarîras), and plays. O two Devas! At present She is residing in the form of the Seed of the Universe. Behold! On Her sides are seen duly all the Vibhûtis (manifestations of powers). They are all adorned with divine ornaments and anointed with divine scents and are serving Her. O Brahmân! O S'ankara! To-day we are blessed and highly fortunate that we have got the sight of this Devî. The tapasyâ (asceticisms) that we practised of yore have yielded to us this fruit. Else why Bhagavatî has shown so carefully Her own form? Those who are highly meritorious by tapasyâs and gifts of abundant wealth, those high souled persons are able to see this all-auspicious Bhagavatî. The person attached to sensual objects can never see Her. It is She that is the Mûlâ Prakriti, united with the Chidânanda Person. It is She that creates this Brahmânda and exhibits it to the Paramâtmâ (the Supreme Self). O two Devas! This whole Universe and all the Seers and Seen and other things contained therein owe to Her as their sole cause. She is the Mâyâ assuming all forms; She is the Goddess of all. Where is I myself! Where are the Devas! Where are Laksmî and the other Devîs! We cannot compare to one-hundred thousandth part of Her. It is this all-excellent Lady, Whom I saw in the great Ocean when She reckoned Me who was baby then with greatest gladness. In former days, when I was sleeping on the cot made of immoveable fixed leaves of a banyan tree and licking my toe, making it enter within my mouth and playing like an ordinary baby, this Lady rocked my gentle body to and fro on the banyan leaves singing songs like a Mother. Now I recollect all what I felt before at Her sight and recognise that She is the Bhagavatî. These very things I now communicate to you. Hear attentively that She is this Lady and She is our Mother.”

Thus ends the third chapter of the Third Skandha on seeing the Devî in the Mahâ Purânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 4. On The Hymns To The Great Devî By Visnu

1-20. Brahmâ said :-- Thus speaking, Bhagavân Janârdana Visnu spoke to me again :-- “Come, let us bow down to Her again and again and let us go to Her. We shall reach at Her feet fearlessly and we will chant hymns to Her; Mahâ Mâyâ will be pleased with us and will grant us boons. If the guards at the entrance prevent us from going, we would stand at the gateway and we will chant hymns to the Devî with one mind.”

Brahmâ said :-- When Hari addressed us in the above way, we two became choked by intense feelings of joy; our voice became tremulous and we waited there for some time; our hearts were elated with joy to go to Her. We then accepted Hari's word said “Om” and got down from our car and went with hastened steps and with fear to the gate. Seeing us standing at the gateway, the Devî Bhagâvatî smiled and within an instant transformed us three into females. We looked beautiful and youthful women, adorned with nice ornaments; thus we greatly wondered and went to Her. Seeing us standing at Her feet in feminine forms, the beautiful Devî Bhagâvatî, looked on us with eyes of affection. We then bowed to the great Devî, looked at one another and stood before Her in that feminine dress. We three, then, began to see the pedestal of the great Devî, shining with the lustre of ten million Suns and decorated with various gems and jewels. We next discerned that thousands and thousands of attendants are waiting on Her. Some of them are wearing red dress; some blue dress, some yellow dress; thus the Deva girls, variously dressed were serving Her and standing by Her side. They were dancing, singing on and playing with musical instruments and were gladly chanting hymns in praise of the Devî. O Nârada!We saw there another wonderful thing. Listen. We saw the whole universe, moving and non-moving within the nails of the lotus feet of the Devî. We saw there myself, Visnu, Rudra, Vâyu, Agni, Yama, Moon, Sun, Varuna, Tvastâ, Indra, Kuvera and other Devas, Apsarâs, Gandarbhas, rivers, oceans, mountains, Visvâvasus Chitraketu, Sveta, Chitrângada, Nârada, Tumburu, Hâ Hâ Hû Hû and other Gandarbhas, the twin As'vins, the eight Vasus, Sâdhyas, Siddhas, the Pitris, Ananta and other Nâgas, Kinnaras, Uragas, Râksasas, the abode of Vaikuntha, the abode of Brahmâ, Kailas'a mountain, the best of all mountains; all were existing there. Within that nail of the toe were, reflected all the things of the Universe. The lotus whence I was born, the four faced Brahmâ like myself on that lotus, Bhagavân Jagannâth lying on that bed of Ananta, the two Demons Madhu Kaitabha, all I saw there.

21-31. Seeing all these wonderful things within the nails of Her lotus feet, I became greatly surprised and thought timidly :-- “What are all these!” My companions Visnu and S'ankara were struck with wonder. We three, then, made out that She was our Mother of the universe.

Thus full one hundred years passed away in seeing the various glories of the Devî in the auspicious nectar-like Mani Dvîpa; as long we were there, Her attendants, the Deva girls adorned with various ornaments gladly considered us as Sakhîs. We, too, were greatly fascinated by their enchanting gestures and postures. For that reason, we saw always their beautiful movements with great gladness. Once, on an occasion, Bhagavân Visnu, while He was in that feminine form, chanted hymns in praise of the great Devî S’rî Bhuvanes`varî.

S’rî Bhagavân said :-- Salutation to the Devî Prakriti, the Creatrix; I bow down again and again to Thee. Thou art all-auspicious and grantest the desires of Thy devotees; Thou art of the nature of Siddhi (success) and Vriddhi (increase). I bow down again and again to Thee. I bow down to the World Mother, Who is of the nature of Everlasting Existence, Intelligence and Bliss. O Devî! Thou createst, preservest and destroyest this Universe; Thou dost the Pralaya (the great Dissolution) and showest favour to the created beings. Thus Thou art the Authoress of the above five fold things that are done; so, O Bhuvanes’varî, I bow down to Thee! Thou art the great efficient and material cause of the changeful. Thou art the Unchangeable, Immoveable Consciousness; Thou art the half letter (Ardhamâtrâ), Hrillekhâ (the consciousness that ever pervades both inside and outside the Universe); Thou art the Supreme Soul and the individual soul. Salutation again and again to Thee.

O Mother! I now realise fully well that this whole Universe rests on Thee; it rises from Thee and again melts away in Thee. The creation of this Universe shews Thy infinite force. Verily, Thou art become Thyself all these Lokas (regions). During the time of creation Thou createst the two formless elements akâsâ and Vâyu and the three elements with form, fire, water, and earth; then with these Thou createst the whole Universe and shewest this to the Enjoyer Purusa, who is of the nature of consciousness, for His satisfaction. Thou again dost become the material cause of the twentythree (23) Tattvas, Mahat, etc., as enumerated in the Sânkhya system and appearest to us like a mirage.

32. O Mother! Were it not for Thee, no object would be visible, Thou pervadest the whole Universe. It is for this reason that those persons that are wise declare that even the Highest Purusa can do no work without Thy aid.

33-34. O Devî! Thou createst and art giving satisfaction to the whole Universe by Thy power; again at the time of Pralaya Thou swallowest forcibly all these that are seen. So, O Devî! Who can fathom Thy powers? O Mother! Thou didst save us from the hands of Madhu and Kaitabha. Then Thou hast brought us to this Mani Dvîpa and shewed us Thy own form, all the extended regions and immense powers and given us exquisite delight and joy. This is the highest place of happiness.

35-37. O Mother! When I Myself, S'ankara and Brahmâ or any one of us is unable to fathom Thy inconceivable glory, who else can then ascertain? O Bhavânî! Who knows, how many more than the several regions that we saw reflected in thy nails of Thy feet, exist in Thy creation. O One endowed with infinitely great powers! O Devî! we saw another Visnu, another Hara, another Brahmâ, all of great celebrity in the Universe exhibited by Thee; who knows how many other such Brahmâs, etc., exist in Thy other Universes! Thy glory is infinite. O Mother! I bow down again and again to Thy lotus feet and pray to Thee that may Thy this form exist always in my mind. May my mouth always utter Thy name and may my two eyes see always Thy lotus feet.

38-43. O Revered One! May I remember Thee as my Goddess and may'st Thou constantly look on myself as Thy humble servant. O Mother! What more shall I say than this :-- May this relation as mother and son always exist between Thee and me. O World-Mother! There is nothing in this world that is not known to Thee for Thou art omniscient. So O Bhavânî! What more shall my humble self declare to Thee! Now dost Thou do whatever Thou desirest. O Devî! The rumour goes that Brahmâ is the Creator, Visnu is the Preserver, and Mahes'vara is the Destroyer! Is this true? O Eternal One! It is through Thy Will power, through Thy force, that we create, preserve and destroy. O Daughter of the Himalaya mountain! The earth is supporting this Universe; it is Thy endless might that is holding all this made of five elements. O Grantress of boons! It is through Thy power and lustre that the Sun is lustrous and becomes visible. Though Thou art the attributeless Self, yet by Thy Mâyic power Thou appearest in the form of this Prapancha Universe. When Brahmâ, Mahes'a, and I myself take birth by Thy power and are not eternal, what more can be said of Indra and other Devas than this that they are mere temporary things and created. It is only Thou that art Eternal, Ancient Prakriti and the Mother of this Universe. O Bhavânî! Now I realise from my remaining with Thee, that it is Thou that dost impart, out of mercy, the Brahmâ vidyâ to the ancient Purusa; and thus He can realise His eternal nature. Otherwise He will remain always under delusion that He is the Lord, He is the Purusa without beginning, that He is good and the Universal Soul, and thus suffers under various forms of egoism (Ahamkâra).

Thou art the Vidyâ of the intelligent persons and the S’akti of the beings endowed with force; Thou art Kîrtî (fame), Kânti (lustre), Kamalâ (wealth) and the spotless Tusti (peace, happiness). Amongst men, Thou art the dispassion, leading to Mukti (complete freedom from bondage). Thou art the Gâyatri, the mother of the Vedas; and Thou art Svahâ, Svadhâ, etc. Thou art the Bhâgavatî, of the nature of the three Gunas; Thou art the half mâtrâ (half the upper stroke of a letter), the fourth state, transcending the Gunas. It is Thou that givest always the S’âstras for the preservation of the Devas and the Brâhmanas. It is Thou that hast expanded and manifested this whole phenomenon of the visible Universe for the liberation of the embodied souls (Jîvas), the parts of the pure holy Brâhman, the Full, the Beginningless, the Deathless, forming the waves of the lnfinite expanse of ocean. When the Jîva comes to know internally and becomes thoroughly conscious that all this is Thy work, Thou createst and destroyest, that all this is Thy Mâyic pastime, false, like the parts of an actor in a theatrical play, then and then only he desists for ever from his part in this Theatre of world. O Mother! O Destroyer of the greatest difficulties! I always take refuge unto Thee. Thou dost save me from this ocean of Samsâra, full of Moha (delusion). Let Thou be my Saviour when my end will come, from these infinitely troublesome and unreal pains arising from love and hatred. Obeisance to Thee! O Devî! O Mahâ vidyâ! I fall prostrate at Thy feet. O Thou, the Giver of all desires! O Auspicious One! Dost Thou give the knowledge that is All-Light to Me.

Thus ends the fourth chapter of the Third Skandha on the hymns to the Great Devî by Visnu in the Mahâpurâna S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 5. On The Chanting Of Hymns By Hara And Brahmâ

1. Brahmâ said :-- O Nàrada! Thus speaking, Visnu stopped; Sankara, the Destroyer, then stepped in and, bowing down to the Devî said :--

2. S’iva said :-- O Devî! If Hari be born by Thy power and the lotus-born Brahmâ have come into existence from Thee, why, then, I who of Tamo Guna be not born of Thee! O Auspicious One! Thou art clever in creating all the Lokas! What wonder is there in My being created by Thee.

3. O Mother! Thou art the earth, water, air, âkâsa and fire. Thou art, again, the organs of senses and the organs of perception; Thou art Buddhi, mind and Ahankâra (egoism).

4. Those who say that Hari, Hara, and Brahmâ are respectively the Preserver, the Destroyer and the Creator of this whole Universe do know anything. All the three, above mentioned, are created by Thee; then they perform always their respective functions; their sole refuge being Thyself.

5. O Mother! If the Universe be created of the five elements, earth, air, ether, fire, and water, having the properties of touch, taste, etc., then how these five elements possessing attributes and of the nature of effects, can come into manifestation, without their being born from Thy Chit portion (Intelligence)?

6. O Auspicious Mother! It is Thou in the shape of Brahmâ, Visnu and S’iva, That art creating this Universe and it is Thou that hast assumed the form of this whole Universe, moving and non-moving. Thus Thou playest, as it wills Thee, under various forms, again and again. Thou dost cease from play (during pralaya) as it likes Thee.

7. O Mother! When Brahmâ, Visnu and I become desirous to create the world, we execute our duties by taking the dust (earth, etc.) of Thy lotus feet.

8. O Mother! It it were not Thy mercy, then how Brahmâ could have become endowed with Rajoguna, Visnu with Sattvaguna and I with Tamoguna?

9. O Mother! If there were no differences observed in Thy mind, then why hast Thou created in this world rich and poor, king and councillors, servants, etc., various classes of beings? Why hast Thou not created all alike happy or all alike miserable?

10. So Thou wilt have to show Thy mercy towards me. Thy three gunas are capable at all times to create, preserve and destroy the world; then Hari, Hara and Brahmâ, whom Thou hast created as the cause of the three worlds, is simply Thy will.

11-12. O Bhavâni! If Thy Gunas had no power in the acts of creation, etc., then how can the fact that while we three Hari, Brahmâ and I were coming in the aeroplane, we saw on our way new worlds created by Thee, become possible? Kindly dost Thou say on this. O World-Mother! It is Thou that desirest to create, preserve, and destroy this world by Thy part Mâyik power. Thou art always enjoying with Purusa, Thy husband. O S’iva! We cannot fathom Thy inscrutable ways.

13-15. O auspicious one! How can we understand Thy sport? O Mother! We are transformed into young women before Thee; let us serve Thy lotus feet. If we get our manhood, we will be deprived from serving Thy feet and thus of the greatest happiness. O Mother! O Sire! I do not like to leave Thy lotus feet and get my man-body again and reign in the three worlds. O Beautiful faced one! Now that I have got this youthful feminine form before Thee, there is not a trace of desire within me to get again my masculine form. What use is there in getting manhood, what happiness is there if I do not get sight of Thy lotus-feet!

16-18. O Mother! Let this unsullied fame of mine be spread over in the three worlds that I have got, in this young womanly form, the chance of serving Thy lotus feet that has got this effect that the idea of world goes away. Who is there that will leave Thy service and desire to enjoy the foeless kingdom in the world? Oh! even a moment appears a Yuga to him who has not got Thy lotus feet with him! O Mother! Those that leave the worship of Thy lotus feet and become engaged in performing tapasyâ are certainly deprived of the best thing by the Creator, though their minds be pure and holy. Their power from their Tapasyâ may be acquired and they be entitled for Mukti; yet they get dire defeat from not having Thee.

19. O Unborn One! Austerities, control of passions, enlightenment or performance of sacrifices, as ordained in the Vedas, nothing can save, from this ocean of Samsâra. It is the devotional worship only of Thy lotus feet that can make one attain the Beatitude. O Devî! If Thou be extremely merciful towards me, then initiate me in that wonderful holy mantra of Thine; I will repeat that omnipotent par-excellent nine-lettered mantra of the Chandikâ Devî and be happy.

20-26. O Mother! In my former birth I got the nine-lettered mantra but now I have forgotten it O Tarinî! O Saviour! Give me today that mantra and save me from this ocean of world. Brahmâ said :-- When S’iva of wonderful fire and energy, said this, the Devî Ambikâ clearly uttered the nine lettered mantra. Mahâdeva accepted the mantra and became very glad. He fell down at the feet of the Devî, and then and there began to repeat the nine-lettered mantra together with Vîja (seed) that yields desires and liberation and can be easily pronounced. When I saw S'ankara, the Auspicious One to all the Lokas, in that state, I fell down also at the feet of the Devî and spoke to Mahâ Mâyâ :-- O Mother! It is not that the Vedas are unable to ascertain Thy nature; for, in the performances of sacrifices and other minor actions, they do not mention Thy full Nature, the Ordainer of all but mention simply Indra and minor deities and Svâhâ Devî, a portion of Thy essence as the presiding deities of the sacrificial offerings and oblations. So, O Devî! It is Thou that hast been extolled in this Universe as the Universal Consciousness, all knowing and transcending all the Devas and all the Lokas.

Note :-- The nine lettered mantra is “Om Hrîm S'rîm Chandikâyai namah.”

27. I have created this greatly wondrous Universe; I am the Lord of this Brahmânda. Who is there more powerful than me in these three worlds? When I am Brahmâ, transcending all the Lokas, then I am blessed; there is no doubt in this. By reason of this vanity I am plunged in this widely extended ocean of Samsàra.

28-31. That now I have been able to get the dust of Thy lotus feet, has now made me really proud; and truly I am blessed today and by Thy grace this manifestation of pride on my part has become quite justified. Thou destroyest the fear of this Samsâra and givest Mukti. So, O Goddess! pray unto Thee that Thou dost cut asunder this iron chain of my delusion, full of great troubles and make me devoted to Thee. O Auspicious One! I am born from the lotus discovered by Thee; now I am extremely anxious how I can get Mukti. I am Thy obedient servant; I am merged in the delusion of this ocean of world. Save me O S’iva! from this Samsâra. Those who do not know Thy character, think that I am the Creator and Lord of this Universe; those, who do not worship Thee and worship Indra and other Devas and perform sacrifices to attain Heaven are certainly ignorant of Thy glory. O Prime Mâyâ! Thou art the Eternal Mahâ Mâyâ! It is Thou that dost want to play this worldplay, and for that purpose hast created me as Brahmâ. Then I created these four sorts of beings, engendered by heat and moisture (said of insects and worms), those that are oviparous, those that are sprung from germs or shoots, and those that are born from womb, viviparous and exhibit my pride “That I am omniscient” So forgive this sin of mine, this my pride.

32-37. O Mother ! Those ignorant persons blinded by passion, who take recourse to the eight-fold Yoga and Samâdhi and labour under it, do not know for certain, they would get Moksa, if they utter Thy name, even under a pretext. O Bhavânî! are they not deluded by error and blinded by passion for this world, who discriminate only the Tattvas (essences) and forget Thy name? For it is Thou that dost give Mukti from this world. O Thou Unborn! Can Hari, Hara, etc., and other ancient persons who have realised the highest Truth, forget, even for a second Thy holy character and Thy names S’iva, Ambikâ, S'akti, Isvarî and others? Canst Thou not create, by Thy glance merely, this fourfold creation? In fact, for mere recreation and will, it is Thou that hast made me as a Creator from the earliest times. Is it not that Thou didst save Hari in the ocean from the two Daityas Madhu and Kaitabha? Is it not again the fact that Thou destroyest Hara even who is the great destroyer, when Thou dissolvest the creation? Otherwise why is it that Hara becomes born from my eye-brows at the time of fresh creation? So Hari is not the Preserver of all. Hara is not the Destroyer of all. Had they been such, why would they be preserved and destroyed respectively by Thee? So Thou alone art the Creatrix and Preservatrix of all. O Bhavânî; no one has heard of or seen Thee taking birth; nobody knows whence Thou art born. Thou art, indeed, the One and only S'akti! Only the four Vedas can make one understand Thy Nature. O Mother! It is only by Thy help that I am able to create this creation; Hari, to preserve; and Hara, to destroy.

Without Thy aid, we are able to do nothing. There is nobody, in this world, born or that was born or that will be born, who does not become doubtful as we are. This Thine wondrously variegated Universe, full of Thy Lîlâ, consisting in variety, is the common ground of dispute of the imperfect intellects; who are not deluded here! In this Samsârâ, full of things, visible and invisible, there is another one who is more ancient than Thee; there is another Highest Person who is Thy substratum. If it be argued nicely, it will be seen that there is no other third Person that can be proved as far as evidences or proofs go to measure it. The wise persons, knowing all the laws, declare that there is the One God attributeless, inactive, without any object in view, without any upâdhis or adjunct without any parts, who is the witness of Thy widely extended Leelâ “One alone exists; and that is Brahmân, and there is nothing else.” This is the saying of the Vedas. Now I feel in my mind a doubt as to the discrepancy with this Veda saying. I cannot say that the Veda is false. So I ask Thee :-- Art Thou the Brahmân, the one and the secondless that is mentioned in the Vedas? or Is the other Person Brahmâ? Kindly solve this doubt of mine. My mind is not completely free from doubts; this little mind is still discussing whether the Reality is dual or one; I cannot solve myself. So dost Thou say from Thy mouth and cut my doubts asunder. Whether Thou art male or female, describe in detail to me. So that, knowing the Highest S'akti, I be freed from this ocean Samsâra.

Thus ends the fifth chapter of the Third Skandha on the chanting of hymns by Hara and Brahmâ in the Mahâ Purânam S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On The Description Of The Devî’s Vibhutis (Powers)

1-10. Brahmâ said :-- When I thus asked with great humility, the Devî Bhâgavatî, the Prime S'akti, She addressed me thus in the following sweet words :-- There is oneness always between me and the Purusa; there is difference whatsoever at any time between me and the Purusa (Male, the Supreme Self). Who is I, that is Purusa; who is Purusa, that is I. The difference between force and the receptacle of force is due to error. He who knows the subtle difference between us two, is certainly intelligent; he is freed from this bondage of Samsâra; there is no manner of doubt in this. The One Secondless Eternal ever-lasting Brahmâ substance becomes dual at the time of creation. As a lamp, though one, becomes two by virtue of adjuncts; as a face, though one, becomes two, as reflected in a mirror; as one man becomes double by his shadow, we become reflected into many, by virtue of different Antah Karanas (mind, buddhi, and ahankâra) created by Mâyâ. The necessity of creation, again and again, after the Prâkriti Pralayas is due to the fructification of those Karmas of the Jîvas, whose fruits were not enjoyed before the Pralayas ; so when creation again commences, the above said differences are found to appear; Brahmâ is the material cause of these changes; without Brahmâ as the basis, the existence of Mâyâ is simply impossible. It is therefore that in Mâyâ and Mâyâ's action, Brahmâ is interwoven. For this reason as many differences are found in Mâyâ, so many differences exist in Brahmâ.

The Mâyâ and Brahmâ appear as two and hence all the differences, visible and invisible, have come forth. Only during creation are these differences conceived. When everything melts away, i.e., there comes the Pralaya or general dissolution, then, I am not female, I am not male, nor I am hermaphrodite. I then remain as Brahmâ with Mâyâ latent in it. During the time of creation I am S’rî (wealth), Buddhi (intellect), Dhriti, (fortitude). Smriti (recollection), Sraddhâ (faith), Medhâ (intelligence), Dayâ (mercy), Lajjâ (modesty), Kshudhâ (hunger), Trishnâ (thirst), Kshamâ (forgiveness), Akshamâ (non-forgiving), Kânti (lustre), Sânti (peace), Pipâsâ (thirst), Nidrâ (sleep) Tandrâ (drowsiness), Jarâ (old age), Ajarâ (non old-age), Vidyâ (knowledge), Avidyâ (non-knowledge), Sprihâ (desires), Vânchhâ (desires), S'akti (force), As'akti (non-force), Vasâ (fat), Majjâ (marrow), Tvak (skin), Dristi (sight), Satyâsatya Vâkya (true and untrue words) and it is I that become Parâ, Madhyamâ, Pas'yanti, etc., the innumerable Nâdis (tubular organs of the body, e. g., arteries, veins, intestines, blood vessels, pulses, etc.); there are three koti and a half Nâdis (35 millions of Nadis).

11-13. O Brahmâ! See what substance is there in this Samsâra, that is separate from Me? And what can you imagine with which I am not connected? So know this as certain that I am these all forms. O Creator! Say, is there any such thing, where you will not see my above mentioned positive form? So, in this creation, I am one, and I am many as well, in various forms. Know this as certain that it is I, that assuming the names of all the various Devas, exist in so many forms of S'aktis. It is I that manifest power and wield strength.

14-27. O Brahmâ! I am Gaurî, Brâhmî, Raudrî, Vârâhî, Vaisnavî, S’iva, Vâruni, Kauverî, Nâra Sinhî, and Vâsavî S'aktis. I enter in every substance, in everything of the nature of effect. Making that Purusa the instrument, I do all the actions (rather Purusa is the efficient cause, the immediate agent). I am the coolness in water, the heat in fire, the lustre in the Sun, the cooling rays in the Moon; and thus I manifest my my strength. O Brahmâ! Verily, I tell you this as certain that this universe becomes motionless, if it be abandoned by Me. If I leave S'ankara, he will not be able to kill the Daityas. A very weak man is declared to be as without any strength; he is not said to be without Rudra, or without Visnu, nobody says like this; everyone says, he is without strength, without S'akti. Those who get fallen, tumbled, afraid, quiet, or under one's enemies are called powerless; no one says that this man is Rudraless and so forth. So the creation that you perform, know S’akti, power to be the cause thereof. When you will be endowed with that S’akti, you will be able to create this whole Universe. Hari, Rudra, Indra, Agni, Chandra, Sûrya, Yama, Vis'vakarmâ, Varuna Pavana, and other Devas all are able to do their karmas, when they are united respectively with their S'aktis. This Earth, when united with S’akti, remains fixed and becomes capable to hold all the Jîvas and beings. And if this Earth be devoid of force, She cannot hold an atom even.

Thus Ananta, Kurma and all the other elephants of the eight points of the compass, become able to do their respective works, only by My help (when united with Me, the Force). O Lotus born! If I wish I can drink all the fire and waters today and I can hold wind in check. I do whatever I wish. If I say that I am creating this world then the inconsistency arises thus :-- “When I am everything, then I am being eternal, all this universe, made up of Prapancha, becomes eternal.” (Whereas this universe is not eternal in the sense that it is changing.) If it were said that this universe is different from Me, then My saying  that I am everything becomes inconsistent. Thinking thus, do not plunge yourself in the doubt as to the reality and origin and separateness of the non-eternal universe. For what is unreal, how can that come into existence? The unreal substances can never come into existence; as the child of a barren woman, the flowers in the sky are simply absurd. What is real can only be born. In discussing about origin, birth, etc., the appearance and disappearance of real things is called their birth and dissolution. In the cold of earth there exists the previous existence of the jar and this is the cause of the appearance of the jar; the disappearance of the jar exists in the jar; hence this disappearance is the cause of the destruction of the jar. Thus the appearance and disappearance of the causal eternal things are called the Origin and Pralaya. Similarly in discussing on the causal nature, there does not arise an inconsistency in My being everything.

28-48. So there is nothing to fear. In discussing about the reality of effects, this is to be conceived, that today there does not exist here the earth in the form of jar, if it is destroyed, where it has gone? The conclusion is that the earth in the form of jar exists in atoms. O Brahmâ! All substances eternal, existing for a moment only, the void, and the substances of the nature, real and unreal both, all are due to a cause.

Ahankâra is born first among them. Thus substances are of seven kinds: Mahat, etc. O Unborn One! Mahattattva first arises from Prakriti; from Mahattattva springs Ahamkâra; and from Ahamkâra arises other substances. Thus, in this order, you go on creating this Universe. O Brahmâ! Now you better go to your respective places, and after creating the Universe, remain there and perform your respective functions ordained by Prârabdha. Take this beautiful great S’akti Mahâ Sarasvatî, full of Rajoguna, and of a smiling nature. This S'akti, wearing white clothes, adorned with divine ornaments and sitting on Varâsana, will always be your playmate. This beautiful woman will always be your boon companion; consider Her as My bibhuti (manifestation of power), and so most worshipful. Never show any sort of disrespect towards Her. Take Her and go immediately to Satyaloka; and from the seed of Mahattattva, create the fourfold beings from these. The subtle bodies (Linga sarîra) and Karmas are remaining mixed up with each other. Separate them, as before, duly, in due time.

Now go on as before and according to Kâla (time), Karma, and Svabhâva (nature), join them with their respective attributes (sounds and other qualities); in other words bestow fruits according to their gunas and Karmas (Prârabdhas), and to the time when these fruits are due.

Visnu is prominent in Sattvaguna and hence superior to You. So You should always respect and worship Him. Whenever any difficulty will come to you, Visnu will come down on earth to fulfil your ends. Janârdan Visnu will sometimes be born in the wombs of birds and animals, be sometimes in the wombs of men and destroy the Dânavas. The highly powerful Mahâ Deva, too, will help you. Now create the Devas and enjoy as you like. The Brâhmanas, Kshattriyas, and Vaisyâs will worship you, with devotion, in various sacrifices, endowed with due sacrificial fees. All the Devas will be always satisfied when my name “Svâhâ” will be uttered in the sacrificial oblations and ceremonies.

S’iva, the incarnate of Tamo guna will be revered and worshipped by all persons in every sacrifice. When the Devas will be frightened by the Daityas, then Vârâhî, Vaisnavî, Gaurî, Nara Simhî, S’achî, S'iva and My other S’aktis will take excellent bodies and destroy your fear. So, O Lotus-born! Be at your ease and do work. You utter and repeat my nine-lettered mantra with Vîja and Dhyân and do your work.

O highly intelligent one! This nine-lettered mantra is the best of all the mantras. You are to keep this mantra, within your heart, for the accomplishment of all your ends.

Thus saying to me, Bhagavatî smiled and began to say to Visnu :-- O Visnu! Take this beautiful Mahâ Laks'mî and go. She will always reside within your breast; there is no doubt in this. This all auspicious giving S’akti I give to you for your enjoyment.

You should always shew respect to Her; never show hatred or contempt. For the good of the world, I unite thus Laks'mî and Nârâyan. For your sustenance I create Yajña. You three will act together in harmony unanimously.

You, Brahmâ and S’iva are my three Devas, born of my Gunas. You three will undoubtedly be respected and worshipped by the world.

The stupid man who will find any difference between you three, will go to hell; there is no doubt in this. He who is Hari, is S’iva; He who S’iva is Hari; to make difference between these will lead one to hell. So Brahmâ is one and the same with S’iva and Visnu; there no manner of doubt in this. O Visnu! But there are other differences in their Gunas; I will tell this; listen, as far as meditation of the Supreme Self is concerned you will have Sattva Guna predominant within you; and Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna will be secondary. In various other pursuits and Vikâras (changes) better have Rajo Guna with Laks'mî and always enjoy Her.

49-85. O Lord of Ramâ! I give you Vâkvîja, Kâmavîja, and Mâyâvîja that will lead you to the highest end. Take this Mantra and repeat it and enjoy as you like. O Visnu! By this, the danger of death, caused Kâla, will never come to you. When the creation of this Universe will be completely done I will then destroy this whole thing, moving and non-moving. You all will then be dissolved in Me. You should add pranava this mantra with Kâmavîja leading to Moksa and repeat it always with auspicious motives. O Purusottama! Build your Vaikunthapurî; live there and think of this My Eternal Form and enjoy as you like.

Brahmâ said :-- Saying thus to Vâsudeva, that Higher Prakriti Devî who is all of the three Gunas and yet transcending them, began to address Mahâ Deva, the Deva of the Devas, in sweet words, thus :-- O Sankara! Accept this beautiful Mahâ Kâlî Gaurî, build a new Kailàs'a city and live there happily. Your primary Gunas will be Tamas; Sattva and Rajas will be your secondary Gunas. Have recourse to Rajo and Tamo Gunas while you slay the Asuras and thus wander.

O sinless S’ankara! Have recourse to peaceful Satto Guna, when you reflect on the Supreme Self and practise austerities. You all are for creating, preserving and destroying the Universe and you are all of the three Gunas. There is no such thing in this world as are devoid of these three Gunas. Everything, that is visible, is endowed with the three Gunas, and whatever will be or was before cannot exist without them. Only the Supreme Self is without these Gunas; but He is not visible. O Sankara! I am the Parâ Prakriti; at times I appear with Gunas; and at others I remain without any Gunas. O S’ambhu! I am always of the causal nature; never I am of the nature of effect. When I am causal, I am with Gunas; and when I am before the Highest Purusa, I am, then, without any Gunas on account of my remaining in the state of equilibrium (Sâmyâ vasthâ). Mahattattva, Ahamkâra, and sound, touch, etc., all the Gunas perform the work of Samsâra, day and night, each preceding one being the cause and each subsequent one being the effect; never do they cease in their activities.

From the Reality (Sat vastu) springs Ahamkâra (Avyakta); therefore I am of the nature of causality; again Ahamkâra is embodied with the three Gunas, and so the Pundits call it as an effect of mine. From Ahamkâra arises Mahattattva; this is denominated as Buddhi. So Mahattattva is the effect and Ahamkâra is its cause. From Mahattattva arises again another Ahamkâra; from this second Ahamkâra arise the five Tanmâtrâs or the subtle elements. From these five Tanmâtrâs, the five gross elements arise after a process called Panchîkarana. From the Sâttvika part of the five Tanmâtrâs, arise the five organs of perception; from their Râjasik part, the five organs of action come; from their Panchîkarana, came the five gross elements; from the Sâttvika portion of all the five elements comes mind. Thus sixteen things come into existence. These organs of perception, etc., and other effects together with the Mahâ bhûtas form one Gana, composed of the sixteen categories. The original Purusa is the Supreme Self; He is neither cause nor is He any effect. O S’ambhu! At the beginning of the creation, all the above things are born in the way already indicated. Thus I have described to you, in brief; about the creation. O Devas! Now get up in your aeroplane and go to your respective places and fulfil your respective duties. Whenever you get into any dire distress, then remember Me; I will appear before you. O Devas! You should remember always the Eternal Supreme Self and Me. When you will remember us both, all your actions, will, no doubt, be crowned with success.

Brahmâ said :-- Bhagavatî Durgâ gave us S’aktis, full of Divine beauty and lustre; She gave Mahâ Laksmî to Visnu, Mahâ Kâli to S’iva, and Mahâ Sarasvatî to me and bade good bye to us. Thus given farewell to by the Devî, we three went to another place and were born as males. We thought of the very wonderful nature and influence of the Devî and we got upon our divine aeroplane. When we ascended, we saw there was no Manidvîpa, there was no Devî, there was no ocean of nectar, nothing whatsoever. Save our aeroplane, we did not see anything. We then got into our wide aeroplane and reached there where Visnu killed the two indomitable Daityas, in the great ocean, where I was born from the lotus.

Thus ends the Sixth Chapter of the Third Skandha on the description of the Devî's Vibhutis (powers) in the Mahâpurânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsî Veda Vyâs.

Chapter 7. On The Creation And The Tattvas And Their Presiding Deities

1.O Brahmâ said :-- Nârada! Thus we three I, Visnu, and Mahâdeva saw that highly effulgent Goddess: we also saw separately Her attendant goddesses, one after another, that form, as it were, a veil to her? Who were also preeminently grand.

2-3. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Nârada, the foremost of the Munis, hearing thus his father's words, was exceedingly pleased and asked :-- O Grandsire of all the Lokas! Now describe in detail that ancient and indestructible undecaying, unchangeable, eternal Purusa, that is Nirguna (free from Prâkritic qualities) that you have seen and realised.

4. Father! You have seen the S’akti (the Prime Energy) personified the Saguna energy, the Supreme Goddess, having hands and feet; but cannot understand of what kind is that Nirguna S’akti which cannot be seen and which is devoid of all Prâkritic qualities.

O Lotus-born! Be good enough to describe to me the real nature of that Prakriti and Purusa and thus satisfy me.

5-6. O Lord of Creation! I practised severe austerities in the Svetadvîpa (white island), so that I might realise and see the Nirguna Highest Self and the Nirguna S’akti, the Supreme Goddess; I saw there many other Mahatmâs (high class spiritual persons) who attained siddhis (supernatural powers) practise Tapasyâ with their passions and anger conquered. But I did not realise nor did I see anything about that Nirguna Highest Self. Father, I was not despaired; again and again I continued with my ascetic practices; but still I failed.

7. Father, you have been so successful as to see that beautiful S’akti with qualities; I have heard about Her from you, but how and of what sort, is that invisible attributeless energy as well as that Nirguna Purusa. Please narrate and explain all these and satisfy my desires that always reign in my breast.

8. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus asked by Nârâda, the Lord of creation, the grandsire of the Lokas, smiled, and began to speak the truth in the following words :--

9. O best of Munis! The form of the Nirguna Purusa (the Supreme Spirit beyond the Prâkritic qualities) cannot exist or be visible; for everything that comes within the range of sight is transitory. How can, then, that Eternal Spirit have form and how can He become visible!

10. O Nârada! The Nirguna Energy or Nirguna Purusa comes not easily within the range of knowledge; but both of them can be realised by the Munis in their meditation in their consciousness.

11. Prakriti and Purusa have no beginning nor end; they can be realised only through faith; those that have no faith can never realise them.

12. Nârada! The universal consciousness, that is felt in all the beings, know that as the Highest Self; the Energy that is universal and is seen always in all the beings, know that as the Highest Self.

13. O blessed one! That Purusa and Prakriti pervade everywhere and exist in all the things; in this Universe nothing can exist without the presence of both of them.

14. Both of them are the highest intelligent self, nirguna (free from all material qualities), without any tinge of impurity, and undecaying. The one form that is a combination of these two is always to be meditated in the heart.

15. What is S’akti (energy) is the Highest Self; what is the Highest Self is the Highest S’akti. O Nârada! Nobody can ascertain the subtle difference between these two.

16. O Nârada! Merely the study of all the S’âstras and the Vedas with their Amgas without renunciation does not enable one to ascertain the difference between these two.

17. O Child! This whole universe, moving and non-moving, comes out of Ahamkâra (egoism). How can one ascertain the above difference even if he tries for one hundred kalpas, unless one frees oneself from Ahamkâra.

18. The Jîvas are Saguna (with qualities), how can the Sagunas see the Nirguna One with their physical eyes? Therefore O Intelligent one! try to see the Saguna (Brahmâ) only within your heart (until you free yourself from the material qualities and thus be fit to realise the Nirguna Brahmâ).

19-20. O best of Munis! If the tongue (organ of taste) and eyes (organ of sight) be affected with over biliousness, the pungent taste and the yellow colour do not appear what it appeared before; so the hearts of Jîvas, overpowered with material qualities, are quite unfit for realisation of the Nirguna Brahmân. O Nârada! That heart again has come out of Ahamkâra; how can then that heart be free from Ahamkâra?

21. Until one becomes able to cut asunder all connections with qualities, the seeing of that Nirguna Brahmâ is impossible. No sooner one is totally free from Ahamkâra, than the Nirguna Brahmâ is at once seen by him within his heart.

22-24. Nârada said :-- O best of the Devas! Ahamkâra is three-fold, Sâtvik, Râjasik and Tâmasik; describe in detail the differences between these three sub-divisions as well the real nature of the Gunas. Also describe to me about that knowledge, knowing which will lead to my salvation. Also describe, in detail, the characteristics of the several Gunas, in due order.

25-26. Brahmâ said :-- O Sinless one! The energy of Ahamkâra is of three kinds :-- Jnâna S’akti, Kriyâ S’akti, and Artha or Dravya S’akti. The power by which knowledge is produced or obtained is the Sâttvic Ahamkâra; the power by which action or activity or motion is produced is the Râjasic Ahamkâra; and that by which the material things or objects of have senses are generated is called the Tâmasic Ahamkâra. O Nârada! thus I described to you, in due order, the threefold Ahamkâra.

27-30. Now I describe to you their merits and workings in detail; hear. Out of the Dravya S’akti of the Tâmasic Ahamkâra come sound, touch, form, taste and smell. From these five qualities, the five Tanmâtrâs or the five subtle-elements (primary atoms) are produced.

Sound is the quality of Âkâ'sa (ether); touch is the quality of Vâyu (Air); the form is the quality of Agni (fire); the taste is the quality of Jala (water); and the smell is the quality of earth.

O Nârada, these ten gross and subtle materials can, when combined, become endowed with power to work out results in the shape of earth, water, fire, etc., and when the Panchîkarana process is combined, the building of the whole cosmos takes place as a natural consequence of the Tâmasa Ahamkâra, endowed with the energy of generating material substances.

31-34. Now hear what are produced by the Râjasic energy. The five organs of hearing, touch, taste, sight, and smell (ears, skin, tongue, eyes and nose) called the five Jñânendriyas (organs of senses); mouth, hands, feet, anus and the organs of generation called the five Karmendriyas (organs of action); and Prâna, Apâna, Vyâna, Samâna, and Udâna, the five Vâyus. The creation out of these fifteen substances is called the Râjasic energy. Nârada! All these organs of senses and actions endowed with the Kriyâ S’akti, called the Karanas and the materials fashioned out of them are called the chidanuvritti or Mâyâ.

35-38. O Nârada! From the S'âttvik Ahamkâra are produced the five presiding rulers of the five internal organs named Dik (quarters), Vâyu, Sun, Varuna, and the twins Asvini Kumâras and the four presiding rulers of the four fold divisions of Antahkarana (Buddhis, manas, Ahamkâra and chitta) named Moon, Brahmâ, Rudra, and Ksetrajña. Thus the above five organs of senses, the five organs of action, the five Vâyus and mind, these sixteen substances are reckoned as the Sâttvic creation.

39-40. O Child! The Highest Self has two forms; one gross and the other subtle. The formless Self; the Consciousness incarnate, as it were, is the first form. The Seers consider this formless self to be the primary cause (the ultimatum) of all this phenomenal cosmos. (This is only for the best qualified Jñânis, not for others).

The Second Form is the Gross Form for the meditation of the second class qualified persons; thus the sages say. This second form of the Supreme Goddess is conditioned by inherent Mâyâ (time, space and causation); this is also divided into gross and subtle, according as it is the outer or inner body of the second form (and the form suited for the meditation of the third class and the second class devotees).

41. My body is called Sûtrâtmâ; I will now tell you the gross body of Brahmân, the Highest Self.

O Nârada! This my body and soul having the nature of a string or thread is called Hiranyagarbha; this is also the gross body of the Paramâtman; therefore the Paramâtman together with the Sûtrâtmâ, should also be worshipped. O Nârada! I will now describe to you the outer gross body of Brahmân, the Highest Self; hear it attentively; if one hears it with faith and devotion, one is sure to get salvation.

42-43. I have mentioned to you before the five subtle elements, called the five Tanmâtrâs; these, now, when the Panchî Karana process is done, are converted into the five gross elements. Now hear what the Panchî Karana process means :--

44-46. Suppose you are to create the gross element of water. Divide into two equal parts the subtle element of water; divide also the other 4 elements into two equal parts respectively. Now set apart the first half of each of the five elements; divide the second half of each of the elements into four equal parts. Mix the first half of each of the elements with each of the fourth part of the other four elements; and you get one gross element. Similarly you get the other four gross elements. For example :-- You want to get the gross element of water :-- With the half of the subtle element (½) of water mix the fourth part, of the halves of the other elements of ether, fire, air and earth; you get the gross element of water and so on.

When the five gross elements are thus produced, consciousness then enters into these elements as their presiding deities; next comes the feeling of egoism (I ness) identifying itself with the body thus created out of the five elements. (I am this body and so forth).

47. This great “I”, the great consciousness, creating and considering the Cosmos as its body is called the Bhagavân, Âdideva, Nârâyana or Vâisvanara.

48. When, by the Panchîkarana process, the five gross elements, earth, ether, air, etc., are solidified and get their clear definite forms, one, two, three, four, five, qualities are seen to exist in ether, air, fire, water, and earth, respectively.

49-51. Thus ether has one quality only - that is sound: the air has got two qualities - sound and touch; the fire possesses three qualities - sound, touch, and form; the water has got four qualities - sound, touch, form and taste; the earth has got five qualities - sound, touch, form, taste and smell, and by the various combinations of these five gross elements, is produced this grand Cosmos, the great body of Brahmân.

52. Similarly the sum-total of Jîvâs is produced from the several parts of the whole Brahmânda; these Jîvâs are eighty four lakhs; so the sages say.

Thus ends the Seventh Chapter of the Third Skandha of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, on the creation and the Tattvas and their presiding Deities.

Note :Of these Jîvâs, those who are the best qualified, the Uttamâdhikâris, are known as the Brahmânas, Jânaghana Tûrîyas, as denoted by Om Hrîm; the middlings have their gross, subtle and causal bodies and are called as Brahmâ Vais'vânara, Sûtra, Hiranyagarbhas; and the third class is known as Vis'va, Taijasa. and Prâjñas and forms the body, as it were, of the Brahmân. There are others also, animals, etc., in the lowest class.

Chapter 8. On The Gunas And Their Forms

1. Brahmâ said :--O Nârada! I have described to you what you asked me just now about the creation of this universe, etc. Now hear with attention the colour of the three qualities, as well their configuration and how they are seen to exist.

2-3. The Sattva Guna is the source of pleasure and happiness; and when happiness comes, everything seems delightening. When integrity, truthfulness, cleanliness, faith, forgiveness, fortitude, mercy, bashfulness, peace and contentment arise in one's heart, know certainly that there has arisen firmly the Sattva Guna in that man.

4. The colour of the Sattva quality is white; it makes one always like religion, and have faith towards good purposes and discard one's tendencies towards bad objects.

5. The Risis, the seers of truth classify Sraddhâ (faith) under the three headings: Sâttvik, Râjasik and Tâmasik.

6. The quality Rajas is of red colour, wonderful and is not pleasant; it is the source of all troubles; there is no doubt in this.

7-8. The intelligent should understand that Rajas has certainly arisen in him, when his mind is filled with hatred, enmity, quarrelsome feeling, pride, stupification, uneasiness, sleeplessness, want of faith, egoism, vanity and arrogance.

9-11. The quality Tamas is of black colour. From Tamas arises laziness, ignorance, sleep, poverty, fear, quarrels, miserliness, insincerity, anger, aberration of intellect, violent atheism, and finding fault with others. The wise should think that Tamas has overpowered him when the above qualities are found to possess him. When this Tamas quality is attended with the Tâmasî faith, then it becomes the source of pain to others.

12. The well wishers should manifest in themselves the Sattva qualities, control the Râjasic qualities, and destroy the Tâmasic qualities.

13. These three qualities are always found to remain intermingled with another, and each of them has always an inherent tendency to overcome the others; and therefore they are always, as it were, at war with another. They never have a separate existence from one another.

14. Never is found anywhere only one Sattva quality to the exclusion of others, the Rajas and Tamas; similar is the case with the Rajas or Tamas. They remain intermingled and depend on one another.

15. O Nârada! Now hear, in detail, which two qualities remain in twins, knowing which, one is freed from this ocean of the transmigration of existence.

16. I have realised these; therefore you ought not to have any uncertainties on these points. The reality of these is especially felt, when it is really understood and when its effects begin to manifest themselves.

17. O high-minded! No one is able to realise these at once; it requires be heard, and then meditated upon. It also depends on one's natural capability and merits, due to the past actions.

18-21. Suppose one hears of the sacred places of pilgrimages and is filled with the Râjasic devotion. He goes out to those places and sees what he had heard before. There he performs his ablutions, makes offerings and the Râjasic gifts, stays there for some time; but all this he does under the influence of the Râjasic quality. And when he returns home, he finds himself not free from lust, anger, love and hatred; he remains the same that he was before. Therefore, in this case, O Nârada! man hears but he does not realise the purifying effects of those holy places. O best of Munis! And when he does not find any benefit from the holy place of pilgrimage, it is equivalent to his not at all hearing of the place.

22. O best of Munis! The effect of visiting the sacred places of pilgrimages is then said to accrue to any individual, when he becomes freed from his sins, just as the fruit of cultivating fields is then said to occur, when the cultivator gets the ripened harvest out of his labour and enjoys the produce of his fields.

23. O Nârada! Lust, anger, covetousness, delusion, thirst, hatred, love, vanity, malice, jealousy, non-forgiveness, unrest all these indicate that there is sin; and until these are purged out of one's body and mind, man lives in sin. If the visiting of the sacred places of pilgrimages does not enable one to overcome the above passions, then the labours in going to those places are in vain, i.e., those labours merely are the results just as the toil only undergone by the cultivator is his only result, and is not met with any reward when there is no harvest at all.

24-28. Lo! The cultivator takes hard labour to clear his fields and cultivate the hard soil; he then sows the valuable seeds, because this is considered as doing good. Next, in expectation of the harvest, he undergoes a good deal of pains, day and night, to protect his fields and goes down to sleep, in the cold season, in the forest surrounded by tigers and other dangerous animals; but alas! locusts coming eat away and destroy all the crops, to the utter disappointment of the cultivator. All his labours are spent in vain. So, O Nârada! The labour taken by one in going to the holy places yields pains, and pains only, instead of success and happiness.

29-32. When the Sattva quality grows in abundance, as a consequence of reading the Vedânta and the other S'âstras, dispassion comes towards the Râjasic and the Tâmasic qualities and things, and the Sattva quality overpowers the Rajas and Tamas. Similarly when the Râjasic quality grows in abundance, as a natural consequence of greed and avarice, then it overpowers Sattva and Tamas; so, by delusion, when the Tâmasic quality grows in abundance, it overpowers the Sattva and the Râjasic qualities. O Nârada! I will now speak to you, in detail, about the overpowering of these qualities by one another.

33-35. When the Sattva quality grows in preponderance, the mind rests in religious ideas and things; it no more thinks of those external things, the products of the Rajas and Tamas qualities. Rather it wants to enjoy the Sâttvic things; wealth, religious affairs, sacrifices that can be acquired or performed without any trouble. Then that individual yearns after salvation and renounces his pursuits after the Râjasic and Tâmasic objects.

36. Thus, O Nârada! first try to conquer the Rajas and then the Tamas; then the Sattva becomes pure.

37. When the Râjasic quality grows in preponderance, the individual imbibes the Râjasic faith, abandons his own Sanâtan Dharma (settled eternal religion) and practises against his religious instructions.

38. Under the Râjasic propensities, one is eager to amass wealth and enjoy the Râjasic things. The Rajas drives away the Sattva and curbs the Tamas.

39-41. Nârada! So when the Tâmasic quality grows in preponderance, the faith in the Vedas and in the religious S'âstras entirely disappears. Imbibing the Tâmasic faith, the individual squanders away his wealth and is always engaged in quarrels, and party feelings, envy, violence and never enjoys peace. The individual with the Tâmasic quality in excess overpowers the Râjasic and Sâttvic qualities and becomes angry, wicked, and a great cheat and does everything as he likes, without any regard to his superiors.

42. Nârada! Thus you see that, of these three qualities, no one can remain entirely alone, free from the other qualities. These remain always in twos or threes.

43-44. The Sattva can never exist without the Rajas; the Rajas can never exist without the Tamas; and these two qualities can never exist without Tamas. Again Tamas cannot exist without Rajas and Sattva. These qualities act and react always in twos or threes.

45-47. They never exist separately; they live in pairs or threes and are the originators of each other; these qualities are of the nature of procreating things; in other words, Sattva originates the Rajas or Tamas; again the Rajas originates sometimes Sattva and Tamas. Again the Tamas sometimes originates Sattva and Rajas. Thus they generate each other as the earthen pots and earth are their mutual causes.

48-49. Deva Datta, Visnu Mitra, and Yajña Datta these three united perform any action, so these three qualities united reside in the buddhi (intellect) of the Jîvas and generate their sense perceptions.

Just as the husband and wife get into a couple, the qualities get into couples.

50. The Sattva with Rajas forms the couple Rajas Sattva; so Sattva Rajas forms another couple, where the Sattva predominates. So Sattva end Rajas forms each with Tamas the other couples.

51. Nârada said! O Dvaipâyana! Hearing thus about these three qualities from my father, I asked him again these questions.

Thus ends the eighth chapter of the Mahâ Purânam S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam containing the description of the Gunas, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 9. On The Characteristics Of The Gunas

1-2. Nârada said :-- Father! You have described to me the characteristic of the three qualities; though I have drunk the sweet juice from your lotus like mouth, still I am not quite satisfied. Kindly describe to me, in detail, in due order, how I can recognise clearly the three qualities so that I can get the highest peace of mind.

3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Creator of the world, Brahmâ, originated from the Rajo Guna, asked by his high minded son Nârada, began to speak in the following terms.

4. O Nârada! I myself do not possess fully the complete knowledge of the three qualities; but, as far as I know, I am telling that to you.

5. The pure Sattva quality is not found alone to exist anywhere; it manifests itself always, in mixed condition, in combination with the other qualities.

6-9. As a beautiful woman, well decorated with ornaments and endowed with amorous gestures, gives delight, on the one hand, to her husband, father, mother and friends; and, on the other hand, becomes a source of pain and delusion to her rival wives, so the Sattva quality, personified as a beautiful woman, engenders the Sâttvic happiness of the mind to some individual, at one time, and at another time becomes a source of pain to the same individual (or at one and the same time becomes a source of happiness to one and a source of pain to another.) Thus the Rajas or the Tamas quality, personified respectively as a beautiful woman becomes a source of pain or delusion to an individual at one time, and at another time, a source of happiness to the same man. So it is easily seen that one quality cannot remain single; it remains in union with the other qualities.

Note :-- It is very possible that a man, possessing the Sâttvic quality at any time, can be said not to possess only the Sâttvic quality but also the Rajas and the Tamas to a certain degree. At any subsequent time the Rajas might get preponderance, and that man may be in circumstances requiring money or so forth; but, due to his Sattva quality before hand he did not collect money and therefore he feels pain afterwards. So with the Rajas. Or it may be thus :-- Suppose an earning member is Sâttvic. He earns just sufficient to meet his wants. But his family members require more money, for they are Râjasic. Therefore the earning member is happy for his Sâttvic quality; but the other members are unhappy for his Sâttvic quality. A man is, as it were, wedded to the three wives, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.

10. O Nârada! When the three qualities remain each in their own real natures, then the effects produced by them also remain always the same; no changes are perceived owing to the difference of time or person. But when they get combined, then each of them produces effects sometimes counter to their natures.

11-13. A young beautiful woman, shy, modest and of sweet qualities, well versed in her religious learning, and full of good behaviour, skilled in love practices and full of sweet sentiments becomes a source of loving delight to her beloved and also a source of pain to her rival wives so each of the three qualities assume no doubt, different aspects according to differences in time and in the nature of the person.

O Nârada! As one woman gives pain and delusion to her rival wives and gives pleasure to her husband and friends, so the Sattva quality, when perverted, gives pain and delusion to the persons.

14-19. As the police sepoys and constables are, on the one hand, delight to the saints, troubled by thieves, and, on the other hand, sources of pain and confusion to the thieves and robbers; again as the heavy shower of rain in a pitch dark night, in the rainy season, when the sky over clouded, and when there are flashes of lightning and thunder, is on the one hand, a source of highest delight to a farmer, who has all seeds and necessary things and implements, and, on the other hand is a source of pain to the unfortunate householder, whose house is not yet completely thatched with grass or who has not been able to collect his beams and grass for necessary roofing, and a source of utter bewildering confusion to the young woman, whose husband is abroad expected back at that time, so the three Gunas produce contrary results when perverted by contact with the remaining Gunas, instead what they would have produced, had they not been perverted so.

20-25. O Child! Again I speak to you of the characteristics of the the Gunas. The Sattva guna is pure, clear, illumining, light (not heavy) white. When the senses, eyes, etc., and the limbs are felt very light (without any heaviness) and the heart and brain clear, when there is dispassion towards the Râjasic and the Tâmasic enjoyments, know then that the Sattva quality has grown in preponderance in a body. When there is a tendency to yawn, when there is rigidity and suppression of the functions of faculties and when one feels drowsiness, consider that the Râjasic quality has gone to excess. Again, when one seeks after quarrels and goes to another village, one is always restless and ready to fight, when one feels heaviness in body, as if wrapped by a very heavy darkness, when one's limbs and senses are heavy and obscure, when one's mind is vacant, and when one does not like to go to sleep, know that the Tamas has increased too much, Nârada!

26. Nârada said :-- O Father! You have described the different characteristics of the three Gunas; but I cannot understand how they act all in conjunction?

27. As those who are enemies to one another do not work united, so these Gunas, of opposite characteristics, are enemies, as it were, to one another; how can, then, they act in unison? Kindly explain this to me.

28-30. Brahmâ said :-- O Nârada! The three Gunas may be likened to a lamp. As a lamp manifests a certain object, so these three qualities united do manifest or reveal a certain thing. See the wick, oil, and flame are all of different characteristics; though the oil goes against fire, still it unites with the fire. The oil, wick and fire though running against each other, all these united, serve the one common purpose of illumining, revealing a certain object.

31. So, O Nârada! All the three qualities, though of contrary natures, go to prove the same thing.

Nârada said :-- O Son of Satyavatî! The lotus born Brahmâ thus described the three qualities, as born of Prakriti; and they are the causes of this Universe. What I heard of you about the nature of Prakriti, I have now described before you.

32. Vyâsa said :-- O King! What you asked me, I asked before the same to Nârada and he described thus (as I told you above) to me about the characteristics and the effects of the three Gunas in regular order and in detail.

33. O King! Wherever in the S’âstras whatever is said, the essence of all that is this -- that the Highest Energy, the Supreme Force, the Great Goddess who is pervading the Universe, is always with qualities and without qualities, according to the differences in the manifestation. This Supreme Force is to be worshipped with the highest devotion.

34. The Brahmân, the Purusa (the Supporter, the Ultimate Substratum) the Highest Energy considered as the Male Principle though It is Undecaying, Supreme and Full, is still without any desires or emotions. It is not able to accomplish any action (without the help of its inherent force); this Mahâmâyâ, the Supreme Force is doing all the functions, real and unreal, of the universe.

35-37. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, the Sun, Moon, Indra, the twin Asvins, the Vasus, Visvakarmâ, Kuvera, Varuna, Fire, Air, Pûsâ, the Sadânan, and Ganesa all are united with S’akti and can do their respective functions; else they are unable to move themselves. Therefore O king! Know that Supreme Goddess Mahâmâyâ as the cause of this Universe.

38. O Lord of men! You worship this Goddess, perform sacrifices in honour of Her and worship Her with the highest devotion.

39. O king! That Mahâmâyâ is Mahâ Laksmî, She is Mahâ Kâlî, She is Mahâ Sarasvatî; She is the Goddess of all the bhûtas and She is the Cause of all causes.

40. That all peaceful, easily worshipped and the ocean of mercy, when worshipped, fulfills all the desires of Her devotees; what to say, the mere utterance of Her name is sufficient for the granting of the desires.

41. In days of yore Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara and all the Devas and many other self controlled ascetics worshipped Her to attain liberation.

42. O king! What shall I speak now about Her more than this :-- If one takes Her name even with indistinctness, She grants the desired purposes, even if they are quite unattainable.

43. In the midst of forest, on the sight of tigers and other ferocious animals, if one becoming afraid, cries aloud Her seed mantra (twice) “Ai, Ai” without the Vindu (incorrectly) instead of “Aim, Aim” She grants immediately his desires.

44-45. O best of kings! There is an example of Satyavrata on this point. That the mere utterance of the name of Bhagavatî gives unforeseen results, has been witnessed by us and other high minded Munis. Also in the assembly of the Brâmanas I have heard fully many sages quoting in detail many instances on the above point.

46-47. O king! There was a Brahmân, named Satyavrata, quite illiterate, a thorough block-head. Once he heard the letter “Ai, Ai” being uttered by a pig; and in course of a talk he himself uttered incidentally that letter and thereby became the one of the best Pundits.

N. B. – “Aim” is the seed mantra of Sarasvatî, the Goddess of learning.

48. The Goddess Devî, the Ocean of mercy, hearing the letter “Ai” being pronounced by that Brahmin, became very glad and made him the best of the poets.

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the 3rd Skandha on the characteristics of the Gunas in S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Story Of Satyavrata

1. Janamejaya said :-- O Maharsi! Who was Satyavrata, the Brâhmin whose name you have just taken? In what country was he born? Of what nature was he? Please describe all these to me and satisfy my curiosity?

2. How did he hear that sound “Ai”; how did he repeat that word? How came out the success to him, that illiterate Brâhman, at that very instant?

3. And how is it that that Great Goddess, who is omniscient and omnipresent, was pleased with him, kindly describe this interesting incident in detail.

4. Sûta said :-- Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî, thus asked by the king, addressed in the following pure, sweet, and highly liberal words.

5. Vyâsa said :-- Hear, O king! You are the best and foremost in the Kuru clan; what I before heard in the assembly of the Munis, I am now relating that ancient story, highly beneficial to you.

6. O best of the Kurus! Once in my peregrinations in the holy places of pilgrimages, I came to the Naimisâranya forest, that highly sacred place frequented by the Munis.

7-8. That time there were staying Sanaka, Sanâtana and the other sons of Brâhma who were liberated while living. I went there and bowed down to the Munis and took my seat. Then the religious conversations ensued there in the assembly, when the great sage Maharsi Jamadagni began to question the Munis in the following terms :--

9. O high-minded excellent ascetics and Munis! There has arisen a great doubt in my mind; I am desirous to have that doubt solved in this assembly of the Maharsis.

10-12. O all-knowing Maharsis that have fulfilled your vows! O Givers of one's honour! Now my question is this :-- Of the following Devas Brâhma, Visnu, Rudra, Indra, Varuna, Fire, Kuvera, Wind, Visvakarmâ, Kârtikeya, Ganesa, the Sun, the two As'vins, Bhaga, Pûsâ, Moon, and the other planets, who is the first and best to be worshipped, that can easily be served; who is very quickly satisfied and grants the desired boons; kindly tell me this as early as possible.

13. Thus questioned by the Muni Jamadagni, Maharsi Lomas'a, one in the assembly, spoke :-- O Jamadagni! Hear in reply to your question.

14-15. The Goddess of Energy is the best of the Devas, most excellent and highest to be worshipped. Those who want welfare, they ought to worship this Supreme Force. She is the Parâ Prakriti, the Highest Nature, the Brâhma, conditioned by Mâyâ (Time, space, and causation). She grants all the desires, does good to all, pervades everywhere, and is the Mother of Brâhma and the other high souled Devas. She is the First Prakriti, and is the Root of this gigantic Tree of Universe.

16. If any one calls the Devî in remembrance or distinctly utters Her Name, She fulfills all the desires of the human beings. If anybody worships Her, She is at once filled with mercy and becomes ready to grant boons.

17. O Munis! How, once on a time, at Brâhmin, uttering one letter of Her mystical mantra, obtained Her Grace, I am now describing that most auspicious history before you. Be pleased to hear.

18. Once on a time, there lived in the country of Kosala,[1] a famous Brâhmin, named Deva Datta. He had no issues and therefore started duly according to the prescribed rules a sacrifice called Puttresti for the sake of obtaining children.

19-20. On the banks of the Tamasâ river, the Brâhmin erected a temporary building (or an open shade) for performing the ceremony, and there built an altar and invited the Brâhmins, versed in the Vedas, and clever in performing sacrificial rites. There he placed the fire and began to perform according to the strict rules, the Puttresti sacrifice.

21-22. In that sacrifice, Suhotra, the best of the Munis acted the part of Brâhma (1); Yâjñyavalkya acted the part of Adhvaryu (2); Brihaspati, that of Hotâ (3); Paila, that of Prastotâ (4); Govila, that of Udgâtâ (6); and the other Munis acted as assistants. These all were duly paid their remunerations.

(1) One of the four priests employed at a Soma sacrifice as a superintendent.

(2) Any officiating priest technically distinguished from Hotri, Udgâtri and Brâhman. His duty was to measure the ground, build the altar, prepare sacrificial vessels, to fetch wood and water, light the fire, bring the animal and immolate it and while doing this to repeat the Yajurveda.

(3) A sacrificing priest who offers the oblations. Or one who recites the prayers of the Rigveda at a sacrifice.

(5) One of the four principal priests at a sacrifice, one who chants the hymns of the Sâmaveda.

23-24. The Hotâ Govila, the excellent reciter of the Sâma hymns, began to sing in accented tones called svarita (the accents are three Udâtta, Anudâtta and Svarita) and the Rathantara Sâma in 7 tunes.

Then he began to draw breath frequently; and consequently there was a break in time in the accent of Govila. Seeing this, Deva Datta was angry and immediately said to Govila.

25. Well, Govila, you are the foremost of the Munis and still you are doing your work like a quite illiterate man. I fear obstacles may arise in the getting of my son in this my sacrifice of Puttresti.

26. Govila then became much enraged and told Deva Datta “your son will be illiterate, hypocrite, and dumb.”

27. Behold! Every being is subject to breathing and respiring; it is very hard to control them; there is no fault of mine in the accents of my songs being thus broken; it is strange that you, being intelligent, cannot understand this.

28. Being afraid to hear the curse from Govila, Deva Datta became very sorry and said “O Muni! I have done no serious offence; why are you so offended without any cause. See! The Munis are void of anger and they always give delight to others.”

29-30. O best of Brâhmans! My offence is very trifling; why have you inflicted on me so severe a curse? I was already under the mental agony, since I had no issues; and now you have made me suffer move pain.

31. For the Vedic Pundits declare that it is better not to have any son than to have an illiterate stupid son; the more so, when a Brâhmin's son is illiterate, he is blamed by one and all.

32. An illiterate son is like a S’ûdra or a beast; he is unfit for any action. O Brâhmin! What shall I do with an illiterate son?

33. An illiterate Brâhmin is like a S’ûdra; consequently not an object to be engaged in any act of worship or of gifts, he is not deserving to do any action.

34. A Brâhman, bereft of the knowledge of the Vedas, living in a country is treated as a S’ûdra by the king of the place and is liable to pay taxes.

35. Whoever wants to have any fruit in any action will never invite an illiterate Brâhmin to take his seat in the ceremony relating to the Pitris or the Devas.

36. The king will consider an illiterate Brâhmin as if a S’ûdra and will never engage him in any religious ceremony but will order him to do the work of a farmer in cultivating fields.

37. Rather to perform the funeral ceremonies by erecting a Kus'abata than to engage an illiterate Brâhmin for the purpose.

38. One should give food to an illiterate Brâhmin just sufficient to fill his belly and no more. If he does not do that, the giver and especially the receiver are subject to go down to hell.

39. Fie to a kingdom where honour is shown to the illiterate stupid Brâhmanas.

40. Where no difference is observed when seats, worship and gift are given to various persons, sages should draw their inference how the literate and illiterate persons are treated there.

41. When the illiterate fools become haughty, when they are paid honours and gifts, the literary persons should never dwell there.

42. The wealth of the wicked goes to the enjoyments of the bad persons; for the Nim trees, though abounding richly in fruits, are enjoyed only by crows.

43. Again, on the other hand, if the Brâhmins, versed in the Vedas, study the Vedas even after they have taken their food, still his father and forefathers are happy and play cheerfully in their heavens.

44. Therefore O Govîla! You being the foremost of the Brâhmin who are versed in the Vedas, what have you said just now? See in this world, death is rather to be preferred then to have an illiterate son. How is it, then, that you have cursed me that I would get an illiterate son, when you are the best one, highly qualified with knowledge.

45. O high minded one! You are capable to relieve the distressed; I am bowing down to your feet; shew your mercy and re-consider your curse.

46. Lomas'a said :-- O Munis! Devadatta, saying these words, fell prostrate at his feet and began to eulogise him in very pitiful words, being very much grieved and with tears in his eyes.

47. Seeing him thus distressed, Govila was moved with pity. The persons that are noble have their anger satiated after a short while; the anger of the ignoble lasts for a long time.

48. The water is naturally cool; but it gets hot in contact with fire heat; and no sooner the heat is drawn away, water gets again cooled quickly.

49. The merciful Govila then addressed the distressed Devadatta “your son though at first illiterate, will afterwards be very learned.”

50. The Brâhmin Devadatta was very glad on getting this boon; then completing the sacrifice, rewarded the Brâhmins with their due dakshinâs and dismissed them.

51. In due course of time, his fair chaste wife Rohinî, like the asterism Rohinî became pregnant.

52. Devadatta performed the Garbhâdhân (1) and Pumsavan (2) ceremonies and other purificatory rites duly.

53. He performed the Sîmantonnayana ceremony according to rules and considered his Puttrvesti sacrifice successful and made various offerings to the Brâhmins.

N. B. -- (1) One of the Samskâras, purificatory ceremonies, performed after menstruation to ensure or facilitate conception (this ceremony legalises in a religious sense the consummation of marriage).

(2) It is a ceremony performed on a woman's perceiving the first signs of a living conception, with a view to the birth of a son.

(3) “Parting of the hair” one of the twelve Samskâras or purificatory rites observed by women in the fourth, sixth, or eighth month of their pregnancy.

54-55. In the auspicious lagna when Rohinî asterism was present and in the auspicious day, his wife Rohinî gave birth to a male child. Devadatta performed the nativities of the new born child and saw its face. Next that knower of the Purânas, Devadatta kept the name of the child as Utathya.

56. When the son was eight years old, Devadatta performed the Upanayana (thread) ceremony duly.

57-58. Next the child was made to accept the vow of Brâhmachâri; and Devadatta made him study the Vedas; but the child could not pronounce a single word and used to sit simply like a stupid boy. Though tried in various ways to read and write, that wicked boy never paid the slightest attention, simply sat idly. Seeing this, his father was very sorry and much grieved.

59. Thus twelve years passed. Yet the boy could not learn how to perform his Sandhyâ Bandanâ duly.

60. The rumour went abroad that Utathya, the son of Devadatta turned out very illiterate. All the Brâhmanas, ascetics, and other persons came to learn this fact.

61. Wherever Utathya used to go in any forest on hermitage, the people used to laugh at him, ridiculed his father and mother and began to chide that illiterate son.

62. Thus blamed by father, mother and all other persons, dispassion occupied the heart of Utathya.

63. Once when rebuked by his father and mother that it was better to have a blind and lame son instead of an illiterate brute, Utathya took recourse to renunciation and went to a dense forest.

64-65. On the banks of the Ganges in a beautiful spot free from obstacles, he built a beautiful hut and began to subsist on the roots and fruits of the forest and with collected mind. Having made the excellent vow “I will never speak untruth” and holding the vow of celibacy, he lived in that beautiful hermitage.

Thus ends the 10th chapter in the 3rd Skandha of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa relating to the story of Satyavrata.

Chapter 11. On The Merits Of The Devî In The Story Of Satyavrata

1-5. Lomas’a said :-- O Munis! Utatthya, the son of Devadatta, was quite ignorant of anything of the Vedas, Japam (muttering of mantra), meditation of the deity, worship of the Devas, Âsana (Posture), Prânâyâma (withholding the breath by way of religious austerity), Pratyâhâra (restraint of mind), Bhûtas’uddhi (purification of the elements of the body by respiratory attraction and replacement), mantra (a mystical formula regarding some deity), Kîlaka (chanting of a mantra to serve as a pin of protection), Gâyattrî (the famous mantra of the Brâhmins), Saucha (cleanliness, external and internal), rules how to bathe, Âchamana (sipping of water and reciting mantrams before worship), Prânâgnihotra (offering of oblations to the fire of Prâna or to the fire of life), the offering of a sacrifice, hospitality, Sandhyâ (the morning, mid-day or evening prayer), collecting fuels for oblations, and offering of oblations. Daily he rose in the morning and somehow rinsed his mouth and washed his teeth and bathed in the Ganges river without any mantrams (like a Sûdra).

6. That stupid fellow ate indiscriminately, did not know what to eat and what not to eat. During the mid-day he collected the fruits from the forest and used to eat them.

7. But he always spoke truth while he stayed there; never did he say any untruth. The people of that place, seeing this, named him Satyatapâ.

8-9. That Utatthya did no good or bad to anybody; he slept peacefully and blissfully; but be used to think when he would die; thus his troubles would be ended; he felt that the life of an illiterate Brâhman is a curse; his death would be a better alternative.

10. He used to think thus :-- Fate has made me a fool; I do not find any other cause for it. Oh! I got the exceedingly good birth amongst men; but all this has been rendered in vain by Fate.

11. Oh! As a fair woman, if barren, a cow if giving no milk, and a tree without any fruits are all useless, so Fate has rendered my life, too, quite useless.

12. Why am I cursing Fate? This is all the fruits of my past Karma. In my previous life I never wrote a book and presented to a good Brâhmin; hence I am illiterate in this birth.

13. In my former birth I did not impart any knowledge to my favourite pupils; hence I am wicked and a cursed Brâhmin in this birth.

14. I never performed any religious asceticism in any holy place, I did not serve the saints, I never worshipped the Brâhmins with any offerings. For all these reasons I am now born of perverted intellect in the present birth.

15. Many a son of the Munis have learnt the meanings of the Vedas and the S’âstras; and I am whiling away my time thus in a quite illiterate condition by some wretched combinations of incidents.

16. I do not know how to perform Tapasyâ; what is the use, then, of my attempting to do so? I am of very bad luck, and thus my good resolve will not be crowned with success.

17. I consider Fate to be the strongest of all; Fie on one’s own prowess! For actions done with effort and hard labour are frustrated entirely by Fate.

18. Time can never be overstepped; See! Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, Indra, and others are all under the influence of the Great Time.

19. O Risis! Thus arguing in his mind, that Brâhmin son Utatthya stayed there in that hermitage on the bank of the holy Ganges.

20. And gradually he became thoroughly unattached to all the things and, being peaceful, passed away his time in that forest without any habitations and men, with great difficulty.

21. Thus passed away fourteen years in that forest where the Ganges was flowing. Still he did not learn how to worship the Supreme Deity, how to make Japam, nor did he learn any mantrams. Simply he lived there and whiled away his time.

22. People surrounding that place knew this much only of him that this Muni spoke truth only and hence his name was Satyavrata. This one name made him celebrated that he is Satyavrata; never did he say any untruth.

23. Once on a time, a hunter named Nisâda, exceedingly clever in hunting, came accidentally with bows and arms in his hands, while hunting a deer in that wide forest. He looked like a second God of Death (Yama) and seemed to be very cruel.

24. That savage mountaineer, drawing his bow so as to touch the ear, pierced a boar with his sharp arrows. The boar, being very much terrified, fled with enormous rapidity to the Muni Satyavrata.

25. On seeing the distressed condition of the boar trembling with fear and his body besmeared with blood, the Muni was moved with mercy.

26. While the boar, pierced with arrows and besmeared with blood, was running away in front of him, mercy took possession of the Muni, therefore the Muni began to tremble and agreeably to the human nature exclaimed “Ai” “Ai” (go to that direction), the seed mantram of the Goddess of learning with “m” left out (Aim, Aim).

27. That illiterate Brâhmin son never heard before that “Ai” was the seed mantram of the Sarasvatî Devî; nor did he come to know of it by any other means. Accidentally it came out of his mouth, and he uttered. And afterwards that Mahâtmâ seeing the boar's distressed condition was merged in deep sorrow.

28. The boar entered trembling into the Muni's hermitage very much distracted and being very much pained with arrows. Being unable to find any other way the boar hid himself in the dense bushes.

29. Instantly there appeared then, before the Muni, the terrible savage hunter, like a second God of Death, with string stretched to his ear, in pursuit of that boar.

30-33. On seeing the Muni Satyavrata sitting there alone and silent on the Kus’a grass seat, the hunter bowed down to him and asked “O Brâhmin! Whither has that boar gone. I know very well everything about you that you never speak untruth; therefore I am enquiring about the boar pierced by my arrows. My family members are all very hungry; and to feed them, I am come out in this hunting. This is the living, ordained by the Fate; I have got no other means of maintaining the livelihood of my family. This I speak truly to you; whether it is bad or good, I will have to maintain my family with it. O Brâhman! You are famous as Satyavrata; my family members are starving; kindly reply quickly where that boar has gone?”

34. Thus asked by the hunter, the Mahâtmâ Satyavrata was merged in an ocean of doubt; he began to argue “If I say I have not seen the boar then my vow to speak the truth will certainly be broken.

35. The boar struck with arrows has gone this way, it is true. How can I tell a lie? Again this man is hungry and is therefore asking, he will instantly kill the boar no sooner he finds him. How then can I speak truth?

36. Where speaking out the truth causes injury and the loss of lives, that truth is no truth at all; moreover, even untruth, when tempered with mercy for the welfare of others, is recognised as truth. Really speaking, whatever leads to the welfare of all the beings in this world, that is truth; and every thing else is not truth.

37. O Jamadagni! Thus placed between the horns of a religious dilemma what shall I do now so as to meet both the ends -- to save the life of the boar, to do the welfare, as well as not to speak untruth.”

38. When Satyavrata saw the boar wounded by the arrow of the hunter, he, moved with pity, uttered the seed mantra of the Goddess of Learning; and now that most auspicious Goddess, on account of his uttering Her seed mantram, was very pleased and gave him the knowledge, difficult to be attained otherwise.

39. The door of all his knowledge opened out at once, and he became at once instantly the seer, the poet like the ancient Muni Vâlmikî.

40. Then that religiously disposed, merciful Brâhman, aiming at Truth, addressed that hunter before him with bows in his arms, thus :--

41. That force which sees (as witness) never speaks; and that force which speaks, never sees. O hunter! Why are you asking me repeatedly, impelled by your own selfish desire?

42. The hunter, the killer of the animals, on hearing this was disappointed in the matter of finding out the boar and went back to his home.

43. That Brâhmin turned out a poet like Varuna and he became celebrated as Satyavrata, the speaker of truth, in all the worlds.

44. He began to recite the Satyavrata mantram duly, and, by its influence, became a Pundit, rivalled by none in this world.

45. During every festival the Brâhmans chanted his praise and the Munis used to narrate his story in detail.

46. On hearing his fame spreading all around, his father Devadatta who forsook him before, recalled him to his hermitage and took him again in his family with great honour and affection.

47. Therefore O King! You should always worship and serve that Great Goddess, the Prime Energy, the Cause of all this Universe.

48. O King! With due Vedic rites you perform that sacrifice to that Goddess which will surely yield results at all times and all desires. I already spoke to you about this.

49. That Great Goddess is known as Kâmadâ (the giver of all desires); for She grants all desires when men with devotion remember Her, worship Her, take Her name, meditate Her and eulogise Her.

50-56. O King! The wise sages ought to see the persons diseased, distressed, hungry, those without any wealth, the hypocrite, the cheat, the afflicted, the sensual, the covetous, the incapable, always suffering from mental troubles; again those who are wealthy with their children and grand-children, prosperous, healthy, with enjoyments, versed in the Vedas, literary, kings, heroes, those who command over many, those attended with relations and kinsmen and endowed with all good qualities; and then judge for themselves that those people did not worship the Goddess and therefore they were sufferers and these people worshipped the Goddess and hence they were happy in this world.

57. Vyâsa said :-- Thus I heard from the mouth of Lomas'a Muni, in assembly of the sages, the good merits of the Great Goddess.

58. O King! Consider all these and you will find that the Highest Goddess, the Bhâgavatî is to be worshipped always with devotion and unselfish love.

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter on the merits of the Devî in the story of Satyavrata in the Third Skandha of the Mahâ Purânam S'rî mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Ambâ Yajña Rules

1. The king spoke :-- O Lord! Kindly describe the rules and regulations as to how the Devî Yajña (sacrifice) is performed with its duly prescribed rites and ceremonies. Hearing it I will unwearied perform it, as far as it lies in my power, with as little delay as possible.

2. How the worship is done, what are the mantras, what are the articles required for oblations, how many Brâhmins are required and what Daksinâs are to be paid to them, describe in detail all these.

3-5. Vyâsa said :-- O king! I am telling you duly how the Yajña is performed, hear. The actions are always threefold according as the preparations are made and according as they are practised with regard to the observed rules. The threefold divisions are Sâttvik, Râjasik and Tâmasic. The Munis do the Sâttvik Pûjâ, the kings celebrate Râjasic and the Rakshasas do the Tâmasik Pûjâs. There is another Pûjâ which is devoid of qualities and which is performed by the liberated ones. I will describe to you all these in detail.

6-7. O king! The Yajña is then called Sâttvik, when it is performed in a Sâttvik country, like Benares, etc., in Sâttvik time, e.g., in Uttarâyana, when the materials collected are earned rightly, when the mantras are those of the Vedas, when the Brâhmin is Srotriya, where there is Sâttvik faith, void of any attachment towards the sensual objects, when all these happen to coincide. O king! When all the above takes place and there is purification of materials, actions, and mantras, i.e., when the materials are all right, when the actions are done as they ought to be, and where there is no error or omission, etc., in the mantras, etc., then and then only the Yajña becomes perfect and no doubt yield full results; there would be nothing contrary to this.

8-9. If the Yajña is performed with articles not rightly earned, then there is no fame either in this world nor there is any reward in the next world. Therefore it is necessary that the Yajña should be performed with rightly earned materials; then there is fame in this world and better state in the next world; and happiness is also acquired; there is no doubt in this.

10. O king! It is before your eyes, as it were, that the Pândavas performed the Râjasûya Yajña, the king of sacrifices, and, on the completion whereof, the excellent Daksinâs were paid to the Brâhmins and others.

11. In that Yajña the highly intelligent S’rî Krisna Himself, the Lord of the Yâdavas was present, as well as many other Brâhmanas, like Bhâradvâja and other fully enightened souls.

12. But within three months after completing the sacrifice, the Pândavas suffered extreme hardships and had to live, with extreme difficulty, as exiles in the forest.

13. Consider the insult shown towards Draupadî, the Pândava's defeat in the play of gambling, their going away to dwell in the forest; these hardships were borne by the Pândavas. What rewards did then the Pândavas derive from the Râjasûya Yajña?

14-15. All the high-souled Pândavas had to work as slaves of Virâta; and Draupadî, the best of women, was very much troubled and insulted by Kichaka. When all these occurred, any one can easily ask where were the ashirvâdas of the pure souled Brâhmanas? Also what result did they derive from their unflinching devotion towards S’rî Krisna when they were involved in the above critical state?

16. No one protected Draupadî, the chaste and the best, the daughter of Drupada, when she was drawn by her hair on her head into the hall of assembly where gambling was being played?

17. O king! How could all these happen in a place where S’rî Bhagavân Kesava Himself and the high souled Yudhisthîra were present? If one argues, one would conclude “there must have been something wrong in that Yajña.”

18. If you say that nothing wrong happened in the Yajña, all these were caused by Fate; then it comes to this :-- that the Vedic mantras, Âgamas and the other Vedic rites are all fruitless.

19. If it be argued that though the Vedic mantras are powerful enough to bear fruits, yet whatever is predestined to come to pass, will surely pass, then the proposition resolves into this :-- that all the means, expedients, and appliances lead to meaningless conclusions.

20. Then the Âgamas, the Vedas merely recommend a vidhi or precept by stating the good arising from its proper observance and the evils arising from its omission and also by adducing historical instances as its support; in other words, they are powerless as far as bearing fruits is concerned; all the acts are meaningless, asceticism to attain Heaven comes as useless and the peculiar duties of caste are fruitless. O king! This view is exceedingly culpable; it is never fit for acceptance by the highsouled persons.

21. O King! If what is laid by God in the womb of futurity (a state of things preordained by God in which it is sure to take place in the fullness of time), be taken as the first-hand proof, then all the other proofs are rendered null and void. Therefore Fate and human exertion both are to be undoubtedly taken into account to ensure success.

22. Human exertions being applied, if the results come otherwise, the wise Pundits would infer that some defects, omissions or imperfections crept into the work.

23. All the Pundits, very learned and instituters of sacrifices have classed Karmas under different headings according as the agents, mantras, and articles employed in the worship vary.

24. Once on an occasion Vis’varûpa, ordained as a Guru by Indra (in a Yajña) (intentionally) did things contrary so as to benefit the Daityas, who belonged to his mother's side.

25. Vis’varûpa uttered repeatedly the mantrams beneficial to the gods, while they were present; and, during their absence, prayed heartily for the welfare of the Daityas; and, in the long run, protected the Daityas.

26. On seeing the Asuras gaining strength, Indra, the Lord of the Devas, became very much enraged and instantly cut off Vis’varûpa's head by his thunderbolt.

27. O King! This is then the instance where the contrary fruits were borne out by the agent employed in performing the Yajña; there is no doubt in this. This is not possible in the other cases.

28. See, again, the king of Pânchâla performed his sacrifice to get a son to kill Drona, the son of Bhâradvâja; and though he did this out of angry motives, still Dhristadyumna was born out of fire; and Draupadî sprang out of the altar.

29. Again, in days of yore, Das’aratha, the king of Kosala, was sonless; and he instituted a sacrifice to get one son; and lo! be got four sons.

30. Therefore O King! If the Yajña be performed according to proper rules and regulations, it yields fruits in all respects; again if it be done unrighteously, without any regard for the rules, etc., it yields results just the contrary; there is no doubt in this.

31-32. Therefore, there must have been some defects in the Yajña of the Pândavas; hence contrary effects ensued, and therefore the truthful king Yudhisthîra and his powerful brothers and the chaste Draupadî were all defeated in the play at dice.

33. It might be that the materials were not of a good stamp; they were all earned by killing the kings, good many in number, and earned thus unrighteously; or it might happen that the Pândavas did their Yajña with too much egoism. However, this is certain that there had crept in some defects in their actions.

34. O King! The Sâttvik Yajña is rare; it can be done only by the Sâttvik Munis who live in the 3rd order of the household life or who live as hermits.

35-36. The ascetics that eat daily the Sâttvik food, the roots and fruits, collected from forests and obtained rightly, that is good to the Munis and that is well cleaned and purified, are the only ones that can perform with full devotions the Sâttvik Yajñas, where no animals are sacrificed (where there are no sacrificial posts to which the victim is fastened at the time of immolation) and where offerings of cakes of ground rice in vessels are given. These are the best of all the Sâttvik Yajñas.

37. The Ksattriyas and the Vaisyas perform the Yajñas with Abhimân (self-conceit and egoism) where many presents are given, animals are sacrificed, and all things are well cleansed, purified and elaborately decorated. This Yajña is called Râjasic.

38. That Yajña is according to the sages, Tâmasik, where the Dânavas, puffed up with arrogance, infatuated with anger, jealousy and wickedness perform their acts with the sole object of killing their enemies.

39. That Yajña is called Mânas Yâg or mânasic (mental) where the high-souled Munis, void of worldly desires, collect mentally all the necessary articles and perform the Yajña with the sole object of liberation from the bondages of the world.

40. In all the other Yajñas (than the Mânas Yâg) some imperfections or other naturally arise, due to some defects in the materials, or want of faith, or in the performance or in the Brâhmins.

41. No other Yajñas can be so complete as the Mânasa Yajña; the reason being that in the other Yajñas some, imperfections come out due to time, place, and separate ingredients to be collected.

42-43. Now hear who are the persons fit to undertake this mental Yajña in honour of the Great Goddess. First this mind is to be purified, by making it void of the Gunas; the mind being pure, the body becomes also pure, there is no doubt. When the mind becomes completely pure, after it has abandoned all sensual objects, fit for enjoyment, then that man is entitled to perform the Mother's Yajña.

44-45. There he should build mentally the big hall for sacrifice, many Yojanas wide, decorated with high polished pillars out of the materials brought for the purpose (e. g., fortitude, etc.). Within the hall he will imagine a wide and spacious altar and place the Holy Fire on it mentally according to due rules and regulations.

46-47. He is to select mentally the Brâhmin priests and consecrate them as Brahmâ, Adharyu, Hotâ, Prastotâ, Udgâtâ, Pratihatrâ and other assistants. He is to worship mentally all these priests.

48. Then he will have to imagine the five Vâyus, Prâna, Apâna, Vyâna, Samâna, and Udâna, as the five fires and locate them duly on the altar.

49-50. Prâna Vâyu stands for Gârhapatya; Apâna, for Âhavanîya; Vyâna for Daksinâ; Samâna for Avasathya; and Udâna for Sabhya Agni. These fires are all very terrible; then one should place these carefully on the altar with great concentration of mind. He is to collect then all the other necessary materials and think that all are very pure and free from any defects.

51-57. In the Mânasic Yajña, mind is the offerer of oblations and mind the Yajamâna, the performer of the Sacrifice; and the Presiding Deity of the Sacrifice is the Nirguna Brahmâ. The Great Goddess, the Nirguna Energy, who is always auspicious and gives the feeling of dispassion and indifference to worldly objects is the awarder of fruits in this Yajña. She is the Brahmâ Vidyâ, She is the substratum of all and She is all pervading. The Brâhmin is to take the Devî's name and offer oblations in the fire of Prâna, the necessary articles for the Devî's satisfaction. Then he is to make his Chitta and Prâna void of any worldly thought, or any worldly support and to offer oblations to the Eternal Brahmâ through the mouth of Kundalinî (the Serpent Fire.) Next, within his Nirvikalpa mind, by means of Samâdhi, be should meditate own Self, the Mahes'varî Herself by his consciousness. Thus, when he will see his own self in all the beings and all the beings in his own self, then the Jîva will get the vision of the Goddess Mahâvidyâ, giving auspicious liberation (Moksa). O King! After the high souled Munis have seen the Goddess, of everlasting intelligence and bliss, then he becomes the knower of Brâhman. All the Mâyâ, the cause of this Universe becomes burnt up; only, as long as the body remains, the Prârabdha Karma remains.

58. Then the Jîvas become liberated, while living; and when the body dissolves, he attains to final liberation. Therefore, O Child! Whoever worships the Mother becomes crowned with success; there is no doubt in this.

59. Therefore follow the advice of the Guru, the Spiritual Teacher; and with all attention, hear, think and meditate on the Great Goddess of the World.

60. O King! Liberation is sure to ensue of this Mânasa Yajña. All the other Yajñas are Sakâma (with some object in view) and therefore their effects are temporary.

61-62. He who wants enjoyments in Heaven, should perform the Agnistoma Yajña, with due rites and ceremonies; such is the Vedic injunction. But when the acquired merit expires, the sacrificer will have to come again into this world of mortals. Therefore the Mânasa Yajña is eternal and best.

63-65. This Mânasa Yajña is not fit to be performed by kings intent on getting victory. The Yajña that you performed, the serpent Yajña, is Tâmasic, for you wanted to take vengeance on your enemy, the serpent Taksaka; and millions of serpents were made to be burnt in that sacrifice.

O King! Hear now about the Devî Yajña, that was performed by Visnu in the beginning of the creation. You better now do that Devî Yajña with due rules.

66-67. I will tell you all about the rules; there are Brâhmins that know the rules and know best also the Vedas; they know also the seed mantrams of the Devî, as well as the rules of their application; they are clever in all the mantrams. These will be your priests and you yourself will be the sacrificer.

68. O King! Do this sacrifice duly and deliver your father from hell by the merits that you will acquire thereby.

69. O Sinless One! The sin incurred on account of insulting a Brâhmin is serious and leads the sinner to hell. Your father committed that sin and incurred the curse from a Brâhmin. Therefore he has gone to the hell.

70. Your father died also out of a snake bite which is not a meritorious one. The death occurred also in a palace built high up in the air (on a pillar), instead of taking place on the ground on a bed of Kus'a grass.

71. O best of the Kurus! The death did not occur in any battle nor on the banks of the Ganges. Void of proper bathing and charities, etc., he died in a palace.

72. O best of Kings! All the ugly causes, leading to hell, were present in the case of your father. See, again, there is also one thing which done will lead to one’s liberation; but that was absent too with your father.

73-76. That is this :-- Let a man remain, wherever he may, whenever he comes to learn that his end is approaching, even if he had not practised before any good practices or meritorious deeds, and even if he becomes senseless in the trial time of death, when dispassion comes to an individual whose mind gets, for the time being, clear and free from any worldly thoughts, then he should think thus :-- “This my body, composed of five elements, will soon be destroyed; there is no cause whatsoever in having any remorse for it; let whatever come, that it may; I am free, void of qualities; and I am the Eternal Purusa; death is not capable to do any harm to me. All the elements are liable to decay and destruction; what remorse can overtake me? I am not a man of the world, I am always free, Eternal Brahmâ; I have got no connection with this body that is merely the outcome of actions.

77. Before I did meritorious or unmeritorious acts, leading to happiness and pain; therefore I have got this mortal coil and am enjoying the fruits of my past auspicious or inauspicious Karma.”

78. Whoever thinks thus and dies, even if he does not take proper purificatory bath or make any charity, he gets himself freed from the awful Samsâra and never comes to see himself again born in this world.

79. O King! This method of parting from one’s body is rarely attained even by the Yogins; this is the acme, the highest height of all the human efforts towards liberation.

80. But your father, hearing even the curse from a Brâhmin, retained his attachment towards his body; therefore he did not attain dispassion.

81. He thought thus :-- “My body is now free from any disease; my kingdom is free from enemies or any other source of danger; how can I now get myself saved from this untimely death.” Thinking thus, he ordered to call the Brâhmans, who know the mantrams.

82. Then that king ascended to the palace, with medicines, many mantras and many other instruments.

83-84. He considered his fate to be the strongest and therefore did not take his bath in any holy place; he did not perform any charities, did not sleep on the ground or remember any mantram of the Devî. Due to Kali entering into his body, he committed the sin of insulting an ascetic and plunged himself in the ocean of delusion and died bitten by the Taksaka snake on the top of a palace.

85. The King has now fallen undoubtedly to the hell, on account of those vicious deeds. Therefore, O King! dost Thou deliver your father from the sin.

86. Sûta said, O Risis! Hearing these words from the fiery Vyâsa, the king Janamejaya became very sad and tears came from his eyes and flowed down his cheeks and throat.

He then exclaimed in a suffocating voice “Fie on me! my father is still in the hell. I will now do at once whatever leads my father to heaven.”

Thus ends the twelfth chapter on the Ambâ Yajña rules in the 3rd Adhyâya of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses composed by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Devî Yajña By S’rî Visnu

1-3. The King spoke :-- O Grandfather! How did Visnu, the Powerful, the Cause of the world, perform the Devî Yajña? Whose help did he receive and what priests with their knowledge of the Vedas did he engage, kindly tell all these to me in special details. I will very attentively hear first this Devî Yajña, performed by Visnu; and then I will make arrangements to do that myself accordingly.

4. Vyâsa said :-- O noble one! Hear in detail that very wonderful thing, how Visnu celebrated the Devî Yajña comformably to the rules laid down in the S’âstras.

5. When Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a were each given powers by the Devî, the Goddess of the Universe, and when they parted, these three Devas became free from their womanhood, while they were coming back in their aerial cars and turned out men, as they were before.

6. These three Devas, found the great ocean before them. They brought out world from it; and built, in that world, dwelling abodes; and they themselves began to live in some of them.

7. That world became fixed, steady and the supporter of all beings when the Goddess imparted the power of fixture, steadiness, and the power of supporting to the world. The earth, filled with marrow, then, became fixed and the great supporter by Her power.

8-10. O King! The name of this earth is Medinî, since it was made out of the marrow of the two Asuras Madhu and Kaitabha. This earth is termed Dharâ because it supports all; is termed Prithvî because it is very capacious; and it is called Mahî because it is great, since it supports so many beings. O King! the Ananta serpent is holding it on her thousand-hoods. To make the earth remain solid and compact, Brahmâ built at places mountains. As iron nails in a log of wood, so these hills and mountains within this earth made it fixed. Therefore the Pundits call these mountains “Mahîdhara,” holder of the earth.

11. O King! Thus the golden Meru, the great mountain, many Yojanas wide, adorned with many golden mountain peaks was created.

12. Next Marîchi, Nârada, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Daksa, and Vas’istha were created by Brahmâ; these are the Brahmâ’s mental sons (sons created by the sheer power of mind).

13. The son Kas’yapa was born to Marîchi and thirteen daughters were born of Daksa. From these daughters and out of the seed of Kas’yapa, various Devas and Daityas were born.

14. Then human beings, animals, serpents and many other classes were created. This is called the Kâsyapî S’rîsti or the Kas’yapa’s creation.

15. Next Svâyambhava Manu sprang from the lower half of Brahmâ; and the daughter named S'atarûpâ came out of the left hand side of the Brahmâ’s body.

16. The two sons Priyavrata and Uttânapâda were born of Manu in the womb of S’atarûpâ and the three daughters, very beautiful and fair complexioned, were also born of him.

17. Creating then, the Bhagavân, the lotus born Brahmâ built the beautiful Brahma-loka, on the top of the Meru mountain.

18. Then the Bhagavân Visnu built the Vaikuntha city on the top of all the lokas or worlds to dwell with his consort Laksmî.

19. Mahâdeva, too, built the exceedingly beautiful Kailâs’a and stayed there with his Bhûtas and played with them at his will.

20. The third Loka termed Heaven was built on the top of Meru, decorated with various precious gems and jewels and stones. It was fixed as the abode of Indra.

21-22. When the great ocean was churned, Pârijâta, the best of all the trees, the elephant Airâvata with four tusks, the Heavenly cow yielding the milk of all desires, the Uchchais’ravâ horse and Apsarâs, Rambhâ and others, arose and were taken by Indra. These became the ornaments of Heaven.

23. The Moon and Dhanvantarî, the great phyisician also came out of the churning of the ocean. These surrounded with many other members began to shine, being situated above the Heavens.

24. O King! Thus the three varieties, human beings, Devas, and Tiryakas (birds, etc.) and their great subvarieties sprang up.

25. The four classes of Jîvas, Andaja (born from the eggs), Svedaja (born out of sweats), Udbhija (plants, etc.) and Jarâyujâ (men, etc.) were created, being endowed with the fruits of their past auspicious or inauspicious Karmas, as the case may be.

26. Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a began to play and walk about at their leisures in their respective spheres, after they finished all their creations.

27. Thus the wheel of creation being started, the Great God Bhagavân Visnu Achyuta remained in sport with Mahâ Laksmî in His own sphere Vaikuntha.

28. Then Bhagavân Visnu, while sitting one day in Vaikuntha, got in his mind the memory of that beautiful island, called Mani Dvîpa, adorned with precious stones, gems and jewels.

29-33. O King! In this Mani Dvîpa, the Bhagavân Visnu got the vision of the Mahâ Mâyâ and the auspicious mantra. He now thought to celebrate a Yajña in honour of the Devî, when he recollected the highest Energy, the Great Goddess. He then went out of his abode and invited Brahmâ, Mahes’vara, Kuvera, Indra, Varuna, Fire, Yama, Vas’istha, Kas’yapa, Daksa, Vâmadeva, Brihaspati and others and began to collect lots of materials necessary for the Devî sacrifice. Selecting a site Sâttvik, beautiful, and possessing great spiritual powers, Visnu erected, with the help of the great artists and engineers, a wide capacious sacrificial hall, and for the due celebration and fulfilment of it, appointed twenty seven priests; who pledged a solemn vow to complete it duly.

34. When the big altar and chiti (pile of wood for burning, stack of sacrificial bricks) were finished, the Brâhmanas began to recite slowly the Devî mantrams with their root mantrams.

Note :-- Chiti, lit pile of wood for burning, is perhaps the Mûlâdhâra, the sacral plexus, where the fire called Kundalinî is first kindled by processes of Yoga.

35-37. Then the profuse quantities of ghee were offered as oblations to to the Sacred Fire. Thus when the Homa, (offering oblations of ghee to the fire) ceremony was finished elaborately and conforming to the rules of the S’âstras, the sweet and melodious Heavenly voice was heard in the air, addressing Visnu Bhagavân, thus :-- O Visnu! Let You be the supreme amongst the gods; honour and worship shall be Thine first; and you would be the most powerful of the Devas. Indra together with Brahmâ, and the other Devas, all will worship You.

38-39. O Achyuta! (O Infallible One!) Those men on the earth that will be devoted to you, will certainly be endowed with power and you shall be the bestower of boons and all their desires. O Visnu! you will be the Supreme of the Devas and you will be the God of the gods; you will be the first and foremost in all the sacrifices and you will be worshipped by the sacrificers.

40-41. People will worship you; and you will favour them with the boons. O best of the Purusas! When the Devas will be troubled by the Asuras, they will come and take refuge in Thee. You will be the Protector of all, there is no doubt in this. In all the Purânas and all this vast Vedas, You will be first worshipped.

42. O Kes’ava! Wherever there will be decay and decline in religion, You will incarnate in your parts and preserve the religion.

43-44. O Mâdhava! Avatâras, renowned in all the worlds, will come down on earth as Your part incarnations in all sorts of wombs, in due order, and will be respected by all the high souled personages. O Madhusûdana! Those Avatâras will be the best of all the Avatâras and will be famous all the Lokas, the worlds.

45. In all your Avatâras, you will get your attendants, the S’aktis (females) drawing their energies from My parts; and they will serve your purposes.

46-47. Vârâhî, Nârasimhî, etc., and various other S’aktis of auspicious appearances, endowed with various weapons and decked with all the ornaments will serve as your attendants; no doubt in this. O Visnu! Always with their help and under the influence of My favour, you will no doubt be quite competent to serve the purposes of the Devas.

48. You should respect and worship all those powers by all means and with very great attention; never shew the slightest trace of pride to them; never do you thus insult them.

49. These S’aktis, capable of bestowing all the desires, will be worshipped in Pratimâs (images of clay, etc.) in the whole of India.

50. O Deva of the Devas! The fame of all these S’aktis, as well as of You will be spread in the seven worlds and in the whole Universe.

51. O Hari! The human beings on this earth will constantly worship with selfish ends these powers and you, for the fructification of their desires.

52. Having various desires, men will, in your worship, present various offerings, recite the Veda mantrams, and repeat the names of you and the powers.

53. O Visnu! You will be the God of the Immortals and your glory will be enhanced by the worship offered by the human beings in the world as well as in the heavens.

54. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The heavenly voice, thus, bestowing boons on Visnu, ceased. Visnu Bhagavân became very glad to hear this.

55-58. Then Hari, the God of Gods, completed duly the sacrifice and dismissed the Devas and the Munis, the sons of Brahmâ. Then ascending on Garuda, (His Vâhana), He went up to Vaikuntha with his followers. The Devas also went to their own respective places. The Munis also retired gladly to their own hermitages, all thunderstruck to see these things, conversing with each other about this sacrifice.

59. O king! All were filled with best devotion towards the Supreme Force, on hearing this clear beautiful, sonorous heavenly voice; then the Dvîjas, the Munis, and Munîndras began to worship with devotion, according to the Vedas, that Highest Force, the Supreme Goddess, giving all desired objects profusely in all the details.

Here ends the thirteenth chapter on the Devî Yajña by S’rî Visnu in the third Adhyaya in S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam; the Mahâ Purânam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Narration Of The Glories Of The Devî

1-2. Janamejaya spoke :-- O Dvîja! I have heard in detail the Devî Yajña, performed by S’rî Visnu. Now describe Her Glory and glorious deeds. After hearing these, the Devî’s glorious deeds, I will also perform that, the best of all sacrifices. Thereby I will no doubt be pure through your favour.

3. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hear, I am describing to you the history of the most auspicious mighty deeds of the Devî, according to the Purânas.

4-5. In days of yore, there reigned in the country of Kosala, the king Dhruvasandhi of the Solar Dynasty. He was the son of Puspa and celebrated on account of his great prowess. He was truthful, religious, engaged in doing good to his subjects, obeying the laws of the four castes and Âs’ramas. He being pure, performed his regal duties in the flourishing city of Ayodhyâ.

6. The Brâhmanas, Ksattriyas, Vais'yas, and S’ûdras and other good persons all lived religiously under his rule, each abiding by his own profession.

7. No thieves, cheats, cunning persons, vain and arrogant persons, treacherous and illiterate men were allowed to remain in his kingdom.

8. O host of Kurus! Thus ruling virtuously, the king had two wives, both of them young, fair and beautiful and well able to give delights and enjoyments to the king.

9. The first and lovely wife was Manoramâ, and the second was Lîlâvatî. Both of them were exceedingly handsome, intelligent and qualified.

10. The king enjoyed much with them in palaces, gardens, romantic hills, lakes, and various beautiful mansions.

11. In the auspicious moment, Manoramâ gave birth to a beautiful child, endowed with all royal qualifications. The child was named, in due course, Sudars’ana.

12. Next within one month, his second wife the fair Lîlâvatî in the auspicious fortnight and in the auspicious day, gave birth to an excellent child.

13. The King then performed the Jâta-Karma (ceremonies on the birth of a child) and being very glad, made lots of presents, wealth, etc., to the Brâhmanas.

14. The King shewed affection equally to the two children; never he made any distinction between them.

15. The king, the tormenter of the foes, was very glad and performed duly the chudâ karana ceremony according to his position and wealth.

16. The sight of these two sons delighted very much the people. Now seeing these Kritachûdas, and playing, the king was merged in the ocean of pleasure.

17-18. Sudars'ana was the eldest; but Satrujit, the second beautiful son by Lîlâvatî was of sweet and persuasive speech. His beautiful figure and sweet words gave very much delight to the king, and for these qualities, the child Satrujit turned out also a favourite of the people and ministers.

19. The king could not show so much affection to the unfortunate Sudars’ana as he showed to Satrujit.

20-21. Thus some days having passed, one day the king Dhruvasandhi went out on an hunting expedition to the forest. He killed in the forest many deer, Ruru (a kind of deer), elephants, boar, hare, buffaloes, rhinoceros, camels and amused himself very much with this hunting affair.

22-23. While he was hunting thus, a lion got very much enraged, and, from a bush, suddenly jumped and came upon the king. That king of the beasts was already struck with arrows; now seeing the king in front, he loudly roared.

24-25. He angrily lifted his long tail high up in the air and, puffing up his manes, jumped up high in the air to attack and to take the life of the king. Seeing this, instantly the king took sword in his right hand and shield in his left and stationed himself like another lion before him.

26. The king's followers, one and all, angrily shot arrows on the lion.

27. Then a loud uproar ensued; and all began to hurl arrows as best as they could. But, after all, that dangerous lion fell upon the king.

28-29. Seeing thus, the king struck him with his sword, but the lion also tore asunder the king, with his sharp nails. The king thus struck by the lion, fell on the spot and died. The soldiers cried aloud and killed the lion with arrows.

30. Thus both the king and lion lay dead on the spot; and the soldiers turned back to the palace and gave all the informations to the royal ministers.

31. When the munis heard the demise of the king, they went to the forest, performed the burning of the dead body of the king.

32. The Maharsi Vas’istha performed duly on the same spot, all the funeral ceremonies, thus ensuring the king the safe journey to the next world.

33. All the subjects and the citizens and the Muni Vas’istha counselled each other to install Sudars’ana on the throne as the king.

34-35. The minister-in-chief as well as the other members proposed that as Sudars’ana is the son of the legal wife, calm and quiet, beautiful and endowed with all the royal qualifications, he is fit for the throne. Maharsi Vas’istha said, the royal son, though not attained to proper age is still religious; therefore he is really fit be installed as king on the royal throne.

36. When the wise aged ministers thus decided, Yudhâjit, the king of Ujjain, on hearing the decision hastened to the spot.

37. He was the father of Lîlâvatî; on hearing the demise of his son-in-law he came there, so that his daughter’s son might get the kingdom.

38. Next, Vîrasena, the king of the country of Kalinga and the father of Manoramâ, came there also with the object that his daughter’s son Sudars’ana be the Emperor.

39. The two kings, accompanied respectively by their own army and soldiers, began to counsel with the aged ministers, each trying so that his daughter’s son may get the throne.

40. Yudhâjit made the question :-- “Who is the eldest of the two sons? Is it always the case that the eldest will inherit the kingdom? Will not the youngest ever be able to acquire it?”

41. Vîrasena said :-- O king! He who is the son of the legal wife inherits the kingdom; this I have heard from the learned who are proficient in the knowledge of the S’âstras.

42. Hearing Vîrasena, Yudhâjit repeated “Sudars’ana is not so qualified with royal qualifications and other matters as this son of the late king, Satrujit. How can then Sudars’ana inherit the throne?”

43. O King! Then quarrels ensued amongst the two kings. Now, at this critical juncture, who is able to solve their doubts?

44. Yudhâjit then addressed the ministers :-- “You all are prompted by selfish ends; you want to acquire a good deal of money by making Sudars’ana the king.

45-46. I have come to know by your gestures and postures that your decision is to the above affect. After all, as Satrujit possesses many more qualifications than Sudars’ana, he has more claims to the throne; and therefore he is fit to occupy the throne and no other. Morever, let me see as long as I live who can set aside the claims of a qualified prince, in possession of an army, and put forward the claims of a prince who has no qualifications it all.

47. I am ready to fight and I will tear the earth into two pieces by my sword. What more have you to say on this?”

48. Hearing this, Vîrasena addressed Yudhâjit “I see the two boy’s intelligence the same. You are intelligent; kindly mention where is the difference?”

49. O king! The two kings quarrelling with each other, remained there; the subjects and the Risis, seeing this, were very anxious.

50. Hundreds of tributary princes wanting that the two kings might be involved into quarrels with each other, came to the spot, with their soldiers, though they had to undergo great hardships in doing so.

51. Many aborigines, from the inhabitants of Sringaverpur, hearing the demise of the late king, also appeared on the scene with the sole object to plunder.

52. The two princes are minors; and hearing their parties at war with each other, many robbers from various adjoining countries came also there.

53. Thus when the war broke out between the two kings, the great confusion and tumult across within the kingdoms; on the other hand, Yudhâjit and Vîrasena both became ready to fight.

Thus ends the Fourteenth Chapter on the narration of the glories of the Devî and the death of the Kosala king Dhruva Sandhi in the 3rd Adhayâya of S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam.

Chapter 15. On The Battle Between Yudhâjit And Vîrasena

1. Vyâsa said :-- O king! When the war was declared, the two kings, excited by greed and anger, took up arms; and a dreadful encounter ensued.

2. On one side the king Yudhâjit of long arms, surrounded by his own army, with bows and arrows came ready to fight.

3. On the other hand, the fiery Vîrasena, the second God of the Devas appeared in the battle, following a true Ksattriya custom, on behalf his daughter’s son.

4. Then that truthful king Vîrasena, seeing Yudhâjit in battle, became very angry and hurled arrows on him, as a cloud rains on the mountain tops.

5. On being covered, as it were, by the sharp and swift arrows, sharpened on a stone slab hurled at him by Vîrasena, Yudhâjit, too, quickly, shot arrows at Vîrasena and cut off all his arrows.

6. O King! A dreadful fight then ensued between the cavalries, the warriors on the elephants; and the Devas, men, and Munis began to witness this terrible battle with wonder and astonishment. Birds, vultures and crows, desirous to eat the flesh of the dead soldiers, flew in the air.

7. Blood of elephants, horses and warriors, the bodies that lay dead, flowed in torrents awfully like rivers in that deadly battle ground. The torrent of blood excited fear amongst those who came to see it, as the river Vaitarani on the way to hell (the Lord of Death) is very fearful to the sinners.

8. The human skulls were driven ashore by the current and they look like so many hollow shells of gourds scattered there for the play of the boys on the banks of the Jumnâ.

9. When any warrior lay dead on the field, the vultures began to fly about in the air for devouring his flesh. It seemed then that the soul of the warrior beholding his beautiful body tried to reenter into his body, though he thought that it had become very inaccessible to him.

10. Some warriors on being slain in the battle instantly arose in a celestial car to the heavens and was seen addressing the celestial nymph, who came already within his embrace, thus “O one of beautiful thighs. Behold! how my beautiful body is lying on the earth below!”

11. Another warrrior thus slain got up in the heavens on a celestial car, came in possession of a celestial nymph and when he was sitting with her in the car, his former wife in the earth made herself a sati and burnt herself up in the funeral pyre, thus got a celestial body, came up to the heavens; and that chaste virtuous woman drew away perforce her own husband away from that celestial nymph.

12. Two warriors, went up, slew each other and lay down dead at the same time. They went up in the heavens at the same time and there began quarrel with each other and fight with their weapons for one and the same celestial nymph.

13. Some hero got in the heavens a nymph more lovely and beautiful than himself and he thus became very much attached and devoted her. He began to describe his own heroic qualities and also to copy dotedly the qualities of his lover so that she might remain faithfully attached to him.

14. The dust, arising from the dreadful encounter of the soldiers in battle field, rose up in the air and covered the sun. It appeared night. After a while that dust became absorbed in the blood below, and the sun appeared very red, reflected with the colour of the blood.

15. Some Brahmachârî fought in the battle and was slain. He went up to the heavens; instantly a lovely eyed Devakanyâ, a celestial nymph desired to select him as bridegroom with great devotion. But that clever man did not accept the offer, thinking that his vow of Brahmacharya would be thus broken.

16-17. O King! Thus when the battle was deadly, the king Yudhâjit shot a sharp, dreadful arrow at Vîrasena and severed his head from body. Vîrasena lay dead on the battle field and his army was routed. The soldiers fled away from the battle.

18-19. Hearing that her father was slain in the battle, Manoramâ became very terrified and anxious. She then began to think that the vicious wicked king Yudhâjit will surely slay her son, for kingdom's sake and to satisfy his enmity with her father.

20. What shall I do now? My father is slain in the battle. My husband is no more. My child is a minor to-day. Where shall I go?

21. Greed is very sinful; who is there that cannot be bought over by love of gold? and what vicious act can there be, that cannot be done when actuated by covetousness?

22. A greedy man does not hesitate to kill his father, mother, spiritual guide, friends and others. There is no doubt in this.

23. It is the inordinate love of worldly things that makes a man eat what is held unclean in society, that makes a man approach a woman who is unapproachable, and it is greed that makes a man discard his own religion and become an apostate.

24. In this city I find none so powerful as I can remain there under his shelter and be able to rear up my child.

25. What can I do if the king Yudhâjit slay my son? There is none in this world who can save me, and, counting on whose shelter, I can stay here without any anxiety.

26. And this my co-rival wife Lîlâvatî will always practise enmity with me. She will never shew mercy on my son.

27. When Yudhâjit will arrive in this city, I will never be able to go out of it and he will to-day put my son in the prison on the pretext that he is a minor.

28-29. I heard that, in days of yore, Indra entered into the womb of his pregnant step mother with a small thunderbolt in his hand and divided the foetus into seven parts with that weapon, again each of these seven into seven parts again, thus the forty nine Maruts were born in the Heavens.

30-31. I heard also that in ancient times one queen gave poison to destroy the foetus in the womb of her rival wife. When the child came out of the womb, he was celebrated by the name of Sagara (with poison) in this earth.

32. The husband was alive, and still his queen Kaikeyi banished the eldest son of his king, S’rî Râmchandra to the forest; and the king Das’aratha sacrificed his life for that very reason.

33. The ministers no doubt wanted before to install my son as the king; but now they are not independent; they have now yielded themselves to the king Yudhâjit.

34. There is no brother of mine powerful enough to release me from my bondage; I see I have fallen into a great difficulty by the combination of unforeseen circumstances.

35. Though the success depends on Fate, still one should make an earnest effort. If one does not make any effort, fate also remains asleep. I will therefore soon make out a plan to save my son.

36-38. O King! Thinking thus, that woman Manoramâ called in private the best and very respectable minister Vidalla, who was intelligent and expert in everything, and holding the hands of her son and weeping, said humbly in a depressed spirit “O Minister! My father is slain in the battle field, this my son is a minor, and Yudhâjit is a powerful king; consider all these and tell me what I should do now?”

39-40. The venerable minister Vidalla then said to the queen Manoramâ “It is never advisable for us to stay here. Soon we will go into the forests of Benares. There I have got my powerful uncle Subâhu. He is prosperous and has got a strong army. He will protect us.”

41. “I will make the pretext that I am become very anxious for the king and therefore I am going out to see the king Yudhâjit and will go out of the city in my chariot. There is no doubt in this.”

42-43. Hearing, thus, the Vidalla's words, the queen Manoramâ went to Lîlâvatî and said “O faireyed! To-day I am going to see the father Yudhâjit.” Thus saying, she went out of the city in a chariot, accompanied by her son, attendants and Vidalla.

44-45. Grieved at the loss of her father, fearful, distressed, and fatigued, Manoramâ saw Yudhâjit and performed the cremation of her father Vîrasena; and, trembling with fear, got to the banks of the Ganges after two days’ swift journey.

46-48. There the robbers, the Nisâdas plundered all their riches and took the chariot and went away. Manoramâ had only her clothings, that she wore, left to her. She began to weep, and, holding the hands of her attendant, went to the Ganges shore, and being afraid crossed the river on a raft and went to the Chitrakûta mountain.

49. That terrified Devî went to the hermitage of Bhâradvâja as early as possible. There she saw the ascetics and was relieved of her fear.

50. Bhâradvâja asked, “O lotus eyed! Who are you and whose wife are you? Why have you taken so much trouble to come here? Answer all these truly.”

51. “O beautiful one! are you a Devî or a human being? your son is a very minor. Why have you come in this dense forest? It seems, as if you are deprived of your kingdom.”

52. Thus asked by the best of the Munis, the beautiful Manoramâ became very much afflicted with grief and began to weep; she could not speak anything herself and ordered Vidalla to inform the Muni all what had happened.

53-54. Vidalla then said :-- There was a king of Kosala, named Dhruvasandhi. She is the legal wife of that king. Her name is Manoramâ. That powerful king of the Solar Dynasty was killed by a lion in a forest. This boy Sudars’ana is his son.

55. The father of this Manoramâ was very religious. He died fighting for the cause of his daughter's son. Now the present queen has become much afraid and has therefore come to this wild forest.

56. The son of this woman is now a minor; he is now taking your refuge. O best of the Munis! Protect them.

57. To give protection to any distressed person is to acquire merits higher than performing a sacrifice. Therefore to protect one who is very much afflicted with fear and who is helpless will have still higher merits.

58. Bhâradvâja said :-- “O beautiful one! Remain in this hermitage without any fear; rear up your son here. O auspicious one! There is no cause of fear here from your enemies.

59. Better nourish and support your child. Your son will surely be a king and if you remain in this hermitage, no sorrow or grief will overtake you.”

60. Vyâsa said :-- When the great Muni Bhâradvâja said thus, the queen Manoramâ became peaceful. The Muni gave them a cottage to live in and there they dwelt without any sorrow.

61. Thus Manoramâ dwelt obediently with her maid servant, liked by all. Vidalla also remained there and Manoramâ began to nourish her child.

Here ends the Fifteenth chapter on the Devî Mâhâtmya and the battle between Yudhâjit and Vîrasena and the going away of Manoramâ to the forest in the 3rd Adhyâya of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On The Glory Of The Devî

1. Vyâsa said :-- After gaining the victory in the battle, the king Yudhâjit returned to the city of Ayodhyâ with his huge army and asked where are Sudars’ana and Manoramâ? He wanted to kill Sudars’ana.

2. He repeatedly exclaimed “Where are they gone?” and sent his servant on their search. Then, on an auspicious day, he installed his daughter’s son on the throne.

3. Maharsi Vas’istha was engaged as the priest; he and the other ministers began to chant the auspicious hymns of the Atharvaveda and with the jars, filled with water, and consecrated by these hymns, installed S’atrûjit on the throne.

4. O best of the Kurus! Conch shells resounded; drums, bherîs and tûriyas, resounded; and great festivals and rejoicings took place in the city.

5. The reciting of the Vedic mantrams by the Brâhmans, the chanting of hymns by the bards and the auspicious acclamation of Victory to the new king resounded the whole city of Ayodhyâ with joy.

6. When the new king S’atrûjit ascended on the throne, the subjects were filled with joy; everywhere hymns were sung; drums were resound. At this Ayodhyâ looked as fresh as ever.

7-8. O King! Though there were thus great rejoicings and festivals, yet some good persons were found that remembered Sudars’ana and gave vent to this feeling of sorrow, thus :-- “Alas! Where has that prince gone? Where has that chaste queen Manoramâ gone with her son? Oh! The enemies have killed his father for greed of kingdom.”

9. The saints with their views impartial, thus rendered uneasy, sorry, began to pass away their time there subject to S’atrûjit.

10. After installing duly his daughter’s son on the throne and after having made over the charge of the kingdom to the wise councillors, Yudhâjit turned towards his own city.

11-12. Afterwards Yudhâjit heard that Sudars’ana was staying in the hermitage with the Munis. He started at once for Chitrakûta and went quickly to Durdars’a, the chief of the city of Sringavera, being accompanied by Bala, the chief of the Nîsâdas.

13-15. Hearing that Yudhâjit was coming there with his army, Manoramâ began to think that his son was a minor and became very sorrowful, distressed and terrified. Then she with tears in her eyes addressed the Muni thus :-- “Yudhâjit is coming here; what shall I do and whither shall I go? He has slain my father, and has installed his daughter’s son on the throne. Still he is not satisfied and he is now coming with his army here to kill my minor child.”

16-21. O Lord! In days of yore, I heard that the Pândavas, when they went to the forest, lived in the holy hermitage of the Munis with Draupadî. One day the five brethren went a hunting, and the beautiful Draupadî stayed without any fear with other maid servants in the hermitage where there was the chanting of the Vedas by Dhaumya, Attri, Gâlava, Paila, Jâvâli, Gautama, Bhrigu, Chyavana, Kanva of the Atrigotra, Jatu, Kratu, Vîtihotra, Sumantu, Yajñadatt, Vatsala, Râs'âsana, Kahoda, Yavakrî, Yajñakrit, Kratu and other holy high souled Risis like Bhâradvâja and others.

22-23. While the five great heroes Arjuna and others, the destroyers of their enemies, were roaming in the forests, Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu came with his army to the hermitage, hearing the reciting of the Vedic hymns.

24. Hearing thus, that king quickly descended from the chariot so that he might have a sight of these holy maharsis.

25-27. Accompanied by two attendants only, he approached to the Munis and, finding them engaged in the study of the Vedas, waited there with folded hands for an opportunity. O Lord! When the king Jayadratha on entering the hermitage took his seat, the wives of the Munis came there to see the king and began to enquire “Who is this person?”

28. With the wives of the Munis came there also the beautiful Draupadî. Jayadratha looked upon Draupadî as if she were the second goddess Laksmî.

29-30. Looking at that lovely royal daughter who looked like the Deva girls Jayadratha asked the Maharsi Dhaumya, “Who is this beautiful lotus eyed lady? Whose wife is she and who is her father? What is her name? Oh! From her beautiful appearance it seems that the goddess S’achî has come down on earth.”

31. This fair woman is shining like the celestial nymph Rambhâ surrounded by the Raksasis or like the beautiful creeper Lavangalatika encircled by thorny trees.

32. O good ones! Tell truly whose beloved is she? O Brâhmins! It seems that she is the wife of some king, not the wife of a Muni.

33. Dhaumya said :-- “O king of Sindhu! She is the daughter of Pânchâla; her name is Draupadî; she is the wife of the Pândavas; they are residing in this forest, having got rid of their fears.”

34. Jayadratha said “Where have those powerful Pândavas of great prowess gone now? Are they dwelling in this forest, free from fears?”

35. Dhaumya said :-- “The five Pândavas have gone out on hunting, ascended on a chariot. They will return at noon with their game.”

36-37. Hearing the Muni's words Jayadratha got up, and going near to Draupadî, bowed down to her and said :-- “O Fair One! Is there everything well with you? Where have your husbands gone? To-day it is eleven years that you are residing in the forest.”

38. Draupadî then said :-- “O prince! Let all be well with you, wait here for a short while; the Pândavas are coming quickly.”

39. While Draupadî thus spoke, that powerful king, being overpowered with greed and avarice, stole her away, disregarding all the Munis present there.

40-42. O Lord! The wise should never trust any body; if on any body he places his trust, he will surely come to grief. For example, see the case of the king Bali. Bali, the son of Virochana, and the grandson of Prahlâda, was prosperous, devoted to his religion, true to his promise, performer of sacrifices, generous, always giving protection to and liked by the saints and a great warrior. His mind never turned to any irreligious subject and he performed ninety nine Yajñas with full Daksinâs (remunerations).

43-44. But the Bhagavân Visnu, who is all full of Sâttvic purity and who is never affected with passions and changeless, who is always worshipped by the Yogis, He, in the form of a dwarf in his Vâmana incarnation as the son of Kas'yapa Risi, to serve the Devas, stole away his whole seagirt earth and kingdom deceitfully on hypocritical pretext.

45. O Lord! I heard that the son of Virochana was a generous large hearted king. He truly resolved to give what was wanted; but Visnu behaved with him deceitfully to serve the cause of Indra.

46. When the pure, Sâttvik Visnu could assume this dwarf incarnation to bring about the hindrance to Bali’s Yajña, what wonder is that other ordinary mortals would practise things like that?

47. Therefore never trust on any body in any way. Lord! Where there are greed and avarice, reigning in one’s heart, what fear can he have to perpetrate any evil deed?

48-49. O Muni! It is through avarice that men commit sinful deeds; they do not care what good or bad will happen to them in the next world. Thoroughly overpowered by greed, they take away in mind, word and deed other’s things; and thus they become fallen.

50-51. Lo! Human beings always worship the Gods for wealth; but the Devas do not give them wealth instantly; they give them these things through others by making them carry on trade, make gifts, or shew their strength or by making them steal.

52. The Vais’yas worship the Gods simply because they think they will be highly prosperous and therefore they sell many things as grains, cloth and the like.

53. O Controlled one! Is there not the desire to take away the other’s property in this act of merchandise? Certainly there is. Besides the merchants, when they find that when people are in urgent need of buying articles from them, expect that the price of those articles might run higher.

54. O Muni! Thus every one is anxious to take away other’s properties. How, then, can we trust them?

55. Those who are clouded by greed and delusion, their going to places of pilgrimages, their making charities, their reciting the Vedas, all are rendered useless. Though they go to the holy places, etc., still these things bear no fruits to them, as if they have not done these things at all.

56. Therefore O Enlightened one! You make Yudhâjit go back to his own place. Then I will be able to remain here, like Sîtâ, with my son.

57-58. On Manoramâ's thus speaking to the Muni, the fiery Maharsi went to Yudhâjit and said :-- “O King! You better go back to your own place or anywhere else you like. The son of Manoramâ is a minor; that queen is very much grieved; she cannot come to you now.”

59. Yudhâjit said “O peaceful ones! Kindly cease showing this impudence and give me Manoramâ. I will never go away leaving her. If you do not give her easily, I will take her away by force.”

60. The Risis said “O King! If there be any strength in you, you can take away Manoramâ by force; but the result will be similar to that when the King Visvâmitra wanted to take away the heavenly cow by force from the hermitage of Vas'istha.”

Thus ends the Sixteenth Chapter on the glory of the Devî and the going of the King Yudhâjit to the hermitage of Bhâradvâja, to kill Sudars’ana, in the the 3rd Adhyâya of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 17. On The Story Of Vis’vâmitra

1-3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of the Maharsi Bhâradvâja and seeing that he made a firm resolve, the King Yudhâjit called his prime minister quickly and asked, “O intelligent one! What am I to do now? I want to carry away by force this boy with his mother sweet Manoramâ; no one desirous of one’s welfare won’t trifle away his enemy, be he even a very weak one; if he does so, that enemy will get stronger day by day, as the disease consumption becomes stronger; and will ultimately become the cause of death.

4. There is no warrior, nor any soldiers here of the other party; no one will be able to resist me; I can take away, as I like, the enemy of my daughter’s son and can kill him.

5. I will try to-day to carry him away by force, and Sudars’ana being killed, my daughter’s son will reign fearlessly without an enemy; there in no doubt in this.”

6. The prime minister said :-- No such hazardous courage need be shewn now; you have heard the Maharshi's words; he quoted you the example of Vis’vâmitra.

7. O King! In days of yore, Vis’vâmitra, the son of the King Gâdhi, was a celebrated monarch; one day while roaming, he accidentally reached the hermitage of Vas’istha.

8. The powerful king Vis’vâmitra bowed down before the Muni, and the Muni gave him a seat. The king took his seat there.

9. Then the high souled Vas'istha invited the king to a dinner. Vis’vâmitra, the king, went there with his whole army.

10-12. There was a cow, named Nandinî, of Vas’istha. The Muni prepared all sorts of eatables from her milk and entertained them all. The king with his whole army was very much pleased; and, coming to know of the divine power of the cow, asked Vas’istha to give his cow Nandinî over to him and said “The udder of your cow Nandinî is like a big jar. I will give you thousand cows like that; I pray you to let me have your cow Nandinî.”

13. Vas'istha said “O King! This is my sacrificial cow; I cannot give you this cow in any way, let your thousand cows be yours.”

14. Vis'vâmitra said :-- “O Saint! I will give you cows lakhs or tens and hundreds of lakhs or any number you like. Please give me your cow; in case you be unwilling, I will carry her away perforce.”

15. Vas'istha said :-- “O King! As you like, better take it perforce; I will never be able to give you my cow Nandinî from my house.”

16. O King! Hearing thus the Vas'istha's words, Vis’vâmitra, the King, ordered at once his powerful followers to carry the cow Nandinî away by fastening a cord round her neck per sheer force.

17-19. The followers, obeying the order at once bound the cow with ropes and began to carry her away by force. At this Nandinî, trembling and with tears in her eyes, began to say to the Muni “O One! whose wealth consists only in asceticism! Are you going to leave me? Otherwise why these fellows are binding me with a cord and dragging me away?” At this the Muni replied “O Nandinî! I have never parted with you; I perform all my sacrifices through your milk. O auspicious one! I honoured this king, my guests, with eatables prepared from your food and for that reason he is carrying you away from me by sheer force. What can I do? O Nandinî! I have not the least desire to part with you.”

20. Hearing these words from the Muni, the cow became very angry and bellowed loudly and terribly.

21. At once came out from her body, on that very spot, the terrible demons wearing coats of armour, and holding various weapons; and they uttered aloud, “Wait; you will soon meet with vengeance.”

22. They then destroyed all the forces of the king. And the king alone was left and he went away alone, much dejected and sorrowful.

23. Oh! That wicked king then cursed with great humility the Ksattriya S’akti; and thinking the Brâhmanic power  would be attained with great exertion, began to practise asceticism and penance.

24. Performing penance and tapasyâ, very hard indeed, in the great forest, Vis'vâmitra, the son of Gâdhi, succeeded at last in becoming a Risi and then he renounced his Ksattriya Dharma.

25. Therefore, O King! Dost Thou never quarrel with these ascetics and be involved in wars resulting in great enmity and causing the extinction of the race.

26. Better dost thou appease the Muni and now go back to your own kingdom. Let Sudars'ana remain here at his pleasure.

27. O King! This minor boy has no wealth; what harm can he do to you? It is useless to show your enmity towards an orphan, a weak minor boy.

28. This world is under the control of Destiny; therefore one should shew mercy to all. O king! What use is there to shew one’s jealousy? What is inevitable will surely come to pass.

29. O king! The thunderbolt comes sometimes like a blade of grass; a blade of grass acts sometimes like a thunderbolt.

30. O king! You are very intelligent; consider that by, combinations of circumstances, a hair can kill a powerful tiger and a gnat can kill an elephant. Therefore dost thou forsake this rashness and hear my beneficent advice.

31. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The best of kings, Yudhâjit hearing the prime minister's advice bowed down humbly at the feet of the Muni and returned to his own city.

32. Manoramâ, too, became free from anxiety, and, remaining peaceful in the hermitage, began to nourish and support her child, engaged in vows.

33. The lovely son of the king began to grow daily like the phases of the waxing moon and sport fearlessly with the boys of the Munis, altogether, wherever they liked, a sight very auspicious.

34. One day the minister Vidalla came there and the sons of the Munis seeing him began, in the presence of Sudars’ana, to address him “Klib,” “Klib.”

35. Sudars’ana, too, hearing them pronounce “Klib,” “Klib” took up the one letter, “Kli” and uttered this only repeatedly, which is, in fact the prince of the root mantras of Kâma, with anusvâra omitted.

36. Then the son of the king took that mantram and silently repeated this in his mind.

37. O King! Thus that boy Sudars'ana was initiated in this root mantra of Kâma (desire) spontaneously, out of his original Samskâra (innate tendency) owing to the unavoidable destiny of Fate.

38-39. The son of the king, when he was five years old, got this most excellent mantra, though without its Risi (seer), meditation, without its chhanda (metre) and without Nyâsa (assignment of the various parts of the body to different deities, accompanied with prayers and corresponding gesticulations), and considered this as the quintessence of all, therefore meditated this always in his mind spontaneously and never forgot it.

40-41. When the king's son grew eleven years old, the Muni performed his Upanayana (sacred thread) ceremony and made him begin the study of the Vedas. The son, with that mantra power, soon mastered all the studies about archery, all the moral and political sciences in conformity with proper rules, within a very short time.

42-43. One day Sudars'ana got a vision of the form of the Supreme Goddess, of a red colour, wearing red apparel and decorated with red ornaments, mounting on Garuda and with Her wonderful Vaisnavî powers and Her face, fully opened like the budding of a lotus flower.

44. Thus, expert in many branches of learning, Sudars’ana served his Mother in that forest and began to wander on the banks of the Ganges.

45. One day the Mother of the Universe gave the bows, sharpened arrows, quiver and a mail coat of armour to that boy in that forest.

46-47. O King! At this time the extraordinary beautiful and lovely princess S’as’ikalâ, endowed with all auspicious qualities, the daughter of the king of Kâshi, came to hear that a beautiful prince named Sudars’ana, a second Kandarpa, full of heroism and endowed with all auspicious qualities is dwelling in a forest.

48. The princess, hearing this from a soothsayer, mentally loved and desired him and wanted finally to accept him as her legal husband.

49-50. Thus, on one occasion, at the end of a night (night-fall), the Goddess appeared in her dreams before her and consoled her and said “O fair one! ask a boon from me; Sudars’ana is my devotee; he will fulfill, at my word, all your desires.”

51. Thus seeing the beautiful figure of the Goddess in her dreams and hearing Her sweet words, the honoured S’as’ikalâ was drowned in the ocean of bliss.

52. When the princess awoke, her face beaming with gladness, her mother perceived her joy and inferred that her daughter must have been internally very glad, and asked her repeatedly, but S’as’ikalâ was too much abashed and did not give vent to the cause of her satisfaction.

53. The princess, remembering her dreams, began to laugh repeatedly on account of her excessive joy. At last she spoke out in detail all about her dreams to one of her lady friends, or companions.

54. On one occasion, that large eyed S’as’ikalâ went out for enjoyment to a nice garden beautified with champaka flowers, attended by her companion.

55. While the King’s daughter seated under a champaka tree, was collecting flowers, she saw a Brâhmin, coming towards her in great haste.

56. After bowing down before him, that beautiful princess, endowed with all auspicious qualifications, addressed him in sweet words “O blessed one! whence are you coming?”

57. The Brâhmana said :-- “O girl! I am coming on an errand from the hermitage of Bhâradvâja Muni. Please mention what you are going to ask me?”

58. S’as’ikalâ replied “O Noble one! What beautiful thing is therein that hermitage that is extraordinary and worth describing.”

59. The Brâhmana said “O fair one! There is staying the most lovely Sudars’ana, the son of the King Dhruvasandhi. He is the loveliest of all men.

60. O fair one! He who has not seen him, I think, has his eyes given to him in vain.

61. O auspicious one! It appears as if the Creator, with a view to see how it looks, has invested him with all the qualities.

62. O beautiful one! what shall I say more to you, suffice to say that, that prince is fit to become your husband. I think that the Creator has, no doubt, settled already the union between you two, as a happy union of two congenial things (gold in union with Jewel).”

Thus ends the seventeenth chapter on the story of Vis’vâmitra and on the getting of the root mantra of Kâma by the son of the King in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 18. The Svayambara Of S’as’ikalâ

1. Vyâsa said :-- The King's lovely daughter was very glad on hearing the words of the Brâhmana, and drowned herself in ecstacy of love. The Brâhmin also departed, thinking of the whole affair.

2. The daughter was already attached to the prince, and now she became the more merged in love for him and became very anxious. Now, on the departure of the Brâhmin, she felt herself struck by the arrows of love.

3-4. Then S’as’ikalâ, oppressed by love, addressed her dear companion, who followed her inclinations thus :-- “O my companion! I have not as yet had any knowledge of the king's son; still the signs of love have sprung up in my body and mind, from the moment that I heard about him from the Brâhmin. The love is giving me much trouble; tell, my companion what am I to do now? and whither shall I go?

5. O dear companion! I saw him like a second God of Love in my dreams; and, since then, my innocent mind is being troubled with his being away from me.

6. O fair one! The sandal paste on my body appears to me like a poison, this garland is like a serpent and the moon's rays seem like a fire.

7. O companion! My mind gets not rest anywhere, in palaces, gardens, in lakes, in hills, at any time, during the day or night; all the enjoyable things have assumed now contrary aspects and are paining me.

8. The bedding, betel leaves, music, singing, and dancing, all now fail to give me satisfaction and peace.

9. O companion! I would have gone to-day where is residing that deceiver; but I fear for my father as well for the honour of my family.

10. My father is not yet declaring the svayamvara for my marriage. What shall I do? Had he given me in marriage to that Sudars’an, I would have allowed him embrace me and satisfy his passions to-day!

11. O friend! look at the strange ideas of the Creator! There are hundreds of kings today who are influential and I do not consider them beautiful; and that King's son is exiled from his kingdom and yet he has stolen away my heart.”

12. Vyâsa said :-- Thus that King's son, Sudars’ana, though helpless, and living in a forest on roots and fruits, deprived of wealth, power, and army, began to reign in the heart of that princess.

13-14. S’as’ikalâ, too, began to recite slowly the root mantra of Sarasvatî and therefore her love towards this prince held out signs of success.

Once engaged in meditation on that excellent root mantra on Kâma, and, while repeatedly reciting it mentally, he got in a dream the vision of that Ever Full, the World Mother Ambikâ, that cannot be expressed in words, the Vaisnavî S’akti and capable to bestow all wealth and property.

15-16. At this time the King of Nisâdas, the lord of S’rimgaverpur came to the hermitage and presented an excellent chariot together with all other necessary things. This chariot was drawn by four horses, decorated with nice flags and was endowed with the prospect of getting victory everywhere; thinking it thus a befitting present to be given to the King, he gave it to Sudars’ana.

17. Sudars'ana, too, accepted the offer of a friend and worshipped him well in return, with roots and fruits of the forest.

18-19. The lord of the Nisâdas, thus worshipped as a guest, went away. The Munis and ascetics then began to address Sudars'ana, with fondness “O son of the king! Don't be anxious and restless; within a very short time, you will get your kingdom, no doubt, by your own good luck and prowess.

20. O one attached to one’s vows! The Goddess that enchants the whole universe, the Giver of boons, S’rî Ambikâ, has been pleased with you; assistance is also rendered well to you; therefore do not trouble yourself with contrary thoughts any more.”

21. The Munis, who have taken vows, addressed Manoramâ also “Your son will soon become the lord of the world; you need not care any more.”

22. Then the lean and thin Manoramâ, hearing the Muni's words said “O Brâhmanas! Let your âsiss (words of benedictions) be justified with success. What wonder that a kingdom be obtained by the good will of the Sâdhus!

23. There is no force, no minister, no help, no property; how, under what combinations, can then my son get kingship?

24. You are the best of the knowers of mantrams; due to the influence of your good will, my son will surely be a king; there is no doubt in this.”

25. Vyâsa said :-- Wherever that intelligent Sudars'ana used to go on his chariot, there he seemed by his own prowess, as if he were surrounded by a whole army consisting of 109, 350 foot, 65,610 horse, 21,870 chariots and 21,870 elephants.

26. This is the influence of the seed mantra; it is not an ordinary acquisition. It is because Sudars’ana, with gladness and one-pointedness of his mind, meditated on his seed mantra, that he acquired the above powers; there is no doubt in this.

27. Becoming pure and peaceful, whoever gets this wonderul seed mantra from a true spiritual guide and meditates on it incessantly, is destined certainly to attain all desires.

28. O best of kings! There is no such thing either in the heavens above or in the worlds below, that a man won’t get, when the Supreme Goddess becomes pleased.

29. Those are certainly very unfortunate and of dull intellect, who cannot place their faith on the worship of this Goddess and consequently suffer incessantly all sorts of troubles.

30. O best of the Kurus! At the beginning of the creation, this Ambâ Devî was the Mother of all the Gods, and is therefore known as the First Mother.

31. She is practically seen in this world in the shape of Buddhi (iutellgence), Kîrti (fame), Dhrîti (fortitude), Laksmî (Goddess of wealth), S’akti (the Force), S’raddhâ (Faith), Mati (Intellect), Smriti (memory), etc.

32. It is only the deluded souls that do not realise the nature of the Devî; it is only those, whose hearts are destroyed by the glare of false argument, that do not worship this All-auspicious Goddess of the Universe.

33-34. O king! Brahmâ, Visnu, S’ambhu, Indra, Varuna, Yama, Vâyû, Agni, Kuvera, Vis'vakarmâ, Pûsâ, Bhaga, the two Asvins, Âdityas, Vasus, Rudras, Vis'vedevas, Maruts, all worship the Supreme Deity of Creation, Preservation and Dissolution.

35. Who is there amongst tho wise that does not serve this Highest Energy? The real nature of that Auspicious Goddess, the Bestower all desires, Sudars’ana came to know very well.

36. She is the Real Essence, Brahmâ, very rarely realised; She is the Higher Vidyâ and the Lower Vidyâ (Avidyâ) and She is the vital energy, the Mukhya Prâna, of the best of the Yogis, who are desirous of liberation.

37. O king! What individual is there that is able to realise the nature of Pramâtmâ (the Highest Universal Self) without having recourse to Her, Who is manifesting this universal consciousness, by bringing into existence these Sâtvik, Râjasik, and Tâmasik creations.

38. Sudars'ana, though he dwelt in the forest, realised a greater happiness than that in obtaining the sovereignty of a kingdom, by constantly meditating on that Goddess.

39. S’as’ikalâ, too, being too much oppressed with the arrows of love, any how remained with her soul in her body, having had to be always cared for her health in various ways by her attendants.

40. Then the king Subâhu, on coming to know that her daughter is desirous of getting her husband, made arrangements for her Svayambara (a marriage in which the girl chooses her husband from among a number of suitors assembled together) without any delay.

41-44. The Svayambara of the royal family, the Pundits say, is of three kinds :-- lst Ichchhâ Svayambara (optional); 2nd Panya Svayamvara by fulfilling a promise, e.g. Râmachandra broke in two the bow of S’iva and married Sîtâ; 3rd the Svayambara, preferring one who will prove the strongest hero by one’s own prowess. Of these three kinds of Svayambaras, the king Subâhu preferred Ichchâ Svayamvara (according to the bride's free choice).

Accordingly the king employed many artisans, had platforms covered with beautiful carpets and big halls decorated beautifully in various ways.

45-47. Thus the assembly hall for Svayambara built and decorated and all the necessary articles and equipments brought thither, the fair eyed S’as’ikalâ, told her companions with sorrow “Better go to my mother and say her privately that I have already selected mentally my husband the beautiful Sudars'ana, the son of the king Dhruvasandhi in my mind; I won't marry any other prince than him; the Goddess Bhagavatî has settled him for my husband.”

48-50. Vyâsa said, the companion of S’as’ikalâ hearing thus, went quickly to her mother Vaidarbhî and addressed her sweetly in private “O chaste one! Your daughter, with a sorrowful heart, has sent me to you to say the following; Please hear and do at your earliest convenience, what is good and beneficial.” She said “There is staying in the hermitage of Bhâradvâja, the son of the king Dhruvasandhi; I have mentally selected him as my husband; I won't select any other prince.”

51. Vyâsa said :-- The queen, hearing her words, told to her husband, when he returned to the palace, all her daughter's words as she had heard them.

52-53. Hearing this, the king Subâhu was astonished and then laughed frequently and then began to say to his wife, the daughter of the king of Vidarbha the following true words :-- “O fair one! That king’s son Sudars’ana is a minor, he has been exiled to the forest; now he is helpless and is residing with his mother in a dense forest.

54. For his sake, the king Vîrasena was slain in battle by the king Yudhâjit. O fair eyed! how can that helpless exiled poor boy become her husband.

55. Do say therefore to S’as’ikalâ that, in the assembly hall for her Svayamvara, many kings commanding honour and respect would be present. She would then choose whomever she likes. She need not repeat such words any more.”

Thus ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the 3rd Skandha about the Svayambara of S’as’ikalâ, the daughter of the king Kâsirâja in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 19. On The Going To The Svayamvara Assembly Of Sudars’ana

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- After the king Subâhu had spoken thus, the Queen made her daughter S’as’ikalâ, who had always sweet smiles on her lips sit on her lap and after consoling her with sweet words, began to say “O fair eyed! You always practise vows and other religious performances; why are you, then, speaking these unpleasant words? The King has heard all what you wanted to say and has been very sorry.

3-5. That Sudars'ana is very unfortunate, deprived of his kingdom, helpless, void of wealth and army, abandoned by his friends, exiled with his mother in the forest, subsisting on roots and fruits, lean and thin. Thus he is not worthy of becoming the husband of yours. There are many learned, beautiful, approved of all, qualified with all royal marks, princes fit to become your husband. They all will come in this Svayamvara.

6. There is one brother of this Sudars'ana, who is endowed with all kingly qualifications, beautiful, and qualified  in various other ways. He is the king of the Kosala country.

7. There is another point worth consideration; please hear it. The King Yudhâjit is trying his best to kill Sudars'ana on a befitting opportunity.

8. He already counselled with his ministers and killed in a desperate fight the king Vîrasena and installed his daughter’s son on the throne.

9. Even he came up so far as the hermitage of Bhâradvâja to kill Sudars'ana; afterwards he was prevented by the Munis from doing so then he returned home.”

10-11. S’as’ikalâ replied :-- “Mother! That prince, though staying in the forest, is approved of by me; under the advice S’aryâti, the chaste Sukanyâ married Chyavana Muni and served her husband all along; so I will marry this king’s son and will always be engaged in serving him. The women are able to attain heaven and emancipation, if they serve their husbands; therefore if we be sincere in serving our husbands, we will no doubt be happy.

12. I have seen in my dream that the Goddess Bhagavatî has ordained him to be my husband; how can I now accept any other body as my husband than him?

13. The Devî Bhuvanes’varî has pictured his frame firmly in my heart; I will never be able to leave my dearest beautiful husband and to contract marriage with any other person.”

14. Vyâsa said :-- Thus the mother, the daughter of the King of Videha, found many signs and at last desisted. She then reported to the King all the words of S’as’ikalâ.

15-16. When S’as’ikalâ, on the day before the marriage day, became very anxious and, sent in a great hurry, one trustworthy Brâhmin, versed in the Vedas to the hermitage of Bhâradvâja with this message “O Brâhman, go in such a way to Sudars’ana, as my father be not able to know about it and tell Sudars'ana all my words.

17-18. My father has called in for my marriage a Svayambara ceremony; many powerful kings will attend with their armies; O Deva! The Goddess Bhagavatî has ordered me in dream and accordingly I, with full gladness of my heart, have become yours already in my heart.

19. Rather I will take poison or I will jump in a blazing fire, than I can obey my father’s and mother’s words and marry another.

20. By my mind, word, and deed, I have selected you my husband; and pleasure and happiness is sure to attend on us by the blessings of the Bhagavatî.

21. Please depend unto Her, at Whose command this whole universe, moving and unmoving is resting, unto that Great Destiny and come to this place without fail.

22. What the Goddess, whose commands S’ankara all the other Devas obey, has ordered, can never turn out false.

23. O Brâhmin! You the foremost amongst the virtuous; do therefore call on that King’s son in privacy and speak out all there to him. What shall I say more to you. Do all that my object may be fullfilled.”

24. Thus saying, she gave the Brâhmin his Daksinâ and sent him to Sudars’ana. He went there and reported all the matter duly to him and quickly returned back.

25. On coming to know all this, Sudars’ana determined to start; and the Mahârsi Bhâradvâja, with gladness, sent him.

26. Vyâsa said :-- Seeing her son ready to start, the mother Manoramâ became very sorry and, trembling and shedding tears, thus spoke to her son.

27-28. “Sudars’ana! Where are you going now? How do you dare to go there in the Svayamvara alone, where are present kings and all your terrible enemies. O Son! You are as yet a boy. The King Yudhâjit will certainly go there with the object of killing you; there will then is no other body to help you. So you should never go to that place.

29. You are my only son; I am very poor and helpless; I have no other to lean upon than you; therefore you ought not to throw me in despair at this moment.

30. See Sudars’ana! The King Yudhâjit who had slain my father, that uncontrollable king will come there; if you go there alone, he will certainly kill you.”

31. Sudars'ana replied “Mother! What is inevitable will certainly come to pass; there is no need to discuss further on the subject. I will go at the command of the World Mother to that assembly hall Svayamvara.

32. O Auspicious one! Do not give vent to sorrow; I do fear none by the grace of the Bhagavatî.”

33. Vyâsa said :-- Thus saying, Sudars’ana mounted on his chariot and was ready to start. Seeing this Manoramâ began to bless him and so cheer him.

34-37. O Son! Let Ambikâ Devî protect your front; Padmalochanâ protect your back; Pârvatî, your two sides; S’ivâ Devî, all around you; Vârâhî, in dreadful paths; Durgâ, in royal forts, Kâlikâ, in terrible fights; Parames'varî, in the platform hall; Mâtamgî, in the Svayamvara hall; Bhavanî, the Avertress of world, amidst the kings; Girijâ, in mountain passes; Chamundâ, in the sacrificial ground, and let the eternal Kâmagâ, protect you in the forests.

38. O Descendant of Raghu family! Let the Vaisnavî force protect you in quarrels; let Bhairavî protect you in battles and amongst your enemies.

39. O Son! Let the Mahâ Mâyâ Jagaddhâtrî Bhuvanes’varî protect you everywhere and at all times.

40. Vyâsa said :-- Then Manoramâ, speaking thus to him, trembled with fear and again said :-- “O Sudars’ana, I will also accompany you; there will not be otherwise.

41. I will never be able to remain anywhere without you and even for the twinkling of an eye. O Son, carrry me thither where you are desiring to go.”

42. Thus saying, his mother with her attendants was ready to start. The Brâhmanas pronounced their blessings. All then went out.

43. Sudars’an, the descendant of the Raghu family, mounted then alone on his chariot and reached Benares. There the King Subâhu, hearing that he had come, welcomed him and worshipped him with various presents.

44. He gave him, the house for his residence, and made arrangements for his food and drink and other necessary requirements and gave order to his servants to wait on the prince.

45. Then, from various quarters, the kings assembled together; and Yudhâjit, too, came there accompanied by his daughter’s son, S’atrujit.

46-48. The King of Karûsa, the King of Madra, the King of Sindhu, the King of Mâhîsmatî, the valiant warriors, the King of Pânchâla, the kings of the mountainous tract, the King of Karnat, the powerful King of Kâmarûpa, the King of Chola, and the very powerful King of Vidarbhas with 180 Aksauhinî soldiers all arrived and assembled there. Benares was then crowded all over with soldiers and soldiers.

49. Many other kings came there on their beautiful elephants to witness the Svayamvara ceremony.

50. Then the princes began to talk amongst them “The King’s son Sudars’ana, too, had come there and is staying unconfused and calm.

51. Is it that the high minded Sudars’ana, born of the Kâkutstha family, had come there on a chariot, helpless, to marry?

52. Can it be that the princess will overlook these Kings with soldiers and weapons, and select the long armed Sudars’ana?”

53. Then the King Yudhâjit addressed all the other kings “I will slay Sudars’ana for the sake of the daughter; there is no doubt in this.”

54-55. Hearing Yudhâjit's words, the king of Keral, the foremost of those who know morals, began to say :-- “O king! In this Ichchhâ svayamvara, it is not proper to fight. Here there will be no marriage for the prowess; there is no arrangement fixed to steal away the bride elect by force; here the bride will select of her own free choice; what cause can then there crop up here for quarrels?

56. Before, you had driven him out of his kingdom; and though you are the superior king, you have taken his kingdom by force and installed your daughter’s son on the throne.

57. O King! This Sudars’an is born of the Kâkutstha family and the son of the King of Kosala. Why would you kill this innocent boy?

58. O Long lived! Better be sure that there is some God of this Universe; He is governing all; and if you commit anything wrongful know that you will get the fruit of that due to you; there is no doubt it this.

59. O King! There is victory everywhere of the Truth and Dharma, always you find Adharma and Falsehood defeated. Therefore dost thou forsake your evil and mean intentions and pacify your vile mind.

60. Your daughter's son is also present here; he is beautiful and prosperous and is reigning a kingdom. Why will not that bride elect him as bridegroom?

61-62. Consider again that there are many other powerful princes and kings in this Svayamvara; the princess may select them also. Therefore let all the kings assembled here say that if the selection of the bridegroom be performed in that way, what cause of a quarrel can there crop up? Knowing all these, you ought not to quarrel here.”

Thus ends the Nineteenth Chapter on the going to the Svayamvara assembly of Sudars’ana and the other kings in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 20. On The Svayamvara Hall And The Kings’ Conversation There

1. Vyâsa said :-- O Noble minded one! The king Yudhâjit replied to the address of the king of Keral, thus :--

2-3. O King! You are truthful and have restrained your passions. What you have told just now in this assembly of kings is all correct and approved by morality. O best of the kings! You are born of a high family; you better say how can this take place that when so many fit persons are present here to become the bridegroom, can an unworthy person take away the offer?

4. As a jackal never becomes fit to enjoy what are the dues of a lion, so this Sudars’ana is also unfit to acquire this bride elect.

5. The Brâhmanas have the Vedas as their strength; the Ksattriya kings take bows and arrows to be their source of strength; this is ordained everywhere. Therefore O King! What wrong have I done in my statement. Kindly explain.

6-7. The power of the kings is the befitting money given to the parents of a bride; according to this, the strongest man is to acquire the bride, a jewel. The Ksattriyas that are weak can never acquire that. Make this the rule in this marriage. This earth is fit to be enjoyed by the heroes only and not by the cowards and intriguing persons. Otherwise quarrels are sure to ensue amongst the kings.

8. The dispute thus arose in that Svayamvara hall; and the king Subâhu was called in.

9. The kings that could see the reality of things then addressed the king Subâhu. “O king! You are requested to establish a golden rule in this marriage ceremony.

10. What is your object in calling this Svayamvara. Better give it out after a mature consideration. Please be explicit whom have you intended to give over your daughter in this marriage?”

11-12. Subâhu said :-- “My daughter has mentally selected Sudars’ana; I prevented her repeatedly from doing this; but she did not accept my word. What shall I do now? The mind of my daughter now is not at her will. Sudars’ana, too, though uninvited, has come here singly and is residing calmly, without any signs of disturbance in his mind.”

13-14. Vyâsa said :-- Then the chief kings all invited Sudars’ana there; Sudars’ana, too, came there quietly, and the princes, seeing his quiet nature, asked him, “O one, engaged in practising vows! Who has invited you here? Why have you come here singly, in this assembly of kings?

15. You have no force, no ministers, no help, no wealth, and no army. O intelligent! Then explain why have you come here alone?

16. In this assembly of kings you see that the powerful monarchs are ready to fight with each other for the sake of this princess. What do you intend to do under those circumstances?

17. Your brother, too, is come here to have the princess; he has got his army and is also marked with his strength and valor. The powerful Yudhâjit has come here also to help him.

18. O observer of good vows! Seeing you without any army, we have narrated to you all the facts. Now think and do accordingly. If you please, remain here or go anywhere else.”

19-20. Sudars’ana replied :-- “True, I have no army, no help, no wealth, no forts, no friends or no kings to protect me. Hearing that Svayamvara will be held here, I have come here to witness it. But there is one particularity here; it is this :-- The Devî Bhagavatî has ordered me in my dream to come here. Under Her command I have come here; there is no doubt in this.

21. I have got no other object in view; I have obeyed what the Bhagavatî Bhuvanes’varî has ordered me to do. Today will happen, no doubt, what She has ordained.

22-23. O kings! I am seeing everywhere the Supreme Goddess Bhagavatî Bhavânî. Therefore there is no enemy of mine in this world; but he who will turn out an enemy of mine, will be duly punished by the Mahâ Vidyâ Mahâ Mâyâ. I do not know what is enmity?

24. O kings! What is inevitable will surely come to pass. There will be nothing otherwise. I am always depending on Fate, Destiny. What is the use, then, in thinking what will be the result?

25. Everywhere in the Devas, in the spirits, in men, in all the beings, the Devî’s power is existent; it cannot be otherwise.

26. O kings! Whenever She wishes, She makes kings, masters of wealth or devoid of wealth. What is, then, the use of bothering my head in this?

27. When even the Gods Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a without Her presence, become powerless enough to move their hands or feet, then why shall I be anxious for the result?

28. O kings! Whether I am unable or able or an ordinary person, you have nothing to consider; I have come here in this assembly hall under the command of the Supreme Bhagavatî.

29-30. What She has willed, She will do that. I am not to care for that. O high minded ones! You need not be afraid at all in this. I have told you all truth. Victory or defeat, I feel no shame in either of them. For I am always under the control of Bhagavatî; therefore if there be any shame here, it is all Hers.”

31-33. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing thus his words, and seeing that his mind is firmly devoted to Bhagavatî, the kings saw each other and said thus :-- “O Sudars’ana! What you have said is quite true; it is never otherwise; still Yudhâjit, the king of Ujjain is intent on killing you. O intelligent! O sinless! we have all come to know that there is no trace of evil in you. We were all overcome with pity for you; hence we have informed you; now think and do the needful?”

34. Sudars’ana said, “You are all kind and large hearted; what you all have said is quite true. What shall I tell you, being a minor as yet!

35. O kings! No one can cause the death of another. All this world, moving and unmoving, is under the control of Fate.

36-38. No soul is independent; every one is under the effects of one’s own Karma. The Pundits that have realised the Truth, say that Karma is of three kinds, Accumulated, Present, and Prârabdha? This whole world is due to Kâla (Time), Karma (action) and Svabhâva (Nature); unless the proper time comes, even the Devas cannot kill men. The men are killed on account of some cause, immediate; but the Great Time is the real Destroyer.

39. My father, though a destroyer of many others, was himself killed by a lion and my mother’s father was slain by Yudhâjit in the battle.

40. The Jîvas, though caring hard to preserve their lives, are killed by Fate in spite of all their cares; and they live thousand years though there is none to protect them.

41. O religious kings! I do not fear a bit from Yudhâjit. I consider Fate as the Supreme and I therefore remain always undisturbed, calm and quiet.

42. Daily and constantly I remember Bhagavatî, Who is the Mother of all this Universe. She will look after my welfare.

43. Behold! One will have certainly to bear the burden of one’s past Karma, whether it be good or it be bad; one’s own actions must bear their fruits. Then why shall he be sorry, who has come to know this?

44. The less intelligent deluded persons, on getting pain from their own actions, turn out enemies on very trifling matters.

45. I do not grieve nor do I fear on account of such enemies. I am staying here in this assembly of kings, cool-minded.

46. Under the order of Chandikâ, I have come here to see this Svayamvara; whatever is inevitable will surely come to pass.

47. The words of the Bhagavatî are the best proof; I do not know any other. My mind is entirely given up to Her. There will be nothing otherwise than what She has ordained; whether it is good or whether it is bad.

48. O kings! Let Yudhâjit remain in peace. I have no enmity with him. He, who will deal inimically with me, will certainly reap his reward. There is not the least doubt in this.”

49. Vyâsa said :-- O king! When Sudars’ana addressed them thus, all the kings became very glad and they all remained there for the Svayamvara. Sudars’ana, too, went to his camp and remained also calm and quiet.

50. Next day the king Subâhu invited all the kings present in his city to their respective seats in the Svayamvara hall.

51. The princes and kings, decorated with best ornaments, came and took their seats on their respective platforms, covered with valuable carpets of best workmanship.

52. The kings then looked like the celestial Devas, wearing divine ornaments and apparels, blazing with the lustrous light of gems, and remained to see the Svayamvara affair.

53. Every one there had this foremost thought in his mind when will the princess, the bride elect, would come there; and who will be the man so fortunate as to be blessed with garlands offered by her (as a token of selection of the bridegroom)!

54. If, accidentally, she offers the garland to Sudars’ana in this Svayamvara assembly, then will ensue, no doubt, desperate struggles amongst the kings.

55. While they were thus meditating, sounds of drums were loudly sounded.

56-58. Then Subâhu, the king of Benares, went to her daughter and found that S’as’ikalâ had just taken her bath and put on her silken clothes, and adorned herself with various ornaments and sweet garlands. Thus, dressed in complete marriage dress, she began to shine like another Goddess Laksmî, the Goddess of wealth. The king, on seeing his daughter dressed in silken cloth, afflicted with anxious thoughts, just smiled and said, “Child! Rise and take the beautiful garlands by your hands and go to the the Svayamvara hall and just look at the assembly of kings.

59. O lean bodied one! Whoever, well-qualified, beautiful, and of noble birth, amongst the kings is reigning in your mind, better select him.

60. O graceful! The kings from various quarters are adorning their respective seats; better go and see and select whomever you like.”

61. Vyâsa said :-- When Subâhu had spoken thus, S’as’ikalâ, who generally talked little, replied with sweet sonorous words, impregnated with religious truth.

62. “Father! I won’t go before the kings who are inspired by lust; women like me never go there; it is those that are dissolute that attend those places.

63. Father! I have heard from the religious texts that women should cast their glances on their husbands only and not on any other.

64. The woman that goes to many persons is mentally claimed by all; each of them contemplates strongly “Let this woman be mine.” Thus her chastity is destroyed.

65-66. Desirous of selecting her husband, when the woman holding in her hands, the garland for her would-be-husband, goes to the Svayamvara hall, then she turns out like an ordinary unchaste woman. As a prostitute going to a public shop looks on many persons and judges of their merits and demerits according to her own power of judgment, the maid that goes in the Svayamvara hall does exactly the same.

67. How can I behave myself in the hall of the assembly of kings like a prostitute, who does not attach her feelings firmly on a single individual but glances constantly at many lustful persons.

68. Though this system of Svayamvara is approved by the elderly persons, I am not going to follow that now. I will take the vow of a chaste woman and act up to that doctrine as perfectly.

69. I will never be able to act like an ordinary woman going in the Svayamvara hall, mentally determining many and finally selecting one.

70. Father! From the very beginning I have given myself up to Sudars’ana in mind, word and deed. I have not the least inclination to leave him and select another in his stead.

71. O King! If you want to have my welfare, then give your daughter on an auspicious day and in an auspicious lagna to Sudars’ana, according to the prescribed rites.”

Thus ends the 20th Chapter on the Svayamvara hall and the kings’ conversation there in S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 21. On The King Of Benares Fulfilling The Advice Of His Daughter

1. Vyâsa said :-- On hearing the sound words of his daughter S’as’ikalâ, pregnant with reason, Subâhu the king of Benares, became very anxious and began to think what he would now, so short a space of time in this momentous occasion, thus :--

2-3. “The powerful kings, all, have come here on intention that they would fight and therefore they are all attended with their armies and followers respectively; and they are now sitting on their respective daises in the Svayamvara hall. If I go now and tell them that my daughter S’as’ikalâ is not willing to come of her own accord in the hall, the evil minded kings will certainly kill me out of their wrath.

4. I have not so much strength, whether in my army or in forts, as to be able to decline these kings and drive them away from my kingdom.

5. Sudars’ana, too is, alone, helpless, wealthless, and a mere boy. What shall I do now? Alas! I am now plunged in deep sorrow.”

6. Thinking thus, with head bowed down by humility, the king went to the kings, and said thus :--

7. “O Kings! The girl, though requested repeatedly by me and her mother, is not willing to come to this hall. What can I do now?

8-9. I am your servant and, bowing my head at the feet of you all, pray to you, to accept my worship and return to your own cities respectively. I am ready to give a sufficient quantity of gems and jewels, clothes, elephants, chariots. Kindly accept these and go back to your own homes.

10. My daughter is as yet a girl; if I chastise her, she may commit suicide; and I will be exceedingly sorry; therefore I am very much distressed with this thought.

11. You all are fortunate, energetic, and of a merciful disposition; what will it serve you to accept the daughter of mine, who is disobedient and unfortunate?

12. I am your obedient servant; shew your mercy on me and it is your duty to consider my daughter as your own daughter.”

13. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing Subâhu's words, the kings did not utter a single word; but Yudhâjit, with his eyes reddened out of wrath, began to address the king of Benares in an angry tone :--

14. “O King! You are a veteran fool; what do you say now after committing a most blameable act? Had you any doubt as to your proceedings, why have you, out of sheer delusion, called this meeting hall of Svayamvara, without thinking the matter before-hand.

15. You have invited the kings and princes in this marriage ceremony Svayamvara; and they all have assembled here; how can they now go back to their homes?

16. Are you going now to insult these? and will you give your daughter in marriage to Sudars’ana? Nothing can be more ignoble than this?

17. The welfare-seeking person ought to judge before-hand and then to act. But you have started your work without any previous judgment and decision. You will have to reap its fruit; there is no doubt this.

18. Why are you now thinking of giving your daughter to this helpless, wealthless Sudars’ana in the presence of kings that are powerful and that command a great militia.

19. O thou most sinful! Today I will certainly kill you; next I will kill Sudars’ana and then give your daughter to my daughter’s son; know that this is my firm resolve.

20. Who is there, when I am standing, in this assembly that can aspire to carry away the bridegroom elect by force or theft? Nothing to speak of Sudars’ana who is powerless, wealthless and a mere boy!

21. I spared his life before in the hermitage of Bhâradvâja at the Muni’s request; but today I will not spare the boy under any circumstances whatsoever.

22. Therefore, please go and consult with your wife and daughter and give your dear beautiful daughter to my daughter’s son.

23. Be engaged in a marriage tie with me by giving your exquisitely beautiful daughter to my daughter’s son. You can very well judge that it is always proper and advisable that a great man shall come under the protection of another great man.

24. What happiness can you expect from this Sudars’ana, who is helpless and banished from his kingdom, that you are going to give him your dear and auspicious daughter!

25. Family, wealth, army, appearance, kingdoms, forts and true friends and other helping persons; these a man should consider when he is going to give away his daughter in marriage to anybody; else there is no surety of happiness. Think over the royal custom and the never failing Dharma and do what is proper. Never it is advisable to do any act, abandoning the path of Dharma and morals.

26. You are my intimate friend; therefore I am telling you these good words. O king! Better bring your daughter, surrounded by her attendant maids, in this hall of Svayamvara.

27. Let this daughter select any man other than Sudars’ana; I have got no cause of quarrel; and the marriage will then be celebrated according to your will.

28-29. O best of kings! The other kings are all of high descent; and they have armies and are all in positions befitting your connection! If the daughter chooses any one amongst them, then no quarrels would arise. But if the daughter chooses Sudars’ana, then certainly I will carry her by force. Therefore, O king! act in such a way that no quarrels occur in future.”

30-31. Vyâsa said :-- Thus addressed by Yudhâjit, the king of Benares was very sorrowful, and, after a heavy sigh, went to his palace and told with a grieved heart to his wife, thus :-- “O fair eyed one! Now I am completely under your control; you better explain to S’as’ikalâ that a dreadful quarrel is now to occur; what am I to do now?”

32-33. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing her husband's words, the queen went to her daughter and spoke thus :-- “O child! Quarrels have now ensued amongst the kings for your sake; your father has become very sorrowful; therefore, O fair one! Choose any other man your husband than Sudars’ana.

34-35. O Child! If you do not judge and rashly choose Sudars’ana, then the powerful king Yudhâjit, possessing a large army, will no doubt kill you, me and Sudars’ana. It might be, if quarrels ensue, you might be married to another husband; therefore better think now and act.

36. O dear eyed! It is now your incumbent duty to choose another king for your husband, if you want your and my welfare and happiness. Leave Sudars’ana.”

37. The mother thus advised her daughter; the king, too, afterwards explained and tried to convince her. The girl spoke fearlessly.

38. “O king! What you have said is all true; but you know my firm resolve already. I won't ever select any other king than Sudars’ana.

39-40. O king! If you are afraid and be in agony, then do this thing: better give me in marriage to Sudars’ana and then drive us away from your city. He will put me in his chariot and go away out of your city. After that what is inevitable will surely come to pass. There cannot be anything otherwise.

41. O king! You need not fear anything about what is kept in the womb of future by Destiny. What is inevitable will happen; there is no doubt in this.”

42. The king said :-- “O child! The intelligent persons never show too much rashness and insolence. The learned people, versed in the Vedas, say it is never advisable to quarrel with many persons.

43. How can I give my daughter in marriage to one and then banish them both? The kings have turned out enemies. There is no heinous crime, that they cannot commit now.

44. O child! If it be your opinion, I can pledge something as a pawn for your marriage, as the king Janaka pledged in days of yore for her daughter Sitâ.

45-47. I will also put forward a pawn very difficult to be carried out, as Janaka originally made an offer of the hands of Sitâ to whomsoever, who would break the S’iva’s strong bow. Thus the quarrels amongst the kings might be diminished; for he who will be able to fulfill the promise, will be able to accept you. Then, be he Sudars’ana or any other king, whoever will be strong to fulfill the promise will take you as his wife.

48. Thus the quarrels will cease and I will also be able to perform your marriage ceremony in peace and happiness.”

49. The daughter said :-- “Father! On hearing from you, I am merged in an ocean of doubt, for it seems to me what you are saying is the act of a fool; already, I have chosen in my mind Sudars’ana for my husband; now it cannot be otherwise.

50. O king! The mind is the source of virtue and vice. When I have mentally selected, how can I now forego him and choose another?

51-52. O king! If you keep any pledge, then I will be subject to any and everybody; if one, two, or more fulfill the same pledge, I will be then subject to any or all of them. Father! in that case quarrels may arise. What shall  I do then? I cannot give my vote on this doubtful point.

53. O king! You need not fear anything. Better give me in marriage to Sudars’ana according to the prescribed rules; then, in that case, the Goddess Chandikâ will certainly protect us.

54. O king! Taking Whose Name destroys a whole host of sins, take Her Name and think the Almighty and perform carefully our marriage ceremony.

55. Better go to the king's assembly today, and, with folded hands, tell them come tomorrow to the hall of Svayamvara.

56-57. Thus bidding goodbye to the kings, perform in the right spirit, according to the prescribed rites, our marriage ceremony. Next, after giving fit dowries and other articles after the marriage, better tell the prince Sudars’ana to depart. The son of Dhruvasandhi will take me away with him.

58. If, at this, the kings get angry and be ready to quarrel with you, then in that case, the Goddess Bhagavatî will no doubt help us.

59. Sudars’ana then will fight against those kings; and if he loses his life perchance in the battle, then I will also follow him and die.

60. O king! Let all good come unto you! Better give me in marriage to Sudars’ana and remain here with your army. I will go alone with him, the object of my love.”

61. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing these words from her daughter, the king Subâhu trusted her, and firmly resolved to act according to that, and to celebrate the marriage of S’as’ikalâ.

Thus ends the 21st chapter on the king of Benares fulfilling the advice of his daughter in S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 22. On Sudars’ana’s Marriage

1. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Then, on hearing his daughter’s words, that high souled king of Benares, Subâhu, came to the spot where the kings were staying and said :-- “O kings! Now you can go to your own camps; tomorrow I will perform my daughter’s marriage ceremony.

2. Let you all be pleased with me and graciously accept the food and drink, given by me. Tomorrow let you all come here and perform my daughter’s marriage ceremony.

3. O Kings! My daughter is not coming today to this hall of Svayamvara; what can I do now; I will console her and bring her here tomorrow. Therefore do you all go now to your own camps respectively.

4. Intelligent persons should not quarrel with the members of their own family. But they should always shew kindness towards their own sons and daughters who are under their protection. However, I will make my daughter understand and bring her tomorrow morning. You may all go now to your places as you desire.

5. Tomorrow morning we will settle about the pledge, whether by choice or by fulfilling a promise, that requires strength, and have the marriage celebrated; or better you all together would decide what mode of Svayamvara is to be adopted.”

6. The kings heard Subâhu and trusted him. Then seeing that the city is well guarded on all sides, they went to their own camps and performed their mid-day duties.

7-8. The king Subâhu on this side began to perform all the duties regarding the marriage of his daughter, after duly consulting with all the chief members of the family. At the appointed time of marriage he brought his daughter in a well concealed and guarded chamber, had the bathing ceremony of the bridegroom elect performed by the priests, versed in the Vedas, and had him well dressed and did other requisite things. Then he brought the bridegroom in the house, made him seat on a Vedî (platform) and duly worshipped him.

9. Then the large-hearted king gave to the bridegroom seat, Âchamanîya (water for rinsing the mouth and such articles of food as require rinsing one’s mouth after eating them), Arghya (articles for worshipping deservedly, pâdyam, e.g., water for washing the feet with an offer of green grass, rice, etc., made in worshipping a God or a Brâhman), the two silken cloths and sheet, cows, and two ear-rings and then wanted to give Sudars’ana his daughter.

10. The high minded Sudars’ana accepted all the offerings given by the king. Seeing this, Manoramâ was relieved of her anxiety. Manoramâ began to think that beautiful and well adorned daughter as if the daughter of Kuvera (the God of wealth); and thanked herself and thought as if all her duties were over.

11. Then the royal ministers carried gladly and fearlessly the beautiful Sudars’ana, worshipped with ornaments and clothings, in a good nice carriage to the centre of the amusement court.

12. On the other hand, the elderly female members, who knew all about the prescribed rules, performed the dressing of the princess in a befitting manner and placing her in a beautiful conveyance took her before the bridegroom elect, in the marriage hall, where there was the platform regularly built.

13-14. The Sacred Fire was then lit, the royal priest began to perform the Homa ceremony duly; when the amusement ceremony of the bridegroom and bride united in love was duly performed, the priest called them there. After this the bridegroom and bride performed duly the Lâjâ Homa ceremony and circumambulated the Sacred Fire. Thus all the ceremonies, befitting the gotra and family, were all fully performed according to the prescribed rules.

15-17. Then the king Subâhu, excited by feelings of love, in the marriage time, gave to the prince Sudars’ana the following presents: well adorned two hundred chariots, with horses and the arrow cases filled with arrows, one hundred and twenty five elephants, dressed with golden ornaments, looking like so many mountains, one hundred beautiful female elephants and one hundred maid servants, all dressed in golden ornaments.

18-20. The king gave the bridegroom also one thousand servants well adorned, bearing the complete set of all sorts of weapons, many gems and jewels, clothings, nice variegated woolen clothes, beautiful capacious rooms to live in, and two thousand excellent horses born in the Sindhu country, three hundred good camels able to carry sufficient loads, and two hundred carriages, filled with grains, etc.

21. Then the king bowed to the king’s daughter Manoramâ and with clasped hands, said :-- “O royal daughter! I am now become your servant; now kindly say what is your desire?”

22. Hearing these beautiful words of the king, Manoramâ said :-- “O king! all good to you and let your family increase in sons and grandsons. You have increased my honour by giving in marriage your daughter (jewel) to my son. I have no other desire than to see your welfare constant and the increase in your family, posterity and prosperity.

23. O king! Your are the chief amongst the kings. Your have made my son great and strong like the Sumeru mountain by giving him your daughter in marriage. You are high and my related. I am not the daughter of a panegyrist or a bard; how can I then praise you for this noble act of yours.

24-25. O king! Your character is wonderful and pure. What more shall I say to you than this that you all, in the face of many other kings, have given your daughter to my son in marriage, who is banished from his kingdom, is deprived of his father and is living in the forest, penniless, armyless, subsisting himself on roots and fruits only.

26. In these cases the kings as a rule make relations with those only, who are their equals in rank and position, of noble families of equal grade, having forces and wealth equal to each other. No other king would have offered his beautiful well-qualified daughter in marriage to my prince who is without any wealth.

27. O king! On your this act, all the other kings, holding great influence and possessing armies, have turned out your enemies. I, being a woman am unable to describe the amount of patience in you.”

28. The king Subâhu of Benares, hearing the sweet words of Manoramâ was highly pleased and, with folded hands, began to say, “O Devî, you better take my this celebrated kingdom; I will become the commander of your forces and will try my best to guard this city.

29. Or you can take half of my kingdom and remain here with your son. It is not my desire that you leave this Benares and go and live in the forest.

30-31. The kings have become very offended; I will first try to appease them; if they be not satisfied, I will adopt the means of “gift” or sowing dissensions amongst them; and even, if, in that, I fail, I will ultimately take to war. O Devî! Victory or defeat is under the hands of the Destiny; still victory comes to those who are in the right path and defeat to those who are in the wrong path. How then can the victor arise to those sinful kings?”

32. Hearing the king’s words, pregnant with meaning, Manoramâ felt herself highly respected; and, with a cheerful heart, said the following good words.

33. “O king! let all good come on you! you better discard all fear and reign with your sons here; my son Sudars’ana, too, will become the king of Ayodhya by the Grace of S’rî Bhagavatî Bhuvanes’varî, the Supreme Cause of the innumerable worlds, and will roam in this world; there is no doubt in this.

34. May Bhagavatî Bhavanî bring all good unto you; now kindly permit us to depart to our homes, O king! I always contemplate the Highest Goddess Ambikâ; and I have no time to indulge in other thoughts.”

35. Thus, on various subjects, Manoramâ and the king Subâhu began to talk with each other, causing satisfaction to both like nectar, when the morning broke out.

36. The kings, knowing early in the morning, that the princess had been given away in marriage, became very much enraged and went out of the city and began to discuss with one another.

“We will kill today the king Subâhu, the disgrace amongst the kings as well that boy Sudars’ana, totally unfit to marry the princess, and take away the kingdom and the princess S’as’ikalâ. How can we return to our homes, with this severe disgrace, stamped on our heads.

37. Hear, O kings! the sound of the drums, mridangas, other instruments; the sounds of the conchshells have even been overpowered. Hark! The various musical sounds and the chanting of the Vedas. It is then certain that the King Subâhu has finished the marriage ceremony of his daughter S’as’ikalâ with Sudars’ana.

38. Oh! This king has deceived us with his words and performed the marriage ceremony, according to ordinary religious rules.

39. Now O kings! decide unanimously what to do and come to a definite conclusion.”

When the kings were thus discussing, the king of Benares, of indomitable prowess, the king Subâhu, after finishing his daughter’s marriage, came there with his famous friends to invite them.

40. Seeing the King of Benares present, all the other kings did not utter a single word, but they remained silent, beaming with anger.

41. Subâhu then approached to the kings, bowed down, and, with folded hands, said :-- “Be kind enough to come to my house for dinner.

42. O kings! My daughter S’as’ikalâ after all has selected Sudars’ana; I could not help in this. You are all kind and noble; therefore you all be peaceful and let the matter drop.”

43. The kings hearing him were filled with rage and said, “We have all taken food; our desires have been fulfilled; you better now go back to your own home.

44-45. Your behaviour with us is all right and proper; now do your other duties and let the kings go back to their homes.” Hearing these words of the kings, the king of Benares was very much terrified and returned home, thinking that the kings were all filled with rage and might do serious harm to him. Thus he began to pass away his time in dire anxiety.

46. Then the king Subâhu disappeared; the kings united made this resolve that they would block the passage of Sudars’ana, kill him, and take the girl away.

47. Some of these kings rather said :-- “What is the use in killing the king’s son. We will all go willingly to see the fun.”

48. Thus the kings went and remained blocking the path of Sudars’ana; and the king Subâhu, on returning home, began to make arrangements for the departure of the bridegroom and the bride.

Thus ends the 22nd Chapter on Sudars’ana's marriage in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 23. On The Killing Of The Enemy Of Sudars’ana In The Great War

1. Vyâsa said :-- After paying due respects to his new son-in-law, the king Subâhu cheerfully entertained him for six days with variety of good dishes.

2. Thus finishing off the marriage ceremony, the king after consulting with his ministers, presented the bridegroom and the bride various jewels and ornaments and other things given naturally on marriage occasions.

3. Then the king of Benares, of brilliant splendour, heard from his messengers that the kings had obstructed the way back of Sudars’ana and became very absent minded.

4. Then Sudars’ana, of firm resolve, told his father-in-law “O king! better now give us order that we may depart. We will go without any fear.

5. O king! First we will halt at the holy hermitage of Bhâradvâja Muni; and next we will, after due considerations, settle where we would go.

6. O pure one! You need not fear a bit from these kings; the Mother of the Universe, the Bhagavatî Bhavânî will surely protect us.”

7. Vyâsa said :-- O king Janamejaya! Hearing thus his son-in-law’s orders, the king Subâhu gave him a vast amount of wealth and bade good-bye to him. Sudars’ana, too, quickly departed.

8. The king Subâhu followed him with a Iong train of soldiers. Thus Sudars’ana went on, in his journey, fearless.

9. The great hero Sudars’ana, the descendant of Raghu, with his new consort in the chariot and followed by many other chariots, saw the soldiers of the several kings.

10. The king Subâhu, seeing them, became anxious. But Sudars’ana, gladly took refuge, with his whole heart, of the all-auspicious Goddess S’ankarî.

11. Sudars’ana began to recite silently the excellent one word seed mantra of the King of Desires (Kâmarâja) and, out of its power, he and his wife remained in the chariot without any fear and sorrow.

12. Then all the kings came there with their soldiers to fight with Sudars’ana and to carry away by force the bride. Thus a loud uproar arose.

13. The king of Benares seeing them wanted to kill them. But Sudars’ana, the descent of Raghu, desirous of victory, repeatedly asked him not do so.

14. Loud arose, then, the uproar, caused by the sounds of conchshells, bherri, and war drums of the kings on one side and Subâhu on the other, each of the two parties determining to extirpate the other.

15. S’atrujit prepared himself for the war to destroy his enemy. Yudhâjit came there for his help, well equipped with army, etc.

16-17. Some warrior kings remained there as witnesses with their soldiers. Then Yudhâjit went in front of Sudars’ana. His younger brother S’atrujit, too, attended Yudhâjit to kill his brother in the battle field. Then the warriors, overpowered with anger, shot each other with arrows.

18. A great encounter then ensued in the battle field with sharp arrows. The king of Benares hurriedly advanced there, with a great body of army, to relieve his son-in-law.

19. Thus when the dreadful war began to grow more and more horrible, the Goddess Bhagavatî suddenly appeared there, mounted on Her lion.

20-21. The beauty of Her body was exceedingly lovely; She was adorned with various excellent ornaments and She held various weapons. She wore divine clothings and the beautiful Mandâra garland suspended from Her neck up to Her knees. The kings were greatly astonished to see Her. They began to argue “Who in this Lady, mounted on a lion? Whence has She so suddenly come?”

22-23. Beholding Her, Sudars’ana told the king of Benares “O king! Behold! The Divine Mahâ Devî has come here to favour us. She is very merciful. Now I am completely fearless.”

24. Sudars’ana and Subâhu were highly delighted to see the Beautiful Goddess and bowed down to Her feet with great devotion.

25. Then the lion, the vehicle of the Goddess, roared, making tremendous noise. Hearing the roaring of the lion, all the elephants trembled. At that time, the winds began to blow violently and the four quarters assumed an awful appearance.

26-27. Then Sudars’ana told his general to carry soon his forces where the kings were staying, blocking his way. “What could the vicious kings do now, though they had become very angry? The Goddess Bhagavatî had come there to save us.

28. Now you all go safely and calmly through the midst of the kings. See! At my remembering Her, She has come here mercifully to save us.”

29-30. The general, on hearing these words, became ready to march by that route. Then Yudhâjit, very much infuriated with anger, said to all the kings :-- “Why are you all so much fear stricken? Kill this Sudars’ana, stealing away this girl.

31. This lad, weak and without any support, will carry away by force and fearlessly the girl, spiting all the kings; and won’t you be able to do anything? This is very strange!

32. Are you afraid to see this one lady on a lion? O high minded kings! Never trifle away this boy; kill him with all attention.

33. Killing him, we will then take away this girl. The jackal can never snatch away the lady under the grasp of a lion.”

34. Thus saying, the king Yudhâjit, filled with anger, came to the battle field with S’atrujit and all his forces.

35-36. That wicked king, drew his bow string well nigh to his ear and shot arrows after arrows, sharpened under stone and by blacksmith at Sudars’ana, with the object of killing him. Sudars’ana cut off all those arrows quickly with his own quick going arrows.

37. Thus when the fight grew intense, the Goddess Chandikâ became very mach enraged and shot arrows at Yudhâjit.

38. Assuming diverse forms, the Goddess Durgâ, holding various weapons the auspicious Mother of the Universe, began to fight terribly in the battle field.

39. S’atrujit and the king Yudhâjit were killed in that terrible battle. Both of them fell dead from their chariots; and a shout of victory arose from the side of Sudars’an.

40. The uncle and cousin of the king Subâhu were on the side of Yudhâjit and were killed. The kings were very much astonished to see them thus lying dead.

41. The king Subâhu, seeing them dead in the battlefield became very glad and began to praise and sing hymns in honour of Durgâ Devî the Destroyer of all difficulties.

42-43. I bow to the auspicious Goddess Jagaddhâtrî, again and again; I bow to the Bhagavatî Durgâ the bestower of all desires; I always bow down to Her Who is auspicious, peace giving, and the Higher Vidyâ. O Mother! O Giver of salvation! O Auspicious One! You are pervading the whole Universe, O World Mother! and Upholder of the Universe! I bow down to Thee.

44. O World-mother! O Devî! you are devoid of Prâkritic qualities; you are full of qualities; beyond mind and speech; one cannot think out your prowess, etc., by one’s mind. Mother! you are the Highest Force; ever willing to destroy the miseries of your devoted persons. Your influence is manifest everywhere; what eulogy can I sing of Thee.

45. O Devî! You are the Goddess of Vâk (speech) of all beings; you are the all pervading intelligence, mind, effort, and movements; you are the controller of the minds of all; therefore how can I praise You? O Goddess; You are the Self of all; how can I sing eulogies to You, who are beyond speech and mind, and to the Universal Self.

46. Brahmâ, Hari and Hara and other higher Devas have not been able to find the limits of your qualities, though they are incessantly chanting your praises; O Goddess! I am the small of the smallest, I am without qualification, and bound by Prâkritic qualities; I am ignorant as regards Jîva and Brahmâ. O Mother! I will never be able to describe Your characteristics that are unfathomable.

47. O Mother! why not good companionships effect the fulfilment of one’s desires. The purification of my heart has been effected incidentally. O Mother! my son-in-law is wholly devoted to you; accidentally there has arisen the connection between him and me and it is on account of his connection that I have been able to see You.

48. O Mother! Today I have got without any restraint and control of passions, and samâdhi, the rare vision of You, who is wanted to be seen even by Brahmâ, Hari and Hara, Indra and the other Devas and by the Munis, who have attained their realisation. Therefore who is there in this Trilokî, that is so fortunate as I am.

49. O Bhavânî! Where am I, void of intelligence and where is the rare vision of You, Who is the only medicine of this disease of the ocean of world? Still, O Mother! Who is worshipped by the Devas, I have got Your vision. Now I have come to know that You always show mercy to Your Bhaktas, who are in their Bhavas (mental images of your Self).

50. O Goddess! You have saved Sudars’an in this great war crisis and You have slain these two powerful enemies. How can I describe your prowess in this matter? This I have understood that Your Holy Character ever shows mercy on Your devotees.

51. O Goddess! Again this is not a matter to be wondered at, if one considers; for You are protecting this whole universe, moving and unmoving; and accordingly You have now protected, out of Your mercy, your Bhakta Sudars’ana, the son of Dhruvasandhi, by killing his enemy.

52. O Bhavânî! It is not merely for the protection of your Bhaktas, engaged in Your service, that You shew this favour but also to extol the meritorious deeds of your Bhaktas that You do such things; otherwise how is it that this Bhakta saintlike Sudars’ana, by marrying my daughter, has got victory in this battle field?

53. O Mother! You are fully capable to destroy the fear of birth and death. What wonder is there that you fulfill the desires of your Bhaktas? The Bhaktas extol You by characterising You as Saguna (full of qualities), Nirguna (devoid of any quality) and Apârâ, beyond all merits and demerits.

54. O Goddess! O Bhuvanes’varî! I am fortunate that I have been able to see You, and thus all my duties have become crowned with success. O Mother! I have no practices in the shape of Your meditation, etc. nor do I know any seed mantras of Yours; today I have fully seen Your glory manifested.

55. Vyâsa said :-- Thus extolled by the king Subâhu, the Goddess Bhagavatî, the Bestower of the Absolute Freedom, was pleased and said “O thou, practiser of good vows! Ask boon from Me.”

Thus ends the twenty third chapter on the killing of the enemy of Sudars’ana in the great war, in S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 24. On The Installation Of Durgâ Devî In The City Of Benares

1. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing the Devî’s words, the king Subâhu began to say with great devotion thus :--

2-3. O Devî! If there be made a comparison between the kingdom of the Devas and the world on the one hand and the vision of Thine on the other hand, then it must be acknowledged that the kingdom of the Devas and the earth cannot stand in comparison before Thee. O Devî! There cannot be anything, in this Trilokî, that is more exalted than Thy vision; therefore, O Mother! What other boon may I ask from Thee. I am very thankful and blessed; all my desires are fulfilled, when I have seen Thee.

4-5. O Auspicious Mother! I ask from You this boon, my desire that my devotion may remain constant, fixed, and unflinching towards You. O Mother! You would remain always in this city of mine being celebrated under the name of S’rî Durgâ Devî, Your S’akti. This is my desire.

6-9. O Devî! As you have cleared off all the obstacles of Sudars’ana and saved him from this danger, so remain here in this city of Benares and protect it, so long as this city stands on the face of the earth and make it firm and well established and renowned. O Durgâ, I pray that you may grant me these boons. O Devî! Grant me also various other desires of mine and destroy my enemies and extirpate all the irreligious and wicked people in this city. O Goddess of mercy! What more can I ask from you?

10-11. Vyâsa said :-- Thus praising and praying, the king Subâhu stood, with folded hands, before the Devî Durgâ, the remover of all calamities, when She addressed thus :-- O king! I will remain no doubt, in this city of Benares, the place of salvation, as long as it stands on the face of the earth and protect all the people here.

12. Then came there Sudars’ana, heartily gladdened; and he bowed to Her and began to praise Her with intense joy and devotion.

13. O Mother of this Universe! Everyone in this world shows mercy to those that are devoted to him; but, O Mother! I see, in Your case, You take it as if Your bounden duty, to save those, that are void of any devotion towards You; for You have saved my life, though I am devoid of any devotion towards you. Therefore how can I describe the boundless ocean of mercy that reigns in You!

14. O Goddess! I have heard that You have created all this Universe, with its elements, and You are preserving this Your own creations and again You will destroy it in due time. Therefore O Mother! What wonder is there that you have saved me!

15. O Goddess! Now order me early what work of Yours shall I do now? Where shall I go? O Mother! Now I am unable to make out my duty; therefore kindly order me whether I will remain here or go anywhere else or remain anywhere, I like, at my leisure?

16. Vyâsa said :-- On Sudars’ana thus petitioning before the Devî, She said with much kindness :-- “O good soul! Go to Ayodhyâ and govern the country befitting your family.

17. O king! Constantly remember Me and worship Me with great care. I will always look after the welfare of your kingdom.

18. Especially in the eighth, fourteenth, and in the ninth day of the lunar half month, worship Me according to the prescribed rites and rules and offer me victims (sacrifices).

19. O sinless one! Establish my image in this city and worship it three times, morning, mid-day and evening carefully and with devotion.

20. It is noteworthy that My Great Puja in autumn for the nine nights (Navarâtra) ought to be done with the greatest devotion.

21-22. O king! In the month of Chaitra, Mâgh, Âs'vîn, and Âsâdha, My grand festival should be done on the four Navarâtris respectively; and especially on the fourteenth and on the eighth day of the black half, all persons ought to worship Me with their minds full of devotion towards Me.”

23. Vyâsa said :-- After the Devî, the Goddess Durgâ, the Destroyer of all dangers, had finished Her sayings, Sudars’ana bowed down to Her and praised Her much. The Devî, giving him the above mentioned advices, disappeared.

24. Seeing Her disappear, all the kings went to Sudars’ana and bowed to him, as the Devas go to their lord, the Indra.

25. The king of Benares, Subâhu, too, gladly bowed down and stood before him. Then all the kings began to address Sudars’an, the king of Ayodhyâ.

26. “O king! You are our lord and governor; we are always your servants; protect us as the king of Ayodhyâ.

27. O king! It is through your grace only that we have seen the Supreme Force, the Goddess of this Universe, the most Auspicious, the Eternal Bhavânî, the Giver of the fourfold desires.

28. O king! It is for your sake that the Eternal, Highest Prakriti Devî appeared; therefore you are very fortunate, auspicious, and most blessed in this world. Your have finished, as it were, all that you had to do.

29. O king! We all are deluded by the Mâyâ of that Mahâmâyâ Chandikâ Devî; therefore none of us is able to know Her prowess.

30. We are always engaged in thinking of wealth, sons and wives; there we are merged in this awful ocean of delusion, infested with crocodiles, etc., in the shape of lust, anger, greed, etc.

31. O Blessed one! You are highly enlightened and you know everything; hence we ask you What is this Force; whence has She sprung? How is Her prowess? Kindly describe all these to us.

32. O Descendant of Kakud! The saints are always merciful; kindly therefore relate to us the glory of the Excellent Goddess, that serves the purpose of a boat in crossing this ocean of world (transmigration).

33. O king! I am intensely desirous to hear the prowess and nature of the Devî.”

Note :-- Kakud is an epithet of Puranjaya, son of S'asâda, a king of the solar dynasty, and a descendant of Ikshvâku. The Mythology relates that when in their war with the demons, the gods were often worsted; they, headed by Indra went to the powerful king Puranjaya and requested him to be their friend in battle. The latter consented to do so, provided Indra carried him on his shoulders. Indra accordingly assumed the form of a bull and Puranjaya seated on its hump, completely vanquished the demons. Puranjaya is therefore Kakutstha ‘standing on a hump.’

34. Vyâsa said :-- When the kings had thus asked, the son of Dhruvasandhi, the king Sudaras'ana became very glad and, meditating on the Goddess, began to say thus :--

35. “O kings! Indra and the other Devas, even Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a are unable to fathom the most exalted deeds of that Goddess; how, then, can I describe to you the great glory of the Mahâmâyâ.

36-38. O kings! The Bhagavatî Bhavânî is present, as it were, being divided into four parts. She who is the first and foremost, the excellent Sâttvic Energy, worshipped by all, is always engaged in the preservation of this world. That part which is engaged in creating this world, is called the Râjasik Energy; and that part which is engaged in destroying the world is called the Tâmasik Energy, and that part which is the cause of all, Brahmâ, etc., that Highest S’akti, the Bestower of all desires, is called the fourth S’akti, the Nirgunâ S’akti.

39. O kings! Those who are not Yogis, will never be able to grasp the Nirgunâ S’akti. The Sagunâ Force can be easily served. All those middle Adhikâris (fit persons) and learned men always meditate and worship the Sagunâ Aspect of Her.”

40-41. The kings said :-- “O king! You got afraid and went in your very early age to the forest; how is it, then, that you have been able to know the excellent Goddess Mahâmâyâ. How did you worship and pray to Her? That She, becoming so glad, has favoured you and so helped you?”

42-43. Sudars’an said :-- “O kings! Early in my childhood, I got the excellent root-mantra of desires, Kâmavîja; daily I meditated and silently uttered that mantram. After that I came to realise through the Risis That Eternal Auspicious Mother; and since that time, day and night, I always used to remember that Highest Deity; with the greatest devotion.”

44. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing the words of Sudars’ana, the kings came to know that the Goddess which they saw was the Highest Force and filled with the greatest devotion towards Her, returned to their own homes.

45. The king of Benares, Subâhu, returned to his own city after bidding good-bye to Sudars’ana. The virtuous Sudars’ana, too, went towards his Kosala kingdom.

46. The ministers were very glad to hear the death of S’atrujit and to see the victory of Sudars’ana.

47-48. The inhabitants and armies of Sâkata (Ayodhyâ) hearing that Sudars’ana is coming and knowing him to be the son of the king Dhruvasandhi, became highly delighted and approached to him with various offerings.

49-50. Sudars’ana, with his new consort, arrived at Ayodhyâ with his heart highly gladdened, and shewed his due regard and respect towards all his subjects. Then the ministers came and sainted him; the women threw at him offerings of Lâja (fried rice) and flowers; the bards began to praise loudly. Thus, honoured by various auspicious ceremonies, the king entered into his palace.

Here ends the 24th chapter on the installation of Durgâ Devî in the city of Benares and the return to Ayodhyâ of Sudars’ana in the Mahâ Purânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 25. On The Installation Of The Devî In Ayodhyâ And Benares

1-4. Vyâsa said :-- The king Sudars’ana, surrounded by his friends, on coming to the palace at Ayodhyâ, bowed down to Lîlâvatî, the mother of S’atrujit, and said :-- “O mother! I swear by touching your feet, that I have not killed in battle your son S’atrujit nor your father Yudhâjit; it is the Devî Durgâ that has killed them; I am not to be blamed a bit in this. O mother! You need not be sensitive in this; there is no remedy for what will inevitably come to pass; therefore you do not be sorry for the death of your son; you must know that the Jîvas enjoy pleasure and pain as the results of their own Karmas.

5. O mother! I am your servant; you are entitled to the same respect and worship as Manoramâ, my own mother; there is no difference whatsoever between her and you.

6. O mother! One must bear the effects of one’s Karma, good or bad; therefore when pleasure or pain arises, you should not be glad or otherwise.

7. When pain arises, more pain is said to be conceived and when pleasure arises, more pleasure is seen. But the learned say that man ought not to subject himself to excessive pleasure or pain.

8. O mother! This whole world is under Fate, Destiny; nothing of it is yours. Therefore the intelligent persons ought not to grieve their hearts at any time with sorrow.

9. As the wooden dolls dance in a stage as danced by the actor, so the individual souls here work as the results of their past Karmas; there is no doubt in this.

10. O mother! I know that the effect of one’s own Karma, must have to be borne; it is, on that account, that I never felt sorrow in my exile in the forest.

11. You are quite aware that my mother’s father was killed here, and my mother, becoming very much afraid and sorrowful, took me and escaped to the forest.

12-13. The robbers robbed us of everything save our clothes on our bodies; I was then very young; my mother was without any shelter; she carried me with this minister Vidalla and my helpless nurse to the hermitage of Bhâradvâja.

14. There the kind hermit and his wife and the other wives of the hermits protected our lives in that forest, with the roots and fruits, that can be obtained there in that forest. Thus our time passed.

15. Mother! I had felt no pain then; nor do I feel any pleasure at present, when wealth is flowing unto me. What more to say, I have no feeling of jealousy or envy whatsoever in my mind.

16. O mother! Rather it is better, in my eyes, to subsist on roots and fruits than to enjoy kingdoms; for the kings go to hell; but the ascetics living on roots and fruits never meet with that result.

17. The wise should undoubtedly practice Dharma and control their passions and thus save themselves from being led into hells.

18-19. O mother! The human birth in this auspicious Bhâratvarsa is seldom obtained. The enjoyments in eating and drinking are possible in every womb, but it is highly incumbent on us when we have got the privilege of this human birth, to earn Dharma, leading to the Heavens and salvation which can be very rarely attained in being born in other wombs.”

20-21. Vyâsa said :-- When Sudars’ana had told thus, Lîlâvatî became very abashed; she cast aside the sorrow for the death of her son, told him with tears in her eyes :-- “O my son Sudars’ana! I am very much guilty on account of my father Yudhâjit killing your mother’s father and taking hold of the sovereignty of this kingdom.

22. I could not then hinder my father and son; whatever unlawful evil and cruel deeds were then committed, all were done by my father Yudhâjit. Therefore, my child, I am not to be made guilty in any way in these doings.

23. Both my father and son were killed out of the wickedness of their own actions; how can you account for those wicked things? Child! I am not expressing sorrow at the death of my son; I have been pained by his doings.

24-25. O noble souled one; You are my son; Manoramâ is my sister; Child! I am not at all offended with you nor am I the least sorry for your obtaining the kingdom; Child! you are very fortunate; therefore you have obtained, by the grace of Bhagavatî, this kingdom without any enemies; now rule your subjects according to the prescribed rules of Dharma.”

26-28. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The king Sudars’ana heard Lîlâvatî and bowed down at her feet. Then he went to the beautiful palace where Manoramâ had previously gone and began to live there. Inviting the ministers and the astrologers, he asked them what was the auspicious day and the auspicious moment, that he can establish Durgâ Devî on a beautiful golden throne and he would worship Her.

29. “O ministers! First I will install on the throne the Devî, the Awarder of the four main objects of human pursuits (viz. virtue, wealth, enjoyment and final beatitude) and then I will govern my kingdom like the kings S’rî Râma Chandra and others.

30. All the people of this city of Ayodhyâ ought also to worship this Auspicious S’akti, the Highest Energy, the Giver of all desires and Siddhis, and that is respected and adored by all.”

31. The ministers, on hearing his words, had a beautiful palace built by the engineers, artists and workmen and proclaimed in the city the king’s proclamation.

32. Then the king Sudars’ana had an image of the Devî nicely built and got that installed with the help of the Pundits, versed in the Vedas, on an auspicious day and at an auspicious moment.

33. The intelligent king performed the worship and Homa ceremony, according to the prescribed rules, and thus finally settled the ceremony of invocation of the Deity into the new image and established it as an idol in the temple.

34. O Janamejaya! There the soundings of the various drums and other musical instruments, the chanting of the Veda mantrams by the Brâhmanas, and sweet music were heard; and various sorts of festivities and rejoicings were celebrated.

35. Vyâsa said :-- Thus completing the installation ceremony of the Durgâ Devî by the Brâhmanas, versed in the Vedas, the king Sudars’ana duly worshipped the image in various ways, etc.

36. Thus gaining his father’s kingdom and worshipping the Devî, he and the Devî became celebrated throughout the kingdom.

37. The religious largehearted Sudars’ana, on gaining his kingdom, brought all the other feudatory princes under his control by the sheer force of his religious character.

38. The subjects became happy and got honor in the reign of Sudars’ana, as they got before in the reigns of Dilîp, Raghu and Râmachandra.

39. The virtue of all the citizens under Varnâs’rama shone complete with all its four pâdas; and there remained none in the world irreligious.

40. In villages after villages, the chief townsmen began to build temples, worship the Goddess there with all their jolliness. Thus everywhere in the Kosala kingdom spread the Devî worship.

41. On the other hand, the king Subâhu established the Idol in Benares, had temples built and worshipped there the Devî.

42. The inhabitants of Kâs’î became then filled with devotion and intense love towards the Devî and duly worshipped Her, as they used to do to S’iva in the temple of Vis’vanâtha.

43. Thus the Durgâ Devî became very widely celebrated in this world. O king! Thus in different countries, the devotion began to increase towards the Goddess.

44. The Devî Bhagavatî Bhavânî became in every way an object to be worshipped and adored by all people and everywhere in Bhâratavarsa.

45. The people began to recite slowly, meditate, and chant hymns as advocated by the Âgamas constantly and became deeply attached to the S’akti worship and began to be looked upon with the highest honour by others.

46. O king! From that time all the people used to worship, perform Homa ceremony and sacrifice duly in honour of the Devî in every Navarâtri (for the first nine days of the bright half in the months of Âs’vin and Chaitra).

Here ends the 25th Chapter on the installation of the Devî in Ayodhyâ and Benares in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 26. On The Narration Of What Are To Be Done In The Navarâtri

1. Janamejaya said :-- “O Best of the Brâhmins! What are men to do in the time of Navarâtra? Especially in the Navarâtra ceremony during the autumnal season how is the ceremony to be performed? Kindly relate all this with the prescribed rules and regulations.

2. O intelligent one! What are the fruits therein of the Navarâtra ceremony? and what are the rules to be observed? Kindly describe all these to me.”

3-5. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hear about the vow of auspicious Navarâtra. This has to be performed with loving devotion in the vernal season; but its special season is autumn. The two seasons, autumn and spring, are famous as the teeth of Yama, the God of Death; and these are the two seasons, very hard for the persons to cross over. Therefore every goodfaring man should everywhere perform this vow very carefully.

6-8. O king! The people are very much afflicted with various terrible diseases in these two seasons autumn and spring and many lose their lives during these portions of the year. Therefore the wise should unquestionably worship with great devotion the Chandikâ Devî in these auspicious months of Chaitra and Âs’vin.

9-11. On the day previous to the commencement of the vow, when the Amâvasyâ tithi commences, one should collect the materials that will be required in the worship and should eat only once in that tithi what is called Habisyânna (sacred food, boiled rice with ghee) and should on that day prepare an open shade in a temporary building, twenty four (24) feet in dimensions, on a level piece of ground, that is considered holy; it is to be equipped with a post and a flag. Next, this is to be heaped over with yellow earth and cow dung. Then a raised platform called the Vedî, six feet wide and one and a half foot high, level and hard, is to be erected, and provided with an excellent space thereon for the seat of the Devî. Provisions are to be made also for ornamented gate ways and an awning over the top.

12-17. One should invite then, those Brâhmins, that observe fully the customs and usages, who are self restrained and versed in the Vedas and Vedângas, especially those who are skilled in the ceremony of worshipping the Devî.

Next, in the Pratipad tithi (the first day of the bright half), one should take one’s morning ablutions in a river, or in a lake, tank or a well or in one’s own residence, according to rules, and one should perform one’s every day practices of Sandhyâ Bandanam. Afterwards he should appoint the Brâhmins and give them water for washing their feet and Arghya (offerings of grass, rice, etc.,) and Madhuparka (an oblation of honey and milk, etc.) and give then, as his means permit, clothings and ornaments to them. If he happens to be rich, he should never show his miserliness here in making these gifts; for if the Brâhmins be satisfied, they will try their best to make the ceremony a complete success. O king! The Chandî paths (the reading of the book called Chandî) and Bhâgavata paths (the reading of some portions of the book named Bhâgavat) are done on this occasion, for the satisfaction of the Goddess; and either nine Brâhmins or five or three or at least one Brâhmin should be appointed for the purpose. Moreover one other Brâhmin, of a restrained and calm nature, is to be appointed, who would observe the fasting on the day previous (pârâyana). All these being done, the able man is to perform the ceremony preparatory to the solemn Devî worship, (in which the priest utters the Vedîc mantra Svasti-vâchana, Svasti na Indro vriddhas’ravâh, etc.). Om Hrîm S’rîm Dûm Dûrgâyai namah is the nine lettered Dûrgâ mantra.

18-20. O king! When the ceremony has been thus commenced, one should place on the Vedî (a raised platform; an altar), the throne fitted with double silken clothes; and, on that throne, he should place the image of the Devî. The Devî, the Eternal World-Mother, is to be four-armed or eighteen armed, (4 or 18) fully provided with all the weapons, ornamented with garlands of pearls and jewels, decorated with various ornaments of gems and precious stones, wearing excellent heavenly clothings, all the parts of the image being artistically finished and endowed with all the auspicious signs, mounted on a lion, and holding conch shell, wheel, club, and lotus in Her hands.

Note :-- The Devî, here, is represented with four (4) or eighteen (18) hands.

21-22. In the absence of the image, one should place an earthen water-pot, on that throne, thoroughly purified by the Vedîc Mantras, filled with gold and jewels, and filled fully with the water, brought from a sacred river or a sacred place of pilgrimage and with five young shoots of plants, the extremities of branches bearing new leaves immersed in water. Beside the water-pot on the throne, there should be a symbol (Diagram or Yantra) with the nine lettered Mantram (Om Hrîm S’rîm Chandikâyai namah) in it for the purpose of worship.

23. One should place on one’s side all the materials of worship in their due places, and then have the music and other sounding drums played, for the good fortune and prosperity of the family.

Note :-- Look for the mantras in the book Mantramaho Dadhi.

24. O king! If the first day be the Nandâ tithi (i.e., the first day of the bright half with the asterism Hastâ in the ascendant), then that is the best time for worshipping duly the Holy Goddess. There is no doubt that special fortunate results would arise on this.

25. On the previous night, one should observe fasting, or on the previous day one should take only one meal of Habisyânna (boiled rice and ghee) and on the next day one should make a Sankalpa (an avowal of the purpose to perform a rite) and then begin worship.

26. One should pray before the Goddess thus, “O Mother, Mother of the World! I will perform this excellent Navarâtra vow; be pleased to help me in every respect.”

27. One is to observe, as far as possible, all the rules enjoined in this vow and then utter the mantras and do the worship according to the prescribe rules.

28-31. First of all, one should worship duly the Goddess Jagaddhâtri, presenting Her Chandan (sandal paste), Aguru (a fragrant wood, the aloe wood), Camphor, the flowers Mandâra (one of the five trees of the celestial regions), Karaja a kind of fragrant flower)! As’oka, Champaka, Karavir, Mâlatî, and Brâhmî and various lovely sweet scented flowers and good Bel leaves, Dhûpa (incense, a fragrant gum burnt before idols) and lamps. Next one should present the fruits cocoanut, Mâtulinga, the pomegranate, bananas, oranges, the jack fruits, Bel and various other delicious fruit and then, offering Her arghya, present boiled rice and other food with a heart, full of devotion.

32. Those who eat meat, they can sacrifice animals in this worship of the Devî; and, for this purpose, goat and wild boars are the best.

33-34. O sinless one! The goats, etc., offered as a sacrifice before the Devî attain to unending heavens. Therefore persons offering the sacrifices of goats do not incur any sin. O king! The goats, etc., and other beast offered as a sacrifice before the Devas undoubtedly go to the heavenly regions; therefore, in all the S’âstras, it has been decided that this killing of animals in a sacrifice is considered as non-killing.

35. Now, for doing the Homa ceremony one should prepare, according to one’s requirements, a triangular pit from one to ten hands in dimension and a triangular level piece of ground covered with sand.

36. Daily, thrice, one should worship the Devî with various lovely articles and finally make a great festivity with dancing, singing and music.

37. Everyday he should sleep on the ground and worship the virgins (young girl from the age of two to the age of ten) with nectar like sweetmeats and beautiful clothings aud ornaments.

38. Everyday one virgin or increased by one, two, or three every day or nine virgins in all the days respectively are to be worshipped.

39. O king! One should perform worshipping this Kumârî (virgin) Pujâ for the satisfaction of the Devî, as his means allow; never one is to shew miserliness in this.

40. O king! Hear the rules of the virgin worship that I am going to tell you. The virgin, aged one year, is not to be worshipped; for they are quite ignorant as to smell and tasting various delicious things.

41-43. The virgin aged two years is named the Kumârî; aged three years is named the Trimurtî four years, is called the Kalyânî; five years, Rohinî; six years, Kâlikâ; seventh year, Chandikâ; eighth year, S’âmbhavî; ninth year, Dûrgâ; and a virgin, aged ten years, is called Subhadrâ. Virgins aged more than ten years are not allowed in all ceremonies.

44. One should worship these virgins, taking their names and observing all the rules. I am now mentioning the different results that arise from the worship of these nine classes of virgins.

45. The worship of Kumârî leads to the extinction of miseries and poverty, to the extirpation of one’s enemies and the increment of riches, longevity and power.

46. The Trimurtî Pujâ yields longevity, and the acquisition of the three things, Dharma, wealth, and desires, the coming in of riches, sons and grandsons.

47. Those who want learning, victory, kingdom and happiness, they should worship the Kalyânî, the fructitier of all desires.

48-49. Men should worship Rohinî duly for the cure of diseases. For the destruction of enemies, the worship of the Kâlikâ with devotion is the best. For prosperity and riches, Chandikâ is to be worshipped with devotion. O king! For the enchanting and overpowering of one’s enemies, for the removal of miseries and poverty, and for victory in battles, S’âmbhavî worship is the best.

50-51. For the destruction of awfully terrible enemies and for happiness in the next world, the worship of Dûrgâ is the safest and best. People worship Subhadrâ when they want their desires to be fulfilled.

52. People should, with great devotion, worship the Kumârîs (virgins) with the mantrams “S’rîrastu” or other mantrams, beginning with “S’rî” or with the seed mantrams.

53. The Goddess who can create without any difficulty all the sacred tattvas of the Kumâr Kârtikeya and who effects, as if in sport, the creation of all the Devas Brahmâ and others; I am worshiping the same Kumârî Devî.

54. She who is appearing under the three forms as differentiated by the three gunas Sâttva, Râjas, and Tâmas, and who is appearing in multiple forms, owing to the differentiations of the three gunas again into various minor differences, I am worshipping Her the Trimûrtî Devî.

55. She who being worshipped always fares us with auspicious things, I am worshipping Her, with devotion, the Kumârî Kalyânî, the awarder of all desires.

56. I am worshipping the Rohinî Devî with a heart, full of devotion who is germinating all the karmas in seed forms, that have accumulated owing to past deeds.

57. She who, at the end of a Kalpa gathers unto Her in the form of Kâlî all this Universe, moving and unmoving, I worship that Kâlikâ Devî with devotion.

58. She, who is furious and wrathful and hence is called Chandikâ and who killed the two Demons Chanda and Munda I bow down to Her humbly with devotion, to that Chandikâ Devî, who destroys the terrible sins.

59. I worship that S’âmbhavî Devî, the giver of all pleasures and happiness, whose form is the Veda Brahmâ, and whose origin is without any cause, and whe is so recited in the Vedas.

60. She who saves from danger her devotees and who always delivers from various difficulties and troubles, whom all the Devas are incapable to know, I worship with devotion that Dûrgâ Devî the destroyer of all calamities.

61. I, with my mind devoted, offer my salutations to that Subhadrâ Devî, Who procures all auspiciousness to Her devotees and removes all inauspicious incidents.

62. Thus, in the mantrams, above described, people should always worship the virgin girls, giving them clothings, ornaments, garlands, scents, and various other articles.

Here ends the 26th Chapter on the narration of what are to be done in the Navarâtri in the Mahâ Purânam in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 27. On The Virgins Fit To Be Worshipped And The Glory Of The Devî

1. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Those Kumârîs, who are defective in limbs, who are lepers, who are filled with sores and ulcers over their bodies, whose bodies emit offensive smell or whose bodies are polluted, or those who are of a bad family are never to be accepted for worship in the Navarâtra ceremony festival.

2-3. Those who are born blind, who are squint-eyed, who are blind of one eye, of disgraceful appearance, whose bodies are overgrown with hairs, or who are diseased or who are in their menstruation or in any other signs, indicating thus their passionate youthful tendencies, or those who are very lean and thin, or born of widows, or of women unmarried are always to be avoided in this Pûjâ.

4. O king! It is only the healthy, graceful, beautiful, without any ulcers, and who are not bastards, those virgins are to be selected for the Kumârî Pûjâ.

5. In all the cases, the Kumârîs, born of the Brâhmin families, can be taken; when victory is desired, the Kumârîs of the Kshattriya families are preferred; when profit is wanted, the Vais’ya Kumârîs and, when general welfare is wanted, the S’ûdra Kumârîs are to be taken.

6-7. O king! In the Navarâtri Pûjâ, the Brâhmins should select for worship the Brâhmin Kumârîs; Kshattriyas, Brâhmin or Kshattriya; the Vais’ya worshippers can select for worship Brâhmin, Kshattriya, or Vais’ya Kumârîs. And the S’ûdra worshippers can select, for worship, any of the four classes. But artists and artisans should select for worship the Kumârîs from their own families and tribes respectively.

8. If persons become unable to worship on all the days, then it is advised that they should perform the special worship on the eighth day (Astamî tithi).

9-10. In ancient times, on the eighth day, Bhadra Kâli Goddess, the destroyer of the sacrifice, started by Daksa, appeared on that day in hideous forms, surrounded by hundreds and lakhs of Yoginîs (one of a class of sixty goddesses or female attendants on Kâli). Therefore one should worship in particular on the eighth day with scents, garlands, and pastes and various offerings.

11. On this day, Pâyasa (a food prepared of rice, milk and sugar), and fresh fish are to be specially offered to the Deity. The Homa ceremonies, feasting of the Brâhmans, and the worship of the Mother Goddess are done with various offerings, the fruits and flowers, and in good quantities.

12. O king! Those who are unable to observe the fasting in this Navarâtra Pûjâ, will reap the same fruits, if they observe fasting for the three days only the Saptamî, the Astamî, and the Navamî tithis.

13. On the seventh, eighth, and ninth days, in these three tithis (lunar days) if one worships with devotion, one will acquire all the merits.

14. When the Devî’s worship, Homa, Kumârî worship and the feasting of the Brâhmanas, all these are done, know that the Navarâtri Pûjâ is completed.

15. O Janamejaya! No worship or vow or charitable gifts extant in this world, can be compared, as regards their meritorious effects, with this Navarâtra Pûjâ.

16. On observing this Navarâtram Vrata, one gets riches, crops, sons and grandsons, prosperity and happiness, longevity, health and heaven and even the final beatitude.

17. Those who are desirous of learning, riches, or sons will get them all if they perform this most auspicious Navarâtra ceremony, able to confer fortunes on the devotees.

18. On the performance of this sacrifice, those who want learning get all the learning; and he, who is deprived of his kingdom will get back all his kingdoms.

19. Those who did not, in their previous births, perform this meritorious vow, they become diseased, poor and devoid of sons in their present births.

20. Those women that are barren, or widows or devoid of sons, infer that they never, in their previous births, performed this sacrifice.

21. Those who have not performed the Navarâtra ceremony, how can they acquire riches in this world and acquire happiness and peace in the next?

22. He who has worshipped the Goddess Bhagavatî Bhavânî Devî with young leaves of the Bel tree, besmeared with red sandal paste, it is he that will undoubtedly become the king in this world.

23. That man who has failed to worship the Goddess of the whole universe, Who fructifies all the pursuits of human life, Who destroys all the troubles, pains and miseries, Who is all suspicious Bhagavatî Bhavânî, that fellow is sure to pass his days in this world, wretched, impoverished, and surrounded by his enemies on all sides.

24. When Hari, Hara, Brahmâ, Indra, Fire, Varuna, Kuvera, and the Sun when all these possessing all the wealth and powers and filled with the highest felicities, when they meditate constantly the Goddess of the universe, Who is All Existence Intelligence, and Bliss, then what to speak of the human beings! How is it that persons do not worship that Chandikâ Devî, the One that leads all human pursuits to success!

25-26. Why should not the people worship the Goddess Bhavânî, the bestower of all happiness, whose other names are Svahâ and Svadhâ, the mantrams under whose intrinsic energies the Devas and the Pitris always get satisfied, and which are recited by all the Munis when they chant in every sacrifice the Vedic mantrams? Under Whose Will power Brahmâ the Creator, creates all this Universe? Under Whose energy, the Visnu Janâradan, the Deva of the Devas, incarnates in this earth in various forms and preserves this world, and under Whose power, S’ankara destroys this whole Universe?

27. No body, in this whole universe, can have his existence without having recourse to that Prakriti Devî, the S’akti incarnate; be he a Devî, a human being or a bird, or a serpent, Gandharva, Râkhsasa, Pis’âcha, a mountain or a tree, he cannot move even of his own accord, without the help of this Force.

28. Therefore, why should not anybody worship that Chandikâ Devî, the Awarder of all desires and wealth? And how is it, that a man desiring one of the 4 objects of human pursuits, Dharma, wealth, desires, and the final beatitude, observes not the vow regarding that Deity.

29. So much so, that even a man who has committed a heinous offence, five such are enumerated, viz. (1) killing a Brâhman, (2) drinking liquor, (3) stealing gold, (4) adultery with the wife of a spiritual guide (5) associating with any such person, if he performs the Navarâtra vow, he will be absolved entirely from all such sins; there is no doubt in this.

30. O king! Once on a time there lived in the country of Kosala, a trader, poor and miserable, having under him many relations and dependants in his family, whose provisions he had to provide.

31. He had many sons and daughters; when they were very hungry and distressed, then they used to get a little food and that in the evening, only once in twenty-four hours.

32. That trader, too, worked under another, the whole day; and when it was evening, he used also to take his meals. Thus, being very much anxious and distressed, he maintained somehow or other his family members (that are to be maintained).

33-34. This trader was of a quiet temper, of a good conduct, truthful, always ready to act religiously, devoid of anger, steady and contented, void of vanity and jealousy; daily he used to worship the Devas, Pitris, and the guests and used to take his meals after all his family members had taken their meals.

35-36. Thus many days passed away when that good trader, named Sus’îla, being very much perplexed with poverty and hunger, asked a quiet tempered Brâhmin “O Bhûdeva! (deva incarnate on the earth) kindly tell me positively how this state of poverty can be got rid off!

37. O holy minded! Kindly advise me such as preserves my honour; I do not want wealth, nor do I like to be a rich man; O Brâhmin! I want just enough to meet with the expenses, incurred in maintaining my family; please advise so that I may be able to earn this much only.

38. I have many sons; I have not got any food, sufficient enough to give them even a handful of rice.

39. Alas! My youngest son was crying today for food; I have driven him out of the house by chastising him. O Brâhmin! What am I do? I have got no wealth; my heart is burning with grief and sorrow; my baby has gone out of the house, weeping and hungry.

40. My daughter has come to a marriageable age; I have no money. Her age has exceeded ten years; the marriageable age limit has been exceeded. Alas! What am I to do?

41-42. O Brâhmin! I am expressing my sorrow for all that. You are merciful, and all-knowing; tell me any means, be it asceticism, gifts, vow, or the reciting of any mantrams by which I can maintain my family; I want wealth just sufficient for that purpose and nothing more.

43. O high minded one! Kindly devise and tell me some means by which my family members become happy in this world.”

44-46. Vyâsa said :-- The Brâhmin that used to practice vows when thus asked by the trader told him gladly “O trader! Do now the Navarâtri vow, the most auspicious, and worship the Bhagavatî, perform Homa, and feast the Brâhmins. Have the Vedas and Purânas recited and recite then slowly the S’akti mantram and try, as much as you can, to do other concomitant ceremonies; and your desires will thus be undoubtedly fulfilled.

47. There is no other vow superior to this in this world; this vow is very holy and will bring unto you happiness.

48. This vow leads to wisdom and liberation; destroys enemies and increases posterity and prosperity.

49. In former days, S’rî Râma Chandra suffered very much owing to his being deprived of his kingdom; and, then on account of his wife being stolen away. Subsequently he performed this Navarâtra vow in Kiskindhyâ, his heart being heavily laden with grief.

50. Though troubled very much, on account of the bereavement of Sîtâ, still Râma Chandra observed the Vow of Navarâtra and worshipped the Goddess according to the prescribed rules and rites.

51-52. As a fruit of this worship he was able to bridge the great ocean and kill the giant Kumbha Karna, Meghanâda, the Râvana’s son, and Râvana, the king of Lanka; and subsequently he was able to recover his Sîtâ. He installed Vibhîsana on the throne of Lanka (Ceylon) and at last returned to Ayodhyâ and reigned there without any enemies.

53. O best of the Vais’yas! Râma Chandra, of incomparable prowess, was able to obtain happiness in this world on account of the influence of this Navarâtra ceremony.

54-55. Vyâsa said :-- O king! That Vais’ya, hearing thus the Brâhmin’s words, made him his Guru, was initiated by him in the seed mantra of Mâyâ and ceaselessly, without any laziness, recited slowly the mantram for nine nights and worshipped the Devî, with great caution and with various offerings. Thus for nine consecutive years he devoted himself to the Japam (reciting slowly) of the seed mantra of Mâyâ till, at last, when the ninth year was completed, the Great Goddess appeared distinctly before his eyes on the night of the great Astamî tithi (the eighth day of the bright half) and gave him various boons and delivered the Vais’ya from poverty and bestowed on him wealth and his other desired things.

Here ends the 27th Chapter on the virgins fit to be worshipped and the Glory of the Devî in the Mahâ Purânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa in the Third Adhyâya.

Chapter 28. On The Incidents Connected With Navarâtri

1. Janamejaya said :-- O Muni! How did Râmchandra celebrate the Devî’s Pûjâ, that leads to happiness? Who was He! And how was stolen away His Sîtâ? How was He deprived of His kingdom? Please satisfy me by narrating all these incidents to me.

2. Vyâsa said :-- O king! There lived, in days of yore, in the city of Ayodhyâ, a prosperous king of the solar dynasty named Das’aratha. He always worshipped the Devas and Brâhmanas.

3-5. He had four celebrated sons Râma, Laksmana, Bharata and Satrughna. These four sons were equally learned and beautiful and they always did actions agreeable to the king. Of these, Râmachandra was the son of the Queen Kaus’alya, Bharata was the son of Kaikeyî, and the good looking Laksmana and Satrughna were the twin sons of Sumitrâ. While young, they learned the art of archery and began to play with bows and arrows in their hands.

6-7. Thus educated and purified, the four sons began to give delight more and more to the king; one day the Maharsi Vis’vâmitra came to Ayodhyâ and aked from the king Das’aratha the help of his son Râmachandra for the protection of his sacrificial ceremonies. The king could not cancel the Vis’vâmitra's request and sent with him Râma, accompanied by Laksmana.

8-11. The lovely Râma and Laksmana accompanied the Muni on his way back. There lived a terrible looking Râkhsasî, named Tâdakâ, in a forest on their way, who used to give great troubles to the ascetics; and Râma killed her with only one arrow. Next he killed Subâhu and shot arrows at another night-wanderer Mârîcha and made him senseless, almost dead and threw him at a great distance and thus saved Vis’vâmitra from all the obstacles troubling him in his sacrificial ceremonies. Thus fulfilling the great work, protecting the sacrificial ceremonies, Râma, Laksmana and the Muni Cowsick, the three, started for the kingdom of Mithilâ. On his way, Râma Chandra rescued Ahalyâ from the curse that she was suffering from.

12-13. At last the two brothers, accompanied by the Muni, reached the city Videhanagar. Just at this time the king Janaka of Ayodhyâ made a vow to give in marriage Sîtâ to anybody who will be able to break the bow of S’iva; Râma broke that bow into two and married Sîtâ, born of Laksmî’s parts. The king Janaka gave in, marriage, to Laksmana his own-daughter Urmilâ.

14. The good and auspicious Bharata and Satrughna married respectively Mândavi and S’rutakîrti, the two daughters of Kus’adhvaja.

15. O king! Thus, in the great city of Mithilâ, the four brothers performed their marriage ceremonies, according to the prescribed rules and rites.

16. The king Das’aratha, then seeing Râma well qualified to take charge of the kingdom, proposed to install him on the throne of Ayodhyâ.

17. The queen Kaikeyî, seeing that various articles were being collected for the installation of Râma, asked for the two boons, promised before, from her husband Das’aratha, who was completely under her control.

18. The first request was her own son, Bharata’s becoming the king of Ayodhyâ; and the second request was the banishing of Râma to the forest for fourteen years.

19. Thus Râmachandra went accompanied by Sîtâ and Laksmana to the Dandakâ forest, frequented by the Râksasas.

20. The high souled king Das’aratha felt very much due to bereavement of his son, remembered the curse given to him by Andhaka Muni and left his mortal coil.

21. Bharata, seeing that his father died solely on, account of his mother, refrained from becoming the king of Ayodhyâ, the prosperous city and wanted the welfare of his brother Râma.

22. Râmachandra went to the forest Pañchavatî. One day the youngest sister of Râvana, named Sûrpanakhâ became very passionate and came to Râma; whereon Râmachandra disfigured her by cutting off her nose and ears.

23. Seeing her nose thus cut away, the Râksasas Khara, Dûsana, and others fought very hard against the powerful Râmachandra.

24. The truly powerful Râma killed Khara, Dûsana and all other powerful Râksasas, for the welfare of the Munis.

25. Then Sûrpanakhâ went to Lankâ and informed Râvana of her nose having been cut and of the death of Khara, Dûsana and others.

26. The wicked and malignant Râvana, hearing of their death, became filled with anger and, mounting on a chariot, quickly went to the forest of Mârîcha.

27. Râvana expressed his desire to take away Sîtâ; so ordered that magician Mârîcha to assume the form of a golden deer and go to Râma and entice him away.

28. The magician Mârîcha assumed the form of a golden deer and reached the sight of Jânakî. Then that variously spotted deer began to move about near the Sîtâ Devî.

29. Looking at the beautiful golden splendour of the body of that golden deer, Sîtâ Devî, prompted as it were by the great Fate, spoke to Râmachandra like other independent women “O Lord! Bring me the skin of the deer.”

30. Râma too, not judging at all, as if it was the work of Destiny, asked Laksamana to remain there and protect Sîtâ, took hold of his bows and arrows and went after the deer.

31. Infinitely skilled in magic, the deer seeing Hari in the shape of Râma sometimes came and sometimes came not within his sight and travelled from one forest to another.

32. When Râma saw that He had come very far away from His place, He became angry and drew his bow and shot sharp arrows at that deer, the transformed Mârîcha.

33. The deceitful conjuror Râksasa, being thus shot very violently and pained intensely, cried out “O brother Laksmana! I am killed” and breathed his last.

34-35. This loud awful cry reached Jânakî’s ears. She took that voice for Râma's voice and told to Laksmana in a grieved tone “Laksmana, go quickly. I fear Râma is killed; hear the voice ‘O Laksmana! come quickly and deliver me’ is calling you to go there.”

36. Laksmana then replied “Mother! You are alone in this forest; therefore I cannot leave you thus even if Râmchandra be killed.

37. O daughter of Janaka! Râma has ordered me to remain here. Now if I leave you and go elsewhere, then I will be charged with having disobeyed his order. Fearing that, I am unable to leave this place.

38. It seems to me, moreover, that some magician has carried Râma away from here; I am therefore unable to move a step from here and leave you alone.

39. Hold patience; let me consider; I find no such man as can kill Râma; I am unable to leave you by any means alone here and to go away, disobeying Râma’s orders.”

40. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Then the young wife of Râma, having handsome teeth, began to cry aloud, fearfully, as if made to do so by Destiny, and uttered the cruel words to the pure Laksmana.

41. “O son of Sumitrâ! I know why you are so much attached towards me? I know very well that you have been sent here by Bharata to accompany us simply to obtain me.

42. O vile Ksattriya, skilled in magic! I am not that sort of woman acting to my wanton will; never I will accept you of my will as my husband in case S’rî Râmchandra be dead.

43. In case S’rî Râma does not return, I will certainly commit suicide; without him I would be very much grieved and afflicted with sorrows; and I would not be able to hold on my life.

44. O Saumitrî! Whether you remain here or do not remain, I won’t request anything more to you; for I am quite unaware of your mind; but this much I like to say to you, where has your intimacy towards your religious elder brother now gone?”

45-46. Hearing thus the Sîtâ Devî’s words, Laksmana became exceedingly sorry; and, being suffocated with heaving sighs on account of the internal pain told Sîtâ “O! One born from without any womb! Why are you uttering so cruel and malignant words; I clearly see when you are speaking such unworthy words, that some great evil is sure to befall on you very soon.”

47. O king! Thus saying, the spirited Laksmana left Sîtâ and went out weeping very much, and, being very much afflicted with grief, traced the footsteps of his elder and went on in search of him.

48. When Laksmana thus departed, Râvana entered into the hermitage in the guise of a deceitful beggar (Bhiksu wearing a red garb).

49. Jânakî took that villain Râvana to be a Yogi and respectfully gave him offerings of worship and forest fruits.

50-52. That villain asked Sîtâ humbly, in a gentle tone, “O beautiful! Your eyes are beautiful like Palâsa lotus leaves; therefore it seems that you are not an ordinary woman; how is it that you are here thus alone in a wild forest? O fair one! Who is your father? who is your brother and who is your husband? Being such a beautiful one, how is it that you are in this forest here like an ordinary woman, dumbfounded? O good looking one! You are worthy to live in a palace filled with nectar; why are you living, in this hovel, in this wild forest like an ordinary Muni’s wife, when your beauty is shining in lustrous beams like a Deva girl?”

53-55. Vyâsa said :-- The daughter of Jânakî, hearing the words of Râvana, the husband of Mandodarî, unfortunately took him to be a good Yogi and replied in the following way :-- “Perhaps you have heard that a prosperous king Das’aratha is reigning in the Ayodhyâ city. He has four sons; the eldest of these, S’rî Râm Chandra, is my husband. The king offered two boons to Kaikeyî; due to which Râm Chandra has been exiled in this forest and is with his brother Laksmana.

56. I am the daughter of the King Janaka; my name is Sîtâ; Râm Chandra has broken the bow of S’iva and has married me.

57. Resting under his prowess of arms, I am resting here fearlessly in this wild forest; seeing a golden deer, he has gone out to kill that for me.

58. Laksmana, too, hearing his voice has gone just now. O Yogi! I am living here depending on the strength of these two brothers.

59. Thus I have told you all about our living in this forest; shortly they will come and worship you duly.

60-61. The man who has controlled his passions and has become a Yati is like Visnu incarnate; therefore I have worshipped you. O Yogi! Our Âs’ram is in the midst of this terrible forest, surrounded by Râkhsasas. Therefore I am asking you how is it that you have been able to come here in this dress of Tridandi (a Sannyasi Yogi); please speak in the name of Truth before me.”

62. Râvana said :-- “O askance looking one! I am the king of Lankâ, the husband of Mandodarî. O beautiful one! it is for you that I have put on this dress of Yati.

63. O beautiful! My two brothers Khara and Dûsana have been killed in this forest; and being urged by my sister I have come here.

64-65. Now leave your this man-husband, residing in the forest as a pauper, devoid of fortune and wealth; and worship me as a husband. O fair one! I am Râvana, the king of kings; you now become my lord.

66. O daughter of Janaka! I am the lord of the Regents of the quarters; and yet I bow my head down to your lotus feet; better accept me and fulfil my desires today.

67-68. Formerly I asked of you from your father, the king Janaka; but he then said, that he had laid a pledge, ‘Whoever will break the S’iva’s bow will marry my daughter.’ The Bhagvân Rudra is my Guru; hence I feared to break his bow, and therefore I was not present in your Svayamvara. But from that time my mind is always thinking of you and is in a state of bereavement for you.

69. O beautiful one! Hearing now that you are residing in this forest, I, impelled by my previous fascination for you, have now come hither; and you better now crown my labour with success.”

Thus ends the 28th Chapter on the incidents connected with the Navarâtri and the description of Râmayanam in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa in the 3rd Adhyâya.

Note: The story about the origin of Sîtâ Devî runs thus :-- Râvana, the king of Ceylon (Lankâ) practised very severe austerities and got extraordinary powers. He brought the three worlds under his subjection, levied taxes from all. The Devas and all the other inhabitants of the several worlds paid their taxes, as imposed by Râvana. Râvana sent messengers to the Risis and the Munis, the ascetics, dwelling in forests and asked them to pay their taxes. The Risis replied that they had no property. But Râvana insisted. The Risis gave, then, blood, cutting their thighs, in a jar that was carried to Lankâ. Râvana kept that jar under the custody of his queen Mandodarî, and instructed her that the jar contained poison and that she should not eat that. Mandodarî, however, ate a portion of that, out of curiosity, and became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. Fearing Râvana, she floated the jar with the daughter, in the ocean, which, floating through oceans and rivers, came and touched the lands of the King Janaka. The peasants while tilling, found that and took the girl to the king, who reared her as his daughter. Thus Sîtâ, born out of the blood of the Brâhmanas, took away subsequently the kingdom, life, and all of Râvana.

Another version is this :-- As before, the messengers advised the Munis to give something; otherwise Râvana would insist and put them to various troubles. So the Munis cut their thighs and gave blood as their tax, saying that that blood in the jar would cause ruin and desolation to the country where it will be kept. Râvana, hearing this, ordered the jar to be carried to the kingdom of the king Janaka, thus causing ruin to him. The jar was brought and placed in the fields of Janaka.

Now it happened that there was a very severe drought; rains were absolutely wanting; and a dire famine was imminent. The Brâhmin Pundits informed the king that if the king and his wife ploughed themselves the fields, rains would fall. So the king with his wife did that, the king holding the plough and the queen holding the hand of the king. The fore end of the plough accidentally hit upon that jar, out of which came out Sîtâ Devî with two women Riddhi and Siddhi, waving chowries on her two sides. The two ladies disappeared and Sîtâ Devî looked like a girl. The king Janaka reared her, as if his daughter. Sîtâ Devî used to lift daily with her left hand the bow of S’iva, kept in the king’s house, and daily worshipped that, and thus cleansed the place. Seeing this, the king Janaka pledged the vow that, whoever would break the S’iva’s bow, would marry Sîtâ.

Chapter 29. On The Stealing Of Sîtâ And The Sorrows Of Râma

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing these vicious words, Jânakî became very much confounded with fear and began to tremble; somehow collecting herself she began to say :-- “O descendant of the family of Pulastya! Why are you, prompted by lust, uttering these sinful words? I am born of the family of Janaka; therefore I cannot act wantonly according to my own inclination.

3. O ten faced one! Better you go to Lankâ quickly; else Râmchandra will take away your life; you will no doubt incur death for my sake.”

4-5. Thus saying, Sîtâ Devî went towards the Sacred fire called Gârhapatya, placed in the house, with words “go away” “go away” in her mouth. He, whose wickedness has caused all the Lokas cry out “save” “save”, the same Râvana, of perverted intellect, then assumed his real form, went towards the hut and caught hold of Sîtâ Devî who was crying, bewildered with fear.

6. Sîtâ cried “Râma” “Râma” “Laksmana”, and the sinful Râvana caught hold of her and quickly mounting her on the chariot, fast got away.

7-9. On the way Jatâyu, the son of Aruna, met Râvana; and a terrible fight then ensued between the two, when the evil minded Râvana, the king of the Demons, killed Jatâyu. Râvana carried Sîtâ to Lankâ. Then Sîtâ cried like a forlorn deer and Râvana kept her in the As’oka forest (Jaffna), surrounded and guarded by the Râksasis. The king of Lankâ tempted Sîtâ with comforting words, and the kingdoms, etc., but she never swerved from her own pure and stainless chastity.

10-12. On the other side, Râmachandra after killing the deer and taking it was coming back calmly, when he saw Laksmana going to him and said “O Laksmana! What a great blunder you have committed! Hearing the voice of that villain conjurer, how is it that you have left my dear Sîtâ alone and come here!” Laksmana said :-- “O Lord! Being pierced sharply by Sîtâ Devî’s words (coming like sharpened arrows) and being driven away by her, under the guidance of the Inevitable Destiny as it were, I have come here; there is no doubt in this.”

13. They, then, both hurriedly went to their hut, made of leaves; and there not finding Sîtâ, they were very much afflicted with sorrows and went in quest of Jânakî.

14. Râma and Laksmana in their search for Sîtâ, came at last to the spot where Jatâyu, the king of birds, was lying on the surface of the earth, with his life ultimately on the point of parting away from his body.

15-16. Jatâyu said :-- Râvana, the king of Lankâ, carried away today stealthily Sîtâ Devî; I resisted that villain who then fought with me on that account and threw me down on this spot by weapons. Thus saying, the king of birds died; whereupon Râmchandra performed the burning of his dead body as well his funeral ceremonies. Then both of them went out of that place.

17. Then the Lord Râmachandra killed Kabandha and freed him from his curse; and, through his advice, he made friendship with Sugrîva, the king of the monkeys, and was thus bound under a tie.

18. Next Râma killed the hero Balî as a duty and gave the excellent kingdom of Kiskindhyâ to his new friend Sugrîva according to his promise.

19. Then, he began to ceaselessly think of the stealing away of Sîtâ by Râvana and passed away the four months of the rainy season there with his brother Laksmana.

20. Râma, being very much shaken on account of the bereavement of Sîtâ, began to address Laksmana thus :-- “O Saumitre! The desires of the daughter of the king of Kekaya are now fulfilled.

21. Jânakî will no more be obtained; without Jânakî I will not go back to Ayodhyâ; without Jânakî I won’t be able to live any longer.

22. Kingdom lost, dwelling in forests happened, father left his body, at last the dear wife is lost; the cruel hands of Destiny are tormenting me now thus; what more it will inflict, how can I say now?

23. O Brother Laksmana! What is to happen is very hard to be known beforehand by men; I cannot say, what is written on my fate after this, painful or otherwise.

24. See! Both of us, the descendants of Manu, though born in a royal family, are exiled in forests due to our past deeds.

25. O Laksmana! It is by Fate, too, that you, abandoning the pleasures of the royal surroundings, have come out with me; and you, too, are now suffering heaps of dire troubles with me.

26. No one in our family suffered so much as we are suffering; why we talk of our family! No human being was ever born or will ever take his birth that suffered or will suffer like me so many troubles, will be like me incapacitated and a penniless pauper.

27. O Saumitre! I am drowned in the ocean of pains and troubles; What am I to do now? I have no means to cross this ocean; I am quite helpless, no doubt.

28. No money, nor armies, O hero! you are my one and only one companion; O brother! On whom shall I be angry when I am suffering on account of my own deeds?

29. Alas! The kingdom that could have been compared in prosperity to the Indra Sabha, was almost obtained by me when, in an instant, I lost it and am now in exile in forest. Laksman! Who can ascertain what is in the womb of Destiny?

30. Oh! That soft bodied Sîtâ, with her child like nature came out with us in this forest; but the inexorable Fate has now drowned her, that perfectly beautiful woman, into an ocean of sorrows, difficult to be crossed?

31. That fair daughter of Janaka is extremely devoted to me; she is pure and holy. How will she be able to suffer troubles in the house of the king of Lankâ!

32. O Laksmana! Sîtâ Devî will never come under the control of Râvana; how can that excellent chaste woman act like an ordinary public woman?

33. O Laksmana! Rest assured that in case Râvana exercises, out of his lordly position, any violence on Sîtâ, she will rather put an end to her life than come under his control.

34. O Laksmana! And when Jânakî sacrifices her life, I will assuredly do the same; for, of what use, then is this body to me when that fair Sîtâ has gone away with her life?”

35. While the lotus eyed Râmchandra was thus weeping and expressing his regrets and sorrows, the religious Laksmana consoled him with the following sweet, truthful, words :--

36. “O Hero of the heroes! Kindly cast aside this weakness and have patience; I will soon kill that villain demon Râvana and get you back your Sîtâ Devî.

37. The wise steady persons remain on account of their fortitude, unshaken in their hearts whether in joy or in sorrow; whereas men, of little intellect, indulge in sorrows when they are happy.

38. Coming in union and going out in disunion, both are under the hands of Destiny; What, then, there is the need for expressing sorrows for this body, which is not soul.

39. As we have been banished from our kingdom into this forest, as there has happened this bereavement of Sîtâ, so, in proper time, we will again get back Sîtâ Devî.

40. O Darling of Jânakî! There must come a time when sorrows will be converted into happiness and vice versa; there will be nothing otherwise. So avoid this sorrow now and have firmness.

41. There are multitudes of monkeys, who are our helping hands; they will go to all the four quarters and bring back to us the news of the daughter of Janaka; there is no doubt in this.

42. O Lord! Knowing the way to Lankâ, we will go there and kill by our prowess the villainous Râvana and bring back Sîtâ Devî.

43. Or we will call Bharata with Satrughna and with all the armies we all united will kill our enemy; why, then, are you thus expressing sorrows in vain.

44. O Lord! our ancestor Raghu, the hero of heroes, the monarch; won his victories over the ten quarters; and you belong to that family and are now plunged in grief!

45. Alone, I can defeat all the Devas and the Demons; and if I get help, is there any doubt, then, in my killing, that Râvana, the disgrace of the family of Râksasas.

46. O Powerful One! We may call to, our aid the king of Janaka and root out that wicked source of enemy to the Devas.

47-48. O Descendant of Raghu! Like the rim of a wheel, happiness and pain come alternately; it is not that happiness, or pain comes and remains for ever. He whose mind is very much overwhelmed. with pain or happiness, is the man who is always plunged in an ocean of misery; and he can never expect to become happy.

49. See! In days of yore, Indra once got addicted into vicious habits. The Devas united put in place of Indra, the king Nahusa.

50. Then Indra, terrified, relinquished his post and passed very many years into an unknown and unnoticed state within the lotus.

51. Again, when time changed, he got his own post back; and the king Nahusa fell down on this earth and became transformed into a boa constrictor (a big serpent), through the curse of a Risi.

52. The king Nahusa wanted the wife of Indra and insulted a Brâhmin; therefore, he was, under the curse of Maharsi Agasti, transformed into a snake on the earth.

53. Therefore, O Râghava! One ought not to plunge in grief, when a danger comes; rather one should be quite energetic in times of danger and remain firm; thus, the sages do.

54. O Lord of the world! You are high minded, omniscient and omnipotent; why are you now overwhelmed with grief, like an ordinary mortal.”

55. Vyâsa said :-- Oh king! Thus consoled by Laksmana, Râma discarded all his heavy sorrows and began to remain with his heart firm and at rest.

Thus ends the 29th chapter on the stealing of Sîtâ and the sorrows of Râma in the 3rd Skandha of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 30. On The Narration Of The Navarâtra Ceremony By Nârada And The Performance Of That By Râma Chandra

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Râma and Laksmana, discussing thus, remained silent; when the Risi Nârada appeared there from the sky above, singing the Rathântara Sâma Veda hymns in tune and musical gamut with his renowned lute.

3-4. Râmachandra, of indomitable prowess, on beholding him rose up from his seat and gave him quickly an excellent seat and offerings of water for washing his feet. Then he worshipped the Muni and stood with folded hands. When the Muni ordered him, he took his seat close by Nârada.

5-8. On Râmachandra taking his seat there with Laksmana with a grievous heart, Nârada asked him in a sweet tone “O Descendant of Raghu! Why are you being afflicted with sorrows like an ordinary mortal? I know that the evil minded Râvana has stolen Sîtâ Devî. I heard while in the heavens that Râvana, the descendant of Pulastya, stole away Jânakî, out of fascination, could not know that would be the cause of his death. O Descendant in the family of Kâkutstha! It is for the killing of Râvana that your birth has taken place; and for that purpose Jânakî has been stolen now.

Note :-- The real Jânakî was not stolen; Her shadow form was stolen.

9-12. O Râghava! The Devî Jânakî, in her previous birth, was the daughter of a Muni and practised asceticism. While engaged in her austerities, in her holy hermitage, Râvana came and looking at her, prayed that beautiful woman to become his wife. Hearing this, she gave a good reproach to Râvana, when he perforce caught hold of her hairs. That ascetic woman got very angry, and, considering her body polluted by the devil’s contact, resolved to put an end to her life and cursed Râvana, thus :-- “O Villain! I will be born on the surface of the earth, not from any womb but simply for your destruction and ruin.” Thus saying, she parted with her life.

13. O Tormentor of the foes! Râvana, the king of the Râksasas, mistook a garland for the extremely poisonous serpent and has stolen away Sîtâ Devî, the part incarnation of Laksmî, in order to root out his race.

14. O Kâkutstha! When the Devas prayed for the destruction of that wicked insolent Râvana, difficult to be subdued, you are born on this earth, in the family of Aja, as a part incarnate of Hari, beyond birth, old age and death.

15. O mighty-armed! Have patience; Sîtâ Devî is meditating you, day and night.

16-17. Indra himself, the king of the Devas, sends the nectar and the Heavenly Cow’s Milk in a pot to Her daily; and She subsists on that, alone.

O Lord! On drinking the Heavenly Cow’s Milk, the lotus eyed Sîtâ Devî is living without any hunger or thirst! I use to see Her daily.

18. O Descendant of Raghu! I am now telling how that Râvana can be killed. Perform, in this very month of Âs’vin, the vow with devotion.

19. Fasting for nine nights, the worship of the Bhagavatî, and repeating the Mantram silently and performing the Homa ceremony, observing all the rules, will certainly fulfill one’s all the desires.

20. O the best in the race of Raghu! You should offer the sacrifice before the Goddess of a sacred and unblameable animal, perform Japam and Homa ceremony equivalent to one-tenth of Japam. If you do all this, you will certainly be able to release Sîtâ.

21. In days of yore, Visnu, S’iva and Brahmâ and the Devas in the Heavens all performed this worship of the Goddess.

22. Therefore, O Râghava! Every person desiring happiness, specially those that have fallen under great difficulties, ought to do this auspicious ceremony, without the least hesitation.

23-24. O Kâkutstha! Vis’vamitra, Bhrigu, Vas’istha and Kas’yapa all of them did this worship before. When some stole away the wife of Brihaspatî, the Guru of the Devas, he, too, by the force of this worship, got his wife back. Therefore O king! dost thou also celebrate the Pûjâ for the destruction of Râvana.

25-26. O high minded one! This vow was practised before by Indra for the destruction of Vritra, by S’iva for killing the demon Tripurâ, by Nârâyana for the killing of the demons Madhu and Kaitava; so you should also firmly resolve to perform duly this vow with your whole heart.”

27. Râma replied :-- “O Ocean of Knowledge! Who is that Devî? What is Her influence; whence has She sprung? What is Her Name? And how is that vow to be duly observed? Kindly describe all these to me in detail.”

28. Nârada answered :-- “Listen, O Râghava! That Goddess is Eternal and Ever Constant Primordial Force. If you worship Her, all your difficulties will be removed and all your desires will be fulfilled.

29.  She is the source of Brahmâ, Visnu and others and of all these living beings. Without Her force, no body would be able even to move their limbs.

30. That Supreme Auspicious Goddess is the preserving energy of Visnu, is the creative power of Brahmâ, and is the destroying force of S’iva.

31. Whatever there exists in this infinite Universe, whether Temporal or Eternal, She is the Underlying Force of all; how, then, can She have an origin!

32-33. Her origin is not Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’a, Sun, Indra, or the other Devas, not this Earth nor this Upholder of the Earth; She is devoid of any qualities, the Giver of Salvation of all, the Full Prakriti. In the time of the final dissolution of this Universe, She lives with the Supreme Purusa.

34. She is also Saguna, full of qualities, and is the Creatrix of Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a, and has empowered them, in every way, to create the three Lokas.

35. She is the Supreme Knowledge, existing before the Vedas, and the Originator of the Vedas. The individual souls, knowing Her Nature, become able to free themselves from the bondages of the world.

36. She is known by endless names. The Brahmâ, and the other Devas might choose to call Her according to their actions and qualities. I am unable to describe those names.

37. O descendant in the race of Raghu! Her endless names are formed by the various combinations of the various vowels and consonants from the letter ‘A’ to the letter ‘Ksa.’”

38. Râma said :-- “O best of the Munis! Describe briefly all the rules and regulations as to how that vow and worship are to be performed. With my heart, full of devotion and faith, I will worship the Goddess today.”

39. Nârada said :-- “O Râghava! On a level plot of ground, prepare an altar. Place the Goddess there and fast for nine days.

40. O king! I will be your priest and I will, with great energy, carry out this yajña to fullfil the work of the Gods.”

41-42. Vyâsa said :-- Then the powerful Bhagavân Hari, hearing all from the Muni, believed them to be true; and, on the approach of the month of Âs’vin, prepared the altar on the top of a hill and placed the Auspicious Goddess, the World Mother and, observing all the rules, performed the vow and worshipped the Goddess.

43. Fasting for nine days, Râma celebrated the vow and duly offered sacrifices, performed the worship and Homa ceremonies.

44-46. When, on the grand night of the Eighth lunar day, the two brothers completed the vow as told by Nârada, the Supreme Bhagavatî was pleased with the worship and appeared before them, mounted on a lion, and remaining there on the mountain top, addressed Râma and Laksmana, in a sweet grave tone, like the rumbling of a rain cloud, thus :-- “Râma, I am satisfied with your worship; ask from me what you desire.

47. Râma! You are sent by the gods for the destruction of Râvana and are born as a part incarnate of Nârâyana, in the pure and stainless family of Manu.

48. It is You that, in ancient times, incarnated as a fish for serving the purpose of the Devas and preserved the Vedas by killing the terrible Râksasas for the welfare of the Universe.

49. It is You that incarnated as a tortoise and held aloft the Mandara mountain, churned the ocean and nourished the Devas.

50-51. O Râma! It is You that incarnated, in days of yore, as a boar and held aloft on your teeth this earth. It is You that assumed the form of a Man-Lion and preserved Prahlâda, by tearing asunder the body of Hiranya Kas’ipu, by Your sharp nails.

52. O Descent of Raghu! It is You that assumed, in ancient times, the form of a dwarf and served the purpose of the Devas, by deceitfully cheating Balî, the younger of Indra.

53. O son of Kaus’alya! You incarnated as the son of Jamadagni in the Brâhmin family, extirpated the line of Ksattrîya kings and gave over this whole earth to Bhagavân Kas’yapa Risi.

54. So You are now born as the son of Das’aratha, in the stainless race of Kâkutstha, at the request of the Devas, harassed by Râvana.

55-56. These powerful monkeys, born as Deva incarnates, all endowed with great power by Me, will help you. Your younger Laksmana is the incarnate of S’esa serpent; this indomitable man will kill undoubtedly Indragit, the son of Râvana.

57. You will kill Râvana; then you would worship Me, with great devotion, in the vernal season and then enjoy your kingdom according to your liking.

58. O best of the Raghus! For full eleven thousand years you will reign on this earth; and after that reenter your heavenly abode.”

59. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Thus saying, the Devî disappeared. Râma Chandra became very glad and, completing that most auspicious ceremony, performed the Bejoyâ Pûjâ on the tenth day and gave lots of presents to Nârada and made him go towards the ocean.

60-61. O king! Thus stimulated by the Supreme Energy, the Highest Goddess brought front to front, Râmachandra, the husband of Kamalâ, went to the shores of the ocean, accompanied by Laksmana and the monkeys. Then he erected the bridge across the ocean and killed Râvana, the enemy of the gods. His unparalleled fame spread everywhere throughout the three Lokas.

62. He who hears with devotion this excellent account of the Devî, will get the greatest happiness in this world, and, in the end, will get the final beatitude. There is no doubt in this.

63. O king! There are extant many other Purânas, but none is equal to this S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam. Know, this is my firm belief.

Here ends the thirtieth chapter on the narration of the Navarâtra ceremony by Nârada and the performance of that by Râma Chandra in the 3rd Adhyâya in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa. Here ends the Third Book.

The Third Skandha completed.

The Fourth Book

Chapter 1. On The Questions Put By Janamejaya Regarding Krisna’s Incarnation

1. Janamejaya said :-- O Vâsaveya![2] the Chief amongst the Munis, the Ocean of all knowledge, O the Sinless One! the Lord and Well Wisher of our families, I come to you with a mind to ask you certain questions.

2-3. I heard of yore, but I do not know why was that illustrious son of Sûrasena, that powerful Ânakadundubhi (1), the pious and illustrious Vasudeva, the father of S’rî Krisna, the incarnation of the God Hari Himself, and who was worshipped even by the Gods, thrown into prison by Kamsa?

Note :-- (1) Ânakadundubhi is the epithet of Vasudeva, father of S’rî Krisna, since at Vasudeva's birth, drums called Ânakas and Dundubhis were resounded in the sky.

4-5. What faults had he and his wife Devakî committed? Why that Kamsa the descendant of Yayâti, killed the six infant sons of Devakî? And for what reason did the God S’rî Hari incarnate Himself as the son of Vasudeva in the prison house of Kamsa?

6-11. How was that Lord of the Universe, S’rî Bhagavân, and the Ruler of the Yâdava clan, taken to Gokula? Why was He, born of a Ksattriya family, generally recognised as of the Gopâla (cow-herd) clan? Why were His father Vasudeva and mother Devakî thrown into prison? And why did not S’rî Krisna, of indomitable prowess, and capable to create and preserve the worlds, could release instantly, father and mother from their imprisoned state? I cannot conceive that the so-called Fate could have any influence on such high souled persons, the father and mother of the Supreme Being, S’rî Krisna; who were those sons of Vasudeva that were killed by Kamsa? And who was that girl child who when struck by Kamsa on a slab of stone instantly rose up above the sky, assuming the form of Astabhujâ, the eight armed Goddess? O Sinless One! Kindly explain unto me how did S’rî Hari manage to perform the house-holder's duties, when he had married the several wives? and what were those glorious deeds that he did in His this incarnation and how did he finally pass away from his mortal physical coil? My mind sinks into an ocean of confusion, when I hear of the several things done by S’rî Hari; some times I find the deeds, not capable of being done by any other than the Supreme Being Himself and sometimes I hear of deeds that can be done by  an ordinary man. And, therefore I cannot decide whether Vasudeva was the Incarnation of God or an ordinary being. Be pleased to remove these doubts from my mind and describe the life of Vâsudeva in its true light.

12-14. In days of yore, the two sons of Dharma were the two best amongst the Risis, and were the Devas Nara and Nârâyana. They were very high souled persons and they performed severe austerities for long extending years. They were born as part incarnations of Visnu; and, for the good of the world, did they, in the Vadarikâ'srama, perform penances, controlling their six passions, and free from desires.

15. The all-knowing sages Nârada and others say that the well known Arjuna and S’rî Krisna of indomitable prowess were the two part incarnations of those two ancient Munis Nara and Nârâyana.

16. How came those two Devas Nara and Nârâyana to be born in the two bodies of Krisna and Arjuna, though they did not relinquish their previous bodies!

17. And also when those two Munis had attained liberation, their goal in their Yogas, by performing severe penances, how could they again be born in other bodies!

18-19. If any S'ûdra dies performing his own religion, he takes up a Vais’ya body in his next incarnation; if any Vais'ya died so, he takes up a Ksattriya body and a Ksattriya when adhering to his own rites and ceremonies, dying takes up a Brâhman body in his next incarnation. And if a Brâhmin be free from desires and resorts to the path of peace, when he dies, he becomes free from incarnations and is saved from this disease of getting into the world.

20-21. Now the reverse seems to take place in the case of Nara and Nârâyana. In spite of withering up their bodies by hard penances, they took up Ksattriya bodies. Under what influence of Karma, did they take up up birth when they were Yogis? Or might they, the Brâhmins, become Ksattriyas owing to some curse? Whatever it may be, kindly remove my doubts, explaining to me their causes.

22. It is heard that the Yâdava clan suffered destruction through the curse of a Brâhman and in spite of S’rî Krisna being the incarnation of the Supreme Being, his family died of the effect of curse from Gândhârî.

23. How was it that Pradyumna was stolen away by S'ambara, the lord of the Asuras; and for what purpose when Vasudeva, the Deva of the Devas was present, how was it that his son was stolen away from the lying-in room? This seems impossible.

24. Why did not Vasudeva see, with His inner vision, the stealing away of his son from the impregnable walls of His fortress-like mansion in Dwârkâ? (And could thus have prevented this!)

25-39. O Muni! After Vâsudeva had gone to Heaven, his wives were plundered by the dacoits on the way. I am very much in doubt on this point. Also I cannot understand why did this event take place just after His translation to Heaven? Again how was S’rî Krisna, who was Visnu's Full incarnation, born into this world to take off the vicious load of this earth, and to destroy the evil-doers, terrified and He fled through the fear of Jarâsandha, evacuated His kingdom of Mathurâ and went with His armies and friends to Dwârkâ? Vâsudeva came here to destroy the evil miscreants and to conserve the religion; how then did He not, as He was all knowing, previously kill those dacoits, who afterward stole and plundered His wives? Was it, that He, being Omniscient did not know those dacoits? He protected the Pândavas, no doubt, who were high souled, righteous and virtuous; but I cannot understand how did He consider the high souled virtuous persons like Bhîsma, Drona and others as loads of earth and slay them. The devotees of S’rî Krisna, observing good customs, conducts and practices, Yudhisthira and his brothers performed the Râjasuya sacrifice, according to rules, giving various offerings to the Brâhmins and depended entirely on Vâsudeva; still, O Muni! they suffered terrible hardships; whither were their virtuous deeds by this time? what horrible sins did they commit that they had to suffer pains and troubles in the assembly. The highly merited Draupadî arose from the midst of sacrificial fire and is born of the part of Laksmî, pure and devoted to S’rî Krisna. How did such a glorious woman meet with incomparable terrible pains often and often; how could she be caught hold of by her hair on her head by Duh'sâsan; and carried to the royal assembly, when she was in her menses and extremely terrified and harassed? How did she come to be a slave of Matsya Râj in his kingdom Virât, and though actually crying aloud like a female osprey (eagle) she was highly insulted by Kîchaka! Alas! how could Draupadî be stolen away by Jayadratha, though latterly released by the Pândavas? What evil deeds did the Pândavas commit in their previous births, that they had to befall under so many telling difficulties?

40. O high minded Muni! My ancestors performed the Râjasûya sacrifice and still they fell under so many serious difficulties. Kindly explain the causes of these to me.

41-42. If it be urged, that they suffered so many serious calamities, due to their actions in their former lives, that seems impossible. Because they are born of the Devas; thus arises my doubt; be pleased to explain to me.

Again how the Pândavas, the sons of Kunti, of good conduct, and knowing the illusory nature of the world, why did they, out of pretence kill Bhîsma, Drona and others?

43. This appears a riddle to me that these Pândavas were led to the extermination of their race, being inspired by Hari Vâsudeva, to this horrible act.

44. Rather to live on begging alms and to live on rice, growing wild or without cultivation, or to live as an artisan or artist than to kill the valiant warriors unlawfully in a battle, simply out of voluptuous greed.

45. O Best of the Munis! You have preserved this extirpated race by producing the Goloka sons (i. e. sons born by other persons of women after their husbands are dead) of indomitable prowess.

46. And why did my honoured father, born of Uttara in this respected family , encircle a snake round the neck of a Brâhmin ascetic?

No body, born of a Ksattriya family, shews signs of hatred and jealousy towards a Brâhmin. Is it that my father shewed such feeling to that ascetic, who took the vow of silence!

O Best of the Munis -- These things and lots of others are troubling my mind with many grave doubts. O merciful saint! You know every thing; be kind enough to quell this the disturbed state of my mind.

Thus ends the First Adhyâya in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavata Purâna of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On The Supremacy Of The Effects Of Karma

1. Sûta said :-- The learned Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî, and the knower of the Purânas, when thus asked by Janamejaya, the son of Parîksit, whose heart had become calm, replied in the following words, capable to remove all his doubts. Vyâsa said :--

2. O king! You would better know, that in this Universe the course of Karma is not easily comprehensible; even the Devas are not capable to comprehend the wonderful effects of actions; what to speak of men!

3. When this Universe composed of the three Gunas arose, it was through Karma, that everything had its origin.

4-5. It was the seed of Karma whence the Jîvas (the individual embodied souls) arose with neither any beginning nor any end. Those Jîvas go often and often incarnating in numberless varieties of wombs and then go to dissolution. When this Karma ceases, the Jîvas then are never to have any more connection with any other body.

6. The Karmas done by Jîvas are of three kinds :-- auspicious, inauspicious and mixed (partly auspicious and partly inauspicious); of which the auspicious is the Sattvik Karma, the inauspicious is the Tamasik Karma and the mixed, is the Râjasic Karma. Thus have been said by the Sages.

7. These three again are subdivided into three. They are Sanchita (accumulated), Bhavisya (impending in future) and Prârabdha (commenced). All these Karmas are in dwelling always with the body.

8-9. O king! Everybody, even Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a all under the influence of this Karma! And they experience pleasure, pain, old age, disease and death, joy and sorrow, lust, anger, greed and other bodily qualities, out of the effects of this Karma, which we call ordinarily Fate.

10-11. Therefore love, hatred and other bodily qualities all predominate equally in all bodies. Anger, jealousy, hatred, and other similar qualities arise in the Devas, men, and birds owing to some sort of dislikes on previous occasions; and love, compassion, pity, etc., arise out of some sort of likings, existing already.

12-13. O king! No individual can arise without some sort of action or other. It is through Karma that the Sun traverses in the sky; it is through Karma that the Moon was attacked with consumption disease; and it is through Karma that the Rudra holds the disc of skull bone. This Karma, therefore, has no beginning nor end (till Moksa); now that this Karma is the sole cause in the production of this Universe.

14-16. For this reason, this whole Universe, moveable and immoveable, is real; but Munis are deeply absorbed in meditation to ascertain about its reality or unreality. They cannot definitely know it for certain whether this world is real or unreal; for where Mâyâ is prevalent, the universe is there. Where there is the cause fully existing in all respects, there is no effect, how can we say? The Mâyâ is eternal and always acts as the Prime Cause of all.

17. Therefore, O king! the sages declare that the seed of Karma is eternal. This whole universe changes incessantly, being controlled by this karma.

18. O king of kings! They say, it is through the will of Visnu, of unbounded energy and splendour, that all this universe enters, again and again, into all sorts of wombs, whether good or evil.

19. Now, if the birth of Visnu, of infinite prowess, takes place according to His will, then why is it that He travels through many impious births? Why is it that Bhagavân Visnu goes, in different Yugas, to take His births in low, vile origins?

Where is that self dependent man, who, leaving his abode Vaikuntha and all sorts of pleasures and happiness, desires to live in this mortal temple, filled with urine, faeces and other filthy matters.

20. No intelligent man will leave comfortable resting places and amorous sports and gathering flowers for the sake of dwelling in this uterus in the womb?

21. Who likes to live with his face downwards in the womb, when he can enjoy fine heavenly soft downs, puffed up with cotton or silk.

22. Who will abandon singing, dancing and music, where all sorts of love feelings are being manifested, and think of coming down to this veritable Hell?

23. Who will abandon the wonderful ambrosial nectar and prosperity given by Laksmî, that cannot be easily renounced, and then like to taste this urine and faeces.

24. There is no hell more aggravating in the three worlds than this existence in the wombs. The Munis, afraid of these, perform difficult asceticisms in this wondrous world.

25. Wise, intelligent persons renounce their kingdoms and enjoyments and resort to forests. Who is there so stupid as to enter willingly in the various wombs?

26. Worms and insects torment the Jîvas in the womb; the digestive fire of the stomach heats it from below, whereas it is always fearfully tied down on all sides by the flesh, enclosing its fat or marrow. O King; Not a trace of happiness is visible there.

27. It is far better to live in a prison house, fettered by hard iron chains. Whereas it is not desirable to live for a moment in the womb.

28. It is very hard and painful to be in the womb for ten months. To come out of the hard and terrible womb is extremely troublesome.

29. Jîvas get trouble in their childhood; they cannot speak, and they do not know what to say, when they are hungry or thirsty; they depend entirely on others and they are grieved.

30. When the child becomes hungry and cries, the mother becomes anxious. When the child is afflicted with diseases and cries, the mother then knows and administers medicines.

31. Thus many troubles arise in childhood. Sages do not therefore find any happiness and do not desire, of their own accord, to come here.

32. O king, no sane man, would forego incessant heavenly pleasures and prefer before the Devas to this toilsome and painful state of being born in the womb.

33. O king of kings! All the Devas, Brahmâ and others have to enjoy full the effects of their Karmas done, whether they are pleasant or painful.

34. O best of kings! The fruits of karma must have to be experienced, whether auspicious or inauspicious, be he a Deva, or human being or an animal; any one who has embodied himself in fine or gross bodies!

35. Human beings, by dint of their practise of penance, religious austerities alms givings and sacrifices, rise to Indrahood. Indra, in his turn, when the effects of his good actions cease, comes down to inferior births! there is no doubt of it.

36. In the Rama Incarnation, the Devas had to incarnate themselves a Monkeys; and in the Krisna incarnation, the Devas had to incarnate themselves as human beings, Cow-herds (Gopas) and Yâdavas.

37. Thus being urged on by Brahmâ, Visnu Bhagavân incarnates Himself many times, yugas after yugas, to preserve the religion.

38. O king of mortals! Thus, like a carwheel, Bhagavàn Hari incarnated Himself in various wombs successively in a wonderful manner.

39. The destruction the of Daityas was done by Hari in His many secondary incarnations.

40. Now I will narrate to you the auspicious facts of the birth of Krisna, Who incarnated Himself in the family of Yadu (Yadu Kula).

41. O king! The illustrious Vâsudeva, born of the part of the Muni Kas'yapa, had to take his birth again as a human being due to his previous curse and had to maintain his livelihood by tending cows.

42. O best of kings! And the two wives Kas'yapa, Aditi and Surasâ had to take their births as the two sisters, Devaki and Rohinî, on account of the curses cast on them. O Descendant of Bharata! We have thus heard that they were greatly cursed at one time by Varuna, the water deity, who got very much angry. The king said.

43-47. What fault was committed by Kas'yapa that he had to take his birth along with his wife as cowherds. And why was it that the Everlasting uninterrupted Atman Visnu Nârâyana had to take his birth in Gokula. He whose abode is Vaikuntha, who is the Lord of Rama! who is Bhagavân and the Supreme amongst the gods, who is the upholder of the universe and the yugas! Under Whose order can such a being abandon his abode and take his birth in the world like an ordinary mortal? There is this grave doubt, then, of mine on this point.

48-51. Obtaining this depraved human coil, one is always perplexed with various thoughts, sometimes with lust, anger, jealousy, intoleration, sorrow, enmity sometimes with pleasurable feelings, happiness, fear, sufferings, penury, sometimes with straight-forwardness, good or bad deeds, faithfulness, treachery, unsteadiness, supporting others; sometimes with remorse, hesitation, bragging, greed, vain boasting, delusion, or hypocrisy and sometimes with remorse; these different feelings exist in men.

52. How then can Visnu Bhagavân abandon His eternal pleasures and have recourse to this human birth, full of many perplexing thoughts.

53. O best of Munis! What peculiar happiness is there in the pleasures of human births, that S’rî Bhagavân Hari has to undertake the burden of dwelling thus in the human wombs?

54-55. O Munîndra! The sufferings that are experienced, while in the womb, the pain during the time of delivery, the misfortunes in the early childhood, the troubles of passionate lust in youth, the greater sorrows and difficulties in the householder's life, all these are existent there; how then Bhagavân Visnu incarnate Himself often in these various human births.

56-57. What an amount of enormous difficulties had Brahmâ-born Hari to undertake in His Râma incarnation! That high souled One had to suffer for his exile in forest, for the stealing away of his wife Sîtâ, for the frequent wars, for the final separation from his wife Sîtâ.

58-59. Likewise in the Krisna Avatâra, the birth in a prison, the departure to Gokul, tending cows, the killing of Kamsa, departure to Dwârkâ with great difficulty and all sorts of household difficulties were there. Why had He to suffer all these?

60. Who amongst the wise and the emancipated, of his own accord condescends to take on his shoulders so many hard sufferings? This is the grave doubt in my mind; be graciously pleased to remove my this grave doubt and make my mind tranquil.

Here ends the Second Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhagâvatam of the Mahâ Purânam of 18000 verses by Maharsî Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 3. On The Former Curse Of Vasudeva And Devakî

1. Vyâsa said :-- O king; The incarnation of Hari and the incarnation of the Amsa Avatâras of all the other Devas are accountable to many causes. The chief cause being Karma; the minor causes being many.

2. Hear, now, the cause of the incarnations of Vasudeva (Krisna's father), Devakî and Rohinî in detail.

3. Once, on an occasion, S’rîmân Kas'yapa stole away the Kâmadhenu (the heavenly Cow, yielding all desires) of the Deva Varuna for his sacrificial purpose; and though he was entreated by Varuna often and often to return the cow, Kas'yapa did not return to him that, the best of all the cows.

4. Varuna became very sorry; he went to Brahmâ, the Lord of the creation and told him humbly all that had happened and about his sorrows.

5-6. “O Glorious One! Maharsi Kas'yapa is now almost infatuated with his sacrifice; and though I have tried all my means, he is not returning me my cow. I could not hear the pitiful cries and wailings of the calves or bereavement from their mother; and I cursed Kas'yapa saying ‘You would go down and take birth in the human world as a cow-herd; and your two wives also are to go there as human mortals, suffering under the greatest difficulties and dangers.’”

7. O Brâhmana! On seeing the distressed condition of the calves I cursed Aditi a second time that she would be put to prison, her children would be still born, and she would suffer lots of troubles.

8. O Janamejaya! Hearing this, the Lotus-born Brahmâ  called Kas'yapa before him and asked.

9. O Fortunate One! Why have you stolen away all the cows of the Varuna Deva, the Guardian of a quarter of the world? And why have you committed an offence in not returning the cows to Him?

10. Bhagavân! You are intelligent, you know everything fully; knowing that it is a sin to steal other's property, why have you committed the unlawful act of stealing away the cows.

11. Oh! What is the wonderful influence of covetousness! Even those that are great are not free from the clutches of greed. Covetousness is the source of all sins, is unapproved by the Sages and leads to hell.

12. Lo! Maharsi Kas'yapa is not able to leave this vicious habit even now; what shall I do? I will hence count greed as more powerful than even Fate, the Ruler of all destinies.

13. Blessed are those saints that have devoted themselves wholly to the attainment of peace, who are tranquil-hearted, lead a hermit life and don't ask themselves of any thing from any body. Verily those are blessed.

14. This covetousness is a powerful enemy; it is always unholy and odious. See! Its influence has overpowered the Maharsi Kas'yapa and has tied him down to an ordinary affection and has urged him to commit a sinful act.

15-16. Then the Prajâpati Brahmâ, to preserve and keep the prestige in the name of Justice and Religion, cursed his own very dear grandson Kas'yapa, the best of the Munis, and said :-- Go to the earth in your Ams'a, and take your birth in the Yadu clan, be united with your wives and work as a Cowherd.

17. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Thus was cursed the Maharsi Kas'yapa by Brahmâ and Varuna to come down to the earth as Amsâ Vatâra to relieve the earth of her burden.

18. Diti, too, becoming grieved much with sorrows, cursed Aditi that seven of her sons would be killed consecutively after their births.

19. Janamejaya said :-- O best of Munis! Why was it that Diti so cruelly cursed his sister Aditi, the mother of Indra? Kindly explain to me the cause of this and oblige. I am sorry to hear of this curse.

20. Sûta said :-- Thus asked by the son of Pariksit, Vyâsa, the son of Satyabatî, himself replied to the king about their causes in the following words :--

21. Vyâsa said :-- Daksa Prajâpati had two daughters, Diti and Aditi; these two, of high rank, were married to Kas'yapa; and they were his favourites.

22. Aditi gave birth to the very powerful Indra, the king of the Devas. Diti, too, asked for a son of the same strength, prowess, and splendour as those of Indra.

23. Diti, of beautiful dark blue eyes, entreated to her husband and said, “Give me a son, O giver of due respects to every body! who shall be a hero as strong as Indra, religious and of indomitable energy.”

24. The Muni said to her :-- O Dear! Be peaceful; I advise you to take a vow, practise a rite, and when the period of your practice will be over, you will get a son like Indra.

25. Diti promised to act according to his word and took an oath; and when she practised the vow, Maharsi Kas'yapa impregnated the seed in her womb. Diti also bore the seed in her womb according to the usual rite.

26. The excellent fair complexioned Diti remained sacred, observed all the rules and, deeply intent on her vow, subsisted only on milk and slept or the ground.

27-28. Thus when the foetus was fully developed, Diti began to look white and full of splendour. On seeing her thus, Aditi became anxious and thought if there be born of Diti a son like the powerful Indra, then my son will no doubt be deprived of his brilliancy and splendour.

29. The proud Aditi, thinking thus, said to Indra :-- O Son! There, in the womb of Diti, is your powerful enemy.

30. O Beautiful One! Even now think out how you can kill your enemy. Before the child is born of the womb, try to destroy it.

31. Since the time I have looked, on my co-wife Diti, of beautiful eyes and proud, this is the one and only thought that troubles the peace in the innermost of my hearts.

32. The enemy, if he firmly gets hold like a fully developed consumption, cannot be killed; therefore the intelligent persons should destroy the enemies, when they are in their buds.

33. O S’atakratu! My heart is being pierced wholly by an iron spoke when I see the womb of Diti; kill it by any means you can!

34. O High minded One! If you like my welfare, then destroy the foetus, in the womb of Diti, by any of the existent means, Sâma, Dâna or strength and thus remove the cause of grief in my heart.

35. Vyâsa said :-- On hearing his mother, Indra, the King of the Immortals, thought over all the means and went then to his step-mother Diti.

36. That evil minded Indra bowed down at the foot of Diti with humility and addressed her with words, sweet but full of poison.

37. O mother! You have become very weak, lean and thin in the practise your vow. I have come to serve you; order me now what I can do for you.

38. O chaste one to your husband! I want to shampoo your feet. To serve one's Guru means to earn righteousness and immortality.

39. O mother! I swear, on oath, I don't make any difference between you and my mother Aditi. Saying thus, he touched her feet and began to shampoo her legs.

40. The beautiful eyed Diti, tired of the vow, lean and thin, thus being shampooed and having full faith in Indra's words, fell to deep sleep.

41-42. Seeing her asleep, Indra, with thunderbolt in his hand, took subtle form and by the influence of his yogic power, entered carefully into her womb quickly and cut asunder the foetus in the womb into seven parts.

43-44. The child in the womb, struck by the thunder bolt, cried out. Indra spoke to the child gently :-- “Do not cry,” and in the mean while cut each of the seven parts into seven parts again. Thus, O king! The forty-nine Maruts were born.

45. When the good natured Diti awoke, she came to know that Indra has treacherously cut the foetus in her womb and became very sorry and angry.

46-47. Knowing that all these treacherous acts are really done under the advice of her sister, the truthful Diti; who was under the vow, cursed Aditi, and Indra, saying that as her son Indra has treacherously cut the foetus in her womb, Indra's kingdom over the three worlds would be destroyed.

48-49. And as the sinful Aditi has secretly caused the destruction of my son, her sons, too, would also die after their birth consecutively and she would dwell in the prison house in much trouble and anxiety and would also bear still born sons in her next birth.

50. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Maharsi Kas'yapa, the son of Marîchi, hearing the curse, allayed her anger with loving words.

51. O Blessed One! Do not be angry. Your sons would all become very powerful and would be called Maruts. They would be companions and friends to Indra.

52. O Dear! Your curse won't be fruitless; in the 28th Manvantara, at the end of the Dvâpara Yuga, your curse will bear fruit. Then Aditi, sinful for her jealousy and anger, will go down on earth to take the human birth through her Amsa (part) and suffer according to your curse.

53. Varuna, too, had become very grieved and cursed her. And, due to both these curses, this Aditi will be born as a woman.

54. O King! The fair complexioned Diti, thus consoled by her husband, became glad and did not utter any more unpleasant words.

55. O king! Thus I have narrated to you the cause of the previous curse. O best of kings! Thus Aditi was born as Devakî out of her Ams'a.

Here ends the third Chapter of the Fourth Book of the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses on the former curse of Vasudeva and Devakî by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 4. On Adharma

1. The King spoke :-- O highly honoured and intelligent one! I have heard the anecdote just related to me by you. I am very much bewildered. This Samsâra (world) is vice incarnate. I wonder how the Jîvas, entangled in its meshes, can again be freed!

2. When the son of Kas'yapa, whose kingdom is the three worlds, can commit such an heinous act, what wonder, then, that any other ordinary person would do more blameable things!

3. On the pretence of serving and on a solemn oath, when a man, can enter into his step-mother's womb and take away the life of the son, what more heinous and dreadful can take place than this!

4. When the preserver and controller of religion, the ruler of the three worlds can do such acts, you cannot expect that any other person would desert from committing heinous, contemptible acts.

5. O World Teacher! Indeed my grandfather did unjustifiable horrible mean acts in the battle field of Kuruksettra.    It is really wonderful!

6-7. Bhîsma, Drona, Kripa, Karna, even Yudhisthira, who is the part incarnate of Dharma all these were urged by Vâsudeva into this contrary religious act. These personages are all born of Devâmsas, devoted to religion, and intelligent. These know the transitory nature of this world; how can these commit such mean blameable things!

8. O Glory of the Brâhmins! What faith or regard can we have for a religion, when such high souled persons commit such irreligious acts! Indeed, there is doubt whether religion exists at all or not! O Best of the Munis! My heart is agitated very much on hearing these incidents.

9. If it be said that the word of the Âptas (seers) is a sufficient guarantee for the entity of religion, it may then be questioned where there is such an Âpta, holding such a pure religious body? All those persons who are attached to worldliness are bent on all worldly objects with their whole head and heart; these, therefore, cannot be Âptas.

10. When self interest is obstructed, jealousy and anger arise; and to secure one's self interest, out of jealousy, arise untruthful words.

11. Even the pure, excellent, virtuous S’rî Krisna, with full consciousness, had to assume under pretence a Brâhmin form for killing Jarâsandha.

12. Just as the holy S'rî Hari assumed a false appearance to kill Jarâsandha, similarly Arjuna, too, did a false sacrifice to accomplish his ends. Where is, then, one who can claim to be an Âpta? And what proof is there of the existence of such an Âpta?

13. What sort of sacrifice was this? Did it lead to heaven in the next world or did it lead to glory or did it serve the cause of any good will? Why was it deprived of that peace and rest? (It was performed with a view to kill S'isupâla and others).

14-15. The Pundits, of yore, declare that truth is the first Pâda, cleanliness, the second; compassion, the third; and charity is the fourth Pâda (foot) of Dharma (Religion). Thus, devoid of these, how can Religion stand with due regards from all?

16. How can an act bear good fruits, which has no trace of virtue in it? It seems no one had any trace of faith and steadiness in one's religion. (The Pândavas did sacrifice out of arrogance; how can they be Âptas?)

17-20. Visnu, the Lord of the Universe, assumed His Dwarf (Vâmana) Incarnation with the express object to cheat Vali, the king of the Daityas. Now, O Muni! The king Bali, performed one hundred sacrifices; he was the protector of the Vedas, virtuous, charitable, truthful and self controlled; why was such a man dislodged from his position by Visnu, the Powerful. Who was victorious in this affair? Was he the Vali, who was cheated? Or was it Vâmana Deva, the expert in making nice pretence? Who was the better of the two? I have got grave doubts on this point. O the best of the twiceborn! You are the composer of the Purânas, virtuous, and liberal hearted. Speak what is true (and thus tranquil my heart).

21-23. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The victory was certainly Bali's, in as much as he fulfilled his promise and gave over his kingdom of earth to Visnu. And in as much as Visnu in his 5th or dwarf Incarnation deceived Bali, he had to become a dwarf (i. e. a small mean person indicated even by the shortness of his body). O king! There is nothing superior in religion to truth. See! S’rî Hari even had to become, for his falsehood, a gate keeper of Vali. O king! It is hardly possible for a human being to observe in every way the injunctions of truth.

24. Powerful, indeed, is Mâyâ, composed of the three qualities and of various forms. By Her is created this Universe, made manifold by the admixture of the three qualities (Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas).

25. How can you expect therefore, truth to be observed wholly, without the least violation, by a deceiver. This world is made up of the mixture of Rajas; O king! Know this as the every day routine of things in nature.

26-27. It is only the Munis and Hermits that can observe pure truth; and that is why they are without any attachment; they do not accept any thing from any other body; they are desireless; and they all have no rough wear and tear of the world. They exist as perfect examples; their case is quite separate. All the others are caught under the meshes of the three Mâyic Gunas.

28. O Best of kings! The Dharma S’âstras, Purânas and the Angas the Vedas are full of diverse opinions on any one point under consideration for their composers were under the influence of the different Gunas.

29. The Saguna persons (i. e. persons under Mâyâ) do Saguna works (works composed of qualities) and the Nirguna persons (i. e. persons above Mâyâ) do not do any Saguna work. And when the Gunas are mixed with one another, they cannot remain pure (i. e. they exhibit qualities of those Gunas with which they are mixed).

30. O king! One is influenced by Mâyâ no sooner one takes one's birth in this world; so that no body can remain steady in this pure, steady maxim of truth, untainted by any falsehood or deceit.

31. The sense organs, Indriyas, confound the Buddhi (reason) and make one follow the path of enjoying sensual things. Mind is attached to senses and follows diverse ways, urged on furiously by the three Gunas.

32. O king! All the beings, Brâhmâ down to the moving and non-moving things, fall under the delusion of Mâyâ; She plays with them.

33. This Mâyâ is always imposing on all; and She is incessantly making formations and transformations in this Universe; O king of kings! The man under the influence of action takes recourse to this untruth (i.e., actions arise first from this untruth) from the very moment of his birth.

34. Persons when they do not get their desired objects after they have pondered how to secure the sensual objects, take recourse to pretext, and, from that pretext do many sinful acts.

35. Lust, anger, and avarice; these three are very powerful enemies. The Jîvas under their influence cannot distinguish the right from the wrong.

36. When wealth, might and rank come to a person, he gets deep-rooted Ahamkâra, and becomes very egoistic; from Ahamkâra, delusion comes and, from delusion, insensibility and death ensue.

37-38. Here men argue mentally many plans; and thence jealousy, intolerance and enmity spring in the heart; next arise, out of delusion, hope, thirst, misery, low-spiritedness, arrogance and irreligiousness.

39. It is through Ahamkâra that people are led to perform sacrifices, charities, visit places of pilgrimages, practise vows and rules for religious rites and ceremonies.

40. Hence these sacrificial acts, etc., proceeding from Ahamkâra, are unable to remove the clouds of impurity from the mind, as observance of purity and cleanliness does. Especially when any action is done through greed or undue affection, as its motive, it cannot be pure in every respect.

41. Therefore, at the commencement of any sacrifice, the wise persons look at the purity of sacrificial things; (Dravya Suddhi); those articles that are collected without injuring others, are the best in religious acts.

42. O best of Kings! If the things, acquired by injuring others, be utilised in any auspicious act, they yield contrary results at the time of fruition.

43. It is he only, whose mind is very pure and undefiled, who gets the results wholly auspicious from any sacrificial act. Minds defiled do not acquire their proper desired objects.

44-45. When the preceptor and the priests ordained are sincere and pure; moreover, when the place, moment, act, sacrificial things, the mantras, and the sacrificer are all holy, then and there only, the full results accrue in their entirety to the sacrificer.

46. If the sacrifice be intended for the destruction of one's enemy or for a personal motive and one's gain, it converts auspicious results into those that are inauspicious and lead to ruin in the end.

47. Selfish persons are unable to ascertain, which actions are auspicious and which are not; they depend on the circumstances what they call Daiva, and the people do acts sinful instead of virtuous.

48-49. The Devas and demons all are created by Brâhmâ, the Prajâpati, the Creator; they all are selfish; hence they are at war and war with each other. The Devas are born from the Sattva Guna; the human beings are sprung from the Rajas and the birds are sprung from the Tamas.

50. O King! When the Devas, born of the Sattva Guna are always engaged in inimical actions, what wonder, then, is there, that the lower ones would be at war with one another!

51-52. O King! When the Devas are always discontented, filled with jealousy and envy, at war amongst each other, and obstructors of the ascetics and the austere persons, then know that this Universe has sprung from Ahamkâra (egoism). How can you expect them to be free from feelings of anger, jealousy; etc.!

Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Fourth Book, the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses on Adharma by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 5. On The Dialogues Of Nara Nârâyana

1. Vyâsa said :-- O best of kings! There is no need of dwelling at length on this point; suffice to say, that in this world, are found persons very rare that are religious, and free from egoism, jealousy, anger, etc.

2. O king of kings! Even in the Satya Yuga, the Golden age, this world, moving and unmoving, was covered with feelings of jealousy and anger. What to say in this Kali Yuga (Dark Age)! (There is no wonder that this world would be full of these vicious things.)

3. O best of kings! When the Devas are deceitful, jealous, and filled with feelings of anger, what is to be said with human beings and other lower creations!

4. O Lord of the Earth! It is natural, that injury be inflicted on those persons that commit injury; but when peaceful persons, void of any enmity, are injured, that is certainly an act wicked and mischievous.

5. Whenever, any devout ascetic, calm and quiet, is engaged in prayer and meditation, and silent muttering of one's mantrams, the king of the Immortals throws hindrance in his asceticism. (This is certainly a mischievous act.)

6. (Holy, unholy and mixed persons exist in all the yugas). To those that are holy, all the yugas are the Satya yuga; to the unholy ones always it is the Kali yuga (Dark age); and to the mixed ones, always it is Tretâ and Dvâpara.

7. You will very seldom find a few persons, following really the True Religion; otherwise, you would have found all the persons in the different yugas religious, appropriate to those yugas.

8. O king! In all cases where the conservation of religions and religious affairs are concerned, know that the original wish and desire is the cause. If this desire be impure and sullied, religion becomes also sullied for, verily, this impurity in one's desire is one's cause of ruin in every respect. (Therefore the impure desires are never to be cherished and indulged.)

9. A son, named Dharma, was born of the heart of Brahmâ; he was devoted to Brahmâjnâna (the knowledge of Brahmâ), truthful, and always engaged in rites and ceremonies and in accordance with the Vedic religion.

10. This high souled Muni Dharma was a householder and married duly, according to the proper procedure, to the ten daughters of Daksa Prajâpati.

11. This Dharma, the foremost amongst the followers of truth, impregnated them and had four sons, named respectively Hari, Krisna, Nara, and Nârâyana.

12. Hari and Krisna, amongst the four, used to remain always in the practising of the yoga.

13. Nara and Nârâyana came over to the Himâlayân mountains and, in the hermitage of Badarikâ, commenced the difficult religious asceticism and penance.

14. The foremost of the ascetics, those two ancient Munis, began to recite that highest mantra of Para Brahmâ, the Gâyatrî, on the wide spacious bank of the Ganges.

15. The two Risis named Nara and Nârâyana, born of Hari's Ams'a, practised excellent tapasyâ for full one thousand years.

16. The whole Universe, moving and unmoving, became hot through the Fire of their Tapas. Indra became also perplexed.

17-18. The thousand-eyed Indra became anxious, thought and within himself thus :-- What is to be done now? These two sons of Dharma are practising Tapas and are in meditation. If they succeed, they can occupy my excellent seat in Heaven; how can I break their Tapasyâ and what steps shall I take to hinder them.

19-20. Lust, anger, and insurmountable avarice Indra brought into existence and, intent on hindering their tapasyâ, mounted on the elephant Airâvata, went quickly to the hill Gandhamâdan, and approaching the holy hermitage, saw the two ancient Risis.

21. Their bodies were incandescent by Tapasyâ, as if they were the two rising Suns. Were they Brahmâ, Visnu manifested there or were they the two shining sources of light? These two Risis were the sons of Dharma. What would they do with their Tapasyâ?

22-23. Thinking thus, the lord of S'achî seeing them addressed thus :-- O highly fortunate ones! O two Risis the sons of Dharma! Please tell me what are your objects? I have come here to give thee excellent boons; I am very pleased with your Tapasyâ; therefore ask boons from me; and even if they be not worth giving, I will give them to you.

24-25. Vyâsa said :-- The Risis were deeply immersed in meditation and seemed very firm and resolute; they, therefore, did not reply anything, though Indra, standing before them, repeatedly urged them to ask boons from him. Seeing this, the king of the Immortals began to terrify them with his supernatural enchanting fearful mâyic powers.

26. He created lions, tigers, wolves and other murderous animals and began to terrify the two Risis with them; Indra also produced rains, hurricanes and fires very frequently so that they might yield.

27. In spite of Indra's attempt to terrify them by his wonderful Mâyâ, the two Munis, Nara Nârâyana, the two sons of Dharma, could not be brought under his control. And Indra returned to his own place.

28-31. And he became very sorry and thought thus :-- These two Munis could not be tempted away with boons, nor did they fly away from their place of worship, though terrified with fire, wind, wolves, tigers and lions. No one, I think, would be able to break their meditation. When fear and temptations have not distracted their meditation, they are certainly meditating on the Eternal Mahâ Vidyâ S'rî Bhuvanes'warî, the Prime Force of Nature, the Source of all Mâyâs, and the Goddess the Creatrix of all the worlds, the wonderful highest Prakriti; what other expert in emitting Mâyâ there can be? Who can break their meditation!

32. Indeed! how can this whole host of Mâyâs that are created by Gods and Asuras overpower those purged of all their sins, who are meditating their Creator, the Supreme Mâyâ, that Illusion by which one considers the unreal Universe as really existent and as distinct from the Supreme Spirit, whence the Gods and Asuras have derived all their supernatural powers.

33. He in whose heart reign the seed mantras of Vâk, Kâma and Mâyâ, called Vâgvîjam, Kâmavijam, Mâyâvîjam, no one is able to stand against and overpower him.

34-35. O king! Indra, enchanted by Mâyâ, did not desist from tempting the two Risis, but he went on thinking other means by which their asceticism could be baffled and asked Kâma and Vasanta (the god of Lust and the season spring) to come before him and addressed them, thus :-- O Kâma! You now be united with your wife Rati and Vasanta (the God of spring) and go to the hill Gandhamâdan, accompanied by all the Apsarâs (celestial damsels) and with all the Rasas (love sentiments).

NOTE :-- The Gandhamâdan is the mountain like unsurpassable intoxicating happiness of the senses.

36-37. There you will find the two ancient excellent Risis Nara and Nârâyana practising asceticism in solitude, in the hermitage of Badarikâ. O Manamatha! You better go before them, and with the influence of your arrows, do now my work and make their hearts extremely lustful.

38. O Fortunate One! Charm over them by means of your arrows, make them leave their asceticism by magical spells.

39. Who is there in this world of Devas, Daityas, human beings, that, being whipped by your arrows, do not come under your control?

40. When Brahmâ, I, Mahâdeva, Moon and Fire are all fascinated by your arrows, then is there any doubt that these two Risis would not be fascinated by them!

41. I am sending these public women as your assistants. Rambhâ and other beautiful celestial nymphs would all follow you.

42. You alone, or Rambhâ or Tilottamâ alone can do this work. Will there be any doubt if you all unite in this?

43. O Good One! Do this work for me; I will confer on you your desired objects.

44. O Manmatha! I tempted them with boons but these two ascetics, of controlled minds, could not be displaced from their seats. My efforts were rendered useless.

45. I frightened them very much with all the Mâyic powers; yet they could not be dislocated from their deep thoughts. It seems that they are quite heedless in the preservation of their bodies.

46. Vyâsa said :-- Kâmadeva, on hearing the king of the Devas, addressed him thus :-- O Indra! Today I will fulfill all your desires.

47. But there is one word. If these two ascetics be meditating Visnu, S’iva or Brahmâ or the Sun, then I will be able to bring them under my control.

48. And if they be meditating on the Great Seed Mantra, the root of all Mâyâ, and the great Kâmavîjam, the king of the Kâma, I will never be able to subdue such a devotee of the Highest Devî.

49. If these two ascetics have devotedly taken refuge of the Great Power Mahâ Devî, then they will not come under the sight of my arrows.

50. Indra said :-- O Blessed One! Go now with your assistants, ready to do your work. No body but you, I find, that can fulfill my this beneficial, though very difficult work.

Vyâsa said :-- Thus ordered by Indra, they all departed to where the Dharma's sons Nara, and Nârâyana were performing their hard Tapasyâs.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On The Origin Of Urvas’î

1. Vyâsa said :-- O king! First there appeared on the mountain, the king of the seasons, Vasanta, the Spring. All the trees flowered and became very beautiful; and the bees began to hum round all sides.

2. Mangoes, Bokul trees, the beautiful Tilaka trees, the good Kimsukas, Sâl, Tâl, Tamâl and Madhuka trees assumed unequalled beauties, ornamented with their flowers.

3. Cuckoos began to coo coo (warble) beautifully on the tops of trees; the creepers flowered and began to embrace the trees.

4. The creatures became enamoured with love and began to look on their paramours with amorous eyes and began to hold pleasant sexual intercourses.

5. The southern breeze blew gently, full of pleasant odours and agreeable to touch. The sensual organs became very powerful and could no longer be brought under their control by the Munis.

6. Then Kâma, united with Rati, hurriedly entered into the Hermitage of Badarikâ with the five arrows in his hands.

7. Rambhâ, Tilottamâ, and other prominent Apsarâs all went to that beautiful hermitage and began to sing in perfect tune with gamuts, key notes and respective pauses.

8. The two Maharsis awoke on hearing the sweet music, the warbling of the cuckoos and the nice hummings of the bees.

9. Nara Nârâyana became anxious to see the untimely bursting of the Vasanta (vernal season) and the flowering of the trees.

10. How can the spring season come now at such an untimely season. I see, all the creatures are become extremely amorous with each other and infatuated with passionate lust.

11. It is very unusual that untimely things should happen. How has this come to pass? Struck with wonder, Nârâyana began to speak to Nara with eyes wide apart.

12. Nârâyana said :-- O Brother! See these trees look very elegant with flowers on them; the cuckoos are sounding sweet notes on all sides; the bees are humming on all sides.

13. The spring, the lion of the seasons, has burst asunder the fierce elephant, the winter season, by its sharp nails, as testified by the budding of Palâsa flowers.

14-18. O Brahman! See how beautiful and excellent has become this hermitage with the presence of the Goddess Spring Laksmi? O Devarsî! The Raktâs'oka flower is the palm of her hand; Kims’uka flower, her excellent feet; Nîlâsoka flowers, her black hairs on her head, the full-blown lotuses, her eyes; the bel fruits, her breast; the jolly Kunda flowers, her teeth; Manjari, her beautiful ears; red Bandhu flowers, her lips; Sindhubâra, her wonderful nails; the peacocks, her ornaments; the sounds of Sârasa birds, the jingling of her feet ornaments; the wreaths of flowers, her waist ornaments; the mad gooses, her gait; Kadamba flower's filaments, her hairs on her body; O best of ascetics! With all these, the Vasanta Laksmî has assumed a wonderful nice appearance.

19. Why has this occurred untimely? Think over it; O Devarsi! I am struck with wonder; surely this is obstructive of our penances.

20. Hear! There the Apsarâs are singing sweetly the song, tending to destroy our Tapasyâs; it seems, these are the means, no doubt, adopted by Indra to pollute our Tapasyâ.

21. Why is this spring season now generating our pleasures? It is clear that that Indra, the enemy of the Asuras, is become afraid of our Tapasyâ and is creating these obstructions to disturb our asceticisms.

22. Lo! The cool, odorous, and pleasant breezes are blowing; no other cause can be traced than the wicked deed of Indra.

23. When the best of the Brâhmins, the Deva Nârâyana was addressing thus, the whole host of Cupid became visible before their sight.

24. And the two Risis were very much surprised on seeing them.

25-27. They saw near to them the Cupid with his attendants Menakâ, Rambhâ, Tilottamâ, Puspagandhâ, Sukes'î, Mahâs'vetâ, Manoramâ, Pramodvarâ, Ghritâchî, Châruhâsinî, the expert in music, Chandra Prabhâ, the cuckoo voiced Somâ, the lotus eyed Vidyunmâlâ, Kânchana malinî, and others.

28. Eight thousand and five hundred Apsarâs and long multitudes of the hosts of Cupid, the Munis saw and were surprised.

29. Then those prostitutes of the Devas, dressed with their heavenly ornaments and the heavenly flowers, appeared before the Munis and bowed down their heads on the ground.

30. The Apsarâs began their enchanting songs, exciting much passion and rarely heard or seen in this world.

31-32. The two Munis Bhagavân Visnu-like Nara Nârâyana were pleased with their music and addressed them thus :-- O thin waisted good looking Apsarâs! You have come here as guests, I see, from your Heavenly world. Stay here in peace and all comfort; we will gladly serve you as your hosts.

33-34. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The two Munis, thinking that Indra has sent these Apsarâs to obstruct their Tapasyâ, were filled with egoism and determined to create, out of their strength of Tapasyâ a new Apsarâ, who would be very much more beautiful and possessing far more heavenly graces than the present ones, who are ordinary looking and clumsy in their behaviours.

35. And the Munis, by clapping or striking their thighs, instantly created a woman, exquisitely beautiful in all respects.

36. This good looking woman was named Urvas'î, since she was produced from the thighs. And all the other Apsarâs present there were very much thunderstruck on seeing that Urvas'î.

37. Then the Muni Nârâyana easily created as many women as there were Apsarâs to serve them.

38. The just produced Apsarâs brought with them all sorts of offering in their hands, and, singing and smiling, came before the Munis and with clasped hands bowed down before them.

39. The heavenly damsels sent by Indra, though enchanting to others were themselves now bewildered on beholding Urvas'i, beautiful in all respects and produced out of the Tapasyâ of the Munis; and their hairs over the bodies stood on their ends. Then they tried to make their faces as beautiful as they could and began to address the Munis thus :--

40. O Munis! We are ignorant girls; how can we praise you and the greatness of your Tapasyâ and at your steadiness. Oh! There is no one in this Universe, that is not burnt with the passion by the arrows of our sharp eyesight? But there is no trace of mental disturbance and defilement in you; Oh! Wonderful is your greatness, indeed!

41. We are convinced that both of you are the Amsas of Visnu and that your treasures are your incessant peace and control of mind. We have come here not to serve you but to hinder you in your penances, that we may fulfill the desires of Indra.

42. By what good luck of ours we have got a sight of thee, we do not know; we do not know also what merits we did? We have committed great offence to you; still you have not cursed us. You have considered us as those of your own family and have pardoned us. Therefore our minds are free from sorrow and anxiety. Much praise be to your forgiveness! Wise saints do not squander away their occult powers, derived from austerities, in trivial ways like cursing others.

43. Vyâsa said :-- Very pleased were those two Dharma's sons, the two Maharsis, self controlled and desireless, to hear these words of those godly behaved heavenly damsels; they then spoke to the damsels, blazing with the fire of their Tapas.

44-45. Nara and Nârâyana said :-- O Damsels! We are pleased with you; better ask from us your desired boons; we will instantly grant them to you. You better take with you to your Heaven this beautiful eyed Urvas'î, born of our thighs as a present to your Deva Râja, the Indra.

46. Now peace be to all the Devas; you better go to your own places; do not, in future, disturb the Tapasyâ of others.

47. The damsels said :-- Where will we go now? We have reached your lotus feet through our devotion, and our joy knows no bounds; O Nârâyana the Supreme amongst the Gods!

48. O Lord! O Madhusûdana! O Lotus-eyed! If Thou art pleased with us and dost want to give us our desired boons, we disclose to you our wished for object.

49. O Lord of the Devas! Thou art the Lord of the world; so beest Thou the Lord of us. O Destroyer of the foes! We will gladly put ourselves at the service of your feet.

50. Let those sixteen hundred and fifty beautiful-eyed damsels including Urvas'î, that are your creation and that are now existing here, let them go unto Heaven by your command.

51. And we, the sixteen hundred and fifty damsels that have come before, may be allowed to remain here at your service.

52. O Mâdhava! You are the Lord of the Devas; be true to your word and give us our desires. Those seers, the Munis, who know what is Dharma, declare that it is sin, equivalent to murder, to destroy the hopes of those women that are struck with passion.

53. We are very fortunate to come here from Heaven and we are filled with extreme love for you, O Deves'a! You are the Lord of the world; you can do all things; therefore do not leave us.

54. Nârâyana said :-- O thin bodied damsels! I am practising at this place the tapasyâ for full one thousand years, controlling my passions; how can I now break it by engaging myself to enjoy sensual things.

55. I have no inclination to indulge in sexual pleasures, tending to destroy the Highest Bliss as well as the Highest Dharma. What intelligent person will like to indulge like a beast in sensual pleasures.

56-57. The Apsarâs said :-- Of the five senses; sound, etc., the pleasures attained through the sensation of touch are excellent, and are reckoned as the source of Bliss; no other pleasures stand equal to it. Therefore do then fulfill our words, and enjoy incessantly this highest bliss and roam freely in this Gandhamâdan mountain.

58. If you like to go to Heaven, be pleased to know that there is no Superior Heaven to Gandhamâdan (the mountain like intoxicating happiness of the senses). Dost thou enjoy the highest bliss, the pleasant sexual intercourse with us, the heavenly damsels in this very beautiful and lovely place.

Thus ends the Sixth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the origin of Urvas'î.

Chapter 7. On Ahamkâra

1. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The Dharma's son, of excellent prowess, hearing thus, the words of these damsels, thought within himself, thus :-- what shall I do under the above circumstances.

2. If I indulge now in sexual pleasures, I will be an object of laughter amongst the Munis. This present trouble has, no doubt, arisen from my Ahamkâra (egoism). This Ahamkâra is the first and foremost in ruining one's Dharma.

3-5. The wise sages have declared this Ahamkâra as the root of this tree of world. I did not observe the vow of silence on seeing those damsels come here; I have held much conversations with them; therefore I have got into this troublesome anxiety and sorrow. I have created these damsels at the expense of my Dharma and Tapasyâ. The beautiful and lovely damsels sent by Indra are now full of lust; and are bent on ruining my tapasayâ. Now if through Ahamkâra I had not created the damsels, I would not have fallen into this difficulty. Now I am caught firmly in the meshes of my own creation like a spider; what am I to do next!

6-7. If I abandon these damsels, thinking that there is no necessity to reconsider the matter, then these would be broken hearted; and they would go away cursing me?

Yet I would be free from this present danger at least and then be able to practise excellent tapasyâ in a lonely place. Therefore, now, I will get angry and tell these damsels go away from me.

8. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Muni Nârâyana thought that he would become thus happy; but, at the next moment, he discussed in his mind thus :--

9. The second great enemy is anger; it is greater than causing hurt to others; and it is greater than lust and avarice.

10. Out of anger people commit murder; this murder is the source of hell and is giving pains to all.

11. As trees, rubbing against each other, generate fire; and are themselves burnt up in this fire, so fire arising from this body ultimately burns this body to death.

12. Vyâsa said :-- The younger brother Nara on seeing his elder brother anxious and low-spirited, spoke out what is right, as follows :--

13. O Nârâyana! You are very intelligent and very good; therefore reliquish this feeling of anger and betake to quietude and peace, and kill the dreadful anger.

14. Do you not remember that it is through this Ahamkâra and anger that our tapasyâ was destroyed on a previous occasion; and we had to fight severely with Prahlâda, the Lord of the Asuras for one full divine thousand years.

15-16. O Lord of the Devas! We were put to much difficulties then; therefore O Lord of the Munis! Get rid of this anger; be quiet! The sages declare the peace is the root cause and the only object of Tapasyâ.

17.Vyâsa said :-- On hearing these words of his younger brother Nara, the Dharma's son Nârâyana took to peace.

18. Janamejaya said :-- O Lord of the Munis! The high souled Prahlâda was a devotee of Visnu and of a peace loving heart: how it was that, in the ancient days, the battle took place between him and these Risis; how could the Risis fight? There is this great doubt in my mind.

19-20. These two Dharma's sons were ascetics and peace loving; how the fight could come to pass between these and the Daityâsuras? How did these two Risis fight with the high souled Prahlâda?

21-22. Prahlâda was very religious, full of knowledge and very much devoted to Visnu. Nara Nârâyana were Sattvik and ascetics; therefore if there had occurred enmity between those, it appears that the religion and asceticism, Tapasyâ and Dharma were matters in name only; and the labour was spent in vain in the golden age even. What was the value of asceticism and meditation and muttering silently the mantras! No one can make out.

23. Oh! Persons like them could not conquer their hearts full of anger and egoism! Anger and jealousy cannot spring unless there be at the bottom a feeling of egoism (Ahamkâra).

24. All the passions, lust, greed, anger, etc., come out of Ahamkâra (egoism), there is no doubt of it; one hundred lakh years of severe asceticism are rendered quite useless by the cropping up afterwards of a bit of Ahamkâra.

25. As darkness is dispelled entirely on sunrise, so no trace of religious merit can exist on the rising of a bit of Ahamkâra.

26. When Prahlâda could fight with S'rî Bhagavân Hari, then, Oh! all his merits in this world are rendered of no use whatsoever.

27. Where is the religious merit and where is peace when the quiet souled persons Nara Nârâyana, the two Risis began to fight, without paying any heed to their highest end, the Tapasyâ?

28. When Ahamkâra became invincible by the two Risis, then what can be expected from the weak trivial persons like us in the matter of subjugating this Ahamkâra?

29. Who can be free from Ahamkâra in these three worlds, when the high souled persons like the above were not free from it? I am now quite confident that, in this Universe, no body was ever before free from Ahamkâra nor will there be any such in the distant future.

30. One can be free if bound by an iron or a wooden chain; but when one is pierced by Ahamkâra, one can never become free from it.

31. This whole Universe, moving and unmoving, is rolling in this Samsâra (migration and transmigration) polluted by urine and faeces, being covered by Ahamkâra.

32. Where is, then the Brahmâ Jñana? O Good One in vows! The Karma theory, according to the Mimâmsakas, seems reasonable and true.

33. O Muni! What can you expect from the weak-minded persons like me in this Kali yuga, when the great persons are always overpowered with lust, anger, etc.

34-35. Vyâsa said :-- O Descendant of Bharata! How can the effect be different from its cause? Gold and golden ear-rings though different in form owing to upâdhis, are both similar to their original cause, the metal gold.

Thread is the cause of cloth; therefore as cloth cannot be different from its thread, so this whole universe, moving and unmoving, is sprung from Ahamkâra; then how can it be free from Ahamkâra?

36. All this, moving and unmoving, including a blade of grass, are fashioned out of the three qualities of Mâyâ; so if it be formed of those qualities, what repentance can come to those who are wise and know every phenomenon as unreal?

37. O Best of kings! Brahmâ, Visnu or Mahes'a, even these are all rolling in this vast ocean of Samsâra, being bewildered and fascinated by Ahamkâra.

38. The great sages like Vas'istha, Nârada and the other Munis are frequently taking their births in this Samsâra.

39. In this Trilokî, there is not even one embodied soul, who is entirely free from this Mâyâ and has become quiet and immersed in the high bliss of the Supreme Self.

40. O Best of kings! Lust, anger, avarice, and fascination, all, arise from Ahamkâra. These do not leave any embodied person.

41-42. Studying all the Vedas and Purânas, going to all the sacred places pilgrimages, making charities, thinking on Paramâtman and worshipping the gods, doing all these, the people still get attached to sensual objects and act like a thief.

43. O Son of Kuru! In the three yugas, the Satya, Tretâ, Dwâpara, Dharma had been pierced and wounded very much; what to say of Dharma in this Kali Yuga!

44. You will find quarrels, avarice, anger raging always in this Kali yuga. Therefore there is no wonder that you will not find any one thinking and doing what is worth thinking, and doing what is not worth doing?

45. Free from envy, anger, and jealousy, such persons are rare now-a-days in this Kali yuga. Some peaceful persons exist here and there to keep up the ideal.

46. The king said :-- O Muni! They are blessed and holy who are free from this fascination of Mâyâ, self controlled, who have conquered their passions, and who follow good conduct. They have risen above the Trilokî.

47. O Best of Munis! My high minded father put a dead serpent round the neck of an ascetic without any fault; I am very sorry to think of his act.

48. Therefore, O Muni ! Kindly suggest any means by which I can now redress that act. O Bhagavan! I do not know what will be the result of this act, committed out of the bewildering of intellect.

49. Fools in search of honey see only honey before them but not the falls, whence they might tumble down and die. So the stupid men do disgraceful acts and do not get afraid of the tortures of hell.

50. Kindly describe, in detail, how the fight incurred between Prahlâda and Nârâyana in ancient times.

51. How was it that Prahlâda went out of Pâtâla (the nether regions) and went to the great holy place, the hermitage of Badarikas'rama in the Sârasvata country, the great place for pilgrimage.

52. O Muni! What was it that led the best of the Munis, the two ascetics to fight with Prahlâda?

53. The enmity springs where there is wealth, wife, or land. The two Maharsis were desireless, had nothing of these; how, then, without any cause, they fought such a battle!

54. Prahlâda was also very religious and knew that those two Risis were the Devas; knowing this, why did he fight with them?

55. So describe in detail the cause of all these.

Here ends the Seventh Chapter in the 4th Book of S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses on Ahamkâra by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 8. On Going To The Tîrthas

1. Sûta said :-- Thus asked by the son of Parîksit, the king Janamejaya, the best of the Brâhmanas, the son of Satyavatî, Vyâsa spoke, in detail, the following :--

2. The virtuous Janamejaya became very much sorry and despondent when he heard in detail the improper acts of his own father Parîksit, the son of Uttarâ.

3. Owing to insulting the Brâhmin boy, his father had to go to hell; and he was constantly thinking how to release his father.

4. The son is called “Puttra” for he releases his father from the hell, named “Put”. He is the true son that can do so.

5-6. The fortunate son of Parîksit became very much tormented and bewildered with fear when he heard what was the fate of his father, who died bitten by a serpent on the top of a palace, due to the curse of a Brâhmin, void of any bathing, charities, and the purificatory acts.

7. When Vyâsa returned home, Janamejaya asked him, the whole course of events of Nara Nârâyana.

8. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the terrible Hiranya Kas'ipoo was slain, his son Prahlâda was installed on his throne.

9. During the government of Prahlâda, the chief of the Daityas, the worshipper of the Brâhmanas and Devas, the kings on earth began with faith to do many sacrifices for the satisfaction of the Devas.

10. The Brâhmanas were engaged in their Tapasyâ, Dharma, and in frequenting the places of pilgrimages; the Vais'yas, in their trade; and the S'ûdras, in serving the other three classes.

11. The incarnation of Hari, the Nri Simha (Man-Lion) made Prahlâda, the king of the Daityas in the Pâtâla (Nether regions); and Prahlâda, engaged there, spent his time in the preservation and welfare of his subjects.

12. Once, on a time, the great ascetics Chyavana Muni, the son of Bhrigu went on his way to bathing in the river Narmada, at the place of pilgrimage, called Vyârhitîs'vara.

13. There he saw the great river Revâ and, while he was descending in the river, a dreadful snake caught hold of him and carried him to the Pâtâla. The Muni was greatly terrified and began to think of the Deva of the Devas, Janârdana Visnu.

14-15. On remembering the lotus eyed  Visnu, the serpent lost his poison, and Chyavana Muni did not find any trouble, though carried to the Pâtâla.

16. Then the serpent, coming to know of the power of the Muni, left him for fear that the Muni might curse him; the snake afterwards repented very much.

17. Chyavana, the best of the Munis, worshipped by the daughters of the serpents, roamed there and entered once into a beautiful palace of the Nâgas and the Dânavas.

18. While he was walking, he was seen by the religious king of the Daityas, the Prahlâda.

19. The lord of the Daityas on seeing him worshipped him and enquired of him the cause of his coming there.

20. Are you sent here by Indra? Speak truly, O best of the Brâhmanas. Is it to pry into my kingdom out of the enmity between the Devas and the Daityas?

21. Chyavana said :-- What have I to do with Indra? That I might be sent by him, as his spy, messenger, to your city!

22. O Chief of the Daityas! Know me as Chyavana, the son of Bhrigu, prompt in religious duties and whose eye is illumined by knowledge. Do not fear that I am sent here by Indra.

23. When I went to bathe in a place of pilgrimage, in the holy Narmadâ, and dropped into the river, a poisonous snake caught hold of me (and carried me here).

24. I took the name of Visnu; and the serpent, hearing the Visnu's name, became void of poison, and left me here as you see.

25. O king! Coming here, I see you. You are a devotee of Visnu; know me, too, a devotee of the same Visnu.

26. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Prahlâda, the son of Hiranya Kas'ipu, on hearing his sweet words, gladly asked him about the various places of pilgrimages.

27. Prahlâda said :-- O Best of Munis! Kindly describe to me, in detail, which are the places of pilgrimages on the earth, Pâtâla, and in the Heavens, that verily lead to holiness.

28. Chyavana said :-- O King! He whose body, words, and mind have grown pure, to him, his every footstep is a place of pilgrimage; he, whose heart is impure and defiled, to him the holy Ganges even is a thing more hated and worse than the Kîkata country (the name of Behâr).

29. Every holy place will impart holiness to him whose mind is first pure and deprived of sin.

30-31. O Best of the Daityas! On the banks of the Ganges, are situated good many cities, towns, villages, places to assemble, mines, small villages, the living places of the aborigines, the chândâlas, and kaivartas, the Hûnas, Bangas, the Khasas and the other Mlechchas.

32. The inhabitants of the above places drink at their will the holy Ganges water, equivalent to Brâhma, and bathe therein and do other works.

33. O King! There not even a single soul becomes pure. What use is a holy place to him, whose heart becomes attached to the sensual objects and who can therefore be called the lost souls.

34. Know, O king! the mind as the principal factor in any religious act or in any holy place. He who wants purity, let him first make his own mind pure.

35. The residents in any holy place deceive others and thus incur great sins. The sins committed in a place of pilgrimage can never be removed; they become unending and inexhaustible.

36. As the fruit, Indravârunâ, is never sweet though fully ripe, so whose heart is defiled, he can never be pure though he bathes hundreds and thousands of times in the Tîrtha water.

37. He who wants welfare of his own and others, he should first make his mind pure; when his mind becomes pure, then, the purity of material things and the purity of conduct can have any effect; then and then only resorting to places of pilgrimages becomes efficacious.

38-39. Always avoid company with the lowest class of persons in the holy places; it is far better to shew one's good will and compassion to all the souls (jîvas) by one's intellect and by one's acts. You have asked me about the holy places of pilgrimages; I will now tell you those that are the best.

40. O king! The holy Naimis'âranya is the first, next Chakratîrtha; next Puskaratîrtha; there are many others besides these that cannot be counted. O Best of kings! There are lots of other holy places in this world.

41-42. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Prahlâda, the king of the Daityas, on hearing the Muni's words, became ready to go Naimis'ranya and, with very much gladness, exclaimed to his followers, the Daityas :-- O Good Ones! Get up; today we will go to Naimis'âranya and we will see the lotus eyed, yellow robed S’rî Achyutam, the Visnu.

43. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When thus addressed by Prahlâda, the Demons were exceedingly glad; and they all marched out of Pâtâla.

44. The Daityas, and Demons all united went to Naimis'âranyam and filled with much pleasure, they all bathed on reaching that holy place.

45. There, accompanied by the Daityas, Prahlâda roamed about the sacred places and saw the holy Sarasvatî river and Her pure clean water.

46. The highsouled Prahlâda bathed in the Sarasvatî river and his mind was satisfied.

47. The king of the Daityas was very much pleased and he perform ablutions and charities according to due rites in that most auspicious sacred place of pilgrimage.

Here ends the Eighth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsî Veda Vyâsa on going to the Tîrthas.

Chapter 9. On The Fight Between The Risis And Prahlâda

1. Vyâsa said :-- After performing duly his religious rites there, the son of Hiranya Kas'ipu saw before him an unbrageous peepul tree.

2-3. There he saw along with the feathers of vultures, the terrible, sharpened under a stone, various glittering arrows, arrayed in due order; and he was surprised to think who could have kept such arrows, well guarded in this very holy hermitage of the Risis.

4-5. While Prahlâda was thus meditating in his mind, he saw before him, wearing the skin of a black antelope, the two sons of Dharma, the two Munis Nara Nârâyana, loaded on their heads with high clots of hairs. Before them were placed the two white bows named S'ârngam and Âjagavam, (Pinâka) the bows of Visnu and S'iva respectively, bearing their qualified marks, as well as their two inexhaustible big quivers.

6-10. The Lord of the Daityas, then, saw those two blessed ones, the two Risis Nara Nârâyana, the two sons of Dharma, deeply absorbed in meditation. Seeing this, he became very much enraged, his eyes became red, and he began to address them thus :-- O two Ascetics! Has vain arrogance possessed your mind to destroy religion? It is never seen nor even heard, that the practice of severe asceticism and the holding of the bows and arrows, were carried into effect simultaneously by one man in any of the Four Ages. These two are contradictory things. That may be worthy in the Kali Yuga? This asceticism is fit for the Brâhmanas; why, then are the bows and arrows held by you? There is an irreconcilable difference between the holding of clotted hairs on the head and the holding in the hand of the bows and arrows. Therefore, do you practise religious rites, with feelings befitting your divine positions!

11. Vyâsa said :-- O Descendant of Bharata! On hearing thus the Prahlâda's words, the Nara Risi said :-- O Lord of the Daityas! What matters it to you? Why do you, for nothing, trouble yourself with our tapasyâ.

12. An able man can accomplish any thing. It is widely known in the three worlds, that we are able to accomplish these two things contemporaneously. O thou of weak understanding!

13. In the battle field as well as in asceticism, we can shew our prowess. What have you got to do with us in these matters? The road before you is unobstructed, you can go wherever you like; why do you brag of your own merits?

14. You are very dull and stupid; what can you understand of a Brâhmanic glory that is very rare and attained with great difficulty? Those that want happiness need not meddle with the Brâhmanas.

15-16. Prahlâda said :-- Blunt headed and vain braggarts are you! When I am present in this Tîrtha, I who am the upholder of Dharma, I won`t allow you to practise any irreligious things here! O Ascetics! Better show me your skill in fight to-day.

17-18. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The Risi Nara on hearing his words replied :-- Give us battle if you are so desirous. O wretched amongst the Asuras! In to-day's battle, I will knock your head down, and then you shall never in future desire to fight with any body.

19-20. Vyâsa said :-- On hearing these words, the chief of the Daityas was very much angry and promised to conquer these two self controlled Risi ascetics, Nara Nârâyana by any means whatsoever.

21-22. Vyâsa said :-- Thus saying, the Daitya took up his bow and quickly stretched it with arrow and the bow string made a terrible noise. Then Nara, too, too up with anger his bows and began to shoot arrows at Prahlâda lots of sharpened arrows and weapons.

23. The lord of the Daityas quickly selected the arrows, glittering like gold, and with them tore asunder the arrows thrown by Nara. Nara, seeing his arrows, cut asunder, became infuriated with anger and began to hurl as quickly lots of other arrows.

24. Prahlâda then cut asunder with arrows, of quick velocity, the Nara's weapons and struck violently on the breast of Nara. Nara, too, with anger pierced the arms of Prahlâda with five quick arrows.

25. Indra and the other Devas came on their respective aeroplanes to see their fight and began to give cheers sometimes to Nara and sometime to Prahlâda from above the skies.

26. The Lord of the Daityas taking up his bow, began out of furious anger to hurl various weapons on Nara as incessantly as clouds give rain over the mountain peaks. The Nara Muni now became very much exhausted and weary, being struck with Prahlâda's arrows.

27. Nârâyana then seeing Nara exhausted, became very much amazed and bolding his unequalled S'ârnga bow, began to quit arrows, shining with with golden lustre.

28. O Lord of the earth! Then Narâyana and Prahlâda both were desirous to win the victory, and a terrible fight ensued. The Devas gladly poured forth flowers on their heads from the skies.

29. The king of the Daityas got very much enraged and began to hurl arrows with tremendous quickness. Nârâyana, the son of Dharma, immediately cut asunder those weapons with his very sharp arrow.

30-32. Nârâyana too, threw arrows sharpened under stones with high velocity and very much troubled the lord of the Daityas, who now became very much restless.

33-34. The sky was covered over with arrows and arrows from both the parties and the day looked like the night. Then the Devas and the Daityas were very much astonished and told each other, “We never saw before a terrible fight like this.”

35. Then the Devarsis, Gandarbhas, Yaksas, Kinnaras, Pannagas, Vidyâdharas and Châranas were all very much confounded.

36-37. The two Risis Nârada and Parvata came also to witness their fight; the Devarsi Nârada told the Parvata Risi he never saw before such a dreadful fight. There were awful battles with Târakâsura and Vritrâsûra and also the battle between Hari and Madhukaitava; but they were all inferior and cannot stand in comparison.

38. It seemed that Prahlâda was very powerful; otherwise how could an equal fight last so long a time with such an accomplished person, perfect with all the supernatural powers and of such heroic deeds as Nârâyana.

39-42. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Day and night the Daityas and the ascetic Nârâyana went on fighting terribly with each other. Then Nârâyana cut off, with the arrow, the bow of Prahlâda; Prahlâda soon took another bow; the expert handed Nârâyana quickly broke into two that bow. Thus though Prahlâda's arrows were repeatedly cut asunder still he began to take up fresh bows and Nârâyana began to cut them repeatedly.

43-44. Thus, then, when all the bows of Prahlâda were destroyed, the Daitya Râjâ took up Parigha (iron club), became enraged and threw it on Nârâyana's arm. The powerful Bhagavân Nârâyana, seeing the dreadful iron club, cut it asunder with nine arrows and pierced Prahlâda with ten arrows.

45-47. Then Prahlâda, enraged, threw the iron gadâ on Nârâyana's thighs. The exceedingly powerful Dharma's son was not at all agitated and stood firm like a rock and taking up arrows quickly cut asunder the iron gadâ of the Daitya. Then the visitors were much startled.

48-49. Then Prahlâda, intent on killing his enemy, became very much angry and threw the S’akti darts, spears and missiles instantly on Nârâyana's thighs with great velocity. Nârâyana with one arrow cut that easily into seven parts and with seven arrows pierced Prâhladâ.

50. Thus for one thousand Deva years the terrible fight lasted between Prahlâda and Nârâyana in that hermitage; and the whole universe was struck with surprise.

51-52. Then Gadâdhara with yellow robes and four hands quickly came there and called Prahlâda. The son of Hiranya Kas'ipoo, Prahlâda, seeing the Lord of Laksmi, four armed, Nârâyana with lotus and disc in His hands come there, bowed low, and, with folded hands, began to speak to him with great devotion.

53-54. O Deva of the Devas! You are the Lord of the universe and devoted to your devotees. O Mâdhava! I have fought for full one hundred Deva years; still I have not not been able to defeat these ascetics. I do not know why. I am surprised at it.

55-56. Visnu said :-- O Forgiving One! These two Risis Nara Nârâyana are, the perfect ascetics, self controlled and born of my Amsas. Therefore you have not been able to defeat them. What wonder is there! O king! Better go now to your Pâtâla and keep your steadfast devotion on me. O Intelligent one! Do not quarrel any more with these two ascetics.

57. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The Daitya king Prahlâda then advised by Visnu went out of that place with his Asura followers; and the two Nara Nârâyanas began again to practise their Tapasyâs.

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhagâvatam, the Mahâ Purânam; of 18,000 verses, on the fight between the Risis and Prahlâda by Maharsî Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Curse On Visnu By Bhrigu

1-4. Janamejaya said :-- O Son of Parâs'ara! There has arisen a great doubt in my mind on hearing just now your words. These Nara Nârâyana are the two sons of Dharma; they are ascetics, calm and quiet, the Ams'as of Visnu; they reside in a holy place of pilgrimage! They are filled with the Sattvic qualities, subsisting always on roots and fruits of the forest, the highsouled hermits and truthful. How were they addicted to such warfare? Why had they left their invaluable asceticism? And with what object were they fighting for full one thousand Deva years with Prahlâda.

5. What was the end, O Muni, of their fight with Prahlâda? Kindly explain to me in detail the cause of this warfare.

6. Women, wealth or any other worldly object can be the cause of any quarrel or fight amongst any persons; but, in this case, the two ascetics had none of these; how then this idea of fight sprung within their minds.

7-8. And why did they practise such severe austerities? Was it that they had to overpower others, or enjoy pleasures themselves or to reach Heaven that they practised tapasyâ? What fruits did they eventually obtain from such penances?

9. They became very lean and thin through their asceticism; still how could they fight full one thousand Deva years without getting fatigued.

10. They were not entangled in this fight for kingdom, or wealth or for women or for any other worldly object; then why did they fight with the high souled Prahlâda?

11. Having no attachment for any worldly object nor any desire to gain any thing therefrom, why did they engage themselves so thoroughly, in such pains giving battle?

12. Intelligent persons always do works leading to bliss; they never do painful works; this is the long standing rule of the world.

13. The two sons of Dharma were the Ams'as of Hari, all knowing and adorned with all qualities; why did they fight, subversive of religion?

14. O Mahârsi! Even the dull and stupid persons in the world won't go to these deadly battles leaving asceticism and samâdhi, leading to the purification of all desires.

15. I have heard that Yayâti, the Lord of the earth was dropped from Heaven to this world, owing to his Ahamkâra, though he was a virtuous king devoted to charities and sacrifices.

16-17. No sooner Yayâti, said the king :-- did As'vamedha sacrifice, etc., with Ahamkâra, egoism, he was dropped by Indra with thunderbolt in his hands. So one can see that, without Ahamkâra no fight can occur. The ascetics had no bodily strength; therefore if they had to fight, it is through the waste of their Tapasyâ that they could do so.

18. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The all knowing sages that have realised the truth or Dharma declare the threefold Ahamkâra arising out the Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic qualities respectively to be the causes of this world.

19. How, then, can these two Munis being embodied forego their Ahamkâras? Without any cause, no actions follow; this is quite certain.

20. Tapas, charities, sacrifices all originate from the Sattvic qualities. And quarrels arise from the Rajasic or Tamasic qualities.

21. All arise from Ahamkâra, whether good or bad; this is quite certain.

22. There is no other thing that enchains a soul than this Ahamkâra. It is out of Ahamkâra that this Universe is created: how can it be then free from it?

23. O King! Brahma, Visnu, Mahes'ha, even these are with Ahamkâras. Then how can you expect other ordinary Munis to be free from it?

24. Encased with Ahamkâra, this Universe is rolling. Births and death occur repectively through this Karma.

25. O Lord of the earth. The Devas, birds and men are revolving in this world like the wheel of a chariot.

26. In this wide world who can count how many Avatâras Visnu had to take in all sorts of wombs, good or low.

27. Ordained by the Lord of the Universe, Nârayâna Himself had to take the Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Man Lion and the Dwarf incarnations.

28. Vasudeva Janârdana the Lord, had to undertake countless Avatâras births in this world.

29. In the Vaivasvata manvantara, the Avatâras of Bhagavân Hari are being mentioned to you. Hear!

30. The all pervading Lord of the world, the God of the Gods, had to take several incarnations in this world, owing to the curses inflicted by Bhrigu.

31. The king said :-- There has now again arisen another fresh doubt, why was Visnu cursed by Bhrigu Muni?

32. O Muni! What injury did Hari commit to that Muni, and whereof the Muni Bhrigu cursed him.

33-34. Vyâsa said :-- Hear, O king! the cause of the curse; I will narrate to you. In days of yore, the king Hiranyakasipu, the son of Kasyapa often quarrelled with the Devas; owing to this incessant warfare, the whole universe was much alarmed and perplexed.

35. And when Hiranyakasipu was slain by the Man-Lion incarnation, Prahlâda, the tormentor of the foes, continued his enmity towards the Devas and began to annoy them.

36. Thus one hundred years dreadful battle occurred between the Devas and Prahlâda, to the astonishment of all.

37-38. O king! The Devas fought very hard and were victorious. Prahlâda was defeated and was sorely grieved. Hearing that the Eternal Religion is the best, he handed his kingdom over to his son Bali and went to the Gandhamâdan hill to practise tapasyâ.

39-40. The prosperous Bali, too, on gaining his kingdom, began to quarrel with the Devas and the war thus went on. Ultimately the powerful Indra and the Devas defeated the Asuras.

41-42. O king! Indra, of unequalled prowess, with the aid of Visnu, deprived the Daityas of their kingdom. The defeated Daityas took refuge of their family spiritual guide S'ukrâchârya and addressed him thus, O Brâhmana! You are endowed with your fiery strength of Tapasyâ and you are now powerful; why are you not lending your helping hands to your Daitya followers. O foremost of the councillors. If you do not help us and save us, we will not be able to stay in this earth and will soon have to go down to Pâtâla.

43-44. Vyâsa said :-- Thus addressed by the Daityas, the very kind hearted S'ukrâchârya said, O Daityas! Do not be afraid; I will protect you by my fire of strength and vigour; and help you with sound counsels and medicines. Be brave and energetic and cast aside your mental agony and sorrow.

45-47. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The Daityas became fearless under the patronage of S'ukrâchârya. The Devas had their spies and knew all about these. They held councils with Indra and settled that before the Daityas had time to dislodge us from our Heaven with the mantra of S'ukrâchârya, we will speedily go and attack them. Thus attacked all on a sudden, they will all be slain by us and we will drive them down to the Pâtâla.

48. Thus forming their resolves, with fully equipped arms and weapons, they went out of rage to fight with the Daityas and orderd by Indra and aided by Visnu, they began to kill the Demons.

49. When the Devas were thus slaying the Demons, they got very much terrified and exclaimed “O Lord! Protect us! Protect us!” and took the refuge of Sukra.

50. S'ukrâchârya, seeing the Daityas very much perplexed and distracted, at once cried aloud out of the influence of his Mantra “No fear, no fear,” Then the Devas on seeing S'ukrâchârya left the Daityas and fled away to their own places.

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Fourth Book of the Mahâ Purânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18000 verses by Maharsî Veda Vyâsa on the curse on Visnu by Bhrigu.

Chapter 11. On S’ukrâ’s Going To Mahâdeva To Get The Mantra

1. Vyâsa said :-- When the Devas retired from the battlefield, S’ukrâchârya addressed the Demons thus :-- O best of the Demons! Please hear, what had been told to me by Brahmâ in days of yore.

2-3. Janârdan Visnu is coming here to slay all the Demons, He killed before Hiranyâksa, the king of the Asuras, in His Boar incarnation. He killed Hiranyakasipu by assuming His Man-Lion appearance; now too, he will kill all the Daityas, no doubt, with great enthusiasm.

4-5. Now my mantra force will not be of any avail before S’rî Hari. And without my help you will not be able to conquer the Devas. Therefore, O Demons, wait for some time for me; I will start today to the presence of S'iva Mahâdeva to obtain from him the Mantra S’akti.

6. I will return, as early as possible, getting the Mantra from S’rî Mahâdeva; and with the help of the power of those great Mantras I will be able to protect you thoroughly.

7. The Daityas said :-- O best of the Munis! We are now defeated and our forces are well nigh exhausted; how will we be able to stay on this earth and expect your return for so long a time?

8. Those who were of great strength amongst us, they all are slain; now we are left very few in number. In this crisis it is not advisable and auspicious for us to remain here in this battlefield.

9. S’ukrâchârya said :-- Better you all stay here until I return, getting the requisite Mantra; remain peaceful and engaged in asceticism.

10. The heroes apply one or other of the following four measures :-- conciliation, alliance, gifts and bribery, partitions and sowing dissensions and punishment or open attack according to the conditions of time, place strength and circumstances.

11. Intelligent and well wishing persons do serve their enemies even in time of distress; but no sooner they find that their strength and army have increased, than they try at once to kill all their enemies.

12. Now, therefore, pretend your meekness and allegiance and adopt peace and remain in your own place until my arrival.

13. O Demons! I will come back with the Mantra from Mahâdeva. I will fight again with the Devas, by that veritable mantra power.

14. O king! Thus firmly making up his mind to have the Mantra, S’ukrâchârya went to Mahâdeva.

15. The Dânavas sent Prahlâda to the Devas for conciliation. The Devas regarded Prahlâda truthful and they all trusted on him.

16. Prahlâda with Asuras addressed thus the Devas with gentleness and humility.

17. O Immortals! We all have abandoned our weapons and armour. Now we desire to wear barks of trees and practise asceticism.

18. The Devâs took Prahlâda's words to be true and deserted from further fight; were freed of anxiety and felt all delighted.

19. On the Daitya’s leaving their weapons, the Gods desisted from battle, went to their respective places and freely gave themselves up to pleasure and amusements.

20. The Daityas controlled themselves and practised asceticism in the Kas’yapa’s hermitage, expecting the return of S’ukrâchârya.

21. S’ukrâchârya went to Kailâsa and made respectful obeisance to the God Mahâdeva. Mahâdeva enquired of the cause of his coming.

22. S’ukrâchârya said :-- I ask for Mantras, O Deva! from you that are not possessed by Brihaspatî, for the defeat of the Devas, and the victory of the Asuras.

23. Vyâsa said :-- On hearing his words, the all-knowing S’ankara S’iva began to think what He would do in this matter.

24. Certainly, this is with the revengeful object of attacking the Devas, for their defeat and for the victory of the Asuras that this Muni has come.

25. The Devas ought to be protected by me; thus thinking, S’ankara Mahes’vara advised him an entirely difficult tapasyâ to practise.

26. Full one thousand years he would practise tapasyâ with feet upwards and head downwards, he will have to inhale the smoke of burnt husk. Then he will get the Mantra and his desires will be fulfilled.

27. That would be done; thus saying to S’ankara, S’ukrâchârya practised that excellent vow, peaceful and inhaling the smoke of husk to get that Mantra.

28-29. The Devas came to know that S’ukrâchârya is practising his vow and the Daityas have become arrogant. They then counselled.

30. And came to the conclusion, took up weapons and arms and went to the Daityas, ready to fight.

31. The Daityas, seeing the Devas dressed in armour and holding weapons and coming from all sides, became very much afraid and anxious.

32. The Daityas, seeing this all on a sudden, were attacked with fear and began to address the Devas, proud with their army, in words, full of good meanings and morals.

33. O Devas! We have abandoned our arms; we are now armless; our spiritual guide is in his tapasyâ, you gave us words of fearlessness; why then you have come now dressed in full armour and with armies to kill us.

34. O Devas! Where is your truth. And where is your religion acccording to S’ruti? It is stated in S’ruti never to kill the weaponless, the fear stricken, and the refugees.

35. The Devas said :-- You sent your good S’ukrâchârya, out of pretence to acquire the Mantras; your asceticism is veiled under a deceitful object. Therefore we will fight with you certainly.

36. Be ready now and dress yourself with your arms and ammunitions, “Lo! Whenever you get any loop hole in your enemies, catch hold of it and kill your enemy.” This is the eternal religion.

37. Vyâsa said :-- On thus hearing the reply from the Devas, the Daityas after consideration quitted that place and fled away with terror.

38. And they took refuge under the S’ukrâchârya’s mother. She saw the Daityas very much fearstricken and at once guaranteed to them protection from fear.

39. The mother of Kâvya S’ukrâchârya said :-- Don’t fear; don’t fear; cast away fear. O Dânavas! In my presence, no fear can overtake you.

40. The Asuras on hearing her words were free from anxiety and pain and remained in that hermitage, in no way now bewildered or agitated, though they had no arms.

41-42. Here the Devas, seeing the Daityas flying away, pursued them and entering the hermitage were ready to kill the Daityas, not taking into account what strength they gained there. The mother of S’ukrâ warned the Devas not to kill; but, inspite of her hindrance, they began to slay the Daityas.

43. Seeing the Daityas thus attacked, the mother was furiously irritated and told them she would make all of them overpowered by sleep by her tapas strength, clarified intellectual force.

Note :--Is it by the asphyxiating gas? Or, by poisonous vapours or liquids?

44. So saying she sent the Goddess of sleep who at once overpowered the Gods and made them all lie down on the grounds senseless. Indra with the other Devas lay there dumb, and miserable.

45. On seeing Indra thus stupefied by sleep, the Bhagavân Visnu told Indra to enter into His body. He would then carry him to another place and he will be better.

46-47. Indra entered into the Visnu’s body; and, under His protection, he became free from sleep and fear. On seeing Indra thus sheltered by Visnu and fearless, the mother of Kâvya spoke.

48. O Indra! I will devour you with Visnu today by my Tapas force. All the Devas will presently see all this and my extraordinary power.

N.B.: Is it by making the earth go down, causing a fissure, thus engulfing the whole army? Or by blowing them up? Or by showering jets of poisonous gas or hot water or vapour from all sides.

49. Vyâsa said :-- O king! No sooner the mother spoke thus, than both Indra and Visnu were both stupefied under her magical spell, superior thought power, and a thorough learning of the art of warfare.

50. The Devas, seeing them very much overpowered and bewildered, were greatly struck with wonder; they became desperate and began to cry aloud.

51. Indra, on hearing the Devas cry aloud, told Visnu, O Madhusûdana! I am more bewildered in particular than yourself.

52. O Mâdhava! No need of any further consideration. Before this wretch, inflated with pride by her tapasyâ, burns us, better cause her death as early as possible.

53. When thus requested by Indra who was very much perplexed, Bhagavân Visnu quickly remembered his Sudars’ana disc, casting aside the thought that it is hateful to kill a woman.

54-55. The disc, the ever obedient weapon of Visnu appeared instantly at his remembrance; and Visnu, becoming angry as prompted by Indra held the disc in His hand, and, hurling it off on the S’ukrâ’s mother, severed off her head quickly. The god Indra became very glad at this.

56. The Devas became free from sorrow, got very much pleased and heartily exclaimed victory to Hari and worshipped Him and began to chant His praises.

57. Indra and Visnu then became free from all troubles; but they began to fear that Bhrigu (S’ukrâ’s father) would curse them terribly and without fail.

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa, on S’ukrâ’s going to Mahâdeva to get the Mantra.

Chapter 12. On Bhrigu’s Curse And The Dialogue Between S’ukrâchârya And The Daityas

1. Vyâsa said :-- O king! On seeing Visnu killing his wife, and thus committing a dreadful atrocious act, the Bhagavân Bhrigu was very sorry and began to tremble with anger and addressed Madhusûdana thus.

2. Bhrigu said :-- O Visnu! You have done an extremely sinful act. O intelligent one! Knowing it, you have done so; what a great wonder! Nobody dreams of the murder of this Brâhman’s daughter; and you have committed it in deed, black and white.

3. O Deva! The Mahârsis declare you to be Sâttvic, engaged in preservation; Brahmâ to be Râjasic (creator) and S’ambhu S’iva to be Tâmasic (destroyer). Why then is the contrary thing visible in this case?

4. Why have you become Tâmasic? Why have you done this heinous crime? O Visnu! The females are never to be killed; this is a known fact; then why have you killed this woman without any fault.

5-6. You have done a very execrable act. What shall I do to you? It is mete that I would curse you. O Great Sinner! You have pained me very much and made me very weary. I will not curse Indra. You always assume a deceitful appearance and behave like a black cruel serpent; your mind is all full of wickedness; I will curse you.

7. O Janârdana. Those Munis who call you Sâttvic are fools; I have seen today that your ways are exceptionally vicious and Tâmasic.

8. O Visnu! I curse you now to take frequent births, suffer very frequently in different wombs, in the earth and thus suffer the pains of remaining in the wombs.

9. O king! Therefore whenever religion subsides in the world, Bhagavân Visnu incarnates frequently in this human world, due to the curse of Bhrigu.

10. The king said :-- O best of the Munis! Did that Mahâtmâ Bhrigu again marry and lead a householder’s life when his wife was thus killed by the lustrous disc Sudars’ana.

11. Vyâsa said :-- O king! The sacrificer Bhrigu angrily cursed Hari and next took that severed head and quickly placed it over the body as before and said :--

12-14. O Devî! Visnu has slain you today; I will make you regain your life just now. If I am acquainted with all the Dharmas and if I have practised these in my life and if I have spoken truth always, then dost thou regain your life by my religious merit. Let all the Devas witness my power and strength. If I know the True, if I have studied all the Vedas and if I have realised the Knowledge of the Vedas, then I, sprinkling your body with this cold water, charged with my mantras, will revive you.

15. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Sprinkled by the water by Bhrigu, his wife regained her life and rose up at once and felt herself glad and smiled.

16. All the persons and living creatures seeing her stand, as if awoken from her sleep, at once exclaimed from all sides “well done, well done!” thanked Bhrigu and his wife very much and highly praised them.

17. Thus seeing the fair complexioned wife regain her life through Bhrigu, Indra and all the Devas were very much struck with wonder.

NOTE :-- Thought power and inhalation of some medicines might have revived her.

18. Indra then adressed the Devas :-- Now the mother of S’ukra has regained her life through Bhrigu; but when S’ukrâchârya will receive the mantra after his severe tapasyâ, we do not know what terrible harm; he would do to us!

19. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Though the deep sleep that overtook Indra had now left him, yet he became very unhappy, remembering the severe asceticism of S’ukra’s tapasyâ and his receiving mantras.

20. Thinking over deeply in his mind, Indra called his daughter Jayantî and spoke to her with affection.

21-22. Go! Daughter! I have given thee over to the ascetic Kâvya. Do this service for me, go to Kâvya and help him in his asceticism and bring him under your control. By whatever acts the Muni be pleased, dost thou do at once and please him in every way and thus remove my fear.

23. The large-eyed beautiful Jayantî, hearing her father’s words, went to the hermitage and there saw the Risi inhaling or drinking the smoke.

24. On seeing the body of the ascetic, and remembering her father’s words she brought the leaves of the plantain trees and began to fan him.

25. The intelligent Jayantî with no excitement used to bring the pure, clear, cool, and well scented water and place it, with great devotion, before the sage for his drinking.

NOTE: Here Indra bribed by giving away his daughter.

26. When the sun was over his head, she used to prepare some protection, with her clothes, from the sun and thus made the shade for him. Thus, in various ways, did she begin to serve the Muni, herself remaining steady in her religion.

27. She brought sweet and ripe fruits proper according to the S’âstras and used to place them before him for his repast.

28. In the performance of his daily duties, she used to collect the Kus’a grass of the span of thumb and fore finger, and flowers, white and yellow and placed them before him.

29. For the Muni’s bedding to lie down and sleep, she used to gather soft, green leaves and with them she used to keep his bed ready; and when the Muni laid himself down, she used to fan him gently.

30. Never did she exhibit for fear of curse, any gesture or posture calculated to disturb his mind.

31. The sweet-tongued, thin lady used to praise S’ukrâchârya in pleasing and favourable terms.

32. When the Muni awoke, she placed water before him to wash his face and hands. Thus serving the Muni, did she stay in the hermitage.

33. The fear stricken Indra used to send messengers to fathom the mind of that self controlled Muni.

34. Thus did Jayantî serve for good many years the Muni, being void of anger and observing duly her celibacy.

35. In this way one thousand years passed duly, the God Mahâdeva was very pleased and addressed S’ukrâchârya that He had come to give him boons that he desire.

36-37. The God Mahâdeva said :-- Whatever there exists in this universe, whatever you see with your eyes and whatever cannot be described in words, you will be the lord of all these and the conqueror of all. There is no doubt in this. You cannot be killed by any creature; you will be the ruler of all beings and will be reckoned as the best of the Brâhmanas.

38-39. Vyâsa said :-- The God Mahâdeva disappeared then and there, after granting him the boons. Then S’ukrâchârya saw Jayantî and said to her :-- O lady of beautiful hips! Who and whose daughter art thou? What is the desire in your mind? What for you have come here? O one of beautiful thighs! what is your duty?

40. O beautiful eyed! I am very pleased with all that you have done for me. What do you want? O one of good vows! Ask boons from me; I will grant them even if they be difficult.

41. On hearing this, Jayantî’s face became bright with joy; she said :-- whatever I desire, you know that already by force of your Tapasyâ.

42. The Kâvya said :-- Your mental desires I know; still mention them yourself particularly; I will do good to you in any way you like; I am pleased with your services.

43-44. Jayantî said :-- O Brâhmin! I am the daughter of Indra and I am the younger of my brother Jayanta. Father has given me over to you; I now like to live with you. Kindly fulfil my desires now. O blessed one! You better take me and enjoy me according to Dharma. This is my desire.

45. S’ukrâchârya said :-- O thou of large and handsome hips! Better enjoy with me for ten years, according to your liking, without being visible to anybody.

46-48. Vyâsa said :-- Thus saying, S’ukrâchârya went to his home and, according to religious observances, married Jayantî and lived with her for ten years under the shade of Mâyâ and unobserved by anybody. On the other hand, the Daityas, hearing that S’ukrâchârya returned home successful getting his desired Mantra, were very glad and went to his house to pay their respects to him. But S’ukra was then living with Jayantî; hence the Asuras could not see him.

49. Then they got very much dejected, sorry and were drooped in spirits; they searched for him again and again.

50. Not being able to see S’ukra under the shade of Mâyâ, the Daityas were very sorry and got afraid and then returned to their own residences.

51. On the other hand, the Devas, knowing that S’ukra was holding intercourses with Jayantî, Indra, the God of Devas, spoke to the Deva Guru Brihaspatî. O Guru! Advise us what to do under the present circumstances and relieve us from the impending difficulties.

52. O Brâhmana. Better go today to the Dânavas and do that by which our honour may be maintained. You better put the Dânavas under some charm by your magical spell and think and do good to us.

53. On hearing Indra’s words and knowing that S’ukra is now enjoying with Jayantî, Brihaspatî went to the Dânavas, putting on the appearance of S’ukrâchârya.

54. Going to the Demons, he called on them very politely and sweetly. The Asuras said that S’ukrâchârya had come in presence of them.

55. The Demons were very glad and bowed down before S’ukrâchârya and could not make out that he was the false S’ukrâchârya, under the mâyic charm of Brihaspatî.

56. Then the false S’ukrâchârya asked the welfare of the Daityas and said :-- I went so long for your good; I performed severe tapasyâ and satisfied the God S’ambhu and acquired from him the Mantra, the sacred knowledge, and that I will frankly explain to you.

57. On hearing this, the Demons were very pleased and, knowing that the Guru had been successful, were filled with joy.

58. They saluted him with joy and began to live quietly and freely and without pains, having got rid of fear from the Devas.

Here ends the twelfth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa on Bhrigu’s curse and the dialogue between S’ukrâchârya and the Daityas.

Chapter 13. On Cheating The Daityas

1. The king said :-- What did the intelligent Brihaspatî do after he had assumed falsely the appearance of S’ukrâchârya, and lived there as the spiritual guide of the Demons.

2. O Muni! Brihaspatî is the Guru of the Devas; he also devotes his time in studying the Vedas; and is the ocean of all knowledge; he is the son of the Maharsi Angirâ and he is himself a Muni. Endorsed with all these good qualifications, how could he deceive the Demons.

3-4. In all the religious S’âstras, Truth is declared to be the essence of Dharma; and the Supreme Self is attained through Truth, so the wise sages say. How can we expect an ordinary householder to be true when such a man as Brihaspatî takes recourse to falsehood with the Demons.

5. If one acquires, as one’s wealth, the whole Universe, still one does not require anything more than what is required in feeding one’s belly; how is it that Brihaspatî could speak falsehood merely for the sake of his belly?

6. O Muni! The words sung by the ancient virtuous and respectable sages were true and had their corresponding objects denoted by those words; now they employed the term S’ista meaning that there were virtuous, respectable persons as denoted by them. When Brihaspatî can even commit such condemnable deceitful acts and speak falsehood, we can expect no virtuous respectable persons in the world. Where then do you find the S’ista persons, denoted by the word S’ista, sung by the ancient sages? The word S’ista is now meaningless!

7. The Devas are sprung from the Sâttvic qualities, men from Râjasic qualities and birds, etc. from the Tâmasic qualities.

8. When the Guru of the Immortals, the incarnate of Sâttvic qualities, can become a liar, how can one expect those who are Râjasic or Tâmasic to follow rigorously the truth?

9. Oh! This Trilokî is all pierced with falsehood! Where is the Religion! And what will be the ultimate goal of all these creatures!

10. When Bhagavân Harî, Brahmâ, Indra and the best of the Devas when all can betake to pretext, fraud and trickery and show cleverness in them; what to speak of men!

11-12. O Giver of honour! When all the Devas, Vas’istha, Vâmadeva, Vis’vamitrâ, Brihaspatî and other ascetic Munis get themselves overpowered by lust and anger, when their intelligence gets destroyed by covetousness and avarice, when they are addicted to vices and are expert in fraud, pre-text and trickery, then what fate, alas! can you expect of Dharma and what help is there of any religious persons!

13. Alas! lndra, Agni, Moon, and Brahmâ when these get overpowered by the strong influence of lust, are in illicit love with others’ wives, where is the goodness and virtuous behaviour in this Trilokî?

14. O Sinless One! To whom, then, can we look upon as our spiritual guide and our advice and law givers when all the Devas and Munis are corrupt with avarice?

15. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Be he Indra, Brihaspatî, Brahmâ, Visnu or Mahes’a, whoever is embodied or will put on bodies, he will have to be in touch with the previously mentioned Ahamkâra, and covetousness and other vices due to name and form.

16. O king! Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a are all attached to sensual objects; and what improper and sinful actions there can be that cannot be committed by persons devoted to sensual objects!

17. It is through cleverness and fraud that any one devoted to sensual objects can easily make oneself as cleverly free from Mâyâ; but when difficulty comes, then his trickery gets discovered and the respective qualities hidden in him are brought to bear their respective results. Know, then, the three qualities to be conjointly the cause of all these actions; as without any cause, no action gets visible.

18. These discrepancies in the case of Brahmâ and others are caused by the three qualities; their bodies are all created from Pradhân Mahat and the other 25 Tattvas (essences).

19-20. O king! Brahmâ and others are subject to death; then how can you doubt on other things? In advising others, everybody gives, as it were, good and virtuous advices; but the burden falls upon their own heads; they fall off from their advices and act according to their hidden natures; then they yield to lust, anger, envy, egoism and fascination.

21. No one who is embodied can get rid of passions, born of the 3 qualities. O king! Thus the Trilokî goes, is the saying of the Maharsis.

22-29. This Trilokî, auspicious, inauspicious, mixed, never gets any serious change; its nature remains always uniform. See Bhagavân Visnu sometimes practises severe asceticism; Indra, the lord of the Devas sometimes follows the practices of religious sacrifices. Again you find Visnu Bhagavân, full of youth, fond of the Leela, enjoying the company of Ramâ in Vaikuntha; sometimes He is the ocean of mercy, is fighting dreadful battles with the Demons and being severely afflicted with their clusters of arrows; sometimes he gains victories, sometimes he gets defeat through the irony of Fate; thus he gets undoubtedly pleasures and pains. O king! some time Nârâyana draws all the worlds into his belly and takes his yogic sleep on the thousand headed serpent S’es’a and again he gets himself awakened by Prakriti. O king! Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’a, Indra, the Devas, and Munis all of them, live up to the limit of their ordained time and when the time of Pralaya, the Universal dissolution, ends, this whole Universe, moving and nonmoving, again comes into existence as before; there is no doubt in this. O king, at the expiry of the ordained time, Brahmâ and all others will die , no doubt.

30-31. Again, in due course, Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a and the other Devas come out and assume bodies and get all the passions, lust, etc., as ordained. O King! You need not be astonished; this Trilokî always goes on accompanied by lust, anger, etc.

32-34. Persons free from lust, anger and other passions are very rare in this world. He who is afraid of this world does not marry, and thus being free from the attachments to any worldly object, becomes free and roams fearless. The Moon stole away the wife of Brihaspatî, and Brihaspatî himself stole away the wife of his younger brother. Thus in this wheel of Samsâra, all the creatures are ever passioned with attachment, avarice, etc.

35. The householder can never expect to obtain freedom. Therefore those who want to be free, should carefully relinquish the idea of the stability of the world and worship the Eternal Mother Full and Sat, Chit and Ânandam.

36. This world, moving and unmoving, O Mahes’ânî, rolls in madness, overpowered by Her Mâyâ.

37. Intelligent persons worshipping Her, trample down the three qualities and become free. O king! No other Path exists for Freedom.

38-39. Until one gets the Grace from the Mahes’ânî, one never gets happiness. True mercy is not found anywhere else but from Her. Then one should worship the All merciful, being of pure heart. For Her worship leads to freedom, even in this body-hood.

40. He who getting a human frame fails to worship Mahes’ânî, gets down from the highest rung of the ladder. This is my opinion.

41-42. This Universe, composed of the three qualities, is encompassed with Ahamkâra and fastened to untruth; therefore freedom can never be expected without the worship of That Potent Goddess, O Muni! O king! Renounce every worldly object and serve the Goddess Bhuvanes’varî; this is the highest duty of all.

43. The king said :-- What did, then, the Devaguru do in the disguise of S’ukrâchârya? And when did the real S’ukrâchârya come there? O respected Muni! Speak on these points.

44. Vyâsa said :-- Please hear what the disguised Brihaspatî in the shape of S’ukrâchârya did afterwards.

45. The demons were made to understand clearly by Brihaspatî; and then they took him for S’ukrâchârya and placed implicit faith on him and began to think of him and him alone.

46. The Daityas, enchanted and deceived by the magic of Brihaspatî, took now his refuge for acquiring the knowledge from him, since they mistook him for S’ukrâchârya. Who is there that is not enchanted by the idea of gaining something?

47. On the other hand, when the term of ten years was over, S’ukrâchârya, the real Guru of the Daityas, ceased enjoying Jayantî and began to remember his disciples, the Daityas.

48. He now began to think that “My disciples, the Daityas, are expecting every instant my return; and I would now go and see them, bewildered with fear.

49-51. They are my devotees and I ought to do such that they might not be afraid of the Devas.” And then he exclaimed to Jayantî, “O beautiful one! Let my sons take the shelter of the Gods; your term of ten years is today over; I now go therefore, to see my disciples; soon I will again come to you.”

52. “Be it so”, replied Jayantî, the best of those who know religion, “you can go where you like; I am not to destroy your Dharma.”

53-54. Hearing these words, S’ukrâchârya went hurriedly to the Demons and saw the Devaguru Brihaspatî sitting before them in the guise of S’ukrâchârya. He was explaining to them the Jaina doctrines, compiled by himself and finding fault with the act of envy, taking revenge and killing and cursing the sacrifices, etc.

55. He was telling them “O Enemies of Gods! Truly, I am telling you words that will, no doubt, prove good to you. Non-killing is the highest virtue; even the enemies ought never to be killed.

56. It is the Brâhmanas, addicted to enjoyments and pleasures of the senses, who want to satisfy their tastes and pleasures that are found in the Veda’s injunctions to kill animals; but there is no virtue higher than non-killing animals.”

57-58. O king! S’ukrâchârya was perfectly astonished to hear Brihaspatî, the Guru of the Devas, speaking against the Vedas and began to think that Brihaspatî is certainly my enemy. My disciples have been duped by this cheat; there is no doubt in this.

59. Fie to Avarice! It is the seed of sin; very strong and the veritable gate to hell; Brihaspatî, even, the Guru of the Devas, is speaking lies, bound under the influence of this heinous avarice!

60. Oh! What wonder is this that the Guru of the Devas, who is the promulgator of all the religious S’âstras and whose word is accepted as the final decision, is now expounding the doctrines of atheists.

61. When Brihaspatî can become the expounder of atheistic doctrines, impelled by covetousness what to speak of those whose minds are not pure and whose intelligence is not sharp?

62. This Deva Guru, though a Brâhmin, is acting today like a rogue, wanting to take away all and is deceiving my disciples the Daityas, who have been confounded by his magic.

Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam of 18,000 verses on cheating the Daityas by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Daityas Getting Back Their S’ukrâchârya

1. Vyâsa said :-- Thus arguing in his mind, S’ukrâchârya smilingly said to the Daityas :-- O Daityas! what for have you all been cheated by Brihaspatî, the Guru of the Devas, in my guise.

2. I am S’ukrâchârya; you are my disciples; this man is Brihaspatî, wanting to serve the Gods. He has cheated you, there is no doubt in this.

3. This vain villainous person has assumed my form; do not put the least faith in his words. O Daityas! You are my disciples, follow unto me; leave this Brihaspatî, vain and arrogant.

4. The Daityas, on hearing his words were struck with wonder at the resemblance of the two personages and came to the conclusion that “the person just come is the real S’ukrâchârya.”

5. Then Brihaspatî, the false S’ukrâchârya explained to the Daityas in plain and enchanting words that “the second man just come is the Deva Guru Brihaspatî; he has come here in my guise. His object is to cheat you.

6. He has come here to cheat you and serve the purpose of the Devas; do not believe in his words.

7. What knowledge I have acquired from the God S’âmbhu, I am teaching it to you; I will make you, no doubt, victorious in the battle with the Devas.”

8. Thus the Daityas, hearing the words of the false S’ukrâchârya, thought the false one to be real and placed implicit reliance in his words.

9. The real S’ukrâchârya, then explained them as much as he could; but the Daityas, owing to the magic of the false S’ukrâchârya and to the wonderful effect of time, did not hear his words.

10. The Daityas thus convinced said to the real S’ukrâchârya, “this man before us is our Guru for our welfare and enlightenment, he is the foremost religious S’ukrâchârya; for ten years continuously he is giving us advices. You are not our Guru; you appear fictitious and false; you better leave this place and go away.”

11. The dull brained Daityas repeatedly told to S’ukrâchârya the reproachful words and bowed down to the false S’ukrâchârya, and, saluting, him, gladly welcomed him as their Guru.

12-14. The real S’ukrâchârya, seeing the Daityas exceedingly attached to Brihaspatî, the Guru of the Devas, and deceived by his words, cursed them out of anger and said :--“As you have not taken my words though I have explained everything to you, you would lose your knowledge and get defeat.

15. As you have shown disrespect towards me, you will get the fruits of it at an early date and will then understand the deceitful behaviours of that Deva Guru.”

16. Vyâsa said :-- Thus saying S’ukrâchârya hurriedly went away, infuriated with anger. Brihaspatî was glad and remained there with his mind calm.

17-19. Brihaspatî then knowing the Daityas cursed by S’ukrâchârya, assumed his real appearance, left that place, and hurriedly returned to Indra. He began to say “I have undoubtedly succeeded in my undertaking; the Daityas have been cursed and left by me too. They are now helpless; so, O Good Suras! I have made them cursed, you would better now try to fight with them.”

20-21. Indra heard their Guru and became very glad; all the other Devas were glad and worshipped him. They held another cabinet, secret council, how to fight with the Daityas; and, then, all uniting together marched out in battle against the Asuras.

22. Seeing that the powerful Devas are marching towards them ready to fight and knowing their false Guru had fled, the Daityas became very anxious.

23. They told each other :-- Alas! We were enchanted by the Devaguru; the highsouled S’ukrâchârya angrily left us; now it is our incumbent duty to satisfy him.

24. That vicious, dirty inside and pure outside, hypocrite Pundit Deva Guru, who used to go to his brother’s wife, has really cheated and has quitted us.

25. What are we to do now? where to go? How to satiate now the anger of S’ukrâ so that he might be glad and help us.

26. Thus pondering over they all unitedly, shuddering with fear, again went to S’ukrâchârya, keeping Prahlâda in front of them.

27. They all bowed down at the feet of their Guru; S’ukrâ remained silent; then, bursting with anger and with eyes red, told them.

28. You were all warned by me that you were being cheated by the Mâyâ of Brihaspatî; you did not take my word, as worth hearing, though unselfish, pure and leading to your welfare.

29. Rather you were influenced by him and infatuated with vanity, you insulted me; now you will have to bear undoubtedly the effects of that Karma.

30. You are now vitiated from the path of your welfare; go now where that disguised cheat resides for the welfare of the Gods; know me not to be a cheat like him.

31. Vyâsa said :-- O king! When S’ukrâ finished saying his uncertain words, Prahlâda clasped his feet and began to say thus :--

32. Prahlâda said :-- O our Guru Bhârgava! Today we have come to you in a very distressed condition! O Omniscient! we are your disciples; we are your good sons; you ought not to quit us.

33. On your departure to get the Mantra, that hypocrite, vicious Brihaspatî getting the opportunity, assumed your false appearance and cheated us.

34. Peaceful persons do not take any offence committed with ignorance; you know everything; you know very well that our hearts are devoted to thee and to thee alone. There is no need of telling anything further to you.

35. O Highly Intelligent One! By your Tapas, you know our inner minds and relinquish your anger. The sages say that the anger of the saints is not lasting.

36. O Muni! Water is naturally cool; when in contact with fire it gets hot; but, when the heat is removed, it gets cold shortly after.

37. O observer of good vows! Anger is like chandâla; sages therefore quit it. Our prayer to you is that you leave your anger and be pleased with us.

38. If you do not quit your anger and if you make us overpowered with grief and sorrow, O blessed one! We, being abandoned by you, will go down to the Pâtâla.

39. Vyâsa said :-- Bhârgava heard Prahlâda’s words and, with his intuitioned eye, came to see the proper state of affairs and was pleased and lovingly said.

40. You will not have to fear nor to enter into the Pâtâla. You are my Yajamânas; I will certainly protect you all by my never failing Mantra power.

41. O knower of religion! What Brahmâ of yore told me, I am now telling you accordingly. Hear my truthful words, leading to your welfare.

42. Whatever is inevitable, doomed to pass, must come to pass, be it auspicious or inauspicious. No one is able in this world to go against the current of Fate.

43. Under the influence of Time you are now deprived of strength, therefore you will have to suffer defeat at the hands of the Devas and you will have to go once to the Pâtâla.

44-45. Brahmâ said :-- When your time to enjoy the sovereignty of the Trilokî had come, you enjoyed the kingdoms of the Trilokî with all its wealth and power. You attacked the Devas and, helped by Time, had been able to trample them under your feet and held your sovereignty for full ten yugas and enjoyed the pleasures without any hitch.

46. You will regain this kingdom in the Sâvarnik manvantara. Then Bali will come in your family as the grandson of Prahlâda and will conquer the Trilokî and will get name and fame throughout his kingdom.

47-48. When the Lord of Vaikuntha had incarnated as Vâmana and stolen away the kingdom of Vali, then the Janârdan Visnu told Bali, the king of the Demons that “I have taken away your kingdom by pretext to serve the purpose of the Gods; you will become Indra, no doubt, in the coming Sâvarnika manvantara.”

49. Bhârgava said :-- According to the sayings of S’rî Bhagavân Hari, your grandson Bali is now invisible to all creatures and is now passing away his time, very much terror stricken.

50-51. Being afraid of Indra, he is now staying in a lonely house as an ass. One day Indra on seeing him enquired of him, in various ways, the cause of his assuming that ass-body.

52. O Lord of the Daityas! You have always enjoyed pleasures of all the world; you are the ruler of the Daityas; you ruled over all the worlds; do you not feel shame now in thus assuming this ass body. The Lord of the Daityas, hearing him, spoke thus.

53-54. O Indra, there is nothing to be sorry in these matters. When the most powerful Visnu can assume fish and tortoise incarnations, then what wonder is there that I by virtue of the force of Time, am now staying as an ass? When you had murdered a Brâhman, you, too had hid yourself in the Mânasa lake in the lotuses; similarly today distressed, I am staying here in this ass body.

55. O Indra! What sorrow or happiness can be to a person who is under the control of Fate. To him everything is alike; for whatever the Time wishes, It can act accordingly.

56. Bhârgava said to Prahlâda! Both persons Bali and Indra got enlightenment at the mutual conversations; and they went away to their places at their own will.

57. O Lord of the Asuras! I have narrated to you this story indicating how powerful is the Time. Know that the Devas and Daityas and all the human beings and this whole universe is under that Great Fate.

Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses on the Daityas getting back their S’ukrâchârya, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 15. On The Truce Between The Daityas And The Devas

1. Vyâsa said :-- O king Janamejaya! Prahlâda was glad to hear the above words of the high souled Bhârgava.

2. Knowing Fate to be the strongest, he addressed the Daityas :-- Never, in this battle will victory be ours.

3-5. Then the victorious Demons, infatuated with pride, told Prahlâda :-- What is Fate? We do not recognise it. We ought to fight. O Lord of us :-- Fate reigns over those that are idle, not energetic. Has Fate any shape? Who has created it? Has anybody seen Fate? However let us gather strength and fight. You are very intelligent and all knowing; It is proper that you should take our lead in the fight.

6. O king! When the Daityas spoke thus, Prahlâda, the great Destroyer of enemies, became the general and challenged the Devas to fight.

7. On seeing the Asuras in the battle field, the Devas, dressed with arms and weapons, began to fight with them.

8. For full one hundred years the dreadful battle was fought between Indra and Prahlâda; on seeing this, the Munis were astonished.

9. O king! In this fearful battle, the Daityas with their general Prahlâda, the followers of S’ukrâchârya, got the victory.

10. Then Indra, advised by their Guru Brihaspatî, began to remember the Goddess of the Universe, the Most High, the Giver of welfare, the Destroyer of all sorrows and calamities, and the Bestower of freedom, worship Her, and sing hymns to Her with great devotion.

11-12. Indra said :-- Victory be to the name of the Goddess Mahâmâyâ, the Eternal Mother, the Holder of the trident! Holder of conchshell, disc, club, and lotus, the Giver of “no fear.” Salutation to Thee, the Goddess of the Universe; Thou art the Supreme Heroine in everything that relates to force, that is described in the S’akti Dars’ana S’âstras. Thou art the Ten Tattvas, Thou art the Mother, Thou art the Mahâvidyâ (the Supreme Knowledge).

13. There are many Tattvas; here the ten tattvas are according to the S’akti Dars’ana. There are many Dharma S’âstras. Here S’akti S’âstra is meant.

The Tattvas are those ultimate substances into which these gross manifestations resolve. The tattvas are Mahâvindu, Nâda S’akti, Mis'ra Vindu, etc.

O World Mother! Thou art the Mahâ Kundalinî (the great Serpent Fire); thou art the Everlasting Existence, Intelligence and Bliss; Thou art the Deity of the vital Fire (Prâna); Thou art the Deity of the Agnihotra (maintenance of the Sacred Fire and an oblation to It); Thou art the Holy Flame, burning always in the ethereal space in the Heart; Salutation to Thee!

14. Thou dwellest within the five Sheaths (the Annamâyâ, the Prânamâyâ, the Manomâyâ, the Vijñânamâyâ and the Ânandamâyâ sheaths are the five sheaths here referred to). Thou art the Indweller of the Ânanda mâyâ kosa, Thou art of the nature of Puchchha Brahmâ, the end of Brahmâ. Thou art the Deity of all, the Ânanda (bliss) unblown, O Mother! Thou art the Deity of all the Upanisadas.

15. O Mother! Be pleased unto us; we have become powerless; protect us, O Mother! we are defeated by the Daityas; O Goddess! Thou art endowed with all the powers, Thou art our Sole Refuge in this Universe, in times of distress, and Thou art the Only One, strong and capable to remove all our dangers.

16. O Goddess! Those who incessantly meditate on Thee are really happy and those that do not meditate Thee, their fear, and sorrows are never removed; those that want ultimate freedom from bondage and who meditate on Thee always; those pure souls, being free from Ahamkâra, and free from attachment go, no doubt, beyond this ocean of world.

17. O World Mother! Thy prowess is ever manifested whenever protection is demanded; You always come forward and relieve the distressed; You are the great destroyer! Thou art the Time Incarnate of all these worlds; O Mother! We are fools; how can we appreciate your qualities.

18. Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’a, I myself, Sun, Yama, Varuna, Fire, Air, the high minded munis, Âgama, Nigama, the Tantras and the Vedas, are quite unable to realise Your unequalled prowess; Salutation to Thy Feet.

19. Those are blessed that are devoted to Thee; They are the great souls; they always dive in the Ocean of Bliss, being always free from the fangs of this Samsâra. Those that are not Your devotees, cannot cross this Ocean of Samsâra, where the Birth and Death are the billows.

20. O Goddess! Those that are always fanned by the white châmaras and those that travel always in cars, they in their previous births worshipped Thee with various things; therefore they have acquired the effects of their meritorious deeds; this is my opinion.

21. Those that are always worshipped amongst the human beings, those that go on nice elephants, those that are surrounded by pleasures and enjoy the lovely companions of beautiful coquettish women, those that go surrounded by soldiers, O Goddess! I consider they worshipped Thee in their previous births, and they are now enjoying fruits of their past deeds.

22-23. Vyâsa said :-- Thus praised by Indra, the Goddess of the Universe with four arms hurriedly appeared there mounted on a lion. Conchshell, disc, club, and lotuses were held by the beautiful eyed Goddess in Her four hands respectively, wearing a red apparel and ornamented with divine garlands.

24. The Goddess being pleased addressed the Devas with sweet words, “Cast off your fear. O Devas! I will see presently all about your welfare.”

25. Addressing the Devas thus, the Divine Mother mounted on a lion, went hurriedly to the place where the demons were waiting, infatuated with pride.

26. All the Daityas with their general Prahlâda saw the Goddess before them and were terrified and began to address each other “What are we to do now?”

27-28. This Chandikâ Goddess has come here to protect the Devas. She destroyed Mahisâsura and Chanda Munda; it was She that killed, in days of yore, Madhukaitava with evil look.

29-30. Seeing the demons thus full of sorrowful thoughts, Prahlâda addressed the Daityas :-- “It is better not to fight but let us fly away all together.” Then the Daitya Namuchi told the Daityas ready to fly away “If you fly away, this World Mother will instantly kill you all with weapons in Her hands.

31. Do that by which we can protect us. Let us worship the Goddess of the Universe, and, getting Her permission, we will go this very day to the Pâtâla.”

32. Prahlâda said “I will worship the Goddess Mahâmâyâ, the Creatrix, Preservrix and Destructrix of the Universe, the World Mother, and the Assurer of safety to Her devotees.”

33. Vyâsa said :-- Thus saying, the knower of the highest knowledge, Prahlâda, the devotee of Visnu, began to sing hymns with folded hands in praise of the Goddess, the Upholdress of the Universe.

34. I bow down to Thee, the incarnate of the mantra “Hrîm” the Refuge of all, and within Whom this whole Universe, moving and unmoving, is appearing untruly as a snake is mistaken for a garland of flowers.

35. O Goddess! All these Universes, moving and unmoving, have sprung from Thee; Brahmâ, Visnu and others are Creators, Preservers in name only; Thou hast created them all.

36. O Mahâmâyâ! You are the Divine Mother of all! When You have created the Asuras and the Suras, how can you then see any difference between the Devas and the Daityas?

37. As a Mother makes no distinction between her good sons and bad sons, so You are not to make any difference between us and the Devas; this is our prayer to you.

38. O Goddess! You have been sung in all the Purânas as the World Mother; therefore, O Mother! We are your sons just as the Devas are.

39. O Mother! As they have got their interests, so we too have got our interests; therefore there is no difference between he Daityas and the Devas. Therefore if anyone makes any difference, it is due to the subtle error.

40. O Goddess! As we are attached to wealth, wives, and other pleasures of the senses, so the gods are; O Goddess! How then can any difference exist between them and us.

41. O Mother! They are the sons of Maharsi Kas’yapa; we also are his sons; Therefore you cannot have partiality for them before us.

42. O World Mother! In You no such difference is visible anywhere. Therefore do You here preserve equality amongst us both.

43. The Suras and Asuras all have sprung from the permutations and combinations of the 3 qualities! Then how the Devas being embodied can possess more qualities than us.

44. Every embodied soul possesses always cupidity, anger, covetousness; how then can one expect to remain without any quarrels with others.

45. We think that it is all sport with You to see our opinions different, rather contradictory, and it is You who got us involved in quarrels with each other and it is Your pleasure to witness how we fight against each other.

46. Sinless one! O Châmunde! Were You not so fond to see our fight, how then, we being brothers are at war against each other. Certainly it is Your Divine Sport.

47. O Goddess! I know what is religion, I know who is Indra. It is the very idea to enjoy these sensual pleasures that is the only cause of our incessant quarrels.

48. O Mother! You are the Sole Ruler of this Samsâra; no sensible man can carry out the words of a man who yearns for something. (i.e., O Mother, You are the only one that is desireless; so we can obey your words).

49. O Mother! Once the Devas and the Asuras conjointly churned the ocean. At that time Visnu, on the plea of distributing the jewel, and the ambrosial nectar, incurred quarrels amongst them.

50. O Mother! You have made him the Preserver and Controller of the Universe and the Spiritual Guide of the world. And it was He who took away the Goddess Laksmî, the beautiful lady amongst the Deva women.

51. Indra, the Lord of the Gods, took the elephant named Airâvat, the flower Pârijât, the Heavenly Cow yielding all desires, and the horse Uchchais’ravâ. Thus, through the desires and devices of Visnu, they got the excellent things.

52. O! What a wonder is this that the Devas were considered holy persons, after they had committed such unholy acts; no doubt the Devas had done a very heinous crime. O Goddess! You can judge Yourself what is the just and unjust thing in this case.

53. What is Religion? And where is Religion? And what are the acts done by a religious man? What is uprightness, justice, and purity? You better examine which party has observed virtue? Who has shown uprightness, justice and parity? To whom victory and defeat are due? You are the only one capable to judge all these things.

54-55. Alas! Whom to tell all the conclusions arrived at in the Mimâmsakas. If any one considers, one will find the world is the field of dissensions and quarrels; the argumentators look to the logical reasoning only; followers of the Vedas look to the rules and regulations only; these so called men of gross ideas they acknowledge that this world is created and preserved by the One only, and yet they quarrel amongst each other.

56-57. If there be One and only One Lord of this wide infinite Samsâra, then why would there be differences and quarrels amongst each other? Why is there not seen any agreement in opinion and why do the S’âstras differ and why are there so many differences in the opinions held by the knowers of the Vedas.

58. O Goddess! This whole Universe, moving and unmoving is selfish; hence arise so many differences between several opinions. There was no one unselfish in this world and there would be no unselfish persons born hereafter.

59-64. Look! The Moon stole away perforce knowingly the wife of Brihaspatî; Indra, knowing what is religion stole away the wife of Gautama; Brihaspatî enjoyed forcibly the wife of his younger; and also he outraged his elder brother’s wife in her pregnant state and cursed the boy in the womb and made him blind. What more to say than Visnu, all full of Sâttvic qualities, severed perforce the head of Râhu. O Mother! Look to the case of my grandson Bali who used to pay due respects to all, who was the foremost amongst the virtuous, observer of rigorous truth, performer of sacrifices, liberal, peaceful, all-knowing. The pretender Hari, taking the form of a dwarf in his Vâmana incarnation, deceived Bali and took away all his kingdoms. Alas! Still the intelligent good persons reckon the Deva Visnu as the preserver of Religion. What a wonder! Those who are flatterers become victorious in this world; and defeat come to those that speak of Dharma.

65. O Goddess! You are the Mother of all the worlds; do whatever You like. But You should know that the Demons are all under Your protection; kill or save them as You like.

66. The Devî said :-- O Demons! Leave you all the anger arising from this warfare and go without any fear to Pâtâla and live there at your ease and happiness.

67. Better now wait on Time; whether you will get auspicious or inauspicious fruits for your deeds. Know whoever is desireless and unattached, to him happiness is always and everywhere.

68. Whose mind is avaricious, He does not get peace and happiness, even if he acquires the Trilokî. Even, in the golden age, avaricious persons did not get happiness, though they acquired the fruits of their actions.

69. Therefore you get yourselves freed of your sins and obey My order and leave the earth and go down to the Pâtâla.

70. Vyâsa said :-- On hearing the Devî’s words, the Demons obeyed and bowing at Her feet and preserved by Her, went to Pâtâla.

71. Then the Devî disappeared; and the Devas went away to their own homes. Thus the Devas and the Daityas, abandoning their feelings of enmity towards each other, lived in peace.

O King! He who hears this fact, gets himself freed from all sorts of calamities and reaches the Highest Peace.

Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses, on the truce between the Daityas and Devas and on their departures with peace, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On The Birth Of The Several Avatâras Of Visnu And Their Deeds

1-2. Janamejaya spoke :-- O best of Munis! How did Visnu, of wonderful deeds, get his incarnation owing to the curse, cast on Him by Bhrigu? what were His different incarnations in different Manvantaras respectively? O Thou, well versed in religion! O Brâhmana! Kindly narrate those sin-destroying deeds of Hari in His several incarnations, that are the source of happiness, peace and welfare to all humanity.

3. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hear, I am narrating to you the incarnations of S’rî Bhagavân Hari which He had in the several Manvantaras and in the several Yugas respectively.

4. I will tell you now, in brief, what forms He took and what deeds He did in the various incarnations.

5. In the Châksusa Manvantara, the Bhagavân Hari took the incarnation of Dharma; and the two sons of Dharma, Nara Nârâyana, were widely celebrated in this world.

6. Then, in the present Vaîvasvata Manvantara, under the reign of Vaîvasvata Manu in the second Yuga, Bhagavân Hari incarnated as Dattâtreya, in the shape of the son of Atrî Risi.

7. Anasûyâ the wife of Atrî, was desirous to have, as her sons, the three Devas Brahmâ, Visnu and Rudra; and in fulfilment of her desires, the Devas took their births in her womb.

8. Anasûyâ, was foremost amongst the chaste and virtuous women and on her praying, Brahmâ, Visnu and Rudra the Trinity at once agreed to become her sons.

9. Brahmâ was born as Soma, Hari was born as Dattâtreya and Rudra was born as Durvâsâ.

10. In the fourth Yuga, the Bhagavân assumed the beautiful double form in one, the upper part resembling a lion and the lower part a human being to accomplish the noble purpose of the Devas.

11. It was to kill Hiranyakas’ipu that the Bhagavân Hari assumed this appearance, wonderful even to the Devas.

12. In the Tretâ Yuga, the superior and the best of all the Yugas, the Bhagavân incarnated as Vâmana ( the Dwarf), the son of Maharsi Kas’yapa, to curb the power of Bali.

13. The Dwarf Hari took away by pretext, the kingdom of Bali, while he was performing a sacrifice and sent him down into the Pâtâla (the lower regions).

14. Afterwards, in the nineteenth Yuga, known as the Tretâ Yuga, S’rî Bhagavân Hari incarnated as Paras’urâma, very powerful and the son of Jamadagnî Risi.

15. He was very beautiful and graceful in his body, truthful and the conqueror of his senses. He extirpated the Ksattriya race and gave the whole world over to the high minded Risi Kas’yapa.

16. O king! He is the Paras’urâma, the sin-destroyer, the incarnation of Hari, and the doer of wonderful deeds.

17-20. After that the Bhagavân Hari incarnated as Râma, the son of Das’aratha. Next in the twenty-eighth Dvâpara Yuga, He incarnated as the very powerful Arjuna and S’rî Krisna, the Ams’as of Nara Nârâyana. To remove the load of the earth, these two were born; and they fought deadly battles in the battlefield of Kuruksettra. O king! Thus the several incarnations of Hari arose, according to the requirements of Prakriti. O King! These three worlds are under the control of Prakriti.

21. Whatever the Prakriti wishes at any time, She can fashion the world in that way. And She does this incessantly in accordance with the Word Divine, the Highest S’akti, to please the Purusa, without any cessation.

22-23. In days of yore, the most ancient Bhagavân, the Highest, above all the qualities of Mâyâ, formless, all pervading, difficult to be conceived, without any decay, self-supporting, without any want, created these worlds, moving and unmoving and He manifested Himself as the Trinity, Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’a in the shape of the three qualities Sâttva, Râjas and Tâmas, and which is called the Highest Prakriti.

24. This all auspicious Prakriti shines differently according to the differences in time and circumstances. This threefold Prakriti, the Great Enchantress of the world is creating, preserving the worlds and is destroying them at the end of the Kalpas.

25. O King! Whenever there takes place the union with this Prakriti, Brahmâ creates, Visnu preserves, and the all-auspicious God S’ankara destroys the worlds.

26. It was She That gave birth to Kâkutstha, the best of the kings; and to conquer the Dânavas, She placed him at a certain place.

27. O king! Thus all men controlled by the Great Law in this world, enjoy sometimes the pleasures, enjoy sometimes pains and thus exist in the world.

Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa, on the Birth of the several Avatâras of Visnu and their deeds.

Chapter 17. On The Questions Asked By Janamejaya

1. Janamejaya said :-- O Muni! You told before that the heavenly prostitutes sent by Indra in the hermitage of Nara Nârâyana became lustful and desired to live with Nârâyana only, whose heart was calm and quiet.

2. At that moment when Nârâyana was about to curse them, his brother Nara desisted him from taking that step.

3-4. Now I ask you what did that triumphant Nârâyana Muni do, in the critical juncture, when he was repeatedly asked by those prostitutes, sent by lndra, to satisfy their lust?

5. O Grand Sire! I am very eager to know the deeds of Nârâyana, leading to one’s freedom. Kindly describe in detail and fulfill my wishes.

6. Vyâsa said :-- Hear, O king! I am describing to you in detail, what that high souled son of Dharma did.

7. When Nârâyana Hari was ready to curse them, the Risi Nara, seeing this, consoled him and desisted him.

8. Then the great sage, the ascetic son of Dharma, Nârâyana, leaving aside his anger, began to address them in sweet words with countenance smiling.

9-10. O Fair women! We have determined to practise asceticism in this life; it does not therefore behove us to accept any wife; therefore shew your kindness unto us and go back to your Heaven. You would better think that those who know what is religion, they never desire to break the vow of another.

11. O beautiful eyed ones! In the sexual pleasure, it is the delightful feeling of passionate joy that is requisite; and we are wanting in those feelings; then how can we effect that union?

12. No action can come out of no cause; this is all clear. The poets say that the sexual power and pleasure, is the feeling, the mental attitude that corresponds; and that is the only thing, that lasts. And we have no desire for that.

13. However my limbs are all very graceful, I am very fortunate and blessed in this world, otherwise how can I be the object of your sincere love towards me.

14. You all are very fortunate; therefore do now show this mercy unto me “do not break my vow.” I pray now that, in a subsequent birth, I may become your husband.

15-16. O large eyed fair women! In the twenty-eighth Dvâpara Yuga, I will certainly incarnate on earth to effect the purpose of the Devas; then you all also would respectively incarnate as the daughters of kings and would also become my wives.

17. Nârâyana thus consented to marry them in some other next birth; and consoling them, made them go back to their Heavens. They also abandoned their mental disquietude and, on reaching back to Heavens, they explained everything to Indra.

18-19. Indra heard (from these heavenly women) what the two two Risis did and saw before him Urvas’î and other women created by Nârâyana from his thighs, etc., and began to extol the merits of the high souled Nârâyana.

20. Indra said :-- O! How wonderful is the patience of the Muni? What is the wonderful influence of his Tapas! Oh! He has created, by the sheer force of his Tapas, Urvas’î and these fair women, unrivalled for their beauties, from his thighs.

21. The Lord of the Devas thus extolled his merits and became freed from his anxieties. The virtuous Nârâyana, too, devoted himself to the practice of his Tapasyâ.

23. O king! Thus I have described to you, in detail, all the wonderful accounts regarding Nara Nârâyana.

O Superior in the descendants of Bharata! These two Nara and Nârâyana afterwards incarnated themselves, due to Bhrigu’s curse as the two great heroes Arjuna and Krisna, to relieve the burden of the earth.

24. The king said :-- O respect giving Muni! Now describe in detail the life of the Avatar Krisna and dispel my mental doubt.

25-26. O best of the Munis! Why were Vâsudeva and Devakî, who were chosen by the very powerful Hari and Ananta as their parents, doomed to so many miseries and afflictions. Why had these parents to remain for good many years in the prison of Kamsa, who pleased directly by their Tapasyâ that Bhagavân Janârdana.

27. Why did Krisna taking his birth at Mathurâ, go to Gokula? Also what was his object to go to Dvârkâ, situated in the ocean, when he killed the enemy Kamsa?

28. Also why did his father, mother and relatives, leave their old holy places of residences and go abroad to live in a wretched old country?

29-31. Why was the Yadu race destroyed by the curse from a Brâhmana! How did S’rî Krisna Vâsudeva leave finally His body after He had relieved the burden of the earth and was about to enter into His Heaven? The evildoers of the earth were slain by Krisna and Arjuna, of unequalled prowess;  but how was it, that those who plundered the wives of S’rî Hari, were not at all punished by Him?

32-33. The great personages Bhîsma, Drona, Karna, the king Vâlhîka, Virâta, Vikarna, Dhristadyumna, the king Somadatta were destroyed for relieving the burden of the earth; and the plunderers were acquitted! Kindly explain the cause of this.

34. How was it that those chaste and virtuous wives of S’rî Krisna go into troubles at the latter end of their lives? There has arisen a doubt in my mind on this point.

35. Why did the virtuous Vâsudeva leave his mortal coil owing to the death of his sons and why did he die an unusual death?

36. O best of Munis! The Pândavas were devoted to Krisna and they were religious; they had to suffer so many troubles!

37. Why was Draupadî so very unfortunate and she had to suffer so much miseries, and pains, who was born of Laksmî from amidst the sacrificial place and from the altar.

38-39. Why did Duhs’âsan drag Her by Her hairs while She was in Her menstruation period, in the hall of audience and why was it that Sindhu Râj Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu, gave Her exceedingly mental troubles?

40. Why was it that Her five sons residing in Her house were killed by As’vaththâmâ? What was the cause that the son of Subhadrâ had to die in the battlefield?

41. Why did the king Kamsa kill the six sons of Devakî; and why was it that S’rî Hari who was capable of averting the Fate did not at all prevent that?

42. What a wonder is this that in the matters of Brâhmana’s curse toward the Jâdavas, their being killed in the Prabhâsa, the total extermination the Jadu race and the plundering of His wives, why did He allow Fate to do these great momentous things?

43. If He was the all-powerful God and He Himself Nârâyana, that why did He incessantly act like a slave towards Ugrasena.

N.B. -- Ugrasena was the king of Mathurâ and father of Kamsa. He was deposed by his son; but Krisna after having slain Kamsa restored him to the throne.

44-45. All these bring doubt in our minds regarding Nârâyana Muni that His deeds are always like those of ordinary persons; why did his pleasures and pains resemble those of ordinary human beings? Were he God, why his actions were not Godly? (i.e., superhuman)

46. Therefore dost Thou describe in detail all the Divine Leelas (playful sports) done by Hari of superhuman powers in this world.

47. O Best of Munis! When one’s longevity expires, one dies; then I cannot understand what glory was manifested by Hari in killing the Daityas? For Fate Killed them; not Hari.

48. Was not the doing of Hari like a thief when he stole away the Lady Rukminî and fled quickly to his own place.

49. What did it mean when he fled to Dvârkâ city, and quitted his own highly prosperous town Mathurâ simply out of the fear of Jarâsandha?

50. Did not anybody at that time recognise that he was S’rî Bhagavân Hari? O Respected One! Were he Bhagavân, why did He hide himself in Vraja? Please explain the cause to me.

51. O Muni! These and many other doubts always exist in my mind; you are the best of the Dvijas and blessed; I pray, dost thou remove these doubts.

52-53. O best of Munis! Another doubt exists and is not dispelled and that is secret. Was not the taking of the five husbands by Pânchâlî for herself shameful and despised by the society? The good manners and doings are always considered by the learned as the proofs of virtue. Why did those Pândavas, then, capable in every respect, do this thing like brutes?

54. And what did Bhîsma do living like a Deva in this world? May I ask, was his act of producing two sons by a widow and thus preserving his line of ancestors worthy of his name?

55. The religious sanction advocated by the Munis “Procreate sons in any way whatsoever” is simply shameful. Fie to this religious sanction.

Here ends the 17th Chapter in the 4th Book of S’rî mad Devî Bhagavatam of 18000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the questions asked by Janamejaya.

Chapter 18. On The Devî Earth’s Going To The Heavens

1. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hear in detail the complete life and the deeds in the incarnation of S’rî Krisna and also the various wonderful achievements by the Goddess of this universe.

2. Once on a time, the Earth was very much overburdened by the load of wicked kings and She was therefore very much afraid.

3. She then assumed the appearance of a cow and went to the Devaloka crying and very much dejected.

Indra, the lord of the Devas, asked her, O Vasundhare! What is the cause of your fear now? Who has troubled you? What afflictions are you merged in? Please tell me all these.

4. On hearing Indra’s words, the Earth exclaimed :-- O Respect giver! When You have asked me, I am explaining to you the cause of all my afflictions and sorrows; at present I am overburdened with too much load.

5-8. Now is reigning in the earth Jârâsandha, the king of Magadha, a very very vicious person. Thus the other S’is’upâl, the lord of the Chedis, the uncontrollable Kâs’irâj, Rukmî, the powerful Kamsa, the strong Naraka, the Sauvapati S’âlva, the wicked Kes’î, Dhenuka, and Batsaka all these are now in royal positions. O Lord of the Devas! These kings are all devoid of the least trace of virtue, quarrelsome against each other, infatuated with vanity, and addicted to vicious deeds. These have become kings as if they were personified Yamas, the Lords of Death, and are constantly troubling me. I am now unable to carry their loads; where shall I go now? This great thought is constantly ailing me.

9-11. O Vasava! What to tell! The Bhagavân in His Boar Incarnation is the cause of all these my afflictions; O Indra! These present troubles I am fallen into only through Him; for when the cruel Daitya Hirânyâksa; the son of Ka’syapa stole me away and drowned me in the great ocean, then it was Visnu in his Boar incarnation that killed him and rescued me from the ocean and then kept me in this my stable position.

12. Had he not then lifted me up, I would have rested safe in the depths of Rasâtala; O Lord of the Devas! Now I am quite unable to bear the load of these vicious persons.

13. O Surendra! The vicious twenty eight Kali is coming quickly in front. Thinking of His influence, it seems to me that I will be very troubled then and will have to go down to Rasâtala.

14. Therefore, O Lord of the Devas! I am bowing down before Your feet, kindly relieve me of my burden and save me from these endless troubles.

15. Indra said :-- O Earth! I cannot do anything for you. You better go and take refuge of Brahmâ. I am also going to Him. He will remove all your troubles.

16. Hearing Indra’s words the Earth hurriedly went to the realm of Brahmâ and Indra and all the other Devas followed Her; and all reached the Brahmaloka.

17-18. O King! The Grand Father Brahmâ saw the Earth coming to him and through the power of meditation, found out the cause of Her coming and said :-- O Auspicious One! why are You crying? What troubles You have now? What wicked person has given You troubles.

19. The Earth said :-- O Lord of the Earth! The vicious Kali is coming before; under Its influence the subjects will be horribly vicious; therefore I am very much afraid of this Kali.

20. In the beginning of this Kali Yuga, the ancient enemies, the Asuras have now incarnated on this earth as kings. They will be extremely wicked, quarreling against each other, and will be clever in stealing others’ things. There is no doubt in these.

21. O Grand Father! Now kill these vicious kings and relieve my burden. O Lord! I am very much troubled by the armies of these kings.

22. Brahmâ said :-- O Goddess! I, too, am unable like Indra to remove your load. Let us go to that Visnu, the Holder of the disc.

23. That Janârdana will remove your burden. I thought of this well before and settled what to do.

24-25. Vyâsa said :-- Thus saying, the four faced Brahmâ, the Author of the Vedas, rode on His Hamsa Vehicle taking in front the Goddess Earth; and the Devas went to Visnu and began to praise Visnu Janârdana, the Deva of the Devas, with the words of the Vedas with full devotion.

26. Brahmâ said :-- Thou hast thousand heads, thousand faces, thousand feet. Thou art the Purusa of the Vedas, Thou art the Deva of the Devas, and Thou art Eternal.

27. O Omnipresent! Thou art the Past, Present, and Future! O Lord of Laksmî! Thou hast awarded immortality unto us.

28. Thou art the Creator of universe, the Preserver and the Destroyer; Thou art the One and the Only goal and thou art the God. Everybody knows that all these glories belong to Thee.

29. Vyâsa said :-- O king! When Brahmâ praised thus, Visnu whose sign was Garuda, was highly pleased and appeared before Brahmâ and the other Devas.

30. The Bhagavân asked them about their welfare and enquired in detail into the cause of their arrival there.

31. Brahmâ them bowed down to Him and, remembering the cause of the sorrows of the Goddess Earth, said :-- O Lord! Thou art now to relieve the burden of the Earth.

32. O Thou, Ocean of mercy! When the end of the Dvâpara yuga will come Thou art to incarnate in the world and kill the wicked kings and thus to relieve the burden of the Earth.

33-34. Visnu said :-- I am not independent in these matters; why I? Brahmâ Mahes’a, Indra, Agni, Yama, Visvakarmâ, the Sun and Varuna and other Devas, nobody is independent. This whole universe, moving and unmoving is existing under the control of the Yoga Mâyâ; and from Brahmâ up to the clot of grass, all are strung into the thread of Her Three qualities.

35. O One of good vows! Whatever that Yoga Mâyâ, the Supreme Goddess, Who is All will, Whose mouth is inward, Who does good at all times, what She wills She does that at any time. You should all know that we are entirely under Her control.

36-41. You better think that were I independent, what for would I have stayed in the great ocean, incarnating in the Fish and Tortoise Bodies! O Brâhmin! What name or pleasure is there in enjoyment in the body of lower animals! What holy merit or any other reward may I expect from being born in the wombs of lower animals? What is the reason that I assume the body of a Boar? or of a Man-Lion? or of a Dwarf? Why was I born as the son of Jamadagni. Especially why did I, being born of that highsouled Brâhman Jamadagni, and being the best of the Brâhmins, do the most atrocious act like that of a heartless brute and fill up the lakes with their blood. Alas! I killed the Ksatriyas mercilessly; to say nothing more than that I killed the sons that were then in the wombs. Were I independent, what for I would have done these horrible and cruel deeds! O Lord of the Devas! See again. In my Râma incarnation I roamed on foot, helpless and without any provision, in the fearful Dandaka forest unfrequented by anybody, wearing clotted hair, bark, rags, like a man who feels no shame, and behaved like a hunter and killed many animals.

42-44. Being under the delusion of Mâyâ, I could not make out the real nature of the golden deer; consequently leaving Janakî in the thatched cottage, I went out pursuing the deer. Though repeatedly warned by me not to leave the place, Laksmana was moved by the qualities of Prakriti, forsook her and went out on my search.

45. Then the hypocrite Râvana, the king of the Râksasas, under the garb of a beggar; stole away by force the daughter of Janaka, who had become very lean on account of sorrows.

46. I was very much distressed owing to the separation from my dear wife and roamed about weeping sorely in forest and formed friendship with Sugrîva, under the influence of the circumstances.

47. It was an act of gross injustice on my part to kill Bâlî, the king of the monkeys. I freed him from his curse; afterwards, aided by the monkeys, I had to go to Lankâ.

48. When my younger Laksmana and myself were both enchained under the chain of the serpents, Nâgapâs’a, and were senseless, the monkeys all were astonished.

49. Then Garuda came and freed us the two brothers, from those Nâgapâs’as! I considered then what adverse inauspicious circumstances Fate sometimes ordains on our lot.

50. I lost my kingdom, lived in the forest, my father died, Janakî was stolen and I had to suffer extreme troubles in very deadly battles; I could not know what worse fate still awaited for us?

51. O Suras! What more calamity can you expect to befall any person than that I was from the very first deprived of my kingdoms and wealth, and had to go to the forest with the princess Sîtâ dwelling in and taking shelter in a dense forest!

52. At the time of my going to the forest my father did not give a single penny; penniless and helpless I had to get out of Ayodhyâ on foot.

53. I was compelled to leave my Ksattriya Dharma and take up the avocation of a hunter and thus to spend fourteen years in forest.

54. After that, under the benign influence of Fate, I was able to kill that Asura Râvana and got the victory in the battle and was able to bring back dear Sîtâ to Ayodhyâ.

55. There I succeeded in becoming the ruler of the kingdom Kos’ala with its subjects and got the full kingdom and enjoyed for a few years the pleasures of the world.

56-57. The stealing away of Sîtâ took place at the first outset; next I got my kingdom; then the subjects began to circulate the bad name regarding Janakî; and I being afraid of that, deported her into exile in the forest. At that time I had to suffer again extreme pain and agony due to the separation from my wife. Then the daughter of the Goddess Earth penetrated into the Earth and got down to the Pâtâla.

58. O Devas! When I had to depend on Fate and to suffer so many troubles incessantly, where else can you dare to say that an independent man exists.

59. Afterwards under the influence of Time, I had to go to Heaven with my brothers. Let all this point to what it may, the intelligent learned people can say what an amount of mishaps takes place to one who is dependent!

60. O One born from the Lotus! You hear my word; I am in every way dependent; why I? Rudra, You and all those Suras are fully dependent.

Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Fourth Book of the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the Devî Earth’s going to the Heavens.

Chapter 19. On Chanting The Hymns To The Devî

1. Vyâsa said :-- The Bhagavân Visnu spoke again unto Prajâpati :-- Brâhman! All these beings fascinated by Mâyâ, cannot know the Real Essence, the Highest Truth.

2. We, too, are fascinated by that Mâyâ; and hence we also, being blinded by that, do not at all remember That Highest Eternal Purusa, calm and quiet, the World Teacher, the Highest Self, of the nature of Pure Existence, Intelligence and Bliss.

3. O Brahmâ! I am Visnu, I am Brahmâ, I am Rudra, thus our I-ness ahamkâra has blinded our eyesight; and we are made unable to recognise That Eternal Highest Self.

4. As the wooden dolls dance according to the will of the player, the magician, I also am similarly fascinated by the Mâyâ and am thus incessantly rolling about like a dependent man.

5-6. O Brahmâ :-- In the beginning of the Kalpa, Mahes’vara, You and I saw the wonderful unspeakable form and glory of that Highest Self at the time of Râsamandala in the Mâni Dvîpa where there was the Mandâra Tree and the Devas assembled. Then I also saw that wonderful thing a second time in the Sudhârnava ocean of nectar, and the most wonderful of it is this, that until we were able to See that Form, we did not hear anything of Her before!

7. Therefore, O Devas! Today do you all remember that Prime Force, the Highest Self, that all beneficent Force that yields all good and auspicious things; That Very Force will fulfill now all your desires.

8. Vyâsa said :-- O king! No sooner the Bhagavân Hari addressed thus, Brahmâ and the other Devas at once mentally began to meditate on that Eternal Yoga Mâyâ, the Goddess of the Universe.

9. Being thus meditated, at once appeared before their eyesight the Devî, the Goddess of the Universe, whose colours were like the blood red Javâ flower, holding in two of Her hands noose, hook, or goad, while the third hand indicated favour and the fourth hand bade all discard every sort of fear.

10. As the web comes out of a spider and sparks come out of fire, so this whole Universe comes out of that Goddess. We all bow down before Her with our humble hearts, full of devotion.

11. We all salute to that Goddess of the Universe, Bhuvanes’varî, under Whose Mâyic force this whole Universe, moving and unmoving, is created; Who is All-Intelligence and the Ocean of Mercy.

12. This world appears real to him who is unable to realise Her Real Essence; and the world drops off as unreal no sooner he realises Her Presence. We all meditate on that All Intelligent Goddess and we all pray to Her that She may grant unto us more strength to meditate Her and Her alone so.

13. We all want to know Mahâ Laksmî, we all meditate on the Omnipotent; May the Goddess grant unto us strength to meditate on Her so.

14. O Thou, the Remover of the world’s afflictions! Best Thou pleased unto us; O Thou, kind hearted! Do this work for us and promote our good. O Thou, Lord of the Earth! Dost Thou relieve the burden of the earth by killing these Asuras and bring on our welfare.

15. O Thou, Lotus-Eyed! If Thou dost not show Thy mercy towards the gods, they will never be able to strike their enemies with their weapons in the battlefield. O Goddess! Thou didst verify the truth of this before, when Thou didst assume the appearance of a Yaksa and utter the following sentences “O Fire! You burn this blade of grass,” etc. (in the Kena Talavakâra Upanîsada.)

16. O Mother! Kamsa, Bhauma, Kâlayavana, Kes’î, Jarâsandha, the son of Brihadratha, Vaka, Pûtanâ, Khara, S’âlva and other vicious kings respectively are dwelling on the earth. Dost Thou better kill them and relieve the burden of the Earth.

17. O Lotus-Eyed! Thou hadst killed those Asuras without any effort that were not slain by Visnu or Mahes’vara and they ended their lives, while they were beholding Thy pleasing countenance.

18. O Goddess! Holding Moon on Her forehead! These Hari, Hara, Brahmâ and the other gods are unable to move a step without the help of Force; nothing to speak any further, the thousand headed King of Serpents is unable to hold this earth even for a moment, were he not provided with the S’akti of upholding this world.

19. Indra said :-- O Bhagavatî! Would Brahmâ be ever able to create this world without the aid of Sarasvatî! Would Visnu, the Deva of the Devas, be ever able to preserve it without the aid of Laksmî or would Mahes’vara be ever able, to destroy this world without the help of His Umâ; no, never! These Devas, the Trinity, are able to take their respective parts in the keeping up of the world simply because they are united with the forces, incarnate in Sarasvatî, etc., who are again parts of Thee.

20. Visnu said :-- O Vimale! Were we deprived of Thy Force, the Creator would never have been able to create the world, I would never have been able to preserve it and Mahes’vara would never have been able to destroy. Therefore O Devî! Thou alone art reigning as the Supreme Goddess amidst all the glories in the creation, preservation, and destruction of this Universe.

21-22. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Thus praised by the Gods, the Goddess then addressed them :-- O Devas! Let all anxieties leave you all; I will do what the Devas have desired, even if it be very difficult to do in this world; now explain what is troubling the Goddess Earth.

23. The Devas replied :-- The wicked kings are troubling very much this Earth. She cannot any longer bear their burden; therefore She came crying unto us.

24. O Bhuvanes’varî! Now it is Your duty to remove this load of earth. O Auspicious One! Know this, the desire of the gods.

25-28. O Mother! In days of yore, You have killed the most powerful Dânava named Mahisa, attended by lakhs and lakhs of Dânavas and Daityas; What to speak! You have slain S’umbha, Nis’umbha, Raktavîja, the very powerful Chanda Munda, Dhumralochana, Durmukha, Duhsana, the strong Karâla and many other cruel Dânavas.

Now, similarly kill the wicked kings, the enemies of the Gods and save the Earth from their heavy loads.

29. Vyâsa said :-- Thus addressed by the Devas, the Most Auspicious One, the Devî, whose colour was black and who looked askance, said smiling in a tone, grave and deep, like that of the rumbling of a raincloud.

30. O Suras! I have already thought over how the burden of those wicked kings, the parts incarnate of Asuras, can be removed.

31. I will, by My own power, rob them of their powers, of that highly prosperous and affluent Jârasandha, the king of Magadha, and others, the parts incarnate of the wicked Asuras, that are now shining on the Earth.

32. O Devas! You would all better go down and incarnate yourselves as part incarnations, impregnated with My power, and help thus in the removal of the load of this earth.

33. The Deva Prajâpati Maharsi Kas’yapa would first of all go with his his wife and incarnate as Ânaka Dundubhi Vasudeva, in the race of Yadu.

34. The Imperishable Bhagavân Visnu will also incarnate as part, owing to the curse of Bhrigu, as the son of Vasudeva.

35. O Devas! I will be born, then, in the womb of Yas’odâ, in Gokula and will accomplish all the ends of the Gods.

36. I will send Visnu from the prison to the Gokula; also I will transfer Anântâ Deva from the womb of Devakî to the womb of Rohinî.

37. They two will grow, day by day, by My Force and at the end of the Dvâpara Yuga, will no doubt kill the wicked kings.

38-39. Arjuna too, the part incarnate of Indra, will destroy the armies of those kings. Yudhisthira, the part incarnate of Dharma, Bhîmsena, that of of Vâyu, Nakula and Sahadeva the incarnate of the two A’svins, and Bhîsma, the incarnate of Vasu as the son of the Gangâ, will take their respective births and exhaust their armies.

40. O Devas! Now be calm and quiet and go. Let the Earth be also calm and quiet; be confident that I will certainly remove the load of this earth.

41. I will make the above mentioned Gods as my instruments merely and I will destroy, by My own force, the Ksatriyas in the battlefield of Kuruksettra.

42. Malice, jealousy, foul intention, desire, attachment, vanity, covetousness, desire for victory, lust, and fascination are the vices that will destroy the Yâdavas.

43. The race of Yadu will end owing to the curse of a Brâhmana. The Bhagavân also will leave His mortal coil due to a curse.

44. Now go and incarnate in your respective parts, with your wives, in Gokula and Mathurâ, and be helpers in the work of the Lord.

45-46. Vyâsa said :-- Saying thus, the Devî the Goddess of the Universe, the Mâyâ Incarnate of the Highest Self disappeared. The Devas and the Earth went to their respective places. O king Janamejaya! the Goddess Earth was pleased with the Devî’s words, and being quiet, remained surrounded with various medicinal plants and creepers.

47. Then the subjects felt peace and pleasure, the Brâhmans also grew stronger in happiness and prosperity, and the Munis became glad and began to perform their religious acts with fresh zeal and alacrity.

Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter in the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, the Mahâ Purânam, on chanting the hymns to the Devî by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 20. On Devakî’s Marriage

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- O Bharata! I now narrate to you about the relief of the burden of the Earth, the destruction by the Yoga Mâyâ of the armies Kuruksettra and Prabhâsa, the two sacred places, and about the birth, due to the curse of Bhrigu, of the Bhagavân Hari, of unparalleled prowess, under the influence of Mahâmâyâ, in the race of Yadu. Now hear.

3. Visnu’s taking birth in the world was effected under the circumstances caused by Yoga Mâyâ, to relieve the burden of the Earth; this is my opinion.

N. B. :-- Prabhâsa is a well-known place of pilgrimage near Dvârkâ, in Gujerat.

4. O king! When the Goddess Mahâmâyâ, the Incarnate of the three qualities can make Brahmâ, Visnu and the other Devas dance incessantly as their Internal Controller, then what wonder, that She would appear charming to the other Jîvas and make them dance incessantly, as wooden dolls.

5. All the troubles incurred in remaining in the womb, amidst the urine, excreta and tissues, She had brought to bear finally on Visnu by Her ever famous Leelâ (Divine Sport).

6. In days of yore, in Râma incarnation, She, That Supreme Goddess made the Gods become monkeys and you know very well already, what amount of trouble Bhagavân Visnu had to undergo by the hard iron chain of bondage, “This is mine, this is I,” etc., imposed by Mâyâ.

7. The Yogis who want final liberation and who have abandoned all their attachments and who want devotion, they worship the Supreme Goddess of the Universe, the Incarnate of Auspiciousness.

8. O king! Who will not serve Her? A trace of devotion towards Whom effects at once the salvation of the Jîvas.

9. If any human being utters simply the name “Bhuvanes’varî” (the Goddess of Universe) She gives him the three worlds; and if any one cries and utters for help “Save me,” then the Goddess of the Universe, being unable to find anything that She can repay him as a fit recompense for his utterance, becomes Herself indebted to that man.

10. O King! Know Vidyâ (knowledge) and Avidyâ (non-knowledge, spiritual ignorance, lower knowledge) Her two forms; Vidyâ gives liberation; Avidyâ causes bondage.

11. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, all these and their Avatâras are Her instruments and are under Her subjection, as if they are all fastened by a cord.

12-14. The Bhagavân Hari sometimes resides in Vaikuntha, sometimes resides in the sea of milk and enjoys pleasures, sometimes fights the powerful Dânavas, sometimes performs extensive sacrificial ceremonies sometimes performs severe asceticism and sometimes takes to deep sleep under the guidance of Yoga Mâyâ. Thus He never becomes free and independent.

15-16. O King! And like Visnu, Brahmâ, Rudra, the other Gods Indra, Varuna, Yama, Kuvera, Agni, the Sun, Moon and other celestial gods, the Sanaka and other Munis, Vas’istha and other Risis, all are incessantly controlled by the Supreme Goddess, as if they are the dolls in the hands of a playing magician.

17. All the Devas are controlled by the noose of Time, just as oxen are brought under control by men, by strings passed within their noses.

18. O King! Pleasure, pain, sleep, lassitude, idleness, and other passions and feelings are always found inherent in every embodied being.

19-23. The Devas are written down by authors in their books as not subject to death or decay; this statement is merely nominal and not real; for whoever is always subject to birth, growth, decay and death how can we call him immortal or beyond old age and death? Why do the Devas get into sorrows, and troubles? How can they be called gods? How can one enjoy when one is involved in a trouble? In this world, it is seen mosquitoes and other insects born from water die after a very short time; so, like these, the Devas at the expiry of their ordained life-period, die too. Then why not the Devas be treated like those insects? Why not shall we term them, “Mortal”?

24-25. Some human beings live one year; some others live upto one hundred years, the Devas live longer than men; the life of the Prâjâpatî Brahmâ exceeds those of the Devas; Rudra lives longer than Brahmâ; and Visnu lives longer than Rudra. All these are thus subject by turns to birth, growth, and decay.

26. Those who are born, they die; those that die are again born. Thus O King! In this world all the Jîvas, no doubt, move round and round like a wheel.

27. The Jîvas are deluded by the network of Moha (charms) and thus deluded. They can never gain final release. So long as Mâyâ exists in them, their delusion is not destroyed.

28. O King! At the time of creation Brahmâ and all other things came into existence, in due order, and these will duly dissolve at the time of the Great Dissolution (the Pralaya)?

29. Whatever is the cause of destruction to anybody here, that destroys the body in question. According to the Will Power of the Supreme Goddess, whatever is created by Brahmâ, no none can undo that. Know this as perfectly certain.

30. Know this the predestined law that the birth, death, old age, diseases, pain or pleasure overtake all the Jîvas according to the prescribed order of Nature; never these laws fail to operate in their actions.

31. See! The Devas that we see with our physical eyes, the Sun and Moon yield pleasure to all; still they suffer always troubles at the hands of their enemies (i.e., Râhu and Ketu, i.e., there always take place regularly solar and lunar eclipses, when they are in the ascending and descending modes.) This suffering is never removed.

32. The son of the Sun (Saturn) is always injurious to people; hence it is termed “Manda” (bad); the Moon was attacked with consumption and bears stain on his body (spots in the Moon disc). What to speak of ordinary men? The great men even are subject to the prescribed laws of Fate and Nature.

33. The Creator of the world, the four faced Brahmâ is the author of the Vedas and awarder of Intelligence. He, too, on seeing Sarasvatî, his own daughter, was afflicted with passion.

34. When Sati, the wife of S’iva, left off Her mortal coil, Mahâdeva, though He could remove the sorrows of all, was very much moved with passion and greatly afflicted.

35. Then, being burnt very much as it were by the fire of passion, he threw himself down into the water of the river Kâlindî; and the water of that river became black-coloured, as if burnt by the burning fire of the sorrows of S’iva.

36-37. O King! When Mahâdeva, being infatuated with Kâma, went into the forest of Bhrigu and becoming naked, began to copulate, the ascetic Bhrigu, seeing him in that state, exclaimed “O You are very shameless” and cursed Him thus :-- Let your penis drop off just now. Mahâdeva, then to satisfy his thirst for passion, began to drink the water of the lake Amrita Vapî, dug by the Dânavas.

38-39. Indra, too, the Lord of the Devas, turned into a bull and carried Visnu on his back on the face of the earth. What to speak where the omniscience and omnipotence disappeared of Bhagavân Visnu, Who is the First of all created beings and possessed of reason, and discrimination? Oh! What a great wonder, that He could not know about the golden deer?

40-41. Judge, O King! for yourself, the great power of Mâyâ, that even Râma Chandra was deluded by passion, and very much grieved for the separation from his dear wife Sîtâ, and wept much for Her. Greatly deluded, he began to cry aloud and ask the trees “Where has gone My Sîtâ, the daughter of Janaka? Is she devoured by the rapacious animals? or whether is she stolen by some mischievous person?

42-44. O Brother Laksmana! I am being consumed by the fire of separation from my beloved; I will commit suicide now; and you too will die due to the separation from me; our mother, too, would die when they will hear of our deaths; Satrughna, too, will be very much afflicted at our death and will not hold his life. The mother Sumitrâ, too, will destroy her life, being afflicted with her son’s demise; and then Bharata’s and his mother’s desires will certainly be fulfilled.

45. O Sîtâ! I am very much moved by your separation; where have you gone, leaving me here! O deer-eyed, O one of thin waist! come; give life unto me!

46. What shall I do? Where shall I go? My life is entirely dependent on you, O daughter of Janaka! I am your darling! Now I am very much depressed owing to your separation. Please come and speak to me words of hope and courage.

47. Though Râma, of unequalled prowess, roamed about weeping from forest to forest, yet he could not find out Sîtâ.

48-49. He, who is the Refuge of all the worlds, the lotus-eyed Râma, got entangled into the delusion of Mâyâ and had to take refuge Himself under the monkeys, and with their help, constructed the bridge across the ocean, crossed the ocean and was thus able to kill the valiant warriors Kumbhakarna and Râvana.

50. Then Râma got back His Sîtâ before him but suspecting, since she had been stolen by the vicious Râvana, made her take an oath, though it is to, be remembered that Râma was all-knowing.

51. O King! The power of Yoga Mâyâ is very great; what shall I speak of Her great power? This whole cosmos is always urged into activity by Her and thus goes rolling on and on incessantly.

52. Thus, in various incarnations, Bhagavân Visnu was always under the influence of previous curse and also under the control of Destiny and had to do various functions incessantly.

53. O King! Now I will speak to you about the birth of S’rî Krisna in the world for serving the purposes of gods, and will narrate His Leelâ.

54. In days of yore, on the delightful banks of the river Kâlindî, there was a place, called Madhuban, where lived a powerful Daitya named Lavana, the son of Madhu.

55-56. That wicked Demon was exceedingly arrogant, on getting a boon, and he used to give an enormous amount of trouble to the Dvijas. Satrughna the younger of Laksman, killed that uncontrollable Daitya and built a very beautiful city there and named it Mathurâ.

57. The intelligent Satrughna, the destroyer of enemies, installed his two lotus-eyed sons in that kingdom and, when his end came, went to Heaven.

58. Afterwards on the decline of the Solar race, the Yâdavas, born of the race of Yayâti, occupied that Mathurâ city, giving salvation to all.

59. O King! There reigned in Mathurâ city one Yâdava king, valiant warrior, named S’ûrasena; and he enjoyed all the pleasures Mathurâ.

60. Under the curse of Varuna, Vâsudeva took his birth as the son of the renowned S’ûrasena, as the part incarnate of Kas’yapa.

61. He took up the profession of a Vais’ya and engaged himself in agriculture. And on the death of his father, the prosperous and wealthy Ugrasena became the King of Mathurâ. The powerful Kamsa was the son Ugrasena.

62. On the other hand, the King Devaka had a daughter born to him named Devakî, the part incarnate of Aditi. She under the curse of Varuna, followed Kas’yapa.

63. The high souled King Devaka performed the marriage ceremony of his daughter Devakî with Vâsudeva.

64. When this marriage ceremony was over, a voice was heard from Heaven, saying :-- O fortunate Kamsa! The eighth son of this Devakî will take away your life.

65. The powerful Kamsa, hearing that voice from Heaven, was surprised and took it to be true and became very anxious.

66-67. Kamsa began to argue in his mind. Once he thought “I would today destroy her; then my death won’t take place; for I can’t see any other way of escape from this difficulty,” again he thought, “She is my sister, daughter of my paternal uncle and therefore fit to be worshipped; how can I kill her!”

68. Lastly, he came to the final conclusion, thus “She is the cause of my death, though she is my sister, fit to be worshipped; to kill her will not lead me to sin; for it is enjoined by the wise :-- Do even a sin to avert one’s own death.”

69. The sins can be remedied always by penances. Therefore to save one’s life, by committing even a sinful act, ought to be done by the wise.

70-71. The vicious Kamsa thus arguing, holding the scabbard in his hand, drew from it the sword and dragged and caught hold of the newly married handsome woman by her hair to kill her before the presence of the public.

72. A cry of universal consternation and distress arose on all sides, seeing Kamsa thus ready to kill Devakî; then the warriors, under Vâsudeva, at once raised their bows and arrows, ready to fight.

73. These wonderfully valorous warriors loudly exclaimed to Kamsa, “Leave Devakî at once” “Leave Devakî at once” and then they were finally able out of their mercy to release the Devamâtâ Devakî, from the hold of the vicious Kamsa.

74. Deadly battles ensued then between the powerful Kamsa and those valorous warriors on Vâsudeva’s side.

75-76. Seeing the exceedingly terrible battle, the old Yâdavas asked Kamsa to desist from such a battle and advised him thus. This Devakî is your sister; you ought to pay her respects. Did you not consider even for a moment that she is as yet a girl. O Hero! You ought not to kill her at the time of this joyous marriage ceremony.

77. O Valiant Warrior! The murder of a woman is intolerable! Destroyer of fame, and most heinous crime! You should also consider that learned persons ought not to commit such dastardly acts as the murdering of females, depending simply on a voice from heaven, a very ordinary thing!

78. It may be that some of your Vâsudeva’s enemy has uttered that harmful word, hiding himself from your sight. No reason can be shewn contrary to this.

79. We are of opinion that to ruin your name and to destroy the house of Vâsudeva, some magician, expert in black magic, your enemy has framed this voice from Heaven.

80. O king! You are a hero; why do you fear the words of a devil. We firmly believe, there is no doubt, that this is done by your malicious enemy to ruin your name.

81. O king! What is destined to take place, will take place; no one can stand against it otherwise. Therefore, at this marriage festivity, you ought never to kill this your respected sister.

82-83. O King Janamejaya! Though made to understand thus by the old wise Yâdavas, the king Kamsa did not desist from his purpose; S’rî Vâsudeva, versed in morals, told him “Kamsa! These three worlds are established on Truth. I say on Truth that I will hand over to you all my sons, born of the womb of Devakî, no sooner they are born.

84. And if I do not deliver to you all those sons, no sooner they are born then all my forefathers will fall down into the hell called Kumbîhpâka.”

85-86. The descendants of Puru, that were present there, hearing his truthful words, praised him repeatedly and told Kamsa “Vâsudeva is a high minded personage; he is surely not to tell a lie. Therefore, O Thou, blessed one! Now leave Devakî and be free from committing the murder of woman.”

87. O king! Thus made to understand by the aged high minded Yâdavas the king Kamsa accepted the truthful words of Vâsudeva and abandoned his anger.

88. Then the Dunduvis and other sounding instruments were sounded; and their sounds filled the place; and all repeatedly uttered jai, jai.

89. Then the famous Vâsudeva, the son of S’ûrasena, thus pleased the king Kamsa and freed Devakî; and, surrounded by his relatives, he went quickly without any fear to his own house, accompanied by Devakî.

Here ends the 20th chapter in the 4th Adhyâya of S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa, on Devakî’s marriage.

Chapter 21. On The Killing Of The Sons Of Devakî

1. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus, in due course, Devakî, the goddess incarnate, being united according to rules with Vâsudeva, became pregnant.

2-4. When full ten months were over, a good-looking and beautiful child (male) was first born to Devakî. Then the good-natured Vâsudeva remembered his promise, and also what is ordained by Heaven; and he spoke to Devakî, the part incarnate of Aditi “O fair-looking! You know that I saved your life at your marriage by swearing on oath to deliver all your fresh-born children to Kamsa. Now has come the time to hand over your child to Kamsa.”

5. O good-haired woman! Now I will hand your this son to Kamsa. Know Kamsa is very cruel and wicked. I cannot say what step he will take, urged on by Fate, to kill your child. O Sweet One! We have no hands in the matter. The effects of Karma are exceedingly puzzling. Ordinary persons cannot know them.

6. All persons are subject to Time, the Destroyer, and enjoy the merits or demerits of their past deeds. The effects of past Karma are fashioned by the Creator; knowing this, allow me to take away your child.

7. Devakî said :-- O Lord! Certainly men have to suffer fully the effects of their past Karmas. But can that not be upset by residing in holy places, practising penances and asceticism or by making generous gifts?

8-9. The high minded Maharsis have fixed rules and penances for destroying the sins of past deeds; twelve years’ vow to observe penances can purify one from sins, e.g., Brâhminicide, stealing gold, drinking or stealing the wife of one’s preceptor and many others.

10-11. O Sinless one! Will not any one be freed from their sinful effects, if they observe practices and penances as are ordained by Manu or other Munis? If you don’t accept penances to be sufficiently purificatory, do you mean to say, then, that what the Maharsis, seers, Yâjñavalkya and other promulgators of religious doctrines have uttered, they did so, as an act of dire falsehood and villainy?

12. O My husband! “What is in the womb of Fate will surely come to pass,” if this be taken as granted, then the whole Ayurveda (medicinal books) and Mantra vâdas, the science and recitation of mantras or sacred formulae turn out utterly fruitless and false!

13-16. If all the actions are under the control of Fate, then no effect can come out of any effort; so all efforts are reduced to no effect. If what is ordained by Heaven is to come to pass then what is the use of taking recourse to any action and Agnistoma sacrifices, etc., that are declared to lead to Heavens. Judge! If Heaven or Fate you consider all-in-all, then the whole Vedas, the revelations from God’s mouth turn out false; if the Vedas be false, then there is no reason why the whole Dharma will not be destroyed.

N.B. :-- Fate is here denounced.

17. Now when it is seen that effects do come out whenever any exertion is made, then you ought to think out carefully and find out some means to avert danger. Therefore do you judge and find out a good way of preserving the life of this new born baby.

The learned people say that to tell a lie is not a sin, if you can thereby save a life, and have an honest motive for the welfare of all.

Note :-- Here is a diplomatic statement!

18. Vâsudeva said :-- O blessed one! I now tell you what is truth and the matters connected with truth.

19-20. Effort, application and manifestation of energy are certainly the duties of man; but their effects are all under the Great Destiny or Fate.

The Pundits knowing the ancient lore say that there are three kinds of Karma mentioned in the Purânas and Âgamas :-- First, the Sanchita Karma (done in past births); the Prârabdha Karma, the Karma already done; and the Vartamân Karma (Karma in hand).

21. The Karma, auspicious and inauspicious, done in many previous lives and preserved in seed forms, remains always inherent in a human soul. Urged on by this Karma, the Jîvas quitting their previous bodies, enjoy Heaven or Hell as effects of these, their own acts.

22-23. According to their good or bad works, the Jîvas acquire the higher happy body and enjoy various pleasures in the Heavens, or they take up very painful vicious bodies and suffer various pains in hell.

24-25. At the expiry of the above period in Heaven or Hell, when there comes the time of his assuming another body, the Jîva becomes conscious of the subtle body (Linga Deha) and takes his birth again. When the Linga Deha comes into existence, the part of the Karma done in various previous births that are ripe and ready to yield their fruits, gets attached to the Jîva by God (or Destiny).

26. Therefore the collective effect of Karma done in previous births always exists in a Jîva’s body. O Fair-eyed One! The effects of Prârabdha Karma, ripened and ready to yield their fruits must have to be experienced by a Jîva, whether happy or unhappy.

27. O beautiful young woman! Penances, performed according to rules, destroy the effect of Karmas that are in hand and are weak (i.e., not yet accumulated strongly as to remain in seed forms).

28. The Prârabdha Karma, those acts out of all the previous acts done in previous births that are fully mature and ready to yield their fruits, cannot be averted; their effects must have to be experienced and then they can die away; they cannot be expiated by penances or any other remedial measures. Therefore you must hand over unconditionally your new born babe unto the hands of Kamsa.

29-30. O Goddess! I have never done any blameable action, nor have I told any lie. Therefore do you fulfill your truth and hand over your baby. O Devakî! Dharma is the only thing permanent and real in this fleeting world. Even the births and deaths of high souled persons are subject to the great Destiny. Therefore the Jîvas ought not to be sorry when there is no help for it.

31. O dear one! What shall I say to you! Know this much that his life is spent in vain who is lost to Truth. O beautiful one! Whose this life is destroyed, what can he expect in the life to come!

32. Therefore, O Goddess! Give me your baby and I will hand it over to Kamsa. If we can observe this truth, we will meet with ample rewards afterwards; there is no doubt in it.

33. Where there are pains and pleasures for the Jîvas, there it is highly incumbent on us to do good and meritorious deeds. If we can act according to Truth, we will certainly get good fruits.

34. Vyâsa said :-- Thus addressed by Vâsudeva, the husband of Devakî, who was very much grieved and intelligent, gave over the newly born baby, her whole body trembling, to the hands of Vâsudeva.

35. The virtuous Vâsudeva took that baby and went out to the Kamsa’s palace. On the way, the people, seeing him thus, were very much astonished and began to praise him.

36-37. The people said :-- “O people! See how Vâsudeva is sensible to keep his words! He is taking his son to hand over to Kamsa. This truthful and highsouled man, free from malice, is going to give up his son to the hands of Kamsa who is the Death Personified. See his wonderful patience; this man’s life is really high, noble and true.”

38. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Vâsudeva, thus praised, reached at last the Kamsa’s palace and handed over his newly-born son to Kamsa.

39-41. The King Kamsa, too, was very much astonished to see this wonderful patience of Vâsudeva. Then he held aloft the child and laughed and said :-- “O son of S’ûrasena, you have been blessed today by giving me your son just now. But the voice from Heaven said that your eighth son will be the cause of my death; this your first son is not my cause of death. Therefore I will not kill this baby; you can take your baby back to your home.

O High-minded One! Let me have your eighth son brought here, when he will be born; I hope you will positively do it.”

42. The cruel and wicked Kamsa returned the child and said :-- “Let this child go back safely to his home.”

43-44. When the king Kamsa said thus, Vâsudeva, the son of S’ûrasena gladly took his child back and came home. Then the King Kamsa told his ministers that the Heavenly voice told that the eighth son would he the cause of his death; and so there was no necessity to kill that child. There was no need to incur sin by killing the first child.

45. The ministers, hearing the king Kamsa’s those words, began to praise him very much and exclaimed repeatedly “Well done” “Well done.” They went away to their respective homes, when ordered to do so by Kamsa.

46-49. Now Nârada, the best of the Munis, arrived to Kamsa. The king Kamsa, the son of Ugrasena, stood up at once and offered him water to wash his mouth and with green grass and rice worshipped him devotedly and enquired of his welfare. He then asked the Muni about the cause of his untimely arrival there. The Maharsi Nârada then smilingly and with sweet words repeatedly uttered “Kamsa,” “Kamsa” and then said, O blessed one! I went perchance to Sumeru Mountain. There Brahmâ and other gods formed an assembly and were thus thinking out plans that Visnu, the Supreme God, would take His birth in the womb of Devakî, the wife of Vâsudeva to kill Kamsa.

50. Now I ask you, you are very expert as a politician; then why have you not killed the son of Vâsudeva? Kamsa said :-- “I will kill the eighth son according to the Heavenly Voice.”

51. Nârada said :-- O King! Now I understand that you do not understand anything of politics, leading to auspicious or inauspicious results; especially when you are quite ignorant of the Mâyâ of the Devas, then what shall I say to you!

52-53. The truth is this :-- The warriors, looking after their own welfare, never overlook the weakest of their foes. What have you understood when the Heavenly Voice uttered “the eighth son.” It means the children counted from the first and then finished upto eighth; it may mean first, second, third or upto eighth. Never forego your enemies; then why have you desisted in killing your enemy when you got that enemy in your possession. Nothing is shewn of you in this act save dire foolishness, and ignorance.

54. Thus saying, the Maharsi Nârada vanished quickly. Kamsa, of little understanding brought back the son of Vâsudeva and killed him by dashing him against a stone and was relieved.

Note :-- This human body is a microcosm; the universe is the macrocosm. God resides in the centre and controls the two. In this human body also live the Devas and the Dânavas. The left half of the body, the Îdâ side, is the seat of the Devas. The right half, the Pingalâ side, is the seat of the Dânavas. In this body war is always going on between the Devas and Dânavas. Sometimes the Devas get victory; sometimes the Dânavas win. God is in the centre, the heart and controls the two.

Here ends the 21st Chapter of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses composed by Veda Vyâsa, on the killing of the sons of Devakî.

Chapter 22. On The Part Incarnations Of The Several Devas

1. Janamejaya asked :-- O grandfather! What bad act did that child commit, that no sooner he was born than he was killed by Kamsa?

2. Especially, Maharsi Nârada is the the best amongst the Munis and foremost amongst the Brahmâ-vids (Knowers of Brahmâ), always doing virtuous acts, and learned; why did he become the agent in this very sinful act?

3. Pundits declare that the doers and stimulators of any evil deed both are equally responsible; then how is it that Nârada, being the best of the Munis, instigated the wicked Kamsa to do this evil act!

4. I am very much in doubt on this point. Kindly describe, in detail, the act that the child did as the result of which be had to meet with this fate of being killed.

5. Vyâsa said :-- The Devarsi Nârada is always fond of seeing quarrels brought about amongst parties; he always likes thus to see the fun. Here specially to serve the gods’ purpose he went to Kamsa and incited him to such an act.

6. Really he never intends to speak a lie; he is always truth speaking; pure hearted, and always ready to serve the gods.

7. Thus the six sons were born to Devakî; and Kamsa, too, killed those six sons consecutively as they were born. These six sons named Sadgarbha, were killed just after their births, owing to their having been previously cursed.

8. O King! Hear why they were cursed before. In the reign of Svâyambhuva Manu, were born to Urnâ; the wife of Maharsi Marîchi, the six powerful sons, all of a virtuous disposition.

9-11. Once, on an occasion, the Prajâpati Brahmâ, on seeing his daughter, became passionate, and was ready to hold sexual intercourse with her. At this, those six sons laughed at him. Brahmâ cursed them saying “You all go quickly and take your birth in the wombs of the asuras.” Therefore those six sons became the sons of Kâlanemi in their first birth. At their second birth, they became the sons of Hiranyakas’ipu. This second time they had the fear of curse in their minds and therefore were born endowed with knowledge.

12. In this birth they became peaceful and, collecting all their energies, they began to practise austerities. Brahmâ was pleased at this and asked the Sadgarbha to take boons.

13. Brahmâ said :-- O my sons! I was very angry to you before and cursed you; now I am very much pleased with you; ask boons from me that you all desire.

14-15. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing Brahmâ’s words, they were very glad and becoming very anxious to secure their objects of desire, said :-- O our grand sire! Today thou art pleased unto us; now favour us with our desired boons. That we may be invulnerable to all the Devas, human beings, the big serpents the Gandarbhas, and the Lord of Siddhas, (semi-divine beings supposed to be of great purity and holiness and said to be particularly characterised by eight supernatural faculties called Siddhis).

16. Vyâsa said :-- Brahmâ told them “What you have asked, you would certainly get; O blessed ones! better go now; my words will be found to be literally true. No doubt in this.”

17-19. Granting them boons, Brahmâ went away; they then became very glad. O best of Kurus! Hiranyakas’ipu began to think “My sons now have pleased the Grandsire Brahmâ and are now regardless of me” and got very angry and said :-- You all are become very proud on account of receiving boons; and since you have ceased your good feelings towards me I also henceforth cut off my connection with you. Now better go to Pâtâla; you will be known in this world as Sadgarbha.

20-21. At present you would be always involved in deep sleep and remain in Pâtâla for many years; and when you will be born one after another in the womb of Devakî, then your father Kâlanemi of previous birth will be born as Kamsa; and he would be cruel hearted and surely kill you all, no sooner you be born.

22. Vyâsa said :-- Thus because they were cursed, they took their births repeatedly and Kamsa, too, being urged on by the same curse, killed those sons of Devakî, the Sadgarbha, no sooner they were born.

23-24. In the seventh womb of Devakî, Ananta made his appearance. The foetus in the womb was attracted by Yoga mâyâ and placed in the womb of Rohinî. But there was the rumour that there was miscarriage in the womb of Devakî in the fifth month; and this became known to the public.

25. Kamsa came to know that there had been miscarriage. That wicked soul became exceedingly glad to hear this gladdening news.

26. And at about this time the Bhagavân, the Protector of the devotee appeared in the eighth womb of Devakî to serve the purpose of the gods and to relieve the load of the Earth.

27-28. The King said :-- O best of Munis! “You have described the part incarnations of (1) Kas’yapa as Vâsudeva and (2) of Bhagavân Hari to relieve the burden of the Goddess Earth as prayed by Her; and (3) of Ananta Deva; but you have not described the part incarnations of the other Devas. How the other Devas incarnated as their parts on this earth, kindly describe them now.”

29. Vyâsa said :-- The part incarnations of Suras and Asuras on this earth, and their names I am now saying to you in brief; hear.

30-32. Vâsudeva was the part incarnation of Kas’yapa, Devakî was of Aditi, Baladeva, of Ananta; Vâsudeva S’rî Krisna, of S’rîmân Nârâyana; the son of Dharma existing even at that time in his physical body; Arjuna, of Nara, the younger brother of Nârâyana.

33. Yuidhisthira was part incarnate of Dharma, Bhimasena, of Vâyu, the powerful twins of Mâdri, Nakul and Sahadeva, of As’vinî-kumâras?

34. The valiant hero Karna, born of Kuntî, was part incarnate of the Sun, and the high minded Vidura, the knower of the Supreme Essence, was incarnate of Yama, the king Dharmarâj. Drona, the Âchârya of the Kurus and the Pândavas was the part incarnate of Brihaspatî; and his son As’vatthâmâ was part incarnate of Rudra Deva.

35. S’antanu was the part incarnate of the Ocean; his wife, of the river Ganges in human farm. It is stated in the Purânas that the king Devaka was part incarnate of the Lord of Gandarvas.

36-41. The Grand-father of the Kauravas, the foremost of the heroes, Bhîsma Deva was the incarnate of Vasu; Virâta, the Lord of Matsya was the part incarnate of Maruts; Dhritarâstra, of the Daitya Hamsa, the son of Arista Nemi; Kripa and Krita Varmâ, of Maruts; Duryodhana, of Kali and S’akuni, of Dvâpara; Suvarchâkhya Somapraru, of the son of the Moon; Dhristadyumna was part incarnate of Fire and S’ikhandî of Râksasa; Pradyumna was part incarnate of Sanatkumâra; the king Drupada was part incarnate of Varuna; Draupadî, of Laksmî; Draupadî’s five sons, of Visve-devas; Kuntî was incarnate of Siddhi; Mâdri, of Dhriti; Gândhârî, of Mati; the wives of S’rî Krisna were the heavenly public women; thus all the Devas came as their part incarnations, urged on by Indra.

42-43. Amongst the Asuras, S’is’upâla was the incarnate of Hiranyakas’ipu; Jarâsandha, of Biprachitti, S’alya, of Prahlâda; Kamsa, of Kâlanemi and Kes’î, of Haya S’irâ. The Asura named Arista of the form of a cow that was killed by Krisna was the son of Bali.

44. Dhristaketu was part incarnate of Anuhrâdha, Bhagadatta, of Vâskala; Pralamba, of Lamba; Dhenuka, of Khara.

45. Chânûra and Mus’tika, the two athletes, were part incarnates of Vârâha, and Kis’ora, the two dreadful Daityas.

46-47. Kubalaya, the elephant of Kamsa, was part incarnate of Arista, the sun of Diti. Vakî was the daughter of Bali, Vaka was her younger.

The powerful son of Drona, As’vatthâmâ, though known as the part incarnate of Rudra, was really born of the four parts of Yama, Rudra, Cupidity and Anger.

48-49. The Daityas and Râksasas that were born to relieve the heavy burden of the Earth were all incarnates of Asuras. O king! I have thus narrated to you in order the incarnations of the Suras and Asuras, as they are stated duly in the Purânas.

50-51. When Brahmâ and the other Devas went to Visnu and prayed to Him then Hari gave to Brahmâ one hair of a black colour and one hair of a white colour. The Bhagavân S’rî Krisna was born of that black hair and S’ankarsana Baladeva was born of the white hair. They were both the incarnations of Visnu.

Note here the black is the younger and the stronger; and they also represent the polarities. The Jîvas are points of those hairs.

52. He who hears with devotion the story of these part incarnations becomes freed of all sins and passes away his time merrily, surrounded by his circle of friends; there is no doubt in this.

Thus ends the 22nd chapter in 4th book of S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the part incarnations of the several Devas.

Chapter 23. On The Birth Of S’rî Krisna

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- The six sons of Devakî being thus killed by Kamsa and the seventh womb being miscarried, Kamsa began, when Devakî was pregnant for the eighth time, to think of the cause of his own death as advised by Nârada and watched carefully, day and night, so that this time there would be born a son and there be no miscarriage.

3. On the other hand the Bhagavân Hari came down and rested on the body of Vâsudeva as part incarnate and then entered into the womb of Devakî, in due order.

4. That very time the Goddess Yogamâyâ, of Her own accord, enters into the womb of Yasodâ in order to help the workings of the gods.

5. Rohinî, the wife of Vâsudeva was anxiously dwelling at that time through the fear of Kamsa in the Nanda Gokula; Balarâma, the part incarnate of Ananta, took his birth there as Her son.

6. Kamsa then imprisoned Devakî, who was being worshipped by gods, and engaged servants to take care of her.

7. Vâsudeva, too, entered into the prison with his wife Devakî, thinking of his issue and also being attracted by his attachment towards his wife.

8. Visnu, here, the Deva of the Devas, to accomplish the purpose of the gods began to grow regularly in the womb of Devakî, being incessantly adored and praised by the gods.

9-10. When the tenth month was complete, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight, under the star Rohinî, Kamsa became much bewildered with fear and called on his Dânava followers and said “You must all carefully protect Devakî in the prison.

11-12. The son born from this eighth womb of Devakî will turn out my dire enemy; therefore do you all very carefully protect that child, my death incarnate (so that the child may not be transferred anywhere else). O Daityas! I will be able to sleep without any anxiety then, when I will be successful. Kill this eighth son of Devakî who has become the source of my constant worries and endless troubles.

13. Equipped with swords, shafts and bow and darts do you all incessantly watch with eyes open on all sides, leaving off your sleep and drowsiness.”

14. Vyâsa said :-- Thus ordering the Demons, the king Kamsa who had become worn out with this anxiety and was bewildered with fear, went quickly to his own palace room; but he could not find any trace of happiness.

15-18. On the other hand, Devakî, at dead of night, in that prison, told Vâsudeva “O king! My birth pain has come; I see here many guards, terrific, who are watching and protecting us; what shall I do now? Yasodâ, the wife of Nanda, promised me before this. O respected one! Your heart is almost burnt up with the fire of grief; therefore do you send to my house your son; I will protect it with utmost care; and especially to incur Kamsa’s faith and belief, I will give you another son. O Lord! This is now a very hard moment; what are we to do now?

19. And again how are you to exchange the two sons? However let what may come, come to pass; now the moment of child birth has come; I am possessed by a feeling of shame not liable to be overcome. You better turn away your face; there is no other remedy here.”

20. Thus saying to that blessed Vâsudeva, worshipped by the gods, Devakî, at dead of night, delivered a wonderful child.

21. The blessed Devakî looking on that exceedingly beautiful child, was struck with wonder and told her husband, her whole body being filled with joy.

22. O Lord! Look at the face of your new born child, a very rare thing to see such a face as this. Alas! The son of my paternal uncle, Kamsa, will kill my this new born child.

23. “Kamsa will do so.” Saying this, Vâsudeva took up that child in his arms and began to look amorously at the face of that child of wonderful deeds.

24. Thus looking, Vâsudeva thought “What can I do now so as to relieve me from my sorrows owing to the future destruction of this child.”

25-27. While Vâsudeva was thus anxiously pondering over, the Heaven Voice clearly said thus :-- “O Vâsudeva! Quickly go to Gokula with the child. The keepers and guards I have made dead asleep by My Mâyâ. The eight very strong doors are now lying wide open. You better free yourself from your chains and take this child, keep it in the house of Nanda and bring Yoga Mâyâ from there and come back here.”

28-29. Thus hearing the Heavenly Voice, he cast his glance at the doors and found them all wide open. O King! Very quickly then he took the child and stepped out of the prison, quite unnoticed by the guards and watchmen. Going to the banks of the Jumnâ he found there the daughter of Kalindi, flowing with great force and became anxious.

30-31. But the river Jumnâ instantaneously turned out to be easily fordable just knee deep; then Vâsudeva, guided by Yoga Mâyâ, crossed the Jumnâ and betaking to an unfrequented road arrived at Gokul at dead of night. There, at the doorway of the house of Nanda, he began to see the cows, buffaloes, the wealth and property of Nanda.

32. At that very moment, there was born of Yos’odâ, the Mahâ Devî, the part of the Divine Yoga Mâyâ, the Incarnate of the three qualities.

33. Then the Mahâdevî Yoga Mâyâ, assuming the appearance of a female artisan, taking that divine female child in her arms came there and handed her over to Vâsudeva.

34. Vâsudeva, too, delivered his child over to the lotus like hands of the Devî and, taking the female child instead, quickly returned with his heart full of joy.

35. He went unto the prison and kept that female child in the bed of Devakî and remained aside, fearful and anxious.

36-37. But that child, the moment she was lulled to sleep, began to cry in a sonorous voice; the royal guards at once woke up on that cry, and being bewildered with fear, hurriedly went to their king and said “O King! Come quickly. Devakî has brought forth a child.”

38-39. The King of the Bhojas, hearing their words, went there quickly and saw the doors open, called on Vâsudeva “O blessed one! Let me have the eighth son of Devakî, my death incarnate; I will at once kill that enemy of mine, born as part incarnate of Hari.”

40. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing Kamsa’s words, Vâsudeva handed over to him the female child crying and very much bewildered with fear.

41. At the sight of the female child, the king was very much astonished and began to think that the Heavenly Voice and the Seer Nârada’s words turned out false.

42. How can Vâsudeva be able to bring about, in this dreadful place, the unnatural act of turning male into a female. Especially my guards are carefully watching the place. There is no doubt in this.

43. How has this female child come here? Where has that eighth born child gone? I ought not to doubt in this matter. For the ways of Time are mysterious!

44-46. Thinking thus, the cruel King Kamsa caught hold of that female child by her legs and, raising her high up in the air, was going to strike her against a stone, when the female child slipped out of his hands and flying into the air assumed a divine appearance and gently spoke to Kamsa, thus :-- “What will you get by killing me? Your powerful enemy is already born on the earth. O vilest of men! Disgrace to your family! He, the Excellent Human being Who is very difficult to be worshiped will certainly kill you.”

47-49. Saying thus, the auspicious female child, able to go anywhere according to her will, disappeared. Kamsa astonished returned to his own home and, becoming impatient with fear and anger, called all the Dânavas Baka, Dhenuka, Vatsa and others, and addressed them thus :-- “O Dânavas. Go all of you to serve my purpose. Kill anywhere the child whom you see just born.

50. Let Pûtanâ, expert in killing children go today to Nanda’s Gokula. My order is this :-- Any child recently born they must kill.

51. Dhenuka, Vatsaka, Kes’i, Pralamba, and Vaka, etc., all should remain in Gokula to carry out my order.”

52. The cruel king Kamsa, thus ordering the Demons, went away to his own palace, and, thinking on this matter over and over again became, very much afflicted with fear and his mind got immensely depressed.

Thus ends the 23rd Chapter in the 4th Skandha of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa, on the birth of S’rî Krisna.

Chapter 24. On The Stealing Away Of Pradyûmna

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- On the other hand, there, at the house of Nanda, early in the next morning, commenced the grand birth day festivity. Kamsa came to know, afterwards, by his spies as will as by general rumour, that at Gokula, in the house of Nanda, a very joyous festival on a grand scale was being performed; he also knew before that the other wives of Vâsudeva, his animals and his servants were all staying at Nanda’s residence in Gokula.

3-4. O Bhârata! Thus all these gave reasons to Kamsa to suspect the place Gokula. Especially Nârada told him before that the residents, the cowherds at Gokula, Nanda and others, their wives, Devakî and Vâsudeva were all Devas incarnates; and consequently they were his enemies.

5-7. Thus being brought to more confidence by Nârada’s words, that vicious Kamsa, the disgrace to his family, was very angry and sent there his demons Pûtanâ, Baka, Vatsa, the great Asura, the powerful Dhenuka, Pralamba. They were all killed by Krisna, of unsurpassable prowess. S’rî Krisna held aloft also the hillock Gobardhana (to protect the cow herds and cows, etc.) Hearing all these, Kamsa became certain also of his own death.

8. Lastly when the evil minded Kamsa heard that the Daitya Kes’î was also slain, then he made arrangements for a sacrifice, known as Dhanuryajña; and under this pretext wanted to bring over there at Mathurâ the two brothers Krisna and Balarâma.

9. The evil minded Kamsa to effect the death of those two, Râma and Krisna, of unsurpassable prowess, sent Akrûra to Gokula to bring them over to Mathurâ.

10. Akrûra, the son of Gandinî, under the orders of Kamsa, went to Gokula and brought the two boys on a chariot to Mathurâ.

11-12. On arriving at Mathurâ, Râma and Krisna first broke the bow; killed Râjaka, the elephant Kubalaya, Chânûr, Mustika, S’ala, Tos’ala and other athletes and warriors. Last of all, Hari, the Lord of the Devas, holding Kamsa by his hair, killed him with utmost ease.

13. The enemy-destroyer Krisna removed the sorrows of his father and mother and released them from their prisons and gave over the kingdom of Mathurâ to Ugrasena (the father of Kamsa).

14-15. The high minded Vâsudeva, then, with the triple girdle made of Munja grass, performed the Upanayana ceremonies (wearing the sacred thread round the body) of Râma and Krisna and made them accept the vow of Brahmacharya. They then departed to the hermitage of the holy Muni S’andîpana to acquire knowledge. Learning all the vidyâs (knowledges) there, they returned quickly to Mathurâ.

16. The two sons of Ânakadundubhi stayed there and on attaining their twelfth year, became proficient in all the branches of learning and became very powerful.

17. That time Jarâsandha, being grieved at the killing of his son-in-law Kamsa, collected a strong and numerous army and marched to Mathurâ.

18. Seventeen times Jarâsandha, the king of Magadha, attacked Mathurâ and seventeen times he was defeated by the ingenuity of that highly intelligent S’rî Krisna, who was of firm resolve and was then residing in Mathurâ.

19. Lastly, Jarâsandha sent the Kâlayavana (Black Yavana) to invade Mathurâ. These Yavanas were brave and the lords of all Mlechchâs (untouchables) and extremely terrific to the Yâdavas.

Note: Kâlayavana - A king of Yavanas and enemy of Krisna and an invincible foe of the Yâdavas. Krisna finding it impossible to vanquish him in the field of battle, cunningly decoyed him to the cave where Muchukunda was sleeping who burnt him down.

Yavana means a Greek, an Ionian; then any foreigner, or barbarian (the word is applied at present to a Mahomedan or a European also).

20-21. Hearing that Kâla Yavana was coming to attack the Yâdavas, Krisna the destroyer of Mâdhu, called all the Yâdavas and Baladeva and addressed them thus :-- “O blessed ones! Now a cause of great terror has appeared amongst us; Kâla Yavana is being sent by our powerful enemy Jarâsandha to attack Mathurâ. Now what to do? It is better to save one’s life by leaving aside all our homes, wealth and army.

22. You should all know that is the place of our fathers and forefathers where we can safely and happily dwell; where there is a constant source of anxiety and uneasiness that, though the place of our fathers and forefathers, ought to be avoided; never ought anyone to dwell there.

23. If you want to dwell at ease and comfort, you ought to dwell in that country or place which is adjacent to a sea or a mountain; where there is no fear from an enemy, the sages will always remain there.

24. See! The Bhagavân Hari, being afraid, as it were, of his enemy has taken refuge on the body of the thousand headed S’esa serpent as his sleeping place and is sleeping at ease and comfort on the ocean. It seems likely that the enemy of Trîpurâ, the great S’iva is also dwelling on the Kailâs’a mountain.

25. We, too, are being constantly worried by our enemies here; therefore we ought not to live here any longer. We should all go to Dwârkâ city with our friends, relatives and wealth.

26. Garuda, the king of the birds, has given us the detailed information of the city Dwârkâ. That beautiful city is situated on the sea shore in the vicinity of the Raivataka mountain.”

27. Vyâsa said :-- The Yâdava chiefs, hearing S’rî Krisna’s utterances fraught with their welfare, were ready to depart to that place Dwârkâ, attended by their friends, relatives, and appurtenances.

28. They then collected their camels, mares, and buffaloes and filled their conveyances with wealth, gems and precious stones and marched out of their place.

29. Râma and Krisna went in front; the Yâdavas and other subjects then marched in groups (several parties).

30. Marching some days, they all reached Dvârâvatî. Then the portions of the city that were dilapidated or destroyed, S’rî Krisna had them repaired by engineers, artisans and craftsmen.

31. Placing the Yâdavas there, Kes’ava and Baladeva quickly returned to Mathurâ and began to stay in that desolated city.

32. The extremely powerful king of the Yavanas arrived then at  Mathurâ. Krisna knowing that the Yavana chief had come there, went out of the city.

33. The Bhagavân Madhusûdana, the destroyer of the boastings of Asuras and other people, dressed in yellow robes, appeared on foot before the Kâlayavan with smile on his lips.

34. Seeing the lotus-eyed Krisna before him, the treacherous Lord of the Yavanas, pursued him on foot to catch hold of him.

35. Where the powerful Râjarsi Muchukunda was sleeping soundly, the Bhagavân Hari led Kâlayavana there.

36. There S’rî Krisna, saw Muchukunda and vanished away at once; the king of the Yavanas on arriving there found the Râjarsi (the royal sage) there in deep sleep.

37. The wicked Yavana mistaking Muchukunda for S’rî Krisna, gave him a good kick. The powerful king Muchukunda got up and was very angry; his eyes became red and reduced that vicious Yavana instantly into ashes.

38. When Muchukunda burnt the Yavana, he saw the lotus-eyed Krisna; he bowed down to that Supreme Deva, Vâsudeva, and went to forest.

39. S’rî Krisna then went back to the city Dwârkâ with Râma and made Ugrasena there the king and began to enjoy at his will.

40. At the marriage ceremony of S’is’upâla, at the palace of the king of Vidarbha, Janârdan Visnu carried away by force Rukminî, the bride elect from the Svayambara assembly (where the husband is self elected by the bride herself) and afterwards married her according to the rule called Râkhsasa Vidhi (one of the eight forms of marriage in Hindu Law in which a girl is forcibly seized and carried away after the defeat or destruction of her relatives in battle).

41-42. Afterwards He brought also Jâmbavatî, Satyabhâmâ, Mitravindâ, Kâlindî, Laksmanâ, Bhadrâ, and auspicious Nâgnajitî (the daughter of the king Nagnajit) on various occasions and married them. O Lord of the earth! These eight women were the best and most beautiful of S’rî Krisna’s wives.

43. Rukminî first gave birth to the beautiful child Pradyûmna and S’rî Krisna performed the religious ceremony at the birth of his child.

44. Then the powerful Dânava named S’amvara stole away the little baby from the lying-in-chamber and carried him to his own city and made him over under the charge of Mâyâvatî.

45. Coming to know that His son had been stolen away, S’rî Krisna became very much overpowered with sorrow and took the shelter of the Supreme Goddess, the Devî, with a heart full of devotion.

46-47. S’rî Krisna then began, to chant, in sweet auspicious tone, hymns in alphabets, conveying the highest meanings, in adoration of the Yoga Mâyâ, Who slew Vritrâsura and other Daityas with ease and alacrity.

48. O Mother! I, in my former birth as the son of Dharma, appeased You by my ascetic practices in the hermitage of Badari and worshipped You with various offerings; O Mother! Have you now forgotten all my devotion to You?

49. O Mother! Has any evil minded enemy stolen away my son from the lying-in chamber? Or have You Yourself done this to make a fun and see the amusement? It seems that some one of my enemies has done so to insult me; however, You, O Mother! ought not to put your devotee under this shameful condition.

50. O Mother! This Dwârakâ city is well guarded; a very strong fort is built in its middle and my place is in the midst of that again; and the lying in-chamber is again in the middle; I therefore must say that it is due to my bad luck that the child is stolen away!

51. O Mother! I did not go to the house of my enemy; the Yâdavas also did not go there; this city is guarded by valiant soldiers; then how is it, under what charm, the baby has been stolen? O Mother! Now I come to know that it is due to Your Mâyâ; such things are common due to Your Mâyâ in the three worlds.

52. O Mother! When I am ignorant of your deepest mysteries, how can there exist anyone among the little minded Jîvas that can know your doings? My watchmen could not see anything, where my child was taken away and who has stolen it. O Mother! I come to the conclusion that it is hidden behind the screen of Your Mâyâ.

53. O Mother! It is not strange with You; to the chaste woman, Rohinî Devî, though situated at a great distance and not connected with any male persons, You, in the fifth month, moved away the son to my knowledge from the womb of my mother; and thus Baladeva was born to Rohinî. This is now known to all.

54. Mother! You are incessantly creating, preserving, and destroying this whole universe by the mixture of the three qualities. Who can know Your sin-destroying doings? Mother! There is no need of dwelling at length. Suffice it to say that You, no doubt, are doing all that are being done in this whole universe.

55. You first create the joy at the birth of a child; again You load us with heavy burdens of sorrows due to the separation from that child; thus you are always sporting; otherwise how my joy at the birth of my child would thus be rendered quite useless?

56. The mother of that child is always weeping like an ewe, straying from a flock; she is giving vent to her sorrows always to me; O Kind-hearted! Being thus endowed with illimitable prowess and understanding, do You not know my troubles! O Mother! You are the only source of consolation to one, suffering from the sorrows of this world. There is no doubt in this.

57. O Goddess! The wise seers say that the birth of a child in any house is the highest bliss there, and the death of a child is the greatest sorrow that can befall to any house. Therefore, O Mother! What shall I do in this? What shall I say more than that my heart is going to burst, due to the disappearance of my child.

58. O Mother! I will perform all the necessary sacrifices, take up vows, perform all sorts of worship to the entire satisfaction of the Great Fate (Ordainer of things); You be pleased to remove my sorrow. O Mother! If my son be alive, kindly shew him once to me. Mother! There is no other than You Who is fully capable to destroy this my pain and sorrow, raging in my heart.

59. Vyâsa said :-- He who brings into practice, things that are considered impracticable for the Devas and removes the load of the Goddess Earth with ease and alacrity, the same Saviour of world, S’rî Krisna thus chanted hymns in adoration of the Great Goddess. The Devî then became visible to him and said.

60. O Lord of the Devas! Do not any longer be sorrowful and miserable; there had been a curse on you before; and, for that reason, the Daitya S’ambara has stolen away your son by his demonic magic.

61. Therefore, when your son will grow sixteen years old, then he will, by My Grace, kill the Daitya perforce and will return to you. There is no doubt in this.

62. O king! Thus saying these words full of hope and confidence, the Great Goddess Chandikâ, of formidable prowess, disappeared. Krisna too, quitted his sorrows, due to the bereavement of his child, and began to spend his time in happiness and peace.

Here ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the stealing away of Pradyûmna.

Chapter 25. On The Devî’s Highest Supremacy

1. The King said :-- O Best of Munis! Hearing these sorrows of S’rî Krisna, the part incarnate of Visnu Bhagavân, I am in doubt on your utterances.

2. Behold! Bhagavân Vâsudeva is the part incarnate of Nârâyana; how could the Asura S’ambara steal away His son from the lying-in-chamber!

3. The beautiful Dvârakâ city is specially well-guarded; the lying-in-chamber is again within the centre of that; under these circumstances, how was it that the Daitya could enter there and steal away the child!

4. O Son of Satyavatî! How was it that Vâsudeva could not know that! This appears very strange to me!

5. O Brâhmana! Please explain to me why was that child stolen away from the lying-in-chamber, though S’rî Krisna was staying there at the city; and how was it that he was not able to know this beforehand!

6. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Mâyâ called S’âmbhavî (Pârvatî's) is the cause; it fascinates and deludes the minds of human beings. Thus it is known to us. Who is there in this world that is not deluded by this Mâyâ?

7. The Jîvas, no sooner they are born as human beings, are immediately overcome with human qualities; the Deva or Asura qualities or their natures do not then visibly exist.

8-9. O King! Hunger, thirst, sleep, fear, lassitude, delusion, sorrow, doubt, pleasure, egoism, old age, disease, death, non-knowledge, knowledge, displeasure, envy, jealousy, pride and weariness; all these human qualities are seen to exist in human embodiments.

10-11. Behold! The night wanderer Râksasa Mâricha assumed, by his Mâyâ, the form of a golden deer and came before S’rî Râmchandra; and Râmchandra was not the least aware of it. Then the stealing away of Sîtâ, the death of Jatâyu, Râma’s going to the forest on the very day of his installation to the throne of Ayodhyâ; the death of his father due to his bereavement, all these S’rî Râmchandra did not know a bit beforehand.

12. When Râvana stole away Jânakî and carried her by force Râma did not know this before or after that event had happened. He wandered from forest to forest in search of Her, like a quite ignorant man.

13. Afterwards He killed Bâli, the son of Indra and with the help of the monkeys, erected a bridge across the ocean, and, crossing it, went to Lankâ.

14. He sent the chief monkeys to all the quarters in search of Sîtâ and had to undergo all the troubles of deadly battles in the great battlefield.

15. The most powerful Raghunandana was tied down by Nâgapâs’a (snakes) and was afterwards freed from it by Garuda.

16. Then, being furiously enraged, the great Râghava slew Kumbhakarna, Nikumbha, Megha Nâda and Râvana.

17. The Janârdan Râmchandra was not aware of the innocence of Sîtâ; and therefore He made her take an oath about the purity of Her character and even made Her undergo an ordeal of fire.

18. Afterwards Râmachandra, the son of Das’aratha, had to banish his dear blameless Sîtâ on the mere ground of bad name, imputed to her by some ignorant person and that he would be thus blamed by the public.

19. He did not know that Kus’î and Lava were His two sons, born in the forest. Afterwards when the Muni Vâlmikî told him, He came to know of them.

20. Behold also Râmachandra could not know about the departure of Sîtâ to Pâtâla; getting angry once He was about to kill his brother Laksmana even.

21. Râma, the slayer of the Râks’asa Khara did not know that Kâla Purusa was coming to him. He, incarnating in the human body, did acts all becoming to a man. Similarly S’rî Krisna, the descendant of Yadu, taking human birth did acts all like a man. What more discussion can there be in this?

22. Lo! From the very outset He fled, out of fear of Kamsa, to Gokula; afterwards he fled out of fear of Jarâsandha to the Dwârkâ city.

23. Knowing all the rites and ceremonies of the Sanâtan Dharma (the Eternal Religion) He stole away Rukminî who was chosen as bride elect by S’is’upâla. This act was very unreligious of Him.

24. S’ambara Daitya stole away his newly born child and Krisna lamented for this. Afterwards on coming to know of the real state of things from the Goddess Bhagavatî, He was very glad. Therefore it can be easily seen from all these circumstances that He had to yield to pleasures and to undergo remorse like ordinary human beings.

25. Again, under the orders of his wife Satyabhâmâ, He had to go to Heaven to bring the Pârijâta tree and He had to fight with Indra. This shows clearly that He was under the subjection of His wife.

26. In that battle Hari with disc in hand defeated Indra; the Lord of the Devas, took away the Kalpa tree and retained the prestige of His respected wife (whom He had offended).

27. Again Satyabhâmâ tied down Hari against a tree and presented Him as a gift to Nârada; afterwards she, the passionate woman, freed Krisna on paying an equivalent of gold coins.

28-29. On seeing Rukminî’s many sons, Pradyûmna and others, all qualified with diverse qualifications, His wife Jâmbavatî prayed to S’rî Krisna with humility, so that she may have also many beautiful sons. For her sake, Krisna firmly resolved to practise tapasyâ and went to the place where the great devotee of S’iva, Upamanyu, was staying.

30. Hari desiring to have sons engaged Upamanyu as His spiritual guide and obtained from him the Mantram called Pâs’upata Mantra and became a Dundee (holder of a staff) and shaved His head.

31-32. In the first month He subsisted on fruits only and meditated on S’iva and repeated silently the S’iva mantra. Thus He practised very severe austerities. In the second month He subsisted on water only and stood on only one leg. In the third month he lived on air only and stood on the end of His great toe.

33-36. Thus time passed away. In the sixth month the God Rudra, holding Moon on His forehead, was pleased with His asceticism and devotion and appeared before Him on that spot. The God Mahâ Deva came on a bull; He was attended by Brahmâ  and Visnu, Indra and the other Devas, Yakshas and Gandarbhas and addressed thus :-- “O high minded Krisna of Yadu’s descent; I am pleased with Your severe asceticism; now ask Your desired boon; I will grant it just now. I fulfil all the desires of all my devotees; what desire, then, there can be that is not fulfilled, when I am seen by the devotees!”

37-38. Vyâsa said :-- The son of Devakî was very glad to see the God S’amkara and fell prostrate at His feet. Then that eternal supreme God of the Devas began to recite hymns in praise of Him in a tone as deep as the rumbling of a cloud.

39. Krisna said :-- O Deva of the Devas! O Lord of the world! You alone destroy the misfortunes and sorrows of all the beings. O Destroyer of Asuras! You are the Cause and Creator of this universe. I salute Thee.

40. O One having a blue throat! I bow down to Thee! O Holder of trident! I again and again salute Thee! O Lord of Pârvatî! You destroyed Daksa’s sacrifice. I salute Thee.

41. I am blessed by Thy sight and think myself as having discharged all my duties and satisfied. O Virtuous One! My human birth is crowned with success by saluting Thy feet.

42. O Lord of everything! O three-eyed! I am tied down to this world by my attachment towards my wives; now I take refuge unto Thee to free me from these bonds.

43. O Destroyer of sorrows! I am very much troubled on attaining this human birth; O Bhava! I am afraid of this world; and hence I take refuge unto Thee; now save me.

44-45. O Destroyer of cupidity! I experienced a good deal of troubles in the womb; next out of fear to Kamsa I had to go to Gokula where I suffered much pains; there I had to obey the orders of cow-herds; there I had to attend as Nanda’s cow-herd, the pasturing of his cows and was constantly suffocated with the awful dust thrown up by the cows; I had to wander constantly in the wild forests of Brindâban.

46. O Omnipresent One! I had to leave my dear ancestral place, the city of Mathurâ, a rare place to be found anywhere else, out of the great fear of Kâla Yavana, the king of the Mlechchas and had to go to Dwârakâ city.

47-48. O Lord! In order to preserve the cause of religion, I had to hand over the best prosperous kingdom to Ugrasena, due to the curse of Yayâti. My elders made him the king of the Yâdavas; following their examples, I gave him the kingdom and am now serving him always like his servant.

49. O S’ambhu! The householder’s life is exceedingly troublesome;  it makes one subject to one’s wife and go against his religion. There we are always dependent on others; and no word is heard or dreamt even, how to free oneself from those bondages of the world. Oh! What an irony of Fate.

50. O Destroyer of cupid! My wife Jâmbavatî, on seeing the sons of my wife Rukminî has urged me to practise this Tapasyâ so that she might get excellent sons born to her also.

51. O Lord of the Devas! O Lord of the world! I am engaged in this asceticism with the desire to get sons; O Deva! I feel shame in asking you for the sons!

52. You are the lover of your devotees; You give eternal freedom; You are the Lord of all the Devas. By worshipping and satisfying You, who is so fool as to ask for this trivial and transient thing!

53. O Omnipresent One! O S’ambhu! O Lord of the world! Knowing You as the giver of salvation, I, still deluded by Mâyâ, ask from You, being requested by my wife, this happiness that sons be born to me of my wife.

54-55. O S’amkara! This world and its concerns are the abode of all sorrows; it is the cause that brings in all sorts of pains and troubles, and it is transient and will go to destruction. I know all these; still my mind does not desist from it.

56. Vyâsa said :-- O great and powerful king! The God of Gods, Mahâ Deva, thus praised and adored by Govinda, the Destroyer of enemies, replied :-- You will get many sons.

57. You will get sixteen thousand one hundred wives and no doubt you will get ten sons of each of them. These sons will be very powerful and valorous.

58-60. The good-looking S’amkara saying these words remained silent; then S’rî Krisna bowed down at the feet of Girijâ, the wife of S’amkara. Then the Goddess Pârvatî addressed repeatedly to Vâsudeva and said :-- O mighty armed! O Krisna! O best of human beings! You will be the typical exemplary householder; (all people will try to follow you). When one hundred years will pass away, your race will be extinct, due to the curse of the Brâhmana and Gândhâri.

61. Your sons and the other Yâdavas will lose their senses on drinking liquor; they will kill each other in the battle field and thus will be extirpated.

Note: Here Visnis and Andhkas are meant.

62. Then you and your elder brother Balabhadra (Balarâma) will give up your bodies and will ascend to the Heavens; O Mighty Person! Do not grieve in matters that cannot be avoided.

63. You should know that there can be no remedy to what will inevitably come to pass; therefore no one is to grieve for them; this is all along my view.

64. O Madhusûdana! After Your death, due to the curse of Astâvakra Muni, your wives will be forcibly stolen away by indomitable robbers. There is no doubt in this.

65. Vyâsa said :-- When Devî Pârvatî thus spoke, S’ambhu, with the other gods disappeared; Krisna too, bowed down to Upamanyu and went back to the city Dvârkâ.

66-67. Therefore, O King! Though Brahmâ  and the other Devas are heard to be the lords of the world, still they are all being tossed hither an thither by the waves of the ocean of Mâyâ. They are all like wooden dolls subject to Mâyâ.

68. As their previous karmas, so their several manifestations in the field of action, by the Great Mâyâ, the incarnate of Parâ Brahmâ.

69. She has no differences nor any want of mercy; That Goddess of the universe is always leading the Jîvas towards the Eternal Freedom (freedom from Mâyâ).

70. Had She not created this world, moving and unmoving and if She had not remained there as the Controller of the Jîvas in the shape of unshakeable consciousness the Kûtasthya Chaitanya, this whole world would have become devoid of any consciousness, like an insentient substance and would have dissolved in the Tâmasî Mâyâ (sheer darkness). There is no doubt in this.

71. Therefore that Goddess of the Universe has, through Her mercy, created all these worlds and Jîvas, and resting incarnate in each Jîva, is directing each and every of them according to his karmic merits and demerits.

72. Therefore it is a matter not to be doubted that Brahmâ  and the other gods are all under this Mâyâ; the Suras and Asuras are subject to Her.

73. Therefore, O king! Know this as certain that the Great Goddess moves and enjoys freely according to Her will; She is not dependent on anybody. Therefore it is the duty of everyone to serve and worship, with whole head and heart, that Devî.

74. In these three worlds there is nothing higher or more excellent than Her. Therefore this birth cannot be crowned with success in any other way than remembering that Highest Force, the Parâ S’akti and Her place.

75-77. One should always think, without any difference, that Eternal World Mother, thus “Let me not be born in that family which has not that Supreme Goddess for its presiding Deity; I am that Goddess Bhagavatî and no other; I am Brahmâ, untouched by sorrows.” One should hear first from the mouth of one’s Spiritual Guide; next by hearing Vedanta and other religious scriptures, one should first form an idea of that Bhagavatî; and then if one daily meditates on That Goddess, the Highest Self incarnate with one minded devotion, one will get, within a short period, the Eternal Freedom; else there is not the least chance, even if one performs lots of innumerable good works of becoming free.

78. S’vetâs’vatara and other pure hearted Risis obtained this freedom from the bondages of Mâyâ by meditating, in their hearts, this Highest Self and nothing else.

79. Brahmâ, Visnu and the other Devas, Gaurî, Laksmî and other goddesses, all worship This Supreme Goddess, of Sachchidânanda Parâ Brahmânî.

80. O pure-hearted king! I answered all that you asked me, terrified with the fears of this world; what more do you want to hear?

81-82. O king! I have described this wonderful Purâna narrative, destructive of sins, productive of virtue. He who daily listens to this Bhâgavatam equal alike to Veda, becomes freed from all sorts of sins and goes to the region of the Highest Goddess and passes his time in the midst of the Highest Glory. There is no doubt in this.

83. Sûta said :-- “O Risis! This Srî Mad Bhâgavatam, called otherwise the Fifth Purânam was recited, in detail, in days of yore by Vyâsa. Whatsoever I heard from him, I have now told exactly the same to you.”

Here ends the 25th Chapter in the Fourth Skandha of Srî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the Devî’s Highest Supremacy.

Note :-- The best mantra is the whole hearted devotion to one’s Guru, and devotion and surrender of one’s Self to the Supreme Mother, doing works without attachment to the fruits thereof. This will lead to dispassion and Renunciation. To one who is faithful in this, all the other mantras will be duly revealed and all his desires will be found to be true and fulfilled.

Here ends as well as the Fourth Skandha.

The Fifth Book

Chapter 1. On The Superiority Of Rudra Over Visnu

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 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 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 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.

Chapter 2. On The Birth Of Dânava Mahisa

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.”

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.

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.

Chapter 3. On The Daitya Armies Getting Ready

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; 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 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.

Chapter 4. On The War Counsels Given By Indra

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 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 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 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.

Chapter 5. On The Defeat Of The Dânava Forces Of Mahisa

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 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.

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 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.

Chapter 6. On The Deva Dânava Fight

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.

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 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 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.

Chapter 7. On The Going Of The Devas To Kailâsa

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 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) 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 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.

Chapter 8. On The Description Of The Origin And The Form Of The Devî

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!

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 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.

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.

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.”

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.

Chapter 9. On The Worship By The Gods To The Devî

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 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 :--

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.

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 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.

Chapter 10. On The Messenger’s News To Mahisa

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 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 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 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 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.

Chapter 11. On The Appearing Of The Dânava Tâmra Before The Devî

1-3. Vyâsa said :-- The King Mahisâsura, maddened with pride, heard the messenger’s words and called the aged and experienced ministers and said thus :-- O Ministers! What am I to do now? Better judge you all well, and speak out definitely to me. Is it that this Devî has been created by the Devas like the Mâyâ of Sambarâsura and thus has appeared before us? You are all dexterous and know where to apply the four means of success, viz., conciliation, gift or bribery, sowing dissensions, and war; and therefore you would better tell me which one of the above four, I am to adopt now.

4-7. The ministers said :-- O King! One should always speak true and at the same time pleasant; the wise ones should then select only those which are beneficial and apply them. O King! As a medicine, though bitter, cures diseases, so true words, though appearing unpleasant, lead to beneficial results. Those that are simply pleasant, are generally injurious as to their effects. O Lord of the Earth! The bearers and approvers of truth both are very rare; truth speakers also are very difficult to be seen; laudatory sycophancy is found in a great measure in this world. O King! Nobody in the three worlds knows what will be good or what will lead to inauspicious results? How can we then definitely pronounce our judgment in this difficult matter?

8-9. The King said :-- Let each of you say separately, according to his own intellect, what is his opinion; I will hear them all and consider for myself. Clever persons should hear the opinions of several persons, then judge for himself what is the best and then adopt that as what is to be done.

10. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing his words, the powerful Virûpâksa came out foremost of all and began to say pleasant words to the King.

11-16. O King! Please take for certain, what has been spoken by that ordinary woman, swelled with vanity, as words simply to scare you. The efforts and courage of a woman are known to all; who will be afraid therefore, to hear abusive language from a woman, praising her ownself in matters of warfare? O King! You have conquered the three worlds by your own heroic valour; now if you acknowledge your inferiority, out of fear to a woman, you would be subject to very much disgrace in this world. Therefore, O King! I will go alone to fight with Chandikâ and I will kill Her. You can stay here now without any fear. O King! See my prowess now; I am just now going with my army and I will kill that violent Chandikâ, maddened with pride, or I will tie Her down by a coil of snakes and bring Her before you; then that Lady, seeing Herself helpless, will become quite submissive to you; there is no doubt in this.

17-30. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing these words of Virûpâksa, Durdhara said :-- O King! Virûpâksa is very intelligent; what he has said just now is all reasonable and true. O King! You are intelligent; hear my words full of truth also. As far as I think, I consider that woman with beautiful teeth as passionate. For that woman of broad hips has expressed a desire to bring you under control by making you fearful; the mistresses, proud of their beauty generally use such words when they become passionate. When they behave in this way, people call these amorous gestures. These crooked words of mistresses are the chief causes in attracting dear persons unto them. Those who are skilled in the art of love affair, some of them can know these things thoroughly well. O King! That woman has said, “I will pierce and kill you by arrows, face to face, in the battlefield.” The sense of this is different. The wise persons that are clever and experienced in the art of finding out the cause, declare that the above sentence is pregnant with deep and esoteric meaning. You can easily see that the handsome women have no other arrows with them; their side-glances are their arrows. And their words carry their hidden meanings, and, expressing their desires, are their flowers. O King! Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a even have no powers to shoot arrows at you; how can, then, that helpless woman, who appears so passionate, dart real arrows at you? O King! That lady said :-- “O Stupid! I will kill your King by my arrow-like eye-sight.” But the messenger was wanting in that power to appreciate; so he, no doubt, understood her words in their contrary sense. The saying of that lady, “I will lay your lord in the death-bed in the battle-field” is to be taken in the light of inverted sexual intercourse, where woman is above the man. Her utterance, “I will take away the vitality (life) of your lord” is also significant. The semen virile is known as the vitality (life). Therefore the above expression means that she will make you devoid of your virility. There can be no other meaning. O King! Those women that are excellent shew by too much of their covert expressions (innuendos) that they select and like very much their beloved. The experts only in these amorous affairs will be able to appreciate these things. Knowing thus, dealings ought to be made with Her so that the harmony in amorous sentiments be not broken. O King! Sâma (conciliation) and Dâna (gifts) are the two means to be adopted; there is no other way. By these two, that Lady, whether she be proud or angry, is sure to have brought under control; I will go now and bring Her before you by such sweet words. O King! What is the use of my talking too much? I will make Her submissive to you like a slave girl.

31-44. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing those words of Durdhara, the Dânava Tâmra, who was very experienced in finding out the real nature, said :-- “I am telling you what is sanctioned by virtue and is at the same time full of sweet amorous feelings, pregnant with deep meanings. Kindly hear; O Giver of honour! This intelligent woman is not at all passionate nor devoted to you; nor has that woman used any covert expressions to you. O Great Hero! This is strange indeed that a Lady, beautiful, handsome, and of strange features, at the same time alone and helpless, has come here to fight. A good-looking woman, powerful, and having eighteen hands is never heard of, nor ever seen by me in these three worlds. She is holding in each of Her hands powerful weapons. O king! All these seem to be the contrary actions of Time. O King! I saw ominous dreams during the night; and I conclude, therefore, that great dangers are over our heads. Early in the morning twilight, I saw in my dream that a woman, wearing a black raiment, was weeping in the inner courtyard; that some inauspicious events are forthcoming can be easily judged from the above. O King! The birds were screaming hoarsely in every house and various calamitous events were seen in various houses; at this time that woman, firmly resolved, was challenging you to fight; it, therefore seems to me that there is something very serious in this matter. O Lord! This woman is neither human, nor a Gandharvî, nor the wife of any Asura. Only to cause delusion to us, she, this wondrous Mâyâ has been created by the gods. O King! In no case, weakness is to be resorted; it is wise by all means to fight as best as possible; what is inevitable will come to pass; this is my opinion. No one is able to unriddle the doings of the Devas, whether they would be auspicious or inauspicious. Therefore intelligent ones should weigh pros and cons carefully and remain patient and steady. O King! Life or death is at the hands of Destiny; Nobody, therefore, can do it otherwise.”

45-51. Hearing this, Mahisâsura said :-- “O Highly fortunate Tâmra! Better, then, stand for fight, fully resolved and go to that Lady, beautiful, and conquer Her according to rules of justice and bring Her before me. In case She does not come under your control in fight, kill Her; but if She comes round, then show Her honour; do not kill Her. O All-knowing! You are a great hero and at the same thoroughly conversant with Kâma S’âstra (science of love); therefore conquer that Fair One by any means you can. O valiant Tâmra, of mighty prowess! Go then with a mighty force and ponder over again and again and find out Her intention. Is She prompted by passion or by real inimical feeling or by any other motive? Try to find out whose Mâyâ is this? Know all these beforehand; then find out the remedy; next fight with Her according to your strength and prowess. Weakness should not be shown nor merciless behaviour is to be resorted; you should behave with Her according to the bent of Her mind.”

52. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Thus hearing the King’s words, Tâmra coming as if under the sway of Death, saluted the king Mahisa and marched away with his army.

53-66. That wicked Dânava, who, on his way, began to see all the fearful inauspicious signs, indicative of Death, became surprised and was caught with fear. When he arrived at the spot, he saw the Devî standing on a lion, while She was decorated with all the weapons and instruments, and all the Devas were chanting hymns to Her. Tâmra, then bowed down before Her with humility and modesty and addressed Her with sweet words, according to the rules of the policy of conciliation. “O Devî! Mahisa, the lord of the Daityas, has become enchanted on hearing Your beauty and qualifications and has become desirous to marry You. O Beautiful One! You would better be graciously pleased with that conqueror of the Immortals, the Mahisâsura; O Thou of delicate limbs! Make him your husband and enjoy all the exquisite pleasures of the Nandana garden as best as you can. The end and aim of attaining this human form, beautiful in every respect and the abode of all bliss, is to enjoy, in every way, all the pleasures of human existence and to avoid the sources of all troubles. This is the rule.

“O Thou of beautiful thighs like those of the young of an elephant! Your soft and delicate lotus-like hands are fit to play only with nice balls of flowers; why then are You holding in Your hands all the weapons and arrows? What is the use of holding ordinary arrows, when those two eye-brows like bows, are existing with You? What need have you to take ordinary arrows when you are graced with those piercing eye sights, your arrows. The war is exceedingly painful in this world; those who know thus ought never to fight. It is only those human beings that are prompted by greed that fight with each other. What to speak of those sharpened arrows, one ought not to fight with flowers even; O Devî! You can well say who is it that feels pleasure, when one’s own body is pierced? Therefore, O Delicate One! Gladly you can worship Mahisa, the lord of the world and the object of worship of the Devas and Dânavas. Then he will satisfy all your desires. What more to say, you will no doubt be his queen-consort. O Devî! If one tries one’s best, it is doubtful whether one would be crowned with success; therefore keep my this request; you will surely get all the best pleasures. O Beautiful! You are well acquainted with all the politics; therefore you better enjoy thoroughly the pleasures of the kingdom for full many years. And if you marry Mahisa you will have beautiful sons and those sons again will be kings; and enjoying the pleasures of your full grown womanhood, you will no doubt, be happy in your old age.”

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Fifth Book on the appearing of the Dânava Tâmra before the Devî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Holding Of Counsel By Mahisâsura

1. Vyâsa said :-- The World-Mother, hearing Tâmra’s words, spoke laughing a little and with a deep voice like that of a rumbling thunder cloud.

2-13. The Devî spoke :-- “O Tâmra! Go and say to your Lord Mahisa who, it seems, is stupid, whose end is nigh, who has become very passionate, and who is void of knowledge what is proper and what is improper. I am not like your grown up mother, the she-buffalo, having horns, eating grass, with a long tail and a big-belly. I do not like to have Visnu, the god S’ankara, Brahmâ, Kuvera, Varuna, or Fire. How then can I select a beast? If I do so, I will be an object of much censure amongst the several worlds. I am not desirous of any more husband; my Husband is existing; though He is the Lord of all, Witness of All, yet He is not the Actor; He is without any desires and He is calm and tranquil. He, the S’iva, is devoid of any Prakritic qualities, without any attachment, the Great Infinite, without anyone to rely on, without any refuge, omniscient, omnipresent, the Great Witness, the Full, and the seat of the Full, the Auspicious. He is the abode of all, capable to do all, the peaceful, capable to create everything and He is seeing everywhere. How can I then leave Him and try to serve the dull, stupid Mahisa? Let him come and fight with this understanding that he will be defeated and be made the conveyance of Yama, the God of Death or the carrier of water of the human beings. And if that impious heretic desire to live, let him fly at once to Pâtâla with all his demon comrades; else I will slay him in battle. See! The combination of similar substances leads to happiness; and if out of ignorance, the connection takes place between things entirely different in their natures, it becomes at once the source of all pains and troubles. You are a thorough illiterate when you ask me to worship your lord; do you not see me endowed with exquisite beauty? and what is your Mahisa? A buffalo with horns; how can then creation become possible between us? Better fly away or fight if you like; I will kill you and your friends, and if you leave the region of Heavens and the share of Yajñâ, then you will become happy.”

14-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus saying, the Devî howled and roared so loudly that it appeared strange and it caused a great terror to the Dânavas who took it as the great dissolution of the universe at the end of a Kalpa. The earth and the mountains trembled; the wives of the Dânavas, had miscarriages at that terrific noise. Tâmra hearing that sound was terrified; his mind became unsteady and he at once fled to Mahisa. O King! The Dânavas present in the city became deaf; thy fled and became very anxious and were absorbed in the thought whence and how that sound came. The lion, too, enraged and, raising up its manes, roared so loud that the Daityas became very much terrified. Mahisa, too, became confounded to see Tâmra returning; he then held a council with his ministers what ought to be done next? Mahisâsura said :-- “O best of the Dânavas! Shall we now take our shelter within the forts? Or shall we go out and fight? Or will it be favourable to us if we fly away? You all are intelligent and versed in all the S’âstras and unconquerable by your foes; therefore ought you all to consult over the the matter in utmost privacy for our success at the present moment. The root of Kingdom lies in the council in the secret place (cabinet) and Statesmanship; if this counsel be kept well preserved in secrecy, then that Kingdom is also kept entire; therefore it is highly incumbent that the plan be kept in strictest confidence amongst the good and virtuous ministers. If the plan be out, then destruction comes both to the King and his Kingdom; hence the plan must be kept secret by those wanting glory, lest it be taken advantage of and rendered ineffective by other persons. O Ministers! Now declare, taking due consideration of time and place, after duly discussing and ascertaining what is the best course to adopt, what would be beneficial and full of reason and intelligence. First find out the cause why this powerful woman, created by the Devas has come here alone and helpless? That woman is challenging us to fight. What more wonder can there be than this? Who can say in the three worlds what the result will be, whether it will be good or otherwise? Victory comes not to many persons nor defeat comes to a single individual; therefore victory or defeat lies at the hands of the Luck and Destiny. Those who plead for place, policy, statesmanship, they say what is Fate? Is there anyone who has seen Fate? (Adrista) No one has seen His appearance. It may be argued that there may exist such a thing as Fate; to which it might be replied, what proofs are there for such an existence? Thus the weak persons alone hold it out as their only hope; nowhere are seen energetic persons who can fulfil their ends by their own efforts, by those who enrol themselves under Fate. Therefore “effort,” “energy” are the words of the heroes and “Fate” is the word of the cowards. You should all consider today these subjects fully and intelligently and then decide what are we to do?”

31-39. Vyâsa said :-- Thus hearing the King, the famous Vidâlâksa with folded hands spoke thus :-- O King! First it should be definitely ascertained whose wife is she, this woman possessing large eyes? Whence and for what purpose has she come here; next what ought to be done should be decided. It seems to me that the Devas, knowing that your death will ensue from the hands of a woman, have created very carefully this lotus-eyed woman out of their own essences. And they are lying in wait, unknown to anybody in the celestial space with a desire to see the battle but really to fight with you. In due time, they will undoubtedly help this woman. When the war will ensue, Visnu and the other Devas will put this woman in front and slay us all. Whereas this Devî will slay you. This is their earnest desire. O King! I have come to know this beforehand; but what will be the actual result I cannot say. I cannot say also whether it is advisable for You to fight now; therefore it would be better if you consider yourself well on this matter of the gods and do accordingly. Our duty, the duty of your servants lies in this :-- That we should sacrifice at any moment our lives for the preservation of your prestige and to enjoy with you whenever you are enjoying. But, O King! It is extremely advisable to ponder over this very carefully when we see that this woman, though alone, is challenging us to fight who are armed with powerful soldiers.

40-44. Durmukha said :-- O King! I know for certain, that we will not get victory in this battle; still we ought not to show our backs; for that would lead us to sheer disgrace. Even in our encounter with Indra and other Devas, we did nothing hateful and blameable; then how can any of us fly away when we come face to face with a helpless woman? Therefore fight we must; that is certain; let whatever happen. What is inevitable, must come to pass. Thus considered, what need we care for the result? If we die in the battle, we will get name and fame; if we be victorious, we will get happiness. Thus thinking both the cases, we must fight today. Death is inevitable when our longevity expires; our prestige will suffer if we fly away; therefore we ought not to spend uselessly our time in thus expressing our vain regret for life or for death.

45-51. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the Durmukha’s words, Vâskala, the eloquent speaker, thus spoke to the king, with clasped hands and his head bowed down. O King! You need not think thus in agony with this unpleasant affair; alone I will kill that Chandikâ, of unsteady eyes. O Best of kings! To be always prompt and energetic indicates that one is steady in one’s heroic valour; to consider one’s enemy as dreadful is contrary to above; so we ought now to take recourse to heroic valour. O King! Therefore I will discard fear altogether and fight out valiantly; I will no doubt, send Chandikâ in the battlefield to the abode of Death. I fear not Yama, nor Indra, nor Kuvera, nor Vayu nor Agni, nor Visnu, nor S’ankara, nor Moon nor Sun; I do not fear any of them; what fear can I, then, entertain of that vain arrogant woman, who has got none to support her. I will kill Her with these arrows, sharpened on stones. You can see today the prowess of my arms and enjoy peace; you will not have to go to battle anymore to fight with Her.

52-65. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Vâskala having said thus to the lord Mahisa in a haughty spirit, Durdhara bowed down and said thus :-- O Lord of the earth! Let the purpose be whatsoever, with which the beautiful Devî with eighteen hands, the creation of the gods, may come hither, I will vanquish Her. O King! I think, it is simply to terrify you, as the Suras have thus created this Mâyâ woman; therefore, do you forsake your delusion by knowing this merely as a scare. O King! Such is the statesmanship; now hear about the workings of the ministers. Ministers in this world are of three kinds :-- (1) Sâttvik; (2) Râjasik and (3) Tâmasik. Those ministers in whom the Sattva quality is predominant, they perform their Master’s duties according to their own strength. The Sâttvik Mantris (ministers) are well versed in their Mantra S’âstras (the policies and statesmanship), virtuous and one-pointed in their thoughts, they never do any injury to their king and they fulfil their own purposes. The Râjasik Mantris are of different sorts; they are always after their own interests; at times, whenever they like, they do the State duties. The Tâmasik Mantris always look of their own interests out of their greedy nature; they serve their ends even by ruining the regal interests. It is the Tâmasik Mantris that are influenced by the bribes from the enemies, become separated at their hearts from their own masters and give out the secrets to the enemies, while staying in their homes. They always advise alienation policy like the sword ensheathed in a scabbard; and when the time of war comes, they always frighten their masters. Therefore, O King! Never put your trust on ministers; if you do so, they will always hinder you in your actions and counsels; what harm cannot be done by those ministers that are treacherous, greedy, deceitful and void of any intelligence and always addicted to vicious acts, when they are trusted! Therefore, O King! I will go myself to the battle and serve your purpose; you need not be at all anxious in this matter. I will soon bring before you that vicious woman; I will do your actions by my own strength and powers. Let you be calm; and look at my strength, fortitude and valour.

Here ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the holding of counsel by Mahisâsura in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 Slokas by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Killing Of Vâskala And Durmukha

1-6. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The two powerful Dânavas Vâskala and Durmukha, well-versed in arts of warfare, went out for battle, maddened with their prowess. The two Dânavas, elated with vanity, went to the battle-field and began to address the Devî in voice deep as the rumbling of a cloud. O Beautiful Devî! You better choose and worship the Lord of the Daityas, that high-souled Mahisâsura who has conquered all the Devas. He will come before you in privacy in a human shape, with all auspicious signs and adorned with beautiful ornaments. O Sweet smiling One! better place your highest feelings of love on the lovely Mahisa as your husband, and you will get all the pleasures of the three worlds as you desire. O Sweet speaking! In short, if you select him as your husband, you will be the mistress of those incomparable worldly happinesses that women always aspire.

7-13. Hearing thus the words of Vâskala and Durmukha, the Devî said :-- “O Stupid! Do you think Me as deluded by passion? Do I not possess strength and intelligence that I will worship that hypocrite Mahisa as husband? See! The ladies of a high family select those persons that are equal in rank as far as family and distinctions, qualifications and propriety of conduct are concerned or those who are superior in beauty, cleverness, intelligence and other qualifications. Then how can a Devî, becoming passionate, worship the worst of all beasts, the beast Mahisa? O two Asuras! Go you immediately to your King Mahisa resembling in his body like an elephant and having a pair of horns and tell him, Go either to Pâtâla (the nether regions) or come and fight with Me; the Lord of the Devas will no doubt be happy if the war ensues.  O Stupid! My advent here cannot go in vain; I will easily slay you and then depart; knowing this do as you like. O Beast! Without conquering Me, you would get no shelter either in the heavens, or in this earth, or in the caves of mountains?”

14-25. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing thus, the two powerful Daityas, with eyes reddened with anger, firmly resolved to fight and took bows and arrows in their hands. O Descent of Kuru! The Devî then made a terrible noise and fearlessly stood there. The two Dânavas then began to shoot dreadful arrows at Her. For the victory of the Devas, the Devî also begin to hurl arrows after arrows on the two Dânavas, emitting a sweet sound. Vâskala first came forward with no delay; and Durmukha stood aloof there simply as a witness. The terrible fight then ensued between the Devî and Vâskala; arrows, swords and weapons were seen shining in the air and raised terror to those that were dull in intellect. Then the Mother of the Universe seeing Vâskala growing turbulent shot at him five arrows sharpened on stone. The Dânava, too, cut off the arrows of the Devî and hurled seven arrows at Her, seated on a lion. The Devî cut off the Dânava’s arrows and shot at that hypocrite, sharpened arrows and began to laugh frequently. She again cut off his arrows with Ardhachandra arrow; Vâskala then pursued the Devî with a club in his hands to slay Her. Seeing the arrogant Dânava with club in his hands, Chandikâ Devî struck him down on the ground with Her own club. The very powerful Vâskala fell down on the ground but rose up within a very short time and hurled again on the Devî his club. Seeing him again attacking Her, the Devî got angry and pierced him with Her trident; Vâskala fell down, thus pierced, and died.

26-38. Vâskala falling thus dead on the field, the soldiers of the wicked demon routed; whereas the Devas became glad and repeatedly shouted aloud, “Victory to the Devî.” On this Daitya being slain, Durmukha came forward on the battle-field, filled with anger and accompanied by a stronger army. Mounted on a chariot, shielded all over his body with a coat of armour, Durmukha came before the Devî, shouting all along, “Wait, wait, O You weak woman!” and with bows and arrows in his hands. The Devî blew Her conchshell and made sounds by stretching Her bow in order to make the Dânava infuriated with anger. The Asura then began to shoot sharp arrows after arrows like poisonous snakes. The Mahâmâyâ, by Her own arrows, cut off those of Her enemy and began to shout loudly. The fight then raged furiously, when both parties began to use arrows, S’aktis, clubs, Musalas, and Tomaras. Blood began to flow in the battle-field in torrents like rivers and on the banks of that river of blood, were seen the severed heads of the dead bodies which looked like so many hollow shells of  gourds, as if kept there by the attendant of the god of Death, for their swimming purposes. The battle-field, then, became very dreadful and impassable; at some places dead bodies are lying; wolves are feeding on their flesh; at other places are seen jackals, dogs, herons, crows, vultures, eagles, and other voracious birds and beasts and iron-tipped arrows, eating the dead bodies of those wicked demons. Air began to emit an offensive smell, because of its contact with these corpses; and there were heard the heart-rending sounds of various carnivorous birds and animals. Then the wicked Durmukha began, as if inspired by the god of Death, to address the Devî angrily and arrogantly with his right hand raised up before Her. “Your brain has become perverted; fly away just now or I will send you unto death, or you better accept the proud Mahisa, the lord of the Daityas, as your husband.”

39-50. The Devî said :-- “O Villain! I see your death at hand this very day; therefore you are deluded and therefore raving like a mad man. I will kill you today like Vâskala. O Stupid! Better fly away; or if you prefer death, then wait; I will slay you first; then the dull Mahisa, the son of a she-buffalo.” Hearing thus, Durmukha, as if prompted by Death, hurled dreadful arrows on the Devî. Instantly the Devî, too, cut off all his arrows and, infuriated with anger, pierced the Dânava by sharpened arrows as Indra had pierced Vritrâsura before. The fight then turned out very dreadful. O King! Weak persons become very afraid and strong ones become very excited. Instantly the Devî cut off the Asura’s bow and broke his chariot by five arrows. On seeing his chariot broken, the powerful Durmukha attacked on foot the Devî with his club, very hard to overcome. He knocked at the head of the lion with that club with great force; but the powerful lion did not become unsteady, though so very hard hit. Seeing the demon thus standing before Her, the goddess Ambikâ cut down his head by her sharpened axe. On his head being thus severed, Durmukha fell down dead on the field. The band of Immortals, then, loudly shouted, “Victory to the Devî.” When Durmukha was slain, the Immortals from the celestial space began to chant praises and hymns to the Devî, showered down flowers on Her head and gave shouts of “Victory to the Devî.” The Risis, Siddhas, Gandarbhas, Vidyâdharas, and Kinnaras all became very glad to see the Demon dead on the field.

Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of Vâskala and Durmukha in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Killing Of Tâmra And Chiksura

1-4. Vyâsâ said :-- Hearing the death news of Durmukha, Mahisâsura became blind with anger and began to utter repeatedly to the Dânavas, “O! What is this? What is this? Alas! That delicate woman has slain in battle the two heroes Durmukha and Vâskala! Lo! Now look at the wonderful workings of the Daiva (Fate). It is the acts virtuous, or otherwise that make men dependent; and the powerful Time awards pleasure or pain accordingly. The two powerful Demons are killed; what are we to do hereafter? You all judge and say what is reasonable at this critical juncture.”

5-23. Vyâsa said :-- When the powerful Mahisa said thus, his general Chiksura, the great warrior spoke as follows :-- “O King! Why are you so anxious as to take away the life of a delicate woman? I will kill Her;” thus saying he departed for battle, mounted on his chariot and accompanied by his own army. The powerful Tâmra accompanied him as his attendant; the sky and all the quarters became filled with the clamour of their vast army. The auspicious Devî Bhagavatî saw them before Her and She made an extraordinary wonderful sound with Her conchshell, with Her bow string and with Her great bell. The Asuras heard that and trembled and fled, speaking amongst each other, “What is this?” The Chiksurâksa seeing them turning their backs, told them very angrily, “O Dânavas! What fear has now overcome you? I will slay today this vain woman in the battle with arrows; so you should quit your fear and remain steady in battle.” Thus saying, the Dânava Chieftain Chiksura came fearlessly before the Devî with bows and arrows in his hands and, accompanied by his army, angrily spoke thus :-- “O Thou of large and broad eyes! Why are you roaring to terrify the weak persons! O the Soft limbed One! I have heard all about your deeds but I am not a bit afraid of You. O One of beautiful eyes! It is a matter of disgrace, rather sin, to kill a woman; knowing this my heart wants to pass over this act (does not like to do it, if my purpose be served without it).

O Beautiful One! The women fight with their side glances and amorous gestures; but I have never heard a woman like you coming to fight with arms and weapons. Even the delicate flowers, Mâlati, etc., cause pain on the bodies of beautiful women like you; so it is not advisable to fight against you with flowers even; what to speak of sharpened arrows! Fie on those who spend their lives according to the Ksatriya Dharma! Oh! Who can praise that Dharma which allows this dear body of ours to be pierced by sharpened arrows? This dear body is nourished by sweet food, by being smeared with oil, and by smelling the scents of beautiful flowers. Ought, then, one to destroy it by arrows from an enemy? Men get their bodies pierced by arrows and then become rich. Now is it possible for the riches to give pleasure afterwards when they caused such pains in the beginning? Even if this be so, fie on those riches! O Beautiful One! It seems you are not intelligent; why have you desired to fight instead of to enjoy sexual pleasures. O beautiful! What merits have you found in the battle that you have chosen this. Where you see the action of the axes and spears, striking each other with clubs, and hurling of sharpened arrows and weapons and where, when death comes, jackals come and feed upon the dead bodies, what merits have you been able to trace out in these things! It is only those cunning poets that praise these; they say that those who die in battle go to heaven! O Beautiful! Those sayings are, no doubt, mere flatteries. Therefore, O Excellent One! Go away anywhere else you like; or accept this king Mahisa, the tormentor of the Devas, as your husband.”

24-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Dânava Chiksura speaking thus, the Divine Mother addressed him thus :-- O Stupid! Why are you speaking false words, having no significance, like a literary man giving out mere words only? You do not know anything of politics, ethics, metaphysics; you serve the illiterate and stupid; therefore, you are also a first class illiterate; you do not know what are the royal duties; then what are you speaking before me? I will kill that Mahisâsura in battle make the soil muddy with his blood, thus establish firmly My pillar of Fame and then go happily to My abode. Surely will I slay that vain vicious demon, the tormentor of the Devas. Better fight steadily. O Stupid! Better go to Pâtâla with all the Dânavas, if you and Mahisa desire to live any longer. And if you like to go unto death, then be ready and fight without any delay; I will slay you all; this is My firm resolve.

31-39. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the Devî’s words, the Dânava, proud of his own strength, began to hurl instantly on Her showers of arrows, as if another shower of rain burst upon Her. The Devî cut off those arrows into pieces by Her sharp arrows and shot at him dreadful arrows like poisonous snakes. Then their fight became astounding to the public; the Divine Mother, then, struck him with Her club so much that he fell down from his chariot. That vicious demon, thus struck by the club, remained senseless near to his chariot for two muhûrtas, fixed like a mountain. Tâmra, the tormentor of the foes, seeing him thus, could not remain steady and came forward to fight with Chandikâ. The Devî seeing him laughed and said, “O Dânava! Come, Come, I will instantly send you unto death. Or, what is the use of your coming? You are so weak that you can be called lifeless. What is that stupid Mahisa doing now? Is he thinking out the way to save his life? You all are too weak; no use in killing you, all my labours will go in vain, if that wicked Mahisa, the enemy of the gods, be not slain. Therefore, do you go to your home and send here your king Mahisa. I am staying here in that form in which that wicked one likes very much to see Me.”

40-56. Hearing Her words, Tâmra became very angry and drawing his bow up to his ear, began to hurl arrows after arrows on Chandikâ Devî. The Bhagavatî, too, had her eyes reddened with anger and drawing Her bow began to shoot arrows quickly at the demon, wishing to kill, as early as possible, the enemy of the gods. In the meanwhile, Chiksura regained his senses, and taking up again his bow in an instant, came before the Devî. Then Chiksura and Tâmra, the two valiant warriors, began to fight dreadfully with the Devî. Mahâ Mâyâ then, became very angry and began to hurl arrows after arrows so incessantly that all the armours of all the Dânavas became pierced and were cut down to pieces. The Asuras, thus pierced by arrows, became infuriated with anger and hurled angrily a network of arrows upon the Devî. The Dânavas, thus struck with sharp arrows and filled with cuts and wounds looked like the red Kims’uka flowers in the spring. The fight then grew so severe between Tâmra and Bhagavatî that the seers, the Devas, were all struck with wonder. Tâmra struck on the head of the lion with his dreadful hard Musala (club), made of iron, and laughed and shouted aloud. Seeing him thus vociferating, the Devî became angry and cut off his head by her sharp axes in no time. The head being thus severed from the body, Tâmra, though headless, for a moment turned round his Musala and then fell down on the ground. The powerful Chiksura, seeing Tâmra thus falling down, instantly took up his axe and ran after Chandikâ. Seeing Chiksura with axe in his hand, the Bhagavatî quickly shot at him five arrows. With one arrow, his axe was cut down, with the second arrow his hands were cut and with the remaining ones his head was severed from his body. Thus when the two cruel warriors were slain, their soldiers soon fled away in terror in all directions. The Devas were exceedingly glad at their downfall and showered gladly flowers from the sky and uttered shouts of Victory to the Devî. The Risis, Gandarbhas, the Vetâlas, the Siddhas and Châranas were all very glad and began to utter repeated, “O Goddess! Victory, victory be Yours.”

Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the killing of Tâmra and Chiksura in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 15. On The Slaying Of Vidâlâksa And Asilomâ

1-3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the two Demons slain by the Devî, Mahisâsura became very much amazed and sent the powerful Asilomâ and Vidâlâksa and the other Dânavas to the battle to kill the Devî. The Dânavas, all very skilled in the art of warfare, marched on for battle, fully equipped with weapons and clad in armour, and we attended by a vast army. They arrived there and saw the Divine Mother with eighteen hands taking Her stand on a lion, with axes and shield in Her hands.

4-5. The calm-tempered Asilomâ appeared before the Devî ready to kill the Daityas, saluted Her and smilingly said :-- O Devî! Why have You come here? and what for You are killing these faultless Daityas? O Beautiful One! Tell all these to me truly. We will make treaty with you.

6-17. Take gold, jewels, pearls and any other excellent things the you like and retire from the field as early as passible. Why do you like this warfare tending to increase misery; the wise persons say that it leads to the destruction of all happiness. Your body is very delicate; it cannot bear the stroke of flowers even; then why are you suffering the stroke of weapons on your bodies; I am very much puzzled to think these things. See! The cleverness is judged when peace is the result thereof; for it leads always to happiness. Then why are you liking to fight which will lead only to pain and suffering. Happiness is only to be had and pain is to be avoided; this is the rule. O Devî! That happiness is again of two kinds :-- Permanent and transitory. The pleasure that comes out of the knowledge of Atmajñân is permanent and that which is derived from enjoyments is transitory; these who know truly the Veda S’âstra, they avoid this transitory pleasure of enjoyments. If you follow the opinion of the Mimâmsakas and do not believe in the existence of future births, even then you ought not to fight; when you have got this youthful age, you ought to enjoy the excellent pleasures in this world. O One of lean stomach! And if you doubt in the existence of the other worlds after death, even then you ought to desert from fighting and perform, in this life, such actions as will lead you to the attainment of Heavens. This fully developed womanhood is transient; knowing this do virtuous actions always; the wise ones always avoid tormenting others; thus one ought to perform things not contradictory to Dharma, Artha and Kama. Therefore, O Auspicious One! Do You also things virtuous always. O Mother! Why are you killing these Daityas without any cause? There is, again, the feeling of mercy; the lives again of all are dependent on Truth. Therefore the sages always preserve piety, mercy and Truth. O Beautiful One! Then what is the use in Your killing these Demons? Please say explicitly on this point.

18-27. The Devî said :-- O Powerful one! Hear why I have come here and why I am killing the Daityas? I answer your question on the above points. O Demon! I, though merely a spectator, always go about all over the worlds, seeing the justices and injustices done by the several souls there. Never I possess any desire of enjoyment, nor have I greed for anything, nor have I enmity with any creature. Only to preserve the virtue and religion and to keep up the righteous, I roam over the worlds. This is My vow and I always adhere to it. To preserve the good and to put down the evil doers is My duty. Many Avataras are to take their incarnations, cycles after cycles, to preserve the Vedas; therefore I incarnate Myself in yugas after yugas. Now the wicked Mahisa is ready to destroy the Devas; seeing this, I have come here to kill him. I tell you verily that I will slay that vicious powerful Mahisâsura, the enemy of the gods. Knowing this, you remain or depart, as you desire. Or you can go to Mahisa, that impious son of a she-buffalo, and say what is the use in sending other Asuras to the battle; he can come himself and fight. If your king likes to make a treaty, then let him avoid his enmity with the Devas and go down to the Pâtâla. Let him return to the Devas whatever he has taken perforce from them and go to the Pâtâla, where Prahlâda is residing.

28-29. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the Devî’s words, Asilomâ asked gladly, before the Devî, the powerful Asura Vidâlâksa :-- Well, Vidâlâksa! You have heard just now all what the Devî has said; now are we to observe treaty or declare war. What are we to do under the circumstances?

30-34. Vidâlâksa said :-- Our king knows full well that his death will certainly take place in the battle; knowing this, he is not willing to make peace, out of his egoism and vanity. He is seeing before him daily the deaths of the Dânavas and still he has sent us to battle. Who can overcome the destiny? The duty of a servant is a very difficult one; he will have to be always submissive and obedient, without caring the least for his own self-respect; just as the dancing dolls are completely under the hands of the actors and their movements vary according to the pulling of the wires employed in making them dance. How can we then go to our master and say such hard words as he would give away to the Devas all the gems and jewels and go down to Pâtâla with other Dânavas. One considers it one’s duty to speak pleasant words though untrue; true words cannot be beneficial; true and at the same time beneficial words are very rare in this world; at such critical cases, one ought to remain silent. Especially heroes ought never to excite their kings by useless words; this is the essence of politics. We should never go and advise our king with eagerness what is best or to ask advice from him about such things; the king would then certainly be very angry. Therefore we ought to do our duties to the king, even if our lives be at stake. To consider our lives as nothing and to fight for our king are what is best for us.

35-57. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus thinking, the two heroes then wore their coats of armour, mounted on their chariots and, with bows and arrows in their hands, became ready for fight. First Vidâlâksa shot seven arrows; the great warrior Asilomâ stood aloof at a distance as a mere witness. The Divine Mother cut off those arrows to pieces with Her arrows, no sooner they reached Her, and then shot at Vidâlâksa three arrows sharpened on stone.

The demon Vidâlâksa fell senselss by these arrows on the battle-field and after a short while died, as if ordained by Fate. Seeing Vidâlâksa thus dead, Asilomâ took up his bows and arrows and came up, for fight. The hero, then, raising his left hand, said briefly, thus :-- “O Devî! I know that death is inevitable to the Dânavas; still I am ready to fight; for I am dependent and Mahisa is of very dull intellect; he cannot make any distinction between what is really good and what is merely pleasant. I will never speak before him unpleasant words, though beneficial. Rather I will sacrifice my life in the battle-field than advise him anything, be that auspicious or inauspicious. The Dânavas are being killed no sooner they are shot at by your arrows; seeing this I consider Fate superior to all. Prowess does not lead to any success; Fie on one’s prowess! Thus saying, the Demon began to shower arrows after arrows on the Devî; the Devî, too, cut them to pieces with Her own arrows before they came to Her; and, becoming angry, soon pierced him with arrows. The Devas witnessed this sight from above. The body of the Demon was then covered with cuts and wounds; blood began to flow from them; the Demon consequently began to shine like the jovial Kimsuka tree. Asilomâ then lifted aloft his heavy iron club and ran after Chandikâ and hurt the lion on his head with anger. Not caring at all this severe stroke of the club inflicted by that powerful Demon, the lion tore asunder his arms with his claws. Then that dreadful Demon leapt with club in his hand and got up the shoulder of the lion and hit the Devî very hard. O King!

The Devî, then, baffled the hit and cut off the Demon’s head with Her sharp axe. The head being thus severed, the Demon was thrown on the ground with great force; seeing this, a general cry of distress arose among his soldiers. The Devas shouted aloud “Victory to the Devî” and chanted hymns to Her. The drums of the Devas resounded and the Gandarbhas began to dance in great joy. Seeing the two Demons thus lying dead on the battlefield, the lion killed some of the remaining forces by his sheer strength and ate up others, and made the battlefield void of any persons. Some fled away in great distress to Mahisâsura. The fugitives began to cry aloud, “Save us, save us” and said, “O King! Asilomâ and Vidâlâksa are both slain; and those soldiers that remained were eaten up by the lion.” Thus they told and plunged the King in an ocean of dire distress. Hearing their words, Mahisa became absent minded through pain and grief and began to think over the matter with great anxiety.

Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the slaying of Vidâlâksa and Asilomâ in S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On The Conversation Between The Devî And Mahisâsura

1-7. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing those words, the King Mahisa in anger addressed the charioteer Darûka :-- “Bring over my chariot quickly. That chariot is drawn by one thousand excellent horses, is bedecked with banners, flags, and ensigns, is furnished with various arms and weapons, and is endowed with good wheels of a white colour, and beautiful poles in which the yoke is fixed.” The charioteer brought the chariot instantly and duly informed the king, “O King! I have got the chariot ready at your door, your beautiful chariot, bedecked with beautiful carpets and various arms and weapons.” Hearing that the chariot had been brought, Mahisa thought, the Devî might not care him, seeing him ugly faced with a pair of horns and therefore decided to assume a human shape and then go to the battle. The beauty and cleverness are the delights of women; therefore I will go before Her, with a beautiful body and with all the cleverness and dexterities. For I will never be delighted with anything but that woman looking at me with fondness and becoming passionately attached to me.

8-33. Thus thinking, the powerful King of the Demons quitted the buffalo appearance and assumed a beautiful human shape. He put on beautiful ornaments, armplates, etc., and wore divine cloths and had garlands on his neck and thus shone like a second Kandarpa, the god of Love. Taking, then, all the arrows and weapons, he mounted on the chariot, and attended by his army, went to the Devî, elated with power and vanity. The Devî blew Her conchshell when She saw Mahisâsura, the lord of the Dânavas, come before Her with a handsome appearance, tending to captivate the minds of mistresses and surrounded by many powerful and valiant warriors. The King of the Demons heard the blow of the conchshell, wondrous to all, came up before the Devî and smilingly spoke to Her thus :-- O Devî! Whatever person there exists in this world, this wheel of Samsâra (the eternal round of births and deaths), be he or she a man or a woman, everyone always hankers after pleasure or happiness. And that pleasure is derived in this world by the combination of persons with each other; never is it seen where this combination is absent. Again this combination is of various kinds; I will mention them; Hear. Union is of various kinds according as it arises out of affection or out of natural consequences. Of these, I will now speak of unions coming out of affection, as far as my understanding goes. The union that comes between father, mother and their sons arises out of affection; it is therefore good. The union between brother and brother is middling, for mutual interests of give and take are there between the two. In fact, that union is considered as excellent which leads to happiness of the best sort and that union which leads to lesser happiness is known as mediocre. The union amongst the sailors, coming from distant lands, is known as natural. They come on various errands concerning their varied interests. This combination, because it offers the least amount of happiness, is considered as worst. The best union leads in this world to best happiness. O Beloved! The constant union of men and women of the same age is considered as par excellence; for it gives happiness of the very best sort. Both the parties, men and women, are elevated when they want to excel each other in their family connections, qualities, beauty; cleverness, dress, humility and propriety of conduct. Therefore, O Dear! If you establish with me that conjugal relation, you will get, no doubt, all the excellent happiness. Specially I will assume different forms at my mere will. All the Divine jewels and precious things that I have acquired after defeating Indra and the other Devas in battle, and others are lying in my palace; you can enjoy all of them as my queen consort or you can make a charity of them as you like. O Beautiful One! I am your servant; consequently, at your word, I will no doubt quit my enmity with the Devas. In short, I will do anything that leads to your pleasure and happiness. O Sweet speaking One! O Large-eyed One! My heart is enchanted very much with your beauty; I will do, therefore, as you order me. O One having a broad hip! I am very much distressed; I now take refuge unto You. O One having beautiful thighs! I am very much struck with the arrows of Cupid, and I am very much discomforted; therefore, save me. To protect one who has come under one’s refuge is the best of all virtues. O One of a somewhat whitish body! O One having a slender waist! I will spend the remaining portion of my life in serving you as your obedient servant. Never will I act contrary to your orders to the risk even of my life. Take this as literally true and do accordingly. I now throw aside all my weapons before Your feet; O Large eyed! I am very much distressed by the arrows of Cupid; dost Thou therefore show Thy mercy on me. O Beautiful One! Never I showed my weakness to Brahmâ and the other Devas; but today I acknowledge that before You. I have defeated Brahmâ and others; they are fully acquainted with my prowess in the battlefield. But, O Honoured Woman! Though I am so powerful, I now acknowledge myself as your servant. Better look at me and grant your mercy.

34. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Mahisa, the lord of the Daityas, having said so, that beautiful Bhagavatî laughed loudly and spoke smiling :--

35-45. The Devî said :-- I do not desire any other body than the Supreme One! O Demon! I am His Will-power; I therefore create all these worlds. I am His S’ivâ (auspicious) Prakriti (Nature); That Universal Soul is seeing Me. It is owing to His proximity that I am appearing as the Eternal Consciousness, manifesting Itself as this Cosmos. As irons move owing to the proximity of magnets, I, too, though inert, owing to His proximity, work consciously. I do not desire to enjoy the ordinary pleasures; you are very dull and stupid; there is no doubt in this, when you desire sexual union. For women are considered as chains to hold men in bondage. Men bound up by iron chains can obtain freedom at any time, but when they are fastened by women, they can never obtain freedom. O Stupid! You now want to serve the source of urine, etc. Take refuge under Peace; peace will lead you to happiness. Great pain arises from connection with women; you know this; then why are you deluded? Better avoid your enmity with the Devas and roam over the world anywhere you like. Or, if you desire to live, go to Pâtâla; or fight with Me. Know this for certain that I am stronger than you. O Dânava! The Devas collected have sent Me here; I tell you this very truly; I am satisfied with you by your words of friendship; therefore dost thou fly away while you are living. See! When words are uttered seven times amongst each other, friendship is established between saints. That has been done so amongst us; so there is friendship now between you and me; I won’t take away your life. O hero! If you desire to die, fight gladly; O powerful one! I will, no doubt, kill you.

46-65. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the Bhagavatî’s words, the Dânava, deluded by passion, began to speak in beautiful sweet words :-- O Beautiful One! Your body and the several parts thereof are very delicate and beautiful. A mere sight of such a lady makes one enchanted. Therefore, O Beautiful faced one! I fear very much to strike against your body. O Lotus-eyed One! I have subjugated Hari, Hara, the Lokapâlas and the several other Devatâs; I therefore ask whether it is proper for me to fight with you! O Fair one! If you like, you marry and worship me, or you can return to your desired place whence you have come. You have declared friendship with me; I therefore do not like to strike any weapons on you. I have now spoken for your good and welfare. You can gladly go away. O beautiful one! You are a fair woman with beautiful eyes; what fame shall I earn by killing you! O One of slender waist! Murdering a woman, a child, and a Brâhmin certainly makes the murderer liable to suffer the consequences thereof. I will certainly carry you today to my place without killing you. If I use force to you, I will not get happiness; for, in such cases, the application of force leads to no happiness. O One having good hairs! I salute before you and speak that a man cannot be happy without the lotus face of a woman; similarly a woman cannot be happy without a man’s lotus face. Where comes off the good combination between these two, then the highest pitch of happiness is conceived and pain arises on the disjunction thereof. True that you are well decked with ornaments all over your body but you seem wanting in cleverness; for you are not worshipping me. Who has advised you to renounce enjoyments? O Sweet speaking One! If this be true; then surely he is your enemy; he has deceived you. O Dear! Leave your this stubbornness and marry me; both of us shall then be happy. Visnu shines well with Kamalâ, Brahmâ looks splendid with Savitrî, Rudra is well associated with Parvatî and Indra with S’achî, so I will shine well with you; there is no doubt in this. No woman can ever be happy without any good husband. And why are you not then, acknowledging me your husband even when you have got him. O Beloved! Where is now that Cupid of dull intellect? Why is he not troubling you with his maddening delicate five arrows? O Fair one! I think that Madana (the god of Love) out of his pity to you, seeing that you are very weak is not striking his arrows on you as he has done to me. O One looking askance! Or it may be that I have got some enmity with that Cupid; else why is he not shooting arrows at you? Or my enemies the Devas have advised the God of Love not to dart his arrows on you. O One of slender body! As Mandodarî had to marry afterwards, when she became passionate, a hypocrite, and so she had to repent thinking that she had not married before a beautiful auspicious king, so I think, O One, having eyes like the young of a deer! You, too, will have to repent like her if you decline to marry me now.

Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the conversation between the Devî and Mahisâsura in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 17. On Mandodarî’s Accounts

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus, the Devî asked the Dânava, “Who is that Mandodarî? Who is that king who was not first taken by her? And who is that king whom she married afterwards? And how did she repent afterwards? Describe all these in detail to me.”

3-26. Thus asked by the Devî, Mahisa began to say :-- “O Devî! There is a place, named Simhala, noted in this earth and decorated with various trees and prosperous with wealth and grains. A virtuous king, named Chandrasena, used to reign there; he was calm, peaceful, truthful, heroic, charitable, steady, forbearing, well versed in polities, ethics and morals vast as a wide ocean, learned in S’âstras, knowing all forms of religions and much skilled in archery. He was mindful in governing his subjects and he used to punish according to the laws of Justice. The king had a beautiful well-qualified wife, very handsome and broad-hipped. She was very much devoted to her husband and always engaged in religious acts and of good conduct. This wife, endowed with all auspicious signs, gave birth to a beautiful daughter in her first delivery. The King Chandrasena, the father, was very pleased to have this beautiful daughter and gladly called her by the name of Mandodarî. This daughter began to grow daily like the phases of the Moon. When she grew ten years old, she became very handsome. The King now became anxious to have a suitable bridegroom and used to think of it everyday. The Brâhmins then told the king that there was a prince named Kambugrîva, the intelligent son of the powerful king Sudhanvâ of Madra; this prince was endowed, with all kingly qualifications and versed in all knowledge and was therefore a fit match for your daughter. The king then asked his dear qualified wife that he would like to marry his daughter to Kambugrîva. The queen, hearing this, asked her daughter Mandodarî that her father was desiring to marry her to Kambugrîva, the son of the king of Madra. Hearing her mother’s words, Mandodarî spoke thus :-- “O Mother! I have got no desire to marry; I will not accept any husband; I will take the vow of leading a chaste virgin life and thus pass the rest of my life. O Mother! There is nothing more miserable in this ocean of world than dependence; I therefore prefer to lead incessantly a life of severe asceticism. The Pundits versed in the S’âstras say that taking up the vow of separateness and independence leads to salvation; I will thus be liberated; I have no need for a husband. At the time of marriage ceremony, one has to say before the consecrated Fire that one will remain always a dependent to one’s husband in every way; besides in a father-in-law’s house, one has to pass one’s time as a slave, as it were, to one’s mother-in-law and to husband’s (younger) brothers; again one will have to think oneself as happy when one’s husband is happy and as unhappy when one’s husband is unhappy; this is the worst of all miseries. Again if the husband marries again another woman, then this misery of having a co-wife is extreme. O Mother! Jealousy arises then towards even one’s own husband and therefore suffering is endless. Therefore what happiness can there be in this dream-like worlds; especially with women who are made dependent by Nature? O Mother! I heard that in days of yore the religious son of Uttânapâda, Uttama was younger than Dhruva; and yet he became King. And the King Uttânapâda banished his dear wife, solely devoted to her husband, without any cause, to the forest. Therefore women have to suffer such diverse pains while their husbands are living; and if by chance the husband dies, then women get interminable pains; the widowhood becomes the only source of grief and sorrow. Again if the husband be in foreign lands, women become subjected to the fire of Cupid, and then the house becomes an object of more agony. Thus whether the husband lives or dies, there is no happiness at any time. Thus, according to my opinion, I ought never to accept any husband.”

27-31. The Mother then told her husband all about what the daughter had said. Mandodarî would accept the vow of a life-long virgin; she had no desire to marry. She had brought forward many faults in a worldly life and thus would perform vows and Japams and pass her time alone.

She did not yearn after a husband. The King, hearing thus, came to know, that his daughter had no intention to marry and so began to pass his time without giving away his daughter in marriage. Thus the daughter lived in family protected by her father and mother; by that time signs of puberty were seen in the body of the daughter. Her comrades requested her repeatedly to select a bridegroom; but she spoke many words of wisdom and did not show any inclination for marriage.

32-44. Once, on an occasion, that beautiful faced woman went out with her female attendants on a pleasure trip to a garden, beautified with various trees. There the slender bodied one began to play and enjoy with her comrades in picking up various flowers and beautiful flowering creepers. Just at that time, the famous King of Kosala, the powerful Vîrasena came there accidentally. Alone he was on his chariot, attended by a few soldiers; his large army and retinue were coming slowly behind him at some distance. Her comrades, then, looking at that King from a distance, told Mandodarî, “O friend! See! Somebody, strong and beautiful, like a second God of Love is coming towards us, mounted on a chariot. I think some King he will be and we are very lucky that he has come here.” While thus talking, the King arrived there. The King, looking on that blue coloured woman with beautiful eyes became surprised and getting down from the chariot, asked the maidservant, “O Gentle one! Who is this woman with large eyes! Who is her father? Tell me this without any delay.” The attendant smiling, told him thus :-- O Beautiful-eyed One! Pray speak first who are you? What for have you come here? What do you want to do here? The female attendant thus asking him, the King replied :-- There is a very beautiful country named Kosala, in this earth; I am the King of that place; my name is Vîrasena. My fourfold army is coming at my will at my back. I have lost my way and have come here. Know me as the King of the country Kosala.

45-49. The female attendant said :-- “O King! This lotus-eyed one is the daughter of the King Chandrasena; her name is Mandodarî. She has come here in this garden for sporting.” Hearing thus the attendant’s words, the King replied :-- “O Sairandhri! You appear to be smart; therefore make the King’s daughter understand my following words clearly! O Sweet-eyed one! I am the King descended from the Kakutstha line; O fair woman! Marry me according to the rules of Gandarbha marriage.”

Note :-- Gandharva marriage: one of the eight forms of marriage; this form of marriage proceeds entirely from love or the mutual inclination of a youth and maiden without ceremonies and without consulting relatives.

“O broad hipped One! I have no other wife; you are a beautiful woman, of a good family and of a marriageable age; I therefore like to marry you? Or your father may marry you to me according to rules and ceremonies; if so, I will no doubt be your husband as you desire.”

50-55. Mahisa said :-- O Devî! The female attendant, expert in the science of love, hearing the King’s words, spoke to the daughter smilingly and in sweet words. “O Mandodarî! A very good-looking beautiful King of the solar dynasty has come here; he is very pretty, powerful, and of your age; O Beautiful! The King is entirely devoted to you and loves you very much. O Large-eyed One! Your time of marriage has come and yet you have not married; rather you are against it. Your father is, therefore, always very sorry and remorseful. See! How many a time your father sighed and told us, ‘O attendants! Always serve my daughter and awaken her to this.’ But you are engaged in penances and austerities, in Hatha Dharma; therefore we cannot request you on this matter. The Munis have said :-- To serve the husband is the highest virtue of a woman. O Large-eyed! Women get Heaven if they serve their husband; therefore you better marry according to rules and ceremonies.”

56. Mandodarî said :-- I am not going to marry; better that I should perform an extraordinary tapasyâ (asceticism); O Girls! You go and ask the King desist in his request; why is he shamelessly looking at me.

57-59. The female attendant then said, “O Devî! Passion is very hard to conquer; time is also surmountable with difficulty; so know my advice as the medicinal diet and keep my request. And if you do not keep it, surely danger will befall you.” Hearing this, Mandodarî replied, “O attendant! I know whatever is ordained by Fate will inevitably come to pass; for the present, I am not going to marry at all.”

60-61. Mahisa said :-- The female attendant, knowing this her obstinate view, told the King :-- “O King! This woman likes not a good husband; you would better go wherever you like.” The King heard and did not want to marry that woman any more; and, being sad and broken-hearted, went back with his army to Kosala.

Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on Mandodarî’s accounts in the Mahâpurânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 18. On The Killing Of The Dânava Mahisâsura

1-4. Mahisa said :-- O Devî! Mandodarî had a sister Indumatî; unmarried and endowed with all auspicious signs. She grew up in time to a marriageable age. The Svayambara assembly (a marriage in which the girl chooses her husband from among a number of visitors assembled together) was then called for the marriage of the maiden Indumatî. The Kings from various parts came there and the maiden Indumatî selected from among them a beautiful strong king, of noble lineage and endowed with all auspicious signs. At that time, by the undescribeable power of Destiny, Mandodarî seeing the deceitful, cunning, and hypocrite King of Madra, became passionate and desired to marry him.

5-17. That slender woman Mandodarî then addressed her father thus :-- “O Father! Seeing the King of Madra in this assembly, I am desirous to marry him; so perform also my marriage ceremony now.” When the king heard this request from her own daughter privately, he became very glad and began with promptness, to make preparations for the marriage. He invited the King of Madra to his own palace and gave him in marriage his own daughter Mandodarî, according to due rites and ceremonies with an abundance of dowry and wealth. The King of Madra Chârudesna became very glad to marry the beautiful Mandodarî and went back with her to his own abode. The King Chârudesna then enjoyed her for good many days; when one day a maid-servant found the king in sexual intercourse with another maid-servant in a lonely place and divulged this to Mandodarî; she finding the king in that state became angry and rebuked him with a slight smiling countenance. Again, on another occasion, Mandodarî saw the king willingly engaged in amusements and sports with an ordinary beautiful woman and became very sorry and thought thus :-- When I saw him in the Svayamvara, I could not recognise him as a cheat; I am deceived by this King; Oh! What a wrong act have I done through delusion. This King is a rogue and he is totally shameless and has no dislike for contemptible things; it is now too late to repent for him. How can I have any affection for this husband; fie on my living now! I forsake from this very day all the pleasures with my husband and all other worldly pleasures, and I take recourse now to contentment alone. I have committed a very wrong act that I ought never to have done; therefore it causes intense pain to me now. If I now commit suicide, then that sin will never forsake me, and I must have to enjoy the consequences thereof. And if I return to my father’s house, I will not be happy there, for my companions seeing me thus will, no doubt, ridicule me. Therefore, it is now advisable for me to avoid all the sensuous pleasures, become dispassionate and remain here patiently and abide by the strange combinations of Time.

18-20. Mahisa said :-- Thus that women lamented and remorsed and began to remain there, very much sorrowful and distressed, renouncing thoroughly all the pleasures of the world. O Auspicious One! I am the king, yet you are showing your dislike for me; know, eventually, you, too, will be passionate and entertain afterwards an illiterate coward. Keep my word even now, it will be of great benefit and it will serve as a medicinal diet to you as to all women. In case you do not follow my advice, you will have to meet with extreme pain and misery, certainly.

21-25. Hearing the words of Mahisâsura, the Devî said :-- O you fool! Go to the lower worlds or stand up for fight; I will send you and the other Dânavas unto death and then go away at my pleasure. O Demon! I take up form to preserve the righteous, whenever they suffer pain in this earth. O Lord of the Daityas! Formless, birthless I am; yet, at times, I take up form and be born to save the Devas. Know this firmly. O wicked Mahisa! The Devas prayed to Me for your destruction. Therefore I will not rest until I kill you. I speak all these truly to you. Therefore fight or go to Pâtâla, the abode of the Asuras; I speak truly to you again that I will destroy you wholly.

26-51. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the Devî’s words, the Dânava took up his bow and came to the battle, fully stretching the string of his bow up to his ears, and began to shoot sharpened arrows with great force at the Devî. The Devî, too, hurled with anger, arrows tipped with iron and cut off the Asura’s arrows to pieces. The fight between them rose to such a terrible pitch that it caused terror to both the Devas and the Dânavas, trying hard to be victorious over each other. In the midst of the terrible encounter, the demon Durdhara came up to fight and made the Devî angry and shot arrows, all terribly poisonous and sharpened on stones, at Her. The Bhagavatî, then, got very angry and hit him hard with sharp arrows. Durdhara, struck thus, fell down dead on the battlefield like a mountain top. The demon Trinetra, well skilled in the uses of arrows and weapons, seeing him killed, came up to fight and shot at the Great Goddess with seven arrows. Before these arrows came on Her, She cut them to pieces with Her sharp arrows and by Her trident killed Trinetra. Trinetra thus killed, Andhaka quickly came in the battlefield and struck violently on the head of the lion with his iron club. The lion killed that powerful Andhaka by striking the demon with his nails and, out of anger, began to eat his flesh. Mahisâsura became greatly astonished at the death of these Asuras and began to shoot pointed arrows, sharpened on stone, at Her. The Devî Ambikâ cut his arrows into two before they came on Her and struck the Demon on his breast by Her club. That vile Mahisâsura, the tormentor of the Devas, fell in a swoon under the stoke of the club but patiently bore it and, at the next moment, came again and struck the lion on his head by his club. The lion, too, by his nails rent that great Asura to pieces. Mahisâsura, then, quitting the man-form took up the lion-form and by his claws cut the Devî’s lion and wounded him very much by his nails. On Mahisâsura taking up this lion-form, the Devî became very angry and began to shoot arrows after arrows at him all very terrible, sharp and like poisonous snakes. Then the Asura quitting the lion form assumed the appearance of a male elephant, oozing out juice from his temples and began to hurl the mountain tops by his trunk. Seeing the mountain peaks thus hurled on Her, She cut them off to pieces by Her sharp arrows and began to laugh. The Devî’s lion on the other hand, sprang on the head of the elephant Mahisa and by his claws rent him to pieces. To kill the Devî’s lion, then, Mahisa quitted his elephant-form and assumed the appearance of a Sarabha, more powerful and terrible than lion. The Devî seeing that Sarabha became angry and struck on the head of that Sarabha with Her axe; the Sarabha, too, attacked the Devî. Their fight became horrible; Mahisâsura, then, assumed the appearance of a buffalo and struck the Bhagavatî by his horns. That horrible Asura, of hideous appearance, swinging his tail, began to attack the thin bodied Devî. That violent Asura caught hold of the mountain peaks by his tail and, whirling them round and round, hurled them on the Devî. That vicious soul, then, maddened with his strength, laughed incessantly and addressed thus :-- “O Devî! Be steady in the battlefield. I will send you today unto death, and your youth and beauty too. You are an illiterate fellow as you have come maddened to fight with me. Really you are deluded in your pretensions that you are very strong; this idea of yours is absolutely false. I will kill you first and the hypocrite Devas after who want to vanquish me by standing up a woman in their front.”

52-53. The Devî said :-- “O Villain! Do not boast; keep yourself firm in the fight. Today I will kill you and make the Devas discard their fear. O Wretch! You are a Sinner; you torment the Devas and terrify the Munis. Let me have my drink of sweet decoction of grapes. And then I will slay you undoubtedly.”

54-70. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Saying thus, the Devî, wrathful and eager to kill Mahisâsura, took up the golden cup filled with wine and drank again and again. When the Devî finished Her drink of the sweet grape juice, She pursued him with trident in Her hands, to the great joy of gladdening all the Devas. The Devas began to rain showers of flowers on the Devî and praised Her and shouted victories to Her with Dundubhi (a Divine drum) Jai, Jîva; victory, live. The Risis, Siddhas, Gandarbhas, Pis’âchas, Uragas, and Kinnaras witnessed the battle from the celestial space and became very much delighted. On the other hand, Mahisâsura, the hypocrite Pundit, began to assume various magic forms and struck the Devî repeatedly. The Devî Chandikâ, then, infuriated and with eyes reddened, pierced violently the breast of that vicious Mahisa with Her sharp trident. The Demon, then, struck by this trident, fell senseless on the ground; but got up in the next moment and kicked the Devî forcibly. That Great Asura, thus kicking the Devî, laughed repeatedly and bellowed so loudly that the Devas were all terrified with that noise. Then the Devî held aloft the brilliant discus of good axle and of thousand spokes and loudly spoke to the Asura in front :-- O Stupid! Look! This Chakra will sever your throat today; wait a moment, I am sending you instantly unto death. Saying this, the Divine Mother hurled the Chakra. Instantly that weapon severed the Dânava’s head from his body. The hot streams of blood gushed out from his neck as the violent streams of water get out from mountains, coloured red with red sandstones. The headless body of that Asura moved, to and fro, for a moment and then dropped on the ground. The loud acclamations of “Victory” were sounded to the great joy of the Devas. The very powerful lion began to devour the soldiers that were flying away, as if he was very hungry. O King! The wicked Mahisâsura thus slain, the Demons that remained alive were terrified and fled away, very much frightened, to Pâtâla. The Devas, Risis, human beings and the other saints on this earth were all extremely glad at the death of this wicked Demon. The Bhagavatî Chandikâ quitted the battlefield and waited in a holy place. Then the Devas came there with a desire to praise and chant hymns to the Devî, the Bestower of their happiness.

Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of the Dânava Mahisâsura in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 19. On The Prayer And Hymns To The Devî

1. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Then Indra and all the Devas became very glad to see the great Mahisâsura slain; they all began to praise and chant hymns to the World-Mother.

2-33. The Devas said :-- It is by thy Power that Brahmâ becomes able to create this world, Visnu, to preserve, and Mahes’vara to destroy during the Pralaya time (the Great Dissolution) of this universe. But when they are bereft of Thy Power, they are quite unable to do such. Therefore, O Devî! Thou art undoubtedly the Prime Cause in the preservation and destruction of this whole Universe. O Devî; Thou art, in this world, Fame, idea and ideal, memory; Thou art the goal, mercy, compassion, faith, constancy, earth; Thou art Kamalâ, the Mantra Ajapâ, respiration and perspiration, nourishment, Jayâ, Vijayâ (the destroyer of obstacles; a name of Durgâ); Thou art contentment, correct notion, measure, intellect, Ramâ (Laksmî), (wealth), knowledge, forgiveness, beauty, intelligence; Thou art the S’akti (power) of Rudra, Thou art Girijâ and the Energy of God Umâ and all other forces in this universe; this is known to everyone in the three worlds. Without any or all of these forces, no one is able to perform any action. Thou art the Supreme Cause of all this world. Therefore everything rests on Thee. If Thou wert not the upholding Power, how could Kurma (in the Tortoise Incarnation) and Ananta have upheld this world? O Mother! Wert Thou not this Earth, could all these world-load of things have rested on the sky? O Mother! Those human beings that worship Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, Moon, Fire, Yama, the God of Death, Vâyu, Ganes’a, and the other Devas, they are certainly deluded by Thy Mâyâ. Could all those Devas do any action or any favour without Thy Energy? O Mother! Those that offer in any Sacrifice, a profuse quantity of ghee (clarified butter) as oblations to the several Devas, they are certainly conceived to be of very narrow views; Wert Thou not the Svâhâ, could it have been possible for those Devas to get the offered oblations at that very instant? Certainly, therefore, they are fools and ignorant persons. There is no doubt in this. O Mother! Thou givest the several objects of nourishment and enjoyment to all the beings in this universe by Thy parts (the several transformations of these material things); it is Thou that nourishest the Devas, Thy devotees, as well as the others (the Dânavas, according to their Karma). O Mother! As the owner of any garden plants, with pleasure, the beautiful trees in his garden for his delight and, finding some of them not to bear any fruits or leaves or of a bitter taste, does not cut them off by their roots, so, O Devî! Thou hast brought into existence these Daityas out of their inferior Karmas and Thou art supporting them. Knowing that the Daityas like to enjoy the celestial nymphs, Thou hast, out of compassion, killed them by their arrows in the battlefield, to afford them facilities in their re-birth in Heavens and thus to enjoy the Deva women which they could not have got in any other possible way. Therefore this Thy dealings with them are to fulfil their intentions and not to kill them. O Mother! It is a great wonder that to kill these Asuras Thou hadst to assume this Divine Body; Thou couldst have done so by Thy mere will. It seems that this act of Thine is but a mere Pastime. There is no other cause for this. O Devî! Those human beings that do not worship Thee in this dreadful age of Kâlî, they are certainly deceived by the cunning Purâna makers who have deluded them to worship Hari and Hara, who are Thy creations. Oh! What an amount of evil has befallen to those poor souls! O Devî! Those men know that the Devas, tormented by the Asuras, are Thy devotees, and yet they worship them; certainly such fellows, holding the lighted torches in their hands, plunge deep into the darkest waterless wells. O Mother! Thou art the Vidyâ (Blissful Intelligence) and Thou grantest pleasure and liberation; Thou art the Avidyâ, (Great Delusion) and thus Thou causest bondage and pain in this world. O Mother! Thou only destroyest the affliction of the human beings; those that want liberation worship Thee, and those that are ignorant and attached to worldly enjoyments do not worship Thee. What more can be said than this, that Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahesa and the other Devas incessantly worship Thy adorable lotus-feet; but those men that are of dull intellect and are mistaken, they do not meditate Thy feet and, therefore, they come again and again into this ocean of world. O Chandikâ! It is through the grace of the dust of Thy lotus-feet that Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’vara are creating, preserving and destroying this universe. Therefore, O Goddess! Those men that do not serve Thee, are certainly very unfortunate. O Mother of the Universe! Thou art the Goddess of speech of the Suras and the Asuras; thus if Thou didst not dwell in their mouths, they would not have been able to utter a single word; therefore, O Goddess! How can men speak, when they are thus deprived of Thee! O Mother! It is due to the curse of Bhrigu Muni that Hari takes several incarnations as Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Man-Lion, and deceitful Dwarf Incarnations; all these show clearly the dependence of Hari,

*N.B. - The Devas and the Daityas are the opposite polarities of the same creation.

How, then, can they avoid the fear of death when they serve these dependent incarnations! O Mother! It is well known that the male generative organ of S’ambhu, the Mahâdeva fell unto the ground, owing to the curse of Bhrigu Muni, when he went to the hermitage of the Risis. How can, then, happiness come in this world or in the next, to those who worship such a S’ambhu who wears human skulls on His body! O Devî! Those that worship Ganes’a, born of the above qualified Mahâ Deva are awfully mistaken; they are especially quite ignorant of Thee, the Goddess of the Universe, that can be easily worshipped and that can give the fourfold aims of human existence. O Devî! It is out of Thy kindness that Thou hast slain with Thy arrows the enemies and thus hast translated them into Heavens; otherwise they would have certainly gone down to Hell owing to their own Karmic effects. Brahmâ, Hari, Hara and the other Devas cannot realise Thy greatness; how can, then, ordinary men know Thee, when they are deluded by immeasureably strong Sâttva, Râjas and Tâmas qualities. O Mother! Those who do not worship Thy lotus-feet as very hard to be brought within this mind and therefore worship this visible Sun and Fire, they cannot grasp the Essence of the Vedas, demonstrated by hundreds of passages of S’ruti; they are deluded and simply suffer pains. O Mother! I think that the influences of Thy Sâttva, Râjas and Tâmas qualities are widely known in this world; those qualities as taught in various deluding schools of Tantras by various persons, stimulate people to the worship of Visnu, Mahes’vara, Sun and Ganes’a and thus detract them from worshipping Thee. O Mother! Those that detract thus the Brâhmanas from worshiping Thy lotus-feet and advise them through the Âgamas, to worship Hari, Hara and others, Thou dost not get angry with them, rather Thou dost shew Thy kindness to them and make them widely celebrated as possessing the occult powers of enchanting, bringing others under their control, or attracting towards them various other persons. In the Satya Yuga, Sâttva Guna was more powerful and therefore the untrue S’âstras could not rear their heads; but in this Kâlî Age, owing to the Sâttva Guna being not so powerful, the lower qualities have got preponderance; so these so-called clever Pundits instead of worshipping Thee, worship Hari, Hara and the other Devas, the products of their fancy and hide Thee. O Mother! Thou art the Brahmâ Vidyâ, the knowledge of the Supreme Consciousness, Thou givest liberation to Thy devotees when they succeed in their Yogas. Therefore the pure Sâttvik Muni meditate on Thee and Thee alone. Those that get themselves diluted in Thee, they are very blessed; what more to speak of them in their praise, they will no longer have to suffer any pains in their mother’s wombs! O Mother! Thou art inherent as Chit S’akti (the power of consciousness) in the Supreme Spirit and therefore He is become manifest specially as this Great Cosmos and becomes known as the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer of this world, fashioned out of five elements. O Devî! What male can by his own power work out this Jagat Prapancha, enjoy it and move in this, without the aid of Thy power. O Bhagavatî! This universe has been created by Thee; Thou art, therefore, its Mother. The twenty-four Essences or Tattvas are inert; how can they without Thy Chits’akti, create this universe? O Devî! Never can these senses and organs, endowed with Guna and Karma, do any work or bestow any fruits without Thy energy.

O Mother! Wert thou not Svâhâ, the instrumental cause in the sacrifice, how could the Devas have got their shares of the ghee offered in the Yajñâs by the Munis! Therefore, O Devî! Thou art, no doubt, preserving this universe. O Bhagavatî! It is Thou that hast created this world in the beginning; it is Thou that art preserving the gods Hari, Hara and others; it is Thou that art destroying this universe. Therefore, O Brâhman! The Devas cannot know Thy deeds; how can, then, the men who are of dull intellect, know Thee. O Mother! Thou hast now saved the Devas by killing this terrible Mahisâsura. O Mother! All the Vedas have not been able to know exactly all Thy movements; how can we, of dull intellect, praise Thee! O Mother! Thou has served our cause by killing our enemy, the wicked Dânava, the inconceivable source of pain to all the world by this act of Thine, Thy fame has spread far and wide in this universe; therefore, O Thou of renowned prowess! Thou art the Mother of this world; save us, and maintain us by Thy mercy.

34-35. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devas having praised the Devî thus, the Devî addressed them gently :-- “O Devas! Say if you have any other difficult thing for Me to do; remember Me whenever any difficult crisis occurs to you; I will destroy that evil.”

36-42. The Devas said :-- “O Devî! All our purposes have been served when Thou hast killed lately our enemy Mahisâsura. Now dost Thou do for us so that we can always recollect Thy lotus feet, and our Bhakti be firm and steadfast towards Thee. It is only the Mother the bears the thousand offences of the son; we, therefore, cannot say why men, knowing this, do not worship the Mother of the Universe. There are two birds always dwelling in this body, Jivâtmâ (human soul) and the Paramâtmâ (the Supreme Soul). They are so very intimate friends toward each other that they never separate. But there is no other third friend that can bear the faults of these two. Therefore the embodied soul that forsakes Thee, his friend, can never attain any welfare; what more to say on this! That vicious soul is very unlucky amidst the Devas and men, no doubt. He who on attaining this excellent human body, attained with much difficulty, does not remember Thee frequently by words and deeds, is certainly the vilest of men. O Devî! Whether in times of distress or happiness, Thou art our Saviour; therefore dost Thou protect us with Thy best weapons. O Devî! There is no other means of our security than the Grace of the dust of Thy Feet.”

43. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devas having prayed to the Devî thus, the Devî vanished then and there. The Devas, seeing the disappearance of the Devî, were sufficiently struck with surprise.

Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the prayer and hymns to the Devî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 20. On The Peace Of The World

1-11. Janamejaya said :-- O best of Risis! I have now seen the wonderful excellent deeds of the Devî for the enhancement of peace in this world. Though I have heard from thy lotus face these nectar-like words, still I am not satisfied. O best of Munis! What did the chief Devas do when the Goddess disappeared, kindly say to me. O Bhagavân! I think those Jîvas cannot fully comprehend these excellent sacred deeds of the Devî, that are less fortunate and have done not many meritorious deeds in this world. O Muni! What to speak of the less fortunate souls, even the Mahâtmas who are well versed in hearing such things, can hardly be satiated on hearing the Devî’s deeds. O! Fie to those, that do not hear of these things, the essence of essences, on hearing which men become Immortals. The Mother’s Lîlâ is to preserve the Devas as well as the great Munis and to serve as a boat for the human beings to cross this ocean of world. How can, then, the grateful souls forsake Her? The Pundits versed in the Vedas declare, that the Devî’s life is able to fulfil all the desires. Therefore the liberated souls that want liberation, the worldly souls, the diseased all ought to drink incessantly the nectar-like nectar of Devî’s doings. Especially the kings that are engaged in Dharma, in earning wealth and in enjoyments, ought to hear Her life. O Muni! When the liberated souls drink the nectar-like doings of the Devî, what doubt can there be with the ordinary human beings, to listen with rapt devotion those wondrous things! O Best of Munis! It is those that worshipped the Goddess Bhavânî in their previous births with beautiful Kunda flowers, Champaka flowers and Bel leaves, they have, it is inferred, in their present births become possessed of rich enjoyments. And those devoid of any devotion, that obtained this human body in the land of Bhârata and did not worship the Mother Goddess, they are, in the present births, without grains and riches, diseased, and void of any issues. Wander they always as servants, carrying out orders, and bearing on the burden loads; day and night, they seek for their own selfish ends, yet they cannot get their belly full meals. The blind, deaf and dumb; lame and lepers suffer pain and misery in this earth; seeing them, it should be inferred that they never worshipped the Goddess Bhavânî. And those that are wealthy, prosperous, attended by numerous attendants and are always enjoying, like kings, it is to be inferred that they certainly worshipped the lotus feet of the Mother Goddess in their past lives.

12-15. Therefore O Son of Satyavatî! As you are kind-hearted, kindly narrate before me the excellent deeds of the Devî. O best of Munis! Where did the Goddess, Mahâ Laksmî, created out of the energies of all the gods, depart after She had slain the Mahisâsura and had been worshipped and praised by the Devas? O highly Fortunate one! You told me that She vanished from the sight of the Devas; now I like to know where is She staying now, whether in the Heavens or in the Land of Mortals? Did She melt away then and there or did She descend to Vaikuntha or did She go to the mountain Sumeru? O Muni! Narrate all these duly before me.

16-50. Vyâsa said :-- O King! I told you before about the beautiful Mani Dvîpa; that island is the place of sport to the Devî and very dear to Her. In that place Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahâdeva were transformed into females; they afterwards became males and were engaged in their respective duties. That place is grand and splendid and is in the centre of the ocean of Nectar; the Devî Ambikâ assumes various forms there as She likes; and She sports there. To that Mani Dvîpa the auspicious Devî departed after She had been praised by the Gods, to that place where sports always the eternal Bhagavatî Bhuvanes’varî, the incarnate of Para Brahmâ. When the Highest Goddess vanished, the Devas installed, on the throne of Mahisâsura, the powerful King S’atrughna, endowed with all auspicious qualities, the Lord of Ajodhyâ and descended from the Solar line. After making him thus the King, Indra and the other Devas went to their respective abodes on their own conveyances. O King! The Devas having gone to their places, the subjects were governed on this earth according to Dharma; and they passed their times in ease and comfort. It used to rain, then, timely and the earth was covered with plenty of grains and wealth; the trees were all filled with fruits and leaves and gave enjoyment to people. The cows with their udders full like earthen pots gave such a profuse quantity of milk that men began to milk them whenever they liked. The rivers’ waters were all clear and cooling; and they flowed full in regular channels; the birds grouped round them. The Brâhmanas, versed in the Vedas, were engaged in performing sacrifices; the Ksattriyas observed their virtues and were engaged in doing charities and in their education; the kings held their rods of justice and were engaged in governing their subjects; though the several kings were busy with various arms and weapons, they all became fond of peace. Thus no wars nor quarrels were seen amongst the subjects; and the mines yielded plenty of wealth to the people.  O best of Kings! There were the Brâhmans, Ksattriyas, Vais’yas and S’ûdras who became the devotees of the Goddess. The Brâhmanas and Ksattriyas used, then, to perform so many sacrifices that, at every nook and corner in this globe, the sacrificial altars and the sacrificial posts became visible. The female sex became gentle and of good behaviour, truthful and chaste towards their husbands respectively. Atheism and unrighteous acts vanished entirely from the face of the earth; the people left all dry discussions; they argued only about the S’âstras that did not go in contra-distinction to the Vedas. Nobody liked to quarrel with each other; poverty, and evil inclinations were checked; the people everywhere lived in happiness. Untimely death was not there; so the people had no bereavements with their friends; no distress was seen. Famine, want of rains, and deadly plagues were out of sight. The people had no illness even; and jealousies and quarrels vanished. O King! all men and women began to sport merrily everywhere like the Gods in Heaven. Theft, atheism, deceit, vanity, hypocrisy, lustfulness, stupidity, and the anti-Vedic feelings were not to be seen. O Lord of the Earth! All the men were then extremely devoted to their Dharma and engaged in serving the Brâhmanas. The Brâhmins were also, according to the three-fold plan of the creation, Sâttvik, Râjasik and Tâmasik. The Sâttvik Brâhmins were all versed in the Vedas, clever and truthful; they were kind, they controlled their passions and they did not accept any presents from others. Filled with their ideas of Dharma, they used to perform their Purodâsa and other such sacrifices with Sâttvik rice, etc., but never, never did they immolate any animals.* O King! The Sâttvik Brâhmanas gave charities, studied the Vedas and offered sacrifices for themselves. These were their three ordained actions. They were busy in these. O King! The Râjasik Brâhmanas were versed in the Vedas and acted as priests to the Ksattriyas

*N.B. - Where the victim is fastened during the time of immolation. and ate flesh as sanctioned by recognised rules. They were busy with their six duties. They offered sacrifices on their own behalf, assisted others in sacrifices, took gifts, made charities, studied and taught others the Vedas. The Tâmasik Brâhmanas were angry, attached to worldly objects, and jealous. They studied very little of the Vedas and spent most of their time in serving the kings. O King! Mahisâsura was killed, all the Brâhmanas were glad and began to practise Dharma according to the Vedas, observed vows and made charities. The Ksattriyas began to govern the subjects, the Vaisya carried on their trading business and the other tribes went on with their agriculture, preservation of the cows, and lending money on interest. Thus all men became vary glad on the death of Mahisa. Devoid of cares and anxieties, the subjects got much wealth! The cows were endowed with suspicious signs and gave plenty of milk and the rivers flowed full of waters. The trees looked splendid with abundance of fruits; men were without diseases: in short, people had no mental agony and too much or too little of rains were not there; S’alavas, mice, birds, and seditions we not extant. O King! The beings died not prematurely; rather enjoyed incessantly, their full health and possessed lots of riches; especially beings, engaged in the Vedic Dharma, served the lotus feet of Chandikâ and thus spent their lives.

Here ends the Twentieth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the peace of the world in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 21. On The Conquest Of The Heavens By S’umbha And Nis’umbha

1-6. Vyâsa said :-- O King! I am describing to you that excellent pure life and doings of the Devî that destroy all the sins of all the beings and make them happy. In days of yore, there were two very powerful demons S’umbha and Nis’umbha; they were two brothers, strong heroes and invulnerable by the male persons. Those two wicked Asuras were surrounded with numerable Dânavas; they tormented always the Devas. Then the Goddess Ambikâ, for the good of the Devas, killed S’umbha and Nis’umbha with all their attendants in a very dreadful battle. In the battlefield the Devî killed their main assistants Chanda Munda and the exceedingly terrible Rakta Vîja and Dhumralochana. When the Devî destroyed those Dânavas, the Devas became fearless; the Devas then went to the beautiful Sumeru mountain and praised Her and chanted hymns to Her.

7-8. Hearing about the names of S’umbha and Nis’umbha, Janamejaya asked :-- O best of Munis! Who were those two Asuras? How came they to be most powerful? Who put them here? Why were they vulnerable to women only? Under whose tapasyâ and under whose boon did they become so strong? And why did that great Devî kill them? Describe all these to me in detail.

9-20. Vyâsa said :-- O King, I am describing to you that beautiful anecdote where the Devî’s holy deeds are involved. Hear. This incident full of all that is good, destroys the hearer’s all sins and grants them all their desired ends. In days of yore, S’umbha and Nis’umbha, the two fair and good looking brothers came out of Pâtâla to this earth. These two Asuras, when they grew to their manhood, performed severe asceticism in Puskara, the holy place of pilgrimage, the most purifying place in this world and they refused to eat rice and water. They became so very skilled in their Yoga practices that they passed away in their one posture and seat one Ajuta (10,000) years. Thus they performed very difficult Tapasyâ. Then the God Brahmâ, the Grandsire of all, became pleased with their asceticism and appeared before them, riding on His vehicle, the Swan. The Creator, seeing them thus deeply merged in meditation, asked them to get up from that state and told them thus :-- “I have become pleased with your asceticism. I fulfil the desires of all the Lokas; I have now come to you, pleased to see you so very strong in your ascetic practices; better ask your desired boons from me; I will grant them to you.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the Grandsire’s wards, S’umbha and Nis’umbha got up from their meditation; concentrating their attention towards Him, circumambulated Him and bowed down to Him with their hearts full of reverence. The two Asuras were very weak, lean and thin by their hard tapasyâ and they looked very humble. They fell down before Him like a piece of wood and began to speak in a sweet voice, choked by intense feelings. O Brâhman! O Deva of the Devas! O Thou, the Ocean of Mercy! O Destroyer of fear of the devotees! O Lord! If Thou art pleased then dost Thou grant us immortality. There is nothing in this world more fearful than death; we two have taken refuge unto Thee, being afraid of this death. O Thou, Ocean of mercy! O Creator of the world! O Lord of the Devas! O Universal Soul! Protect us from this fear due to the terrible Death.

21-23. Brahmâ said :-- Is this the boon that you ask? This is in every way, against the Law of Nature; for no one, in these three Lokas, can grant this boon to anybody. When one becomes born, one must die; and when one dies, one must be born again. This Law is ordained in this world by the Supreme Creator of this Universe, from time immemorial. Therefore all the beings must die; there is no doubt in this. Better ask any other boon that you desire; I will grant that to you.

24-27. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of Brahmâ, the two Dânavas pondered over the matter and bowed down to the Prajâpati, the Lord of the Creation and said :-- O Merciful One! Grant us then so that we shall be invulnerable to any of the male of the Immortal Devas down to human beings and birds and deers; this is the boon that we ask. Where exists the woman so powerful as to kill us? We never fear any woman in all the three Lokas. O Lotus-born! We, the two brothers, want not to be killed by any male; the females are naturally weak therefore we need not fear them.

28-58. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing their words, the Grandsire Brahmâ gladly granted them their desired boon and returned to His own abode. On Brahmâ going away, the two Dânavas, too, returned to their own places. They then appointed the Muni Bhrigu as their priest and began to worship him. Bhrigu, the best of the Munis, then, on an auspicious day and when the star was benign, got a beautiful golden throne built and gave it to the king. S’umbha, being the eldest, was then installed on the auspicious throne as the king; the other brave and excellent demons began to assemble there quickly for serving him. The two great warriors Chanda and Munda, proud on account of their great strength came there with their large armies, chariots, horses, and elephants. Similarly the valiant warriors Dhumralochana, hearing that S’umbha had become their King, came there with his own army. There came up also at that time the great warrior Rakta Vîja, more powerful on account of his getting a boon, attended by his army of two Aksauhinî soldiers. O King! Hear why this Rakta Vîja became so very unconquerable; whenever this Asura was wounded by any weapon, if one drop of blood fell on the ground, at once would be created so many innumerable Asuras, resembling his wicked nature and with similar weapons in their hands. The Asuras born of this blood would have similar appearances and would be similar in strength and ready to fight at once when they were born. That great warrior, the great Demon Rakta Vîja was unconquerable in battle for this very reason and no being could now kill him. The other Asuras, when they heard that S’umbha had become their king, came up there with their armies consisting of four divisions of elephants, chariots, cavalry and infantry and began to serve him. The army of S’umbha and Nis’umbha thus became countless; and they forcibly conquered and got possession of all the kingdoms that existed then on the surface of the earth. Then Nis’umbha, the destroyer of enemies, collected his army and marched up to the Heavens without any delay to conquer Indra, the Lord of S’achî. He fought very hard with all the Lokapâlas on all sides when Indra struck him on his breast with His thunderbolt. Nis’umbha fell unconscious on the ground with that blow when his soldiers, defeated in the battle, fled away on all sides. S’umbha, the destroyer of the enemies’ forces, hearing the unconscious state of the younger brother, came up at once on the field and shot at the Devas with multitudes of arrows. The untiring S’umbha fought so violently that Indra and the other Devas and Lokapalas were defeated. S’umbha then took away, perforce, the position of Indra and he occupied the Celestial Tree and Heavenly milching cow that yielded all desires and other excellent things over which Indra used to reign. In fact, that high-souled Asura got the dominion of the three Lokas and took away all those that were offered at the sacrifices. He became highly glad on getting the Nandana Garden and was extremely delighted when he drank the celestial nectar. He then defeated in battle Kuvera, the god of wealth and occupied his kingdom. He defeated the Moon, Sun, and Yama, the God of Death and occupied their positions. Surrounded by his army, Nis’umbha dispossessed Varuna, Fire, and Air of their kingdoms and began to reign in their stead. Thus deprived of their kingdoms, prosperity and wealth, the Devas left the Nandana Garden and fled, out of terror, to the caves of hills and mountains. Thus deprived of all their rights, the Devas without any weapons, without any lustre, without any home, and without anywhere to go, began to wander in lonely forests. O King! All the Immortals began to knock about in lonely gardens, mountain caves and rivers; and nowhere they found happiness; for happiness depends entirely unto the hands of Fate. O Lord of men! Even those fortunate souls, who are powerful, and wealthy and wise, meet at times with distress and poverty. O King! How marvellous are the ways and manners of Time! It makes kings and donors beggars; it renders the powerful, weak; literates, illiterates; and it makes great warriors into terrible cowards. O King! Vâsava performed one hundred horse-sacrifices and got the excellent Indra’s position; but again be fell into extreme difficulties; thus runs the wheel of Time.

59. It is Time that bestows the gem of knowledge to a person and it is Time again that deprives that very same man of his wisdom and makes him a great sinner.

60-61. The Bhagavân Visnu takes incarnations, under the control of Time, in several lower wombs as boar, etc., and Mahâ Deva carries on His body the human skulls, that are not even fit to be touched. When Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’a and others suffer such painful things, then one need not wonder at the workings of the Great inscrutable Time.

Here ends the Twenty-first Chapter of the Fifth Book on the conquest of the Heavens by S’umbha and Nis’umbha in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 22. On The Eulogising Of The Devî By The Devas

1-7. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the Devas were all defeated, S’umbha began to govern all their kingdoms; thus one thousand years passed away. The Devas, on the other hand, deprived of their kingdoms, were all drowned in an ocean of cares and anxieties; at last they began to feel very much and were greatly afflicted. They asked with reverence their own Guru Brihaspati, “O Guru! What are we to do now? O All knowing! You are the Great Muni; kindly say unto us if there be any means by which we can get rid of this our present crisis. There are thousands of Vedic Mantrams which yield the desired results, if they are worshipped with due rites and ceremonies and if all the rules be observed thereof. O best of Munis! Many Yajñâs are mentioned in the Vedas that yield all the desired results; you know them all; so kindly perform those Yajñâs. Do all those ceremonies duly that are ordained in the Vedas for the killing of enemies; O Descendant of Ângirasa! You ought to perform as early as possible those sacrifices for magical purposes to destroy the Dânavas so that all our miseries come to an end.”

8-22. Brihaspati said :-- “O Lord of the Suras! All the mantras mentioned in the Vedas yield the desired results, but subservient to the Great Destiny only; they do not give results of themselves but do so in obedience to to the laws ordained by Nature. You all are the presiding Deities of the Vedic Mantras; but, now, by the strange irony of Time, you are put to difficulties and troubles; what can I do now in this case? See! Indra, Agni, Varuna, and other gods are invoked in sacrifices; how, then, can sacrificial ceremonies do good when you are put to so great difficulties. Therefore there is no remedy to those which will take place unavoidably; but those who are wise declare that in such cases means are to be adopted. Some sages say that Fate is strong but those who advocate the cause of taking remedial means say that Fate is powerless; remedies or manly exertions lead to all success. But, O King of the Devas! The embodied souls ought to resort to both Fate and Remedies; it is never advisable to depend solely on Fate. Therefore, it is advisable to think out again and again as far as one’s own Intellect goes, the best remedies. O Devas! I have thought over again and again on this subject and say to you my opinion. Hear. In days of yore, the Bhagavatî, being appeased, killed Mahisâsura; and when you all praised and chanted hymns to Her, She gave you this boon that She will remove all your sorrows and troubles no sooner you remember Her, and She told that you all must remember Her whenever any difficulty would arise to you out of this Great Destiny. She would, then, free you all of your ocean of great difficulties. Therefore do you all now go to the highly sacred and exquisitely beautiful Himâlayân mountains and worship the most worshipful Chandikâ Devî with your love and devotion. Know all the rules of the Seed mantra of Mâyâ and be engaged in taking Her name accompanied with burnt offerings. I have come to know, by Yogic power, that She will be pleased with You. I see that today your difficulties will come to an end; there is not the least doubt in this. I have heard that the Devî resides always in the Himâchal; if you worship and praise and chant hymns to Her, She will certainly grant you your desired boons. Therefore fully decide on this thing and go to the Himâlayâs. O Devas! She will fulfil all your desires and carry out all your intentions.”

23-24. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus his words, the Devas departed to the Himâlayâs and they became all merged in the devotional worship of the Supreme Goddess and began to meditate constantly in their hearts the Seed mantra of Mâyâ (Hrîm). They bowed down to the Goddess Mahâ Mâyâ, the Discarder of all the fears of Her Bhaktas and began to chant hymns to Her with perfect devotion.

25-42. O Goddess! Salutation to Thee! O Thou, the Lord of the Universe! the Lord of our hearts! Thou art the Everlasting Bliss and the Giver of bliss to the Devas! Salutation to Thee! Thou art the Destroyer of the Dânavas and Thou art the Giver of all desires of human beings. Thou canst be approached with devotion. Salutation to Thee! O Thou, the Incarnate of all the Devas! Thy names are endless; Thy forms are endless; none can count them. Thou residest always as the Force Incarnate in all the actions, in the Creation, Preservation and Dissolution of Beings. O Goddess! Thou art the Memory, Constancy, Intelligence, Old Age. Thou art the nourishment, contentment; Thou upholdest all; Thou art the beauty, peace, good knowledge, prosperity and happiness, Thou art the Goal, fame, and intellect and Thou art the Eternal Seed unmanifested. We now bow down to those forms of Thine through which Thou dost serve the purpose of the Devas in this world as we are now in need of peace. Thou art forgiveness and mercy; Thou art the Yoga Nidrâ (a state between sleep and wakefulness); Thou art the kindness and Thou residest in all the beings in so many forms, great and grand, and so very celebrated; O Goddess! Thou hadst already served the cause of the gods in killing our great enemy Mahisâsura, puffed up with vanity. Therefore Thy mercy is well known amongst the gods; what more, Thy mercy is known, since very ancient times and it is narrated in the Vedas. What wonder is there that a mother nourishes gladly her own sons and preserves them carefully! For Thou art the Mother of the Devas; Thou art the great source of help to them; therefore dost Thou fulfill all their desires with Thine whole heart. O Devî! We do not know the limit of Thy qualities nor of Thy forms; O Goddess! Thou art worshipped by the whole Universe. Thou art fully competent to save all from dangers; we are objects of Thy pity; dost Thou save us from our present troubles! Thou art capable to kill enemies without shooting any arrrows, without striking any blows, without hurling any trident, axes, S’aktis, clubs, or any other weapons; merely by Thy mere will Thou canst kill; still for sports and for the good of all beings Thou incarnatest and fightest for the sake of Lîlâ. The ignorant persons know such things as birth, death, etc., that this world is not eternal; that no actions can be without any cause; we, therefore, ascertain by reasoning and inference that Thou art the Supreme Cause of this whole Universe. Brahmâ is the Creator, Visnu is the Preserver, and Mahes’a is the Destroyer; so it is related in the Purânas. Thou again hast given birth to these three Gods in the respective cycles; therefore Thou art the Mother of all; there is no doubt in this. O Devî! In days of yore, these three Devas worshipped Thee; Thou Wert pleased and gavest them all the best powers. Being thus endowed with Thy powers, they have been able to create, preserve and destroy this Universe beautifully. Art they not foolish, though they be Yatis (persons of self-controlled nature), who do not worship the Universal Mother, the Consciousness Incarnate, the Giver of liberation,  on Whose feet are worshipped by the Devas, and worshipping Whom, one gets the fruits of all one’s desires? Certainly those Vaisnavas, Sauras (worshippers of the Sun) and Pas’upatas (worshippers of S’iva) are foolish braggarts who do not meditate Thee as the embodiment of Kamalâ (prosperity), modesty, beauty, continuancy, Fame, nourishment. O Mother! The Asuras, Hari, Hara and other great Devas worship Thee in this world; therefore those mortals are certainly deceived by their Creator that do not worship Thee on the surface of this earth. O Devî! Hari himself serves the lotus feet of Laksmî by colouring them (toes and other fingers of the feet) red with lac juice; Hara is very anxious to serve the lotus feet and take the dust thereof of Parvatî; Laksmî and Parvatî are but Thy part manifestations; therefore to serve them is, in other words to serve Thee. What to speak of other persons, even those who can discriminate between real and unreal and those who have left their worldly homes and have become dispassionate towards worldly objects, even those Munis worship forgiveness and mercy, that are but Thy parts; therefore who is there in this world that does not serve Thy lotus-feet! O Devî! Those human beings plunge into the dreadful wells of this Samsâra, the round of birth and death, and are deprived of all pleasures, who do not serve Thy lotus feet. What more can be said than the fact that those fallen beings suffer terribly from poverty, humility, leprosy, headache, and the chronic enlargement of spleen. O Mother! Those persons are void of any wealth and wife; they are the carriers of loads of wood and collect grass and leaves and show their skill in such acts; they are of little understanding and never they served in their previous births Thy lotus-feet. This we have come to know very well within our heart of hearts.

43-47. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When all the Devas thus eulogised, instantly the Devî Ambikâ, full of youth and beauty appeared there out of mercy. That extraordinary beautiful Bhagavatî, endowed with all auspicious signs, and adorned with the Divine clothings, ornaments, and garlands and sandal paste, etc., appeared before the Devas. Before Whom, even the world enchanter Cupid bows down; with such beautiful, Divine appearance, the Devî emerged from the mountain cave in order to take Her ablutions in the Ganges. That Devî, sweet voiced like a cuckoo, gladly smiling began to say to the Devas, singing hymns to Her, in a voice deep like that of a rumbling cloud.

48. The Devî said :-- O Best of Suras! Whom are you praising constantly in this place? What do you want! Why are you so anxious and seem to be so much care-worn? Do please tell all this to Me in detail.

49. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devas were first enchanted by Her beauty and softness; then, being encouraged by Her sweet words, began to speak with great joy.

50-57. O Devî! We pray toThee, O Lord of his Universe! We bow down to Thee. O Thou, the Ocean of mercy! Protect us from all the troubles; we are very much care-worn and tormented by the Daityas. O Great Goddess! In ancient times Thou didst kill Mahisâsura, the source of troubles to all and then told us to remember Thee whenever any difficulty would arise.

Then Thou wouldst undoubtedly remove all the troubles arising from the Daityas no sooner we remember Thee. O Devî! We have now remembered Thee for that very reason. At present the two dreadful Asuras, S’umbha and Nis’umbha have sprang up and are creating great disturbances; and they cannot be killed by any male beings. The powerful Raktavîja and Chanda Munda and other Asuras united have dispossessed the Devas of their Heavens. Thou alone art our goal and refuge; without Thee there is none other to save us. Therefore, O Beautiful One!

Thou dost do this work for the Devas who are extremely troubled and distressed. O Powerful Devî! The Devas are always at the services of Thy lotus feet; still the very powerful Dânavas are throwing them into dangers; O Mother! Thou art the Preserver of the distressed; therefore dost Thou preserve the Devas, devoted to Thee. O Mother! The Dânavas, being very much emboldened by their powers, are creating many havocs on the surface of the Earth; now remembering that, in the beginning of the Yugas, Thou didst create all this Universe, Thou dost now ought to protect all this Universe.

Here ends the Twenty-second Chapter of the Fifth Book on the eulogising of the Devî by the Devas in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 23. On The Prowess Of Kaus’ikî

1-7. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the tormented Devas praised thus, the Devî created from Her body another supremely beautiful form. This created form, the Ambikâ Devî, became known in all the worlds as Kaus’ikî, as She came out of the physical sheath of the Devî Parvatî. When Kaus’ikî was created out of the body of Parvatî, the Parvatî’s body became transformed and turned out into a black colour and became known as KâIikâ. Her terrible black appearance, when beheld, increases the terror even of the Daityas. O King! This Devî is now become known in this world as Kâlarâtri, the night of destruction, at the end of the world, identified with Durgâ, the Fulfiller of all the desires. The Ambikâ Devî, then, began to look splendid, decked with various ornaments; Her beautiful form began to look very lovely. The Devî Ambikâ then smiled a little and said, “Better be fearless; I will slay just now your enemies. It is My incumbent duty to carry out your purposes; I will therefore slay in battle Nis’umbha and others for the sake of your happiness.”

8-30. Thus saying, the Devî Bhagavatî, elated with pride, mounted on lion and, taking Kâlikâ with Her, entered into the city of S’umbha, the enemy of the gods. Ambikâ went to a garden adjoining the city accompanied by Kâlikâ, and began to sing in such a sweet melodious tune that enchants even the God of Love, who fascinates the whole world. What more can be said than the fact that, hearing that sweet melodious song, the birds and beasts became enchanted; the Devas then began to feel much pleasure from the Sky. In the meanwhile Chanda, Munda the two dreadful Asuras, and attendants of S’umbha, came out accidentally there on their sportive excursions and saw the beautiful Ambikâ Devî singing and Kâlikâ Devî sitting before Her. O best of Kings! No sooner Chanda, Munda saw the extraordinary beauty of the Goddess Bhagavatî, than they went at once to S’umbha. On approaching towards the lord of the Daityas sitting in his room, they bowed down and told thus in a sweet voice :-- "O King! Here has come from the Himâlayâs a woman accidentally, mounted on a lion; Her limbs are shining with all good signs so much so that even the God of love would be enchanted by Her sight. Nowhere, in the Devalokas, the Gandarbha Lokas or in this earth can be found such a beautiful lady; we never saw nor heard about such a lady before. O King! That lady is singing so beautifully and pleasingly to all that even the deer are standing motionless by Her side enchanted, as it were, by Her melodious voice. O King! That Lady is fit for you; therefore determine first whose daughter is this lady, what for she has come there and then marry Her. Know this as certain that such a beautiful lady is not to be found anywhere in this world. Therefore do you bring Her to your house and marry Her. O Lord of men! You have acquired all the gems and jewels of the Devas; why not, then, accept this Gem in the form of a lady? O King! You have taken by force the exquisitely beautiful Airâvata elephant of Indra, the Pârijâta Tree, the seven faced horse Uchchais’ravâ, and many other jewels. You have acquired by your might the Prince of Jewels, the celestial car of the Creator Brahmâ, ensigned by the emblematic Swan. You have dispossessed Kuvera of his treasure of the value of a Padma (one thousand billion) and Varuna, the God of oceans, of his white umbrella. O King! When Varuna was defeated, your brother Nis’umbha took perforce his Pâs’a weapon. O King! The Great Ocean gave you, out of terror, various jewels and honoured you by presenting a garland of lotuses which never fade away. What more can be said than the fact that you have conquered the Death and took away His force and that you have easily conquered Yama, the God of Death and have taken from Him His horrible staff. O King! You have brought that Heavenly cow which came out when the ocean was churned; that cow is still with you; what more to say than that Menakâ and other Apsarâs are under your control. Thus you have got by your strength all the jewels. Why, then, are you not taking this exquisitely beautiful lady, the Prince of Jewels, amongst women. O King! All the jewels in your house, will serve their real purpose, no doubt, then and then only when they will shine with this queen of jewels, this Lady. O Lord of the Daityas! There cannot be seen in all the Trilokas such a Beautiful Lady as this that I have now described before you. Therefore bring this Beautiful Lady quickly and accept Her as your wife.

31-35. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the sweet words of Chanda and Munda, S’umbha spoke gladly to Sugrîva who was close by :-- “Go, Sugrîva, do my messenger’s work; you are well skilled in these things. Speak so that the Beautiful Lady of thin waist may come over to me. Those who are well versed in the science of amorous love declare that only two methods are to be adopted by the clever persons towards the female sex :-- (1) conciliation and gentle words and (2) gifts and presents. For if the policy of division or sowing dissensions be applied, then hypocrisy is shewn and that means the improper manifestation of love sentiment; whereas if chastisement be applied then the love sentiment becomes interrupted. Therefore, the wise have condemned these as corrupt means. O Messenger! Where is that woman who does not come round excited with passion when good and sweet words are spoken to her in accordance with the S’ama and Dâna methods?”

36-37. Vyâsa said :-- Sugrîva, hearing the nice skilled words of S’umbha went hurriedly to the spot where existed the Mother of the Universe. He saw the Fair Lady mounted on a lion, saluted Her and spoke gently and sweetly as follows :--

38-49. The messenger said :-- “O Beautiful One! S’umbha, the enemy of the Gods and the King of all, is beautiful in all respects, the ruler of the three Lokas, a great hero and conqueror of all. Hearing your beauty and loveliness, that high-souled monarch is so much attached to you and has become so very passionate that he has sent me to you to express his views. O One of delicate limbs! Please hear what that Lord of the Daityas has spoken to Thee, after duly saluting Thee, words full of love and affection towards Thee :-- O Beloved! I have defeated all the Devas and have thus become the Lord of the three worlds; specially I partake of all the offerings made in sacrificial acts and ceremonies, without moving away from my house. I have taken away all the gems, jewels and wealth that belonged to the Devas; consequently the abode of the Gods has become now worthless, on account of all its jewels being carried sway. O Fair One! I am now enjoying all the jewels that exist in the Trilokas; so much so that all the Devas, Asuras, and human beings are passing away their times, subservient to Me. But no sooner Thy qualifications reached my ears Thou hast penetrated into my heart and has made me completely subservient to Thee; O Fair One! What am I to do now? Whatever Thou commandest, I am ready to do that; verily I am now Thy servant; so Thou oughtest to save me from the darts of passion. O One having swan-like eyes! I am verily made your captive. Specially I am extremely agitated by the arrows of Cupid; therefore dost Thou serve me when Thou wilt be made the Lord of the three worlds and thus enjoy the incomparably excellent things. O Beloved! I will remain ever Thy obedient servant up to the last moment of death. O Excellent One! I cannot ever be killed by the Devas, Asuras and human beings. O Fair faced One! Thou wilt be always prosperous and fortunate. Thou wilt be able to sport anywhere Thou likest. O Devî! Please ponder over the above words of the Lord of the Daityas in Thy heart and speak out Thy views gladly and with the same sweetness in reply; O Brisk One! I will go immediately to S’umbha and inform him about Thy mind.”

50. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devî, ready to serve the cause of the Gods, heard the messenger’s gentle words and replied smiling and sweetly.

51-66. S’rî Devî spoke :-- I know fully well S’umbha and Nis’umbha; the King S’umbha is very powerful, the conqueror of all the Devas, and the destroyer of enemies. He is the repository of all good qualities, the enjoyer of all pleasures, very valorous, charitable and is beautiful, in fact a second Cupid. He is adorned with thirty-two auspicious signs; particularly he is a hero and cannot be killed by the Devas or human beings. O Messenger! Knowing this I have come here to have a look of that great warrior S’umbha. The jewel comes in contact with gold to increase its lustre; so I have come here from afar to see my husband. On seeing all the Devas, Gandharbhas, Râksasas and the eminent beautiful persons on the earth I have come to know that they are all terror stricken and almost unconscious and shudder at the name of S’umbha. So, on hearing about his abilities, I have now come here to see him. O Messenger! O Fortunate One! Better now go back to the great hero S’umbha and speak to him in private the following sweet words of Mine :-- “That you are foremost amongst the powerful; beautiful of the beautifuls, skilled in all the branches of learning, well qualified, charitable, clever, born of a high noble family, energetic, and conqueror of the Devas; especially, by the sheer force of your arms, you are so much exalted and you now enjoy all the gems and jewels. Therefore, O King! Knowing your qualifications, I have come truly of my own accord to your city with the desire of getting for Me a husband. O High-souled One! I am fit for your consort. O Lord of the Daityas! There is a slight hitch in My marriage. It is this: In my early days while I was playing with My comrades, I promised before them privately partly out of childishness and partly out of vanity for bodily strength that I will certainly marry that hero who is powerful like Me and who will defeat Me in battle, thus testing his powers and weaknesses. My comrades laughed at my words and spoke with wonder, ‘Why has this girl made such an extraordinarily difficult promise?’ Therefore, O Monarch! Better marry Me and fulfil My desires after knowing My strength and defeating Me in a battle. O Beautiful One in all respects! Better come yourself or your younger Nis’umbha and perform the marriage ceremony after defeating Me in the battlefield.”

Here ends the Twenty-third Chapter in the Fifth Book on the prowess of Kaus’ikî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 24. On The Description And Dhûmralochana Giving The News

1-12. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The messenger was thunderstruck with Devî’s words and said :-- “O Beautiful Lady! What art Thou speaking? It seems that Thou dost not think on this matter, owing to Thy feminine nature. O Devî! Thou art boasting in vain; how canst Thou expect to conquer S’umbha in a battle when he has conquered Indra and other Devas and many other Dânavas? Lotus-eyed One! There is no hero in the three worlds that can conquer S’umbha in battle; Thou seemest to be a mere trifle before that King of Demons in a face-to-face fight. O Fair One! Nowhere ought to be said any words without being thought over; one must weigh one’s own and other’s might and then speak accordingly. The King S’umbha, the Lord of the three worlds, enchanted by Thy fascinating beauty, is desirous of Thee; therefore dost Thou fulfill his desires and become his beloved wife. Thou better now abandonest Thy illiterate nature and worhippest S’umbha or Nis’umbha; I am speaking for Thy good; so keep my words. The amorous love sentiment is the best of nine prevailing sentiments. Therefore every intelligent being ought to cherish with gladness this amorous feeling. And if Thou, O Weak girl! dost not go to S’umbha, then that Lord of the Earth will become very angry and will order his servants to take Thee perforce before him. O Fair One! Those proud Demons will carry Thee by holding Thy hair before S’umbha; there is no doubt in this. O thin bodied One! Better forego Thy boldness in every way and keep Thy self-respect. Thou art the object of respect and admiration and so should go before him. What difference is there between the fight which makes one’s body liable to cuts and wounds by sharp arrows and pleasures that arise out of sexual intercourse! These are like the two opposite poles; therefore judge what is useless and what is useful and keep my good advice. Thou shalt be exceedingly happy if Thou servest S’umbha or Nis’umbha.”

13-19. The Devî spoke :-- “O Messenger! You are fortunate; you are well trained to speak out truth; I know full well that S’umbha and Nis’umbha are strong. Still out of My childish nature, the promise that I made before I cannot undo it. Therefore speak to the powerful S’umbha or Nis’umbha that none can be my husband simply from his beauty without defeating Me in battle no one can marry Me. So conquer Me soon and marry Me as you like. Though of a weaker sex, I have come here to fight; know this as certain. Therefore if you be capable, fight and do the duty of a warrior. And if you be terrified by seeing my trident or if you want your life, quit the Heavens and this earth and go down to Pâtâla without any delay. O Messenger! Go just now to your master and tell him sweetly these words. Then that powerful Lord of the Dânavas will judge what ought to be done. O Knower of Dharma! To speak out truth before an enemy, before one’s own master is certainly the duty of a messenger in this world; therefore go quickly and tell him what are verily true.”

20-21. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The messenger was quite surprised to hear the bold words, though full of reason and morals, of the Devî, puffed up by the vanity of Her strength and departed. Coming to the Lord of the Daityas, the messenger bowed down before his feet and told him sweet words, full of morals, in a very humble way after pondering over and over again what he would say.

22-29. The messenger said :-- O King! Words, true and the same time sweet, ought to be spoken before one’s master; but these are very rare in this world. On the other hand, if unpleasant words be spoken, the King gets very angry. So I am very anxious now. O King! Whether that lady is weak or strong, whence has She come, whose wife is She, I have not been able to ascertain all these. How then can I say about Her conduct? But, on seeing that harsh speaking woman, I have come to understand this much that She is exceedingly haughty and has come to fight. O King! You are very intelligent; therefore judge what ought to be done after hearing only what that lady has told me to speak to you. That Lady said :-- “In days of childhood, while I was playing, out of my childish nature, I promised before my comrades that I would marry that valiant warrior who would defeat me thoroughly in a battle and thus curb My pride. O best of kings! You are religious; so you ought to make My word turn out false. Bring Me under your control by defeating Me in a battle.” O King! Hearing these words I have returned; now do whatever you like. That Lady is determined to fight and is waiting there, firmly mounted on a lion, and with various weapons in Her hands. Now judge and do what is best.

30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of Sugrîva, the king S'umbha asked his hero brother Nis’umbha who was close by.

31-32.  O Brother! You are intelligent; speak out truly what ought to be done now? The lovely woman is challenging us to fight. Shall I go to fight or you would go with forces? I will do whatever you say.

33-34. Nis’umbha said :-- O King! It is not proper that you or I would go to the battlefield. Better send Dhûmralochana to the field quickly. Let that hero go there and defeat that beautiful Lady and bring Her here. You can then marry Her.

35. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing thus his younger brother’s words, S’umbha filled with anger, instantly sent Dhûmralochana who was close by to battle.

36-40. S’umbha said :-- “O Dhûmralochana! Take a vast army and go at once to the battlefield and bring that stupid Lady, vainly boasting of Her strength. If any Deva, Dânava or any other powerful human being take Her side, kill him instantly. Slay Her companion the Goddess Kâlî and bring Her too. Do all these responsible duties and return quickly. That Chaste Lady is to be protected by all means. The body of that thin Lady is very delicate; so shoot arrows at Her very carefully and see that they are not sharp. But kill those that will help Her with weapons in their hands. Try your best to protect Her, never to kill Her.

41-60. Vyâsa said :-- O King! No sooner ordered thus by the king, Dhûmralochana bowed down to the king, and, accompanied by sixty thousand Dânava forces, quickly went to the battlefield and saw there that the Lady was sitting in a beautiful garden. Seeing that deer-eyed Lady, Dhûmralochana began to address Her with great humility and in sweet words full of reason and goodness. O Devî! O highly Fortunate One! Hear! S’umbha is very much distressed owing to Thy absence. Lest there be any break in the love sentiments, that King, a wise statesman, sent a messenger with instructions to speak Thee in sweet and suitable terms; but, O fair One! That messenger, on arriving before the King had told all the contrary words. O Knower of love sentiments! Hearing thus the messenger’s words, my lord S’umbha, sick with love, has become immersed in cares and anxieties. That messenger had not been able to realise the true meaning of Thy words. O honourable Lady! The sentence uttered by Thee, “He who will conquer me in battle” is full of deep meanings; he was stupid; hence he could not realise the meaning of the word “battle” intended by Thee. O Beautiful One! “Battle” means two different things according to persons for whom it is intended; it is of two kinds :-- One out of excitement and another out of sexual intercourse. With Thee, the sexual intercourse is intended; and with any other enemy, excitement in a real fight is meant. Out of these, the fight of sexual intercourse is full of sweetness and the fight with enemies is painful. O Beautiful One! I know Thy intentions fully. In Thy heart reigns that fight of sexual intercourse. Knowing me as expert in these affairs, the king S’umbha has sent me today to Thee with a vast army. O highly Fortunate Lady! Thou art clever and shrewd; hear my gentle words; serve S’umbha, the lord of the three worlds, the destroyer of the Deva’s pride. Thou wilt be the dearest queen-consort and enjoy the best pleasures. The powerful S’umbha knows the real meaning of the fight of sexual intercourse; so he will easily conquer Thee. When Thou wilt shew various amorous gestures, he will also show his feelings. And the Kâlikâ Devî, your companion will remain with Thee as a helping mate in your vital pleasures. The lord of the Daityas, expert in the science of love, will certainly conquer Thee engaged in amorous fight and will lay Thee stretched on a soft bedding and will make Thee tired; he will make Thy body covered with blood by striking with nails and he will bite Thy lips to pieces; then Thou wilt perspire profusely and wilt cease fighting. Thus Thy mental desire for fight - sexual intercourse - will be satisfied. O Beloved! At Thy mere sight S’umbha will be completely subject to Thee. Therefore dost Thou keep my sweet and beneficial words. Thou art an honourable Lady; and Thou wilt be highly honoured by all if Thou marryest S’umbha. Those are certainly very unfortunate who like fighting with weapons. O Beloved! The sexual intercourse is always favourite to Thee; therefore it is not worthy of Thee to fight with weapons. Therefore dost Thou make the king free of sorrows by pouring on him Thy mouth nectar and by making his heart bud forth by Thy kicking, as Bakula and Kurubaka trees blossom forth when drenched with mouth nectar and Asoka tree gets blossomed by the kicking of women.

Here ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the description and Dhûmralochana giving the news in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 25. On The Killing Of Dhûmralochana

1-7. Vyâsa said :-- O Janamejaya! When Dhûmralochana ceased speaking, the Devî Kâlikâ made a wild laughter and began to speak sweetly thus :-- O Stupid! Skilled in flattery, you know only how to use jugglery of words like an actor; do you think that your ends will be served if you speak only sweet words; this can never be. O Stupid! Fight now; there is no need of useless words. You are strong and have been sent by that wicked Demon with a great army. This Devî, out of wrath, will kill you, S’umbha, and Nis’umbha and other commanders by Her arrows and will then return to Her abode. Where is that stupid S’umbha? And where is this Devî, the Great Enchantress of the Universe!

Their marriage in this world is entirely out of question and can never take place. O Stupid! What do you think that a lioness becoming very passionate, would make an ordinary jackal her husband? or would a she-elephant prefer an ass? or would a heavenly Cow like a bison? Go to S’umbha and Nis’umbha and tell truly to them :-- “Fight or go instantly to Pâtâla.”

8-10. Vyâsa said :-- O Fortunate One! The Demon Dhûmralochana, hearing thus the Kâlikâ’s words, became very angry and spoke with reddened eyes :-- “O Ugly One! I will slay Thee and this lion infatuated with pride in battle and take this Fair One to the king. O Kâlî! I have not been able to do this, simply it would break our amorous love sentiments. O Quarrelsome One! Otherwise I would have undoubtedly slain Thee just now with my sharpened arrows tipped with irons.”

11. Hearing thus, Kâlikâ said :-- O Fool! Why do you boast vainly? this is not the religion of a hero with bows and arrows in their hands. Shoot your arrows with all your might; I will send you to the realm of Death.

12-31. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the Devî’s words, Dhûmralochana caught hold of his very strong bow and began to shoot arrows after arrows at Kâlikâ. Indra and the other Devas came out to see the fight on their best cars in the celestial space and shouted “Victory to the Devî” and thus eulogised Her. Then a deadly fight ensued between them with arrows, axes, clubs, S’aktis, and Musalas and various other weapons. Kâlikâ cut off at the very outset all the asses that carried the chariot by Her arrows and next broke his chariot and began to laugh repeatedly. O Bhârata! Then Dhûmralochana becoming angry mounted on another chariot and began to shoot deadly arrows at Kâlikâ. Kâlikâ Devî, too, out off those arrows into pieces before they reached Her and shot arrows after arrows on the Dânava in quick succession. Thousands of his soldiers near to him were killed; the asses and the charioteer were killed and the chariot was broken. She cut off his arrows by Her swift serpent-like arrows and blew Her conchshell. The Devas seeing this became very glad. Dhûmralochana, seeing himself displaced from his chariot, took up with anger his very strong Parigha weapon and came near to the chariot of the Devî. Then the Dânava, terrific like death, began to abuse the Devî and said :-- “O Ugly tawny-eyed Kâlî! I will kill Thee just now.” Thus saying, he suddenly went near to Her and when he was about to throw his Parigha weapon on Her, the Ambikâ Devî burnt him to ashes simply by Her loud shout (of defiance). Seeing Dhûmralochana burnt to ashes, his soldiers became panic-stricken, and fled away immediately, crying aloud “O Father! O Father!” The Devas saw this and and gladly showered from high heaps of flowers on the Devî. O King! The battle ground then assumed a dreadful appearance; at some places the slain Dânavas; at others, the horses; at other places elephants and at some other places the asses lay scattered on the field. The herons, crows, vultures, the Pis’âchas of the class Batabaraphas and jackals and other carnivorous animals, began to dance wildly and clamour hideously at the sight of the dead bodies, lying on the field. The Ambikâ Devî then quitting the field, went to a distant place and blew Her conchshell so furiously and terribly that S’umbha heard that terrific noise, while he was sitting in his own residence. At the next moment, he saw that the Dânava forces had retreated, and they were coming there crying. Some of them were besmeared with blood all over the bodies; some had got their feet, some their arms, cut asunder, some were devoid of eyes, some had got their backs broken; some had their waists broken; some got their necks broken and some were going on bedsteads. Seeing them thus, S’umbha and Nis’umbha asked them :-- “Where is Dhûmralochana? Why have you all retreated? And why have you not brought that Lady? Where are the other forces? Who has blown this horrible conch-shell? O Fools! Inform me quickly and truly all these things.”

32-33. The soldiers said :-- “O King! Dhûmralochana has been slain by Kâlikâ; She has destroyed all the soldiers and has done extraordinary deeds.” O King! Know the blowing of the conchshell that has caused terror in the hearts of the Dânavas and has enhanced the joy of the Devas and is being resounded in the celestial space, is that done by the Ambikâ Devî. (Note: In the Mârkandeya Purâna, Ambikâ killed Dhûmra.)

34-45. O Lord! When the Devî broke the chariot of Dhûmralochana by the multitude of Her arrows and killed the horses and at last slew Dhûmralochana himself, when all the forces were slain by Her who appeared like a lion and when the rest of the army retreated, the Devas seeing all these were very much gladdened and showered flowers from the celestial sky. O King! We have come to a perfect conclusion that we will not get the victory; now consult with your expert ministers and do what is needful. O King! The Supreme Goddess of the Universe is waiting there alone to fight with you without any help of any other forces; this is a great wonder to us. O King! Intoxicated with Her power, that Girl, fearless, is reigning there taking Her stand on the lion. All these seem wonderful to us. O King! Consult with your councillors and out of the four policies peace, fight, retreat or remaining neutral, accept what is best. O Tormentor of the foes! True! There are no forces with the Devî, but the whole host of the Devas will take up Her cause in crisis, there is no doubt. In due time, Hari and Hara both will come and assist Her; now the guardians of the several quarters, the Lokapâlas are waiting by Her side in the celestial space. O Tormentor of the Gods! Know that the Gandarbhas, Kinnaras, and human beings all will come timely and help Her. O King! We guess all these. But that Lady does not want the assistance of anyone nor does She expect that any other body would do the work for Her. You must know this certainly, that She alone can destroy this whole Universe. What to speak of the Dânavas only! O Highly Fortunate One! Knowing all these, do as you like. It is the duty of the servants to speak beneficial and at the same time true words with moderation.

46-51. Vyâsa said :-- O King! S’umbha, the tormentor of others, hearing their words asked his younger brother in private :-- “O Brother! This Kâlikâ has slain today Dhûmralochana with his forces; the few retreated and came over to me. Now the Ambikâ Devî, puffed up with pride is blowing Her conchshell. Brother! The ways of Time are knowable even to the wise. The grass becomes a thunderbolt and the thunderbolt becomes like a grass and powerless. Know thus the course of Destiny. O Fortunate One! Now I ask you, what are we to do now? Are we to entertain yet the desire of enjoying Ambikâ, or are we to fly away from here or are we to fight on? Say quickly. Though younger, in times of difficulty, I consider you as my elder.”

52-54. Hearing thus the S’umbha’s words, Nis’umbha said :-- “O Sinless One! Flight or taking refuge in a fort is not reasonable. To fight with this Lady is the best course. I will take the best generals and soldiers with me and will slay that Lady and quickly return. And if Fate be strong and prove it otherwise, then, after my death, think out again and again and do what is best.”

55-60. Hearing thus the younger brother’s words, S’umbha said, “You better wait; let Chanda and Munda go to the battle, surrounded with forces. To kill a hare it is not necessary to send an elephant. This is a very trifling matter; the two great warriors Chanda and Munda will be freely able to slay Her.” Thus saying his younger brother, the King S’umbha addressed Chanda Munda, who were waiting before him, thus :-- O Chanda! O Munda! Take your forces and go quickly to kill that shameless Lady, puffed up with pride. O Pair of Warriors! Kill that tawny-eyed Kâlikâ in the battle and bring that Ambikâ Devî here quickly. Do this Great Service. And if that haughty Ambikâ be unwilling to come here, though taken as a captive, then kill that Durgâ, the ornament of the battle, too, by sharp arrows.

Here ends the Twenty-fifth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of Dhûmralochana in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 26. On The Killing Of Chanda And Munda

1-17. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus ordered, the two strong warriors Chanda and Munda hurriedly went to the battle, accompanied by a vast army. There they saw the Devî, intent on doing good to the Gods. Then they began to address Her in conciliatory words. O Lady! Dost Thou not know that the extraordinarily strong S’umbha and Nis’umhha, the Lords of the Daityas have crushed down the Devas and vanquished Indra and have become intoxicated with their victory? O Fair One! Thou art alone! Only Kâlikâ and Thy Lion are with Thee! It is Thy foolishness that Thou art desirous to conquer S’umbha, who is endowed with all power. I think there is no adviser to Thee, man nor woman; the Devas have sent Thee here simply for Thy destruction. Think, O Delicate One! over the powers of Thine as well as those of Thy enemy. Vainly dost Thou boast of Thy having eighteen hands. Before the great warrior S’umbha, the conqueror of the Devas, many hands and many weapons will be useless; they will prove mere burdens. So dost Thou fulfil what reigns in the heart of S’umbha, the destroyer of the legs and the uprooter of the teeth of Airâvata elephant. Vain is Thy boast, O Beloved! Follow my sweet words; they will do good to Thee, O Large-eyed One! They will destroy Thy pains and give Thee bliss. Those actions that lead to pain are to be avoided by the wise; and those that bring in happiness are to be served by the Pundits, versed in the S’âstras. O Sweet speaking one! Thou art clever. Look at the great strength of S’umbha with Thy eyes. He has enhanced his glory by crushing down the Devas. And if Thou thinkest the gods superior, that is false, for the wise men do not rely on the mere guess, full of doubts; they believe what they actually see. S’umbha, hard to be conquered in battles, is the great enemy of the Gods; they have been crushed down by him, and have therefore sent Thee here. O Sweet smiling One! Thou hast been deceived by their sweet words; they, prompted by their selfish ends, have sent Thee here simply to give Thee trouble. The friends that come with certain business and selfish ends are to be rejected. Friends out of religious motives are only to be sought for refuge. Verily I tell Thee that the gods are terribly selfish. Therefore dost Thou serve S’umbha, the conqueror of Indra and the lord of the three worlds; he is a hero, beautiful, lovely, cunning and thoroughly expert in the science of amorous love. Thou wilt get the prosperity of all the worlds by the mere command of S’umbha; therefore make a firm resolve and serve that splendid husband S’umbha.

18-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Universal Mother, hearing the words of Chanda spoke with a voice deep as thunder. O Boor! Why do you use false deceitful words? Fly away just now. Why shall I make S’umbha my husband, disregarding Hari, Hara and the other Devas? O You, a veritable Fool! I have no necessity for My lord; I have got nothing to do with my lord. I Myself am the Lord of all the beings; and I preserve this whole Universe with all the lords and beings therein. Note this. In ancient times I saw thousands and thousands of S’umbha and Nis’umbha and I slew them all. I sent hundreds and hundreds of Daityas and Demons to the realm of Death. Before Me the hosts of Devas were destroyed in yugas after yugas. Today the Daityas again will go unto destruction. The Time has come to destroy the Daityas; why, then, are you struggling in vain with your followers for your lives? Fight now and keep the Dharma of the warriors; death is inevitable; thinking thus, the high-souled ones should keep their name, fame, and respect. What business have you to do with S’umbha and Nis’umbha? Follow the warrior’s Dharma and go to Heavens, the abode of the gods. S’umbha, Nis’umbha and your other friends and followers, all will follow you and will come here no doubt. O Stupid One! I will put an end to all the Dânavas today. Therefore cast aside your weakness and go on, fight. I will slay you and your brother just now; next I will kill the proud Rakta Vîja, Nis’umbha and S’umbha and the other Dânavas in the battle field and will then go to My desired place. Now remain here if you like or fly away quickly. You have been fed in vain because you fear to fight. What use is there now in using sweet words like a weak and distressed man. Well! Take up your arms now and fight.

31-61. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Chanda and Munda, elated with pride got excited at the Devî’s words, became angry and made a violent noise with their bow strings. The Devî, too, blew Her conchshell so loudly that the ten quarters of the sky reverberated; in the meanwhile, the powerful lion became very angry and roared loudly. Hearing that sound Indra and other Devas, the Munis, Yaksas, Siddhas, and Kinnaras became all very glad. A dreadful fight than ensued between Chandikâ and Chanda with arrows, axes and other weapons, causing terror to the weak. Then Chandikâ Devî became very wrathful and cut off to pieces all the arrows shot by Chanda and then hurled arrows serpent-like on him. Then the sky over the battle ground seemed to be overcast with arrows just as the clouds get covered over with locusts, dreadful to the cultivators. In the meanwhile Munda, exceedingly terrible, came up to the field, taking with him his army and becoming impatient with anger began to shoot arrows. Seeing that multitude of arrows, Ambikâ got very angry; out of Her frowny look, Her eyebrows became crooked, Her face became black, and Her eyes turned red like Kadalî flowers; at this time suddenly came out of Her forehead Kâlî. Wearing the tiger’s skin, cruel, covering Her body with elephant’s skin, wearing a garland of skulls, terrible, with a belly like a well dried up, mouth wide open, with a wide waist, lip hanging loosely, with axe, noose, S’iva’s weapon, in Her hands, She looked very terrible like the Night of Dissolution. She began to lick frequently and forcibly dashed into the Dânava army and began to destroy it. She angrily began to take the powerful Dânavas by Her arms and pouring them into Her mouth crushed them with Her teeth. Taking the elephants with bells by Her own power in Her hands She put them all into Her mouth and swallowed them all with their riders and began to laugh hoarsely. Thus camels, horses and charioteers with chariots all She put into Her mouth and began to chew them all grimly. O King! Seeing that the forces were being thus destroyed, the two great warriors Chanda and Munda began to shoot arrows after arrows without intermission and covered the Devî with them. Chanda hurled the Sudarsan-like disc, lustrous like the Sun, with great force against the Devî, and frequently shouted thundering cries. Seeing him roaring and the lustrous disc coming towards Her like another sun, She shot at him arrows sharpened on stones so that the warrior Chanda became overpowered by them and lay down senseless on the ground. The powerful Munda seeing his brother unconscious became very much distressed with grief; but he got angry and began to shoot arrows immediately on the Devî. Chandikâ Devî hurled the weapon named Îsikâ and thus cut off to pieces all the dreadful arrows of Munda in a moment and shot Ardha Chandra (semi-circular) arrow at him. With this arrow the powerful Asura was deprived of his pride and made to lie down unconscious on the earth. Munda thus lying on the ground, a great uproar arose amidst the army of the Dânavas; and the Devas became delighted in the sky. In the meanwhile Chanda became conscious and taking a very heavy club hurled it violently on the right hand of Kâlikâ. Kâlikâ rendered that blow useless and instantly tied down that Asura by Her Pâsa weapon, purified by Mantras. Munda again rose up, and, seeing his brother in that fastened condition, came to the front well armoured and with an exceedingly strong weapon called S’akti. Seeing the Asura coming, She instantly fastened him down like his brother. Taking the powerful Chanda and Munda like hares and laughing wildly, Kâlî went to Ambikâ, and said :-- “I have brought the two beasts very auspicious as offerings in this sacrificial war. Kindly accept these.” Seeing the two Dânavas brought, as if they were the two wolves, Ambikâ told her sweetly :-- O Thou, fond of war! Thou art very wise; so dost not commit the act of envy nor dost leave them; think over the purport of my words and know that it is Thy duty to bring the Devî’s work to a successful issue.

62-65. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of Ambikâ, Kâlikâ spoke to Her again :-- “In this war-sacrifice there is this axe which is like a sacrificial post; I will offer these two as victims to Thy sacrifice. Thus no act of envy will be committed (i.e., killing in a sacrifice is not considered as envy).” Thus saying, the Kâlikâ Devî cut off their heads with great force and gladly drank their blood. Thus seeing the two Asuras killed, Ambikâ said gladly :-- Thou hast done the service to the gods; so I will give Thee an excellent boon. O Kâlikâ! As Thou hast killed Chanda and Munda, henceforth Thou wilt be renowned in this world as Châmundâ.

Here ends the Twenty-sixth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of Chanda and Munda in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 27. On The Description Of The War Of Raktabîja

1-14. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Seeing the two Dânavas killed in the battle, the remnant soldiers all fled away back to S’umbha. Some of them were cut and wounded in many places by arrows, some had their arms severed, some were bleeding; thus they entered crying into the sky. On reaching the lord of the Daityas, they began to make frequently the noise indicative of danger and exclaimed, “O King! Save us, Save us; Kâlikâ is devouring everything today. The two great warriors Chanda and Munda, the tormentors of the Devas, were slain by Her; all the soldiers were devoured by Her; we have fled away panic-stricken. O Lord! Kâlikâ has rendered the battlefield horrible by the dead bodies of elephants, horses, camels, warriors, and foot soldiers. A river of blood is flowing there of which the flesh of the soldiers is sufficient mud, their hairs are like aquatic plants, the broken chariot wheels are like whirlpools, the severed arms and feet are like fishes and their heads look like Tumbi fruits (long gourds). O King! Save your line; go quickly to Pâtâla. The Devî has become angry and will, no doubt, destroy our race. Even the lion is eating away the Dânavas; and the Kâlikâ Devî is killing innumerable Dânavas by Her arrows. Therefore, O King! What intentions are you cherishing in your mind? Is it that you have desired to be merely slain with your younger brother Nis’umbha! And what good purpose will this cruel woman, destroying your race, serve, for Whose sake, you have desired to kill all your friends? O King! Victory or defeat in this world are under the Daîva. The wise never risk to meet with great difficulties for the gratification of an ordinary whim. O Lord! Look at the wonderful deeds of that Great Creator! What more wonder can there be than this that a woman alone killed all the Dânavas. O King! You have conquered by the help of your army all the Lokapâlas (guardians of the quarters of the sky); but now that Lady, though alone and unsupported by anybody, is challenging you to fight.

15-24. O King! In ancient times, in the holy pilgrimage of Puskara, the sacred place of the Devas, you performed austerities when Brahmâ, the Grandsire of all the worlds, came to you to grant a boon. Then you asked the boon and wanted to become to be immortal. But when Brahmâ refused to grant it you wanted from him and were granted that you would not be killed by any male being, be he a Deva, Dânava, a man, Nâga, Kinnara, Yaksa, or any other person. O Lord! For that very reason we think now that this Lady has timely come to kill you. Think over it seriously and cease fighting. O King! This Devî is the great Mahâ-Mâyâ, the Highest Prakriti; It is She that devours everything at the end of a Kalpa . This auspicious Devî is the Creatrix of all the worlds and the Devas. She is the embodiment of the three qualities, endowed with all the powers. She is Tâmasi, i.e., is the Destructrix of the whole world. This Devî can never be conquered, Imperishable, Eternal, She is the Sandhyâ and the Refuge of the Devas. She is Gâyatrî, the Mother of the Vedas. She is All-knowing and always manifested. This Undecaying Lady is void of any Prakritic attributes, though She at times possesses attributes. She is Success Incarnate and bestows success to all; She is Bliss Herself and gives bliss to all. This Gaurî bids all the Devas discard all their fears. She is S’uddha Sattva. Thus knowing, O King! Quit thy inimical feelings to Her; seek refuge unto Her; the Devî would then certainly protect you. Be obedient to Her and save your race. Then the remnant Dânavas will be able to live for a very long time.”

25. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus, S’umbha, the conqueror of the Devas, told them truly in words becoming of a hero.

26-42.  S’umbha said :-- “O Fools! Hold your tongue.You have fled because your desire to live is very strong. So you better go to Pâtâla without any delay. This world is under the control of Fate; so I need not think about Victory. I am under this Fate just as Brahmâ and other Devas are under it. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, Yama, Agni, Varuna, Sûrya, Chandra, and Indra are all under the sway of this Destiny. O Fools! Whatever is inevitable will certainly come to pass. What need I think over it then? The effort also comes to be of such a nature as will lead to that ordained by Fate. Thus thinking, the wise never grieve; especially the wise ones never leave their own Dharma for fear of death. The happiness, pain, longevity, birth and death of all the embodied souls are all determined by Fate when their proper time arrives. See! When the time is over, Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahâdeva, the lord of Pârvatî die away; on the expiration of their terms of lives, Indra and other Devas go to destruction. Similarly I am also completely under the sway of time; so what doubt is there that I, too, will go to destruction when I have observed my own Dharma! This Lady is challenging me to fight of Her own will; how can I fly away and live hundreds of years. I will fight today. Let the result come whatever it may. I will gladly take the victory or defeat whatever the case may be. The learned approving of the cause of effort declare Fate as fictitious; those who realise their sayings know that they are full of reason. Without exertion no end can be achieved; weak persons depend on the destiny. Foolish persons say that Fate is strong; but the wise do not say so. There is no proof whether Fate exists or not; in fact what is called Fate is invisible; how can it then be seen? Has anybody seen Fate? It is simply a scare for the illiterate; remedy only to console one’s mind in times of distress. Simply proximity to a grindmill without any man’s effort cannot grind a material. Therefore if exertion be made in proportion to the gravity of the work, success is sure to ensue; if exertion be made less in proportion, the work does not come to a successful issue. If time, place and one’s enemies’ forces be correctly taken into account and then if the proper attempts be made, success follows; thus Brihaspatî has said.”

43-44. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus making a firm resolve to send the powerful Raktabîja to the battle with a vast army; S’umbha said :-- “O Raktabîja! You are a very powerful hero; therefore do you go to the battle. O Fortunate One! Fight as you are the strength of your forces.”

45-46. Raktabîja said :-- “O King! You need not be a bit anxious for this work.Certainly I will either slay Her or I will bring Her under your control. Please see my skill in this warfare;   that Lady, favourite of the gods, is worth nothing; I will just now conquer Her and make Her your slave.”

47-50. Vyâsa said :-- O Best of Kurus! Thus saying, the powerful Raktabîja mounted on his chariot and went to the battle accompanied by his forces. The battalion consisted of cavalry, infantry, chariots and elephants. Thus surrounded he departed from the city for that Devî, seated on a mountain top. Then the Devî, seeing him coming, blew Her conchshell; the Dânavas were terrified at that sound and the joy of the Devas increased. Hearing that sound Raktabîja came very hurriedly to Châmundâ and began to speak to Her sweetly.

51-62. O Girl! Do you think me weak and thus want to terrify me with the sound of a conchshell? O Lean One! Have you taken me to be a Dhûmralochana? O Sweet speaking one! My name is Raktabîja; I have come here for Thy sake. If Thou desirest to fight, be prepared; I am not a bit afraid of that. O Dear! You saw those who were weak; I do not belong to that class. Therefore dost Thou fight as Thou likest and then Thou wilt be able to ascertain my strength. O Beautiful! If Thou didst serve the old persons before, if Thou hadst heard the science of politics and morals, if Thou hadst studied the political economy, joined the assemblage of the Pundits or if Thou hast been well versed in literature and Tantras, then hear this my good counsel which will serve as a medicinal diet to Thee. Out of the nine sentiments, the S’ringâra (Amorous love sentiments) and S’ânti (Peace) are considered as the chief by the assemblage of the Pundits. Again out of these two, the love sentiment is the king. Drenched with this sentiment, Visnu lives with Kamalâ; Brahmâ, the four-faced, lives with Sâvitri; Indra with S’achî and S’ankara resides with his wife Umâ. The tree stands with creepers surrounding it, the deer lives with his female deer, the pigeon lives with the female pigeon; thus all the beings are very attached to this sentiment of remaining in couples. Those who cannot enjoy owing to certain disease or illness, they are deprived by Fate of such enjoyments. Those who are ignorant of this love sentiment in couples, they are deprived of it by the sweet jugglery of words of the cheat and yet attached to the Peace sentiment. When delusion, the destroyer of Buddhi, the common sense, occurs, when the violent indomitable anger, greed, and lust arise, where, then, is the place for knowledge and dispassion? Therefore, O Auspicious One! Dost Thou marry the beautiful S’umbha or the powerful Nis’umbha.

63. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When Raktabîja spoke all these words, standing before the Devî Kâlikâ, Ambikâ and Châmundâ began to laugh.

Here ends the Twenty-seventh Chapter of the Fifth Book on the description of the war of Raktabîja in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 28. On The Description Of The Fighting Of The Goddesses

1-5. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devî, hearing thus, laughed and spoke the following reasonable words, in a voice deep as a rumbling cloud :-- O Dull brained one! Already I told to that messenger before in reply to you; why then do you boast in vain? If there be any such in the three worlds who can stand equal to Me in appearance, strength, and prosperity, I will marry him. Go to S’umbha and Nis’umbha and inform them that thus I promised before; therefore let any of them conquer Me in battle and then marry Me according to the prescribed rules. You have come here to execute the order of S’umbha; so either stand up and fight or fly to Pâtâla with your King.

6-11. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the Devî’s words, the Dânava was filled with anger and began to shoot dreadful arrows at once on the Lion. Ambikâ, then, ready-handed, seeing the multitude of arrows coming in the sky like serpents, cut them off in a moment to pieces by Her sharp arrows. The Devî, then, drawing Her bow, shot arrows sharpened on stone at the great Asura Raktabîja. Then that wicked Demon, thus shot at by the arrows, fell unconscious on the chariot. When he lay thus senseless, a great uproar arose amidst his army and the soldiers began to cry aloud saying, “Alas! We all are killed.” Then S’umbha, the king of the Asuras, hearing the sound of Boombâ (a danger cry by hands and mouth) ordered all the Dânavas to be ready for the battle.

12. Then S’umbha said :-- Let all Kâmbojas go to the battle with all their forces; let other powerful heroes, especially the Kâlakeyâs, too, who are very strong heroes, go up for the battle. (Note: Kâmboja, name of a people and their country. They inhabited the Hindoo Koosh mountain which separates the Giljit valley from Balkh and probably extended up to little Tibet and Lâdak. The Kâlakeyâs may be the Afridis.)

13-33. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus ordered, all the fourfold army of S’umbha, viz., cavalry, infantry, elephants and chariots went out, intoxicated for war, to the battle ground where the Devî existed. The Devî Chandikâ, seeing the Dânava forces coming near, made at once terrible sounds frequently. The Ambikâ Devî also made the sound with Her bowstring and blew Her conchshell. Kâlî, then, shouted aloud opening Her mouth widely. The powerful Lion, the Devî’s Vâhana, hearing the terrible sounds, roared so loudly that the Dânavas were struck with strange terror. The powerful Dânavas, then, hearing that sound became impatient with anger and shot arrows after arrows on the Devî. The wonderful horrible battle, then, ensued, causing horripilation and the S’aktis of Brahmâ and the other Devas began to come to Chandikâ Devî. The Devîs, the wives of the several Devas, then went, to the battlefield in their respective forms with ornaments and Vâhanas as generally on such occasions. The S’akti (wife) of Brahmâ named Brahmâni, mounting on the back of Her Swan came there with a string of beads and Kamandalu (an wooden waterpot used by ascetics). The Vaisnavî with Her yellow robes came there mounted on Garuda (the sacred bird of Visnu, the carrier of Him) with conch, discus, club, and lotus in Her hands. The Devî S’ankarî, the wife of S’iva, the Auspicious One, arrived on the back of Her Bull. The emblem of half-moon was on Her forehead while in Her hands She held snake, bracelet, and trident (Trisûla) and the sign of fearlessness for Her devotees. The beautiful wife of Kârtika, Kaumâri Devî, looking like Kartika, came to fight there mounted on a peacock. The fairfaced Indrânî, decked with ornaments on Her several limbs, came there to fight, with thunder-bolt in Her hand, mounted on the elephant Airâvata. The Vârâhî Devî looking like a female boar, came also, seated on an elevated seat of departed souls (Preta). The Nârasimhî, resembling Nrisimha (the Man Lion Incarnation) came there. The wife of Yama, looking fearful like Yama arrived there on the battlefield smiling and with staff in Her hand and mounted on the back of a buffalo. Thus the wives of Kuvera, Varuna, and other Devas came there with proper forms, Vâhanas, ornaments, accompanied by their forces and all excited. Seeing them all, the Devî Ambikâ became glad; the Devas, too, became peaceful and expressed their great joy; the Dânavas were afraid at the sight of them. S’ankara, auspicious to all the beings, came there to the battlefield, surrounded by these goddesses and thus said to Chandikâ :-- Slay quickly all these Asuras, S’umbha, Nis’umbha and all other Dânavas to serve the cause of the Devas. Let all the goddesses destroy the Dânava race and thus free the world from dangers; they may, then, return to their own abodes. Let the Devas get their shares of sacrifices, let the Brâhmanas perform the sacrificial acts, and let all the creatures, moving or not moving, be happy. Let all calamities such as proceed from drought, excessive rain, rats, foreign invasion, locusts and birds, bats, etc., come to an end. Let the clouds bestow rains regularly and let the cultivation yield ample harvests. Note here that rats bring in plague.

34-40. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When S’ankara, the Lord of the gods and Auspicious to all, said thus, a wonderful female ensued out of the body of Chandikâ, very furious, horrible, with hundreds of jackals surrounding and yelling; then that S’akti, of dreadful appearance, said to the five-faced S’iva, smiling :-- O Deva of the Devas! Go quickly to the lord of the Daityas; do the duty of a messenger for us, O Destroyer of lust! O S’ankara! Tell that haughty lustful S’umbha and Nis’umbha leave the Heavens and go to Pâtâla. Let the Devas reign in the Heavens; Indra go to his own beautiful throne; let all the Devas go to their appropriate places in Heaven and receive their sacrificial offerings duly. And if the Demons desire to live, let them go quickly to the city of Pâtâla where other Dânavas are dwelling. Else, if they like to die, let them go quickly to the battlefield and let their flesh be eaten up by Her jackals.

41. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing Her words, S’ûlapâni went quickly to S’umbha, the lord of the Dânavas, seated in the assembly, and said thus :--

42-44. O King! I am Hara, the Destroyer of the Asura Tripurâ; now I have come to you for your good as a messenger of Ambikâ Devî. Quit the Heavens and Earth and go quickly to Pâtâla where reside the powerful Bali and Prahlâda, or if you like to court Death, come to fight; I will slay you all in a moment. O King! The Great Queen Ambikâ Devî has sent me with these instructions for your welfare and information.

45-63. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus conveying the nectarlike, beneficial words of the Devî to the chief Daityas, S’iva, the Holder of the trident, returned to his own place. The S’akti that sent S’ambhu as a messenger to the Dânavas is known in three worlds as S’iva Dûtî. The Daityas, thus hearing the rigorous words of the Devî, put on their coats of armour and taking their bows and arrows quickly went out to fight. They came with great force to the battlefield, stretched their bows to their ears and shot piercing arrows, sharpened on stone and tipped with iron, at the Chandikâ Devî. The Kâlikâ Devî, too began to strike some with the trident, some with S’akti weapon, and some with clubs and rent them asunder and devoured them all, and began to roam in the field. Brahmâni began to pour water from Her Kamandalu on the powerful Dânavas in the battlefield and thus destroyed them. Mahes’varî, mounting on Her Bull gave violent blows by Her trident and thus lay them dead on the ground. Vaisnavî, with the blow of Her club, took away the lives of many Daityas and striking them with Her Discus out off the heads of several others. Indrânî hurled Her thunderbolt on the chief Dânavas, already struck by the feet of the elephant and lay them dead on the field. Nârasimhî tore the strongest Dânavas with the sharp nails and, devouring them, walked to and fro and made dreadful sounds. S’iva Dûtî began to laugh hoarsely and laid the Dânavas flat on the field, when they were at once devoured by Kâlikâ and Chandikâ. Kaumâri, seated on a peacock, by drawing the bowstring to Her ears hurled arrows sharpened on stone on the enemies and killed them to serve the cause of the gods. Vâruni tied down the Dânavas by Her Pâsa weapons in a face to face fighting; thus they lay down senseless on the ground. O King! Thus the Mâtrikâs, the goddesses, crushed the forces. Then the other powerful soldiers fled away terrified. The “Boombâ” danger cry rose then loudly; on the other hand, the Devas began to shower flowers on the Devîs. Hearing the distressful agonies of the Asuras and the shouts of victory of the Devas, Raktabîja, the chief of the Dânavas became very angry. Seeing specially the Dânavas flying away and the Devas shouting, that powerful Demon came hurriedly to the battlefield with anger. Then with eyes reddened with anger, and with various weapons came before the Devî, Raktabîja mounting on a chariot, and making sounds unusual with his bowstring.

Here ends the Twenty-eighth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the description of the fighting of the goddesses in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 29. On The Killing Of Raktabîja

1-21. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Please hear attentively about the extraordinary boon that was given by Mahâdeva, the God of gods, to the great warrior, Raktabîja. Whenever a drop of blood from the body of that great warrior will drop on the surface of the earth, immediately will arise innumerable Dânavas, equal in form and power to him; thus the Deva Rudra granted the Demon the wonderful boon. Thus elated with the boon, he entered into the battlefield with great force in order to kill Kâlikâ with Ambikâ Devî. Seeing the Vaisnavî S’akti, lotus-eyed, seated on the bird Garuda, the Demon struck Her with a violent weapon (named S’akti). She then baffled the weapon by Her club and hurled Sudars’ana disc on the great Asura Raktabîja. Thus struck by the disc, blood began to ooze out from his body as the red stream of soft red sandstone comes out of a mountain-top. Wherever on the surface of the earth drops of blood fell from his body, then and there sprang out thousands and thousands of demons like him. Indrâni, the wife of Indra, became very angry and struck the terrible Raktabîja with his thunderbolt. Streams of blood then began to ooze out from his body. No sooner the drops of blood fell from the Demon’s body, than were instantaneously born from the blood many powerful Asuras, of similar forms, having similar weapons and hard to be conquered in battle. Brahmânî then becoming enraged struck at him with the staff of Brahmâ with greater force. Mâhes’varî rent the Dânava asunder by striking him with Her trident. Nâra Simhî pierced the Asura with Her nails; Vârâhî struck at him with Her teeth. Then the Dânava becoming angry shot at them all with sharpened arrows and pierced them all. Thus when the Mâtrikâ Devîs were pierced by the club and other various weapons of that great Asura, they got very angry and pierced the Dânavas in return with shots of arrows. Kaumârî, too, struck at his breast with Her weapon, named S’akti. The Dânavas then got angry and hurled on them multitude of arrows and began to pierce them. O King! The Chandikâ Devî, getting angry, cut off his weapons into pieces and shot violently at him other arrows. O King! Thus struck by severe blows, when blood began to flow in profuse quantities from his body, thousands and thousands of Dânavas resembling Raktabîja sprang out instantly from it. So much so, that the heavens were all covered over with Raktabîjas that sprang up from the blood. They all covered all over their bodies with coats of armour, began to fight terribly with weapons in their hands. Then the Devas, seeing that the innumerable Raktavîjas were striking the Devî, became very much frightened and were distressed with sorrow. They began to talk with each other with sorrowful countenances that thousands and thousands of huge bodied warriors were springing from the blood. These were all very powerful; so how could they be destroyed! In this battlefield there were now left only the Mâtrikâs, Kâlikâ, and Chandikâ. It would be certainly extremely difficult for them to conquer all these Dânavas. And if at that moment, S’umbha and Nis’umbha were to join them with his army, certainly a great catastrophe would occur.

22-28. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the Devas were thus extremely anxious, out of terror, Ambikâ Devî said to the lotus-eyed Kâlî :-- “O Châmundâ! Open out your mouth quickly, and no sooner I strike Raktabîja with weapons, you would drink off the blood as fast as it runs out of his body. Instantly I will kill those Dânavas sprung from the blood with sharpened arrows, clubs, swords and Musalas; and you would then be able to devour them all at your will, and, then, roam in this field as you like. O Large-eyed One! You would drink off all the jets of blood in such a way that not a drop of it escapes and falls on the ground. And then when they will all be devoured, no more Dânavas would be able to spring. Thus they will surely be extirpated; otherwise they will never be destroyed. Let me begin to strike blows after blows on Raktabîja and you better drink off quickly all the blood, being intent on destroying the forces. O Chamunde! Thus, the Dânavas being all exterminated, we will hand over to the Indra, the lord of the Devas, his Heavens without any enemy; and, thus, we can go peacefully and happily to our own places.”

29-47. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Châmundâ Devî, of furious strength, hearing thus the Devî’s words began to drink the jets of blood coming out of the body of Raktabîja. The Devî Ambikâ began to cut the Demon’s body into pieces and Châmundâ, of thin belly, went on devouring them. Then Raktabîja, becoming angry, struck Châmundâ with his club. But though She was thus hurt severely, She drank off the blood and then devoured all the limbs thereof. O King! Thus Kâlikâ Devî drank off the blood of all other powerful wicked Dânava Raktabîjas that sprang out of the blood. Ambikâ thus destroyed them. Thus, all the Dânavas, created out of the blood were devoured; then, there was left, lastly, the real Raktabîja. Ambikâ Devî then cut him asunder into pieces by Her axe and thus killed him. Thus, when the dreadful Raktabîja was slain in the battle, the Dânavas fled away trembling with fear. Without any weapons, covered all over their bodies with blood, and void of consciousness they uttered, dumb confounded “Alas! Alas! What has happened, what has happened.” Thus crying, they told their King S’umbha thus :-- “O King of Kings! Ambikâ Devî has killed Raktabîja and Châmundâ has drunk off all their blood. The carrier (Vâhana) of Devî, the powerful ferocious Lion killed other powerful warriors and Kali devoured the remaining soldiers. O Lord of the Dânavas! We have fled and come to you to give the news of the battle and to describe the wonderful doings of that Chandikâ Devî in the battlefield. O King! In our opinion, no one will be able to conquer that Lady, be he a Daitya, Dânava, Gandarbha, Asura, Yaksa, Pannaga, Chârana, Râksasa, or an Uraga. O King of Kings! The other Goddesses, Indrâni and others, have come to the battle, on their own carriers respectively and are fighting with various weapons. O Lord of the Dânavas! The Dânava forces are all slain by them with the excellent weapons in their hands. Even Raktabîja has been slain in no time. That Lion, of indomitable prowess, killed the Râksasas in the battle; The Devî alone is hard to conquer; how much more would it be impossible to conquer Her, when She has been joined with other goddesses. So consult with the ministers and do what is reasonable. In our opinion it is better to make treaty with Her and quit your enmity. O King! Think over the fact that that Lady destroyed all the Dânavas and at last drank off the blood of Raktabîja and at last killed him. What on earth can be more wonderful than this? O King! The Devî Ambikâ killed all the other Daityas and Châmundâ devoured their blood, flesh, and all. Considering all this, it is now better for us to serve the Devî Ambikâ or fly away to Pâtâla. No more fighting is desirable. She is not an ordinary woman; She is Mahâ Mâyâ, there is not the least doubt in this. Only to serve the cause of the Gods, She has manifested Herself and is now destroying the Râksasas’ race.”

48. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing thus, S’umbha got confounded by Kâla (Death), as his end was coming nigh, and said the following words, his lips quivering with anger.

49-54. You are struck with fear; so you all take the refuge of Chandikâ or fly down to Pâtâla; but I will kill Her with all my exertion and effort. I conquered all the hosts of Devas and I have enjoyed their kingdom; shall I now, out of the fear of one Lady, fly and enter into the Pâtâla. All my attendants, Raktabîja and other heroes, are now slain in the battle and is it possible that I will now fly away out of the sake of preserving my life only. See! The death of all the beings is ordained by Kâla and it is unavoidable. No sooner a being is born, he is liable to the fear of death. How can a man, then, out of fear of death, quit all his name and fame? O Nis’umbha! I will now go immediately to the battle, mounting on my chariot and will return after slaying Her in battle. And if I cannot kill Her, I will not then return any more. O Best of warriors! Better stand on my side with all your forces and kill that Lady in no time, with sharp arrows.

55-58. Nis’umbha said :-- Today I will go to the battle and slaying that Kâlikâ, will shortly return here with Ambikâ. O King! Do not think at all for that Lady; see my world-conquering strength and look at that weak woman; there is a vast difference. Cast aside your this great mental anxiety and trouble. Enjoy, O Brother, excellent things. I will bring that dignified Lady with all honours before you. O King! You ought not to go to the battle when I am alive. I will presently go to the fight and bring for you that Lady as a sign of our victory.

59-60. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus saying, the younger brother, proud of his own strength, went hurriedly to the battlefield, mounting on his big chariot. He was protected all over his body by his coat of armour and he was well provided with various weapons and all other accoutrements of war. The bards began to sing hymns to him and various other propitious ceremonies were being performed.

Here ends the Twenty-ninth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of Raktabîja in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 30. On The Killing Of Nis’umbha

1-10. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus making a firm resolve that there would be either victory or death, the great warrior Nis’umbha went to fight with the Devî, with great excitement and with all his forces. S’umbha, too the Lord of the Daityas, accompanied by his forces, went after Nis’umbha; S’umbha knew full well the rules of warfare; therefore he remained a witness there. Indra and the other Devas and Yaksas, all stationed themselves in the celestial space, eager to see that fight, covered with clouds. Nis’umbha came to the field, and, taking the strong bow made of horns, began to shoot arrows after arrows at the Divine Mother with the object of frightening Her. Seeing Nis’umbha with his excellent bow, shooting arrows, Chandikâ began to laugh frequently. With a soft slow voice She spoke to Kâlikâ :-- “O Kâlî! See their foolishness! They have come before me, courting death. They are so much deluded by My Mâyâ, that they yet expect victory when they have already witnessed the death of Raktabîja and many Dânavas. Hope is so very strong that it never quits a man. How wonderful is this that some of their armies are destroyed, some are wounded, some are rendered senseless, some made powerless, some have fled; seeing all these, yet, they have come to fight, as it were, fastened by the cord of hope of victory. O Kâlî! Today I will certainly slay Nis’umbha and S’umbha. Their death is nigh; deluded by the Daivî Mâyâ, they have come to Me. Therefore, in the face of all the Devas, I will kill them today.”

11-24. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus saying, and suddenly drawing Her bow, Chandî covered Nis’umbha, in front, all over with a multitude of arrows. Nis’umbha, too, cut off those arrows into pieces by his sharp arrows; thus the fight became more and more dreadful between them. At this time, the lion of Bhagavatî, came down upon the forces, quivering his manes, like a powerful elephant going down into a lake. By his nails and teeth, he tore asunder the bodies of the Dânavas that fell before him and devoured them, as if they were infatuated elephants. That lion thus crushing down the soldiers, Nis’umbha came forward hurriedly, drawing his excellent bow. Hundreds of other generals of the Dânavas came up there to kill the Devî, biting their lips and with their eyes reddened with anger. In the meantime S’umbha killed Kâlikâ and came very hurriedly there with his forces to capture the Divine Mother. Coming to the battlefield S’umbha saw that the Divine Mother was standing before him; though She was looking very beautiful, fit for love sentiment, yet She was filled also with the sentiment of fiery wrath. At that time the large eyes of Bhagavatî, the Beautiful in the three worlds, though naturally red, looked more red due to wrath. When S’umbha saw Her lovely features, the desire to marry Her and the hope of victory all vanished away from his mind; and he stood there with bow in his hand, firmly holding in his mind that he would die. Seeing the Dânava in that state, She smiled and began to say, so that all the Dânavas could hear. O Wretched Fools! If you all want to live, quit all your weapons here, go to the Pâtâla or to the middle of the ocean. Or be slain in the battle by My arrows and go to heavens and enjoy there without any fear all the enjoyments and sports there. Weakness and heroism, both cannot be expected at one and the same time and at the same individual; therefore I am ordering you to dispel your fears. Now go wherever you find your ease and happiness.

25-35. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words of the Devî, that haughty Nis’umbha ran forward, holding in his hand the sharpened axe and shield adorned with eight Chandras (embossed) and firstly struck with sword violently on the proud lion; then, whirling with great force that sword, hurled it upon the Divine Mother. The Devî, then, thwarted off the blow of the sword by Her club and struck at his arm by Paras’u. The warrior Nis’umbha, thus struck at his arm, patiently bore that hurt and struck at Chandikâ by his axe. The Devî then made such a terrible noise of bells that all the Daityas were struck with terror. Then She, desiring to kill Nis’umbha, began to drink nectar frequently. O King! Thus the terrible fight went on between the Devas and Dânavas both trying to defeat the other party. Then began to dance in the battlefield, the cruel voracious dogs, jackals, vultures, herons, crows and other birds, very much gladdened. The battlefield was drenched with blood and the dead carcasses of innumerable Dânavas, elephants, and horses. Nis’umbha, then, seeing the Dânavas dead on the field, became very angry and ran forward with his terrible club before the Devî. That proud Asura struck first at the head of the lion with that club and laughed again and again and struck the Devî with that same club. The Devî, too, got very angry seeing Nis’umbha before Her and striking at Her. She then spoke thus :--

36. O You Stupid! Wait till I sever your head from your body by this axe. Soon you will be sent unto death with your head severed off your body.

37-64. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus saying the Chandikâ Devî instantly cut off the head of Nis’umbha by Her axe with great caution.

The head thus severed from the body by the blow of the Devî, the headless Demon began to roam there with great force with club in his hand. The Devas then got very much frightened; The Devî, then, cut off the hands and feet of that headless Demon with sharpened arrows. That vicious wretch fell down lifeless, on the ground like a mountain. The powerful Daitya Nis’umbha being thus killed, a great uproar arose amidst his panic stricken forces. The soldiers, covered all over their bodies with blood, left all their weapons in the field, began to make Boombâ sound (a piteous cry with mouth and hands as sign of danger) and fled away to the King S’umbha. He, the tormentor of the foes, then asked them coming :-- “Where is Nis’umbha now? Why have you fled away from the field?” Thus hearing the King’s words, they bowed down and said :--  O King! Your brother Nis’umbha is lying dead on the battlefield. O King! The Devî killed all the Dânava warriors that attended your brother; only we are left and have come here to give you the information. O King! Nis’umbha has been killed by the weapons of the Devî. So we think you ought not to go to the battle. Know this as certain that the Lady, the Highest Cause of this Universe has come here to destroy the Dânavas, the object being to serve the cause of the Gods. This Lady is not an ordinary woman; She is the Supreme Force; Her doings are inconceivable; what more can be said than the fact that the Devas never can know Her! This Devî can assume various forms; She is the origin of Mâyâ; She is very clever; She is adorned with various ornaments and is holding various weapons in Her hands. Her doings are incomprehensible; She is like a Second Night of Dissolution (at the end of the world); She is Perfect, endowed with all auspicious signs, capable to go beyond the insurmountable. This wonderful Devî is serving the cause of the gods and the Devas from the sky are singing hymns to Her. O King! It is now your paramount duty to fly away and save your life; if you live, you may have the chance for gaining the victory when time will turn out favourable; there is no doubt in this. It is Time that makes a strong man weak; and it is that very Time that makes that weak man strong again and stimulates him for victory. Time makes a generous donor a beggar and it is Time that makes the same beggar again a generous donor. Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’a, Indra and other Devas are all under the sway of this Time; so Time is the Sovereign of all. Therefore, O King! Wait for this Time. Now Time is favourable to the Gods and inimical to you. Therefore Time is destroying now the Daityas. But the course of Time is not the same throughout. O King! The actions of Time are various no doubt. Time creates men and Time destroys them. The time of creation is different from the time of destruction, this is evident to you before your eyes. See! When Time was favourable to you, you subject Indra and all other Devas and made them pay taxes to you; and now Time is unfavourable to you; so an ordinary weak woman is killing the powerful Dânavas; Time, therefore, is doing favourable things and also unfavourable things. The host of Devas or the woman Kâlî is not the cause thereof. O King! The present Time is not favourable to you and the Daityas; knowing this, do as you like. See! Indra, Visnu, Varuna, Yama and other prominent Devas all fled before in battle, quitting the weapons. So, knowing this world as subject to the control of Time, you can now fly away and go quickly to the Pâtâla. For if you live, you will get in future all the pleasures; and if you be killed, your enemies will all be very glad and roam everywhere fearlessly, singing propitious songs.

Here ends the Thirtieth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the killing of Nis’umbha in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 31. On The Death Of S’umbha

1. Vyâsa said :-- O King! S’umbha, the Lord of the Daityas, hearing the words of the soldiers, began to say, then, with eyes rolling with anger.

2-15. S’umbha said :-- “O Fools! What are you saying all this? How can I do this unspeakably mean act and then hope to live? How shall I be able to roam in this world when I have become the cause the slaying of my brothers and ministers? Time is the more powerful cause of all that takes place, good or bad; so when this formless Time is the Supreme Ruler, what use is there in my brooding over the result? Let whatever come that is inevitable, let whatever be done that is destined to take place; death or life, I do not think of either. The more so when Time is never able, even when worshipped, to thwart off death or life when their proper moment arrives. See! The God of rain gives us rain in the rainy season; but, it is seen that sometimes it does not rain in the month of S’râvan (the rainy season); whereas it rains sometimes in the month Agrahâyana, Pausa, Mâgha, or Phâlguna (not the rainy season). Therefore it is evident that Time is not the chief factor. Fate is stronger than Time; Time is merely the instrumental cause. It is this Fate that has created all this universe; it cannot be rendered otherwise. I consider Fate Supreme; Fie on this one’s own exertion! For, Lo! Nis’umbha, who had before conquered all the Devas, is slain today by an ordinary woman! Alas!

When Raktabîja, too, had been slain, how can I desire to hold on to my life, foregoing all my name and fame! Even Brahmâ, who has created all this universe, will not sooner come to an end than his longevity expires. Four thousand Yugas constitute one day of Brahmâ; and in that one day fourteen Indras perished; so twice the life of Brahmâ constitute the life of Visnu; similarly twice the life period of Visnu constitute the life period of Mahes’a; and when their longevities expire, they come to an end. This visible earth, mountains, sun and moon all will perish; so it has been specially ordained by the Destiny; therefore, O Fools! I do not care a bit for the death. When a being is born, he must die; and when anyone dies, he will be born again, there is no doubt in this. So one ought to preserve one’s name and fame which is more permanent in this transitory body. Prepare my chariot; I will go today to the battlefield; let victory or defeat come what it may, as Fate has ordained. I will soon go to fight.”

16-33. Thus saying, S’umbha mounted on the chariot quickly and went where the Devî Ambikâ was staying. Then the four-fold army, cavalry, infantry, chariots, horses and elephants and innumerable soldiers, followed him with weapons in their hands. Going there to the Himâlayâ mountain, he saw the Divine Mother sitting on Her Lion. She appeared so very lovely as to enchant the three worlds. Her body was decorated with various ornaments, all the auspicious gems were manifest; the Devas, Gandarbhas, Yaksas and Kinnaras in the heavens were all worshipping Her with hymns and Pârijâta flowers; and the Devî was making beautiful sounds with bells and conches, indicative of Her victory. Seeing Her S’umbha was very much enchanted with passionate love and struck with, the five arrows of cupid, thought thus :-- How wonderful is Her lovely countenance! See! How wonderful and amazing is Her skilfulness! Delicacy and capability to endure the hardships of war, though quite contrary to each other, are both in Her. What a wonder is this! Her bodies are extremely delicate and limbs are lean and thin; besides She is lately blooming into womanhood; still She does not feel any passion; this is undoubtedly very wonderful! She is exquisitely beautiful that can be desired of in one’s mind; and though She is endowed with all the auspicious signs, yet She has no inclinations for all the pleasures and allurements of the world and is now slaying the powerful Asuras; this is wonderful indeed! Now what steps are to be taken so that this Lady comes under my control? All the Mantrams also are not with me now to bring over this Swan-eyed Lady unto me. This proud lovely Lady is the incarnate of all Mantrams; how will She come under my control? This heroic Lady cannot be controlled by conciliatory words, allurements, dissensions; it is not advisable, too, to fly away from the battlefield and to go to Pâtâla. What am I to do? Where shall I go in this critical moment? And if I die at the hands of this Lady, that death is not a glorious one; it will take away my fame. The death in a battlefield is conducive to one’s well being, so the sages say, when both the parties are equally strong. The Devas have created this Lady stronger than even hundred strong men; She is a woman merely in name. This Lady is very powerful and has come here to destroy the Dânavas; there is no doubt in this. What effect will conciliatory words now produce on Her; She has come to slay us; Will She be appeased with good words? Neither will allurements of precious things be of any avail, for She is decked with various arms and weapons; nor will it be of any use to sow dissensions between the Devas and Her. Further all the Devas are under Her control. Therefore it is far better to die than to fly; victory or death would come unto me today as Fate has ordained.

34-46. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus thinking in his mind, S’umbha became ready to shew his strength; and firmly resolved to fight, he said to the Devî before him :-- Devî! Fight. But, O One of delicate limbs! Thy so much toil is in vain. Thou hast no sense at all; for Thou art doing contrary to the doings of woman-kind. The pair of eyes of women are their arrows; the eyebrows are their bows; their gestures and postures are their weapons and their hits are those persons who are skilled in amorous love sentiments. The dyes used in painting the bodies are their armours, their mental desires are their chariots, so sweet soft words and conversations are their trumpet sounds; women have no other things for their war preparations. Therefore, O Beloved! Any other weapons are mere mockeries and ridiculous; their modesty is their ornament; impudence can never grace them. An exquisitely beautiful woman, if engaged in a fight will look harsh; especially when Thou wilt draw Thy bow, how wilt Thou be able to hide Thy breasts? When Thou wilt run with Thy club, where will Thy gentle treadings go? O Beautiful! Thy councillors are this Kâlikâ and the stupid Châmundâ. Chandikâ is Thy adviser; her voice is very hoarse; how can then she be able to nurse Thee? Again this Lion, the terror of all the beings, is Thy carrier. Therefore, O Dear! Leave aside all these and come over unto me. O Beautiful One! That Thou art ringing Thy bells and dost not sound. Thy lute goes quite against Thy beauty and youth. O Sensitive One! If Thou likest to fight, better assume an ugly appearance, let Thy nature be ferocious and cruel; let Thy colour be black like a crow; lips elongated, legs long, nails ugly, teeth horrible, and let Thy eyes be ugly or yellow like those of a cat. O Devî! Assume such an ugly appearance and stand firmly for the fight. O Deer-eyed One! Speak first harsh words unto me; then I will fight with Thee; my hand does not get up to strike Thee with handsome teeth, in the battlefield, Who art like a second Rati.

47. Vyâsa said :-- O Best of the descendants of Bhârata! When S’umbha said thus, the Divine Mother, seeing him passionate, smiled and said :--

48-50. O Stupid One! Why are you so much distressed with passion? O Fool! If your hand does not come forward to strike weapons at Me, then fight with this ugly Kâlikâ or Châmundâ; they are your best compeers in the battlefield; they will fight with you; I will stand as a mere Witness. Thus saying, the Devî Bhagavatî said to Kâlikâ, in sweet words :-- “O Kâlikâ! Your nature is fierce; this S’umbha likes also the fierce; so kill him.”

51-69. Vyâsa said :-- O King! That Kâlikâ, the incarnate of Death, thus ordered, took up Her club immediately and became ready to fight, as if sent there direct by the God of Death. A dreadful fight then ensued between the two; and the highsouled Munis and the Devas were present there and witnessed the great event. S’umbha first struck at Kâlikâ, raising his club. Kâlikâ, then, struck S’umbha in return with her club violently. Instantly she made a dreadful sound, broke down his chariot, glittering like gold, into pieces, killed the horses of the chariot and slew the charioteer. Walking, then, on foot with a very heavy club in his hand, S’umbha struck with great anger on the breast of Kâlikâ and began to laugh. Kâlikâ, in the meanwhile, rendering his stroke useless, soon took up Her axe and cut off his left hand, pasted with sandal and decked with arms and weapons. His left hand thus out off, his whole body was drenched with torrents of blood; yet he came up with club in his hand and struck Kâlikâ with it. Kâlikâ, too, laughed and with Her scimitar cut off his right arm holding the club and ornamented with armlet. S’umbha became angry and came up violently to kick Her when Kâlikâ quickly cut off his two legs. His arms and legs thus severed from his body, the Demon frightened Kâlikâ and told Her, “Wait, wait.” And soon he came up before Her. Seeing the Demon coming, Kâlikâ severed his neck from his body like a lotus; blood began to gush out in continuous streams. O King! The head of S’umbha, thus severed from his body, fell on the ground like a mountain. Immediately the life left the body. Seeing the Dânava fall down lifeless, Indra and the other hosts of Devas began to worship the Devî Bhagavatî, Châmundâ, and Kâlikâ and chanted lovely hymns to them. The winds then began to blow pleasantly; all the quarters looked very clear and Fire in sacrificial altars, being circumambulated, became very propitious. On the other hand, those Daityas that remained alive quitted their arms and weapons, bowed down to the Divine Mother, and fled away one and all to the Pâtâla. O King! I have now described in regular order to you how the Devî protected the Devas and destroyed S’umbha and other Asuras. Those human beings on the surface of the earth that read this anecdote from the beginning to the very end or hear it constantly, get all their desires fulfilled; there is no doubt in this. O King! Verily he gets a son who has not got any son; he gets abundance of wealth who is without any wealth; the diseased become cured of their diseases; what more can be said than the fact that he who hears this glorious deed of the Devî in its entirety, gets all that he desires. O King! That man who reads daily this holy anecdote or hears it, has never to fear from his enemies; in addition be gets liberation after leaving his this body.

Here ends the Thirty-first Chapter of the Fifth Book on the death of S’umbha in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 32. On The King Suratha’s Going To The Forest

1-4. Janamejaya said :-- O Best of Munis! The glory of Chandikâ has been fully described by you. By whom was She worshipped in the ancient times after the reading and hearing of Her three glorious deeds (the killing of Madhu Kaitava, etc.)? Who was it that derived the best effects by worshipping the Devî, the Bestower of all desires? When and with whom was She pleased and then offered boons? O Ocean of mercy! Kindly narrate fully all these things to me. O Brâhmana! Describe to me also the rules how the meditation, worship and Homa of the Great Devî are conducted. Sûta said :-- “O Risis! Krisna Dvaipâyana, the son of Satyavatî, was very glad to hear these questions of Janamejaya and began to describe how the worship, etc., of the Mahâ Mâyâ, the Devî Bhagavatî are to be done.”

5-21. Vyâsa said :-- O King! In days of yore in Svârochisa Manvantara there was a king, named Suratha, very liberal-minded and devoted to govern well his subjects. He was truthful, active and energetic, and devoted to his Guru; he always served the twice-born and he never used to hold any sexual intercourse except with his legal wife. He was generous, not liking to quarrel with anybody, and expert in the science of archery. While he was thus governing his kingdom, the Mlechchas, the hill tribes, turned out his enemies. They destroyed the city of Kolâ, became very haughty and turbulent and desired to conquer the whole earth by their sheer force. Thus accompanied by the great four-fold army elephants, chariots, cavalry and infantry they came to conquer the dominion of the King Suratha. A dreadful fight then ensued between the King and the dreadful Mlechchas. O King! The Mlechcha forces were not at all numerous whereas the armies of the king were large; still the Mlechchas were lucky to win the battle. The King, defeated, fled to his own city which was a strongly fortified place. The good King, wise in statesmanship when he saw that his ministers had gone over to the enemies’ party, became very anxious and thought whether it was advisable for him to wait for a better opportunity, remaining within his own extensive city, well guarded by a strong wall and ditch or it would be better to fight on. The King thought also that it would not at all be advisable to consult with his ministers who were, then, under the control of his enemies; what then would he do under the circumstances? Those vicious ministers could at any time deliver him to the hands of his enemies; what would then happen to him! Those men, that are avaricious, can do anything in this world; therefore it would never be advisable to trust them. The people under the sway of greed commit injury to their fathers, brothers, friends, acquaintances, their Gurus and the adored Brâhmanas. When the ministers had joined with his enemies, they could well be classed with the vicious; no doubt in this. Never could they be trusted under the above circumstances. Thus pondering over the matter, the King became absent-minded, and, finding no remedy, went out of the city alone, mounted on a horse. The intelligent King, helpless, entered into a dense forest and thought where would he go now? Knowing, then, that there was, at a distance of three Yojanas from that place, a hermitage of the great ascetic the Sumedhâ Risi, the King went there. (N.B. :-- A Yojana is a distance measuring four Krosas or eight or nine miles.)

22-33. O King! That hermitage was more beautiful than even the Heavens; it was on the bank of a river; various kinds of trees were there; it was frequented with wild animals having no enmity with each other; the whole place was echoed with the sounds of cuckoos. The students were studying and reverberating the atmosphere with their Vedic chants; hundreds of herds of deers were running there; rice trees had grown there wildly at places and their harvests were collected at places; good flowery trees and others with delicious fruits were seen there; at places fragrant smells of oblations of ghee, etc., were coming; all these were delighting to any man who went or stayed there. The King Suratha was very glad to see that Âs’rama; he became fearless and wanted to stay there in the hermitage of the Brâhmin. Fastening his horse at the root of a tree, the King approached humbly to the Risi, and saw that the Muni was seated on a deer skin under the shade of dense Sâl trees. He was peaceful, lean and thin by tapasyâ. His stature was straight; and he was teaching his disciples and explaining to them the meaning of the Veda S’âstras.

He was void of anger, greed, etc., beyond all the dualities, without any jealousy, always devoted to the contemplation of his Self, truthful and full of peace. Seeing him the King was filled with tears and prostrated before him and fell like a stick before him. The Muni, seeing him thus asked him to get up and enquired about his welfare. A disciple then at the sign of the Guru, gave him a Kus’âsan, to take his seat. The King got up and at his permission took his seat on that kus’âsan; the the Muni worshipped the King duly by offering to him water to wash his feet, and Arghya (an offer of green grass, rice, etc). Then the Muni asked him, “Who are you? What for are you come here? Why are you so anxious? Tell frankly all these that are not yet known to me. What do you want? Speak out your mind. Even if that be impracticable, I will no doubt try my best to accomplish your desired ends.”

34-36. The King said :-- “O Muni! I am the King Suratha; defeated by my enemy, I have left my kingdom, palace, and wife and have come to your refuge. O Brâhmana! I am ready to do whatever you order me; on this surface of the earth there is no one but you who can protect me. Now I am very much terrified by my enemy; therefore I have come to you. O Muni! You protect those who come to seek your refuge; I have now come here to seek your shelter; so save me from this danger.”

37-38. The Maharsi said :-- “O King! Stay here without any fear; none of your enemies would be able to enter this hermitage by my power of Tapasyâ, even if they be very powerful. O Best of Kings! You will not be allowed to kill any animals here; you will have to sustain yourself on this wild rice, roots and fruits, etc., as the rules of the forest living permit.”

39-48. Vyâsa said :-- Thus hearing his words, the King began to live there, with all purity and without any fear, on roots and fruits. Once the King, while taking rest under the shade of a tree, while thinking of various things, thought of his own house thus :-- “My enemies have, no doubt acquired my kingdom, but they are vicious and wicked, shameless Mlechchas and always addicted to sinful deeds; certainly they are tormenting my subjects. My elephants and horses are not regularly getting their food and have all become powerless; certainly they are suffering very much from my enemies. All the servants that were nourished by me before are now all suffering from troubles, having been subjected by my enemies. The wicked enemies are certainly squandering away my hoarded wealth to bad immoral purposes, in gambling, drinking and in revelling with prostitutes. Those Mlechchas and my ministers are always intent on vicious acts; they do not know who are the proper persons to be given charities; so they will no doubt exhaust away my coffers in doing sinful acts.” While the King was thus meditating, seated at the root of a tree, there came one man of the Vais’ya caste looking very distressed. The King saw and instantly bade him take his seat beside him; then the King asked the Vais’ya :-- “O Noble One! Of what caste are you? Whence are you coming to this forest? What is your name? What for you look so pale and distressed? What calamity has befallen to you? O Good One! Two persons become friends whenever they speak seven words amongst them; according to this rule I am your friend; tell me, therefore, truly all these things.”

49. Vyâsa said :-- The Vais’ya, hearing these words from the King, took his seat and felt himself much relieved and thinking that he has met with a saint, began to speak thus :--

50-52. O my Friend! I belong to the Vais’ya caste; my name is Samâdhi; I was rich, never I had any jealousy towards anybody; always I used to speak truth and was devoted to religious acts. My wife and sons are very greedy of money and are irreligious; so they cut off all their affections and connections with me, very difficult to cut though, and have driven me out of the house on the pretext that I am very miserly. Thus forsaken by my relatives, I have now come to this forest. You look to be a fortunate man; therefore kindly, O Dear One! give me now your introduction and oblige.

53-55. The King said :-- I am the King Suratha; lately I had a defeat from the dacoits; moreover my ministers deceived me; consequently I am deprived of my kingdom and have now come here. O Best of Vais’yas! Fortunately you have come to me today as my friend. We two will repose here gladly in this beautiful forest covered with trees. O Intelligent One! Now quit your sorrow; be calm and quiet and rest with me, at your leisure, here happily.

56-58. The Vais’ya said :-- O King! My friends and relatives must have been helpless, very sorrowful and they are distressed at my absence; they must have been troubled very much by diseases and misfortunes no doubt and have become very anxious. O King! I cannot remain quiet; my mind is being troubled with the thought how my wife and sons are spending their times now in pain or happiness? I am always thinking when I would see again my sons, wife, relatives, friends, acquaintances and my house? I cannot make me calm and quiet.

59-60. The King said :-- O Intelligent One! What pleasure can you expect to see your wicked sons and treacherous relatives who have driven you out of your house? Even the enemies are far better, provided they do good to us; what sorts of friends are they who impose on us afflictions and sorrows. Do you, therefore, make your mind calm and quiet and remain here in greatest peace and happiness.

61. The Vais’ya said :-- O King! Even those that are wicked and cruel cannot quit their relatives. Today my mind is greatly agitated with the thought of my relatives; I cannot remain quiet.

62. The King said :-- My mind too, is incessantly troubled with the thought of my kingdom. Come; let both of us go to the Muni and ask him what is the medicine for the cure of these our mental agonies.

63-64. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus making their determinations, they went humbly to the Muni to ask him what were the causes of their sorrows? The King then went close to him and bowing down before him, took his seat and began to ask calmly and quietly the Muni who was sitting calm and serene.

Here ends the Thirty-second Chapter of the Fifth Book on the King Suratha’s going to the forest in the Mahâpurânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 33. On The Description Of The Greatness Of The Devî

1-8. The king Suratha said :-- “O Muni! This Vais’ya is now become a friend of mine in this forest; he has been expelled from his home by his sons and wife and he has come lately here in this forest. He is now suffering very much from the bereavement of his family and has become very much troubled in his mind. He is not getting any peace whatsoever. I am also become like him and have become very distressed owing to my kingdom being robbed away. This thought, though really devoid of any substantial cause, is not leaving my heart now. Oh! My elephants and horses, now under my enemies, have become weak; My servants are suffering very much owing to my absence! My enemies will, within no time squander away forcibly all my hoarded riches. This thought is not giving me any happiness; nay, I cannot get any sleep owing to this care and anxiety. O Lord! I know that this world is false as a dream; yet my mind is so deluded that I cannot make me quiet. Who am I? What are those horses and elephants to me? They are not my brothers, sons, nor friends; yet I feel very much for them and am troubled with their troubles. O Muni! I know these all are delusions; still I am not able to make my mind free from them. This is very wonderful indeed! What is the cause of all this? O Lord! Nothing is veiled from your sight, you are fully able to solve all these doubts. Therefore, O Ocean of mercy! Kindly explain to me and this Vais’ya the cause of all this delusion.”

9. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the King Suratha asked thus, the Muni in reply said to him the following words, full of wisdom, so that his delusion and sorrow might vanish.

10-25. The Muni said :-- “O King! I am telling you the cause of bondage as well the cause of release of all the beings in this Universe. She is known as Mahâ Mâyâ. She is the Mûla Prakriti, the state of equilibrium of the three Gunas, Sâttva, Râjas and Tâmas. Even Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’vara, Indra, Varuna, Vâyu, and the other Devas, Gandarbhas, Nagas, Râksasas, men, deer, animals, birds, trees and various kinds of creepers all are under Mâyâ; thus they are all bound; again they all get release when they are released by that Mâyâ. By Her is created all this world, moving and not moving, all the beings are caught in Her net and all are under the control of Her. You are a Ksattriya; so Râjoguna preponderates in you and your heart is thus rendered impure. She, by Her Mâyâ, deludes even the minds of those who are Jñânins or wise; you are but an ordinary man compared to them. Even Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a, though possessed of vast wisdom, still roam, under the sway of Mâyâ, in the three worlds completely deluded by their attachments to the sensual objects. O King! In the Satya Yuga, in ancient times Visnu Nârâyana himself performed a very hard tapasyâ in S’vetadvîpa. He passed away full ten thousand years in meditation, with the object of attaining the unbroken everlasting Bliss and becoming steadfastly attached to Brahmâ Vidyâ. O King! Brahmâ, too, became engaged in performing a tapasyâ, meditating the Primordial Force, Âdyâ S’akti, in a very wonderful solitary place for the cessation of delusion. Once on a time Vâsudeva Hari wanted to go to another place; he got up and started to see other places. Brahmâ, also, left his place and started for another destination. When they met each other in their way, each one asked the other, “Who are you?” The Prajâpati answered :-- “I am the Creator Brahmâ.” Hearing thus the Brahmâ’s words, Visnu said :-- “O You Stupid! I am Achyuta Visnu; therefore I am the Creator of this world. You are inferior to Me as there is so much of Râjoguna in preponderance in you. Know Me as the eternal Vâsudeva, preponderating in Sâttva Guna. Do you not remember that I fought a dreadful battle for you and thus saved your life a short while ago, I slew the two Dânavas Madhu and Kaitava when you were much distressed by them and took My refuge. How then do you boast now! O Fool! Quit your this vain boasting now. In this wide world, there is none superior to Me.”

26-31. The Risi said :-- Thus engaged in disputing with each other, their lips were quivering with anger and their eyes got red. When, Behold! there appeared suddenly between those two disputants, a nectar-like white phallic emblem (Lingam), wonderfully long and extensive. Then a voice, from without anybody, broke out in the Heavens and addressed Brahmâ and Visnu who were quarrelling thus! Whoever amongst you will be able to go to the other end of this Lingam whether beyond its top or below its bottom, he is certainly the superior of you two; let one of you therefore go down to Pâtâla and let the other go up to the Heavens. Leave off your useless disputations and take my word as proof. It is always advisable to select an umpire to decide such a quarrel as this that has sprung up between you two.

32-39. The Risi said :-- O King! Hearing thus the divine word, both of them became ready and began energetically to measure the length of the wonderful Lingam that stood in front of them. Visnu went down to Pâtâla and Brahmâ went up to Âkâs’a to measure the Lingam and thus to ascertain their superiority. Going down some distance Visnu got tired and doing his best, when he could not find out the end of the Lingam, he returned and remained at the desired meeting place. On the other hand, Brahmâ was ascending to the skies when he got one Ketakî flower dropping from the head of the Lingam. He became over glad and returned also to the desired meeting place. Brahmâ became very much elated with vanity and when he returned, he at once showed that flower to Visnu and spoke thus the false words :-- “O Visnu! This Ketakî flower has been obtained from the head of the Lingam. I have brought this to you simply that you would recognise it and be convinced in your heart.” Hearing these words of Brahmâ, Visnu saw the Ketakî flower and said :-- “O Brahmâ! Who is your witness in this matter? He whose words are true, who is equal to all, who is intelligent, pure, and always of good conduct, he can be the witness in such matters of dispute.”

40-44. Brahmâ said :-- “Who will come now as witness from that far off place? This Ketakî flower is the witness; this will give evidence.” Thus saying, Brahmâ requested Ketakî to give evidence; Ketakî soon replied thus to convince Visnu. O Visnu! I was on the head of Mahâdeva; Brahmâ has brought me from there down to this place; you ought not therefore to have any doubt on this point. My word is the evidence; Brahmâ has gone to the other end of the Lingam. Some devotee of S’iva put me on His head and Brahmâ has got me down from there. Hearing thus the words of Ketakî, Visnu was very much astonished and said this :-- “I cannot trust your word; if Mahâ Deva comes and speaks this Himself, then I can trust and take it as a proof.”

45-53. The Risi said :-- O King! The eternal Mahâ Deva, hearing the words of Visnu, spoke thus to Ketakî with great anger, “O Liar! Do not utter such false words; You dropped down from My head and Brahmâ while ascending up, picked you up on the way. Now as you have told a lie, I will never take you; you are henceforth forsaken by Me.” Brahmâ was then very much put to shame; he bowed down to Visnu; Mahâ Deva, forsook the Ketakî flower from that date. O King! Such is the power of Mâyâ; when Brahmâ, Visnu and other wise persons are so self-deluded by Her, what need to speak of other ordinary mortals! See! Visnu, the Lord of Laksmî, is self-deluded and is always deceiving the Daityas for the welfare of the Devas, without any fear whatsoever of the sin that he is thereby incurring. Though He is the Lord of all yet He has to take several incarnations in several wombs, forsaking the pleasures of the Heavens and fighting with the Daityas. O King! Visnu is omniscient and He is the Lord of this world; specially He is the only One, Supreme in the creation of the Gods. Now when Mâyâ exercises such a powerful influence on Visnu, what wonder is there that the other ordinary beings would be deluded by Her? O King! That Highest Prakriti draws away violently the hearts of the wise and drags them down into the ocean of world. That Omnipresent Bhagavatî is ever the cause of bondage of all when She casts Her net of delusion and She is again ever the cause of liberation when She imparts Her knowledge to them.

54. The King said :-- O Brâhman! What is the nature of Her? and what is the Supreme Force? What is the Cause of this creation? And where is Her highest place? Kindly narrate all these to me.

55-66. The Risi said :-- O King! She is beginningless; therefore She had no origin at any time; that Highest Devî is Eternal and She is always the Cause of all Causes. (How then can any other be powerful like Her). O King! She resides in all the beings as the essential vital Force; deprived of that Force, every being is reduced to a dead carcass. She is pervading as the Universal Force of Consciousness in all the beings. The form of this S’akti (Force) is the form made up of consciousness itself, the Brahmâ. (For the force of Fire is Fire itself; it is not seen in any other form). Her appearances and disappearances at times are simply for serving the purposes of the Gods. O King! Whenever the Devas and men worship Her, Ambikâ makes Her appearance visible to destroy their pains and sufferings. She assumes various forms and possesses various powers. That Highest Îs’varî comes down of Her free will to serve Her some purpose or other. She is not like the Devas, under the control of Daiva or Fate; She is not under the influence of Time (as both Fate and Time are created by Her). She puts always every being to action according to his capacity. Purusa is not the Doer; He is simply the Witness. This whole Universe is the object seen. That Devî is the Mother of all this that is witnessed. She is the Manifested and She is the Unmanifested and She is the Effect also. She alone is the Actress and manifests thus the world and thus gives the colouring to the Purusa. When the Purusa is coloured thus, She destroys quickly these worlds. It is said that Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a are respectively the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of the world; but this is merely a statement; really they are merely instruments in Her hands. Bhagavatî has created them in reality for Her Pastime and stationed them in their respective posts. She has bestowed to them Her part manifestations, i.e., Sarasvatî to Brahmâ, Laksmî to Visnu, and Girijâ to Mahes’a and has thus rendered them more powerful. They, the lords of the Devas, always meditate and worship Her as the Creatrix, Preservrix and Destructrix of this Universe. O King! I have thus described to you, as far as my intelligence and knowledge go, the holy greatness and the excellent glory of Her (in reality, I have not been able to come to the end of it).

“Aim Hrîm Klîm Châmundâyai bichche” is the (9) nine lettered mantra.

Here ends the Thirty-third Chapter of the Fifth Book on the description of the greatness of the Devî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 34. On The Methods Of The Worship Of The Devî

1. The King said :-- O Bhagavân! Kindly narrate to me in detail now the methods how to serve and worship the Goddess and the Mantrams that are used on such occasions.

2-12. The Risi said :-- O King! I am now describing the method how to worship the Goddess. Hear. This leads to the fulfilment of all desires, to the liberation from one’s bondage, to self-realisation and to the destruction of all miseries. The worshipper has to perform his bath; then putting on a white cloth, he will have to perform his Vaidik and Tântrik Sandhyâ; then he should, with his heart controlled, perform his Âchamana ceremony and select a good auspicious site for his own Poojâ purposes. Next he should plaster the site with cow-dung and spread his sacred carpet (Âsana) whereon he is to take his seat with a cheerful mind and sip water for Âchamana three times. Then he is to collect the articles for worship according to his best capacity and place them duly in their respective positions. He is to perform Prânâyâma (regulate his breath); and then follows the Bhuta-S’uddhi, the purification of the old and the formation of the celestial body and Jîva-S’uddhi by which the Sâdhaka becomes the Devatâ-maya; he then proceeds to Mâtrikâ Nyâsa (i.e., setting mentally in their several places in the six Chakras and then externally by physical action the letters of the alphabet which form the different parts of the body of the Devatâ. He then places his hand on different parts of his body, uttering distinctly at the same time the appropriate Mâtrikâ for that part).

Bhuta-S’uddhi :-- Dissolve earth into water, water into fire, fire into air, air into ether; ether into Ahamkâra, Ahamkâra into Mahat and Mahat into Prakriti, the final Cause. This process is called Bhuta-S’uddhi.

He is to mention then the time, date, tithi, and month of the year and make his Sankalpa; then he will have to assign to the different parts of his body the Mâtrikâ Mantrams duly as well as his own Mantram; next he is to meditate in his own body the seat of the different Devatâs and do the internal worship. He is to breathe life into the Deity outside to be worshipped as well as within himself to be meditated and worshipped; then he is to do the same with the articles for worship and purify them by sprinkling with water and Astra or Phat Mantram, thus removing all sources of obstacles that are likely to interfere with the act. Next, on an auspicious copper plate, he is to draw inside a six-angled (hexagonal) figure (two triangles crossing each other with their vertices one upward and the other below) with white sandal paste or with eight perfumed things and outside this figure, an octagonal figure of eight petals; outside this he is to draw the boundary lines that is called the Bhûpura. On each of the eight petals he is to write each letter of the nine-lettered Vîja (Seed) Mantram and the ninth letter in the central ovum. Next by the Mantram by which breath is infused or by the Vedic Mantram he will have to place the Yantra in the proper position and then worship the Âdhâra S’akti (the vital Force) in the central ovum and the holy seat with the Pîtha Mantrams. He will have to invoke the Devî, uttering the Seed Mantram over a golden plate or figure and carefully worship Her by offering seats and other articles duly as enunciated in the Yâmala Tântras, etc. Then he will have to perform the six-fold worship of the Ganas in the six angles and worship Indra, etc., and Vajra and others in the Bhûpura (the boundary) and thus finish the Poojâ of the Yantra. (For the Poojâ see the Prapancha Sâra.) Note :-- Bhûpura is what is thought over outside front or in the beginning. Here the Gana Devatâs are first thought over and worshipped. Worship outside, worship inside and See the Deity in and out, everywhere and be free is the motto of the worship. In the absence of the Yantra, one will have to make a metalled image of Bhagavatî and worship Her with the greatest caution with the Mantras as expounded by S’iva in the Tantrams (of Jâmalâ and others). Note :-- Yantra is that which restrains. This human body is the Yantra. And its imitation is placed outside in various shapes and figures. The Yantra is the mystical diagram used by the devotees for worship. Or one may use the Vaidik Mantrams in worshipping the Deity in accordance with the prescribed rules and with his mind controlled; then, merged in meditation, one is to mutter silently (perform the Japam of) the nine-lettered Mantram. (The Mantram is Krîm Daksine Kâlike Svâhâ). Japam (muttering or repeating silently the Mantram) is of two kinds :-- Nitya (daily) and Pauras’charanik (repetition of the name of the deity accompanied with burnt offerings). In the Nitya Japam, Nitya Homas are performed and in the occasional Pauras’charanik Japam, one tenth of this is offerred; Abhiseka, too, is one-tenth of this Homa; Tarpanam is one-tenth of Abhiseka and the feeding of the Brâhmanas is one-tenth of what is done in the Tarpanam. O King! Thus completing the Japam one is to read daily the Chandî (do the Chandîpâtha) where the three glorious deeds of the Devî are narrated; next he will have to allow the Deity invoked to depart to Her own place. The Navarâtra Vrata (nine night vow) is next to be observed according to the proper rites and ceremonies. Hrîm Mahisa Mardinyai Svâhâ is the Mantra.

13-31. In the bright fortnight of the month of Âsvin or Chaitra, is to be observed the fasting of the Navarâtra by those who desire for their own welfare. Homas are to be offered, many in number, and Mantrams are to be recited, the same as in one’s own Mantram, good Pâyasam with sugar, ghee, and honey mixed is to be offered in this ceremony. Goat meat, or holy leaves of the Bel tree, or red Karavîr flowers or til (sesamum seed) mixed with honey can be used instead in the Homa ceremony. The special days for the worship of the Devî are the eighth, ninth, or fourteenth day (tithi) of the half month. The feeding of the Brâhmins must be done on each occasion. O King! Thus the poor become wealthy, the diseased get cured, and the persons that have no issue get obedient and well qualified sons. The King, expelled from his kingdom, gets back by the grace of Mahâ Mâyâ, dominion over the whole earth and becomes able to destroy all those enemies of his, by whom he was before vanquished, when he worships the Devî. The persons, desirous of learning, get undoubtedly the learning honourable and auspicious, provided he worships the Devî with his senses restrained. Persons of all castes, Brâhmins, Ksatriyas, Vais’yas or S’ûdras can become masters of all pleasures and happiness provided they worship with devotion the Devî, the Preserver of the World (the Jagaddhâtrî). A man or woman whoever performs the Navarâtra vow always full of devotion, gets all the desired fruits. Whoever celebrates the holy Navarâtra ceremony in the bright fortnight of the month of Âs’vin with his heart full of the thought of the Devî, gets all his desired fruits. O King! Now I am describing the rites and ceremonies; here a square raised platform or altar is to be made according to the prescribed rules; a water-jar is then to be placed on it with the Vedic mantrams and due rites and ceremonies. One will have to make a beautiful Yantra according to the previously laid rules and the water-jar is to be placed on it; then spread the beautiful Yava grains all around the jar. An awning or pandal is to be erected over the altar and the place of worship, and the site is to be decorated with flowers. Lights and Dhûpas, incense and perfumes are then to be used in the hall of the Chandikâ Devî. O King! The Devî is to be worshipped thrice; morning, midday and evening; no miserliness is to be shown in spending wealth for this purpose. Light, dhûp, good presents of rice and other edibles, flowers, and fruits of various kinds are to be offered in this worship of the Devî; the chanting of the hymns of the Vedas, songs, and music with the various instruments are to be done and a grand festivity is to be made. Moreover, note this carefully that virgins are to be worshipped duly with sandal, ornaments, clothings, various edibles, sweet scented oil, and beautiful garlands. (This worship of the virgins is one of the essentials.) Thus completing the worship of the Devî, Homa is to be done duly with Mantrams and other necessary articles on the eighth or the ninth tithi. Lastly the Brâhmins are to be fed duly; then the worshipper is to take his first meal after fasting (i.e., make pâranam) on the tenth day; then presents and various articles are to be offered to the Brâhmin, according to one’s might and with devotion.

32-44. O King! Any man, or any chaste married woman or a chaste widow whoever performs thus the Navarâtra Vrata gets in this world all the desired fruits and enjoys all sorts of enjoyments and gets unbounded happiness and after death goes to the highest place. And if, owing to some cause or other, he has to take his birth again in this world, he would be born in an excellent family and would become endowed with good conduct and qualifications and get the unflinching devotion towards the Ambikâ Devî. O King! I have thus described to you the rules of the Navarâtra ceremony; this vow is the best of all; highest and greatest pleasures and happinesses are obtained in worshipping thus the auspicious Mahâ Mâyâ. O King! Better worship Chandikâ duly according to the prescribed rules; then you would be able, by Her grace, to conquer all your enemies and you will regain your excellent dominion, unshaken by any, and you will get again the highest pleasure and happiness when you will be reunited with your wife and sons in your own palace; there is no doubt in this. O Vais’ya! You, too, better worship the same Mahâ Mayâ, the Goddess of the Universe, worshipping Whom leads to the fructification of all desires. You will then be able to regain all your worldly pleasures in your own home and be respected by your relatives and acquaintances and finally, after your death, you will go to the holy abode of the Devî. There is no doubt in this. Those that do not worship the Devî, go to Naraka or hell; moreover they suffer much from various diseases in this world. Those that do not worship the Devî are always defeated by their enemies, are void of wife and sons, become stupid and suffer pains from their unsatisfied desires. And those that worship the Preservrix of this world with the Bel leaves, Karavîra flowers, S’atapatra and Champaka flowers, that blessed man, devoted to the Devî, gets filled with all sorts of enjoyments. O King! What more can I say than this, that those who have worshipped the Devî Bhavânî with the Mantrams approved by the Nigama S’âstras, those very persons get honour in this world and are filled with all sorts of power and wealth. Verily, they stand foremost in the rank of best men, becoming the only repositories of all the best qualities in this world.

Here ends the Thirty-fourth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the methods of the worship of the Devî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 35. On The Receiving Of The Boons By The King Suratha And The Vais’ya Samâdhi

1-12. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the Risi’s words, the king Suratha and Vais’ya, who were very distressed in their minds, became very much comforted and bowed down to the Muni with great humility and modesty. Their eyes expressed their gladness and their hearts were filled with loving devotion. Both of them, then, clever in speaking and of calm and quiet temper, began to address him with their folded hands. O Bhagavân! We were passing our days in a very humble and distressed spot; we are today purified by your good words, just as the country was rendered pure by Bhagîratha when he brought down the river Ganges here. The saints, adorned with purely good qualities, are incessantly engaged in doing good to others and how the people can be made happy. O Intelligent One! Surely we have come to this auspicious Âs’rama owing to our past good deeds (in previous births) and all our miseries are therefore brought to their ends today. There are good many persons that roam in this world for their selfish ends; very few there exist like you who are always ready to do good to others. O Muni! True that I am very much distressed but this Vais’ya is more distressed than me. Both of us, very much afflicted by the miseries of the world, have come gladly to your Âs’rama and are relieved of our bodily sufferings by your sight; and now, hearing your words, we are relieved also of our mental pain and sufferings. O Brâhmana! We are very much blessed and our objects have been gained by your nectar-like words; O Thou, the Ocean of mercy! You have purified us, out of your unbounded mercy. We are quite tired of this world; knowing this, do you lead us beyond this world by holding our hands and by initiating us with Mantrams. O Best of Munis! We will first of all practise a very hard Tapasyâ (asceticism) and worship Bhagavatî, the Awarder of happiness; then, seeing Her, we will go to our respective abodes. Now we expect the nine-lettered Mantram of the Devî from your mouth and practising the Navarâtra varam we will fast and meditate on the Mantram.

[Note :-- The nine-lettered Mantram is “Om Mahisamardinyai Svâhâ.” Instead of Om, any of the following may be used :-- Hrîm, Klîm, Aim, Strîm, or Hûm mentioned in Sâradâ Tilaka, Nârâyanî Tantra, or in Vis’vasâra Tantra (see page 125 of Tantra Sâra ).]

13-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the king and Vais’ya prayed thus to the Muni Sumedha, the best of the Munis, gave them the auspicious Mantram with its seed (Vîja) and as well what is to be meditated (Dhyân). On getting the Mantram (with Risi, Chhanda, seed S’akti, and Devatâ) duly, they welcomed the Muni and with his permission went to the holy bank of a river. Both of them were of delicate frames and both of them were fully determined; they went to a very solitary place and selected their place and took their seats there. There they spent one month in repeating silently the Mantram and in chanting the three glorious deeds of Chandî. In this short period of one month, they became very much attached to the lotus-feet of Bhavânî and their minds were also much pacified. They attended to no other business; only they used to go to the Muni once a day and bowing down before him they returned to their own seats of Kus’a grass and gave themselves up to the meditation of the Devî and always repeated silently their Mantrams. O King! One year thus passed away; they then abstained from taking fruits and subsisted on the leaves of trees. Thus engaged in meditation and asceticism they passed away another year sustaining themselves with dry leaves only. O King! When the two years thus passed, they got in their dreams the beautiful vision of the Goddess Bhagavatî. They were very much delighted to see in their dreams the Ambikâ Devî in red robes and decorated with various ornaments. They practised tapasyâ in the third year with water as their only food. Thus when they found that, after practising the tapas for three years, they could not see face to face the Devî they became very anxious to see the Devî and thought thus :-- “When we have not been so fortunate as to see the Devî, Who art the Bestower of peace and happiness to the human beings, we will then leave our bodies, in deep distress and sorrow!” Thus thinking, the King prepared a beautiful triangular Kunda (pit), firm and of one hand measure. Lighting a fire in that pit, the King began to cut off slices of flesh from his own body and offered them as oblations to the fire. The Vais’ya, too, then did the same. O King! Both of them were very much excited and began to offer their blood as oblation to the Devî. The Devî Bhagavatî, then, seeing them thus grieved, and that their hearts were over flown with devotion towards Her, appeared direct before them and said thus :--

31-32. O King! You are my favourite devotees; I am pleased with your Tapasyâ; now ask whatever you desire; I will grant you that boon. Then She spoke to the Vais’ya :-- “O Highly Fortunate One! I am pleased; ask without any delay any boon; I will grant that just now.”

33-52. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of the Devî, the king Suratha was very much delighted and said thus :-- “O Devî! Grant me this boon that I be able today to conquer my enemies with my own power and that I may regain my kingdom.” The Devî then spoke to him thus :-- “O King! Go to your own abode; your enemies are now enfeebled and will certainly be defeated.

(Note :-- The Devî has now withdrawn Her own power from the enemies with which they were filled before. This is the result of the real sacrifice to the Devî.)

O Fortunate One! Your ministers will all come and prostrate themselves before your feet and will be obedient to you; you can now go back to your city and govern your subjects happily. O King! Thus reign for Ajuta years (10,000 years) over your widely extended dominion; then, when you quit your body, you will again be born from Sûrya, and be known widely as Sâvarni Manu.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! The pure-natured Vais’ya said with folded hands :-- “O Devî! I have nothing to do with house, sons, nor wealth. O Mother! The house, wealth and sons, all these are so many sources of bondage to this world and are very transitory like dreams. Therefore give me knowledge so that my ties to this world be cut asunder. Persons who are devoid of knowledge, those fools are merged in this ocean of world. The wise never prefer this Samsâra; therefore they can cross this world.  Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing this, the Mahâmâyâ said to the Vais’ya, that stood in front of Her thus :-- “O Vais’ya! No doubt you will acquire knowledge.” Thus granting boons to them, the Devî then and there disappeared. After the Devî had disappeared, the King bowed down to the Muni, mounted on his horse and expressed a desire to go back to his kingdom. Just at that time all his ministers and subjects came humbly before him, bowed down to him and standing before him with folded hands, said :-- “O King! Your enemies all had acted very sinfully; hence they were all slain in battle; you be pleased now to remain in your city, free from any enemy and govern your subjects.” The King, hearing thus, bowed down to the Muni and with his permission, started towards his kingdom, surrounded by his ministers. On regaining his own kingdom, wife, relatives and kinsmen he began to enjoy the sea-girt earth. On the other hand, the Vais’ya became illumined with the Spiritual Knowledge and all his connections and attachments being completely severed, became free from all bondages. He became liberated in his lifetime and travelled always from one place of pilgrimage to another and passed away his time in singing the glorious deeds of the Devî. O King! Thus I have described to you the most wonderful character of the Devî, what fruits were obtained by the King and the Vais’ya on their worshipping Her, how the Daityas were killed by Her and about Her auspicious appearances on this earth. Oh! Such is the glory of the Devî, leading to fearlessness amongst Her devotees. The mortal who hears constantly this excellent pure narrative of the Devî Bhagavatî, gets truly all the best and wonderful pleasures of this world. No doubt anybody who hears this wonderful incident, will obtain knowledge, liberation, fame, happiness and purity. The essence of all religions lies in this narration; therefore it leads, above all, to Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksa (religion, wealth, desire and liberation). It grants all desires to human beings.

53-54. Sûta said :-- O Risis! The Maharsi Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî, versed in all the departments of knowledge, asked by the King Janamejaya, narrated to him this divine Samhitâ. The character of Chandikâ, the killing of the Daitya S’umbha, were thus narrated by the merciful Muni Veda Vyâsa. O Munis! I, too, have described to you the main points of this Purâna. Here ends the Fifth Book.

Here ends the Thirty-fifth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the receiving of the boons by the King Suratha and the Vais’ya Samâdhi in the Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Fifth Book Completed.

The Sixth Book

Chapter 1. On Tris’irâ’s Austerities

1-12. The Risis (of the Naimisa forest) addressed Sûta (fondly) :-- O highly Fortunate One! Your nectar-like words are very sweet. We are not satiated with what you have described to us as the auspicious sayings of Dvaipâyana Vyâsa. O Sûta! We desire to ask you again to narrate to us the auspicious sayings of this Purâna, beautiful, famous, and sin-destroying and authorised by the holy Vedas. Vis'vakarmâ had a son, named Vritrâsura, who was very well known, and very powerful. How was it that he had been slain by the high-souled Indra? Vis'vakarmâ was a powerful Brâhmin and belonged to the gods' party; his son was stronger. How was it that he had been killed by Indra! The Devas are born of the Sattva qualities; men are born from the Râjasic qualities; and all the birds, etc., are born of the Tâmasic qualities. This is the opinion of the Pundits, versed in the Purânas and Âgamas. But in this act of slaying Vritrâsura, a great contradiction arises; for the powerful Vritra was killed merely under a pretext by Indra, the performer of the hundred sacrifices, and endowed with Sattva qualities. And Indra was prompted to do so by Visnu, the head of those who possess Sattva qualities; while Visnu himself entered in disguise into the thunderbolt so that he could kill Vritra. The powerful Vritra entered into a treaty and kept himself peaceful when Indra and Visnu violated truth and treacherously killed him by Jalaphena (the watery foams). O Sûta! The great wonder is this :-- That Indra and Visnu turned out so bold as to forsake the truth. This, then, is therefore very clear that the high souled persons become deluded and act sinfully. The Heads of the Devas act very wrongly; they are reckoned as polite simply because they observe the mere outward forms of good conduct as approved by the S'âstras. How can the mere observance of outward forms constitute politeness? Had Indra, who killed in disguise Vritra relying on his words, to suffer any punishment for the sin that he incurred in killing a Brâhmana? It was told by you before that Vritra had been slain by the Devî Bhagavatî; but the general belief is that Indra killed him. Our minds are puzzled on this point. (So clear our doubts on this point.)

13-14. Sûta said :-- O Munis! Hear the incident of the killing of Vritrâsura and the punishment that Indra had to suffer due to his sin of Brahmahatyâ (killing a Brâhmin). This question was asked by the King Pâriksit and replied by Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî. I will tell you what Vyâsa had told before.

15-18. Janamejaya asked :-- O Best of Munis! How was it that in former days Indra, endowed with the Sattva qualities, killed Vritrâsura, with the aid of Visnu? And how and why was it that he was killed again by the Goddess Bhagavatî? O Lord of Munis! How could one body be killed by the two; our curiosity has been excited to hear the truth. What man is there that does not like to hear any more of the glorious deeds of the high-souled persons! Kindly narrate to us the slaying of Vritra by the Devî Bhagavatî.

19-26. Vyâsa said :-- O King! You are blessed, since your taste to hear the events of Purâna has grown so much; the Devas even get their thirst for drinking nectar; but when quenched, they do not like to drink any more. O King! Your name and fame are widely spread. Your Bhakti (devotion) to the Purânas is growing more and more daily. A speaker gets very much delighted when his audience hears him with undivided attention. O Lord of the earth! The fight between Vritra and Vâsava that occurred in days of yore is famous in the passages of the Vedas and the Purânas; as well as the suffering that Indra had to encounter as his punishment when he had killed the innocent son of Visvakarma. O King! The Munis, who fear sin very much, commit yet blameable acts under Mâyâ; then what wonder is there that Visnu, and Indra would kill Tris'irâ and Vritra merely under a plea. When Visnu, the incarnate of Sattva qualities, gets deluded by Mâyâ and kills deceitfully the Daityas always, then how can you expect any other man to conquer mentally even the Maha Mâyâ Bhavâni, Who deludes all the beings! O King! It is under the compulsion of this Mâyâ that the Bhagavân, the Infinite, the friend of Nara, Nârâyana, takes incarnations in thousands and thousands of Yugas in this Samsâra as Fish, etc., and does deeds sometimes lawful and sometimes unlawful. The Devas and men, being confounded by his Mâyâ, become upset and disordered and say “that this body, wealth, house, sons, wife and relatives are all mine” and being thus deluded sometimes do virtuous and sometimes sinful deeds. O King! There is not even one, on the surface of this earth, though he may be well versed in finding out cause and effect, the knowledge of the high and low, that can be free from this Great Delusion; he is from the very beginning tied up by the three Gunas of this Mâyâ and that remains under Her control.

27-35. This explains that Visnu and Indra both were deluded by Mâyâ and engaged in fulfilling their own selfish ends. They killed Vritrâs'ûra under a pretext. O King! Hear! I am now describing to you the cause of enmity between lndra and Vritra. Vis'vakarmâ, the Prajâpati, was great architect of the Gods, he was skilled, he was superior amongst the gods, a great ascetic and endeared by the Brahmins. He had enmity with Indra; and out of this enmity he created a son, very beautiful named him Tris'iraska Visvarûpa. That son had three faces very beautiful and lovely. Visvarûpa performed three different functions with his three different faces; with one, he used to study the Vedas, with the second he used to drink nectar (wine), and with the third he used to see simultaneously all the directions. Tris'irâ renounced the pleasures of the world and began to practise a hard tapasyâ; he became a great ascetic, gentle, restrained in his passions and entirely devoted to his religion. He practised Panchâgni-Sâdhan in the summer season, tying his feet upwards on the branch of a tree with his head downwards; he remained in dew in the cold season, under water in the winter season. Thus he abstained from food and conquered his self and, forsaking all the worldly connections, practised a very hard tapasyâ; very difficult, indeed, for those who are of dull intellects.

36-49. Indra became very sad and dispirited to see him practise such a Tapasyâ and thought of the means so that he might not acquire his Indraship. The Pâkasâs'ana Indra remained always very anxious see the energetic penance practised by that ascetic of unbounded glory and his steady attachment towards it. He thought thus :-- “This Tris'irâ is becoming stronger day by day by his penance, so he will kill me. The wise never look an enemy with indifference whose strength daily becomes greater and greater.” It is now my urgent duty to invent means how to baffle his Tapasyâ and he at last settled that lust is the great enemy of asceticism; the practice of devout austerities is destroyed complete by lust; so I must try this very day how the Muni becomes attached to worldly lust and enjoyments. The intelligent Indra, thinking thus, called the Apsarâs Urvas'î, Menakâ, Rambhâ, Ghritâchî, and Tilottamâ and others proud of their beauties so that they might seduce Tri'sirâ, the son of Vi'svakarmâ. O Apsarâs! I have now got a very grave task to fulfil; all of you help me in this respect. A great enemy of mine, difficult to conquer, is practising penance with his self-controlled. Start at once and with your dress suited to various amorous gestures and try hard to seduce him. Be all well with you; seduce him and remove the fever of my heart. O Apsarâs! What more shall I say, I am restless since I have heard of his strength performing such hard austerities. O Weak Ones ! That powerful ascetic may acquire my place and thus dispossess me; this fear has possessed me. Therefore destroy my fear as quickly as possible. This is the task now given to you; get united and do this good to me. The Apsarâs, hearing him, bowed down and said :-- “O Lord of the Devas! Do not be afraid! We will try our best to seduce him. O highly Lustrous One! For the enticing away of the Muni, we will do all the things, dancing, music and other amorous gestures and practices, that will discard your fear. O King of the Gods! We will unsettle the mind of the Muni by our side glances and passionate gestures and postures, delude and tie him and then bring him under our control.”

50-60. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus saying, the Apsarâs went to Tris'irâ and began to exhibit various amorous gestures and postures as stated in the Kâma Sâstra. They began to sing sometimes, sometimes to dance in tune with musical measures before the Muni. In short, they practised various amorous gestures to entice him away. But that ascetic, blazing with the fire of Tapas, did not notice even the Apsaras' various attempts; rather he kept all his senses under the control and remained like a deaf, dumb, and blind man. In that lovely hermitage of the Muni, the Apsarâs sang and danced ravishingly and remained a few days there. But when they saw that the Muni Tris'irâ did not swerve a bit from his meditative posture they returned tired, distressed to Indra and all, very fearful, began to address Indra with folded hands :-- “O King! We tried our best and we could not in any way make the Muni unsteady, very hard to surmount. O Pâkas'asana! Please invent other means; we could not make the self-controlled Muni move away an inch from his position; it is our good luck that that high-souled Muni, an incarnate of blazing fire have not cursed us!” Then dismissing the Apsarâs, the evil-minded and dull Indra began to devîse means, though totally unlawful, how to kill that good Muni. O King! That Indra abandoned all shame, and fear of sin and ultimately came to a highly blameable and sinful conclusion how to kill him.

Here ends the First Chapter of the Sixth Book on Tris'irâ's austerities in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On The Birth Of Vritrâsura

1-11. Vyâsa said :-- The extremely covetous Indra, then, mounted on his Airâvata elephant and determined to kill the Muni. He went to him and saw him immersed in deep Samâdhi, firmly seated in his posture and with his speech controlled. At that time, a halo of light emanated from his body and he looked like a second Sun and a blazing fire. Indra became very sad and dejected when he saw that. Indra then thought within himself thus :-- “Oh! Can I slay this Muni, free from any vicious inclinations, and endowed with the power of Tapas, blazing like a fire! This is quite against the Dharma. But, Alas! He wants to usurp my position; how can I, then, neglect such an enemy?” Thus cogitating, Indra hurled at the Muni his swift going, infallible thunderbolt, the Muni remaining engaged in his penance and shining like the Sun and Moon. The ascetic, struck thus, fell on the ground and died, like a mountain peak struck by thunder falling on the ground and presenting a wondrous sight. Indra became very glad when he killed the Muni; but the other Munis then cried aloud :-- “Oh! We are killed! Alas! What a crime has Indra committed today! Oh! The vicious Indra has killed today this jewel amongst the Munis without any offence! Let, then, this sinner reap the fruits of his sinful act without any delay.” Indra, then, went back soon to his own abode; on the other hand, the high-souled Muni, though killed, looked as it were, living by the lustre of his own body. Indra, then, seeing him lying like a living man thought that the Muni might get alive and so became very sad. While he was thus arguing in his mind, he saw before him a wood cutter named Taksa and began to speak to him for his own selfish ends thus “O Artisan! Cut all the heads of this Muni and keep my word; this highly lustrous Muni is looking as it were alive; therefore, if you sever his heads, he cannot be alive.” Taksa then cursed him and spoke thus.

12-14. “O King of the Devas! The neck of this Muni is very big and therefore cannot be severed; my axe is not at all fit for this work . Specially I cannot do such a blameable act. You have done a very heinous crime, quite against the law of the good persons; I fear sin; I will not be able to cut the heads of a dead man. This Muni is lying dead; what use is there in severing his head again? O Pâkas'âsana! The killer of the demon Pâka! Why do you fear in this?”

15. Indra said :-- “O Artisan! This Muni is my dire enemy. Life seems to be still lingering in his body; his body is still lustrous, I fear if the Muni be alive again!”

16. Taksa told :-- “Do you not feel shame in doing this heinous crime, when you know everything? Do you not fear God for the crime of killing a Brâhmin?”

17. Indra said :-- I will make Prâyas'chitta (penance) afterwards for the washing away of my sins; but my duty at present is to kill my enemy.

O Fortunate One! The wise men, clever in polity, say that enemies must be killed by any excuse whatsoever.

18. Taksâ then replied :-- “O Maghavan! You are doing this sinful deed out of your avarice; but, O Lord! I have no cause whatsoever; how then without any cause, can I engage myself in such a vicious act?”

19-20. Indra said :-- “O Taksan! I will allot a share to you wherever there will be a sacrifice. The human beings will invariably offer to you the head of the animal killed at any sacrifice. Now cut his head according to this rule.”

21-42. Vyâsa said :-- O King! That Taksâ became very glad when he heard thus from Indra and struck off the heads of the Muni with his very strong axe. O powerful King! When the three heads, thus severed, fell to the ground, thousands and thousands of birds came out of those heads in quick succession. The three groups of birds Kalavinkas, Tittiris and Kapinjalas came out very rapidly from the three heads in due succession. The Kapinjala birds came out of that mouth that used to chant the Vedas and used to drink Soma; the Tittiri birds came out of that mouth that used to see all the quarters as if it drank them; and the Kalavinka birds came out of that face that used to drink wine. Indra became very glad to see the birds thus coming out of his mouths and went back at once to his Heavens. O King! No sooner Indra went back, than Taksâ came back to his own house and felt himself very pleased to receive his share of sacrificial things. On returning to his home, Indra thought that he had done his duty in slaying his powerful enemy. It did not pass in his mind that he had committed the Brahmahattyâ sin (i. e., that he had killed a Brâhmin). When Vis'vakarmâ heard that his virtuous son had been killed, he became very angry (in his mind) and said that as Indra had killed his qualified son engaged in asceticism without any offence, he would create another son to kill Indra. Let the Devas see his strength and power of Tapasyâ and let Indra, too, reap the far-reaching effects of his own Karma. Thus saying, Vis'vakarmâ distressed with anger, offered oblations in the sacrificial Fire, reciting Mantram from the Atharvan Vedas, with the object of producing a son. When Homa was performed for eight nights consecutively, a man quickly came out of that burning fire, as if he was the Incarnate of Fire itself. Seeing the lustrous son before him, come out of the fire and endowed with power and energy, Vis'vakarmâ said “O Indra's enemy! Grow by my power of asceticism.” When Vis'vakarmâ spoke these words, burning with anger, that brilliant fiery son began to grow, towering high above the Heavens. Within a moment that man looked a second God of Death and appeared like a mountain and shone like the God Himself. Then he spoke to his own father Vis'vakarmâ, who was very distressed “O Father! Put my name. Pray, what use can I be to you? Why do you look so aggrieved and anxious; please explain to me all the causes. I make a firm vow today that will remove the cause of your sorrow. Father ! Of what avail is that to his father when he is not able to remove his sorrows!” O Father! Shall I drink the ocean or crumble the mountains to dust or shall I obstruct the passage of the rising Sun or shall I kill Indra, Yama, or the other host of Devas or shall I root out the earth and throw it with all beings into the ocean?”

43-53. O King! Hearing thus the sweet words of his son, Vis'vakarmâ gladly told his mountain-like son “O my Son! You are capable to save me from troubles (Vrijina) hence you are named Vritra. O highly Fortunate One! Your brother, named Tris'irâ, was a great ascetic; his three faces were all very strong. He was thoroughly conversant with the Vedas and the Vedangâs and well versed in all the other knowledges. He remained always engaged in practising asceticism, surprising to the three worlds. Indra killed my qualified son with his thunderbolt; that wicked soul severed the three heads without any offence. Therefore, O Best of beings! Kill that vicious, shameless, deceitful, wicked Indra guilty of the sin of Brahmahattyâ.” O King! Thus saying, Vis'vakarmâ very much confounded with the breavement of his son, created various divine weapons. He prepared weapons specially suited to kill Indra, the best axes, tridents, clubs, S'aktis, Tomaras and bows made of horns and arrows, Parighas, Pattis'as, divine discus like the Sudars'an Chakra, divine inexhaustible arrow cases with arrows, nice Kavacha, very substantial air-like swift-going chariot looking like a cloud and capable to carry great loads; all these he created and gave over to his son. O King! Vis'vakarmâ, the best of architects, excited by anger, made ready all the equipments necessary for war and gave them to his son Vritrâsura and sent him to kill Indra.

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Sixth Book on the birth of Vritrâsura in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî  Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 3. On The Deva Defeat And On Vritra’s Tapasyâ

1-3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Having the Svastyayana ceremony (a performance of rite to secure welfare or avert calamity) performed by the Brâhmanas versed in the Vedas, the powerful Vritra mounted on his chariot and started to kill Indra, the King of the Gods. The Dânavas that were previously defeated by the Devas now knowing Vritrâsura to be powerful, came up to him to serve his cause. The messengers of Indra, when they saw him ready for battle, hurriedly came to Indra and informed him all about his doings and other matters connected with it.

4-7. The messengers said :-- O Lord! Vis'vakarmâ, having been very much grieved his son being slain, got very angry and by Abhichâra process (an incantation with a design to injure or magic spells or charms used for a malevolent purpose) has created a son in order to kill you. That indomitable Vritrâsura is now your powerful enemy; mounting on his chariot he is coming here to fight with you, surrounded by other Asuras. O highly Fortunate One! This enemy of yours is as high as the mountain Meru; he is now coming hurriedly to you, making a terrible noise; guard yourself carefully. O King! While Indra was hearing the messengers, the Devas came there panic-stricken and terrified and said :--

8-16. The Ganas said :-- O Lord of the Suras! Ominous signs are being seen in the houses of the Gods; the birds are making sounds, very inauspicious and foreboding a great calamity. Crows, vultures, herons, falcons, and other ugly inauspicious birds are crying and making hoarse sounds on the tops of houses. Other birds are making incessantly harsh sounds like chichi koochy. The carriers of the several Devas are weeping and shedding tears always. O highly Fortunate One! On the tops of houses are heard very loud and very dreadful sounds of the crying Râksasîs at dead of night. O Giver of honour! The flags on the chariots are falling to the ground without any trace of wind. Thus ominous signs are being visible on earth and in the air. O King of the Devas! The ugly faced women, wearing black clothes, are roaming from house to house and always repeating “Leave the house, and go away at once.” The Deva women while sleeping in their own temples are seeing in their dreams that terrible Râksasîs, coming to them are cutting away their hairs on their heads and are frightening them. O Indra of the Devas! The inauspicious signs like these and earthquakes and the falling of the meteors are taking place. The jackals come in the courtyard of houses at night and yell horrible heartrending sounds. Lizards are moving always in the rooms and the several limbs of our bodies are shaking and thus making very inauspicious signs.

17. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing their words, Indra became very anxious and called Brihaspati, the Deva Guru, and asked him :--

18-20. Indra spoke :--  O Brâhmana! Very inauspicious signs are being visible; dreadful winds are blowing and stars are falling from the skies what are all these? O Intelligent One! You are very wise and versed in the S'astras and the Guru of the Devas; you are omniscient and know very well how to remedy the evils. Therefore perform the rites by which enemies can be killed; do such as our miseries be all averted.

21-31. Brihaspati said :-- “O Thousand-eyed! What shall I do? You have committed shortly a heinous crime; you killed that innocent Muni and so you have earned a very bad Karmic effect. Very violent sins and good deeds produce their effects very quickly. It is, therefore, highly incumbent on those that desire for their own welfare, to take up any work with great discretion. It is never advisible to do any action that leads to the tormenting of others. Never do they find happiness who give pains to others. O Indra! You have committed Brahmahattyâ under the influence of greed and delusion; now suddenly has appeared the fruit of that act. O King of the Suras! This Vritra Asura is born invulnerable to all the Devas. That powerful indomitable Asura chief is now coming, mounted on a chariot, to kill you, surrounded by the other Dânavas and taking with him the Vis'vakarmâ-made divine arms and weapons equal to thunderbolt. He is coming like a second Kâla, as it were, to destroy the whole Universe. There is none in this Triloka, capable kill him; and his death will not also take place. While Brihaspati was thus speaking, a great tumultuous uproar rose at once. The Gandharbas, Kinnaras, Yaksas, Munis and other Immortals began to fly away from their quarters. Indra seeing the Devas flying away became very anxious and gave orders at once that all subservient to him must be ready at once for battle; they must go and call the Vasus, the Rudras, the twin As'vins, the Âdityas, Pûsâ, Bhaga, Vâyu, Kuvera, Varuna, Yama and the other Devas to come there at once. The enemy is well nigh; so let all the Devas come on their Vimânas quickly there.”

32-44. Thus ordering, Indra mounted on the Airâvata elephant and taking the Sura Guru in front started from his own temple. The other Devas mounted on their respective carriers and, firmly resolved to fight, started with all their arms and weapons. On the other hand, Vritrâsura surrounded by the Demons, came up to the beautiful mountain, adorned with trees, on the north side of the Mânasarovara Lake. Indra, too, came there with Brihaspati in front and attended by all the other Devas to that mountain, north of the Mânasa Lake and began to fight. A dreadful fight, then, ensued between Vritra and Indra with clubs, swords, Parighas, Pâs'as, arrows, S'aktis, Parsus and other weapons. The terrible fight lasted for full one hundred human years, terrifying to the self-controlled Risis and all the human beings. Varuna first turned his back; then Vâyu, then Yama, the Sun and Moon and then Indra fled from the battle-field. Seeing Indra and the other Devas flying away, Vritrâsura came to the hermitage and there bowed down to his father who looked very glad; and he said :-- O Father! I have carried out your orders; Indra and all the other Devas are defeated in the battle; as elephants and deer fly away seeing a lion, so the Devas all fled away to their respective abodes. I have taken the Airâvata, the best of elephants, away from Indra who fled away on foot. O Bhagavan! I have brought the elephant here. Kindly accept it. O Father! It is not advisable to kill a man who is terrified, therefore I did not kill them. Now kindly order anything else that I may fulfil your desires. All the Devas fled away from the battle-field, very much tired and terrified; and what more to say than this that Indra, too, fled, leaving his elephant on the field.

45-54. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Vis'vakarmâ became very glad to hear his son's words and said :-- “Today I can rightly say that I have got my son and that my life is successful. O son! To-day you have sanctified me; my cares and worries are abated; my mind is also calm to see your wonderful prowess. O Child! Now hear attentively what I say. O highly intelligent One! Now carefully sit in your steady posture (Sthirâsan) and practise Tapasyâ. Never trust anybody; Indra is now your enemy, ever ready to find your faults, and clever in sowing dissensions between you and your well-wishers. O Son! Tapasyâ is not an ordinary thing; Laksmî (prosperity) is obtained thereby; excellent kingdoms, increase of vigour, and victories in battles are obtained. Therefore worship Hiranyagarbha and get excellent boons from him; then kill this vicious Indra, guilty of the sin Brahmahattyâ. Worship the auspicious Creator calmly and carefully. The four-faced Brahmâ then will be pleased and grant you your desired boon. First please the Creator of indomitable prowess, from Whose womb has sprung all this Universe, and get, then, immortality from Him. Then kill that guilty Indra, my enemy. O Son! My feeling of enmity due to the killing of my son reigns always in my mind; I cannot go to sleep peacefully nor do I get peace in any way. The vicious Indra killed my son; O Vritra! What more shall I say to you; I am merged in the ocean of sorrows; save me.”

55-60. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus hearing his father's words, Vritrâsura became inflamed with anger and, getting his permission, set out gladly to practise Tapasyâ. He then went to the Gandhamâdan mountain and performed his bath in the holy and auspicious river Mandâ Kinî, and, preparing a Sthirâsan, took his seat in the Kus'â grass, to practise the tapasyâ. He left off gradually taking his food, then subsisted on water only and remained engaged in Yoga; and, seated in Sthirâsan meditated incessantly on Prajâpati, the Creator of this Universe. Indra, on the other hand, knowing Vritrâsura engaged in tapasyâ became very anxious and sent to him Gandharvas, Yaksas, Pannagas, Kinnaras, Vidyâdharas, Apsarâs and other Deva messengers, all of unbounded vigour to create obstacles in his austerities. These Gandharvas and other Deva Yonies, expert in exercising magical spells, tried many ways and means and various gestures and postures to create disturbances in his penance; but that great ascetic Vritra, the son of Vis'vakarmâ did not swerve a bit from his meditative state.

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Sixth Book on the defeat of the Deva army and on Vritra's tapasyâ in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 4. On The Defeat Of The Devas By Vritra

1-17. Vyâsa said :--- O King! The Suras that wanted to create hindrance in Vritra's tapasyâ, seeing him firmly resolved, became disappointed in the fulfilment of their objects and returned to their own abodes. Thus full one hundred years passed away. The four-faced Brahmâ, the Grandsire of the Lokas, came there mounted on his carrier the Swan, and said :-- “O Vritra! Be happy; now quit your meditation and ask boon; I will grant you the boon that you choose. O Child! Your body has become very lean and thin through your penance. I am now very pleased to see your this very hard tapasyâ. Welfare be to you. Now ask the boon that you desire.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the clearly distinct nectar-like sweet words of the Creator Brahmâ, Vritra shed tears of joy and suddenly stood up. And going to him, bowed down gladly before His feet, and, with folded hands, spoke to Him, Who is desirous to grant him boons, in a tremulous voice. O Lord! Today I have been fortunate to see Thee who art generally seen with great difficulty; and I have acquired thus the posts of all the Devas; O Lotus-seated One! I have got an insatiable desire burning within me. Thou art omniscient, Thou knowest everything; still I am speaking out my mind. O Lord! Grant that my death does not occur with iron, wood, dry or wet substances or with bamboos or any other weapons and let my strength and valour be increased very much in the battle; for, then, I will be unconquerable by all the Devas with all their armies. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus prayed for, Brahmâ said to him smiling :-- “O Child! get up; I grant that your desired boon will always be fulfilled; now go to your own place. Your death won't occur with dry or wet substances or with stones or wood. I say this truly unto you.” Thus granting the boon, Brahmâ went to His Brahmâloka. Vritra, too, became very glad on receiving his desired object, and returned to his own abode. The highly intelligent Vritra informed the father about the boon granted to him; Vis'vakarmâ became very glad to hear it. O highly fortunate One! Let all bliss and good fortune come unto you; kill Indra, my greatest enemy. Go and kill the murderer of my son Tris'irâ, the vicious Indra and return to me. Be victorious in the battle and become the Lord of all the Devas and remove my mental agony due to the killing of my son. A son becomes then really a son when he obeys the commands of his father and when he feeds plentifully good many people on the Srâddha day (after his father's death) and when he offers Pinda at Gayâ. Therefore, O Son! Keep my words and try to remove my sorrows. Know this as certain that Tris'irâ never vanishes from my mind. Tris'irâ was very truthful, amiable and good-natured; he was an ascetic and foremost amongst the Vedic scholars. The wicked Indra killed my dear son without any offence.

18-33. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the father's words, that extremely indomitable Vritrâsura mounted on his chariot and quickly got out of his father's house. The proud Asura, then, marched to the battle, accompanied with his vast army, to the sounding of the conch-shells and war drums. Vritra, versed in politics and morals, exhorted his soldiers before marching and said :-- “To-day we will kill Indra and possess the kingdom of the Immortals, freed of all enemies.” O King! Thus, accompanied by his soldiers, and raising a tremendous war-cry terrifying to the Devas, the Asura set out for battle. O Bhârata! The King of the Devas, knowing that the Asura is quite at hand, became overwhelmed with terror and ordered at once the soldiers to be ready for the battle and called quickly all the Lokapâlas and sent them all for the battle. The highly lustrous Indra, the tormentor of the foes, arrayed his troops in order according to Gridhra Vyûha (the method in which the vultures arrange themselves while flying) and stayed there. On the other hand Vritra, the slayer of enemies, dashed unto that place with all swiftness. A dreadful fight then ensued between the Devas and Dânavas; the two parties, desirous to get victory over the other, fought awfully hard. When the blaze of the battle fire shone to a very high pitch, the Devas dropped with sorrow while the Asuras became excited with joy. The Devas and Dânavas struck each other with Tomaras, Bhindipâlas, axes, Paras'us, Pattis'as, and various other weapons. When the dreadful battle rose to a high pitch causing horripilation, Vritra became very angry and suddenly caught hold of Indra and denuding him of all clothes and armours swallowed him; he, then, remembering his former enmity, became very glad and stayed there. When Indra was thus devoured by Vritra, the Devas were overwhelmed with terror and cried out frequently, with great distress :-- “O Indra! O Indra!” All the Devas became very dejected and grieved in their hearts to see Indra denuded of his armour and clothes in the belly of Vritra and bowed down to Brihaspati and said :-- “O Indra of the Brâhmans! You are our best Guru what are we to do now? Though the gods tried their best to save Indra still Vritra has devoured him. We are all powerless, what can we do without Indra? O Lord! Perform quickly magic spells (Abhichâra process) which will lead to our Indra's liberation.”

34. Brihaspati said :-- “O Suras! The king of the gods is swallowed by Vritra, he has been quite disabled; but Indra is living in his bowels; attempt therefore must be made that he comes out while living.”

35-54. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devas became very anxious to see Indra in that plight and took all the ways and means carefully how he might be freed. Then they created a state tending to cause yawning, very powerful and irresistible and calculated to destroy one's enemy. Vritrâsura then yawned and his mouth got widely opened and extended. In the meanwhile Indra, the destroyer of one's enemies' strength, contracted all his limbs and came out of the expanded mouth of the Asura and fell down. Since that time, this state of yawning has become prevalent amongst the beings. The Devas were all glad to see Indra thus come out. When Indra thus got out, he fought again with Vritra for 10,000 years (Ajuta years). The fight was very dreadful, causing horripilation. On one side all the Devas joined in the battle; on the other side, the pre-eminently powerful Vritra, the son of Vis'vakarmâ fought. When Vritrâsura got more and more energy in the battle, Indra became gradually dwindled and was at last defeated. Indra became very much grieved when he found himself defeated; the Devas also were very dejected to see this. Indra and the other Devas quitted the battle-field and fled away. Vritrâsura too, quickly arrived and occupied the Heavens. Vritra began to enjoy by force the Heavenly gardens and took the Airâvata elephant. O King! The Asura, the son of Tvastâ, took away all Vimânas (the self-moving chariots of gods), Uchchais'rava, the best of horses, the heavenly cow, the giver of desires, the Pârijâta tree, the Apsarâs, and all other jewels of the Heavens. The Devas, on the other hand, deprived of their shares in sacrifices and driven away from their Heavens, suffered very much. Vritrâsura became puffed up with vanity, when he got possession of the Heavens. Vis'vakarmâ, too, became very happy at that time and began to enjoy pleasures along with his son. O Bharata! The Devas, then, united with the Munis and they began to consult about their own welfare. When the Devas took Indra with them and went to Mahâ Deva in the Mount Kailâs'a and bowed down to His feet very humbly and, with folded hands, spoke thus :-- O Deva of the Devas! O Mahâ Deva! Thou art the Mahes'vara and the unbounded Ocean of Mercy! We are defeated by Vritrâsura and we are very much terrified. Save us, O S'ambhu! Thou dost good to all the beings; dost thou tell us, therefore, truly what are we to do now, when that powerful Dânava has dispossessed us of our Heavens. O Mahes'a! Now dislodged, where are we to go? We are not finding any remedy by which our miseries can be destroyed. O Bhûta Bhâvana! We are very much pained; help us; O merciful One! That Vritrâsura has become intoxicated with vanity due to his being granted the boon. Therefore destroy him.

55-57. S'ankara said :-- “O Devas! We will keep Brahmâ in the front and let all of us go to the residence of Hari and there consult with Him how to destroy this unruly Vritra. The Janârdana Vâsudeva is fully capable to do all actions. He is powerful, knower of pretexts, highly intelligent, ocean of mercy, and fit to be asked by all for protection. Without Him, the Deva of the Devas, no success is possible in any action. Therefore all of us ought to go there for the success in our undertaking.”

58-62. Vyasa said :-- O King! Thus settling their plan of action, Indra and other Devas took S'ankara and Brahmâ with them and went to the abode of Hari, who protects all and is gracious to His devotees. They, then, began to chant Purusasûkta hymns to Him and thus they praised the God Hari, the Guru of this Universe. The Janârdan Hari, the Lord of Kamalâ, then, appeared before them and, after showing his respect, addressed them thus :-- O Lord of the several Lokas! What have brought you all together with Brahmâ and S'ankara hither? O best of Suras! Please tell me the reason of your coming here. Vyasa said :-- O King! Thus hearing Hari's words, the Devas could not reply anything; rather almost all of them remained with an anxious look with their hands folded, overwhelmed with cares.

Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the defeat of the Devas by Vritra in the Mahâ Purânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 5. On Praising The Devî

1-5. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Nârâyana, the Lord of Laksmî, and Knower of the essences of all subjects, seeing the Devas extremely attached to him and anxious, spoke to them thus :-- O Suras! Why have you kept silent? Tell me why you have all come, let it be good or bad, tell me; I will try to remove your miseries. The Devas said :-- O Lord! Is there anything unknown to you in this Triloki; You know everything; why then art Thou asking us again and again? In ancient times You in your Dwarf incarnation overspread the three worlds by Your three feet and thus bound the King Vali in his own premises and gave over the sovereignty over the Devas to Indra. O All Pervading One! It is You who deluded the Daityas and procured nectar for the Devas, and it is You who sent them to the house of Death. Therefore, O Lord! You are the one and only one that is capable in warding off all the evils that befall on the Devas.

6-31. Thus hearing the Devas' words, Visnu said :-- “O Suras! You need not fear; I know one remedy, approved by all, by which that Daitya might be killed so that you would be happy. I am now giving out to you. Your welfare, your benefit must be looked at by me whether by the exercise of my intelligence or by using my prowess, by wealth pretext or by any other means whatsoever. Four means, viz., conciliation, gifts, sowing discord, or punishment are mentioned by the wise statesmen to be applied to friends and specially to the enemies. Brahmâ was worshipped by Vritra with severe austerities and He granted boons and it is due to the influence of that favour that this Asura has become indomitable. The more so that Vis'vakarmâ created him from the sacrificial fire; it is through all these causes that the Demon Vritrâsura, conqueror of the enemies' stronghold, has grown up so very powerful that he can hardly be conquered by any being. O Suras! First peace must be negotiated with him; then deceive him, otherwise the enemy will be very difficult to conquer. First entice him and bring him under control; then kill him. Now take the Risis and Gandharbas with you and go where the powerful enemy Vritrâsura is residing and make a treaty with him; thus he will be conquered. Swear on oath and accede to the terms he proposes and thus create faith in him; then cultivate friendship with him; lastly, when time will come, kill that powerful enemy. O Suras! I will also enter, unseen by anybody, into the excellent weapon of Indra, his thunderbolt and will help him in due time. Wait till the period of his longevity expires; otherwise his death will never take place. Now go to that Asura, with Gandharbas and Risis and cunningly cultivate friendship between him and Indra, by conciliatory words; when he begins thus to put his confidence, then deceive him. I will enter hiddenly into the strong well covered thunderbolt. When Indra will come to know that the Demon has put complete faith in him, he will hurl his thunderbolt against him and thus the enemy will be killed and not otherwise. O Lord of the Devas! Do not consider for the present the act of treachery that you will commit: take my help and kill that wicked Demon with thunderbolt. To practise hypocrisy with an hypocrite is not considered a sin; specially no powerful enemy can be killed only by the well known rules applicable to warriors, without any deceit. I also deceived, before, Vali, with my dwarf body and again I deceived all the Demons by showing myself as a beautiful woman; therefore to practise deceit with a strong deceitful enemy is never considered a sin. Know this. O Devas! Now you all conjointly worship the Devî Bhagavatî with Mantras and prayers and take Her shelter; the Yoga Mâyâ, then, will help you. We, too, worship that Devî, the Highest Prakriti, the Incarnate of pure Sattva Guna, Who grants success, bestows us all our desires, Who is Herself the object of desires, and Who is never realised by any except by those Yogis, self-controlled pure men. Indra, too, will certainly be able to kill his enemy in battle if he worships Her; for the Mahâ Mâyâ, the Creatrix of Delusion, will, when worshipped, delude that Demon. Thus deluded by Her Mâyâ, Vritrâsura will easily be killed by him; there is no doubt in this, what more do you want than this that everything will be successfully accomplished when the Devî Ambikâ is propitiated and gets well pleased. She regulates the hearts of all and is the Cause of all causes. Without Her worship no one's desires can be expected to be accomplished. Therefore, O Best of Suras! Worship the Universal Mother, the Prakriti Devî with greatest devotion and with greatest purity for the destruction of your enemy. See! In days of yore, I fought for five thousand years, dreadfully with the two Demons Madhu and Kaitabha and then killed them. I worshipped, then, the Mahâ Mâyâ, the Highest Prakriti; She was thus pleased and deluded the two Asuras; thus the two powerful Asuras puffed up with vanity were deluded and thus I could kill those terrible Daityas under a pretext. Therefore, O Suras! You, too, worship that Highest Prakriti with the greatest devotion; She will then surely fulfill your desires.

32-49. O King! When the intelligent Visnu enlightened thus the Devas, they went to the top of the Mount Sumeru, adorned with the Mandâra trees, and, remaining at a secluded place, recited slowly Her Mantrams and thus engaged in asceticism and meditation, began to chant hymns and praise that Universal Mother, the Holder of the world, the Remover of all world ailings, and the Creatrix, Preservatrix and Destructrix of the world and the Bestower of all desires to Her devotees. The Devas said :-- “O Devî! Be graciously pleased unto us! O Thou, the Destructrix of the afflictions of the distressed! We have taken refuge unto Thy lotus-feet. We have been defeated by Vritrâsura in the battle, we are very much oppressed and afflicted. O Thou, the Highest Reality! O Thou, the Mother of the whole Universe! Protect us as a Mother protects her child; we are fallen into this difficulty arising from our enemies. O Mother! Nothing is hidden from Thy knowledge in the three worlds. Why art Thou taking no notice of us, that are being tormented by the Asuras! O Mother! Thou createst, preservest, and destroyest the three worlds; Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a are created by Thy mere will and are doing all Thy works. Mother! They are not independent; by the contraction of Thy eye-brows, they are directed and enjoy all the pleasures. The Mother protects her sons afflicted with various difficulties and dangers, even when they are found guilty of various offences. It is Thou that hast made this rule; then why, O Merciful! Art Thou not protecting us who are quite innocent and whom Thou dost know as having taken refuge unto Thy lotus-feet. O Devî! If Thou thinkest that we forget Thee, being too much attracted by the enjoyments that Thou hast been pleased to confer unto us and therefore we are proper not to be looked upon with Thy merciful eyes, we would say that this is quite true; but, O Mother ! Nowhere is seen a feeling of a Mother to Her child; we are no doubt, objects of Thy mercy and favour always. Besides there is no fault of us in this matter, O Mother! that we do not worship Thee and become immersed in sensual enjoyments; for Thy creation, the Moha (delusion) is very powerful and deludes us. O Mother! Thou art naturally Merciful! Knowing these, why art Thou not showing mercy unto us. O Devî! Thou hadst killed before in battle, for our sake, the powerful Daitya Chief Mahis'âsura, very terrible to all the beings. Then why art not Thou, O Mother ! killing this dreadful Vritrâsura? O Mother! Thou hadst killed the two brother Daityas, S'umbha and Nis'umbha, extraordinarily powerful, and the other Daityas that followed them; O Thou, the embodiment of mercy! Similarly destroy now this deceitful strong Vritrâsura. O Mother! Delude this proud Asura so that he could not  manifest, in the least, his power. We are very much troubled by the Asuras and overwhelmed with terror from them; Thou savest us; for there is no other in the three worlds that can by his own force remove the sorrows and sufferings of the Devas. O Mother! Though Thou hast shown favour towards Vritra, now dost kill him soon, whose nature is cruel and tormenting to others. O Bhavânî! Better dost Thou save him from sin by Thy holy arrows. Otherwise that vicious Asura will surely enter into the hideous Hell. It is for his welfare that Thou oughtest to kill him. Those that had been before enemies of the Gods, Thou didst purify them by weapons in the battle-field and hadst sent them to the Nandana Garden in the Heavens. O Thou, the Mercy personified! Was it not that Thou didst not save them from hell? Then why art not Thou killing this Vritrâsura! We know this for certain that the Asura is Thy enemy, not Thy servant; for that mischievous soul is giving us trouble. O Mother! How can he be Thy servant and devotee who torments the Devas that are always engaged in worshipping Thy lotus feet. O Mother! How can we perform Thy worship? The flowers and other articles used in worship all are created by Thee; especially we and the Mantras, in fact, everything is the manifestation of Thy power. Therefore, O Bhavânî! We worship Thee by laying ourselves prostrate on Thy feet. Be'st Thou pleased. Those men are blessed that worship with devotion Thy lotus feet for crossing this ocean of world. O Devî! Those Yogins that want final liberation and forsake therefore all attachments, vikâras and delusions, even they attain success then only when they meditate Thy lotus feet. Those that are great Sacrificers and know best the essence of the Vedas, even they when they offer oblations to the sacrifice, utter “Svâhâ” that is cheering to the Devas and “Svadhâ” very consoling to the Pitris; thus they always think of Thee (for Svâhâ and Svadhâ are Thy names only). O Mother! Thou art the retentive power and memory. Thou art the beauty, Thou art the peace, Thou art the Buddhi (intellect) well known to clarify men's minds; and Thou art the prosperity and wealth of all these three worlds. O Devî! Those that worship Thee, Thou givest them, out of mercy, those wealth in some way or other.

50-57. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus worshipped by the Devas, the Devî Bhagavatî appeared before them in a very beautiful form, thin, adorned with all ornaments. Her two hands holding a noose, and goad, and the other two hands making signs to discard all fear and ready to grant boons; Her loins very beautiful, girdled with a gold band with small bells pending and making sweet tinkling sounds; Her feet with anklets (ornaments) making sweet sonorous sounds with tiny tinkling bells. Her voice was exceedingly sweet and lovely, Her forehead was adorned with the crescent of the Moon and on Her head was glittering a diadem of jewels, Her lotus-face adorned with sweet soft smiles and with Her three beauteous lotus-eyes looking like Indîbaras. Her body was of a red colour like the Pârijâta flowers and Her limbs were marked with red sandal-paste. She was dressed in a red attire. The Devî looked well pleased, like an ocean of infinite mercy, wearing complete dress suited to happy interviews, the Creatrix of all this Cosmos, the Highest, the Knower of all, the Directrix of all, and the Great Upholder of all. She looked like an embodiment of the Truth of all Vedântas and the Incarnate of ever Existence, Intelligence, Bliss, the Mahâ Devî Bhagavatî Bhuvanes'varî. The Devas all bowed down before Her standing in front of them. The Mother then spoke :-- “What business have you got here? Speak to Me.”

58-59. The Devas said :-- “O Bhagavatî! Vritrâsura is tormenting much the Devas; Bewitch him. O Devî! Do such as he can trust the Devas; and impart then strength on our weapons such as he can be killed.” Vyâsa said :-- “O King! That will be done.” Saying thus, the Devî departed then and there. The Devas became very glad and returned respectively to their abodes.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the praising of the Devî by the Devas in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On The Slaying Of Vritrâsura

1-3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus getting the boons from the Devî, the Devas and the Risis blazing with their asceticism, all united and consulted with each other; then they went to the excellent Âs'rama of Vritra. There they saw Vritra in a sitting posture and with his own Tejas (fiery spirit in him) as if ready to burn the three worlds and to devour all the Devas. The Risis, then, spoke to Vritra the sweet words full of sentiments for the serving of the Devas' ends, according to the principle of conciliation.

4-23. “O highly fortunate Vritra! Terrific to all the Lokas! Yo have now established your dominion in all the places over this whole Universe; but your enmity with Indra is the only cause to interrupt you in your happiness; there is no doubt in this. This enmity has increased much the anxiety of you both and therefore has grown very painful. Neither you nor Indra can go to sleep peacefully, there is always that fear hanging on you both, on account of that enmity. And, see! A long long while has passed away since the last battle was fought between you two; yet all the Devas, Asuras, men and other subjects, are feeling a sense of oppression and pain. In this world happiness is the only thing to be sought for and pain is to be avoided; this is the eternal state of things. Never does that man who practises enmity with another, get happiness; this has been ascertained by the wise. It is only those brave warriors, that found taste in warfare, that approve of battles; but the wise that are expert in amorous enjoyments do not like battle as destroying the sensual enjoyments; they do not like fighting with flowers even; what to say with sharpened arrows! In a battle, the victory is doubtful but the shooting of arrows is certain, This world is dependent on Fate (Daiva, i.e., dependent on the cosmic rulers or deities or Devas of the Universe), so is victory or defeat. So knowing this, one ought never to fight. Bathing in proper time, taking food and sleeping in fixed times and having a chaste serving wife, these are the means towards happiness in this world. While in warfares, shooting terrible arrows and striking with fierce axes take place; what happiness can there possibly exist? Rather the enemy finds pleasure there. There is a saying that death in battles leads one to Heaven, but this is merely an enticing statement, inciting one to war! Really it is fruitless. Supposing that happiness comes ultimately to those who pain their bodies by being shot with arrows and who allow their carcasses being devoured by the crows and jackals, then no man, even of dull understanding, will like this, what to speak of intelligent persons! Therefore, O Vritra! Let everlasting peace and friendship be established between you and Indra; both of you in that case will derive everlasting peace and happiness. Moreover if the enmity between you terminates from this instant, then we, the ascetics and Gandharbas will, no doubt, be able to remain in our own respective Âs'rams with great comfort. O Powerful Hero! Owing to incessant wars between you and Indra, the Munis, Gandharbas, Kinnaras and beings are day and night, suffering very much. For the happiness of all peace-loving persons, we, the Munis, the residents of the forest, earnestly desire that there be formed friendship between you two. We desire that you, Indra and all the Jîvas get happiness. O Vritra! We stand as mediators in this treaty between you and Indra; we will make each party swear on oath and thus make it conducive to the happiness of both. Indra will now swear on oath before you on the terms that you will dictate and thus will make your heart cheerful. Know this verily that this earth stands on Truth, the sun rises for the sake of Truth, the winds blow all along for Truth and the boundless ocean never oversteps its limit for Truth. Therefore let your friendship, be established on Truth. Thus tied together by bonds of friendship let you two sleep, play, make sports in water and sit together happily.”

24-28. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the Maharsi's words, the highly intelligent Vritra began to say :-- “Risis! You are possessed with knowledge and many other qualifications and you are ascetics; you are therefore to be respected by me. You are the Munis and therefore you never speak anywhere falsehood; your conduct is good and you practise rite and ceremonies; you are calm; therefore you do not know the causes of pretexts. The intelligent should never cultivate friendship with a knave, licentious person who is void of understanding, an infamous, and a shameless person, specially if he be an enemy. This vicious Indra is shameless, deceitful, licentious, and the killer of a Brâhmana; therefore no faith can ever be placed on such persons. You are saints and added with all good qualifications; therefore your minds never play in the mischievous thoughts of others; it is because your heart is calm and quiet that you cannot understand the minds of the deceitful and treacherous; therefore you ought never to stand as mediators between any two persons.”

29-32. The Munis said :-- “O King! All the creatures certainly enjoy the fruits of their Karmas, whether good or bad; how then, can persons, of perverted intellect, obtain peace when they do mischief to others. The treacherous persons certainly go to hell and suffer miseries always. The slayers of Brâhmanas and the drunkards may get liberation; but never the faithless and those who go against their friends get off free; these will have to suffer undoubtedly in the hells. Therefore, O Knower of all things! Give out clearly what is going on exactly in your mind and the exact terms that you want; and the treaty will be made between you and Indra exactly according to those terms.”

33-34. Vritra said :-- “O highly fortunate Munis! I can enter into a treaty of peace with Indra only on the condition that Indra with all the other Devas will not kill me in day or in night with any dry or liquid substance or with wood, stone, or thunderbolt and on no other terms.”

35-68. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Risis then gladly accepted his word and brought Indra there and recited to him the terms of the treaty of peace. Indra, then, swore, an oath, before the Munis with Fire as the Witness that he would comply with the terms of the treaty, and was thus freed from his heavy thoughts and felt that he had been rid of a fever. Vritra, then, relied on lndra's words; became his friend, and began live, play and enjoy with him. They felt pleasure by their union and began to roam sometimes in the Nandana Garden, sometimes in the Gandha Mâdana, sometimes on the shores of oceans, Vritra was very much delighted when they were thus united in friendship; but Indra watched him to find his faults; thus sometime passed. A few years passed away after the treaty had been concluded. And the straight-forward Vritra began to place very much confidence on Indra; but Indra meditated on the means how to kill him. One day Visvakarmâ, knowing that his son Vritrâsura placed implicit confidence on Indra, called his son and said :-- “O my son Vritra! Hear my good words. See, it is never advisable to trust anybody with whom there has arisen once the enmity. Indra is your greatest enemy; he always intends evil to you; therefore do not trust him any more. Indra is never to be trusted, who is always covetous, inimical, rejoicing at others sufferings, licentious and addicted to others' wives; vicious, deceitful, finding faults with others, always jealous, a juggler, and puffed up with vanity. O Child!  What more shall I say than this fact that that villain, without fearing sin, easily entered into the womb of his mother and cut the crying child in the womb into seven pieces and then each seventh part again into seven parts, thus altogether into forty-nine parts. Therefore O my son! He is never to be trusted on any account. He who is always addicted to vicious deeds never feels shame in perpetrating again another crime.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! Vritra's death time drew nigh; hence he could not take his father's words as auspicious, though he was warned by his father in words full of meaning. One day, in the evening time, at a very inauspicious dreadful moment, Indra saw Vritra on the shore of an ocean and began to think of the boon granted by Brahmâ to the Asura thus :-- “Now this is the terrible evening time; this cannot be called day nor can it be called night, and this demon is also here alone in this solitary place; it is advisable therefore to effect his death by force, there is no doubt in this.” Thus arguing in his mind, Indra remembered the Undecaying Soul Hari. Bhagavân, the Best of Purusas came there, unseen by anybody, and entered into the thunderbolt; Indra quickly collected himself to kill Vritrâsura; but he thought how he could slay this Demon, unconquerable in the battle; and if he did not slay his enemy then by deceit, then his enemy would continue to live, and it would be impossible for him to get his own welfare. While he was thus thinking, he saw the foam of the waters of the ocean as big as a mountain; thinking that foam not to be dry nor wet and considering that foam not to be any weapon, he easily took that foam and instantly remembered with a heartful devotion the Highest Force Bhuvanes'varî. On Her remembrance, the Bhagavatî infused Her part into that foam and the thunderbolt, instilled with the force of Nârâyana, was covered, too, by that foam. Indra, then, hurled the thunderbolt covered with foam on Vritra; and the Demon, thus struck, instantly fell down like a mountain. When Vritrâsura was thus killed, Indra became very glad; the Risis began to praise him with various hymns. Indra, then, with all the other Devas worshipped the Devî, through Whose Grace the enemy had been killed and they praised Her with various hymns. The image of the Bhagavatî the Supreme S'akti was built of ruby and installed in the Nandana Garden. O King! Since then all the Devas used to worship the Devî thrice a day, morning, midday and evening and since then the       S'rî Devî became the tutelary deity of the Gods. Indra worshipped then Visnu also, the Highest of the Gods. When the terrible powerful Vritrâsura was killed, the auspicious wind began to blow gently; the Devas, Gandharbas, Râkhsasas, and Kinnaras began to roam about with great joy. Vritrâsura was deluded by the Mâyâ of Bhagavatî, and Her force entered into the foam; hence Indra was capable to kill him suddenly and it is, for this reason, that the Devî, the Goddess of the world, is known in the three worlds as “Vritranihantrî,” the slayer of Vritra. But at the first sight Indra killed him by means of the foam; hence the people say that Vritra was killed by Indra.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the slaying of Vritrâsura in the Mahapurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 7. On Indra’s Living Under Disguise In The Mânas Lake

1-16. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Now seeing Vritra slain, Visnu, the Deva of the Devas, went to Vaikuntha; but, with this fear reigning supreme in his mind that it was He that virtually slew him. Indra, too, then became afraid of the sin committed by him and returned to his Heavens. The Munis, too, became very anxious and thought what great sin they have committed in cheating Vritrâsura. It is the company of Indra that now made their name “Munis” as meaningless. The Munis thought thus :-- “Oh! Vritra on our words trusted Indra and we have thus turned out today traitors in company with that traitor Indra. Attachment and affection is the cause of all mischief. Fie on that attachment! It is, as it were, tied by the cord of affection that we had sworn falsely on oath and thus deceived Vritra. Those that deliberately guide others to vicious acts or those that advise or incite others to do sinful acts or those that side with the sinners certainly partake of the fruits of the sin committed. Visnu, too, committed the sin, though he had Sattva Guna preponderance, when he entered into the thunderbolt and thus helped Indra in killing Vritra. It seems that henceforth the people, when selfish, won't hesitate to commit afterwards any sinful act when they will see that Bhagavân Visnu could have done, in concert with Indra, such a vicious thing. Of the four virtues Dharma, Artha, Kâma, and Moksa, Dharma and Moksa are very rare in the three worlds. Artha (wealth) and Kâma (desires) are everywhere recommended as excellent and therefore held very dear; Dharma is now merely in name and is the cause of the vanity of the Pundits (no one now really practises Dharma with devotion). Thus arguing, the Munis became very much afflicted in their minds and went back to their own hermitages respectively, broken-hearted and absent-minded. O Bharata! Hearing of the death of his son by Indra, Vis’vakarmâ wept very much and he become disgusted very much with the affairs of the world. He went to the place where lay his son Vritra and became pained very much to see him in that state; and he performed his cremation and other funeral obsequies according to the prescribed rules. He then bathed, performed his Tarpanam (peace-offering) and funeral ceremonies due to a person in the first year of his death. Then his heart became afflicted with sorrow and he cursed the vicious Indra saying that as Indra had killed his son, enticing him by falsely swearing on oath, so Indra, in his turn would suffer a heavier suffering, to be inflicted by Vidhi (the Great Creator of Universe). O King! Thus cursing Indra, Vis’vakarmâ, very much afflicted due to the loss of his son, went to the top of the Mountain Meru and began to practise a hard tapasyâ.

17. Janamejaya said :-- “O Grandsire! First tell me what happiness or pain did Indra derive by killing Vritra, the son of Tvastâ.”

18-40. Vyâsa said :-- O fortunate One! What are you asking? and what is the nature of your doubt?  The fruit of one's Karma is certainly to be enjoyed, whether it be auspicious or inauspicious. Be he weak or strong. Be he a Deva, an Asura or a human being, everyone in fact, will have to suffer for one's Karma, good or bad, to its full extent, whether it be done a little or too much. See! It was Visnu that gave advice to Indra and entered into his thunderbolt and helped him when Indra was ready to kill Vritra; but when there had been Indra's difficult time, Visnu did not help Indra in any way. Therefore, O King! It is clear that when one's time is favourable, everybody turns out friends; but when Fate turns adverse, nobody is seen to come forward to help. When Fate is against anybody, one's father, mother, wife, or brother, servant, friend or one's own son becomes quite incapable to help anybody. The man, who does good or bad acts, suffers for his deeds. When Vritra was killed, everyone went back to their respective homes; but Indra, the Lord of S’achî, became very much deprived of his energy and brilliancy due to the sin of his killing a Brâhmin; all the Devas, then, blamed him as a Brâhmaghataka (the killer of a Brâhmin). They talked further that no other body would have been able to even indulge the idea of killing a Muni who was an intimate friend and who placed full confidence on him when Indra had sworn on oath that he would be a friend to Vritra. O King! Everywhere then there was this gossip in the assemblages of the gods, in their gardens, at the meetings of the Gandharbas that Indra had deceived Vritra who had relied on him, on the words of the Munis and then killed him by pretext, and so had done, indeed, a horrible crime. Indra had now forsaken the eternal proofs of the Vedas; and he had become a Bauddha; therefore he could have easily killed Vritra. No other body, save Visnu and Indra, could have acted contrary to their words, as clearly evidenced by the manner in which Vritra had been killed. These remarks, similar to those mentioned above, became everywhere current and Indra heard all of them, tending to his own disgrace. O King! Fie on that man's life that is blamed everywhere! Fie on that man whose fame has been marred amongst the people. Such a person becomes laughed at by his enemies, when seen by them on the way. The royal saint Indradyumna (Râjarsî) was made to get down, though sinless, from Heavens when his good deeds expired. Why, then, would not vicious persons be made to descend? The king Yayâti had to get down from Heavens for his very little fault and had to pass eighteen Yugas in the form of a crab. What more can be said than the fact that even the Bhagavân Achyut Hari had to take several incarnations in the wombs of boar, crocodile, etc., out of the curse from a Brâhmin, due to his cutting off the bead of the wife of Bhrigu. Though omnipresent, yet he had to take the appearance of a dwarf and had to beg from the King Vali's palace. What more troubles and miseries than this can be inflicted on those that had sinned viciously. O Ornament of Bharata! Râmchandra, too, had to experience, due to the curse of Bhrigu, terrible miseries on the bereavement of Sîtâ Devî. Similarly Indra, too, for his sin of killing a Brâhmin, was so much terrified that he could not get his healthy condition though he remained in his own house, endowed with all sorts of prosperity and wealth. Seeing, then, Indra lustreless, knowledge-less, almost void of consciousness, and overwhelmed with fear, his wife S’achî, the daughter of Pulomâ, spoke to him thus :-- “O Lord! Your dreadful enemy has been killed; why are you, then, sighing so much, being afflicted with so much terror? O Lord! You have destroyed your enemy; then why are you so much anxious? why are you then so much remorseful and drawing such deep heavy sighs like an ordinary man? I am not seeing any other powerful enemy of yours; then, why do you look so anxious and bowed down with cares, as if you look quite unconscious.”

41-44. Indra said :-- “O Devî! True that I have no other powerful enemy, yet I do not find peace nor any happiness. I fear for the sin Brâhmahattyâ in my house. O Devî! This Nandana Garden, the city of Kuvera, the lord of riches, this nectar forest, the sweet music of the Gandbarbas, the beautiful dance of the Apsarâs, all these now do not give the least pleasure to me. What more can I say than this that the beautiful Lady like you, most beautiful amidst the three worlds, and other beautiful ladies, the Heavenly cow, the Mandâra tree (one of the five trees of the celestial region), the Pârijâta tree (the flower tree), the Santâna tree, the Kalpa tree (yielding all desires) and the Harichandan (saffron tree) and others cannot give pleasure to me. What to do, where to go, so that I get happiness, O Beloved! This thought makes me uneasy. And so I am not able to get happiness in my own thought.”

45-60. Vyâsa said :-- Thus speaking to his most distressed wife, Indra got out of his house and went to the exceedingly beautiful lake, named Manasarovara. Indra there entered into the tubular stalk of the lotus, his body becoming very lean and thin out of the fear and sorrow. Nobody could recognise him as he was overpowered by his terrible sin. He then began to behave himself, as regards feeding and enjoying, like a snake; and he became ovewhelmed with thought, helpless, and his organs were out of order, He remained hidden in the water. When Indra, the king of the Devas, thus fled away out of the fear of his Brâhmahattyâ sin, the other Devas became very anxious; everywhere various evil signs manifested themselves. The Risis, Siddhas and Gandharbas were very much panic-stricken, as various disturbances and violent symptoms covered all over the world without any king. Grains began to grow very scanty, due to want of rains; the streams were almost dry and very little water was there in the tanks. In such a state of anarchism, all the inhabitants of the celestial regions, the Devas and Risis consulted and installed the king Nahusa in the place of Indra. O King! Nahusa, though virtuous, became, under the sway of Rajoguna, influenced by lust and thus he got very much addicted to worldly enjoyments. He began to amuse himself in the Garden of Paradise, surrounded by the Apsarâs or celestial nymphs. One day he heard of the excellent qualifications of S'achî Devî, the wife of Indra, and desired to acquire her. Then he spoke to the Risis :-- The Devas and you, united, have installed me in the office of Indra; but why does not the Indranî (the wife of Indra), come to me so long? If you want to do what I like, then quickly bring S'achî here before me for my gratification. I am now Indra and therefore the god of the Devas and all the worlds; therefore bring today quickly Indranî to my house. Hearing thus the words of the king Nahusa, the Devas and Devarsîs became anxious and went to S'achî, and, with their heads bowed down, spoke thus :-- “O Wife of Indra! The wicked Nahusa is now desiring you; he became angry and told as to send you to him quickly; O Devî! We have made him Indra and are therefore under him; what shall we do now under these circumstances?” S'achî, the wife of Indra, hearing their words, became absent-minded and spoke to Brihaspati, thus :-- “O Brâhmana! I now take refuge unto you.”

61-62. Brihaspati said :-- “O Devî! Do not be afraid of Nahusa; he has been deluded by Moha. O Child! I won't forsake the eternal religion and thus I won't give you over to the hands of Nahusa. No doubt that wretch suffers the severest torments in Hell to the end of Pralaya (the Great Dissolution) who quits and hands over the distressed person under one's refuge to another. O Good One! Be comfortable; I will never forsake you.”

Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Sixth Book on Indra's living under disguise in the Mânas Lake in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 8. On S’achî’s Praising The Devî

1-11. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing that the wife of Indra had taken refuge under Brihaspati, the King Nahusa became very angry towards Brihaspati and spoke to the Devas :-- “ O Devas! I hear that the stupid son of Angirasa has given protection to Indra and has kept her in his house; I will therefore kill him quickly.” Seeing the terrible Nahusa thus angry, the Devas and Risis consoled him and said :-- O King of kings! Do not be angry; quit this vicious motive yours. See, the Risis in all the Dharma S'âstras, have declared the holding of illicit  connection with other's wives as a very heinous crime and have blamed it very much. You can consider that the daughter of Pulomâ is always chaste, devoted to her husband and very good-natured. How can she, when her husband is alive, take another husband? O Lord! You are now the Lord of the three worlds and hence the Defender of Faith and Religion; and if a person like you act irreligiously, all the subjects will then go to annihilation. One who is a Lord should always observe the rules of good conduct. Besides there are many other celestial women in this Heaven as beautiful as S'achî; you can satisfy your thirst with them. Mutual love is recognised by the wise as the true originator of amorous dealings; ravishing a woman by force destroys all amorous sentiments. O King! And if the mutual love be similar and equal in all respects, then comes the true happiness; you have now got the post of Indra; therefore quit this idea of holding illicit connection with other's wives and indulge in other good thoughts. Demerits destroy prosperity and merits increase it. Therefore, O King! Leave all these bad thoughts and make your heart take a good turn and be happy.

12-15. Nahusa said :-- “O Devas! Where were you all when Indra stole away the wife of Gautama and when the Moon stole away the wife of Brihaspati? It is easy to give advice to others but to act according to that is very rare in this world. O Devas! Let the qualified Devî come to me you will derive much benefit from it and the Devî, too, will get Her highest happiness; there is no doubt in this. I tell you truly that in no other way I will be satisfied; bring Indrânî here quickly, whether by good words or by force.”

16-17. The Devas and Munis heard the words of the king Nahusa, smitten by the Cupid's arrows, got terrified and said :-- “We will bring Indrânî to you by gentle words.” Saying thus, they went to the house of Brihaspati.

18-21. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devas, going to the house of Brihaspati, spoke thus with folded hands :-- O Guru! We know that Indrânî has taken shelter in your house; we will have to hand her over today to the king Nahusa for we all united have made over the post of Indra to Nahusa. Let this beautiful Lady now choose and worship him. Hearing these awful words of the Devas, Brihaspati said to them :-- “O Devas! This chaste woman, devoted to her husband, has now taken my shelter; therefore I can never part with her.” The Devas said :-- “O Guru! Kindly advise then - if you do not part with S'achî Devî - how the king Nahusa be pleased; if he becomes angry, it will then be very difficult to please him.”

22-31. Brihaspati said :-- “O Devas! Let S'achî now go to Nahusa, and tempt him with enticing words and make this condition that when her husband's death will be known to her, she will then accept Nahusa as her husband. How could she accept another husband when her husband was alive. Therefore let her now go in quest of her high-souled husband. Let S'achî thus make condition with him and, thus deceiving him, let her try her best to bring back her husband. O King! Then, after coming to this conclusion, Brihaspati and other Devas went with Indrânî to the king Nahusa. Seeing them come, especially looking at Indrânî the artificial king Nahusa became very glad and said to Indrânî :-- “O Beloved! Today I am become the real Indra. O beautiful-eyed One! Worship me as your husband; see the Devas now have made me to be worshipped by all the gods.” When Nahusa spoke thus, the Devî S'achî became filled with great shame; she began to tremble and said to the king :-- “O Lord of the Devas! I desire to ask a boon from you. Better wait till I ascertain whether Indra is dead or alive, there is this doubt in my heart whether he lives or whether he is dead. O King of kings! Let me, first of all, clear my doubts. Kindly excuse me and wait till then. I tell this truly that after I ascertain the fact, I will worship you. I do not know anything whether Indra is dead or whether he has gone any where else.” When S'achî Devî spoke thus, Nahusa became very glad and saying “let it be so” dismissed her.

32-47. Thus having received permission from the King to depart, S'achî hurriedly went to the Devas and spoke to them to try their best to bring Indra back as soon as possible. O King! Hearing these sweet and holy words of Indrânî the Devas intently consulted with each other how they could get back Indra. They then went to Vaikuntha and began to praise with hymns the original Deva, the God Visnu, the Lord of the Universe, kind to those that seek His refuge. The Devas, skilled in speaking, spoke to Visnu with a very troubled heart :-- “O Lord! Indra, the Lord of the Devas, is very much troubled with his sin Brahmahattyâ. Where is he staying now, invisible to all the beings? O Lord! He is now overcome with the sin Brahmahattyâ by killing Vritra, the best of the Brâhmins. We ask your skilful and intelligent advice. O Lord! You are the sole refuge of him as well as of us. We are now involved in a great difficulty. Kindly show us the way how we, as well as Indra, can get out of this difficult crisis.” Hearing the pitiful words of the Devas, Visnu said :-- Let Indra perform the As'vamedha sacrifice (Horse sacrifice) for the purification of his sins. By this Yajña, that can destroy all sins, Indra will be purified and he will regain his Indraship; there is no doubt in this. The more so because the Devî, the Universal Mother, will be pleased with his Horse sacrifice and will destroy all his sins, Brahmahattyâ and others. Lo! Merely remembering Her destroys heaps of sins; and, if by this Horse sacrifice, She be pleased, what wonder is there that sins of a more grave nature would be destroyed! And let Indrânî worship Bhagavatî daily; happiness will undoubtedly be gained by worshipping that most Auspicious One! By this the King Nahusa will be particularly deluded by the World Mother and will then be quickly destroyed by the sin committed by himself. And Indra, purified by As'vamedha, will soon regain his position and all his wealth. O king! Thus hearing the sweet beneficial words of Visnu of indomitable prowess, the Devas went to the spot, where resided Indra. Brihaspati and the other Devas consoled the distressed Indra and made him celebrate duly in right order, the Horse sacrifice the greatest of all sacrifices. Indra then distributed his sin Brahmahattyâ amongst the trees, rivers, mountains, women, and the earth.

48-51. Thus casting aside his sin on all the above things, Indra became again free from his sin, and, getting rid of his fever and uneasiness, abided by the time and remained there invisible in the tubular stem of the lotus. Doing that wonderful act, the Devas started from there and reached their own abodes. The daughter of Pulomâ, suffering from her bereavements from Indra, spoke then to Brihaspati with great sorrow :-- “O Lord! Why is my husband still invisible to me, when he has performed the As'vamedha sacrifice? Kindly show me the way how I can get a sight of him.”

52-62. Brihaspati said :-- “O Devî! Worship the most Auspicious Bhagavatî; surely She will make your husband sinless and you will see him. The Devî Ambikâ, the Upholdress of the Universe, will desist the King Nahusa from doing the wrongful act and it is She that will delude him by Her Mâyâ and get his downfall from the Heavens. O King! When Brihaspati spoke thus, S'achî Devî got initiated by him in the Devî Mantram, capable to secure success in any undertaking. Thus getting the Mantram from her Guru, She began to worship the Devî Bhuvane'svarî duly with flowers, sacrificial victims and other necessary articles for worship. Thus Indrânî, with a view to see her husband, performed the worship of the Devî; she quitted all the articles of enjoyment and luxury and assumed the garb of an ascetic; thus some time passed away, when the Devî was pleased and appeared before her on the back of a Swan, in Her peaceful form, ready to grant boons to Indrânî. She looked, then, fiery like thousands of Moons; Her lovely beauty appeared in rays like thousands and thousands of fixed lightnings. The four Vedas personified began to praise Her in hymns from the four sides. Her two hands were adorned with a noose and a goad, and Her two other hands made signs to grant boons and to discard all fear. The Vaijayantî garland of clear crystal-like gems suspended from Her neck up to Her feet. Her face was adorned with smiles and signs as if she would grant favours. She had three eyes and was the ocean of mercy and the Mother of all the Jîvas from a worm up to Brahmâ. Her two heavy breasts were filled with unbounded ocean of nectar-like juice of Peace and Mukti. She was the Goddess of innumerable worlds, the Goddess of all and the Highest, endowed with all the knowledges and the Incarnate of the Undecaying and Immoveable Brahmâ. The Devî, then, began to address S'achî, the wife of Indra, in pleasant words and in voice deep like a rolling thunder.

63-69. The Devî said :-- O Darling to Indra! Better now ask your desired boon. I am much pleased with your worship. O Beautiful One! I have come here to grant you boon. To see Me is not an easy task; by the collected merits, acquired in thousands and thousands of births one is able to See Me. Hearing the words of the Devî, S'achî Devî, the wife of Indra, fell prostrate before Her feet and began to speak to the Highest Goddess, the Bhagavatî, Who seemed graciously pleased :-- “O Mother! I now desire from Thee, that I may see my husband whom I attained after great difficulty, that I be freed from the fear arising out of King Nahusa and I want that Indra be reinstated as Indra as he was before.” The Devî said :-- “O Lady of the Devas! Better go with this My messenger (Dûtî) to Mânasarovara; there is installed My fixed form, named Vis'vakâmâ. You will see your Indra staying there very sorrowful and overwhelmed with terror. I will delude the King Nahusa within a very short period. O large-eyed One! Be calm and quiet; I will fulfil your desires; soon I will delude that king and deprive him of the seat of Indra.”

70-71. Vyâsa said :-- The wife of Indra accompanied the messenger of the Devî and quickly reached the presence of her husband Indra. She was very pleased to see her long-wished for husband, in the state disguise.

Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the praising of the Bhagavatî by the wife of Indra and on getting the sight of Indra in the Mahâpurânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 9. On Indra’s Getting The Fruits Of Brahmahattyâ And On The Downfall Of King Nahusa

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- Indra was quite surprised to see in this state of solitude his dear wife S'achî, large-eyed and overwhelmed with much sorrow and spoke thus :-- “O Beloved! I am remaining here alone this desolate place unnoticed by all the Jîvas; O Auspicious faced One! How have you come to know this! And how is it that you have come here!”

3-5. S'achî said :-- O Lord of the Devas! I have been able to know this place where you are staying by the grace of Bhagavatî's Feet and I will get you back by Her grace. The Devas and Munis all united have installed the King Nahusa in your throne. That fellow says “O fair One! I am now made the King Indra; therefore you worship me as your husband.” And thus oppresses me always. O Destroyer of other's strength! That vicious one speaks to me thus; I am weak; What can I do to him?

6. Indra said :-- “O Beautiful One! I am now here waiting for the proper opportunity; O auspicious One! You should also make your mind calm and remain there, and wait for the proper time.”

7-12. Vyâsa said : -- O King! After Indra had spoken thus, S'achî Devî became sorrowful, drew a deep sigh and, trembling, said :-- “O Fortunate One! How can I stay there? That vicious man, puffed up with vanity and proud of his position will forcibly bring me under his control. The Devas and Munis say this to me out of his fear :-- O Beautiful One! The Lord of the Devas is now very much distressed with the arrows of the Cupid; therefore go and worship him. O Tormentor of foes! How can the Brâhmin Brihaspatî protect me, being himself powerless and under the control of the Devas. O Lord! This is now my grave anxiety; I am a weak woman, having none to protect me and therefore always under the guidance of a man. Fate is now against me; how can I keep myself religious? I am a chaste woman, devoted to my husband; I have got no shelter there; who will protect me when I fall into misery!

13-21. Indra said :-- “O Beautiful One! I will now tell you one means which, if you adopt, will no doubt preserve your character in times of crisis. Women cannot preserve their chastity when they are protected by others by thousand and one means; for lust penetrates into their restless minds and carries them to impure ways. It is the good and pure character that preserves a woman from a vicious course; therefore O Smiling One! You adopt this good conduct and character and remain steady in your place. In case that deceitful wicked King Nahusa shows his violence upon you, then take time and secretly cheat him, O Madâlase! Go to him when there will be no other body present and say :--“O Lord of the world! Please come to me on a conveyance carried by the Risis (great ascetics), I will then be very delighted and gladly yield myself to you; this is certainly my vow.” O Beautiful One! When you will say thus, that King, blinded by passion, will engage the Munis for the carriers of his conveyance. The ascetics, then, will be angry and curse him; the Munis will certainly burn him by the fire of their wrath; and the Divine Mother will no doubt help you. He who remembers the lotus-feet of the Ambikâ Devî never meets with any difficulties; and if there arises any difficulty, know certainly that it is for his immeasurable benefit. Therefore worship, with your whole heart, the Mother of the Universe, Who resides in the jewelled island (Mani Dvîpa) according to the words of the Guru Brihaspatî.

22-25. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the Indra's words, S'achî Devî said “Let it be so” and went to Nahusa, filled with confidence and inspiration to carry on the future work. Nahusa was very glad to see S'achî Devî and spoke thus :-- “O Sweet-speaking One! Are you all right? I am now completely yours; you have fulfilled my word; therefore I say truly that I am your servant. O Gentle-speaking One! When you have come to me, know that I am very glad. O Smiling One! Do not feel any shame before me. I am now your devotee; worship me. O large eyed One! Speak out what is that dear thing that I can do for you? I will carry that out at once.”

26-27. S'achî said :-- “O Lord Vâsava! You have done all the works; now I have got one desire to ask from you, kindly fulfil this and then I will be yours. O One full of auspiciousness! Now fulfil my desire; I am speaking this to you.”

28. Nahusa said :-- “O Thou, having a face sweet like the Moon! Speak out your desire; I will carry it out. O Beautiful One with nice eye-brows! Even if that be unattainable, I will give that to you.”

29-31. S'achî said :-- “O King of Kings! I cannot trust you; Swear on oath that you will fulfill my desire. O King! A truthful King very rare on this earth; I will speak out my desire when I will be convinced that you are bound by truth. O King! When you will fulfil my desire, I will always remain under your control; this I speak truly to you.”

32. Nahusa said :-- “O Beautiful One! On all the sacrifices and gifts that I have ever made, I swear, on all my merits, that I will certainly carry out your word.”

33-37. S'achî said :-- “Indra has got for his vehicles the horse Uchchais'ravâ, the Airâvata elephant and the chariot; Vâsudeva has got vehicle Garuda; Yama has got his buffalo; S'ankara his Bull; Brahmâ his Swan; Kartika has got his peacock and Ganes'a has got his mouse. But now, O Lord of the Devas! I want to see your vehicle, never witnessed before: I want to see the Munis and the great ascetics, observing vows, to be your vehicle; this is not Visnu's, Rudra's nor of the Devas, and Râks'asas. O King! Let the Munis carry your conveyance, this is my ever burning desire. O King of this earth! I know you the highest of all Devas; let your glory and splendour increase ever and ever; this is the intense desire reigning in my heart.”

38-56. Vyasa said :-- O King! Hearing S'achî's words, Nahusa, weak in intellect, laughed and beguiled by the Mâyâ of Bhagavatî began to praise her and said at once :-- “O Beautiful One! Truly you have made a nice suggestion of my vehicle. O One having luxuriant hairs! I will soon carry out your words. O Sweet-smiling One! Whoever is effeminate and of weak virility, he is never able to engage the Munis as his carriers; no doubt, my unbounded strength will be rendered manifest when I come to you on a vehicle carried by the Munis. What wonder is there that the seven Risis (the seven stars of the constellation Great Bear) and all the Devarsis would carry me, knowing me as the most capable and superior in all the three worlds by virtue of my sheer asceticism?” Vyâsa said :-- O King! The King Nahusa became very pleased and dismissed S'achî Devî. He, then, with a heart flamed with passion, called the Munis and said: --“O Munis! I am now become Indra and endowed with all powers thereof; therefore you all do my work without being at all surprised. I have got the seat of Indra but Indrânî is not coming to me. I called her to my presence and when I informed her of my desire, She had spoken to me with affection the following words:-- O Indra of the Devas! O Giver of one's honour! Better come to me on a vehicle carried by the Munis and do thus the one thing for me that I like. O Maharsis! To carry out this task is, indeed, difficult for me; therefore do you all unite and, out of mercy, do this for me in all its completeness. My heart is being always burnt, as I am very much attached to the wife of Indra; so I take refuge unto you to do this wonderful work for me.” Though this request was very indecent and greatly humiliating yet the Munis agreed to it, out of pity, and also impelled, as it were, by the great Fate. When the Great Seers, the Munis consented to this proposal, the King, whose heart was very much attached to the daughter of Pulomâ, became very glad and getting on the beautiful vehicle carried by the Munis, told them, move on quickly (Sarpa, Sarpa). Then the King Nahusa, getting very much impassioned, touched with his feet the heads of the Munis, and, being as it were smitten by the arrows of cupid, began to whip frequently the Risi Agastya, the best of the ascetics, who devoured the Râksasa Vâtâpi, who was the husband of Lopâmudrâ and who drank out the ocean, saying move on, move on (Sarpa, Sarpa another meaning of which is Snake). The Muni, then, became very angry, on being thus whipped, and cursed him saying :-- “'O Wicked One! As you are whipping me, saying Sarpa, Sarpa, so go and remain in the dense forest as a huge snake. When many years will elapse and when you will crawl on your own limb and suffer intense troubles, after that you will again come to heaven. You will be free from the curse when you will see the King Yudhisthira and hear from him the answers to several questions.”

57-67. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus cursed, the King Nahusa began to chant hymns to that best of the Munis, and, while praising, fell from the Heavens and instantly turned into a snake. Brihaspatî, then, quickly went to the Mânasarovara Lake and informed Indra everything in detail. Indra became very glad on hearing in detail of the downfall of the King Nahusa from Heaven and remained there gladly. When the Devas and Munis saw this downfall into the earth of Nahusa, they all went to the Lake Mânasarovara where Indra was staying. They then all encouraged Indra and honoured him by bringing him back to the Heavens. All the Devas and Risis installed Indra on the throne and then performed the Inauguration ceremony of the all auspicious Devî. On getting back his own throne. Indra, too, began to sport in the beautiful Nandana Garden with his dear consort S'achî, in the home of the Devas. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Indra had to suffer such severe hardships on account of his slaying the Maharsi Vis'varûpa, the Lord of the Asuras. Subsequently through the grace of the Devî, he got back his own seat. O King! Thus I have narrated before you  to my best, this excellent story of the killing of Vritrâsura and thus have answered your question. O Ornament of the Kuru family! The fruits will be exactly according to the Karma done. The effects of the Karma done must be borne whether they be auspicious or inauspicious. (So Indra had to suffer for his Karma, the killing of a Brâhmana.)

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Sixth Book on Indra's getting the fruits of his killing a Brâhmana and on the downfall of the King Nahusa from the Heavens in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Phase Of Karma

1-5. Janamejaya said :-- “O Brâhmana! You have described in detail the wonderful character of Indra, his displacement from his Heavens, and his suffering many hardships and at the same time, you have described very widely the greatness of the Highest Goddess of the world. But one doubt has arisen in my mind that Indra was very powerful and when he got the lordship over the Devas, which means in other words that no trouble would pain him, how was it that he had to feel pain and agony? He got the Lordship of the Devas and his highest position by performing one hundred Horse Sacrifices; how was it, then that he was again displaced from that position? O Ocean of mercy! Kindly explain to me the causes of all these. You know everything; you are the best of the Munis and the maker of the Purânas; I am your devoted disciple; therefore nothing there can be that cannot be mentioned to me. So, O highly fortunate One! Kindly remove my doubts.” Sûta said :-- Thus asked by Janamejaya, Vyâsa the son of Satyavatî gladly spoke, in due order, the following words :--

6-29. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hear, then the causes that are certainly very wonderful. The seers say that Karma is of three kinds :-- Sañchita (accumulated), Vartamâna (present) and Prârabdha (commenced). Each of these is again subdivided into three, Sâttvik, Râjasik, and Tâmasik. The accumulated effects of Karmas done in many past lives is called Sañchita, O King! The effects of this Sânchita Karma, be it auspicious or inauspicious, be it for a long or for a short time, must have to be enjoyed by the beings whether they be good or bad. This Sañchita Karma done by the embodied beings in several previous births, can never be totally exhausted even in hundred Koti Kalpas without their being enjoyed. The Karma that is being done by a Jîva and that has not as yet been completed, that is called Vartamâna Karma. The Jîvas do this Vartamâna Karma, auspicious or inauspicious, in their present embodiments. At the time of birth, a part of the Sañchita Karma, the soul takes up for fructification. This part of Sañchita Karma is called Prârabdha Karma. This exhausts only when its effects have been fully borne out by the embodied soul. The beings cannot but bear the effects of this Prârabdha Karma. O King! Know this for certain that the effects of merits or demerits done previously must be borne by anybody, be he a Deva, or a man, or an Asura, or a Yaksa or a Gandharba. The acts done previously go to form the new births of all beings. When the Karma gets exhausted, then no more birth takes place. There is no doubt in this. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, Indra and the other Devas, the Dânavas, Yaksas, Gandharbas, all are under the control of this Karma. O King! Were it not so, how could they get bodies that are the causes of the enjoyments of pains and pleasures of all the beings. Therefore, O King! Out of the Sañchita Karmas done in many previous births, some Karmas get ripe in due time and they manifest themselves; those manifested Sañchita Karmas are called Prârabdha Karmas (those that are being enjoyed by an individual in the present birth). Impelled by this Prârabdha Karma, the Devas and the human beings, all do meritorious acts as well as sinful acts. Thus Indra out of his past meritorious acts attained his Indraship, and, out of his past sinful acts, committed the sin Brahmahattyâ and so he was dislodged from his Indraship. What doubt can exist here? O King! So Nara and Nârâyana, the sons of Dharma, had to take births out of their previous Karmas; again Arjuna and Krisna were born out of their Karmic effects as part incarnations of this Nara and Nârâyana. The Munis describe this Karma as the basis of the Purânas. Know that he is born of a Deva who is very wealthy and prosperous; he who is not born of the part of a Muni, never writes any spiritual treatise on Jñana or Knowledge; he who is not born of Rudra, never worships Rudra; who is not born of a Deva never distributes rice in charity; he who is not born of S'rî Visnu, never becomes the king and lord of the earth. O King! The embodied souls derive their bodies certainly from Indra, Agni, Yama, Visnu, and Kuvera. Indra presides over lordship, Agni presides over energy, Yama presides over anger, and Visnu presides over strength. He who is powerful, fortunate, enjoying many enjoyments, learned, charitable, is said to be born of a Devâms'a. O Lord of the earth! Similarly the Pândavas and Vâsudeva who was as glorious as Nârâyana were born of Devâms'as. O King! Know this as quite certain that the bodies of the Jîvas are the receptacles of pains and pleasures; and the embodied souls (Jîvas) experience alternately pleasure and pain. No Jîva is independent; he is always under the Great Fate. He experiences birth, death, pleasure and pain, not out of his self will, but compelled and guided, as it were, by the unseen Fate.

30-41. O King! How very strong is that Fate can easily be judged by the following. The Pândavas were born in forest; then they went their own homes. They performed the Great Râjasûya Sacrifice by virtue of their own strength. After this they had to suffer their exiles in forest a much greater and more terrible hardship indeed! Next Arjuna performed a very hard asceticism when the Devas, not self-controlled, became pleased and granted him an auspicious boon. Still he could not extricate himself from the hands of the terrible hardship; nowhere could be found the fruits of the merits acquired in the past when he was afterwards remaining in exile in his human body in the forest! The severe tapasyâ that he did in the Vadarikâsrama in his past incarnation as Nara, the son of Dharma, did not bear any fruit in his Arjuna birth. Mysterious and inexplicable are the ways and means of Karma with which the bodies of the several beings are concerned. How could men get an idea of it when the Devas themselves are at a loss to solve it. Bhagavân Vâsudeva had to take birth in the prison, a very critical and dangerous place; he was then carried by Vasudeva to the milkman Nanda's abode at Gokula; he remained there eleven years and thence came back to Mathurâ where he killed by force Kamsa, the son of Ûgrasena. Then he released his sorrowful father and mother from the bonds of prison and made Ûgrasena, the King of Mathurâ. Afterwards he went to Dvârkâ city, out of the fear of Kâla Yavana, the King of the Mlechchas; thus Janârdana Krisna performed many great and heroic deeds, being impelled by Fate. Then he left his mortal coil at Prabhâsa, a place of pilgrimage, along with his relatives and acquaintances and then ascended to his Vaikuntha abode. All the Yâdavas, sons, grandsons, friends, brothers, sisters and ladies of the houses all died under the curse of a Brâhmin. O King! I have thus described to you the inexplicable ways of Karma.

What more shall I say than the fact that Vâsudeva was killed by the arrows of a hunter!

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the phase of Karma in the Mahapurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 11. On The Ascertainment Of Dharma

1-10. Janamejaya said :-- “O King of the Brâhmanas! You said that Râma and Krisna took their incarnations to relieve the burden of earth. One great doubt arises in my mind on this point. At the end of the Dvâpara Yuga, the Earth, burdened and oppressed very much, assumed, in anguish, the form of a cow and took refuge under Brahmâ. Brahmâ, then, went with the Earth to Visnu, the Lord of Laksmî, and thus prayed, “O Bibhu! Let You, with all the other gods, incarnate soon on earth at the house of Vâsudeva to relieve the Earth of Her load, as well as to protect the righteous.” When Brahmâ thus prayed, the Bhagavân Visnu incarnated as the son of Devakî, along with Balarâma to lessen the burden of the Earth. And, in fact, he relieved, to a certain extent, the Earth by killing many vicious persons and many wicked and irreligious Kings. But, along with that, Bhîsma, Drona, Virâta, Drupada, Somâdatta, and Karna, the son of the Sun were killed. But, See! that those who plundered afterwards His riches, and stole away the wives of Hari, those crores of Âbhîras, S’akas, Mlechchas, and Nisâdas and other vicious people remained alive; and how could it, then, be said that the Earth was relieved when Krisna did not kill those people! O Fortunate One! When I see all the people in this Kâlî Yuga addicted to sinful acts, this great doubt is not going out of my mind (how the Earth had been relieved of Her load).

11-14. Vyâsa said :-- O King! As the Yuga changes, so the people changes in course of time. Nothing can alter its course, for this is caused by the Yuga Dharma (the Dharma peculiar to each Yuga). Therefore if all the subjects that are considered wicked and vicious according to the law of the Yuga Dharma, then this creation would be destroyed; hence Krisna killed only those Dânavas and vicious Ksattriyas that were really the burden of Earth. O King! The persons that are devoted to religion take their births in the Satya Yuga; those that are fond of religion and wealth they become manifest in the Tretâ Yuga; those that like Dharma (religion), Artha (wealth) and Kama (desires), they are born in the Dvâpara Yuga, and those that dote on wealth and lust, they are seen in the Kâlî Yuga. O King! Know this as certain that these characteristics, peculiar to each Yuga, never vary; and know this too, that Time, the Lord of Dharma and Adharma, is always present.

15-18. The King said :-- “O Intelligent One! Where are those pious persons now that were born as high-souled religious persons in the Satya Yuga; where are those Munis now who were devoted to charity in the Tretâ or Dvâpara Yuga? Again where will go these shameless and merciless persons, that are being seen now in this Kâlî Yuga, these vicious creatures that revile their own Gurus? O Highly Intelligent One! I am very eager to know how these religious matters are brought to a decision and settlement; kindly describe to me in detail all these secret truths.”

19-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Persons, born in the Satya Yuga, that perform acts of merit, go to the Deva Loka. O King! The Brâhmins, Ksattriyas, Vais’yas and S’ûdras, if they remain in their own spheres and if they be devoted to religious acts, go to their respective spheres, earned by their meritorious deeds. By virtue of truth, mercy, charity, going to one’s own wives, not injuring animals, and having no jealousy and showing mercy equally towards all, by practising these universal forms of religion, even the lowest castes, e.g., washermen and others all go to the Paradise. So in the Tretâ and Dvâpara Yugas men go to Heaven by virtue of their merits, earned in practising their own Dharma; but in this Kâlî Yuga persons addicted to vicious acts go to terrible hells and remain there till the end of the Kâlî Yuga when they will be again born in this earth. O King! When the Satya Yuga begins and the Kâlî Yuga ends, at this junction time, the virtuous highsouled persons descend from Heaven and are born on this earth; and when the Kâlî begins and the Dvâpara ends, the vicious souls come on the earth again from their hells. O King! Know this as the course of Time; it never becomes otherwise. See, then, that the Kâlî Yuga tends to do vicious things and the people, therefore, become vicious. At times, the birth of beings takes place otherwise than the laws of Yugas, out of the strange combinations of Fate (i.e., good persons are seen in the Kâlî and vicious persons are seen in the Satya). For this reason those that do meritorious acts in the Kâlî Yuga are born as men in the Dvâpara; so the Dvâpara good persons take their births as men in the Tretâ; and the Tretâ good persons are born as men in the Satya Yuga. Again those who are vicious in the Satya Yuga become persons of the Kâlî Yuga. The Jîvas suffer miseries on account of their own bad Karmas; they again suffer more miseries by doing over and over again those bad Karmas by virtue of the Yuga Dharma.

31. Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! Describe particularly the details of the Yuga Dharma. I am now very desirous to hear which Dharma is for which Yuga?”

32-54. Vyâsa said :-- O King! I will now show to you by example the influence of the religion peculiar to each Yuga; hear it attentively. O King! The hearts even of saints are quite disturbed by the Yuga Dharma. See! Your father was a religious and high-souled monarch; still the wicked Kâlî defiled his mind and prompted him to do an act very insulting to a Brâhmana. Otherwise why would he, being a renowned prince amongst the Ksattriyas and a descendant of Yayâti, thus go and encircle a snake round the throat of an ascetic Brâhmin? Therefore, O King! All actions are being influenced by the Yuga Dharma. The Pundits, also recognise this. If you try your best to perform any religious act, even then the Yuga Dharma would prevail, yet you would be able to perform to a certain extent, a part of your intention. O King! In the Satya Yuga, the Brâhmins were versed in the Vedas, always devoted to worship the Highest Force, with an ardent desire to see the Devî; they were devoted to Gâyatrî with Pranava, devoted to the meditation of Gâyatrî, always reciting silently Gâyatrî, and the Mâyâvîja Mantram, the chief mantram. In every village, the Brâhmins were very eager to erect temples of the Devî Mahâ Mâyâ Ambikâ and were truthful, merciful and pure and devoted to their own respective works. The Ksattriyas, skilled in the science of the highest knowledge, were ever engaged in doing things ordained by the Vedas and were always intent in protecting well their subjects. The Vais’yas did their cultivation and trade and the S’ûdras always served the other three castes. Thus, in the Satya Yuga, all the Varnas (castes) were devoted to the worship of the Devî Ambikâ, the Highest S’akti; but in the Tretâ Yuga, the observance of the religion declined a little and in the Dvâpara, it declined very much. O Ornament of Indra! Those who were Râksasas before, they become the Brâhmins of the Kâlî Yuga; they are the flowers of atheists, deceptors of men, untruthful, without any Vedas, devoid of the Vedic practices, arrogant, cunning, egoistic, and capable only to serve the S’ûdras. Some of them try to find fault with the Sanâtan Dharma and are the promulgators of various other creeds, wicked, fallen from their religion and given to much talking. O King! As Kâlî gets stronger, so the true religion declines and ultimately dies; and, in that proportion, the Ksattriyas, Vais’yas and S’ûdras are also devoid of their religion. When Kâlî will be in full swing, the Ksattriyas, Vais’yas and S’ûdras will all be untruthful, vicious; the Brâhmins will act like S’ûdras and will accept other’s gifts. O King! The women in the Kâlî Yuga would be very passionate, avaricious and ignorant. They would be very powerful and insolent, wilful, vicious and untruthful and so would be a source of pain to the society. They would think themselves vainly religious and learned and would be always ready to impart religious instructions and deceive their own husbands and be exceedingly vicious. O King! Our minds are purified by the food that we take; when our minds are pure, the Light of Dharma shines clearly. The customs and practices of Varna and Âs’rama Dharmas get intermixed with each other and so arises the fault of Dharma S’amkara (i.e., mixture of the several parts of religion with each other). When the Dharma S’amkara creeps in, the Varna S’ankara is seen (i.e., purity in blood and other matters of birth are lost). Thus, in the Kâlî Yuga, all the Dharmas will gradually die out and ultimately nothing will be heard about one’s own religion. O King! In this Yuga even the religious high-souled persons will be found to do irreligious acts! The nature of Kâlî is so; nobody will be able to quit it. O King! Thus, in this age, men naturally commit vicious things; with ordinary means, therefore, no one becomes able to extricate from the worst vicious habits.

55-56. Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! You know all and you are versed in all the S’âstras; what will be the fate of so many persons in this Kâlî Yuga? If there be any path, kindly describe it to me.”

57-65. Vyâsa said :-- O King! There is only one path and none other which can save a man from the sin of this Kâlî; and that is this :-- The Jîvas must meditate on the lotus-feet of the Highest Devî for the purification of all their faults and sins. O King! There is so much strength in Her sin-destroying Name, that the amount of sin in this world falls much less in proportion to that. Where, then, is the cause of fear? Her Name, uttered at random, even in an unconscious state, bestows so much unspeakable results that even Hari, Hara and others have not the capacity to know that. O King! The mere remembrance of the name of S’rî Devî is an atonement for a multitude of sins; then it behoves that every man, afraid of the Kâlî Yuga, residing in a place of pilgrimage, ought to remember incessantly the Name of the Highest Deity. Even if anybody cuts, pierces, and kills all the beings in this whole world, he won’t be touched with the sins, if he bows down, with devotion, before the Devî. O King! I have narrated to you all the secret truths of all the S’âstras. Consider all these fully and always worship the lotus-feet of the Devî. All men are reciting silently the Japam called the Ajapâ Gâyatrî; still they do not know the glory of it; such is the powerful influence of Mâyâ. All the Brâhmanas are reciting in the depth of their hearts the Gâyatrî Mantram, yet they do not know the glory of it (otherwise they would have been liberated); such is the great influence of Mâyâ. O King! I have described to you all that you asked me about the Yuga Dharmas; what more do you want to hear?

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Sixth Book on the ascertainment of Dharma in the Mahâ Purânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Cause Of The War Between Âdi And Baka

1-2. The King said :-- “O Best of Munis! Tell me the names of the holy places of pilgrimage on the surface of this earth, the holy Ksetras and the holy rivers; what are the fruits acquired in bathing there and in making charitable gifts as well; also what are the rules of the journeys and acts there are to be conducted?”

3-34. Vyâsa said :-- Hear; I am describing to you various Tîrthas or places of pilgrimage as well as those that are highly extolled as the best places favourite to the Devî. Amongst the rivers the following are reckoned as chief and holy :-- The Ganges, Jumnâ, Sarasvatî, Narmaddâ, Gandakî, Sindhu, Gomatî, Tamasâ, Cavery, Chandrahâgâ, Vetravatî, Charmanvatî, Saraju, Tâpî, and Sâvramatî. Besides these, there are hundreds of rivers on the surface of this earth; of them, those that fall into the ocean, they are holier and those that have not reached the ocean are less holy. Of those rivers that fall into the ocean, those that always flow with great current, they are comparatively holier; but in the two months S’râvan and Bhâdra (15th July - 15th September) all the rivers are considered as if they are during their menstruation periods; at this time also some rivers carry water of the rains just sufficient to supply the villagers with water. O King! The following are the famous places of pilgrimages calculated to bestow merits:-- Puskara, Kuruksettra, the holy Dharmâranya, Pravâsa, Prayâga, Naimisâranya, and Arbudâranya. O King! Of the mountains, the following are considered as sacred :-- S’rîs’aila, Sumeru, Gandhamâdana; of the lakes, the following are very holy and very famous :-- Mânasarovara, Vindusarovara and Aksoda; these are the chief lakes. To those Munis that meditate on their Âtman, all the hermitages are sacred; still the hermitage of Badri is always considered very sacred and the most celebrated; here Nara and Nârâyana, the two famous Munis, practised their asceticism. The Vâmanâs’rama and S’atayûpâs’rama are also well known; thus every hermitage is named after the Muni that practised asceticism there. Thus innumerable holy places on the surface of the earth are mentioned by the Munis as tending to sanctify the hearts of the persons. At all these holy places, the Devî is worshipped in special sites consecrated to Her. All the sins are destroyed by their mere sight. The devotees of the Devî stay there, with rules obeyed. I will mention afterwards some of these places in the course of my narrations. O Best of kings! Going to these holy places, charity, vow, sacrifices, asceticism and good acts all depend on one another. The holy places of pilgrimages, asceticism, and observance of vows depend on the purity of the articles (Dravya S’uddhi), on the purity and one pointedness of actions (Kriyâ S’uddhi) and on the purity of the mind and heart (Chitta S’uddhi). Some may attain, at times, the Dravya S’uddhi and Kriyâ S’uddhi; but every one finds it very difficult and, indeed, rarely get the Chitta S’uddhi. O King! This mind always tries to seek shelter with various objects and is, therefore, always restless. How, then, can the purity of mind be effected, with ease, when it is occupied with all sorts of thoughts on various objects. Cupidity, anger, greed, pride, and egoism, these bring about all sorts of obstacles in the holy places of pilgrimages, in practising tapasyâ and in observing vows. O King! Non-injury, truthfulness, non-stealing, chastity and purity, controlling of senses, and observing one’s own religion, all these bring about the fruits of the labour in visiting all tîrthas. They bestow fruits that can be obtained by visiting all the tîrthas. During one’s pilgrimage, one forsakes one’s Nitya Karma (daily duties) and one has to come in contact with various persons. Hence one’s journey becomes fruitless; rather it becomes a source of sin. The waters of the sacred places can only wash the outside dirts and the impurities of the physical bodies; they can never wash the impurities of their inner minds. Were it the fact that the waters of the tîrthas could purify their minds, why was it, then, that the Munis, residing on the banks of the Ganges, and devoted to God, ever indulged themselves with feelings of jealousy and enmity against each other. The humble Munis like Vas’istha, and the Risis like Vis’vâmitra were always entangled in love and hatred and they were ever impatient with anger. Therefore it is evident that the internal purification, the purification of heart, the bathing in the Gñân Gangâ flowing within, no doubt removes more the dirt than the Ganges and other places of pilgrimages. O King! No doubt this fact must be admitted on all hands that one’s impurity of mind is washed away if by the strange combination of Fate, one comes in intimate contact with a man possessed of the Divine Knowledge. O King! The Vedas or S’âstras, vows or austerities, sacrifices or gifts none can purify the heart. See! Vas’istha, the son of Brahmâ, though versed in the Vedas and residing on the banks of the Ganges, was under the control of love, hatred and other infirmities. Out of the enmity of Vis’vâmitra and Vas’istha, arose the great battle named Âdi Baka, astonishing even to the Gods. In this, the ascetic Vis’vâmitra was cursed by Vas’istha, on account of some curse in connection with the king Haris’chandra and had to take his birth as a crane (Baka). The Risi Vas’istha was cursed also by Vis’vâmitra and was born as a bird named S’arâri. Thus the two powerful Risis were born as Âdi Baka and lived on the banks of the Mânasarovara and they fought for full ten thousand years (ajuta) terribly, out of anger, with their nails and beaks like two maddened lions.

35-36. The King asked :-- “O Muni! Why were the two Maharsis, the two great ascetics and devoted to religion, involved in enmity with each other? Both of them were intelligent; how was it that they knowing the act of cursing to be a source of pain to men, cursed each other so painfully?”

37-48. Vyâsa said :-- O King! In former times, there was born in the solar dynasty a king Haris’chandra, the son of Tris’anku; he was the best of the kings and reigned before Râmchandra. That King had no issue and therefore promised to Varuna, “O Lord of water and ocean! If I get a son born to me, I will perform a sacrifice, called Naramedha, where I will sacrifice my son for your propitiation.” Varuna was very pleased with the king when he made such a vow; and the exquisitely beautiful queen held the foetus in the womb. Seeing his wife in the family way, the king was very pleased and performed all the purificatory ceremonies pertaining to the foetus in the womb. O King! When the queen was delivered of a son endowed with all auspicious signs, the king Haris’chandra was very glad and performed duly all the Jâta Karma (natal) ceremonies and distributed as charity big sums of gold and many cows giving good quantities of milk. When the festivities on the birth of the child were celebrated in the palace on a grand scale, Varuna, the Lord of Waters, assuming the form of a Brâhmin, came up there. The King, too, honoured him duly with seat and worshipped him regularly and asked him about his purpose, when Varuna spoke to him :-- “O King! I am Varuna, the Lord of Waters; you promised before that you would perform Naramedha sacrifice where you would sacrifice your son; now do those things and keep your words true.” The King became very much confused and was very much pained at heart. He then checked his mental feelings of pain and spoke to the Deva Varuna, with folded hands :-- “O Lord! I will do the sacrifice duly and fulfil the promise that I made before you and keep my word. But, O Best of the Devas! My legal wife will be pure from her Sûtikâ-S’auchak after one month, when I will perform the Naramedha sacrifice.”

49-53. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of the king Haris’chandra, Varuna returned to his own abode; the King also became glad, but he was somewhat anxious for fear of the destruction of the child. When one month was complete, the sweet-speaking Varuna, the holder of the noose, assuming the form of a very pure Brâhmin, again came there to the palace of the king to examine him. The King worshipped him duly and gave him the seat to sit and spoke, with humility, the following reasonable words :-- “O Lord! My son is not yet purified; how can he be tied to the sacrificial post for being immolated? Therefore I will perform that sacrifice when the boy becomes cleansed after a purificatory rite and becomes a Ksattriya. O Deva! If you know me as your humble servant, have mercy on me; I will then consider myself as blessed. See! The children, not passed through purificatory rites, are not entitled to any act; therefore wait for some time longer.”

54-56. Varuna said :-- “O King! You are deceiving me and putting off the time longer and longer; I now see that you were issueless before and now that you have got a son, you are bound up in an indissoluble tie of affection for a son. Whatever it be, I now go back to my home at your pitiful request; I will wait for some time longer and I will come again. O child! Let you then be true to your words; if it be otherwise, I will surely curse you and thus give vent to my angry feelings.”

57. The King said :-- O Lord of the Waters! After the completion of the Samâvartan ceremony (a pupil’s return home after finishing his holy study), I will duly sacrifice my son at the great Naramedha sacrifice; there is no doubt.

58-71. Vyâsa said :-- Varuna was very pleased at the King’s words and quickly went back saying “Let it be so.” The king also became comforted. On the one hand, the king Haris’chandra’s son became widely known by the name of Rohita; and as he got older, he became gradually versed in all the sciences and became very clever and intelligent. That boy then came to know by degrees the cause of the sacrifice in full detail; and knowing that his death is quite certain, became very afraid and quickly fled away from the King and went and stayed in caves of mountains with a fearful heart. Then, when the proper time came, Varuna came up there to the royal palace, desirous to have the sacrifice and spoke to the King thus :-- “O King! Now the prescribed time has come; therefore perform the sacrifice that you have resolved to celebrate.” The King was very much pained to hear this and spoke with a very sad appearance :-- “O Best of the Devas! What can I do now?

My son has fled away out of the fear of his life; I do not know his whereabouts.” Varuna became very angry at these words and cursed him thus :-- “O Liar! You are an hypocrite pundit; therefore you deceived me frequently. Let therefore the disease dropsy come and attack your body.” Varuna, the Holder of the noose, cursing thus, went back to his own abode. The King was attacked with that disease, remained in his own residence, afflicted with cares and anxieties. Rohita, the son of the king Haris’chandra, heard about the severe illness of his father when he was very much tormented with that disease, as the curse of Varuna. One day a traveller told him :-- “O son of the King! Your father is very ill with dropsy, due to the curse, and is very sorry. Certainly your brain has turned wrong; vain is your coming in this world; you have passed your life to no purpose, for you are staying still in this mountain cave, abandoning your sorrowful father. Certainly you are a bad disobedient son; what use is there in your keeping up this body? What purpose will be served by your birth? When you have got this body, you have abandoned that father and are staying in this solitary cave. Know this as certain that to sacrifice one’s life is the duty of a good and obedient son; therefore what more shall I say now than this that your father the king Haris’chandra ailing from a severe illness is very sorry for you and is always weeping.”

72-74. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing from the passerby these good words, the prince Rohita wanted to go to his sorrowful father attacked with disease when Indra assuming a Brâhmin form came up to him and began to speak to him when he was alone like one who was filled with mercy. O Son of a King! You are a fool; are you not positively acquainted with the fact that your father is in trouble; why then do you intend in vain to go there?

Here ends the Twelfth Chapter on the cause of the war between Âdi and Baka in the Sixth Book of the Mahâpurânam of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Description Of The Battle Between Âdi And Baka After The Discourse On S’unahs’epha

1-6. Indra said :-- “O Prince! The King Haris’chandra promised before to Varuna that he would celebrate for his propitiation the great Naramedha sacrifice when he would offer his own son as a victim to be immolated. O Prince! You are very intelligent; can’t you grasp this idea that your father has become merciless due to his suffering in this illness and no sooner you go there than he will make you the victim and tie you to the sacrificial post when you will be slaughtered.” The indomitable Indra thus prohibiting the son, he began to stay there deluded by the Mâyâ of the great Mahâ Mâyâ. O King! Thus whenever the prince heard of his father’s severe illness, he wanted to go to his father, Indra repeatedly used to go to him and prevent him from doing so. On the other hand, the King Haris’chandra became very much afflicted, and, seeing his family Guru all-knowing well-wisher Vas’istha close by, asked him, “O Bhagavân! what am I to do now? I am now very impatient with the agonies of this disease and am very weak; besides I am very much afraid of it. Kindly give me a good advice and save me.”

7-9. Vas’istha said :-- “O King! There is a good remedy for the cure of your disease. It is stated in the S’âstras that the sons are of thirteen kinds; Aurasa, Ksattraja, Datrima, Krîtrima; etc. Therefore pay the reasonable price and buy one good Brâhmin boy and perform your sacrifice with that boy. O King! Thus Varuna will be pleased and you will be cured of your disease.”

10-24. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of Vas’istha, the King Haris’chandra addressed to his minister :-- “O Minister-in-Chief! You are very sharp and intelligent, therefore you better try your best and seek in my kingdom a Brâhmin boy. In case a poor Brâhmin be willing, out of his love for money, to give over his son, then give him any amount he wants and bring his son. O Minister! By all means, bring a Brâhmin boy for this sacrifice; in other words, do not be miserly or act lazily to perform my business. You should pray to any Brâhmin thus :-- Take this money and give your son, who will be sacrificed in a sacrificial ceremony as a victim.” Thus ordered, the minister sought for a Brâhmin boy in towns after towns, villages after villages, and houses after houses. Till, at last, he came to know that in his kingdom there was a poor distressed Brâhmin named Ajîgarta, who had three sons. Then the minister gave to the Brâhmin that he wanted and purchased his second son named S’unahs’epha and brought him before the King. And handed him over to the King, saying that this Brâhmin boy is fit for the sacrificial victim. The King then gladly brought the best Brâhmins versed in the Vedas for the performance of the sacrifice, and collected all the articles requisite for the purpose. When the sacrifice was commenced, the great Muni Vis’vâmitra, seeing S’unahs’epha tied, prohibited the King and said :-- “O King! Do not be so bold as to sacrifice this boy; let this boy be free. O long-lived One! I am asking this thing from you today and if you obey it, certainly it will do good to you. O King! This boy S’unahs’epha is crying; his cries are paining my heart and I am feeling pity for him. Hear my word and free this boy out of mercy. See! The purehearted Ksattriyas, in ancient days, used to sacrifice their own bodies and thus preserve others’ bodies, so that they might attain the Heavens. And now you are killing this Brâhmin boy forcibly so that you may preserve your own body; judge how vicious is this your act! Be merciful to this boy. O King! Everyone likes his own body to the same extent; you are feeling this yourself; therefore if you take my word, then quit this boy.”

25-36. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The King Haris’chandra was ailing very much; hence be did not pay any heed to the Muni’s words and did not quit the boy. Thereupon the very fiery spirited Vis’vâmitra became very angry with the King. Then Vis’vâmitra, the son of Kus’ika, the foremost of the knowers of the Vedas, shewed mercy on S’unahs’epha and gave him the “Varuna Mantram.” S’unahs’epha, very much afraid to lose his life, earnestly repeatedly remembered Varuna and uttered that mantram in pluta tone (lengthened or prolonged). Varuna, too, the ocean of mercy, knowing that the Brâhmin boy was praising him with hymns came up to that spot and freed S’unahs’epha from his bondage and freed the King also from his disease and went back to his own abode. Thus the Maharsi Vis’vâmitra became very glad to rescue the Muni’s son from the jaws of death. The King Haris’chandra did not observe the words of Vis’vâmitra; hence the son of Gâdhi harboured within his heart anger towards the King. One day while the King Haris’chandra was riding in a forest and there, at midday, on the banks of the river Kaus’ik, when he desired to kill a boar, Vis’vâmitra in the garb of an old Brâhmin asked from him everything that he had, including his dominion and thus cunningly took away everything from the King. The Maharsi Vas’istha, seeing his Yajamâna Haris’chandra suffering much, became wounded and felt pain in his mind. One day when he met casually with Vis’vâmitra in a forest, he said :-- “O wicked Ksattriya! A disgrace to your family! You have in vain put on the garb of a Brâhmin; your religion is like a crane; you ate full of vanity; you boast for nothing. The best of kings, Haris’chandra is my client; be is faultless; still, O Fool! Why are you giving him so much trouble. As you are religious as a crane is religious, so take your birth as a crane.” Vis’vâmitra, thus cursed by Vas’istha, cursed Vas’istha in return, and said :-- “O Vas’istha! As long as I will remain a crane, so long you also remain as S’arâli or Âdi bird.”

37-42. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The two angry Munis thus cursed each other and the two were born as Crane and S’arâli or Âdi bird. The crane Vis’vâmitra built its nest on the top of a tree on the Mânasarovara lake and began to live there. Vas’istha, too, assumed the form of an Âdi bird, and built his nest on the top of another tree and lived there. Thus the two Risis spent their days in full enmity towards each other. These two birds used to shriek so terribly loud that they became a nuisance to all; they fought daily with each other. They used to strike each other with beaks and wings and nails and thus they were covered all over their bodies with cuts and wounds and they were smeared with blood. They began to look like Kims’uka trees. Thus the two Risis, in the shape of birds, in their states of bondage, due to each other’s curse, passed many years there.

43. Janamejaya said :-- “O Brâhmana! Kindly tell me how Vas’istha and Kaus’ika, the two Risis, became free from their curses; I am very curious to hear this.”

44-54. Vyâsa said :-- Brahmâ, the Grandsire of his subjects, came there with all the Devas, filled with mercy, on seeing those two Risis at war against each other. Brahmâ, the Lotus-seated, made them desist from such a fight, consoled them and freed both of them from each other’s curses. Then the Devas went back to their own abodes and the illustrious lotus-seated Brahmâ went to the Satyaloka, seated on his Swan. Maharsi Vas’istha and Vis’vâmitra became then friends and were tied with bonds of affection at the advice of Brahmâ; they went back to their own Âs’ramas. O King! Now see, that the Maharsi Vas’istha, the son of Mitrâ-Varuna, fought for nothing with Vis’vâmitra, so painful to both the parties. Who, then, amongst the human beings, the Dânavas or the Devas can conquer his Ahamkâra (egoism) and be always happy? Therefore the Chitta-S’uddhi, the purity of the heart (that purity which imparts to man the blessedness of God-vision) is very difficult even for the high-souled persons; with the greatest caution and utmost effort one has to practise for that. To those persons, that are void of this Chitta S’uddhi, it is all vain to go to places of pilgrimage, to make charities, to practise tapasyâ, to be truthful; in fact, anything, which is the means to attain Dharma, becomes useless. O King! S’raddhâ (Faith) is of three kinds :-- (1) Sâttvikî, (2) Râjasikî and (3) Tâmasikî to all persons in all their religious matters. The Sâttvik faith is the only one of the three that yields entire results; and it is very rare in this world. The Râjasik faith, done according to due rules, yields half the results thereof and the Tâmasik faith is fruitless and inglorious; the Tâmasik faith arises with those persons that are overwhelmed with lust, anger, greed, etc. Therefore, O King! Keep to the company of the good and hear the S’âstras, Vedânta, etc., and free the heart of worldly desires and then concentrate it to the worship of the Devî and live in a sacred place of pilgrimage. Men afraid and troubled with the defects of the Kâlîyuga, should always take the name of the Devî, sing praises, and meditate on Her lotus feet. Thus the Jîvas will not have any fear of Kâlî and the fallen vicious persons will easily be able to cross this ocean of the world and be free. There is no doubt in this.

Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the description of the battle between Âdi and Baka after the discourse on S’unahs’epha in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Birth Of Vas’istha From Mitrâ Varuna

1-2. Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! Maharsi Vas’istha was the mind-born son of Brahmâ; how is it then that you have named him as Maitrâ-Vârunî. Is it that he got this name by some action or by some Gunas? Kindly tell me the origin of this name, O Best of speakers!”

3-4. Vyâsa said :-- O King! It is quite true that the illustrious Vas’istha was the noble son of Brahmâ but he had to quit that body due to the curse of the King Nimi and he had to take a second body from Mitrâ Varuna; hence he is named in this world as Maitrâ-Vârunî.

5-6. The King said :-- “O Bhagavân! How was it that the religious Vas’istha, the best of the Munis, the son of Brahmâ was cursed by the King? Oh! The Munis have to suffer the dreadful curse of Ksattriya kings! This seems very wonderful to me. O Knower of Dharma! Why did that king curse the innocent Muni? I am very curious to hear the cause of this; kindly tell me the cause of the curse.”

7-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! I told you already in particular all the causes of these. This Samsâra is pervaded by the three Gunas of Mâyâ, Sâttva, Râja and Tâma. Whether the kings practise their Dharma or the ascetics practise their tapas, all their actions are interpenetrated with these Gunas; therefore they cannot shine so brightly. The Kings, Munis performed very severe penances and austerities under the influence of lust, anger, greed and Ahamkâra. O King! All, whether they be the Ksattriyas or the Brâhmanas, who perform their sacrifices overpowered with this Râjo Guna, really, none of them performs these actions guided by Sâttva Guna. The King Nimi was cursed by the Risi and the Risi was cursed again by the King Nimi; thus they met with greater calamities and painful sufferings, the fruits from the hands of the powerful Fate. O King! In this world of the three Gunas, it is very difficult for the beings to get the Dravya S’uddhi, Kriyâ S’uddhi, and the pure effulgent Chitta S’uddhi, O King! Know this as the influence wielded by the Highest S’akti, the Mother of this Universe. Nobody is able to overstep it; but he, whom She favours, can cross in a moment this world, bounded by the three Gunas. What more can be said than the fact that Hari, Hara, and Brahmâ and the other Gods cannot free themselves without Her grace. Moreover, the sinners like Satyavrata and others become free when Her Grace comes upon them. Nobody in these three worlds can know what reigns in Her mind; again, this is also a certain fact that She gets Herself bound by Her own will to Her devotees. Therefore it is extremely desirable that one should have recourse to Sâttvikî devotion for the complete removal of faults and sins. And as the devotion with attachment and vanity is always injurious to men, therefore it is highly beneficial to quit it; there is no doubt in this. O King! There was a king named Nimi, born of the family of Iksâku. He was beautiful, well qualified, virtuous, truthful, charitable, endearing to his people, a sacrificer, of pure conduct and manners, ready to govern his subjects, intelligent and endowed with knowledge. For the benefit of the Brâhmanas, that high-souled king established a city named Jayantupur in close vicinity to the hermitage of Gautama. Thus some time passed when this Râjasik idea arose in his mind that “I will perform a sacrifice extending for a good many years when I will give exhorbitant Daksinâs (remunerations to the priests and Brâhmins).” Getting permission from his own father Iksâku, he began to collect all the ingredients necessary for the sacrifice, as advised by the high-souled persons. He invited the all-knowing Munis and ascetics, versed in the Vedas and in conducting sacrifices, e.g., Bhrigu, Angirâ, Vâmadeva, Gautama, Vas’istha, Pulastya, Richika, Pulaha, Kratu and others, all well-versed in the Vedas. Then that religious King Nimi, collecting all the materials necessary for sacrifice worshipped his own Guru Vas’istha and then spoke to him (the Guru) with great humility. O Best of Munis! I will perform a sacrifice; kindly perform this my sacrificial act; you are my Guru and therefore you know everything; so do this sacrifice for me. All the articles for this purpose are brought and cleansed. O Guru! Know that for five thousand years I mean to be engaged in this sacrifice, this is my Sankalpa (will). I will worship the Goddess Ambikâ in this sacrifice and for Her satisfaction I am arranging for it according to the prescribed rules. Hearing the King Nimi’s words, Vas’istha said :-- “O best of Kings! Indra, the King of the Devas, has already selected me for his sacrificial ceremony. Now Indra is ready to do the sacrifice for the propitiation of the Highest S’akti and I have initiated him for five hundred years. Therefore, O King! You will have to wait till I complete the Indra’s Yajñâ. After fully completing all his works, I will come here. Therefore, O King! Wait till then.”

31-42. The King said :-- “O Best of Munis! I have already invited other Munis for this sacrifice and have collected all the materials; how, then, can I wait for you? O Brâhmana! You are the foremost of those versed in the Vedas and you are the family Guru of the noble Iksâku. How is it, then, avoiding my work you are ready to go elsewhere O Best of Brâhmins! Under the uncontrollable greed of wealth you have lost all senses and you are ready to go away without doing my work. This does not behove you.” O King! Though thus tempted by the King Nimi, the Risi Vas’istha went to the Indra’s sacrifice. The King, too, became absent-minded and selected for the sacrifice the Risi Gautama. He then commenced his sacrificial ceremony close to the ocean by the side of the Himâlayân range and gave profusely the Daksinâs. The King Nimi was engaged in this sacrificial act for five thousand years. In this the Rittviks (priests) were worshipped with sufficient wealth and cows; they were extremely glad. Then, when the five hundred years extending sacrifice of Indra was completed, the Risi Vas’istha came to see the King Nimi’s sacrifice and waited there to see the King. The king was then asleep; so the servants did not awake him from his sleep; and the King did not come to the Risi. Feeling insult at this, the Maharsi Vas’istha became infuriated with rage. Not seeing the King, he became very angry; and, subject to this, he cursed the King, When I am your lifelong Guru, especially when I prohibited you and you have forsaken me and selected another Guru and by your sheer force you are initiated, then be devoid of your body. Let your body fall off today.

43-50. Vyâsa said :-- The King’s attendants, hearing thus the curse given by Vas’istha to the King, instantly awoke him from his sleep and informed him that the Risi Vas’istha not seeing you, became very angry. The King Nimi, quite sinless, went then to the angry Vas’istha and humbly spoke to him the following reasonable words, pregnant with meaning. O Knower of Dharma! I am your Yajamâna; though I repeatedly requested you to perform my sacrifice, yet you quitted me out of the covetousness and went somewhere else. I cannot be charged with any fault. You are the foremost of Brâhmins; and knowing that contentment is the substance of your Dharma, you did not feel ashamed to do this blameable act. You are the son of Brahmâ; and, being versed in the Vedas and Vedângas, you are yet unaware of the subtle and very difficult nature of the Brâhminic religion. Now you want to cast your own fault on my shoulders and you are trying in vain to curse me. Anger is more to be blamed than Chândâla! The wise men should overcome it by all means. When you, infuriated with rage, have been able to curse me for nothing, then I now curse you, “Let your this body, inflamed with anger, drop off.” O King! Thus the King cursed the Muni and the Muni cursed the King; and both of them were, therefore, very sorry.

51-52. Vas’istha then became troubled with cares and took shelter with Brahmâ and informing him about the great curse given by the King Nimi said :-- Father! The King has cursed me saying, “Let your body fall off today. Now the great trouble due to the falling off of the body has arisen. What am to do now?

53-69. O Father! Kindly tell me from whom shall I take my birth and take such means as I can get a body like what I have now. Also by Your unbounded power, do so that I can retain the knowledge in that body as I have at present; You are fully competent to do this.” O King! Hearing thus the words of Vas’istha, Brahmâ spoke thus to his dear son :-- Go and enter into the Tejas (essence) of Mitrâ Varuna and remain contented; then you will get, in due time, a body not born of any womb and you will be again religious, truthful, knower of the Vedas, all-knowing and worshipped by all; there is no doubt in this. When Brahmâ said this, the Maharsi Vas’istha bowed down to the Grand Sire, and circumambulating him, went to the abode of Varuna. Then he quitted his excellent body; and, with his subtle body, the part of his Jîva, entered into the body of Mitrâ Varuna. Then once on a time Urvas’î, exquisitely beautiful and lovely, surrounded by her comrades, went wilfully into the abode of Varuna. Mitrâ-Varuna, the two Devas became very passionate to see that Apsarâ (the celestial nymph) endowed with youth and beauty and being enchanted with the arrows of cupid, and, being senseless, addressed to the Deva Kanyâ Urvas’î, beautiful in all her parts, thus :-- “O Lovely One! Seeing you, we are very much troubled with the arrows of cupid; O Beautiful One! Select us and remain and enjoy here at your pleasure.” When they said thus, Urvas’î became attached to them; and, under their control, began to stay in the house of Mitrâ Varuna. When Urvas’î began to remain there, strongly attached to them, the semen of Mitrâ Varuna dropped in an uncovered jar. And the two beautiful sons of the Risis were born out of that; Agasti was the first child and Vas’istha the second. Thus, out of the semen of Mitrâ Varuna, the two ascetics were born. The first Agasti turned out a great ascetic in his childhood and resorted to forest; Iksâku the best of Kings, selected Vas’istha as his family priest. O King! Iksâku, the best of Kings, nursed him for the welfare of his own line; the more so, because to know that he was the Muni Vas’istha; and thus he was very pleased with him. Janamejaya! Thus I have described to you about the getting of another body by Vas’istha, due to the curse of Nimi, and have also described his re-birth in Mitrâ-Varuna’s family.

Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the birth of Vas’istha from Mitrâ Varuna in S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 15. On The Nimi’s Getting Of Another Body And The Beginning Of The Story Of Haihayas

1. Janamejaya said :-- “The getting back of another similar body by Vas’istha is certainly described by you. Now tell me how the King Nimi got another body.”

2-31. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Risi Vas’istha only got back his body; but the King Nimi did not get back his body what had been cursed by Vas’istha. The priests engaged at the sacrifice by Nimi began to consider, when the Risi Vas’istha cursed him, in the following way :-- Oh! What a wonderful thing is this? Before the sacrifice is complete, the King Nimi has been cursed; this is against what we had expected; What can we do? What is inevitable must come to pass; how can we thwart it? By various Mantrams, they kept alive the body of the King in which breathing was still going on a little; and they prevented the body from decaying by worshipping the body with various Mantra S’aktis and kept it in a stationary state. When the sacrificial ceremony was completed, the Risis began to praise the gods with hymns whereon the Devas became pleased and came to that spot. When the Munis informed the Devas fully of the condition of the King’s body, the Devas spoke to the sorrowful King thus :-- “O Performer of good vows! We are all pleased with your sacrifice; now ask boons from us. O King! You ought to get an excellent birth as the fruit of performing this sacrifice. So ask what body, the body of a Deva or of a man, you desire? Or you can ask, if you like, for another similar body, that your priest Brihaspati has got quitting his first body whereby he has become proud and is now staying in the Loka of Yama.” O King! At these words the King Nimi was very glad and spoke to them thus :-- O Devas! I have no aspiration for the body that is always liable to destruction; I therefore want to reside on the top of the eyelids of all the beings. Therefore I ask this boon that I be able to move in the shape of Vâyu (air) on the top of the eyes of all the beings. Thus said, the Devas spoke to the soul of Nimi :-- “O King! Pray to the most auspicious Deity, the Devî, the Highest Goddess. She has been pleased with this sacrifice; therefore your prayer will certainly be granted.” Hearing thus, the King began to pray with various hymns with intense devotion, in tremulous voice, the Devî. The Devî became pleased and appeared before him. Seeing Her shining like a crore of suns and looking exceedingly lovely and beautiful, all the persons there became very happy. They began to think themselves as very blessed and as having done all what they had to do. Knowing the Devî Bhagavatî pleased, the King asked this boon from her :-- “O Devî! Give me that knowledge, pure and simple, whereby final liberation is obtained. Also, I may be able to reside on the top of the eyes of all the beings.” The Devî, the Lord of the Devas, the Mother of the World being highly pleased, said thus :-- “O King! At the expiry of this your Prârabdha Karma, you will acquire pure knowledge and you will reside on the tops of the eyes in the shape of Vâyu, and through your residing there the beings will twinkle, i.e., open and close their eyes. The men, beasts, and birds will twinkle due to your residing there; but the Immortals will always remain with a steadfast gaze; they will not twinkle.” Thus granting him the boon, and addressing all the Munis the Bhagavatî, the Highest Deity, disappeared. When the Devî disappeared from their sight, the Munis then thought much and they took the body of the King Nimi to burn it duly. For the sake of getting a son from Nimi, the high-souled Munis performed Homa ceremony (oblations to the fire) and placing the piece of wood Arani on his body began to utter Mantrams and burned his body. When the woods were thus burned, a son, endowed with all auspicious signs, looking like a second Nimi, was born to them. As this son was born due to the burning of the Aranis, the boy was named Mithi, and as it came out of the body of Janaka, the boy was named Janaka. O King! As the King Nimi lost his body, i.e., became Videha through the curse of Vas’istha, all his descendants were known as Videha. Thus the son of Nimi was well known as the King Janaka. He built a beautiful city on the banks of the Ganges; the city became famous also by his name (Janakapuri). The King Janaka beautified this city with many forts, arcades, markets and many nice buildings and palaces; and his city was full of wealth and grains. O King! All the Kings of this line became famous by the name of Janaka and all were endowed with the Supreme knowledge and known as Videha. O King! I have now described to you the story of the King Nimi who got disembodiedness (Videhatva) out of the curse.

32-35. The King said :-- “O Bhagavân! You have described the cause why the King Nimi was cursed; my mind has grown very doubtful and restless on hearing it. The Risi Vas’istha was the son of Brahmâ and the best of the Brâhmins; especially he was the royal priest; how was it, then, that he was cursed by the King! Why did not the King Nimi forgive him as he was the Guru and a Brâhmin? Why he became angry, when he performed such a great, auspicious sacrifice? He was born of the family of Iksâku and he knew well the truths of the religion; then how was it that he became subject to anger and cursed his own Guru Brâhmin.”

36-46. Vyâsa said :-- O King! It is very hard and rare for the persons not possessed of self-restraint to forgive; especially when one is fully capable, it is very rare to find one in the three worlds, who can forgive. He who has forsaken all attachments and has conquered hunger and sleep and is always engaged in the Yoga practices, even that ascetic Muni is not capable to conquer completely lust, anger and greed and Ahamkâra, etc., the passions raging in the mortal coil. None existed before in this whole world who conquered his passions! None exists now and none will be born ever-after. Hardly will be seen any in this earth, or the Heavens, or the Loka of Brahmâ or in Vaikuntha, even in Kailâsa, that has conquered completely his passions! What can be said in regard to the ordinary mortals of this earth when the sons of Brahmâ, the Maharsis, ascetics, Risis are all pierced by the Sâttva, Râjas, or Tâmo Gunas. Behold! The Kapila was the Knower of S’ankhyâ and always engaged in his Yoga practices and he was a pure and holy soul; yet, by strange combinations of Fate, he became angry and burnt to ashes the sons of the King Sagara. O King! Out of Ahamkâra, these three worlds are created; therefore this world and Ahamkâra are related to each other as effect and cause; how then the Jîvas that are born of this Samsâra can extricate themselves from this Ahamkâra? Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a are also pierced by those three Gunas; different feelings are seen in their different bodies. Therefore it need hardly be said that the manifestation of the pure Sâttva Guna alone is not to be seen in any of the human beings; for the three Gunas reside in a mixed way in all persons. Sometimes the Sâttva preponderates; sometimes the Râjas and sometimes the Tâmas preponderates. Sometimes they reside together, the three balancing one other.

47-63. O King! Only that Eternal Highest Purusa is undecaying and untainted and can hardly be measured or seen by all the beings. That Highest Soul, the Highest of the High, is Nirguna (void of the three Gunas); and She who resides in all the beings and is hardly knowable by the small intellectual persons, that Highest S’akti, the Incarnate of Brahmâ, is also Nirguna (void of attributes). Paramâtmâ (the Highest Soul) and the Highest Force are also One; their Forms are not different. When such a knowledge arises, then the Jîvas can be free from all sins and faults and blemishes. From that knowledge comes the liberation, this is sounded in the Vedânta S’âstra like Dindima S’abda (thousands of small drums). He, who comes to know That, is freed from the endless cycle of birth and death composed of the three Gunas; there is no doubt in this.

O King! Knowledge is of two kinds :-- The first is considered as coming from sound; this comes out of the knowledge of the meaning of the Vedas by the help of intellect. But this is full of fancies, agreements and doubts some of which are bad and some are good. The beings are led into errors by these discussions; errors cause destruction of intellect; and when the intellect is gone, the knowledge also goes away with it. Whereas the second kind of knowledge comes from intention or feeling within the depths of heart and brain and it is called Aparoksa Jñâna. This knowledge is very rare to the beings. When one comes in contact with a Sad-Guru (a good teacher), then one gets this Aparoksa Jñâna. From the sound knowledge, no successful results can issue; and, therefore it cannot give Aparoksa Jñâna. Hence great effort is to be made for getting this Aparoksa Jñâna. O King! As darkness cannot be destroyed merely by talking of light, without lighting any lamp, so the knowledge of sound merely cannot destroy the darkness of the inside. That Karma (action) is called True Karma which does not lead to bondage, and that Knowledge is the True Knowledge which leads to liberation. Other actions are only meant for one’s own selfish enjoyments and other knowledges are merely the skill in arts. Good behaviour, doing good to others, having no anger, forgiveness, patience, and contentment are the best brilliant fruits of True Knowledge. O King! Without knowledge, without asceticism, and without the Yoga practices, the lust and other passions can never be destroyed. The minds of the Jîvas are naturally restless and without control; all the beings are completely under the sway of their minds; thus they roam on the surface of the earth as good, middling and bad. Lust, anger, etc., orginate from this mind; and when mind is conquered, then those feelings can no more arise. O King! Therefore it was that Yayâti forgave when S’ukrâchârya did wrong before. The King Nimi could not forgive Vas’istha in the same way. Yayâti; the best of kings, though cursed by S’ukrâchârya, the son of Bhrigu, did not curse in return but he took upon himself the old age. O King! Some kings are naturally peaceful, whereas some other kings are wicked by their nature. Therefore, in this matter, whose fault is this, how can we ascertain? See! In ancient times the Haihayas, out of their greed of wealth, and being thus insensible destroyed completely, out of anger, the Brâhmin priests of the family of Bhrigu. What more than this that those Ksattriyas did not consider the sin Brahmahattyâ; rather out of their dire anger, they cut to pieces the sons of those Brâhmanas, that were in embryos in their mother’s wombs.

Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter in the Sixth Book on the Nimi’s getting of another body and the beginning of the story of Haihayas, in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On The Incidents Preliminary To The Haihaya And Bhârgava Affairs

1-5. Janamejaya said :-- In whose family were born those Ksattriya Haihayas that killed in ancient times the Bhârgavas, disregardless of the sin incurred in killing a Brâhmin? O Grandsire! Never do the good persons become angry without a serious cause; therefore kindly state why they got angry. How was the enmity caused between them and the priests? As far as I can think, the cause is not so simple a one as led to this enmity between the Ksattriyas and the priests. Otherwise why then would they slay the offenseless Brâhmins, fit to be worshipped; and how was it that the Ksattriyas, though they were so very powerful, did not fear to commit a sin. O Muni! Can any Ksattriya Chief kill a Brâhmin, worthy of the highest respect, merely on a trifling cause! Describe to me, then, how this happened. A great doubt has thus arisen in my mind.

6. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Vyâsa, the son of Satyavatî, became very pleased when he was asked this question by Janamejaya, and, recollecting the whole course of events regarding the Haihayas, began to narrate it.

7-22. Vyâsa said :-- O son of Pariksit! I will now narrate that wonderful story of old that I know fully; now hear this very attentively. In ancient times there was a King named Kârtavîryârjuna of the family of Haihaya. He was of thousand hands, powerful, and always ready to observe religious duties. He was the incarnation of Hari, and the disciple of Maharsi Dattâtreya and the worshipper of the Supreme Force (Âdyâ S’akti). He was well known as a perfect adept in the Yoga practices and of a very charitable disposition. But this King was the client of the Brâhmins of the Bhârgava clan. He was always devoted to performing sacrifices, exceedingly religious, and always engaged in making gifts. So many a time did he perform the great sacrifices and gave a profuse quantity of wealth to the Bhârgavas. Due to the gifts and presents of Kârta Vîrya, the Bhârgava priests became possessed of many horses, and gems and jewels and so became wealthy and prosperous on the surface of this earth. O King! When Kârtavîryârjuna, the best of Kings, left the mortal coil and got up to Heavens, his descendants became entirely void of any wealth by the indomitable influence of Time. Now, on a certain occasion, the Haihayas had to perform certain actions which necessitated a vast sum of money; they came to the Bhârgavas and humbly prayed for a very large amount of wealth. But the Brâhmins, out of their greed of money, replied they had no money and thus they did not give any money whatsoever. Rather the Bhârgavas thought that the Haihayas would perforce take their wealth, and, fearing thus, some of them buried all their valuables underneath the ground; and others gave as charities to the Brâhmanas. The greedy Bhârgavas, bewildered with fear, thus transferred all their properties elsewhere, quitted their homes and fled away to mountains and other places. The greedy Brâhmins did not give any wealth to their Yajamânas (their clients) though they saw them very much distressed; but they fled away out of fear to mountains and fastnesses where they found shelter. At last the Haihayas, the best of the Ksattriyas, became very sorry till, at last, for the sake of their good actions, they went to the Bhârgavas’ houses for the sake of money and found they had quitted their homes and fled away; their homes were all vacant. Then they began to dig underneath their houses for money and some got the money thus. Then the Ksattriyas began to labour hard and got hordes of money from underneath the ground. Next they raided upon other Brâhmanas’ houses and dug and excavated and searched for more money. The Brâhmins were helpless and, crying, all took their refuge, out of fear, under the Bhârgavas.

23-42. The Ksattriyas made an exhaustive search of the Brâhmanas’ houses and got lots of money. They then charged the Brâhmanas as having had spoken falsehood and they became very angry, and killed the Brâhmanas with arrows who took their refuge. O King! The Haihayas were so very angry at that time that they went wherever the Bhârgavas took their shelter and cut asunder the foetus in the wombs of their Bhârgavas’ wives and thus they roamed all over on the surface of the earth. Wherever they saw any Bhârgava, be he a minor, or a youth or a old man, at once they killed him with sharp arrows, disregarding the sin Brahmahattyâ. When the Bhârgavas were thus all killed, then they caught hold of their wives that were pregnant and destroyed their wombs. When the vicious Ksattriyas thus destroyed the lives in their wombs, the helpless women began to cry like the awe-stricken ewe. Then the other Munis, the inhabitants of the sacred places of pilgrimages, seeing the Haihaya Ksattriyas inflamed with anger, said :-- “O Ksattriyas! Quit your terrible anger towards the Brâhmins. Being the best of the Ksattriyas, you are killing the foetus in the wombs of the pregnant Brâhmana ladies! You are doing, no doubt, a very vicious and unjustifiable act! You should know that an act, very bad or very good, bears fruit in this life; therefore those that seek their welfare should entirely omit this exceedingly hateful and vicious act.” Then the exceedingly angry Haihayas told the merciful ascetics :-- You all are saints; therefore you do not know the real import of what are called vicious acts. Those Bhârgavas, thoroughly dexterous in cunning pursuits, deceived our largehearted forefathers and stole away all their gold and jewels, as thieves do with a passerby on a road. These Bhârgavas are cheats, vain persons and their persuasions are like herons. A great act had to be done by us and we wanted money at 25 per cent interest with all the becoming humility; yet they did not give us the money; rather seeing on their face their clients distressed and sorrowful they spoke that they had no money, no money and then they remained silent. True, they got all their money from Kârtavîrya; but it may be questioned why they stored it? Why did not they perform sacrifices with that? Why did not they give sufficient money to the other priests (Yâyakas) that did the sacrifices. Never should any Brâhmin hoard his money; he should give that in charity and enjoy at his pleasure. O Twice-born! In amassing wealth, there exist three fears :-- Fear from the thieves and robbers, fear from the King, fear from dreadful fire accidents, and especially great terrible fear from the cheats. This is the nature of wealth; it leaves its preserver. See, moreover, when a hoarder of money dies, he certainly has to quit it. If a wealthy man, before dying, performs sacrifices and other good pious acts by his earned money, then he gets certainly good states in future; otherwise, he quits his wealth, to no purpose and earns a bad state in his future life; there is no doubt in this. We humbly wanted to pay a quarter interest and asked money for the performance of a great act; yet they, the greedy ones, were doubtful about our promise; and though our priests, they did not give us the money. O Maharsis! Gift, enjoyment and destruction, these are the three courses which any wealth has to pass through; those persons that have done good deeds, enjoy their wealth and give as charities and thus they make a good and real use of their money; and of those that are vicious, their wealth goes away in ruin and to no purpose. He who does not enjoy nor give in charities but is only clever in hoarding and who is a miser, the Kings punish him by all means, that man who cheats himself and who suffers only pains and miseries. For that reason, we are now ready to kill those Brâhmins, the vilest of men, the cheats, though they are our Gurus. O Maharsis! You are great persons; therefore you do not be angry after you have come to know all these.

43-51. Vyâsa said :-- Thus consoling the Munis, with reasonable words, the Haihayas began to roam about, in search of the wives of the Bhârgavas. The Bhârgava wives were very much distressed with fear and became very lean and thin. They fled away to the Himâlayân Mountain weeping, and crying, and trembling with fear. Thus the Bhârgavas were being killed by those vicious greedy Haihayas, infuriated with anger, and as they liked. O King! This greed is the greatest enemy of a man, residing in his own body; this greed is the root of all evils, of all sins. Life is in danger due to this covetousness. It is due to this greed that quarrels ensue amongst the several castes, the Brâhmins, etc., and that the human beings are very much troubled with thirst after worldly enjoyments. This greed makes a man forsake all his religious rites and long existing customs and observances of his family; and it is due to this avarice of gold that men kill their fathers, mothers, brothers, friends, Gurus, sons, acquaintances, sisters, and sisters-in-law and others. Really when a man is bent on avarice, nothing heinous remains to him that cannot be done by him. This greed is a more powerful enemy than anger, lust and egoism. O King! Men abandon their lives for their greed; what more can be said than this? So one should be always alert on this. O King! Your forefathers, the Pândavas and Kauravas, were all religious and they followed the path of virtue and goodness. Yet they all were ruined simply for this greed. See! The dreadful fight and separation amongst the relatives took place where there were the high-souled persons like Bhîsma, Drona, Kripâchârya, Karna, Vahlika, Bhîmasena, Yudhisthira, Arjuna, and Kes’ava, only through the avaricious feelings. In this battle Bhîsma, Drona and the sons of Pândavas were all slain; the brothers and fathers were all slain in battle. Thus what improper acts and mischiefs can there be that cannot be committed when the human minds are overpowered by this greed? O King! The vicious Haihayas slew the Bhârgavas all through this avarice.

Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter in the Sixth Book on the incidents preliminary to the Haihaya and Bhârgava affairs in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 17. On The Continuance Of The Family Of Bhrigu

1-3. Janamejaya said :-- “Munis! How did the Bhârgava wives cross this endless sea of troubles and how was the family of Bhrigu re-established on the surface of this earth? And what did the greedy Haihayas, the vilest of the Ksattriyas, do after they killed the Bhârgavas? Describe all these in detail and satisfy my curiosity. O Thou, Ocean of austerities! I am not satisfied with the drink of your nectar like words, very holy and leading to happiness in this world and to good merits in the next.”

4-28. Vyâsa said :-- O King! I will now narrate to you the sin destroying virtuous story how the Bhârgava wives crossed their great hardships and the ocean of troubles, very difficult to cross. The Bhârgava wives, when they were very much harassed by the Haihayas, went to the Himâlayâs, overwhelmed with terror and disappointment. There on that mountain they erected an earthen image of S’rî Gaurî Devî by the banks of the Ganges and worshipped Her and, firmly resolved to die, began to fast. The Devî Jagadambikâ appeared to those religious women in their dreams and said :-- “A son will be born of My essence to one of you from one of her thighs; that son will redress all your wants.” Thus speaking, the Devî Bhagavatî disappeared. Those women when they woke up were very glad; one of them that appeared very clever, becoming very much anxious out of the fear of the Ksattriyas; preserved the foetus in one of her thighs for the propagation of the family. Her body became luminous; she then fled, overwhelmed with terror. The Ksattriyas, seeing that Brâhmanî, came quickly upon her and said :-- “See! This pregnant Bhârgava wife is flying away hastily; seize her and take away her life.” Thus saying, all of them raised their axes, and pursued her. Then that woman seeing them coming, wept out of fear. She cried, out of terror, for the preservation of the child in her womb; and the child seeing her mother helpless and distressed, trembling with fear and with tears in her eyes having no one to protect her and awfully oppressed by the Ksattriyas as if a pregnant deer has been attacked by a lion and is crying about, angrily burst out of the thigh of his mother, and quickly came out like a second Sun. That good looking boy took away the power of sight of those Ksattriyas by his brilliant lustrous light; no sooner the Haihayas saw that boy than they got blind. Like those that are born blind; they then began to roam in the caves of mountains and thought within themselves, what an evil turn of Fate had overtaken them! They thought thus :-- “Oh! The mere sight of that boy has turned us blind; what a great wonder is this! Certainly this is due to the influence of the Brâhminî wife; this is, no doubt, the great effect of her virtue of chastity. We have greatly oppressed the Bhârgava women. They have become very sorry and distressed; now we cannot tell what more evils do these women, of true resolve, inflict on us!” Thus pondering, those Ksattriyas deprived of their eyes, helpless, and their minds bewildered, took refuge of those Brâhmin ladies. The ladies, seeing them again come, were the more terrified; but those Ksattriyas bowed down before them with folded hands for the restoration of their sights and said :-- “O Mother! We are your servants. Be gracious unto us. O Auspicious Ones! We are vicious Ksattriyas; O Mothers! What an amount of offence we have committed to you. O Beautiful Ones! We have become blind, no sooner we have seen you. O Angry Ones! No more we can see your lotus-like faces, as if we are born blind; O Mother! The spirit of your asceticism is so very wonderful! We are sinners; therefore by no means we can get our sight; therefore we have taken refuge unto you all; better give us back our eyesight and preserve our honour. O Mother! Blindness is more dreadful than death; therefore do you show your mercy on us. Be pleased unto us and restore our eyesights and make us your slaves; no sooner we get back our sights, we will cease from these vicious acts and go to our homes. In future, we will never commit such heinous acts; from today we all become servants of the Bhârgavas and we will serve them. Forgive all our sins that we committed unconsciously; we promise that, in future, there will no more be any enmity between the Bhârgavas and Ksattriyas. O good-looking Ones! You pass your days happily with your sons; we ever bow down before you. O Auspicious Ones! Be graciously pleased unto us; no more we will cherish any inimical feelings towards you.”

29-44. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Bhârgava lady heard their words and was thunderstruck and seeing those Ksattriyas bowing down before her, blind and distressed, consoled them and said, “O Ksattriyas! I have not taken away your sights nor am I displeased in any way with you. Now hear what is the real cause. This child of Bhârgava, born of my thigh, is exceedingly angry towards you and has therefore made your eyesight still and to no purpose. For the greed of wealth, you have slain the close relatives of this boy, those that were quite innocent and virtuous ascetics and you have slain their children that were in their mothers’ wombs; this boy has come to know all those things. O children! When you were slaying the children of the Bhârgavas in their mothers’ wombs, I then bore within my thighs this child for one hundred years. This son of mine though as yet in the womb, has mastered all the Vedas within so very short a time for the propagation of the Bhârgava clan. Now this Bhârgava son is infuriated with anger for your slaying his father and is now ready to kill you all. My son! Whose divine effulgence has destroyed your eyesights, is born of grace of the Highest Goddess, the Bhagavatî Bhuvanes’varî; therefore do not consider this boy as an ordinary being. Now bow down with humility before this my son Aurvya (born from the thighs); this son may be pleased by your bowing down and may restore you your eyesights.

Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of the Brâhmin lady, the Haihayas began to praise the boy with hymns. With great humility, they bowed down to the best of the Munis, born of the thighs. The Risi Aurvya, then, became pleased and spoke thus to the Haihayas who were deprived of their eyesights :-- “Better go back to your own homes. O Kings! And read these following words derived from my this story. Whatever is inevitable and created by the hands of gods must come to pass. Knowing this, no one ought to be sorrowful on any such matters. Let you all regain your eyesights as before and forego your anger and go to your own homes respectively at your own will. Let the Risis, too, get peace and happiness as before.” When the Maharsi Aurvya ordered thus, the Haihayas got back their eyesights and went at their leisure to their own homes; on the other hand the Brâhmin lady went to her own hermitage, with her Divine-spirited child and began to nourish him. O King! Thus I have described to you the story of the killing of the Bhârgavas and how the Ksattriyas, actuated by greed, did so very vicious acts.

45-48. Janamejaya said :-- “O Ascetic! Hearing this exceedingly heart-rending act of the Ksattriyas, I come to know, that greed is the sole cause of it and both the parties had suffered so much, simply out of this insatiable greed. O King of Munis! I want to ask you one more question in regard to this point. How the sons of the Kings came to be known Haihayas in this world? Amongst the Ksattriyas, some are called Yâdavas for they ware descended from the family of Yadu; some were known as Bhârata, for they were descended from Bhârata. But was some king named Haihaya born before in their family or were they known as such on account of other actions? I desire to hear of it. Kindly describe this to me and oblige.”

49-56. Vyâsa said :-- O King! I am describing in detail to you of the origin of the Haihayas. Hear. The sins are destroyed and the merits accrue on hearing this story. O King! Once on a time Revanta, the son of the Sun, very beautiful and of boundless lustre, was going to Visnu in Vaikuntha, mounted on the beautiful Uchchais’rava, the jewel of the horses. When he was going on horseback with a desire to see the God Visnu, the Goddess Laksmî saw that child of the Sun. The Goddess Laksmî, born out of the churning of the ocean, on looking at the beautiful appearance of her brother Horse, also born out of the churning of the ocean, became very much astonished and steadily gazed on him. The Bhagavân Visnu, capable to show both favour and disfavour, saw the beautiful Revanta, of good figure, coming on horseback; and lovingly asked Laksmî :-- “O Beautiful One! Who is coming here on horseback, as it were, enchanting to the three worlds!” At that time, the Goddess Laksmî was accidentally looking intently on the horse; so she did not reply, though repeatedly asked by the Bhagavân.

57-68. The Laksmî Devî, always restless, was very much intent on the horse and was enchanted and She was looking steadily with great affection on the horse. Seeing this, the Bhagavân became angry and said :-- “O Beautiful-eyed One! What you are looking at so intently? Are you so much enchanted with the sight of the horse that you are not speaking to me a single word, though I am repeatedly asking you so often! You lovingly dwell on all the objects; hence your name is Ramâ; your mind is also very restless, therefore you would be known as Chanchalâ Devî (the restless Devî). O Auspicious One! You are restless like ordinary women; you can never stay steadily for a certain time at any one place. While sitting before Me, you are enchanted with the sight of a horse; then you be born as a mare in that world of men, full of dreadful troubles, on the surface of the earth. The Goddess Laksmî became very much affrightened at the sudden curse given by Hari, a matter as it were ordained by the Devas, and began to cry aloud, shuddering with pain and sorrows. Laksmî Devî, then of sweet smiles, frightened, bowed down with great humility to her own lord Nârâyana and said thus :-- O Deva of the Devas! O Govinda! You are the Lord of this world and the Ocean of mercy. O Kes’ava! Why have you inflicted on me so dreadful a curse for such a minor fault of mine! O Lord! I never saw you before so very angry; Alas! Where has now gone that affection, so natural and undying, that you showed towards me! O Lord! It is not proper to hurl a thunderbolt on one’s own relations; but it is advisable to cast it on the enemies. I am always fit for receiving boons from you. Why have you made me now an object, fit for curse. O Govinda! I will quit this life in Your presence. I will never be able to live, separated from You. O Lord! Be graciously pleased and say when shall I be free from this dreadful curse and regain Your happy companion?

69. The Bhagavân said :-- “O Devî! When you will get a son in the world like me, you will no doubt come again to be my companion.”

Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter on the continuance of the family of Bhrigu in the Sixth Book in the Mahâpurânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 18. On The Origin Of The Haihaya Dynasty

1-5. Janamejaya said :-- How did the Goddess Laksmî, the daughter of the ocean, come to be born as a mare, when cursed by the Bhagavân in His moment of anger, and what did Revanta do at that time? In what country was the Devî born as a mare and how did She pass Her time alone like one whose husband had gone abroad. O Muni! How long and in what forest unfrequented by persons did she pass her time, thus deprived of the companion of her husband and what did she do at that time? When was she reconciled with her husband Vâsudeva? and how did she get a son, when she lived in a state of separation from her husband. O best of Âryas! I am very curious to hear this excellent story. So describe this in full details to me.

6. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Thus questioned by Janamejaya, the Dvaipâyan Muni began to recite the story in its full details.

7-24. Vyâsa said :--O King! I will now describe to you the pleasing story of the Purânas in a clear distinct language; hear. Revanta, the son of the Sun, became terrified to see Vâsudeva, the Deva of the Devas cursing the Laksmî Devî and, after bowing down to Janârdan, the Lord of the world, went off. Seeing the anger of Visnu, the Lord of the world, he went quickly to his father and informed him of the curse delivered by Nârâyana to the Goddess Laksmî. And the Laksmî Devî, the lotus-eyed, thus cursed, got the permission of Nârâyana and with a grieved heart bowed down to him and came down to the world of mortals. She took the form of a mare and went to the spot where the wife of the Sun (named Chchâyâ) practised her asceticism in ancient times. The place was the confluence of the river Kâlindi and the Tamasâ, and decorated with lovely forests and trees situated north of the mountain named Suparnâksa, yielding all desires. There she meditated with her whole heart the auspicious Mahâdeva S’ankara, the Giver of all desires, thus :-- That Mahâdeva is holding the Tris’ûla (the trident) on his arms; His forehead is adorned with beautiful cooling semi-Moon; He has five faces, each face having three eyes; His throat is coloured blue; He has ten arms; His body is white like camphor; He wears a tiger’s skin; His upper garment is of elephant’s skin; and snakes are his holy thread; He is holding the one-half of the body of Gaurî and his neck is adorned with garlands of human skulls. The Goddess Laksmî, the daughter of the ocean, assuming the form of a mare, thus practised severe asceticism in that place of pilgrimage. O King! With a feeling of intense dispassion (Vairâgyam) towards the worldly things, She spent the divine one thousand years in the meditation of Mahâdeva, the God of the Gods. After that period, the Highest Lord Mahâdeva, mounting on His bull, came there with His consort Pârvatî and appeared before the Laksmî Devî, perceptible by his eyes. Appearing thus with His host of His own persons, He then spoke to Laksmî, dear to Hari, now practising ascetism in the form of a mare, “O Auspicious One! You are the Mother of this whole Universe and your Husband is the Creator of these worlds and is capable to give all desires. Why are You, then, practising asceticism, when He is present? What is the cause of this? O Devî! Why are You praising hymns to me, instead of to Vâsudeva S’rî Hari, Who is capable to yield enjoyments and final liberation, and Who is the Preserver and the Lord of this world. O Devî! Work should be done according to the authority of the Vedas; it is stated in the Vedas that the husband is the lord of a woman; therefore it is never advisable to fix one’s mind entirely on another person. The eternal Dharma of women is to serve their husbands; whether the husband be a saint or a sinner, the woman, desirous of her welfare, should serve her husband in every way. O Daughter of the Ocean! Your husband Nârâyana is fit to be served by all and He is capable to yield all desires. Why are you then worshipping Me, and leaving the Lord of the Goloka, the Deva of the Devas.”

25-32. Laksmî said :-- O Deva of the Devas! O Seat of Auspiciousness! I know that You are soon pleased with Your servant. My husband has cursed me. O Ocean of mercy! Kindly save me from this curse. O S’ambhu! When I informed my husband of my mental agonies, graciously and mercifully He then pointed out how I might be freed of this curse thus :-- “O Kamale! When Your son will be born, then You will be freed of this curse and will, no doubt, come back and live in this Heaven of Vaikuntha.” Thus spoken, I have come in this hermitage to make tapas and to worship Thee, knowing that Thou art the Bhagavân, the Lord of Bhavanî, the Lord of all and the Giver of all desires. O Lord of the Devas! How can I get a son without the intercourse of My husband? Though I am guiltless, my husband has forsaken me and is living in Vaikuntha. O Mahes’vara! Thou art doing good to all persons; and if Thou art pleased with me, then grant me a boon. O Lord! I know full well that there is no distinction between Him and Thee. O Lord of Girîjâ! This truth I have come to learn from my husband. O Hara! You are the same thing that He is and what is He is the same as You; there is not the least doubt in this. O Thou, full of auspiciousness! Recognising the Sameness without any distinction between Him and Thee, I am meditating on Thee. Had it been otherwise, then I would certainly have been guilty when I take Thy refuge and meditate on Thee.

33-36. S’ankara said :-- “O Devî, the daughter of the Ocean! Tell truly before me how you have been able to realise the identity between Him and Me. The Devas, Munis and the Maharsis, versed in the Vedas, get their understandings baffled by wrong argumentations and never realise the identity without any difference between us. Almost everywhere you will perceive that many of my devotees blame me. Specially in this Kâlî Yuga due to the influence of Time, this happens to a very great extent in many cases. O Auspicious One! Let that go! How have you come to know this matter, which is difficult even for the liberal-minded persons to comprehend. Know that this perception of the identity between me and Hari is very rare.”

37-38. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When Mahâdeva asked thus with great pleasure, the Devî Kamalâ, the darling of Hari, gladly replied the essence of the matter to Mahâdeva.

39-43. Laksmî said :-- “O Deva of the Devas! One day Bhagavân Visnu, seated in the Padmâsana posture, was immersed in deep meditation. I was very much astonished at this. When His meditation was over and when He was in a pleasant mood, I asked Him with great humility, O Deva of the Devas! I know that You are the Lord of the world and Master of this whole Universe; when Brahmâ and the other Devas were united and churned the great ocean, I came out of the waters and looked all around to know who is the superior one whom I can select as my husband and then, thinking You as the superior to all the Devas, I accepted You as my husband. Now whose meditation You are doing again? A great doubt has thus occurred in my mind. O Lord! You are my most Beloved; now disclose to me your innermost desire and thought.”

44-49. Visnu said :-- “O Beloved! Hear now, whom I am meditating. I am meditating in the lotus of My heart that Mahâdeva Mahes’vara, the Highest of all the Devas. Mahâdeva, the Deva of the Devas, of indomitable prowess, sometimes meditates on Me and sometimes I meditate on the Lord of the Deva, S’ankara, the Destroyer of Tripurâ. I am dear to S’iva as his life is dear to him and S’ankara is similarly dear to me. The hearts of us both are attached to each other in the most secret way possible; therefore there is not the least difference betwixt us both. O large-eyed One! Those men who being my devotees hate S’ankara, certainly go to hell. I speak this very truly unto you.” O Mahes’vara! When I asked him this question when he was all alone, that Deva of the Devas, the Highest Visnu thus said to me. Therefore I am meditating on You, knowing that You are His beloved. O Mahes’a! Now find out means by which I can mix with My husband.

50-59. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Mahâdeva, skilled in speech, hearing thus the words of Laksmî, consoled Her with sweet words and said :-- “O Beautiful! Be peaceful; I am pleased with Your tapasyâ; soon You will come in contact with Your husband. There is not the least doubt in this. When I will send the Bhagavân, the Lord of the world, He will come before you in the shape of a horse, to satisfy your desires. I will send the Madhusûdana, the Deva of the Devas, in such a manner, as he will come in the form of a horse, passionately attached to you. O One of good eye brows! Thus you will get a son equivalent to Nârâyana; and the son will be the King on this earth and will be undoubtedly worshipped by all. O fortunate One! After you get your son, you will go to Vaikuntha with Nârâyana and will reside there as His Beloved. Your son will be famed by the name of Ekavîra; and from him will propagate the Haihaya dynasty on the earth. O Kamale! You were blind by prosperity, and, becoming passionate, you forgot the Devî Parames’varî, residing in your heart. Therefore you have experienced such a result. Therefore, to expiate that sin, take Her refuge by all means. O Devî! If your heart remained attached to the Highest Devî the blissful Bhagavatî, your heart would never have got attached to the Uchchais’ravâ horse. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus granting boons to Laksmî Devî, He with his consort Umâ vanished away in her presence.

60-62. Kamalâ Devî, lovely in all respects, whose toe nails are always rubbed by the gems on the coronets of the Devas, began to meditate on the lotus-feet of Ambikâ and in expectation of his beloved Hari, in the shape of a horse, praised and chanted hymns frequently to the Highest Goddess, in words choked with feelings of intense love.

Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the origin of the Haihaya Dynasty in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 19. On The Origin Of Haihayas From A Mare

1-3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus granting the boon to the Goddess Laksmî, S’ambhu quickly returned to the lovely Kailâs’a, adorned with Apsarâs (celestial nymphs) and frequented and served by the Gods. He then despatched his expert attendant Chitrarûpa to Vaikuntha to bring the purpose of Laksmî to a successful issue. He said to him thus :-- “O Chitrarûpa! Go to Hari and speak to him on my behalf that He would go and remove the sorrows of His distressed and bereaved wife and thus make Her comfortable.”

4-9. Thus ordered, Chitrarûpa started immediately and reached at once Vaikuntha, the highest place, covered all over by the Vaisnavas. The place was diversified with lots of various trees, with hundreds of lovely lakes, and echoed with sweet lovely sounds of swans, Kârandavas, peacocks, parrots, cuckoos and various other birds and adorned with beautiful places, decked with flags and banners. It was filled with charming dancings, music and other artistic things. There were the lovely Bakula, As’oka, Tilaka, Champaka and other trees; and the beautiful tree Mandâra looked beautiful and shed all around the sweet fragrance of its sweet flowers for a long distance. Thus seeing the lovely nice palace of Visnu and the two doorkeepers Jaya and Vijaya standing with canes in their hands, Chitraratha bowed down to them and said :-- Well! You go quickly and inform the Supreme Soul Hari that a messenger has come under the orders of the Bhagavân S’ûlapânî and is now waiting at His doors.

10-18. Hearing his words, the intelligent Jaya went to Hari and, with folded hands, said :-- “O Thou Ocean of Mercy! O Kes’ava! O Lord of Ramâ! O Deva of the Devas! A messenger has come from the Lord of Bhavânî and is waiting at the doors. I do not not know on what important business he has come. Please order whether I will bring him before You or not. On hearing the Jaya’s words, Hari, aware of the inner feelings, knew at once the cause and said :-- O Jaya! Bring before me the messenger come from Rudra. Thus hearing, Jaya called the S’iva’s servant, of a graceful form, and brought him to the presence of Janârdana. Chitrarûpa, of variegated appearance, prostrated himself flat before Him in the form of a stick and stood up and remained with folded hands. The Bhagavân Nârâyana, Whose carrier is Garuda, saw that servant of S’iva, of variegated appearance and full of all humility, and became very much astonished. The Lord of Kamalâ then smiled and asked Chitrarûpa :-- “O Pure One! Is it all well with Mahâdeva, the Lord of the Devas and his other families and attendants? On what business has He sent you here? What does He want me to do? Or tell me if I have to do any other business of the gods.”

19-34. The messenger said :-- “O Thou, the Knower of all that is within one’s heart! There is nothing in this world hidden from Your knowledge; when is that which I will say unknown to you! O Thou, the Knower of present, past and future! I am now saying to you what S’ambhu has told me to inform You. He has said :-- O Lord! The Goddess Laksmî is Your dear consort. She, the daughter of the Ocean, and the Bestower of all success, though an object fit to be meditated by Yaksas, Kinnaras, Naras and Immortals, is now undergoing severe penance at the confluence of Kalindî (the Jumnâ, the daughter of Kalinda) and the Tamasâ. What is there in the three worlds that can be happy without that Mother of the worlds and the Giver of all desires? O Lotus-eyed One! What pleasure do You feel in abandoning Her? O All-pervading One! Even he who has no riches or who is very weak maintains his wife; then why have You, being the Lord of the worlds, forsaken your wife, without any offence, Who is worshipped by the whole universe. O Lord of the world! What advice shall I give to You? He whose wife suffers in the world, is blamed by his enemies. O Omnipresent One! Fie on his such a life! O Lord of the worlds! Your enemies’ desires are satisfied when they see Her very miserable. They are laughing and mocking and saying :-- O Devî, Kes’ava has now forsaken you; you can spend happily your time with us now. Therefore, O Lord of the Devas! Bring that Lady back unto your palace and place Her unto your lap, Who is of good demeanour, beautiful, par excellence and endowed with all auspicious signs. O Deva! Accept, please, your sweet-smiling wife and be happy. Though I am at present not in bereavement of my dear wife, yet when I remember my former state of bereavement, I feel very much trouble. O Lotus-eyed One! When Satî Devî, my beloved Wife, quitted Her life, in Daksa’s house, I felt unbearable pain, O Kes’ava! Let no other body in this world suffer such pain, I now remember only the suffering and mental agonies that I felt on Her bereavement; I do not give it out to others. After a long time, practising severe Tapasyâ (asceticism) I got Her back in the form of Girijâ, who felt herself burnt up as it were by the anger She felt on account of censure cast on Me in the Daksa’s house and thus quitted Her life. O Murâri! What happiness you have felt in forsaking your dear wife and in remaining thus alone for one thousand years. Console your fortunate young wife with good teeth and bring her back to your place. O Bhagavân! Lastly, the Lord Bhavânî, the Originatrix of these worlds, told me to speak thus to you :-- O Destroyer of Kamsa! Let nobody remain even, for a moment, without Laksmî, the Highest Goddess. O Long-lived One! You better assume the form of a horse and go and worship her. Then have a child of yours in the womb of your sweet-smiling wife and bring her back to your house.”

35-42. Vyâsa said :-- O Ornament of Bhârata’s race! Hearing thus the words of Chitrarûpa, Bhagavân Hari told that he would do what S’ankara had told him to do and thus sent the messenger back to S’ankara. The messenger departing, Hari assumed the form of a beautiful horse and immediately left Vaikuntha with a passionate intent for the place where Laksmî was staying in the form of a mare and practising her austerities. Coming there, he saw that the Devî Bimalâ was staying in the form of a mare. The mare, too, seeing the horse form of her husband Govinda, recognised him and, chaste as she was, remained there with astonishment and tears in her eyes. Then those two copulated on the famous confluence. The wife of Hari, in the shape of a mare, became pregnant and, in due time, gave birth to a beautiful well qualified child. The Bhagavân then graciously smiled on her and spoke in words suited to the time, “O Dear! Now quit this mare form and assume your former appearance. O Lovely-eyed One! Let both of us assume our own forms and go to Vaikuntha; and let your child remain in this place.”

43-48. Laksmî said :-- “O Lord! How can I go leaving here this child, born of my womb. It is very difficult to quit the attachments for one’s own child. Know this, O Lord! O High-souled One! This child is young and of small body; therefore it is quite incapable to protect itself. If I forsake it on the bank of this river, it will be an orphan, what will happen to it then? O Lotus-eyed One! My mind is now in full attachment towards it. How can I quit this helpless child and go?” When Laksmî and Nârâyana resumed their divine bodies and mounted on the excellent Vimânas, the Devas began to praise them with hymns. When Nârâyana expressed his desire to go, Kamalâ said :-- “O Lord! You better take this child; I am unable to forsake it. O Lord! O Slayer of Madhu! This child is dearer to me than my life; see its body resembles exactly like you. Therefore we would take this child with us to Vaikuntha.”

49-54. Hari spoke :-- “O Dear! You need not be sorry; let this child remain here happily; I have arranged for its preservation and safety. O Beautiful One! There is a great act to do in this world. That will be executed by your child. For this reason I am leaving it here. I am now describing to you the above story. The famous King Yayâti had a son named Turvasu; his father kept his name as Hari Varmâ; he is known by this name. That king is now practising asceticism for getting a son for one hundred years in a place of pilgrimage. O Laksmî! I have begot this son for him. I will go there and send the King here. O Beautiful-faced One! I will give this son to that King, desirous of an issue. He will take this son and go back to his house.”

55. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus consoling his beloved, whose abode is in the Lotus and placing the child there in that position, He mounted on an excellent car with Laksmî and went to Vaikuntha.

Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter in the Sixth Book on the origin of Haihayas from a mare in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 20. On The Son Born Of Mare By Hari

1-2. Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! A great doubt has arisen in my mind on this subject. Who was it that took away that son, when both Laksmî and Nârâyana left it, in that forlorn state, in a forest without any person there to look after?”

3-11. Vyâsa said :-- O King! No sooner Laksmî and Nârâyana departed from that place, one Vidyâdhara, named Champaka, mounting on a beautiful celestial car came there at his free will, sporting with a woman named Madanâlasâ. There they saw that one lovely child, exquisitely beautiful like a Deva’s son, was playing alone as it liked. They then, quickly descended from their chariot and picked it up. Vidyâdhara became very glad as a beggar becomes glad, when he gets a hoard of jewels. On taking that newly born beautiful child like a Cupid, Champaka gave it to the Devî Madanâlasâ. Madanâlasâ took it and became very much astonished; and her hairs stood at their ends. She clasped it to her bosom and kissed it frequently. O Bhârata! Taking that child on her lap as if her own child, Madanâlasâ embraced it and kissed it and got the highest happiness. Then both of them took that child and mounted on the car. The lean Madanâlasâ then laughingly queried :-- “O Lord! Whose child is this? Who has left it in this forest? It seems to me Mahâ Deva, desirous to give me a son, has given it unto me.”

12-18. Champaka said :-- I will just now go and ask the all-knowing Indra whose child is this, whether it is of a Deva, Dânava or Gandharva. If he orders, I will purify this child found thus in this forest by the Veda Mantrams and then accept it as my own. It is not advisable to do a thing suddenly without knowing all the details. Thus saying to his wife Madanâlasâ, Champaka went with a gladdened heart hurriedly to the city of Indra with that child in his arms. Champaka gladly bowed down at the feet of Indra and gave him all the information he knew about the child and stood at one side with folded hands and spoke, “O Lord of the Devas! I have got this child, beautiful as Cupid, in the sacred place of pilgrimage at the confluence of the Jumnâ and the Tamasâ. O Lord of S’achî! Whose child is this? and why did they forsake it there? If you kindly permit, I will take this child as my own son. This child is very beautiful and liked very much by my wife; it is also the rule laid down in the S’âstras that one can accept any child as the Kritrima son. Therefore it is my earnest desire that I purify this child by the Veda Mantrams and take it legally as my own son.”

19-24. Indra said :-- O Highly Fortunate One! Bhagavân Vâsudeva, assuming the form of a horse, has produced this child out of the womb of Kamalâ in the form of a mare. He intends to give over the child, capable to destroy enemies to Turvasu, the son of Yayâti, and thus will get a great purpose achieved by the child. That King, very religious, will be sent by Hari today and he will come for the child in that beautiful sacred place of pilgrimage. You better go back as early as possible and keep the child there as it was before till that king comes to that spot at the instance of the Devadeva Visnu. Do not waste a minute more. The King will be very sorry if he does not find the child there. Therefore O Champaka! Quit the attachment that you have for this child. You should know that this child will be famous in this earth as Ekavîra (only one hero).

25-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus hearing the Indra’s words, Champaka took the child and went back immediately to the spot whence he picked it up and keeping the child there as it laid, mounted on his car and went to his abode. At that instant, the husband of Laksmî, the Lord of the three worlds, went to the King, mounted on His car, beaming with effulgent rays. When the Bhagavân was descending from His aerial car, the King Turvasu was very glad to see Him and bowed down and laid himself prostrate on the ground. The Bhagavân, then, comforted the King, his own devotee, and said, “Get up, my child! Do away with your mental distress.” The King also eagerly and full of devotion, began to utter verses in praise of the Bhagavân. O Lord of Ramâ! You are the presiding Deity of the Devas; Lord of the whole worlds, Ocean of Mercy and Giver of advice to all men. O Lord! Your sight is very rare even to the Yogis; being myself of a very slow dull intellect; I have been fortunate enough to see you. O Lord! This shews Your mercy.

31-54. Vyâsa said :-- O Bhagavân! O Infinite One! Those who are free from any desires and free from any attachment to worldly things, they alone are entitled to see Thee. O Deva of the Devas! I am bound in thousand and one desires. I am quite unfit to see Thee. There is no doubt in this. When Turvasu, the best of the kings, praised thus, Bhagavân Visnu became pleased and began to speak in the following pleasant words :-- “O King! I am pleased with your asceticism; now ask your desired boon; I will grant it immediately.” The King bowed down again to the feet of Visnu and said :-- “O Murâri! For the sake of a son, I have practised this tapasyâ; grant me a son like my Self.” Nârâyana, the First-born of the Devas, hearing this King’s request spoke to him in infallible words :-- “O son of Yayâti! Go to the confluence of the Yamunâ and Tamasâ. For you I have kept there today a son as you like and of indomitable prowess. O King! That child is begotten by me in the womb of Laksmî.” The King became very glad to hear the sweet pure words of the Bhagavân. Thus granting him the boon, Visnu went with Ramâ to Vaikuntha. The King Turvasu, the son of Yayâti, hearing these words, became exceedingly gladdened in his heart and mounting on a chariot, whose speed cannot be checked, went to the spot where lay the child. The king, of extraordinary genius, went there and saw that the exceedingly beautiful child, catching hold of his toe by one of his soft hands was sucking it by his mouth and was playing on the ground. The child was born of Nârâyana out of the womb of Kamalâ. Therefore it resembled like Him. On looking at that beautiful lovely child, the famous King Harivarmâ’s face got cheered up with the intensest delight. The King took it up with both of his hands and got merged in the Ocean of Bliss and taking gladly the scent of its head embraced it happily. On looking at the beautiful lotus-face of the child, the King, choked with tears from his eyes and with feelings of joy said :-- “O Child! Nârâyana has given me, the child jewel in you; so save me from the terrors of the hell named Put. O Child! For full one hundred years I have practised a very hard tapasyâ for the sake of you. Pleased with that, the Lord of Kamalâ has given you to me for the happiness of my worldly career. Your Mother Ramâ Devî has forsaken Her own child for the sake of me and has gone away with Hari. O Child! That Mother is blessed whose face beams with joy by seeing the smiles in your lotus-face. O Delighter of my heart! The Lord of Ramâ, the Deva of the Devas, has made you, as it were, to serve as a boat for me for crossing to the other side of this Ocean of World.” Thus saying, the King took the child and gladly went home. Knowing that the King had come very close to his city, the King’s Minister and the city people, the subjects came forward with the priest and many other presents and offerings. The bards, singers and Sûtas came in front of the King. The King as he entered into his city looked affectionately on his subjects and gladdened their spirits by enquiries of welfare. Then worshipped by the citizens, the King entered into the city with his child. As the King went along the royal road, the subjects showered on his head the flowers and fried rice. Then taking the child by his two arms, the King entered into his prosperous palace with his ministers.

The king next handed over the newly-born lovely child, as beautiful as Cupid, to the hands of his queen. The good queen took the child and asked the king :-- “O King! Whence have you got this new born child as fascinating as the God of Love? Who has given this child to you? O Lord! Speak quickly. This child has stolen away my mind.” The King gladly replied :-- “O Beloved! The Lord of Kamalâ, the Ocean of Mercy has given me this child; O Quick-eyed One! This child is born of Nârâyana’s part and out of the womb of Kamalâ. O Devî! This child has strength, energy, patience, gravity and all other good qualities.” Then the queen took the child in her arms and got the unbounded bliss. Great festivities began to be performed in the palace of the King Turvasu. Charities were given to those that wanted; music and singing of various sorts were performed. In this ceremony for the sake of his child, the king Turvasu put the name of the child as “Ekavîra.” Getting thus the child equivalent in form and qualities to Hari, the powerful Indra-like king became happy and freed from his debt due to his family line, became very cheerful and glad. O King! The king, powerful like his enemies, began to enjoy in his own palace with his all-qualified child, that was given to him by Nârâyana, the Lord of all the Devas. He was always served by his dear wife and all sorts of pleasures and he felt himself enjoying as a King would do.

Here ends the Twentieth Chapter in the Sixth Book on the son born of mare by Hari, in the Mahâpurânam in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 21. On The Installation Of Ekavîra And The Birth Of Ekâvalî

1-10. Vyâsa said :-- O King! In the meanwhile the King Turvasu performed the Jâtakarma (a religious ceremony performed at the birth of a child) and other ceremonies of the child. The boy was nurtured duly and began to grow older day by day. The King began to enjoy his worldly life on getting this son and thought within himself that the boy had freed him from the three debts due to the Fathers, the Risis and the Devas. Next, in the sixth month, the King performed the Annaprâsana ceremony (putting the boiled rice in the mouth of the child) and in the third year performed regularly his Chûda Karana (the ceremony of the first tonsure) ceremony. He distributed on those occasions various articles, wealth and cows to the Brâhmanas and other articles to various other mendicants and made them glad. In the eleventh year, he performed the boy’s holy thread (Upanayana) ceremony and tying the girdle made of a triple string of Munja grass and put the boy to learn archery. Next when the boy passed off proficiently in the study of the Vedas and in learning the kingly duties, the King desired to install him on the throne. The King Turvasu then collected with great care all the necessary articles for installation in an auspicious day, the combination of Pusyâ asterism and Arka Yoga. He called then the Brâhmins, well versed in the Vedas and in the S’âstras, and became ready, in accordance with due rites, to perform the installation ceremony of the prince. Waters were brought from various sacred places of pilgrimage and from the several oceans and on an auspicious day the King performed himself the installation of his son. When the ceremony was over the King gave away hoards of wealth to the Brâhmins and giving the charge of his kingdom to his son, he went to the forest with a desire to ascend to the Heavens.

11-22. Thus placing Ekavîra on the throne, the King Turvasu shewed respects to his ministers, and, controlling his senses went to the forest accompanied by his wife. On the top of the Mainâka mountain he took up the vow of Vânaprastha and sustaining his life on leaves and fruits began to meditate Pârvatî. Thus when his Prârabdha Karma ended, he left his mortal coil with his wife and went by virtue of his good deeds to the Indraloka. Hearing that the King had ascended to Heavens, his son Ekavîra Haihaya performed his funeral ceremonies according to the rules laid down by the Vedas. The King’s son, the intelligent Haihaya, performed, one after another, all the ceremonies due and began to govern the kingdom which was free from enemies. The virtuous King Ekavîra remained duly obedient to his ministers after he got possession of his kingdom and began to enjoy all the best things. The powerful King one day went on horseback to the banks of the Ganges with the minister’s son. Roaming about, he found there the boughs of trees had assumed a very graceful appearance, with loads of fruits, echoed with the sweet voice of the cuckoos and with the humming of the bees. Close by were the hermitages of the Munis, where the bucks were skipping about and at other places the Vedas were being chanted. The smoke was seen rising from the altars, where oblations were being offered and appeared to form like a black canopy in the Heavens. Full ripe grains were enhancing the beauty of the fields and the cowherdesses were merrily watching the fields. Places of recreations adorned with full blown lotuses and beautiful groves were attracting the attention of the visitors. The various trees, Piyâla, Champaka, Panasa, Bakula, Tilaka, Kadamba and Mandâra, and others were adorned with fruits, stealing away the minds of the people. At other places, other trees Sal, Tamâla, Jack, Mango, Kali Kadamba, etc., stood gracefully. Next when the King went to the Ganges water, he saw the gay beautiful full blown lotuses were spreading their fragrant scents all around.

23-31. On the right side of these lotuses, he saw a lotus-eyed girl. She was shining like the gold, her beautiful hairs were long and curling; her throat was like a Kambu, belly thin, lips like the Bimba fruits, several other limbs well built and graceful, breasts risen a little, nose beautiful and all her body was exquisitely lovely; that lady just blooming into youth was suffering bereavements from her comrades and was very distressed and seemed bewildered. She was crying like an ewe in a dense lonely forest. Seeing her, the King asked her what was the reason of her sorrows? O Cuckoo-voiced One! You are as yet a girl; who has left you alone in this state? O Sweet One! Tell me where is your husband now or where is your father? O One looking askance! What is your trouble; explain it to me. O thin-bellied One! I will, no doubt, remove all your sorrows and troubles. O fair-limbed One! In my dominion nobody ever gives trouble to any other body. O lovely One! There is no fear in my kingdom from thieves or Râksasas; or any fear from any serious dangerous calamities on this earth, fear from lions, tigers or any other dangers while my sway is predominant.

32-41. O One of beautiful thighs! Why are you crying on this lonely bank of the Ganges? Tell me what is your pain? O Pure One! I can remove the pains and miseries, even of a serious nature, of men, whether they come from the Deva or human sources; and this is my principal vow. O Large-eyed One! Speak what is your inmost desire; I will carry it out instantaneously. When the king thus spoke, that beautiful woman spoke in gentle words :-- O King! Hear the cause of my sorrows. O King! Why will the people cry, to no purpose, unless calamities come before them? O Mighty-armed One! I now tell you why I am weeping. O King! There was a very religious King named Rabhya in another province that is not yours. At first he had no issue. He had a very beautiful wife named Rukmarekhâ. She was clever, chaste and endowed with all auspicious qualities. But issueless as she was, she remained very sorry and, in a remorseful tone, she spoke to her husband Raibbya :-- O Lord! I am barren; I have no sons; I am therefore a very unhappy creature. My life is in vain; what use is there in my living? When the queen thus spoke very distressedly, the king called the Brâhmanas, versed in the Vedas, and began to perform an excellent sacrificial ceremony, in due accordance with the Vedic rules. With a desire to get a son, he made many presents in profuse quantities. When copious quantities of ghee were offered as oblations, there arose, from the fire, a girl beautiful in all respects and endowed with all auspicious signs.

42-53. Her teeth were very nice, eyebrows very lovely, face enchanting like a Full Moon, the lustre of the body lovely and of a golden colour; her hairs were fine and curling; her lips like the Bimba flowers; her hands and face were of a red colour; her eyes were red like lotus and her limbs were soft and gentle. When the girl arose from the fire, the priest (Hotâ) took that lean and thin lady of a nice waist by her arms and presented her to the King and said :-- O King! Accept this daughter, endowed with all auspicious signs. When Homa was being performed, the daughter came up like the garland Ekâvalî; therefore this girl became famous in this world by the name Ekâvalî. O Ruler of the earth! Take this girl, resembling a son and be happy.

O King! Visnu, the Deva of the Devas, has given you this Jewel, this daughter; so be contented. Hearing thus the words of the priest, the King saw this good-looking girl and with gladdened heart took the beautiful daughter from his hands. Thus with that lovely daughter he went to his wife Rukmarekhâ and said :-- O Beautiful One! Take this daughter. The queen Rukmarekhâ felt the pleasure of having a son when she got in her arms that lotus eyed beautiful daughter. The King next performed the natal and other ceremonies of the daughter and did all other acts as if she had been a son to him duly in accordance with the rules. The King performed his own sacrificial ceremonies and gave away lots of Daksinâs to the Brâhmins and dismissed them and became very glad. That beautiful girl was nursed and cared after like a son and she grew older day by day. The Queen Rukmarekhâ was very gladdened to get her. On that very day the birthday festival was performed as on the occasion of the birth of a son. And that daughter grew older, very affectionate and dear to all.

54-61. O Lovely One! You are a king and intelligent too; I will describe to you all the details; Hear. I am the daughter of the minister to that King. My name is Yas’ovatî. That daughter and I look alike and of the same age. Therefore the king has made me her comrade. I spend my time day and night always with her as her constant dear companion. Ekâvalî likes very much to remain and sport wherever she finds sweet-scented lotuses; at other places she does not find happiness. At the distant banks of the Ganges many lotuses grow; therefore Ekâvalî goes there with great pleasure to that place with me and her other fellow mates. One day I told the King that Ekâvalî used to go daily to a distant solitary forest to see the lotus-lake. Then the King addressed her not to go and he got a lake built within the compounds of his palace and planted many lotus seeds therein. Gradually the lotuses began to blossom and the bees came there to drink honey. Still she used to go outside in search of lotuses. Then the King sent armed guards to accompany her. Thus that thin-bodied daughter of the King used to go daily to the banks of the Ganges for play, guarded by armed soldiers, accompanied by myself and other companions. Again when the sporting was over, she used to return to the palace.

Here ends the Twenty-First Chapter on the Sixth Book on the installation of Ekavîra and the birth of Ekâvalî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 22. On The Narration To Haihaya The Stealing Away Of Ekâvalî

1-10. Yas’ovatî spoke :-- O King! One day Ekâvalî got up early in the morning and went to the banks of the Ganges, accompanied by her companions; they began to fan her with a chowrie. The armed guards accompanied her. Slowly she went where there were the lotuses in order to sport with them. I, too, went with her playing with the lotuses to the banks of the Ganges and both of us began to play with lotuses with the Apsarâs. When both of us were deeply engaged in the play, then one powerful Dânava, named Kâlaketu, came up there suddenly with many Râksasas armed with parighas, swords, clubs, bows, arrows and tomaras and many other weapons. Ekâvalî was playing with the best lotuses when Kâlaketu saw her in that state, blooming with beauty and youth as if like Ratî, the Goddess of Love. O King! I then spoke to Ekâvalî :-- “Look! Who is this Daitya that has come here unexpectedly; O Lotus-eyed One! Let us go into the central part of our armed guards.” O King! My companion and myself consulting thus, went out of fear immediately into the centre of the armed guards. Kâlaketu was seized with the arrows of Cupid, and no sooner he looked at that beautiful young lady than he, with a very big club in his hand, hurriedly came to us, drove away the guards, and took away my lotus eyed companion, of thin waist. Then the young lady, helpless, began to tremble and cried aloud.

11-22. Seeing this, I spoke to the Dânava :-- Leave her and take me. The passionate Dânava did not take me but he went away, taking my companion. The guards exclaimed :-- “Wait, wait; don’t fly away with the girl; we are giving you a good lesson.” Thus saying, they made the powerful Dânavas stop and both the parties engaged in a very terrible conflict, astounding to all. The followers of the Dânavas, more cruel and all fully armed began at once to fight with great enthusiasm for their Master’s cause. Kâlaketu himself began to fight afterwards terribly and killed the guards. He, then, with his followers, carried away my companion towards his own city. I, too, followed my companion, when I saw her thus carried away by the Dânava and crying out of fear. I also walked crying aloud by those tracks as would enable my Sakhî to see me. She, too, seeing me, became somewhat consoled. Crying out repeatedly I approached her. She was already very distressed and when she saw me, she clasped me closely around my neck, perspiring and stunned and, becoming more distressed, cried aloud. Kâlaketu then showed his liking for me and told that my quick-eyed companion was very afraid and that I might comfort her. He told me thus :-- “O Dear! My city is like the Deva’s abodes; you will soon be able to go there. From today I become your slave, bound by love. Do not cry thus distressedly; be comforted.” In these words he told me to comfort my dear companion. Thus speaking, that villain made both of us mount on the beautiful chariot and making us sit by his sides went gladly and quickly to his own beautiful palace, followed by his army.

23-30. That Demon placed both of us in a beautiful house white washed and mirror-like and kept hundreds and thousands of Râksasas to watch and protect us. On the second day he called me in private :-- “Your companion is very much distressed on the bereavement from her father and mother and is lamenting; make her understand and console her.” He told me to speak the following words to my companion :-- “O One of beautiful hips! Be my wife and enjoy as you like. O One with a face beautiful like the Moon! This kingdom is yours; ever I am your obedient slave.” Hearing his unbearable harsh words I said :-- “O Lord! I will not be able to speak her these words, disagreeable to her. You better speak this yourself.” When I spoke thus, that wicked Dânava struck by the arrows of Cupid began to speak gently to my dear companion of thin belly, thus :-- “O Dear One! Today you have successfully cast on me the Vasîkarana Mantra (one of the Tântrik processes by which a lover is made to come under subjection); O Beloved! Therefore it is that my heart is stolen and so much brought under your subjection; this has converted me into a veritable slave of yours; then know this as certain that I am your slave; O Sweet One!

I am very much troubled by the Cupid’s arrows and I am semi-unconscious; therefore O Lean-bellied One! Worship me. O One of beautiful thighs! This youth is a very rare and transient thing; O Auspicious One! Now embrace me as your husband and make your youth a veritable success.”

31-36. Ekâvalî said :-- “O Fortunate One! My father wanted to hand me over to a prince named Haihaya; I also mentally adopted him as my husband. You are certainly aware of the S’âstras; how can I now abandon the eternal religion and the virtue of a woman and take up another husband. The girl must accept him to whom the father betrothes. The girl is under every circumstances dependent. Never do they get any independence.” Though Ekâvalî said thus, the vicious Daitya struck by Cupid’s arrows, did not desist and did not leave me and that larged-eyed companion. His city lies in Pâtâla and is a very dangerous place; always it is guarded by Râksasas and surrounded by a moat; inside is built a beautiful and strong fort. Now my dear companion, the queen of my heart, is staying there with a grievous heart and I am here wandering hither and thither very much troubled on account of her bereavements.

37-46. Ekavîra said :-- “O Beautiful-faced One! How have you been able to get away from the city of that wicked demon and how have you been able to come here? I am perfectly at my wit’s end. Say quickly all these. O Proud One! I doubt your words; the father of your dear companion resolved to give his daughter to Haihaya in marriage; now I am that Haihaya. I am the King by that name, on this earth; there is no other King by the name of Haihaya. Is it that your dear companion is meant for me? O Bhâminî (passionate woman)! Remove my doubts; I will kill that villain Râksasa and bring just now your dear companion; there is no doubt in this. O One of good vows! Shew me that place, if it be known to you. Has anybody informed her father that She is suffering from so many troubles? Has her father come to know that her daughter has been stolen and carried away? And has he made any effort to rescue her from the hands of that villain Râksasa? Is it that the King is calm and quiet, knowing that his daughter has been kept in prison? Or is it that he is unable to free her from bondage? Say quickly all these things before me. O Lotus-eyed One! You have captivated my mind by describing the extraordinary qualities of your dear companion and have made me passionate too. Alas! When will it be that I will free my beautiful beloved from the greatest perilous situation and shall see her face and her eyes, beaming with joy. O Sweet-speaking One! Say, by what means I can go to that impassable city. How have you been able to come from there?”

47-63. Yas’ovatî said :-- O King! In my early age I got the Mantram of the Devî Bhagavatî with its seed Mantram (mystic syllable involving in it the power connoted by the Devî) and how to meditate it. While I was in the Dânava’s place I thought out that at that juncture I would worship the powerful Chandikâ who gives instantaneously one’s own desires. If I worship that S’akti, That fructifies all desires, That is all mercy to Her Bhaktas, certainly She will free my dear companion from this her bondage. Though She is really without form, yet She, without anybody’s help, by Her own force, She is creating, preserving, and at the end of the Kalpa, destroying this Universe. Oh! She is very wonderful indeed! Thus thinking I began to meditate that auspicious red-robed and red-eyed Devî, the Lady of the Universe, and recollected mentally Her form and repeated silently Her Vîja Mantram. When I meditated thus for merely one month, Chandikâ Devî became, through my devotion, manifest to me in my dreams and began to speak in sweet nectar-like words :-- “You are now asleep; go quickly to the beautiful banks of the Ganges. The enemy destroyer, the powerful Ekavîra, the greatest of all the kings, will come there. Dattâtreya, the Great Lord of the Munis, has given him my Mantra named Mahâvidyâ; the King also constantly worships me devotedly with that. His mind is constantly attached to Me and he constantly worships Me. What more to say than this fact that the king, extremely devoted to Me, meditates on Me as the internal controller of all beings. That intelligent son of Laksmî will come for sport to the banks of the Ganges and will remove all your sorrows. That king Ekavîra, versed in all the S’âstras will kill the Râksasas in a dreadful battle and will rescue Ekâvalî. So now you pay heed to my word.” Lastly, She told me that my companion should marry that beautiful King, endowed with all auspicious qualifications. Thus saying, She disappeared and I instantly woke up. Then I informed my lotus-eyed dear Sakhî all the details of my dream as well my worshipping the Devî; hearing this, her lotus-face beamed with joy and gladness. That sweet-smiling Ekâvalî very gladly told me, “O dear Companion! Go at once for our success. That truth-speaking Bhagavatî Ambikâ Devî will release us from our bondage.” O King! When my dear companion ordered me thus, I thought it proper, as also dictated to me in my dream, to go out and soon I did it. O King! Due to the grace of the Great Devî, I came to know the way and I also got the quick motion. Thus I have described to you the cause of my sorrow. O Hero! Who are you, whose son are you? Speak truly to me.

Here ends the Twenty-second Chapter in the Sixth Book on the narration to Haihaya the stealing away of Ekâvalî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 23. On The Battle Of Haihaya And Kâlaketu

1. Vyâsa said :-- O King! That powerful son of Laksmî, Haihaya, became very glad to hear these words of Yas’ovatî and said :--

2-14. O One of beautiful thighs! Hear in reply to your query :-- I am Haihaya, the son of Laksmî, and I am known in this world by the name of Ekavîra. Now you have made my mind dependent. What am I to do now? where to go? Thus distressed with bereavement from your dear companion, my mind is struck with Cupid’s arrows and is confounded with her extraordinary beauty that you just now described. Next you described her qualifications and my mind is ravished. Again when you described before me what she uttered in the presence of the Râksasa, I am struck with great wonder. Your dear companion Ekâvalî said before the vicious Dânava Kâlaketu, “I have already selected the King Haihaya. I will not select any other than him, this is my firm resolve.” These words have converted me into her slave. O sweet-haired One! Say now what service can I do to you both? I am not acquainted with that wicked demon’s palace; never I went to his city. O Fair-eyed One! Say how I can go there; for you are the only one that can lead me there. Therefore take me quickly to that place where your beautiful clear companion is staying. Your dear companion, the daughter of the King is very much afflicted with sorrow; soon I will free her, by destroying that cruel Râksasa. There is no doubt in this. O Auspicious One! I will rescue your dear companion and bring her to the city of yours and hand her over to the hands of her father. Then that King, the enemy destroyer, will perform the marriage ceremony of his daugther. I think this is the desire of your heart. O Sweet-speaking One! Know that that is also my desire. O Beautiful One! Now that desire will be fulfilled by your efforts. Show me quickly that place and see my prowess. O One with a face beautiful like the Moon! It seems that you will be able to do my work. Soon do such as I can kill that wicked demon, who steals others’ wives. Now show me the way to the impassable city of that Râksasa.

15-26. Vyâsa said :--O King! Hearing the sweet words of the prince, Yas’ovatî became very glad and gently began to speak out how he could go to the demon’s city. O King! Take the success-giving Mantra of Bhagavatî and I would then be able to show you today the city guarded by the Râksasas. O King! Better arrange to take your vast army with you; for you will have to fight no sooner you go there. Kâlaketu is personally a great warrior surrounded by Râksasas of great power and strength. Therefore be initiated in the Mantram of S’rî Bhagavatî and accompany me. So you will surely be successful. I will show you the way to the city of that Demon. Slay that vicious and vilest of the Râksasas and rescue my dear companion. Hearing thus, Haihaya was duly initiated into the great Mantram of Yoges’varî, named Trilokitilaka Mantra (Hrîm Gaurî Rudradayite Yoge S’varî Hûm Phat Svâhâ is the Yoges’varî Mantra), by Maharsi Dattâtreya, accidentally come there (as if ordained by Fate), the chief of Jñânins (the Gnostics), that is conducive to the welfare of the beings. Thus by the influence of the Mantram the King got the power of knowing all things and going everywhere with unobstructed speed. Then the King Haihaya quickly went with Yas’ovatî to the impassable city of the Râksasas, accompanied by a vast army. The city was surrounded by snakes and guarded by the terrible Râksasas like the city of Pâtâla. The messengers of the Râksasa, seeing the King coming, were struck with terror and crying aloud quickly went to Kâlaketu. Kâlaketu, struck with Cupid’s arrows, was sitting beside Ekâvalî and was speaking many modest words when the messenger went there suddenly and said :-- “O King! The attendant of this lady Yas’ovatî is coming here with a prince and an army.

27-29. O King! We cannot tell exactly whether the prince is the son of Indra, named Jayanta or Kârtikeya. After all, puffed up with the strength of his army, he is coming here. O King! The battle is imminent; now make your arrangements fully and carefully; fight with the son of a Deva or abandon this lotus-eyed Lady. O King! At a distance of three Yojanas from this place, be is staying with his army. Now equip yourself and quickly declare the war by blowing the war trumpets.”

30-36. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the messenger’s words, Kâlaketu, the King of the Demons, became overwhelmed with anger and at once sent many powerful Râksasas, holding all sorts of weapons and spoke out to them :-- “O Râksasas! With weapons in your hands, go before them quickly.” Ordering them thus, Kâlaketu asked in sweet words Ekâvalî who was in front and very distressed. O Thin-bellied One! Who is coming here? Is he your father or any other man coming with his army to release you. Speak this to me truly. If your father comes here to take you back, being very much distressed with your bereavement, I will never fight with him, if I come to know this truly; rather I will bring him to my house and worship him with the excellent horses, gems and jewels and clothings. Really I will show my full hospitality duly to him when he comes here. And if any other person comes, then I will take his life by the sharpened arrows; there is no doubt in this. Know this as certain whoever comes here for your rescue is brought by the hand of Death to me. Therefore, O Large-eyed One! Say who is this fool that is coming, not knowing me as the powerful and unconquerable Kâla (Death).

37-38. Ekâvalî said :-- “O Highly Fortunate One! I do not know who is this body coming to this side with a violent speed. O King! How can I know that when I am in this state of confinement in your house. This man is not my father nor my brother. Some other powerful man is coming here. I do not know exactly what for he is coming.”

39-40. The Demon said :-- My messengers say that your comrade Yas’ovatî has taken with her that warrior and is coming to this side with great energy. Where has your clever companion gone now? O Lotus-eyed! There is no enemy in the three worlds strong enough to fight against me.

41-66. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Just then other messengers hurriedly came there terrified and spoke to Kâlaketu who had been staying in the house, thus :-- “O King! The army has come quite close to the city and how are you staying in the house, calm and quiet? Better march out of the city with your vast army as early as possible.” The powerful Kâlaketu, then, hearing their words, mounted on the chariot and quickly went out of his city. The King Haihaya, on the other hand, suffering from the bereavements of his dear lady, suddenly came there mounted on horseback. The terrible fight ensued then and there between the two and each one struck the other with sharpened weapons and the quarters all around blazed with their glitterings and clashings. When the terrible fight was going on, Haihaya, the son of Laksmî, struck Kâlaketu, the King of the Daityas with a very powerful club (Gadâ). Thus struck by the Gadâ, the Lord of the Daityas fell on the ground like a mountain, struck by lightning, and died. All the Râksasas fled away on all sides, struck with terror. Yas’ovatî went then very hurriedly with a gladdened heart to Ekâvalî and began to speak to her in terms of surprise and in sweet words :-- O Dear! O Dear! Come, Come; the great warrior, the prince Ekavîra has killed the Lord of the Daityas in a dreadful battle. That King is now waiting, tired in the midst of his soldiers. He has already heard from me about your beauty and qualities; and now he is expecting to see you. O One Looking askance! Now satisfy your eyes and mind by seeing that King who is like the Cupid. When I described to him before on the banks of the Ganges your beauty and qualifications, he got enamoured of you and now he is suffering from bereavements and wants to see you. Thus, hearing, Ekâvalî determined to go to him and as she was yet unmarried, she became abashed and afraid. She thought how could she see the prince as she was unmarried. It might be that he being passionate would catch her by her arms. Thus, troubled with thought, that daughter of the King, with a sad look, and wearing poor clothes, Ekâvalî went with Yas’ovatî on a palanquin, carried on men’s shoulders. Seeing that large-eyed daughter of the King coming there, the prince said :-- “O Beautiful One! My two eyes are very thirsty to see you. Satisfy my eyes and mind by showing yourself to me.” Seeing the prince passionate and the King’s daughter very much abashed, Yas’ovatî, who knew the rules of modesty, thus spoke to the prince :-- “ O Prince! The father of my dear companion expressed a desire to betroth her to your hands. She is also obedient to you. Therefore your meeting will certainly take place. O King! Wait; take her to her father; and he will perform duly the marriage ceremony and betroth her to your hands. Know this to be quite certain.” The King took her words to be quite just and true and taking those two ladies went with his army to the house of the father of Ekâvalî. Ekâvalî’s father became very glad and cheerful to learn that his daughter was coming and, accompanied by his ministers, went hurriedly to her. After a long time the King saw his daughter in poor clothings and became highly pleased. Yas’ovatî then described in detail all what happened before the King. The King then with his minister brought with great love, courtesy and gentleness Ekavîra to his house and on an auspicious day performed the marriage ceremony of him with Ekâvalî, in accordance with due ceremonies and rites. Then the King gave away many clothings, ornaments, jewels, and articles for fitting a house and many other things and worshipped duly and sent his daughter together with Yas’ovatî away with the King Haihaya. Thus the marriage ceremony was performed and the son of Laksmî gladly returned to his house and began to enjoy many pleasures with his wife. Then, in course of time, in the womb of Ekâvalî the King Haihaya got a son named Kritavîrya. The son of this Kritavîrya is known as Kârtavîrya. O King! Thus I have narrated to you the origin of the Haihaya dynasty.

Here ends the Twenty-third Chapter in the Sixth Book on the battle of Haihaya and Kâlaketu in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 24. On The Description Of Viksepa S’akti

1-5. The King Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! I am not satiated with the drink of the divine sweet nectar-like words coming out of your lotus mouth. You have described to me in detail the wonderful and variegated story of the origin of the Haihaya dynasty; but, O Muni! There has arisen in my mind a curiosity to know something more on this subject. See the Bhagavân Visnu, the Lord of Laksmî, the Deva of the Devas, the Ruler of this whole Universe and the Cause of the Creation, Preservation and Destruction; yet that Best of Purusas S’rî Bhagavân had to assume a horse form. He is undecaying and independent, how then He came to be dependent? Clear this doubt of mine. O Best of Munis! You are omniscient; therefore satisfy my curiosity by describing this wonderful event.”

6-16. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hear what I heard of yore from Nârada how this doubt was removed. The mind-born son of Brahmâ, Maharsi Nârada got powers to go everywhere by virtue of his Tapas, could know everything, was of a calm and quiet nature, dear to all and he was a poet. On one occasion he went out on tour round the world, playing with his lute in time with Svar and Tân. One day he came to my Âs’rama, singing many things concerning Brihat Rathantara Sâma Veda and the sweet nectar-like Gâyatrî, the Giver of Liberation. O King! There was a very sacred place of hermitage, beaming as it were with happiness and self-knowledge, named S’amyâprâsa, on the banks of the river Sarasvatî. There was situated my hermitage. Seeing the lustrous Nârada the son of the Grand Sire Brahmâ, coming, I got up and offered him duly Pâdya (water to wash his feet) and Argha (offerings of worship), etc., and worshipped him. When that Muni of indomitable lustre took his seat on the Âsana, I sat beside him. When I found Nârada, the Giver of Knowledge, at rest and quiet, I duly asked him the very same question that you have asked me just now. O Best of Munis! What happiness is there on the beings taking their birth in this world. I never found it in any place or in any concern, this I can say positively. Still why do the high minded persons do Karma, fascinated by the enchantments of the world. Look! I was born in an island. Just after my birth, my mother forsook me. Helpless, I grew in the forest as my Karma allowed. Next I performed a very severe tapasyâ before Mahâdeva, the Deva of the Devas, on the mountain with a desire to have a son.

17-38. As a fruit of that I got S’uka as my son, the foremost of the Gnostics, and taught him completely the essence of the Vedas from the beginning to the end. O Devarsî! When my son got wisdom from you, he left this world even when I became very distressed on his bereavement and wept aloud and he went away to the next world. Very much afflicted for the parting of my son, I abandoned the great Mountain Meru. I got very lean due to the absence of my dear son whom I loved very much; and becoming very distressed and knowing this whole world to be an illusion, I remembered my mother and went to the Kuru Jângala district, as if bound up and controlled by the snares of Mâyâ. When I heard that the King S’ântanu had married my mother, I built my hermitage on the holy banks of the Sarasvatî and remained there. When the King S’ântanu went to the next world, my chaste mother remained with two sons. At that time Bhîsma looked after their sustenance and maintained them. The intelligent Gangâ’s son Bhîsma Deva installed Chitrângada on the throne. A short while after this, Chitrângada, too, looking like a second Cupid and extremely lovely, went to the jaws of death. The mother Satyavatî was drowned in the sorrows for his son Chitrângada and began to weep for him. O King! Knowing my mother in that sorrowful condition, I went to her. Bhîsma and I then consoled her with hopeful words. Bhîsma Deva was averse to marrying and then becoming a King; and, therefore, he installed again the younger brother, the powerful Vichitravîrya on the throne. O King! Bhîsma defeated by his own prowess the kings and brought the two daughters of the King Kâs’îrâj and handed them over to Satyavatî, so that she might give them over to Vichitravîrya. Then, on an auspicious day, and in an auspicious Lagna (moment) when the marriage ceremony of my brother Vichitravîrya was performed, I became glad. My brother, a good archer, was shortly afterwards attacked with consumption and thus he died without any issue. At this my mother became very sad and dejected. Seeing the husband dead, the two daughters of Kâs’îrâja became ready to preserve their religion of chastity and said to their mother-in-law, sorrowful and weeping :-- We two shall accompany our husbands and become Satî (i.e., be burnt up with our husbands). O Devî! We will go to the Heavens with your son. We, the two sisters united, will enjoy with him in the Nandana Garden. The mother was very much attached to them and with the permission of Bhîsma Deva, very affectionately made them desist from this great attempt. When all the funeral obsequies of Vichitravîrya were over, my mother consulted with Bhîsma and remembered me in Hastinânagara. As soon as she remembered me, immediately I knew her mental feelings and hurriedly came to Hastinânagara and, with my head bowed, fell prostrate before her feet, and with folded hands addressed my mother who was very much inflamed with the fire of sorrow for the death of her son, thus :-- O Mother! Why have you called me here mentally? I see you are very much dejected; I am your servant; order me what I can do for you. O Mother! You are my greatest place of pilgrimage and you are my highest deity; I am very anxious since I have come here; say what you desire.

39-44. Vyâsa said :-- O Best of Munis! When I said thus and waited before her, then she looked at Bhîsma standing close by and said :-- “O Child! Your brother died of consumption; therefore I am very sorrowful, lest the family becomes extinct. O Intelligent One! For the continuance of the line, then, with the permission of the Gangâ’s son, I have called you here today by the Samâdhi Yoga. O son of Parâs’ara! You re-establish the name of S’ântanu that is going now to be well nigh extinct. O Vyâsa Deva! Relieve me soon from this sorrow of mine, lest this line be extinct. There are the two daughters of Kâs’îrâja, honest and good and endowed with youth and beauty. O Highly Intelligent One! Better you cohabit with them and save the family of Bhârata by begetting sons. You will not be touched with any sin.”

45-55. Vyâsa said :-- O Devarsî! Hearing the mother’s words, I became very anxious and humbly told her with great shame :-- “O Mother! To touch another’s wife is a very sinful act; knowing well the path of Dharma, how can I willingly and intentionally violate that? So also, the Maharsis say :-- That the wife of a younger brother is like a daughter. Studying all the Vedas, how can I do this blame-worthy and adulterous act? To preserve a line of family by illegal ways is never to be done; for then the fathers of the sinners can never cross this ocean of world. How can he, who is the spiritual preceptor of all, and the writer of all the Purânas, do this act knowingly which is awfully strange and very bad and nasty in its nature.” My mother was very much plunged into the sea of sorrows for the bereavement of her son; so to preserve the family, She came again to me, weeping and said :-- “O son of Parâs’ara! If you follow my word, you won’t incur any sin. O Child! If the reasonable words of the Gurus be even faulty, one should obey them according to the tradition of the S’istas. Therefore, O Child! Keep my word and preserve my honour; no sin will touch you. O Child! Think very well. Your mother is very sorry and is immersed in the ocean of afflictions; therefore it is your paramount duty to make her happy by begetting child for the continuance of the family.” Hearing my mother speaking to me thus, Bhîsma, the Gangâ’s son, the expert in finding out truth in fine points with regard to Dharma, said to me :-- O Dvaipâyana! You are wholly sinless; you ought not therefore to argue on this point; obey your mother as she says and be happy.

56-61. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing his words and my mother’s request, I decided to do this very hateful act with a fearless heart without any suspicion. When Ambikâ finished her ablutions after menstruation, I gladly cohabited with her in the night; but that young lady seeing my ugly ascetic form, was not attached to me; I then cursed that beautiful woman thus :--

As you closed your eyes at the first cohabitation with me, your son will be born blind. O Muni! On the second day my mother enquired me when I was alone :-- O Dvaipâyana! Will there be born a son of the daughter of Kâs’îrâj? I then bowed my head with shame, and told, “Mother! The son will be born blind, through my curse.” O Muni! The mother then rebuked me harshly, “O Child! Why did you curse that the son of Ambikâ would be born blind?”

Here ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter in the Sixth Book on the description of Viksepa S’akti in the discourse between Vyâsa and Nârada in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 25. On The Cause Of Moha Of Vyâsa Deva Asked Before Nârada

1-10. Vyâsa said :-- OKing! The mother became astonished to hear me. Becoming very anxious for a son, she began to speak to me. O Child! The wife of your brother, the daughter Ambâlikâ of Kâs’îrâj, is a widow; she is very sorrowful; she is endowed with all auspicious signs and endowed with all good qualities; better cohabit with that beautiful young wife and get a child according to the tradition of the S’istas. Persons born blind are not entitled to kingdoms. Therefore take my word and procreate a beautiful son and thus keep my honour. O Muni! Hearing the mother’s words, I began to wait in Hastinâpura till Ambâlikâ, the daughter of Kâs’îrâj, finished her ablutions after menstruation. That King’s daughter, of curling hairs, came to me alone at her mother-in-law’s order, and became very much abashed. Seeing me an ascetic with matted hairs on my head and void of every love sentiment, perspiration came on her face; her body turned pale and her mind void of any love towards me. When I saw that lady trembling and pale beside me, I angrily spoke :-- “O One of beautiful waist! When you have turned out pale, considering your own beauty, let your son be of a pale colour.” Thus saying I spent there that night with Ambâlikâ. After enjoying her I took farewell from my mother and went to my place.

11-21. In due course, the two daughters of the King gave birth to two sons respectively, one blind and the other pale. The son of Ambikâ was named Dhritarâstra; and the son of Ambâlikâ was named Pându, as his colour was pându (pale). Mother became absent-minded when she saw the two sons in those states. After one year she again called me and said :-- “O Dvaipâyana! These two persons are not so fit to become kings; therefore beget one more son beautiful and according to my liking.” When I consented, she became very glad and, in due course, asked Ambikâ to embrace me and give birth to a son, endowed with extraordinary qualities, and fit to preserve the line worthy of the Kuru dynasty. The bride did not then say anything on account of her bashfulness. But when I went in the night time according to my mother’s order, to the sleeping room, Ambikâ sent to me a maid-servant of Vichitravîrya, full of youth and beauty, and adorned with various ornaments and clothings. That maid-servant of beautiful hairs and of a swan-like gait adorned with garlands and red sandal-paste, came to me with many enchanting gestures and making me take my seat on the cot, became herself merged in love sentiments. O Muni! I became pleased with her gestures and amorous sports and passed the night, full of love towards her and played and cohabited with her. At last I gladly gave her the boon, “O Fortunate One! Your child, begotten by me, will be endowed with all good qualities, will be of good form, will be conversant with all the essences of Dharma, calm and quiet and truthful.”

22-34. In due course, a child named Vidura was born to her. Thus I had three sons; and in my mind grew up Mâyâ and affection that these were my sons. When I saw again those three sons, heroic and full of manliness, the only cause of my sorrow due to the bereavement of my son S’uka vanished away from my mind. O Lord of Dvîjas! Mâyâ is very powerful and extremely hard to be abandoned by those who are not masters of their senses; She enchants even the wise, though She does not possess any form nor any substratum nor any support. I could not find any peace, even in the forest, as my mind was attached to my mother and children. O Muni! My mind then began to oscillate like a pendulum and I remained sometime in Hastinâpura and sometime on the banks of the Sarasvatî. I could not stay in a certain fixed place. By discrimination, the knowledge sometimes flashed in my mind :-- Whose sons are these? The attachment is nothing but merely a delusion. On my death they would not be entitled to perform my S’râddha ceremony. These sons are begotten by ways and manners not sanctioned by Dharma; what happiness can they bring to me? O Muni! The powerful Mâyâ has caused this delusion in me. What! Knowing this Samsâra to be unreal, Alas! I have fallen into this well of the Darkness of delusion. Thus I repented when I thought over the matter deeply and when I was alone in a solitary place. When, subsequently, through the mediation of Bhîsma, the powerful Pându got the kingdom, I became pleased to see the prosperity of my son. O Muni! This is also the creation of Mâyâ. The daughter of the King S’ûrasena, named Kuntî, and the daughter of the King of Madra, named Mâdrî became the two beautiful wives of Pându. Pându was cursed by a Brâhmana that he would die if he cohabited with any woman; he therefore became dispassionate and quitting his kingdom, went to the forest with his two wives. Hearing Pându gone to the forest I felt pain and went to my son who was staying with his wives and consoling him, came to Hastinâpura, where I held a conversation with Dhritarâstra and then came back to the banks of the river Sarasvatî.

35-50. Pându in his forest life, got five sons out of his wives by the Devas Dharma, Vâyu, Indra, and the twin As’vins. Dharma, Vâyu, and Indra begat respectively of Kuntî the three sons Yudhisthira, Bhîmasena and Arjuna; and the two As’vins begat of Mâdrî the two sons Nakulu and Sahadeva. Once Mâdrî, full of youth and beauty, was staying alone in a solitary place and Pându seeing her embraced her and due to the curse, died. When the funeral pyre was ablaze, the chaste Mâdrî entered into the fire and died a Satî. Kuntî was prevented from doing so, as she was to nurse and look after her young children. The Munis then took the sorrowful Kuntî, the daughter of S’ûrasena, bereft of her husband to Hastinâpur and handed her over to the high-souled Bhîsma and Vidura. When I came to hear this, my mind was greatly agitated to see the pain and pleasure that other people suffered. Bhîsma, Vidura, and Dhritarâstra began to nourish and support Yudhisthira and others as they considered them the sons of their dearest Pându. The cruel and wicked sons of Dhritarâstra, Duryodhana and others united with each other and began to quarrel horribly with the sons of Pându. Dronâchârya came there accidentally and Bhîsma treated him with great respect and requested him to stay in Hastinâpura and educate the sons of Kuru. Karna was the the son of Kuntî, when she was young and unmarried; and he was quitted by her no sooner he was born. The charioteer Sûta (or carpenter) Adhiratha found him in a river and nourished him. Karna was the foremost of the heroes and therefore the great favourite of Duryodhana. The enmity between Bhîma and Duryodhana, etc., began to grow greater day by day. Dhritarâstra, thinking the difficult situation of his children, fixed the residence of the sons of Pându at the Vâranâvata city so that the quarrels might die away. Out of enmity, Duryodhana ordered his dear friend Purochana to build there a house of lac for the Pândavas. O Muni! When I heard that Kuntî and her five sons were burnt in the lac-house, I became merged in the ocean of sorrows and thought that they were my grandsons. I was overwhelmed with sorrow and began to search after them in deep forests day and night till at last I found them in Ekachakrâ city, lean and thin and very much distressed with sorrow.

51-63. I became very glad to see them and sent them soon to the city of the King Drupada. Wearing the deer’s skin, they went there dejected with sorrow in the Brâhmin’s dress and stayed in the royal court. The victorious Arjuna shewed prowess and pierced the mark (the eye of the fish) and obtained Krisnâ, the daughter of the King Drupada. By the order of the mother Kuntî, the five brothers married her. O Muni! I became very glad to see that they were all married. The Pândavas , then, accompanied by Pânchâlî, soon went to Hastinâpura. Dhritarâstra then fixed Khândavaprastha as the residence of the Pândavas. Visnu, the son of Vâsudeva, then performed the Yajñâ with the victorious Arjuna and satisfied the Great Fire. The Pândavas next performed the Râjasûya sacrifice and that made me very glad. Seeing the affluence and prosperity of the Pândavas and the great assembly hall beautiful and exquisitely artistic, Duryodhana was burnt up, as it were, with malice and made arrangements for play in dice, very injurious in its consequences. S’akuni was expert in playing deceitfully and Yudhisthira the son of Dharma, was not expert in this play. So Duryodhana made S’akuni play for him and stole away all that Yudhisthira had and insulted, at last, in the royal assembly, the daughter of Drupada, Yajñâsenî and gave her much trouble. The Pândavas then went with Pânchâlî in an exile in the forest for twelve years. And I was very much grieved to hear this O Muni! Though I know all about the Sanâtan Dharma, yet I was deluded and merged in these worlds of pains and pleasures. Who am I? To whom do these sons belong? My mind roams day and night on the thought of all these. O Muni! What shall I do? And whither shall I go? I don’t find happiness anywhere; my mind is, as it were, floating in a rocking machine and it is never being fixed. O Best of Munis! You are all-knowing; solve my doubts so that my mental fever may be quietened and I may be happy.

Here ends the Twenty-fifth Chapter on the cause of Moha of Vyâsa Deva asked before Nârada in S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 26. On The Description By Nârada Of His Own Moha

1-13. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When I asked him why this delusion overtook me, Maharsi Nârada smiled and said :-- “O son of Parâs’ara! You are thoroughly acquainted with all the Purânas. Why then are you making this question about the cause of my Moha (delusion). No embodied soul can exist in this Samsâra without this Moha. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, and the other Devas, S’anaka, Kapila and the other Risis, all these are surrounded by Mâyâ and are thus travelling in this path of Samsâra. The people know me as a Jñânin; but I, too, am deluded like an ordinary man. I am now speaking to you as certain as anything my of previous history now. I was deluded by Mâyâ; hear it attentively. O Son of Vâsavî! Great troubles and pains were felt by me before, due to this Moha, for my wife. One day Parvata and I, the two Devarsis, went out together from the Devaloka to see the excellent portion of the earth named Bhârata and came to the Martyaloka or the land of the mortals. We then began to travel over various places and saw the places of pilgrimages and the holy places and the beautiful hermitages of the Munis. Before we went out from the Devaloka, we consulted with each other and entered into this agreement that we would not hide our feelings from each other, whether they be good or bad, while we would travel over the face of the earth. Whether it be our desire to get food, or wealth or women for enjoyment, whatever arises in the mind of any of us, we would express that freely amongst ourselves. Thus making an agreement, we went out in right earnest as Munis to travel over the face of this earth. Thus roaming all over the face of the earth, at the end of the summer season, when the rainy season commenced we came to the beautiful city of the King named S’anjaya. The King showed us great respect and worshipped us with devotion. Since then we remained for four months at his house.

14-33. During the four months of the rainy season, the roads are always almost impassable; it is, therefore, wise to stay at one place. For eight months, the Dvîjas should always remain abroad on some work or other. Thinking all these, we two began to stay in the house of the King S’anjaya. That liberal minded King gladly and with respect kept us as his guests and tendered to us all our requirements. The King had a very beautiful daughter named Damayantî, with good teeth. The King ordered her to take care of us. That large-eyed princess, of great discrimination, was very energetic, day and night. She began to serve both of us. In due time she gave us water for our bath, excellent meat, food, towels for cleaning and rubbing our faces, in fact, everything what we desired. She kept ready for us whatever we desired, fans, seats, beds, whatever were necessary for us. Thus she began to serve. We were also engaged in the study of our Vedas and in those practises that were approved by the Vedas. O Dvaipâyana! I used to sing, then, with lute in my hands, the sweet lovely Sâma Gâyatrî songs in tunes and good Svaras. The princess herself appreciated the songs and when she heard these Sâma songs ravishing to one’s mind, she became attached to me and showed signs of affection. Day by day the attachment towards me grew stronger. Seeing her attached to me, my mind also became attached to her. Thus that princess indulged in amorous sentiments towards me and began to make slight distinctions between the food and other things offered to me and Parvata. I got warm water for my bath and Parvata used to get cold water; I got nice curds when food was served to me whereas Parvata got only whey. I got nice white bedding for myself to sleep on whereas Parvata had merely a dirty sheet to lie down. Thus the princess began to serve me with great love and devotion but not so she served Parvata. The fair lady began to look at me with eyes of love; not so towards Parvata. Parvata was very much surprised to see all this and thought within himself, “What is this?” Parvata, then, asked me in private :-- “O Nârada! Speak out to me truly in detail. The princess shews with much gladness and affection her deep love towards you; she serves you with dainty dishes but she behaves not so with me. I therefore suspect when I see all these distinctions made between you and me, that the daughter of the King S’anjaya wants with her heart and soul to make you her husband. And you also want to make her your wife. 1 have come to know this by signs and symptoms; for affection and love reigning inside can be made out by outward expressions of eyes and face. Whatever this be, O Muni! Now speak truly to me; do never tell a lie. When we went out from the Heavens, we made out that agreement; now remember that.”

34-42. Nârada said :-- Thus questioned suddenly by Parvata, I became very much abashed and said :-- “O Parvata! This large-eyes princess is ready to marry me and I am also very much attracted towards her.” When Parvata heard all these, he became very much angry and uttered repeatedly, “Fie! O Nârada! Fie! O Nârada! First you swore on oath and then you deceived me afterwards. Therefore, O Deceiver of friends! I curse you and let your face become that of a monkey.” When the high-souled Parvata cursed thus, the face turned immediately into that of a monkey, elongated and distorted. I did not excuse him, though he was my sister’s son. I also got angry and cursed him, “Certainly, your journey to the Heavens will be stopped. You will not be able to go to Heaven. O Parvata! When you cursed me so heavily for so trivial a fault of mine, I see you are very mean. Whatever it be, you will have to remain on earth so long.” At this Parvata became very sad and went out of the city. My face became immediately like that of a monkey. The daughter of the King became very sorry to see my face thus distorted into that of a monkey. I did not see her glad as she was before; but her desire to hear my playing with my lute remained the same as before.

43-52. Vyâsa said :-- O Muni! What happened next? How did you get yourself rid of your curse and how did you get your man-like face? Whither did Parvata Risi go! When and how did you again re-unite with each other? Kindly describe all these to me in detail. Nârada said :-- “O Highly Intelligent One! What shall I say about the nature of Mâyâ? When Parvata went away angrily, the daughter of the King began to serve me with greater care than before. I remained there, though Parvata went away, and seeing my face monkey-like, I became very dejected and sorry and was specially troubled with the care and anxiety what would happen to me hereafter? The King S’anjaya saw that his daughter Damayantî was slipping into her youth and asked the prime minister about her marriage. He said :-- “The time of marriage of my dear daughter has now come; I will now marry her in accordance with due rites and ceremonies. Now tell me particularly about a prince worthy of her, as we like, in beauty, qualifications, largeheartedness, calmness, patience and heroism and who is of a good family.” The minister said :-- “O King! There are many princes on the face of this earth, worthy in all respects, of your daughter. Whomever you like, you can call on him and give him your daughter with elephants, horses, chariots, wealth, gems and jewels.”

53-57. Damayantî, knowing the intention of his father informed the King of her own desire by her nurse and attendant. The nurse went to the King and said :-- “When my father will sit at his ease and comfort you would go and speak to him in private that I am enchanted with the enchanting Nâda sound of the great lute played by the Maharsi Nârada and have selected him as my bridegroom. No other person will be dear to me. O Father! Marry me with Nârada and thus fulfil my desire; O Knower of Dharma! I won’t marry anybody but Nârada. O Father! I am now merged in the Nâda-ocean (sound ocean) of bliss, sweet and joyful, void of anything destructive of happiness, void of Nakra, alligators, and fishes, Timingala, etc. (injurious animals) and without any salty taste; my mind won’t be satisfied with any other thing.”

Here ends the Twenty sixth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the description by Nârada of his own Moha in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa

Chapter 27. On The Marriage Of Nârada And His Face Getting Transformed Into That Of A Monkey

1-13. Nârada said :-- On hearing these words of her daughter from her nurse, the King addressed the queen Kaikeyî, of lovely eyes, standing close by, thus :-- “Have you heard what the nurse has said? Damayantî has mentally chosen the monkey-faced Nârada as her husband. What has she thought? Whatever it be, it is no doubt, an act of great foolishness. His face is monkey-like; how can I betroth my daughter to him? Where is an ugly beggar Nârada? And where is my daughter Damayantî? The marriage between them is quite unjust; never it should take place. O Beautiful One of good hairs! Better call her before you in private and show her reasons approved of the S’âstras and of the aged persons and make her desist from such a rash course.” On hearing her husband’s words, the mother of Damayantî called her in private and said :-- “O Child! Where is your this beautiful face? And where is the monkey-like face of Nârada? You are smart and quick; how have you been, then, deluded by such a Moha? O Child! You are the daughter of a king! Your body is gentle like a creeper. And Nârada always besmears his body with ashes; so his body is very rough. O Spotless One! How will you change your words with him? Why do you shew your attachment to an ugly person? What pleasure do you feel thereby? You would be married to a beautiful prince; never follow this rash course; your father is very sorry to hear these from your nurse. O One of soft body! Judge this yourself, what intelligent man is there that is not sorry at the soft Mâlatî creeper entwining a thorny tree? Even a stupid silly man would never feed a camel, that likes thorns, with soft betel-leaves. When your marriage time arrives, say yourself, who will not be sorry to see you going to Nârada and embracing him by his arms! Nobody likes to speak with an ugly faced one; how will you be able to spend your time with him till your death!”

14-29. Nârada said :-- On hearing the mother’s words, the gentle Damayantî, with her mind intently fixed on me, spoke to her mother, very much depressed in her spirits. “O Mother! What good face and beautiful form will avail, who is not in the path of love and who is quite ignorant of amorous feelings and sentiments! And what will the wealth and kingdoms of that unskilled illiterate person avail! The deer, that roam in the forest, getting enchanted by the Nâda (sound) Rasa, give up their lives even to the singers. So they are fortunate. But fie to the persons who are illiterate and void of feelings of love! O Mother! Nârada Risi is well conversant with the science of music with seven Svaras. No other man save Mahâ Deva knows this. Living with an illiterate person is courting death at every moment. One devoid of qualifications should be always avoided, by all means, though he be wealthy and of a beautiful form. Fie on the friendship with kings that are illiterate and puffed up with vain arrogance! A well-qualified man, be he even a beggar, is far better to be cultivated friendship with. Leaving other circumstances out of account, even to change words with such a well qualified man, makes one highly delighted. The man is very rare in this world, though he be weak, if he be well versed in the science of music and if he knows Svara, Grâma, Murchchanâ and be skilled in eight sentiments of love. [Note :-- Svara - Sadaja, Risabha, Gândhâra, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nisâda. Grâma - the gradual increase and decrease in Svaras. Murchchana - the rising of sounds, an intonation; a duly regulated rise and fall of sound conducting the air and the harmony through the keys in a pleasing manner; changing the key or passing from one key to another; modulation; melody]. The man versed in the knowledge of Svara leads one to the Heaven of Kailâs’a as the rivers Ganges and Sarasvatî by their own merits lead one to Kailâs’a. There is not the least doubt in this. He is a Deva in his human body who knows the Svara measure; and he who does not know the Svara and its seven grades is a beast though he has a human form - he who finds no delight when he hears the tune regulated by Murchchanâ and the seven Svaras. Do not consider the deer as beasts for they get enchanted when they hear the musical notes. The venomous snakes, though they have no ears, get delighted to hear the enchanting Svara Nâda by their eyes. They even are to be praised; but fie on those human beings who have ears but who do not find any delight when they hear the Nâda! The little children feel intense pleasure to hear the music, but fie, fie on those elders who are void of this musical sentiments! Does not my father know that Nârada is ornamented with many qualifications? Who is there in the three worlds like him in singing the Sâma songs! For this very reason, indeed! I have already selected him as my husband; afterwards, due to a curse, the Muni, the ocean of qualifications, got his face changed into that of a monkey. The Kinnaras, skilled in the science of music, have their faces horse-like; but are they not dear to all? What business have they to get good faces? They enchant the Devas even by their sweet ravishing songs. O Mother! Kindly tell my father that I have already chosen Nârada as my husband. Therefore let him deliver me to his hands, without making any further requests in this matter.”

30-40. Nârada said :-- On hearing the words of her daughter Damayantî, that unblameable pure queen knowing her attachment deep towards me, spoke to the King thus :-- “O King! Now celebrate in an auspicious day and on an auspicious moment the auspicious marriage of Damayantî; the daughter has said that she has already selected Nârada as her bridegroom and it cannot be other-wise.” Thus prompted by the queen, the King S’anjaya performed the marriage ceremony of her daughter in accordance with due rites and customs and in an exceedingly becoming manner. O Risi! Thus I entered into the married life and remained there though my heart constantly burned with the thought of my monkey-face. Whenever the princess used to come to me for my service, I used to get tormented with the remembrance of my monkey-face; but her face beamed with gladness whenever she saw me; never she became sorry nor dejected, even for a moment, to see my face monkey-like. Thus time passed on. One day the Muni Parvata suddenly came there, after making his sojourn to many places of pilgrimages. I showed him a great respect and gladly loved him and greeted him duly; he got himself seated in an excellent Âsana and became very sorry to see me. I am his uncle and have entered into a married life; my face has become monkey-like. Therefore I am very much depressed in spirits and worried with the sad thought and has become lean and thin. Seeing this he was overwhelmed with pity. He then said :-- “O Muni! The curse that I cast on you before out of my anger, I now withdraw. Hear. O Maharsi! Let your face be by my merits, again as good as it was before; I now feel pity for the daughter of the King.”

41-52. Hearing thus, my heart also became gentle and instantly with a view to free him of my curse, I said :-- “Let your journey to the Heavens be re-established. I now make this special favour on you as regards my curse on you before.” O Dvaipâyana! At his word, before our sight, my face became exceedingly handsome as it was before. The princess Damayantî became very glad and instantly she went to the mother and said :-- “O Mother! At the word of Parvata, the great Muni, the curse of your son-in-law has been removed and his face has become handsome as before and the lustre of his body has also increased.” The queen was very much filled with ecstasy and joy at Damayantî’s words and went hurriedly and informed the King. The King S’anjaya gladly went at once to see the Muni. The great King became very glad and gave lots of wealth, gems and jewels to me and my nephew Parvata as a dowry. O Dvaipâyana! Thus I have described to you my old story how I felt the strong influence of Mâyâ. O Fortunate One! Owing to the illusory nature of the Gunas, like a magic, no embodied being in this world could have been happy before, or he is happy now or he will be happy hereafter. Lust, anger, greed, jealousy, attachment, egoism, and vanity, each one of these is very powerful; nobody is able to conquer these. O Muni! The three Gunas Sâttva, Râjas and Tâmas are the entire causes of the coming into this bodily existence of every being. O Dvaipâyana! Once I was passing with Bhagavân Visnu, laughing and joking, making merriments through a forest, when suddenly I was transformed into a woman. Next I became the wife of a king enchanted by Mâyâ, I remained in his house and gave birth to many children.

53-56. Vyâsa said :-- O Devarsi! A great doubt has now arisen in my mind at your word. O Muni! You are very wise; how then did you get womanhood; how again did you regain your manhood? Who was the king at whose house you stayed and how did you give birth to children; describe fully and satisfy my curiosity. Describe to me, now, the nature of Mâyâ, extremely wonderful, by which this entire universe, moving and non-moving, all are enchanted. O Muni! Though I have heard your nectar-like words, capable to remove all the doubts, embodying the essence of all the S’âstras, yet I am not fully satiated.

Here ends the Twenty-seventh Chapter of the Sixth Book on the marriage of Nârada and his face getting transformed into that of a monkey in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 28. On Nârada’s Getting The Feminine Form

1-11. Nârada said :-- O Thou whose only wealth consists in asceticism! I am now describing to you all those good stories; hear attentively. O Muni! This Mâyâ and Her Power are incomprehensible even by those who are the foremost amongst the Yogins. This whole Universe, moving and non-moving, from Brahmâ to the blade of grass, is enchanted by that Unborn and Incomprehensible Mâyâ; therefore no one can escape from the hands of that Mâyâ. One day I wanted to see Hari, of wonderful deeds, and went out with lute in my hand from Satyaloka, to the lovely S’veta Dvîpa (the residence of Visnu) singing the beautiful Sâma hymns in tune with the seven Svaras. I saw there Gadâdhara, the Deva of the Devas, with four arms holding disc in one of his hands. He resembled a newly-formed rain-cloud of S’yâma colour. He was illumined with the lustre of the Kaustubha jewel in his breast. He was wearing an yellow apparel. His head was beautified with a lustrous crown. Thus the Bhagavân Nârâyana was playing in amorous movements with the daughter of the ocean, fully capable to give one delight and enjoyment. Seeing me, the lovely Devî Kamalâ, dear to Vâsudeva, full of youth and beauty, decorated with ornaments, endowed with all auspicious signs, superior to all the women, went away at once (to another room) from the presence of Janârdana. The breast of Laksmî Devî was becoming visible even through the cloth thrown over it; therefore she went hurriedly to the inner compartment. Seeing this I asked Janârdana, the Deva of the Devas, the Lord of the worlds, and holding a garland of forest grown flowers thus :-- “O Bhagavân! O Slayer of Mura! O Padmanâbha! Why has Kamalâ Devî, the Mother of all the Lokas, on seeing me coming here, gone out of Your presence. O Lord of the worlds! I am not a rogue nor a cheat; I have conquered my passions and am become an ascetic; I have conquered even Mâyâ. Therefore O Deva! What is the cause of the departure of the Kamalâ Devî from here? Kindly explain this to me.”

12-20. Nârada said :-- O Dvaipâyana! Hearing my words, expressive of my pride, Janârdana smiled and spoke to me in words sweet like the sound of a lute :-- “O Nârada! The rule in such cases is this :-- The wife of any man whatsoever ought not to stay before any other male outsider than her husband. O Nârada! It is very hard to conquer Mâyâ; even those, who by Prânâyâma have conquered their Prâna Vâyu, their organs of senses and their food, even those Sâmkhya Yogins and the Devas are not able to conquer Mâyâ. The words that you have just now uttered that you have conquered Mâyâ are not fit to come out of your mouth; for by your knowledge of music, it seems that you are enchanted with the sounds of the music. Brahmâ, I, S’iva, and the other Munis, none of us has been able as yet to conquer that Unborn Mâyâ; how, then, can it be possible that you or any other man can conquer that Mâyâ! Any embodied being, be he a Deva, a human being, or a bird, no one is able to conquer that Mâyâ Unborn. Whoever is endowed with the three Gunas, be he a knower of the Vedas, or a Yogin, or conqueror of his passions, or all knowing, is not able to conquer Mâyâ. The Great Time (Kâla) though formless, is one form of Mâyâ and fashions this universe. All the Jîvas are subservient to this Kâla, be he a good literary person, or of a mediocre nature, or an illiterate brute. This Kâla sometimes makes even a religious man that knows Dharma confounded and deluded; so you know the nature of Mâyâ is very incomprehensible and Her ways mysterious.” (Note: This Kâla is of the fourth dimension, time and space.)

21-23. O Dvaipâyana! Thus saying, Visnu stopped. I was greatly astonished and asked that Eternal Vâsudeva, the Deva of the Devas, the Lord of the World, “O Lord of Ramâ! What is the form of Mâyâ? How is She? What is the measure of Her strength? Where She resides? Whose substratum is She? Kindly tell these to me. O Preserver of the Universe! I am greatly desirous to see Mâyâ; Shew Her to me quickly. O Lord of Ramâ! I am very eager to know Mâyâ. Be graciously pleased to describe tome the glory of Mâyâ.”

24-36. Visnu said :-- Mâyâ resides everywhere throughout this whole Universe; Her nature consists of the three Gunas; She is the substratum of all; She is omniscient, and acknowledged by all; invisible, and of diverse forms. O Nârada! If you want to see Mâyâ, then come quickly and mount with me on Garuda; we both will go elsewhere and I will shew you that Mâyâ, invincible by those who have not conquered themselves. O Son of Brahmâ! Don’t be depressed when you see Mâyâ. Thus saying, Janârdana Hari remembered Garuda and instantly he came to Hari. Janârdana mounted on him and gladly made me also get up on his back and took me with Him. In a moment Garuda, went, at his command, with the speed of wind to the forest where the Bhagavân desired to go. Mounting on Garuda we passed and saw on our way beautiful forests, nice lakes, rivers, towns, villages, huts of cultivators, towns close to the mountains, huts for cow-keepers in cowsheds, the beautiful hermitages of the Munis, lovely Jhils, tanks and lakes beautified with big lotuses, flocks of ewes, packs of wild boars, etc., till, at last, we came to a place close to Kanauj. I saw there a beautiful divine tank; nice lotuses blossomed there, spreading their sweet fragrance all around; the bees were making lovely humming noise and ravishing away the minds of men; various flowers, lilies, etc., were beautifying the place; Geese, Kârandavas, and Chakravâkas and other acquatic fowls were playing with their cackling noise, the water was very sweet like milk; the tank was defying, as it were the ocean. Seeing such a wonderful tank, the Bhagavân told me :-- “O Nârada! See, how beautiful is this deep tank with its clear waters, and adorned all over with lotuses! The sweet voiced flamingoes are roaming on the lake making lovely sounds!

37-54. We will bathe in this tank and then go to the city Kanauj. Thus saying, He made me descend quickly from Garuda and He himself also got down. Then the Bhagavân smilingly caught hold of my fore-finger and repeatedly praising the glory of the tank took me to its bank. We rested a while on the cool umbrageous beautiful bank when S’rî Bhagavân said :-- “O Muni! Better bathe you first in this tank; next I will bathe in this very holy pool of water. O Nârada! Look! Look! How clear crystal-like is the water of this pool like the heart of a saint; see how it smells also fragrantly in contact with the lotuses on it.” When the Bhagavân spoke thus to me; I kept my lute and deer skin aside and gladly went to the edge of the tank. Washing then my hands and feet I tied my hair lock and, taking Kus’a grass, I performed my Âchaman and, purifying myself, began to bathe myself in that tank. While I was bathing, Hari was looking at me; by the time I took a dip, I saw that I quitted my male form and got a beautiful female form. Hari took away, then, my deer skin and lute and mounting on Garuda went away in a moment to His own residence. Getting the female form and decorated with excellent ornaments, my memory of my previous male form vanished at once; I forgot all about my famous lute and forgot also Jagannâtha, the Deva of the Devas. I then came out of the tank in that enchanting woman form, saw the pool of water filled with clear limpid water and adorned with lotuses. Seeing that, I began to think :-- “What is this?” and I became very much astonished. While I was thus meditating in my woman form, a king, named Tâladhvaja, came there, all on a sudden, on a chariot, accompanied by numerous elephants and horses. The King looked like a second Cupid; he was decorated with various ornaments on his various limbs; he was just entering into his youth and he looked very enchanting. The King saw me at once and looking at me decked with divine ornaments and my moon-like face, was greatly astonished and asked me :-- “O Kalyâni! Who are you? Are you the daughter of a man or of a Nâga (serpent) or of a Gandharva or of a Deva? I see you are now in your youth; why are you alone here? O Lovely-eyed!

Has any fortunate person married you? Or are you still unmarried? Speak all these truly to me. O Fair-haired One! What are you looking at in this tank? O One enchanting, as it were, like the Cupid! What is your desire? Say, O Slanting-eyed! My mind is ravished to hear your cuckoo-like voice. O One of thin waist! Choose me as your husband and enjoy various excellent things as you like.”

Here ends the Twenty-eighth Chapter of the Sixth Book on Nârada’s getting the feminine form in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 29. On The Nârada’s Getting Again His Male Form

1-11. Nârada said :-- O Dvaipâyana! When the King Tâladhvaja asked me thus, I thought over earnestly and said thus :-- “I do not know whose daughter I am; nor do I know quite certainly where are my father and mother; one man placed me here on this tank and has gone away, whither I do not know. O King! I am now an helpless orphan; what shall I do now? Where to go? What to do by which I can have my welfare? I am all the while thinking on these. O King! The Destiny is powerful; I have not the least control over it; you know Dharma and you are a King. Do now as you like. O King! Do nourish me; I have no father, no mother, nor any acquaintances and friends; there is no place for me also to stand on; therefore I am now your dependent.” When I spoke thus, the King looked at my face and became love-stricken for me; he then told his attendants to bring an excellent rectangular and spacious palanquin to be carried on four men’s shoulders, gilt and adorned with jewels and pearls, where soft sheets were spread inside and covered all over with silken cloths. Instantly the servants went away and brought for me a beautiful palanquin. I got on it to serve the best wishes of the King. The King also gladly took me home. In an auspicious day and in an auspicious moment he married me in accordance with due rites and ceremonies in the presence of the Holy Fire.

12. I became dearer to him than even his own life and the King, with great fondness, kept my name as Saubhâgya Sundarî.

13-20. The King then began to sport with me amorously according to the rules of the Kâma S’âstra in various ways and with great enjoyments and pleasures. He then left all his kingly duties and state affairs and he began to remain day and night with me deeply immersed in amorous sports; so much his mind was merged in me in these plays that he could not notice the long time that passed away in the interval. He used to drink the Vârunî wine and, forsaking all the state affairs, began to enjoy me in nice gardens, beautiful lakes, lovely palaces, beautified houses, excellent mountains and enviable forests and became completely subservient to me. O Dvaipâyana! Being incessantly engaged with the King in amorous sports and remaining obedient to him, my previous body, male ideas, or the birth of Muni, nothing whatsoever came in my memory. I remained always attached to him, being obedient to him with a view to be happy and I constantly thought over “that this King is very much attached to me, I am his dearest wife to all others; always he thinks of me, I am his chief consort, capable to give him enjoyment.” My mind became entirely his and I completely forgot the eternal Brahmajñân and the knowledge of the Dharma S’âstras.

21-31. O Muni! Thus engaged in various amorous sports, twelve years passed away as if a moment and I could not perceive that. Then I became pregnant; and the King became very glad and performed all the ceremonies pertaining to my impregnation and holding of the child in my womb. In order to satisfy me, the King used to ask me always what things I liked; I used to be very much abashed; seeing this, the King used to be still more glad. Ten months thus passed away and in an auspicious Lagna and when the asterism was favourably strong, I gave birth to a son; the King became very glad and great festivities were held on the birth ceremony of the child. O Dvaipâyana! When the period of the birth-impurity was over, the King saw the face of the child and was greatly delighted; I then became the dearest wife of the King. Two years after again I became impregnated; the second auspicious son was born. The King gave the name Sudhanvâ to the second son and on the authority of the Brâhmins, kept the name of the eldest son as Vîravarmâ. Thus I gave birth to twelve sons, in due course of time, to the King’s great liking; and I was engaged in rearing up those children and thus I remained enchanted. Again in due course, I gave birth to eight sons; thus my household was filled with happiness. The King performed the marriage ceremonies of all those children duly and befittingly; and our family became very large with sons and their wives.

32-52. Then I had some grandsons and they increased my attachment and the consequent delusion with their all sorts of playful sports. Sometimes I felt happy and prosperous and sometimes I felt pain and sorrow when my sons fell ill. Then my body and mind became very much troubled with sorrows. Again the quarrels amongst my sons and my daughters-in- law, brought terrible pain and remorse in my mind. O Best of Munis! Thus I was greatly immersed in the terrible ocean of these imaginary thoughts, sometimes happy and sometimes painful, and I forgot my previous knowledge and the knowledge of the S’âstras. I was merged in the thought of myself being a woman and lost myself entirely in doing the household affairs. I began to think “that I have so many daughters-in-law; so many powerful sons of mine are playing together in my house; Oh! I am fortunate and full of merits amongst women” and thus my egoistic pride increased. Not for a moment even occurred the thought that I had been Nârada; the Bhagavân had deceived me by His Mâyâ. O Krisna Dvaipâyana! I was deluded by Mâyâ and passed away my time in the thought “that I am the king’s wife, chaste and of good conduct following good Âchâra; I have so many sons and grandsons; I am blessed in this Samsâra and that I am so happy and prosperous.” One powerful king of a distant country turned out an inveterate enemy of my husband and came to the city of Kanauj to fight with my husband, accompanied by chariots, and elephants and the fourfold army. That enemy besieged the city with his army; my sons and grandsons went out and fought valiantly with him but owing to the great Destiny, the enemies killed all my sons. The King retreated and returned to his palace. Next I heard that powerful King killed all my sons and grandsons and had gone back to his country with his army. I then hurriedly went to the battlefield, crying loudly. O Long-lived One! Seeing my sons and grandsons lying on the ground, in that horrible and distressed state, I became merged in the ocean of sorrows and lamented and wept loudly and wildly, “O my Sons! Where have you gone leaving me thus? Alas! The pernicious Fate is very dominant, and very painsgiving and indomitable. It has killed me today.” By this time, the Bhagavân Madhusûdana came to me there in the garb of a beautiful aged Brâhmin. His dress was sacred and lovely; it seemed he was versed in the Vedas. Seeing me weeping distressedly in the battlefield he said :-- “O Devî! O cuckoo-voiced One! It seems you are the mistress of a prosperous house and you have got husband and sons! O thin-bodied One! Why are you thus lamenting and feeling yourself distressed! All this is simply illusion caused by Moha; think; who are you? whose sons are these? Now think of your best hereafter; Don’t weep, get up and be comfortable, O Good-eyed one!

53-54. O Devî! To shew respect to your sons, etc., gone to the other worlds, offer them water and Til. The friends of the deceased ought to take their bath in a place of pilgrimage; never they should bathe in their houses. Know this as ordained by Dharma.

55-66. Nârada said :-- O Dvaipâyan! When the old Brâhmin thus addressed me, I and the King and other friends got up. The Bhagavân Madhusûdana causing this creation, in the form of a Brâhmana, led the way and I followed him quickly to that sacred place of pilgrimage. The Visnu Bhagavân, the Lord Janârdana Hari, in the form of a Brâhmin, kindly took me to the tank named Pumtîrtha (male tîrtha) and said :-- “O One going like an elephant! Better take your bath in this tank; forego your sorrows that are of no use; now the time has arrived to offer water to your sons. Better think that you had millions of sons born to you in your previous births and for that your millions of sons and daughters lost their lives; you had millions of fathers, husbands, and brothers and you lost them again; O Devî! Now tell me for whom you will now grieve? All these, then, are merely mental phenomena; this world is full of delusion, false like a mirage and dream-like; the embodied souls, simply get pains and sorrows and nothing else.” Nârada said :-- On hearing his words, I went to bathe in that Pumtîrtha, as ordered by him. Taking a dip, I found that, in an instant, I became a man; the Bhagavân Hari, in his own proper form, was standing on the edge with a lute in his hand. O Brâhmin! When getting out of the water, I came to the bank and saw the lotus-eyed Krisna, pure consciousness then flashed in my heart. Then I thought “that I am Nârada; I have come to this place and being deluded by the Mâyâ of Hari, I got the female form.” When I was thinking thus, Hari exclaimed, “O Nârada! Get up; what are you doing, standing in the water?” I was astonished; and, recollecting my feminine nature, very severe indeed, began to think why I was again transformed into a male form.

Here ends the Twenty-ninth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the Nârada’s getting again his male form in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 30. On The Glory Of Mahâ Mâyâ

1-14. Nârada said :-- O Best of Munis! The King was greatly astonished to see me dip in the tank in a female figure and get up from the tank in a male figure and thought, “Where is my dearest wife? And how is this Nârada Muni suddenly come here!” The King, not seeing his wife, lamented very much and cried frequently, “O my dear Wife! Where have you gone, leaving me here thus. Without you, O One of spacious hips! My life, palace and kingdom, all, are quite useless. O Lotus-eyed one! What shall I do? O Smiling One! Why is not my life getting out of my body, suffering thus from thy separation? Without you, my sentiment of love has left me for ever. O Large-eyed One! Now I am lamenting for you. O Dear! Better give me your sweet reply; the love that you expressed at our first union, where has it gone now? O One with good eyebrows! Are you sunk in the water and have you given up your life? Or are you devoured by fishes or crocodiles? Or are you carried away by Varuna, the Deva of the waters, to my great misfortune? O One of beautiful limbs! You are blessed, as you have gone away with your sons; O sweet-speaking One! Your affection for them was not artificial. Is it right for you to go up to the Heavens, attached by affection for your sons, leaving me your distressed husband alone, thus weeping for your separation? O Dear! I have lost both, you and my sons; yet death is not carrying me away; O! How hard is my lot! What to do? Where to go? Râma is not now in this world. He knew what was the pain caused by the separation from one’s dearest wife. Oh! The cruel Fate has ordained very unwisely with great inconsistency the periods of parting from one another at different periods; when their minds and all other things are exactly the same in all circumstances of pleasure and pain. The practice of Satî (burning with one’s deceased husband), as ordained by the Munis, is certainly for the good of the chaste women; but it would have been good no doubt, were there such practices allowed for the men to burn themselves with their deceased wives.” Bhagavân Hari then spoke to the lamenting King in reasonable words and consoled him thus :-- “O King! Why are you thus troubling yourself with pain and sorrow? Where has gone your dearest wife? Have you not heard anything of S’âstras? or Have you not taken any shelter of any wise man!

15-27. Who was your wife? Who are you? Of what nature was your union and disunion and where did it take place? The union of wives and sons in this S’amsâra is momentary like the meetings of persons on boats, while crossing a river. O King! Now go home, there is no use in your weeping thus in vain; the union and disunion of men are always under the control of Fate, the Daiva; therefore the wise should not lament for them. O King! Your union with the woman took place here; and now you have lost that beautiful, thin-bodied, large-eyed woman here also. Her father and mother you have not seen; you have got her like what is heard in the story of the crow and the Tâl fruit; as you got her wonderfully, so you have lost her wonderfully. O King! Do not grieve; Time cannot be ruled over; go home and enjoy yourself subservient to Time. That beautiful woman has gone away in the manner she came to you; you ought to do your stately affairs in the way as you used to do before as the ruler of all. O King! Consider that if you weep day and night, that women will never return; why then are you giving vent to your sorrows in vain? Go now and have recourse to the path of the Yoga and thus while away your time. The enjoyable things come in course of time and they go away again in due course; therefore in this world of no gain whatsoever, the wise should never lament. Continuous pleasure or continuous pain does not always take place; pleasure and pain are never steady; they rotate always like a rotary instrument. Therefore, O King! Make your mind calm and quiet and rule happily your kingdom; or make over the charge of the kingdom to your sons and retire to the forest. This human body is seldom obtained; it is frail; therefore getting that body it is advisable to practise the realisation of the Supreme. O King! This organ of generation and this tongue reside also with the beasts, the peculiarity of human body is that knowledge can be realised in it; not in any other inferior births. Therefore leave your home, leave your sorrows for your wife; all this is the Mâyâ of Bhagavân; by Her the world is deluded.”

28-37. Nârada said :-- Bhagavân Hari speaking thus, the King bowed down to Him, the Deva of the Devas and finishing the bathing duties returned to his home. He then became possessed of dispassion and discrimination and making over the charge of his kingdom to his grandsons retired to the forest and realised the Supreme Knowledge. When the King went away, the Bhagavân began to laugh and laugh, seeing me again and again. I then told him, “O Deva! You have deceived me. I now come to know how great is the power of Mâyâ. O Janârdana! Now I remember all that I did in my feminine form. Tell me, O Hari! O Deva of the Devas! How I lost my previous consciousness, when I got down into the tank and bathed in it. O Lord of the world! Why was I enchanted, when I got the female form and when I got the King as my husband like S’achî’s getting Indra. The same mind I had; the old Jivâtmâ was there and the previous subtle body was there; how, then, I lost their memories? O Lord! Give out the cause of it and clear my doubts; a great doubt has arisen in my mind. Many enjoyments I had in my female form, drinking liquor and other prohibited things I tasted; O Slayer of Madhu! What is the cause of all these? I could not know then that I was Nârada, as I now recognise clearly what I was in and what I did in my female form. Say the Why of all these things.”

38-53. Visnu said :-- “Know, O Intelligent Nârada! That all this is merely the Pastime of Mâyâ. There are many states going on in the bodies of all the living beings. The embodied beings have got their waking, dream, deep sleep and Tûriya (beyond all the three above-mentioned) states; then why you doubt that when there is another body, there would be also the change in the states? When a man sleeps, he knows not anything, he does not hear anything; but when he gets awake, he again comes to know everything completely. The Chitta gets itself moved by sleep; then mind gets different states by dreams and there arises a variety of feelings. A mad elephant is coming to kill me, and I am not able to fly away. What to do? Where to go? There is no place where I can quickly go; thus, in dreams, there arise different mental states. Sometimes we see in dreams that our departed grandfathers are come in our houses. I am seeing them, talking with them and I am dining with them. Whatever pain and pleasure are felt in dreams, when they awake, they know of what happened in their dreams and can also describe in details, recollecting what had then happened. O Nârada! Know the power of Mâyâ incomprehensible as the things seen in dreams cannot be certainly known that all those are false. O Muni! Neither I, nor S’ambhu, nor Brahmâ can measure the power wielded by Mâyâ and Her three Gunas, very hard to fathom. How, then, can any ordinary mortal know them! Therefore, O Nârada! None is able to fathom the Mâyâ. This world, moving and non-moving, is fashioned out of the triple Gunas of the Mâyâ; nothing whatsoever can exist without them. The predominant Guna in Me is Sâttva; but Râjas and Tâmas exist in me; being the Lord of this world, I cannot override the three Gunas. So your father, Brahmâ, is predominant in Râjo Guna; but Sâttva and Tâmas never leave Him, Our Mahâ Deva is predominant in Tâmo Guna, but Sâttva and Râjo are always with him. Therefore, no being can exist as separate from the three Gunas; this point I have settled in S’ruti. Therefore, O Lord of the Munis! Quit this endless Moha for the world, caused by Mâyâ, and very hard to get over and worship Bhagavatî, Who is of the nature of Brâhman. O Intelligent One! Now you have seen the power of Mâyâ; and you have enjoyed many things produced by Mâyâ and you have realised the extremely wonderful nature of Her. Then why do you ask me further on this point?”

Here ends the Thirtieth Chapter of the Sixth Book on the glory of Mahâ Mâyâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 31. On The Glory Of Mâyâ

18-22. O Muni! When my Father learnt the cause of my cares, he smiled and spoke to me in sweet words :-- “O Child! The Devas, the high-souled Munis, the wise ascetics and the Yogis subsisting on air only are not able to conquer this Mâyâ. O Nârada! The power of Mâyâ is so very great that I, Visnu and S’ambhu, the Lord of Umâ, none are able to know Her power.

That Mahâmâyâ is creating, preserving and dissolving this world by Time, Karma, and Nature and other efficient causes. O Child! Know Her to be inconceivable and unapproachable. O Intelligent One! Do not be sorry nor should you be surprised about Mâyâ’s great strength, for we all are deluded by Her.

23-25. O Dvaipâyan! Thus advised by my Father, my wonder disappeared. I then asked permission of my Father Padma Yoni (Lotus-born) and went out on tour round the sacred places of pilgrimages and on my way, seeing by and by the chief Tîrthas, I have now come here. Therefore, O Muni! Dost thou relinquish your sorrows for the extinction of the Kuru’s family and remain here and pass your time in great joy and happiness. One must bear the fruits of one’s Karma, good or bad; knowing this fully roam at your will wherever you like.

26-40. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Maharsi Nârada thus kindling knowledge in me, went away; I also thought over his words. On the banks of the river Sarasvatî, I composed this Devî Bhâgavat to pass away my time during the excellent period of Sârasvata Kalpa. This Purânam is excellent; it is composed on the authority of the the Vedas; all doubts are removed by it; many nice events are narrated here. Therefore, O King! Not the least doubt should be entertained. As a magician makes the wooden dolls dance in his hands at his will, so this world-enchanting Mâyâ is making this world, moving and non-moving, dance from Brahmâ down to the blades of grass and all human beings. O King! Know Mâyâ’s triple Gunas to be the cause of this mind consisting of five organs of senses, that follows the Chitta (mind, buddhi and Ahamkâra). Actions arise from the causes thereof; there is no doubt in this; what doubt, then, there can arise that all these creatures of different temperaments will come out of the different Gunas of Mâyâ. Peaceful, terrible and stupid become the persons in contact with the Mayic Gunas. How, then, can they exist, bereft of them? As the cloth cannot exist without threads, so the embodied beings cannot exist in the world without the triple Gunas of Mâyâ. There is no doubt in this. As a pot cannot be made without clay, so these bodies, Devas, human or birds, cannot be created without the Gunas. Brahmâ, Visnu and S’iva, too, are possessed of those three Gunas and therefore they become sometimes happy and satisfied, sometimes unhappy and dissatisfied and sometimes they become sad and remorseful as they are then under the influence of one Guna or the other. Brahmâ happens at times to be full of wisdom and knowledge, his temper peaceful, sweet and pleasant and his soul rapt in Samâdhi, when he becomes possessed of Sâttva Guna; again when he is void of Sâttva and filled with Râjo Guna, His temper becomes unpleasant and his appearance gets dark and awful everywhere; and when he becomes grossly Tâmasic, He becomes sorrowful and bereft entirely of intelligence.

41-51. Visnu, when resting in Sâttva, becomes peaceful, sweet-tempered, and full of knowledge; when Râjo Guna preponderates in Him, He becomes void of sweetness and becomes awful to all the beings. Rudra becomes, too, peaceful and pleasant under the Sâttva Guna, awful and void of sweetness under the Râjo Guna, and becomes sad and stupid under the Tâmo Guna. O King! When Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’vara and the solar and lunar Kings, the fourteen lords of Manvantaras, Manu and others are under the control of the mayic Gunas, what to speak of other ordinary mortals, men and the other Jîvas. The whole world is under the control of Mâyâ; the Devas, men and all other beings. None should doubt on this point. All the embodied beings labour under the directions of Mâyâ; never can they work independently. This Mâyâ is again always residing in the Highest Essence, the Samvit or the Universal Pure Consciousness. Thus Mâyâ is dependent on the Highest Goddess, Who is of the nature of Samvit, and, stimulated by Her, resides in the hearts of all the Jîvas. Therefore one ought to meditate, worship and bow down before the Bhagavatî, the Creatrix of Mâyâ and Who is of the nature of Samvit, Pure Existence, Intelligence and Bliss. Thus She becomes gracious and merciful and liberates the Jîvas, giving them Her realisation and drawing together Her own Mâyâ away from them. This whole cosmos is nothing but Mâyâ and the Consciousness (Samvit) of the nature of Brâhman is the Lord of Mâyâ. For this reason that Beautiful One in the triple worlds, the Devî Bhagavatî is known by the name Bhuvanes’varî, the Great Lady of the worlds.

52-60. O King! If the Jîvas can fix their hearts on that Samvit, then Mâyâ, born of the real and unreal, is quite unable to do any harm to them. No other Deva than the Bhuvanes’varî, of the nature of pure existence, intelligence and bliss is able to remove this Mâyâ. O King! Darkness cannot destroy darkness; the Sun, Moon, Lightning or Fire can destroy it. Therefore it is highly incumbent on us to worship the Lady of Mâyâ, the Samvit, the Mother with a cheerful heart to remove the Mâyâ and Her Gunas. O King! Now I have narrated to you all the events concerning the killing of Vritrâsura that you asked. What more do you want to hear now. O One devoted to vows! I have now described the first half of that Purâna, which describes in detail the glory of S’rî Devî Bhagavatî. This Purâna, the secret of this Mother of the whole Universe, is not to be disclosed indiscriminately to anybody. Those that are peaceful, self-restrained, devoted, and possessed of Bhakti to the Devî, the disciples that are devoted to their Gurus and the eldest son, those are the fit recipients thereof. Whoever reads or hears with greatest devotion this Mahâpurânam, equivalent to the Vedas, fraught with sound proofs and the essence of all talks, becomes, in this world, possessed of great wealth, becomes wise and passes his time in the greatest happiness. There is no doubt in this.

Here ends the Thirty-first Chapter on the Sixth Book on the glory of Mâyâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

[The Sixth Book Finished.]

The Seventh Book

Chapter 1. On The Solar And Lunar Kings

1-5. Sûta said :-- Glad to hear the excellent divine stories of the Solar and Lunar races, the virtuous King Janamejaya, the son of Parîksit, again asked :-- “O Lord! I am now very eager to hear the increase of the two lines of Kings. O Sinless One! You know everything. So kindly describe, in detail, the pure histories, capable to destroy sins, of the kings and their characters. The kings of the Lunar and the Solar races were great Bhaktas of the Highest S'akti, S'rî Bhagavatî Devî; this I have heard. O Muni! Who wants not to hear further on the glorious anecdotes of the Bhaktas of the S'rî Devî?” When the Râjarsi asked thus, the Muni Krisna Dvaipâyan, the son of Satyavatî began to narrate gladly the several deeds of the Kings.

6-13. O King! I am now narrating to you in detail the origin, etc., of the Lunar and the Solar dynasties as well as of other kings in their connection. Hear attentively. The four-faced Brahmâ sprang from the navel of Visnu; engaged in practising Tapasyâ, he began to worship the Mahâ Devî Durgâ, extremely hard to conceive. Mahâ Devî, pleased at his worship, granted boon to Brahmâ; Brahmâ, the Grandsire of all the Lokas on thus getting the boon, became ready to create the world; but he could not create all on a sudden the human beings. Though the creation was eternally fashioned by the Pramâtmâ Bhagavatî, the four-faced Brahmâ thinking over in his mind variously, could not quickly spread it out and accomplish it as a veritable fact. Therefore He, the Prajâpati, first created mentally the seven mind-born sons. These were known by the names of Marîchi, Atri, Angirâ, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vais'istha. Next sprang Rudra from the anger of Prajâpati, Nârada from his lap; Daksa from his right thumb. Thus Sanaka and the other Risis were also his mind-born sons. O King! The wife of Daksa was born from the left thumb of Prajâpati; this all-beautiful daughter is well known in all the Purânas by the name of Vîrinî and Asiknî. Nârada, the chief of the Devarsis, was born, on some other occasion in her womb.

14-17. Janamejaya said :-- “O Brâhmân! A great doubt arises in me to hear that the great ascetic Nârada was born of Daksa in the womb of Vîrinî. The Muni Nârada indeed, was the son of Brahmâ; moreover be was the foremost of the ascetics and especially endowed with the knowledge of Dharma; how, then, can he be born of the womb of the Daksha's wife Vîrinî. Well, if that be so, then describe, in detail, that wonderful story of the birth of Nârada in the womb of Vîrinî.

18-31. O Muni! Under whose curse, the high-souled Nârada though very wise, had to leave his first body and be born again.” Vyâsa said :-- O King, Brahmâ, the Self-born, with a view to create offspring, ordered first Daksa :-- “Go and multiply innumerable children for the increase of the world.” Thus ordered by his father the Prajâpati Daksa produced five thousand powerful and heroic sons in the womb of Vîrinî. Seeing all the sons of Daksa, desirous to multiply, the Devarsi Nârada urged on, as it were, by Fate, began to laugh at them. How do you desire to multiply when you know not the dimensions and capacity of earth; so you will, no doubt, be put to ridicule and laughter. Rather, if you proceed on work, knowing beforehand the earth's capacity, your efforts will be fruitful. Otherwise, your attempt will no doubt, end in failures. Alas! You are awfully illiterate! Not knowing the dimensions of the world, you are ready to multiply your progeny; how, then, can you meet with success! Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing, all on a sudden, these words, Haryas'va and other sons began to speak with each other, “What this Muni has told, is very true. Let us then ascertain the earth's dimensions; we can easily multiply afterwards.” Thus saying, they all went out to reconnoitre the earth. Thus excited at Nârada's words, some went eastward, some southwards, some towards the north and some went to west all simultaneously and, as they liked, to make a survey of the earth. When the sons went away, Daksa became exceedingly sorry on their absence. Bent again on multiplying, he begat other sons; those sons again wanted to procreate. Seeing them, Nârada again laughed and said :--Alas! What fools are you! Not knowing the dimensions of the earth, why are you ready to procreate? They were deluded by Nârada's words, took them as true, and went out as their elder brothers did. Not being able to see those sons, Prajâpati Daksa became very sorrowful for them and cursed Nârada in rage.

32-38. Daksa said :-- “O Evil-minded One! You have destroyed my sons; so be yourself destroyed; you will have to be born in the womb for your sin in causing the death of my sons; you have caused my sons to go abroad; so you must be born as my son.” Thus cursed by Daksa, Nârada had to take his birth in the womb of Vîrinî. I heard also that the Prajâpati Daksa begat afterwards sixty daughters in her womb. O King! Daksa, the great knower of Dharma, then gave up the sorrows for his sons and married his thirteen daughters to the high-souled Kas'yapa, ten daughters to Dharma, twenty-seven daughters to the Moon, two to Bhrigu, four to Aristanemi, two to Kris'âs'va and the remaining two to Angirâ. Their sons and grandsons, the Devas and Dânavas, became powerful but antagonistic towards each other. All of them were heroes and very Mâyâvis; so, deluded by their greed and jealousy, they quarrelled amongst each other.

Here ends the First Chapter in the Seventh Book on the beginning of the narrative of the Solar and the Lunar lines of kings in the Mahâ Purânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On The Piercing Of The Eyes Of Chyavana Muni

1. Janamejaya said :-- “O Highly Fortunate One! Kindly narrate in detail the spread of the families of those kings in the Solar line who were born and who were especially endowed with the knowledge of Dharma.”

2-8. Vyâsa said :-- O Bharata! I now speak to you exactly what I heard of yore, from Nârada, the best of the Risis, how the Solar race spread. Once, on an occasion, the Muni S'rîmân Nârada, on his tour, came at his will to my holy hermitage on the beautiful banks of the Sarasvatî river. On seeing him I bowed down at his feet and then remained standing before him. I then gave him a seat and worshipped him with great esteem. I then said to him :-- “O Best of Munis! You are worshipped by the whole universe; my retreat is sanctified by your coming. O All-knowing One! Kindly narrate the histories of the Kings that were famous in the family of the seventh Manu; they were unequalled as far as their origin was concerned and their diameters as well were wonderful. Therefore I am very eager to know, in detail, the history of the Solar race. O Muni! Describe shortly or in detail as the circumstances may require.” O King! When I made this question, Nârada, the knower of the Highest Reality, gladly smiled, and, addressing me, began to describe the history of the Solar race.

9-26. Nârada said :-- O son of Satyavatî! The history of the royal families is very holy and pleasant to hear; the more so when they are heard, one acquires Dharma and wisdom; therefore do you hear. In ancient times, Brahmâ sprang from the navel-lotus of Visnu and created the world. This is well known in every Purâna. That self born, all-powerful, all-knowing, the Doer of all, the Universal Soul practised Tapas in ancient times for Ajuta (ten thousand) years. By virtue of that Tapas, He got special powers to create the world. He meditated on the Auspicious Mother, and getting from Her the excellent powers, He created first the mind-born sons, all endowed with auspicious signs. Of them, Marîchi became well known in this act of creation. His son Kas'yapa was respected by all and he was of great celebrity. He had thirteen wives, all daughters of Daksa Prajâpati. The Devas, Daityas, Yaksas, Pannagas, beasts and birds all sprang from him. Therefore this creation is called the Kâs'yapî creation. Amongst the Devas, the Sun is specially famous; his other name is Vivasvân. His son was named Vaivasvat Manu; he was a famous king. Besides, Manu had nine more sons. Iksvâku was the eldest. Their names are: (1) Nâbhâga, (2) Dhrista, (3) S'aryâti, (4)Narisyanta, (5) Prâns'u, (6) Nriga, (7) Dista, (8) Karûsa, and (9) Risadhra. Iksvâku, the son of Manu was born first. He had one hundred sons, and Vikuksi was the wise and the eldest of these. I am now narrating how the nine sons, born afterwards of Manu, spread their families. Ambarisa was the son of Nâbhâga; he was very truthful, powerful, and religious. He always governed his subjects justly. Dhârstaka was the son of Dhrista; though he was a Ksattriya, he attained to Brâhmanhood. He was naturally weak in fighting; always be was engaged in the works relating to the Brâhmanas. Ânarta was the well known son and Sukanyâ was the beautiful daughter of S'aryâti. The King S'aryâti gave his beautiful daughter in marriage to the blind Chyavana Risi; but the Risi, though blind, got his beautiful eyes again by the good character of the daughter. We heard that the As'vins, the Twins, the sons of the Sun, gave him back his eyesight.

27-29. Janamejaya said :-- “O Brahmâns! How is it that the King S'aryâti married his lovely-eyed daughter Sukanyâ to the blind Chyavana Muni? I have got a great doubt on this point. The King gives his daughter in marriage to a blind person, if she be deformed, ill-qualified or void of female signs. But the daughter, in this case, was beautiful. How then S'aryâti, the Chief of Kings, gave over his daughter, knowing that the Risi was blind? O Brâhmana! I am always an object of favour to you; so explain to me the cause of it.”

30. Sûta said :-- Glad to hear these words of Janamejaya, the Muni Dvaipâyana smilingly said :--

31-50. S'aryâti, the son of Vaivasvata, had four thousand married wives. All of them were endowed with auspicious signs and beautiful all of them were daughters of kings. They all were very obliging and dear to their husbands. But, out of all of these, the King had only one daughter exceptionally lovely and beautiful. The father and all the mothers loved exceedingly that sweet-smiling daughter. Not very far off the city, there was a beautiful lake of clear waters, like the Mânasarovara lake. A Ghât way (steps) made of stones descended into the lake. Swans Kârandavas, Chakravâkas, Datyu'has, Sârasas and other birds used to play on its waters. Five varieties of lotuses were there in full bloom, bees were humming there all around. Various trees, S'âl, Tamâla, Sarala, Punnâgas, As'okas, Banyans, Peepuls, Kadambas, rows of banana trees, Jambîrs, Dates, Panasas, Betelnut trees, cocoanut trees, Ketakas, Kânchanas, and other various beautiful trees encircled round the lake. Within these, the white Yûthikâs, Mallikâs, and other creepers and shrubs were seen beautifying the scenery. Especially there were, amongst them, Jack trees, Mango trees, tamarind trees, Karanjas, Kutakas, Palâs'as, Neem trees, Khadiras, Bel trees, and Âmalaki trees; and peacocks were sounding their notes, cuckoos were cooing their beautiful voices. Close to that place, there was, in a sacred grove covered over by trees, staying Chyavana Muni, the Bhrigu's son, of a tranquilled mind, and the chief of the ascetics. Thinking the place lovely and free from any obstacles, the Muni took his firm seat there and, collecting all his thoughts within himself, took the vow of non-speaking and controlling his breath became engaged in practising tapasyâ. Restraining his senses and foregoing eating and drinking, that Muni constantly meditated on Bhagavatî of the nature of Sat, Chit and Ânanda, O King! While he was thus meditating, the anthill grew up round and covered his body and nice creepers covered that also all round. O King! Long intervals passed away and it was covered over with ants; so much so that that intelligent Muni was covered entirely and looked like a heap of earth. O King! Once the King S'aryâti wanted to play in an artificial wilderness and came there to the lake with his wives. S'aryâti became at once deeply engaged in playing on the clear waters of the lake, surrounded by the beautiful females. On the other hand, the quick beautiful daughter Sukanyâ, picking up flowers here and there with her companions also began to play. Dressed in ornaments, Sukanyâ, walked to and fro; her anklets making a beautiful tinkling sound, till she came to the ant-hill of Chyavana Risi. She sportingly sat close to that anthill and instantly saw a shining substance inside through that, like fireflies. “What is this?” She thought and wishing to take it, took a thorn and became very eager to prick it up.

51-59. Slowly she went close to it and no sooner she got ready to prick it, than the Muni saw the beautiful, good-haired daughter as if to one's liking. The ascetic Bhârgava, seeing that auspicious nice lady with nice teeth, spoke out in a feeble voice :-- “What are you doing? O thin-bellied One! I am an ascetic; better go away from here. You have got such big-eyes, yet you do not see me. I therefore forbid you in your this attempt; do not pierce the anthill with thorn.” Though prevented, the daughter could not hear his words and asking “What was that?” pierced his two-eyes with thorns. Thus impelled by Fate, the princess sportingly pierced his eyes; but she suspected and thought “What have I done?” Thus becoming afraid she returned from that spot. His two eyes being pricked, the great Muni exceedingly pained, became very wrathful he incessantly gave vent to sorrows and remorse, being restless with pain. At that instant it happened that the king, ministers, soldiers, elephants, horses, camels, so much so that all the beings that were there, had all their evacuations (passing their urines and faeces) stopped. Seeing thus happened all on a sudden, the King S'aryâti was very much pained and became very anxious. All the soldiers came to the King and informed him of the stoppage of their evacuations. The King thought over the cause why this had happened.

60-65. Cogitating thus, the King returned home. Becoming very much troubled with cares and anxieties, He asked his soldiers and kinsmen “Who amongst you has done such an heinous act? On the west side of the lake the Maharsi Chyavana is practising the great tapasyâ in the midst of the forest; I think someone has done mischief to that king of ascetics, blazing like a fire; and therefore we are overcome with this disease. The highsouled aged son of Bhrigu has become specially proficient in his asceticism and has become supreme; I think someone must have injured him. Though I do not know who is that mischievous person that has shown him contempt or like that, this our state at present clearly shews that this is the fit punishment of that.” Hearing this, the soldiers said :-- None of us has committed any mischief by word, mind or body; we know this very well.

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Seventh Book on the piercing of the eyes of Chyavana Muni in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of  18,000 verses, Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 3. On The Bestowing Of The Daughter Of The King S’aryâti To Chyavana Muni

1-11. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus the King, troubled with cares asked his soldiers, in an angry mood. Next he asked his friends in sweet words. The princess, seeing his father and his soldiers sorrowful, thought of her piercing the two eyes of the Muni with a thorn and thus spoke to the King :-- O Father! While sporting in that forest, I came to see a very hard anthill covered with creepers and shrubs wherein I found two holes, O King! Through those small openings, I saw the two shining things as if they were fireflies and thinking them so I pierced them with thorns. At this time a faint voice I heard coming from that anthill. “Oh! I am killed!” I then took out my thorns and found them wet with water. “What is this!” I asked myself and was thunderstruck with fear; but I could not know what I pierced in that anthill. Hearing these gentle words of her daughter, the King S'aryâti thought that that act had no doubt insulted the Muni and went at once to the anthill. He broke the anthill that covered the Muni and saw the suffering Chyavana aged in practising Tapasyâ, very much in pain. The King prostrated flat before the Muni and then with folded hands, praised him with hymns and humbly said to him :-- “O Intelligent One! My daughter has done this wrong act while sporting; Therefore O high-souled One! What she had done unknowingly, do you forgive out of your own high-hearted-ness and liberality. I have heard that the ascetics are always void of anger; therefore now you have to forgive this daughter of the offence and thus shew your kindness.”

12-16. Vyâsa said :-- The Maharsi Chyavana, hearing thus the King's words and specially seeing his humble and distressed nature, said :-- O King! I never was angry a bit; your daughter had pained me; yet I am not angry and have not cast on her any curse; you better see, that I am innocent; much pain is felt by me due to my eyes being pricked. O King! It seems that you are sorry and troubled for that sin. Who can acquire happiness in this world who has committed a great offence to a Bhakta of the Devî, in spite he gets even S'iva as his Protector. O King! On the one hand, I am now worn out by old age, and then, on the other hand, I am deprived of my eyes; what shall be now my means? Please say, who will take care of the blind man?

17. The King said :-- O Muni! The anger of the ascetics is transient; you are in practice of your tapasyâ; so your anger is a thing of impossibility. So kindly forgive the offence of the daughter. I have got many persons who will incessantly take care of you.

18-22. Chyavana said :-- “O King! There is none of my relations with me; then I am now made blind; how shall I go on with my tapasyâ? I do not think that your servants will take care of me. O King! If you think it your duty to please me, then do my word, give me your lotus-eyed daughter to serve me and take care of me. O King! I will be very glad if I acquire your daughter; she will serve me when I will be engaged in my tapasyâ. O King! This, if observed, will satisfy me and all the troubles that are now with you and your army will no doubt disappear. O King! Think and grant me your daughter; I am an ascetic observing vows and if you give over your daughter to me, you will not incur any sin nor any fault.”

23-31. Vyâsa said :-- O Bharata! Hearing thus the Muni's words, the King S'aryâti was immersed in cares and could not say anything whether he would or would not give over his daughter to him. The King thought, “My daughter is very fair like a Devakanyâ and this Muni is aged, ugly and specially he is blind; how then can I be happy if I give over my daughter to him. Who is there so stupid and vicious that knowing his good and bad, he for his own selfish happiness wants to deprive his beautiful daughter of the enjoyments of her married life. How will that fair eyebrowed daughter of mine pass her days happily in the company of this aged Muni when she will be overpowered by passion. The more so when the young beautiful ladies are not able to conquer their passions though possessed of husbands of their own standard and liking, how then can my daughter conquer her passion on getting this old blind husband! The exquisitely beautiful Ahalyâ married Gautama; but, seeing the youthful beauty of that lovely lady, Indra deceived her and took away her chastity. Till at last, her husband Gautama finding that action contrary to Dharma, cursed him. Now through the severe curse of that Brâhmana many troubles may arise; so I cannot in any case give my daughter Sukanyâ over to him.” Thus thinking and absent-minded the King went back to his home and, being very distressed, called his ministers to form a council. O Ministers! What am I to do now? Is it advisable to give over my daughter to the Muni? Or is it better to suffer these pains? Judge and say what is the best course for me.

32. The Ministers said :-- “O King! What shall we say in this critical juncture? How can you bestow your exceedingly beautiful daughter to that ugly unfortunate ascetic?”

33-45. Dvaipâyana said :-- At this moment, seeing her father and ministers troubled very much with cares, Sukanyâ understood at once everything by signs and hints; she then smilingly said to her dear father :-- “O Father! Why are you looking so sad with cares? Perhaps you are very much troubled and sad for me. O Father! I have pained that Muni; so I will go and console him; what more than this that I will give up myself at his feet and please him.” Hearing these words of Sukanyâ, the King spoke to her very gladly before all the ministers. O Daughter! The Chyavana Muni is blind, aged and of a worn figure, especially of a very irritable temper; and you are a mere girl; how will you be able to serve him in that dreadful forest? You are like Rati in beauty and loveliness; how can I bestow my daughter to that aged worn out, blind Muni for my own pleasure! The father marries the daughter to him who has got relations, who is of a proper age, strong, who has got unequalled grains and wealth, gems and jewels; never to a man void of wealth. O broad-eyed One! You are exquisitely handsome; and that ascetic is very old; see what an amount of difference lies between you two. The Muni, moreover, has past his marriageable age; so how can I give over my daughter. O Lotus-eyed! You always dwell in beautiful places; how can I now make you dwell for ever in thatched huts? O Cuckoo avoiced one! Rather will I and my soldiers die than to bestow you to that blind husband. Let whatever come it may, I will never lose patience; therefore, O One of good hips! Be quiet. I will never give you to that blind man. O my Daughter! I don’t care a straw whether my kingdom and my body live or die, but I will never be able to give you over to the ascetic. Hearing thus the father's words, Sukanyâ began to speak with a glad face the following sweet and gentle words :--

46-48. O Father! Do not trouble yourself for nothing with cares on my account. Give me over now to that best of Munis; then all the persons will be happy, no doubt. I will derive my intense pleasure there in that dense forest by serving with intense devotion my old husband, who is very holy. I have got not the least inclination towards these worldly enjoyments which are the sources of all troubles for nothing, My heart is now quiet. Therefore, O Father! I will become a chaste wife to him and act according to his liking.

49-54. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Ministers were greatly amazed on hearing these words and the King also became greatly pleased and took her to the presence of the Muni. Going before him, he bowed down to the Muni and said :-- “O Lord! Please accept duly this daughter for your Sevâ.” Thus saying, the King betrothed his daughter to him according to rules. Chyavana Muni also became very glad to receive her. The Muni took the daughter willingly for his Sevâ but refused other dowries that the King presented. Thus the Muni became pleased; immediately the soldiers began to evacuate and were very glad. Seeing this, the King's heart became filled with joy. When the King, thus finishing the betrothal ceremony of his daughter wanted to return home, the thin bodied princess then told her father :--

55-64. Sukanyâ said :-- “O Father! Take away all my ornaments and clothings and give me for my use an excellent deer skin and one bark. O Father! I will dress myself like the wives of Munis and serve my husband in such a way as will bring to you the unparallelled undying fame in Heaven, Earth and the Nether regions; also I will serve my husband's feet so that I can derive the highest happiness in the next world. I am now full of youth, especially beautiful; do not think a bit that as I am wedded to an aged ascetic, that my character will be spoilt. As Vas'istha's wife Arundhati has attained celebrity in this world, so I will also attain success; there is no doubt in this. As the chaste wife Anasûyâ of Maharsi Artri has become widely known in this world so will I be known also and establish your fame.” The exceedingly religious King hearing all these words of Sukanyâ gave her deer skin and all other articles wanted. The King could not help weeping, when he saw that his daughter had dressed herself like the daughter of a Muni. He stood fixed, very sad, on that very spot. All the queens were exceedingly filled with sorrow to see the daughter dressed in bark and deer-skin. Their hearts quivered and they began to weep. O King! Then the King S'aryâti bade good bye to the Muni, leaving there his daughter. He went with a grievous heart and returned to his own city, accompanied by the ministers.

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Seventh Book on the bestowing of the daughter of the King S'aryâti to the Chyavana Muni in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 4. On The Conversation Between The Two As’vins And The Princess Sukanyâ

1-38. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the King S'aryati departed, that virtuous lady devoted her time in serving her husband, and the Fire. She gave to the Muni for his food various delicious roots and fruits. She made him bathe with warm water; then making him put on the deer skin, she made him sit on the Kus'âsan. (Seat made of the Kus'a grass.) Next she used to place in his front Kus'a, Til and Kamandalu and speak to him “O best of Munis! You are now to perform your daily rites (Nitya Karma).” When the Nitya Karma was finished, the lady used to catch him by his hand and make him sit on another seat. Next the princess brought fresh ripe fruits and cooked rice, grown without cultivation and gave to the Muni for his food. When the husband finished his meals, she gave him devotedly water for cleansing his mouth; then washing his hands and feet gave him the betelnuts and pân leaves. Next she made him sit on an excellent seat, and with his permission, performed her own bodily purifications. She then, used to eat the remnants, fruits and roots of the dishes of her husband; and coming next to her husband addressed him affectionately “O Lord! Order me what can I do now for you? If you like, I may shampoo your legs and feet.” Thus every day that princess devotedly spent her time in serving her husband. At evening when the Homa ceremony was finished, she collecting delicious and soft fruits presented to him to eat. With his permission she, then, ate that were left of the fruits; next she prepared bedding soft to the touch and gladly made him sleep on it. When his dear husband thus laid himself on the bed, she shampooed his feet and legs and in the interval, asked him about the religious duties of the chaste wives of the family. When the Muni fell asleep in the night, she devotedly laid herself close to his feet and slept. During the summer season when her husband was perspiring, the lady used to fan him with cool breeze. She took off his troubles and thus served her husband. In the cold season, she collected firewood and lit them before him and used to ask him frequently “O Muni! Are you feeling pleasure in this?” That lady, dear to her husband, used to get up from her bed in the Brâhma Muhûrta before Sunrise, next made her husband get up and took him some short way off and there made him sit for calling on nature. She kept ready water and earth and stood in readiness at a suitable distance apart. Knowing that he had finished his calls for nature, she took him back to the Âs'ram, and washed his hands and feet with water duly making him sit on a convenient Âsana. She then gave to him the pot for Âchamana and then began to collect fuel. She used to bring pure clear water and made it hot; then she asked her husband fondly “O Husband! Have you finished cleaning your teeth? Warm water is ready; may I bring it to you? You better bathe with that, uttering your Mantrams. The time is now for performing the morning Sandhyâ and for performing Homa. Do the Homa regularly and worship the Devas.” The princess, whose nature was pure and clean as anything, kept herself engaged daily in serving her husband, Chyavana Muni, with perfect gladness, austerity, and observing all the rules duly. Thus that beautiful-faced princess worshipped gladly Chyavana Muni, serving Fire and the guests daily. Then, once, on an occasion, the As'vin twins, the sons of Sûrya came sporting and at their pleasure, close to the hermitage of the Chyavana Muni. At that time the princess, beautiful in all respects, was returning home after her bath in a pure clear stream and came to the sight of the two As'vins. Being enchanted by her extraordinary lovely beauty, they thought she might be a Deva Kavyâ, quickly went to her and fondly questioned her :-- “O slow moving One like an elephant! Look! We are the sons of Devas; we have come to you to ask some questions. O Excellent One! Wait for a moment; we request thus to you. O Sweet-smiling One! Please answer our questions truly and properly. O Lovely-eyed! Whose daughter are you? Who is your husband  Why have you come here alone to bathe in this tank? O Lotus-eyed! You seem to be a second Laksmî; O Beautiful One! We want to know something; please reply exactly. O Beloved! Your feet are exceedingly gentle; why have you not put on any shoes; why are you walking barefooted? Our hearts are being troubled to see you walking thus barefooted?  O Thin bodied One! Your body is very soft that you ought to have gone in a car; why are you thus walking on foot and in such an ordinary dress in this forest? Why have not hundreds of maid-servants accompanied you? O lovely faced One! Speak truly whether you are a princess or Apsarâ. O Sinless One! Blessed is your mother from whom you are born, blessed is your father. Specially the person with whom you are married, we are unable to describe his fortune. O Lovely eyed! This earth is being sanctified by the movements of your feet; consequently this garden is now purer today than the Devaloka. Boundless is the fortune of these deer and birds who can see you whenever they like; what more can we say than this that this forest is rendered very pure. O Fair One with fair eyes! It is needless to praise your beauty; speak truly who is your father and who is your husband; we like very much to see them.”

39-56. Vyâsa said :-- O King! On hearing their words, the exquisitely beautiful princess bespoke to the twin Devas with much bashfulness :-- I am the daughter of S'aryati; father has given me over, under the directions of the Daiva, to the Maharsi Chyavana. I am his chaste dear wife; the Maharsi is staying in this very place. O Twin Devas! My husband is a blind ascetic and he is very aged. I gladly serve him day and night according to the rules of chastity amongst women. Who are you? And why have you come here? My husband is staying in the Âs'rama; kindly come and sanctify the As'rama. O King! The two As'vins heard her and said :-- “O Auspicious One! Why has your father betrothed you, such a gem, to an old ascetic? It is very strange. Indeed! In this solitary forest you are shining like a steady lightning; what more can we say than this that we hardly find a beautiful lady like you, even in the Devaloka! Alas! The Deva dress and a full set of ornaments and blue dyes look well on you; this deer-skin and barks of trees in no way fit you. O Beautiful One! Your eyes are very large; yet the Creator has given you a blind husband; specially a very aged one; and you are wearing away by constantly dwelling with your blind husband in this forest. What more can be wrong for the Creator than this? O deer-eyed One! In vain you have selected him for your husband. At this period of your youth and beauty it does not look at all well to see you with your blind husband. You are versed in dancing and music; but your husband is blind and aged; when in dancing you will shoot your darts of love, on whom then, will those arrows fall? O large-eyed One! Oh! The Creator is certainly of a very little understanding! Else why would he have made you, so full of youthful vitality, the wife of a blind man? O lovely-eyed One! You are never fit for him; select another husband. O Lotus-eyed One! Your husband is not only blind but an ascetic; so your life is quite useless; we do not consider it fit that you reside in this forest and put on this bark and deer-skin. O dark-eyed One! Your body and every limb thereof is very beautiful; judge well and make one amongst us your husband. O Proud One! Why are you being so very beautiful, spending your youth in vain in serving this Muni? No good signs are visible in this Muni; he cannot maintain nor protect you even ; why are you, then, serving him in vain? O spotless One! Leave at once this Muni, quite incapable in giving any sort of pleasure, and marry one of us. O Beloved! Then you will enjoy in the Nandana Kânana or in the forest of Chaitratarha. O Proud One! How will you spend your time with the aged husband, being brought to so much humiliation and without any dignity and self-respect. You are endowed with all auspicious signs; moreover you are a princess; you are not ignorant of all enjoyments in this world; why then you like to live such an unfortunate life in vain in this forest? O Princess! Your face is exceedingly beautiful; your eyes are wide and your waist is thin. Your voice is sweet like a cuckoo. Who is more beautiful than you? Quit now your aged ascetic husband and marry one of us for your happiness; then you will be able to enjoy excellent celestial things in the heavens. O good-haired one! What pleasure can you derive by your staying in this forest with your blind husband! O deer-eyed One. It is very painful for you to serve at this young age of yours, to remain in this forest and serve this aged man. O Princess! Is it that you like troubles and nothing else. O One with a face lovely like the Moon! We see that you are of a very soft body; so to collect water and fruits is never a duty fit for you.

Here ends the Fourth Chapter in the Seventh Book on the conversation between the two As'vins and the Princess Sukanyâ in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 5. On The Getting Of Youth By Chyavana Muni

1-6. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing their words, the princess began to tremble; but holding on patience she spoke to them in reserved terms thus :-- You are the sons of Sûrya and you are the acknowledged deities amongst the gods; specially you know everything, I am a chaste virtuous woman. You ought not to speak to me in the above mannner. O Twin Devas! Father has betrothed me to the Muni practising the Yoga Dharma; besides I am chaste; how can I behave like a prostitute! This Sun is the Witness of the actions good or bad of all people; He is therefore looking on our actions also. Besides you both are born in the family of the high-souled Kas'yapa. Thus it is utterly wrong for you to utter such (irreligious and infamous) words. You know well the course of Dharma, what is religious and what is irreligious in this world which has got nothing substantial; how can a family woman leave her husband and serve another? Go wherever you like, O Sinless Devas! I am the daughter Sukanyâ of the King S'aryâti, devoted to my husband. Otherwise I will curse you.

7-11. Vyâsa said :-- O Bharata! Hearing these words, the As'vins were greatly surprised, and, afraid of the Muni, spoke again :-- “O Princess! We are very much pleased to see your chastity; therefore, O Beautiful Woman! Ask boon from us; we will grant it for your welfare. O honoured Woman! We, the physicians of the gods, will certainly make your husband exceedingly beautiful and young, O Smart and Intelligent One! When we three will be exactly the same in figure, age and lustre! you better can make one of us your husband.” Hearing their words Sukanyâ became greatly amazed and went to her own husband and spoke everything what they, the God's physicians, said.

12-17. Sukanyâ said :-- “O Husband! The As'vins, the Sûrya's sons, have come close to our Âs'rama. I have seen the two Devas and their bright bodies. Seeing me beautiful they were overpowered with passion and told me, “We will, be sure, make your blind husband, young, bright and give him his two eyes again; but you will have to make one condition. Hear it :--Your husband will be exactly like us and you will have to select your husband amongst three of us.” O Holy One! Hearing this as strange, I now come to inform you. Now judge and say what I am to do now. The Deva's Maya is very difficult to comprehend; the more so, when I do not know their intentions! O Omniscient One! I will act as you desire.”

18-19. Chyavana said :-- “O Beloved! Go just now, at my word, to the As'vins and bring them, O auspicious One! before me. What more shall I say than this :--  Go and observe, what they say, as early as possible. There is no need to think over this matter.”

20-25. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus getting the permission from her husband, Sukanyâ went immediately to them and said :-- “O As'vins! You are the chief gods; now do as you say. I agree to observe what you desire.” Hearing her words, the two Devas then went to the Muni's Âs'rama and told the princess :-- “Let your husband enter in the midst of the water.” The aged Chyavana Muni went down quickly in the midst of waters to attain a good form. Next the two As'vins entered into the water of that tank. A few minutes after, the three persons came out of the tank. All were equally bright, equally beautiful, equally young and their limbs were decorated equally with earrings and various other ornaments. They all spoke simultaneously :--“O Auspicious One! There is no other woman beautiful like you, especially your face is very clean and fair; therefore select any one of us three as your husband. O Fair One! Whomever you love most, choose him.”

26-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Sukanyâ then saw their bodies are equally bright and beautiful; not the least difference is to be found in beauty, age, voice and dress. She became doubtful on seeing their equal appearances. The princess, not being able to distinguish her husband, became very anxious and thought :-- “What am I to do now? Whom to choose? They are exactly the same. I cannot distinguish who is my real husband? This may be the magic set up by the two As'vins. However, I am put to a great crisis. I won't ever select another who is not my husband. Therefore my death is well nigh; what to do now? The third form seen now may be also a Deva's son.” Thus cogitating, she resolved to meditate on the Highest Prakriti, the Lady of the Universe, the most Auspicious One. Then the thin-bellied princess began to sing the hymns of the Bhagavatî.

31-38. Sukanyâ said :-- “O World-Mother! Under most painful circumstances I take refuge unto Thee; preserve my chastity; I bow down to Thy feet. O Devî! Salutations to Thee, born of lotus. O Thou, the dear consort of S'ankara! Salutations to Thee. O Thou favourite to Visnu, O Mother of the Vedas! O Sarasvatî! Salutations to Thee, Thou hast created the world, moving and unmoving; Thou art preserving it without being least excited; again Thou art swallowing it for the peace and well-being of all. What more, Thou art the Most Worshipful Mother of Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'a. Thou always illuminest the understanding of the illiterate and Thou always grantest liberation to the Jñânins. Thou art the Prime Prakriti in fullness and the Beloved of the Prime Purusa. Thou grantest Bhukti (enjoyment) and Mukti (freedom) to the souls that are cleansed and pure; Thou givest pain to those that are entirely void of knowledge and Thou grantest happiness to those that are endowed with Sattva Guna. O Mother! Thou bestowest Siddhi (the success, the eight supernatural powers), fame, and victory to the Yogis! Being merged in an ocean of bewilderment, I come now to take refuge unto Thee. O Mother! The two Devas are playing hypocrisy with me; thus puzzled I can’t fix my mind whom to select; therefore I am merged in an ocean of sorrow. Save me by showing my real husband. O Omniscient One! Knowing my vow of chastity dost Thou enlighten me so that I can know my husband.”

39-58. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus pleased by the Sukanyâ's prayers, the Devî Tripurâ Sundarî then imparted to her the pleasant Sattva Jñân (knowledge pertaining to Sattva Guna). She then looked again at the three personages, and though they were similar in appearance and beauty, instantly she recognised mentally her husband and chose him. When Sukanyâ selected the Muni Chyavana, the two Devas became greatly pleased to see that. The two Devas were pleased by the grace of Bhâgavatî; they were further pleased to see the Dharma of chastity and granted her the boon. They then bade good-bye to Chyavana and were ready to start to their own place when Chyavana being very much pleased to get through their grace, his beauty, youth and wife, interrupted them, saying “O high-minded Devas! You have done much good to me. I used to feel pain every day, in spite of my having this wife having good hairs! But owing to your mercy, I cannot describe how happy I am now in this world of woes and troubles. I was very aged and blind and was without any enjoyment but it is you that coming to this forest have brought to me eyes, youth and exquisite  beauty. Therefore, O twin Devas! I desire to do something good to you in return. Fie on him, who does not return anything for the good that he has received from a beneficent friend. That man remains indebted for ever in this world; therefore I am desirous to give you two now whatever you want. O twin Devas! Even if the Devas or the Asuras find it difficult to attain, I will give that to you to free myself of the debt I owe to you. I am greatly pleased at your good deed; therefore be kind enough to speak out whatever you desire.” They began to consult with each other, and spoke to the Muni Chyavana who was seated with Sukanya beside him :-- “O Maharsi! We have got all our desires by the grace of Father! Still it is difficult for us to drink some libation along with the other Devas and we thirst after that very strongly. At the great sacrifice of Brahmâ in the Golden Mountain (Kanakâchala), Indra, the King of the Devas, ordered us not to drink Soma, as we were physicians. Therefore, O Knower of Dharma! O Ascetic! You will certainly do us a great favour if you can make us drink the Soma juice; we would be very glad and have our desires satisfied.” Thus hearing the words of the As'vins, Maharsi Chyavana gladly spoke to them the following gentle words, O Twin Devas! I was blind and aged; but now I am become a young and beautiful man, and it is by your grace that I have got back my wife. Therefore I speak this truly before you that at the great sacrifice of the lustrous King S'aryâti, I will gladly make you drink the Soma in the presence of Indra, the King of the Devas. Hearing these words of the Muni, the twin As'vins were greatly pleased and went back to the world of the Devas. And the Muni Chyavana, too, returned to his own As'rama with his wife Sukanyâ.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the getting of youth by Chyavana Muni in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On Granting The As’vins The Right To Drink The Soma Juice

1-3. Janamejaya said :-- “O Muni! How did Maharsi Chyavana make these twin Devas drink Soma and how his words came out to be true. Human strength is insignificant compared to Indra's strength. Indra forbade the physicians, the As'vins, to drink the Soma juice. How then could the Muni give the right thereof. This is very wonderful. Therefore, O Thou, devoted to Dharma! O Lord! Describe in detail the doings of this Maharsi Chyavana. I am very anxious to hear it.”

4-10. Vyâsa said :-- O King! In that famous sacrifice of the King S’aryâti, Chyavana Risi did wonderful feats. O Bharata! I am now narrating to you his entirely wonderful character. Hear it attentively. Maharsi Chyavana, illustrious like the Devas, began to enjoy with a cheerful mind and gladdened heart, with his beautiful wife Sukanyâ who was like a Deva Kanyâ. Now, once on an occasion, the wife of S'aryati became very anxious and trembling said to her husband weeping :-- “O King! You have betrothed your daughter to the blind Muni Chyavana; now it is your duty to go and enquire whether the daughter is living or is dead. O Lord! What is my beautiful daughter doing with that husband. Please go just now to the Muni's Âs'rama and see about it. O Râjarsi! I always burn in pain and agony when I think of her. She must have become very lean and thin due to the troubles of Tapasyâ; please bring her quickly here to my presence. She is suffering an everlasting pain from having an aged blind husband; and it is quite likely she has become very lean and thin, I am anxious, therefore, to see my daughter lean and thin who is wearing barks of trees as her dress.”

11. S'aryâti said :-- “O broad-eyed One! I am going gladly just now to see my dear daughter and that Muni of severe vows.”

12-25. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus saying to his wife, distressed with sorrow, the King S'aryâti mounted on his chariot and quickly went towards the Âs’rama of the Chyavana Muni. On reaching there, he saw the Maharsi Chyavana like a Deva's son. Seeing his body like that of Deva, the King became bewildered and began to think thus :-- “What! Has my daughter done such an ugly act, blameable in the society! That Muni was very calm and quiet, penniless and very old; my daughter, perhaps, being overpowered with passion, killed him and has taken, no doubt, another husband. It is indeed difficult to control the God of Love, armed with his flowery bow: the period of youth is moreover very hard to conquer. So this daughter impelled by lust has thrown a dreadful stigma on the clear name of the family of the great Manu. Fie on him whose daughter in this world is of a vicious character! It seems that daughters are born for the expiation of all the sins committed by their fathers. But what an unjust act have I committed for my own selfish ends? It is highly incumbent on every father to betroth his daughter with every care possible to a bridegroom suitable in every respect; but I did not do it and now have got  the fruits equivalent to my doing. If I kill my daughter, vicious and unchaste, I will incur sin due to killing a woman and moreover my daughter. I am the cause of this stain on Muni's line of descent. On the one hand, the scandal on one is very powerful; and the affection for a daughter is strong on the other. What am I to do now?” The King became merged in deep thoughts. At this time Sukanyâ accidentally saw her father thus drowned in anxious thoughts. Seeing him, Sukanyâ instantly came to her father's side and asked the King in sweet affectionate words. O King! How is it that your face has become so pale with anxious thoughts, seeing the Muni sitting in front of you, a young man with lotus-eyes. O Father! What are you thinking? You belong to the famous Manu's family; besides, you are a high-minded man; you ought not to be sad so suddenly; come quickly and bow your head down before my husband.

26. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the daughter's words, the King became impatient with anger and began to speak to her :--

27-36. O Daughter! Where is that aged blind ascetic Muni Chyavana and who is this youth intoxicated with lust? A great doubt has arisen in my mind. O Vicious Soul! Have you slain that Chyavana Muni and engaged yourself in such a sinful act? O You, a Disgrace to your family! Have you accepted another husband out of your desire of lust? My mind has became very much troubled on not seeing that Muni in this Âs'rama. O vicious One! Now I don't see the Muni; but instead of him, I see this bright person. And thus it is on account of your sinful behaviour that my mind is drowned in the ocean of cares. Then hearing her father's words, Sukanyâ smiled and gladly took him at once to her husband and said :-- “O Father! He is your son-in-law; He is the same Chyavana Muni; there is no doubt here. The twin As'vins have given him this beautiful lustre and lotus-like eyes. The two As'vini Kumâras came accidentally to my Âsrama and out of mercy no doubt they have made Chyavana such a nice young man. O King! I am not your that daughter that will do a vicious act as you think, beguiled by this beautiful form of the Muni. Father! Bow down before the Chyavana Muni. Ask him and he will tell you everything.” Hearing thus the daughter's words, the King went instantly to the Muni and bowed down before him and asked him affectionately thus :--

37-38. The King said :-- “O Son of Bhrigu! How have you got your eyes back? Where has your old age gone? Kindly narrate all your details as early as possible. O Brâhmana! Seeing your exquisitely beautiful form, a great doubt has arisen in me; so tell me everything in detail; I will be very glad, no doubt.”

39-45. Chyavana said :-- “O King! The two As'vins, the physicians of the Gods, came here on their own account and have done me this good out of their mercy. Owing to the benefit thus received, I have granted them the boon that I will make them drink the Soma juice in the Agnistoma Yajña of the King S'aryâti. Thus I have got these beautiful eyes and the new youth; therefore, O King! Collect yourself and sit in the holy sacrificial seat.” When the Brâhmin Chyavana Muni spoke thus, the King S'aryâti and his dear wife sat with greatest pleasure and began to talk on auspicious topics with the high-souled Muni. Then the Bhârgava consoled the King and said I will perform your sacrifice; please collect all the necessary materials. I have promised to the As'vins that certainly I will make them drink the Soma juice. Therefore, O King! I will have to carry that out in your sacrifice. O King! If Indra be angry, I will stop him by my Tapas force and in the Agnistoma Yajña I will make the As'vins drink Soma.

46-58. Vyâsa said :-- O King! S'aryâti, the lord of the earth, then gladly approved the proposals of Chyavana Muni. The King then shewed respects to the Muni and, with a pleasant attitude of mind, returned to his city with his wife, all the while talking of the Muni on the way. On a good auspicious day he, possessed of enormous wealth and prosperity prepared an excellent place for the performance of the sacrifice. The Muni Chyavana then invited Vas'istha and other respectable Munis and initiated the King S'aryâti for the performance of the sacrifice. At the commencement of the sacrifice, Indra and the other Devas and the two As'vins all came to the sacrifice to drink Soma. Seeing the As'vins, Indra became afraid and asked the other Devas, “Why have the As'vins come here?” They are the physicians and, therefore, never fit to drink Soma. Who has brought them hither at this great Agnistoma Sacrifice? The Devas remained all silent. Chyavana Muni then became ready to offer Soma to the As'vins and Indra immediately stopped him saying :-- They are already prohibited to drink Soma as a sacrificial share; so do not accept the vessel of Soma for them. Chyavana then said :-- “O Lord of S'achî! These are the Sûrya's sons; tell, then, truly why these are rendered unfit to drink Soma. They are not of mixed blood; they are born of the legal wife of Sûrya Deva. O Lord of the Devas! What is the fault then, of the As'vins, the physicians, that they be prohibited to drink Soma juice. Please reply. O Indra! This point must be settled by all the Devas here. I have promised to make them drink the Soma juice in this sacrifice. To keep my word I have initiated the King in this sacrifice. I will have my word fulfilled; there is no doubt in this. O Indra! They have given me my youth and bestowed my eyes and have done me great good. I will also do good to them to my best.”

59. Indra said :-- “The Devas have appointed these Devas their Physicians; therefore they are looked down upon in the society; so they are unfit to drink Soma. You need not make them drink Soma.”

60-61. Chyavana spoke :-- “O Indra! You have adulterated yourself with Ahalyâ; why are you, then, giving vent to your anger thus in vain. You have treacherously murdered Vritrâsura; it is quite inappropriate for a vicious person like you to say that the As'vins cannot have the right to drink Soma. This is quite impossible.” O King! On the springing of this dispute, no body spoke to Indra. The illustrious Bhârgava, then, made them accept the Soma juice.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Seventh Book on granting the As'vins the right to drink the Soma juice in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 7. On The Twin As’vins Drinking The Soma Cup

1-2. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the vessel filled with the Soma juice was given to the two As'vins, Indra became very angry and showing his strength, spoke thus to the Muni Chyavana. O Brâhmana! Never will you be able to endow him with such a high honour. When you have shewn towards me your enmity, I will kill you, no doubt, exactly like Vis'varûpa.

3-4. Chyavana said :-- “O Indra! Do not insult the two highsouled As'vins. They have given me beauty, youth and lustre and made me look like a second Deva. O Lord of the Devas! Just as the other Devas can take the vessel of Soma excluding you, so the two powerful As'vins can do the same towards you.”

5. Indra said :-- “They are the physicians; so they cannot in any way have the right to accept the Soma cup. I will just now sever your head.”

6-29. Vyâsa said :-- O Ornament to the race of Bharata! At these words of Indra, the Muni made the As'vins accept the Soma cup, thus highly insulting, as it were, Indra and not taking any notice of his words. When the two As'vins accepted the cup with a desire to drink the Soma thereof, the powerful Indra saw it  and said :-- “If you make them drink Soma out of your own necessity, I will hurl thunderbolt on your head exactly in the same way as I did towards Vis'varûpa.”

The Muni became violently angry at this and made the As'vins drink the Soma according to due rites and ceremonies. Indra, too, angrily hurled thunderbolt on him in the presence of all the Devas. The weapon shed lustre like million Suns. Seeing the thunderbolt hurled on him, the powerful Muni made the Indra's thunderbolt stand stock still by virtue of his Tapas. The powerful Muni then adopted black magic to kill Indra and offered oblations of clarified butter and grains, purified by Mantrams, in the Fire. By the Tapas of Chyavana, of unbounded lustre, there sprang from the sacrificial hearth Krityâ (A female deity to whom sacrifices are offered for destructive and magical purposes). And out of Krityâ originated a very strong person, very cruel and of huge body, a great Demon. The horrible Demon, named Mada, was terrifying to all the beings. His body was huge like a mountain, teeth very sharp and terrible. Four teeth were hundred Yojanas long each, and his other teeth were ten Yojanas long. His arms were like mountains, very long and fierce; tongue, horrible, rough and so very long that it reached up to the heavens. His throat was like a mountain peak hard and of a furious appearance; nails resembled tiger's, hairs horrible. His body was jet black like lamp black; face very terrible, eyes bright like the conflagration fire and awful. One of his jaws touched the ground and the other touched the heaven. Thus was born the Demon, named Mada, of huge form. Looking at him, the Devas became suddenly frightened; Indra, too, got very much terrified at the sight of him and did not want to have any more fight. The Demon swallowed Indra's thunderbolt, looked at the sky, and stood up as if to swallow at once the whole Universe. He became infuriated with rage and pursued Indra to devour him. Seeing this, the Devas cried aloud :-- “Alas! We are slain.” Indra had his arms disabled by Mantrams and so he could not hurl his thunderbolt though he wanted to do so. The Lord of the Devas, then, with thunderbolt in his hand, looked on the Demon as Death personified and remembered his Guru, skilled in the knowledge which is the proper time to perform a certain thing. The liberal-minded Brihaspati knowing the time of imminent danger, and that he is remembered by Indra, at once came to the spot. He then judged what to do in the present crisis and told Indra :-- “O Indra! This cannot be averted even by Mantrams; what to speak of thunderbolt! This powerful Asura Mada has arisen from the sacrificial hearth by virtue of the Tapas of the Chyavana Muni. The Muni's power is especially felt here. O Lord of the Devas! Nobody, You, I, nor any other Deva will be able to resist him. Know this. Even Brahmâ cannot thwart the anger of one who is devoted to the S'akti, the Highest Force; Chyavana is the Bhakta of the Highest S'akti. So no other body is able to defeat him. He is the man himself to take back the Krityâ that he has originated. There is no doubt in this. So it is better for you now to take the shelter of the Muni.”

30-52. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus from his Guru, Indra went to the Muni and bowed down shuddering, before him. “O Muni! Forgive me and stop the Asura from his intention to slay the Devas. O All knowing One! Be pleased, I will keep your words. O Bhârgava! The two As'vins will, from this day, have the right to drink the Some juice. This I speak out to you in truth. O Brâhmana! Be graciously pleased unto me. O Ascetic! Your intention will never be baffled. Especially I know you to be a knower of Dharma; so, you will never be able to make your word swerve from truth. The two As'vins will, by your grace, be able to drink always the Soma cup; and the King S'aryâti's fame will also know no bounds. O Muni! Know that what I have done is simply to test your prowess in Tapas. O Brâhmana! Now do this favour to me and take back your, this Demon Mada, sprung from your sacrificial hearth and thus do good to all the Devas. There is no doubt in this.” Thus spoken piteously by Indra, Chyavana, who knew the Highest Reality, drew back within himself the anger arising from the enmity with Indra. Then the Maharsi Chyavana consoled the Devas that were very much perplexed and anxious out of terror of the Demon named Mada and divided the Asura into four parts (1) female sex, (2) drinking, (3) gambling and (4) hunting animals. When Mada was thus divided into four parts, the terror stricken Devas felt themselves relieved and saved and got consoled. Chyavana then placed the Devas in their respective stations and completed the sacrifice. As last, the religious Bhârgava made first Indra and then the two As'vins drink the Soma Cups. O King! Thus Chyavana had the As'vins their Soma Cups by virtue of his power of Tapas. Thence the tank with the sacrificial post Yûpa became famous and the Muni's Âs'rama also was renowned and honoured in all respects. The King S'aryâti, too, became very glad at this sacrifice and completing the sacrifice returned with his ministers to his city. The Manu's son, the powerful religious King S'aryâti governed his kingdom, free from any obstacles or other enemies. He had one son named Ânarta; and Ânarta had a son named Revata born to him.

Revata built the city of Kus'asthalî in the midst of the ocean and began to live there. He enjoyed all the things in the countries named Ânarta and others. Revata had one hundred sons of whom Kakudmi was the eldest and of pure character. He had one daughter very beautiful named Revatî, endowed with all auspicious qualities. When the daughter reached a marriageable age, the King began to think where he could get a prince of a good noble family. That powerful King began to govern his people Ânartas, with his headquarters at the Raivata hill. “Whom to betroth this daughter,” the King thought and settled that he would go to Brahmâ and ask him, the venerable omniscient Prajâpati, worshipped by the Devas. Thus the King went with his daughter Revatî to the Brahmaloka. There the Devas, Yajñas, Vedas, mountains, oceans and rivers all were shining with luminous bodies. There the eternal Risis, Siddhas, Gandharbas, Pannagas and Châranas were singing hymns to Brahmâ, standing with folded hands.

Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Seventh Book on the twin As'vins drinking the Soma Cup in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 8. On The King Revata And The Solar Dynasty

1-5. Janamejaya said :-- “O Brâhmanâ! The King was a Ksattriya; how could he go himself with his daughter Revatî to the Brahmâloka (the abode of Brahmâ)? I entertain a great doubt on this point. I heard of yore while conversing about matters connected with the Brâhmins, that the Brâhmin only who was self-restrained and the knower of Brahmân could alone go to the Brahmâloka. The Satyaloka is very hard for the worldly people to go; so I doubt how the king could have gone with Revatî from the Bhûrloka to the Satyaloka. Man, when he discards his body, can go to the Heavens. So is recited in all the S'âstras. How then, people, while, in their human bodies can go to the Brahmâloka. So cut asunder my doubts how the King Revata could go to the Brahmâloka to ask the Prajâpati on certain matters.”

6-16. Vyâsa said :-- “O King! On the top of the mountain Sumeru, are located the Indra's heavens called Amarâvati (the abode of the Immortals) the Samyamanî city of Yama, the Satyaloka, the Vahniloka, the Kailâsa, Vaikuntha the abode of Visnu, and others. The great archer Arjuna, the son of Prithâ, went to the Indraloka and spent five years there. In ancient times, the Kings Kakutstha and others went to Indraloka, in their human bodies. Even the powerful Daityas used to conquer the Indraloka and resided there at their will and pleasure. In ancient times, when the sovereign of the earth, the King Mahâbhisa went to the Brahmâloka, the most beautiful Gangâ also was coming to the Brahmâloka. On the way the King saw Her. O King! Accidentally at that time her clothings were cast aside by the wind; the King saw her partly in her naked state, and, overpowered with lust, smiled; Gangâ also smiled. Seeing the states of them, Brahmâ instantly cursed them; and they had to come in this world and take their births. All the Devas, when oppressed by the Dânavas, went to Vaikuntha and sang hymns to Hari, the Lord of Kamalâ. O King! Men can go to all the Lokas; in fact those high-souled men that perform Yajñas or severe asceticism and thus have acquired great merits, those performers of Sacrifices and ascetics surely go to the Heavens. O King! It is only the abundance of good merits that is the only cause of going to Heavens. So you ought not to entertain any doubts on this.”

17-18. Janamejaya said :-- “O Muni! The King Revata went with his daughter Revatî to the Brahmâloka; but what did he do when he went there? What did Brahmâ order him? And to whom did the King betroth his daughter, when ordered by Brahmâ? O Brâhmana! Speak out all these in details to me now.”

19-21. Vyâsa said :-- “O King! Hear. When the King went to Brahmâloka to ask about the proper bridegroom of his daughter, there was going on singing and music; so he waited a while to find an opportunity when the assembly would have a leisure; but he was so very pleased with music that he could not desist from hearing it till the end. When the music was finished, the King bowed down to Brahmâ and shewed him his daughter and informed Him of his intention.”

22-26. The King said :-- “O Deva! This good daughter is mine; now kindly say who will be her bridegroom. O Brahmâ! To whom shall I betroth this daughter? I have come to you to ask on this point I have searched for many princes and seen also a good many of them and none of them is to my liking and so my mind is not at rest. O Lord of the Devas! Therefore I have come to you. Kindly select one bridegroom for her. He is to be a Kulîn (of good family), powerful, religious, liberal, and a prince endowed with all auspicious qualities. This is my prayer.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! Brahmâ, the lotus-born, the Creator of the world, hearing these words, laughed, thinking that a very long interval had passed away. He then said :--

27-43. O King! The princes that you thought would become the bridegroom of your daughter, all died; their sons and grandsons and their friends even have all passed away. The twenty-seventh Manvantara of the Dvâpara Yuga is now going on; so none of the princes of your family are now existing. The Daityas sacked your city. Now Ugrasena, the King of Mathurâ, is reigning in that place. He belongs to the illustrious lunar family of Yayâti. His son, the powerful Kansa, born of a Dânava, began to do injuries always to the Devas; he threw his own father to the prison. Becoming very haughty, he began to govern himself the countries of other kings and began to tyrranise over the subjects. O King. The Earth became so much troubled by the armies of the wicked Demon Kings, that She became quite unable to bear further loads. So She went to seek refuge to Brahmâ. Brahmâ and the other Devas then began to say :-- “O Earth! To remove your burden the lotus-eyed Nârâyanâ will incarnate Himself as part incarnation in the form of S'rî Krisna. He who is Nârâyanâ practised in ancient times, as the son of Dharma, a very severe asceticism, in company with his brother Nara in the sacred hermitage of Badari. Now this very Deva is born in the great family of Yadu in the womb of Devakî by Vasudeva and is now celebrated by the name of Vâsudeva. O King! He has slain that vicious wicked Kansa and has installed Ugrasena in his place. The very powerful Jarâsandha, the vicious King of Magadha, is the father-in-law of Kansa. On hearing the death of his son-in-law, he became infuriated with rage, came to Mathurâ, and raged a terrible war. Vâsudeva defeated in a battle that Jarâsandha, proud of his mighty valour. Though defeated, Jarâsandha sent Kâlayavana with his host of army to fight again with Krisna. Bhâgavan Vâsudeva, when he heard that the King of Yavanas arrived, sent away all the members of his family and the Yâdavas to Dvârkâ and began to wait with his brother Balarâma for the Yavana King. Then he went alone to the camp of Yavana and led him away to a mountain cave where was sleeping the King Muchu Kunda and had then the Yavana King slain by Muchukunda. Krisna then went to Dvârkâ. The city of Dvârkâ was then a dilapidated condition. Krisna brought together the artists and got built exquisitely the beautiful palaces, forts, and markets and stalls, etc., and so added to the beauty of the place. That Vâsudeva, of mighty prowess, thus improving the city, made Ugrasena the King of that place; and Krisna is now waiting there with his friends. His elder brother Baladeva, the carrier of the plough, is celebrated. Thus he with Musala in his hands is a great warrior and the part incarnation of Ananta Deva. He is the fit bridegroom of your daughter. So give your daughter in marriage, without any delay, according to the rules of the marriage ceremony to Sankarsana Balabhadra. After giving your daughter marriage, go to the hermitage of Badari and practise tapasyâ. That sacred retreat is the (park) recreation ground of the Devas, holy and yielding to human beings the objects of their desires.

44-46. Vyâsa said :-- “O King! Thus ordered by the lotus-born Brahmâ, the King went to Dvârkâ with his daughter. Reaching there he gave over his all auspicious daughter in marriage to Bala Deva duly according to the rules and regulations. At last, according to Brahmâ's injunction, he became engaged in severe austerities in the Badarikâs'ram and, when the time of death arrived, left off his mortal coil on the banks of the river and went to the world of Gods.”

47-48. Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! You have uttered one wonderful thing. One hundred and eight Yugas passed away when the King of Revata with his daughter was deeply absorbed in hearing music in the Brahmâloka yet neither the good King nor the daughter did get sufficiently old. How could this be! How could they have lived so long! Were their longevities ordained to be such a long period!”

49-56. Vyâsa said :-- “O King! The Brahmâloka is not touched by any vice nor sin; old age, hunger, thirst or fear of death nothing exists there; nor is there any other cause by which weariness comes. So what doubt there can be that the people there will be long-lived, free from old age and death! When the King S'aryâti went up to the Heavens, his sons were all destroyed by the Râksasas; those that remained, they, terrified left Kus'asthalî and fled on all sides. Vaivasvata Manu sneezed; owing to that, came out of his nose one powerful son; his name was Iksâku. He spread the Solar dynasty and became celebrated. Getting excellent initiation from the Maharsi Nârada, he began to meditate the Devî constantly and practised severe tapasyâ for the spread of his race. O King! Iksâku had one hundred sons; Vikuksi was the eldest; he was powerful and endowed with great strength. Iksâku became king and lived in Ayodhyâ. He sent his fifty sons, the powerful S'akuni and others to Uttarâpatha (Eastern) provinces for governing those countries. That high-souled monarch sent also other eight sons to govern the countries in the South. (Western). O King! He kept the remaining two sons by his side for his own service.”

Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the story of the King Revata and the spread of the Solar dynasty in the Mahâpuranam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 9. On The Story Of Kâkutstha And The Origin Of Mândhâtâ

1-11. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Once on a time, the time for Astaka S'râddha (the funeral ceremony in honour of the departed) arrived. Seeing this, the King Iksâku ordered his son Vikuksi :-- “O Child! Go immediately to the forest and bring carefully pure sanctified meat for the S'râddha purposes; see, that there be no neglect of duty.” Thus ordered, Vikuksi instantly went to the forest equipped with arms. He hunted in the forest lots of boars, pigs, deer, and hare. But he was so very tired with his journey in the forest and got so hungry that he forgot everything about the Astaka S'râddha and ate one hare there in the forest. The remaining excellent meat he brought and handed over to his father. When that meat was brought to be sprinkled for purification, the family priest Vas'istha, on seeing it, at once came to know that some portion had already been eaten and it was the remaining part. The leavings of food are not fit for the sprinkling purposes; this is the S'âstric rule. Vas'istha informed the King of this defect in the food. In accordance with the Guru's advice, the King coming to know thus the violation of the rule by his son, became very angry and banished his son from his kingdom. The prince became known from that time as Sa'sâda; he did not become the least sorry for his father's anger; he went to the forest and gladly remained there. He gladly passed his time absorbed in religion and sustained his life on forest fruits and roots. After sometime when his father died, he inherited his kingdom. On becoming the King of Ayodhyâ, S'as'âda had only one son; he became famous in the three lokas by the name of Kakutstha. He was known also by other names Indravâha and Puranjaya.

12. Janamejaya said :-- “O Holy One! How and why was the prince named Kakutstha. Why was he known by the two other names? Speak all this to me.”

13-14. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When S'as'âda went to the Heavens Kakutstha became king. That religious king then began to govern the country of his father and grandfather with an authority supported by a powerful arm. At this time the Devas suffered a defeat from the Dânavas and took refuge to Visnu, the Infallible and the Lord of the three worlds. The eternal great Visnu full of intelligence and bliss then addressed the Devas :--

15-16. Visnu said :-- “O Devas! Go and pray to the King S'as'âda. He will be your ally and kill all the Demons. That King is religious; especially he is a worshipper of the Highest S'akti. He is a good archer and will come to help you. His strength is immense.”

17-18. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Indra and the other Devas hearing the nectar like words of Hari went to Ayodhyâ, to Kakutstha, the son of S'as'âda. Seeing the Devas at his palace, the king worshipped them duly and with great care and he asked them why they had come there.

19-20. The King said :-- “O Devas! When you have favoured me by your presence here, I am blessed and sanctified; my life is crowned with success. Say what I can do for you; I will carry it out even if it be very hard for me to perform.”

21-22. The Devas said :-- “O Prince! Please help and back us and defeat the Daityas, invincible by the Devas and form an alliance with Indra. O King! By the grace of the Highest S'akti, you have nothing unattained anywhere; so we have come to you by the order of Visnu.”

23-41. The King said :-- “O Devas! I can back you and become your ally if Indra carries me on his back in the time of war. I will fight now with the Daityas for the Devas; but I will go to the battle-field on Indra's back; this I speak to you truly.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Devas then spoke to Indra :-- “O Lord of S'achi! It is now your bounden duty to do this; so quitting shame, be a carrier to this King.” Indra got ashamed very much, but being requested frequently by Hari, at last assumed the appearance of a bull like the great Bull of S'iva. The King mounted on that bull to go to the war; he fought while taking his seat on the hump on the shoulders of the bull (Kakud); therefore he was named Kakutstha. The King was carried by Indra on his back hence he was named Indravâha; he conquered the Dânavas in battle; hence he was called Puranjaya. The powerful King defeated the Dânavas and gave away all their wealth to the Devas. He bade farewell to the Devas and returned to his own kingdom. Thus the alliance was formed with Indra. O King! Kakutstha became very celebrated on this earth; his descendants became kings and were known as Kakutsthas and were all very famous here on this Earth. Kakutstha had one powerful son, named Kâkutstha by his legal wife; Kâkutstha had the son Prithu, of mighty prowess. Prithu was the part incarnation personified of Visnu, and worshipper of the feet of the Supreme S'akti. His son was Visvarandhi; he became king and governed the kingdom. His son was Chandra; he came to be king, governed his subjects and multiplied very much his issues. Yuvanâs'va was one of his sons; he was very powerful and spirited. S'avanta was the son of Yuvanâs'va; he was very religious. He built a nice city named S'âvantî like the Paradise of Indra. Brihadas'va was the son of the high-souled S'âvanta; he had a son Kuvalayâs'va. He became the Lord of the earth by the power of his arms. He killed Dhundu Dânava; so he was very much celebrated by the name of Dhundumâra. His son was Dridhâs'va; he governed the earth; His son was S'rîmân Haryas'va. His son was Nikumbha; he became the King. Nikumbha had his son Varhanâs'va. Kris'âs'va was his son. His son was the powerful Parasenajit; his son's prowess knew no bounds. Parasenajit had the fortunate son Yauvanâs'va. O fortunate One! The son of Yauvanas'va was S'rîmân Mândhâtâ; he became the Lord of the Earth and for the satisfaction of the Devî Bhagavatî had one thousand and eight palaces built in Benares and in the other chief places of pilgrimages. Mâudhâtâ was not born of his mother's womb but was born in the belly of his father. Then the ministers tore asunder the belly of his father and got him out.

42-43. Janamejaya said :-- O fortunate One! What you said was never seen nor heard ever before since. This sort of birth is highly improbable. How was that beautiful son born in the belly of his father? Describe this in detail and satisfy my curiosity.

44-49. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The King Yauvanâs'va had one hundred queens; yet he had no issues. The King always thought much about his son. Once the King, sorry and desirous of a son, went to the holy retreats of the Risis. On arriving there, he began frequently to respire heavily before the ascetics. The Risis became filled with pity on seeing his sorrowful condition. O King! The Brâhmins that said to him :-- O King! Why are you thus sorrowful and distressed? What is your sorrow that is troubling your heart? Speak truly. We will surely redress your grievance.

50-54. Yauvanâs'va said :-- “O Munis! I have got the kingdom wealth, excellent horses, one hundred illustrious chaste wives. I have no enemies in the three worlds; no one is stronger than me. All the Kings and ministers are obedient to my call. But O Ascetics! I have no son; this my sonless state is the only cause of my pain and sorrow. It has marred all my happiness. See! The persons that have no son cannot in any way go to Heavens. Therefore I am always being pained for this. You all are ascetics; you have taken great pains to learn the essence of the Veda S'âstras. So kindly order me what sacrifice is fit for me to have a son. O Ascetics! If you feel any pity for me, kindly perform this good work for me.”

55-65. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the words of the King they were all filled with pity; and, with fulness of mind, made him to perform the sacrifice whose presiding deity was Indra. For the sake of the King, that he may get a son born to him, they had a jar filled with water by the Brâhmins and purified and charged that jar with the Vedic Mantrams. The King got thirsty in the night and entered in the sacrificial ground; seeing the Brâhmins asleep, the King himself drank that water, surcharged with the Mantram. The Brâhmins consecrated and kept that water apart, according to due rules, surcharging with Mantrams, for the wife of the King; but the King, getting thirsty, himself drank that water unconsciously. Next morning the Brâhmins seeing the jar of water empty, were startled very much with fear; the Brâhmins then asked the King :-- Who drank the water? When they came to know that the King himself drank the water, the Munis thought this to he an act of Daiva (Fate) and completing the sacrifice returned to their abodes. Then the King became pregnant by the power of the sacrificial Mantrams. After some time, the son became fully developed. Then the King's ministers, cutting his right bowel, got the son out. Out of the God's favour, the King did not die. When the ministers were troubled with the thought whose milk the child will suck, then Indra spoke out the child would drink (Mân-Dhâtâ) my forefinger and gave his finger into the child's mouth. For that reason his name was Mândhâtâ. Thus I have described in detail the origin of Mândhâtâ.

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the story of Kakutstha and the origin of Mândhâtâ in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Story Of Satyavrata

1-11. Vyasa said :--  O King! That King Mândhâtâ, true to his promise, conquered one after another the whole world and became the paramount sovereign of all the other emperors and got the title “Sârvabhauma” (Sovereign of all the earth). O King! What more to speak of Mândhâtâ's influence at that time than this that all the robbers, struck with his terror, all fled to the mountain caves. For this reason, Indra gave him the title “Trasadasyu.” He married Bindumatî, the daughter of S'as'avindu. Her limbs were proportioned and perfect and so she was very beautiful. Mândhâtâ had by that wife two sons :-- (1) the famous Purukutstha and (2) Muchukunda. Purukutstha had his son Anaranya; this prince was celebrated by the name of Brihadas'va. He was very religious and deeply devoted to his father. His son was Haryas'va; he was religious and knew the Highest Reality. His son was Tridhanvâ; his son was Aruna. Aruna's son was Satyavrata; he was very avaricious, lustful, wicked and wilful. Once on an occasion that vicious prince, overpowered by lust, stole away the wife of one Brâhmin and so created an hindrance in his marriage. O King! The Brâhmins, united in a body, came to the King Aruna, bewailing and lamenting and uttered repeatedly :-- Alas! We are ruined! The King addressed to the grieved subjects, the Brâhmins :-- “O Brâhmins! What harm has been done to you by my son.”

Hearing thus the good words of the King, the Dvijas, versed in the Vedas, repeatedly blessed him and said :--O King! You are the foremost of the powerful. So your son is like you. Today he has forcibly stolen away during the marriage ceremony a Brâhmin daughter already given over in marriage.

12-36. Vyasa said :-- O King! The highly religious King hearing the words of the Brâhmins, took them to be true and said to his son :-- “O One of evil understanding! You have rendered to-day your name useless by perpetrating this evil act. O Vicious One! Get away from my house! O Sinner! You will never be able to live in my territory!” Seeing his father angry, Satyavrata repeatedly said :-- Father! Where shall I go?  He said :-- “Live with the Chandalas. You have stolen a Brâhmin's wife and so has acted like a Chândala. Go and live with them happily. O Disgrace to your family! I don't like to get issues through you: you have obliterated this family's name. So, O Sinner! go wherever you like.” Hearing the the words from his angry father, Satyavrata instantly quitted the house and went to the Chândâlas. The prince, wearing his coat of armour and holding bows and arrows, began to spend away his time with the Chândâlas; but he could not get out of his breast his feeling of sympathy and mercy. When he was banished by his liberal minded angry father the Guru Vas'istha instigated the King to the above purpose. Satyavrata was therefore angry with Vas'istha, inasmuch as he, versed the Dharma S'âstras, did not dissuade the father from banishing his son. His father, then, owing to some inexplicable cause, quitted the city and, for the sake of his son, went to the forest to practise austerities. O King! Owing to that sinful act, Indra did not rain at all in his kingdom for twelve years. O King! Just then Vis'vâmitra, too, keeping his wife and children in that kingdom, began to practise severe austerities on the banks of the river Kaus'ikî. The beautiful wife of Kus'ika then fell into great trouble how she could maintain the family. All the children, pained with hunger, began to cry, begging for Nibâr rice food. The chaste wife of Kaus'ika became very much troubled seeing all this. She thought, seeing the children hungry, “Where am I to go now and from whom to beg, and what to do, inasmuch as the King was not then staying in the Kingdom. The husband is not also near; so who would protect my children? The boys are incessantly crying. Fie therefore to my life!” She thought also thus :-- “My husband left me in this penniless state; we are suffering for want of money. He does not know these, though he is quite able. Save my husband, who else will support my sons? They will all die now of starvation. I  might sell one of my sons, whatever I get out of that, I can support the others; this is now my highest duty. I ought not to do otherwise and kill all my children; so I will now sell one of my sons to support the others.” Thus hardening her mind, she went out, tying the child by a rope round his neck. The Muni's wife, for the sake of the other children, fastened the middle son by a cord and got out of her house. The prince Satyavrata saw her distressed with pain and sorrow and asked :-- “O Beautiful One! What are you now going to do? Who are you? This boy is crying; Why have you tied him by a rope round his neck? O Fair One! Speak out truly to me the cause of all this.”

37-38. The wife said :-- “O Prince! I am the wife of Vis'vâmitra. These are my sons. I am now going, for want of food, to sell one of these out of my own accord. O King! My husband has gone away to practise tapasyâ; I do not know where he has gone. There is no food in the house; so I will sell one to support the other sons.”

39-56. Satyavrata said :-- “O Chaste One! Save your children. I will bring to you your articles of food from the forest till your husband does not come here. Daily I will fasten some food on a tree close by your Âs'rama. This I speak truly.” The wife of Vis'vâmitra, hearing these words of the prince, freed the child of the fastening and took him to her Âs'rama. The child was named afterwards as Gâlaba, due to his being fastened by the neck. He became a great Risi afterwards. The Vis'vâmitra's wife then felt great pleasure in her home, surrounded by her children. Filled with regard, and mercy, Satyavrata duly performed his task and provided daily the family of Vis'vâmitra with their food. He used to hunt wild boars, deer, buffaloes, etc., and used to take their flesh to the place where used to dwell the wife of Vis'vâmitra and the children and tie that up to an adjoining tree. The Risi's wife used to give those to her children. Thus getting excellent food, she felt very happy. Now when the King Aruna went for tapasyâ to the forest, the Muni Vas'istha carefully guarded the Ayodhyâ city, and the palace and the household. Satyavrata, too, used to sustain his livelihood daily by hunting, accordig to his father's order; and abiding by Dharma, lived in the forest outside the city. Satyavrata cherished always in his heart, for some cause, a feeling of anger towards Vas'istha. When his father banished his religious son, Vas'istha did not prevent his father. This is the cause of Satyavrata's anger. Marriage does not become valid until seven footsteps are trodden (a ceremony); so the stealing away of a girl within that period is not equivalent to stealing away a Brâhmin's wife. The virtuous Vas'istha knew that; yet he did not prevent the King. One day the prince did not find anything for hunting; he saw in the forest the cow of Vas'istha giving milk. Very much distressed by hunger, the King killed the cow like a dacoit, partly out of anger and partly out of delusion. He fastened part of the flesh to that tree for the wife of Vis'vâmitra and the remainder he ate himself. O One of good vows! The Vis'vâmitra's wife did not know that to be beef and thought it to be deer's and so fed her sons with that. Now when Vas'istha came to know that his cow had been killed, he was inflamed with anger and spoke to Satyavrata “O Vicious One! What a heinous crime have you committed, like a Pis'âcha, by killing the cow? For the killing of the cow, the stealing of a Brâhmin's wife and the fiery anger of your father, for these three crimes, let there come out on your head three S'ankus or three marks of leprosy as the signs for your crimes. From this day you will be widely known by the name of Tris'anku and you will show your Pis'âcha form to all the beings.”

57. Vyâsa said : -- O King! The prince Satyavrata thus cursed by Vais'istha remained in that retreat and practised severe tapasyâ.

58. But he got from a Muni's son the excellent Mantram of the Highest auspicious Devî Bhagavatî and became merged in the contemplation of that.

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the story of Satyavrata in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 11. On The Story Of Tris’anku

1. Janamejaya said :-- “O Intelligent One! Did the prince Tris’anku free himself afterwards of the curse inflicted on him by the Muni Vas’istha.”

2-8. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Satyavrata, cursed by Vas’istha, was transformed into a demoniacal state (Pis’âchatva); but he became a great devotee of the Devî and passed away his time in that Âs’rama. One day he repeating slowly the nine-lettered Mantram of the Bhagavatî, wished to perform the Puras’charana ceremony (repeating the name of a deity attended with burnt offerings, oblations, etc.) of the said Mantra, came to the Brâhmins, bowed down to them with great devotion and purity and said :-- “O venerable gods of the earth! Kindly hear me; I with my head bowed down pray to you, that you all be my priests (Ritt-vigs). You are all versed in the Vedas; so kindly do for me duly the Homa ceremony equal to one-tenth part of Japam, for my success. O Brâhmanas! My name is Satyavrata; I am a prince; you ought to do this work for me for my welfare.” Thus hearing the prince’s words the Brâhmanas said :-- “O Prince! You are cursed by your Guru and you are now turned into a demoniacal state. You have now no right to the Vedas; especially you are now in the Pis’âcha state; it is blamed by all the persons; so now you are not fit to be initiated into the ceremony.”

9-14. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing them, the prince got very sad and dejected and thought “Fie on my life! What shall I do now in living even in the forest. My father has forsaken me; I am banished from the kingdom; again, by the Guru’s curse, I have got this Pis’âcha state; I therefore can’t decide what to do.” The prince, then, collecting fuel, prepared the funeral pile for himself, remembered the Chandikâ Devî and repeating Her Mantram, resolved to jump into the fire. Lighting the pyre in front, the prince bathed and standing, with clasped palms, began to chant the hymns to Mahâ Mâyâ before entering into the fire. At this moment, the Devî Bhagavatî, knowing that the prince was ready to burn himself, came instantly to the spot on the back of the lion, by the aerial route. She manifested Henself before him and spoke in a voice deep like a rain-cloud.

15-17. “O Virtuous One What is all this? What have you settled all these? Never throw yourself in fire; be patient. O Fortunate One! Your father is now aged; he will give you his kingdom and will go to the forest for tapasyâ; therefore, O Hero! Do leave your depression of spirits. O King! Tomorrow the ministers of your father will came to you to take you there. By My Grace, your father will install you on the throne and, in due time, he will conquer his desires and will go undoubtedly to the Brahmâ loka.”

18-32. Vyâsa said :-- O Fortunate One! Thus saying, the Devî vanished at that spot; the prince, too, desisted from his purpose of entering into the fire. In the meanwhile, the highsouled Nârada went to Ayodhyâ and at once informed everything to the King. The King became very sad and began to repent very much, hearing the son’s resolve to burn himself. The virtuous King, grieved at heart, for his son, said to his ministers :-- “You all are aware of the turning out of my son. I have forsaken my intelligent son Satyavrata; though he was very spiritual and worthy to get the kingdom; yet, at my command, he instantaneously went away to the forest. Void of wealth, he, practising forgiveness, passed his time in study, particularly in spiritual knowledge; but Vas’istha Deva, cursed him and made him like a Pis’âcha. Very much distressed by pain and sorow, he was ready to burn himself but the Mahâ Devî preventing him, he desisted from this purpose. So go hurriedly and, consoling my powerful eldest son, bring him at once to me. I am now calm and quiet and of a retiring disposition; so I am determined to practise tapasyâ. My son is now capable to govern the subjects; I will now install my son on the throne and retire to the forest.” So he gladly sent his ministers to his son. The ministers, too, gladly went there and consoled the prince and, with respect, brought him to the Ayodhyâ city. Seeing Satyavrata with matted hair on his head, with dirty clothes, and thin and worn out with cares, the King began to think within himself “Oh! What a cruel act have I done, though I know everything about religion, in banishing my intelligent son, quite fit to govern my kingdom.” Thus thinking, he embraced his son by his arms and consoling him, made him sit by his throne. The King, versed in politics, then began to speak gladly with suffocated feelings of love to his son sitting by the side of him.

33-53. O Son! Your highest duty is to keep your mind always on religion and to respect the Brâhmins. Never speak falsely anywhere nor follow any bad course in any way. Rather the words of the spiritual good persons ought to be fully observed; the ascetics ought to be worshipped. Senses must be controlled and the wicked cruel robbers are certainly to be slain. O Son! For one’s success, one should consult with one’s ministers and keep that as secret by all means. Any enemy howsoever insignificant he may be, a clever King should never overlook him. The ministers, if they be attached to other masters and if they come round afterwards, don’t trust them. Spies should be kept to watch friends and foes alike. Show your living regards to the religion always, and make charitable gifts. One ought not to argue in vain and always avoid the company of the wicked. O Son! You should worship the Maharsis and perform various sacrifices. Never trust women, those who are inordinately addicted to women, and the gamblers. Never is it advisable to be addicted too much to hunting. Always shew your back to gambling, drinking, music and to the prostitutes and try to make your subjects follow the same. Early in the morning at the Brahmâ  Muhûrta everyday you should get up from your bed and bathe and perform other analogous duties. O Son! Be initiated by the Guru in the Devî Mantra, and worship with devotion the Supreme Force, the Bhagavatî. Human birth is crowned with success by worshipping Her Lotus Feet, O Son!

He who performs once the great Pûjâ of the Mahâ Devî and drinks the Charanâmrita water (water with which Her feet are worshipped) has never to enter again in the womb of his mother; know this as certain. That Mahâ Devî is all that is seen and She Herself is again the Seer and Witness, of the nature of Intelligence. Filled with these ideas, rest fearless like the Universal Soul. Do your daily Naimittik (occasional) duties, go to the Brâhmin’s assembly and calling on them ask the conclusions of the Dharma S’âstras. The Brâhmins, versed in the Vedas and Vedantas, are objects of venerations and must be worshipped. Give, then, them always according to merits, cows, lands, gold, etc. Don’t worship any Brâhmin who is illiterate. Don’t give to illiterates more than their belliful wants. O Child! Never trespass Dharma, out of covetousness, and remember always not to insult ever afterwards any Brâhmanas. The Brâhmins are the cause of the Ksattriyas, the more so they are the terrestrial gods; honour them with all your care! In this never flinch from your duties. Fire comes out of water; the Ksattriyas come out of the Brâhmanas; iron comes out of stones. The powers of these flow everywhere. But if there be any clash between one thing and its source, then that clash dies away in the source. Know this as quite certain. The King who wants his own welfare and improvement must by gift and humility shew his respect especially to the Brâhmins. Follow the maxims of morality as dictated in the Dharma S’âstras. Amass wealth according to rules of justice and fill the treasury.

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Seventh Book about the story of Tris’anku in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Description Of Vas’istha’s Curse On Tris’anku

1-6. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus giving the advice to his son, the King Tris’anku was excited with feelings of love and, in a choked voice, said to his father that he would fulfil what he had been ordered. The King then called the Brâhmins, versed in the Vedas and Mantrams, and had all the materials for installation collected quickly. He brought the waters from all the sacred places of prigrimages; he then called together with great respect all the kings. On a sacred day, the father installed his son on the throne and gave him, in accordance with due rites and ceremonies, the royal throne. The King then adopted with his wife the third Vânaprastha stage of life and practised a severe tapasyâ on the banks of the Ganges. Then in due course of time the King went to the Heavens. There he began to shine like a second Sun by the side of Indra, respected by all the gods.

7-10. Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! You spoke before in course of conversation that Satyavrata was cursed by Vas’istha on the killing of his cow to become a Pis’âcha; how then he got himself freed of this curse. There is a doubt on this point. Kindly clear it and oblige. Satyavrata was cursed; hence pronounced unfit to succeed to the throne. How was the Muni, by what actions, was he freed of the curse? How could the father bring back to his home his son of the form of a Pis’âcha? O Viprarsi! Kindly narrate to me how the Muni was freed of his curse.”

11-18. Vyâsa said :-- Cursed by Vas’istha, Satyavrata became then and there transformed into a Pis’âcha, very ugly, violent and terrible to all; but when he worshipped the Devî with devotion, immediately the Devî gave him a beautiful divine body. By the grace of the Devî, his sins were all washed away and his Pis’âcha form vanished. Satyavrata, then, freed from his sins became very much vigorous and energetic. Vas’istha also became pleased with him, blessed thus by the Supreme Force and so was his father, too. When his father died, the virtuous Satyavrata became King, governed his subjects and performed various sacrifices and worshipped, too, the Eternal Mother of the Gods. O King! Tris’anku had a very beautiful son born to him, named Haris’chandra, endowed in all his limbs with auspicious signs. The King Tris’anku wanted to make his son Yuvarâja (the Crown prince) and then in his that very body while living, enjoy the Heavens. The King went to the Âs’rama of Vas’istha and gladly asked him, with folded palms, bowing down before him duly.

19-23. O Ascetic! You are the son of Brahmâ , versed in all the Vaidik Mantrams; so you are exceedingly fortunate; now I beg to inform you one thing; hear it gladly. I now desire to enjoy the happiness of the Heavens and all the enjoyments of the Devas, while I am in this body. To enjoy in the Nandana Garden, to live with the Apsarâs and to hear the sweet music of the Devas and the Gandharbas, these ideas now have taken a strong hold of my heart. Therefore, O Great Muni! Engage me in such a sacrifice as will enable me, in this very body to live in the Svarloka. O Muni! You are fully competent to do this; therefore be ready for this. Have the sacrifice done and let me have quickly the Devaloka, so difficult to be obtained!

24-26. Vas’istha said :-- “O King! It is exceedingly hard to live in the Heavens while in this mortal body. The departed only live in the Heavens by their merits, this is a known fact. Therefore, O Omniscient One! Your desire is hard to be attained. I am afraid of this. O King! The living men can hardly enjoy the Apsarâs. Therefore, O Blessed One! Do the sacrifice first. Then, when you leave this body, you will go to the Heavens.”

27-31. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Maharsi Vas’istha was already angry with the King; therefore when he spoke these words, the King heard and became absent-minded. He again spoke to the Maharsi :-- O Brâhmana! If you do not allow me to do the sacrifice, on account of your haughtiness, I will have the sacrifice performed now by another priest. Vas’istha became very angry at the words of the King and cursed him :-- “O evilminded One! Be as soon as possible a Chândâla in this body. You have committed acts by which your path to the Heaven is obstructed. You have stolen a Brâhmini’s wife, and defiled the path of religion; you have killed the Surabhi Cow and you are a libertine. Therefore, O Sinner! Never you will go to the Heavens, even after your death.”

32-56. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these harsh words from the Guru, Tris’anku became immediately Chândâla in that very body. His golden earrings became turned into iron; the sweet sandal smell over his body smelled like faeces; his beautiful yellow clothings became blue, the colour of his body became like that of an elephant, due to his curse. O King! Those who are the worshippers of the Supreme Force can produce such things when they are angry; there is not the slightest doubt in this. Therefore one ought never to insult any devotee of the Supreme Force. The Muni Vas’istha is always engaged in repeating silently the Gâyatrî of the Devî. So what wonder is there that the body of the King will be reduced to such a wretched state by his rage. The King Tris’anku became very sorry to see his ugly body; he did not go home; rather he remained in the forest in that form and poor dress. He began to think, distressed with sorrow and over-powered with misery :-- “My body is now blameable to the extreme, so what to do and where to go in this wretched state! I find no remedy to exhaust all my sufferings. If I go home, my son will be, no doubt, very much pained with sorrow. My wife, when she will see my Chândâla appearance, she won’t accept me; my ministers will not regard me as they used to do before. My friends and relations, when they will come to me, will not serve me with the former care. So it is far better to die than to live, thus despised. I will drink poison or drown myself in waters or hang myself. Or I will burn myself in the funeral pyre duly or I will quit this blameable life by starvation. But, Alas! I will be guilty of suicide; so again due to this sin I will be born a Chândâla and I will be again cursed.” Thus thinking, the King again thought that at present he ought not to commit suicide by any means. “I will have to suffer for my Karma; and, after due suffering, this Karma will be exhausted. So I will suffer in this forest for my Karma in this my body. Without the enjoyment of the fruits, the past actions can never die out; therefore all actions done by me, auspicious or inauspicious, I will enjoy or suffer in this place. Always to remain close to a holy Âs’rama, to wander in holy places of pilgrimage, to remember the Devî Ambikâ, and to serve the saints will now be my duties. Thus I will no doubt exhaust all my actions, residing in this forest; then, if chance permits, and if I meet with a saintly person, all my intentions will be crowned with success.” Thus thinking, the King quitting his city went to the banks of the Ganges and repenting very much, remained there on the Ganges. The King Haris’chandra came to know the cause of his father’s curse and with a sorrowful heart sent ministers to him. Like a Chândâla, the King was respiring frequently; at this time the ministers went to him and bowing humbly, said : -- O King! Your son has ordered us to come here; we have come at his command; we are the ministers of the King Haris’chandra. Know this verily, O King! Kindly hear what the Crown Prince has said :-- “Go and bring my Father here without any delay.” Therefore, O King! Cast aside your mental agonies and come to the city. The ministers, the subjects all will be always at your service. We will all try our best to please Vas’istha, so that he may favour you. And that greatly illustrious Muni being pleased will certainly remove your sorrows quickly. O King! Thus your son has spoken to us many words; so now be pleased to go to your own abode.

57-64. Vyâsa said :-- O King! That Chândâla-like King, hearing even their words thus, did not consent to go back to his house. Rather he told them :-- “Ministers, go back, all of you to the city; and at my word, tell my son that I won’t go back to my house. Better leaving off all idleness, you better govern the Kingdom carefully. Shew your respect specially to the Brâhmins and perform various sacrifices and worship the Devas. I do not like in this blameable Chândâla form to go to the city of Ayodhyâ with the high-souled ones; so you all go back to Ayodhyâ without any further delay. Install, at my order, my powerful son Haris’chandra on the throne and do all these stately duties.” When the ministers heard thus the King ordering them, they began to cry very much, and, bowing down, they went away early out of the hermitage. On coming back to Ayodhyâ they regularly installed on a sacred day the King Haris’chandra with Abhiseka water, purified with Mantrams. Thus the powerful virtuous Haris’chandra, on being installed on the royal throne by the command of the King, remembered always his father and began to govern his Kingdom with his ministers according to the dictates of Dharma.

Here ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the description of Vas’istha’s curse on Tris’anku in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Coming Of Vis’vâmitra To Tris’anku

1-3. Janamejaya said :-- “O Muni! I see that at the command of the King, the ministers installed Haris’chandra on the royal throne; but how Tris’anku got rid of his Chândâla body, kindly say. Was it that he bathed in the holy waters of the Ganges and lived in the forest and when he died he was freed of the curse; or was it that the Guru Vas’istha favoured him by his grace and freed him of the curse? O best of Risis! I am extremely eager to hear the life of the King; therefore kindly describe to me in detail his wonderful career.”

4-16. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The King became gladdened in his heart to install his son on the throne and began to pass his days in that forest in the meditation of Bhagavatî Bhavânî. Thus some time passed when Vis’vâmitra, the son of Kaus’ika, completing his course of Tapasyâ with an intent mind returned to his home to see his wife and sons. On coming back to his house, the intelligent Muni found his sons and other members of the family happy and well conditioned, became very glad and when his wife came to him for his service, asked her :-- O Fair-eyed One! How did you spend your time in days of famine? There was nothing whatsoever of the stock of rice, etc., in the house; how then did you nourish these boys? Please speak to me. O Fair One! I was very busy with my austerities, I could not therefore come to you and see my boys; how then, O Beloved, and what measures did you resort to for their maintenance? O good and auspicious One! When I heard of the dire famine, I thought then “I have no wealth; so what shall I do if I go there?” Thus thinking I did not come then. O Beautiful One! At that time, one day I was very hungry and being very much tired I entered into the house of a Chândâla, with the object of stealing. On entering the house I found the Chândâla sleeping; then being extremely distressed with hunger, I entered into his kitchen if I could find anything there. When the dishes were sought and turned, and when I was going to take cooked dog’s flesh I immediately fell into the sight of that Chândâla. He asked me very affectionately “Who are you? Why have you entered here at this hour of night? Why are your looking after the dishes? Speak what you want.” O Beautiful One! When the Chândâla asked me these questions, I was very much pressed by hunger and I spoke out my wants in a tremulous voice :-- O Fortunate One! I am an ascetic Brâhmin very much pained by hunger; I have entered your house stealthily and am looking out for some eatables from your cooking pots. O Intelligent One! I am now your guest in the form of a thief; I am now specially very hungry; so I will now eat your cooked meat; kindly permit me. Hearing these words, the Chândâla spoke to me in words authorised by the S’âstras :-- O One of the Superior Varna! Know this to be the house of a Chândâla; so never eat that flesh.

17-28. The human birth is very rare in this world; then again to be born a Dvîja is more difficult; and to get Brâhmanhood again in the Dvîjas is exceedingly difficult. Are you not aware of this? They ought never to eat the defiled food who desire to attain to the Heavens; owing to Karma, the Maharsi Manu has denominated the seventh caste as Antyaja and has discarded them altogether. So, O Brâhmin! I am now by my actions turned into a Chândâla and so forsaken by all; there is no doubt in this. I am forbidding you so that this fault of Varna S’ankara may not suddenly attack you. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O Knower of Dharma! What you are speaking is quite true; though a Chândâla, your intelligence is very clear; hear, I will now speak to you the subtleties of the Dharma in times of danger. O Giver of respect! Always and by all means it is advisable to keep up the body if sin be thereby incurred, one ought to perform Prâyas’chitta (penance) for its purification when the time of danger is over. But if one commits sin when the time is not one of danger, one gets degraded; not so in the time of danger. The man that dies out of hunger, goes to hell, no doubt. Therefore every man seeking for his welfare must satisfy his hunger. Therefore I intend to steal for preserving my body. O Chândâla See! The sin, incurred in stealing during famine, which the Pundits have declared, goes to the God of rains until he does not pour forth rain.” O Beloved! Just when I spoke these words, the God of Rains began to pour forth rain. O Beloved! Just when I spoke these words, the God of Rains began to pour forth rain so desired by all, like that coming out of the elephant’s trunk. When the clouds thus poured forth rains with the glitterings of the lightnings, I felt very glad and left the house of the Chândâla. O Beautiful One! Now speak out to me, how did you behave in that famine time, so terrible to all the beings.

29-48. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the above words of the husband, the sweet speaking lady spoke :-- Hear, how I passed my time in times of famine. O Muni! After you had gone to practise Tapasyâ, the dire famine raged; and my sons, exhausted of hunger, became very anxious for food. I became very anxious to see the sons hungry; I then went out to the forest in quest of wild rice; and I got some fruits. Thus I spent some months by collecting the rice growing wildly in the forest; then in times these also could not be got and I became again anxious. The Nibâra rice, too, is now not available and nothing is obtained also by begging; there are no fruits on the trees and no roots are found under the earth. The sons are crying in agony of hunger. What to do? And where to go? What am I to say now to the hungry boys? Oh God! Thus thinking on various ways, I at last came to this conclusion that I would sell one of my sons to a rich man and whatever price I can fetch, with that I will preserve the lives of the other sons. O Dear! Thus thinking, I became ready and went out. O Fortunate One! Then this boy began to cry aloud and became very distressed; yet I was so shameless that I took the crying boy and got out of my Âs’rama. At this time one Râjarsi Satyavrata seeing me very distressed, asked me “O One of good vows! Why is this boy weeping?” O Muni! I spoke to him “Today I am going to sell this boy.” The King’s heart became overfilled with pity, and spoke to me :-- “Take back to your Âs’rama this boy. Daily I will supply you with meat for the food of your boys until the Muni returns home.” O Muni! The King from that time used to bring, with great pity, daily the flesh of deer and boar killed by him in the forest and he used to tie that on this tree. O Beloved! Thus I could protect my sons in that fearful ocean of crisis; but that King was cursed by Vas’istha only for my sake. One day that King did not get any meat in the forest; so he slaughtered the Kâma Dhenu (the cow giving all desires) of Vas’istha and the Muni became therefore very angry with him. The high-souled Muni, angry on account of the killing of his cow, called the King by the name of Tris’anku and made him a Chândâla. O Kaus’ika! The prince turned into a Chândâla because he came forward to do good to me, so I am very sorry for his sake. So it is your urgent duty to save the King from his terrible position by any means or by the influence of your powerful Tapasyâ.

49. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words from his wife the Muni Kaus’ika consoled her and said :--

50-55. O Lotus-eyed One! I will free the King of his curse, who saved you at that critical moment; what more than this that I promise to you that I will remove his sufferings whether it be by my learning or it be by my Tapas. Thus consoling his wife at that moment, Kaus’ika, the Knower of the Highest Reality, began to think how he could destroy the pains and miseries of the King. Thus thinking, the Muni went to the King Tris’anku, who was staying at that time very humbly in a village of the Chândâlas, in the garb of a Chândâla. Seeing the Muni coming, the King was greatly astonished and instantly threw himself before his feet like a piece of stick. Kaus’ika raised the fallen King and consoling him said :-- O King! You are cursed, on my account, by the Muni Vas’istha. I will, therefore, fulfil your desires. Now speak what I am to do.

56-62. The King said :-- With a view to perform a sacrifice I prayed to Vas’istha that I would perform a sacrifice, kindly do this for me. O Muni! Do that sacrifice, by which I can go to the Heavens in this my present body.” Vas’istha became angry and said :-- “O Villain! How can you go and live in the Heavens in this your human body?” I was very anxious to go to the Svarga (Heaven) so I again spoke to him :-- “O Sinless One! I will then have the excellent sacrifice done by another priest.” Hearing this, Vas’istha Deva cursed me, saying “Be a Chândâla.” O Muni! Thus I have described to you all about my curse. You are the one quite able to remove now my grievances. Distressed in pain and agony, the King informed him and became quiet. Vis’vâmitra, too, thought how he could free him of his curse.

Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the coming of Vis’vâmitra to Tris’anku in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Going To Heavens Of Tris’anku And The Commencement Of Haris’chandra’s Narrative

1-8. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Settling in his mind what to do, the great ascetic Vis’vâmitra collected all the materials necessary for the sacrifice and invited all the Munis. Thus invited by Vis’vâmitra, the Munis became informed all about the Sacrifice; but, owing to the fact that the Muni Vas’istha prevented them, none of them went to the sacrifice. When Vis’vâmitra, the son of Gâdhi, came to know this, he became very anxious and very sad and came to the King Tris’anku and sat. The Maharsi Kaus’ika then became angry and said :-- “O King! Vas’istha preventing the Brâhmins have all refused to come to the sacrifice. But, O King! See my power of tapasyâ; I will immediately fulfil your desires; I will instantly send you to the Heavens, the abode of the Gods.” Thus saying, that Muni took water in his hand and repeated the Gâyatrî Mantram. He gave to the King all the Punyams (merits) that he collected for himself up to then. Giving him thus all the Punyams, he spoke to the King :-- “O King! Throw away all idleness and go to the abode of the Gods you wanted to go. O King of Kings! Gladly go to the Heavens by the power of all the merits collected by me for a long time and let you fare well there.”

9-20. Vyâsa spoke :-- O King! When the King of the Vipras, Vis’vâmitra, spoke thus, the King Tris’anku, by virtue of the Muni’s Tapas, got high up in the air without any delay like a quick flying bird. Thus getting up and up, when the King reached the abode of Indra, the Devas, seeing the terrible Chândâla-like appearance of Tris’anku, spoke out to Indra :-- “Who is this person coming like a Deva with a violent speed in the air? Why does he look like a Chândâla and is so fierce-looking?” Hearing thus, Indra got up at once and saw that one, the meanest of the human beings and knowing him to be Tris’anku, reproachingly said to him :-- You are a Chândâla, quite unfit for the Devaloka; so where are you going? You ought not to remain here; so go immediately back to the earth. O Destroyer of the enemies! Indra speaking thus, the King dropped from the Heavens and, like a Deva whose merits had been exhausted, fell down immediately. Tris’anku then cried out frequently “O Vis’vâmitra! O Vis’vâmitra! Being displaced from the Heavens I am now falling very violently; so save me from this trouble.” O King! Hearing his cry and seeing him getting down, Vis’vâmitra said :-- “Wait, wait.” Though displaced from Heaven, the King by virtue of the Muni’s Tapas, remained stationed at that place in the middle of the air. Vis’vâmitra then began to do Âchaman (sip water) and commenced his great Sacrifice to create another new creation and a second Svargaloka (Heaven). Seeing his resolve, the Lord of S’achî became very anxious and eagerly came to the son of Gâdhi without the least delay and said :-- “O Brâhmana! What are you going to do? O Saint! Why are you so very angry? O Muni!

There is no necessity to create another new creation. Order now what I am to do.”

21. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O Lord of the Devas! The King Tris’anku has become very miserable to have a fall from the Heavens. Therefore this is now my intention that you gladly take him to your own abode.”

22-31. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Indra was thoroughly aware of his determined resolve and very powerful asceticism; so he accepted to do according to his word, out of terror. The Lord Indra then gave the King a bright and divine body and made him take his seat in an excellent car and taking leave of Kaus’ika went with the King to his own abode. Vis’vâmitra became glad to see Tris’anku go to the Heavens with Indra and remained happy in his own Âs’rama. The King Haris’chandra now hearing that his father has gone to Heaven by virtue of his Tapas, began to govern his kingdom with a gladdened heart. The King of Ayodhyâ began then to live constantly with his clever wife full of youth and beauty. Thus time passed away; but the beautiful wife did not become pregnant. The King became very sorry and thoughtful. He then went to the holy hermitage of Vas’istha and bowing down informed him of his mental agony due to his getting no son. O Knower of Dharma! You are skilled in the Science of Mantrams. Especially you know everything of Daiva (Fate). So, O Giver of honour! Do for me so that I get a son. O Best of Brâhmins! There is no salvation for one who has not got any son; you are well aware of this. Then why do you overlook my case when you can remove my sorrow. Even these sparrows are blessed who nourish their offsprings. And I am so very unfortunate that, day and night, I am immersed in cares and anxieties, due to my not having any son.

32. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these pitiful utterances of the King, Vas’istha thought over in his mind and spoke to him everything in particular.

33-41. Vas’istha said :-- “O King! True you have spoken that in this world there is no other sorrow more painsgiving than the state of not having any issue. Therefore, O King! you worship with great care the water-god Varuna. He will crown your efforts with success. There is no other god than Varuna to grant sons. So, O Virtuous One! Worship Him and you will get success. Both Fate and Self-exertion are to be respected by men; how can success come unless efforts are made. O King! Men who realise the Highest Truth should make efforts, guided by just rules; success comes to those who work; else never one is to expect success.” Hearing these words of the Guru, of unbounded energy, the King made a fixed resolve and bowing himself down, went away to practise tapasyâ. On the banks of the Ganges, in a sacred place, seated on Padmâsan, the King became merged in the meditation of the God Varuna with noose in his hand and thus practised severe asceticism. O King! When he was doing this, the god Varuna took pity on him and gladly came before his sight. Varuna, then, spoke to the King Haris’chandra :-- “O Knower of Dharma! I am glad at your tapasyâ. So ask boons from me.”

42-43. The King said :-- “O God! I am without any son; give me a son, who will give me happiness and will free me from the three debts that I owe to the Devas, the Pitris and the Risis. Know that with that object I am doing this Tapasyâ.” Then the God Varuna, hearing these humble words of the sorrowful King, smiled and said.

44-45. O King! If you get your desired well-qualified son, what will you do for me to my satisfaction? O King! If you perform a sacrifice in honour of me and fearlessly sacrifice your son there like an animal, I will then grant you your desired boon.

46-47. The King :-- “O Deva! Free me from this state of sonless-ness; O Water God! When my son will be born, I will do your sacrifice with my son as an animal in that. This I speak truly to you. O Giver of honour! There is no suffering more unbearable than this one, not to have any son; so grant me a good son so that all my sorrows be vanished.”

48. Varuna said :-- “O King! You will get a son as you desire; go home; but see what you have spoken before be fulfilled and turned true.”

49-55. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing these words from Varuna, Haris’chandra went back and told everything about his getting the boon to his wife. The King had one hundred exquisitely beautiful wives of whom, S’aivyâ was the lawful wife and queen and was very chaste. After some time, that wife became pregnant and the King became very glad to hear this and her longings in that state. The King performed all her purificatory ceremonies, and when ten months were completed, and on an auspicious Naksatra and on an auspicious day, she gave birth to a son, like that of a Deva son. On the birth of his son, the King, surrounded by the Brâhmins, performed his ablutions and first of all performed the natal ceremonies and distributed innumerable jewels and much wealth; and the King’s joy knew no bounds at that time. The liberal King gave away, in special charities, wealth, grains, and various jewels and lands and had the performance of music, dancing and other things.

Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the going to Heavens of Tris’anku and the commencement of Haris’chandra’s narrative in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 15. On The Story Of The King Haris’chandra

1-7. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When there was going on in the King’s palace, the grand festivities for the son’s birth ceremonies, Varuna Deva came there in the holy Brâhmin form. “Let welfare be on you.” Saying this, Varuna began to say :-- “O King! Know me to he Varuna. Now hear what I say. O King! Your son is now born; therefore perform sacrifices in honor to me with your son. O King! Your defect of not having a son is now removed; so fulfil what you promised before.” Hearing these words, the King began to think “Oh! Only one lotus-faced son is born to me; how can I kill it. On the other hand, the powerful Regent (Lokapâla) of one quarter is present in Brâhmana form; and it never behoves one to show disrespect to a Deva or to a man who wishes welfare to us. Again it is very difficult to root out the affection for a son; so what am I to do now? How shall I preserve my happiness due to the birth of my son.” The King, then, with patience bowed down to him and worshipped him duly and humbly spoke to him in beautiful words, pregnant with reason.

8-10. O Deva of the Devas! I will obey your order no doubt and I will perform your sacrifice according to the Vedic rites and with profuse Daksinâs (remuneration to priests, etc.) But, when in a sacrifice human beings are immolated as victims, both the husband and wife are entitled to the ceremony. Father becomes purified on the tenth day and mother on the expiration of one month after the son’s birth; so how can I perform the sacrifice until one month expires! You are omniscient and the master of all the beings; and you know what is Nitya Dharma. So, O Varuna Deva! I want one month time; and show mercy thus on me.

11-19. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The King Haris’chandra saying thus, Varuna Deva spoke to the King :-- “O King! Welfare be unto you! Do your duties; I am now going back to my place. O King! I will come again after one month. Better finish the natal ceremonies and the Nâmakarana ceremony regularly and then perform my sacrifice.” O King! When Varuna Deva turned his back, the King began to feel happiness. Then the King gave as gifts millions of cows, yielding plenty of milk and ornamented with gold, and mountains of Til, sesamums to the Brâhmins versed in the Vedas and kept his name, with formal ceremonies as Rohitâs’va. When one month became complete, Varuna Deva came again in a Brâhmin form and frequently said :-- “O King! Start the sacrifice just now!” The King, on seeing the God of Waters, at once fell into an ocean of anxieties and sorrows; he then bowed down and worshipping him as a guest, spoke to him with folded palms :-- “O Deva! It is to my great fortune that you have landed your feet at my place; O Lord! My house has been sanctified to day. O Deva! I will do, no doubt, your desired sacrifice according to the rites and ceremonies. But see, the victims that have not their teeth come as yet are not fit for a sacrifice; so the versed Pundits say; so I have settled I would perform your great sacrifice, as desired by you, when the teeth will come out of my son.”

20-41. Vyâsa said :-- O Lord of men! Hearing thus, Varuna spoke “Let it be so” and went away. The King Haris’chandra became glad and passed his days in enjoyments in his household. When the teeth of the child got out, Varuna knew it and came again in a Brâhmin garb in the palace and spoke “O King! Now commence my sacrifice.” Seeing the Brâhmin Varuna there, the King, too, bowed down and gave him a seat and shewing all respects to him, worshipped him. He sang hymns to him and very humbly said with his head bent low :-- “O Deva! I will perform your desired sacrifice with plenty of Daks’inâs according to rites and ceremonies. But the child’s Chûdâkarana (the ceremony of tonsure) is not yet done; so the hairs that were at the birth time are still there and the child cannot be fit for sacrifice as long as those hairs exist. So I have heard from the elderly persons. O Lord of Waters! You know the S’âstric rules; kindly wait till the Chûdâkarana is over. When the child will have his head shaven, I will certainly perform your sacrifice; there is no doubt in this.” Hearing these words, Varuna spoke to him again :-- “O King! Why are you deceiving me like this so often? O King! Now you have all the materials ready for the sacrifice; only for your filial affection you are deceiving me. However, if, after the ceremony of tonsure, you do not perform my sacrifice, I will be angry and I will curse you. O King! I am going for the present; but see do not tell lies, being born in the family of Iksâku.” Instantly Varuna disappeared; the King, too, felt himself happy in his household. When the ceremony of tonsure was commenced and grand festivities were held, on the occasion Varuna soon came again to the King’s palace. The queen was then sitting before the King with the child in her lap when Varuna came up there. The Brâhmin Varuna then appeared like a Flaming Fire and spoke to the King in a clear voice :-- “O King! Start the sacrifice.” Seeing him, the King was confused with terror and with folded palms, quickly bowed down to him. After worshipping him duly, he very humbly said :-- “O Lord! Today I will perform your sacrifice. But kindly hear with attention my saying and then do what is advisable. O Lord! If you approve of this as reasonable, I then open my heart to you. The three Varnas Brâhmanas, Ksattriyas, and Vais’yas become Dvîjas (twice-born) only when they are duly purified according to proper rules and ceremonies; without any such purifications they are certainly S’ûdras. So the Pundits versed in the Vedas declare. My child is now an infant only; so it is like a S’ûdra. When his thread ceremony (Upanayan) will be performed, he will then be fit for the sacrifice; this the Veda S’âstras declare. The Ksatttriyas are so purified in their eleventh year; the Brâhmanas in their eighth year and the Vais’yas in their twelfth year. So, O Lord of the Devas! If you feel pity for your this humble servant, then wait till the Upanayana ceremony is over, when I will perform your grand sacrifice with my son. O Bibhu! You are the Lokapâla; specially you are conversant with all the S’âstric rules and have acquired the knowledge of Dharma. If you think my saying as true, then go to your home.”

42-51. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing these words, Varuna’s heart was filled with pity and so he went away instantly, saying “Let it be so.” Varuna going away, the King felt very glad and the queen, knowing the welfare of the son became glad too. Then the King gladly performed his state duties. After some time, the child grew ten years old. Consulting with the peaceful Brâhmanas as well as his ministers, he collected materials for the Upanayana ceremony befitting his position. When the eleventh year was completed by his son, the King arranged everything for the thread ceremony but when his thoughts turned to Varuna’s sacrifice, he became very sad and anxious. When the thread ceremony began to be performed, the Brâhmin Varuna came there. Seeing him, the King instantly bowed down and standing before him with clasped palms, gladly spoke to him :-- O Deva! My son’s Upanayana being over, now my son is fit for the victim in the sacrifice; and by your grace, my sorrow that was within me as not having a son, has vanished. I speak truly before you that, O Knower of Virtue! after some mere time I have desired to perform your sacrifice with plenty of Daksinâs. In fact, when the Samâvartan ceremony will be over, I will do as you like. Kindly wait till then.

52-62. Varuna said :-- O Intelligent One! You are very much attached to your son now and so by various reasonable plays of intellect, you are repeatedly deceiving me. However, I am going home today at your request but know certain that I will come again at the time of the Samâvartan ceremony. (N. B.:-- Samâvartan means the return home especially of a pupil from his tutor’s house after finishing his course of study there.) O King! Thus saying, Varuna went away and the King became glad and began to perform duly his various duties. The prince was very intelligent; and as he used to see Varuna coming, now and then, at the time of the ceremonies, he became very anxious. He then made enquiries outside hither and thither and came to know of his own being about to be killed and he desired to quit the house instantly. He then consulted with the minister’s sons and came to a final conclusion and went out of the city to the forest. When the son had gone to the forest, the King became very much afflicted with sorrow and sent messengers in quest of him. When some time passed away, Varuna came to his house and spoke to the distressed King :-- “O King! Now perform your desired Sacrifice.” The King bowed down to him and said :-- “O Deva! What shall I do now? My son has become afraid and has gone away. I do not know where he has gone. O Deva! My messengers have searched for him in difficult places in mountains, in the hermitages of the Munis, in fact, in all the places; but they have not been able to find him out anywhere. My son has left his home; order now what I can do. O Deva! You know everything; so judge I have got no fault in this matter. It is certainly luck and nothing else.”

63-66. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words of the King, Varuna became very much angry and when he saw that he was deceived so many times by the King, he then cursed, saying :-- “O King! As you have cheated me by your deceitful words, so you be attacked by dropsy and be severely pained by it.” Thus cursed by Varuna, the King was attacked with that disease and began to suffer much. Cursing thus, Varuna went back to his own place and the King was much afflicted with that terrible disease.

Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter in the Seventh Book on the story of the King Haris’chandra in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On The Story Of S’unahs’epha

1-4. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When Varuna went away, the King was very much laid down with that dropsy and daily his pains began to increase and he began to suffer extreme pains. O King! The prince, on the other hand, heard, in the forest, of the illness of his father and filled with affection, wanted to go to his father. A year had passed away and the prince desired very gladly to go to his father and see him. Knowing this, Indra came there. He came instantly in the form of a Brâhmin  and with favourable arguments desisted the prince, who was about to go to his father.

5-31. Indra said :-- “O Prince! It seems you are silly; you know nothing of the difficult state policies. Therefore it is that you are ready to go, out of sheer ignorance, to your father. O Fortunate One! If you go there, your father will get his sacrifice, where a human victim is to be offered, performed by the Vedic Brâhmanas and your flesh will be offered are oblations to the blazing Fire. O Child! The souls of all the beings are very dear; it is for that reason, for the sake of soul, that sons, wife, wealth and jewels are all dear. Therefore, though you are his dear son, like his son, yet he will certainly have you killed and get Homas offered, to free himself from the disease. O Prince! You ought not to go home now; rather when your father dies, you would certainly go there and inherit your Kingdom.” O King! Thus hindered by Vâsava, the prince remained in that forest for one year more. But when the prince again heard of the severe illness of his father, he wanted again to go to his father, resolved to court the death of his ownself. Indra also came there in the form of a Brâhman and, with reasonable words, repeatedly advised him not to go there. Here, on the other hand, the King Haris’chandra became very much distressed and troubled by the disease and asked his family priest Vas’istha Deva :-- “O Brâhmana! What is the sure remedy for the cure of the disease?” Vas’istha, the Brahmâ’s son, said :-- “O King! Purchase one son by giving his value; then perform the sacrifice with that purchased son and you will be free from the curse. O King! The Brâhmins, versed in the Vedas, say that sons are of ten kinds, of whom the son, purchased by paying its proper value, is one of them. So buy one son. There will very probably be within your kingdom a Brâhmin who might sell out of avarice, his son. In that case Varuna Deva will certainly be pleased and grant your happiness.” Hearing these words of the high-souled Vas’istha, the King became glad and ordered his minister to look after such a son. There lived in that King’s dominion one Brâhmin, named Ajigarta, very poor; he had three sons. The minister spoke to him to purchase his son :-- “I will give you one hundred cows; give one son of yours for the sacrifice. You have three sons named respectively S’unahpuchcha, S’unahs’epha and S’unolangula. Give me out of them one son and I will give you one hundred cows as his value.” Ajigarta was very much distressed for want of food; so when he heard the proposal, he expressed his desire to sell his son. He thought that his eldest son was the rightful person to perform funeral obsequies and offer Pinda and he therefore did not spare him. The youngest son, too, he did not spare also, as he considered that his own. At last, he sold his second son for the price of one hundred cows. The King then bought him and made him the victim for the sacrifice. When that boy was fastened to the sacrificial post, he began to tremble and very much distressed with sorrow began to cry. Seeing this, the Munis cried out in a very pitiful tone. When the King gave permission for the immolation of that boy, the slaughterer did not take weapons to slaughter him. He told that he would never be able to kill the boy, since he is crying in a very pitiful tone. When he thus withdrew himself from his work, the King then asked his councillors :-- O Devas! What ought to be done now? S’unahs’epha then began to cry in a very pitiful voice; the people present there began to discuss and there arose a great noise on the affair. Then Ajigarta stood up in the midst of the assembly and spoke :-- “O King! Be patient; I will fulfil your desire. I am desirous of wealth and if you give me double the amount, I will slay immediately the victim; and you can complete early your sacrifice.” O King! He who is hankering after money, can always entertain feelings of enmity even towards his own son. There is no doubt in this.

32-35. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing those words of Ajigarta, Haris’chandra gladly spoke to him :-- “I will immediately give you another hundred excellent cows.” Hearing thus, the son’s father, avaricious of wealth, immediately resolved and became ready to slay his son. All the councillors seeing the father ready to slay his son, were struck with sorrow and began to lament exclaiming “Alas! This wretch, a disgrace to his family, is now ready to kill his own son. Oh! We never saw before such a cruel vicious person. This Brâhmin must be a Demon in a Brâhmin body!

36-38. Fie on you! O Chândâla! What a vicious work are you now going to do? What happiness do you derive by slaying the son, the jewel of jewels, only to get some wealth? O Sinner! It is stated in the Vedas that the soul takes its birth from one’s body; so how are you going to slay your soul!” When the hue and cry arose in the assembly, Vis’vâmitra, the son of Kaus’ika, went to the King and, out of pity, said :--

39-56. O King! S’unahs’epha is very piteously crying; so let him be free; and then your sacrifice will be complete and you will be free of your disease. There is no virtue like mercy and there is no vice like killing (Himsâ). What is written about killing animals in the sacrifice, is only meant for the persons inclined to sensual objects and to give them a stimulus in that direction. O King! He who wants his own welfare and who wants to preserve his own body ought not to cut another’s body. He who pities equally all the beings, gets contended with a trivial gain and subdues all his senses; God is soon pleased with him. O King! You should treat all the Jîvas like yourself and thus always spend your life, so dear to all. You desire to preserve your body by taking away the life of this boy; similarly why would he not try to preserve his own body, the receptacle of happiness and pleasures. O King! You have desired to kill this innocent Brâhminboy; but he will never overlook this enmity of yours done in previous lives. If anybody kills another willingly, though he has got no enmity with him, then the one that is killed will certainly kill afterwards the slayer. His father, out of greed for money, is deprived of intellect and so has sold away his son. The Brâhmin is certainly very cruel and sinful. There is no doubt in this. When one goes to Gayâ or one performs an As’vamedha sacrifice or when one offers a blue bull (Nila Vrisabha), one does so on the consideration that one would desire to have many sons. Moreover the King has to suffer for one-sixth of the sins committed by anyone in his Kingdom. There is no doubt in this. Therefore the King ought certainly to prohibit any man when he wants to do a sinful act. Why then did you not prevent this man when he desired to sell his son? O King! You are the son of Tris’anku; especially you are born in the Solar line of Kings. So how have you desired, being born an Âryâ, to do an act becoming an An-Âryâ (non-aryan). If you take my word and quickly free this Brâhmin boy, you will certainly derive virtue in your body. Your father was converted into a Chândâla by a curse but I sent him in his very body to the Heavens. And you are well acquainted with this fact. Therefore, O King! Keep my word out of your love for that. This boy is very pitifully crying; so free him. I pray this from you in this your Râjasûya sacrifice and if you do not keep my word, you will incur the sin of not keeping my word. Do you not realise this? O King! You will have to give anything that a man wants from you in this sacrifice; but if you do otherwise, sin will attack you, no doubt.

57-59. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words of Kaus’ika, the King Haris’chandra spoke thus :-- O son of Gâdhi! I am suffering very much from the dropsy; I will not be able therefore to free him. You can pray for some other thing. You ought not to throw obstacles in this my sacrifice. Vis’vâmitra became very angry at this, and seeing the Brâhmin boy very distressed, became sorrowful and mourned very much.

Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter in the Seventh Book on the story of S’unahs’epha in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 17. On The Freeing Of S’unahs’epha And The Curing Of Haris’chandra

1-6. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When Vis’vâmitra saw that the boy was crying very pitifully, he went to him with a merciful heart and said :-- “O Child! I am giving you the Varuna Mantra; recollect this within your mind and if you go on repeating that Mantra silently, you will certainly fare well.” The sorrowful S’unahs’epha, hearing thus from Vis’vâmitra, began to repeat silently in his mind the above Mantra, clearly pronouncing each letter. O King! No sooner S’unahs’epha repeated that Mantra than the kind-hearted Varuna came suddenly before the boy, greatly pleased with him. Everyone in the assembly became thoroughly surprised to see Varuna Deva come there and they all became glad and chanted hymns in honour of him. The diseased Haris’chandra was also thoroughly surprised, fell to his feet, and with folded palms began to sing hymns to Varuna, standing before him.

7-14. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Deva of the Devas! I am very vicious; my intellect is much defiled; I am a sinner before you; O Merciful One! Now show your mercy and sanctify this humble self. I was very much troubled on not having a son; so I had disregarded your words; now show your mercy on me; what offence can cling to him whose intellect is already out of order? A beggar does not see his own faults; I am also in want of a son; so I could not see my defects. O Lord! Being afraid of the terrors of hell, I have deceived you. Those, who are sonless, cannot find rest anywhere. Especially he is barred from the Heavens. Being terrified by this dictate of S’âstra, I have shown disregard to your words. O Lord! You are wise and I am ignorant; especially I am extremely afflicted by this terrible disease; I am also deprived of my son; so you ought not to take any notice of my faults. O Lord! I do not know where my son has gone; O merciful One! Perhaps he, being afraid of his life, has fled away to some forest. For your satisfaction, I have now commenced your sacrifice with this purchased boy; I gave an equivalent value and I have purchased this boy. O Deva of the Devas! Your sight only has taken away my infinite troubles; now if you be pleased, I can be free of my this disease dropsy and my troubles will all be over.” Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of that diseased King, Varuna, the Deva of the Devas, took pity on him and thus spoke.

15-22. Varuna said :-- “O King! S’unahs’epha is uttering hymns of praise to me; he has become very distressed; so quit him. Your sacrifice, too, is now completed; now let you be free from your present disease.” Thus saying, Varuna freed the King of his disease in the presence of all his councillors; the King became possessed of a beautiful body and got himself completely cured and shone bright before the assembly. Shouts of victory arose from the midst of the sacrificial ground when the Brâhmin boy was freed of his bonds of rope, by the mercy of the high-souled Deva Varuna. The King became very glad on his being recovered immediately from his disease and S’unahs’epha, too, became free from his anxiety and pacified when he got himself liberated from his being immolated on the sacrificial post. Then the King Haris’chandra completed his sacrifice with great modesty. Afterwards S’unahs’epha addressed the councillors with folded palms and said :-- O Councillors! You know well the Dharma; O Speakers of truth! Kindly specify according to the dictates of the Vedas. O Omniscient ones! Whose son am I now? Who is my most respectful father? Please deliver your judgment and I will take his refuge.

23-34. When S’unahs’epha spoke thus, the members of the assembly began to speak to each other, “The boy must be of Ajigarta; whose else can he be? This boy is born of the limbs of Ajigarta; and he has nursed him according to his might. So he must be his son; whose else can he be?” Vâma Deva then told the people of the assembly, “The father of the boy sold his son for money; the King purchased him. So he can be said as the son of the King; or he may be called the son of Varuna, in as much as he freed him from his rope bondage. For, he who nourishes another with food, who saves one from one’s fear, who protects one by giving money, who bestows learning to anybody and he who gives birth to any of the above five classes of persons can be called his father.” O King! Thus some one turned out to be in favour of Ajigarta, some other in favour of the King; but nobody came to any definite conclusion. When matters stood in this doubtful condition, the omniscient all-respected Vas’istha Deva addressed the disputing members thus :-- “O high-souled Ones! Kindly hear what the S’rutis say on this point. When the father has cut off his filial attachment and has sold his son, his fatherly connection has ceased then. No doubt this boy was purchased by the King Haris’chandra. But when the King fastened him to the sacrificial post, he cannot be called as the father. Again when this boy singing hymns in honour of Varuna, he being glad freed him of his bondage, so Varuna cannot be called his father. For whoever praises a god by the great Mantra, that Deva becomes pleased with him and gives him wealth, life, cattle, kingdom and even final emancipation. Rather Vis’vâmitra saved the boy by giving him in his critical moment the powerful great Mantra of Varuna; hence the boy can be called as the son of Vis’vâmitra and of none else.”

35-40. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing the words of Vas’istha, all the members of the assembly gave their unanimous consent and Vis’vâmitra with his heart filled with love, exclaimed, “O Son! Come to my house.” And caught hold of his right hand. S’unahs’epha, too, accompanied him and went away. Varuna also went to his own abode with a gladdened heart. The councillors, too, departed. Freed from his disease, the King gladly began to govern his subjects. At this time his son Rohitâ heard all about Varuna and became very glad and leaving the impassable forest passes and mountains, returned home. The messengers informed the King of the arrival of the prince; the King heard and his heart overflowed with love and he gladly came there with no delay.

41-48. Seeing the father coming, Rohitâs’va became filled with love and overpowered with sorrow for long separation began to shed tears and fell prostrate at his feet. The King raised him up and embraced him gladly and smelling his head enquired of his welfare. When the King was thus asking his son, taking him on his lap, the hot tears of joy flowed from his eyes and fell on the head of the prince. The King and the prince then began to govern together his kingdom. The King described in detail all the events of the sacrifice where human victims are immolated. He started next the Râjasûya sacrifice, the best of all sacrifices, and duly worshipping the Muni Vas’istha, made him the Hotâ in that sacrifice. When this grand sacrifice was finished, the King respected the Muni Vas’istha with abundant wealth. Once, on a time, the Muni Vas’istha went gladly to the romantic Heaven of Indra; and Vis’vâmitra, too, went there also and both the Munis then met with each other. The two Maharsis took their seats in that Heaven. But Vis’vâmitra was astonished to see Vas’istha greatly respected in Indra’s hall of assembly and asked him, thus :--

49. “O Muni! Where have you received this great honour and worship? O Highly Fortunate One! Who has worshipped you thus? Speak out truly.”

50-53. Vas’istha said :-- “O Muni! There is a King named Haris’chandra; he is very powerful and my client; that King performed the great Râjasûya sacrifice with abundant Daksinâs. There is no other King truthful like him; he is virtuous, charitable, and ever ready in governing his subjects. O Son of Kaus’ika! I have got my worship and honour in his sacrifice. O best of Dvîjas! Are you telling me to speak truly? Again I speak truly to you that there never was a King truthful, heroic, charitable, and very religious like him nor there will be such a one.”

54. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing such words, the Vis’vâmitra, of a very angry temper, spoke to him with his reddened eyes :--

55-59. “O Vas’istha! Haris’chandra obtained a boon from Varuna when he made a certain promise; then he cheated Varuna with deceitful words. So he is a liar and cheat. Why are you praising then that King? O Intelligent One! Let us now stake all our virtues that we have earned since our birth by our asceticism and studies. You have praised exceedingly that King who is a great cheat; but if I cannot prove him to be a liar of the first order, I will lose all my virtues from my birth; but if it be otherwise, then all your virtues will be destroyed.” Thus the two Munis quarrelled with each other and making this stake, departed from the Heavens and went to their respective Âs’ramas.

Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter in the Seventh Book on the freeing of S’unahs’epha and the curing of Haris’chandra in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 18. On The Origin Of The Quarrel Between Haris’chandra And Vis’vâmitra

1-6. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Once on a time Haris’chandra went out to the forest on an hunting excursion; and, while roaming to and fro, he saw that a very beautiful lady was crying. The King, seeing this, took pity on her and asked :-- “O Fair One! Why are you in this forest crying alone? O Large eyed One! Has someone pained you? What is the cause of your sorrow? Express this quickly before me. Why have you come here in this dreadful lonely forest? What are the names of your husband and your father? O Beautiful One! In My kingdom, no demon can give any trouble to another’s lady; I will immediately kill him who has given you this trouble. O thin-bellied One! Be comfortable; do not weep; tell me why you are in this sorrowful state; know that no sinner can remain within my territory.” Hearing the words of the King, the lady wiped out her tears by her hand and began to say :--

7-8. O King! I am Siddharupinî, of the nature of success; to get me, Vis’vâmitra is practising terrible austerities. So these troubles have arisen from him, the son of Kaus’ika. O King! For this reason I am sorry in Your kingdom. O One of good vows! I am a gentle lovely Lady; still that Muni is giving me so much trouble.

9-16. The King said :-- “O Large-eyed One! No longer you will have to suffer any more pains. Be patient. I will go and make the Muni desist from his tapasyâ.” Thus comforting the lady, the King went hurriedly to the Muni Vis’vâmitra and, bowing down to him said with clasped palms :-- O Maharsi! Why are you ailing your body by this terrible severe austerity! O Highly intelligent One! For what great noble cause are you practising this hard tapasyâ; speak truly to me. O Son of Gâdhi! I will fulfil your desires; there is no need of your practising this severe penance; please get out of it immediately. O Maharsi! You know everything; so what shall I say anything further? See! It ought not anyone to practise this extremely dreadful tapasyâ, causing troubles to the people within my territory. Thus prohibited by the King Haris’chandra, the Muni became very angry at his heart and went towards his own hermitage. The King, too, went back to his palace. The Muni on his arrival at his hermitage, began to cogitate in his mind, “Why has the King unjustly desisted me from my tapasyâ” and also the discussions that took place between him and Vas’istha. Vis’vâmitra became very angry at his heart and ready to take the vengeance of this. He thought over on many points and created a terrible demon of a dreadful appearance in the form of a boar and sent it to the territory of the King Haris’chandra.

17-28. That terrible boar, of huge body, entered into the kingdom, raising a dreadful sound. The guards became afraid at his terrible noise. Entering into the forest, that boar began to whirl round and round and destroy the Mâlati forest, at another place the Kadamba forest, and at others the Yûthikâ forest. At other places he began to dig up the earth by his tusks and root out the Champaka, Ketakî, Mallikâ and various other trees. At other places again, he rooted out nice gentle Us’îra, Karavîra, Muchukunda, As’oka, Vakula, Tilaka and other trees and so massacred the nice gardens and forests. The forest guards, then, taking their weapons, rushed forward on that boar. Those that were making garlands and the florists became very distressed and uttered uproars of consternation. That boar, as if an incarnate of Death, though routed out with flights of arrows, could not be terrified; rather when he began to harass the guards very much, they became very much afraid and being very distressed took the refuge of the King and, trembling, said :-- “O King! Protect us. Protect us.” And they cried piteously. Seeing the guards terrified and distressed, the King asked them :-- Whom do you fear so much and why you are so distressed? Speak truly before me. O Guards! I do not fear the Deva nor the Demons; so tell me who has created this panic amongst you. I, no doubt, will send that vicious cheat unto the door of Death by this arrow, who has come against me in this world. What sort of enemy is that? What is his form? What is his power and where is he residing now; speak this quickly to me. Be that enemy a Deva or a Dânava, I will slay him immediately by the multitude of arrows.

29-31. The Mâlâkâras said :-- The enemy is not a Deva, nor a Dânava, Yaksa nor a Kinnara; it is a boar of a huge body that has entered into the forest. Very powerful, he is uprooting by his teeth all the beautiful flower trees; in fact, he is ruining all the gardens and forests. O King! We shot arrows on him, struck him with cudgels and hurled stones at him so much; yet he did not get a bit afraid; rather he turned back to kill us.

32-51. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words, the King’s fury knew no bounds and, immediately getting on horseback, he went towards the garden and forest. Then the horsemen, elephant drivers, charioteers and infantry, all followed him. When the King went there, he saw the terrible boar, of a huge body, whirling round and round and making the peculiar sound in the forest; and he witnessed also the destroyed condition of the forest and became very angry. He then drew his bow and arrows and fell down on him to take away his life. Seeing the King coming angrily towards him with bow and arrows in his hands, the boar began to sound more terribly and ran forward before him. The King saw the boar coming towards him with his mouth wide opened and began to shower arrows upon him to kill him. The boar immediately made those arrows useless, and very violently and quickly jumped and passed away, over the King. When the boar passed away, the King angrily drew his bow with great care and shot sharpened arrows at him. One moment the boar came in the King’s sight; and at another moment he vanished away; thus the boar began to flee, uttering all sorts of sounds. The King Haris’chandra then became very angry and drawing his bow pursued him, mounting on a horse, swift like the wind. The soldiers then entered the forest and scattered hither and thither; the King alone pursued the boar. The sun entered unto the meridian; and the King came to be alone in a lonely forest. His horse was fatigued, and he, too, was tired of hunger and thirst. The boar went away out of sight. The King also missed his way in that dense jungle and became greatly absorbed with intense cares and anxieties. He then began to think, “Where shall I now go? There is none to help me in this dense jungle. Especially I don’t know the right path.” While he was thus thinking, he saw, all on a sudden, a river with clear water in that lonely forest. He became much delighted to see the flowing river and, alighting from horseback, he drank that water and made the horse also drink it. He became much relieved by drinking; and though he was much bewildered not to find the right track, he wanted now to go to his own city. At this moment Vis’vâmitra came up there in an old Brâhmin form; the King also looking at him bowed down to the Brâhmin garbed Vis’vâmitra, who then spoke to the King :-- “O King! Welfare be unto you! What for have you come here? O King! What object have you got in view in this lonely forest? Be calm and quiet and speak everything before me.”

52-58. The King said :-- “O Brâhmin! One powerful boar of a huge body entered into my garden and spoilt altogether all the gentle flower trees there. To desist that boar, I pursued him with bow in hand and went out of the city. That powerful boar, very swift and, as it were, a magician, has escaped my sight and gone away where I do not know. I pursued him and have come now to this place and I do not know where my soldiers have gone. O Muni! Now I am deprived of my men, I am hungry and thirsty. I do not know which is the road to my city; nor do I know where my soldiers have gone. O Dear Lord! It is to my great fortune that you have come in this lonely forest. Now I want to return to my home; kindly shew me the way. I have completed my Râjasûya sacrifice. I always give everyone whatever he wants. This is known to everybody. O Dvîja! If you want money for your sacrifice, then come with me to Ayodhyâ and I will give you abundance of wealth. I am Haris’chandra, the famous King of Ayodhyâ.”

Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the origin of the quarrel between Haris’chandra and Vis’vâmitra in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 19. On The Taking Away Of Haris’chandra’s Kingdom

1-12. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus the words of the King Haris’chandra, the Maharsi Kaus’ika smilingly said :-- “O King! This Tîrath is very sacred; if one bathes here, one is cleansed of one’s sins and virtue springs up. So, highly fortunate One! Bathe in this and do peace-offerings (tarpanam) to your fathers. O King! This time is very auspicious and highly meritorious; so take a bath in this sacred Punya Tîrtha and make charities as far as it lies in your power. Svâyambhuva Manu says :-- He, who arriving at a tîrtha capable to give high merits (Punya), does not bathe and make charities, deceives himself; so he is the slayer of his soul, no doubt. So, O King! Do meritorious acts as best as you can in this excellent tîrtha. Then I will shew you the way and you will go to Ayodhyâ. O Kâkutstha! Today I will be pleased with your gifts and I will accompany you to show you the way; this I have decided.” Hearing the deceitful words of the Maharsi, the King took off his upper garments and tying the horse on to a tree, went towards the river to bathe according to due rites. O King! The accidental combination, that was to have been so (sure to come), so enchanted the King by the Muni’s words, that he got himself entirely under the control of the Muni. He duly completed his bath and offered peace offerings to the Devas and the Pitris and then spoke to Vis’vâmitra. “O Lord! I am now making gifts to you. O Fortunate One! Cows, lands, jewels, elephants, horses, chariots or horses, etc., anything that you like I will give you just now. There is nothing that I cannot give. When I performed previously the Râjasûya sacrifice, I took, then, before all the Munis, this vow. So, O Muni! You are also present at this principal Tîrtha (place of pilgrimage); so express what you desire; I will give you your desired object.”

13-15. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O King! Your glory is spread far and wide in this world; especially I have already heard that there is no second man charitable like you. The Muni Vas’istha has said :-- The

King of the solar dynasty, the Tris’anku’s son, Haris’chandra is foremost and first amongst the kings in this world and there is no one so liberal-minded as he is; such a king there never was nor ever there will be. So, O King! Now the marriage time of my son has arrived; so I pray before you today, that you give me wealth to celebrate this marriage.”

16. The King said :-- “O Brâhmin! Yes! Celebrate the marriage ceremony; I will give you your desired wealth. What more can be said than this that whatever wealth you would want, I will give that abundantly. There is no doubt in this.”

17-22. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words of the King, the Muni Kaus’ika became ready to deceive him and originating the Gândharbî Mâyâ, created a beautiful youth and one daughter aged ten years and showing them to the King, said, “The marriage of these two is to be celebrated today. O King! To marry the boys and the girls in the house-hold is to earn more merits than the Râjasûya sacrifice. So today you will get that desired fruit if you make charities for the marriage of this Brâhmin Youth.” The King was much enchanted by his Mâyâ; so no sooner he heard those words, he immediately promised :-- “That will be done,” he did not raise any objection whatsoever. Vis’vâmitra then showed the way and the King went to his city. Vis’vâmitra, too, thus deceiving the King, went back to his Âs’rama. When the King was staying in Agnis’âlâ (cook-room), Vis’vâmitra Muni went to him and said :-- “O King! The marriage rites have been finished; so today give me what I desire in this sacrificial hall.”

23-24. The King said :-- “O Brâhmin! Speak out what you want; now I like to get fame. So if there be anything in the world, that is not to be given by me, if you want, I will give that even to you, no doubt. The mortal, possessing all wealth, if he does not earn good name and fame, capable to give happiness to him in his next world, passes his life in vain.”

25. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O King! Give to this bridegroom, while within this sacred sacrificial altar, your entire kingdom with the royal umbrella and Châmara for fanning the king and elephants, horses, chariots, infantry and all the gems and jewels.”

26-33. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The King Haris’chandra was deluded by his Mâyâ; so no sooner he heard the Muni’s words, he willingly said without the slightest consideration :-- “O Muni! I give as you pray, my this vast dominion to you.” The very cruel Vis’vâmitra then said :-- “O King! I have accepted your offer; but O Intelligent One! Give now the requisite Daksinâ to complete your gift. Manu says gift without Daksinâ is fruitless; so to get the fruit of your gift give Daksinâ as duly fixed.” The King was exceedingly surprised to hear this and said :-- “O Lord! Kindly say what amount of wealth am I to give to you as Daksinâ. O Saint! Say the value of your Daksinâ. O Ascetic! Don’t be impatient; I will give you the Daksinâ to that amount, no doubt.” Hearing this, Vis’vâmitra told to the King :-- “At present give me two and a half loads of gold as Daksinâ.” The King Haris’chandra became greatly amazed and promised :-- “I will give you that,” he then anxiously mounted on his horseback and became ready to go quickly. At this time, his soldiers who lost their road in quest of their king, came to him. They were very glad to see him; but, seeing him anxious, they began to praise him in great haste.

34-47. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing their words, the King did not say anything, good or bad; but thinking on his own doing entered into the zenana. Oh! What have I promised to give? I have made a gift of all that I have; I am cheated in this matter by the Muni like one robbed by a thief in a wilderness. My whole dominion including my dress I have promised to give to him. Moreover I will have to pay besides two and a half loads of gold. My brain seems to have been completely destroyed. What to do now? I did not know the cunningness of the Muni. Therefore I am cheated by this deceitful Brâhmin. It is next to impossible to understand the work of Daiva. Oh! My Fate! What will happen to me now? Very much bewildered the King entered in the interior of the palace. The queen seeing her husband immersed in cares, enquired into the cause, thus :-- “O Lord Why have you become so absent-minded? Kindly say what you are thinking now? O King! The son has come back from the forest before you completed your Râjasûya sacrifice; why then are you in grief now? Kindly speak out the cause of your sorrow. Nowhere is your enemy, strong or weak; only Varuna was angry with you; now he is also very satisfied. So there is nothing further for you to do to think. O King! Owing to cares, this body gets weaker and weaker day by day. So nothing is like cares to lead one to death.” When his dear wife said so, the King expressed to her somewhat the cause of his cares, good or bad. But the King was much absorbed with his cares so that he could not eat nor sleep though his bedding was perfectly white and clear. Early in the next morning, when, getting up from his bed, he was doing anxiously his morning duties, Vis’vâmitra came up there. When the sentinel informed the King of the arrival of Vis’vâmitra, he gave order for him to enter. Vis’vâmitra, the Looter of his all and everything, came before him and told the King who repeatedly bowed down to him :-- “O King! Now leave your kingdom and give me the gold that you promised as Daksinâ and prove that you are truthful.”

48-63. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Lord! I have given you this vast dominion of mine; so my Kingdom has now become yours; I am leaving this Kingdom and going to somewhere else. O Kaus’ika! You need not think a bit for this. O Brâhmana! You have taken my all according to the technical rule; so now I am unable to give you Daksinâ. If, in time, wealth comes to me, I will at once give you your Daksinâ.” Saying him thus, the King told his wife S’aivyâ, and his son Rohita, “In this Agnihotra room I say that I have given my vast dominion to the Muni Vis'vâmitra. Elephants, horses, chariots, gold and jewels all I have given to him along with my kingdom. What more than this that save us three, everything else I have given to him. O Maharsi! Take fully this prosperous dominion; we are going somewhere else to a forest or a mountain cave.” The exceedingly virtuous Haris’chandra spoke thus to his wife and son, and, paying respects to the Muni, went out from his house. Seeing the King going thus away, his wife and son, afflicted with cares, followed him with their sad faces. Seeing thus, all the inhabitants of Ayodhyâ cried aloud, and great consternation and uproar arose in the city. O King! What is this act that you have done? How has this suffering come to you! O King! The great Fate, without any consideration, has certainly deceived you. The Brâhmanas, Ks’attriyas, Vais’yas and S’ûdras, all the four Varnas gave vent to their sorrows, when they saw the King going away with his wife and son. The Brâhmins and the other inhabitants of the city, all were afflicted with sorrows and began to abuse the vicious Brâhmana saying that “He is a cheat, etc.” O King! Give the gold for Daksinâ and then go; or say that you will not be able to give and I will then not take the Daksinâ. Or if you entertain within yourself any greed, then take back all your Kingdom. O King! If you think that you have really made this gift, then give what you have promised. The son of Gâdhi was saying so, when the King Haris’chandra very humbly bowed down to him with folded palms and said to him.

Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the taking away of Haris’chandra’s Kingdom in the Mahâ Purânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 20. On The Earnestness Of Haris’chandra To Pay Off The Daksinâ

1-4. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Muni! I will not take my food until I pay you your Daksinâ in gold; know this to be my resolve; therefore O One of good vows! Discard all your anxieties for Daksinâ. I am the King of the Solar dynasty; especially since the time I have completed my Râjasûya Sacrifice, I give to everyman whatever he desires. So, O Lord! How can it be possible that I will not give what I have voluntarily promised myself? O Best of Dvîjas! I will certainly pay off your debt. I must give you the gold as you desire; be calm and patient; but you will have to wait one month; and on getting the money I will pay it off to you.”

5-8. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O King! Kingdom, treasury and strength are the three sources of income; but you are now deprived of all these. Whence, now, do you expect to get gold? O King! Vain are your hopes to get money; what am I to do now? You are now wealthless and how can I, out of greed, give you trouble? O King! Better say ‘I will not be able to give you Daksinâ,’ and I will then quit my strong expectation and go away as I like. And you, too, can think that you have no gold, so how can you give money and so you can go wherever you like with your wife and son.”

9-20. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words of the Muni, at his time of departure, the King said :-- “O Brâhmana! Be patient and I will certainly give you your Daksinâ. O Dvîja! My wife, son and I myself are all healthy; so selling these, I will give you the money; there is no doubt in this. O Lord! Kindly enquire whether there is anyone who can purchase us and I will agree to become the slave with my wife and son. O Muni! You can sell all of us and the price you get, you can take two and a half loads of gold out of that and be pleased.” Thus saying, the King went to Benares where S’ankara was staying with his dear consort Umâ. The King saw the beautiful city, the sight of which makes one’s heart dance with more joy and he said that he had become blessed. Then he went to the banks of the Bhâgirathî and bathed in the Ganges and offered peace-offerings (Tarpan) to the Devas and the Pitris and completing the worship of his Ista Deva (his own Deity) looked around where he would go. The King entering into the beautiful city of Benares began to think that no human being is protecting this city but S’iva Himself is protecting it. So if he lives there, he would not be living in a city which has been given away by him to Vis’vâmitra. The King, then, distressed much with pain and trouble and being very much bewildered, began to journey on foot with his wife and son and entered into the city and placed his confidence. At this moment he saw the Muni Vis’vâmitra, wanting Daksinâ and humbly bowed down and spoke with folded palms :-- “O Muni! My dear wife, my son and I myself are living here; you can take any of us and have your work done; or say what other work we will have to do for you.”

21. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “You promised that you would pay Daksinâ at the end of one month; and today that one month is completed; if you remember, then give me the Daksinâ.”

22. The King said :-- “O Brâhmana! You are wise and are endowed with the power of tapas (asceticism); as yet one month is not complete; still half a day is remaining; wait till then; and no longer.”

23-27. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O King! Let it be. I will come again and if you do not give me then, I will curse you. Thus saying Vis’vâmitra went away. The King then thought within himself how be would pay him back what he had promised. There is no influential friend of mine in this Benares city who can help me with money; where then can I get the requisite money. I am a Ksattriya. Pratigraha (begging or accepting any gift) is forbidden to me and how can I beg or accept any gift! According to the code of Dharma, the offering of sacrifices (on one’s own behalf), studying, and giving are the three duties ordained to a King. And if I die not paying a Brâhmin’s Daksinâ, I will be polluted with the sin of stealing a Brâhmin’s property and I will then be born a worm or will became a Preta. So to sell myself (and pay off the debts) is better than this.”

28-33. Sûta said :-- O Risis! When the King was thus thinking humbly with his face bent downwards, and in a distracted state of mind, his wife spoke to him with tears in her eyes and in a voice, choked with feelings :-- “O King! Discard all cares and keep your own Dharma, Truth. He who is divorced from Truth is forsaken like a Preta. O Best of all men! To keep one’s Truth is one’s Dharma; there is no other Dharma superior to it; so the sages declare. He whose words turn out false, his Agnihotra, study, and gifts and all action, become fruitless. Truth is very much praised in the Dharma S’âstra and this Truth raises up and saves the virtuous souls. Similarly falsehood, no doubt, drags a vicious man to hell. The King Yayâti performed the Horse sacrifice, and the Râjasûya sacrifice and went to Heavens but once he spoke falsely and so he was dislodged from the Heavens.”

34. The King said :-- “O Thou, going like an elephant! I have my son who will multiply my line; speak out what Thou wishest to say.”

35. The Queen said :-- “O King! The wives are meant for sons (your having me has been fulfilled as there is your son). So sell me for the money value and give the Daksinâ to the Brâhmin. Let you not deviate from the Truth.”

36-45. Vyâsa spoke :-- Hearing this, the King fainted. Afterward regaining consciousness, he wept with a grievous heart. O gentle One! What you have uttered just now has caused me much pain; am I such a Sinner as to forget entirely all your conversations and your sweet smiles! Alas! O Sweet-smiling One! You ought not to speak such words. O Fair One! How have you been able to utter these harsh words not fit to be spoken! Speaking thus, the King became impatient at the idea of selling his wife and fainted and fell to the ground. Seeing him fainted and lying flat on the ground, the Queen became grievously hurt and spoke with great compassion. O King! Whose evil have you done that you have fallen into this calamity? Alas! He who is accustomed to sleep in a room adorned with carpets is today like a humble man, sleeping on the ground! The King who gave crores and crores of golden mohurs to the Brâhmins, that same King, my husband is lying now on the ground! Alas! What a painful thing! O Fate! What has this King done to you that You have thrown this Indra and Upendra like King in this dire calamity! Thus saying, the beautiful queen (of good hips) very much grieved by the sight of her husband’s pain fell down unconscious on the ground. Then the boy prince, seeing father and mother both senseless, lying on the ground, became very much troubled, and, becoming hungry, cried, “O Father! O Father! I am very hungry; give me food to eat; O Mother! O Mother! My tongue is being parched; give me food to eat,” and the boy began to weep repeatedly.

Here ends the Twentieth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the earnestness of Haris’chandra to pay off the Daksinâ in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 21. On The Description Of The Sorrows Of Haris’chandra

1-5. Vyâsa said :-- O King! At this moment, the Muni Vis’vâmitra, endowed with his power of tapas, came up there, very angry as if the God of Death, to ask of his wealth. Seeing him Haris’chandra fallen thus senseless on the ground, Vis’vâmitra, then, began to sprinkle water on his body. O King! The man who is involved in a debt his troubles increase day by day. So get up and pay your promised Daksinâ. The King, thus sprinkled with water, cold as snow, regained his consciousness; but, seeing Vis’vâmitra, he fainted again. At this, the Dvîja Vis’vâmitra consoled him and angrily spoke to him thus :--

6-10. O King! If you want to maintain your steadiness, give, then my Daksinâ. Look! It is Truth that makes the Sun shine; It is the Truth that has stationed this Earth in its position; what to speak more, even the Svarga is established on Truth; so the greatest Dharma lies in Truth. If the fruit of the thousand As’vamedhas be held in one pan and Truth be held on the other pan of the balance, then Truth outweighs the thousand horse sacrifices or what need I to speak all about this! O King! If you fail to give my Daksinâ before the Sunset, I will, no doubt, curse you. Saying this, Vis’vâmitra went away. The King also became very terrified. The wealthless King was pained by the words of the Muni; but he was more troubled with the thought how he would pay him and keep to Truth.

11-13. Sûta said :-- O Risis! At this time, a Brâhmin, skilled in the Vedas, with many other Brâhmins, started out of his house, at that very place. The queen, then seeing the Brâhmin ascetic close by, addressed the King in words reasonable and in accordance with the Dharma, O Lord! A Brâhmin is considered the father of the other three Varnas (i.e., Ksattriyas, Vais’yas, and S’ûdras) and a son can certainly take the father’s things; so it is my intention that you beg your wealth from this Brâhmin.

14-18. The King said :-- “O One of thin waist! To beg suits the Brâhmanas; it is prohibited to the Ksattriyas; I being a Ksattriya do not wish to take anything as gift. The Brâhmins are the Gurus of all the Varnas. So they are always to be respected. It is not proper to beg from a Brâhmin; especially the Ksattriyas never ask anything from the Brâhmins; it is totally prohibited. Offering oblations, study, gift and the governing of subjects and protecting those that take refuge is the Dharma of the Ksattriyas but they would never, never, ask any other man ‘Give, give,’ and utter these words indicative of humility O Devî! The words ‘I am giving you’ are impressed within my heart; so I will earn money from some other source and give that to the Muni.”

19-20. The Queen said :-- “O King! Time keeps some men in one and the same state; again it throws others into troubles; Time it is that gives respect to one and again it is Time that gives disrespect to others. Time it is that makes one a donor and it is the same Time that makes another a beggar. So even the Risi Vis’vâmitra, learned and endowed with the strength of Tapas, becoming angry has deprived you of your kingdom and happiness and has thus done quite an irreligious act in the shape of tormenting others. You can now judge in this the wonderful workings of Time.”

21-22. The King said :-- “I would rather out off my tongue into two pieces by a sharp sword than I would quit my Ksattriya pride; and I would never be able to utter the words ‘Give, give.’ O Fortunate One! I am a Ksattriya; so I never ask anything of anyone. I always say that, by the strength of my arms, I will earn money and pay off my debt.”

23-27. The Queen said :-- “O King! Indra and the other Devas have given me over duly to your hands. So I am your religious (legal) wife; especially I have got education and I ought to be protected. Therefore O Luminous One! If you do not like to beg then you can sell me and pay off your Daksinâ.” The King Haris’chandra became grieved very much to hear these words and lamented, saying, “O What a painful thing is this! What a painful thing is this!” His wife again spoke :-- “O King! Will we, afterwards, be burnt by the fire of curse from a Brâhmin and thus lowered very much? So keep my word now. You are selling me, not because that you are infatuated with desire for gambling nor you are deprived of all knowledge by enjoyments in worldly things nor you are selling me owing to avert the danger of your kingdom. It is that you are selling me to pay off the debt to your Guru. So nothing sinful a fault will be incurred by you. So sell me and keep to Truth and the fruits thereof.”

Here ends the Twenty-First Chapter of the Seventh Book on the description of the sorrows of Haris’chandra in the Mahâ Purânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 22. On The Selling Of Haris’chandra’s Wife

1-6. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the Queen Madhavî requested repeatedly the King, He said :-- “O Good Auspicious One! When you have not met with any scruple to utter clearly these harsh and cruel words, I will do that act now which the most ruthless persons do not dare to do.” Saying this, the King went with his wife, very distressed, to the city. Placing her on the public road, the King cried out in a voice choked with feelings and eyes full of tears :-- “O Citizens! Hear you all. Do any one of you require any maidservant? This lady is dearer to me than my life. If any of you be able to offer price of her as I will declare, then let him give it out quickly.” The Pundits then said :--  “Who are you? Why are you come here to sell your wife?”

7. The King said :-- “Are you asking me of my introduction? Hear then; I am a heartless brute and not fit to be called a man; or I am a Râksasa; nay, I am more than that; I am prepared to do this sinful act.”

8-11. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing this, Kaus’ika suddenly assumed the form of an old man and came out and spoke to Haris’chandra :-- I am master of boundless wealth; so I am able to give you the money you want; I am ready to purchase the maidservant by giving an equivalent wealth. Better give me the maidservant. My wife is exceedingly delicate; she is unable to do all the household work; so let me have the maid. But say quickly what value am I to pay? When the Brâhmin spoke this, Haris’chandra felt his heart, as it were, torn asunder; so he could not for the moment speak anything.

12-15. The Brâhmana said :-- Take an equivalent amount of money according to the age, beauty, qualifications and capabilities of your wife and hand her over to me. Hear about the prices of the male and female servants as written in the Dharma S’âstras :-- The price of a female servant clever, good, well-qualified and possessing thirty-two auspicious qualities is one Koti gold mohurs; and the male servant similarly qualified fetches one Arbuda gold mohurs. Haris’chandra became very much pained to hear the Brâhmin speaking thus; but he could not say anything. The Brâhmin then placed in front of the King the money over a bark and caught hold of the hair of the Queen and was ready to drag Her.

16-21. The Queen said :-- “O Ârya! Let me see once the lotus-face of my son; leave me once. O Brâhmin! Please see that it will be hard for me again to see this boy. O Son! Behold! Your mother is now a slave. So, O Prince, do not touch me. I am not fit now to be touched by you.” The boy, then, seeing the mother suddenly snatched away, cried out, “O Mother! O Mother!” and followed her with tears in his eyes. That boy tumbled at every step still he caught hold of the mother’s clothing by his hand and began to accompany her. The Brâhmin, seeing this behaviour of the boy, became impatient with anger and began to beat him. Still the boy wept, saying, “Mother! Mother!” and never quitted the hold of his mother. The Queen said :-- “O Lord! Have mercy on me and purchase this boy also. Though you are purchasing me, yet without this boy I will not be able to do your work. My fate is bad; therefore this calamity has happened. Shew this favour to me.”

22-24. The Brâhmin said :-- Take this money and give me the boy too. For the Wise in the Dharma S’âstras fix such to be the prices of a female and a male. The other Pundits make differences in the prices, e.g., one hundred, one thousand, one lakh, one crore and so on, according to the different qualifications. But for the female, who is skilled in all actions, modest, of good behaviour, and well qualified and, on whose body the thirty-two auspicious signs are seen, her price is one Koti gold mohurs and for a man qualified, one Arbuda gold mohurs.

25-35. Sûta said :-- O King! The Brâhmin then gave over the price of the boy as decided, in gold mohurs in front of the King over a bark and then tied both the mother and son. He, then, gladly and without any delay, carried them to his home. At the time of departure, the Queen circumambulated the King and, kneeling down, bowed down to him and, in that state of humility, began to speak :-- If ever I have done any charities, if ever I have poured oblations on the Fire, if ever I have satisfied the Brâhmins, then, by that virtue, Haris’chandra will again be my husband. Seeing his wife, dearer then his life, fallen on his feet, the King became very distracted and lamented, crying, “Alas! Alas! The shadow of a tree never leaves the tree; but you being verily modest and endowed with all qualifications, are now separated from me.” Speaking thus reasonably with his wife, the King said to his son :-- “O Child! Where will you go, leaving me here? Where shall I go now? and who will stop my miseries?” The King, then, spoke to the Brâhmin :-- “O Brâhmin! The pain that I experience in the separation from my son, I did not feel on the occasion of quitting my kingdom or on my being exiled in a forest.

O Auspicious One! The husband, good natured in this world, nourishes always his wife and keeps her always in comfort and happiness. But I am such a bad husband of yours, as I have left you and made you float in the sea of sorrows. Born in the Iksâku family, I inherited the kingdom and its pleasures; but, Alas! Your getting such a husband has now been reduced to slavery! O Devî! I am merged in this ocean of sorrows and troubles. Who will rescue me, by narrating this story of the Purânas!”

36-40. Sûta said :-- O King! The Brâhmin, then, began to take away the queen and the boy, whipping them, in the face of the King. Seeing his wife and son being dragged away in that state, the King’s pain knew no bounds and be frequently sighed and sighed and bitterly wept aloud. Alas! My dear wife, whom the Moon, the Sun, Wind or any other body could not see ere this, has become now reduced to slavery today! Oh! How beautiful and gentle are the fingers of my child? He has been sold off today, being born in the Solar Dynasty? Alas! Fie on my foolish understanding! Oh my Dear! Oh my child Rohitâs’va! Your this wretched condition is due to my Anârya irrespectable bad maxims! Oh! Through the mockery of the Daiva, I have got this distress! Fie on Me!

41-42 Vyâsa said :-- The King was lamenting thus when the Brâhmin disappeared with them, in the very tall trees and walls of palatial buildings. At this time the cruel fiendish Muni, endowed with great power of asceticism came there quickly, accompanied by his disciples.

43. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O One of mighty arm! If you think it your duty to respect Truth, then pay me the Daksinâ of Râjasûya sacrifice that you promised before.”

44. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Râjarsi! I bow down to Thee. O Sinless One! Now take the Daksinâ of the Râjasûya Sacrifice that I promised to pay you before.”

45. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O King! Whence have you collected these gold Mohurs that you are now paying me as my Daksinâ. How have you earned this? Say.”

46. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Dvîja! O Sinless One! What use is there in telling this to you. It will increase agony by hearing. O One of good vows!”

47. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “I won’t accept money earned not rightly.

Give what you have acquired by rightful means. Say truly how you have acquired it.”

48. Haris’chandra spoke :-- “O Brâhmin! I have sold my wife the Devî Madhavî for one Koti Gold Mohurs and my son for ten Kotis of gold Mohurs. So take this eleven Koti Gold Mohurs from me.”

49. Sûta said :-- Seeing the gold collected out of the sale of wife and son very small, and seeing the King overpowered with pain and sorrow, Kaus’ika angrily spoke :--

50-52. O King! The Daksinâ of the Râjasûya Sacrifice cannot be so small; so collect quickly other money to complete it. O Vilest of Ksattriyas! If you think this much to be proper for me, see first the enormous power of mine that I possess of my tapasyâ, practised duly, of my pure Brâhmanyahood, of my violent power and of my chaste study and then you can pay my Daksinâ.

53. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Bhagavân! I have sold just now my wife; and so wait for some time and I will collect more gold and will pay that to you.”

54. Vis’vâmitra said :-- “O King! The fourth part of the day is now remaining; I will wait till then. After this you won’t expect any other reply from me.”

Here ends the Twenty second Chapter of the Seventh Book on the selling of Haris’chandra’s wife in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 23. On The King Haris’chandra’s Acknowledging Of The Slavery Of The Chândâla

1-5. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Speaking these harsh and cruel words to the King, the Muni took that money and went away. When Vis’vâmitra went away, the King Haris’chandra became very much perplexed with sorrows and sighed frequently. He then began to say with his face bent downwards. “Suffering from constant pain and troubles, I am now turned into a Preta; if anybody finds me serviceable, he may purchase me with value in gold as proper; but he should do this quickly before the sun sets.” Dharma, then, assuming the form of a heartless Chândâla, came there quickly to test Haris’chandra. The body of that low mean person was of a black colour, his air looking ferocious, his belly elongated, body emitting stench odours, teeth very long, and his face, covered with beards. He had one bamboo in his hand; in his neck, the bones of the dead were hanging and his chest was very distorted.

6. The Chândâla said :-- “I am in urgent need of a servant; I will keep you as my slave; say, then, quickly what is your price?”

7. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the cruel, extremely ferocious and heartless Chândâla said thus, the King Haris’chandra was surprised to see his appearance and said :-- “Who are you?”

8-12. The Chândâla said :-- “O King! I am the famous Chândâla, Pravîra; you will have to remain always subject to me and to collect the clothes of the dead persons.” Hearing his word, the King said, “I want to be purchased by a Brâhmin or a Ksattriya. See! The sages say, that the Dharma of good people is excellent; the Dharma of the persons intermediate is middling; and the Dharma of the mean is depressing. You belong to the low and mean class. So my Dharma cannot be observed if I remain in your house.” The Chândâla said :-- “O King! This is the Dharma of yours now mentioned by you; then why did you mention that anybody can purchase you; without any previous consideration, you spoke before me. He who speaks with preconsideration attains his desired object; but, O Sinless One! You did not consider and you spoke that ordinarily. However, if I take your words that you spoke first to be true, then you are no doubt, purchased by me.”

13. Haris’chandra said :-- The villain that speaks untruth, goes downright to a terrible hell; so to become a Chândâla is far better for me than to use an untrue word.

14-15. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When the King was speaking thus, the ascetic Vis’vâmitra arrived there out of anger and impatience; he rolled his eyes and said :-- This Chândâla is come to give you your desired money; why, then, are you not giving me the remnant of my Daksinâ!

16. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Kaus'ika! Nothing is unknown to you. My this body is born for the Solar Line; how then can I accept this slavery of a Chândâla!”

17-20. Vis’vâmitra said :-- If you do not sell yourself to a Chândâla, be certain that I will just now put you under my curse. Give me immediately my Daksinâ, be it whether from a Chândâla or from a Brâhmana. There is no other purchaser at present than this Chândâla. But know this as certain that I won’t go back until I get my money. O King! If you do not give me money just now, then when half the Ghatikâ of the day is remaining, I will burn you up by my fire of anger.

2l. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words of Vis’vâmitra, the King became almost dead; bewildered with fear, then he clasped the feet of the Risi and said, “Be friendly, please.”

22-23. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Viprarsi! I am now very humiliated and have become very afflicted and distressed. Especially I am your Bhakta, I am your servant; so be graciously pleased and free me from this painful companion of a Chândâla. O Muni! In lieu of my remnant Daksinâ, I will be your obedient slave; I will do your work and follow your commands.”

24. Visvamitra said :-- “O King! You are then my slave, you will obey always my commands.”

25-26. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When Vis’vâmitra said so, the King, out of joy, thought that he regained his life and said to Kaus’ika. Always I will obey your words; now order me what work I will have to do.

27-28. Vis’vâmitra, then addressed the Chândâla and said :-- “O Chândâla! Come to me and give me the price for this slave. I am now handing this slave over to you; give me the price and take him. I want money; I have no need for a servant.”

29. Vyâsa said :-- O King! When Vis’vâmitra spoke thus, the Chândâla, overflowed with joy, came immediately to the Risi Vis’vâmitra and said :--

30. O Dvîja! The relief that you have given me by selling this servant, for that I will give you the ten Yoyanas wide land of Prayâga Mandalam, covered over with jewels.

31-36. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The Chândâla then gave one thousand gems, one thousand jewels, one thousand pearls and one thousand gold Mohurs and Vis’vâmitra took them. No signs of distraction nor unpleasantness were visible on the face of the King Haris’chandra. Rather he laid hold of his patience and thought within himself, “Vis’vâmitra is now my master; I will do any work that he puts me in.” At this time, the incorporeal voice, the voice of the fourth dimensional space, sounded from the Heavens :-- “O Fortunate One! You are freed from the Daksinâ, the debt before that you promised to give me.” A shower of flowers fell on the head of the King from the Heavens. At this time the powerful Indra and the other hosts of the Devas praised the King, saying :-- “Sâdhu! Sâdhu! Well-done, Well-done.” The heart of the King was then filled with intense joy and the King then said to Kaus’ika :--

37-38. O Intelligent One! You are a greater benefactor to me than my father, mother and friend as you have freed me in a moment from my debts. So, O mighty armed one! Your words are beneficial to me. Now order what am I to do.

39. When the King said so, Vis’vâmitra then said :-- Go and observe from today the words of the Chândâla. Let good befall on you! Thus saying, the Maharsi Vis’vâmitra took the money given by the Chândâla and went away to his own place.

Here ends the Twenty-third Chapter of the Seventh Book on the King Haris’chandra’s acknowledging of the slavery of the Chândâla in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 24. On The Stay Of Haris’chandra In The Burning Ground

1. S’aunaka said :-- “O Sûta! Now describe as quickly as you can in detail what the King Haris’chandra did afterwards in the house of the Chândâla.

2-14. Sûta said :-- When Vis’vâmitra went away, the mind of the Chândâla was filled with joy. He already gave to Vis’vâmitra that amount of jewels; so he tied now the King and, telling him, “Do you now stand on the path of falsehood?” began to beat him with sticks. The King was already very much tired of the bereavements from his dear ones; now being beaten by the Chândâla, his senses were lost. In this state the Chândâla took him to his house and fastened him with a chain. Then the Chândâla’s troubles were over and he fell asleep. The King lived in the Chândâla’s house in that state fettered by a chain; but he did not take any food there. Incessantly he wept for his wife and son and others. “Alas! That thin lady, seeing the sad face of her son is now remembering me with a morose face. She is now perhaps thinking, with a grieved heart, that whenever the King will get the money, he will pay off the promised money to the Brâhmin and then will free us from this yoke of slavery. Alas! When will that day come when will he see me and this crying child and speak with us. When the son will cry, saying, ‘I will go to my father; father!’ When will he come and speak with the child? That fawn eyed gentle woman does not know that I am now placed under a Chândâla. Alas! I am deprived of my kingdom, friends; and I have sold away my wife and son; now I am bound in the chain of slavery of a Chândâla. Alas! So many miseries have fallen on me all one after another.” Thus thinking incessantly about his dear consort and son, the King passed his days in the house of that Chândâla. Four days passed; and on the fifth day the Chândâla came there and rebuked the King with very harsh words and freed him from his fastenings and said, “Go to the burial ground and collect the clothings of the dead bodies. There is a wide S’masân (burial ground) on the southern part of Kâs’î; go and protect that and whatever is due to you, justly take that; do not leave it. Take this Jarjara club and go there quickly. Say to all that you are the messenger of Vîravâhu and this staff is his.”

15-33. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Thus Haris’chandra became a Chândâla’s servant and was engaged in collecting the cloths of the dead persons. Thus ordered by the Chândâla, whose duty was to collect the rags of the dead bodies, the King went to the burial ground. To the south of the city Kâs’î, was situated the dreadful S’masâna, scattered over with the garlands of the dead, bad odours were emitting on all sides and it was covered all over with smoke. Hundreds of jackals were yelling there and the ground was being reverberated by their yells.  Vultures, jackals and dogs were at many places dragging the dead bodies. At other places were scattered heaps of bones; the whole ground was covered with the putrid smell of the dead. At some places it seemed that from within the funeral pyre, the half-burnt dead bodies were laughing wildly with their teeth wide open from their mouths. Thus the dead bodies looked terrible when being placed under fire. Lots of dead bodies were brought there and there was a great tumultuous uproar made by the cries of their friends and relatives. Oh! My son! My friend! My relative! My brother! My child! My dear wife! Oh! My cousin! Oh! My grandfather! Oh! My father! My grandson! My acquaintance! Where hast thou gone leaving me here! Come once and let me have a sight of thee! With such dreadful sounds as these, the burial ground was being echoed. Flesh, marrow, fat all were being burnt in the fire and a peculiar sound Son, Son was being produced there and creating voidness in the minds of the people. The fire was burning with a crackling noise. Thus the S’masâna looked very terrible as if the universe was being destroyed at the end of a Kalpa. The King Haris’chandra arrived there; and, with extreme pain, he began to give vent to his sorrows. “My ministers, servants! Where are you all now? Where is kingdom that I got by a succession of inheritance! O my Son! O my dear wife! Where are you staying now, at what a long distance, leaving me here out of the Brâhmin’s anger. Without Dharma man can never get auspicious fruits. So men should carefully earn Dharma.” The King, whose body was covered with dust and dirt, thought thus repeatedly; and at last, remembering the Chândâla’s words, went out in quest of the dead. Out of this eventful cares and anxieties, his body became lean like a stick; still he ran, to and fro, and calculated thus :-- “This dead body will fetch for its price one hundred gold mohurs; out of this, this belongs to the King; this to me, and this to the Chândâla.” So he thought constantly and his state became awful. His face, arm, belly and feet and the other parts of body were all covered over with ashes and dust; the King wore a ragged cloth where hundred places were sewn over; his toes were all besmeared with all sorts of flesh, marrow, fat and other things. He began to satisfy his hunger out of the food that was prepared for all sorts of dead bodies; and, taking their garlands, he encircled his head with them. Day and night he did not sleep and always he sighed and sighed, crying, Alas! Alas! Thus one year passed away, as if it had been three hundred years.

Here ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the stay of Haris’chandra in the burning ground in the Mahâ Purânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 25. On The Quarrels Between Haris’chandra And Vis’vâmitra

1-12. Sûta said :-- Here, on the other hand, one day the boy Rohitâs’va went out with other boys to play at some place close to Kâs’î. He first played with the his comrades; he then began to root out and collect, as far as he could, the Darbha (Kus’a) grass, with its ends and which had not deep roots. On being questioned why he was taking the Dharba grass, Rohitâ told his comrades that his master was a Brâhmin and that he was collecting them for his satisfaction. Saying this, he began to collect carefully by his hands the sacrificial fuel (Samidha) and other fuel for the burning purposes. He collected the Palâsa wood for Homa purpose and making it into a bundle with other articles already collected, took it on his head, but at every step he seemed to be fatigued. Feeling thirsty he went to a pool of water close by and keeping his load on the ground went down to drink water. Drinking water he rested a while and then as he had kept his load on the anthill, be began to take it back on his head, a very poisonous deadly serpent came out suddenly out of that anthill at the order of Vis’vâmitra. The snake immediately bit the boy who instantly fell down and died. His comrades seeing Rohitâs’va dead went to the house of the Brâhmin. With much anxiety the boys went soon out of fear, to his mother and said :-- “O Brâhmin’s maidservant! Your son went out with us to play outside; but suddenly a poisonous snake bit him and he is dead.” Rohitâ’s mother, hearing these cruel words like thunder and lightning at once fell down on the ground like a plantain tree, cut off from its roots. The Brâhmin, then, came and sprinkled water on her face. When she regained her consciousness, the Brâhmin then angrily spoke :--

13-19. O wicked One! It is very inauspicious to cry at the evening time; especially the disfavour of the Goddess Laksmî; the poverty comes to the householder, you know this; why are you then weeping? Have you not a bit of shame in your heart? She made no reply at this. Rather very much immersed in grief for her son, she wept in a pitiful voice. Her body was covered with dust, hairs were dishevelled and her face covered all over with tears from eyes. She constantly wept out of sorrow. The Brâhmin, then, became very angry and spoke to the queen :-- “O Villain! O Wicked! Fie on you. I have bought you for money; yet you are hindering my luck. If you had this thought that you would not work under me, why did you take for nothing my money?” Thus repeatedly scolded by the Brâhmin, she pitifully cried and spoke to the Brâhmin in a voice choked with feelings :-- “O Lord! My son has fallen into the jaws of death, being smitten by a serpent. O One of good vows! I will never be able to see him. So kindly permit me to go and see my boy.” Saying thus, that lady began again to weep in a pitiful voice. The Brâhmin became very angry and spoke thus :--

20-26. O Cheat! Your conduct is extremely blameable; you do not know how one commits a sin. The man who taking his pay from his master spoils his master’s work, he goes to the terrible hell Raurava and is being scorched there. Living in the Hell for a short while, he is born as a cock. Or it is useless for me to give you this instruction of the Dharma S’âstra, for to speak to such to an illiterate, cruel, low, hypocrite and liar and to one addicted to sinful acts is to sow seed on an usar land and to see it fruitless. Now if you have any fear for the afterlife, come and do the household affairs. Hearing this, she said to the Brâhmin, trembling :-- “O Lord! Be graciously pleased and shew your mercy on a maidservant. Only for a moment I will go to see the dead son of mine; so give me order to go there for a moment.” That lady was deeply absorbed with sorrows for her son; then she put her head on the feet of the Brâhmin and with a pitiful voice cried. The angry Brâhmin with eyes reddened then began to speak.

27-41. What purpose of mine will be served by your son? Don’t you know about my anger? Have you forgotten about my whipping? So be ready and do my household work without any delay. Hearing his words, the queen held her patience and began to do the household work. She spent half the night time, when she finished champooing his feet. When this was over, the Brâhmin spoke to her :-- “You can go now to your son; but see, finish his burning ceremonies and come back quickly. See that my morning works do not suffer.” Thus getting the permission, the Queen went at that dead of night to look for her son, alone and weeping. Gradually she went out of the precincts of the city of Kâsî and there she saw her son like a poor man’s son lying on the ground over leaves and pieces of woods. Seeing her son dead, the humble Queen was very troubled with sorrow like an antelope, straying from its herd and as a cow missing her calf. The Queen Mâdhavî then began to lament, in a very pitiful tone, thus :-- “O my Son! Come once before me; say why you are angry. Oh! My child! You used to come frequently to me, uttering Ma! Ma! Then why are you not coming now?” Saying thus, she tumbling went and fell over his son. She, regaining her consciousness, embraced her son and placing her face on the face of the child began to weep pitifully. “Oh! My son! Oh! My child! Oh my Kumâra! Oh! My Beautiful! and began to beat her head and her breast with her hands. O King! Where are you now? You used to look upon your son dearer than even your life. Your that son is now lying dead on the ground. Come and behold him once. It seems that the son has got back his life.” Thus thinking she looked upon his face; but when it looked dead, she fell immediately unconscious. Getting back soon her consciousness, she held his face by her hands and said :-- “O Child! Rise up from your sleep; awake; now is the dreadful night time; hundreds of jackals are yelling into our ears. Even Pretas, Bhutas, Pis’âchas and Dâkinîs are roaming in packs and making terrible sounds Hum, Hum. Your comrades returned to their homes just at sunset; Why are you alone remaining here?

42-56. Sûta said :-- The thin-bodied queen, thus saying, began to lament, “Oh my Child! Oh! My son, Oh! Rohitâs’va, O Kumâra, why are you not replying to my words! Oh my Child! I am your mother; do you not recognise me; look at me once. O Child! I am deprived of my kingdom and exiled from my country; my husband has sold even his body and I am myself reduced to slavery. What man is there that can live in this state! I am living simply by seeing your lotus-face. The astrologer who cast your horoscope at your birth, calculated future events in your life; but where? none of them is fructified. They said that this child will be a hero, warrior, long-lived, very charitable man, and always ready to do the worship of the Devas, Dvîjas and the Gurus. What more than this that the child will be one paramount sovereign and with his sons and grandsons will enjoy his kingdom. This boy will be the master of his senses and will fulfil the desires of his father and mother. Oh my Son! Now all those predictions have turned out false. O Child! You have on your palms so many auspicious signs, discus, fishes, umbrella, S’rî Vatsa, Svastika, flags, Kalas’a (earthen jar), Châmara and other signs; besides these, various other auspicious omens exist on your hands. Are all these become in vain today! O Son! You are the Lord of this whole dominion; but where are your that Kingdom now, those ministers, that royal throne, that umbrella, that axe, that vast amount of riches, that Ayodhyâ city, those palatial buildings, those elephants, horses, and chariots? Where have gone your subjects! O Child! Where have you gone now, quitting all these and even me! O beloved Husband! See the condition of your son who in his early childhood used to move on all fours (the hands and feet) and get up on your broad chest, anointed with Kumkum, and spoil it with dust; O King! Come once and witness the condition of your child who used to press, out of ignorance due to his young age, the Tilak on your forehead, prepared of Mriganâbhi, (musk). Alas! Flies are now sitting on the lotus face today which I used to kiss over, covered with dirt; the insects are now stinging that. Oh! This I have got to witness now! O King! Come and see once your child is now sleeping on the ground like a poor man’s dead son. O Fate! What bad act did I commit in my past life, that I have got to suffer so much in this life and I do not get an end of them! O Child! O Son! Oh, my Kumâra! Oh! My Beautiful! Shall I not be able to see you once any more elsewhere?” The Queen Mâdhavî thus lamented very much when the warders of the city, hearing her lamentations awoke and came to her without any delay, greatly astonished. They asked her thus :--

57-77. Who are you? Whose son is this? Where is your husband? Why are you weeping here in this dead of night, without any fear? Though thus questioned, the thin Queen did not reply anything. Being again asked, she remained silent; and in the next moment she was pained with extreme agony and began again to cry. Tears flowed incessantly from her two eyes out of her sorrow. The guards then began to suspect her and were greatly afraid. So much that hairs stood on their ends out of terror. They at once raised their arms and began to talk with each other. When this lady is not giving any sort of reply, she is then certainly not a woman; most probably she will be a Râksasî, knowing magic and destroying young children. So she should be killed with great attention. If she be not a Râksasî, then why she should stay in this dead of night outside the city? No doubt, this Râksasî has brought someone’s child to eat here. Thus saying, they, without any delay, tied her hairs closely and some caught hold of her hand and some caught hold of her neck, saying O Râksasî! where will you go now? The armed men, then dragged her perforce to the house of the Chândâla and handed her over to him. All the people said :-- “O Chief of the Chândâlas! We have caught today outside the city this child eating Râksasî; so you better take her quickly on the slaughter ground and slaughter her.” The Chândâla looked at her body and said, “This Râksasî is widely celebrated in this world. I know her from before; but nobody is able to see her. This Mâyâvinî has devoured many sons of many persons. You all will acquire great merit when she will be slaughtered and your good name will be known to all and will last long. You better now go back to your own homes. The man who kills women, children, cows and Brâhmins, who burns another’s house with fire, who destroys the wayfares of others, who steals his Guru’s wife, who quarrels with saintly persons, and who drinks wine, if killed, will certainly yield merits to the man who kills him. If such a one be a female or a Brâhmin, no sin will accrue if he or she be slaughtered.

So it is my paramount duty to kill her.” Saying this, the Chândâla tied her closely and drawing her by her hairs, began to beat her with a rope. Then he told to Haris’chandra in terse language :-- “O Slave! Kill her; this woman is by her very nature wicked; so do not judge anything in this matter of killing her.” Hearing these harsh words, like the falling of a thunderbolt, the King shuddered. When he came back to his nature, he fearing lest a woman be killed, said to the Chândâla :-- “I am not at all able to carry this order out; so kindly make over this task to some other servant of yours. He will kill her. I will certainly carry out any other order that you would task me to do.” Thus hearing the King, the Chândâla said :-- Discard your fear and take the sword; this Mâyâvinî kills always the children; so to kill her is meritorious; in no way whatsoever ought she to be saved. The King became very sorry and said :-- Women should always be protected with care, never to be killed; the more so as the religious Munis have assigned greater sin in the killing of women. The man who kills consciously or unconsciously females, certainly becomes boiled in the Mahâ Raurava hell.

78-79. The Chândâla said :-- “Don’t you say this; take this sharp sword, lustrous like a lightning; where killing one engenders happiness to many, abundance of merits are acquired in doing that. This wicked fellow has eaten many children of this place; so kill her as early as possible and bring peace and happiness to the Kâsî people.”

80. The King said :-- “O Chief of the Chândâlas! I have taken the difficult vow from my childhood, not to kill any woman. Therefore I cannot exert myself in this matter of killing the woman as you order.”

81-82. The Chândâla said :-- “O Wicked Fellow! No work is superior which is not the master’s work. Why then are you cancelling today to carry out my order, when you are taking pay from me. The servant that spoils his master’s work, taking his money, is not freed from the hell even if he remains for ten thousand years there.”

83-86. The King said :-- “O Lord of the Chândâlas! Put me to some other task that is very difficult. I will do that easily. Or if you have an enemy, specify and I will kill him no doubt within an instant. I will give you the whole earth by killing him. Even if Indra comes against you with the other Devas, or Dânavas, or Uragas, or Kinnaras, or Siddhas, or Gandharbas, I will slay him with my sharpened arrows, but I will never be able to kill a woman.” The Chândâla, then, began to tremble with anger at these words and said to the King.

87-89. You are a servant and what you have spoken is not fit for a servant. Working as a slave of a Chândâla, you are speaking the words of the gods. Therefore, O slave! hear now what I say; no need of exchanging any further words. O Shameless One! If you fear sin a bit why then did you accept the slavery in a Chândâla’s house. Take this sword and cut off her head.” Thus speaking the Chândâla gave him the axe.

Here ends the Twenty-fifth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the quarrels between Haris’chandra and Vis’vâmitra in the Mahâ Purânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 26. On The Narration Of The Sorrows Of Haris’chandra

1-3. Sûta said :-- The King Haris’chandra with his face bent low thus said to the Queen :-- “O Young One! I am a great sinner, otherwise why shall I be ready to do this heinous act! However now sit before me. If my hand be capable to kill you, then it will cut off your head.” Thus saying, the King took the axe and moved forward to cut her. As the King did not recognise her as His Queen, so the Queen did not recognise him as Her husband, the King. So the Queen, being very much strained with sorrow, began to utter with a view to court her death.

4-16. O Chândâla! If you like, I say something; hear my son is dead and is lying close to the outer skirts of the city. Wait till I bring my child before you and do his burning ceremonies. Next you can cut me off by your axe. The King said :-- “Very well; let that be,” and gave her permission to go to her dead son. Then the Queen, emaciated and pale, her body being covered all over with dust arrived at the burning ground and taking her dead son, bitten by a serpent, on her lap cried out loudly “O Son! O my Child! O my young Son!” and referring to her husband said :-- “O King! See, today, the sad condition of your son, lying on the ground, as his bed. My son went to play with other boys and, bitten by a cruel poisonous serpent, left his life.” Hearing the pitiful cry of that helpless woman, the King Haris’chandra went to the dead and took off the cover of his face. Due to the long exile and the difficulties thereof, the Queen was changed altogether in her outer form, so the King could not recognise her weeping as his wife. On the other hand the King, too, had not the curled hair on his head as before; it has turned into matted hair and his skin especially has become like the bark of a dried tree; so the Queen could not make out the King also. The King then noticed all the King making auspicious signs on the several limbs of that dead boy, poisoned all over and lying on the ground and began to think thus :-- The face of the child is very beautiful like the Full Moon, nowhere there is any scar nor anything like this; the nose is high; the two cheeks are clean like a mirror and spacious; the hairs are blue, curling, similar, long and waving, the two eyes are widely expanded like a full blown lotus, the two lips are red like Bimba fruits; the chest is wide and spacious, the eyes are stretched up to the ears; the arms are extending up to the knees; the shoulders are elevated; the legs are elongated, yet god-like like a lotus stem; the appearance is grave, the fingers are fine, yet strong enough to hold the world; the navel is deep and the region of the shoulders elevated. Certainly this boy was born in a royal family. Alas! What a pain is this! The cruel Death has reduced him to this state!

17-21. Sûta said :-- Thus looking carefully that boy in the lap of his mother from his head to foot, the King Haris’chandra got back to his ancient recollections. He recognised the boy to be his and wept aloud repeating the words Oh! Oh! The tears flowed from his eyes and he said :-- “This is my boy that has been reduced to this state! Oh! The cruel Fate!” Though the boy is dead, yet the King remained bewildered for a moment. The queen then spoke out of terrible pain :-- “O Child! What sin is that which has caused this dire calamity, I cannot imagine!

22-27. O my Husband! O King! I am extremely worried of pains and troubles; leaving me thus, how is it and where you are passing away your time in a calm, quiet state! O Fortune! It is You that has brought about the loss of the Râjarsi Haris’chandra’s dominion, the separation from his friends and what more, you have caused his wife and son to be sold! Has he done so much mischief to you!” Hearing her cries, the King’s patience gave way and he came to recognise the Devî and the son and exclaimed, “She is my wife and the dead boy is my son. Oh! What a series of troubles, one coming after another.” Being overpowered with extreme trouble and pain, the King fell unconscious on the ground; the Queen, too, looking at the King’s state, fell motionless, and, void of senses, no sooner she recognised him as the King Haris’chandra. Some time after, the King and Queen both got back at the same time their consciousness and, with great sorrow and agony, began to lament.

28-49. The King said :--“O Child! Why my heart does not rend to thousand pieces, seeing today your gentle face pale and lifeless, that was once beautiful with curls of hairs! O Rohitâ! When will you come to me saying in a sweet voice, ‘Father! Father!’ When shall I address you affectionately, ‘Oh my child! Oh my child!’ embracing you within my breast! Whose tawny coloured dust on his knees will spoil my clothes, lap and my body! O Delightful Son! I have sold you as if an ordinary thing, though I am your father. As yet my pleasure of having a son is not satisfied. Owing to the mockery of the mean Fate, my unbounded kingdom, friends, and abundance of riches all have vanished away! Finally I had one son and that too is now in the jaws of death! Oh! With what an amount of terrible pain I am being burnt up today when I am seeing the lotus-face of my son, smitten by a serpent and lying dead on the ground!” Thus speaking in a voice choked with feelings and with tears in his eyes, as soon as he was going to take his boy in his lap, he fell senseless on the ground. Seeing the King lying on the ground, S’aivyâ thus thought :-- “Such is His voice as makes me certain that He is the King Haris’chandra, the best of men and the delighter of the learned men’s hearts. His teeth are like those of the famous Haris’chandra just like to Mukul and his nose is elevated and soft like the Tila flower. But if he be Haris’chandra, how is it that he has come to this burning ground!” Thus thinking, while she looked at the King, leaving for the moment the sorrow for his son, joy, pain and surprise attacked her heart simultaneously; and she, in that state, fell down unconscious on the ground. Then gradually regaining consciousness, she spoke in a pitiful voice :-- “O Fortune! You have caused to the King who was once like an Immortal, the loss of his kingdom, friends, and even the sale of his wife and son. And now you have transformed him into a Chândâla! You are merciless, religionless, void of any justice as to what is just and what is unjust. You are shameless. So fie on you! O King! Where are gone today that royal umbrella, that throne, that Châmara, and that pair of fans on your both sides! Oh! What is this transformation caused by the Vidhâtâ (the Ordainer of Fate)! When the high-souled King used to travel, all the kings used to remove as His servants the dust of the roads by their clothings! Oh! Is He the same King of Kings, Haris’chandra who is roaming in this unholy burning ground, burdened too much by his load of sufferings! Oh! Innumerable human skulls are lying here; the small earthen pots (brought for the purification of the bodies of the dead) are lying scattered close to each; the garlands of flowers for the dead, being intertwined with the hairs of the dead, are presenting a grim spectacle! The ashes, charcoals, half-burnt dead bodies, bones, and marrows all arranged one over another make the place more hideous. The marrows of the dead bodies have come out and are dried up by the sun. At places, vultures, and S’akunîs are crying hideously and the crows and other birds, eager to eat flesh, are roaming to and fro. All the quarters of the sky are looking blue with the smoke, arising out of the burning of the dead. The Râksasas are constantly roaming hither and thither, gladly feasting on the human flesh. Is the King passing his days thus in this place? Alas! Oh! What a painful thing is this!” The daughter of the King, S’aivyâ, was overpowered with an awful sorrow; and clasping the neck of the King, began to lament again, in a pitiful voice. O King! You have spoken that you are a Chândâla. Is this a dream? Or a Reality? O King! If it be true that you are a slave of the Chândâla, then say to me; my mind is being deluded very much! (i.e., I cannot indulge this idea). O Knower of Dharma! You have shown your great zeal towards Dharma; and, for that reason, you are displaced from your royal throne! Now if such help comes out of worshipping the Brâhmins and the Devas, then Dharma cannot stand and, along with it, the truth, simplicity and harmlessness cannot exist.

50-55. Sûta said :-- Hearing these words from the thin S’aivyâ, the King took a heavy sigh and then described to her in detail with tears flowing on his neck, how he got the Chândâla state. The fearful Queen became very much pained to hear all this and heaving a deep sigh, described, as it was, how her son died. On hearing this, the King fainted and fell unconscious on the ground. Then regaining gradually his consciousness, he began to kiss, with his tongue, the face of his dead son. S’aivyâ then said in a choked voice :-- “Now sever off my head and obey your master’s word. O King! You will be saved then as having kept your truth; and your master’s order would be carried out.” Hearing this, the King fainted and fell down senseless. Getting up conscious in a moment, he began to weep bitterly.

56. The King said :-- “O Beloved! How have you uttered such cruel words? How can I execute that which is hard even to utter!”

57-58. S’aivyâ said :-- “O Lord! I have worshipped the Devî Gaurî and other Devas and the Brâhmins; so, with their mercy, I will get you as my husband in my future birth.” Hearing this, the King again fell down instantly on the ground; getting up immediately, he was overpowered with sorrow and began to kiss the face of the dead son.

59-71. The King said :-- “O Dear! I won’t be able to suffer an longer for a long time. But, O thin-bodied One! See, I am so very unfortunate that I have no command even over my heart. If I enter into the fire without the permission of the Chândâla, then I will have to become again the slave of a Chândâla in my future birth. Think it over. After that I will have to go to the hell and be tormented there. But this too I find beneficial to me. Rather I will go to the hell Mahâ Raurava and there suffer for a long time the torments of the hell, yet I do not like to live a little longer when my boy, the continuer of my family, has left his life out of the queer fancies of the Great Time and I be merged in the sorrows for my son. My body is now at the command of the Chândâla. How can I in this state quit my life without his permission. If I leave my body, I will be indebted to him and I will have to suffer in hell. Let this be so; still I will leave off my body, the receptacle of all these pains and troubles. Nowhere, in the Triloki, is any pain like that felt in the demise of a son, not in crossing the Vaitaranî nor in the Asipatravanam! So I will now throw myself on the burning fire along with the dead body of my son. So, O Thin-bodied One! You should now excuse me (i.e., do not prevent me). O Sweet-smiling One! I now permit you to go back to the house of the Brâhmin. If ever I have given in charity riches, offered oblation to the fire, and given satisfaction to my superiors then, in the other world, I will get you and my son. But there is no such chance now in this world. O Sweet-smiling One! If ever I had given you offence while conversing or making jokes with you, now at the time of my parting, excuse them all. O Auspicious One! Never despise the Brâhmin out of your pride as a Queen. Look on your master as a Deva and try all your best to satisfy him.”

72-73. The Queen said :-- “O Râjarsi! I will also throw myself on the burning fire. O Deva! I will not be able to carry on this burden, so I will accompany You. It is better for me to accompany you; so there will not be otherwise. O Giver of Honour! I will enjoy with You heaven or suffer with You in the hell.” Hearing this, the King said :-- “O Chaste One! Do as you please.”

Here ends the Twenty-sixth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the narration of the sorrows of Haris’chandra in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 27. On The Going Of Haris’chandra To The Heavens

1-7. Sûta said :-- The King Haris’chandra then prepared the funeral pile and placed his son on it. Next he and his wife with folded palms merged themselves in the meditation of the Parames’varî, the Lady of of the Universe. That Hundred-eyed is reigning within these five Kosas (or sheaths) Annamaya, etc. She resides in the sacral plexus of the nature of Brâhman, of the Purusa composed of Anna and Rasa. And She is the Ocean of Mercy. Wearing the red robe, She is ever ready with various weapons in Her hands for the preservation of the Universe. When the King was engaged thus in meditating on Her, Indra and all the Devas with Dharma in their front came to the King Haris’chandra with no delay. They all coming up said to the King :-- “O King! Hear. I am the Grand Sire and here are present Dharma Himself, the Bhagavân Visnu, the Sâdhyas, Vis’vadevâs, Maruts, the Lokapâlas, the Châranas, the Nâgas, the Gandharbas, Siddhas, Rudras, the twin As’vins, and all the other Devas and Vis’vâmitra himself. Vis’vâmitra, who going ever the three worlds wishes to make friendship according to the law ordained by Dharma, is now himself desirous to grant you your desired objects.”

8. Dharma said :-- “O King! Do not risk such an hazardous undertaking. I am Dharma; I am satisfied with your patience and forbearance, control of your senses, and the other Sâttvic qualities and have therefore come to you.”

9-10. Indra said :-- “O Haris’chandra! I have also come to you. So your good fortune knows no bounds today. You with your wife and son have conquered the Eternal World. O King! What is hardly attainable by any human being, you have conquered that, by dint of your own merits. So get up to the Heavens (vibrations of the Fourth-dimensional Space) with your wife and son.”

11-16. Sûta said :-- Indra then sprinkled over the dead son on the funeral piles, the nectar, destroying the fatal effect produced by unnatural death. At that time big showers of flowers were thrown on him and Dundubhis were sounded. In the meanwhile, the prince got up from the funeral pile. He got back his former beautiful body and he looked peaceful, healthy, and greatly satisfied. Haris’chandra embraced his son instantly in his bosom; the King and Queen also both regained their former beautiful appearance at that time and were decked with clothes and garlands. Their hearts were then deeply filled with great joy at their getting back their desired object and their health. Indra then said to the King :-- “O Highly Fortunate One! Now ascend to the Heavens with your son and wife, by dint of your meritorious deeds and get the holy happy ends of your endeavours.”

17. Haris’chandra said :-- “O King of the Devas! The Chândâla is my master; so until I get freedom from his bondage, I cannot go to the Heavens without his permission.”

18. Dharma said :-- I am myself that Chândâla and had assumed that form and shewed you the city of the Chândâlas. Knowing that you will suffer.

19. What more than this, that I myself am that very Chândâla, I am that very Brâhmin and I am that very poisonous serpent who had smitten your boy. [Note: This is all the one and the same the Fourth Dimensional Space.] Indra said :-- Haris’chandra! Now get up, by virtue of your own meritorious deeds to that place which is highly covetted by all the human beings that exist on earth.

20-24. Haris’chandra said :-- “O King of the Devas! I bow down to you. Kindly consider what I say now. All the inhabitants of the city Kos’ala are in mourning, due to their being separated from me. How then, can I go to the Heavens leaving my sorrow-stricken subjects here. To abandon the Bhaktas, the devotees, is to incur the great sin due to the murder of a Brâhmin, the killing of a woman, the drinking of liquors and the killing of a cow. O Indra! It is highly inadvisable to abandon a Bhakta who is always in service. How can one be happy when one abandons such devotees. So I will not go to the Heavens without them. You better go back to the Heavens. O Lord of the Devas! If my subjects can go with me, I am ready to go with them to the Heavens or to the Hell.”

25. Indra said :-- “O King! Some of them are more sinful, some are more meritorious; different grades of people exist there. So, O King! How can you desire all to go simultaneously to the Heavens.”

26-29. Haris’chandra said :-- “O Indra! It is through the power of the citizens that the Kings enjoy their kingdoms, perform great many sacrifices, and do many engineering works (in excavating tanks, etc.) There is no doubt in this. So I, too, have done religious acts and sacrifices through my citizens’ help. They gave me all the articles necessary for kings. So how can I now quit them so that I may get the Heavens. O Lord of the Devas! If my subjects have no such Punyams as to enable them to go up to the Heavens, then let the Punyams done by me in giving away charities, in the performance of sacrifices, and other meritorious works be divided amongst them equally. If I myself enjoy S’varga for a very long time; but, if by your favour, I can enjoy with them even one day’s residence in S’varga for my merits, that is also superior to me.”

30-33. Sûta said :-- “Let that be;” saying thus Indra, the Lord of the three worlds, Vis’vâmitra, and Dharma who were very pleased went immediately to Ayodhyâ from Kâs’î by their yogic power. In an instant they reached Ayodhyâ, filled with the Brâhmanas, Ksattriyas, Vais’yas, and S’ûdras; and Indra exclaimed to them all :-- “Let all the citizens come before Haris’chandra, without any delay. Today they all will go to the Heavens by virtue of the Punyams of Haris’chandra.” Thus saying, they took all the men to Haris’chandra. Then that religious King told his subjects, “Let you all now ascend with me to the Heavens.”

34-40. Sûta said :-- Hearing these words of Indra and their King, they all became very glad. Then those who were engaged in their worldly desires, they handed over the charge of their worldly concerns to their own sons, gladly became ready to go up to the Heavens. The high-minded King Haris’chandra then installed his son Rohitâs’va on the royal throne and permitted him to go to the beautiful city Ayodhyâ, filled with jolly and healthy inhabitants. Next addressing his son and friends, he took leave of them. Thus, by virtue of his own good deeds, the King Haris’chandra attained great celebrity. He then got up and took his seat in the aerial car that has no equal and that goes at will. It was beautifully adorned, very rare even to the Devas and decked with bells emitting jingling Kinkini sounds. The high-souled S’ukrâchârya, versed in the S’âstras and the Guru of the Daityas, seeing, Haris’chandra in the Vimâna, spoke thus :--

41. Oh! What is the glorious result of forbearance (Titiksâ)! What is the great fruit of charity! Oh! Due to whose influence, the King Haris’chandra today has attained the same region with Mahendra!

42-43. Sûta said :-- Thus I have described to you all the doings of Haris’chandra. Any man, oppressed with sorrows and troubles, no doubt, attains constant happiness, if he hears it. What more than this, those who want S’varga get S’varga, those who want son get sons, those who want wife get wife, and those who want kingdoms get their kingdoms by hearing this incident.

Here ends the twenty-seventh Chapter of the Seventh Book on the going of Haris’chandra to the Heavens, in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 28. On The Glory Of The S'ataksi Devî

1-3. Janamejaya said :-- “O Risi! Wonderful is the story of the religious Râjarsi Haris’chandra that you have described, the great Bhakta of S’atâksî Devî! Why is that auspicious S’ivâ, the wife of S’iva, called S’atâksî? Explain to me, the cause of it, O Muni! And thus make my birth full of use and success. Who is there amongst the clear-minded that gets fully satisfied, when he hears the good deeds of the Devî? Each sentence, describing the good deeds of the Devî, gives the undecaying fruits of As’vamedha Sacrifice.”

4-45. Vyâsa said :-- O King. Hear; I am describing the story of S’atâksî Devî. You are the great devotee of the Devî; so I have nothing that I cannot say to you. In olden times, there was a great Dânava named Durgama: he was very cruel. He, the the son of Ruru, was born in the family of Hiranyâksa. Once be thought within himself thus :-- “The Munis offer oblations by Mantras as ordained in the Vedas. And the Devas, eating the clarified butter (ghee) of these oblations, get nurtured and strengthened. The Vedas is the strength of the Devas; if the Vedas be destroyed, the Devas also would be destroyed. Thus it is advisable to destroy the Vedas. (There is no other easy way.)” Thus thinking, he went to the Himâlayâs to perform tapasyâ. He began to meditate Brahmâ  in the space of his heart, and, taking air only, passed away his time. [Mark here that all the Devas reside in space, a magnitude of the Fourth Dimension.] He practised hard tapasyâ for one thousand years and the Devas and the Asuras and all the Lokas were agitated by the power of his Tejas (fiery lustre). Then the Bhagavân, the four-faced Brahmâ, became pleased with him and mounting on his carrier, the Swan came up there to grant him the boon. Brahmâ  told clearly the Demon, sitting in Samâdhi with his eyes closed, “Let all be well with you; now ask what you desire? Satisfied with your tapasyâ, I have come to grant you the boon.” Hearing thus, the Demon got up from his Samâdhi and worshipping Him duly, said :-- “O Lord of the Devas! Give me all theVedas. O Mahes’vara! Let all the Vedic Mantrams, that are found in the three worlds, with the Brâhmanas and the Devas, come to me and give me such strength as would enable me to conquer the Devas.” Hearing this, the God Brahmâ, the author of the four Vedas, replied, “Let it be as you wish,” and went away. From that time, the Brâhmanas forgot all about the Vedas. So bathing, Sandhyâ, daily Homas, S’râddha, sacrifice, and Japam and other rites and performances, all became extinct. Then a cry of universal distress arose on the surface of this wide earth; the Brâhmins began to say to each other :-- “How has this happened! How has this come to pass! Now what are we to do? Where the Vedas have disappeared.” Thus when great calamities befell on the earth, the Devas became gradually weaker and weaker, not getting their share of the sacrificial Havis. At this time, that Demon invested the city of Amarâvatî. And the Devas, not being able to fight with the Asura, of a thunder-like body fled to various directions. They took refuge in the caves of the mountain Sumeru and the inaccessible passes of the mountain and began to meditate on the Highest Force, the Great Goddess. O King! When oblations of clarified butter are offered to the Fire, those get transferred to the Sun (Sûryaloka) and get transformed as rains. So when the Homa ceremonies disappeared, there was the scarcity of rain. The earth became quite dry and not a drop of water was found anywhere. The wells, tanks, pools, rivers all were dried up. And this state of “no rains” lasted one hundred years. Countless people, hundreds and thou- sands of cows, buffaloes and other beasts went to the jaws of death. The dead bodies of persons remained in heaps in every house; persons would not be found to perform their burning ceremonies. When such calamities were seen, the calm and quiet body of the Brâhmans, in their earnestness to worship the Supreme Goddess, went to the Himâlayâs. They with their whole heart and without taking any food began to worship the Devî daily with their Samâdhi, meditation and worship. O Mahes’ânî! Shew mercy on us. O Mother! It’s not praiseworthy to Thee to manifest Thy such anger on us, the low persons and guilty of all sins. So, O Deves’î! Forgive us. If Thou art angry on us for our faults, even then we may be excused, for Thou art the Internal Ruler within us all and we do whatever Thou impellest us to do. (The other Devas become pleased and give fruits when they are worshipped by Japam, and other Homa ceremonies; but that is not even possible due to the disappearance of the Vedic Mantrams from amongst us. But You are kind as mothers are towards their children whenever they remember.) So without Thee, there is no other rescue for these people. O Mahes’varî! Whatever Thou willest, Thou canst do that; so what art Thou seeing again and again? O Mahes’arî! How can we live without Water, what is called the Life. Now rescue us from this great difficulty. O Mother of the Worlds! O Mahes’varî! Be pleased. Oh the Ruler of the endless crores of Brahmândas! Obeisance to Thee! We bow down to Thee, the Unchangeable, of the nature of Intelligence. We again and again make obeisance to Thee, the Lady of the Universe and realisable by the Vedânta words (not this, not this). All the sayings of the Vedânta declare Thee, by negating (not this, not this) other transient objects as the Cause of all this Universe. We with all our hearts bow down to the Devî. When the body of the Brâhmanas thus praised and chanted the hymns of Mahes’varî, She created innumerable eyes within Her body and became visible. Her colour was dark-blue (colour of the fourth dimension, space) like heaps of collyrium (eye-paint); eyes like the blue lotuses and expanded; breasts hard, regularly elevated round and so fleshy that they touched each other; four handed; with Her right hand, holding arrows; on the under hand holding lotus; on the upper-left hand holding a great bow and on the lower hand, carrying vegetables, fruits, flower and roots with abundance of juice, destroying hunger, thirst and fever. She was the Essence of all Beauty, lovely, luminous like the thousand Suns, and the ocean of mercy. That Upholder of the Universe, showed Her form and began to shed waters from Her eyes. For nine nights continuously, the heavy rains poured down out of the waters flowing from Her eyes. Seeing the misery of all the people, out of pity, She showered incessantly tears from Her eyes; and all the people and medicines were satisfied. What more than this, out of those tears, the rivers began to flow. The Devas that remained hidden in the mountain caves, now came out. Then the Brâhmins, united with the Devas, began to praise and sing hymns to the Devî. Thou art known by the Vedânta Mahâvâkyas. We bow down to Thee. Thou ordained everything to all the worlds by Thy Mâyâ; so again and again we bow down to Thee. Our Obeisance to Thee! Who art a Kalpa tree to the Bhaktas yielding all their desires! Thou assumest the body for the Bhaktas! Thou art always satisfied; without any equal; the Lord of the Universe! We bow down to Thee. As Thou, O Devî! hast innumerable eyes only for our welfare and peace, therefore Thou wilt be called henceforth by the name “S’atâksî.” O Mother! We are very much hungry; so we have no power to chant hymns to Thee; therefore, O Mahes’varî? Shew mercy on us and deliver to us our Vedas.

46-68. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing these words of the Devas and the Brâhmins, the Auspicious One gave them the vegetables, delicious fruits and roots to them that were on Her Hand, for their eating. After She was prayed, She gave to men sufficient quantity of various articles of juicy food and to the beasts, grass, etc., until new crops came out. O King, from that day She became famous by the name of S’âkambharî (because She nourished all by vegetables, etc.) Great tumult arose and the Demon Durgama heard all from the emissaries and started out to fight with his weapons and army. He took one thousand Aksauhinî armies with him (one Aksauhinî army equals large army consisting of 21,870 chariots, as many elephants, 65,610 horses, and 109,350 foot) and, shooting arrows, he came quickly before the Devî and invested Her and the Deva army and the Brâhmins. At this, a great tumultuous uproar arose and the Devas and the Brâhmins united exclaimed :-- “O Devî! Save us; save us.” The Auspicious Devî, then, for the safety of the Devas and the Dvîjas created round them a luminous circle and She Herself remained outside. The terrible fight, then, ensued between the Devî and the Dânavas. The Sun was covered with their incessant hurling of arrows; and the shooters could not shoot accurately on account of the darkness that then prevailed. Then by the collision of the arrows of both the parties, the arrows caught fire and the battlefield again became filled with light. The quarters on all aides resounded with harsh bow sounds and nothing could be heard. At this moment, came, out of the body of the Devî, the principal S’aktis (forces incarnate) Kâlikâ, Târinî, Sodas’î, Tripurâ, Bhairabî, Kamalâ, Bagalâ, Mâtangî, Tripurâ Sundarî, Kâmâksî, Tulajâ Devî, Jambhinî, Mohinî, Chchinnamastâ, and ten thousand armed Guhya Kâlîs and others. Thirty-two S’aktis, sixty-four S’aktis, and then innumerable S’aktis, all armed, came out of the Devî successively. When the S’aktis destroyed one hundred Aksauhinî forces, Mridangas, conch-shells, lutes and other musical instruments were sounded in the battle-field. At this time, the enemy of the Devas, Durgama, came in front and first fought with the S’aktis. The fight grew to such a terrible extent that, within ten days, all the Aksauhinî troops were destroyed. So much so as the blood of the dead soldiers began to flow in torrents like rivers. When the fatal eleventh day arrive the Dânava, wearing red clothes on his waist, red garlands on his neck and annointing his body all over with red sandal paste, celebrated a very grand festivity and mounted on his chariot and went out to fight. With the strenuous effort, he defeated all the S’aktis and placed his chariot before the Devî. Then a terrible fight ensued for two Praharas (six hours). The hearts of all shivered with horror. At this time, the Devî shot fifteen very awful arrows at the Dânava. His four horses (Vâhanas) were pierced by Her four arrows; the charioteer was pierced by one arrow; his two eyes were pierced by two arrows; his arms by two arrows, his flag by one arrow and his heart was pierced by five arrows. He then left his body before the Devî, vomitting blood. The vital spirit, the luminous counterpart, emitting from his body, merged in the space-like body of the Devî. The three worlds, then, assumed a peaceful appearance when that greatly powerful Dânava was killed. Then Hari, Hara, Brahmâ  and the other Devas began to praise and chant hymns to the World Mother with great devotion and in voices, choked with feelings.

69-73. The Devas said :-- “O Auspicious One! Thou art the only Cause of this Illusion of this world, presenting an unreal appearance (while Brahmâ  is the Only Reality). So Thou art the Lady of all the beings (otherwise why it would be that Thou hast nourished all the beings with vegetables, etc). So, Obeisance to Thee, the S’âkambharî! Hundred-eyed! O Auspicious One! Thou art sung in all the Upanisadas; The Destroyer of the Durgama Asura! We bow down to Thee, the Lord of Mâyâ, the Dweller in the five sheaths Anna, Rasa, etc. We meditate upon Thee, the Lady of the universe, as demonstrated by Pranava Aum, whom the chief Munis meditate with their Nirvikalpa hearts (hearts free from any Vikalpa, doubts or ignorance). Thou art the Mother of the endless crores of universe! Thou assumest the Divine Bodies at times for our welfare! Thou art the Mother of Brahmâ, Visnu and others; we bow down to Thee with all our heart.

Thou art the Mother of all; so, out of mercy, Thou hast shed tears from the hundred eyes, to remove the miseries of the low humble persons. Thou art the Ruler of all!”

74-80. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus when Brahmâ, Visnu, Hara and the other Devas praised and chanted various hymns to the Devî and worshipped Her with various excellent articles, She became instantly pleased. Then the Devî, graciously pleased, handed over the Vedas to the Brâhmanas. At last, She, the Cuckoo-voiced, made a special address to them. “These Vedas are the excellent parts of My body. So preserve these with your greatest care. The more so, when you all have seen with your own eyes what a great calamity befell on you when these Vedas went away out of your hands! You should all worship and serve Me (the Controller of the Space) always; there is no other thing higher than this that I can advise you for your welfare. Read always these My excellent glorious deeds. I will be pleased thereby and will destroy all your bad calamities and misfortunes. My name is Durgâ, because I have killed this demon Durgama; so he, who will take My name Durgâ and S’atâksî, he will be able to unveil my Mâyâ and walk freely. No use in telling more than this that I tell you now, O Devas, the Essence of all essences :-- Both the Suras and the Asuras would always serve Me and Me, alone.”

81-83. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus giving pleasures to the Devas by these words, the Devî of the nature of Existence, Intelligence and Bliss disappeared before them. O King! This Grand Mystery I have described to you in detail; but this is the source of good to all; so keep it secret with every care. The person that hears daily with great devotion this Chapter, gets all that he wants and at last gets the worship in the Devî Loka.

Here ends the Twenty-eighth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the glory of the S'ataksi Devî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 29. On The Birth Of The Bhagavatî In The House Of Daksa

1-19. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus I have described the glory of the Devî. Now I will narrate, as far as I can, the excellent lives of the kings of the the Solar and the Lunar dynasties respectively. They all attained their excellent glories, simply because they were favoured by the Grace of the Highest S’akti; they were all the great devotees of the Supreme Deity. All their prowess, bravery, prosperity and all their glory, know that those all were derived from the mere parts of the Parâ S’akti. O King! Those Kings and others as well were able to out off the Tree of this World by the Axe of their Knowledge, simply because they were the devotees of the Parâ S’akti. So with all the care possible, the Lady of the Universe is to be worshipped and served. Men should avoid worshipping any other gods, as people avoid the husk to get the grain inside. O King! By churning the ocean of the Vedas, I have got the jewel as the lotus-feet of the Parâ S’akti; and I think that I have discharged all my duties and think myself satisfied and successful. Brahmâ, Visnu Rudra, and Is’vara are the four feet and Sadâ S’iva is the plank overhead; thus these five form the seat on which the Devî is seated. There is no other deity superior to Her. To show this (to the ordinary ignorant people) the Mahâ Devî has taken this seat composed of the five Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, Is’vara and Sadâ S’iva. Superior to these five, what is stated in the Vedas as Vyaktam and in which all this Universe is sewn, as it were, crosswise and lengthwise, lying in and through, that is Bhuvanes’varî, the Goddess of the Universe.

[Note: Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, Is’vara and Sadâ S’iva are the Regents or the presiding Deities of earth, water, fire, air and Âkâs’a]. No man can be free unless he until the Goddess. When men will be able to encircle the Âkâs’a, of the fourth dimension, as if it were an antelope skin, then they will be able to root out the miseries of the world, without knowing the nature of the Devî (i.e., impossible). Thus the S’vetâs’vataropanisada says :-- “Those that were engaged in meditation, Dhyâna Yoga, they saw the Devî covered by the Gunas Sâttva, Râjas and Tâmas and the forces incarnate respectively of the several Devas.” So to make the human birth a success, first avoid all companies, be it out of shame, or fear, or devotion, or out of love; then bring the mind and keep it steady in your heart and then be devoted to Her and consider Her as the Supreme. This is the Vedânta Dindima (the declaration of the Vedânta). Whoever takes the name of the Devî, either in sleeping, going or resting or in any other condition, he is certainly freed from the bondage of the world, no doubt. O King! So worship the Mâhes’varî with all the care that you can. Go on step by step; first worship Her Virât Rûpa (cosmic form); then Sûksma Rûpa (subtle form) and then her Antaryâmî Rûpa (inner form, ruling within). Thus when your heart is purified, worship the Parâ S’akti, of the nature of Brahmâ, beyond this Mâyâ, this Prapancha Ullâsa, of the nature of Existence, Intelligence and Bliss. When the Chitta (heart) melts in Parâ S’akti, then comes the real Ârâdhanâ (the real worship). So dilute your heart in Her. O King! Thus I have described to you the sanctifying deeds of the extremely devoted kings of the Parâ S’akti, who were noble minded and religious. One who will hear this will acquire fame, dharma, intelligence, good end, and merits that have no equal. Now what else do you like to hear?

20-22. Janamejaya said :-- “O Bhagavân! In olden times, the World mother Parâ S’akti handed over Gaurî to Hara, Laksmî to Hari, and Sarasvatî to Brahmâ, born of the lotus from the navel of Hari. Now I hear that Gaurî is the daughter of Himâlayâ as well of Daksa; and Mahâ Laksmî is the daughter of the Ksiroda ocean (ocean of milk). They were all originated from the Prime Devî; how, then, Gaurî and Laksmî came to be the daughters of others? O great Muni! This is next to impossible; so my doubt arises. O Bhagavân! You are quite competent to cut off all my doubts; so by your axe of knowledge, cut off my present doubt.”

23-44. Veda Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hear. I am telling you this wonderful secret. You are greatly devoted to the Devî; so nothing there can be that I cannot disclose to you. Since the time the Great Mother gave over to Hara, Hari and Brahmâ, Gaurî, Laksmî and and Sarasvatî, respectively, these three Devas, Hara, etc. were performing their tasks, preserving, etc. O King! Once on a time, certain Dânavas, named Halâhalas were born. In time, they became very powerful and in a short time conquered the three worlds. What more than this, that they being elated with the boon granted to them by Brahmâ, took their forces and invested the Mount Kailâs’a and the Vaikuntha regions!

Seeing this, Mahâ Deva and Visnu both made preparations for war. A terrible fight ensued between both the parties. For sixty thousand years the battle lasted incessantly but the result was stalemate. Gradually there was a great cry of consternation in the two parties. When S’iva and Visnu with great effort destroyed the Dânavas. O King! S’iva and Visnu then returned to their own houses and began to brag of their powers before their own S’aktis Gaurî and Laksmî; whereas the Demons were killed on account of the S’aktis of Gaurî and Laksmî. Seeing them boast, Gaurî and Laksmî laughed not sincerely whereon the two gods were very much angry. They under the magic spell of the Prime Mâyâ insulted them and even used offensive languages. Gaurî and Laksmî quitted them and disappeared. A great uproar then arose in the worlds.

Both Hari and Hara became lustreless due to their insulting the two S’aktis. They become powerless and unconscious and turned out mad. Seeing this Brahmâ became very anxious. Hari and Hara are the two chief Deities; how then these two have become unable to perform the actions of the world! What is the cause? Why this calamity has sprung up out of season? Will there be a Pralaya (a general dissolution) of the world out of some offence, when no actions are being done! I know nothing about this. So how can I find a remedy! Being thus very distressed, he began to meditate with his eyes closed in the fourth dimensional space in the heart. O King! The Lotus born Brahmâ then found out by his meditation that this calamity was brought about by the great wrath of the Parâ S’akti. He then tried to find out the remedy until Hari and Hara did not regain the former natural position. Brahmâ began by his own S’akti to carry on the functions of them both, viz., that of preservation and destruction for some time. The religious-minded Prajâpati quickly called his son Manu and Sanaka, etc., the Risis, for bringing peace on the two great Gods! When they came to him, the great ascetic four-faced Brahmâ told them :-- “I am now busy with many more works; so I am unable carry on my tapasyâ? By the wrath of the Highest Force, Hari and Hara have become somewhat distracted; so for the satisfaction of the Parâ S'akti I am performing the three functions, i.e., those of Creation, Preservation and Destruction. So you both practise this hard tapasyâ with the greatest devotion and bring about Her satisfaction. O sons! Do such as Hari and Hara gain their former states and then be united with their own S’aktis respectively. Your fame will increase thereby, no doubt. Rather that family where the two S’aktis will take their birth, will purify the whole world and that man himself will be crowned with success.”

45. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The pure-hearted Daksa and other mind-born sons of Brahmâ, hearing the words of the Grandsire expressed their desire to worship the Parâ S’akti and went to the forest.

Here ends the Twenty-ninth Chapter of the Seventh Book on birth of the Bhagavatî in the house of Daksa in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 30. On The Birth Of Gaurî, The Seats Of The Deity, And The Distraction Of S’iva

1-12. Vyâsa said :--O King! They went to the forest and fixed their seats on the slope of the Himâlayân mountain and engaged themselves in repeating silently the seed Mantra of Mahâ Mâyâ and thus practised their austerities. O King! One hundred thousand years passed in the meditation of the Parâ S’akti. The Devî, pleased, became visible to them. Her form was three-eyed, and of the form of Existence, Intelligence and Bliss (Sachhidânanda); She was filled with mercy. In Her one hand there was the noose, in another hand, goad; in another hand there was the sign bidding her devotees discard all fear, and in the other hand She was ready to offer boons. The good-natured Munis, seeing this Form of the World Mother began to praise Her. “O Devî! Thou art existing separately in every gross body; we bow down to Thee. Thou art existing wholly (cosmically) in all the gross bodies; we bow down to Thee. O Parames’varî! Thou art existing separately in every subtle body; we bow down to Thee; Thou art existing universally in all the subtle bodies; we bow down to Thee, Thou art existing separately in all the causal bodies wherein all the Linga Dehas (subtle bodies) are interwoven; we bow down to Thee. Thou art existing universally in all the causal bodies; we bow down to Thee. Thou art of the nature of the unchangeable Brahmâ, the receptacle of all the Jîvas and thus residest in all the bodies; so we bow down to Thee. Thou art of the nature of Âtman, the Goal of all the beings; we bow again and spin to Thee.” Thus the pure-natured Daksa and the other Munis praised Her with voice, choked with feelings of intense devotion and bowed down to Her feet. Then the Devî, pleased, spoke to them in a cuckoo voice. “O Highly Fortunate Ones! I am ever ready to grant boons; so ask what you desire.” O King! Hearing thus, they asked that Hari and Hara both regain their former natural states and be united respectively with their S’aktis, Laksmî and Gaurî. Daksa again asked :-- “O Devî! Let your birth be in my family. O Mother! I will, no doubt, consider myself as having then realised the fulfilment of my life. So, O Parames’varî! Speak by Thy own mouth how Thy worship, Japam, meditation will be conducted as well the various fit places where they would be performed.”

13-16. The Devî said :-- “The insult shown towards my S’aktis has led to this calamitous state of Hari and Hara. So they should not repeat such crime. Now, by My favour, they will regain their health and, of the two S’aktis, one will be born in your family and the other will take Her birth in the Ksiroda Sâgara, the ocean of milk. Hari and Hara will get back their S’aktis, when I will send them the chief Mantra. The chief Mantra of Mine is the said Mantra of Mâyâ; this is always sweet to Me; so worship this Mantra and make Japam of this. The Form that you are seeing before you, this is My Bhuvanes’varî form (that of the Goddess of the Universe), or worship My Virât (cosmic) form; or Sachchidânanda form. The whole world is my place of worship; so you can meditate on Me and worship Me always and in all places.”

17-23. Vyâsa said :-- When the Bhuvanes’varî Devî living in the Mani Dvîpa thus giving Her reply, went away, Daksa and other Munis all went to Brahmâ and informed him with great earnestness of everything that happened. O King! Thus Hari and Hara both became devoid of their haughtiness and got back their previous natures by the Grace of the Supreme Deity and were thus enabled to perform their functions as before. Then, on a certain time, the Devî Bhagavatî, the Fiery Nature of the Parâ S’akti, took Her birth in the house of the Prajâpati Daksa. O King! Everywhere in the Trilokas, great festivities were held. All the Devas became glad and showered flowers. The Dundubhis of the Devas were sounded by the hands and made very grave sounds. The pure-minded saints were gladdened; the Sun’s rays looked purer and cleaner; the rivers were elated with joy and began to flow in their channels. When the World-auspicious Devî, the Destroyer of the birth and death of the Jîvas took Her birth, everything looked propitious. The wise Munis named Her “Satî” as She was of the nature of Parâ Brahmâ and Truth Herself. The Prajâpati Daksa handed over the Devî, who was before the S’akti of Mahâdeva, to that Deva of the Devas, Mahâdeva. Due to the misfortune of Daksa, the daughter of Daksa burnt Herself in a blazing fire.

24-25. Janamejaya said :-- “O Munis! You have made me now hear a very inauspicious word. How can such a great thing of the nature of the Highest Intelligence come to be burnt up in a fire! The mere recollecting of Whose Name dispels the terrible danger of the burning up by the fire of Samsâra, how can She be burnt up by fire, I am extremely eager to hear; kindly describe that to me in detail.”

26-37. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hear. I am describing to you the ancient history of the burning of Satî. Once on a time, the famous Risi Durvâsâ went to the bank of the river Jambû and saw the Devî there. There he remained with his senses controlled and began to repeat silently the root Mantra of Mâyâ. Then the Goddess of the Immortals, the Bhagavatî was pleased and gave the Muni a beautiful garland as Her Prasâda that was on Her neck, that emitted the sweet fragrance of Makaranda (juice of flowers; Jasamine). Whereon the bees were about to cluster. The Maharsi took it quickly and placed it on his head. He then hurriedly went to see the Mother to the place where Satî’s Father, the Prajâpati Daksa was staying and bowed down to the feet of the Satî. The Prajâpati then asked him :-- “O Lord! Whose extraordinary garland is this? How have you got this enchanting garland, rare to the mortals on this earth!” The eloquent Maharsi Durvâsâ then spoke to him with tears of love flowing from his eyes :-- “O Prajâpati! I have got this beautiful garland that has no equal, as the Prasâda (favour) of the Devî.” The Prajâpati asked that garland then from him. He, too, thinking that there was nothing in the three worlds that cannot be given to the devotee of the S’akti, gave that garland to the Prajâpati. He took that on his head; then placed it on the nice bed that was prepared in the bed-room of the couple. Being excited by the sweet fragrant smell of that garland in the night, the Prajâpati engaged in a sexual intercourse! O King! Due to that animal action, the bitter enmity arose in his mind towards S’ankara and His Satî. He then began to abuse S’iva. O King! For that offence, the Satî resolved to quit her body that was born of Daksa, to preserve the prestige of the Sanâtan Darma of devotion to Her Husband and burnt Her body by the fire arising out of Yoga.

38. Janamejaya said :-- “O Muni! What did Mahâ Deva do, thus pained by the bereavement from His consort dearer than His life, when the Satî’s body was thus consumed.”

39-50. Vyâsa said :-- O King! I am unable to describe what happened afterwards. O King! Out of the fire of anger of S’iva, the Pralaya seemed to threaten the three worlds. Vîrabhadra came into existence with hosts of Bhadra Kâlîs, ready to destroy the three worlds. Brahmâ and the other Devas took refuge to S’ankara. Though Mahâdeva lost everything on Satî’s departure, He, the Ocean of Mercy, destroyed the sacrifice of Daksa, cut off his head and instead placed the head of a goat, brought him back to life and thus made the Gods free from all fears. He, the Deva of the Devas, then became very much distressed and going to the place of sacrifice, began to weep in great sorrow. He saw that the body of the Intelligent Satî was being burnt in the fire of the Chitâ. He cried aloud :-- Oh my Satî! Oh My Satî! And taking Her body on His neck, began to roam in different countries, like a mad man. Seeing that, Brahmâ and the other Devas became very anxious and Bhagavân Visnu cut off the body to pieces by His arrows. Wherever the parts fell, S’ankara remained there in so many different forms. He then said to the Devas :-- Whoever will worship, with deep devotion in these places, the Bhagavatî, will have nothing left unattained. The Highest Mother will remain close to them there. The persons that will make Puras’charana (the repetition) of the Mantrams, especially the Mâyâ Vîja (the root Mantra of Mâyâ), their Mantrams will become, no doubt, fructified and become incarnate. O King! Thus saying, the Mahâdeva, being very much distressed for Satî’s departure, passed His time in those places, making Japam, Dhyânam and taking to Samâdhi.

51-52. Janamejaya said :-- Where, in what places the several parts of the Satî fell? What are the names of those Siddhapîthas? And what is their number? Kindly describe these in detail, O Great Muni! No doubt I will highly consider myself blessed by hearing these words from your blessed mouth.

53-102. Vyâsa said :-- O King! I will now describe those Pîthas (Sacred places), the mere hearing of which destroys all the sins of men. Hear. I describe duly those places where the persons desiring to get lordly powers and to attain success ought to worship and meditate on the Devî. O Mahârâja! The face of Gaurî fell in Kâs’î; She is well known there by the name Vis’âlâksî; that which fell in Naimisâranya became known by the name of Linga Dhârinî. This Mahâ Mâyâ is known in Prayâg (Allahabad) by the name of Lalitâ Devî; in Gandha Mâdan, by the name of Kâmukî; in the southern Mânasa, by Kumudâ; in the northern Mânasa, by Visvakâmâ, the Yielder of all desires; in Gomanta, by Gomatî and in the mountain of Mandara, She became known by the name of Kâmachârinî. The Devî is known in Chaitraratha, by the name of of Madotkatâ; in Hastinâpura, by Jayantî; in Kânyakubja by the name of Gaurî; in the Malaya Mountain, by Rambhâ; in the Ekâmrapîtha, by Kîrtimatî, in Vis’ve, by the name of Vis’ves’varî; in Puskara, by the name of Puruhûtâ. She is known as Sanmârga Dâyinî in the Kedâra Pîtha; as Mandâ, in the top of the Himâlayâs; and as Bhadrakarnikâ in Gokarna. She is known as Bhavânî in Sthanes’vara, as Vilvapatrikâ in Vilvake; as Mâdhavi in S’rîs’aila; as Bhadrâ in Bhadres’vara. She is known as Jarâ in Varâha S’aila; as Kamalâ in Kamalâlaya; as Rudranî in Rudra Kotî; as Kâlî in Kâlanjara; She is known as Mahâ Devî in S’âlagrâma, as Jalapriyâ in S’ivalingam; as Kapilâ in Mahâlingam, as Mukutes’varî in Mâkota. As Kumarî in Mâyâpurî, as Lalitâmbikâ in Santânâ; as Mangalâ in Gayâ Ksetra, as Vimalâ in Purusottama. As Utpalâksî in Sahasrâksa; as Mahotpalâ in Hiranyâksa; as Amoghâksî in the Vipâsâ river; as Pâtalâ in Pundra Vardhana. As Nârâyanî in Supârs’va, as Rudra Sundarî in Trikûta; as Vipulâ Devî in Vipulâ; as Kalyânî in Malayâchala. As Ekavîrâ, in Sahyâdri; as Chandrikâ in Haris’chandra; as Ramanâ in Râma Tîrtha; as Mrigâvatî in the Yamunâ. As Kotivî in Kotatîrtha; as Sugandhâ in Mâdhavavana; as Trisandhyâ in the Godâvarî; as Ratipriyâ in Gangâdvâra. As S’ubhânandâ in S’iva Kundam, as Nandinî in Devîkâtata; as Rukminî in Dvâravatî; as Râdhâ in Brindâvana. As Devakî in Mathurâ; as Parames’varî in Pâtâla; as Sîtâ in Chitrakuta; as Vindhyâdhivâsinî in the Vindhyâ range. O King! As Mahâlaksmî in the sacred place of Karavîra, as Umâ Devî in Vinâyaka; as Ârogyâ in Vaidyânâtha; as Mahes’varî in Mahâkâla. As Abhayâ in all the Usna tîrthas, as Nitambâ in the Vindhyâ mountain; as Mândavî in Mândavya; as Svâhâ in Mâhes’varîpûra. As Prachandâ in Chhagalanda, as Chandikâ in Amarakantaka; as Varârohâ in Somes’vara; as Puskarâvatî in Prabhâsa. As Devamâtâ in Sarasvatî; as Parâvârâ in Samudrtata; as Mahâbhâgâ in Mahâlayâ, as Pingales’varî in Payosnî. As Simhikâ in Kritas’aucha; as Atis’ânkârî in Kârtika; as Lolâ in Utpalâvartaka; as Subhadrâ in S'ona Sangam. As the Mother Laksmî in Siddhavana; as Anangâ in Bhâratâs’rama; as Vis’vamukhî in Jâlandhara; as Târâ in the Kiskindhya mountain. As Pustî in Devadâru Vana; as Medhâ in Kâs’mîramandalam; as Bhîmâ in Himâdri; as Tustîi in Vis’ves’vara Ksetra. As S’uddhî in Kapâlamochana; as Mâtâ in Kâyâvarohana; as Dharâ in S’ankhoddhâra; as Dhritî in Pindâraka; as Kalâ in Chandrabhâgâ river; as S’ivadhârinî in Achchoda; as Amritâ in Venâ; as Urvas’î in Vadarî. As medicines in Uttara Kuru; as Kus’odakâ in Kus’advîpa; as Manmathâ in Hemakûta; as Satyavâdinî in Kumuda. As Vandanîyâ in As’vattha; as Nidhi in the Vais’ravanâlaya; as Gâyatrî in the mouth of the Vedas; as Pârvatî near to S’iva. As Indrâni in the Devalokas; as Sarasvatî in the face of Brahmâ; as Prabhâ (lustre) in the Solar disc; as Vaisnavî with the Mâtrikâs. She is celebrated as Arundhatî amongst the Satîs, the chaste women and as Tilottamâ in the midst of the Râmâs. Again this Mahâdevî of the nature of the Great Intelligence (Samvid) is always existent in the form of S’akti named Brahmakalâ in the hearts of all the embodied beings. O Janamejaya! Thus I have mentioned to you the one hundred and eight pîthas (sacred places or seats of the Deity) and as many Devîs. Thus are mentioned all the seats of the Devîs and along with that, the chief places in India (the world). He who hears these excellent one hundred and eight names of the Devî as well as Her seats, gets himself freed from all sins and goes to the Loka of the Devî. O Janamejaya! His heart gets purified and is rendered blessed, no doubt, who duly makes jâtrâ (sojourn) to all these seats of the Deity, performs S’râddhas, offers peace-offerings to the Pitris and worships with the highest devotion the Goddess and asks frequently the pardon of the World Mother. O King! After worship, one should feed the Brâhmanas, well dressed virgins (Kumârîs) and Vatukas with good eatables. All the tribes whether they be Chândâlas, know them all to be of the nature of the Devî and therefore they should be worshipped. Never one is to accept any donation or gifts (Pratigrahas) in these seats of the Devî. The saintly persons should make Purascharanas (repeat the names of their own deities, attended with burnt offerings, oblations, etc.) of their own Mantrams with all their might in all these places and should never be miserly in their expenses on this account. He who starts to these sacred places, with devoted hearts filled with love, finds his Pitris in the higher and greater Brahmâ Loka for one thousand Kalpas and he gets the highest knowledge, crosses the ocean of the world and becomes free. Many a people have attained success by repeating these one hundred and eight names of the Deity. Any place wherein are kept those names, embodied in a book, becomes free from such dangers as plague, cholera or any misapprehensions from planetary Deities and so forth. Nothing remains to be attained by these persons who repeat these one hundred and eight names. That man, devoted to the Devî, certainly attains blessedness. That saintly person becomes of the nature of the Devî. The Devas bow down and worship him when they behold him! What then need be said that the saints would worship him! The Pitris become pleased and get their good ends when these one hundred and eight names are read with devotion. These places are, as it were, Intelligence personified (Chinmaya) and places ready to yield freedom from bondage. Therefore, O King! Intelligent men should take their shelter in these places. O King! Whatever secrets and other deeper secrets about the Great Goddess you asked to know from me, I described to you. What more do you want to hear. Say.

Here ends the Thirtieth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the birth of Gaurî, the seats of the Deity, and the distraction of S’iva in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Note :-- The number one hundred and eight is a holy number, got by taking the half of 216,000, the number of breaths inhaled by a child in the womb who promises to take the name of God at his every breath or by taking one-eighth of 864,000, the number of seconds in a day. The two zeros are then dropped. Thus the number signifies the one who fulfils one’s promise.

Chapter 31. On The Birth Of Pârvatî In The House Of Himâlayâs

1-2. Janamejaya said :-- "O Muni! You told before that "the Highest Light took Her birth on the top of the Himâlayâs." Now describe to me in detail about this Highest Light. What intelligent man can desist from hearing these nectar-like words about the S'akti? The danger of death may come even to the Devas that drink nectars but no such danger can possibly come to those that drink the nectar of the Devî's glorious deeds.

3-43. Vyâsa said :-- "O King! You are blessed; you have attained what you are to attain in this life; you are taught by the high-souled men; you are fortunate since you are so sincerely devoted to the Devî. O King! Hear the ancient history :--Wherever the Deva of the Devas, the Mahes'vara rested while He was wandering all over the world in a distracted state, carrying the Satî's body that as burnt by fire, He spent his time there with his senses controlled, in Samâdhi, forgetting all his knowledge of Samsâra in deep meditation of the form of the Devî. At this time, the three worlds, with their objects, moving and immoving, with their oceans, mountains and islands became void of prosperity and power. The hearts of all the embodied beings became dried up, without any trace of joy; they were all burdened with anxious thoughts and remained indifferent. All were merged in the ocean of sorrows and became diseased. Planets retrograded and the Devas had their states reversed. The Kings were attacked with a series of ills and misfortunes. Âdhibhantik and Âdhidaivik (from material causes and from divine interference). At this time a great Asura, named Târaka, became unconquerable owing to his receiving a boon from Brahmâ. Being intoxicated by his power and heroism, he conquered the three worlds and became the sovereign ruler.The Brahmâ Prajâpati, gave him boon to this effect that the legitimate son of S'iva would be able to kill him. And as at that time S'iva had no son, the great Asura, elated with joy, became infatuated and carried off all victories. All the Devas were banished from their places by his oppression; they remained always anxious owing to the want felt by them of a son of S'iva. "S'ânkara has now no wife; how can He then have a son! We are very unfortunate; how can our work be accomplished? Thus oppressed with thoughts, all the Devas went to Vaikuntha and informed the Bhâgavan Visnu of all that had happened, in privacy. The Bhâgavan Visnu began to tell them the means, thus :-- "O Devas! Why are you all so anxious when the Auspicious Goddess of the Universe, the Dweller in the Mani Dvîpa, the Yielder of all desires like a Kalpa Vriksa is always wakeful for you. It is due to your faults that She is showing Her indifference; it is meant to teach us (not for our destruction but to show Her Infinite mercy). When a mother nourishes and frightens and reprimands a son, it is not that she has became merciless; so the World Mother, the Controller of the Universe, will never be merciless to you as regards your qualifications and defects. A son commits offence at every step who can bear that in these three worlds except the mother! So soon take refuge to the Highest Mother, the Goddess of the universe, with the sincerest devotion. She will certainly take action and help your cause. Thus ordering the Devas, Visnu with His consort Laksmî and the other Devas quickly went out to worship the Devî. Going to the Himâlayâs, they soon engaged themselves in doing the Puras'charana Karma (act of repeating the names of the Deity, attended with burnt oblations and offerings, etc.). O King! Those who were well versed with the performance of sacrifice to the Mother, began their sacrificial ceremonies and all began to hold vows, viz, Tritiyâdi Vratânî. Some were engaged in incessantly meditating on the Devî; some began to repeat Her names constantly; some began to repeat the Devî Sûkta. Thus some devoted themselves to repeating names; others to repeating mantrams. Again some wore engaged in performing severe (painful) Chândrâyana and other Vratas. Some were doing Antarayâgas (inner sacrifices); some wore doing Prânâgnihotra Yâgas; whereas others engaged themselves in Nyâsâdi, etc. Again some began to worship the Highest S'aktî, the Goddess of the Universe, without any sleep or rest, by the seed mantra of Mâyâ. O King! Thus many years of the Devas passed away. When the ninth Tithî came in the month of Chaitra on Friday, the Highest Light of the Supreme Force suddenly appeared in front of them. That Light was equal to Koti lightnings, of a red colour, and cool like the Koti Moons. Again the lustre was like the Koti Suns. The four Vedas personified, were chanting hymns all round Her. That mass of fire was above, below, on all sides, in the middle; nowhere it was obstructed. It had no beginning, nor end. It was of the form of a female with hands and feet and all the limbs. The appearance was not that of a male nor that of an hermophrodite. The Devas, dazzled by the brilliant lustre, first closed their eyes; but at the next moment, holding patience when they opened again their eyes, they found the Highest Light manifesting in the form of an exceedingly beautiful Divine Woman. Her youth was just blooming and Her rising breasts, plump and prominent, vying as it were, with a lotus bud, added to the beauty all around. Bracelets were on Her hands; armlets on Her four arms; necklace on Her neck; and the garland made of invaluable gems and jewels spread very bright lustre all arouud. Lovely ornaments on Her waist making tinkling sounds and beautiful anklets were on Her feet. The hairs of Her head, flowing between Her ears and cheek sparkled bright like the large black bees shining on the flower leaves of the blooming Ketakî flower. Her loins were nicely shaped and exquisitely lovely and the hairs on Her navel gave additional beauty. Her exquisitely lively lotus mouth rendered more lustrous and beautiful by the shining golden ear-ornaments, was filled with betel leaves mixed with camphor, etc.; on Her forehead there was the half crescaut moon; Her eye-brows were extended and Her eyes looked bright and beautifully splendid like the red lotus; Her nose was elevated and Her lips very sweet. Her teeth were very beautiful like the opening buds of Kunda flowers; from Her neck was suspended a necklace of pearls; on Her head was the brilliant crown decked with diamonds and jewels; on Her ears, earrings were suspended like the lines on the Moon; Her hairs were ornamented with Mallikâ and Mâlatî flowers; Her forehead was pasted with Kâsmîra Kunkuma drops; and Her three eyes gave unparallelled lustre to Her face. On Her one hand there was the noose and on Her other hand there was the goad; her two other hands made signs granting boons and dispelling fears; Her body shed lustre like the flowers of a Dârima tree. Her wearing is a red coloured cloth. All these added great beauty. Thus the Devas saw before them the Mother Goddess, the Incarnate of unpretended mercy, with a face ready to offer Her Grace, the Mother of the Whole Universe, the Enchantress of all, sweet-smiling, saluted by all the Devas, yielding all desires, and wearing a dress, indicative of all lovely feelings. The Devas bowed at once they saw Her; but they could not speak with their voice as it was choked with tears. Then holding their patience, with much difficulty, they began to praise and chant hymns to the World Mother with their eyes filled with tears of love and devotion and with their heads bent low.

44-54. The Devas said :-- We bow down to Thee, the Devî and the Mahâ Devî, always obeisance to Thee! Thou art the Prakriti, and the Auspicious One; we always salute to Thee. O Mother! Thou art of a fiery colour (residing as a Red Flame in the heart of a Yogî) and burning with Asceticism and Wisdom (shedding lustre all around). Thou art specially shining everywhere as the Pure Chaitanya; worshipped by the Devas and all the Jîvas) for the rewards of their actions; We take refuge to Thee, the Durgâ, the Devî, we bow down to Thee, that can well make others cross the ocean of Samsâra; so that Thou helpest us in crossing this terrible ocean of world. Mother! The Devas have created the words (i.e., the words conveying ideas are uttered by the five Vâyus, Prâna, etc., which are called the Devas) which are of the nature of Vis'varûpa, pervading everywhere, like the Kâma Dhenu (the Heavenly Cow yielding all desires, riches, honor, food, etc.), and by which the brutes (the gods) become egotistical, O Mother! Thou art that language to us; so Thou fulfillest our desires when we praise and chant hymns to Thee. O Devî! Thou art the Night of Destruction at the end of the world; Thou art worshipped by Brahmâ; Thou art the Laksmi, the S'akti of Visnu; Thou art the Mother of Skanda; the S'aktî of S'iva; Thou art the S'aktî Sarasvatî of Brahmâ. Thou art Aditi, the Mother of the gods and Thou art Satî, the daughter of Daksa. Thus Thou art purifying the worlds in various forms and giving peace to all. We bow down to Thee. We know Thee to be the great Mahâ Laksmî; we meditate on Thee as of the nature of all the S'aktis as Bhaghavatî. O Mother! Illumine us so that we can meditate and know Thee. O Devî! Obeisance to Thee, the Virât! Obeisance to Thee, the Sûtrâtmâ, the Hiranyagarbha; obeisance to Thee, the transformed into sixteen Vikritis (or transformations). Obeisance to Thee, of the nature of Brahma. We bow down with great devotion to Thee, the Goddess of the Universe, the Creatrix of Mâyic Avidyâ (the Nescience) under whose influence this world is mistaken as the rope as a garland is mistaken for a rope and again that mistake is corrected by whose Vidyâ.

We bow down to Thee who art indicated by both the letters Tat and Tvam in the sentence Tat Tvamasi (Thou art That), Tat indicating the Chit (Intelligence) of the nature of oneness and Tvam indicating the nature of Akhanda Brahma (beyond the Annamaya, Prânamaya, Manomaya, Vijnânamaya and the Ânandamaya--the five Kos'as, the Witness of the three states of wakefulness, dream, and deep sleep states) and indicating Thee. O Mother! Thou art of the nature of Pranava Om; Thou art Hrîm; Thou art of the nature of various Mantras and Thou art merciful; we bow down again and again to Thy lotus Feet. When the Devas thus praised the Devî, the In-dweller of the Mani Dvîpa, the Bhagavatî spoke to them in a sweet cuckoo voice.

55. O Devas! What for have you come here? What do you want? I am always the Tree, yielding all desires to my Bhaktas; and I am ready to grant boons to them.

56-57. You are my devotees; why do you care, when I am on your side? I will rescue you from the ocean of troubles, O Devas! Know this as My true resolve. O King! Hearing these words of deep love, the Devas became very glad and gave out all their causes of troubles.

58-65. O Parames'varî! Thou art omniscient and witness of all these worlds. What is there in the three worlds that is not known to Thee! O Auspicious Mother! The Demon Târaka is giving us troubles day and night. Brahmâ has given him boon that he will be killed by the S'iva's son. O Mahes'varî! Satî, the wife of S'iva has cast aside Her body. It is known to Thee. What will the ignorant low people inform the one, Who is Omniscient? O Mother! We have described in brief all what we had to say. What more shall we say? Thou knowest all our other troubles and causes of sorrows. Bless us so that our devotion remains unflinched at Thy lotus feet; this is our earnest prayer. That Thou takest the body to have a son of S'iva is our fervent prayer to Thee. Hearing the Dava's words, Parames'varî, with a graceful countenance, spoke to them, thus :-- "My S'aktî will incarnate as Gaurî in the house of Himâlayâs; She will be the wife of S'iva and will beget a son that will destroy Târaka Demon and will serve your purpose. And your devotion will remain steadfast at My Lotus feet. Himâlayâs, too, is worshipping Me with his wholehearted devotion; so to take birth in his house is to my greatest liking; know this.

66-73. Vyâsa said :-- "O King! Hearing the kind words of the Devî, the King of mountains was filled with love; and, with voice choked with feelings and with tears in his eyes spoke to the Goddess of the world, the Queen. of the three worlds. Thou hast raised me much higher, that Thou dost me so great a favour; otherwise where am I inert, and unmoving and where art Thou, of the nature of Existence, Intelligence and Bliss! It manifests the Greatness of Thy Glory. O Sinless One! My becoming the father of Thee indicates nothing less than the merits earned by me for doing, countless As'vamedha sacrifices or for my endless Samâdhi. Oh! What a favour hast Thou shewn towards me! Henceforth my unparalleled fame will be spread throughout the whole Universe of five original elements that "The Upholder of the Universe, the World Mother has become the daughter of this Himâlayâs! This man is blessed and fortunate!" Who can be so fortunate, virtuous and merited as he whose daughter She has become, Whose belly contains millions of Brahmândas! I cannot describe what pre-eminent heavens are intended for my Pitris, my family predecessors, wherein virtuous persons like myself are born. O Mother! O Parames'varî! Now describe to me Thy Real Self as exemplified in all the Vedântas; and also Jñâna with Bhakti approved by the Vedas in the same way that Thou hast shown already this favour to me, so that by That Knowledge I will be able to realise Thy Self.

74. Vyâsa said :-- "O King! Thus hearing the praise of Himâlayas, the Goddess of the Universe, with a graceful look, began to speak the very secret essences of the S'rutis.

Here ends the Thirty-first Chapter of the Seventh Book on the birth of Pârvatî in the House of Himâlayâs in the Mahâpurânam S'ri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 32. On Self-Realization, Spoken By The World Mother

1-50. The Devî said :-- "Hear, Ye Immortals! My words with attention, that I am now going to speak to you, hearing which will enable the Jîvas to realise My Essence. Before the creation, I, only I, existed; nothing else was existent then. My Real Self is known by the names Chit, Sambit (Intelligence), Para Brahma and others. My Âtman is beyond mind, beyond thought, beyond any name or mark, without any parallel, and beyond birth, death or any other change or transformation. My Self has one inherent power called Mâyâ. This Mâyâ is not existent, nor non-existent, nor can it be called both. This unspeakable substance Mâyâ always exists (till the final emancipation or Moksa).

Mâyâ can be destroyed by Brahma Jñâna; so it can not be called existent, again if Mâyâ does not exist, the practical world cannot exist. So it cannot be called non-existent. Of course it cannot be called both, for it would involve contradictions. This Mâyâ (without beginning but with end at the time of Moksa) naturally arises as heat comes out of fire, as the rays come out of the Sun and as the cooling rays come out of the Moon. Just as all the Karmas of the Jîvas dissolve in deep sleep (S'usupti), so at the time of Pralaya or the General Dissolution, the Karmas of the Jîvas, the Jîvas and Time all become merged, in one uniform mass in this great Mâyâ. United with My S'aktî, I am the Cause of this world; this S'aktî has this defect that it has the power of hiding Me, its Originator.

I am Nirguna. And when I am united with my S'aktî, Mâyâ, 1 become Saguna, the Great Cause of this world. This Mâyâ is divided into two, Vidyâ and Avidyâ. Avidyâ Mâyâ hides Me; whereas Vidyâ Mâyâ does not. Avidyâ creates whereas Vidyâ Mâyâ liberates.

Mâyâ united with Chaitanya (Intelligence), i. e., Chidâbhâsa is the efficient cause of this Universe; whereas Mâyâ reduced to and united with five original elements is the material Cause of the Universe. Some call this Mâyâ tapas; some call Her inert, material; some call Her knowledge; some call Her Mâyâ, Pradhâna, Prakriti, Ajâ (unborn) and some others call Her S'aktî. The S'aiva authors call Her Vimars'a and the other Vedântists call Her Avidyâ; in short, this Mâyâ is in the heads of all the Pundits. This Mâyâ is called various in the Nigamas.

That which is seen is inert; for this reason Mâyâ is Jada (inert) and as the knowledge it conveys is destroyed, it is false. Chaitanya (Intelligence) is not seen; if It were seen, it would have been Jada. Chaitanya is self-luminous; not illumined by any other source. Were It so, Its Enlightener would have to be illumined by some other thing and so the fallacy of Anavasthâ creeps in (an endless series of causes and effects). Again one thing cannot be the actor and the thing, acted upon (being contrary to each other); so Chaitanya cannot be illumined by itself. So It is Self-luminous; and it illumines Sun, Moon, etc., as a lamp is self-luminous and illumines other objects. So, O Mountain! This My Intelligence is established as eternal and everlasting. The waking, dreaming and deep sleep states do not remain constant but the sense of "I" remains the same, whether in waking, dreaming or deep sleep state; its anomaly is never felt. (The Bauddhas say that) The sense of intelligence, Jñâna, is also not felt; there is the absence of it; so what is existent is also temporarily existent. But (it can then be argued that) then the Witness by which that absence is sensed, that Intelligence, in the shape of the Witness, is eternal. So the Pundits of all the reasonable S'âstras declare that Samvit (Intelligence) is Eternal and it is Blissful the fountain of all love. Never the Jîvas or embodied souls feel "I am not"; but "I am" this feeling is deeply established in the soul as Love. Thus it is clearly evident that I am quite separate from anything else which are all false. Also I am one continuous (no interval or separation existing within Me). Again Jñâna is not the Dharma (the natural quality) of Âtman but it is of the very nature of Âtman. If Jñâna ware the Dharma of Âtman, then Jñâna would have been material; so Jñâna is immaterial. If (for argument's sake) Jñâna be denominated as material, that cannot be. For Jñâna is of the nature of Intelligence and Âtman is of the the nature of Intelligence. Intelligence has not the attribute of being Dharma. Here the thing Chit is not different from its quality (Chit). So Âtman is always of the nature of Jñâna and happiness; Its nature is Truth; It is always Full, unattached and void of duality. This Âtman again, united with Mâyâ, composed of desires and Karmas, wants to create, due to the want of discrimination, the twenty-four tattvas, according to the previous Samskâras (tendencies), time and Karma. O Mountain! The re-awakening after Pralaya Susupti is not done with Buddhi (for then Buddhi is not at all manifested). So this creation is said to be effected without any Buddhi (proper intelligence). O Chief of the Immovables! The Tattva (Reality) that I have spoken to you is most excellent and it is my Extraordinary Form merely. In the Vedas it is known as Avyâkrita (unmodified), Avyakta (unmanifested) Mâyâ S'abala (divided into various parts) and so forth. In all the S'âstras, it is stated to be the Cause of all causes, the Primeval Tattva and Sachchidânanda Vigraha. Where all the Karmas are solidified and where Ichchâ S'aktî (will), Jñâna S'aktî (intelligence) and Kriyâ S'aktî (action) all are melted in one, that is called the Mantra Hrîm, that is the first Tattva. From this comes out Âkâsa, having the property of sound, thence Vâyu (air) with "touch" property; then fire with form, then water having "Rasa" property; and lastly the earth having the quality "smell." The Pundits say that the "sound" is the only quality of Âkâsa; air has two qualities viz., sound and touch, fire has three qualities sound, touch, form; water has four qualities sound, touch, form, taste; and the earth has five qualities sound, touch, form, taste and smell. Out of these five original elements, the allpervading, Sûtra (string or thread) arose. This Sûtrâtman (soul) is called the "Linga Deha," comprising within itself all the Prânas; this is the subtle body of the Paramâtman. And what is said in the previous lines as Avyakta or Unmanifested and in which the Seed of the World is involved and whence the Linga Deha has sprung, that is called the Causal body (Kârana body) of the Paramâtman. The five original elements (Apañchikrita called the five Tan Mâtrâs) being created, next by the Pañchîkarana process, the gross elements are created. The process is now being stated :-- O Girijâ! Each of the five original elements is divided into two parts; one part of each of which is subdivided into four parts. This fourth part of each is united with the half of four other elements different from it and thus each gross element is formed. By these five gross elements, the Cosmic (Virât) body is formed and this is called the Gross Body of the God. Jñânendriyas (the organs of knowledge) arise from Sattva Gunas of each of these five elements. Again the Sattva Gunas of each of the Jñânendriyas united become the Antah Karanâni. This Antah karana is of four kinds, according as its functions vary. When it is engaged in forming Sankalpas, resolves, and Vikalpas (doubts) it is called "mind." When it is free from doubts and when it arrives at the decisive conclusion, it is called "Chitta"; and when it rests simply on itself in the shape of the feeling "I", it is called Ahamkâra. From the Rajo Guna of each of the five elements arises Vâk (speech), Pâni (hands) Pâda (feet), Pâyu (Anus) and Upastha (organs of generation). Again their Rajo parts united give rise to the five Prânas (Prâna, Apâna, Samâna, Udâna and Vyâna) the Prâna Vayu resides in the heart; Apâna Vayu in the Arms; Samâna Vayu resides in the Navel; Udâna Vayu rasides in the Throat; and the Vyâna Vâyu resides, pervading all over the body. My subtle body (Linga Deha) arises from the union of the five Jñânendriyas, the five Karmendriyas (organs of action), the five Pranas and the mind and Buddhi, these seventeen elements. And the Prakriti that resides there is divided into two parts; one is pure (Suddha Sattva) Mâyâ and the other is the impure Mâyâ or Avidyâ united with the Gunas. By Mâyâ is meant She, who, without concealing Her refugees, protects them. When the Supreme Self is reflected on this S'uddha Sattva, Mâyâ, He is called Îs'vara. This Suddha Mâyâ does not conceal Brahma, its receptacle; therefore She knows the All-pervading Brahma and She is omniscient, omnipotent, the Lady of all and confers favours and blessings on all. When the Supreme Self is reflected on the Impure Mâyâ or Avidyâ, He is called Jîva. This Avidyâ conceals Brahma, Whose nature is Happiness; therefore this Jîva is the source of all miseries. Both Îs'vara and Jîva have, by the influence of Vidyâ and Avidyâ three bodies and three names. When the Jîva lives in his causal body, he is named Prâjña; when he lives in subtle body he is known as Taijasa; while he has the gross body, he is called Vis'va. So when Îs'vara is in His causal body, he is denominated Îs'a; when He is in His subtle body, he is known as Sûtra; and when He is in His gross body, He is known as Virât.

The Jîva glories in having three (as above-mentioned) kinds of differentiated bodies and Îs'vara glories in having three (as above-mentioned) kinds of cosmic bodies. Thus Îs'vara is the Lord of all and though He feels Himself always happy and satisfied, yet to favour the Jîvas and to give them liberation (Moksa) He has created various sorts of worldly things for their Bhogas (enjoyments). This Îs'vara creates all the Universe, impelled by My Brahma S'aktî. I am of the nature of Brahma; and Îs'vara is conceived in Me as a snake is imagined in a rope. Therefore Îs'vara has to remain dependent on My S'akti.

Here ends the Thirty-second Chapter of the Seventh Book on Self-realization, spoken by the World Mother in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 33. On The Devî’s Virat Rûpa

1-19. The Devî said :-- "O Girirâja! This whole universe, moving and unmoving, is created by My Mâyâ S'aktî. This Mâyâ is conceived in Me. It is not, in reality, different or separate from Me. So I am the only Chit, Intelligence. There is no other intelligence than Me. Viewed practically, it is known variously as Mâyâ, Vidyâ; but viewed really from the point of Brahman, there is no such thing as Mâyâ; only one Brahman exists, I am that Brahma, of the nature of Intelligence.

I create this whole world on this Unchangeable Eternal (Mountain-like) Brahma, (composed of Avidyâ, Karma, and various Samskâras) and enter first as Prâna (vital breath) within it in the form of Chidâbhâsa. O Mountain! Unless I enter as Breath, how can this birth and death and leaving and retaking bodies after bodies be accounted for! As one great Âkâs'â is denominated variously Ghatâkâs'a (Âkâs'â in the air), Patâkâs'a (Âkâs'â in cloth or picture), so I too appear variously by acknowledging this Prâna in various places due to Avidyâ and various Antahkaranas. As the Sun's rays are never defiled when they illumine various objects on earth, so I, too, am not defiled in entering thus into various high and low Antahkaranas (hearts). The ignorant people attach Buddhi and other things of activity on Me and say that Âtman is the Doer; the intelligent people do not say that. I remain as the Witness in the hearts of all men, not as the Doer. O Achalendra! There are many Jîvas and many Îs'varas due to the varieties in Avidyâ and Vidyâ. Really it is Mâyâ that differentiates into men, beasts and various other Jîvas; and it is Mâyâ that differentiates into Brahma, Visnu and other Îs'varas. As the one pervading sky (Âkâs'a) is called Mahâkâs'a Ghatâkas'a (being enclosed by jars), so the One All pervading Paramâtmâ is called Paramâtmâ, Jîvâtmâ (being enclosed within Jîvas). As the Jîvas are conceived many by Mâyâ, not in reality; so Îs'varas also are conceived many by Mâyâ; not in essence. O Mountain! This Avidyâ and nothing else, is the cause of the difference in Jîvas, by creating differences in their bodies, indriyas (organs) and minds. Again, due to the varieties in the three Gunas and their wants (due to the differences between Sâttvik, Râjasik and Tâmasik desires), Mâyâ also appears various. And their differences are the causes of different Îs'varas, Brahma, Visnu and others. O Mountain! This whole world is interwoven in Me; It is I that am the Îs'vara that resides in causal bodies; I am the "Sutrâtman, Hiranyagarbha that resides in subtle bodies and it is I that am the Virât, residing in the gross bodies. I am Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'vara; I am the Brâhmâ, Vaisnavi and Raudrî S'aktis. I am the Sun, I am the Moon, I am the Stars; I am beast, birds, Chandâlas and I am the Thief, I am the cruel hunter; I am the virtuous high-souled persons and I am the female, male, and hermaphrodite. There is no doubt in this. O Mountain! Wherever there is anything, seen or heard, I alway exist there, within and without, There is nothing moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me. If there be such, that is like the son of a barren woman. Just as one rope is mistaken for a snake or a garland, so I am the One Brahma and appears as Îs'vara, etc. There is no doubt in this. This world cannot appear without a substratum.

And That Substratum is My Existence. There can be nothing else.

20. The Himâlayâs said :-- "O Devî! If Thou art merciful on me, I desire, then, to see Thy Virât form in the Fourth Dimensional Space.

This sight is developed when the mind resides in the heart centre or in the centre of the eye-brows. A proper teacher is necessary.

21-41. Vyâsa said :-- "O King! Hearing the words of Girirâja, Visnu and all the other Devas gladly seconded him. Then the Devî, the Goddess of the Universe, knowing the desires of the Devas, showed Her Own Form that fulfils the desires of the Bhaktas, that is auspicious and that is like the Kalpa Vriksa towards the Bhaktas. They saw Her Highest Virât Form. The Satyaloka is situated on the topmost part and is Her head; the Sun and Moon are Her eyes; the quarters, Her ears; the Vedas are Her words; the Universe is Her heart; the earth is Her loins; the Bhuvarloka is Her navel; the asterisms are Her Thighs; the Maharloka is Her neck; the Janarloka is Her Face; the Taparloka is Her head, situated below the S'atyaloka; Indra and the Devas and the Svarloka is Her arms; the sound is the organ of Her ears; the As'vin twins, Her nose; the smell is the organ of smell; the fire is within Her face; day and night are like Her two wings. The four-faced Brahmâ is Her eyebrows; water is Her palate; the juice thereof is Her organ of taste; Yama, the God of Death, is Her large teeth; the affection is Her small teeth; Mâyâ is Her smile; the creation of Universe is Her sidelooks; modesty is Her upper lip; covetousness is Her lower lip; unrighteousness is Her back. The Prajâpati is Her organ of generation; the oceans are Her bowels; the mountains are Her bones; the rivers are Her veins; and the trees are the hairs of Her body. O King! Youth, virginity, and old age are Her best gaits, positions or ways (courses) paths, the clouds are Her handsome hairs; the two twilights are Her clothings; the Moon is the mind of the Mother of the Universe; Hari is Her Vijnâna S'âkti (the knowledge power); and Rudra is Her all-destroying power. The horses and other animals are Her loins; the lower regions Atala, etc., are Her lower regions from Her hip to Her feet. The Devas began to behold Her this Cosmic (Virâta) appearance with eyes, wide awake, with wonder. Thousands of fiery rays emitted from Her form; She began to lick the whole universe with Her lips; the two rows of teeth began to make horrible sounds; fires came out from Her eyes; various weapons were seen in Her hands; and the Brâhmanas and Ksattriyas are become the food of that Awful Deity. Thousands of heads, eyes and feet were seen in that form. Crores of Suns, crores of lightnings flashes, mingled there. Horrible, Awful, That appearance looked terrific to the eyes, heart and mind. The Devas thus beheld and began to utter cries of horror and consternation; their hearts trembled and they were caught with immoveable senselessness. "Here is the Devî, our Mother and Preserver." This idea vanished away at once from their minds.

At this moment the Vedas that were on the four sides of the Devî, removed the swoon of the Devas and made them conscious. The Immortals got, then, the excellent Vedas; and, having patience, began to praise and chant hymns in words choked with feelings and with tears flowing flowing from their eyes.

42-53. The Devas said :-- "O Mother! Forgive our faults. Protect us, the miserable, that are born of Thee. O Protectress of the Devas! Withhold Thy anger; we are very much terrified at the sight of Thy this form. "O Devî! We are inferior immortals; what prayers can we offer to Thee! Thou Thyself canst not measure Thy powers; how then can we, who are born later, know of Thy greatness! Obeisance to Thee, the Lady of the Universe! Obeisance to Thee of the nature of the Pranava Om; Thou art the One that is proved in all the Vedântas. Obeisance to Thee, of the form of Hrîm! Obeisance to Thee, the Self of all, whence has originated the Fire, the Sun, and the Moon and whence have sprung all the medicinal plants. Obeisance to the Devî, the Cosmic Deity, the Self in all whence have sprung all the Devas, Sâdhyas, the beasts, birds, and men! We bow down again and again to the Great Form, Mâhâ Mâyâ, the Self of all, whence have sprung the vital breath Prana, Apâna, grains and wheats, and Who is the source of asceticism, faith, truth, continence and the rules what to do and what not to do under the present circumstances. The seven Prânas, the seven Lokas, the seven Flames, the seven Samidhs, the seven Oblations to Fire, have sprung from Thee! Obeisance to Thee, the Great Self in all! Obeisance to the Universal form of the Deity of the Universe whence have sprung all the oceans, all the mountains, all the rivers, all the medicinal plants and all the Rasas (the tastes of all things). We bow down to that Virât Form, the Great Self, the Mahâ Mâyâ, whence have originated the sacrifices, the sacrifical post (to which the victim about to be immolated is bound) and Daksinâs (the sacrificial fees) and the Rik, the Yajus, and the Sâma Vedas. O Mother! O Mahâ Mâyâ! We bow down to Thy front, to Thy back, to Thy both the sides, to Thy top, to Thy bottom and on all sides of Thee. O Devî! Be kind enough to withhold this Extraordinary Terrific Form of Thine, and shew us Thy Beautiful Lovely Form.

54-56. Vyâsa said :-- "O King! The World Mother, the Ocean of mercy, seeing the Devas terrified, withheld Her Fearful Cosmic Form and showed Her very beautiful appearance, pleasing to the whole world. Her body became soft and gentle. In one hand She held the noose, and in another She held the goad. The two other hands made signs to dispel all their fears and ready to grant the boons. Her eyes emitted rays of kindness; Her face was adorned with beautiful smiles. The Devas became glad at this and bowed down to Her in a peaceful mind and then spoke with great joy.

Here ends the Thirty-third Chapter of the Seventh Book on the Devî's Virât Rûpa in the Mahâ Parânam, Sri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 34. On The Knowledge And Final Emancipation

1-22. The Devî said :-- "O Devas! You are not at all worthy to see this My Wonderful Cosmic Form. Where are Ye! and where is this My Form! But it is my affection towards the Bhaktas that I have shewn to you all this great form of mine. Nobody can see this form without My Grace; the study of the Vedas, the Yoga, the gift, the Sacrifice, the austerities or any other Sâdhanas are quite incompetent to make this form visible to anybody. O King of mountains! Now hear the real instructions. The Great Self is the only Supreme Thing in this world of Mâyâ (Illusions). He it is that under the various Upâdhis of an actor and enjoyer performs various functions leading to the Dharma (righteousness) and the Adharma (unrighteouss). Then he goes into various wombs and enjoys pleasure or pain according to his Karma. Then again owing to the tendencies pertaining to these births he becomes engaged in various functions and gets again various bodies and enjoys varieties of pleasures and pains. O Best of Mountains! There is no cessation of these births and deaths; it is like a regular clockwork machine; it has no beginning and it goes on working to an endless period. Ignorance or Avidyâ is the Cause of this Samsâra. Desire comes out of this and action flows thence. So men ought to try their best to get rid of this Ignorance. O King of Mountains! What more to say than this that the Goal of life is attained when this Ignorance is destroyed. The highest goal is attained by a Jîva, when he becomes liberated, while living . And Vidyâ is the only thing that is able and skilful in destroying this Ignorance. (As darkness cannot dispel darkness, so) the Karma done out of Ignorance is Ignorance itself; and such a work cannot destroy Ignorance. So it is not proper to expect that this Avidyâ can be destroyed by doing works. The works are entirely futile. The Jîvas want again and again the sensual enjoyments out of this Karma. Attachment arises out of this desire; discrepancies creep in and out of this ignorant attachment great calamities befall when such faults or discrepancies are committed. So every sane man ought to make his best effort to get this Jñânam (knowledge). And as it is also enjoined in the S'rutis that one ought to do actions (and try to live one hundred years) so it is advisable to do works also. Again the S'rutis declate that the "final liberation comes from Knowledge" so one ought to acquire Jñânam. If both these be collectively followed, then works become beneficial and helping to Jñânam. (Therefore the Jîvas should take up both of these.) Others say that this is impossible owing to their contradictory natures. The knots of heart are let loose by Jñânam and the knots are knit more by Karma. So how can they be reconciled? They are so very diametrically opposite. Darkness and light cannot be brought together, so Jñânam and Karma cannot be brought together. Therefore one ought to do all the Karmas as best as one can, as enjoined in the Vedas, until one gets Chittas'uddhi (the purification of one's heart and mind). Karmas are to be done until S'ama (the control of the inner organs of senses), Dama (the control of the outer organs of senses), Titiksâ (the power to endure heat and cold and other dualities), Vairâgyam (Dispassion), Sattva Sambhava (the birth of pure Sattva Guna in one's own heart) take place. After these, the Karmas cease for that man. Then one ought to take Sannyâsa from a Guru (Spiritual Teacher) who has got his senses under control, who is versed in the S'rutis, attached to Brahma (practising the Yogic union with Brahma). He should approach to him with an unfeigned Bhakti. He should day and night, without any laziness, do S'ravanam, Mananam, and Nididhyâsanam (hearing, thinking and deeply realising) the Vedânta sayings. He should constantly ponder over the meanings of the Mahâvâkyam "Tat Tyam Asi." "Tat Tyam Asi" means Thou art That; it asserts the identity of the Supreme Self (Brahma) and Embodied Self (Jîvâtmâ). When this identity is realised, fearlessness comes and he then gets My nature. First of all, he should try to realise (by reasoning) the idea conveyed by that sentence. By the word "Tat" is meant Myself, of the nature of Brahman; and by the word "Tvam" is meant  "Jîva" embodied self and the word "Asi" indicates, no doubt, the identity of these two. The two words "Tat" and "Tvam" cannot be apparently identified, as they seem to convey contradictory meanings ("Tat" implying omniscience, omnipresence, and other universal qualities and "Tvam" implying non-omniscience and other qualities of a limited nature). So to establish the identity between the two, one ought to adopt Bhâgalaksmanâ and Tyâgalaksmanâ. [N. B.—Bhâgalaksmanâ -- kind of Laksmanâ or secondary use of a word by which it partly loses and partly retains its primary meaning also called Jahadajahallaksanâ. Tyâga Laksmanâ -- a secondary use of a word by which it loses partly its primary meaning.

23-40. The Supreme Self is Brahma -- Consciousness, endowed with the omniscience, etc., and.the Embodied Self is Limited Jîva Consciousness, etc.) Leaving aside their both the adjuncts, we take the Consciousness, when both of them are indentical and we come to Brahma, without a second. The example is now quoted to illustrate what is called Bhâgalaksanâ and Tyâgalaksanâ. "This is that Devadatta" means Devadatta seen before and Devadatta seen now means one and the same person, if we leave aside the time past and the time present take the body of Devadatta only. This gross body arises from the Panchîkrita gross elements. It is the receptacle of enjoying the fruits of its Karma and liable to disease and old age. This body is all Mâyâ; therefore it has certainly no real existence. O Lord of Mountains! Know this to be the gross Upâdhi (limitation) of My real Self. The five Jñanendriyas (organs of senses), five Karmendriyas (working organs), the Prâna Vâyus, mind and Buddhi (rational intellect), in all, these seventeen go to form the subtle body, Sûksma Deha. So the Pundits say. This body of the Supreme Self is caused by the Apanchîkrita five original elements. Through this body, pain and pleasure are felt in the heart. This is the second Upâdhi of the Âtman. The Ajñâna or Primeval Ignoranee, without beginning and indescribable, is the third body of the Âtman. Know this also to be my third Upâdhi. When all these Upâdhis subside, only the Supreme Self, the Brahman remains. Within these three gross and subtle bodies, the five sheaths, Annamaya, Prânamaya, Vijñânamaya, and Ânandamaya always exist. When these are renounced, Brahmapuchcha is obtained. That is Brahma and My Nature, too. This is the Goal of "Not this, Not this" the Vedânta words. This Self is not born nor It dies. It does not live also, being born. (But it remains constant, though It is not born). This Self is unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient. It is not killed, when the body is killed. If one wants to kill it or thinks It as slain, both of them do not know; this does not kill nor is it killed. This Âtman, subtler than the subtlest, and greater than the greatest, resides within the cave (the Buddhi) of the Jîvas. He whose heart is purified and who is free from Sankalpa and Vikalpa (doubt and mental phenomena), knows It and Its glory and is free from sorrows and troubles. Know this Âtman and Buddhi as the charioteer, this body as the chariot, and the mind as the reins. The senses and their organs are the horses and the objects of enjoyments are their aims. The sages declare that the Âtman united with mind and organs of senses enjoys the objects. He who is non-discriminating, unmindful, and always impure, does not realise his Âtman; rather he is bound in this world. He who is discriminating, mindful, and always pure reaches the Goal, realises the Highest Self; and he is not fallen again from That. That man becomes able to cross the Ocean of Samsâra and gets My Highest Abode, of the nature of everlasting Existence, Intelligence and Bliss, whose charioteer is Discrimination, and who keeps his senses under control by keeping tight the reins of his mind. Thus one should always meditate intensely on Me to realise the nature of Self by S'ravanam (hearing), Mananam thinking and realising one's own self by one's Self (pure heart).

41-44. When by the constant practice, as mentioned above, one's heart is fit for Samâdhi (being absorbed in the Spirit), just before that, he should understand the meanings of the separate letters in the seed Mantra of Mahâmâyâ. The letter "Ha" means gross body and the letter "Ra" means subtle body and the letter "Î" means the causal body; the (dot over the semicircle) is the fourth "Turîya" state of Mine. Thus meditating on the separate differentiated states, the intelligent man should meditate on the aforesaid three Vîjas in the Cosmic body also and he should then try to establish the identity between the two. Before enteriing into Samâdhi, after very carefully thinking the above, one should close one's eyes and meditate on Me, the Supreme Deity of the Universe, the Luminous and Self-Ellulgent Brahmâ.

45-50. O Chief of Mountains! Putting a stop to all worldly desires, free from jealousy and other evils, he should (by constant practice of Prânâyâma) make equal according to the rules of Prânâyâma, the Prâna (the inhaled breath) and Apâna (the exhaled breath) Vâyûs and with an unfeigned devotion get the gross body (Vais'vânara) indicated by the letter "Ha" dissolved in the subtle body Taijasa. The Taijasa body, the letter "Ra" is in a cave where there is no noise (in the Susumnâ cave). After that He should dissolve the Taijasa, "Ra" into the Causal body "Î". He should then dissolve the Causal body, the Prâjña "Î" into the Turîya state Hrîm. Then he should go into a region where there is no speech or the thing spoken, which is absolutely free from dualities, that Akhanda Sachchidânanda and meditate on that Highest Self in the midst of the Fiery Flame of Consciousness. O King of Mountains! Thus men by the meditation mentioned above, should realise the identity between the Jîva and Brahma and see Me and get My Nature. O Lord of Mountains! Thus the firmly resolved intelligent man, by the practice of this Yoga sees and realises the nature of My Highest Self and destroys immediately the Ignorance and all the actions thereof.

Here ends the Thirty-fourth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the Knowledge, Final Emancipation in the Mahâ Purânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 35. On The Yoga And Mantra Siddhi

1. Himâlayâ said :-- "O Mahes'varî! Now tell me the Yoga with all its Amgas (limbs) giving the knowledge of the Supreme Consciousness so that, I may realise my Self, when I practise according to those instructions.

2-10. S'rî Devî said :-- "The Yoga does not exist in the Heavens; nor does it exist on earth or in the nether regions (Pâtâla). Those who are skilled in the Yogas say that the realisation of the identity between the Jivâtma and the Paramâtmâ is "Yoga." O Sinless One! The enemies to this Yoga are six; and they are lust, anger, greed, ignorance, vanity and jealousy. The Yogis attain the Yoga when they become able to destroy these six enemies by practising the accompaniments to Yoga. Yama, Niyama, Âsana, Prânâyâma, Pratyâhâra, Dhâranâ, Dhyâna, and Samâdhi, these are the eight limbs of Yoga. Yama includes Ahimsâ (non-injuring; non- killing); truthfulness; Asteyam (non-stealing by mind or deed); Brahmacharya (continence); Dayâ (mercy to all beings); Uprightness; forgiveness, steadiness; eating frugally, restrictedly and cleanliness (external and internal). These are ten in number. Niyama includes also ten qualities :-- (1) Tapasyâ (austerities and penances); (2) contentment; (3) Âstikya (faith in the God and the Vedas, Devas, Dharma and Adharma); (4) Charity (in good causes); worship of God; hearing the Siddhântas (established sayings) of the Vedas; Hrî or modesty (not to do any irreligious or blameable acts); S'raddhâ (faith to go do good works that are sanctioned); (9) Japam (uttering silently the mantrams, Gâyatrîs or sayings of Purânas) and (10) Homam (offering oblations daily to the Sacred Fire). There are five kinds of Asanas (Postures) that are commendable: Padmâsan, Svastikâsan, Bhadrâsan, Vajrâsan and Vîrâsan. Padmâsan consists in crossing the legs and placing the feet on the opposite thighs (the right foot on the left thigh and the left foot on the right thigh) and catching by the right hand brought round the back, the toes of the right foot and catching by the left hand brought round the back the toes of the left foot; sitting then straight and with ease. This is recommended by the Yogis (and by this one can raise oneself in the air).

N. B. -- The hands, according to some, need not be carried round the back; both the hands are crossed and placed similarly on the thighs.

11-20. Place the soles of the feet completely under the thighs, keep the body straight, and sit at ease. This is called the Svastikâsan. Bhadrâsan consists in placing well the two heels on the two sides of the two nerves of the testicle, near the anus and catching by the two hands the two heels at the lower part of the testicles and then sitting at ease. This is very much liked by the Yogis. Vajrâsan (diamond seat) consists in placing the feet on the two thighs respectively and placing the fingers below the thighs with the hands also there, and then sitting at ease. Vîrasan consists in sitting cross on the hams in placing the right foot under the right thigh and the left foot under the left thigh and sitting at ease with body straight.

Taking in the breath by the Idâ (the left nostril) so long as we count "Om" sixteen, retaining it in the Susumnâ so long as we count "Om" sixty-four times and then exhaling it slowly by the Pingalâ nâdi (the right nostril) as long as we count "Om" thirty-two times. (The first process is called Pûraka, the second is called Kumbhaka, and the third is called Rechaka). This is called one Prânâyâma by those versed in the Yogas. Thus one should go on again and again with his Prânâyâma. At the very beginning, try with the number twelve, i. e., as we count "Om" twelve times and then increase the number gradually to sixteen and so on. Prânâyâma is of two kinds :-- Sagarbha and Vigarbha. It is called Sagarbha when Prânâyâma is performed with repeating the Ista Mantra and Japam and meditation. It is called Vigarbha Prânâyâma when "Om" is simply counted and no other Mantram. When this Prânâyâma is practised repeatedly, perspiration comes first when it is called of the lowest order; when the body begins to tremble, it is called middling; and when one rises up in the air, leaving the ground, it is called the best Prânâyâma. (Therefore one who practises Prânâyâma ought to continue it till he becomes able to rise in the air).

21-30. Now comes Pratyâhâra. The senses travel spontaneously towards their objects, as if they are without anyone to check. To curb them perforce and to make them turn backwards from those objects is called "Pratyâhâra," To hold the Prâna Vâyu on toes, heels, knees, thighs, sacrum genital organs, navel, heart, neck, throat, the soft palate, nose, between the eyebrows, and on the top of the head, at these twelve places respectively is called the "Dhâranâ." Concentrate the mind on the consciousness inside and then meditate the Ista Devatâ within the Jîvâtmâ. This is the Dhyâna. Samâdhi is identifying always the Jîvâtmâ and Paramâtmâ. Thus the sages say. (Samâdhi is of two kinds (1) Samprajñâta, or Savikalpak and (2) Nirvikalpak. When the ideas the Knower, Knowledge and the Thing Known, rernain separate in the consciousness and yet the mind feels the one Akhanda Sachchidânanda Brahma and his heart remains, there, that is called Samprajñâta Samâdhi; and when those three vanish away and the one Brahma remains, it is called Asamprajñâta Samâdhi). Thus I have described to you the Yoga with its eight limbs. O Mountain! This body composed of the five elements, and with Jîva endowed with the essence of the Sun, the Moon, and the Fire and Brahma in it as one and the same, is denominated by the term "Vis'va." There are the 350,000 nâdis in this body of man; of these, the principal are ten. Out of the ten again, the three are most prominent. The foremost and first of these three is Susumnâ, of the nature of the Moon, Sun, and Fire, situated in the centre of the spinal cord (it extends from the sacral plexus below to the Brahmaradhra in the head at the top where it looks like a blown Dhustûra flower). On the left of this Susumnâ is the Idâ Nâdî, white and looking like Moon; this Nâdî is of the nature of Force, nectar-like. On the right side of the Susumnâ is the Pingalâ Nâdî of the nature of a male; it represents the Sun. The Susumnâ comprises the nature of the all the Tejas (fires) and it represents Fire.

31-41. The inmost of Susumnâ is Vichtrâ or Chitrinî Bhûlingam nâdî (of the form of a cobweb) in the middle of which resides the Ichchâ (will), Jñâna (knowledge) and Kriyâ (action) S'aktîs, and resplendent like the Millions of Suns. Above Him is situated Hrîm, the Mâyâ Vîja Harâtmâ with "Ha" and Chandravindu repesenting the Sound (Nâda). Above this is the Flame, Kula Kundalinî (the Serpent Fire) of a red colour, and as it were, intoxicated. Outside Her is the Âdhâra Lotus of a yellow colour having a dimension of four digits and Comprising the four letters "va", "s'a", "sa", and "sa". The Yogis meditate on this. In its centre is the hexagonal space (Pîtham). This is called the Mûlâdhâra for it is the base and it supports all the six lotuses. Above it is the Svâdhisthâna Chakra, fiery and emitting lustre like diamond and with six petals representing the six letters "ba", "bha", "ma", "ya", "ra", "la". The word "Sva" means "Param Lingam" (superior Male Symbol). Therefore the sages call this "Svâdhisthân Chakram. Above it is situated the "Manipura Chakram" of the colour of lightning in clouds and very fiery; it comprises the ten Petals, comprising the 10 letters da, dha, na, ta, tha, da, dha, na, pa, pha. The lotus resembles a full blown pearl; hence it is "Manipadma." Visnu dwells here. Meditation here leads to the sight of Visnu, Above it is "Anâhata" Padma with the twelve petals representing, the twelve letters Ka, Kha, Gha, m###, (cha), (chha), (Ja), (Jha,) Îya, ta, and tha. In the middle is Bânalingam, resplendent like the Sun. This lotus emits the sound S'abda Brabma, without being struck; therefore it is called the Anâhata Lotus. This is the source of joy. Here dwalls Rudra, the Highest Person."

42-43. Above it is situated the Vis'uddha Chakra of the sixteen petals, comprising the sixteen letters a, â, i, î, u, û, ri, ri, li, lri, e, ai, o, ar, am, ah. This is of a smoky colour, highly lustrous, and is situated in the throat. The Jîvâtmâ sees the Paramâtmâ (the Highest Self) here and it is purified; hence it is called Vis'uddha. This wonderful lotus is termed Âkâs'a.

44-45. Above that is situated betwixt the eyebrows the exceedingly beautiful Ajñâ Chakra with two petals comprising the two letters "Ha," and Ksa. The Self resides in this lotus. When persons are stationed here, they can see everything and know of the present, past and future. There one gets the commands from the Highest Deity (e. g. now this is for you to do and so on); therefore it is called the Ajñâ Chakra.

46-47. Above that is the Kailâs'a Chakra; over it is the Rodhinî Chikra. O One of good vows! Thus I have described to you all about the Âdhâra Chakras. The prominent Yogis say that above that again, is the Vindu Sthân, the seat of the Supreme Deity with thousand petals. O Best of Mountains! Thus I declare the best of the paths leading to Yoga.

48. Now hear what is the next thing to do. First by the "Pûraka", Prânâyâma, fix the mind on the Mulâdhâra Lotus. Then contract and arouse the Kula Kundalinî S'aktî there, between the anus and the genital organs, by that Vâyu.

49. Pierce, then, the Lingams (the lustrous Svayambhu Âdi Lingam) in the several Chakras above-mentioned and transfer along with it the heart united with the S'akti to the Sahasrâra (the Thousand petalled Lotus). Then meditate the S'aktî united with S'ambhu there.

50-51. There is produced in the Vindu Chakra, out of the intercourse of S'iva and S'aktî, a kind of nectar-juice, resembling a sort of red-dye (lac). With that Nectar of Joy, the wise Yogis make the Mâyâ S'aktî, yielding successes in Yoga, drink; then pleasing all the Devas in the six Chakras with the offerings of that Nectar, the Yogi brings the S'aktî down again on the Mûlâdhâra Lotus.

52. Thus by daily practising this, all the above mantras will no doubt, be made to come to complete success.

53-54. And one will be free from this Samsâra, filled with old age and death, etc. O Lord of Mountains! I am the World Mother; My devotee will get all My qualities; there is no doubt in this. O Child! I have thus described to you the excellent Yoga, holding the Vâyu (Pavana Dhârana Yoga).

55. Now hear from Me the Dhârânâ Yoga. To fix thoroughly one's heart on the Supremely Lustrous Force of Mine, pervading all the quarters, countries, and all time leads soon to the union of the Jîva and the Brahma.

56-58. If one does not quickly do this, owing to impurities of heart, then the Yogi ought to adopt what is called the "Avayava Yoga." O Chief of Mountains! The Sâdhaka should fix his heart on my gentle hands, feet and other limbs one by one and try to conquer each of these places. Thereby his heart would be purified. Then he should fix that purified heart on My Whole Body.

59-62. The practiser must practise with Japam and Homam the Mantram till his mind be not dissolved in Me, My Consciousness. By the practice of meditating on the Mantra, the thing to be known (Brahma) is transformed into knowledge. Know this as certain, that the Mantra is futile without Yoga and the Yoga is futile without the Mantra. The Mantra and the Yoga are the two infallible means to realise Brahma. As the jar in a dark room is visible by a lamp, so this Jîvâtmâ, surrounded by Mâyâ is visible by means of Mantra to the Paramâtmâ (the Highest Self). O Best of Mountains! Thus I have described to you the Yogas with their Angas (limbs). You should receive instructions about them from the mouth of a Guru; else millions of S'âstras will never be able to give you a true realisation of the meanings of the yogas.

Here ends the Thirty-fifth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the Yoga and the Mantra Siddhi in the Mahâ Purânam S'ri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 36. On The Highest Knowledge Of Brahma

1-4. S'ri Devî said :-- "O Himâlayâs! Thus making one's own self attached to the Yoga by the above-mentioned process and sitting on a Yoga posture, one should meditate on My Brahma Nature with an unfeigned devotion. (How the knowledge of that Formless Existence and Imperishable Brahman arises, now hear.) He is manifest, near, yea, even moving in the hearts of all beings. He is the well-known Highest Goal. Know that all this whatever, waking, dreaming, or sleeping, which moves, breathes or blinks, is founded on Him. He is higher than Being and Non-being: higher than the Wisdom, He is the Best Object of adoration for all creatures. He is brilliant, smaller than the smallest and in Him the worlds are founded and the Rulers thereof. He is the Imperishable Brahman. He is the Creator (Life), the Revealer of Sacred Knowledge (speech) and Omniscient (or the Cosmic Mind). This is the Truth. He is immortal, O Saumya! Know that He is the target to be hit.

Note. -- The words "higher than wisdom" mean higher than Brahmâ. (Brahmâ is the highest of all Jîvas, higher than Brahmâ means higher than all creatures. The word Vijñâna denotes Brahmâ as we find in the following speech of Brahmâ in the Bhâgavat Purâna) "I, the Wisdom Energy (Vijñâna-S'akti) was born from the navel of this Being resting on the Waters and possessed of the Infinite Powers."

Visnu is called "Prana," because he is the leader of all (Prâna-netri). He is called Vâk, because He is the Teacher of all; Visnu is called Manas because He is the adviser of all (Mantri). He is the Controller of all the Jîvas.

The third verse lays down that Brahman is to be meditated upon or that the Manana should be performed; as the second verse teaches that Dhyâna or concentration also is necessary.

5-6. Take hold of the Mystic Name as the bow, and know that the Brahman is the aim to be hit. Put on this the great weapon (Om), the arrow (of the mind) sharpened by meditation. Withdraw thyself from all objects, and with the mind absorbed in the idea of Brahman, hit the aim; for know, O Saumya! That Imperishable alone to be the Mark. The Great name"Om" is the bow, the mind is the arrow, and the Brahman is said to be the mark. It is to be hit by a man whose thoughts are concentrated, for then he enters the target.

Note. -- Thus S'ravana, Manana, and Dhyâna of Brahman have been taught. This is the method of Brahma-upâsanâ.

7. In Him are woven the heavens, and the interspaces, and mingle also with the senses. Know Him to be the one Support of all, the Âtman. Leave off all other words (as well as the worship of other deities). This (Âtman) is the refuge of the Immortals.

"He is the bridge of the Immortal"--the words Amrita or Immortal means Mukta Jîvas. In the Vedânta Sûtra I, 3-2, it has been taught that the Lord is the refuge of the Muktas. So also that "He is the Highest Goal of the Muktas."

8-9. In Him the life-webs (nâdis) are fastened, as the spokes to the nave of a chariot; He is this (Âtman) that pervades the heart, and by his own free will manifests Himself in diverse ways (as Visva, Taijasa, etc., in waking, sleeping, etc., states); and also as One as Prâjña in the dreamless state. Meditate on the Âtman as Om (full of all auspicious qualities and who is the chief aim of the Vedas), in order to acquire the knowledge of the Paramâtman, Who is beyond the Prakriti and the S'ri Tattva. Your welfare consists in such knowledge.

Note. -- This shows that Brahman is the Antaryâmin Purusa. He resides in the heart where all the 72,000 Nâdis meet, as the spokes meet in the navel of the wheel. He moves within the organs, not for His own pleasure, but to give life and energy to them all. The Om with all its attributes must be constantly meditated upon. He manifests Himself in manifold ways in the waking and dreaming stews as Vis'va and Taijasa; while He manifests as One in the state of Susupti or Dreamless sleep as Prâjñâ. He is beyond darkness; He has no mortal body. Meditate on such Visnu in the heart in order to get the Supreme Brahman, with the help of the Mantra Om. The result of such meditation is that there is the welfare of yours--all evils will cease, and you will get the bliss of the manifestation of the Divinity--your Real Self within your Heart.

10. He who is All-Wise, and All-Knowing, whose Greatness is thus manifested in the worlds, is to be meditated upon as the Âtman residing in the Ether, in the Fourth Dimensional Space, in the shining city of Brahman (the Heart). He is the Controller of the mind and the Guide of the senses and the body. He abides in the dense body, controlling the heart. He, the Âtman, when manifesting Himself as the Blissful and Immortal, is seen by the wise through the purity of the heart.

11. The fetters of the Jîvas are cut asunder, the ties of Linga-dehas and Prakriti are removed (the effects of all) his works perish, when He is seen who is Supremely High (or when the Supremely High looks at the Jîva.) [Note.--Visnu is Parâvare, because Parâ or High Beings like Ramâ; Brahmâs, etc., are Avara or inferior in His comparsion.]

[Note. -- This shows the result of Divine Wisdom in the last verse. The Avidyâ covers both Îs'varâ and Jîva. It prevents Îs'vara being, seen by Jîva, and Jîva, seeing Îs'vara. It is a direct bondage of Jîva and a metaphorical fetter of Îs'vara. Avidyâ is the name given to Prakriti in Her active state. When Her three qualities Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, are actively manifest. Destruction of Avidyâ means putting these Gunas in their latent state. There is a great difference between the destruction of the Avidyâ--fetters as taught in this verse, and the unloosening of them as previously described in this verse! There Avidyâ still remained, for it was merely a Paroksa or intellectual apprehension of Truth. Here Avidyâ itself is destroyed by Aparoksa or Intuitive Knowledge of Brahman.

The bonds are five :-- The lowest is the Avidyâ bond, then the Lingadeha bond, then the Pramâchchâdaka Prakriti bond, the Kâma bond, and the Karma bond. When all these bonds are destroyed, then the Jñânî goes by the Path of Light to the Sântâmka Loka. Before proceeding further all have to salute the S'is'u-mâra--the Dweller on the threshhold--the hub of the Universe.

The Sis'umâra literally means the Infant Killer and means the porpoise and is the name of a constellation, in the north, near the Pole. It corresponds perhaps with the Draco or the Ursâ Minor. For a fuller description of it, see Bhagam Purâna Book 5, Chapter 23. Here it is a mystical reference to a Being of an exalted order, which every Jñânî passes by, in his way beyond this Universe. It may correspond with the ring-pass-not of the 'Secret Doctrine'! It is the name of Hari, also, as we find the following verse "The Supreme Hari, the Support of infinity of worlds and who is called Sis'umâra, is saluted by all knowers of Brahma, on their way to the Supreme God.]

12. The Brahman (called Sis'umâram) free from all passions and parts (manifests in the external world) in the highest Golden Sheath (the Cosmic Egg). That is pure, that is the highest of Lights, it is that which the knowers of Âtmân know. [Note. -- "He is in the Centre of the Cosmic (as Sis'umâra, the Light of all Cosmic Suns). He is even in the centre of our Sun and illumining all planets."]

In the first respect He is meditated upon as Sis'umara and in the second as Gâyatrî." [Note.--In man, the Brahman manifests in the heart or the Auric Egg, called the city of Brahman. In the Universe, He manifests Himself in the Cosmic Egg, called the "Golden Sheath." These are the two places where Brahman may be meditated upon.

This verse has been explained in two different ways: First, as applying to S'is'umâra and secondly, as teaching how to meditate on Nârâyana in the Sun. The "Golden Sheath" would then mean the Solar sphere. The Supremely High Brahman resides in the excellent Golden Sheath. He is Pure and Without parts.]

13. The Sun does not shine there in His Presence nor the Moon and the Stars (for His Light is greater than theirs, they appear as if dark in that Effulgence, like the candle-light in the Sun. Nor do these lightnings, and much less this fire shine there. When He shines, everything shines after Him; by His Light all this becomes manifest.

Him the Sun does not illumine nor the moon and the stars. Nor do these lightnings; much less this Fire illumines Him. When He illumines all (the Sun, etc.,) then they shine after (Him with His light). This whole Universe reveals His Light (is His Light and its Light is His). Note.--The Sun, etc., do not illumine Him, i.e., cannot make Him manifest.

14. The Eternally Free is verily this Brahman only. He is in the West, in the North and the South, in the Zenith and the Nadir. The Brahman alone is; it is He who pervades all directions. This Brahman alone is it who pervades. This Brahman alone is the Full (that exists in all time the Eternity). This Brahman is the Best:--

This (idam) Brahman is alone the Vis'vam or Infinity or Full (pûrnâm). This alone is the Best, the Highest of all. As the word "idam" is used several times in this verse, it qualifies the word Brahman and not "vis'vam," [Note.--The Brahman was taught to be meditated upon fully in the Heart and the Hiranmaya Kos'a. But lest one should mistake that He is thus limited in those two places, one is to infer that they are selected as the best.]

15-16. The man who realises thus is satisfied and has all that he wants to do and is considered as the best. He becomes Brahman and his Self is pleased and he neither wants anything nor becomes sorry. O King! Fear comes from the idea of a second; where there is no second, fear does not exist. No danger then arises for him to be separated from Me. Nor I also get separated from him.

17. O Himâlayâs! Know that I am he and he is I. Know that I am seen there where My Jñânî resides.

18. Neither I dwell in any sacred place of pilgrimage, nor do I live in Kailâsa nor in Vaikuntha nor in any other place. I dwell in the heart lotus of My Jñânî.

19. The blessed man who worships once My Jñânî, gets Koti times the fruit of worshipping Me. His family is rendered pure and his mother becomes blessed. He whose heart is diluted in the all-pervading Brahma Consciousness, purifies this whole world. There is no doubt in this.

20. O Best of Mountains! I have now told everything that you asked about Brahma Jñâna. Nothing now remains to be further described.

21. This Brahma Vidyâ (science of the knowledge of Brahma) is to be imparted to the eldest son, who is devoted and of good character and to him who is endowed with the good qualities as enumerated in the S'âstras and not to be given to any other person.

22. He who is fully devoted to his Ista Deva and who is equally devoted to his Guru, to him the high-minded persons should declare the Brahma Vidyâ.

23. Verily, he is God himself, who advises this Brahma Vidyâ; no one is able to repay the debts due to him.

24. He who gives birth to a man in Brahma, is, no doubt, superior to the ordinary father; for the birth that a father gives is destroyed; but the birth in Brahma that is given by the Guru is never destroyed.

25. So the S'ruti says :-- Never do harm to the Guru who imparts the knowledge of Brahma.

26. In all the Siddhântas (decided conclusions) of the S'âstras, it is stated that the Guru who imparts the knowledge of Brahman is the best and the most honourable. If S'iva, becomes angry, the Guru can save; but when the Guru becomes angry, S'ankara cannot save. So the Guru should be served with the utmost care.

27. So the Guru must be served with all the cares that are possible by body, mind, and word one should always please Him. Otherwise he becomes ungrateful and he is not saved.

28. O Best of Mountains! It is very difficult to acquire Brahma Jñâna. Hear a story. A Muni named Dadhyam of Atharvana family went to Indra and prayed to him to give Brahma Jñâna. Indra said: "I would give you Brahma-Jñâna, but if you impart it to any other body, I would sever your head." Dadhyarna agreed to this and Indra gave him the Brahma-Jñâna. After a few days, the two As'vins came to the Muni and prayed for Brahma Vidyâ, The Muni said :-- "If I give you the Brahma-Vidyi, Indra, will cut off my head." Hearing this the two As'vins said :-- "We will cut your head and keep it elsewhere and we will attach the head of a horse to your body. Instruct us with the mouth of this horse and when Indra will cut off your this mouth, we will replace your former head." When they said so, the Muni gave them the Brahma-Vidyâ. Indra cut off his head by his thunderbolt. When the horse-head of the Muni was cut off, the two physicians of the Devas replaced his original head. This is widely known in all the Vedas.

O Chief of Mountains! He becomes blessed who gets this the Brahma-Vidyâ.

Here ends the Thirty-sixth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the Highest Knowledge of Brahma in the Mahapurânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 37. On Bhakti Yoga

1. The Himâlayâs said :-- "O Mother! Now describe your Bhaki Yoga, by which ordinary men who have no dispassion get the knowledge of Brahma easily.

2-10. The Devî said:--"O Chief of Mountains! There are three paths, widely known, leading to the final liberation (Moksa). These are Karma Yoga, Jñâna Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Of these three, Bhakti Yoga is the easiest in all respects; people can do it very well without incurring any suffering to the body, and bringing the mind to a perfect concentration. This Bhakti (devotion) again is of three kinds as the Gunas are three. His Bhakti is Tâmasî who worships Me, to pain others, being filled with vanity and jealousy and anger. That Bhakti is Râjâsic, when one worships Me for one's own welfare and does not intend to do harm to others. He has got some desire or end in view, some fame or to attain some objects of enjoyments and ignorantly, and thinking himself different from Me, worships Me with greatest devotion. Again that Bhakti is Sâttvikî when anybody worships Me to purify his sins, and offers to Me the result of all his Karmas, thinking that Jîva and Îs'vara are separate and knowing that this action of his is authorized in the Vedas and therefore must be observed. This Sâttvikî Bhakti is different from the Supreme Bhakti as the worshippers think Me separate; but it leads to the Supreme Bhakti. The other two Bhaktis do not lead to Parâ Bhakti (the Supreme Bhakti or the Highest unselfish Love.)

11-20. Now hear attentively about the Parâ Bhakti that I am now describing to you. He who hears always My Glories and recites My Name and whose mind dwells always, like the incessant flow of oil, in Me Who is the receptacle of all auspicious qualities and Gunas. But he has not the least trace of any desire to get the fruits of his Karma; yea he does not want Sâmîpya, Sârsti, Sâyujya, and Sâlokya and other forms of liberations! He becomes filled with devotion for Me alone, worships Me only; knows nothing higher than to serve Me and he does not want final liberation even. He does not like to forsake this idea of Sevya (to he served) and Sevaka (servant who serves). He always meditates on Me with constant vigilance and actuated by a feeling of Supreme Devotion; he does not think himself separate from Me but rather thinks himself "that I am the Bhagavatî." He considers all the Jîvas as Myself and loves Me as he loves himself. He does not make any difference between the Jîvas and myself as he finds the same Chaitanya everywhere and mainfested in all. He does not quarrel with anybody as he has abandoned all ideas about separateness; he bows down, and worships the Chândâlas and all the Jîvas. He who becomes filled with devotion to Me whenever he sees My place, My devotees, and hears the Sâstras, describing My deeds, and whenever he meditates on My Mantras, he becomes filled with the highest love and his hairs stand on their ends out of love to Me and tears of love flow incessantly from both his eyes; he recites My name and My deeds in a voice, choked with feelings of love for Me. [N. B.--The Parâ Prema Bhakti is like the maddening rush of a river to the Ocean; thence in the shape of vapour to the highest; Himâlayân Mountain peaks to be congealed into snow where various plays of bright colours take place.]

21-30. O Lord of the mountains! He worships Me with intense feeling as the Mother of this Universe and the Cause of all causes. He performs the daily and occasional duties and all My vows and sacrifices without showing any miserly feeling in his expenditure of money. He naturally longs to perform My festivities and to visit places where My Utsabs are held. He sings My name loudly and dances, being intoxicated with My love, and has no idea of egoism and is devoid of his body-idea, thinking that the body is not his. He thinks that whatever is Prârabdha (done in his previoas lives) must come to pass and therefore does not become agitated as to the preservation of his body and soul. This sort of Bhakti is called the Parâ Bhakti or the Highest Devotion. Here the predominent idea is the idea of the Devî and no other idea takes its place. O Mountain! He gets immediately dissolved in My Nature of Consciousness whose heart is really filled with such Parâ Bhakti or All Love. The sages call the limiting stage of this devotion and dispassion as Jñâna (knowledge). When this Jñâna arises, Bhakti and dispassion get their ends satisfied. Yea! He goes then to the Mani Dvîpa, when his Ahamkâra does not crop up by his Prârabdba Karma, though he did not fail to give up his life in devotion. O Mountain! That man enjoys there all the objects of enjoyments, though unwilling and at the end of the period, gets the knowledge of My Consciousness. By that he attains the Final Liberation for ever. Without this Jñâna, the Final Liberation is impossible.

31-33. He realises Para Brahma who gets in this body of his the above Jñâna of the Pratyak Âtmâ in his heart; when his Prâna leaves his body, he does not get re-birth. The S'ruti says :-- "He, who knows Brahma, becomes Brahma." In the logic of Kantha, Châmîkara, (gold on the neck) the ignorance vanishes. When this ignorance is destroyed by knowledge, he attains all his knowledge the object to be attained, when he recoginises the gold on his neck.

34-37. O Best of Mountains! This My consciousness is different from the perceived pots, etc., and unperceived Mâyâ. The image of this Paramâtmâ is seen in bodies other than the Âtmâ as the image falls in a mirror; as the image falls in water, so this Paramâtmâ is seen in the Pitrilokas. As the shadow and light are quite distinct, so in My Manidvîpa, the knowledge of oneness without a second arises. That man resides in the Brahma Loka for the period of a Kalpa who leaves his body without attaining Jñâna, though he had his Vaîrâgyam. Then he takes his birth in the family of a pure prosperous family and practising again his Yoga habits, gets My Consciousness.

38-45. O King of Mountains! This Jñâna arises after many births it does not come in one birth; so one should try one's best to get this Jñâna. If, attaining this rare human birth, one does not attain this Jñâna, know that a great calamity has befallen to him. For this human birth is very hard to attain; and then the birth in a Brâhmin family is rarer; moreover amongst the Brâhmins, the knowledge of the Veda (the Consciousness is exceedingly rare.) The attaining of the six qualities (which are considered as six wealth), restraint of passions, etc.; the success in Yoga and the acquisition of a pure real Guru, all these are very hard to be attained in this life. O Mountain! The maturity and the activities of the organs of the senses, and the purification of the body according to the Vedic rites are all very difficult to attain. Know this again that to get a desire for final liberation is acquired by the merits acquired in many births. That man's birth is entirely futile, who attaining all the above qualifications does not try his best to attain this Jñâna, So one should try one's best to acquire the Jñâna. Then, at every moment, he gets the fruits of the As'vamedha sacrifice. There is no doubt in this. As ghee (clarified butter) resides potentially in milk, so the Vijñâna Brahma resides in every body. So make the mind the churning rod and always churn with it. Then, by slow degrees, the knowledge of Brahma will be attained.

Man attains blessedness when he gets this Jñâna; so the Vedânta says: Thus I have described to you in brief, O King of Mountains! all that you wanted to hear. Now what more do you want?

Here ends the Thirty-seventh Chapter of the Seventh Book on the glories of Bhakti in the Mahâ Purânam, S'ri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 Verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 38. The Vows And The Sacred Places Of The Devi

1-2. The Himâlayâs said :-- "O Devî! Describe the places on this earth that are prominent, sacred, and worth visiting and which Thou likest best. O Mother! Also sanctify us by describing the vows and utsabs that are pleasing to Thee, and by performing which, men become blessed and get themselves satisfied.

3-10. The Devî spoke :-- "O Himavan! All the places that are on this earth are all Mine and all should be visited. And every moment is fit for taking vows and utsabs. For I am of the nature pervading every moment; so whatever actions are performed at any moment are all equal to taking My vows and utsabs. O King of Mountains! Still I am now telling something out of My affection to My Bhaktas. Hear. There is a great place of pilgrimage named Kolhâpura in the southern country. Here the Devî Laksmi always dwells. The second place is Mâtripura in the Sahyâdrî mountain; here the Devî Renukâ dwells. The third place is Tulajâpur; next is the place Saptas'ringa, the great places of Hingulâ and Jvâlâ Mukhî. Then the great places of Sâkambharî, Bhrâmâri, S'rîraktadantikâ and Dûrgâ. The best of all places is that of Vindhyâchala Vâsinî, the great places of Annapurnâ and the excellent Kânchipur (Conjiverum). Next come the places of Bhîmâ Devî, Vimalâ Devî, S'rî Chandralâ Devî of Karnât, and the place of Kaus'ikî. Then the great place of Nîlâmbâ on the top of the Nîlâparvata, the place of Jâmbûnades'varî, and the beautiful S'rînagara.

11-20. The great place of S'rî Guhya Kâlî, well established in Nepal, and that of S'rî Mînâksî Devî established in Chîdamvaram. The great place named Vedâranya where the Sundarî Devî is residing; then the place named Ekâmvaram, and the place Bhuvanes'vara near Purusottama where I always dwell as Parâ S'akti Bhuvanes'varî. The famous place of Mahâlasâ, known in the south by the name Mallâri; the place of Yoges'varî Varât, and the widely known place of Nîla S'arasvatî in China. The excellent place of Bagalâ in Baidyanâth, the supreme place Manidvîpa of S'rîmatî Bhuvanes'varî where I always reside. The Yonimandala Kâmâkhyâ, the place of S'rimatî Tripurâ Bhariavî, the excellent of all the places in this earth, where the Devî Mahâ Mâyâ always dwells. There is no other place better than this on the earth. Here the Devî becomes every month in Her course of menstruation and where the virtuous men are seen. Here all the Devas remain in the form of mountains and where on the mountains the excellent Devas inhabit. The sages say: That all the places there are of the nature of the Devî; there is no better place than this Kâmâkhyâ Yonimandala. Puskara, the sacred place, is the seat of Gâyatrî; the place of Chandikâ in Amares'a: and the excellent place of Puskareksinî in Frabhâsa. The place of Linga-dhârinî Devî in Naimisâranya, and the place of Purubutâ in Puskarâksa; Rati dwells in Âsâdhî.

21-30. Dandinî Parames'vari dwells in Chandamundî. Bhûti dwells in Bhârabhûti; and Nakule S'varî dwells in Nâkula. Chandrikâ dwells in Haris'chandra; S'ânkari in S'rîgiri; Tris'ûlâ in Japes'vara; and Suksmâ in Âmrâta Kes'vara. S'ânkarî dwells in Ujjain, S'arvânî in the place Madhyamâ, and Mârga Dâyini dwells in the holy Ksetra Kedâra. The celebrated Bhairavî dwells in the place named Bhairava; Mangalâ in Gayâ Ksettra; Sthânupriyâ in Kuruksetra; and Svâyambhuvî Devî dwells in Nâkula; Ugrâ dwells in Kankhal; Vis'vesâ dwells in Vimales'vara, Mahânandâ in Attahâsa and Mahântakâ in Mahendra. Bhimes'varî dwells in Bhîma; the Bhavânî S'ankarî dwells in Vastrâpadma; and Rudrânî in Ardha Kotî. Vis'alâksî dwells in Avimukta; Mahâbhâgâ dwells in Mahâlaya; Bhadrakarnî in Gokarna; and Bhadrâ resides in Bhadrakarnak; Utpalâksî dwells in Suvarnâksa; Sthânvîs'â in Sthânu; Kamalâ in Kamalâlayâ; Chandâ in Chhagalandaka, situated in the south near the sea coast. Trisandhyâ dwells in Kurundala; Mukutes'varî in Mâkota; S'ândakî in Mandales'a; Kâlî in Kâlanjara; Dhvani in S'ankukarna; Sthûlâ in Sthûlakes'vara; and Parames'varî Hrillekhâ dwells in the heart lotuses of the Jñanins.

31-34. The places mentioned above are all dearest to the Devî. First the merits of these places are to be heard; next the Devî is to be worshipped by the rites and ceremonies according to these rules. Or, O Mountain! All the holy places of pilgrimages exist in Kâs'î. The Devî always dwells there. Persons, devoted to the Devî, see these places and if they make Japam and meditate on the lotus-feet of the Devî, they will certainly be freed from the bonds of Samsâra; there is no doubt in this. If anybody, getting up in the morning, recite the names of these places, all his sins would instantly be burnt away.

35-40. And if one reads, in the time of S'râddha, before the Brahmins, these holy names of the Devî, his Pitris will be purified of their sins in the Mahâkâs'a by the Mahâ Prâna and will get their highest goal. O One of good vows! I will now describe to you the vows that are to be carefully observed by men and women; hear. Ananta Tritîyâkhya Vrata (vow), Rasakalyânî Vrata, and Ârdrânandakara Vrata, these three Vratas are to be observed in the Tritîyâ (third) tithi. The next come the Friday vow, the Krisna Chaturdas'i vows, the Tuesday vow, and the evening twilight vow. In this twilight vow, Mahâ Deva placed the Devî in the evening on an Âsana; and He, along with the other Devas, began to dance before Her. Fasting is enjoined in this vow; and then in the evening one must worship the Devî, the Giver of all auspicious things. Especially in every fortnight, if the Devî be worshipped, She gets extremely pleased.

41. O Best of Mountains! The Monday vow is very agreeable to Me; the worship of the Devî should be done and then in the night one must take one's food.

42-43. The two nine nights vow called Navarâtra are to be observed, one in the autumn and the other in the spring season. These are very dear to Me. He is certainly My devotee and very dear who for My satisfaction performs these and the other Nitya Naimittik vows, free from any pride and jealousy. He certainly gets the Sâjujya Mukti with Me.

44-46. O Nagarâja! The Holy (Dol) festival in the month of Chait on tha third day of the white fortnight is very pleasing to Me and should be observed by all. My devotees perform the S'ayanotsava in the Paurnâmâsî in the month of Âsâdha; the Jâgaranotsava in the Paurnamâsî in the month of Kârtik, the Ratha Jâtrâ in the 3rd of the white fortnight in Âsâdha; the Damanotsava in Chaitra. And my dear festivals in the month of S'râvana and various other festivals.

47-49. In all these festivals one should feast well with gladness all My devotees, and the Kumâris (virgins), well clothed and dressed, and the boys, thinking them all to be of My very nature. No miserliness is to be entertained and I should be worshipped with flowers, etc. He is blessed and attains his goal and is dear to Me who carefully and devotedly observes every year all these festivals. O Nagendra! Thus I have described to you in brief all the vows that are pleasing to Me. These instructions are not to be given who is not a disciple nor to one who is not My devotee.

Here ends the Thirty-eighth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the vows and the sacred places of the Devî in the Mahâ Purânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 39. The Worship Of The World Mother

1. The Himâlayâs said :-- "O Devî! O Mahes'vari! O Thou, the Ocean of Mercy! O World-Mother! Now describe in detail how Thy worship is conducted, the rules and ceremonials thereof.

2-20. The Devî said :-- "O King of Mountains! I now describe to you the rites and ceremonies and the methods of My worship that are pleasing to Me. Hear it attentively and with faith. My worship is of two kinds :-- External and internal. The external worship is again twofold: one is Vaidik, and the other is Tântrik. The Vaidik worship is also of two kinds according to the differences in My forms. Those who are initiated in the Vedic Mantrams worship according to the Vedic rites and ceremonies and those who are initiated in the Tântrik-Mantram worship according to the Tântrik rites. That stupid man is entirely ruined and goes to Hell who knowing the secrets of worship, act contrary to them. First I will describe to you the Vaidik worship; hear. The highest Form of Mine that you saw before, with innumerable heads, innumerable eyes, innumerable feet, and the Illuminer of the intelligences of all the Jîvas, endowed with all powers, Higher than the Highest, Very Grand, worship That, bow down to That and meditate on That. O Nagendra! This is the first form of worship that I describe to you. With your senses controlled, peaceful, with a well concentrated mind, void of egoism and vanity, and devoted to That, perform sacrifices to That,, take refuge of That, see That within the temple of your mind, and always recite Her name and meditate on that. Take hold of Me, and My ideas with one pointed loving devotion and please Me with the performance of sacrifices, austerities and gifts. By My Grace, you will no doubt be able to get the Final Liberation. Whoever is entirely attached to Me, thinking Me as the Highest, is the foremost amongst the Bhaktas. I promise that I will certainly deliver him from this ocean of the world. O King of mountains! Meditation with Karma and Jñâna with Bhakti will lead one to Me. Only the work alone will fail to get one to Me. O Himavan! From Dharma arises Bhakti and from Bhakti arises the Highest Jñâna. What are said in the S'ruti and Smriti S'astras the Maharsis take that as the Dharma; and what are written in other S'astras, they take them to be Dharmâbhâsa (the Shadow or reflection of Dharma). Out of My omniscient and omnipotent Nature, the Vedas have come. Owing to the want of Ignorance in Me, the Vedas can never be invalidated. The Smritis are formed out of the meaning of the Vedas; so the Smriti and Purânas, formed, by Manu and the other Risis, are authoritative. In some places it is hinted that there other S'astras than the Vedas, taking the Tantras indirectly into account. Although the matters relating to the Dharmas are mentioned therein, but as they are apparently contrary to the S'rutis, the Tantras are not accepted by the Vaidik Pundits. The other S'âstra makers are marked with their ignorance; so their sayings cannot be authoritative. Therefore he must resort entirely to the Vedas who want the final liberation. As the king's order is never disobeyed amongst his subjects, so the S'ruti, the Command of Mine, the Lord of all, can never be abandoned by men.

21-30. To preserve My Commandments, I have created the Brâhmana and the Ksattriya castes. My secrets are all embodied in the S'rutis. For that reason, the words of the S'rutis are no doubt to be known and observed by the sages. O Mountain! When the Dharma (righteousness) declines and the Adharma (unrighteousness) reigns supreme, I then manifest Myself in the world as Sâkambharî, Râma, Krisna and others. Therefore, the Devas, the preservers of the Vedas, and the Daityas, the destroyers of the Vedas are classified. Whoever does not practise according to the Vedas I have created many hells for their lessons. When the sinners hear of those hells, they get extremely terrified. The king should banish those stupid persons from his kingdom and the Brâhmins should not talk with them nor take them in their own lines nor when partaking of food, those who forsake the Vaidic Dharma and go for shelter to another Dharma. The S'âstras that are extant, as contrary to the S'rutis and Smritis, are all Tâmasa S'âstras, Mahâdeva has framed these Vâma, Kâpâlak, Kaulaks, Bhairava and such like S'astras for fascinating the people; else he has no object in framing them. Those Brâhmans that were burnt up by the curses of Daksa, S'ukra, Dadhîchi and were banished from the path of the Vedas, it is for delivering them, step by step that Mahâdeva has framed the five Âgamas, S'aiva, Vaisnava, S'aura, S'âtta and Gânapatya S'âstras.

31-37. In those Tantra S'âstras, there are some passages in conformity with the Vedas and there are other passages contradictory to the Vedas. If the Vaidik persons resort to passages in conformity with the Veda, then there cannot arise any fault in them. The Brâhmins are not Adhikâris to those Tântric texts that are contradictory to the Vedas. Those persons that have no claim to the Vedas can be Adhikâris to these latter texts. Therefore the Vaidik Brâhmanas should resort to the Vedas with all the care possible and make the Para Brahma ot the nature of Jñâna manifest within them. The Sanynsins, Vânaprasthas, householders and Brâhmachâris should give up all their desires and take refuge in Me; free from egoism and vanity, kind to all creatures, their hearts wholly given to Me and engaged in speaking out My places with enrapt devotion. They always worship My Virât (Cosmic) form, immersed in the Yoga called Ais'varya Yoga (Cosmic Yoga dealing with the glories, prosperity of god). Illumine the understanding with the Sun of My Consciousness, and I destroy the Darkness of Ignorance of those persons that are always engaged in practising Yoga with Me. There is no doubt in this. O Nagendra! Thus I have described in brief the methods and practices of the Vaidik Pûjâ; now I will tell you the Tântrikî Pûjâ; hear attentively.

38-47. On an image, or clean plot of ground, or on the Sun or the Moon, in water, in Vâna Linga, in Yantra or on a cloth or in the lotus of heart, one is to meditate and worship the Blissful, Higher than the Highest, the Devî, Who creates this universe with the three Gunas Sattva, Raja and Tama, Who is filled with the juice of mercy, Who is blooming in youth, Whose colour is red like the rising Sun, Whose beauty overtops to the full, Whose all the limbs are exquisitely beautiful, Who is the sentiment of Love Incarnate, Who feels very much for the mental pain of Her Bhaktas on Who being pleased, manifests Herself before the Bhaktas on Whose forehead, the segment of the Moon shines incessantly, and Whose four hands hold goad, noose and the signs of fearlessness and to grant boons. Until one is entitled to the internal worship, one should worship the external; never he is to abandon it. Worship is internal when one’s heart gets diluted in Para Brahma, of the nature of the Universal Consciousness, O Mountain! Know My Consciousness (Samvit) to be My Highest Nature without any limitations. Therefore it is highly incumbent to attach one's hearts, free from other adjuncts, constantly to this Samvit. And what is more than this Samvit is this illusive world full of Mâyâ. So to get rid of this world one is to constantly meditate on Me, the Witness of all, the Self of all, with a heart full of devotiou and free from any Sankalpas or desires.

O Best of Mountains! Now I will describe to you in detail the external form of worship. Hear attentively.

Here ends the Thirty-ninth Chapter of tho Seventh Book on the worship of the World Mother in S'ri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 40. The External Worship Of The Devî

1-5. The Devî said:--Getting up from the bed early in the morning, one is to meditate on the thousand petalled lotus, bright, of the colour of camphor, in the top part his brain on the head. On this he should remember his S'rî Guru, very gracious looking, well decorated with ornaments, with His Consort S'akti and bow down to Him and within Him he should meditate the Kundalinî Devî thus --"I take refuge unto that Highest S'akti Kundalinî, of the nature of the Supreme Consciousness, Who is manifest as Chaityana while up-going to the Brahmarandhra (the aperture supposed to be at the crown of the head, through which the soul takes its flight at death) and Who is of the nature of nectar while returning back in the Susumnâ canal. After meditating thus, he should meditate on the Blissful Form of Mine within the Kundalinî Fire situated in the Mulâdhâra Lotus (coccygeal lotus). Then he should rise up to go for the calls of nature, etc., and complete Sandhyâ Bandanams and other duties. The best of the Brâhmins, then, should for My satisfaction perform the Agnihotra Homa and sitting in his Âsana make Sankalap (determination) to do My Pûjâ (Worship).

N. B.--The brain has three divisions, the lower, the middle and the higher, or top-most part which is very pure.

6-10. Next he is to make Bhûta S'uddhi (purification of elements of the body by respiratory attraction and replacement) and then the Mâtrikâ Nyâsa, Then he should arrange the letters of the root Mantra of Mâyâ and execute the Hrîllekhâ Mâtrikâ Nyâsa. In this he is to place the letter "Ha" in the Mulâdhâra, the letter "Ra" in his heart and the vowel "î" in the middle of his brows aud, Hrîm on the top part of his head. Finishing then all the other Nyâsas according to that Mantra, he should think within his body Dharma, Jñâna, Vairâgyam, and Prosperity as the four legs of the seat and Adharma, Ajñâna, Avairâgyam and non-prosperity, these four as the body of the seat on the four quarters East, South, West and North. Then he should meditate on the Great Devî in the lotus of his heart blewn by Prânâyâma, situated on the five seats of the Pretas. O Mountain! Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, Sadâs'iva and Îs'vara are the five Pretas situated under My feet.

11. These are of the nature of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, the five elements and also of the nature of Jâgrat (waking), Svapna (dreaming) Susupti (deep sleep state) Turiyâ (the fourth state) and Atîta Rûpa, the (the fifth state) excluding the 4 states, corresponding to the five states. But I, who am of the nature of Brahma, am over and above the five elements and the five states; therefore My Seat is always on the top of these five forces.

12. Meditating on Me thus and worshipping Me with his mind concentrated, he is next to make Japam (reciting My name slowly). After Japam he is to make over the fruits of Japam to Me. He should then place the Arghya for the external worship.

13. Then the worshipper is to sprinkle with the Astra mantra 'Phat', all the articles of worship that are placed in front of him and purify them.

14-18. He should close the ten quarters with the Chhotikâ Mudrâ and bow down to his Guru. Taking his permission, he should meditate on the outside seat, the beauiful divine form of his heart lotus and invoke the Deity outside and place Her on the seat by Prâna Pratisthâ and perforn Âvâhana, and present to Her Arghya (an offer of green grass, rice, etc., made in worshipping a god), Pâdya (water for washing legs and feet), Âchaman, water for bath, a couple of clothes, all sorts of ornaments, or scents, flowers and the necessary articles with due devotion and he should worship the attendant deities of the Yantra. If one be unable to worship daily the attendant deities, one must worship them on Friday.

19. Of the attendant deities, one must meditate the principal deity of the nature of Prabhâ (illumination) and think that by Her rays the three worlds are pervaded.

20. Next he should worship again the Bhuvanes'vari Devî, the Chief Deity along with other attendant deities with scent, good smelling flowers; and Naivedya and various other tasteful dishes.

21-22. He should then recite the Sahasranâma (thousand names) stotra and the Devî Sûkta Mantra "Aham Rudrebhih, etc.," and "Sarve vai Devâ Devî mupatasthuh, etc.," the Devî Atharva S'iro Mantra and the Upanisads' Mantra of Bhuvanes'varî, the famous mantras, repeatedly and thus bring My satisfaction.

23-24. With hearts filled with love and with hairs standing on their ends all should satisfy Me frequently with tears of love flowing from their eyes and with voice choked with feelings and with dancing music and singing and with his whole body filled with joy.

25. My glory is well established in the Veda Pârâyana and in all the Purânas. So for My satisfaction, one should offer daily to Me one's everything with one's body and recite the readings from the Vedas.

26-27. Next, after completing the Homa offerings, he should feed the Brâhmanas, tha young virgins well clothed, the boys and the public and the poor, thinking all of them to be so many forms of the Devî. Than he should bow before the Devî that resides in his heart and finally by Samhâra Mudrâ take leave of the Deity invoked.

28. O One of good vows! The Hrîllekhâ Mantra (Hrîm) is the chief of all mantrams; so My worship and all other actions ought to be performed with this Hrîllekhâ Mantram.

29. I am always reflected in this Mirror of Hrîllekhâ form; so anything offered in this Hrîllekhâ Mantra of Mine is offered as it were with all the Mantras. Then one should worship the Guru with ornaments, etc., and think oneself blessed.

30-31. O Himavan! Nothing remains at any time unavailable to him who worships thus the Bhuvanes'varî Devî. After quitting his body, he goes to theMani Dvîpa, My Place. He gets the form of the Devî; and the Devas constantly bow down to him.

32-45. O Mahîdhara! Thus I have described to you the rules of worshipping the Great Devî; consider this in all the aspects and worship Me according to your Adhikâra (claim) and you will attain your Goal. There is no doubt in this. O Best of mountains! This S'âstra Devigîtâ you are not to tell to those who are not the devotees, to those who are enemies, and to those who are cunning. If one gives out this secret of Gîtâ, it is like taking off the covering from the breast of the mother; so carefully keep it secret and think that this is very necessary. This Devî Gîtâ ought to be given to a disciple, a Bhakta, the eldest son, and to one who is good natured, and well dressed and devoted to the Devî. O Mountain! In the time of S'râddha (solemn obsequies performed in honour of the manes of deceased ancestors) he gets the highest place of the Pitris who reads this Devî Gîtâ before the Brâhmanas. Vyâsa said:-- The Devî vanished there after describing all these. The Devas were glad and considered themselves blessed by the sight of the Devî. O Janamejaya! The Haimavatî next took Her birth in the house of the Himâlayâ and was known by the name of Gaurî. S'ânkara, the Deva of the Devas, marricd Her. Sadânana (Kârtika) was born of them. He killed the Tâdakâ Asura. O King! In ancient times, when the ocean was churned, many gems were obtained. At that time the Devas chanted hymns to the Devî with a concentrated mind to get Laksmî Devî. To show favour to the Devas, Ramâ Devî got out of the ocean. The Devas gave Laksmi to Visnu, the Lord of the Vaikuntha. Visnu was very glad at this. O King! Thus I have described to you the Greatness of the Devî and the birth of Gaurî and Laksmî. One's desires are all fulfilled when one hears this. O King! This secret I have described to you. Take care not to divulge it to any other body. This is the secret of the Gîtâ; so carefully conceal it. O One of pure heart! I have told to you this Divine and Sin-destroying narration, that you asked. What more do you want to hear? Say.

Here ends the Fortieth Chapter of the Seventh Book on the External Worship of the Devî in the Mahâpurânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

[The. Seventh Book Completed.]

The Eighth Book

Chapter 1. On The Description Of The Worlds

1-4. Janamejaya asked :-- “O Lord! I have heard all that you have described about the sweet nectar-like characters of the Kings of the Solar and the Lunar dynasties. Now kindly describe the real Tattva of the Virât Form of the Great Devî and how She was worshipped in every Manvantara by the Regent of that Manvantara and the Kings thereof. In what part of the year and in which place, under what circumstances and in what form and with what Mantras was the Devî worshipped? I am very anxious to hear all this. O Guru! In fact describe the gross forms of the Âdyâ S'akti, the Devî Bhagavatî by concentrating attention to Which, I can have the power to understand the subtle forms of the Devî and I can get the highest good in this world.”

5-7. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Now hear. I am describing to you in detail about the worship of the Devî Bhagavatî that leads to the welfare of the Whole World; the hearing of which or the practice of which enables one to get the highest good. In days of yore, the Devarsi Nârada asked Nârâyana about this very point; I will now tell you what the Bhagavân, the Promulgator of the Yoga Tattva, advised Nârada. Once on a time the all powerful Devarsi Nârada entitled with all the Yogic powers, and born from the body of Brahmâ was travelling all over this earth and came to the hermitage of the Risi Nârâyana. Resting a while, and the troubles of the journey over, he bowed down to the Yogi Nârâyana and asked Him what you ask me now. Nârada said :-- O Deva Deva Mahâdeva! O Thou, the Ancient Purusa, the Excellent One!

8-9. O Omniscient ! O Thou, the Holder of the Universe! O Thou Who art the repository of the good qualities and Who art praised by all!

10-12. O Deva! Now tell me what is the ultimate cause of this Universe: whence has this Universe its origin? And how does it rest? To whom does it take refuge? Where does it dissolve in the time of Pralaya? Where do all the Karmas of these beings go to? And what Object is that whose knowledge destroys forever the Mâyâ, the Cause of all this Moha (illusion)? Whose worship, what Japam, and Whose meditation in the lotus of heart are to he made, by which, O Deva! the knowledge of Paramâtman rises in the heart, as the darkness of the night vanishes by the rising of the Sun.

13. O Deva! Kindly reply to these my questions in such a clear manner as the ignorant people in this Samsâra can understand and get themselves across this ocean of Samsâra.

14-15. Vyâsa said :-- Thus asked by the Devarsi, the ancient Nârâyana, the Best of the Munis, the great Yogi gladly spoke :-- O Devarsi! Hear I will now speak to you all the Tattvas of this world, knowing which the mortal never falls into the illusion of this world.

16. O Child! The original cause of this Universe is the Devî Mahâ Mâyâ (the image of the Supreme Chaitanya Para Brahmâ); this is the opinion of the Risis, the Devas, Gandharvas, and other intelligent persons.

17-23. It is written in the Vedas and other S'âstras that the Devî Bhagavatî, worshipped by all in the Universe, creates, preserves and destroys the Universe by the influence of Her three Gunas. I now describe to you the nature of the Devî, worshipped by the Siddhas, Gandharbas and Risis, the mere remembering of Whom destroys all sins, and gives final liberation Moksa (and Dharma, Artha, and Kama also). The powerful Svâyambhuva Manu, the First, the husband of S'atarûpâ, the prosperous and the Ruler of all the Manvantaras worshipped the sinless Prajâpati Brahmâ, his Father with due devotion and satisfied Him when the Grandsire of the Lokas, the Hiranyagarbha spoke to his son :-- The excellent worship of the Devî should be done by you. By Her Grace, O Son, your work of creating worlds will be successful. Thus spoken by Brahmâ, the Bibhu Svâyambhuva Manu, the Virât incarnate, worshipped the World Mother with great austerities. And with his concentrated devotion, he satisfied the Devî Deves'î and began to chant hymns to Her, the First-born, the Mâyâ, the S'akti of all, and the Cause of all causes.

24-36. Manu said :-- Thou art Brahmâ, the ocean of the Vedas, Krisna, the abode of Laksmî, Purandara. I bow down again and again to Thee, the Deves'î, the Cause of Mâyâ, the Cause of this Universe. Thou holdest s'ankha (the conchshell), chakra, gadâ, etc., in Thy hands and Thou residest in the heart of Nârâyana; Thou art the Vedas incarnate, the World Mother, the Auspicious One, bowed down by all the Devas, and the Knower of the Three Vedas. O Thou, endowed with all powers and glory! O Mahâmâye! Mahâbhâge! Mahodaye! (the Self-manifested). Thou residest as the better half of Mahâ Deva, and Thou dost all what are dear to Him. Thou art the most beloved of Nanda, the Cow-herd (in the form of Mahâ Mâyâ, the daughter who concealed Krisna and slipped from the hands of Kamsa and got up in the air and remained as Vindhyâvâsinî; also in the form of S'rî Krisna). Thou gavest much pleasure and wert the cause of all the festivities; Thou takest away the fear due to plague, etc.; Thou art worshipped by the Devas. O Thou, the auspicious Bhagavatî! Thou art the welfare of all incarnate; Thou fructifiest the desires of all to success! Thou art the One to Whom all take refuge and Thou removest their all the dangers; O Thou the three-eyed! Gaurî! Nârâyanî! Obeisance to Thee. I bow down to that ocean of all brightness and splendour, without beginning or end, the One Consciousness, wherein this endless Universe rises and remains interwoven therein. I bow down to the Devî, whose Gracious Glance enables Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'vara to do their respective works of creating, preserving, and destroying the Universe. O Devî! Thou art the Only One, whom all can bow, since the lotus-born Brahmâ, terrified by the horrible Daityas, was freed by Thy prowess only. O Bhagavatî! Thou art modesty, fame, memory, lustre; Thou art Laksmî, Girijâ, the daughter of Himâlayâ, Thou art Satî, the Daksa's daughter; Thou art the Sâvitrî the Mother of the Vedas, Thou art the intelligence of all and Thou art the cause of fearlessness. So I now engage myself reciting Thy Japam, Thy hymns and Thy worship. I meditate on Thee and see Thy form within my heart and hear Thy praises. Be graciously pleased on me, O Devî! It is by Thy Grace that Brahmâ is the Revealer of the Four Vedas, Visnu is the Lord of Laksmî, Indra is the Lord of the Devas and of the three worlds; Varuna is the Lord of waters, Kuvera is the Lord of wealth, Yama is the Lord of the dead, Nairrita is the Lord of the Râksasas, and Soma is the Lord of the water element and praised by the three worlds. Therefore, O Auspicious World Mother! I bow down again and again to Thee.

37-45. Nârâyana said :-- O Child! When Svayambhuva Manu, the son of Brahmâ, chanted thus the hymns to the Âdyâ S'akti Bhagavatî Nârâyanî, She became pleased and spoke to him thus :-- The Devî said :-- “O King, the Brahmâ's son! I am pleased with your devoted worship and hymns; so ask boon from Me that you desire.” Manu said :-- “O Devî! If Thou art graciously pleased, grant that my creation be finished without any hitch.” The Devî said :-- “O King of Kings! By My blessing, your work of creation will be completed without any obstruction. And by your punya (merits) they will no doubt multiply on and on. He who reads with devotion this hymn (stotra) composed by you, will get sons, fame and beauty in the world and, in the end, he will be entitled to get the Highest Place. The people will have powers unopposed by anybody, will get wealth and grains, will get victory everywhere and happiness; and his enemies will be ruined.” Nârâyana said :-- “O Child! The Devî Bhagavatî Âdyâ S'akti granted thus the desired boon to Svâyambhuva Manu and vanished away at once from his sight.” Then the powerful Manu, obtaining thus the boon, spoke to his father :-- O Father! Now give me a solitary place where I can worship the Devî with sacrifices and do my work of creating a good number of people.

46-48. Hearing thus the words of the son, the Prajâpati, the Lord thought over the matter for a long time :-- “How this work would be done? Alas! I have spent an endless time in this work of creation; but as yet nothing has been done. For the Earth, the receptacle of all the Jivâs is submerged in water and has gone down to the Rasâtala. What is to be done now? There is only one hope and that is this :-- If the Bhagavân, the Primeval Person, under Whose Command I am engaged in this work of creation, helps me in this work of mine, no doubt it will be accomplished then and then only.”

Here ends the First Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of the worlds in the Mahâpurânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On The Uplifting Of The Earth By The Sacrificial Boar

1-10. Nârâyana said :-- O Child! When you have got your senses controlled and have overcome lust, anger, etc., and other enemies, then you are certainly entitled to hear this secret. While Brahmâ was discussing on this subject with Marîchi and the other Brahmârsis and with Svâyambhuva Manu, suddenly there came out of the nose of the meditative Brahmâ, one young boar (the child of a boar) of the dimension of one finger only. That little boar, that was just in the air, soon became, while they were looking at it, enlarged to a very big elephant, in an instant; a very strange sight, indeed! Seeing this, the Kumâras Sanaka, etc., Marîchi and the other Seven Risis, and the Creator Brahmâ were struck with wonder and Brahmâ began to discuss thus :-- Oh! This young boar has come out suddenly of My nose; though it is a very small one, it is certainly, come under a disguise and it has all made us merge in an ocean of wonder. Is this something Divine, of a Sâttvic quality under the guise of this boar? It was of the size of a thumb and it is now like the Himâlayâ Mountain? Oh! Is this the Bhagavân, the Yajña Purusa? While they were thus discussing, the Bhagavân, in the shape of the boar, began to make loud sounds, like the rolling of the mountain clouds at the time of the Pralaya resounding all the quarters. At this Brahmâ and all the Risis assembled there became very glad. Hearing the ghurghura noise of the Boar, their troubles ended and the people of Janarloka, Taparloka, Satyaloka and all the Devas being very much gladdened began to chant sweet hymns with Chhandas of Rik, Yajus, Sâma and Atharva Vedas, to that Âdi Purusa, the Bhagavân, from all sides.

11-20. Hearing their praises, the Bhagavân Hari graciously looked on them and immediately merged Himself in the ocean. The ocean was very much agitated with the fierce striking of the hairs of the Boar, when He entered into the waters, and spoke thus :-- “O Deva ! O Thou, the destroyer of the afflictions of your refuges! Protect me.” Hearing the words of the ocean, the God Hari tore asunder all the aquatic animals and went down beneath the waters. Searching violently hither and thither, He knew the earth by her smell. At once the Bhagavân Hari, the Lord of all, went to Her and rescued the earth by raising Her up on his big teeth, the Earth that was the abode of all the beings. When the Bhagavân, the Lord of all the sacrifices, came up with the Earth on the top of His teeth, He looked beautiful like the elephant of a quarter taking out by the root and holding a thousand petalled lotus upon his tusks. When the Bhagavân rescued thus the Earth, raising Her up on His tusks, Brahmâ and Indra, the Lord of the Devas, the powerful Manu began praise to Him with sweet words :-- Brahmâ said :-- O Lotus-eyed! O Bhagavân! Thou art victorious everywhere; O Thou, the Destroyer of the sufferings of the Bhaktas! Thou hast, by Thy own prowess, humiliated the Heaven, the abode of the gods upto Satyaloka! Thou, the Giver all the desires! O Deva! This earth shines so beautiful on Thy teeth as the thousand petalled lotus, taken up by the root by a mad elephant, shines on his two tusks. O Bhagavân! This Form, i. e., that of Thy sacrificial Boar, with earth on Thee looks so very beautiful as the lotus looks beautiful on the tusks of an elephant.

21-22. O Lord! We bow down to Thee, the Creator and the Destroyer of everything; Thou assumest many forms for the purpose of destroying the Dânavas; Thou dost do many acts that redound to Thy Glory, We bow down to Thee, to Thy Front and to Thy Back. (Really thou hast no front nor back. Thou art everywhere.) Thou art the Upholder of all the Celestials and the Immortals! Thy eyes shine equally everywhere.

23-25. O Deva! By Thy power I am brought up and engaged in the work of creation and by Thy order I create in every Kalpa this Universe and destroy it. O Lord of Immortals! In the ancient times the Devas united churned the vast ocean by Thy help and got according to their merits their due shares. O Hari! Indra, the Lord of the Devas is enjoying the vast kingdom of Heaven, the Trilokas, by Thy Will and appointment. All the Devas worship him.

26-27. So the God of Fire has got his burning power and is residing in the bellies of the Devas, the Asuras, men and all other beings and penetrating their bellies, is satisfying all. Yama, the King of Dharma, by Thy appointment, is the Lord of the southern quarters, is presiding over the Pitris and being the witness of all the actions of the Jivâs, is awarding duly to them the fruits thereof.

28-33. Nairrita, the Lord of the Raksasas, the witness of all the actions of all the beings, by Thy commandment, is the destroyer of all the obstacles of the devotees that take refuge unto thee, though he is a Yaksa. The Varuna Deva, by Thy order, has become duly the Lord of the waters, and the Regent of the Loka (Dikpâla). The Vâyu, the Life of all, the carrier of the smell, has become by Thy order Lokâpâla and the Guru of the universe. Kuvera, obedient to Thy order, has become the Lord of the Yaksas and the Kinnaras and is holding a respectful position like other Lokapâlas. Îs'âna, Who is the destroyer of all the Jîvas, has got his Lordship over a quarter by Thy order and is being praised by all the Rudras, the Devas, Gandharbas, Yaksas, Kinnaras, the men and all the beings. O Bhagavân! We bow down to Thee, the Lord of the Universe; the innumerable Devas that are seen are merely the small fractions of Thy powers.

34-38. Narayana said :-- “O Child Nârada! When Brahmâ, the Creator and the Grandsire of the Lokas, praised thus the Âdi Purusa Bhagavân, He cast a side long glance at them, offering His Grace. When the Bhagavân, the Sacrificial Boar, was coming up with earth, rescued and placed on his teeth, the awful Hiranyaksa, the chief of the Daityas came before Him and obstructed His passage when He killed him by one violent stroke of his club. He was besmeared all over his body with the blood of the Daitya; and thus He came up from the Rasâtala and placed the earth on the waters. He then went away to His Vaikuntha abode.

O Child Nârada! He who hears or reads devotedly this glorious deed of the Bhagavân and the deliverance of the Earth, will certainly be freed of all his sins and goes to the highest holiest place of Visnu, the Lord of all. There is no doubt in this.”

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Eighth Book on the uplifting of the Earth by the Sacrificial Boar in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 3. On The Description Of The Family Of Manu

1-23. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! When the Bhagavân went away to Vaikuntha, establishing the Earth in due position and equilibrium, Brahmâ spoke thus to his son :-- “O Powerful Son of mine, O Svâyamhhuva! The best of those that are filled with Teja (energy) and Tapas! Now go on with your work of creation, as you think proper, on this earth, the Upholdress of all the Jîvas. And worship the Purusa, the Lord of Sacrifices, according to the division of place and time, and with all the necessary materials of various kinds, high and low, and those that will be useful in performing your sacrifices. Do Dharma according to the S'âstras, and according to the Varna(the different castes) and Âsrama (Brahmâcharya, etc.); thus by gradually going on step by step in the path of Yoga, your progeny will be multiplied. Beget lovely sons and daughters, of good fame, culture, modesty and ornamented with various other good qualifications, like yourself; then marry your daughters when they will come to the marriageable age, to proper persons of good qualifications and then fix your mind thoroughly on the Excellent Purusa that is the very Best. O Child! Now go and serve the Bhagavân with devotion as I have advised you; and you will certainly attain that which is difficult to be worshipped and obtained. Advising thus his son Svâyambhuva Manu, and starting him in his work; of creation, the Lotus-born, the Lord of all the subjects, Brahmâ went away to His own abode. When Brahmâ went away, having ordered his son to create progeny and subjects, Manu, took that seriously in his heart and began to do that work. In due time, he had two powerful sons named Priyavrata and Uttânapâda and three lovely beautiful daughters endowed with various good qualities. Hear the names of the three daughters. The first daughter, the purifier of the world, was named Âkûti; the second was named Devahûti and the third was Prasûti. The first daughter Âkûti was married to the Maharsi Ruchi; the second was married to the Prajapati Karddama; and the third was married to the Prajapati Daksa. And know that all the beings in this world had their origin from this last daughter. Now hear the progeny of these three daughters and the Maharsis respectively :-- By Maharsi Ruchi was born one son named Yajña, in the womb of Âkûti; he is the part of the Bhagavân Âdi Purusa Visnu; by Maharsi Karddama, in the womb of Devahûti was born the Bhagavân Kapila Deva, the famous author of the S'ânkhya S'âstra; and in the womb of Prasûti, by the Prajâpati Daksa were born some daughters only; know that the Devas, men, beasts and birds were all created by this Prajâpati Daksa. These offsprings were the first promulgators in the work of creation. In the Svâyambhuva Manvantara, the powerful Bhagavân Yajña, by the help of the Deva named Yâma, saved his mother's Father Manu from the attacks of the Raksasas; and the great Lord of the Yogis, the Bhagavân Kapila, remained for a while in his Âsrama and gave spiritual instructions to his mother Devahûti, by which Avidyâ could be at once destroyed, and disclosed his S'ânkhya S'âstra, the great work on the Spiritual Philosophy and the special Dhyâna Yoga in all its details and finally went for Samâdhi to the Âsrama of Pulaha where the great Deva Sâmkhyâ chârya lives up to today. Oh! I bow down to the great Yogâchârya, the Bhagavân Kapila Deva, the Fructifier of all desires, the more remembrance of Whose Name makes easily the Yogi realise the meaning of the Sâmkhya Jñâna. The sins are immediately destroyed of those that hear or read the holy anecdote of the progeny of the daughters of Manu. O Child! Now I describe to you the progeny of the sons of Svâyambhuva Manu. Hear attentively. The hearing of which will enable one to enter into the highest place. Now is being described the history about the progeny of those who formed those Dvipas (islands) Varsas(countries) and oceans for the welfare and happiness of all the creation and for the use of them. Hear.

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of the family of Manu in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 4. On The Narration Of The Family Of Priyavrata

1-28. The Risi Nârâyana said :-- The eldest son of Svâyambhuva, Priyavrata served always his father and was very truthful. He married the daughter of the Prajâpati Vis'va Karmâ, the exceedingly lovely and beautiful Barhismatî, resembling like him, adorned with modesty, good nature and various other qualifications. He begat ten sons, very spiritual and well qualified and one daughter named Ûrjasvatî. This daughter was the youngest of all. The names of the ten sons are respectively :-- (1) Âgnîdhra, (2) Idhmajibha, (3) Jajñabâhu, (4) Mahâvîra, (5) Rukmas'ukra (Hiranyaretâ), (6) Ghritapristha, (7) Savana, (8) Medhâtithi, (9) Vîtihotra and (10) Kavi. The name “Agni” was attached to each of the above names. Out of these ten, the three sons named Kavi, Savana, and Mahâvîra were indifferent and dispassionate to the world. In due time, these became extremely free from all desires and they were proficient in Âtmavidyâ (Self-Knowledge). They were all Ûrdharetâ (of perpetual chastity; who has subdued all their passions) and took gladly to the Paramahamsa Dharma. Priyavrata had by his other wife three sons, named Uttama, Tâmasa, and Raivata. These were all widely known; each of them in due time became endowed with great prowess and splendour and became the Lord of one Manvatara. Priyavrata, the son of Svâyambhuva, the King-Emperor enjoyed with his sons and relations, this earth for eleven Arvuda years; the wonder was this, that he lived so long and there was seen no decay in his strength as regards his body or his senses. Once on an occasion, the King observed that when the sun appeared on the horizon and got up, one part of the earth was illumined and the remaining part was enveloped in darkness. Seeing this discrepancy, he thought over for a long time and exclaimed, “What! Will the Darkness be seen in my kingdom, while I am reigning? This can never be. I will stop this by my Yogic powers.” Thus thinking, the King Priyavrata mounted on a luminous chariot, as big as the Sun, to illumine the whole world and circumambulated round the earth seven times. Whatever portion of the earth was trodden by the wheel on each occasion, became an ocean. Thus the seven oceans had their origins. And the portion of the earth, that was included within the ruts, became the seven islands (Dvîpas). 0 Child! Now hear about the seven Dvîpas and the seven Oceans :-- The first is the Jambu Dvîpa; the second is Plaksa, the third is S'almalî; the fourth is the Kus'a Dvîpa; the fifth is Krauncha; the sixth is the S'aka Dvîpa; and the seventh is the Puskara Dvîpa. The second Dvîpa Plaksa is twice the first Jambu Dvîpa and so on; each succeeding Dvîpa is twice as large as its previous one. Now hear the names of the oceans. The first ocean is named Ksâroda (the salt water ocean); the second is Iksurasa (the sugarcane ocean); the third is Surâ (the wine ocean), the fourth is Ghritoda (the clarified butter ocean) the fifth is Ksîroda (the ocean of milk); the sixth is Dadhi Manda (the ocean of curds); and the seventh is that of the ordinary water. The Jambu Dvîpa is surrounded by Ksîra Samudra. The King Priyavrata made his son Âgnîdhra, the lord of this Dvîpa. He gave to his Idhmajibha, the Plaksa Dvîpa surrounded by Iksu Sâgara; so he gave to Jajñabâhu the S'âlmalî Dvîpa surrounded by Surâ Sâgara and he gave the lordship of Kus'a Dvîpa to Hiranyaretâ. Then he gave to his powerful son Ghritapristha the Krauncha Dvîpa surrounded by Ksîra Samudra and to his son Medhâtithi the S'âka Dvîpa surrounded by Dadhimanda Sâgara. Finally he gave to his Vîtihotra, the Puskara Dvîpa surrounded by the ordinary water. Thus distributing duly amongst his sons, the separate divisions of the earth, he married his daughter, the youngest Ûrjasvatî to the Bhagavân Us'anâ. In the womb of Ûrjasvatî the Bhagavân S'ukrâchârya had his famous daughter Devayânî. O Child! Thus giving the charge of each Dvîpa to each of his sons and marrying his daughters to the worthy hands, he took to Viveka (discrimination) and adopted the path of Yoga.

Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narration of the family of Priyavrata in the Mahâ Purânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 5. On The Description Of The Receptacle Of Beings And On The Mountains And On The Origin Of Rivers

1-31. S'rî Nârâyana said :-- O Child Nârada! Now hear in detail about the divisions of the earth into the Dvîpas and the Varsas as marked out by the Devas. In brief, I describe about them; no one can speak about this in details. First, the Jambu Dvîpa is one lâkh Yoyanas in its dimensions. This Jambu Dvîpa is round like a lotus. There are nine Varsas in it and excepting the Bhadrâs'va and Ketumâla, each is nine thousand Yoyanas in its dimensions (i.e., in its diameter or circumference?) and there are eight very lofty mountains, in those Varsas, forming their boundaries. Of the Varsas, the two Varsas that are situated in the North and South, are of the size of a bow (segmental); and the four others are elongated in their size. The centre of all these Varsas is named Îlâvrita Varsa and its size is rectangular. In the centre of this Îlâvarsa is situated the golden Sumeru Mountain, the King of all the mountains, one lakh Yoyanas high. It forms the pericarp of the lotus earth. The top of this mountain is thirty Yoyanas wide. O Child! The sixteen thousand Yoyanas of this mountain is under the ground and the eighty four Yoyanas are visible outside. In the north of this Îlâvarsa are the three mountains the Nîlagiri, the S'vetagiri and the S'ringavau, forming the boundaries respectively of the three Varsas named Ramyaka, Hiranmaya and Kuru respectively. These run along from the east and gradually extend at their base and towards the salt ocean (Lavana Samudra).

These three mountains, that form the boundaries, are each two thousand Yoyanas wide. The length of each from the east towards north is less by one-tenth (1/10) of the above dimensions. Many rivers take their source and flow from them. On the south of Îlâvarsa three beautiful mountain ranges, named Nisadha, Hemakûta, and Himâlayâs, are situated, extending from the east. They are each one Ayuta Yoyanas high. These three mountains form the boundaries again of Kimpurusa and Bhârata Varsa.

To the west of Îlâvrita is situated the mountain called Mâlyavân and to the east are situated the mountains Gandhamâdan, Nîla, and Nisadha, the centres of the highest sublime grandeur and beauty. The length and breadth of these the boundary (limiting) mountains are each two thousand Yoyanas. Then the mountains Mandara, Supârs'vak, and Kumuda and others are situated in the Ketumâla and Bhadrâs'va Varsas; but these all are reckoned as the Pâda Parvatas (mountains at the foot) of the Sumeru mountain. The height and breadth of each of these is one Ayuta Yoyanas. These form the pillars, as it were, of Meru on the four sides. On these mountains, the mangoe, the jack, plantain, and the fig trees and various others are situated, four hundred (400) Yoyanas wide and eleven hundred (1,100) Yoyanas high; they seem to extend to the Heavens and form, as it were, the flagstaffs on the top. The roots, bases of these trees as well as their branches are wonderfully equally thick and extend to enormous distances. On those mountain tops are situated again, the four very capacious lakes. Of these, one lake is all milk; the other lake is all honey; the third lake is all sugarcane juice and the fourth lake is all sweet water. There are, then, again the four very lovely gardens named Nandana, Chaitrarath, Vaibhrâjaka, and Sarvatobhadra, very lovely, enchanting and pleasing to the delicate female sex and where the Devas enjoy the wealth and prosperity and their other Yogic powers. Here the Devas live always with numerous hordes of women and have their free amorous, dealings with them, to their heart's contents and they hear the sweet songs sung by the Gandharbas and Kinnaras, the Upa Devatâs about their own glorious deeds. On the top of the Mandara mountain, there are the Heavenly mangoe trees eleven hundred Yoyanas high; the sweet delicious nectarlike mangoe fruits, very soft and each of the size as the summit of a mountain, fall to the ground; and out of their juices of a colour of the rising sun, a great river named Arunodâ takes her origin. Here the Devas always worship the great Devî Bhagavatî named Arunâ, the Destructrix of all sins, the Grantrix of all desires, and the Bestower of all fearlessness with various offerings and with the lovely water of this Arunodâ river, with great devotion. O Child! In ancient days, the King of the Daityas worshipped always this Mahâ Mâyâ Arunâ Devî (and obtained immense wealth and prosperity). He who worships Her becomes cured of all diseases, gets his health and other happiness by Her grace. Therefore She is named Âdyâ, Mâyâ, Atulâ, Anantâ, Pustî, Îs'varamâlinî, the Destroyer of the wicked and the Giver of lustre and beauty and thus remembered on this capacious earth. The river Jâmbûnada has come out, as a result of Her worship, containing divine gold.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of the receptacle of beings and on the mountains and on the origin of rivers in the Mahâ Purânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On The Rivers And The Mountains Sumeru And Others

1-32. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! This Arunodâ river that I mentioned to you rises from the Mandara mountain and flows by the east of Ilâvarsa. The Pavana Deva (the God of wind) takes up the nice smell from the bodies of the wives of the Yaksas and Gandharbas, etc., and the attendants of the Devî Bhavânî and keeps the surroundings of the earth there filled with nice smell for ten Yoyanas around. Again the rose-apples with their nuts, of the size of an elephant, fall down upon the earth from the high peaks of the mountain Mandara and break into pieces; the sweet scented juices flow down as a river. This is called the Jambû river and this flows by the south of Ilâvarsa. The Devî Bhagavatî there is pleased with the Juice of that rose-apple (Jambû) and is known by the name of Jambâdinî. The Devas, Nâgas, and Risis all always worship with great devotion, the lotus-feet of the merciful Devî, wishing the welfare of all the Jîvas. The mere remembering of the name of the Devî destroys all the disease, and all the sins of the sinner. Therefore the Devas always worship and chant the names of the Devî, the Remover of all obstacles. She is installed on both the banks of the Jambû river. If men recite Her names Kokilâksî, Karunâ, Kâmapûjîtâ, Kathoravigrahâ, Devapûjyâ, Dhanyâ, Gavastinî and worship, so they get their welfare both in this world and in the next. With the juice of the Jambû fruit aided by the combination of the wind and the rays of the Sun, is created the gold. Out of this are made the ornaments for the wives of the Immortals and the Vidyâdharas. This gold, created by the Daiva, is known by the name of the Jâmbûnada gold. The love-stricken Devas make their crowns, waist bands and armlets out of this gold for their sweet-hearts. There is a big Kadamba tree on the mountain Supars'va; the five streams of honey called Madhu Dhârâ get out from its cavities and running by the west of Ilãvrita Varsa, flow over the land. The Devas drink its waters; and their mouths become filled with the sweet fragrance. The air carries this sweet fragrant smell to a distance of even one hundred Yoyanas. The Dhâres'varî Mahâ Devî dwells there, the Fulfiller of the desires of the Bhaktas, highly energetic, of the nature of Kâla (the Time, the Destroyer), and having large face (Mahânanâ), faces everywhere, worshipped by the Devas and is the presiding Deity of the woods and forests all around. The Devî, the Lady of the Devas, is to be worshipped by the names “Karâla Dehâ,” “Kâlâmgî”, “Kâmakotipravartinî”. The great Banyan tree named S'atabala is situated on the top of the Kumud mountain. From its trunk many big rivers take their origin. These rivers possess such influences as to give to the holy persons there, the milk, curd, honey, clarified butter, raw sugar, rice, clothing, ornaments, seats, and beddings, etc., whatever they desire. Therefore these rivers are called Kâmadugh. They come gradually down the earth and flow by the north of Ilâvarsa. The Bhagavatî Mînâksi dwell there and is worshipped by the Suras and the Asuras alike. That Deity clothed blue, of fearful countenance, and ornamented with hairs of blue colour, always fulfil the desires of the Devas dwelling in the Heavens. Those that worship Her, remember Her or praise Her by the names Atimânyâ, Atipûjyâ, Mattamâtanga Gâminî, Madanonmâdinî, Mânapriyâ, Mânapriyatarâ, Mârabegadharâ, Marapûjitâ, Mâramâdinî, Mayûravaras'obhâdhyâ, S'ikhivâhanagarbhabhû, etc., are honoured by the Deity Mînalochanâ Ekângarûpinî and the Parames'vara and get all sorts of happiness. Those drink the clear waters of these rivers become free from old age or decay, worry, perspiration, bad smell, from any disease, or premature death. They do not suffer anything from error, from cold, heat, or rains, or from any paleness in their colour. They enjoy extreme happiness as long as they live and no dangers come to them. O Child! Now hear the names of the other twenty mountains that encircle the Golden Sumeru mountain at its base, as if they were the filaments round the pericarp of a flower. The first is Kuranga; they come in order Kuraga, Kus'umbha, Vikankata, Trikûta, S'is'ira, Patanga, Ruchaka, Nisadha, S'itîvâsa, Kapila, S'amkha, Vaidûrya, Chârudhi, Hamsa, Risabha, Naga, Kâlanjara and lastly Nârada. The central one is the twentieth.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the rivers and the mountains Sumeru and others in the Mahâpuranam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 7. On The Ganges And The Varsas

1-37. Nârâyana said :-- Jathara and Devakûta are the two mountains situated on the east of Sumeru; their dimensions towards the north are eighteen thousand Yoyanas wide and two thousand Yoyanas high. On the west of Meru, are situated the two famous lofty mountains Pavamâna and Pâriyâtra; their length and height are well known. On the south of Meru are situated the two lofty mountains Kailâsa and Karavira. On the north, again, of the Sumeru mountain, are situated the mountains S'ringagiri and Makaragiri. Thus the golden Sumeru mountain, shines like the Sun, surrounded by these eight mountains. In the centre of the Sumeru, there is a Divine city built of the Creator Brahmâ, ten thousand Yoyanas in dimensions. The learned sages that know everything from the highest to the lowest, describe that as square in dimensions and all made of gold. On the top of the Sumeru, are situated the  world known eight golden cities, subservient to the Brahmapurî, for the eight Lokapâlas. The Lords of the four directions, east, west, north and south and of the four corners, north-east, north-west, south-west, south-east, occupy these. The dimensions of each of these eight cities are two thousand Yoyanas and a half. In fact, there are nine cities there including the Brahmapurî. Now hear the names of these nine cities in due order. The First is Manovatî, the second is Amarâvatî, the third is Tejovatî, next come in order Samyamanî, Krisnânganâ, S'raddhâvatî, Gandhavatî, and Mahodayâ, the ninth is Yas'ovatî. The Lords of the Purîs are Brahmâ, Indra, Fire and the other Dikpâlas in due order. When Visnu Bhagavân assumed the Tri Vikrama Form in His Dwarf Incarnation and went at the sacrifice, to get back the Kingdom of the Heavens from the demon Vali, there was created one hole or cavity over this Brahmânda Katâha (skull) by the nails of the toes of that foot that went up towards his left; and through that cavity, the famous river Bhagavatî Gangâ flowed on the top of those heavenly Kingdoms, the clear waters of which are ever ready to destroy the sins of the whole people. For this reason, She is known in the three Lokas as the Visnupadî manifested. This took place long long ago, many thousand Yugas ago, a period difficult to determine. The Ganges fell first on the top of the Indra's Heavens, near the place called Visnudhâma, known in the three worlds. Here the pure-souled Dhruva, the son of Uttânapâda, observed within his heart the lotus-feet of Srî Visnu Bhagavân and exists still there taking refuge on that immoveable position. There the high-souled Seven Risis, knowing the highest purifying influence of the Ganges, circumambulate the river, wishing for the welfare of all the Lokas. This is the great place where one gets success, and final liberation, the success-giving place of the ascetics and where the Munis with clots of hairs on their heads daily take their dip in the Ganges with the greatest pleasure and admiration. The Ganges flows thence from the Dhruva Mandala, the abode of Visnu, in Kotis and Kotis of Divine Channels, interspersed with many Vimânas or carriages, deluges the Chandra Mandala (the Moon Sphere), comes gradually to the Brahmâ Loka. Here She is divided into the four channels, Sîtâ, Alakanandâ, Bhadrâ, and Chaturbhadrâ and irrigating many countries, mountains, and forests ultimately falls in the oceans. The Sîtâ, the famous Dhârâ, purifying all, while falling down from the Brahmâloka, passes round the mountains that form as it were the filaments of the flower-like Sumeru mountain, and falls on the top of the Gandhamâdana range. Thence She, worshipped by the Devas, irrigates the Bhadras'vavarsa and falls eastward into the salt ocean. The second Dhârâ (stream), named Chaksu, getting out of the Malyavân range, gradually gains strength and assumes great force and flows by Ketumâlavarsa to the western ocean. The third Dhârâ (stream), the very pure Alakananda, getting out of the Brahmâ Loka, passes through the Girikûta mountain and other forests, falls to Hemakûta; next She flows through the Bhârata Varsa and meets with the southern ocean. No words can describe the glory and the purifying effect of this river; suffice it to say that those who march out to bathe in this river get at each of their steps, the fruits of doing the great sacrifices, Râjasûya and As'vamedha, etc. The fourth Dhârâ of the Trailokyapavanî Ganga Devi, named Bhadrâ, falling from the mountain S'ringavân, become swift and capacious, flows by the Northern Kuru country and satisfying the people there flows down into the ocean. Many other rivers, getting out from the mountains, Meru, Mandara and others, flow through the various Varsas or continents, but of all the Varsas, continents, this Bhârata Varsa is called the Karma Ksettra (or the field of actions). The other eight Varsas, though on earth, give the pleasures of the Heavens. The reason for this is that when the period of the persons’ enjoyments in the Heavens cease, they come and take their birth in the one or other of these eight Varsas. The people here live for ten thousand years; their body is hard like thunderbolt and all are endowed with powers of Ayuta elephants. No one is satisfied with a little of the pleasures of sexes; so all men live happily with their wives, etc. It is not that the males alone are so happy; the females also are full of youth throughout their lives and become pregnant, when they are less than one year old. In short, the inhabitants of the Varsas enjoy for ever as the persons of Tretâ Yuga do.

Hear ends the Seventh Chapter of the Eighth Book on the story of the Ganges and the continents in Srî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 8. On The Description Of Ilâvrita

1-11. Nârâyana said :-- In those Varsas, Visnu and the other Devas used to worship always the Great Devî with Japam and meditation and to chant hymns to Her. The forests there are ornamented with all sorts of fruits, flowers and leaves, in all the seasons. In those excellent forests, and on the mountains, in those Varsas and on the clear waters interspersed with full blewn lotuses and S'ârasas (cranes) and in those countries where varieties of mountain trees are standing and where varieties of birds frequent and echo all around, the people play in waters and engage themselves with a great many pleasant occupations; and the beautiful women, as well, roam there with the knitting of their eyebrows. The people there enjoy as they like, surrounded by young women; Nârâyana, the Âdipurusa Bhagavân Himself, worships the Devî there, to shew his extreme grace to all the inhabitants of the Navavarsa. The people also worship the Deity. By worshipping the Devî only, the Bhagavân remains there in Samâdhi, surrounded with Aniruddha and his other Vyûhachatustaya (the four forms). But in Ilâvrita Varsa, the Bhagavân Rudra, originated from the eye-brows of Brahmâ, resides only with women. No other person can enter there; for the Bhâvanî, the S'akti of Rudra has cursed that any male entering there would be transformed into a female. The Lord of Bhavanî, surrounded by innumerable women, remains here engaged in the worship of the unmanifested unborn Bhagavân Samkarsana. For the good of humanity, with intense meditation, He worships His Own Turîya Form of the nature of Tamas, thus :--

12-19. S'rî Bhagavâna said :-- “Obeisance to Thee! the Bhagavân, the Great Purusa, endowed with all the qualities (the principal six Ais'varyas or prosperities), the Ananta (the Infinite) and to the Unmanifested! We worship Thee, Whose lotus feet are the refuge of all. Thou art the great storehouse of all the superhuman powers and the divine faculties of omnipotence, etc. Thou art always present to the Bhaktas. Thou art creating all these beings. Thou givest Moksa to the Bhaktas and destroyest their attachment to the world and Thou bindest Thy non-devotees in bondage to this world. Thou art the Lord. We worship Thee. We are entirely under the control of the passions, anger, etc., and our minds are always attached to the senses; but though Thou art always looking at this world for its creation, etc., Thy mind is not a bit attached to it. So who will not turn to Thee, desirous to conquer his self. Thou art appearing by Thy Mâyâ as one whose sight is ignorant; Thou lookest dreadful with Thy eyes reddened with the drink of Madhu (wine). By the touch of Thy feet, the mental faculties are very much enchanted; hence the women folk of the Nâgas cannot in any way worship Thee, out of bashfulness. The Risis say that though Thou art the Only One to create, preserve and destroy, yet Thou art quite unconcerned with them. Thou art Infinite and Thou hast innumerable heads. This vast universe is like the mustard seed resting somewhere on one of these heads, which Thou canst not feel even. The Mahat Tattva is Thy body manifested first. It is built of Sattva, Raja and Tamo Gunas. Brahmâ has come out of this and I again have sprung from this Brahmâ and am nurtured by the Sattva and the other Gunas and with the help of the Teja, created these elements and the senses. These Mahat Tattvas and we all are controlled by Thy Extraordinary Form. Thou hast kept us in our respective places by Thy Kriyâ S'akti as birds are kept duly by the strings through them. Mahat Tattva, Ahamkâra, and the Devas, elements and the senses, before mentioned all united create this Universe by Thy Grace. Thy creation is very big and grand; for this reason the gross thinkers, deluded by Thy power, never understand it. This Mâyâ is the only means to get the Samsâra Nivritti, Moksa, the real Goal of man: and this Mâyâ, again involves them in the Karma entanglements, very hard to get through. Coming in and going out, both of these are Thy forms; so we bow down to Thee.

20-23. Nârâyana said :-- Thus the Bhagavân Rudra, with His Own persons in Ilâvrita Varsa used to worship the Devî and the Sankarsana, the Controller of all the Lokas. The son of Dharma, well known by the name of Bhadras'rava and all the persons born of his family and his attendants, worship thus the Devî. This form is well known to all by the name of Hayagrîva and worshipped thus. All the persons there worship Him with the intense meditation and Samâdhi and realise Him thoroughly. Then they praise Him, according to due customs and get the thorough Siddhis (success in getting extraordinary powers).

24-29. The Bhadras'ravâs said :-- Obeisance to Thee, the Bhagavân, the Incarnate of Virtue, and to Him who destroys completely the desires, attachments, etc., to worldly objects! Ho! How wonderful are the feats of the Bhagavân! Death always destroys all, but people, seeing this, seem not to see this. Seeing that the son meets with death, the father desires to live long not for a virtuous purpose but for sense enjoyments, what is called Vikarma. Those who are skilled in Jñâna and Vijñâna say that this Universe that is seen is very transient. Moreover those Pundits who are endowed with much Jñâna, see vividly the transitoriness of this Universe. Still, O Unborn One! When practically they come to deal with this, they all become overpowered with the influence of Mâyâ. So Thy Pastime (Lîla) is wonderfully variegated. (Instead of spending our time uselessly in discussing on S'âstras) we bow down to Thee, and Thee alone. Thou art the Self-manifest Chaitanya. Thou are not the object to be covered by Mâyâ. Thou dost not do anything in the sort of creation, etc. Thou remainest simply as the Witness thereof. Sill the Vedas declare that Thou createst, preservest and destroyest the Universe. It is quite reasonable and nothing to be wondered at. Thou art the Âtman of all. When the Pralaya (the time of great dissolution) comes, the Vedas were stolen by the Daityas and taken to the nether regions, the Rasâtala. Thou, in the form of Hayagrîva (Horse-faced), rescued the Vedas and gave them to the Grandsire Brahmâ who was very eager to get them back and understand their meanings. Thou art the true Sankalap (resolve); we bow down to Thee. Thus the Bhadras'ravâs praise the Haiyagrîva form of Hari and sing the glorious deeds of Him. He who reads these narratives of the Mahâ Purusa (the high-souled personage) or he who makes others hear these things, both of them, quitting their sinful bodies, go to the Devî Loka.

Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of Ilâvrîta in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 9. On The Narration Of The Division Of The Continents

1-2. Nârâyana said :-- In Harivarsa, the Bhagavân Hari is shining splendid as a Yogi in the form of Narasimha. The Mahâ Bhâgavat (most devoted) Prahlâda, who knows the attributes of God worships and chants hymns with his whole hearted devotion, seeing that beautiful form, gladdening to all the people.

3-11. Prahlâda spoke :-- I bow down to Thee, the Bhagavân Nrisingha Deva. Thou art the Light of all Lights. Thy big teeth are like thunderbolts. Let Thee manifest in Thy most terrible form. Let Thee destroy the desires of the people to do Karma and let Thou devour the great Ignorance (Ajñâna) the Moha (delusion) of the people. Thou art the receptacle of the Sattva, Raja and Tamo Gunas. Let myself be always free from any fear by Thy Grace. “Om Khraum!” Let this whole world rest completely in peace and happiness. Let the cheats quit their guiles and be pure and simple. Let all the people quit completely their animosities towards each other and think of their welfare. Let all the people be free from making injuries to others and be peaceful; and let them have their control over their passions. Let our mind be completely free from desires and rest entirely and devotedly to Thy lotus-feet. Let us not be attached to sons, wives, wealth, house or to any other worldly objects. If there be any attachment, let it be to the objects dear to the Bhagavân. He who barely sustains his body and soul and controls himself completely, success is very near to him; not so to the persons that are attached to the senses. The dirt of the mind, that is not washed away by bathing in the Ganges or by taking recourse to the Tîrthas, etc., is removed by the company of the devotees to the God and by their influence, hearing, thinking, and meditating on the attributes of the Bhagavân. So who is there that does not serve the Bhagavân! He who has got Niskâma Bhakti (devotion without regard to any fruits thereof) to the Bhagavân, to him come always the Devatâ, Dharma and Jñâna and other higher qualities. But he who indulges in various mental phantasms, without any Bhakti to the Bhagavân, he follows the worldly happiness that is certainly to be hated and never he gets Vairâgyan and other higher qualities. As water is life to the fish, so the Bhagavân Hari is the self of all embodied beings and so He is to be specially prayed for. So if a high-souled person be attached to household happiness, without thinking of God, then his greatness dwindles into a trifling insignificance like the ordinary pleasures of man and woman when they are full of youth. So leave, at once, the home that is the source of Birth and Death and leave Trisnâ (thirst, desire), clinging to life, low-spiritedness, name, and fame, egoism, shame, fear, poverty and loss of one's honour and worship the Lotus-Feet of the Bhagavân Nrisingha Deva and be entirely fearless. Thus Prahlâda, the Lord of the Daityas, daily worships devotedly the Bhagavân Nrisingha, resplendent in his lotus heart, the death blow, the lion to all the elephant sins. In the Ketumâla Varsa, the Bhagavân Nârâyana is reigning in the form of the Kâma Deva, the God of Love. The people there always worship Him. The daughter of Ocean, the Indirâ Devî, who confers honour and glory to the Mahatmas, is the presiding Deity of the Varsa. She always worships the Kama Deva with the following verses :--

12-18. The Laksmî Devî spoke :-- “Om, Hrâm, Hrîm, Hrûm, Om namo Bhagavate Hrisikesâya! Thou art the Bhagavân of the nature of Om. Thou are the Director, the Lord of the senses: Thy Âtman is the Highest and the Receptacle of all the good things. All the Karma Vrittis, all the Jñâna Vrittis, and effort and resolution and other faculties of the mind, act in their respective channels by Thy looking and by their being constantly practised in Thee. And the elements over which they get their masteries are subservient to Thy Laws. The mind and the other eleven Indriyas, and touch, taste and other five senses are but Thy parts. All the rites and ceremonies observed in the Vedas are found in Thee. Thou art the infinite store of all the foodings of the Jîvas. From Thee flows the Paramânanda, the Highest Bliss. Thou art All, Thou art the Substance, Purity incarnate; Thou art the Energy, the Strength manifest in all. Thou art the Finish of all the happiness and Thou art the Only One Substance, that can be desired by the people. So obeisance to Thee! This Thy Lordship is not dependent on any other body. The women that know Thee, the Lord of all and worship other bodies for their husbands, those husbands can never save them, their lives, their wealth, progeny or other dear things as those are controlled by Kâla (Time) and Karma. So they cannot be termed husbands at all; Thou art the Real Husband; and no other. For Thou art naturally fearless and Thou protectest in every way the persons that become afraid. Thou art the Lord of all wealth; so no other is superior to Thee. How can then, they be independent whose happiness depends on others! The lady that desires to worship Thy lotus feet only and becomes subservient to no others, she attains all the desires. Again the lady who, desiring other desires than to get Thee, does not worship Thy lotus-feet, Thou fulfillest the desires of her too. But, O Bhagavân! When the period of enjoyment of these things ceases and when the objects of these enjoyments are destroyed, then she repents much due to the loss of those things. Brahmâ, Mahâdeva, the Suras and the Asuras practise hard Tapasyâs to get me, impelled by their desires to attain the objects of sense enjoyments; but he only really gets me who worships and takes refuge of Thy lotus feet only, for my heart is entirely attached to Thee. So, O Achyuta! Kindly shew Thy Grace and put, on my head, Thy lotus palm, praised by the universal people that Thou placest on Thy Bhaktas. O Bhagavân! That Thou takest me in Thy Bosom is a sign of Thy Grace. No one can fathom the deeds of Thee, the Only Controller of all. Thus the Prajâpati and the Lords of that Varsa, worship the Bhagavân, the Friend of all, with a view to attain their respective desires and Siddhis. In Ramyak Varsa, the Matsya form of the Bhagavân is set up and consecrated. The Suras and the Asuras worship Him. The highly intelligent Manu always chant hymns to that Excellent Form thus :-- “Obeisance to Him who is the Life of all, the Essence and Strength of all, to that Great Fish Form, the Body Incarnate of Sattva Guna, who is of the nature of Om and Bliss.”

19-23. Thou art the Lord of all the Lokapâlas and of the form of the Vedas. Thou art within and without all this universe, moving and non-moving; still all the beings are unable to see Thy form. As the people bring under their control the wooden dolls, so Thou controllest the universe by the rules and prohibitions under the names of the Brâhmanas, etc. Thou art the God. The Lokapâlas, being overcome by the fever of jealousy and pride, become quite unable, either individually or collectively, to quit their jealousies and to protect the tripeds, quadrupeds, reptiles and snakes; so Thou art the God. Thou hadst upheld this earth along with me and with the medicinal plants and creepers; and Thou shewedest the highest luminous light in the great ocean, at the time of Pralaya, tossed with surging waves and didst roam there. Thou art the Self of all the beings in the universe. So we bow down to Thee. Thus the Manu, the best of the mortal beings, used to praise the Bhagavân, who took His incarnation in the shape of the Fish, the Remover of all doubts. Manu, the foremost of the Bhâgavatas (the devotees) is reigning there in the service of the Fish Incarnation of the Bhagavân, with intense meditation and expurging all sins and with great devotion.

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narration of the division of the continents in the Mahâ Purânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Description Of Bhuvanakosa

1-7. Nârâyana said :-- In Hiranmaya Varsa, the Bhagavân is remaining in the form of Kurma, the Tortoise, as the Lord of Yoga. He is thus praised and worshipped by Aryamâ, the Ruler of the Pitris. Aryamâ said :-- Om namo Bhagavate Akûpârâya; (King of tortoises, sustaining the world) Obeisance to Thee, the Lord of all prosperities, in the form of Tortoise (Kurma); Thou art built of Sattva Guna Incarnate; no one can make out where Thou dost dwell; Thou art not encompassed by Time; (Thou art in the Present, Past and Future); so obeisance to Thee. Thou dost pervade all things; we bow down to Thee. All are established in Thee; so obeisance to Thee. By Thy extraordinary Mâyâ (power) Thou hast made manifest this universe that is seen. This is Thy Form. It is by no means distinct from Thee. This Thy Form is seen in so many forms. So the true reality being not known like the mirage, these cannot be counted really speaking, what is Thy form, no one can definitely say. The beings generated by heat and moisture (said of insects and worms), those that are born of eggs, from wombs and the plants and other moving, non-moving beings, the Devas, Risis, Pitris, Bhûtas, and these senses; the sky, the heavens, earth, mountains, rivers, oceans, islands, planets, and stars all these art Thou and Thou alone. Thy name, form, and appearance, are as varied; and their numbers cannot be counted. Still, Kapila and others have determined their numbers, by the knowledge of which Thou canst become visible to the Eye of Knowledge. Thy form and nature are determined by these Sânkhyas ascertained by Kapila. So we bow down to Thee. Thus Aryamâ, and the other rulers of the Varsa all united sing, praise, and worship the Bhagavân Kurma Deva, the Controller of all and the Generator of all. All Hail to Thee! The Bhagavân Yajña Purusa is manifest in Uttara Kuru Mandala in the form of Âdi Varâha. The Earth Herself worships Him always. The Goddess Earth praises Hari, the Yajña Varâha, the Destroyer of the Daityas and worships duly that Deva, with Her heart lotus, naturally devoted, rendered more devoted by Her attachment to the Lord.

8-13. The Goddess Earth spoke :-- “Om Namo Bhagavate Mantratattva Lingâya Yajña Kratave” I bow down to the Bhagavân, the Great Boar; Thou art Om; Thy real form and nature can be known by only the Mantra and Tattva. Thou art Yajña and Kratu (sacrifice) incarnate; therefore all the great sacrifices are Thy limbs. Thou art the Three Yugas (there being no Yajña in the Satya Yuga); Thou art that which is left as Pure, after doing Karma (so as to be fit for performing Yajñas). So obeisance to Thee. The sages, versed in Jñâna and Vijñâna say that Thou art hidden in the body and in the senses as fire is hidden in the wood. So they, ardent to see Thee, seek for Thee with a discriminative and dispassionate mind, judging Karmas and their fruits; and then Thy Nature is revealed, I bow down to Thee, Thy Form can be ascertained by the cause and effect of the Karmas and other Gunas of Mâyâ, sense objects, senses, actions, Devas, body, time, Ahamkâra and others. I bow down to Thee, Those can see thus Thy form, whose mind is firmly established in Thee, by their discrimination and Yama, Niyama, etc., and who have abandoned all sorts of fickleness and changeability of their tempers. So obeisance to Thee. As iron goes attracted towards the magnet, so Mâyâ dances before Thee with Her Gunas and Her works in the way of the creation, preservation and destruction of this universe; but Thou art totally indifferent to it. For the sake of the Jîvas (embodied souls), desire comes to Thee, though Thou art not quite willing! Thou art the Witness of the Jîvas and their Adrista (the Fate). I bow down to Thee. The Yajña Varâha, the Cause of this universe, has lifted me up from the Rasâtala and placing me on His big tusks, has come out from the Pralaya, the great ocean, after overpowering in battle His enemy, the powerful Daitya, like an elephant, I bow down to that Controller of all, to Thee. In the Kimpurusa Varsa, the Bhagavân Âdi Purusa (the Prime Man), the Self-manifest, and the Lord of all, is residing in the form of Râma, the son of Das'aratha and the Joy of the heart of Sîtâ Devî.

14-18. S'rî Hanumâna thus spoke:-- “Om namo Bhagavate Uttama Slokaya” I bow down to the Bhagavân, who art sung by the excellent verses, purifying all. I bow down to Thee, the incarnate of modesty, good temper, vow and good signs; Thy mind is always under control; Thou dost imitate, as Thy nature is good, the actions of all persons; obeisance to Thee. Thou art the Supreme Place to award praise. Obeisance to Thee. Thou art Brahmanya Deva (in the creation of the universe), the high souled Person Mahâpurusa. Thou gettest the First Share, above all the persons! Thou art the One Tattva and That Alone, as established in the Vedânta. The holy realisation is the only guide to it. This Tattva dominates over all the Gunas. It can never be an object. Only by pure intellect, It can be realised. There is no name, no form of It. It is always beyond the pale of Ahamkâra. I take refuge to this Tattva, the most Peaceful, with my body and mind. Thy incarnation in human shape in this world is not simply for killing Râvana but for giving instructions to the mortals. The contact with woman and the suffering thereof are very difficult to avoid; to give this lesson also He took this incarnation, He Who is merged in enjoying the Supreme Bliss of His Own Nature and He Who is the Lord of all, how can He suffer miseries in the bereavement of Sîtâ. He is the best friend and the very Âtman of those who have conquered their minds and senses. Especially He is the receptacle of all the qualities and is in enjoyment of other divine extraordinary powers. So He is not attached to the worldly objects. How can the delusion due to His wife come and darken Him? and why will He send Laksmana in exile? He is the Mahat Tattva and the Parama Purusa; so good birth, beauty, intelligence, oratory or good form, nothing can please Him. Bhakti (devotion) can only attract Him. If that be not the case, then why will He, the elder of Laksmana, the Bhagavân, the son of Das'aratha make friendship with us, the wanderers of the forest and who are by nature, not the receptacles of any beauty, etc. So everyone, be he a Sura or Asura, man, or not man, should worship the Hari manifest in Râma, in the human body with all his heart. He is so good that if anybody worships Him even to a very small extent, He always considers it to be much; what more can be said than this that He took all the inhabitants of Kos'ala to Heaven!

19-20. Nârâyana said :-- Thus Hanumân, the best of monkeys, sings the praises and worships duly in Kimpurusa Varsa, the lotus-eyed Râma, truthful, and determined in his vows. He who hears this wonderful description of Râma, is freed of all his sins and goes with his body pure to the abode of Râma.

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of Bhuvanakosa in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 11. On The Description Of The Continents And Of Bhâratavarsa

1. Nârâyana said :-- In this Bhâratavarsa (India) I am present, as the First of all, in the shape of the Man, at present existing before you. Let you praise Me incessantly thus:--

2-28. Nârada said :-- Thou art the Bhagavân. Obeisance to Thee. Thou art completely free from attachment and envy and Thou art the incarnate of Dharma, Jñâna and Vairâgyam (Dispassion). No trace of Ahamkara (egoism) is in Thee. Obeisance to Thee. Thou hast nothing of wealth; Thou art the foremost of the family of Risis; Thou art Nara Nârâyana. Thou art the Parama Hamsa (the highest class of ascetics and renouncers of the world). Thou art the Highest Guru; Thou art happy with Thyself and the Leader of all; I bow down to Thee. Thou art the Lord of all, yet not mixed in the work of creation, etc. Though Thou residest in every embodied being, yet no hunger and thirst can press Thee; though Thou art the Witness, yet Thy sight is not at all disturbed by the proximity. Thou art not at all connected and no desires can come to Thee; Thou art the Witness. So I bow down to Thee. This path of Yoga had come out of Thee and it is established in Thee. The Bhagavân Hiranyagarbha has given instructions on the cleverness in Yoga, thus :-- That leaving aside the egoism of this body, the seat of all evils, the people at last will take resort to the path of Bhakti and set their minds on Thee, Who art beyond the pale of the three Gunas. If, like the ignorant persons very much attached to this world as well as the next, the wise pass their time in the thoughts of their sons, wives, and riches and ultimately become very much pained on the destruction of this ugly body, persons, versed in Jñâna and Vijñâna be afraid in the end of their separation fron the body, then their study of the S'âstras and all their labours become labours merely, without any effect. When such a thing occurs to the learned, then O Thou, the Subduer of the knowledge of senses! Thou Thyself givest us instructions that we may easily think of Thee. Then this terrible clinging to this ugly body that Thy Mâyâ brings about and which it is very difficult to discard by other means, will leave us quickly. Nârada, the seer of all, well qualified with the knowledge of all the Tattvas, the foremost of the Munis, thus worships it and praises Nârâyana Who is unaffected by any of the Ûpâdhis and who corresponds to Nitya and Leelâ (both Permanent and the Pastime-making). O Devarsi! I now describe to you the rivers and mountains in Bhâratvarsa. Hear attentively. Malaya, Mangalaprastha, Mainâka, Chitrakûta, Risabha, Kûtaka, Kolla, Sahya, Devagiri, Risyamûka, S'ris'aila, Vyankata, Mahendra, Vâridhâra, Vindhya, S'uktimân, Riksa, Pâriyâtra, Drona, Chitrakûta, Gobardhana, Raivataka, Kakubha, Nîla, Gaurmukha, Indrakîla, Kâmagiri and many other mountains, that cannot be numbered. Great merits accrue on seeing these mountains. Hundreds and thousands of rivers issue from these mountains. Drinking their waters, bathing in them and visiting them and singing their praises completely destroy the sins of mind, word and body. The names of the rivers are :-- Tâmraparnî, Chandravas'â, Kritamâlâ, Vatodakâ, Vaihâyasî, Kâverî, Venâ, Payasvini, Tungabhadrâ, Krisnavenâ, S'arkarâ, Vartakâ, Godâvarî, Bhîmarathî, Nirbindhyâ, Payosnikâ, Tâpî, Revâ, Surasâ, Narmadâ, Sarasvatî, Charmanvatî, and the Indus, Andha, and Sone, Risikulyâ, Trisâmâ, Vedasmriti, Mahânadî, Kaus'ikî, Yamunâ, Mandâkini, Drisadvatî, Gomatî, Sarayû, Oghavatî, Saptavatî, Susamâ, S'atadru, Chandrabhâgâ, Marudbridhâ, Vitastâ, Asiknî and Vis'vâ and many other rivers. Those persons that take their births in this Varsa enjoy the (Divya) Divine, human, and the lower enjoyments, as the effects of their Karmas, in accordance with their Sâttvik, Râjasik, and Tâmasik qualities. All the inhabitants of this Varsa take their Sannyâsa, Vânaprasthas, etc., in accordance with the rules of their Varnas (castes) respectively and enjoy beatitudes as dictated (in their S'âstras). The Vedavâdis (the propounders of the Vedas), the Risis, and the Devas declare that this Varsa is superior to all the other Varsas as the Grace of God is easily obtained here. They say: Oh! What an amount of good works, the inhabitants of Bhârata Varsa did in their previous lives, that by their influence, the Bhagavân Hari has become pleased with them without their having any Sâdhanâs (good Yogic practices). Therefore we also desire to have our births there, for there if we be born amidst the persons there, we would be able serve Hari, Mukunda in every way. What will severe austerities, gifts, sacrifices, and practising vows avail us? Even if we go to Heaven, what benefit we will derive there? Then we would never be able to bring our mind to the lotus-feet of the Bhagavân Nârâyana. Our tastes for sense enjoyments would increase and we would be wholly deprived of Bhagavân. Far better it is to be born in this Bhârata Varsa as short-lived persons, than to acquire other places where one can live up to the period of Kalpa and then be reborn. For the intelligent people of Bhârata, getting this mortal coil can within a short period devote themselves to the Bhagavân Hari and be free from rebirth. That place is never to be visited and served, even if that be Svarga Loka where the nectar-like ocean of the sayings of Vaikuntha are not heard; where there are no assemblages of saints who take refuge of the Lotus feet of Bhagavân; where the great sacrifices and festivities of the Bhagavân Visnu are not celebrated. Those persons, that do not try for Moksa, when they get human births and when they possess Jñâna, Kriyâ (methods of doing sacrifices and other works for the help of Jñâna) and Dravya (materials for those sacrifices), are certainly like beasts and get themselves repeatedly entanged into bondages. The people of Bhârata Varsa offer oblations to Indra and other deities, invoking their names separately, with proper rules (Vidhis), mantras, and purodâsas (a sacrificial oblation made of ground rice and offered in Kapâlas or vessels); but the All sufficient Bhagavân Hari, the Giver of blessings accepts those very gladly.

True that He grants unto the people what they ask from Him; but He hardly gives anybody the Paramârtha, the Highest Goal. The reason being that the people ask again and again after receiving what they had asked. So He gives of Himself His own lotus-feet to those who, having abandoned all their desires, worship Him and Him only with the idea of love. (1) Thus :-- We are living very happily in the Heavens as the fruit of the Istâpûrta that we performed fully; yet we want that we may also be born in Bhârata Varsa with our memory all renewed with the thought of the Bhagavân Hari. The Bhagavân residing in this Bhâratvarsa, awards the highest welfare to its inhabitants.

29-32. Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi! Thus the Devas of the Heavens, the Siddhas, the Highest Risis, sing the excellent merits of this Bhâratavarsa. There are the eight Upadvîpas of this Jambudvîpa :-- When the sons of the King Sagara were searching for the footprints of the stolen horse (for As'vamedha sacrifice), they found these Upadvîpas; so it is definitely stated. The names of out and made these are :-- Svarnaprastha, Chandras'ukra, Âvartana, Ramânaka, Mandaropâkhya, Harina, Pânchajanya, and Ceylon. The length and breadth of Jambudvîpa have been described; now the other six Dvîpas, Plaksa and others will be described. Hear.

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of the continents and of Bhâratavarsa in the Mahâpurânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Narration Of Plaksa, S’âlmala And Kus’a Dvîpas

1-37. Nârâyana said :-- The Jambudvîpa has been described, how it is and what is its width. It is surrounded on all sides by the salt ocean. As Meru is surrounded by Jambudvîpa, so the salt ocean is surrounded by Plaksadvîpa, twice its size. As the ditch is surrounded by gardens, so the salt ocean is surrounded by gardens. As the Jambu tree exists in Jambudvîpa, so the Plaksa tree exists in the Plaksa Dvîpa and of the same size. The name Plaksa Dvîpa is derived from the name of this Plaksa tree. This tree is of a golden colour. Fire exists at its bottom with form incarnate. This is, named Saptajihva. The Ruler of this island is Idhmajihva, the son of Priyavrata. He divided his island into the seven Varsas and distributed them, to each of his seven sons and he himself took refuge of the path of Yoga, so much liked by the Knowers of Self and he got the Bhagavân Vâsudeva. The names of those seven Dvîpas are :-- S'iva, Yavas, Subhadra, Sânti, Ksema, Amrita, and Abhaya. Seven rivers and seven mountains exist respectively in the seven islands. The rivers are :-- Arunâ, Nrimnâ, Angirasî, Sâvitrî, Suprabhâtikâ, Ritambharâ, and Satyambharâ. The names of the mountains are Manikûta, Vajrakûta, Indrasena, Jyotismâna, Suparna, Hiranyasthîva, and Meghamâla. The seeing and drinking the waters of these rivers take away all sins and all darkness due to ignorance. The four castes live here, Hamsa, Patanga, Ûrdhâyana, and Satyânga, corresponding to the four castes Brâhmana, etc. The inhabitants of this Plaksa Dvîpa live for one thousand years and all are of variegated wonderful appearances. They follow the customs and usages dictated by the Vedas and worship the God Sun for the attainment of Heaven. The mantra by which the worship is done is this :-- We take refuge unto that Sun, Who is the Body Manifest of the Ancient Person Visnu and Who is the Ordainer of Satya (Truth), Ritâ (Straight forwardness), Brahmâ, Amrita (Immortality) and Mrityu (Death); O Nârada! All the persons here live long, of vigorous senses, energetic, powerful, intelligent, enthusiasts, and valorous; everyone gets extraordinary powers of themselves. Next to this Plaksa Dvîpa is the Ikshu Ocean. This Iksu Sâgara surrounds the Plaksa Dvîpa. Next comes S'almala Dvîpa. It is twice as large as Plaksa. This Dvîpa is surrounded by Surâsâgara (the ocean of wine). There is a tree named S'almalî in this island, which is as large as the Plaksa tree. The high-souled Garuda resides on that tree, Yajñavâhu is the Ruler of this place. He was born of Priyavrata; he divided his Varsa into the seven parts and distributed each of them to his seven sons respectively. Now hear the names of these Varsas :-- Surochana, Saumanasya, Ramana, Deva Varsa, Pâribhadra, Âpyâyana, and Vijñâta. Seven mountains and seven rivers exist there respectively. The names of the mountains are :-- Sarasa, S'atas'ringa, Vâma Deva, Kandaka, Kumuda, Puspavarsa, and Sahasra-S'ruti. Now hear the names of the rivers. Anumati, Sinîbâlî, Sarasvatî, Kûhu, Rajanî, Nandâ, and Râkâ; these are the seven rivers. The people are divided into the four castes :-- S'rutadhara, Vîryadhara, Vasundhara, Isundhara. These correspond to the Brâhmanas, etc. They worship the Bhagavân Moon, the Controller of all and the Creator of all the Vedas. They offer food duly in the black and white fortnight to their Pitris. The mantra for their worship is :-- “Let Soma, the King of all, be pleased.” O Nârada! Next to Surâsâgara is Kus'advîpa, surrounded by Ghritasâgara (the ocean of clarified butter). Its dimensions are twice as large. Here are blades of Kus'a grass, of a very resplendent colour. The name of the Dvîpa is from this Kus'astamba. This bundle of Kus'a, illumines all the quarters with their gentle rays. The Ruler of the Dvîpa is Hiranyaretâ, the son of Priyavrata. He divided the Dvîpa into seven parts and distributed each of them to each of his seven sons respectively. The names of the seven sons are :-- Vasu, Vasudâna, Dhridharuchi, Nâbhigupta, Stutyavrata, Vivikta, and Bhâmadevaka. There are seven mountains forming the seven boundaries and so are the seven rivers. Hear the names of these. The names of the mountains are :-- Chakra, Chatuhs'ringa, Kapila, Chitre Devânîka, Kûta, Ûrdharomâ and Dravina. The names of the rivers are :-- Rasakulyâ, Madhukulyâ, Mitravindâ, S'rutavindâ, Devagarbhâ, Ghritâchyut, and Mantramalikâ. The inhabitants of the Kus'advîpa drink the waters of these rivers. There are the four castes here Kus'ala, Kovida, Abhiyukta, and Kulaka corresponding to the Brâhmanas, etc. They are all powerful like Indra and the other chief Devas; and all of them are omniscient. They worship the Fire God and perform various good works in honour of Him. Their mantra is this :-- O Fire! Thou carriest the oblations direct to Para Brahmâ. In the sacrifices of the Devas, Thou worshippest that Personal God and offerest to Him whatever are given in oblations, mentioning the respective limbs of His Body. Thus the inhabitants of that Dvîpa worship the Fire God.

Here ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narration of Plaksa, S'âlmala, and Kus'a Dvîpas in the Mahâpurânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Description Of The Remaining Dvîpas

1. Nârada said :-- Thou, the Knower of everything! Describe about the remaining Dvîpas, knowing which we will be highly delighted.

2-36. Nârâyana spoke thus :-- The very vast Ghrita Sâgara (the ocean of clarified butter) is encircling the Kus’a Dvîpa. Next to it is the Krauncha Dvîpa. It is twice as large as Kus’a. The Ksîra Sâgara (the ocean of milk) is surrounding this Dvîpa. The Krauncha mountain is standing here. The name of this Dvîpa is derived from this mountain. In days gone by, the highly intelligent Kârtikeya burst this mountain by his own prowess. This Dvîpa is washed by the Ksîra Sâgara; and Varuna is its Regent. The son of Priyavrata, Ghritapristha, respected by all and whose prosperity knows no end, is the Lord of this Dvîpa. He divided this Dvîpa into the seven parts and distributed them to his sons and named the Varsas after the names of his sons. He made his sons the rulers of those places and he himself took the refuge of the Bhagavân Nârâyana The names of the seven Varsas are respectively :-- Âma, Madhuruha, Meghapristha, Sudhâmaka, Bhrâjistha, Lohitârna, and Vanaspati. O Nârada! The seven mountains and the rivers there are very celebrated throughout the worlds. The names of the mountains are :-- S’ûkla, Vardhamâna, Bhojana, Upavarhana, Nanda, Nandana, and Sarvatobhadra. The names of the rivers are :-- Abhayâ, Amritaughâ, Âryakâ, Tîrthavatî, Vrittirûpavatî, S’uklâ, and Pavitravatikâ. The inhabitants there drink the highly pure water of these rivers. The people there are divided into four colours Purusa, Risabha, Dravina, and Vedaka and they worship the Bhagavân Varuna, of the form of water. Then they become very discriminative, and, with great devotion, and holding full within their folded palms the water, repeat the following mantra :-- “O Water! Thou art the essence Vîrya of the Person Bhagavâna and Thou sanctifiest the Bhûrloka, Bhuvarloka, and Svarloka. Thou destroyest the sins of all. We all are touching it; purify our bodies.” After finishing their mantrams, they sing various hymns to Varuna. Next to the Ksiroda Sâgara, is the S’aka Dvîpa, thirty two lakh yoyanas wide, surrounded by the Dadhi Sâgara (the ocean of curds), of similar dimensions. Here the most excellent tree named the S’aka tree exists. O Nârada! The Dvîpa is named so after the tree. Medhâtithi, the son of Priyavrata is the Lord of this Dvîpa. He divided this land into the seven Varsas and distributed each to his seven sons respectively; and ultimately he took refuge to the path of Yoga. The names of the seven Varsas are Purojava, Manojava, Pavamânaka, Dhûmrânîka, Chitrarepha, Bahurûpa, and Vis’vadhrik. In these Varsas there are seven mountains, one in each Varsa, as forming their boundaries; and there are seven rivers also. The names of the mountains are :-- Îs’ana, Ûrus’ringa, Valabhadra, S’ata Kes’ara, Sahasra-srotaka, Devapâla, and Mahâsana; the names of the rivers are :-- Anaghâ, Âyurdâ, Ubhayaspristi, Aparâjitâ, Pañchapadî, and Sahasras’ruti and Nijadhriti. These seven rivers are all very big and resplendent with lustre. The people are divided into four classes :-- Varsas, Satyavrata, Kratuvrata, Dânavrata, and Anuvrata. They all take the Prânayâma exercise and thereby bring the Râjas, and Tamo Guna under their subjection and they worship Hari, of the nature of Prâna Vayu, Higher than the Highest. Their mantra is this :-- “He has entered into all the living beings and nourishes them by the Prâna and other faculties; He is the Internal Ruler of all and the Supreme Controller; this Universe is under His control; let Him protect and nourish us.” O Nârada! Next to this Dadhi Sâgara is Puskara Dvîpa; it is twice as large as S’âka Dvîpa. It is surrounded by the Dudha Sâgar (the ocean of milk) all twice as large. The leaves of Puskara tree that shines in the Puskara Dvîpa, are fiery like golden flames; they are as clean and pure. Crores and crores of leaves, golden in colour ornament this Tree. Vâsudeva, the Guru of all the Lokas, has created this Puskara Dvîpa as the seat of Paramesthî Brahmâ, possessed of six extraordinary powers, for the purpose of creation. There is one mountain in this Dvîpa; it is divided into two parts, named Arvâchîna and Parâchîna. These form the boundaries of the two Varsas. The mountain is one Ayuta Yoyana high and one Ayuta Yoyana wide. There are four cities on the four sides. Indra and the three other Lokapâlas are the lords of these cities. The Sun God comes out from their top and circumambulating Meru, goes there again. The whole year is his Chakram, circle of circuit; His path is Uttrâyanam and Daksinâyanam. Vîtihotra, the son of Priyavrata is the lord of this island. He distributed the two Varsas amongst his two sons, Ramana and Dhâtakî. They rule over the two Varsas named also after them. Like the inhabitants of the above Varsas, the people also get powers of themselves and worship devotedly the God seated on the lotus and follow such path of the Yoga as leads them to the Brahmâ Sâlokyâ, etc. The mantra runs thus :-- “We bow down to that One God, without a Second, of the nature of Peace, Who is the Fruit of all the Karmas, Who is the seat of illumination of Brahmâ, Who is established in Unity, and Who is worshipped by all the Lokas.”

Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of the remaining Dvîpas in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Description Of The Lokâloka Space

1-29. Nârâyana said :-- Next to the ocean of pure water, is the mountain, called Lokâloka. It marks the sphere between the two countries Loka and Aloka. O Devarsi! There is a land, all of pure gold (beyond this ocean of pure water) for a space equal to the distance between Mânasottara and Meru. This land is like a mirror; there are no beings here; the reason is, any substance placed on it would at once be converted into gold and nothing can be obtained out of it. O Nârada! No living beings can live there and therefore it is named Lokâloka. This is established always between the Loka and Aloka. The God himself has made this as the boundary of the three Lokas. The rays of the Sun, the Polar Star and all the planets are confined to this sphere; rather passing through its middle, the luminaries shed their lustre on the three Lokas. O Nârada! This great mountain is so lofty and capacious that the rays of the luminaries can never go out of it. The learned men say, that the size, form, and indications of this mountain are such as this is the one-fourth of five hundred times the size of the earth on its summit. The self-born Brahmâ has placed very big elephants on all sides of it. Hear their names. These are Risabha, Puspachûda, Vâmana, and Aparâjita. These four elephants are said to hold all the Lokas in their respective positions. The Bhagavân Hari gives strength to these elephants and to Indra and others who are reckoned to be His Vibhûtis (powers). He manifesting His S’uddha Sattva and super-extraordinary powers, and united with Animâ, Laghimâ, etc., the eight Siddhis, is reigning there surrounded by His Pâris’adas Visvaksena and others. He is the one God of all; He is without a second. For the welfare of all, He is holding Sudars’ana and His various other weapons; and the powers of His arms are great. He is His own Cause and at all times He pervades all in and through. He is Eternal. This Universe is upheld by His extraordinary power Mâyâ for its preservation. He remains in this form till the end of a Kalpa. The inner width described above, determines the width of Âloka. For it is situated outside the above Loka. Beyond the mountain Lokâloka, is said to lie the pure path leading to Yoges’vara within the egg-shaped ellipsoid formed by the Heaven and Earth. The inner dimension of this ellipsoid is twenty five Koti Yoyanas. When this egg becomes unconscious (lifeless), the Sun enters within it in the form of Vairâja. Hence the Sun is called Mârtanda. He is Hiranyagarbha, when He is born from this Golden Egg. It is this Sun that ordains the quarters, Âkâs’a, Heaven and Earth, etc., in their proper spheres and divisions. This Sun is the Âtmâ of Svarga and Moksa, hell and other lower regions, of the Devas, men, birds, reptiles, trees and all other living beings; and He is the Presiding Deity of their sight. O Nârada! Its width is Pañchâs’at Koti Yoyanas and its height or depth is twenty-five Koti Yoyanas. If as the two halves of a gram are of the same size, so the Earth and Heaven are of equal size. The space enclosed between them is called Antarîksa; the Sun God, the foremost of the planets, being situated in the middle, gives light and illumines and heats the three Lokas. He goes by the path of Uttarâyana and therefore His motion becomes slow (His motion becomes Mandagati). The Sun then getting up higher prolongs the day time. Similarly when the Sun follows the path of Daksinâyana, He gets S’îghra-gati and not going up so high, shortens the day time. Again when He comes at the Equator, He maintains an even position and the day and night become equal. When the Sun is in the signs Aries (Mesa) and Libra (Tulâ), then the day and night become equal. When the Sun traverses the five signs Taurus, Gemini, etc., the day becomes longer and when the Sun traverses the five signs Scorpio and others, the day becomes shorter and the night becomes longer.

Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of the Lokâloka space in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 15. On The Motion Of The Sun

1-45. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I will now describe the motion of the Sun. Hear. It is of three kinds; S’îghra (perihelionic), Manda (Aphelionic), and even. O Surasattama! Every planet has three positions. The name of the Madhyagati position is Jâradgava, the name of the northern position is Airâvata; and the name of the southern position is Vais’vânara. The asterisms As’vinî Krittikâ and Bharanî are known by the term Nâgavîthî. Rohinî, Ârdrâ, and Mrigas’irâ are named Gaja Vîthî; Pusyâ, As’lesâ, and Punarvasu are named Airavatîvîthî. The three Vîthîs, above-mentioned are called Uttara Mârga. Purvaphalgunî, Uttara Phalgunî and Maghâ are named A’rsabhî Vîthî. Hastâ, Chitrâ and Svâtî are called Govîthî; Jyesthâ, Vis’âkhâ and Anurâdhâ are named Jâradgavî Vîthî. These three Vîthîs are named Madhyamâ Mârga. Mûlâ, Purbâsâdhâ, Uttarâsâdhâ are termed Ajavîthî S’ravanâ, Dhanisthâ and S’atabhisâ are termed Mriga Vîthî. Uttara bhâdrapada, Purvabhâdrapada, and Revatî are called Vais’vânarîvîthî. These three Vîthîs (paths) are called Daksinamârga. During the Uttarâyana time, as the Dhruva attracts the rope of air from both the sides of the Yuga, orbit (or axis), the chariot of the Sun ascends, (i.e., is drawn up by the rope). Thus when the Sun enters within the sphere, the motion of the chariot becomes slower and the day is lengthened and the night is shortened. O Sura Sattama! Know this to be the course of the path of the Sun.

When the cord draws towards the south, the Chariot descends and as the Sun then comes out of the sphere, the motion becomes quick. The day shortens and the night is lengthened. Again when the cord is neither tightened nor is it slackened, rather its motion is exactly mid-way, the Sun also remains in a medium position and his Chariot enters within a sphere of equilibrium and the day and night become equal. When the cord of air, in a state of equilibrium is attracted by the Polar Star, then it is that the Sun and the Solar system revolves; and when the Polar Star slackens its attraction over the cord of air, the Sun coming out of the middle sphere, revolves; and the Solar system also revolves. On the east of Meru is established the city of Indra and the Devas dwell there. It is called therefore Devadhânikâ. On the south of the Meru, is the famous city of Yama, the God of Death, named Samyamanî. On the west of Meru, is the great city of Varuna, named Nimnochanî. On the north of Meru is the city of the Moon, named Vibhâvarî. O Nârada! The Brahmavâdîs say that the Sun first rises in the city of Indra. At noon the Sun goes to Samyamanî; at evening the Sun goes to Nimnochanî and He is said to set. In the night the Sun remains in Vibhâvarî. O Muni! The going of the Sun round Meru is the cause of all the beings getting themselves engaged in their respective duties. The inhabitants of the Meru see the Sun always in the central position. The Sun moves on, eastwards towards the stars, keeping the Meru to his left; but if the Zodiac be taken into account, it would appear that the Meru is left towards the south of the Sun. The rising and the setting of the Sun are always considered in front of Him. O Devarsi! Every point, every quarter, every person, seeing the Sun says that the Sun has risen there; again where he becomes invisible, He is considered to set there. The Sun always exists; so there is no rising nor setting for Him. It is His appearance and disappearance that make men say that the Sun rises or sets. When the Sun is in the Indra’s city, He illumines the three cities, those of Indra, Yama, and the Moon and illumines the north-east and east-west corners. So when He rests in the city of Fire, he illumines north-east, east-west, and south-west, the three corners, and at the same time the cities of Indra and Yama; and so on for the other cities and corners. O Nârada! The Mont Meru is situated towards the north of all the Dvîpas and Varsas. So whenever any person sees the Sun rise he calls that side “east.” But Meru exists towards the left of the Sun; so it is said. If the Sun travels in 15 (fifteen) Ghatikâs, the distance from Indrapurî to Yamapurî, He is said to travel within that time a distance equal to 2¼ Kotis, 12½ lakhs and 25000 Yojanas (22695000 Yojanas). The thousand-eyed and thousand rayed Sun God is the Manifester of Time. He travels in the aforesaid way the cities of Varuna, Chandra and Indra respectively. He is the diadem of the Svarloka; and the Zodiac is his Âtman. He travels thus, to mark off time to all persons. O Nârada! The Moon and the other planets and stars rise and set in the aforesaid manner. Thus the powerful chariot of the Sun travels in a Muhûrta 142,00000 Yojanas. By the force of Pravaha Vâyu (air), the Sun God, the Incarnate of the Vedas travels round the cities, the Zodiac, in one Samvatsara (year). The wheel of the Sun’s Chariot is one year; twelve months are the spokes; three Châturmâsyas are the nave and the six seasons are the outer ring or circumference of the wheel. The learned men call this chariot as the Samvatsara (one year). The axis or axle points to the Meru on one side and to Mânasottara mountain on the other. The end or circumference of the wheel marks off other divisions of the time as Kalâ, Kâsthâ, Muhûrta, Yâma, Parahara, day and night, and fortnights. The wheel is fixed on the nave. The Sun goes on this wheel, like an oilman’s on his oil-machine, round and round the Mânasottara mountain. The eastern side of the wheel is on that axis and the other part is fixed on the Pole Star. The dimension of the first axis is (15750000 Yoyanas). The second axis measures one-fourth of the above (3937500 Yoyanas). It resembles the axis of an oil-machine. The upper side of that is considered to belong to the Sun. The seat of the Sun on his chariot measures 36 Lakh Yoyanas wide. The Yuga measures in length one fourth of the above dimensions, that of his seat. The Chariot is is moved by seven horses, consisting of the seven Chhandas, Gâyatrî, etc., driven by Aruna. The horses carry the Sun for the happiness of all. Though the charioteer sits in front of the Sun, his face is turned towards the west. He does his work as a charioteer in that state. Sixty thousand Vâlakhilya Risis, of the size of a thumb, chant the sweet Vedic hymns before Him. Other Risis, Apsarâs, Uragas, Grâmanîs, Râksasas, and all the Devas, each divided in groups of seven, worship every month that highly lustrous Sun-god. The earth measures 90152000 Kros’a Yuga Yoyanas (1 Krosa - ¼ Yoyana). The Sun passes over this distance in a moment. He does not take rest in his this work even for a day; no, not even for a moment.

Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the motion of the Sun in the Mahâpurânam, S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On The Motion Of The Planets

S’rî Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Now hear the wonderful movements of the planets and their positions. The auspicious and inauspicious events of the mankind, are due to the different movements of these planets. As in a potter’s wheel going round and round, the motion of the insects crawling on the wheel, appears in a contrary direction, so the motion of the Sun and other planets moving on the Zodiac composed of the Râsîs (12 constellations) which again always moves round the Meru as an axle, appears different. Their motion from one star to another and from one constellation to another appears so likewise. These two motions therefore are not contradictory but are consistent; so it is settled everywhere by the learned Pundits (as being subservient to the Zodiac). O Nârada! He, Who is the Origin of all, Who is the Âdi Purusa, from Whom all these have sprung, Who is endowed with six extraordinary powers, in Whom all this Prapañcha, this material world composed of the five elements remains, that Nârâyana, roaming about, has divided the Trayî Âtmâ into twelve parts for the perfect happiness of all and for Karma S’uddhis (the purification of Karma, acts). The sages furnished with Jñân and Vijñâna have thus argued on the point, following the path as laid out in the Vedas. The Sûrya Nârâyana, moving on in the six seasons, spring, etc., has established, cold, heat, etc., as the Dharma of the seasons, duly for the fructification of the Karmas of the individual beings. Those persons that worship this Âdipurusa, with devotion, according to the knowledge of the Vedas the customs and usages of Varna (castes) and Âs’rama (Brahmacharya, etc.), and with various performances of Yogas, get their fruits respectively according to their desires. This Sun is the Âtman of all the Lokas and resting on the Zodiac between the Heavens and the Earth, enjoys the twelve months in the twelve constellations, Aries, etc. These months are the limbs of the year. Two fortnights make one month. The 21 asterisms go to form one month according to the Solar measure, of the day and night.

The period that the Sun takes to travel over the two constellations is called Ritu or the Season (i.e., two months). The Scientists say that this season is the limb of one Samvatsara. The path that the Sun describes within the three seasons or half the year in the Zodiac is called one Ayanam. The time taken by the Sun with earth and heavens to make a circuit of the Zodiac is called one Vatsara or year. This year is reckoned into five divisions as :-- Samvatsara, Parivatsara, Idâvatsara, Anuvatsara, and Idvatsara. These are functioned by the S’îghra, Manda, and uniform motions of the Sun. So the Munis say. Thus far the motion of the Sun has been described. Now hear that of the Moon. The Moon is situated one lakh Yoyanas higher than the Sun and shares with the motion of the Sun for one year; and She enjoys as well every month with the Sun in the shape of the dark and bright fortnights. The Moon, the Lord of Night and of the medicinal plants also enjoys the day and night by the help of one constellation or 2¼ Naksattras. Thus, by Her S’îghragati, the Moon enjoys the Naksattras. During the bright fortnight, the Moon becomes more and more visible and gives pleasure to the Immortals by Her increasing phases; and, during the dark fortnight by Her waning phases, She delights the Pitris. She performs revolution in the day and night by Her both the phases of the bright and dark fortnights. Thus She becomes the Life and Soul of all the living beings. The Moon, endowed with the highest prosperity, travels one Naksattra in thirty Muhûrtas. She is Full and the Soul without any beginning. She fructifies the desires (Sankalpas) and resolves of all; hence She is called Manomaya. She is the Lord of all the medicinal plants (Osadhis); hence She is called Annamaya. She is filled with nectar; hence She is called the Abode of Immortality and She gives Nirvâna (the final liberation) to all. Hence She is called Sudhâkara. She nourishes and satisfies the Devas, Pitris, men, reptiles and trees; hence She is called “Sarvamaya.” By Her influence the asterisms travel over the three lakh Yoyanas. The God Himself has made the Naksattra Abhijit to revolve round the Meru, along with the other Naksattras in the Zodiac; so this is reckoned as the twenty-eighth Naksattra. The planet Venus (S’ukra) is situated above the Moon two lakh Yoyanas high. He sometimes goes before the Sun, sometimes behind and sometimes along with Him. He is very powerful. His motion is of three kinds :-- (1) S’îghra, (2) Manda, and (3) uniform. He is generally favourable to all the persons and does for them many auspicious things. So it is stated in the S’âstras. O Muni! S’ukra, the illustrious scion of Bhrigu, removes the obstacles to the rains. Next to S’ukra, the planet Mercury (Budha) is situated two lakh Yoyanas high. Like S’ukra, he, too, goes sometimes in front sometimes behind and sometimes along with the Sun. And his motion too, is of three kinds :-- S’îghra, Manda, and uniform. When Mercury the Son of Moon, is away from the Sun, then Ativâta (strong winds, hurricanes), Abhrapâta (the falling of meteors from the clouds) and draught and other fears arise. The planet Mars, the son of the Earth is situated two lakh Yoyanas higher. Within three fortnights (45 days) he travels one Râs’î. This occurs when his motion is not retrograde. This Mars causes all sorts of mischief, evils, and miseries to mankind. The planet Jupiter is situated two lakh Yoyanas higher. He passes through one Râs’î in one year. When his motion is not retrograde, he is always in favour with the Brahmâ Vâdis. Next to Brihaspati, come the planet Saturn, the son of the Sun, two lakh Yoyanas higher. He takes thirty months to pass over one Râs’î. This planet causes all sorts of unrest and miseries to all. Therefore He is called a Manda Graha (a malefic planet). Next to it, is situated the Saptarsi mandala, the Great Bear, eleven lakh Yoyanas higher up. O Muni! The seven planets always do special favours to all. These circumambulate the Visnupada, the Polar Star.

Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter in the Eighth Book on the motion of the planets in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 17. On The Dhruva Mandalam

1-29. Nârâyana said :-- Beyond the Saptarsi mandalam (the Great Bear), thirteen lakh Yojanas higher is situated, the Visnu’s Paramam Padam (the highest place of Visnu). The Great Bhâgavat (devotee of God), the most respectful, S’rîmân Dhruva, the son of Uttânapâda, is established there with Indra, Agni, Kas’yapa and Dharma and the Naksattras. The visitors pay to him always their respects. He is the patron of those who live till the end of a Kalpa. He is engaged in serving the lotus-feet of the Bhagavân. He has been made by God Himself the pillar round whom all the planets, stars, and the luminary bodies are revolving always and with great force in the Zodiac and in the celestial Heavens. The Devas also worship him. He, resplendent in his own glory, illumines and manifests all. As beasts tied to yoke go on tilling, so the planets and stars, fixed on the Zodiac, go quickly round and round this Dhruva, the Pole Star; some nearer, some further distant in spheres, propelled by Vâyu. As the hawks hover round the sky, so the above-mentioned planets, go completely round and round under their own Karmas and controlled by the Vâyu in the sky. Thus all the luminaries do not fall to the ground, as they are kept up in their respective positions by the favour of the union of Prakriti and Purusa. Some say that this Jyotischakra, the celestial Heavens (the Zodiac) is S’is’umâra. It is kept duly in its position for the purpose of holding things up by the power of the Bhagavân. Hence it does not fall. It is resting with its body coiled round and with its head lower down. O Muni! Dhruva, the son of Uttânapâda is staying at the tail end. And, in addition to him, also at the tail rests Brahmâ, the Sinless Prajâpati, worshipped by the Gods, Agni, Indra and Dharma. Thus the creation is at the tail and the Saptarsimandal is staying at his waist. Thus the celestial wheel (Jyotischakra) is resting with his coils turned in a right-hand direction. On his right side are found the Uttarâyana Naksattras, fourteen in number from Abhijit to Punarvasu and on his left side are found the other fourteen Daksinâyanam Naksattras from Pusyâ to Uttarâsâdhâ. O Son of Brahmâ! Thus the Naksattras form the coil-shaped body of the S’is’umâra, the Zodiac; half the Naksattras on the one side and the other half Naksattras on the other. His back is on the Heavenly Ganges named Ajavîthî. Punarvasu and Pusyâ form the right and left side of the loins; Ârdrâ and As’les’â form the right and left feet (westward); Abhijit and Uttarâsâdha form the right and left nostrils. O Devarsi! S’ravanâ and Pûrvâsâdhâ form the right and left eyes respectively; so say the persons that form the Kalpanâs (fancies). Dhanisthâ and Mûlâ form his right and left ears; Maghâ, etc., the eight Daksinâyanam Naksattras form the bones on the left side. O Muni! Mrigasîrsa, the Uttarâyana Naksattras form the bones on his right side, S’atabhisâ and Jyesthâ form the right and left shoulders. Agasti (the Canopus) forms the upper jaw and Yama, the lower jaw. The planet Mars forms his face; Saturn forms his organ of generation; Brihaspati forms the hump on the shoulders; the Sun, the Lord of the planets, forms his breast; Nârâyana remains in the heart; and the Moon is in his mind. (Note :-- S’is’umâra is also the constellation Dolphinus and is sometimes meant for the polar star.) O Nârada! The two As’vins form the nipples on his breast; Us’anâ forms his navel; the Mercury is his Prâna and Apâna; Râhu is his neck and Ketu is all over his body and the stars are reigning all over the hairs of his body. This Zodiac is the body composed of the Devas of that All Pervading Bhagavân. So every intelligent person should daily meditate this S’is’umâra in the Sandhyâ time, with perfect purity and keeping himself Mauna (silent), and with his whole heart. Then he should repeat the following mantras and get up and say :-- “Thou art the Substratum of all the luminaries, we bow down to Thee; Thou createst and destroyest all. Thou art the Lord of all the celestials. Thou art the Âdipurusa, the foremost of all the Purusas; we meditate fully on Thee. The planets, Naksattras, and the stars are Thy body. The Daiva is established in Thee alone. Thou destroyest the sins of those that compose the Mantras. The sins are completely destroyed for the time being of him who bows down or remembers Thee in the morning, afternoon and evening.”

Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the Dhruva Mandalam in the Mahâ Purânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 18. On The Narrative Of Râhu Mandalam

1-9. Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi! The Sphere of Râhu (the ascending node) is situated one Ayuta Yoyanas below the Sun. Râhu, the son of Simhikâ is moving there like a Naksattra. This Râhu swallows up both the Sun and the Moon and He has got immortality and capability to travel in the sky. The Sun’s rays go up to one Ayuta Yoyanas. The Asura Râhu thus covers his rays. So the sphere of the Moon extends upto the twelve thousand Yoyanas. Râhu covers the field of the thirteen thousand Yoyanas. So he covers both the Sun and the Moon. Desire to take the vengeance of the previous enmity, he covers them during the time of Parva (the festivals). This planet wants to cover them from a distance. Hearing this, the Bhagavân Visnu hurls His Sudars’an Chakra against Râhu. This Chakra (disc) is encircled with the fiery flames and is very terrible. When all the quarters were filled with its violent flames, Râhu became instantly alarmed and fled away from the distance. O Devarsi! This is known as the eclipse known amongst the mortals. Below the sphere of Râhu, there are the other pure Lokas situated. O Sattama! The Siddhas, Châranas, and Vidyâdharas live in those Lokas. Their dimensions are one Ayuta Yoyanas.

10. O Devarsi! Below them live the Yaksas, Râksasas, Pis’âchas, Pretas and Bhûtas with their excellent Vihâras (residences).

11-34. The learned people call this Antarîksa. It extends upto where the wind blows violently and where the clouds appear. O Best of the twice-born! Below this Antarîksa is this earth, measuring one hundred Yoyanas. All the articles and things of the earth are found here; birds herons, cranes and ducks all fly over the earth. The earth extends upto this. Now is described the configuration of the earth. O Devarsi! At the lower part of this earth there are seven places (caves or nether regions). Their diameter is one Ayuta Yoyanas. In all the seasons, all sorts of enjoyments can be had at these places. The first is Atala; the second is Vitala. Next come in order :-- Sutala, Talâtala, Mahâtala. Rasâtala, and lastly (the seventh) the Pâtâla. O Vipra! Thus the seven holes or regions are reckoned. These are termed the Vila-Svargas and they yield the happinesses, greater than those of the Heavens. These are all filled with lovely amorous enjoyments, prosperity and happiness. They are crowded with gardens and Vihâras (the places of enjoyments). And these Vihâras are all decorated tastefully so as to furnish special tastes of enjoyments. The powerful Daityas, Dânavas, and Snakes enjoy here great happiness incessantly, united lovingly with their sons, wives and friends. The householders also pass their time in ease and enjoyments, surrounded by their friends and attendants. They are all Mâyâvis (Magicians) and their resolves are not thwarted; they are more than God in this respect and they are filled with desires. They all live with joy and in enjoyments and they find pleasure in all the seasons. Mâyâ, the Lord of Mâyâ had built separate cities, as he liked, in those nether regions. Besides he has created thousands of dwelling-houses, palaces, and town-gates, studded with gems and jewels.

The assembly halls, Chatvaras, and Chaityas are elaborately decorated and rare even to the Suras. The Nâgas and Asuras live in those houses with their consorts; doves and pigeons and female Mayinâ birds are hovering there. In those places many plots marked out artificially and excellent rows of palatial buildings of the Lords of those Vivaras adorn there. Very big gardens also exist there. All these cheer the minds; and, to add to their beauty, many places of fruits and flowers are close by, fit for the comfort and enjoyments of the ladies. The tanks and pools of water are crowded with various birds; the lakes are filled with clear waters and the Pâthîna fishes abound there. The aquatic animals move in the waters, violently agitating them. Various kinds of lotuses, Kumud, Utpala, Kahlâra, blue lotus, red lotus, are fully blown in these lakes or reservoirs of water. The gardens there are all overcrowded with the Vihâras of the inhabitants there and echoed with the sweet melodious music, pleasing to the senses. For there, these places seem to vie with the Heavens. No fear is there, whether during the day or during the night. The gems on the crest of snakes constantly illumine the environments and there is no darkness there at any time. The food there is prepared with the divine medicines and they drink and bathe with these medicinal plants; so no disease attacks them. Old age, fever, indigestion, paleness, sweats, bad smells, or loss of energy or any other source of trouble cannot trouble them. The people are always happy and good. Only they fear the Teja of the Bhagavân and His Sudars’an disc; and they fear nothing else. When the Teja of the Bhagavân enters, the women’s abortions take place.

Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narrative of Râhu Mandalam in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 19. On The Narrative Of The Atala, Etc.

1-32. Nârâyana said :-- O Vipra! In the first beautiful region Atala, the exceedingly haughty son of the Dânava Mâyâ, named Bala, is  living. He has created the ninety-six Mâyâs. All the requisites of the inhabitants are obtained by them. The other Mâyâvis know one or two of these. None of them are capable to know all, as they are exceedingly difficult to be carried out. When this powerful Bala yawned, the three classes of women were produced, fascinating to all the Lokas. They were named Pums’chalî (or unchaste woman) Svairinî, (an adultress) and Kâminî (a lovely women). When any man, beautiful and lovely to them, enters into their Atala region, they, with the help of the Hâtaka sentiment (of love), generate in him, while in solitude, the power to enjoy (copulate) and with their sweet smiles and amorous lovely looks and with great caution embrace him thoroughly and begin to converse with him and with amorous gestures and postures, and thus please him well. When the people enjoy this Hâtakarasa, they think often and often, that they themselves have become gods, they have become Siddhas and powerful like Ayuta elephants; being blind with vanity and finding them endowed with powers and prosperity, they think themselves so repeatedly and constantly. O Nârada! Thus the position in Atala has been described. Now hear, the description of the second region Vitala. Vitala is situated below the earth. There the Bhagavân Bhava, worshipped by all the Devas, has assumed the name of Hâtakes’vara and is staying there coupled with Bhavânî, surrounded by His attendants specially for the increase of the creation of Brahmâ. The river Hâtaki flows there and has Her origin from the essences (Semen virile) of them both. Fire, augmented by the help of the wind, begins to drink it. When the Fire leaves that, making a Phutkâra noise (i.e., blowing out air through the mouth), the gold, named Hâtaka, is created. This gold is very much liked by the Daityas. The Daitya women use this gold always for their ornaments. Below Vitala is Sutala. It is reckoned as of some special importance. O Muni! The highly meritorious Bali, the son of Virochana lives here. The Bhagavân Vâsudeva, brought down this Bali into Sutala, for the welfare of Indra. He assumed the body of Trivikrama and gave to Bali all the wealth of the three Lokas, all the Laksmî went to him and installed him in the position of the Lord of the Daityas. What more can be said than this, that what prosperity, wealth and riches that Indra could not obtain, that S’rî Laksmî Devî Herself has followed Bali. Bali, as the Lord of Sutala, has become entirely fearless, remains here upto this day and is worshipping Vâsudeva. O Nârada! It is said by the high-minded persons that when Vâsudeva Himself, the Controller of all, appeared as a beggar, Bali gave him land, and, therefore, on account of making gift to a good person, he acquired so much prosperity. But this cannot be reasonable. For, it is not at all reasonable to cast the effects of making this gift on Nârâyana, O Nârada! Who is Self-manifest by His own Extraordinary Glory and Who is Himself filled with all Ais’varya (prosperity) and Who can bestow the Highest Goal of life and other requirements of men. This Nârâyana is the Deva of the Devas; if anybody takes His name, when in the greatest distress, he gets himself immediately freed from the Gunas, the cause of bondage due to his Karma. All persons perform many Yogas and follow the paths advised by the Sâmkhya method, with their minds directed to the All-Controller Bhagavân, to abandon all sorts of troubles and miseries. O Nârada! Know that the Bhagavân does not shew us His Favour when he gives us greatest wealth and prosperity. For the wealth and riches are the offspring of Mâyâ and the source of all worries, miseries and mental troubles; and one is liable to forget the Bhagavân when one gets such a wealth. The Bhagavân is pervading all this universe and is full of wisdom; and He is seeing always all the ways and means; He took away, in the way of begging, rather cheated all that Bali had, leaving only his body; and at last, finding no other means, fastened him by the Varuna Pâs’a (noose), threw him in the middle of the mountain cleft (cave) and then has stationed Himself at his door as a Door-keeper. Once, out of his extreme devotion, Bali did not care at all for his difficulties, troubles, or miseries. Rather he gave out that Indra, whose minister is Brihaspati had acted very foolishly. For when the Bhagavân becomes very graciously pleased, he wanted from Him ordinary wealth. But what will the wealth of the Trilokas avail? It is a quite insignificant thing. Surely, He is an illiterate and stupid brute who, for mere wealth, leaves the Bhagavân, Who is the Fountain of all Good Wishes to the Humanity. My grandfather Prahlâda, who was highly fortunate, who was devoted to the God and who was always ready to do good to others, he did not ask for any other thing than the servantship of God (the Dâsya Bhâva). When his powerful father died, the Bhagavân wanted to give him unbounded wealth; but the Bhâgavata (devoted) Prahlâda did not want that. None of us, who are marked with so many deficiencies can know the nature of the Bhagavân Vâsudeva, Whose omnipotence cannot be compared and all these manifested worlds are but His Upâdhis (adjuncts, limitations). O Devarsi! Thus Bali, the Lord of Daityas, the highly respected and renowned in all the Lokas, is reigning in Sutala. Hari Himself is his Door-keeper. Once the King Râvana, the source of torment to all the people, went out to conquer the whole world; and when he entered Sutala, that Hari, ever ready to show Grace to His devoted, threw him at a distance of one Ayuta Yoyanas by the toe of His foot. Thus by the grace of the Devadeva Vâsudeva, Bali is reigning in Sutala, and enjoying all sorts of pleasures, without any equal anywhere.

Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narrative of the Atala, etc., the Pâtâlas in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 20. On The Narrative Of The Talâtala

1-37. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! The cave lower down than Sutala is Talâtala! The Lord of Tripura, (the three cities) the great Mâyâ Dânava is the Ruler of this region. Mahes’vara, the Doer of good to the three Bhuvanas, burnt his three cities; but at last, being pleased with his devotion, He rescued him. Thus Mâyâ, by the favour of that God, has regained his own kingdom and the enjoyments thereof. This Mâyâ Dânava is the Teacher (Âchârya) of the Mâyâvi sect and the cult thereof; and he is skilled in various Mâyâs or all sorts of the magic powers. All the fierce demons, of cruel temper, worship him for their prosperities in their various enterprises. Next to this Talâtala is the most renowned Mahâtala. The sons of Kadru, the very angry Snakes, live here. They are many headed. O Vipra! I now mention to you the names of the famous amongst them :-- Kuhaka, Taksaka, Susena, and Kâliya. These all have very wide hoods and they all are very strong; they all are of cruel temper. Their kinsmen also are so. They are always afraid of Garuda, the King of birds. Surrounded with their sons, wives, friends and acquaintances, they live happily, well skilled in various sports and pleasures. Lower down this Mahâtala is Rasâtala. The Daityas, Dânavas and Pani Asuras live here. Besides these, there live the Nivâta Kavachas of the Hiranyapura city and the Asuras named Kâleyas, the enemies of the Devas. These all are naturally very energetic and brave; their powers are baffled by the Tejas of the Bhagavân and they live like snakes in this region. The other Asuras that were driven and were afraid of the Mantras, uttered by Saramâ, the messenger of Indra, live here too. O Nârada! Lower down is Pâtâla, where live Vâsuki, the Chief of the snakes, and others named S’ankha, Kulika, S’veta, Dhananjaya, Mahâs’ankha, Dhritarâstra, S’ankhachûda, Kamvala, As’vatara, and Devopadattaka, all very angry, of wide hoods, and virulently poisonous. Some of these have five heads, some seven hoods, some ten; some hundred, some others have thousand heads, while some others have on their crests exceedingly luminous jewels. By their rays, they dispel the darkness of the nether regions; but they are awfully prone to anger. At the bottom of this Pâtâla, and at a distance of the thirty Yoyanas; the Portion of Bhagavân in the shape of the infinite Darkness is reigning there. O Devarsi! All the Devas worship this Form. The devotees call Him by the name of Sanakarsana, as He is the manifested emblem of “Aham” and the common ground where the Seer and the Seen blend into one. He is the thousand-headed Controller of all, moving and non-moving; He is of infinite forms; He is S’esa; this whole universe is being held as a mustard bean on His head; He is of the Nature Intelligence and Bliss and He is Self-manifest. When he wants to destroy all this during the Pralaya, the very powerful Sankarsana Rudra, well arrayed with the eleven Vyûhas, military (squadrons) arrangements, springs up from Him. From His Central Eyebrow, looking wide with His Three Eyes and raising His Trident, resplendent with three flames. All the (prominent) principal snakes, ruling over many others, come to Him during the nights filled with devotion and surrounded with Bhaktas (devotees) and bow down to Him with their heads bent low and look at each other’s faces, enlightened with the lights from the jewels shining with clear lustre, on the nails of the red toes of His Lotus-Feet. At that time their faces become brilliant with the rays emitting from the jewels on the top of their very gay encircled hoods; and their cheeks look beautiful and shining. The daughters of the Nâga Râja also do like this; when very beautiful rays come out of their perfectly excellent bodies. Their arms are wide extended; they look very clear and they are beautifully white. They use always Sandalpaste, Aguru and Kâsmîri unguents. Being overpowered by the amorous passion, due to their contact with those scented things, they look at Him with bashful glances and sweet smiles and expect Âsiss (benedictions) from Him. And then His eyes roll maddened with love and express signs of kindness and mercy. The Bhagavân Ananta Deva is of boundless strength; His attributes are infinite; He is the ocean of infinite qualities. He is the Âdi Deva, of a very good nature and His Nature is highly luminous. He has abandoned anger and envy and He wants the welfare of all. All the Devas worship Him and He is the repository of all Sâttvic qualities.

The Devas, Siddhas, Asuras, Uragas, Vidyâdharas, Gandharbas, and Munis always meditate on Him. On account of His constant Mada Râga the enthusiasm and intoxication, His sight appears intoxicated and His eyes look perturbed with emotions. He is always pleasing to those who surround him and to the Devas by His sweet nectar-like words.

The Vaijayantî garland hangs from His neck; it never wanes and it is always decorated with the fresh and clear Tulasî leaves. The maddened bees make their humming noises incessantly and thus add to the beauty. He is the Deva of the Devas and He wears a blue coloured cloth and He is ornamented with only one earring. He (the God Visnu) Undecaying and Immutable; resting His fleshy arms on the Halakakuda (the lofty portion of the plough), He is upholding the golden girdle as the elephant Airâvata of Indra upholds the golden girdle. O Nârada! The devotees describe Him as the Source of this Leelâ of the Universe and the Controller of the Devas.

Here ends the Twentieth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narrative of the Talâtala in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 21. On The Narrative Of Hells

1-9. Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi! Sanâtana, the son of Brahmâ, recites thus in the assembly of the Devas, the glories of the Bhagavân Ananta Deva, and worships Him, thus :-- How can one of ordinary sight and understanding grasp the real nature of Brahmâ, Whose mere Glance enables the Prakriti work Her Gunas in the Creation, Preservation and Destruction of this Universe! Him Whose nature has no beginning nor end; Who though One, has created all this Prapañcha (the universe of five elements) as a covering to the Âtman (the True Self). He has made the Sat and Asat, out of his infinite compassion, this universe, full of cause and effect, visible in His One and only one S’uddha Sattva nature where even the very powerful lion is imitating his Leelâ (Pastime), void of all defects, to bring under His control the minds of His own kinsmen. (Note :-- This Ananta Deva is the Ruling Principle in the Fourth Dimensional Space.) To Whom else, then, the persons, desirous of Moksa, will take refuge, the mere hearing or reciting Whose Name, in a fallen or a distressed condition, or merely in jest, takes away instantly all the sins! He is upholding the earth with the mountains, oceans, rivers and all the beings as if an atom on his thousand heads. He is infinite. His power knows no decrease in any time. No one can describe his actions even if one had thousand tongues to speak. He is of an infinite strength, of the endless high qualities and of unlimited understanding. Thus staying at the bottom of the earth, the Bhagavân Ananta Deva is upholding with ease this earth for her protection, unaided and independent. O Muni! The people get the fruits of their actions and desires as they want and as they have followed the paths laid down in the S’âstras and become accordingly kings, men, deer or birds or other creatures in other states. O Nârada! This I have described, as you questioned me before, the various and dissimilar fruits of various actions, done according to the dictates of the Dharma and the S’âstras.

10. Nârada said :-- “O Bhagavân! Kindly describe to me now why has the Bhagavân created so many diversities, when the Karmas, done by the Jîvas, are the same.”

11-28. Nârayana said :-- O Nârada! So many different states arise because the S’raddhâs of the doers are so very different. The fruits differ because the S’raddhâs vary, some being Sâttvik, some Râjasik and some Tâmasik. If the S’raddhâ be Sâttvik, happiness comes always; if it be Râjasik, incessant pain and misery is the result; if it be Tâmasik, misery comes and the loss of the knowledge of good or bad is the result. Thus the fruits differ as the S’raddhâ varies. O Best of Dvîjas! Thousands and thousands of states occur to a man as the result of their Karmas, done under the influence of the beginningless Avidyâ (Nescience). O Dvîjottama! I will now deal in detail with their varieties; hear. Behind this Triloki, below this earth and over the Atala, the Pitris named Agnisvâttas and other forefathers live. Those Pitris stay there, and, practising deep Samâdhis, they offer always, to their best blessings to their own Gotra (families) respectively. There Yama, the God of the Pitris gives punishment to the dead brought there by His messengers according to their Karmas and faults. By the command of the Bhagavân, the Yama, surrounded by his own Ganas (persons), judges and does full justice according to the Karmas that they had done and the sins they had committed. He sends always those of his messengers who obey his order and know the Tattva of Dharma, and who are posted to their respective duties to carry out what He commands. The writers of the S’âstras describe twenty-one Narakas or hells; others say there are twenty-eight hells. Now hear their names :-- Tâmisra, Andha Tâmisra, Raurava, Mahâraurava, Kumbhîpâka, Kâlasûtra, Asipatrakânana, S’ûkaramukha, Andhakûpa, Krimibhojana, Taptamûrti, Samdams’a, Vajrakantaka, S’âlmalî, Vaitaranî, Pûyoda, Prânarodha, Vis’asana, Lâlâbhaksa, Sârameyâdana, Avîchi, Apahpâna, Ksârakardama, Raksogana, Sambhoja, S’ûlaprota, Dandas’ûka, Avatârodha, Paryâvartanaka, and Sûchimukha. These are the twenty-eight Narakas or hells. (N.B. These are 29).

These hells are very tormenting. O Son of Brahmâ! The embodied beings (jîvas) suffer these according to their own Karmas respectively.

Here ends the Twenty-first Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narrative of hells in the Mahâ Purânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 22. On The Narrative Of The Sins Leading To Hells

1. Nârada said :-- “O Everlasting One! O Muni! Now describe the various actions that lead to these tormenting hells. I like to hear about them in detail.”

2-52. Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi! He who steals other’s sons, wives, and riches, the wicked fellow is taken to Yama by His messengers. Tied down hard and fast by the terrible messengers of Yama, by the Kâla rope (rope of time), he is taken to the Tâmisra hell, the place of many torments. There the Yama’s attendants punish him, beat him and threaten him; and he becomes stupefied, and feels himself very weak, distressed and ultimately faints. He who deceives another’s husband and enjoys his wives; the Yama’s servants drag him down to Andha Tâmisra hell. There he suffers any amount of pain and suffering. He loses instantly his eyesight and his brain gets upset. His state resembles that of a tree when its trunk is broken. For this reason the ancient sages called this Andha Tâmisra. He who being subject to “My” and “Mine” quarrels with others and being very much attached, maintains his family, leaves his families here and goes with his bad tendencies to the Raurava hell, very horrible to all. The animals whom he injured and killed before in this world, assume the form of Ruru animal and torment him in the next. For this reason, the intelligent knowers of Purâna, call this Raurava. The ancients say, that Ruru is more cruel and ferocious than snakes. These animals live in that hell; hence it is termed Mahâraurava. He who torments others, goes to this hell and these Rurus, the flesh-eaters, spring on his body and bite and eat his flesh. He who cooks other animals and birds, that cruel and ferocious, thus deluded, is cooked in return on the hot oil in the Kumbhîpâka hell by the Yama Dûtas for thousand years. He who quarrels with his Pitris and the Brâhmanas, is taken by the Yama Dûtas to the Kâlasûtra hell and there be burnt by the fire and Sun. There that hellish person, being troubled very much, inside and outside by hunger and thirst, sometimes sits, sometimes sleeps, sometimes walks, and sometimes runs hither and thither. O Devarsi! He who transgresses the path of the Vedas in times other than those of calamity and danger and follows other paths even to a trifling distance, that sinner is taken by Yamadûtas to Asipatra Kânana and there whipped severely. Not being able to bear that, he runs wildly to and fro and is pierced by the sharpedged Asi leaves on both his sides. His whole body being cut asunder, he cries “Oh! I am killed!”and faints away. Then feeling himself pained very much, he tumbles down at every step. Thus the sinner suffers for violating the path of the Vedas. The King or that royal personage who gives orders of punishment, not approved by Dharma, and hurts or punishes the body of a Brâhmana, the Yama’s servants throw him down into the S’ûkaramukha Hell and grind down his body with great force as a sugarcane is ground down. He then cries aloud bitterly, he gets fainted and becomes stupefied. He is crushed by them and suffers all sorts of pains and miseries. Again he who knows the feelings of others when they are tormented, pains those insects who live on other’s blood as bugs, etc., and who does not realise other’s pains, goes, as a punishment for that fault to the Andhakûpa Hell. There he is pained by the beasts, birds, deers, reptiles, mosquitoes, bugs, louses, flies and Dandas’ûkas and various other cruel animals. There he lives in his ugly body and roams like a beast. The man who, getting even a trifling wealth and food-stuff, does not perform the five Mahâ Yajñâs and gives not a share of that to the Devas and feeds his own belly with that like a crow, is taken by the ferocious Yamadûtas to the worst Krimibhojana Naraka for his sinful deeds. This hell is one lakh Yoyanas wide and is the reservoir of worms. It causes terror to the inhabitants of the hell. That sinner assumes the form of an insect and is eaten up on return by the insects and thus passes his time there. When a man does not give any share to the Atithis or the guests and does not offer oblations to the Fire and eats his food, he, too, goes to the above hell. When a man in times other than that of great danger and distress, follows the livelihood of a thief and robs gold and jewels forcibly of a Brâhmin or any other person, he is taken to this hell and the Yama’s servants pierce and cut off his skin by a fiery hot iron cutter.

When a man goes for an illicit cohabitation to one who is not fit to be approached and when a woman goes similarly to an unapproachable man, both of them are taken, being whipped, to this hell by the servants of Yama! Where the man is obliged to embrace a fiery hot iron figure of woman and vice versa. When a man goes to all sorts of wombs for unnatural crimes, he is taken to Vajra Kantaka Naraka and placed on the top of an iron S’almalî wood. When a King or any royal personage, subject to the Pâsanda Dharma (i.e., the unrighteous path) breaks the boundary of a law, he for that sin goes to Vaitaranî, the ditch round that hell. There the aquatic animals eat his body all around. O Nârada! Yet neither his life nor his body parts with him. He is thrown, for his Karma, into the rivers filled with faeces, urine, puss, blood, hairs, bones, nails, flesh, marrow, fat, etc., and he becomes very much troubled.

Those who are the husbands of Vrisalîs (girls under twelve years of age, who have attained menstruation; or the barren women), void of any S’aucha (cleanliness) or shame and without any Âchâra Vyavahâra (the following of one’s natural customs and rites) and those who follow Pas’vâchâra (like beasts), they meet with a very hard fate and are thrown into this hell filled with faeces, urine, cough, blood and other impurities and when they feel hungry, are forced to eat the above things. When those persons that are twice born, maintain dogs and asses, etc., and when they are addicted to hunting, and kill daily, for nothing, beasts, birds and deer, those evildoers are specially watched by the servants of Yama and when they retire, they tear them asunder by shooting bows at them.

He who kills animals, engaged vainly in a sacrifice and addicted to haughty tempers and habits, is thrown into this hell by the Yama’s servants and whipped very severely. The twice-born that copulates blindly with a savarnâ wife, is taken by the Yama’s messengers into the hell filled with semen and he is made to drink that. Those who are addicted to robbery, who put fire to other’s houses, who make others drink poison, those that are treacherous, and who destroy the interest of the villagers and other persons, those kings or the royal personages are taken after their death by the Yamadûtas to the Sârameyâdana hell. There seven hundred and twenty dogs, very wonderful to behold, come furiously and with great force and energy, over them and feed on them. O Nârada! This hell is denominated as Sârameyâdana Naraka and it is very horrible. Now I will describe to you the other hells Avîchi and others.

Here ends the Twenty-second Chapter of the Eighth Book on the narrative of the sins leading to hells in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 23. On The Description Of The Remaining Hells

1-31. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! When persons, impelled by sinful motives, always speak false at the time of giving evidence or at the time of taking or giving money, they, after their death, go to the terrible hell, named Avîchi. There, from the summit of a mountain, one hundred Yojanas high they are dropped at once down below with their heads inverted down. Here the solid ground looks like water and appears like waves. Therefore it is called Avîchi, resembling like Avîchi waves. Here if the sinner’s body be cut to small pieces, still he does not die; rather he gets a new body when his body is all cut to pieces. O Son of Brahmâ! When a man, be he a Brâhmin, Ksattriya, or a Vais’ya, drinks the Soma (wine) or due to inadvertence drinks wine, he is thrown into this hell. O Muni! The Yama’s servants make him drink the molten iron. When a vile person being maddened by the pride of his self-learning, birth, austerities or Vârna and Âs’rama, does not pay his respect duly to his superiors, he is thrown into the Ksârakardama hell with his head downwards. He suffers a tremendous pain there. When a man or woman out of delusion, performs the human sacrifices (where men are immolated as victims), he or she has to eat the human flesh here. Those that killed before all sorts of beasts, come after their death into this abode of Yama, all united and like butchers, cut each other’s flesh by pickaxes, etc., and drink their blood and dance and sing repeatedly. They do, in fact, what the terrible Râksasas do. When persons meet with the innocent persons, wishing to live in villages or forests and raise their confidence by various such means and make them attached and finally pierce them by pointed S’ûlas (trident) or pointed swords and kill them as if they were ordinary play things, they are taken after their death by the Yama dûtas and thrown into S’ûlâdi Naraka (pierced by S’ûlas). They are pierced there by S’ûlas and become overpowered by hunger and thirst. Herons and cranes, with their sharp beaks hunt after them to and fro. Thus tormented, they remember all their sins done in their previous lives. Those who follow stray paths and trouble the other beings as the serpents do, they fall into the Dandas’ûka hell. Here worms with five faces and seven faces come from all sides and eat them as a fierce serpent devours a mouse. Those who confine persons in dark holes, a dark room or a dark cave they are taken by the Death servants with their arms uplifted and confined to similar dark caves, filled with poison, fire and smoke. When a Brâhmin householder, seeing a guest coming to his house in a reasonable (proper) time, casts a furious sinful glance at him as if to burn him, the Death’s attendants, the herons with thunderbolt like beaks, the crows and the Vatas and other birds and very fierce vultures all come and forcibly take out the eyes of that person who committed the aforesaid sins. When person elated with vanity of his riches become too haughty and doubt over their Gurus and when their hearts and faces wither withal away, as it were, with the thoughts of their income and expenditure, and being always unhappy, hoard up money always like the Brahmâ Pis’âchas, the Death’s officers take them for these Karmas to Sûchimukha Narakas and pierce all over his body with pins, as a tailor does with his cloth. O Devarsi! True, sinful persons thus suffer hundred thousand hells. All these are very painful and tormenting. Out of these the abovenamed twenty hells give the greatest sufferings. O Devarsi! The sinners suffer various pains in hells and virtuous persons go to the several spheres where all sorts of happinesses and pleasures reign. O Maharsi! I have described to you many forms of practising one’s Sva Dharma; yet know this verily that the worship of the Devî’s Gross Form and of Her Virât Form is the Chief Dharma of all the persons. By worshipping the Devî, the persons have not to go to the hells. In fact, when the Devî Bhagavatî is worshipped, She Herself arranges for crossing the person to the other shore of this ocean of transmigration of existence.

Here ends the Twenty-third Chapter of the Eighth Book on the description of the remaining hells in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 24. On The Worship Of The Devî

1-2. Nârada said :-- “O Bhagavân! Of what sort is the Dharma, i.e., the worship of the Devî? In what way shall we worship Her, so that She gives us the Highest Place? What are the methods and forms of Her Worship? Where and when shall we worship Her! So that the Durgâ Devî saves us from the above mentioned hells.”

3-20. Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi! You are the foremost of the Knowers of Truth. I will therefore tell you how the Devî gets pleased and how Her worship is conducted according to the Dharma. Hear attentively. O Nârada! I will also describe the nature of Sva Dharma. Hear that also. When one worships, with due rites and ceremonies, the Devî in this beginningless world, She Herself removes all the terrible dangers and difficulties. Hear the rules how the people worship the Devî. When the Pratîpat Tithi (the first day after the Full or New Moon) comes, one should worship the Devî with a present of rice, etc., with ghee (clarified butter) and give that to the Brâhmins. Then one becomes completely free from any disease. On the second day (Dvîtiyâ Tithi), one must serve the Mother of the Universe with sugar and give that to the Brâhmins; he then becomes long-lived. On the third (tithi) on commencing with the Poojâ, the worshipper must give milk to the Devî and give that to a best Brâhmin; he is then freed from all his troubles and ailings. On the fourth (tithi) the worshipper is to offer a cake of flour to the Devî and then give that to a Brâhmin; no obstacles come to that man. On the fifth tithi, the worshipper is to offer plantains to the Devî and then to give that to the Brâhmins; he thus becomes intelligent. On the sixth tithi, the worshipper gives honey to the Devî and then that to a Brâhmin; he gets thus the beauty of his body. On the seventh tithi, the Brâhmin gives to the Devî the Naivedya (an offering of rice, etc.) with Gur (sugarcandy) and then that to the Brâhmins; he then becomes freed from his mental sorrows. On the eighth day, if one gives cocoanut, one is freed of one’s remorse, etc.; on the ninth, if anybody gives fried rice (Lâj), he will have his happiness increased both in this world and in the next. O Muni! If on the tenth tithi, one offers to the Devî black Til (sesamum) and then to the Brâhmin, he becomes free from the fear of death. If, on the eleventh tithi, (ekâdas’î) one gives the curd to the Devî and then to the Brâhmin, one becomes a great favourite of the Devî. If on the twelfth day, one offers to the Devî and to the Brâhmin the Chipitaka rice or grain (well parched and flattened) one becomes a favourite of the Devî. If, on the thirteenth day one gives to the Bhagavatî grains and then that to a Brâhmin, one gets progeny. If, on the fourteenth day, one gives to the Devî the flour of fried barley or other grains (S’aktu) and then that to a Brâhmin, one becomes a favourite of S’iva. If on the Full Moon day, one offers to the Devî Pâyasa and then that to a Brâhmin, then one’s Pitris are uplifted to the higher regions.

21-42. O Muni! On the above tithis, if one forms daily Homas, as stated in the Pûjâ Chapter, the Devî becomes very pleased. The articles corresponding to the tithi as mentioned above destroy all the evils and inauspicious omens.

On Sunday, it is a rule to give an offering of Pâyasam (a food prepared of rice, milk, and sugar). On Monday, the milk; on Tuesday, the nice plantains; on Wednesday, the fresh butter; on Thursday, the gud or sugarcandy, Friday, the white sugar, and on Saturday, it is a rule to give the clarified butter of cow’s milk. Now hear what should be offered on the Naksattras. The following are the Naivedyas given to each of the Naksattras, in due order, from As’vinî :-- Clarified butter (ghee), sesamum (Til), sugar, curd, milk, Kilâtak (Mâlâi, milk), Dadhikûrchi (Mâlâi Curd), Modaka (a kind of sweetmeat, a confection) Phenikâ, Ghrita Mandaka, a sort of sweet meat of wheaten flour and gur, Vatapattra, Ghritapura (Ghior), Vataka, Kharjura juice (of the datepalm), a sort of sweet meat of Gur and gram, honey, S’ûrana, Gur Prithuka, grapes, datepalms, Chârakâs, Apûpa, Navanîta (fresh butter), mudga, modaka, and Mâtulinga. Now hear what are given in the Viskambha and the other Yogas. The World Mother becomes very much pleased when one offers to Her the following things :-- Gur, honey, ghee, milk, curd, Takra, apûpa, fresh butter, Karkatî, Kusmânda, Modaka, Panasa, plantain, Jambu (rose-apple), mangoe, sesamum, oranges, Dâdima, (pomegranate) Vadarî (Jujube) the Dhâtrî (Âmalaki) fruit, Pâyasa, Prithuka, gram, cocoanut, Jambîra. Kaseru, and S’ûrana. The auspicious events occur when these are offered. The intelligent persons have thus decided to give the above on Viskambha and the other Yogas. Now hear :-- I will describe the things that are offered on the respective Karanas :-- Kamsâra, Mandaka, Phenî, Modaka, Vatapattraka, Ladduka, Ghritapûra, Til (Sesamun), curd, ghee, and honey. These are to be offered devotedly to the Devî on the respective Karanas. Now I will describe to you the other offerings very pleasing to the Devî. Hear. O Nârada! Hear it with great attention and love. On the third tithi of the bright fortnight, in the month of Chaitra, one is to worship duly the Madhûka tree and offer Pañcha Khâdya (the five sorts of food). So hear what articles are to be offered according to the rules that are laid down on the third day of the white fortnight of the other months. The Gur, in the month of Vais’âkh; the honey, in Jyaistha; the fresh butter, in Âsâdha; the curd, in S’râvana; the S’arkarâ, in Bhâdra; the Pâyas’a, in Âs'vin; the pure milk, in Kârtik; the Phenî, in Agrahâyana; the Dadhi Kûrchîkâ in Pausa; the clarified butter of cow’s milk, in Mâgha, and the cocoanut offerings, in the month of Phâlguna. Thus with these twelve sorts of offerings, one is to worship the Devî in the twelve months respectively.

43-69. One should worship the Devî in the Madhûka tree with these names :-- Mangalâ, Vaisnavî, Mâyâ, Kâla-râtri, Duratyayâ, Mahâmâyâ, Mâtangî, Kâlî, Kamalavâsinî, S'ivâ, Sahasracharanâ, and Sarva mangalarûpinî (One name for each of the 12 months). Finally, to bring the vow to a good issue and to have one’s desires fulfilled with greater success, one is to sing stotras (hymns) to the Mâhes'varî, the Controller of all the gods, in that Madhûka tree, thus :-- Thou art lotus-eyed; obeisance to Thee! Thou art Jagaddhâtrî, the Upholdress of the Universe, I bow down to Thee; Thou art Mahes’varî, Mahâ Devî, and Mahâmangalarûpinî (Thou art the great Devî, and Thou dost great good to all). Thou destroyest the sins, Thou givest Moksa or final liberation. Thou art Parames’varî, Thou art the World Mother and Thou art of the nature of the Highest Brahmâ. Thou art Madadâtrî (the giver of Mada, the Supreme Felicity and rapture or excessive delight), Thou art maddened with Mada the (Excessive Joy); Thou canst be reached when Thou art given proper veneration; Thou art the the Most High. Thou art Intelligent; Thou art meditated upon by the Munis; and Thou dwellest in the Sun. Thou art the Lord of the several Lokas (worlds); Thou art endowed with the Highest Knowledge; and Thou art of the colour of water at the time of Pralaya (the Universal Dissolution). Thou art worshipped by the Gods and the Asuras for the destruction of the Great Moha. So Great Victory to Thee! Thou art the Rescuer of one from the abode of Death; Thou art worshipped by Yama, Thou art the elder of Yama, Thou art the Controller of Yama and Thou art worshipped by all. Obeisance to Thee! Thou art impartial; Thou controllest all; Thou art perfectly unattached; Thou destroyest the people’s worldly attachments; Thou art The One to whom all look for the fructification of their desires; and Thou art the Compassion Incarnate. Thou art, worshipped by the names :-- Kankâla Krûra, Kâmâksî; Mînaksî Marma bhedinî, Mâdhûryarûpas’âlinî; and Thou art worshipped with the Pranava Om prefixed to all the Stotras and the Mantras. Thou art of the nature of the Seed Mâyâ (mâyâvîja); Thou canst be realised by repeating the mantra and Thou canst be pleased by the deep concentration (Nididyâsana) on Thee. Thou canst be reached by all men through their minds and Thou dost things that are pleasing to the Mahâ Deva. Thou dwellest in the trees As’vattha, Vata (Peepul tree), Neem, Mangoe, Kapittha (wood apple tree), and the tree Kul (Jujube) trees. Thou art the Palms (Jack) tree, Thou art Arka, Karîra and Ksîra trees. Thou residest in Dugdha vallî (the milky juice of plants); Thou art the Compassion Incarnate; and fit to shew mercy. Thou art sincerity and kindness and Thou art the Consort of the Omniscient. So Victory to Thee! O Nârada! After the worship, if one performs the stotra above described, to the Devî, the worshipper derives all sorts of Punyams (merits). He who reads daily the Stotra, pleasing to the Devî, becomes freed of all sorts of diseases, pain and freed of his fear of passions, so hard to conquer! What more than this that he who wants money, gets money; who wants Dharma, gets Dharma; he who wants Kâma, gets his Kâma (objects of desires); and he who wants Moksa, gets Moksa. The Devî is the Awarder of the Chatur Varga fourfold fruits.

If this Stotra be read, the Brâhmin becomes Vedavit, the knower of the Vedas; the Ksattriya gets the victory; the Vais’ya gets wealth and the S’ûdra gets happiness. If this Stotra be read with devotion and attention, the Pitris get undying satisfaction, lasting till Pralaya (the time of universal dissolution). Thus I have described to you the method of worshipping the Devî. The Devas consider it with great attention. He gets the Devî Loka, who performs the worship of the Devî, as above described, with devotion. O Brâhmana! When the Devî is thus worshipped, all the desires are fulfilled; all sins are destroyed; and, in the end, one’s mind becomes pure and the worshipper is respected and worshipped everywhere. O Son of Brahmâ! His fear of going into hell is destroyed by the Grace of the Devî; even in dreams, he does not fear anything. By the Grace of Mahâ Mâyâ, his sons and his grandsons, riches and grains multiply and multiply. He becomes a great and steadfast devotee of the Devî; there is no doubt in this. Now I have described to you completely the rules of worship of the Devî. When one performs this, one becomes freed of the Narakas; and all sorts of good things come to him. O Muni! The Madhûka worship and the monthly worship have been described also. He who performs this Madhûka worship fully, never meets with any disease or obstacles. Now I will describe to you the other five aspects of the Great Devî of the nature of Prakriti. Her Name, Form and Origin give pleasure to all the worlds. O Muni! Now hear this Prakriti Pañchaka, its narrative and the greatness thereof. Know that this is as curious as it gives liberation.

Here ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Eighth Book on the worship of the Devî in the Mahâ Purânam, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

[The Eighth Book completed.]

The Ninth Book

Chapter 1. On The Description Of Prakriti

1. S’ri Nârâyana said :-- This (Highest) Prakriti is recognised as five-fold. When She is engaged in the work of Creation, She appears as :-- (1) Durgâ, the Mother of Ganes’a,  (2) Râdhâ, (3) Laksmî, (4) Sarasvatî and (5) Sâvitrî.

2-3. Nârada replied :-- O Thou, the best of Jñânins! Who is this Prakriti? (Whether She is of the nature of Intelligence or of matter?) Why did She manifest Herself and then again why did She reveal Herself in these five forms? And what are Her characteristics? Now Thou oughtest to describe the lives of all, the different modes of their worship, and the fruits that are accrued thereby. Please also inform me which Forms of them manifested themselves in which different places. Dost Thou please narrate to me all these.

4-18. Nârâyana said :-- “O Child! Who is there in this world that can describe fully the characteristics of Prakriti! However I will describe to you that much which I heard from my own father, Dharma. Hear. The prefix “Pra” in the word Prakriti means exalted, superior, excellent; and the affix “Kriti” denotes creation. So the Goddess, the Devî Who is the most excellent in the work of creation is known as the Devî Prakriti. To come closer :-- “Pra” signifies the Sattva Guna, the most exalted quality, “Kri” denotes the Rajo Guna and “Ti” denotes the Tamo Guna. (The Sattva Guna is considered as the Highest as it is perfectly clear and free from any impurities whatsoever; the Rajo Guna is considered intermediate as it has this defect :-- that it spreads a veil over the reality of things, so as not to allow men to understand the True Reality, while the Tamo Guna is considered worst as it completely hides the Real Knowledge).

So when this Intelligence of the nature of Brahmâ, beyond the three attributes, gets tinged with the above three Gunas and becomes omnipotent, then She is superior (Pradhânâ) in the work of creation. Hence She is styled as Prakriti.

O Child Nârada! The state just preceding that of creation is denoted by “Pra”; and “Kri” signifies creation. So the Great Devî that exists before creation is called Prakriti after creation. The Paramâtmâ by His Yoga (i.e., Mâyâ S’akti, the Holy Ghost) divided Himself into two parts; the right side of which was male and the left side was the female Prakriti.

(Note :-- The Holy Ghost is the principle of Conception and Emanation, Creation). So the Prakriti is of the nature of Brahmâ. She is eternal. As the fire and its burning power are not different, so there is no separate distinction between Âtman and His S’akti, between Purusa and Prakriti. Therefore those that are foremost and the highest of the Yogis do not recognise any difference between a male and a female. All is Brâhman. He is everywhere as male and female forever. There is nothing in this world that can exist for a moment even without this Brâhman consisting of male and female. (i.e. they are Brâhman with Mâyâ manifested). Out of the Will of S’rî Krisna, to create the world Whose Will is all in all, came out at once the Mûlâ Prakriti, the Great Devî Îs’varî, (the Lady Controller of the Universe) Brahmâ with Mâyâ in a state of equilibrium). By Her command came out five Forms of Her, either for the purpose of creation or for bestowing Favour and Grace to the Bhaktas (devotees). Durgâ the Mother of Ganes’a, comes, as the first, the most auspicious, loved by S’iva. She is Nârâyanî, Visnu Mâyâ, and of the nature of Pûrna Brahmâ (the Supreme Brahmâ). This eternal, all auspicious Devî is the Presiding Deity of all the Devas and is, therefore, worshipped and praised by Brahmâ and the other Devas, Munis, and Manus. This Bhagavatî Durgâ Devî, (when She gets pleased) destroys all the sorrows, pains and troubles of the Bhaktas that have taken Her refuge, and gives them Dharma, everlasting name and fame, all auspicious things and bliss and all the happiness, nay, the Final Liberation! She is the Greatest Refugeof these Bhaktas that come to Her wholly for protection and are in great distress, whom She saves from all their dangers and calamities. In fact, know this Durgâ Devî as, verily, the Presiding Deity of the heart of Krisna and as His Highest S’akti, of the nature of the Holy Fire and the Holy Light. She is Omnipotent and resides always with Krisna, the Great God. She is worshipped by all the Siddha Purusas (those that have attained success); the (eighteen) Siddhis all go to Her and when pleased She gives whatever Siddhis (success) that Her Bhaktas want.

19-40. This Great Devî is the intelligence, sleep, hunger, thirst, shadow, drowsiness, fatigue, kindness, memory, caste, forbearance, errors, peace, beauty, and consciousness, contentment, nourishment, prosperity, and fortitude. She is sung in the Vedas and in other S’âstras as the Mahâ Mâyâ, of the nature of the Universe. In reality, She is the All-S’akti of the Universe and She is the S’akti of Krisna. All these qualities are also mentioned in the Vedas. What is mentioned here is a tithe merely, in comparison to that of the Vedas. She has infinite qualities. Now hear of other S’aktis. The second S’akti of the Paramâtman is named Padmâ (Laksmî). She is of the nature of S’uddha Sattva (Higher than Sattva Guna) and is Krisna’s Presiding Deity of all wealth and prosperity. This very beautiful Laksmi Devî is the complete master of the senses; She is of a very peaceful temper, of good mood and all-auspicious. She is free from greed, delusion, lust, anger, vanity and egoism. She is devoted to Her husband and to Her Bhaktas; Her words are very sweet and She is very dear to Her husband, indeed, the Life and Soul of Him. This Devî is residing in all the grains and vegetables and so She is the Source of Life of all the beings. She is residing in Vaikuntha as Mahâ Laksmî, chaste and always in the service of Her husband. She is the Heavenly Laksmî, residing in the Heavens and the royal Laksmî in palaces and the Griha Laksmî in the several families of several householders. O Nârada! All the lovely beauty that you see in all the living beings and all the things, it is She; She is the glory and fame of those that have done good and pious works and it is She that is the prowess of the powerful kings. She is the trade of merchants, the mercy of the saints, engaged in doing good to others and the seed of dissensions in those sinful and vicious persons as approved of in the Vedas. She is worshipped by all, reverenced by all. Now I will describe to you about the third S’akti of the Great God who is the Presiding Deity of knowledge, speech, intelligence, and learning. This third S’akti is named Sarasvatî. She is all the learning of this endless Universe and She resides as medhâ (intelligence) in the hearts of all the human beings; She is the power in composing poetry; She is the memory and She is the great wit, light, splendour and inventive genius. She gives the power to understand the real meaning of the various difficult Siddhânta works; She explains and makes us understand the difficult passages and She is the remover of all doubts and difficulties. She acts when we write books, when we argue and judge, when we sing songs of music; She is the time or measure in music; She holds balance and union in vocal and instrumental music. She is the Goddess of speech; She is the Presiding Deity in the knowledge of various subjects; in argumentations and disputations. In fact all the beings earn their livelihood by taking recourse to Her. She is peaceful and holds in Her hands Vînâ (lute) and books. Her nature is purely Sâttvic (S’uddha Sattva), modest and very loving to S’rî Hari. Her colour is white like ice-clad mountains, like that of the white sandal, like that of the Kunda flower, like that of the Moon, or white lotus. She always repeats the name of Paramâtmâ S’rî Krisna while She turns Her bead composed of jewels. Her nature is ascetic; She is the bestower of the fruits of the ascetism of the ascetics; She is the Siddhi and Vidyâ of all; She grants always success to all. Were She not here, the whole host of Brâhmins would always remain speechless like the dead cluster of persons. What is recited in the Vedas as the Third Devî is the Holy Word, The Third S’akti, Sarasvatî. Thus I have described Her. Now hear the glories of the other Devî in accordance with the Vedas. She is the mother of the four colours (castes), the origin of the (six) Vedâmgas (the limbs of the Vedas and all the Chhandas, the Seed of all the mantrams of Sandhyâ vandanam and the Root, the Seed of the Tantras; She Herself is versed in all the subjects. Herself an ascetic, She is the Tapas of the Brâhmins; She is the Tejas (Fire) and the caste of the Brâhmin caste and embodies in Herself all sorts of Samskâras (tendencies; inclinations); She is the Japam. Pure, known by the names of Sâvitrî and Gâyatrî, She resides always in the Brahmâ Loka (the Sphere of Brahmâ) and is such as all the sacred places of pilgrimages want Her touch for their purification.

41-47. Her colour is perfectly white like the pure crystal. She is purely S’uddha Sattva, of the nature of the Highest Bliss; She is eternal and superior to all. She is of the nature of Para Brahmâ and is the bestower of Moksa. She is the Fiery S’akti and the Presiding Deity of the Brahmâ Teja (the fiery spirit of Brahmâ, and the Brâhmanas). The whole world is purified by the touch of Whose Feet, this Sâvitrî Devî is the Fourth S’akti. O Child Nârada! Now I will describe to you about the Fifth S’akti, the Devî Râdhikâ. Hear. She is the Presiding Deity of the five Prânas; She Herself is the Life of all; dearer than life even to S’rî Krisna; and She is highly more beautiful and superior to all the other Prakriti Devîs. She dwells in everything; She is very proud of Her good fortune (Saubhâgyam); Her glory is infinite; and She is the wife, the left body, as it were, of S’rî Krisna and She is not in any way inferior to Him, either in quality or in the Tejas (Fiery Spirit) or in any other thing. She is higher than the Highest; the Essence of all, infinitely superior, the First of all, Eternal, of the nature of the Highest Bliss, fortunate, highly respected, and worshipped by all. She is, the Presiding Devî of the Râsa Lîlâ of S’rî Krisna. From Her has sprung the Râsa mandalam and She is the Grace and the Ornament of the Râsa mandalam (the dance in a circle in Râsa).

[Note :-- Extracts from a paper on Creation as explained by Hon’ble Justice Sir G. Woodroffe.

The lecturer commenced by pointing out that an examination of any doctrine of creation reveals two fundamental concepts: Those of Being  (Kutastha) and Becoming (Bhava); Changelessness and Change; the one and Many. The Brahmân or Spirit in its own nature (Svarupa) is and never becomes. It is the evolutes derived from the Principle of Becoming (Mûlâ Prakriti) which constitute what is called Nature. The latter principle is essentially Movement. The world is displayed by consciousness (chit) in association with Mûlâ Prakriti in cosmic vibration (spandana). Recent Western hypotheses have made scientific “matter” into Mâyâ in the sense that it is but the varied appearances produced in our mind by vibration of and in the single substance ether. The doctrine of vibration (Spandana) is however in India an ancient inheritance. The whole world is born from the varied forms of the initial movement in Mûlâ Prakriti. The problem is how does such multiplicity exist without derogation to the essential unit of its efficient cause, the spirit? The lecturer then made a rapid survey of the Sânkhya philosophy on this point which assumes two real and independent principles of Being and Becoming which it calls Purusa and Prakriti and passed from this the easiest dualistic answer to the pure monism of S’ankara which asserted that there was but one Principle of Being, the Sadvastu and Mâyâ, whether considered as a S’akti of Îs’vara or as the product of such S’akti was Avastu or nothing. He then pointed out that the Tântrik doctrine with which he dealt occupied a middle position between those two points of view. S’iva in the Kulârnava Tantra says “Some desire Monism” (Advaitavâda), others Dualism (Dvaitavâda). Such, however, know not My Truth which is neither Monism nor Dualism (Dvaitâdvaitâ Vivarjita). Tantra is not Dvaitavâda for it does not recognise Prakriti as an independent unconscious principle (Achit). It differs from S’ankara’s Advaitavâda in holding that Prakriti as a conscious principle of Becoming, that is as S’akti, is not Avastu, though its displayed picture, the world is Mâyâ. It effects a synthesis of the S’ânkhya dualism by the conversion of the twin principles of Purusa and Prakriti into the unity which is the Ardhanârîs’vara S’iva S’akti.

As regards other matters it adopts the notions of the Sânkhya such as the concepts of Mûlâ Prakriti with the three Gunas, vibration (spandana), evolution (Parinâma) of the Vikritis and the order of emanation of the Tattvas. S’akti which effects this exists and is Herself never unconscious (Achit) though It has the power to make the Jîva think It is such. If this were understood one would not hear such nonsense as that the S’âktas (whose religion is one of the oldest in the world) worship material force or gross matter (Jada).

The lecturer then shortly explained the nature of S’akti (S’akti Tattva), a term which derived from the root “S’ak” meant the Divine Power whereby the world was created, manifested and destroyed. In Tantra the power and the Lord who wields it (S’aktimân) are one and the same, S’iva and S’akti are one and the same, S’iva is Brahmân, S’akti is Brahmân. The first is the transcendent, the second the immanent aspect of the one Brahmân, Who is both S’iva and S’akti. The Mother creates (Kârya-Vibhâvinî). The Father wills what She does (Kârya-Vibhâvaka). From their union creation comes. S’akti is not like the diminutive female figure which is seen on the lap of some Indian images, to which is assigned the subordinate position which some persons consider a Hindu wife should occupy. She is not a handmaid of the Lord but the Lord Himself in Her aspect as Mother of the worlds. This S’akti is both Nirguna and Saguna that is Chit S’akti and Mâyâ S’akti.

After this defining the nature of S’akti by which the world was created, the lecturer commenced an account of its manifestation as the universe, following in the main the S’âradâ Tilaka written in the eleventh century by Laksmanâchârya, the guru of the celebrated Kashmiran Tântrik, Abhinava Gupta. The following is a very abbreviated summary of this, the main portion of the paper. The lecturer first referred to the Aghanâvasthâ state which was that Niskala S’iva and touching upon the question why S’iva became Sakala (associated with Kalâ) and creative explained the term Kalâ and the theory of Adristasristi taught by the Tantra as by other S’astras. The former is according to Sânkhya, Mûlâ Prakriti; according to Vedânta, Avidyâ and according to the S’iva Tantra, S’akti. The latter is the doctrine that the impulse to creation is proximately caused by the Karma of the Jîvas. It is the seed of Karma which contains the germ of cosmic will to life. When Karma becomes ripe, there arises the state called Îksana and other names indicative of creative desire and will. There then takes place a development which is peculiar to the Tantra called Sadris’a Parinâma, which is a kind of Vivartta. The development is only apparent for there is no real change in the Ânandamaya Kosa. S’akti which exists in Sakala S’iva in a purely potential state is said to issue from Him. This is the first kinetic aspect of S’akti in which Sattaguna is displayed. This is the Paramâkâsâvasthâ. Nâda (sound, word) then appears. S’akti becomes further kinetic through the enlivening of the Rajo Guna. This is the Aksarâvasthâ. Then under the influence of Tamas, Îsvara becomes Ghanibhûta and what is called the Parâvindu. This is the Avyaktâvasthâ. Thus the Supreme Vindu men call by different names, Mahâ Visnu, Brahmâ Purûsa, or Devî. It is compared to a grain of gram which under its sheath contains two seeds in undivided union. These are S’iva S’akti and their encircling sheath is Mâyâ. This Vindu unfolds and displays itself, in the threefold aspect of Vindu, Vîja, Nâda; or S’iva, S’akti, and S’iva S’akti; the three S’aktis of will, knowledge and action. This is the mysterious Kâma Kalâ which is the root of all Mantras. These seven :-- Sakala, S’iva, S’akti, Nâda, Parâvindu, Vindu, Vîja, Nâda are all aspects of S’akti which are the seven divisions of the Mantra Om and constitute what is called the creation of Parâ sound in the Îs’vara creation.

The lecturer having explained the nature of these S’aktis which formed part of the sound (S’abda), Sadrisa Parinâma, referred to the form or meaning (Artha) creation in the same development by the appearance of the six S’ivas from S’ambu to Brahmâ which were aggregate (Samasti) sound powers. It was he said, on the differentiation of the Parâvindu that there existed the completed causal S’abda which is the Hidden Word. The causal body or Parâ S’abda and Artha being complete, there then appeared the displayed word or S’abdârtha. This is a composite like the Greek Logos. The S’abda Brahmân or Brahmân as cause of S’abda is the Chaitanya in all beings. The S’abdârtha in the Vedantin Nâmarûpa or world of name and form of this S’abdârtha the subtle and gross bodies are constituted, the S’aktis of which are the Hiranyagarbha sound, called Madhyamâ and the Virât sound Vaikhârî. By S’abda is not meant merely physical sound which as a quality of atomic ether is evolved from Tâmasik Ahamkâra.

The lecturer then pointed out that there had been Adrista Sristi up to the appearance of S’akti and Vivartta development up to the completion of the “word” or causal sound. Then there takes place real evolution (Parinâma) in which the Tattvas (or elements discovered as a result of psychological analysis of our worldly experience) are said to emanate according to the Sânkhya and not the Vedantic scheme, though there were some peculiarities in the Tantrik exposition which the lecturer noted. Finally Yogika Sristi was accepted in so far as it was the elements which in varied combinations made up the gross world.

In conclusion the lecturer pointed out that Indian S’âstra was a mutually connected whole. Such peculiarities as existed in any particular S’âstra were due to a variety of standpoints or purpose in view. The main point in this connection to be remembered was that the Tantra was practical S’âdhanâ S’âstra. Whilst S’ankara dealt with the subject from the standpoint of Jñânakânda, the Tantra treated it from the point of view of worship (Upâsanâkânda) the Tantrik doctrine is compounded of various elements some of which it shared with other S’âstras, some of which are its own, the whole being set forth according to a method and terminology which is peculiar to itself.]

48-70. She is the Lady of the Râsa Lîlâ, the Foremost of the Jovial, humourous (witty) persons and dwells always in Râsa. Her abode is in Goloka and from Her have come out all the Gopîkâs. Râsa – the circular dance of Krisna and the cow-herdesses of Vrindâvana. Her nature is the Highest Bliss, the Highest Contentment, and Excessive Joy; She transcends the three Sattva, Rajo and Tamo Gunas and is Nirâkâra (without any particular form); but She dwells everywhere but unconnected with any. She is the soul of all. She is without any effort to do anything and void of Ahamkâra. She assumes forms only to show Her favour to Her Bhaktas. The intelligent learned men (Pundits) read Her Mahimâ (glories) in meditating on Her according to the Vedas. The chief of the Devas and the Munis could never see Her; Her clothings are fire-proof and She is decorated with many ornaments all over Her body. Her body looks as if the crores of moons have risen all at once; She is the Giver of Bhakti (devotion) towards Krisna, services towards Krisna; and She bestows all wealth and prosperity. In Varâha Kalpa, i.e., when the Varâha incarnation took place, She incarnated Herself as the daughter of one Gopa (cow-herd), named Vrisabhânu. And Earth was blessed by the touch of Her feet. She is such as Brahmâ and the other Devas could never perceive Her by any of their senses, yet everyone at Vrindâvan saw Her very easily. She is the Gem amongst women. And when She is seen on the breast of Krisna, it seems that lightnings flash in the blue mass of clouds in the sky. In days gone by, Brahmâ practised several austerities for sixty thousand years to purify Himself by seeing the nails of Her toe; but far from seeing that, He could not have that even in his dreams. At last He succeeded in seeing Her at Vrindâvana and became blessed. O Child Nârada! This is the fifth Prakriti and She is denominated as Râdhâ. Every female in every Universe is sprung from a part of S’rî Râdhâ or part of a part. O Nârada! Thus I have described to you the five Highest Prakritis, Durgâ and others. Now I am going to describe those that are parts of these Prakritis. Hear. The Ganges, Gangâ has sprung from the lotus feet of Visnu; Her form is fluid-like; She is eternal. And She is the veritable burning fire to burn away the sins of the sinners. She is sweet to touch in taking baths and in drinking; She gives final liberation to the Jîvas, and leads easily to the Goloka abode. She is the holiest amongst the places of pilgrimage and is the first of the running rivers. She is the rows of pearls in the clotted hairs of Mahâdeva’s head and She is the Tapasyâ (asceticism) incarnate of the Tapasvîs (ascetics) of the Bhârata Varsa. This Ganges purifies the three worlds and is the part of Mûlâ Prakriti; She shines like the Full Moon, is white like white lotus and like milk; She is pure S’uddha Sattva, clear, free from any Ahamkâra, chaste and beloved of Nârâyana. The Tulasî Devî is the consort of Visnu. She is the ornament of Nârâyana, and dwells always at the lotus feet of Nârâyana. By Her are performed all the acts of worship, all austerities, and all Sankalpas (resolves). She is the chief of all the flowers, holy and able to give merits (Punyam) to others. At Her sight and touch, Nirvâna can be obtained; and, were it not for Her, there could be no other fire in this Kali Yuga to burn the sins. She Herself is of the nature of Fire and at the touch of Whose lotus-feet, the earth is purified; all the Tîrthas desire to have Her sight and touch for purification and without Her all acts in this world become fruitless. She bestows Moksa (liberation) to those who want final liberation, grants all sorts of desires to several people, Who Herself is like a Kalpa Vriksa, Who is the Presiding Deity of all the trees in Bhârata and Who has come here to grant satisfaction to the ladies of Bhârata Varsa and She is considered very superior throughout all parts of India. This Tulasî Devî is the chief factor of Mûlâ Prakriti.

71-95. Then comes the Manasâ Devî, the daughter of Kas’yapa. She is the dear disciple of S’ankara and is therefore very learned in matters of S’âstras. She is the daughter of Ananta Deva, the Lord of Snakes and is very much respected by all the Nâgas. She Herself is very beautiful, the Lady of the Nâgas, the mother of the Nâgas and is carried by them. She is decorated with ornaments of the Snakes; She is respected by the Nâgendras and She sleeps on the bed of Snakes. She is Siddha Yoginî, the devotee of Visnu and always ready in the worship of Visnu; She is the Tapas and the bestower of the fruits of Tapas. Herself an ascetic, She spent three lakh years (according to the Deva measure) and has become the foremost of the ascetics in Bhâratvarsa. She is the Presiding Deity of all the mantras; Her whole body shines with Brahmâteja (the Holy Fire of Brahmâ). Herself of the nature of Brahmâ, She again meditates on Brahmân. She is sprung from a part of S’rî Krisna and the chaste wife of Jarat Kâru Muni, the mother of Âstika, the great Muni; She is the part of Mûlâ Prakriti. O Child Nârada! Now comes the S’asthî Devî, the Mother of Devasenâ. She is the most superior amongst the Gaurî and the sixteen Mâtrikâs. This chaste woman is the giver of sons and grandsons in the three worlds and the nurse, the foster mother of all. She is the sixth part of Mûlâ Prakriti and is hence known by the name of S’asthî. She lives near to every child as an aged Yoginî. Her worship is everywhere prevalent in the twelve months Vais’âkha, etc. When the child gets born, on the sixth day of Her worship is done in the lying-in-chamber and again on the 21st day (after twenty days have passed away) the most auspicious worshipful ceremony of Her is performed. The Munis bow down to Her with reverence and want to visit Her daily.

She protects all children always with a mother’s affectionate heart. This S’asthî Devî is again the part of Mûlâ Prakriti. Then appears the Devî Mangala Chandikâ. She goes from one house to another, on land or through water or in air, doing great good to them; She has come out of the face of the Prakriti Devî and is doing always all sorts of good to this world. Her name is Mangala Chandî because She is all auspicious at the time of creation and assumes very furious angry appearance at the time of destruction. So the Pundits say. On every Tuesday in all the worlds Her worship is done; and She, when pleased, gives to women sons, grandsons, wealth, prosperity, fame and good of all sorts and grants all desires. This Mangala Chandi is again the part of Mûlâ Prakriti. Now comes the lotus-eyed Mâhes’varî Kâlî who when angry can destroy all this universe in a moment, who sprang from the forehead of the Mûlâ Prakriti, Dûrgâ to slay the two demons S’umbha and Nis’umbha. She is the half-portion of Dûrgâ and qualified like Her, fiery and energetic. The beauty and splendour of whose body make one think as if the millions of suns have arisen simultaneously. Who is the foremost of all the S’aktis and is more powerful than any of them, Who grants success to all the persons, Who is superior to all and is of Yogic nature, Who is exceedingly devoted to Krisna and like Him fiery, well-qualified, and valorous, Whose body has become black by the constant meditation of S’rî Krisna, Who can destroy in one breath this whole Brahmânda, Who was engaged in fighting with the Daityas simply for sport and instruction to the people and Who, when pleased in worship can grant the four fruits Dharma, Artha, Kâma and Moksa. This Kâlî is also the part of Prakriti. The Devî Basundharâ (Earth) is again the part of Mûlâ Prakriti. Brahmâ and the other Devas, all the Muni mandalams (the spheres of Munis), fourteen Manus and all men sing hymns to Her. She is the support of all and filled with all sorts of grains. She is the source of all gems and jewels, She bears in Her womb all the precious metals. All sorts of best things issue from Her. She is the Refuge of all. The subjects and kings worship Her always and chant hymns to Her. All the Jîvas live through Her and She bestows all sorts of wealth and prosperity. Without Her, all this, moving or non-moving, become void of any substratum. Where to rest on!

96-143. O Child Nârada! Now hear about them who are issued again from the parts of Mûlâ Prakriti as well as the names of their wives. I will now narrate duly. The Devî “Svâhâ” is the wife of Agni (Fire), and the whole Universe worships Her. Without her, the Devî can never take any oblations. Daksinâ and Diksâ are both the wives of Yajña (Sacrifice). They are honoured everywhere. So much so that without Daksinâ (the fees given at the end of the Sacrifice) no sacrificial ceremonies can be complete and fructifying. The Devî “Svadhâ” is the wife of the Pitris. All worship this Devî “Svadhâ” whether they are Munis, Manus, or men. If this mantra “Svadhâ” be not uttered while making an offering to the Pitris, all turn out useless. The Devî “Svasti” is the wife of the Vâyu Deva; She is honoured everywhere in the Universe. Without this “Svasti” Devî, no giving nor taking nor any action can be fructifying and useful. “Pustî”  (nourishment) is the wife of Ganapatî. All in this world worship this Pustî Devî. Without this “Pusti”, women or men alike all become weaker and weaker. Tustî (satisfaction, contentment) is the wife of Ananta Deva. She is praised and worshipped everywhere in this world. Without Her no one anywhere in the world can be happy. “Sampattî” is the wife of Îsâna Deva. The Suras, the men all alike worship Her. Were it not for Her, all in this world would be oppressed with dire poverty. The Devî “Dhritî” is the wife of Kapila Deva. She is honoured equally in all places. Were it not for Her, all the people in this world would have become impatient. The “Satî” Devî is the wife of Satya Deva (Truth). She is endearing to the whole world. The liberated ones worship Her always. Were it not for the truth loving Satî, the whole world would have lost the treasure in friendship. “Dayâ” (Mercy) endearing to the whole world is the chaste wife of “Mohâ Deva”. She is liked by all. Were it not for Her, all the world would have become hopeless. The Devî “Pratisthâ” (fame, celebrity) is the wife of Punya Deva (merit).She gives merits to persons according as they worship Her. Were it not for Her, all the persons would remain dead while living. The Devî “Kîrti” (fame) is the wife of Sukarma (good works). Herself a Siddha (one who has acquired the result of one’s success), all the blessed people honour Her with great reverence. Were it not for Her, all the persons in this world would have been dead, devoid of any fame. Kriyâ (work-efforts, action, doing) is the wife of “Udyoga” (enthusiasm). All honour Her greatly. O Muni Nârâda! Were it not for Her, the whole people would be void of any rules and regulations. Falsehood is the wife of Adharma (unrighteousness). She is honoured greatly by all the cheats that are extant in this world. Were she not liked by them, then all the cheats would become extinct. She did not fall in the sight of anybody in the Satya Yuga. Her subtle form became visible in the Tretâ Yuga. When the Dvâpara Yuga came, She became half developed. And at last when the Kali Yuga has come, She is fully developed and there is no second to Her whether in bold confidence and shamelessness or in talking much and pervading everywhere. With her brother Deceitfulness, She roams from one house to another. Peace and modesty and shame are both the wives of good behaviour. Were they not existent, all in this world would have turned out deluded and mad. Intelligence, genius and fortitude, these three are the wives of Jñâna (knowledge). Had they not lived, every one would become stupid and insane. Mûrti is the wife of Dharma Devî. She is of the nature of Beauty to all and very charming. Were it not for Her, Paramâtmân would not get any resting place; and the whole universe would have become Nirâlamba (without anything to rest). This chaste Mûrti Devî is of the nature of splendour, loveliness and Laksmî. She is everywhere respected, worshipped and reverenced. “Sleep”, the Siddha Yoginî, is the wife of Rudra Deva, who is of the nature of Kâlâgni (the universal conflagration at the break-up of the world). All the Jîvas spend their nights with Her. The twilights, night and day are the wives of Kâla (Time). If they were not, the Creator even would not be able to reckon time. Hunger and thirst are the wives of Lobha (covetousness). They are thanked, respected and worshipped by the whole world. Had they not lived, the whole world would have merged ever in an ocean of anxieties. Splendour and burning capacity are the wives of Tejas (fire). Without these, the Lord of the world could never have created and established order in this universe. Death and old age are the daughters of the Kâla, and the dear wives of Jvarâ (the disease). Without these, all the creation would come to an end. The Tandrâ (drowsiness, lassitude) and Prîti (satisfaction) are the daughters of Nidrâ (sleep). And they are the dear wives of Sukha (pleasure). They are present everywhere in this world. O Best of Munis! S’raddhâ (faith) and Bhakti (devotion) are the wives of Vairâgyam (dispassion). For then all the persons can become liberated while living (Jîvanmuktas). Besides these there is Aditi, the Mother of the Gods, Surabhi, mother of cows; Diti, the mother of the Daityas; Kadru, the mother of the Nâgas (serpents); Vinatâ, the mother of Garuda, the prince of birds; and Danu, the mother of the Dânavas. All are very useful for the purpose of creation. But these all are parts of Mûlâ Prakriti. Now I will mention some of the other parts of Prakriti. Hear. Rohinî, the wife of the Moon, Sanjñâ, the wife of the Sun; S’atarûpâ, the wife of Manu; S’achî, the wife of Indra; Târâ, the wife of Brihaspati; Arundhatî, the wife of Vas’istha; Anasûyâ, the wife of Atri; Devahûtî, the wife of Kardama; Prasûti, the wife of Daksa; Menakâ, the mind born daughter of the Pitris and the mother of Ambikâ, Lopâmudrâ, Kuntî, the wife of Kuvera, the wife of Varuna, Bindhyâvalî, the wife of the King Bali; Damayantî, Yas’odâ, Devakî, Gândhârî, Draupadî, S’aivyâ, Satyavatî, the chaste and noble wife of Brisabhânu and the mother of Râdhâ; Mandidarî; Kaus’alyâ, Kauravî,; Subhadrâ; Revatî, Satyabhâmâ, Kâlindî, Laksmanâ; Jâmbavatî; Nâgnajiti, Mitrabindâ, Laksanâ, Rukminî, Sîtâ, the Laksmî incarnate; Kâlî, Yojana Gandhâ, the chaste mother of Vyâsa, Ûsâ, the daughter of Vâna, her companion Chitralekhâ; Prabhâvati, Bhânumatî, the Satî Mâyâvatî, Renukâ, the mother of Paras’urâma; Rohinî, the mother of Balarâma, Ekanandâ and the sister of S’rî Krisna, Satî Durgâ and many other ladies are the parts of Prakriti and all the female sex, everywhere in the Universe are all come from the parts of Prakriti. So to insult any woman is to insult the Prakriti. If one worships a chaste Brahmin woman, who has her husband and son living, with clothings, ornaments, and sandal paste, etc., one worships, as it were, Prakriti. If any Vipra worships a virgin girl, eight years old, with clothings, ornaments and sandal paste, know that he has worshipped the Prakriti Devî. The best, middling, and worst are all sprung from Prakriti. Those women that are sprung from Sattva Guna are all very good natured and chaste; those that are sprung from Rajo Guna are middling and very much attached to worldly enjoyments and do their selfish ends and those that are sprung from Tamo Guna are recognised as worst and belonging to the unknown families. They are very scurrilous, cheats, ruining their families, fond of their own free ways, quarrelsome and no seconds are found equal to them. Such women become prostitutes in this world and Apsarâs in the Heavens. The Hermaphrodites are parts of Prakriti but they are of the nature of Tamo Gunas.

144-159. Thus I have described to you the nature of Prakriti. So in this Punyabhûmi Bhârata Varsa, to worship the Devî is by all means desirable. In days past by, the King Suratha worshipped the Mûlâ Prakriti Durgâ, the Destructrix of all evils. Then again S’rî Râma Chandra worshipped Her when he wanted to kill Râvana. Since then Her worship is extant in the three worlds. She was first born as the honourable daughter of Daksa. She destroyed the whole hosts of Daityas and Dânavas. It was She who, hearing the abusive words uttered against Her husband at the Yajña by Daksa, Her father, gave up Her body and took up again Her birth. She took Her birth in the womb of Menakâ and got again Pas’upati as Her husband. And of the two sons, Kârtika and Ganes’a, born to Her, Kârtika was the Ansa (part) of Nârâyana and Ganapati was S’rî Krisna Himself, the Lord of Râdhâ. O Devarsi! After the two sons, Laksmî Devî came out of Durgâ. Mangala Râja, the King Mars first worshipped Her. Since then, all in the three worlds began to worship Her, whether they are Devas or men. The King As’vapati first worshipped Sâvitrî Devî; and since then the Devas, Munis, all began to worship Her. When the Devî Saravastî was born, the Bhagavân Brahmâ first worshipped Her; next the greatest Munis, Devas all began to worship Her. On the full moon night of the month of Kârtik, it was Bhagavân S’rî Krisna, The Highest Spirit, that worshipped, first of all, the Devî Râdhâ within the Râsa Mandalam, the enclosure, within which the Râsa Lîlâ was performed (the circular dance) in the region Goloka. Then under the command of S’rî Krisna, all the Gopas (cow-herds), Gopîs, all the boys, girls, Surabhî, the queen of the race of the cows, and the other cows worshipped Her. So since Her worship by the inhabitants of Goloka, by Brahmâ and the other Devas and the Munis, all began to worship ever S’rî Râdhâ with devotion and incense, light and various other offerings. On earth She was first worshipped by Suyajña, in the sacred field of Bhâratvarsa, under the direction of Bhagavân Mahâdeva. Subsequently, under the command of the Bhagavân S’rî Krisna, the Highest Spirit, the inhabitants of the three worlds began to worship Her. The Munis with great devotion, with incense, flowers and various other offerings worship always the Devî Râdhâ. O Child Nârada! Besides these, all the other Devîs that have issued from Prakriti Devî are all worshipped. So much so that in the villages, the village Deities, in the forests, the forest Deities and in the cities, the city Deities are worshipped. Thus I have described to you all according to the S’âstras the glorious lives of the Devî Prakriti and Her parts. What more do you want to hear?

Here ends the First Chapter on the Description of Prakriti in the Ninth Book of the S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On The Origin Of Prakriti And Purusa

1-4. Nârada said :-- O Lord! I have heard all that you said in brief about the Prakriti Devî. Now describe in detail. Why the Mûlâ Prakriti Âdya S’akti (the Prime Force) was created at the beginning before the creation of this world of five elements. How did She, being of the nature of the three Gunas, come to be divided into five parts? I desire to hear all this in detail. Now kindly describe their auspicious births, methods of worship, their meditation, their stotras (praises), Kavachas (the mystic syllables considered as a preservation like armour), glory and power in detail.

5-26. Nârâyana spoke :-- “O Devarsi! The Mûlâ Prakriti, of the nature of Mâyâ of Para Brahman is an eternal entity (the nabho mandal); Time (Kâla), the ten quarters, the Universe Egg, the Goloka and, lower than this, the Vaikuntha Dhâma all are eternal things. Âtman and Prakriti are in inseparable union with each other as Fire and its burning capacity, the Moon and her beauty, the lotus and its splendour, the Sun and his rays are inseparably united with each other. As the goldsmith cannot prepare golden ornaments without gold and as the potter cannot make earthen pots without earth, so the Âtman cannot do any work without the help of this omnipotent Prakriti. The letter “Sa” indicates “Ais’yaryam” prosperity, the divine powers; and “Kti”, denotes strength; and in as much as She is the bestower of the above two, the Mûlâ Prakriti is named “S’akti”. “Bhaga” is indicative of knowledge, prosperity, wealth, fame; and in as much as Mûlâ Prakriti has all these powers, She is also called “Bhagavatî”. And Âtman “is always in union with this Bhagavatî Who is all powers, so He is called “Bhagavân’. The Bhagavân is therefore sometimes with form; and sometimes He is without form. (Note :-- When Prakriti becomes latent, God is without form; with Prakriti manifest, God is with form.) The Yogis always think of the Luminous Form of the Formless Bhagavân and declare Him to be all blissful Para Brahma, the God. Though He is invisible, the Witness of all, Omniscient, the Cause of all, the Giver of everything and of every form, yet the Vaisnavas do not say so. The Vaisnavas declare how can fire, strength and energy come when there is no fiery, strong, energetic Person behind it? Therefore He who shines in the centre of this fiery sphere is the Para Brahma; He is the Fiery Person; He is higher than the Highest. He is All Will; He is All Form, the Cause of all causes and His Form is Very Beautiful. He is Young; He looks very peaceful and loved by all. He is the Highest; and His Blue Body shines like new rain-clouds. His two eyes defy the beauty of the autumn lotuses in the mid-day; His exquisitely nice rows of teeth put all the series of pearls in the dark back-ground. The peacock’s feather is seen on His crown; the garland of Mâlatî flowers is suspended from His neck.; His nose is exceedingly beautiful; the sweet smile is always seen on His lips. There is no second like Him in showing favour to the Bhaktas. He wears yellow clothings, as if the burning fire is emanating all round; the flute is seen on both His hands, reaching His knees. His body is decorated all over with jewels. He is the Sole Refuge of this Universe; the Lord of all, omnipotent and omnipresent. No trace of deficiency can be seen in Him; He is Himself a Siddha (perfect) Purusa; and the foremost of all Siddha Purusas; bestows Siddhis to all. The Vaisnavas meditate always That Eternal S’rî Krisna, the Deva of the Devas. He takes away fully all the fears of birth, death, old age, and ills and sorrows. The age of Brahmâ is the twinkling of His eye. That Highest Self, the Para Brahma is denominated as Krisna. The word “Kris” denotes Bhakti to S’rî Krisna and the letter “na” signifies devotion to His service. So He is the Bestower of Bhakti and devotion to His service. Again “Kris” denotes all; everything; and “na” signifies the root. So He Who is the Root and Creator of all, is S’rî Krisna. When He desired, in the very beginning, to create this Universe, there was nothing then except S’rî Krisna; and at last, impelled by Kâla (His Own Creation), He became ready, in His part, to do the work of creation.

27-61. The Lord, who is All Will, willed and divided Himself into two parts, His Left part becoming female and His Right part becoming male. Then that Eternal One, Who is greatly loving, looked at the female, His left part, the Sole Receptacle to hold all the contents of love, very lovely to the eyes, and looking like the beautiful lotus. The loins of this woman defy the Moon; Her thighs put the plaintain trees quite in the background; Her breasts are mistaken for the beautiful Bel fruits; flowers are scattered as Her Hairs on the head; Her middle part is very slender, very beautiful to behold! Exceedingly lovely; appearance very calm; sweet smile reigning in Her lips; side long glances with Her; Her clothing is purified with fire; all over Her body decorated with gems. Her eyes, also, like the Chakora bird (Greek partridge) began to drink incessantly with joy the moon beams from the face of S’rî Krisna, defying, as it were, the ten millions of moons. On Her forehead there was the dot of vermillion (red-lead); over that, the dot of white sandal paste and over that was placed the musk. The fillets or braids of hair on Her head are slightly curved; this was decorated with Mâlatî garlands; on Her neck was suspended the necklace of gems and jewels and She is always very amorous towards Her husband. On looking at Her face, it seems that ten millions of moons have arisen at once; when She walks, Her gait puts (humiliates) those of ganders and elephants in the shade. O Muni! S’rî Krisna, the Lord of the Râsa Dance, and the Person of Taste in the Râsa sport, looked askance at Her for a while and then catching hold of Her by Her hand went to the Râsamandalam and began to play the Râsa sport (the amorous pastime). It seemed then the Lord of amorous pastimes had become incarnate there and had been enjoying the various pleasures of amorous passions and desires. So much, that Brahma’s one day passed away in that sport. The Father of the Universe, then becoming tired, impregnated in an auspicious moment in Her womb who was born of His left portion. The Prakriti Devî was also tired of the embraces of S’rî Krisna; so after the intercourse, she began to perspire and breathe frequently. Her perspiration turned into water and deluged the whole universe, with water; and Her breath turned into air and became the life of all beings. The female that sprung from the left side of Vâyu became his wife and out of their contact originated Prâna, Apâna, Samâna, Udâna and Vyâna, the five sons. These are the five vital Vâyus of all the beings. Besides these from the womb of the Vâyu’s wife came out Nâga and the other four lower Vâyus. The water that came out from perspiration, Varana Deva became the Presiding Deity of that; and the female, sprung out of the left side of Varuna Deva, became the wife of Varuna, called Varunânî. On the other hand, the S’akti, of the nature of knowledge of S’rî Krisna, remained pregnant for one hundred manvantaras. Her body became effulgent with Brahma-teja (the fire of Brahma). Krisna was Her life and She again was dearer to Krisna than his life even. She remained always with S’rî Krisna; so much so that She constantly rested on His breast. When one hundred manvantaras passed away, that Beautiful One gave birth to a Golden Egg. That egg was the repository of the whole universe. The Beloved of Krisna became very sorry to see the egg and out of anger, threw that within the water collected in the centre of the Universe. Seeing this, S’rî Krisna raised a great cry and immediately cursed Her duly and said :-- “O Angry One! O Cruel One! When you have forsaken out of anger this son just born of you, I say then that you become from today bereft of any issue. Besides, let all those godly women that will spring out of your parts, they also be deprived of having any issue or sons and they will remain ever constant in their youth. O Muni! While S’rî Krisna was thus cursing, suddenly came out from the tongue of the beloved of Krisna, a beautiful daughter, of a white colour. Her clothings were all white, in her hands there were lute and book and all Her body was decorated with ornaments made of gems and jewels. She was the Presiding Deity of all the S’âstras. Some time later the Mûla Prakriti, the Beloved of Krisna divided into two parts. Out of Her left portion came Kamalâ and out of Her right portion came Râdhikâ. In the meantime S’rî Krisna divided Himself into two parts. From his right side appeared a form two-handed; and from the left side appeared a form four-handed. Then S’rî Krisna addressed the Goddess Speech, holding flute in Her hand, “O Devî! You follow this four-handed Person as his wife” and then spoke to Râdhâ :-- “O Râdhe! You are a sensitive, proud lady; let you be My wife; so it will do you good”. S’rî Krisna also told Laksmî gladly to become the wife of the four-handed Nârâyana. Then Nârâyana, the Lord of the world, took both Laksmî and Sarasvatî to the abode Vaikuntha. O Muni! Both Laksmî and Sarasvatî became issueless, being born of Râdhâ. From the body of Nârâyana arose his attendants, all four-handed. They were all equal to Him in appearance, in qualifications; in spirit and in age. On the other hand, from the body of Kamalâ arose millions of female attendants all equal to Her in form and qualifications. Then  arose innumerable Gopas (cow-herds) from the pores of S’rî Krisna. They were all equal to the Lord of Goloka in form, Gunas, power and age; they were all dear to Him as if they were His life.

62-88. From the pores of Râdhikâ came out the Gopa Kanyâs (cow-herdesses). They were all equal to Râdhâ and all were Her attendants and were sweet-speaking. Their bodies were all decorated with ornaments of jewels, and their youth was constant, they were all issueless as S’rî Krisna had cursed them thus. O Best of Brâhmanas! On the other hand, suddenly arose Durgâ, the Mâyâ of Visnu (The Highest Self) eternal and whose Deity was Krisna. (N. B. Durgâ was the Avatâra of Mûla Prakriti not the Avatâra of Râdhâ as Laksmî and Sarasvatî were.) She is Nârâyanî; She is Îs’ânî; She is the S’akti of all and She is the Presiding Deity of the intelligence of S’rî Krisna. From Her have come out many other Devîs; She is Mûla Prakriti and She is Îs’varî; no failings or insufficiencies are seen in Her. She is the Tejas (of the nature of Fire) and She is of the nature of the three Gunas. Her colour is bright like the molten gold; Her lustre looks as if ten millions of Suns have simultaneously arisen. She looks gracious always with sweet smile on Her lips, Her hands are one thousand in number. Various weapons are in all Her hands. The clothings of the three-eyed one are bright and purified by Fire. She is decorated with ornaments all of jewels. All the women who are the jewels are sprung from Her parts and parts of parts and by the power of Her Mâyâ, all the people of the world are enchanted. She bestows all the wealth that a householder wants; She bestows on Krisna’s devotees, the devotion towards Krisna; nay, She is the Vaisnavî S’akti of the Vaisnavas. She gives final liberation to those that want such and gives happiness to those that want happiness. She is the Laksmî of the Heavens; as well She is the Laksmî of every household. She is the Tapas of the ascetics, the beauty of the kingdoms of the kings, the burning power of fire, the brilliancy of the Sun, the tender beauty of the Moon, the lovely beauty of the lotus and the S’akti of S’rî Krisna the Highest Self. The Self, the world all are powerful by Her S’akti; without Her everything would be a dreary dead mass. O Nârada! She is the seed of this Tree of World; She is eternal; She is the Stay, She is Intelligence, fruits, hunger, thirst, mercy, sleep, drowsiness, forgiveness, fortitude, peace, bashfulness, nourishment, contentment and lustre. The Mûla Prakriti praising S’rî Krisna stood before Him. The Lord of Râdhikâ then gave Her a throne to sit. O Great Muni! At this moment sprang from the navel lotus the four-faced Brahmâ, with his wife Sâvitrî, an exceedingly beautiful woman. No sooner the four-faced Brahmâ, the foremost of the Jñânins, fond of asceticism and holding Kamandalu in His hand came into being than He began to praise S’rî Krisna by His four mouths. On the other hand the Devî Sâvitrî, with a beauty of one hundred moons, born with great ease, wearing apparel purified by fire and decorated with various ornaments praised Krisna, the One and Only Cause of the Universe and then took Her seat gladly with Her husband in the throne made of jewels. At that time Krisna divided Himself into two parts; His left side turned into the forn of Mahâdeva; and His right side turned into the Lord of Gopikâs (cow-herdesses). The colour and splendour of the body of Mahâdeva is pure white like white crystal; as if one hundred suns have arisen simultaneously. In His hands there are the trident (Tris’ul) and sharp-edged spear (Pattisa); He is wearing a tiger skin; on His head is matted hair (Jatâ) of a tawny hue like molten gold; His body was besmeared all over with ashes, smile reigning in His face and on His forehead, the semi-moon. He has no clothing on His loins; so He is called Digambara (the quarters of the Sky being His clothing); His neck is of a blue colour; the serpent being the ornaments on His body and on His right hand the nice bead of jewels well purified. Who is always repeating with His five faces the Eternal Light of Brahmâ, and Who has conquered Death by praising S’rî Krisna, Who is of the nature of Truth, the Highest Self, the God Incarnate, the material cause of all things and the All auspicious of all that is good and favourable, and the Destroyer of the fear of birth, death, old age, and disease and Who has been named Mrityunjaya (the conqueror of Death). This Mahâdeva took His seat on a throne made of jewels (diamonds, emeralds, etc.).

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Ninth Book on the origin of Prakriti and Purusa in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 3. On The Origin Of Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’a And Others

1-34. Nârâyana said:-- “O Devarsi! The egg (born of Mûla Prakriti) that was floating in the waters for a period equal to the life period of Brahmâ, now in the fullness of time separated into two parts. Within that egg there was a powerful Child, lustrous like one thousand millions of suns. This child could not suck mother’s milk, as it was forsaken by Her. So being tired of hunger, the child for a moment cried repeatedly. The child that will become the Lord of countless Brahmândas (universes), now an orphan having no father nor mother began to look upwards from the waters. This boy came to be denominated afterwards by the name of Mahâ Virât, when he became gross and grosser. As there is nothing finer than radium so there is nothing grosser than Mahâ Virât. The power of this Mahâ Virât is one-sixteenth of that of S’ri Krisna, the Highest Self. But this boy, (born of the Prakriti Râdhâ) is the Sole Stay of all this Universe and he is denominated by the name “Mahâ-Visnu”. In his every pore countless universes are existing. So much so that even S’ri Krisna could not count them. If it were possible to count the number of dust particles, it is impossible to count the number of universes. So there are endless Brahmâs, Visnus, and Mahes’varas. In every Brahmânda, there is Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a. Each Brahmânda extends from Pâtâla to the Brahmâloka. The abode of Vaikuntha is higher than that (i. e. it is situated outside of Brahmânda), again the abode of Goloka is fifty koti yojanas (50 x 10 x 4 x 2 million miles) higher than Vaikuntha. This Goloka Dhâma is eternal and real as S’ri Krisna is eternal and real. This world composed of the seven islands is surrounded by the seven oceans. Forty-nine Upa Dvîpas (smaller islands adjacent to them) are existing here. Besides there are countless mountains and forests. Higher than this earth is the Brahmâloka with seven heavens and below this are the seven Pâtâlas. This is the bounding limit of Brahmânda. Just above this earth there is the Bhûrloka; above is Bhuvarloka; then Svarloka, then Janarloka, then Taparloka, then Satyaloka, and above that is Brahmâloka. The splendour of Brahmâloka is like that of molten gold. But all the substances whether outside or inside this Brahmâloka, are transient. When this Brahmânda (cosmos) dissolves, everything dissolves and is destroyed. All are temporary like bubbles of water. Only Goloka and Vaikuntha are eternal. In every pore of this Mahâ Virât is existing one Brahmânda (cosmos). What to speak of others when even Krisna cannot count the number of these Brahmândas. In every Brahmânda there is Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a. O Child Nârada! In every Brahmânda, the number of the gods is three kotis or 30 millions. Some of them are the Dikpatis (the Regents of the quarters); some are the Dikpâlas (the Rulers of the quarters), some are asterisms, and some planets. In the Bhûrloka, there are four Varnas (Brâhmins, etc.,) and in the Pâtâlas there are Nâgas. Thus the Universe exists composed of moveable and non-moveable things (This is Brahmânda Vivriti). O Nârada! Now the Virât Purusa began to look up to the skies again and again but He could not see anything within that egg except the void. Then distressed with hunger He cried out repeatedly and became merged in anxiety. Next moment getting back His consciousness, He began to think of Krisna, the Highest Person and saw there at once the eternal light of Brahmâ. He saw there His form as deep blue like new rain-cloud; with two hands, garment of a yellow colour, sweet smile on His face, flute in His hand and He seemed to be very anxious to show His Grace to Devotees. Looking at the Lord, His Father, the boy became glad and smiled. The Lord, the Bestower of boon granted him boons appropriate for that moment “O Child! Let you possess knowledge like Me; let your hunger and thirst vanish; let you be the holder of innumerable Brahmândas till the time of Pralaya (the universal dissolution). Be without any selfishness, be fearless and the bestower of boons to all. Let not old age, death, disease, sorrow nor any other ailings afflict thee. Thus saying He repeated thrice on his ear the six-lettered great Mantra “Om Krisnâya Svâhâ” worshipped by the Vedas with their Amgas, the Giver of desires and the destroyer of all troubles and calamities. O Brahmâ’s Son! Thus giving the mantra, S’ri Krisna arranged for his feeding thus:-- In every universe, whatever offerings will be given to S’ri Krisna, one sixteenth of that will go to Nârâyana, the Lord of Vaikuntha and fifteen-sixteenth is to go to this boy, the Virât. S’ri Krisna did not allot any share for Himself. Himself transcending all the Gunas, and Full, He is always satisfied with Himself. What necessity is there for any further offerings? Whatever the people offer with devotion, the Lord of Laksmî, the Virât eats all these. Bhagavân S’ri Krisna giving thus to the Virât the boon and the Mantra said:-- “O Child! Say what more you desire; I will give you that instantly. The Virât boy, hearing thus the words of S’ri Krisna, spoke:-- “O Thou Omnipresent! I have got no desires whatsoever, save this that as long as I live, whether for a short time or for a long time, let me have pure Bhakti towards Thy lotus feet.

35-41. In this world he is Jîvanmukta (liberated whilst living) who is your Bhakta; and that bewildered fool is dead while living who is devoid of any Bhakti to Thee. What needs he to perform Japam, asceticism, sacrifice, worship, holding fasts and observances, going to sacred places of pilgrimages and other virtuous acts if he be without any bhakti to S’ri Krisna? Vain is his life who is devoid of any devotion to S’ri Krisna, under Whose Grace he has obtained his life and Whom he does not now pay homage and worship. He is endowed with Sakti as long as Âtma (Self) resides in his body; no sooner the Âtma departs from his body all the Saktis accompany him. O Great One! And thou art the Universal Âtman (soul) who transcends Prakriti,  Who is All will, the Primeval Person and of the nature of the Highest Light. O Child! Thus saying, the Virât boy remained silent. S’ri Krisna then, spoke in sweet words:-- “O Child! Let you remain as fresh as ever like Me. You will not have any fall even if innumerable Brahmâs pass away.

42-57. Let you divide yourself in parts and turn into smaller Virâts in every universe. Brahmâ will spring from your navel and will create the cosmos. From the forehead of that Brahmâ will spring eleven Rudras for the destruction of the creation. But they will all be parts of S’iva. The Rudra named Kâlâgni, of these eleven Rudras, will be the destroyer of all this Vis’vas (cosmos). Besides, from each of your sub-divisions, the Vis’nu will originate and that Bhagavân Visnu will be the Preserver of this Vis’vu world. I say that under my favour you will always be full of Bhakti towards Me and no sooner you meditate on Me, you will be able to see My lovely form. There is no doubt in this; and your Mother, Who resides in My breast, will not be difficult for you to see. Let you remain here in ease and comfort. I now go to Goloka. Saying thus S’ri Krisna, the Lord of the world disappeared. Going to His own abode He spoke instantly to Brahmâ and S’ankara, skilled in the works of creation and destruction:-- “O Child Brahmâ! Go quickly and be born in parts from the navels of each of the smaller Virâts that will arise from the pores of the Great Virât. O Child Mahâdeva! Go and be born in parts from the forehead of each Brahmâ in every universe for the destruction of the creation; (but be careful that you not forget) and perform austerities for a long, long time. O son of the Creator Brahmâ! Thus saying, the Lord of the Universe remained silent. Brahmâ and S’iva, the auspicious, bowing to the Lord, went to their own duties. On the other hand, the great Virât that lay floating in the waters of the Brahmânda sphere, created from his every pore each smaller Virât. That youth Janârdan of the form of the Great Cosmos, wearing yellow garment of the bluish-green colour of the Durba grass, lay sleeping pervading everywhere. Brahmâ took his birth in His navel. He, then, after his birth, began to travel in that navel-lotus and in the stem of the lotus for one lakh yugas. But he could not find out the place whence the lotus or its stem had sprung up. O Nârada! Then your father became very anxious and came back to his former place and began to meditate on the lotus feet of S’ri Krisna. Then, in meditation, with his introspective eye, he first saw the small Virât, then the endless great Virât lying on the watery bed, in whose pores the universes are existing and then he saw the God S’ri Krisna in Goloka with Gopas and Gopis. He then began to praise the Lord of Goloka when He granted boons to your father, and he began to do the work of creation.

58-62. From the mind of your father, were born first S’anaka and other brothers and then from his forehead eleven Rudras sprang. Then from the left side of that small Virât lying on the bed of waters, the four-handed Visnu Bhagavân, the Preserver of the Universe, came. He went to S’vetadvîpa, where he remained. Then your father became engaged in creating this Universe, moveable and non-moveable, composed of three worlds, heaven, earth and Pâtâla, in the navel of that small Virât Purusa. O Nârada! Thus from the pores of that great Virât each universe has sprung and in every universe there is one small Virât, one Brahmâ, one Visnu and one S’iva and S’anaka and others. O Best of twice born! Thus I have described the glories of Krisna, that give exceeding pleasure and Moksa. Now say what more you want to hear?

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Ninth Book on the Origin of Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a and others in the Mahâ Purânam S’ri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 4. On The Hymn, Worship And Kavacha Of Sarasvatî Devî

1-3. Nârada said :-- By your Grace I have heard everything very sweet like nectar, of the origin of things. Now may I ask you which Devî of these five Prakritis has been worshipped by what Mantra? and by whom? How has each of them been praised? and by whom? How has the worship of their Mûrtis (form) become prevalent in this world? What are the Stotram (hymn of praise), the Dhyân (meditation) glory and life of these? Also what sort of boon do each of the Devîs grant? and to whom? Kindly describe all these in detail.

4-29. Nârâyana said :-- O Child! Durgâ, the mother of Ganes'a, Râdhâ, Laksmî, Sarasvatî and Sâvitrî, these are the five Prakritis sprung directly from Mûla Prakriti. The methods of their worship, wonderful glorious acts, excellent stotrams, and their lives, inculcating good to all, and sweet like nectar are all widely written in the Vedas, Purânas, Tantras and other S'âstras. So there is no need to describe them here again. Now I am describing in detail the auspicious character of these that are sprung from the parts and Kalâs of the Prakriti. Hear attentively. Kâlî, Vasundharâ, Gangâ, Sasthî, Mangal Chandikâ, Tulasî, Manasâ, Nidrâ, Svadhâ, Svâhâ, and Daksinâ, these are the parts of Prakriti. By and by I will describe, briefly, the merit-giving characters and pleasant to hear. Along with these I will describe the Karmas of the Jîvas, and the great exalted lives of Durgâ and Râdhâ. I am now describing Sarasvatî's character. Hear, O Muni! S'rî Krisna introduced first in this Bhârata, the worship of the Devî Sarasvatî, the holder of Vînâ in Her hands, under whose influence, the hearts of illiterate stupid persons become illumined with knowledge. The amorous Devî Sarasvatî sprang from the end of the lips of Râdhâ and so she desired to marry Krisna out of amorous feelings. S'ri Krisna, the controller of the hearts of all, knew it instantly and addressed the Mother of the people in true words proper to Her and beneficial to Her in the end. O Chaste One! The four-armed Nârâyana is born from My parts; He is young, of good features and endowed with all qualifications; so much so, he is like Me. He is a Knower of amorous sentiments of women and He fulfils those desires; what to speak of His beauty, ten millions of the God of love are playing in His body. O Beloved! And if you desire to marry and remain with Me, that will not be of any good to you. For Râdhâ is near to Me; She is more powerful than you. If a man be stronger than another, he can rescue one who takes his shelter; but if he be weaker, how can he then, himself weak, protect his dependant from others. Though I am the Lord of all, and rule all, yet I cannot control Râdhâ. For She is equal to me in power, in beauty, in qualifications, equal to Me in every respect. Again it is impossible for Me to quit Râdhâ for She is the presiding Deity of My life. Who can relinquish life? Though a son is very dear to his father, still it may be questioned, is he dearer than his father's life? So, O Auspicious One! Go to the abode Vaikuntha; you will get your desires fulfilled there. You will get for your husband the Lord of Vaikuntha and you will live ever in peace and enjoy happiness. Though Laksmî is residing there yet like you she is not under the control of lust, anger, greed, delusion and vanity. She is also equal to you in beauty, qualities, and power. So you will live with her in great delight and Hari, the Lord of Vaikuntha, will treat both of you equally. Moreover, I say this in particular that in every universe, on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Mâgha, every year, the day when the learning is commenced, a great festival will be held and men, Manus, Devas, and the Munis desirous of liberation, Vasus, Yogis, Nâgas, Siddhas, Gandarbhas, Râksasas, all will perform your worship with devotion in every Kalpa till the time of Mahâ Pralaya comes. All are required to be Jitendriya (having their senses under control) and Samyamî (concentrating his mind, and with a religious vow) and they will invoke Thee on a jar or on books and then meditate according to what is stated in the Kanva S'âkhâ of Yajurveda and then worship and sing hymns to Thee. Thy Kavacha (an armour; a mystical syllable ** considered as a preservative like armour) is written on the bark of the Bhûrja tree and then with eight kinds of scents mingled with it is placed within a golden nut or ring named Mâduli and then held on the neck or on the right arm. The learned should recite Thy Stotras during worship. Thus saying, the Puran Brahmâ S'rî Krisna Himself worshipped the Devî Sarasvatî. Since then, Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'a, Ananta Deva, Dharma, Sanaka and other Munîndras, all the Devas, Munis, all the kings and all the human beings are worshipping the Devî Sarasvatî. O Nârada! Thus the worship of the Eternal Devî is made extant in the three worlds.

30-31. Nârada said :-- O Chief of the Knowers of the Vedas! Now describe to me the methods of worship, Dhyân, Kavacham, hymns, the appropriate offerings of the Pûjâ flowers, sandalpaste and other good things necessary in these worships and which are so sweet to hear. I am ever very eager and anxious to hear these.

32-59. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I am now stating the method of worship of the Devî Sarasvatî, the Mother of the Worlds, according to Kanva S'âkhâ of the Yajurveda. Hear. On the day previous to the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Mâgh or the day of commencement of education, the devotee should control his senses, concentrate his mind and take his bath. Then he is to perform his daily duties and install the jar (Ghata) with devotion and according to the Mantras of the Kanva S'âkhâ or the Tantra, as the case may be. He is to worship first on that Ghata (jar) Ganapati (Ganes'a), then meditate the Devî Sarasvatî as described below, invoke Her and again read the Dhyân and then worship with Sodas'opachâra (sixteen good articles offered in the worship). O Good One! Now I am speaking, according to my knowledge, about the offerings as ordained in the Vedas or Tantras. Hear. Fresh butter, curd, thickened milk, rice freed from the husk by frying, sweetmeats (Til Laddu) prepared of Til, sugar cane, sugarcane juice, nice Gud (molasses), honey, svastik, sugar, rice (not broken) out of white Dhân, chipitak of table rice (Âlo châl), white Modak, Harbisyânna prepared of boiled rice with clarified butter and salt, Pistaka of jaoâ or wheaten flour, Paramânna with ghee, nectar like sweetmeats, cocoanut, cocoanut water, Svastik Pistaka, Svastik and ripe plantain Pistaka, Kaseru (root), Mûlâ, ginger, ripe plantains, excellent Bel fruit, the jujube fruit, and other appropriate white purified fruits of the season and peculiar to the place are to be offered in the Poojâ. O Nârada! White flowers of  good scent, white sandalpaste of good scent, new white clothes, nice conchshell, nice garlands of white flowers, nice white necklaces, and beautiful ornament are to be given to the Devî. I say now the Dhyânam sweet to hear, of the Devî Sarasvatî according to the Vedas, capable to remove errors! Hear. I hereby bow down to the Devî Sarasvatî, of a white colour, of a smiling countenance and exceedingly beautiful, the lustre of whose body overpowers that of the ten millions of Moons, whose garment is purified by fire, in whose hands there are Vînâ and books, who is decorated with new excellent ornaments of jewels and pearls and whom Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara and the other Devas, Munis, Manus and men constantly worship. Thus meditating the Devî, the intelligent persons should offer all articles, after pronouncing the root Mantra. Then he is to hymn and hold Kavacha and make Sâstânga pranâms before the Devî. O Muni! Those whose Devî Sarasvatî is the presiding Deity, are not to be spoken of at all (i.e., they will naturally do all these things and with a greater fervour). Besides all should worship the Devî Sarasvatî on the day of commencement of education and every year on the S'ûkla Panchamî day of the month of Mâgh. The eight-lettered Mantra, as mentioned in the Vedas is the root Mantra of Sarasvatî. (Aim Klîm Sarasvatyai namah). Or the Mantra to which each worshipper is initiated is his Mûlmantra (not Mantra). Or uttering the Mantra “S'rîm Hrîm Sarasvatyai Svâhâ” one is to offer everything to the Devî Sarasvatî. This Mantra is the Kalpa Vriksa (i. e., the tree which yields all desires). Nârâyana, the ocean of mercy, gave in ancient times, this very Mantra to Vâlmikî in the holy land Bhârata Varsa on the banks of the Ganges; next Bhrîgu gave this Mantra on the occasion of solar eclipse to Maharsi Sukrâcharya on the Puskara Tîrtha; Mârîcha gave to Brihaspati on a lunar eclipse; Brahmâ gave to Bhrîgu in the Vadarikâ Âs'rama; Jaratkarâ gave to Âstika on the shore of the Ksiroda ocean; Bibhândaka gave this to the intelligent Risyasringa on the Sumeru mountain, S'iva gave this to Kanâda and Gotama, Sûrya gave to Yâjñavalkya and Kâtyâyana, Ananta Deva gave to Pânini, to the intelligent Bhâradvâja and to S'âkatâyana in Bali's assembly in the Pâtâla. If this Mantra be repeated four lakhs of times, all men attain success. And when they become Siddhas with this Mantra, they become powerful like Brihaspati. In past times, the Creator Brahmâ gave a Kavacha named Vis'vajaya to Bhrîgu on the Gandhamâdana Mountain. I now speak of that. Hear.

60-61. Once on a time Bhrîgu asked Brahmâ the Lord of all, and adored by all, thus :-- “O Brahmân! Thou art the foremost of those that know the Vedas; there is none equal to thee in matters regarding the knowledge of the Vedas (so much so that there is nothing that is not known to thee; for all these have sprung from thee). Now say about the Vis'vajaya Kavacha of the Devî Sarasvatî, that is excellent, without any faults and embodying in it all the properties of all the Mantras.”

62-91. Brahmâ said :-- “O Child! What you have asked about the Kavacha of Sarasvatî that is sweet to hear, ordained and worshipped by the Vedas, and the giver of all desired fruits, now hear of that. In the very beginning, the all-pervading S'rî Krisna, the Lord of the Râsa circle, mentioned this Kavacha to me in the holy Brindâvana forest in the abode Goloka at the time of Râsa in Râsa Mandala. This is very secret; it is full of holy unheard, wonderful Mantras. Reading this Kavacha and holding it (on one's arm) Brihaspati has become foremost in matters of intelligence; by the force of this Kavacha S'ukrâchârya has got his ascendancy over the Daityas; the foremost Muni Vâlmikî has become eloquent and skilled in language and has become Kavîndra and Svâyambhuva Manu; holding this Kavacha he has become honoured everywhere. Kanâda, Gotama, Kanva, Panini, S'akatâyana, Daksa, and Kâtyâyana all have become great authors by virtue of this Kavacha; Krisna Dvaipâyana Veda Vyâsa made the classification of the Vedas and composed the eighteen Purânas. S'âtâtapa, Samvarta, Vas'istha, Parâsara and Yâjñavalkya had become authors by holding and reading this Sarasvatî Kavacha. Risyas'ringa, Bhâradvâja, Âstika, Devala, Jaigisavya, and Yâyâti all were honoured everywhere by virtue of this Kavacha. O Dvija! The Prajâpati Himself is the Risi of this Kavacha; Brihatî is its Chhanda; and S'âradâ Ambikâ is its presiding Deity. Its application (Viniyoga) is in the acquisition of spiritual knowlege, in the fruition of any desires or necessities, in composing poems or anywhere wheresoever success is required. May S'rîm Hrîm Sarasvatyai Svâhâ protect fully my head; S’rîm Vâgdevatâyai Svâhâ, my forehead; Om Hrîm Sarasvatyai Svâhâ, my ears always; Om S’rîm Hrîm Bhagabatyai Sarasvatyai Svâhâ always my eyes; Aim Hrîm Vâgvâdinyai Svâhâ, always my nose; Om Hrîm Vidyadhisthâtrî Devyai Svâhâ, my lips always; Om S’rîm Hrîm Brahmyai Svâhâ my rows of teeth; Aim, this single letter protect my neck; Om S’rîm Hrîm my throat; S'rîm, my shoulders, Om Hrîm Vidyâdhisthâtrî Devyai Svâhâ, always my chest; Om Hrîm Vidyadhisvarûpâyai Svâhâ my navel;  Om Hrîm Klîm Vânyai Svâhâ my hands; Om Svarva vârnatmî Kâyai Svâhâ my feet; and let Om Vâgadhisthâtridevyai Svâhâ protect all my body. Let Om Sarvakanthavâsinyai Svâhâ protect my east; Let Om Svarvajibhâgra vâsinyai Svâhâ, the South-east; Om Aim Hrîm S’rîm Klîm Sarasvatyai budhajananyai Svâhâ, my South; Aim Hrîm S’rîm, this three lettered Mantra my South-west; Om Aim Jhibhagravâsinyai Svâhâ, my West; Om Svarvam bikâyai Svâhâ, my North west; Om Aim S’rîm Klîm Gadyavâsinyai Svâhâ my North; Aim Sarvas'âstra vasinyai Svâhâ, my North-east; Om Hrîm Sarvapujitayai Svâhâ, my top; Hrîm Pustakavasinyai Svâhâ my below and let Om Grantha vîjasvarupâyai Svâhâ protect all my sides. O Nârada! This Vis'vajaya Kavacha of the nature of Brahmâ and its embodied Mantra I have now spoken to you. I heard this before from the mouth of Dharma Deva in the Gandhâmâdana mountain. Now I speak this to you out of my great affection for you. But never divulge this to anybody. One is worship one's spiritual Teacher (Guru Deva) according to due rites and ceremonies with clothings, ornaments, and sandalpaste and then fall down prostrate to him and then hold this Kavacha. Repeating this five lakhs of times, one gets success and becomes a Siddha. The holder of this Kavacha becomes intelligent like Brihaspati, eloquent, Kavîndras, and the conqueror of the three worlds, no sooner one becomes a Siddlha in this. In fact, he can conquer everything by virtue of this Kavacha. O Muni! Thus I have described to you this Kavacha according to Kânva S'âkhâ. Now I am speaking about the method of worship, Dhyâna and the praise of this Kavacha. Hear.

Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the hymn, worship and Kavacha of Sarasvatî Devî in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 5. On Sarasvatî Stotra By Yâjñavalkya

1-5 Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I now describe the Stotra (hymn) of Sarasvatî Devî, yielding, all desires that Yâjñavalkya, the best of the Risis recited in days of yore to Her. The Muni Yajñavalkya forgot all the Vedas out of the curse of Guru and with a very sad heart went to the Sun, the great merit-giving place. There he practised austerities for a time when the Lolâkhya Sun became visible to him, when, being overpowered by great sorrow, he began to cry repeatedly; and then he sang hymns to him. Then Bhagavân Sûrya Deva became pleased and taught him all the Vedas with their Amgas (limbs) and said :-- “O Child! Now sing hymns to Sarasvatî Devî that you get back your memory.” Thus saying, the Sun disappeared. The Muni Yâjñavalkya finished his bath and with his heart full of devotion began to sing hymns to the Vâg Devî, the Goddess of Speech.

6-32. Yâjñavalkya said :-- “Mother! Have mercy on me. By Guru's curse, my memory is lost; I am now void of learning and have become powerless; my sorrow knows no bounds. Give me knowledge, learning, memory, power to impart knowledge to disciples, power to compose books, and also good disciples endowed with genius and Pratibhâ (ready wit). So that in the council of good and learned men my intelligence and power of argument and judgment be fully known. Whatever I lost by my bad luck, let all that come back to my heart and be renewed as if the sprouts come again out of the heaps of ashes. O Mother! Thou art of the nature of Brahmâ, superior to all; Thou art of the nature of Light, Eternal; Thou art the presiding Deity of all the branches of learning. So I bow down again and again to Thee. O Mother! The letters Anusvâra, Visarga and Chandravindu that are affixed, Thou art those letters. So obeisance to Thee! O Mother! Thou art the exposition (Vyâkhyâ) of the S'âstras; Thou art the presiding Deity of all the expositions and annotations. Without Thee no mathematician can count anything. So Thou art the numbers to count time; Thou art the S'akti by which Siddhântas (definite conclusions) are arrived at; Thus Thou dost remove the errors of men. So again and again obeisance to Thee. O Mother! Thou art the S'akti, memory, knowledge, intelligence, Pratibhâ, and imagination (Kalpanâ). So I bow down again and again to Thee. Sanatkumâra fell into error and asked Brahmâ for solution. He became unable to solve the difficulties and remained speechless like a dumb person. Then S'rî Krisna, the Highest Self arriving there, said :-- O Prajâpati! Better praise and sing hymns to the Goddess of speech; then your desires will be fulfilled. Then the four-faced Brahmâ advised by the Lord, praised the Devî Sarasvatî; and, by Her grace, arrived at a very nice Siddhânta (conclusion). One day the goddess Earth questioned one doubt of Her to Ananta Deva, when He being unable to answer, remained silent like a dumb person. At last He became afraid; and advised by Kas'yapa, praised Thee when He resolved the doubt and came to a definite conclusion. Veda Vyâsa once went to Vâlmîki and asked him about some Sûtras of the Purânas when the Muni Vâlmîki got confounded and remembered Thee, the Mother of the world. When by Thy Grace, the Light flashed within him and his error vanished. Thereby he became able to solve the question. Then Vyâsadeva, born of the parts of S'rî Krisna, heard about the Purâna Sûtras from Vâlmîki's mouth and came to know about Thy glory. He then went to Puskara Tîrtha and became engaged in worshipping Thee, the Giver of Peace, for one hundred years. Then Thou didst become pleased and grant him the boon when he ascended to the rank of the Kavîndra (Indra amongst the poets). He then made the classification of the Vedas and composed the eighteen Purânas. When Sadâ S'iva was questioned on some spiritual knowledge by Mahendra, He thought of Thee for a moment and then answered. Once Indra asked Brihaspati, the Guru of the Devas, about S'abda S'âstra (Scriptures on sound). He became unable to give any answer. So he went to Puskara Tîrtha and worshipped Thee for a thousand years according to the Deva Measure and he became afterwards able to give instructions on S'abda S'âstra for one thousand divine years to Mahendra. O Sures'varî! Those Munis that give education to their disciples or those that commence their own studies remember Thee before they commence their works respectively. The Munîndras, Manus, men, Daityendras, and Immortals, Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a all worship Thee and Sing hymns to Thee. Visnu ultimately becomes inert when He goes on praising Thee by His thousand mouths. So Mahâ Deva becomes when he praises by His five mouths; and so Brahmâ by His four mouths. When great personages so desist, then what to speak of me, who is an ordinary mortal having one mouth only!” Thus saying, the Maharsi Yâjñavalkya, who had observed fasting, bowed down to the Devî Sarasvatî with great devotion and began to cry frequently. Then the Mahâmâyâ Sarasvatî, of the nature of Light could not hide Herself away. She became visible to him and said “O Child! You be good Kavîndra (Indra of the poets).” Granting him this boon, She went to Vaikuntha. He becomes a good poet, eloquent, and intelligent like Brihaspati who reads this stotra of Sarasvatî by Yâjñavalkya. Even if a great illiterate reads this Sarasvatî stotra for one year, he becomes easily a good Pundit, intelligent, and a good poet.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Ninth Book on Sarasvatî stotra by Yâjñavalkya in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On The Coming In This World Of Laksmî, Gangâ And Sarasvatî

1-10. Nârâyana said :-- “O Nârada! Sarasvatî lives always in Vaikuntha close to Nârada. One day a quarrel arose with Gangâ, and by Her curse, Sarasvatî came in parts as a river here in this Bhârata. She is reckoned in Bhârata as a great sanctifiying holy and merit-giving river. The good persons serve Her always, residing on Her banks. She is the Tapasyâ and the fruit thereof of the ascetics. She is like the burning fire to the sins of the sinners. Those that die in Bhârata on the Sarasvatî waters with their full consciousness, live for ever in Vaikuntha in the council of Hari. Those that bathe in the Sarasvatî waters, after committing sins, become easily freed of them and live for a long, long time in Visnu-Loka. If one bathes even once in the Sarasvatî waters, during Châturmâsya (a vow that lasts four months), in full moon time, in Aksyayâ or when the day ends, in Vyatîpâta Yoga, in the time of eclipse or on any other holy day or through any other concomitant cause or even without any faith and out of sheer disregard, one is able to go to Vaikuntha and get the nature of S’rî Hari. If one repeats the Sarasvatî Mantra, residing on the banks of the Sarasvatî, for one month, a great illiterate can become a great poet. There is no doubt in this. Once shaving one's head, if one resides on the banks of the Sarasvatî, daily bathes in it, one will have not to meet with the pain of being again born in the womb. O Nârada! Thus I have described a little of the unbounded glories of Bhârata that give happiness and the fruits of all desires.”

11. Sûta said :-- “O Saunaka! The Muni Nârada hearing thus, asked again at that very moment to solve his doubts. I am now speaking of that. Hear.”

12-15. Nârada said :-- “O Lord! How did the Devî Sarasvatî quarrel with the Devî Gangâ and how did she by Her curse turn out in India, into a holy river in giving virtues. I am becoming more and more eager and impatient to hear about this critical incident. I do not find satiety in drinking your nectar-like words. Who finds satiety in getting his good weal? Why did Gangâ curse Sarasvatî, worshipped everywhere. Gangâ is also full of Sattva Gunas. She always bestows good and virtue to all. Both of them are fiery and it is pleasant to hear the cause of quarrels between those two. These are very rarely found in the Purânas. So you ought to describe that to me.”

16-21. Nârâyana said :-- Hear, O Nârada! I will now describe that incident, the hearing of which removes all the sins. Laksmî, Sarasvatî and Gangâ, the three wives of Hari and all equally loved, remain always close to Hari. One day Gangâ cast side-long glances frequently towards Nârâyana and was eagerly looking at Him, with smile on Her lips. Seeing this, the Lord Nârâyana, startled and looked at Gangâ and smiled also. Laksmî saw that, but she did not take any offence. But Sarasvatî became very angry. Padmâ (Laksmî) who was of Sattva Guna, began to console in various ways the wrathful Sarasvatî; but she could not be appeased by any means. Rather Her face became red out of anger; she began to tremble out of her feelings (passion); Her lips quivered; and She began to speak to Her husband.

22-38. The husband that is good, religious, and well qualified looks on his all the wives equally; but it is just the opposite with him who is a cheat. O Gadâdhara! You are partial to Gangâ; and so is the case with Laksmî. I am the only one that is deprived of your love. It is, therefore, that Gangâ and Padmâ are in love with each other; for you love Padmâ. So why shall not Padmâ bear this contrary thing! I am only unfortunate. What use is there in holding my life? Her life is useless, who is deprived of her husband's love. Those that declare you, of Sattva Gunas, ought not to be ever called Pundits. They are quite illiterate; they have not the least knowledge of the Vedas. They are quite impotent to understand the nature of your mind. O Nârada! Hearing Sarasvatî's words and knowing that she had become very angry, Nârâyana thought for a moment and then went away from the Zenana outside. When Nârâyana had thus gone away, Sarasvatî became fearless and began to abuse Gangâ downright out of anger in an abusive language, hard to hear :-- “O Shameless One! O Passionate One! What pride do you feel for your husband? Do you like to show that your husband loves you much? I will destroy your pride today. I will see today, it will be seen by others also, what your Hari can do for you?” Saying thus Sarasvatî rose up to catch hold of Gangâ by Her hairs violently. Padmâ intervened to stop this. Sarasvatî became very violent and cursed Laksmî :-- “No doubt you will be turned into a tree and into a river. In as much as seeing this undue behaviour of Gangâ, you do not step forward to speak anything in this assembly, as if you are a tree or a river.” Padmâ did not become at all angry, even when she heard of the above curse. She became sorry and, holding the hands of Sarasvatî, remained silent. Then Gangâ became very angry; Her lips began to quiver frequently. Seeing the mad fiery nature of the red-eyed Sarasvatî, she told Laksmî :-- “O Padme! Leave that wicked foul-mouthed woman. What will she do to me? She presides over speech and therefore likes always to remain with quarrels. Let Her shew Her force how far can she quarrel with me. She wants to test the strength of us. So leave Her. Let all know today our strength and prowess.”

39-44. Thus saying, Gangâ became ready to curse Sarasvatî and addressing Laksmî, said :-- “O Dear Padme! As that woman has cursed you to become a river, so I too curse her, that she, too, be turned into a river and she would go to the abode of men, the sinners, to the world and take their heaps of sins.” Hearing this curse of Gangâ, Sarasvatî gave her curse, “You, too, will have to descend into the Bhurloka (the world) as a river, taking all the sins of the sinners.” O Nârada! While there was going on this quarrel, the four-armed omniscient Bhagavân Hari came up there accompanied by four attendants of His, all four-armed, and took Sarasvatî in His breast and began to speak all the previous mysteries. Then they came to know the cause of their quarrels and why they cursed one another and all became very sorry. At that time Bhagavân Hari told them one by one :--

45-67. O Laksmî! Let you be born in parts, without being born in any womb, in the world as the daughter in the house of the King Dharma-dhvaja. You will have to take the form of a tree there, out of this evil turn of fate. There S'ankhachûda, the Indra of the Asuras, born of my parts will marry you. After that you will come back here and be my wife as now. There is no doubt in this. You will be named Tulasî, the purifier of the three worlds, in Bhârata. O Beautiful One! Now go there quickly and be a river in your parts under the name Padmâvatî. O Gange! You will also have to take incarnation in Bhârata as a river, purifying all the worlds, to destroy the sins of the inhabitants of Bhârata. Bhagiratha will take you there after much entreating and worshipping you; and you will be famous by the name Bhagirathî, the most sanctifying river in the world. There, the Ocean born of my parts, and the King S'ântanu also born of my parts will be your husbands. O Bharatî! Let you go also and incarnate in part in Bhârata under the curse of Gangâ. O Good-natured One! Now go in full Amsas to Brahmâ and become His wife. Let Gangâ go also in Her fullness to S'iva. Let Padmâ remain with Me. Padmâ is of a peaceful nature, void of anger, devoted to Me and of a Sâttvika nature. Chaste, good-natured, fortunate, and religious woman like Padmâ are very rare. Those women that are born of the parts of Padmâ are all very religious and devoted to their husbands. They are peaceful and good-natured and worshipped in every universe. It is forbidden, nay, opposed to the Vedas, to keep three wives, three servants, three friends of different natures, at one place. They never conduce to any welfare. They are the fruitful sources of all jealousies and quarrels. Where, in any family females are powerful like men and males are submissive to females, the birth of the male is useless. At his every step, he meets with difficulties and bitter experiences. He ought to retire to the forest whose wife is foul-mouthed, of bad birth and fond of quarrels. The great forest is better for him than his house. That man does not get in his house any water for washing his feet, or any seat to sit on, or any fruit to eat, nothing whatsoever; but in the forest, all these are not unavailable. Rather to dwell amidst rapacious animals or to enter into fire than remain with a bad wife. O Fair One! Rather the pains of the disease or venom are bearable, but the words of a bad wife are hard to bear. Death is far better than that. Those that are under the control of their wives, know that they never get their peace of mind until they are laid on their funeral pyres. They never see the fruits of what they daily do. They have no fame anywhere, neither in this world nor in the next. Ultimately the fruit is this:-- that they have to go to hell and remain there. His life is verily a heavy burden who is without any name or fame. Never it is for the least good that many co-wives remain at one place. When, by taking one wife only a man does not become happy, then imagine, how painful it becomes to have many wives. O Gange! Go to S'iva. O Sarasvatî! Go to Brahmâ. Let the good-natured Kamalâ, residing on the lotus remain with Me. He gets in this world happiness and Dharma and in the next Mukti whose wife is chaste and obedient. In fact he is Mukta, pure and happy whose wife is chaste; and he whose wife is foul-natured, is rendered impure unhappy and dead whilst he is living.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the coming in this world of Laksmî, Gangâ and Sarasvatî in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 7. On The Curses Of Gangâ, Sarasvatî And Laksmî

1-2. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Thus saying, the Lord of the World stopped. And Laksmî, Gangâ and Sarasvatî wept bitterly, embracing one another. All of them then looked to S'rî Krisna, and gave vent to their feelings one by one with tears in their eyes, and with their hearts throbbing with fears and sorrows.

3-4. Sarasvatî said :-- “O Lord! What is now, the way out of this curse, so severe and paining since our births? How long can helpless women live, separated from their husbands? O Lord! I certainly say that I will sacrifice my body when I go to Bhârata, by taking recourse to yoga. The Mahâtmâs always protect all the persons without fail.”

5-6. Gangâ said :-- “O Lord of the Universe! Why have I been abandoned by You. What fault have I committed? I will quit my body. And You will have to partake of the sin due to the killing of an innocent woman. He is surely to go to hell even if he be the Lord of all, who forsakes in this world an innocent wife.”

7-15. Padmâ said :-- “O Lord! Thou art of the nature of Sattva Guna in fullness; what wonder, then, how Thou hast become angry! However let Thou be pleased now with Sarasvatî and Gangâ. Forgiveness is the best quality of a good husband. I am ready just now to go to Bhârata when Sarasvatî has cursed me. But tell me, how long I will have to stay there? After how many days I shall be able to see again Thy lotus-feet? The sinners will wash away their dirts of sins in my waters by their constant baths and ablutions? By what means shall I be freed again and get back to Thy lotus-feet. How long shall I have to remain in my part, the daughter of Dharma Dhvaja, at the expiry of which I will be able to see Thee again? How long shall I have to assume the form of Tulasî tree, the abode of Thine. O Thou, the Ocean of mercy! Say, when wilt Thou deliver me? And if Gangâ have to go to Bhârata, by the curse of Bhârata, when shall She be freed of the curse and sin and when shall She see back Thy feet? Again if Sarasvatî have to go to Bhârata out of Gangâ's curse, when will that period of curse expire? How many days after shall She be able to come back to Thy feet? Now, be pleased to cancel Thy order for them to go to Brahmâ and S'iva respectively.” O Nârada! Thus speaking to Jagannâtha, the Devî Kamalâ bowed down at His feet and embracing them by Her own hairs of the bead, cried frequently.

16-37. Now the lotus-navelled Hari, always eager to shew favour to the devotees, smiled and with a gracious heart took up Padmâ on His breast and said :-- “O Sures'varî! I will keep my own word, also I will act according as you like. O Lotus-eyed! Hear. How the two ends can be made to meet. Let Sarasvatî go in her one part to have the form of a river and in her one half part to Brahmâ and remain with me in Vaikuntha in Her full parts. Gangâ will have to go in one part to Bhârata - to purify the three worlds as she will be urged eagerly to do so by Bhagiratha. And She will remain in her one part in the matted hair of Chandra S'ekhara (the Mahâdeva with Moon on his forehead), obtained with a great difficulty, and so will remain there purer than her natural pure state. And let her remain with me in full parts. O Padme! O Lovely-eyed One! You are most innocent; so part of your part will go to Bhârata and be the Padmâvatî river and you will be the Tulasî tree. After the expiry of five thousand years of Kali Yuga, your curse will expire. Again you all will come to My abode. O Padme! Calamities are the causes of the happiness of the embodied beings. Without dangers no one can understand the true nature of happiness. The saint worshippers of My mantra who will perform their ablutions in your water will free you all of your curse by touch and sight. O Fair One! By the sight and touch (Darsan, Spars'an) of My bhaktas (devotees), all the sacred places of pilgrimages in the world will be purified. For uplifting and sanctifying the holy earth, My mantropâsakas, i.e.,  S'aivas, S'aktas, Gânapatyas, etc., that are devoted to Brahmâ all are residing in Bhârata. Where My Bhaktas reside and wash their feet, that place is undoubtedly reckoned as the holy places of pilgrimages. So much so that by the sight and touch of My devotees, the murderer of a woman, of a cow, of a Brâhmin, the treacherous and even the stealer of the wife of one's Guru will be sanctified and liberated while living. Those who do not perform the vow of Ekâdas'î, who do not perform Sandhyâs, who are Nâstikas (atheists), the murderers, all are free of their sins by the sight and touch of My devotees. By the sight and touch of My devotees, those who live on their swords, pens, and the royal officials, the beggars in a village and the Brâhmanas who carry (deal in) bullocks are also freed of their sins. The traitors, the mischief makers of their friends, those who give false evidence, those that steal other's trust properties, are also freed of their sins by the sight and touch of My devotees. Those who are foul-mouthed, bastards, the husbands and sons of unchaste women are all purified by the sight and touch of My Bhaktas. The Brâhmin cooks of S'ûdras, Brâhmins of an inferior order (who subsist upon the offerings made to the images which he attends), the village mendicants, those who are not initiated by their Gurus, these all are purified by the sight and touch of My devotees. O Fair One! The sins of those persons who do not maintain their fathers, mothers, brothers, wives, sons, daughters, sisters, the blind, friends, the families of the Gurus, the fathers-in-law, the mothers-in-law are also removed by the sight and touch of My devotees. Those that cut the As'vattha trees, that slander My devotees, and the Brâhmins that eat the food of S'ûdras, are also freed of their sins. Those who steal the Deva's articles, the Brâhmana's articles, those that sell lac, iron, and daughters, those who commit Mahâ Pâtakas (Brahmâhatyâ, Surâpânam, Steyam, Gurbanganâganah, Mahânti pâtakânyâhuh, tatsam-sargahseha Pañchamam) and those that burn the S'ûdrâ's dead bodies, these also are freed of their respective sins by the sight and touch of My devotees.”

38-42. Mahâ Laksmî said :-- “O Thou gracious to faithful attendants! What are the characteristics, the marks of those Bhaktas of Thine that Thou hast spoken of just now whose sight and touch destroy instantly the Mahâpâtakas (five great sins), that are destroyed after a long time by the water of the Tîrthas and the earthen and stone images of the Gods. The sins of the vilest of men, devoid of Hari bhakti, vain and egoistic, cheats, hvpocrites, slanderers of saints, vicious souls are destroyed by your Bhaktas, whose touch and ablations sanctify the sacred places of pilgrimages; by the touch of the dust and water of whose feet, the earth is purified; whom the Bhaktas of Bhârata always pray to see; and there is nothing higher than the meeting of those Bhaktas.” Sûta said :-- “O Great Risi! Thus hearing the words of Mahâ Laksmî, the Lord smiled and began to speak about the secret things or the marks of the Bhaktas.”

43-54. O Laksmî! The marks of the Bhaktas are all mentioned very hiddenly in S'rutis and Purânas. These are very sanctifying; destructive of sins, giving happiness, devotion, and liberation. These are never to be described to deceitful persons; these are the essences and to be kept hidden. But you are very simple and like my life. I therefore speak to you. Hear. O Fair One! All the Vedas declare him to be holy and the best of men, in whose ears are pronounced from the mouth of a Guru, the Visnu mantra. At the very moment of his being born into this world, one hundred generations back of that person, whether they be at that time in heaven or hell, get instantaneous liberation and if any of them happen to be born then as Jîvas, they become liberated at once while living and finally get Visnupadam (the place of Visnu). That mortal is My Bhakta (devotee) who is full of devotion to Me, who always repeats My glories and acts according to My directions, who hears with all his heart My topics, and hearing which, whose mind dances with joy, whose voice gets choked and tears incessantly flow out from whose eyes, who loses his outward consciousness. Such a man is indeed, My Bhakta. My Bhaktas do not long for happiness or Mukti, or the four states Sâlokya, Sâyujya, Sâmîpya and Sârstî, nor the Brahmâhood, nor the Devahood (the state of immortality); they want only to do Sevâ (service) to Me and they are solely intent on doing this. Even in dreams they do not desire the Indraship, Manuship, the state of Brahmâ so very difficult to be had; nor do they want the enjoyment of kingdoms and heavens. My Bhaktas roam in Bhârata, eager to hear My glories, and always very glad to recite My sweet glorious deeds. The birth of such Bhaktas in Bhârata is very rare. They purify the world and go ultimately to My abode, the best of all Tîrthas (sacred places). Thus I have spoken O Padme! all that you wanted to hear. Now do as you like. Then Gangâ and others all went to obey the order of Srî Hari, Who went to His own abode.

Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Ninth Book on the curses Gangâ, Sarasvatî, and Laksmî and the way to freedom thereof in the Mahâpurânam S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 8. On The Greatness Of Kali

1-110. Nârâyana said :-- A part of Sarasvatî descended in this Bhârata Punya Bhûmi (land of merits), owing to the curse of Gangâ; and She remained in full in Visnu's region, the abode of Vaikuntha. She is named Bhâratî, on account of Her coming to Bhârata; she is called Brâhmî because she is dear to Brahmâ; and She is called Vânî as She presides over Speech. Hari is seen everywhere, in tanks, in wells, in running streams (i.e., in Saras). Because He resides in Saras, therefore He is called Sarasvân. Vânî is the S'akti of that Sarasvân; therefore She is denominated Sarasvatî. The river Sarasvatî is a very sacred Tîrtha. She is the burning fire to the fuel of sins, of sinners. O Nârada! Through the curse of Sarasvatî, the Devî Gangâ also assumed the form of a river in part. She was brought down to this earth at the request of Bhagîratha. Hence she is called Bhâgirathî. While Gangâ was rushing down to the earth S'iva capable to bear the great rush of Her, held Her on His head at the request of the Mother Earth. Laksmî also, through the curse of Sarasvatî came in part of parts Bhârata as the river Padmâvatî. But She remained in full with Hari. Laksmî appeared also in Her other part as the well-known daughter Tulasî of the king Dharmadhvaja in India. Last of all, through Bhâratî's curse and by the command of S'rî Hari, she turned into the Tulasî tree, purifying the whole world. Remaining for five thousand years of Kali, all them will quit their river appearances and go back to Hari. By the command of S’rî Hari, all the Tîrthas save Kâsî and Bindrâban will go along with them to Vaikuntha. Next at the expiry of the ten thousand years of Kali, S'âlagrâma S'ilâ (the stone piece worshipped as Nârâyana) S'iva, and S'iva S'akti and Purusottama Jagannâtha will leave the soil of Bhârata and go to their respective places, (i.e. the Mâhâtmyas of those will be extinct from Bhârata). There will then cease to be the saints of S'iva S'âkta, Gânapatya and Vaisnava sects, (eighteen) Purânas, the blowing of conch shells (auspicious signs), S'râddhas, Tarpanas, and all the rites and ceremonies dictated by the Vedas. The worship and glorification of the Gods, the recitation of their praises, their names will be extinct. The Vedas with their Amgas will no longer be heard of. All these will disappear with them. The assembly of the Sâdhus, the true Dharma, the four Vedas, the village Devas and Devîs, the Vratas (vows) the practising of the austerities, fasting, all will disappear. All will be addicted to the Vâmâchâra ritual (the left-hand ritual Tântrik form of worship; sarcastically used in the sense of drinking wine and eating flesh, etc.) They will speak falsehood and be deceitful. If anybody worships, his worship will be void of Tulasî leaves. Almost all will be deceitful, cruel, vain, egoistic, thievish and mischievous. Men will be at variance with one another; women will be at variance with one another; no fear will exist in marriage ties. Properties will be only of those that will make them (i. e. there will cease to be any inheritance from father to son and so forth ). Husbands will be obedient to their wives; unchaste women will be in every house. Wives will rebuke their husbands by incessant noisings and chidings. Wives will be the sole mistresses of houses and husbands will stand before them as servants with folded palms. Fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law will be their servants. The brothers of wives, and their friends will be the managers of the household affairs. But there will be no friendship with one's own class fellows. The brothers and friends of the house owners (masters of the house) will appear quite strangers as if they are new-comers. Without the command of the house-wives, the masters of the houses will be unable to do anything. The divisions of caste (Brâhmanâ, Ksattriya, Vaisya, and S'ûdra) will entirely disappear. Far from practising Sandhyâ Bandanam and other daily practices, the Brâhmanas will cease to hold the holy threads even on their bodies. The four colour-classes will practise the doings of the Mlechchas, read the S'âstras of the Mlechchas and forsake their own S'âstras. The Brâhmins, Ksattriyas, and Vais'yas will become the slaves of S'ûdras, will become their cooks, runners and carriers of buffaloes. Every one will be devoid of truth. Earth will not yield any grains; trees will not yield any fruits and women will be issueless. The cows will not yield milk; even if there be a little milk, ghee will not come out of it. The affection between husband and wife will die out and the families will be devoid of truth. The King will not wield any power; the subjects will be over burdened with taxes. The ever flowing big rivers, the petty streams, the caves of mountains all will gradually have very little water in them. The Four Varnas will be devoid of Dharma and Punya (merit, virtue). One in a lakh may be virtuous. Afterwards that too will cease. Men, women, boys,  all will be ugly and deformed. They will utter bad words and vile sounds. Some villages and towns will be completely deserted by men and will look terrible; at some others few cottages with few inhabitants will be seen. Villages and towns will be jungles and jungles will become filled with men. The inhabitants of the forests will become heavily taxed and disconsolate. The beds of rivers and lakes will become dry owing to want of rains and will be cultivated. The Kulînas of high families will become very low. The whole earth will be filled with liars, untruthful cheats and hypocrites. The lands, though cultivated well, will yield grains in name. Those who are well known as the millionaires, they will become poor and those who are devoted to the Devas will be atheists. The towns folk will have no trace of mercy; rather they will hate and envy their neighbours and turn out murderers of men. In the Kali age, males and females will be everywhere, of a dwarfish stature, diseased, shortlived, and of very little youthful virility. The hairs will turn out grey no sooner the people reach their sixteenth year. And they will be very old when they become twenty years old. The girls of eight years will have menstruation and will become pregnant. They will deliver every year. Old age will attack them when they become sixteen years old. Some women will have their husbands and children living. Otherwise almost all will be barren, childless. The four Varnas will sell their daughters. The paramours of the mothers, wives, son's wives, daughters, and sisters will be the source of support to them all. No one will be able, without money, to collect the merits by repeating the name of Hari. Persons will make gifts for name and fame and ultimately will take back what they had made as gifts. If there be any gifts made by one's own self or by one's forefathers or for a Deva purpose or for Brâhmins or for the families of the Gurus, there will not be found wanting attempts to take back those gifts. Some will go to daughters, some to mothers-in-law, some to the wives of sons, some to sisters, some to mothers of co-wives, some will go to the brother's wives. In every house, those who are unfit to be mixed will be mixed with, excepting one's mother. In Kali Yuga who is whose wife? And who is whose husband? There will be no certainty; who is whose subject and what village is to whom? There will be no surety that such a property belongs to such and such a man. All will turn out to be liars, licentious, thieves, envious of other's wives, and murderers of men. In the houses of the Brâhmins, Ksattriyas, and Vais'yas, the three higher castes, the current of sin will flow. They will live by selling lac, iron, and salts prohibited by the S'âstras. The Brâhmins will drive buffaloes, burn the dead bodies of the S'ûdras, eat the food of the S'ûdras and go to unchaste women. There will be no more faith existing in the five Risi Yajñas. Almost every Brâhmin will not observe the vows of Amâvasyâ Nis'ipâlana. The holy threads will be cast away and the Sandhyâ Bandanam and cleanliness and good practices will cease altogether. The unchaste women who deal in giving loans, etc., and live on interests and the procuresses during menstruation will cook in Brâhmin families. There will be no distinction of food, no distinction of wombs, no distinction of Âs'ramas, and no distinction of persons. All will turn out Mlechchas. O Nârada! Thus, when the Kali will have its full play, the whole world will be filled with Mlechchas, the trees will be one hand high and the men will be of the size of a thumb. Then the most powerful Bhagavân Nârâyana will incarnate in His part in the house of a Brâhmin named Visnujas'â as his son. Mounted on a long horse, holding a long sword He will make the world free of the Mlechchas in three nights. Then he will disappear from the face of the Earth and She will be without any sovereign and be filled with robbers. There will be incessant rain, for six nights and it will rain and rain and the whole earth will be deluged; no traces of men, houses, and trees. After this the Twelve Suns will rise simultaneously and by their rays the whole water will be dried up and the earth will become level. Thus the dreadful Kali will pass away when the Satya Yuga will come back, Tapasyâ and the true religion and Sattva Guna will prevail again. The Brâhmins will practise Tapasyâ, they will be devoted to Dharma and the Vedas. The women will be chaste and religious in every house. Again the wise and intelligent Ksattriyas devoted to the Brâhmanas will occupy the royal thrones and their might, devotion to Dharma and love for good deeds will increase. The Vais'yas will again go on with their trades and their devotion to their trade and the Brâhmins will be reestablished. The S'ûdras, too, will be again virtuous, and serve the Brâhmins. Again the Brâhmins, Ksattriyas, and Vais'yas and their families will have Bhakti towards the Devî, be initiated in Devî Mantras and all will meditate on the Devî. Again there will be spread the knowledge of the Vedas, the Smritis, and the Purânas, all will go to their wives in menstruation periods. No Adharma (unrighteousness) will exist and the Dharma will reign in full, with all the parts (Kalâs) complete. When the Tretâ Yuga comes, the Dharma will be three footed; when the Dvâpara Yuga will come; the Dharma will be two-footed and when Kali will begin, the Dharma will be one-footed, and when Kali will reign supreme, no Dharma will exist, even in name. (O Nârada! Now I will speak of time.) The seven days of the week, Sunday, &c., the sixteen tithis, Pratipada &c., the twelve months Vais'âkha &c., the six seasons Summer, &c., the two fortnights (dark and bright) and the two Ayanas (Northern and Southern) are rendered in vogue. One day consists of four Praharas, one night consists of four Praharas; a day and a night constitute one so-called day. Thirty such days make one month. In the computation of time, five kinds of years (Varsas) were already mentioned (in the 8th Skandha). As the Satya, Tretâ, Dvâpara and Kali roll on turn by turn, so the days, months and years also roll on in turn. One day, according to the Devas, is equal to one year, according to men; three hundred and sixty human Yugas equal to one Deva Yuga. Seventy-one Deva Yugas make one Manvantara. The life period of Indra, the Lord of S'achî, is one Manvantara. Twenty-eight Indras' lives equal to one day of Hiranyagarbha (the golden wombed) Brahmâ. One hundred and eight such years equal to the life of one Brahmâ. When this Brahmâ dies, there is the Prâkrita Pralaya. The earth is not visible then. (The dissolution of Prakriti takes place.) The whole Brâhmanda is deluged by water; Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara and the other wise Risis get diluted in Para Brahmâ whose substance is all truth and consciousness. That time, the Prakriti Devî, too, gets merged in Para Brahmâ. The fall of Brahmâ and the dissolution of Prakriti are called the Prâkrita Pralaya. The duration of this Pralaya is one Nimesa of the Para Brahmâ Mûla Prakriti united with Mâyâ. All the Brâhmandas (universes) are destroyed at this time. When this Nimesa expires, the creation begins again in due order. So one cannot count the endless numbers of times when this creation and dissolution work are going on. So who can tell how many kalpas had past away, or how many Kalpas will come, how many Brâhmandas were created or how many Brâhmandas will be created. Who will be able to count how many Brahmâs, how many Visnus or how many Mahes'varas there have been. But One and Only One Para Brahmâ Parames'vara (the Great God) is The Supreme Lord of these countless Brâhmandas. The Parames'vara of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss is the Highest Spirit of all. All others, Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara the Great Virât, the Smaller Virât, all are His parts. This Brahmâ is Mûlâ Prakriti and from That has appeared S’rî Krisna, the Lord of his left half which is woman (Ardha Nârîs'vara). It is She that divided Herself into two forms; in Her one form, She resides as the two armed Krisna in the region of Goloka; and as the four-armed Nârâyana in Vaikuntha. All the things from Brahmâ, the Highest, to the mere grass the lowest, all are originated from Prakriti. And all the Prakriti-born things are transient. Thus the True, Eternal Para Brahmâ, beyond the three gunas, the Source of all creation, Whose substance is All-Will is the Only Substance beyond the region of Prakriti. He is without Upâdhis (conditions, as time, space, causation and attributes); He is without any form; and the forms that He assumes, they are for shewing His Grace to the devotees only. The Lotus-born Brahmâ is able by His Power of Knowledge to create the Brâhmanda. It is by His Grace that S'iva, the Lord of the yogis is named Mrityumjaya (the Conqueror of Death), the Destoyer of all, and the Knower of all Tattvas. By His Tapas, S'iva has realised Para Brahmâ and therefore has become the Lord of all, All-knowing, endowed with great Vibhûtis (lordly powers), the seer of all, omnipresent, the protector of all, the bestower of all prosperities. The devotion and service towards Para Brahmâ have alone made S’rî Visnu the Lord of all; and it is through the power of Para Brahmâ, that Mahâmâyâ Prakriti Devî has become omnipotent and the Goddess of all. Bhagavatî Durgâ has got His Grace by Her devotion and service to Him and has become Mûla Prakriti of the nature of Being, Consciousness and Bliss. And so has the Devî Sâvitrî, the Mother of the Vedas, become the presiding Deity of the Vedas and She is worshipped by the Brâhmanas and the Knowers of the Vedas. That She presides over all the branches of knowledge, is worshipped by all the learned assemblies and by the whole Universe is the result only of worshipping the Prakriti Devî. That Laksmî has become the bestower of all wealth and the presiding Deity of all the villages and the mistress of all, worshipped by all and the bestower of sons to all is also the result of worshipping Her. Thus it is through the worship of Prakriti that Durgâ, the Destroyer of all calamities and troubles has appeared from the left side of S’rî Krisna; and Râdhâ has become the presiding Deity of His Prâna (vital airs), and She is worshipped by all and possessed of all knowledge. It is by the worship of S'akti that Râdhikâ has so much excelled in love, has become the presiding Deity of the prâna of Krisna, has got love and respect, has been placed on His breast and is exceedingly beautiful. With the object of getting Krisna for her husband, She practised severe austerities for one thousand Deva years on the mountain S'atas'ringa in Bhârata to get the Mûla Prakriti's Grace. And when the S'akti Mûla Prakriti became graciously pleased towards Her, S’rî Krisna seeing Râdhikâ increasing in beauty like the Crescent Moon took Her to His breast and out of tenderness wept and granted Her highest boons so very rare to others and said :-- O Beautiful One! You better remain always in My breast and devoted to Me amongs all my wives; let you be superior to them all in good fortune, respect, love and glory. From today you are my greatest best wife. I will love you as the best amongst them all. O Dear! Always I will be submissive to you and fulfil what you say. Thus saying, S’rî Krisna selected her as his wife without any co-wives and made Her dear to His Heart. The other Devîs besides the five Prakritis, already mentioned, also derived superiorities by serving Mûla Prakriti. O Muni! What shall I say, everyone reaps the fruits as he practises Tapasyâ. Bhagavati Durgâ practised on the Himâlyâs tapasyâ for one thousand Deva years and meditated on the lotus-feet of Mûla Prakriti and so has come to be worshipped by all. The Devî Sarasvatî practised Tapasyâ for one lakh Deva years and is come to be respected by all. The Devî Laksmî practised Tapasyâ at Puskara for one hundred Divine Yugas and, by the Grace of Mûla Prakriti has become the bestower of wealth to all. The Devî Savitrî worshipped S’akti for sixty thousand divine years in the Malaya mountain and is respected and worshipped by all. O Bibhu! Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'vara worshipped S'akti for one hundred Manvantaras and so have become the Preservers, etc., of this world. S’rî Krisna practised for ten Manvantaras terrible austerities and therefore obtained his position in the region of Goloka and is remaining there today in greatest bliss. Dharma Deva worshipped S’akti with devotion for ten Manvantaras and has become the lives of all, worshipped by all, and the receptacle of all. O Muni! Thus all, whether the Devîs, Devas, Munis, Kings, Brâhmanas, all have got their respect in this world by the worship of S’akti. O Devarsi! I have thus described to you all that I heard from the mouth of my Guru, in accordance with the rules of the Vedas. What more do you want to hear?

Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the Greatness of Kali in the Mahâ Purânam Srîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 9. On The Origin Of The S’akti Of The Earth

1-4. S’rî Nârada said :-- In the twinkling of an eye of the Devî, the Pralaya takes place; and in that very time also the Brahmânda (cosmos) is dissolved, which is called the Pralaya of Prakriti. During this Pralaya, the Devî Vasundharâ (Earth) disappears; the whole world is deluged with water and all this appearance of five elements called Prapañcha vanishes in the body of Prakriti. Now where does Vasundharâ (Earth), thus vanished, reside? And how does She again appear at the beginning of the creation! What is the cause of her being so much blessed, honoured and capable to hold all and victorious. So tell about Her birth, the source of all welfare.

5-23. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! So it is heard that the Earth appears at the very outset of the creation. Her appearance and disappearance so occur in all the Pralayas. (This earth) the manifestation of the great S’akti, sometimes becomes manifest in Her and sometimes remains latent in Her (the S’akti). It is all the will of that Great S’akti. Now hear the anecdote of appearance (birth) of the earth, the cause of all good, the source of destruction of all calamities, the destroyer of sin and the cause of furtherance of one's religious merits. Some say that this earth has come out of the marrow of the Daityas, Madhu and Kaitabha; but that is not the fact. Hear now the real fact. Those two Daityas were greatly pleased with Visnu's valour and prowess in the fight between them and Visnu; and they said :-- “Kill us on that part of the earth which is not under water.” From their words it is evident that the earth was existent during their lifetime but she was not visible. After their death, the marrow came out after their bones. Now hear how the name “Medinî” came to be applied to the earth. She was taken out of the water, and the marrow came to be mixed with the earth. It is on account of this mixing that she is called Medinî, Now I will tell you what I heard before in Puskara, the sacred place of pilgrimage, from the mouth of Dharma Deva, about the origin of earth, approved by the S'rutis, consistent, and good. Hear. When the mind of Mahâ Virât, merged in water, expanded all over his body, it entered into every pore of his body. Next the Mahâprithvî or the Great Earth appeared at the time of Pañchî Karana (mixing of one-half of each of the elements with one-eighth of each of the other four elements). This Mahâprithvî was broken into pieces and placed in every pore. It is this differentiated earth that appears during creation and disappears during Pralaya. From this mind, concentrated in every pore of the body of Mahâ Virât, is born this earth, after a long interval. In every pore in the skin of this Virât Purusa there is one earth. She gets manifested and she disappears. This occurs again and again. When she appears, she floats on the water; and when she disappears, she gets merged in the water. There is this earth (world) in every universe; and along with her, there are mountains, forests, seven oceans, seven islands, Sumeru mountain, the Moon, the Sun and other planets, Brahmâloka, Visnuloka (the abode of Visnu) S'ivaloka and the regions of the other Devas, sacred places of pilgrimage, the holy land of Bhâratavarsa, the Kânchanî Bhûmi, seven heavens, seven Pâtâlas or nether regions, on the above Brahmâloka, and Dhruvaloka. This law holds good in every world in every universe. So every universe is the work of Mâyâ and thus it is transient. At the dissolution of Prakriti, Brahmâ falls. Again when creation takes place, the Mahâ Virât appears from S’rî Krisna, the Supreme Spirit. Eternal is this flow of creation, preservation and destruction; eternal is this flow of time, Kasthâ; eternal is this flow of Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a, etc. And eternal is this flow of Vasundharâ who is worshipped in the Vârâha Kalpa by the Suras, Munis, Vipras, Gandarbhas, etc. The S'ruti says that the Presiding Deity of this eternal earth is the wife of Visnu in His boar-form. Mangala (Mars) is the son of that earth and Mangala's son is Ghates'a.

24-26. Nârada said :-- In what form was the Earth worshipped by the Devas in Vârâha Kalpa. The Vârâhi, the receptacle of all things, moving and non-moving, how did she appear, by what method of Pañchî Karana, from the Mûlaprakriti? What is the method of her worship in this Bhûrloka and in the Heavens (Svarloka). Also tell me, O Lord! in detail, the auspicious birth of Mangala (Mars).

27-34. Nârâyana spoke :-- In ancient days, in the Vârâha Kalpa, Varâha Deva (the boar incarnation) when entreated and praised by Brahmâ, killed the Daitya Hiranyâksa and rescued the earth from the nether regions Rasâtala. He then placed the earth on the waters where she floated as the lotus leaf floats on water. In the meantime Brahmâ began to fashion the wonderful creation on the surface of the earth. Bhagavân Hari, in His boar form and brilliant like ten million suns saw the beautiful and lovely appearance of the presiding deity of the earth, possessed of amorous sentiments. He then assumed a very beautiful form, fit for amorous embraces. They then held their sexual intercourse and it lasted day and night for one Deva year. The beautiful Earth, in the pleasant amorous plays, fainted away; for the intercourse of the lover with the beloved is exceedingly pleasant. And Visnu, too, at the same time was very much exhausted by the pleasant touch of the body of the Earth. He did not become conscious even how days and nights passed away. When full one year passed away, they got back their senses and the amorous man then left his hold of the loved. He assumed easily his former Boar form and worshipped Her as the incarnate of the Devî, with incense, lights, offerings of food, with vermilion (Sindur, red-powder), sandal-paste, garments, flowers and various other offerings of food, etc. He then said :--

35-37. O Auspicious One! Let Thou beest the receptacle of all things. All the Munis, Manus, Devas, Siddhas, and Dânavas, etc., will worship Thee with pleasure and willingness. On the day the Ambuvâchi ceremony closes, on the day when the house construction, i.e., the foundation is laid, on the day when the first entry is made into the newly built houses, when the digging of the well or tank commences, and on the day when tilling the ground commences, all will worship Thee. Those stupid fools that will not observe this, will certainly go to hell.

38-41 The Earth spoke :-- “O Lord! By Thy command I will assume the form of Vârâhî (female boar) and support easily on my back this whole world of moving and non-moving things, but the following things, pearls, small shells, S'âlagrâm, (a black stone, usually round, found in the river Gandakî, and worshipped as a type of Visnu), the phallus or emblem of S'iva, the images of the goddesses, conch-shells, lamps (lights), the Yantras, gems, diamonds, the sacred upanayana threads, flowers, books, the Tulasî leaves, the bead (Japa mâlâ), the garland of flowers, gold, camphor, Gorochanâ (bright yellow pigment prepared from the urine or bile of a cow), Sandal, and the water after washing the S'âlagrâma stone, I will not be able to bear. I will be very much pained in case I were to bear these on Me.”

42-45. S’rî Bhagavân said :-- “O Fair One! The fools that will place the above articles on Thy back will go to the Kâlasutra hell for one hundred divine years.” O Nârada! Thus saying, the Bhagavân Nârâyana remained silent. Now the Earth became pregnant and the powerful planet Mars was born. By the command of S’rî Hari, all began to meditate on Earth according to what is mentioned in Kânvas'âkhâ and began to praise Her. Offerings of food were given, uttering the root Mantra. Thus became extant all over the three worlds Her worship and praise.

46. Nârada said :-- O Bhagavân! Very sacred is the meditation, hymn and the root Mantra of the Earth. I am very anxious to hear them. Kindly describe it in detail.

47-48. Nârâyana said :-- The Earth was first worshipped by Varâha Deva; next She was worshipped by Brahmâ. Next She was worshipped by all the Munis, Devas, Manus and men. O Nârada! Now hear the Dhyân, praise and Mantra of the Devî Earth.

49-51. The Earth was first worshipped by Bhagavân Visnu with this root Mantra (mûl mantra) “On Hrîm S’rîm Klîm Vasundharâyai Svâhâ.” Next He said :-- O Devî Earth! O Thou Smiling One! I worship Thee, who art worshipped by the three worlds, whose colour is white like white lotus, whose face is beautiful like the autumnal moon, who art the Store-house of all gems and jewels, and in whose womb all the precious stones and pearls are inbedded, and who has put on a raiment purified by fire. All then began to worship Her with this Mantra.

52-63. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- Now hear the hymn sung before Her according to Kânva S'âkhâ :-- O Thou, the Giver of Victory! Holder of water! Endowed with water, full of victory; Consort of the Boar Incarnation, Carrier of victory! Bestow victory on me. O Thou Auspicious One! The Store-house of all good, O Thou incarnate of all auspiciousness! Bestower of good, Thou, the Source of all good to bestow all sorts of welfare! Bestow all things that are good and auspicious to me in this world.

O Thou! The Receptacle of all, the Knower of all, all powerful, the Bestower of all desires, O Devî Earth! Give me the fruits that I desire.

O Thou! Who art all merits, Thou, the Seed of all religious merits, O Thou, the Eternal, the receptacle of all religious merits, the home of all religious persons, Thou bestowest merits to all.

O Thou! The Store-house of all grains, enriched with all sorts of corns, Thou bestowest harvests to all; Thou takest away all the grains in this world and again, Thou producest all corns of various kinds here. O Earth! Thou art all-in-all to the landlords, the Best Source of refuge and happiness. O Bestower of lands! Give me lands. The above hymn yields great religious merits. He becomes the sovereign of the whole earth for millions and millions of births who rising early in the morning reads this stotra. Men who read this acquire merits due to giving away lands as gifts. People become certainly freed of their sins, if they read this stotra, who take back the lands after making them as gifts, who dig earth on the day of Ambuvâchî, who dig wells without permission on another's well, who steal other's lands, who throw their semen on earth, who place lamps on the earth. Religious merits, equivalent to one hundred horse sacrifices accrue from reading this stotra. There is no doubt in this. This stotra of the great Devî is the source of all sorts of welfare and auspiciousness.

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the origin of the S’akti of the earth in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Offences Caused To The Earth And Punishments Thereof

1-3. Nârada said :-- I am now desirous to hear about the merits acquired by making gifts of land, the demerits in stealing away lands, digging wells in other's wells, in digging earth on the day of Ambuvâchî, in casting semen on earth, and in placing lamps and lights on the surface of the earth as well the sins when one acts wrongly in various other ways on the surface of the earth and the remedies thereof.

4-30. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- If one makes a gift of land in this Bhârata of the measure of a Vitasti (a long span measured by the extended thumb and little finger) to a Brâhmana who performs Sandhyâ three times a day and is thus purified, one goes and remains in S’iva Loka (the abode of S’iva). If one gives away in charity a land full of corn to a Brâhmin, the giver goes and lives in Visnu Loka in the end for a period measured by the number of dust particles in the land. If one presents a village, a plot of land, or grains to a Brâhmin, both the giver and the receiver, become freed of their sins and go to the Devî Loka (the abode of the Devî). Even if one be present when a proposal for a gift of land is being made and says “This act is good,” one goes to Vaikuntha with one's friends and relatives. He remains in the Kâlasutra hell as long as the Sun and Moon exist, who takes back or steals away the gift to a Brâhmin, offered by himself or by any other body. Even his sons, grandsons, etc., become destitute of lands, prosperity, sons, and wealth and remain in a dreadful hell named Raurava. If one cultivates the grazing land for the cows and reaps therefrom a harvest of grains, one remains for one hundred divine years in the Kumbhîpâka hell. If one cultivates any enclosure for cows or tanks and grows grains on them, one remains in the Asipatra hell for a period equivalent to fourteen Indra's falls. One who bathes in another's tank without taking off five handfuls of earth from it, goes to hell and one's bath is quite ineffectual. If anybody, out of his amorous passion casts his semen privately on the suface of the ground, he will have to suffer the torments of hell for as many years as are the numbers of dust particles on that area. If anyone digs ground on the day of Ambuvâchî, one remains in hell for four Yugas. If, without the permission of the owner of a well or tank, a stupid man clears the old well or tank and digs the slushy earth from the bottom, his labour goes in vain. The merit goes to the real owner. And the man who laboured so much goes to Tapta Kunda Naraka for fourteen Indra's life-periods. If any one takes out five handfuls of earth from another's tank, when he goes to bathe in it, he dwells in Brahmâ Loka for a period of years amounting to the number of particles in those handfuls of earth. During one's father's or grandfather's S'râdha ceremony, if one offers pinda without offering any food (pinda) to the owner of the soil, the S'râdha performer goes certainly to hell. If one places a light (Pradîpa) directly on the earth without any holding piece at the bottom, one becomes blind for seven births; and so if one places a conch-shell on the ground (S'ankha), one becomes attacked with leprosy in one's next birth. If any body places pearls, gems, diamonds, gold and jewels, the five precious things on the ground he becomes blind, if one places the phallic emblem of S’iva, the image of S'ivâni, the S'âlagrâma stone on the ground, he remains for one hundred Manvantaras to be eaten by worms. Conchshells, Yantras (diagrams for S'akti worshippers), the water after washing S'ilas (stones) i. e., Charanâmrita, flowers, Tulasî leaves, if placed on the ground, lead him who places these, verily to hells. The beads, garlands of flowers, Gorochana (a bright yellow pigment prepared from the urine or bile of a cow), and camphor, when placed on the ground, lead him who places so to suffer the torments of hell. The sandal wood, Rudrâksa mâlâ, and the roots of Kus'a grass also, if placed on the ground, lead the doer to stay for one manvantara in the hell. Books, the sacred Upanayana threads, when placed on the ground make the doers unfit for Brâhmin birth; rather he is involved in a sin equivalent to the murder of a Brâhmin. The sacred Upanayana thread when knotted and rendered fit for holding, is worth being worshipped by all the castes. One ought to sprinkle the earth with curd, milk, etc., after one has completed one's sacrifices. If one fails to do this, one will have to remain for seven births in a hot ground with great torment. If one digs the earth when there is an earth quake or when there is an eclipse, that sinner becomes also devoid of some of his limbs in his next birth. O Muni! This earth is named Bhûmi since She is the abode of all; she is named Kâs'yapî since she is the daughter of Kas'yapa; is named Vis'vambharâ, since she supports the Universe; She is named Ananta, since she is endlessly wide; and She is named Prithivî since she is the daughter of the King Prithu, or she is extensively wide.

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the offences caused towards the surface of the earth and punishments thereof in hells - in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 11. On The Origin Of The Ganges

1-3. The Devarsi Nârada said :-- O Thou, the foremost of the knowers of the Vedas! I have heard the excellent narration of Earth. Now I want to hear the anecdote of Gangâ. I heard, ere long, that Gangâ, of the nature of Visnu and appearing from the feet of Visnu, the Îs'varî of the Devas, appeared, due to the curse of Bhâratî, on Bhârata; why has she come to Bhârata; in which Yuga and asked by whom did she come to Bhârata? O Lord! Now describe to me this auspicious anecdote capable to destroy sins and yield religious merits.

4-38. Nârâyana said :-- O Child! In ancient days there was born a prosperous Emperor King of Kings, in the Solar dynasty. He had two beautiful wives; one was named Vaidarbhî, and the other was named S'aivyâ. S'aivyâ delivered a very lovely son; his name was Asamanjâ. On the other hand, the queen Vaidarbhî desirous of getting a son, worshipped S'ankara, the Lord of Bhûtas who became pleased and granted her request; and Vaidarbhî became pregnant. After one hundred years of pregnancy she gave birth to one mass of flesh. Seeing this, the queen became very afflicted and taking refuge of Mahâdeva, began to cry loudly and very often. Bhagavân S'ankara, then, appeared there in a Brâhmin form and cut that mass of flesh into thousand pieces. Those thousand pieces turned out into thousand very powerful sons. Their bodies looked more brillant than the mid-day sun. But they were all burnt to ashes by the curse of Kapila Muni. And the King began to lament bitterly and he entered into the forest. Asamajâ practised tapasyâ to bring the Gangâ for one lakh years when he quitted his body in course of time. His son Ams'umân practised tapasyâ for one lakh years to bring Gangâ unto Bhârata and he, too, died. Then the son of Amsumân, the intelligent Bhagîratha, a great devotee of Visnu, free of old age and death and the store of many qualifications, practised tapasyâ for one lakh years to bring Gangâ on earth. At last he saw S’rî Krisna brilliant like ten millions of summer suns. He had two hands; there was a flute in his hand; be was full of youth in the dress of a cow-herd. A sight of His Gopâla Sundarî form, wearing a Sakhî's dress, makes one think that He is ever ready to show grace on His devotees. He is Para Brahmâ, whose Substance is Will; be has no deficiencies. Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'vara and the other Devas and Munis, etc. all praise Him, who pervades everywhere. He is not concerned with anything; yet He is the Witness of all. He is beyond the three gunas, higher than Prakriti. A sweet smile is always in his face, which makes it the more lovely. There is none equal to him in showing Grace to the Bhaktas. His raiment is purified (uninflammable) by fire and he is decorated with gems, jewels and ornaments. The King Bhagîratha saw that unforeseen appearance, bowed down and began to praise over and over again. His whole body was filled with ecstasy. Then he clearly told what he wanted for the deliverance of his family. Bhagavân S’rî Krisna then, addressed Gangâ and said :-- “O Sures'varî! Go quickly and appear in Bhârata, under the curse of Bhâratî. By My command go quickly and purify the sons of Sagara. They will all be purified by the touch of the air in contact with the Ganges and rise up in divine aerial cars, assuming forms like Mine and they will come to My abode. They will there remain always as My attendants and they will not be involved in the sins that they committed in their previous births. O Nârada! It is stated thus in the Vedas, that if the human souls, taking their births in Bhârata, commit sins for millions and millions of births, the sins will be completely destroyed if they touch once the air in contact with and carrying the particles of the Ganges. The sight of the Ganges and the touch of the Ganges water give religious merits ten times more than the touch with the air in contact with the Ganges water. People become freed of their sins then and there especially if they bathe in the Ganges. It is heard in the S'rutis that the bathing in the Ganges, if done according to rules, destroys all the sins, e.g., the murder of a Brâhmin, etc., acquired in one thousand millions of births done consciously or unconsciously. The merits that are acquired by the bathing in the Ganges on a day of religious merit, cannot be described even by the Vedas. Whatever is mentioned in the Âgamas is but a mere trifle. Even Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a cannot describe fully the merits of the bathing in the Ganges. O Brâhmin! Such is the glory of ordinary bathing. Now I will describe the effect of the Ganges bath done with a Sankalpa (resolve); hear. Ten times more the result is obtained when the Ganges bathing is done with a resolve (Sankalpa) than ordinary bath and if one bathes on the day when the sun passes from one sign to another (in the Zodiac), thirty times more religious merits accrue. On the new Moon (Amâvyas) day, the Ganges bath gives the merits as above mentioned; but when the Sun is in his Southern course (Daksinâyana) double the merits are obtained and when the sun is in his Northern course, ten times more religious merits are obtained. The Ganges bathing in the time of Châturmâsya, full Moon day, Aksayâ Navamî or Aksayâ trittîyâ yields merits that cannot be measured. And if on the above Parva (particular periods of the year on which certain ceremonies are commanded) days both bathing, and making over gifts are done, there is no limit to the religious merits acquired; hundred times more than ordinary bath, religious merits are obtained. Great religious merits accrue from the Ganges bath on Manvantarâ tithi, Yugâdyâ, S'uklâ seventh day of the month of Mâgha, Bhîsmâstamî day, As'okâstamî day, and S’rî Râma Navamî day. Again double the merits than those of the above arise from bathing in the Ganges during the Nandâ ceremony. The Gauges bath in the Das'aharâ tenth tithi gives merits equivalent to Yugâdyâ Snânam (bath). And if the bathing be done on Mahânandâ or in Mahâvârunî day, four times more religious merits accrue. Ten million times more religious merits accrue from the Ganges bathing on Mahâ Mahâ Vârunî day than ordinary bath. The Ganges bath in the Solar eclipse yields ten times more religious merits than in the Lunar eclipse. Again the Snânam in Ardhodaya Yoga yields hundred times more religious merits than that of the (solar) eclipse. Thus saying to Gangâ before Bhagîratha, the Lord of the Devas remained silent. The Devî Gangâ with her head bowed down with devotion, said :--

39-42. Gangâ said :-- If I am after all, to go to Bhârata as Thou commandest and under the curse given previously by Bhâratî, then tell me how I would be freed of the sins that the sinners will cast on me. How long will I have to remain there? When, O Lord! Shall I be able to return to the Highest place of Visnu? O Thou, the Inner Self of all! O All Knowing! O Lord! Whatever else I desire, Thou knowest them all. So be pleased to instruct me on all these points.

43-69. Bhagavân S’rî Hari said :-- O Sures'varî! I know all that you desire; when you will assume the liquid form, the Salt Ocean will be your husband. He is My part and you are of the nature of Laksmî; so the union of the lover with the love stricken in the world will turn out a happy and qualified one. Of all the rivers Sarasvatî and others in Bhârata, that go to mix with the ocean, you will be the best and highly fortunate of them all. From today you will have to remain in Bhârata for a period of five thousand years, under the curse of Bhâratî. You will be able to enjoy daily and always the pleasures with the Ocean. O Devî! As you are a clever lady, so He is also apt and expert. The inhabitants of Bhârata will praise Thee and worship Thee with great devotion by the stotra which Bhagîratha has composed. He will derive the fruit of one horse-sacrifice who will meditate on Thee as per Kânvas'âkhâ and worship, praise and bow down to Thee daily. Even if one utter “Gangâ,” “Gangâ,” though one is one hundred Yojanas away from the Ganges, one will be freed of all sins and go to Visnu-loka. Whatever sins will be cast in Thee by thousand sinners bathing in Thee will be destroyed by the touch of the devotees of Prakriti Devî. Even if thousands and thousands of sinners touch the dead bodies and bath in Thee, all those will be destroyed when the Devî Bhaktas,the worshippers of Bhuvanes'varî and Mâyâ Vîja, will come and touch Thee. O Auspicious One! Thou wilt wash away the sins of the sinners, by Thy stay in Bhârata with other best rivers Sarasvatî and others. That will be at once a sacred place of pilgrimage where Thy glories will be chanted. By the touch of the dust of Thine, the sinner will be at once purified and he will dwell in the Devî-loka (Mani Dvîpa) for as many years as will be the dust there. All Hail to the Devî Bhuvanes'varî! He who will leave his body on Thy lap with full consciousness and remembering My name, will certainly go to My abode and will remain, as My chief attendant for an infinite period. He will see countless Prâkritik Layas (dissolutions of the Universe). Unless a man has collected hordes of religious merits, be cannot die in the Ganges; and if he dies on the Ganges he goes to Vaikuntha as long as the Sun rises in this world. I get many bodies for him where he can enjoy the fruits of his Karma and I then give him My Svârûpya (Form resembling Mine) and make him My attendant. If any ignorant man, void of any Jñânam, quits his body by touching merely Thy water, I give him Sâlokya (place in My region) and make him My attendant. Even if one quits one's body in a far off place, uttering Thy Name, I give him place in My region for one life time of Brahmâ. And if he remembers Thee with devotion, and quits his mortal coil at another place, I give him Sârûpya (Form resembling Mine) for a period of endless Prâkritik Layas. He instantly gets on an aerial car made of jewels and goes with My attendants to the region of Goloka and gets form like Me. Those that worship daily My Mantra, that pass their day eating the remnant of the food offered to Me, they need not have any distinction whether they die in Tîrath or not. They themselves can easily purify the three worlds. Getting on the excellent and best aerial car built of jewels, they go to the region of Goloka. O Chaste One! Even if the friends of My devotees, be born in animal births, they also will be purified by the devotion shown towards Me and getting on a jewelled aerial car will be able to go to Goloka, so diffcult of access. Wherever the Bhaktas may be, if they simply remember Me with devotion, they will become liberated while living by the power of My Bhakti. Thus saying to Gangâ, Bhagavân S’rî Hari addressed Bhagîratha :-- O Child! Now worship Gangâ Devî with devotion and chant hymns to Her. The pure Bhagîrata meditated with devotion as per Kauthuma S'âkhâ and worshipped the Devî and praised Her repeatedly. Then Gangâ and Bhagîratha bowed down to S’rî Krisna and He disappeared at once from their sight.

70. The Devarsi Nârada said :-- “O Thou the foremost of the Knowers of the Vedas! How, by what Kuthuma S’âkhâ, the noble King Bhagiratha meditated on the Devî Gangâ; what stotra did he recite and what was the method with which he worshipped the Ganges.

71-75. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! One should first take one's bath, and putting on a clean washed clothing should perform one's daily duties. Then one should control oneself and with devotion worship the six Devatâs Ganes’a, Sun, Fire, Visnu, S’iva and S'ivânî. Thus one becomes entitled to worship. First worship is to be given to Ganes'a for the destruction of obstacles; the Sun is to be next worshipped for health; Fire, for purification; Visnu is then worshipped for getting wealth and power; S’iva is worshipped for knowledge and S'ivânî is worshipped for Mukti. When these Devatâs are worshipped, one is entitled to worship the Deity. Otherwise contrary become the effects. Now I am saying what Dhyânam (meditation) did Bhagîratha practise towards the Devî Gangâ .

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Ninth Book on the origin of the Ganges in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Origin Of Gangâ

1-15. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Now about the meditation (Dhyân) of the Devî Gangâ as per Kânva S'âkhâ, which destroys all the sins, O Gange! Of white colour like white lotuses! Thou destroyest all the sins of men. Thou hast appeared from the body of S’rî Krisna. Thou art powerful like Him. Thou art very chaste and pure. Thou hast worn the raiment, uninflammable and decorated all over with ornaments made of jewels. Thou art more brilliant than one hundred autumnal Moons. Thou art also well pleased with a smile on Thy lips. And Thou art always of steady youthful beauty (that never wanes). Thou art dear to Nârâyana, calm and of peaceful temper, and proud of being His with His fortune. Thou bearest the braid of hair, decked with garlands of Mâlatî flowers; Thy cheeks are anointed with sandal dots, with Sindûra bindu (dots of red powder, vermilion) and well adorned with various artistic lines made of musk. Thy garment and Thy beautiful lips are more red than the ripe Bimba fruit (the red fruit of a cucurbitaceous plant); Thy teeth vie as it were, with the rows of pearls. How lovely are Thy eyes! How delightsome is Thy side-long glance! How close are Thy breasts like Bel fruits! Thy loins are thicker and more solid then the plantain trees. How do Thy feet look beautiful, defying the beauty of the Sthalapadma (ground Lotus)!

How do the red sandals look lovely with Kunkuma and alaktak (red powder)! What a red tinge Thy feet have shewn with the honey of Pârijâta flower that is seen on the head of Indra. The Devas, the Siddhas, the Munis, offer always Arghyas (offerings of rice with Durba grass) at Thy feet; the ascetics bow down at Thy feet, and it seems as though so many lines of bees are on Thy lotus feet. O Mother! Thy lotus feet give liberation to those that want Mukti and enjoyment to those that want Bhukti (enjoyments). O Mother! Thou art the boon; Thou art the chief excellent; Thou grantest boons and Thou showest Thy favour to Thy devotees; Thou bestowest the Visnupadam (the place of Visnu); but Thou hast come from the feet of Visnu. Thus meditating on the Devî Gangâ flowing by three routes (in Heaven, earth and infernal regions), the bestower of good things one should offer to the Devî sixteen things :-- Âsana, Pâdya, Arghya, water for bathing, ointment (anûlepana), Dhûpa (scents), Dîpa (lights), Naivedya (offerings of food), betel, cool water, clothings, ornaments garlands, sandal-paste, Âchamanîya (water for sipping), and beautiful beddings and worship Her with these. Then, with folded hands, one should perform stotra to Her and bow down to Her with devotion. Thus the worshipper gets the fruits of A'svamedha sacrifice.

16. Nârada said :-- O Lord of the Devas! At present I am desirous to hear the sin-destroying and virtue-bestowing stotra (hymn) of Gangâ Devî, the Purifier of all those that are fallen from virtue, originated from the feet of Visnu, the Lord of world and the husband of Laksmî. Kindly narrate all these in detail.

17-41. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Now I am narrating the stotra of Gangâ Devî, that destroys all sins and bestows all religious merit. Hear. I bow down to the Ganges who appeared from the body of S’rî Krisna, enchanted by the music of S'iva, and, who was bathed with the perspiration (water coming out of the body) of S’rî Râdhâ. I bow down to Gangâ Devî who first appeared in the circular dance (Râsa Mândalam) in the region of Goloka and who always remains with S'ankara. My obeisance to the Devî Gangâ who remains in the auspicious grand utsab of Râdhâ (Râsa Mândalam), crowded with Gopas and Gopîs, in the Full Moon night of the month of Kârtik. She is one koti yojanas wide and one lakh times one koti yojanas long in the region of Goloka. My Obeisance to Her! In Vaikuntha, Gangâ is sixty lakh yojanas in width and four times that in length. My Obeisance to Her! In Brahmâ-loka, Gangâ is thirty lakh yojanas wide and five times as long. I bow down to Her. In S'iva-loka, She is thirty lakh yojanas wide and four times that in length. I bow down to Her. In Dhruva-loka, She is one lakh yojanas wide and seven times as long. I bow down to Her. In Chandra-loka She is one lakh yojanas wide and five times as long. My obeisance to S’rî Gangâ Devî. I bow down to the Ganges who is sixty thousand yojanas wide in the Sûrya loka and ten times that in length. I bow down to Gangâ in Tapo-loka who is one lakh yojanas wide and five times that in length. My obeisance to Gangâ Devî in Janar-loka, who is one thousand yojanas wide and ten times that as long. I bow down to Gangâ in Mahar-loka who is ten lakh yojanas wide and five times that in length. My obeisance to Gangâ Devî in Kailâs'a who is one thousand yojanas wide and one hundred times as long. I bow down to Gangâ Devî who is known as Mandâkinî in Indra-loka, and who is one hundred yojanas wide and ten times than that in length. My obeisance to Gangâ Devî, known as Bhogavati in Pâtâla who is ten yojanas wide and five times as long. I bow down to Gangâ Devî, known as Alakanandâ in this earth, who is two miles wide, in some places more wide and in some places less wide. I bow down to Gangâ Devî who was of the colour of milk in Satya yuga, of the colour of Moon in Tretâ Yuga, of the colour of white sandal-paste in Dvâpara yuga. I bow down to S’rî Gangâ Devî who is as water in Kali yuga in this earth and as milk in Kali yuga in Heaven. O Child! By the touch of one molecule of the water of the Ganges, all the horrible sins incurred in ten million births, the murder of a Brâhmin and so forth, are burnt to ashes. Thus I have described in twenty-one verses the great stotra (human) of the sin-destroying and the virtue-increasing merits of Gangâ. He reaps the fruit of the A'svamedha sacrifice (Horse sacrifice), who daily sings this praise of Gangâ after worshipping Her with devotion. There is no doubt in this. The persons that are without any sons get sons hereby and those who have no wives get wives. The diseased get themselves free from their diseases, and the man who is under bondage, is liberated from that bondage. He who getting up early in the morning reads this stotra of Gangâ, becomes widely known even if he be not known at all and he becomes illumined with wisdom even if he be quite ignorant. Even if he sees a bad dream, he acquires the merit of bathing in the Ganges and of seeing good dreams.

42-44. S’rî Nârâyana spoke :-- O Nârada! With this stotra (hymn) did Bhagîratha praise the Gangâ Devî. Who then went with him to the spot where the Sagara's sons were burnt to ashes by the curse of Kapila. By the contact of the wind in touch with the particles of water of the Ganges, those sons of Sagara were instantly freed of their curses and they all repaired to Vaikuntha. She is named Bhâgirathî, because Bhagîratha brought Her to this earth. Thus I have described to you the story of the Ganges.

This anecdote is highly meritorious and the great step to liberation. What more do you now want to hear? Say.

45-46. Nârada said :-- O Lord! How did Gangâ come to flow through the three worlds by three routes, and thus purify them? How was she carried and to which places? How did the people of those localities accord respect to Her? Kindly describe all these in detail.

47-79. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! On the Full Moon night of the month of Kârtik in the Râsa mândalam, at the great festivity in honour of Râdhâ, S’rî  Krisna worshipped Râdhâ and remained there. Next Râdhâ, worshipped by S’rî Krisna, was worshipped by Brahmâ and the other Devas, by Saunaka and the other Risis, who also stopped there with much gladness. At this moment the Devî Sarasvatî, the Presiding Deity of the Science of Music began to sing lovely songs regarding Krisna, in tune with vocal and instrumental music. Brahmâ became glad and presented to Sarasvatî a necklace of jewels; Mahâ Deva gave her gems and jewels rare in this universe; Krisna presented the best Kaustubha jewel; Râdhikâ offered excellent invaluable necklace of jewels; Nârâyana presented to her the best and most excellent garland of jewels; Laksmî gave her invaluable golden earrings decked with gems; Visnu-Mâyâ Mûla Prakriti, Bhagvatî Durgâ, who is Nârâyanî, Îs'varî, Îs'ânî, presented Her devotion to Brahmâ, so very rare; Dharma gave her devotion to Dharma and high fame; Agni (fire) gave her excellent raiments purified by fire and Vâyu gave Her Nûpura (toe ornaments) made of gems and jewels. At this time, Mahes'vara, the Lord of Bhûtas (elements) began to sing, at the suggestion of Brahmâ, songs relating to S’rî Krisna's grand Râsa festival. Hearing this, the Devas became very much enchanted and remained motionless like statues. With great difficulty, they regained their consciousness. Then they saw that there was no Râdhâ nor Krisna in this Râsa mândala; everything was deluged with water. The Gopas, Gopîs, Devas and Brâhmanas began to cry loudly. Brahmâ in his meditation then came to know that Râdhâ and Krisna both have assumed this liquid appearance for the deliverance of the people of the world. Brahmâ and others, all began to praise S’rî Krisna and said :-- “O All prevading One! Now be pleased to show us Thy form and grant us our desired boons.” At that instant a sweet incorporeal voice was clearly heard by all, as coming from air above, that, “I am the Self of all, pervading all; and this my S’akti, Râdhâ, is also the Self of all, prevades all; so there is no separation of us from you all even for a moment. It is only to show our favour to the devotees that we assume special forms. For this reason only there is separation of us from you as regards this body! There is nothing else. Besides you have no necessity with our bodies. O Devas! Now if my Manus, men, Munis, Vaisnavas and you all, purified by Mantras desire very much to see My Form clearly, then I tell you to request Mahes'vara to carry out My word. O Brahmâ! O Creator! Better ask Mahâdeva, the World Teacher, that He would better compose the beautiful Tantra S'âstra, in accordance with the limbs of the Vedas. And that the above S'âstra be full of Mantras, capable to yield desired fruits, Stotras (hymns) and Kavachas (protection mantras) and rules of due worship in proper order. And that also My Mantra, My Stotra, and My Kavacha be also given there in a hidden form. So that those people that are sinners might not understand their real meanings and thus turn out against Me. It may be that one in a thousand or in a hundred may worship My Mantra. And My Mantra worshippers, the saints, become purified and come to My Abode. If My S'âstra be not well made (i. e., if everyone be able to understand its meaning) and if everyone be able to go from Bhûrloka to Goloka, then Thy labour in this creation of the world will all be in vain. Therefore dost Thou better create different worlds according to the differences of Sâttvik, Râjasik, and Tamo Gunas; then some will be the inhabitants of this Bhûrloka, some will be the inhabitants of Dyuloka according to their Karmas. O Brâhman! If Mahâ Deva promises earnestly in this assembly of the Devas, I will then exhibit My True Form.” O Nârada! Thus speaking, the Eternal Purusa S’rî Krisna remained silent (i. e., the aerial incorporeal voice stopped). Hearing this, Brahmâ, the Creator of the world, gladly informed S’iva of this. When the Lord of Knowledge, the Foremost of the Jñânins, Bhûtanâtha heard the words of the Creator, He took the Ganges water in His hands and swore that “I will complete the Tantra S'astra, full of Râdhâ mantras and not opposed to the Vedas. If one touches the Ganges water and speaks lies, one remains in the terrible Kâlasutra hell for a period of one Brahmâ's life time.” O Dvija! When Bhagavân S'ankara said this before the assembly of the Devas in the region of Goloka, S’rî Krisna appeared there with Râdhâ. The Devas became exceedingly glad to see Him. They praised Him, the Best Purusa and they were all filled with rapture and again engaged themselves in the grand Râsa Festival. Some time after, Mâhâ Deva lighted the Torch of Mukti, i.e., the Tantra S'âstra was published by Him, as promised. O Child! Thus I have disclosed to you this anecdote, so very secret, and hard to be attained. Thus S’rî Krisna Himself, is verily the liquid Gangâ sprung in the region of Goloka. This holy Gangâ, born of the bodies of Krisna and Râdhâ inseparable from each other, grants enjoyment, lordship and liberation. S’rî Krisna, the Highest Self, has placed Her in various places; so Gangâ is of the nature of S’rî Krisna and is everywhere, equally honoured everywhere in the Brahmânda (universe).

Here ends the Twelfth Chapter in the Ninth Book on the origin of Gangâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Anecdote Of Gangâ

1. Nârada said :-- O Lord of the Devas! Kindly say in what Loka did Gangâ go after 5000 (five thousand) years of the Kali Yuga?

2-4. Nârâyana said :-- The Bhâgîrathî Gangâ came down to Bhârata under the curse of Bhâratî; and when the term expired, She went back, by the Will of God, to the region of Vaikuntha. Also at the end of the period of their curses, Bhâratî and, Laksmî, too, left Bhârata and repaired to Nârâyana. Gangâ, Laksmî, and Sarasvatî, these three and Tulasî all these four are so very dear to S’rî Hari.

5-6. Nârada said :-- How did Gangâ appear from the lotus feet of Visnu? Why did Brahmâ put Her in His Kamandalu? I have heard that Gangâ is the wife of S’iva; how then, came She to be the wife of Nârâyana? Kindly describe all these in detail to me.

7-8. Nârâyana said :-- O Muni! In ancient times, in the region of Goloka, Gangâ assumed the liquid appearance. She was born of the bodies of Râdhâ and Krisna. So She is of the nature of both of them and their parts. Gangâ is the presiding deity of water. She is unequalled in Her beauty in this world. She is full of youth and adorned with all ornaments.

9-43. Her face was like the autumnal mid-day lotus and sweet smile was always reigning on Her lips; Her form was very beautiful; Her colour was as bright as melted gold and She looked brilliant like the Autumnal Moon. Eyes and mind get cool and become pleasant at Her beauty and radiance; She was of purely Suddha Sattva; Her loins were bulky and hard and She was covered with excellent clothings all over Her body. Her breasts were plump and prominent; they were raised, hard, and nicely round. Her eyes very fascinating, always casting sidelong glances. Her braids of hair situated a little oblique and the garland of Mâlatî flowers over it made Her look extremely handsome. The saudalpaste dot and the vermillion dot were seen on Her forehead. On Her cheeks the leaves of musk were drawn and Her lips were red like Bandhûka flowers and they looked enchanting. Her rows of teeth looked like rows of ripe pomegranates; the ends of Her cloth not inflammable by fire, worn in front in a knot round the waist. She sat by the side of Krisna, full of amorous desires, and abashed. She covered Her face with the end of Her cloth and was seeing, with a steadfast gaze the face of the Lord and She was drinking the nectar of His face with great gladness. Her lotus face bloomed and became gladdened at the expectation of a first amorous embrace. She fainted on seeing the Form of Her Lord and a thrill of joy passed all over Her body. In the meanwhile Râdhikâ came up there. Râdhâ was attended by thirty kotis of Gopîs. She looked brilliant like tens of millions of Moons. Seeing Gangâ by the side of S’rî Krisna, Her face and eyes became reddened with anger like a red lotus. Her colour was yellow like champaka and Her gait was like a maddened elephant. She was adorned with various invaluable ornaments made of jewels. Her pair of clothings were tied round Her waist. They were decked with invaluable jewels and not inflammable by fire (fire-proof). The Arghya offered by S’rî Krisna was on Her lotus-feet of the colour of a flowering shrub, Hibiscus mutabilis, and She was going slowly step by step. The Risis began to fan Her with white Châmaras no sooner She, descending from the excellent aeroplane decked with jewels, began to walk. Below the point where the parting of the hairs on the head is done, there was the dot of Sindura on Her forehead. It looked brilliant like a bright lamp flame. On both sides of this Sindurabindu, the dot of musk and the dot of Sandal-paste were seen. When She began to quiver with anger, Her braid, with Pârijâta garland round it began to tremble also. Her lips adorned with beautiful colours, began to quiver also. She took Her seat angrily on a jewel throne by the side of S’rî Krisna. Her attendants took their seats in their allotted positions. Seeing Râdhâ, S’rî Krisna got up at once from His seat with reverence and addressed Her, smiling and began to converse with Her in sweet words. The Gopîs, very much afraid and with their heads bent low, began to chant hymns to Her with devotion. S’rî Krisna also began to praise Her with stotras. At this moment Gangâ Devî got up and praised Her with various hymns and asked Her welfare with fear and with humble words. Out of fear, Her throat, lips and palate were parched up. She took refuge humbly at S’rî Krisna's feet. S’rî Krisna then, took Gangâ Devî on His breast when She became calm and quiet. At this interval Sures'varî Gangâ looked at Râdhâ, seated on a throne, lovely and sweet, as if She was burning with Brahmâ Fire. Since the beginning of creation, She is the Sole Lady of innumerable Brahmâs and She is Eternal. At the first sight, She looked young as if of twelve years old. Nowhere in any Universe can be seen a lady so beautiful and so qualified. She was peaceful, calm and quiet, lovely, infinite and having no beginning nor end. She was auspicious, well endowed with all auspicious signs, prosperous, and having the good fortune of having a best husband. She was the foremost jewel amongst the ladies and appeared as if all the beauties were concentrated in Her. Râdhâ is the (left) half of S’rî Krisna's body; whether in age or in strength or in beauty she was in every way perfectly equal to S’rî Krisna. Laksmî and the Lord of Laksmî both worship Râdhâ. The excellent brilliance of Srî Krisna was overpowered by the beauty of Râdhâ. Taking Her seat on the throne She began to chew betels offered by Her attendants (Sakhîs). She is the Mother of all the worlds; but no one is Her mother. She is fortunate, respected and proud. She is the Ruling Lady of S’rî Krisna's Life and Soul and ever dearer to Him than His Prâna (vital breath). O Devarsi! Gangâ, the Governess of the Devas, looked at Her over and over again with a steadfast gaze; but Her eyes and mind were not at all satiated. At this moment, Râdhâ addressed smilingly to S’rî Krisna, the Lord of the world, humbly and in sweet words. O My Lord! Who is that Lady sitting by Thy side, looking askance, eager and with a smiling countenance. She is enchanted with Thy beauteous form and fainting away. Her whole body is excited with rapturous joy. Hiding Her face with cloth She is frequently looking at Thee. Thou also dost look on Her smilingly and with desires. What are all these? Even during My presence in this Goloka, all these bad practices are being rampant.

44-51. It is Thou that art doing all these bad things often and often! We are female sex; what shall we do? We are naturally, of a very pleasing temper, simple. I bore and forgave all these out of our love. O Licentious One! Take Thy Beloved and go away quickly from this Goloka. Otherwise these things will not bid fair to Thee. Firstly, one day I saw Thee, united with Virajâ Gopî, in Chandana (Sandal wood) forest. What to do? At the request of the S'akhîs, I did forgive Thee. Then, hearing My footsteps Thou didst fly away. Virajâ, out of shame, quitted Her body and assumed the form of a river. That is million Yojanas wide an four times as long. Even to this day that Virajâ is existing, testifying to Thy Glory (near Puri, Jagannâtha)! When I went back to My home Thou didst go to Virajâ again and cried aloud “O Viraje! O Viraje!” Hearing Your cry, Virajâ, the Siddha Yoginî arose from the waters, out of Her Yogic power, and when She showed Thee Her divine appearance decked with ornaments, Thou didst draw Her to Thy side and cast Thy seed in Her. It is owing to the casting of that seed in the womb of Virajâ that the seven oceans have come into existence!

52-107. Secondly, one day I saw Thee in actual intercourse with the Gopî named S'obhâ! Hearing My footsteps, Thou fled'st away that day also.

Out of shame S'obhâ quitted Her body and departed to the sphere of Moon (Chandra Mandal). The cooling effect of the Moon is due to this S'obhâ. When S’obhâ was thus distressed, Thou didst divide Her and put some parts to gems and jewels, part to gold, partly to excellent pearls and gems, partly on the face of women, partly to the bodies of Kings, partly to the leaves of trees, partly to flowers, partly to ripe fruits, partly to corns, partly to palaces and temples, partly to purified materials, partly to young and tender shoots and foliage, and partly to milk. Thirdly, I saw Thee united with Prabhâ Gopî in Brindâban. Thou fled'st away, hearing My footsteps. Out of shame, Prabhâ quitted Her body and departed to the Solar atmosphere. This Prabhâ (lustre) is fierce luminosity of the Solar atmosphere. Out of the pangs of separation Thou criedest and didst divide Prabhâ and didst put some parts in Fire, partly amidst the Yaksas, partly into lions, among men, partly amongst the Devas, partly in Vaisnavas, partly in serpents, partly in Brâhmanas, partly in Munis, partly in ascetics, and partly in fortunate and prosperous ladies. Thou hadst to weep then after Thou hadst thus divided Prabhâ, for Her separation and and fourthly I saw Thee in love union with the Gopî S'ânti in Râsa Mandalam. On the coming of the spring season, one day Thou with garlands of flowers on Thy neck and with Thy body besmeared with sandal paste and decked with ornaments, wast sleeping on a bed of flowers with S’ânti Gopî, decked with gems, in a temple made of gems and pearls and illumined by a lamp of jewels and Thou wast chewing the betel, given by Thy beloved. Hearing My sound Thou fled'st away. S’ânti Gopî, too, out of fear and shame quitted Her body and disappeared in Thee. Therefore S’ânti is reckoned as one of the noblest qualities. Out of the pain of separation, Thou didst divide the body of S’ânti and distributed partly to forests, partly to Brahmâ, partly to Me, partly to S'uddha Sattvâ Laksmî, partly to Thy Mantra worshippers, partly to My Mantra worshippers, partly to the ascetics, partly to Dharma, and partly to the religious persons. Fifthly, dost Thou remember that one day anointing all over Thy body fully with the sandal paste and good scent and with garlands on Thy neck, well dressed, decked with jewels, Thou wast sleeping with Ksamâ (forgiveness) Gopî in ease and happiness, on a nice bedding interspersed with flowers and well scented. Thou wert so much over-powered by sleep after fresh intercourse that when I went and disturbed, then Thou two didst get up from the sweet sleep. I took away Thy yellow robes, the beautiful Muralî (flute), garlands made of forest flowers, Kaustubha gems, and invaluable earrings of pearls and gems. I gave it back to Thee at the earnest request of the S'akhîs. Thy body turned black with sin and dire shame, Ksamâ then quitted Her body out of shame and went down to the earth. Therefore Ksamâ turned out to be the repository of best qualities. Out of affection to Her, Thou didst divide Her body and distributed them partly to Visnu, partly to the Vaisnavas, partly to Dharma, partly to the religious persons, partly to weak persons, partly to ascetics, partly to the Devas, and partly to the Pundits (literary persons). O Lord! Thus I have described Thy qualities as far as I know. What more dost thou want to hear? Thou hast many more qualities! But I am not aware of them. Having thus spoken, the red-lotus eyed Râdhâ began to rebuke Gangâ sitting by the side of S’rî Krisna with Her head bent low out of shame. At this time Gangâ, who was a Siddha Yoginî came to know all the mysteries, and instantly disappeared from the assembly in Her own water form.

The Siddha Yoginî Râdhâ came to know also, by Her Yogic power, the secrets of Gangâ and became ready to drink the whole water in one sip. Gangâ, knowing this intention of Râdhâ, by Her Yogic power, took refuge of Krisna and entered into His feet. Then Râdhâ began to look out for Gangâ everywhere :-- First She searched in Goloka, then Vaikuntha, then Brahmâ-loka; then She searched all the Lokas one by one but no where did She find Gangâ. All the places in Goloka became void of of water; all turned out dried mud and all the aquatic animals died and fell to the ground. And Brahmâ, Visnu, S’iva, Ananta, Dharma, Indra, Moon, Sun, Manus, Munis, Siddhas, ascetics all became very thirsty and their throats became parched. They then went to Goloka, and bowed down with devotion to S’rî Krisna, Who was the Lord of all, beyond Prakriti, the Supreme, worthy to be worshipped, the Bestower of boons, the Best, and the Cause of boons; Who is the Lord of Gopas and Gopîs; Who is formless, without any desire, unattached, without refuge, attributeless, without any enthusiasm, changeless, and unstained; Who is All Will and who assumes forms to show favour to His devotees; Who is Sattva, the Lord of truth, the Witness and eternal Purusa and Who is the Highest, the Supreme Lord, the Best and Excellent, the Highest Self and the Supreme God. They began to hymn Him. All were filled with intense feelings with devotion; tears of love were flowing from their eyes and the bodies of all were filled with ecstasy, the hairs standing in ends. He was Para Brahmâ; His Substance was made of Transcendental Light, Who is the Cause of all Causes, who was seated in a wonderful throne, built of invaluable gems and jewels, who was being fanned by the Gopas with white chowries, who was seeing and hearing with great delight, and smiling countenance, the dancing and singing of the Gopîs, who was chewing the scented betel offered by Râdhâ and who was residing in. the heart of His dearest S’rî Râdhâ, who was the Perfect, all pervading, and the Lord of the Râsa Circle. The Manus, Munis, and the ascetics all bowed down to S’rî Krisna, no sooner they beheld Him. Joy and wonder at once caught hold of their hearts. They then looked at one another and gave over to Brahmâ the task of communicating their feelings. The four faced Brahmâ, with Visnu on His right and Vâma Deva on His left, gradually came in front of S’rî Krisna. Wherever He cast His glance in the Râsa Mandalam, He saw S’rî Krisna, full of the Highest Bliss, of the nature of the Highest Bliss, sitting. All have turned out Krisnas; their seats were all uniform; all were two armed and with flutes in their hands; on every one's neck is the forest garland; peacock's tail was on the top of everyone's crest and Kaustubha jewels were on all their breasts. The Forms of all of them were very beautiful; very lovely and very peaceful. No difference at all between them whether in form, or in qualities, or in ornaments, or in radiance, in age, in lustre, in no respect no one was inferior to another. No one was imperfect; no one was deficient in lordliness. It was indeed very difficult to make out who was the master and who was the servant. Sometimes He is seen in His Teja form as the Great Light, and there is nothing else; sometimes there is that Clear Divine Form; sometimes He comes Formless; sometimes with form; and again sometimes both with and without form. Sometimes there is no Râdhâ; there is only Krisna; And sometimes again in every seat there is the Yugal Murti Râdhâ and Krisna combined. Sometimes Râdhâ assumes the form of Krisna. So the Creator Brahmâ could not make out whether S’rî Krisna was a female or a male. At last He meditated on S’rî Krisna in his heart-lotus and began to chant hymns to Him with devotion and prayed for forgiveness for his misdoings. When S’rî Krisna got pleased, the Creator, opening His eyes, saw S’rî Krisna on the breast of S’rî Râdhâ. There were His attendants on all the sides and the Gopîs all around. Seeing this, Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'vara bowed down to Him and sang His praises.

108-113. S’rî Krisna, the Lord of Laksmî, the  Omnipresent, Cause of all, the Lord of all, and the Internal Ruler of all, knew their intentions and, addressing them, separately said :-- “O Brahmân! Is it all well with you? O Lord of Kamalâ! Come here. O Mahâdeva! Come here; let all be well to you. You all have come to me for Gangâ. Gangâ has taken refuge under My feet out of fear for Râdhâ. Seeing Gangâ by My side, Râdhâ wanted to drink Her up, However I will give over Gangâ to the hands of you all; but you will have to pray to Râdhâ, so that Gangâ becomes fearless of Her.” The lotus born Brahmâ smiled at S’rî Krisna's words and began to sing hymns to Râdhâ, Who is fit to be worshipped by all. The Creator Brahmâ, the Compiler of the Four Vedas, the Four-faced One praised Râdhâ with His Four heads, bent low and addressed Her thus :--

114-125. Brahmâ said :-- “O Râdhe! Gangâ, appeared from Thee and the Lord S’rî Krisna. Both of you were transformed before into the liquid forms in the Râsâ Mandalam, on hearing the music of S'ankara. And That Lquid Form is Gangâ. So She is born of Thee and S’rî Krisna. Hence She is like Thy daughter and to be loved as such. She will be initiated in Thy Mantra and She will worship Thee. The four armed Lord of Vaikuntha will be Her husband. And when She will appear in parts on earth, the Salt Ocean will be Her husband. O Mother! The Gangâ that dwells in Goloka, is dwelling everywhere. O Governess of the Devas! Thou art Her mother; and She is always Thy Self born daughter.” Hearing thus, the words of Brahmâ, Râdhâ gave Her assent towards the protection of Gangâ. And then Gangâ appeared from the toe-tip of S’rî Krisna. The liquid Gangâ, then, assumed Her own form and, getting up from water, was received with great honour by the Devas. Bhagavân Brahmâ took a little of that Ganges water in His Kamandalu and Bhagavân Mahâdeva kept some of it in His own head.

The lotus born Brahmâ, then, initiated Gangâ into the Râdhâ Mantra and gave Her instructions, Râdhâ Stotra (hymn of Râdhâ) according to the Sâma Veda, Râdhâ Kavacha (protection mantras), Râdhâ Dhyân (meditation on Râdhâ), method of worship of Râdhâ, and Râdhâ's purascharana. Gangâ worshipped Râdhâ according to those instructions and went to Vaikuntha. O Muni! Laksmî, Sarasvatî, Gangâ, and the world purifying Tulasî, these four became the wives of Nârâyana. Krisna, then, smiled and explained to Brahmâ the history of Time, hardly to be comprehended by others. He then spoke :-- “O Brahmâ! O Visnu! O Mahes'vara! Now you better take Gangâ and I will now tell you what a change has been effected by this time. Hear.

126-136. You, the three Devas, the other Devas, Munis, Manus, Siddhas, and other Mahâtmâs that are present here, are living now. For this region of Goloka is not affected by Kâla (Time). Now the Kalpa is going to expire. So in the other regions than Goloka and Vaikuntha, the Brahmâs, etc., that were existing in all other Universes, have all now dissolved in My Body. O Lotus-born! Save Goloka and Vaikuntha, all are now under water, the pre-state of earth. Better go and create your own Brahmândas and Gangâ will go to that newly created Brahmânda. I will also create other worlds and the Brahmâs thereof. Now you all better go with the Devas and do your own works respectively. You have waited here for a long interval. As many Brahmâs that have fallen all appear again.” Thus saying S’rî Krisna, the Lord of Râdhâ went to His Inner Chamber. The Devas also instantly retired from that spot and engaged themselves earnestly in the creation work. Gangâ remained as before till then in the region of Goloka, Vaikuntha, S’ivaloka, Brahmâ-loka, and in other places, by the command of S’rî Krisna. She is named Visnupadî, because She appeared from the feet of Visnu. Thus I have described to you this pleasant, essential story of Gangâ, leading to liberation. What more do you now want to hear? Say.

Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter on the anecdote of Gangâ in the Ninth Book in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Story Of Gangâ Becoming The Wife Of Nârâyana

1-2. Nârada said :-- O Lord! Gangâ, Laksmî, Sarasvatî, and the world purifying Tulasî, these four, are dearest to Nârâyana. Out of these, Gangâ went from the region of Goloka to Vaikuntha. So I have heard. But how did She come to be the wife of Nârâyana. I have not heard. Kindly describe this.

3. Nârâyana said :-- Brahmâ came from Goloka to the region of Vaikuntha accompanied by Gangâ.

4-23. Brahmâ said to Nârâyana :-- O Lord! Gangâ, born of the bodies of Râdhâ and Krisna, full of youth, modest, extraordinarily beautiful, of pure Suddha Sattva, and void of anger and egoism, does not like to marry anyone save Thee as She is born of Thee. But Râdhâ is of a very proud nature and very wrathful. She was even ready to drink up Gangâ. But Gangâ at once and intelligently took refuge into the feet of S’rî Krisna. So the whole Goloka became void of water. Seeing this, I have come here to know in particular the whole history of the case. Then S’rî Krisna, the Knower and the Ruler of the hearts of all, came to know my heart and instantly caused Gangâ to issue from His toe and handed Her over to me. I bowed down to S’rî Krisna and now I have come with Gangâ to Thee. Now Thou dost marry the Sures'varî Gangâ according to the Gândharva rule of marriage. As Thou art a Deva of taste and humorous in the assembly of the Devas, so Gangâ is. As Thou art a gem amongst the males, so She is the gem amongst the females. And the union of a humorous man with a humorous woman is exceedingly pleasant. Now marry this Lady who has come of Her own accord to Thee. S’rî Mahâ Laksmî becomes annoyed with one who does not marry a woman who has come spontaneously. There is no doubt in this. The wise men do never insult the Prakriti. All the Purusas (males) are born of Prakriti and all the females are parts of Prakriti. So Prakriti and Purusa are both inseparable and verily one and the same. So these two should never insult each other. (If Thou sayest that Gangâ is attached to Krisna; how canst Thou marry Her. The reply is) As S’rî Krisna is beyond the attributes and beyond Prakriti, so Thou art also above Prakriti. The one-half of S’rî Krisna is two-armed; the other half of S’rî Krisna is four-armed. Râdhâ has appeared from the left side of S’rî Krisna. He Himself is the right half and Padmâ is His left-half. As there is no difference between Râdhâ and Kamalâ so there is no difference between S’rî Krisna and Thee. Therefore as Gangâ is born of Thy body, she wants to marry Thee. As Prakriti and Purusa are really one and the same without any difference, so the males and females are one. Thus speaking to Nârâyana, Brahmâ handed Gangâ over to Nârâyana and went away. Nârâyana, then, married Gangâ smeared with sandal paste and flowers, according to the rules of the Gandarbha marriage. The Lord of Laksmî then spent his time happily in enjoyment with Gangâ. Gangâ had to go to the earth (under the Bhârati's curse) and afterwards returned to Vaikuntha. As Gangâ appeared from the feet of Visnu, She is denominated Visnupadî. Gangâ Devî was very much overpowered with enjoyment in Her first intercourse with Nârâyana; so much so that She remained motionless. Thus Gangâ spent the days happily with Nârâyana. Sarasvatî’s jealousy towards Gangâ did not disappear, though She was advised by Laksmî Devî not to do so. Sarasvatî cherished incessantly the feeling of jealousy towards Gangâ. But Gangâ had not the least feeling of jealousy towards Sarasvatî.

At last, one day, when vexed too much, Gangâ became angry and cursed Sarasvatî to take Her birth in Bhârata. So Laksmî, Sarasvatî and Gangâ were the wives of Nârâyana. Lastly Tulasî became the wife of Nârâyana. So the number of wives of Nârâyana amounted to four.

Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter in the Ninth Book on the story of Gangâ becoming the wife of Nârâyana in the Mahâpuranam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 15. On The Anecdote Of Tulasî

1-6. Nârada said :-- O Bhagavân! How came the pure chaste Tulasî to be the wife of Nârâyana? Where was Her birth place? And what was She in Her previous birth? What family did She belong to? Whose daughter was She? And what austerities did She practise, that She got Nârâyana for Her husband, Who is above Prakriti, not liable to change without any effort, the Universal Self, Para Brahmâ and the Highest God; Who is the Lord of all, omniscient, the Cause of all, the Receptacle of all, Omnipresent, and the Preserver of all. And how did Tulasî, the chief Devî of Nârâyana, turn out into a tree? Herself quite innocent, how She was attacked by the fierce Asura? O Remover of all doubts! My mind, plain and simple, has become restless. I am eager to hear all this. So kindly cut asunder all my doubts.

7-40. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! The Manu Daksa Sâvarni was very religious, devoted to Visnu, of wide renown, of a great name, and born with Visnu's parts. Daksa Sâvarni’s son Brahmâ Sâvarni was also very religious, devoted to Visnu and of a pure S'uddha Sattva Guna. Brahmâ Sâvarni's son, Dharma Sâvarni was devoted to Visnu and He was the master of his senses. Dharma Sâvarni's sons Rudra Sâvarni was also a man of restraint and very devoted. Rudra Sâvarni's son was Deva Sâvarni, devoted to Visnu. Deva Sâvarni's son was Indra Sâvarni. He was a great Bhakta of Visnu. His son was Vrisadhvaja. But He was a fanatic S'aiva (devoted to S'iva). At his house S'iva Himself remained for three Yugas according to the Deva measure. So much so that Bhagavân Bhûtanâtha loved him more than His own son. Vrisadhvaja did not recognise Nârâyana, nor Laksmî nor Sarasvatî nor another body. He discarded the worship of all the Devas. He worshipped S'ankara only. The greatly exciting Laksmî Puja (worship of Mahâ Laksmî) in the month of Bhâdra and S’rî Pañchamî Puja in the month of Mâgha, which are approved of by the Vedas, Vrisadhvaja put an entire stop to these and the Sarasvatî Puja. At this the Sun became angry with the King Vrisadhvaja, the discarder of the holy thread, the hater of Visnu, and cursed Him thus :-- “O King! As you are purely devoted to S’iva and S’iva alone, and as you do not recognise any other Devas, I say within no time, you will be deprived of all your wealth and prosperity.” S'ankara, hearing this curse, became very angry and taking His trident, ran after the Sun. The Sun, becoming afraid, accompanied His father Kas'yapa and took refuge of Brahmâ. Bhagavân S'ankara went to the Brahmâ Loka, with trident in His hands. Brahmâ became afraid of Mahâdeva and took Sun to the region of Vaikuntha. Out of terror, the throats of Brahmâ, Kas'yapa, and Sun became parched and dry and they all went afraid for refuge to Nârâyana, the Lord of all. They all bowed down to Him and praised Him frequently and finally informed Him of the cause of their coming and why they were so much afraid. Nârâyana showed them mercy and granted them “Abhaya” (no fear). O You! Who are afraid, take rest. What cause of fear there can be to you, when I am here!

Whoever remembers Me, wherever he may be, involved in danger or fear, I go there with the Sudars'an disc in My hand and save him. O Devas! I am always the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of this universe. In the form of Visnu, I am the Preserver; in the form of Brahmâ, I am the Creator; and in the form of Mahes'a, I am the Destroyer. I am S’iva; I am you; and I am the Sûrya, composed of the three qualities. It is I who assumes many forms and preserves the universe. Better go to your respective places. What fear can ye suspect? I say, all your fears due to S'ankara, are verily removed from this day. Bhagavân S'ankara, the Lord of all, is the Lord of the Sâdhus. He always hears the words of His Bhaktas; and He is kind to them. He is their Self. Both the Sun and S’iva are dearer to Me than My life. No one is more energetic than S'ankara and the Sun. Mahâdeva can easily create ten million Suns and ten million Brahmâs. There is nothing impossible with S'ûlapâni. Having no consciousness of any outer thing, immersed, day and night, in meditating on Me with His whole heart concentrated, He is repeating with devotion My Mantra from His five faces and He always sings My glories. I am also thinking, day and night, of His welfare. Whoever worships Me in whichever way, I also favour him similarly. Bhagavân Mahâ Deva is of the nature of S’iva, all auspiciousness; He is the presiding deity of S'iva, that is, liberation. It is because liberation is obtained from Him, He is called S’iva. O dear Nârada! While Nârâyana was thus speaking, the trident bolder Mahâdeva, with his eyes red like reddened lotuses, mounting on His bull, came up there and getting down from His Bull, humbly bowed down with devotion to the Lord of Laksmî, peaceful and higher than the highest. Nârâyana was then seated on His throne, decked with jewel ornaments. There was a crown on His crest; two earrings were hanging from His ears; the disc was in His hand, forest flower's garlands on His neck; of the colour of fresh blue rain cloud; His form exceedingly beautiful. The four-armed attendants were fanning Him with their four hands; His body smeared all over with sandal-paste and He is wearing the yellow garment. That Bhagavân, distressed with the thought of welfare for His Bhaktas, the Highest Self was sitting on a jewel throne and chewing the betel offered by Padmâ and with smiling countenance, seeing and hearing the dancing and singing of the Vidyâdharîs. When Mahâdeva bowed down to Nârâyana, Brahmâ also bowed down to Mahâdeva. The Sun, too, surprised, bowed down to Mahâdeva with devotion. Kas'yapa, too, bowed and with great bhakti, began to praise Mahâdeva. On the other hand, S’ankara praised Nârâyana and took His seat on the throne. The attendants of Nârâyana began to fan Mahâdeva with white chowries. Then Visnu addressed Him with sweet nectar like voice and said :-- “O Mahes'vara! What brings Thee here? Hast Thou been angry?”

41-45. Mahâdeva said : -- “O Visnu! The King Vrisadhavaja is My great devotee; he is dearer to Me than My life. The Sun has cursed him and so I am angry. Out of the affection for a son I am ready to kill Sûrya. Sûrya took Brahmâ's refuge and now he and Brahmâ have taken Thy refuge. And Those who being distressed take Thy refuge, either in mind or in word, become entirely safe and free from danger. They conquer death and old age. What to speak of them, then, of those who come personally to Thee and take Thy refuge. The remembrance of Hari takes away all dangers. All good comes to them. O Lord of the world! Now tell me what becomes of My stupid Bhakta who has become devoid of fortune and prosperity by the curse of Sûrya.”

46-51. Visnu said :-- “O S'ankara! Twenty-one yugas elapsed within this one-half Ghatikâ, by the coincidence of Fate (Daiva). Now go quickly to Thy abode. Through the unavoidable coincidence of the cruel Fate, Vrisadhvaja died. His son Rathadhvaja, too, died. Rathadhvaja had two noble sons Dharmadhvaja and Kus'adhvaja. Both of them are great Vaisnavas; but, through Sûrya's curse, they have become luckless. Their kingdoms are lost; they have become destitute of all property, prosperity and they are now engaged in worshipping Mahâ Laksmî. Mahâ Laksmî will be born in parts of their two wives. Then again, by the grace of Laksmî, Dharmadhvaja and Kus'adhvaja will be prosperous and become great Kings. O S'ambhu Your worshipper Vrisadhvaja is dead. Therefore Thou dost go back to Thy place. O Brahmâ, O Sun! O Kas'yapa! You all also better go to your places respectively.” O Nârada! Thus saying, Bhagavân Visnu went with His wife to the inner rooms. The Devas also went gladly to their own places respectively. And Mahâdeva, too, Who is always quite full within Himself, departed quickly to perform His Tapas.

Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter on the question of anecdote of Tulasî in the Ninth Book in the Mahâpuranam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On The Incarnation Of Mahâ Laksmî In The House Of Kus’adhvaja

1-30. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- O Muni! Dharmadhvaja and Kus’adhvaja practised severe tapasyâs and worshipped Laksmî. They then got separately their desired boons. By the boon of Mahâ Laksmî, they became again the rulers of the earth. They acquired great religious merits and they also had their children. The wife of Kus’adhvaja was named Mâlâvatî. After a long time, the chaste wife delivered one daughter, born of the parts of Kamalâ. The daughter, on being born, became full of wisdom. On being born, the baby began to sing clearly the Vedic mantrams from the lying-in-chamber. Therefore She was named Vedavatî by the Pundits. She bathed after her birth and became ready to go to the forest to practise severe tapas. Everyone then, tried earnestly to dissuade her, devoted to Nârâyana, from the enterprise. But she did not listen to anybody. She went to Puskara and practised hard tapasyâ for one Manvantara. Yet her body did not get lean a bit; rather she grew more plumpy and fatter. By degrees her youth began to show signs in her body; one day she heard an incorporeal voice from the air above, “O Fair One! In your next birth S’rî Hari, adored by Brahmâ and other gods, will be your husband.” Hearing this, her joy knew no bounds. She went to the solitary caves in the Gandhamâdan mountain to practise tapas again. When a long time passed away in this tapasyâ, one day the irresistible Râvana came there as guest. No sooner Vedavatî saw the guest, then she gave him, out of devotion to the guest, water to wash feet, delicious fruits, and cool water for his drink. The villain accept the hospitality and sitting there, began to ask :-- “O Auspicious One! Who are you?” Seeing the fair smiling lady, with beautiful teeth, her face blooming like the autumnal lotus, of heavy loins, and of full breast, that villain became passionate. He lost entirely all consciousness and became ready to make violence on Her. Seeing this, the chaste Vedavatî, became angry and out of her tapas influence, astounded him and made him insensible to move. He remained motionless like an inanimate body. He could not move his hands nor feet nor could he speak. That wicked fellow then mentally recited praises to her. And the praise of the Higher S’akti can never go futile. She became pleased and granted him religious merits in the next world. But she also pronounced this curse :-- “That when you have touch my body out of passion, then you will be ruined with your whole family for my sake. Now see my power.” O Nârada! Thus saying to Râvana, Vedavatî left her body by her yogic power. Then Râvana took her body and delivered it to the Ganges and he then returned to his own home. But Râvana thought over the matter repeatedly and exclaimed, “What wonder have I seen! Oh! What a miracle this lady has wrought!” Râvana thus lamented. This Vedavatî, of pure character, took her birth afterwards as Sîtâ, the daughter of Janaka. For the sake of this Sîtâ, Râvana was ruined with his whole family. By the religious merits of her previous birth, the ascetic lady got Bhagavân Hari S’rî Râma Chandra, the Fullest of the Full, for her husband and remained for a long time in great enjoyment with the Lord of the world; a thing very difficult to be attained! Though she was a Jâtismarâ (one who knows all about her past lives), she did not feel any pain due to her practising severe austerities in her previous birth; for when the pains end in success, the pains are not then felt at all. Sîtâ, in Her fresh youth enjoyed various pleasures in the company of her husband, handsome, peaceful, humorous and witty, the chief of the Devas, loved by the female sex, well-qualified, and just what she desired. But the all-powerful Time is irresistible; the truthful Râmachandra, the scion of the Raghu’s family, had to keep up the promise made by his father and so he had to go to the forest, ordained by Time. He remained with Sîtâ and Laksmana near the sea. Once the God Fire appeared to Him in the form of a Brâhmana. Fire, in a Brâhmin-form, saw Râma Chandra morose and became himself mortified. Then the Truthful Fire addressed the truthful Râmachandra :-- “O Bhagavân Râmachandra! I now speak to you how time is now coming to you. Now has come the time when your Sîtâ will be stolen.

31-48. The course of Destiny is irresistible; none else is more powerful than Time, Fate. So give over your Sîtâ, the World Mother to me and keep with you this Chhâyâ Sîtâ (the shadow Sîtâ; the false Sîtâ). When the time of Sîtâ’s ordeal by fire will take place I will give Her back to you. The Devas united have sent me to you. I am not really a Brâhmin; but I am Agni Deva (eater of oblations).” Râmachandra heard Fire and gave his assent. But his heart shattered. He did not speak of this to Laksmana. By the yogic power Agni (Fire) created a Mâyâ Sîtâ. This Mâyâ Sîtâ, O Nârada, was perfectly equal to the real Sîtâ. Fire, then, handed this Mâyâ Sîtâ to the hands of Râmachandra. Hûtâsana (fire) took the real Sîtâ and said, “Never divulge this to any other body” and went away. What to speak of divulging the secret to any other body, Laksmana even could not know it. By this time Râma saw one deer, made of all gold. To bring that deer carefully to her, Sîtâ sent Râmachandra with great eagerness. Putting Sîtâ under Laksmana’s care, in that forest, Râma went himself immediately and pierced the deer by one arrow. That Mâyâ mrîga (the deer created by magic powers) on being pierced, cried out “Ha Laksmana!” and seeing Hari before him and remembering the name of Hari, quitted his life. The deer body then vanished; and a divine body made its appearance in its stead. This new body mounting on an aerial car made of jewels, ascended to Vaikuntha. That Mâyik (magic) deer was in its previous birth, a servant, of the two gate-keepers of Vaikuntha; but, for the sake of some emergency, he had to take up this Râkhsasa birth. He again became the servant of two door-keepers of Vaikuntha. On the other hand Sîtâ Devî, hearing the cry “Ha Laksmana!” became very distressed and sent Laksmana in search of Râma. No sooner did Laksmana get out of the hermitage, the irresistible Râvana took away Sîtâ gladly to the city of Lanka (Ceylon). Now Râmachandra, seeing Laksmana on the way in the forest, became merged in the ocean of sorrows and without losing any time came hurriedly to the hermitage where he could not find Sîtâ. Instantly he fell unconscious, on the ground; and, after a long time, when he regained his consciousness, he lamented and wandered here and there in search of Her. After some days on the banks of the river Godâvarî, getting the information of Sîtâ, he built a bridge across the ocean with the help of His monkey armies. Then he entered with his army into Lanka and slew Râvana with arrows with all his friends. When Sîtâ’s ordeal by fire came, Agni (Fire) handed over the real Sîtâ to Râmachandra. The Shadow Sîtâ then humbly addressed Agni and Râma Chandra, “O Lord! What am I to do now? Settle my case.”

49-53. Agni and Râmachandra both of them then said to Chhâyâ Sîtâ :-- “O Devî! Go to Puskara and practise tapasyâ there; that place is the giver of religious merits and then you will be the Svarga Laksmî (Laksmî of Heaven).” Hearing this, the Chhâyâ Sîtâ went and practised tapasyâ for the three divine lakh years and became Mahâ Laksmî. This Svarga Laksmî appeared at one time from the sacrificial Kunda (pit). She was known as the daughter of Drupada and became the wife of the five Pândavas. She was Veda Vatî, the daughter of Kus’adhvaja in the Satya Yuga; Sîtâ, the wife of Râma and the daughter of Janaka in Tretâ Yuga; and Draupadî, the daughter of Drupada, in the Dvâpara Yuga. As she existed in the Satya, Tretâ, and Dvâpara Yugas, the Three Yugas, hence She is Trihâyanî.

54. Nârada said :-- “O Chief of Munis! O Remover of doubts! Why had Draupadî five husbands? A great doubt has arisen in my mind on this point. Remove my doubt.”

55-63. Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi! When, in the city of Lanka, the real Sîtâ came before Râma, then Chhâyâ Sîtâ, full of youth and beauty, became very anxious. Agni Deva and Râmachandra both told Her to go to Puskara and worship S’amkara. While this Chhâyâ Sîtâ was practising austerities in Puskara, She became very anxious to get a good husband and asked from MahâDeva the boon “Grant me a husband” and repeated it five times.

S’iva, the chief among the humorous, witty persons, hearing this, said, “O Dear! You will get five husbands” and thus granted her the boon. Therefore She became the dearest wife of the five Pândavas. Now hear other facts. When the war at Lanka was over, S’rî Râmachandra got his own dear wife Sîtâ, and installing Vibhîsana on the throne of Lanka, returned to Ayodhyâ. He ruled for eleven thousand years in Bhârata and finally went to Vaikuntha with his all his subjects. Vedavatî, the incarnation in part of Laksmî dissolved in the body of Kamalâ. Thus I have described to you the pure anecdote of Vedavatî. Hearing this destroys sins and increases virtue. The four Vedas reigned incarnate, in their true forms, on the lips of Vedavatî; hence She was named Vedavatî. Thus I have told you the anecdote of the daughter of Kus’adhvaja. Now hear the story of Tulasî, the daughter of Dharmadhvaja.

Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter in the Ninth Book on the incarnation of Mahâ Laksmî in the house of Kus’adhvaja in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 17. On The Anecdote Of Tulasî

1-19. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! The wife of Dharmadhvaja was Mâdhavî. Going to the Gandhamâdan mountain, She began to enjoy, with great gladness, the pleasures with the king Dharmadhvaja. The bed was prepared, strewn with flowers and scented with sandal-paste. She smeared all over her body with sandal-paste. The flowers and cool breeze in contact with the sweet scent of sandal-paste began to cool the bodies. Mâdhavî was the jewel amongst women. Her whole body was very elegant. Besides it was adorned all over with jewel ornaments. As she was humorous, so the king was very expert in that respect. It seemed as if the Creator created especially for Dharmadhvaja, the humorous lady Mâdhavî expert in amorous affairs. Both of them were skilled in amorous sports. So no one did like to desist from amorous enjoyments. One hundred divine years passed in this way, day and night passed unnoticed. The king then got back his consciousness and desisted from his amorous embraces. But the lustful woman did not find herself satisfied. However, by the Deva’s influence, she became pregnant and conceived for one hundred years. In the womb there was the incarnation of Laksmî; and the body’s lustre increased day by day. Then, on an auspicious day, on an auspicious moment, auspicious Yoga, auspicious Lagna, auspicious Amsa, and on an auspicious combination of planetary rulers and their houses, she delivered on the full moon night of the month of Kârtik one beautiful daughter, the incarnation in part of Laksmî. The face of the baby looked like the autumnal moon; Her two eyes resembled autumnal lotuses and her upper and lower lips looked beautiful like ripe Bimba fruits. The daughter began, no sooner it was born, to look on all sides of the lying-in-room. The palm and lower part of feet were red. The navel was deep and below that there were three wrinkles. Her loins were circular. Her body was hot in the winter and cold in the summer and pleasant to touch. Her hairs on the head were hanging like the roots of the fig tree. Her colour was bright like Champaka; She was a jewel amongst women. Men and women cannot compare her beauty. The holy wise men named Her Tulasî. As soon as she was born, she looked of the female sex, full in every way. Though prevented repeatedly by all, She went to the forest of Badarî for practising Tapasyâ. There she practised hard Tapasyâ for one lakh divine years. Her main object was to get Nârâyana for her husband. In summer she practise Panchatapâ (surrounded by fire on four sides and on the top); in the winter she remained in water and in the rainy season she remained in the open air and endured the showers of the rain, twenty thousand years. She passed away thus in eating fruits and water. For thirty thousand years she subsisted only on the leaves of trees. When the forty thousandth year came, she subsisted only on air and her body became thinner and thinner day by day. Then for ten thousand years afterwards she left eating anything whatsoever and without any aim, stood on only one leg. At this time the lotus-born Brahmâ, seeing this, appeared there to grant her boons. On seeing Him, Tulasî immediately bowed down to Brahmâ, the Four-faced One riding on His vehicle, the Swan. [Note: -- The vehicle theory of the Devas came from Egypt. The Devas were without vehicles at first and were faced half-beasts. Then they were rendered men and their vehicles were fancied as beasts. The face of the Dûrgâ Devî was thought of as that of a tiger.]

20. He then addressed her and said :-- “O Tulasî! Ask a boon that you like. Whether it be devotion to Hari, servantship to Hari, freedom from old age or freedom from death, I will grant that to you.”

21-27. Tulasî said :-- “Father! I now say you my mind. Hear. What is the use of hiding away my views out of fear or shame to One who knows everything reigning in One’s Heart.

I am Tulasî Gopî (cowherdess); I used to dwell before in the Goloka. I was a dear she-servant of Radhikâ, the beloved of Krisna. I was also born of Her in part, Her Sakhis (female attendants) used to love me. Once in Râsa Mandalam I was enjoyed by Govinda; but I was not satiated and while I was lying down in an unconscious state, Râdhâ, the Governess-in-chief of the Râsa circle, came there and saw me in that state. She rebuked Gobinda and, out of anger, cursed me :-- ‘Go at once and be born as a human being.’ At this Govinda spoke to me :-- ‘If you go and practise Tapas in Bhârata, Brahmâ will get pleased and He will grant you boon. When you will get Nârâyana, the Four-armed, born of Me in part as your husband.’ O Father! Thus speaking, S’rî Krisna disappeared out of sight. Out of Râdhâ’s fear, I quitted my body and am now born in this world. Now grant me this boon that I get the peaceful, lovely, beautiful Nara for my husband.”

28-37. Brahmâ said :-- “O Child Tulasî! The Gopa (cowherd) Sudâmâ was born of S’rî Krisna’s body. At the present time he is very energetic, He too, under the curse of Râdhâ, has come and taken his birth amongst the Dânavas. He is named S’ankha Chûda. No one is equal to him in strength. In Goloka, when he saw you before, he was overpowered with passion for you. Only out of Râdhâ’s influence, he could not embrace you. That Sudâmâ is Jâtismara (knows all about his previous births); and you, too, are Jâti Smarâ. There is nothing unknown to you. O Beautiful One! You will now be his wife. Afterwards you will get Nârâyana, the Beautiful and Lovely for your husband. Thus under the curse of Nârâyana, you will be transformed into the world purifying Tulasî tree. You will be the foremost amongst the flowers and will be dearer to Nârâyana than His life. No one’s worship will be complete without Thee as leaf. You will remain as a tree in Bindrâban and you will be widely known as Vrindâbanî. The Gopas and Gopis will worship Mâdhava with Your leaves. Being the Presiding Deity of the Tulasî tree, you will always enjoy the company of Krisna, the best of the Gopas.” O Nârada! Thus bearing Brahmâ’s words, the Devî Tulasî became very glad. Smile appeared in her face. She then bowed down to the Creator and said :--

38-40. “O Father! I speak now truly to Thee that I am not as devoted to the four-armed Nârâyana as I am devoted to S’yâma Sundara, the two-armed. For my intercourse with Govinda S’rî Krisna was suddenly interrupted and my desire was not gratified. It is because of S’rî Govinda’s words that I prayed for the four-armed. Now it appears certain that by Thy grace I will get again my Govinda, very hard to be attained. But, O Father! Do this that I be not afraid of Râdhâ.”

41-48. Brahmâ said :-- “O Child! I now give you the sixteen lettered Râdhâ mantra to you. By Her Grace you will be dear to Râdhâ as Her life. Râdhikâ will not be able to know anything of your secret dealings. O Fortunate! You will be dear to Govinda like Râdhâ.” Thus saying, Brahmâ, the Creator of the world, gave her the sixteen lettered Râdhâ mantra, stotra, Kavacha and mode of worship and puras’charana and He blessed her. Tulasî, then, engaged herself in worshipping Râdhâ, as directed. By the boon of Brahmâ, Tulasî attained Siddhi (success) like Laksmî. Out of the power of the Siddha mantra, She got her desired boon. She became fortunate in getting various pleasures, hard to be attained in this world. Her mind became quiet. All the toils of Tapasyâ disappeared. When one gets the fruit of one’s labour, all the troubles then transform to happiness. She then finished her food and drink and slept on a beautiful bed strewn with flowers and scented with sandal paste.

Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the anecdote of Tulasî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 18. On The Union Of S’ankhachûda With Tulasî

1-26. Nârâyana said :-- Thus highly pleased, Tulasî went to sleep with a gladdened-heart. She, the daughter of Vrisadhvaja, was then in her blooming youth and while asleep, the Cupid, the God of five arrows, shot at her five arrows (by which one gets enchanted and swooned). Though the Devî was smeared with sandal paste and She slept on a bed strewn with flowers, her body was felt as if being burnt. Out of joy, the hairs stood on their ends all over her body; her eyes were reddened and her body began to quiver. Sometimes She felt uneasiness, sometimes dryness; sometimes She got faint; sometimes drowsiness and sometimes again pleasantness; sometimes she became conscious, sometimes sorrowful. Sometimes she got up from her bed; sometimes she sat; and sometimes she fell again to sleep. The flower-bed, strewn with sandal-paste, appeared to her full of thorns; nice delicious fruits and cold water appeared to her like poison. Her house appeared to her like a hole in a ground and her fine garments seemed to her like fire. The mark of Sindûra on her forehead appeared, as it were, a boil, a sore. She began to see in her dreams that one beautiful, well clothed, humorous, young man with smile in his lips, appeared to her. His body was besmeared with sandal-paste and decked with excellent jewels; garlands of forest flowers were suspending from his neck. Coming there, he was drinking the honey of her lotus face. He was speaking on love themes and on various other sweet topics. As if he was embracing amorously and enjoying the pleasures of intercourse. After the intercourse he was going away; again he was coming near.

The lady was addressing him, “O Darling! O Lord of my heart! Where do you go. Come close.” Again when she became conscious, she began to lament bitterly. Thus on entering in her youth, the Devî Tulasî began to live in the hermitage of Badari (Plum fruit, it may signify womb. Those who visit Badari are not to enter again in any womb). On the other hand the great Yogi S’ankhachûda obtained the Krisna Mantra from Maharsi Jaigîsavya and got siddhi (success) in Puskara Tîrtha (sacred place of pilgrimage where one crosses the world). Holding on his neck the Kavacha named Sarvamangalamaya and obtaining the boon from Brahmâ as he desired, he arrived at Badari, by Brahmâ’s command. The signs of the blooming youth had just begun to be visible in the body of S’ankhachûda as if the God of Love incarnated in his body; his colour resembled that of white Champakas and all his body was decked with jewelled ornaments. His face resembled the autumnal full moon; his eyes were extended like the lotus leaves. The beautiful form was seen to sit in an excellent aerial car, made of pearls and jewels. Two jewel earrings, nice and elegant, suspended upto his cheek; his neck was adorned with Pârijâta flower garlands; and his body was smeared with Kumkum and scented sandal-paste. O Nârada! Seeing S’ankhachûda coming near to her, Tulasî covered her face by her clothing and she, with a smiling countenance, cast repeatedly sidelong glances at him and bent her head low abashed in the expectation of a fresh intercourse. How beautiful was that clear face of her! It put down the autumnal moon in the background. The invaluable jewelled ornament were on her toes. Her braid of hair was surrounded by sweet scented Mâlatî garlands. The invaluable jewelled wonderful earrings like the shape of a shark were hanging up to her cheek. Extraordinarily beautiful necklaces were seen being suspended to the middle of her breasts and added to the beauty thereof; on her arms and hand were jewelled bangles and conch ornaments; jewelled armlets and on fingers; excellent jewelled rings were seen. O Muni! Seeing that lovely beautiful chaste woman of good nature, S’ankhachûda came to her and taking his seat addressed her as follows :--

27. “O Proud One! O Auspicious One! Who are you? Whose daughter are you? You look fortunate and blessed among women. I am your silent slave. Talk with me.”

28-30. That beautiful eyed Tulasî, full of love, replied to S’ankhachûda with smiling countenance and face bent low :--  “I am the daughter of the great king Vrisadhvaja. I have come to this forest for tapasyâ and am engaged in this. Who are you? What business have you to talk with me? You can go away wherever you like. I have heard in the S’âstras that persons born of a noble family never speak with ladies of a respectable family in privacy.

31-71. Only those that are lewd, void of any knowledge in the Dharma S’âstras, void of the Vedic knowledge and who are not Kulînas, like to speak with women in privacy. And those woman, too, that look externally beautiful but very passionate and the Death of males, who are sweet tongued but filled with venom in their hearts, those who are sweet externally but like a sword internally, those that are always bent in achieving their own selfish ends and those that become obedient to their husbands for their own selfish ends otherwise behaving as they like, those that are filled inside with dirty things and outside looking pleasant in their faces and eyes, whose characters are pronounced as defiled, what intelligent, learned and noble-minded man can trust them? Those women do not discriminate who are their friends or who are their enemies; they want always new persons. Whenever they see a man well dressed, they want to satisfy their own passions. And they pretend with great care that they are very chaste. They are the vessels of passion; they always attract the minds of others and they are very enthusiastic in satisfying their own lust. They verbally shew that they want other men to go away but at hearts, feelings for intercourse remain preponderant; whenever they see their paramours in private, they laugh and become very glad but externally their shame, knows no bounds. When they do not have their intercourses with their paramours, they become self-conceited; their bodies burn with anger and they begin to quarrel. When their passions are satisfied fully, they become glad and when there is a deficiency in that, they become sorrowful. For the sake of good and sweet food and cold drinks, they want beautiful young persons, qualified and humorous. They consider witty young persons clever in holding intercourses, more dearly than their sons. And if that beloved one becomes incapable or aged, then he is considered as an enemy. Quarrels and anger then ensue. They devour these men as serpents eat rats. They are boldness personified and they are the source of all evils and vices. Even Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a remain deluded before them. They cannot find out any clue of their minds. They are the greatest obstacle in the path of tapasyâ and the closed doors for liberation. Devotion to Hari cannot reach those women. They are the repositories of Mâyâ and they hold men fast by iron chains in this word. They are like magicians and false like dreams. They enchant others by external beauty; their lower parts are very ugly and filled with excrements, faeces, of foul scent and very unholy and smeared with blood. The Creator Bhagavân has created them as such, the Mâyâ to the Mâyâvis and the venom to those who want liberation, and as invisible to those that want to have them.” Thus saying Tulasî stopped. O Nârada! S’ankhachûda, then smilingly addressed her as follows :-- “O Devî! What you have spoken is not wholly false; partly it is true and partly it is false. Now hear. The Creator has created this all-enchanting female form into two parts. One is praiseworthy and the other is not. He has created Laksmî, Sarasvatî, Durgâ, Sâvitrî and Râdhâ and others as the primary causes of creation; so there are the prime creations: Those women that are born of their parts, are auspicious, glorious and much praiseworthy. S’atarûpâ, Devahûtî, Svadhâ, Svâhâ, Daksinâ Chhâyâvatî, Rohinî, Varunânî, S’achî, the wife of Kuvera, Diti, Aditi, Lopâmudrâ, Anasûyâ, Kautabhî (Kotarî), Tulasî, Ahalyâ, Arundhatî, Menâ, Tarâ, Mandodarî, Damayantî, Vedavatî, Gangâ, Manasâ, Pusti, Tusti, Smriti, Medhâ, Kâlikâ, Vasundharâ, Sasthî, Mangalachandî, Mûrti, wife of Dharma. Svasti, S’raddhâ; S’ânti, Kânti, Ksânti, Nidrâ, Tandrâ, Ksudhâ, Pipâsâ, Sandhyâ, Râtri, Divâ, Sampatti, Dhriti, Kîrtî, Krîyâ, S’obhâ, Prabhâ, S’ivâ, and other women born of the Prime Prakritis, all are excellent in every Yuga. The prostitutes of the heavens are also born of the above women in their parts and parts of parts. They are not praiseworthy in the universe; they are all regarded as unchaste women. Those women that are of Sâttva Gunas are all excellent and endowed with influence. In the universe they are good, chaste and praiseworthy. This is not false. The Pandits declare them excellent. Those that are of Râjo Gunas, and Tâmo Gunas are not so praiseworthy. Those women that are of Râjo Gunas are known as middling. They are always fond of enjoyments, yield to them, and always ready to achieve their own ends. These women are generally insincere, delusive, and outside the pale of religious duties. Therefore they are generally unchaste. The Pandits consider them as middling. Those women that are of Tâmo Gunas are considered as worst. Those born of noble families, can never speak with other wives in a private place or when they are alone. By Brahmâ’s command I have come to you. O Fair One! I will marry you now according to the Gandharba method. My name is S’ankhachûda. The Devas fly away from me out of terror. Before I was the intimate S’akhâ (friend) of S’rî Hari, by the name of Sudâmâ. Now, by Râdhikâ’s curse I am born in the family of the Dânavas. I was a Pârisad (attendant) of S’rî Krisna and the chief of the eight Gopas. Now, by Râdhikâ’s curse I am born as S’ankhachûda, the Indra of the Dânavas. By S’rî Krisna’s grace and by His mantra, I am Jâtismarâ (know of my past births). You, too, are Jâtismarâ Tulasî. S’rî Krisna enjoyed you before. By Râdhikâ’s anger, you are now born in Bhârata. I was very eager to enjoy you then; out of Râdhikâ’s fear I could not.”

72-87. Thus saying, S’ankhachûda stopped. Then Tulasî gladly and smilingly replied :-- “Such persons (like you) are famous in this world; good women desire such husbands. Really, I am now defeated by you in argument. The man who is conquered by woman is very impure and blamed by the community. The Pitri Lokas, the Deva Lokas, and the Gandharba Loka, too, look upon men, overpowered by women, as mean, despicable. Even father, mother, brother, etc., hate them mentally. It is said in the Vedas that the impurities during birth and death are expiated by a ten days observances for the Brâhmanas, by twelve days observances for the Ksattriyas, by fifteen days observances for the Vais’yas and by one month’s observances for the S’ûdras and other low castes. But the impurity of the man who is conquered by women cannot be expiated by any other means except (his dead body) being burned in the funeral pyre. The Pitris never accept willingly the pindas and offerings of water (Tarpanas) offered by the women-conquered men. So much so that the Devas even hesitate to accept flowers, water, etc., offered by them on their names. Those whose hearts are entirely subdued by men, do not acquire any fruits from their knowledge, Tapasyâ, Japam, fire sacrifices, worship, learning and fame. I tested you to ascertain your strength in learning. It is highly advisable to choose one’s husband by examining his merits and defects. Sin equivalent to the murder of a Brâhmin is committed if one gives in marriage one’s daughter to one void of all qualifications, to an old man, to one who is ignorant, to a poor, illiterate, diseased, ugly, very angry, very harsh, lame, devoid of limbs, deaf, dumb, inanimate like, and who is impotent. If one gives in marriage a daughter to a young man of good character, learned, well qualified and of a peaceful temper, one acquires the fruits of performing ten horse sacrifices. If one nourishes a daughter and sells her out of greed for money, one falls to the Kumbhîpâka hell. That sinner drinks the urine and eats the excrements of that daughter, remaining in that hell. For a period equal to the fourteen Indra’s life-periods they are bitten by worms and crows. At the expiry of this period, they will have to be born in this world of men as diseased persons. In their human births they will have to earn their livelihood by selling flesh and carrying flesh.”

88-100. Thus saying, when Tulasî stopped, Brahmâ appeared on the scene and addressed S’ankachûda :-- O S’ankhachûda! Why are you spending uselessly your time in vain talks with Tulasî? Marry her soon by the Gandharba method. As you are a gem amongst males, so She is a gem amongst females. It is a very happy union between a humorous lover and a humorous beloved. O King! Who despises the great happiness when it is at one’s hand! He who forsakes the pleasure is worse than a beast in this world. O Tulasî! And what for are you testing the nobly qualified person who is the tormentor of the Devas, Asuras and Dânavas. O Child! As Laksmî Devî is of Nârâyana, as Râdhikâ is of Krisna; as is My Sâvîtrî, as Bhava’s is Bhavânî, as Boar's is Earth, as Yajña’s is Daksînâ, Atri’s Anasûyâ, Gautama’s Ahalyâ, Moon’s Rohinî, Brihaspati’s Târâ, Manu’s S’atarûpâ, Kandarpa’s Rati, Kas’yapa’s Aditi, Vas’istha’s Arundhatî, Karddama’s Devahûti, Fire’s Svâhâ, Indra’s S’achî, Ganes’a’s Pusti, Skanda’s Devasenâ, and Dharma’s Mûrti, so let you be the dear wife of S’ankhachûda. Let you remain with S’ankhachûda, beautiful as he is, for a long time, and enjoy with him in various places as you like. When S’ankhachûda will quit his mortal frame, you would go to Goloka and enjoy easily with the two-armed S’rî Krisna, and in Vaikuntha with the four-armed Krisna and with great gladness.

Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the union of S’ankhachûda with Tulasî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 19. On The Going Of The Devas To Vaikuntha After Tulasî’s Marriage With S’ankhachûda

1. Nârada said :-- “O Bhâgavân! Wonderful is the story that has been now recited by you. My ears are not satisfied. So tell me what happened afterwards.”

2-94. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! The Creator Brahmâ, blessing them, departed to His own abode. The Dânava married Tulasî under the Gandharba method. The celestial drums sounded and the flowers were showered. In the beautiful lovely house the Dânavendra, remained in perfect enjoyment. Tulasî, too, being busy with fresh intercourses, became almost mad after them. The chaste Tulasî and S’ankhachûda both became deeply immersed in the ocean of bliss in their sexual union and began to enjoy sixty-four sorts of amorous sports. In the S’âstras on love affairs, all the connections of limbs with limbs that are described, as the lover and the loved desire, they both enjoyed those with perfect freedom and pleasure. The place was solitary; to add to it, the scenery was grand and lovely; so nothing remained untasted of the several tastes of amorous pleasures. On the banks of the river, in flower-gardens, they slept on the flower beds smeared with sandal-paste, and enjoyed the amorous pleasures. Both were adorned with jewel ornaments; both were skilled in amorous practices; so no one desisted. The chaste Tulasî out of her nimbleness due to young age, easily stole into the heart of her husband. S’ankhachûda, too, a great expert in knowing other’s amorous sentiments, attracted the heart of Tulasî. Tulasî obliterated the sandal marks from the breast of the King and the sign of tilak from his nose. The King also wiped away the dot of Sindur and Alakâ (vermillion) marks from Tulasî’s forehead and put marks of nails on her round plump breasts. Tulasî also hurt the King’s left side by her bracelets. Then the King bit the lips of Tulasî. Thus each one embraced the other, kissed each other and each one began to champoo the thighs, legs, etc. When both of them thus spent their time in amorous sports, they got up and began to dress themselves as they desired. Tulasî smeared S’ankhachûda’s nose with red sandal-paste mixed with kumkum (saffron), smeared his body with sweet-scented sandal-paste, offered sweet-scented betels in his mouth, made him put on celestial garments (fireproof; brought from Fire) put unto his neck the wonderful garland of Pârijâta flowers, destructive of disease and old age, invaluable jewel rings on his hand and offering him excellent gems, rare in the three worlds, said :-- “O Lord! I am your maidservant” and uttering this repeatedly bowed down to the feet of her husband with devotion. She then got up and with smiling countenance began to look on his face with a steadfast gaze. The king S’ankhachûda then attracted his dear Tulasî to his breast and took off the veil fully from her face and began to look on that, next moment he kissed on her cheek and lips and gave her a pair of garments brought from the Varuna’s house, a necklace of jewels, hard to get in the three worlds, the tinklets of Svâhâ, the wife of Agni, the Keyura (armlets) of the Sun’s wife Chhâyâ, the two earrings of Rohinî, the wife of the Moon, the finger rings of Rati, the wife of Kâmadeva, and the wonderfully beautiful conch, given by Vis’va Karmâ, excellent bedding studded with pearls and jewels and various ornaments; and when he gave her all these things, he smiled. The king then put garlands on Tulasî’s braid of hair, nicely variegated Alakâs on her cheek, three crescent lines of sweet-scented sandal paste within the Alakâs, dots of saffron all around that, the brilliant Sindura mark looking like a flame, and red Âltâ on the feet and toes; he then placed those feet on his breast and utterred repeatedly :-- “I am your servant” and then held her on his breast. They then left the hermitage, in that state and began to travel in various places. In the Malaya mountain, in mountains after mountains, in solitary flower gardens, in the mountain caves, in beautiful sea-beaches, on the banks of the Puspabhadrâ river, cool with watery breeze, in various rivers and riversides, in Vispandana forest echoed with sweet songs of the birds of the vernal season. They then went from Vispandana forest to the Surasana forest, from the Surasana, forest to the Nandana forest, from the Nandana forest to the nice Chandana forests, from Chandana forest to Champaka, Ketakî; Mâdhavî Kunda, Mâlatî, and Kumuda and lotus forests; thence they went to the forest of desire gratifying trees (Kalpavriksa forest,) and Pârijâta trees. They then went to the solitary place Kânchan, thence to the Kânchî (forest) they then went to the Kîñjalaka forest, thence to the Kânchanâkar (the gold mine), thence to Kanchuka and various other forests echoed with the sweet sounds of cuckoos. There, on beds strewn with flowers and scented with sandal paste they both enjoyed each other to their hearts content and with great pleasure. But none of them, whether S’ankhachûda or Tulasî, got quenched with their thirst. Rather their passions were inflamed like the fire on which clarified butter is poured (in sacrifices). The King of the Dânavas, then, brought Tulasî to his own kingdom and, there, in his own beautiful garden house, he incessantly enjoyed her. Thus the powerful king of the Dânavas passed away one Manvantara in the enjoyment of his kingdom. He spread his sway over the Devatâs, Asuras, Dânavas, Gandharbas, Kinnaras, and Râksasas. The Devas, dispossessed of their realms, wandered everywhere like beggars. At last they united in a body and went to the Brahmâ’s assembly and there they began to cry and then related the whole history how the Dânava S’ankhachûda oppressed them. Hearing all this, Brahmâ took them to S’ankara and informed Him of the whole history of the case. When Mahâdeva heard all this, He took them all to the highest place, Vaikuntha devoid of old age and death. Going towards the first entrance of Nârâyana’s abode, they saw the gate-keepers watching the gate, taking their seats on jewel thrones. They all looked brilliant, clothed with the yellow garments, adorned with jewel ornaments, garlanded with forest flowers, all of S’yâma Sundara (dark blue, very beautiful) bodies. They were four-armed, holding on their hands, conch, mace, discus and lotus; sweet smile was on their faces and eyes beautiful like lotus leaves. On Brahmâ asking them for entrance to the assembly, they nodded their assent. He, then, accompanied by the Devas, passed one by one, sixteen gates and at last came before Nârâyana. On reaching there, He saw that the assembly was completely filled with Devarsis, and four-armed Nârâyanlike Pârisadas (attendants), decked with Kaustubba jewels. The sight of the Sabhâ (assembly) makes one think that the Moon has just arisen, shedding effulgent rays all round. By the will of S’rî Hari, excellent diamonds, invaluable gems and necklaces of gems and jewels were placed at various places. At other places rows of pearls were shedding their splendour and brilliance like the garlands of gems and jewels. At others, the mirrors were placed in a circle; and at various other places, the endless wonderful artistic picture lines were drawn. Again at other places the jewels called Padmarâgas were artistically arranged as if the lotuses were there spreading their lustrous beauty all around. At many other places rows of steps were made of wonderful Syamantak jewels. All around the assembly, there were the excellent pillars, built of Indranîlam jewels. Over those pillars, sandal leaves strung on strings from to pillar to pillar, were suspended. Golden jars, all brimful with water were located at various places. All around, the garlands of Pârijâta flowers were seen. The hall was decorated with sweet scented sandal trees, red like saffron and musk. Sweet scents were being emitted all round. The Vidyadhâris were dancing at places. The assembly hall measured one thousand Yojanas. Countless servants were engaged all over on various works. Brahmâ, S’ankara, and the other Gods saw there S’rî Hari seated in the centre on an invaluable jewel throne, as a Moon looks surrounded by stars. There were the crown on His head, the ear-rings on His ears; garlands made of wild flowers were on his neck and His body was smeared all over with sandal paste and He was holding Kelipadma (a sort of lotus) in His hand. He was seeing, with a smiling countenance, the dancing and music before Him. He was full of peace, the Lord of Sarasvatî. Laksmî was holding gently His lotus feet and He was chewing the sweet scented betel offered by Her. Gangâ also was fanning Him devotedly with a white Châmara and the others were singing hymns to Him with their heads bent low with devotion.

Brahmâ and the other Gods all bowed down to Him; their bodies were all filled with Pulaka (excessive joy causing hair stand on end); tears flowed from their eyes and their voices were choked out of emotion. The creator Brahmâ, then, with clasped hands informed Him, with head bowed down, of the whole history of S’ankhachûda. Hearing this, the omniscient Hari, knowing the minds of all, smiled and spoke to Brahmâ all the interesting secrets :-- O Lotus born! I know all about S’ankhachûda.

He was in his previous birth My great devotee, an energetic Gopa. Now I speak to you the ancient history of Goloka; hear. This story about Goloka is sin destroying and highly meritorious. S’ankhachûda, in his previous birth was the Gopa Sudâmâ, My chief Pârisad (attendant). He has now become a Dânava on account of the dire curse pronounced by S’rî Râdhâ. One day when I went from My abode, accompanied by Virajâ Gopî, to the Râsa Mandala, My beloved Râdhâ, hearing this news from a maid servant, came up at once with Her whole host of Sakhîs wrathful, to the Râsa Mandalam (ball dance in Goloka) and, not being able to see Me, saw Virajâ turned into a river, She thought that I had disappeared. So She went back to Her own abode with Her Sakhîs. But when I returned to the house with Sudâmâ, Râdhâ rebuked Me very much. I remained silent. But Sudâmâ could not bear and he rebuked Râdhâ in My presence, a thing quite intolerable to Her dignity! On hearing this rebuke, Râdhâ’s eyes became red with anger and She immediately ordered Her Sakhîs to drive him away. Sudâmâ began to tremble with fear. Immediately on Her command lakhs and lakhs of Sakhîs got up immediately and drove that hot irresistible Sudâmâ away. Sudâmâ repeated his chafings and roarings. On hearing these, She cursed him :-- “You better be born in the womb of a Dânavî.” Hearing the terrible curse, Sudâmâ bowed down to Me and went away crying; then Râdhâ, who was all-mercy, became melted with mercy. And She prevented him repeatedly, not to go away. Râdhâ wept and told him, “O Child! Wait. Where are you going? No more you will have to go; return.” Thus saying She became very distressed. The Gopas and Gopîs also began to weep. I then explained to them, “In about half a moment Sudâmâ will come back, fulfilling the conditions of the curse. O Sudâmâ! Come here when the curse expires.”

Then he appeased Râdhâ also. “Know that one moment (Ksan) in Goloka is equal to one Manvantara on earth. The Yogi S’ankhachûda, expert in Mâyâ and very powerful will soon return from the earth. Take this My weapon S’ûla and go early to Bhârata. S’iva will slay the Dânava by this S’ûlâstra. The Dânava holds always on his neck My auspicious Kavacha and will therefore become the conqueror of the universe. No one will he able to kill him as long as be holds the above Kavacha. So, first of all, I will go to him in the form of a Brâhmana and ask from him the Kavacha. O Creator! Thou also didst give him the boon that his death would occur when the chastity of of his wife would be destroyed. I will go and hold intercourse with his wife. Then his death will occur without fail. His wife after her death will come and become My dearest wife. Thus saying, Nârâyana gave over to Mahâdeva the S’ûlâstra. Then He went gladly to His inner compartments. On the other hand, Brahmâ and Rudra and the other Devas incarnated themselves in Bhârata.

Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter on the going of the Devas to Vaikuntha after Tulasî’s marriage with S’ankhachûda in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 20. On The War Preparations Of S’ankhachûda With The Devas

1-21. Nârâyana said :-- Brahmâ, then putting S’iva to the task of killing S’ankhachûda went to His own abode. The other Devas returned to their homes. Here under the beautiful Bata tree, on the banks of the river Chandrabhâgâ, Mahâdeva pitched His big tent and encamped Himself to get the victory of the Devas. He then sent Chitraratha, the Lord of the Gandharbhas, as a messenger to S’ankhachûda, the Lord of the Dânavas. By the command of Mahâdeva, Chitraratha went to the city of the king of Daityas, more beautiful than Indra’s place and more wealthy than the mansion of Kuvera. The city was five yojanas wide and twice as much in length. It was built of crystals of pearls and jewels. There were roadways on all sides. There were seven trenches, hard to be crossed, one after another, encircling the city. The city was built of countless rubies and gems, brilliant like flames. There were hundreds of roadways and markets and stalls, in the wonderful Vedis (raised platforms) built of jewels. All around were splendid palatial buildings of traders and merchantmen, filled with various articles. There were hundreds and kotis of beautiful buildings, adorned with various ornaments and built of variegated red stones looking like Sindûras. Thus he went on and saw, in the middle, the building of S’ankhachûda, circular like the lunar sphere. Four ditches all filled with fiery flames, encircled one after another, his house. So the enemies could not in any way cross them; but the friend could easily go there. On the top were seen turrets built of jewels, rising high to the heavens. The gate-keepers were watching the twelve gates. In the centre were situated lakhs and lakhs of excellent jewel built houses. In every room there were jewelled steps and staircases and the pillars were all built of gems and jewels, and pearls. Puspadanta (Chitraratha) saw all this and then went to the first gate and saw one terrible person, copper coloured, with tawny eyes, sitting with a trident in his hand and with a smiling countenance. He told he had come as a messenger and got his entrance. Thus Chitraratha went one afer another to all the entries, not being prohibited at all though he told that he had come as a messenger on war service. The Gandharbha reached one after another, the last door and said :-- “O Door keeper! Go quickly and inform the Lord of the Dânavas all about the impending war.” When the messenger had spoken thus, the gate-keeper allowed him to go inside. Going inside, the Gandarbha saw S’ankhachûda, of excellent form, seated in the middle of the royal assembly, on a golden throne. One servant was holding on the king’s head an umbrella, decked with divine excellent gems, the inner rod of the umbrella being made up of jewels, and decorated with expanded artificial flowers made of gems. The attendants were fanning him with beautiful white châmaras; he was nicely dressed, beautiful and lovely and adorned with jewel ornaments. He was nicely garlanded, and wore fine celestial garments. Three Koti Dânavas were surrounding him; and seven Koti Dânavas, all armed, were walking to and fro.

22-53. Puspadanta was thunderstruck when he saw thus the Dânava and he addressed him thus :-- O King! I am a servant of S’iva; My name is Puspadanta; hear what S’iva has commanded me to tell you. You better now give back, to the Devas, the rights that they had before. The Devas went to S’rî Hari and had taken His refuge. S’rî Hari gave over to S’iva one S’ûla weapon and asked the Devas to depart. At present, the three eyed Deva is residing under the shade of a Bata tree on the banks of the Puspabhadrâ river. He told me to speak this to you, “Either give over to the Devas their rights, or fight with me. Please reply and I will speak to Him accordingly.” S’ankhachûda, hearing the messenger’s words laughed and said, “Tomorrow morning I will start, ready for war. Better go away today.” The messenger went back to S’iva and replied to Him accordingly. In the meantime the following personages joined S’iva and remained seated on excellent aerial cars, built of jewels and gems. The following were the persons :-- Skanda, Vîrabhadra, Nandî, Mahâkâla, Subhadraka, Vis’âlâksa, Bâna, Pingalâksa, Vikampana, Virûpa, Vikriti, Manibhadra, Vâskâla, Kapilâksa, Dîrgha Dangstra, Vikata, Tâmralochana, Kâlâkantha, Balîbhadra, Kâlajîhba, Kutîchara, Balonmatta, Ranas’lâghî, Durjaya, Durgama, (these eight Bhairavas), eleven Rudras, eight Vasus, Indra, the twelve Âdityas, fire, moon, Vis’vakarmâ, the two As’vins, Kuvera, Yama, Jayanta, Nala Kûbara, Vâyu, Varuna, Budha, Mangala, Dharma, S’anî, Is’âna, the powerful Kâmadeva. Ugradamstrâ, Ugrachandâ, Kotarâ, Kaitabhî, and the eight armed terrible Devî Bhadrakâlî. Kâlî wore the bloody red clothings and She smeared red sandal paste all over Her body.

Dancing, laughing; singing songs in tune, very jolly, She bids Her devotees discard all fear, and terrifies the enemies. Her lip is terrible, lolling, and extends to one Yojana. On Her eight arms She holds conch, disc, mace, lotus, axe, skin, bow and arrows. She was holding in Her hands, the bowl shaped human skull; that was very deep and one Yojana wide. Her trident reached up to the Heavens; Her weapon called S’akti (dart) extended to one Yojana. Besides there were Mudgara  (mace), Musala (club), Vajra (thunderbolt), Kheta (club), brilliant Phalaka (shield), the Vaisnava weapon, the Varuna weapon, the Âgneyâstra (the fire weapon), Nâgapâs’a (the noose of serpents), the Nârâyanâstra, the Gandharva’s weapons, the Brahmâ’s weapons, the Gadudâstram, the Pârjanayâstram, the Pâs’upatâstram, the Jrimbhañâstram, the Pârvatâstram, the Mahes’varâstram, the Vâyavyâstram, and the Sanmohanam rod and various other infallible divine weapons. Besides hundreds of other divine weapons were with Her. Three Kotis of Yoginîs and three Kotis and a half of terrible Dâkinîs were attending Bhadrakâlî. Bhûtas, (demons) Pretas, Pis’âchas, Kusmândas, Brahma Râksasas, Râkhsasas, Vetâlas, Yaksas and Kinnaras also were there in countless numbers. At this time Kârtikeya came there and bowed down to his father Mahâdeva. He asked him to take his seat on His left side an asked him to help. Then the army remained there in military array. On the other hand, when S’iva’s messenger departed, S’ankhachûda went to the zenana and informed Tulasî of the news of an impending war. No sooner She heard than her throat and lips and palate became dried. She then with a sorrowful heart spoke in sweet words :-- “O my Lord! O my Friend! O the Ruler of My life! Wait for a moment and take your seat on My heart. Instil life in Me for a moment. Satisfy My desire of human birth. Let me behold you fully so that my eyes be satisfled. My breath is now very agitated. I saw by the end of the night one bad dream. Therefore I feel an internal burning.” Thus at the words of Tulasî, the king S’ankhachûda finished his meals and began to address her, in good and true words, beneficent to her :-- “O My Lady! It is Kâla (the time that brings out these various combinations by which the Karmic fruit is enjoyed; it is Kâla that awards auspicious and inauspicious things; the Kâla is the Sole Master to impart pain, fear, and good and bad things.

54-84. Trees grow up in time; their branches, etc., come out in time; flowers appear in time and fruits come out in time. Fruits are ripen in time and after giving the fruits, they die out also in time. O Fair One! The universe comes into existence in time and dies away in time. The Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer of the universe, are creating, preserving and destroying the worlds with the help of time. Time guides them in every way. But the Highest Prakriti is the God of Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a (i.e., the Creatrix of Time). This Highest Prakriti, the Highest God is creating, preserving and destroying this universe. She makes the Time dance. By Her mere Will, She has converted Her inseparable Prakriti into Mâyâ and is thus creating all things, moving and unmoving. She is the Ruler of all; the Form of all, and She is the Highest God. By Her is being done this creation of persons by persons, this preservation of persons by persons, and this destruction of persons by persons. So you better now take refuge of the Highest Lord. Know it is by Her command the wind is blowing, by Her command the Sun is giving heat in due time, by Her command Indra is showering rains; by Her command, Death is striding over the beings; by Her command fire is burning all things and by Her command the cooling Moon is revolving. She is the Death of death, the Time of time, Yama of yama (the God of death), the Fire of fire and the Destroyer of the destroyer. So take Her refuge. You cannot find and fix who is whose friend in the world; so pray to Her, the Highest God, Who is the Friend of All. Oh! Who am I? And who are you either? The Creator is the combiner of us two and so He will dissociate us two by our Karma. When difficulty arises, the ignorant fools become overwhelmed with sorrow; but the intelligent Pundits do not get at all deluded or become distressed. By the Wheel of Time, the beings are led sometimes into happiness; sometimes into pain. You will certainly get Nârâyana for your husband; for which you practised Tapas before, in the hermitage of Vadari (the source of the Ganges, the feet of Visnu). I pleased Brahmâ by my Tapasyâ and have, by his boon, got you as my wife. But the object for which you did your Tapasyâ, that you may get Hari as your husband; will certainly be fulfilled. You will get Gobinda in Vrindâbana and in the region of Goloka. I will also go there when I forsake this, my Demon body. Now I am talking with you here; afterwards we will meet again in the region of Goloka. By the curse of Râdhikâ, I have come to this Bhârata, hard to be attained. You, too, will quit this body and, assuming the divine form will go to S’rî Hari. So, O Beloved! You need not be sorry.” O Muni! Thus these conversations took them the whole day and led them to the evening time. The king of the demons, S’ankhachûda then slept with Tulasî on a nicely decorated bed, strewn with flowers, and smeared with sandal paste, in the Ratna Mandir (temple built of jewels.) This jewel temple was adorned with various wealth and riches. The jewel lamps were lighted. S’ankhachûda passed the night with his wife in various sports. The thin bellied Tulasî was weeping with a very sorrowful heart, without having taken any food. The king, who knew the reality of existence, took her to his breast and appeased her in various ways. What religious instructions he had received in Bhândîra forest from S’rî Krisna, those Tattvas, capable to destroy all sorrows and delusions, he now spoke carefully to Tulasî. Then Tulasî’s joy knew no bounds. She then began to consider, everything as transient and began to play with a gladdened heart. Both became drowned in the ocean of bliss; and the bodies of both of them were filled with joy and the hairs stood on their ends. Both of them, then, desirous to have amorous sports, joined themselves and became like Ardhanâris’vara and so one body. As Tulasî considered S’ankhachûda, to be her lord, so the Dânava King considered Tulasî the darling of his life. They became senseless with pleasureable feelings arising out of their amorous intercourses. Next moment they regained their tenaciousness and both began to converse on amorous matters. Thus both spent their time sometimes in sweet conversations, sometimes laughing and joking, sometimes maddened with amorous sentiments. As S’ankhachûda was clever in amorous affairs, so Tulasî was very expert. So none felt satiated with love affairs and no one was defeated by the other.

Here ends the Twentieth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the war preparations of S’ankhachûda with the Devas in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 21. On The Meeting Of Mahâdeva And S’ankhachûda For An Encounter In Conflict

1-33. S’rî Nârâyana spoke :-- Then the Dânava, the devotee of S’rî Krisna, got up from his flower strewn bed, meditating on S’rî Krisna, early in the morning time, at the Brahmâ Muhûrta. Quitting his night dress, he took his bath in pure water and put on a fresh washed clothing. He then put the bright Tilak mark on his forehead and, performing the daily necessary worship, he worshipped his Ista devatâ (The Deity doing good to him). He then saw the auspicious things such as curd, ghee, honey, fried rice, etc., and distributed as usual, to the Brâhmanas the best jewels, pearls, clothing and gold. Then for his marching to turn out auspicious, he gave at the feet of his Guru Deva priceless gems, jewels, pearls, diamonds, etc., and finally he gave to the poor Brâhmins with great gladness, elephants, horses, wealth, thousands of stores, two lakhs of cities and one hundred kotis of villages. He then gave over to his son, the charge of his kingdom and of his wife, and all the dominions, wealth, property, all the servants and maid servants, all the stores and conveyances. He dressed himself for the war and took up bows and arrows and arrow cases. By the command of the King, the armies began to gather. Three lakhs of horses, one lakh elephants, one ayuta chariots, three Kotis of bowmen, three Kotis armoured soldiers and three Kotis of trident holders got themselves ready. Then the King counted his forces and appointed one Commander-in-Chief, (Mahâratha), skilled in arts of warfare, over the whole army. Thus the generals were apppointed over the three lakh Aksauhinî forces and their provisions were collected by three hundred Aksauhinî men. He, then, thinking of S’rî Hari, started for war, accompanied by his vast army. (Note :-- One Aksauhinî consists of a large army consisting of 21,870 chariots, as many elephants, 65,610 horses, and 109,350 foot). He then mounted on a chariot built of excellent jewels and, headed by his Guru and all his other elders, went to S’ankara. O Nârada! Bhagavân Mahâdeva was at that time, staying on the banks of Puspabhadra. That place was Sidhâs’rama (the hermitage where the yogic successes had been obtained and can easily be acquired in future for the Siddhas as well a Siddha Ksettra.) It was the place where the Muni Kapila practised Tapasyâ, in the holy land of Bhârata. It was bounded on the east by the western ocean, on the west by the Malaya mountain, on the south, by the S’rî S’aila mountain and on the north by the Gandha Mâdana Mountain. It was five yojanas wide and one hundred times as long. This auspicious river in Bhârata yields great religious merits and is always full of clear, sparkling running water. She is the favourite wife of the Salt Ocean and She is very blessed. Issuing from S’arâvatî Himâlayâs, She drops into the ocean. Keeping the river Gomatî (Goomti) by her left; She falls into the west ocean. S’ankhachûda, arriving there, saw Mahâdeva under a Peepul tree near its root with a smiling countenance, like one Koti Suns seated in a yogic posture. His colour was white like a pure crystal; as if the Fire of Brahmâ was emitting from every pore of His body (burning with Brahmâ-Teja); He was wearing the tiger skin and, holding the trident and axe. He dispels the fear of death of His Bhaktas; His face is quite calm. He, the Lord of Gaurî, is the Giver of the fruits of Tapasyâ and of all sons of wealth and prosperity. The smiling face of Âs’utosa (one who is pleased quickly) is always thinking of the welfare of the Bhaktas; He is the Lord of the Universe, the Seed of the universe, the All-form (all-pervading), and the Progenitor of the universe. He is omnipresent, All pervading, the Best in this universe, the Destroyer of this universe, the Cause of all causes, and the Saviour from the hells. He is the Awakener and Bestower of Knowledge, the Seed of all knowledges, and He Himself is of the nature of Knowledge and Bliss. Seeing that Eternal Purusa, the King of the Dânavas at once descended from his chariot and bowed down with devotion to Him and to Bhadra Kâlî on His left and and to Kârtikeya on his front. The other attendants did the same. S’ankara, Bhadra Kâlî and Skanda all blessed him. Nandis’vara and others got up from their seats on seeing the Dânava King and began to talk with each other on that subject. The King addressed S’iva and sat by Him. Bhagavân Mahâdeva, the Tranquil Self, then, spoke to him, thus :-- O King! Brahmâ, the knower of Dharma and the Creator of the world, is the Father of Dharrna, The religious Marîchi, a devotee of Visnu, is the son of Brahmâ. The religious Prajâpati Kas’yapa is also the Brahmâ’s son. Daksa gladly gave over to Kas’yapa in marriage, his thirteen daughters. Danu, fortunate and chaste, is also one of them.

34-64. Danu had forty sons, all spirited and known as Dânavas. The powerful Viprachitti was the prominent amongst them. Viprachitti’s son was Dambha, self controlled and very much devoted to Visnu. So much so that for one lakh years he recited the Visnu mantra at Puskara. His Guru (spiritual teacher) was S’ukrâchârya; and, by his advice, he recited the mantra of S’rî Krisna, the Highest Self. He got you as his son, devoted to Krisna. In your former birth, you were the chief attendant Gopa (cow-herd) of Krisna. You were very religious. Now, by Râdhikâ’s curse, you are born in Bhârata, as the Lord of the Dânavas, powerful, heroic, valorous, and chivalrous. All the things from Brahmâ down to a blade of grass, the Vaisnavas regard as very trifling; even if they get Sâlokya, Sârsti, Sâyujya and Sâmîpya of Hari, they do not care a straw for that. Without serving Hari, they do not accept those things, even if those are thrust on them. Even Brahmâhood and immortality, the Vaisnavas count for nothing. They want to serve Hari (Sevâ-bhâva). Indrahood, Manuhood, they do not care. You, too, are a real Krisna Bhakta. So what do you care for those things that belong to the Devas, that are something like false to you. Give back to the Devas their kingdoms thus and please Me. Let the Devas remain in their own places and let you enjoy your kingdom happily. No need now for further quarrels. Think that you all belong to the same Kas’yapa’s family. The sins that are incurred, for example, the murder of a Brâhmin, etc., are not even one-sixteenth of the sins incurred by hostilities amongst the relatives. If, O King! You think that by giving away to the Devas their possessions, your property will be diminished, then think that no one’s days pass ever in one and the same condition. Whenever Prakriti is dissolved, Brahmâ also vanishes. Again He appears by the Will of God. This occurs always. True, that knowledge is increased by true Tapasyâ; but memory fails then. This is certain. He who is the creator of this world, does his work of creation gradually by the help of his Knowledge-power (Jñâna-S’akti). In the Satya Yuga, Dharma reigns in full; in the Tretâ Yuga, one quarter is diminished; again in the Dvâpara only one-half remains. And in the Kâlî Yuga, only one quarter remains. Thus Dharma gets increase and decrease. At the end of the Kâlî, the Dharma will be seen very feeble as the phase of the Moon is seen very thin on the Dark Moon night. See, again, the Sun is very powerful in summer; not so in winter. At midday the Sun is very hot; it does not remain so in the morning and evening. The Sun rises at one time; then he is considered as young at another time he becomes very powerful and at another time he goes down. Again in times of distress (i.e., during the cloudy days) the Sun gets entirely obscured. When the Moon is devoured by Râhu (in the Lunar Eclipse), the Moon quivers. Again when the Moon becomes liberated (i.e., when the eclipse passes away) She becomes bright again. In the Full-Moon night She becomes full but She does not remain so always. In the Dark fortnight She wanes every day. In the bright fortnight She waxes every day. In the bright fortnight, the Moon becomes healthy and prosperous and in the dark fortnight, the Moon becomes thinner and thinner as if attacked with consumption. In the time of eclipse She becomes pale and in the cloudy weather, She is obscured. Thus the Moon also becomes powerful at one time and weak and pale at another time. Vali now resides in Pâtâla, having lost all his fortunes; but, at some other time, he will become Devendra (the Lord of the Devas). This earth becomes at one time covered with grains and the resting-place of all beings; and, at another time, She becomes immersed under water. This universe appears at one time and disappears at another. Everything, moving or non-moving, sometimes appears and again, at another time, disappears. Only Brahmâ, the Highest Self, remains the same. By His grace, I have got the name Mrityunjaya (the Conqueror of Death). I, too, am witnessing many Prakritik dissolutions, I witnessed repeatedly many dissolutions and will in future, witness many dissolutions. The Paramâtman becomes of the nature of Prakriti. Again it is He that is the Purusa (male principle). He is the Self; He is the individual soul (Jîva). He thus assumes various forms. And, again, Lo! He is beyond all forms! He who always repeats His Name and sings His Glory, can conquer, at some occasion, death. He is not to come under the sway of this birth, death, disease, old age and fear. He has made Brahmâ the Creator, Visnu the Preserver and Me the Destroyer. By His Will, we are possessed of those influences and powers. O King! Having deputed Kâla, Agni and Rudra, to do the destruction work, I Myself repeat only His name and sing His glory, day and night, incessantly. My name is, on that account, Mrityunjaya. By His Knowledge Power, I am fearless. Death flies away fast from Me as serpents fly away at the sight of Garûda, the Vinatâ;s son. O Nârada! Thus saying, S’ambhu, the Lord of all, the Progenitor of all, remained silent. Hearing the above words of S’ambhu, the King thanked Mahâdeva again and again and spoke in sweet humble words.

65-74. S’ankhachûda said :-- The words spoken by Thee are quite true. Still I am speaking a few words. Kindly hear. Thou hast spoken just now that very great sins are incurred by kindred hostilities. How is it, then, that He robbed Vali of his whole possessions and sent him down into Pâtâla? Gadâdhara Visnu could not recover Vali’s glory. But I have done that. Why did the Devas kill Hiranyâksa and Hiranyâkas’ipu, S’umbha and the other Dânavas? In by gone days, we laboured hard when the nectar was obtained out of the churning of the ocean; but the best fruit was reaped by the Devas only. However, all these point that this universe is but the mere sporting ground of Paramâtman, Who has become of the nature of Prakriti (the polarities of the one and the same current to produce electric effects). Whomsoever He grants glory and fortune, he only gets that. The quarrel of the Devas and the Dânavas is eternal. Victory and defeat come to both the parties alternately. So it is not proper for Thee to come here in this hostility. For Thou art the God, of the nature of the Highest Self. Before Thee, we both are equal. So it is a matter of shame, no doubt, for Thee to stand up against us in favour of the gods. The glory and fame that will result to Thee, if Thou art victorious, will not be so much as it will be if we get the victory. On the contrary the inglory and infamy that will result to Thee if Thou dost get dire defeat will be inconceivably much more than what would come to us if we are defeated. (For we are low and Thou art Great.)

75-79. Mahâdeva laughed very much when he heard the Dânava’s words and replied :-- O King! You are descended from the Brâhmin family. So what shame shall I incur if I get defeat in this fighting against you. In former days, the fight took place between Madhu and Kaitabha; again between Hiranya Kas’ipu and Hiranyâksa and S’rî Hari. I also fought with the Asura Tripurâ. Again the serious fight took place also between S’umbha and the other Daityas and the Highest Prakriti Devî, the Ruler of all, and the Progenitrix of all and the Destructrix of all. And, then, you were the Pârisada attendant of S’rî Krisna, the Highest Self.

Note :-- S’rî Krisna is the Eternal Purusa beyond the Gunas. He creates Prakriti. All the creation is effected by Him. He is the Master of all the S’aktis. These S’aktis come from Him and go into Him. S’rî Krisna plays with these S’aktis, these lines of Forces, very powerful and terrible, indeed, that go to create, preserve and destroy the whole universe. These Lines of Forces have their three properties :-- (1) Origin; (2) direction and (3) magnitude. And finally they come back to their origin. This makes one Kalpa, one Life, one Moment, one in the Full One. The Gunas come out of these S’aktis, these Lines of Forces. S’rî Krisna is the Great Reservoir, the Great Centre of Forces, Powerful, Lovely and Terrible. All the events as described here, appear in the intermediate stages when the Fourth Dimension passes into the Third Dimension, etc. The Fourth Dimension does not at once turn out into the Third Dimension but it takes place by degrees. This explains our dreams, visions, etc., which, if seen when the mind is pure, turn out to be true.

80-82. So the Daityas, that were killed before, cannot be compared with you. Then why shall I feel shame in fighting against you? I am sent here by S’rî Hari for saving the Devas. So either give back to the Devas their possessions, or fight with Me. No need in speaking thus quite useless talks. O Nârada! Thus speaking, Bhagavân S’ankara remained silent. S’ankhachûda got up at once with his ministers.

Here ends the Twenty-first Chapter in the Ninth Book on the meeting of Mahâdeva and S’ankhachûda for an encounter in conflict in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 22. On The Fight Between The Devas And S’ankhachûda

1-75. S’rî Nârâyana spoke :-- Then the King of the Dânavas, very powerful, bowed down to Mahâdeva and ascended on the chariot with his ministers. Mahâdeva gave orders to His army to be ready at once. So S’ankhachûda did. Terrible fight then ensued between Mahendra and Vrisaparvâ, Bhâskara and Viprachitti, Nis’âkara and Dambha, between Kâla and Kâles’vara, between Fire and Gokarna, Kuvera and Kâlakeya, between Vis’vakarmâ and Mâyâ, between Mrityu and Bhayamkar, between Yama and Samhâra, between Varuna and Vikamka, between Budha and Dhritapristha, between S’ani and Raktâksa, Jayanta and Ratnasâra, between the Vasus and Varchasas, between the two As’vin Kumâras and Dîptimân, between Nalakûbara and Dhûmra, between Dharma and Dhurandhara, between Mangala and Usâksa, Bhânu and S’ovâkara, between Kandarpa and Pîthara, between the eleven Âdityas and Godhâmukha, Chûrna and Khadgadhvaja, Kañchîmukha and Pinda, Dhûmra and Nandî, between Vis’va and Palâs’a, between the eleven Rudras and the eleven Bhayamkaras, between Ugrachandâ and the other Mahâmârîs and Nandîs’vara and the other Dânavas. The battlefield, then, assumed a grim aspect, as if the time of Dissolution had come. Bhagavân Mahâdeva sat under the Vata (peepul) tree with Kârtikeya and Bhadrakâlî. S’ankhachûda, decked with his jewel ornaments, sat on the jewel throne, surrounded by kotis and kotis of Dânavas. The S’ankara’s army got defeated at the hands of the Dânavas. The Devas, with cuts and wounds on their bodies, fled from the battlefield, terrified. Kârtikeya gave words “Don't fear” to the Devas and excited them. Only Skanda resisted the Dânava forces. In one moment he slew one hundred Aksauhinî Dânava forces. The lotus eyed Kâlî also engaged in killing the Asuras. She became very angry and no sooner did She slay the Asura forces, than She began to drink their blood. She easily slew with Her one hand and at every time put into Her mouth ten lakhs, and hundred lakhs and Kotis and Kotis of elephants. Thousands and thousands of headless bodies (Kavandhas) came to be witnessed in the field. The bodies of the Dânavas were all cut and wounded by the arrows of Kârtikeya. They were all terrified and fled away. Only Vrisaparvâ, Viprachitti, Dambha, and Vikamkanah remained fighting with Skanda with an heroic valour. Mahâmârî, too, did not shew his back and he fought out vigorously. By and by they all became very much confused and distressed; but they did not turn their backs. Seeing this terrible fight of Skanda, the Devas began to shower flowers. The killing of the Dânavas looked like a Prakritik Dissolution. S’ankhachûda, then, began to shoot arrows from his chariot.

The shooting of arrows by the king seemed as if rains were being poured in by the clouds. Everything became pitch dark. Fires only were seen emitting their golden tongues. The Devas, Nandîs’vara and others, fled away, terrified. Only Kârtikeya remained in the battlefield. Then S’ankhachûda began to throw terribly showers and showers of mountains, snakes, stones, and trees. So much so, that Kârtikeya was covered by them as the Sun becomes obscured by fog. The Demon King cut off the weighty quiver and the pedestal of Skanda and broke His chariot. By the divine weapons of the Dânava, the peacock (the vehicle) of Kârtikeya became exhausted. Kârtikeya threw one S’akti (weapon) on the breast of the Dânava; but before it fell, the Dânava cut off that, lustrous like the Sun and, in return, darted his S’akti. By that stroke, Kârtikeya became stunned for a moment; but he immediately regained his consciousness. He then took up the quiver that Bhagavân Visnu gave him before and many other weapons; and ascending on another chariot, built of jewels, began to fight out violently and valiantly. Getting angry, he resisted all those showers of snakes, mountains and trees by his divine weapons. He resisted fire by his watery (Pâryannya) weapon. Then He cut off easily S’ankhachûda’s chariot, bow, armour, charioteer, and his bright crown and he threw on his breast one blazing S’akti of white colour. The Dânavendra fell unconscious; but, at the next moment, he regained his consciousness quickly, mounted on another chariot and took a fresh quiver. The Dânava was the foremost in his magic powers. He, by his power of Mâyâ, made a shower of arrows so much so that Kârtikeya became completely covered by that multitude of arrows. Then the Dânava took one invincible S’akti, lustrous like one hundred Suns. It seemed that flames of fire were licking high as if the Dissolution Time had come aright. Inflamed by anger, the Dânava threw that S’akti on Kârtikeya. It seemed, then, that a burning mass of fire fell on him. The powerful Kârtikeya became senseless. Bhadrakâlî immediately took Him on Her lap and carried him before S’iva. S’iva easily restored him to his life by his knowledge-power and gave him the indomitable strength. He then got up in full vigour. Bhadrakâlî went to the field to see the Kârtikeya’s forces. Nandîs’vara and other heroes, the Devas, Gandharbas, Yaksas, Râksasas and Kinnaras followed Her. Hundreds of war drums were sounded and hundreds of persons carried Madhu (wine). Going to the battle-ground, She gave a war-cry. The Dânava forces got fainted by that cry. Bhadrakâlî shouted aloud inauspicious peals after peals of laughter. Then She drank Madhu and danced in the battlefield. Ugra Damstrâ, Ugrachandâ, Kotavî, the Yoginîs, Dâkinîs, and the Devas all drank Madhu (wine). Seeing Kâlî in the battlefield, S’ankhachûda came up again and imparted the spirit of Fearlessness to the Daityas, trembling with fear. Bhadrakâlî projected, then, the Fire weapon, flaming like the Great Dissolution Fire; but the king quickly put out that by the Watery weapon. Kâlî then projected the very violent and wonderful Varunâstra. The Dânava cut off that easily with Gandharbâstra. Kâlî then threw the flame-like Mahes’varâstra. The king made it futile by the Vaisnavâstra. Then the Devî purifying the Nârâyanâstra with the mantra, threw it on the king. At this the king instantly alighted from his chariot and bowed down to it. The Nârâyanâstra rose high up like the Dissolution Fire. S’ankhachûda fell prostrate on the ground with devotion. The Devî threw, then, the Brahmâstra, purifying it with Mantra. But it was rendered futile by the Dânava’s Brahmâstra. The Devî again shot the divine weapons purifying them with mantras; but they also were nullified by the divine weapons of the Dânava. Then Bhadrakâlî threw one S’akti extending to one Yojana. The Daitya cut it to pieces by his divine weapon. The Devî, then, being very much enraged, became ready to throw Pâs’upata Âstra, when the Incorporeal Voice was heard from the Heavens, prohibiting Her, and saying, “O Devî! The high-souled Dânava would not be killed by the Pâs’upata weapon. For Brahmâ granted him this boon that until the Visnu’s Kavacha will remain on his neck and until his wife’s chastity be not violated, old age and death will not be able to touch him.” Hearing this Celestial Voice, the Devî at once desisted. But She, out of hunger, devoured hundreds and lakhs of Dânavas. The terrible Devî Kâlî, then, went with great speed to devour S’ankhachûda but the Dânava resisted Her by his sharp divine weapons. The Devî then threw on him a powerful axe, lustrous like a summer Sun; but the Dânava cut it to pieces by his divine weapon. The Devî seeing this, became very angry and proceeded to devour him; but the Dânava King, the Lord of all Siddhis, expanded his body. At this, Kâlî became violently angry and assuming a terrific appearance, went quickly and with the blow of one fist, broke his chariot and dropped down the charioteer. Then she hurled on the Asura one S’ûla weapon, blazing like a Pralaya Fire. S’ankhachûda easily held that by his left hand. The Devî became angry and struck the Dânava with Her fist; the Daitya’s head reeled, and, rolling, he fell unconscious for a moment. Next moment regaining his consciousness he got up. But he did not fight hand to hand with the Devî. Rather he bowed down to Her. The weapons that the Devî threw afterwards were partly cut down by the Dânava and partly taken up by him and absorbed in him and thus rendered futile. Then Bhadrakâlî caught bold of the Dânava and whirling him round and round threw him aloft. Then the powerful S’ankhachûda fell down on the ground from high with great force; he immediately

got up and bowed down to Her. He then gladly ascended on his beautiful chariot, built of excellent jewels. He did not feel any fatigue with the war and went on fighting. Then the Devî Bhadrakâlî, feeling hungry began to drink the blood of the Dânavas and ate the fat and flesh. She came before Mahâdeva and described to Him the whole history of the warfare from beginning to end. Hearing the killing of the Dânavas, Mahâdeva began to laugh. She went on saying, “The Dânavas that get out of my mouth while I was chewing them, are the only ones that are living. This number will be about one lakh. And when I took up the Pâs’upata weapon to kill the Dânava, the Incorporeal Celestial Voice spoke :-- He is invulnerable by you. But the very powerful Dânava did no more fling any weapon on Me. He simply cut to pieces those that I threw on him.”

Here ends the Twenty-Second Chapter in the Ninth Book on the fight between the Devas and S’ankhachûda in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 23. On The Killing Of S’ankhachûda

1-6. Nârâyana said : -- S’iva, versed in the knowledge of the Higher Reality, hearing all this, went himself with His whole host to the battle. Seeing Him, S’ankhachûda alighted from his chariot and fell prostrate before him. With great force he got up and, quickly putting on his armour he took up his huge and heavy bow case. Then a great fight ensued between S’iva and S’ankhachûda for full one hundred years but there was no defeat nor victory on either side. The result was stalemate. Both of them, Bhagavân and the Dânava quitted their weapons. S’ankhachûda, remained on his chariot and Mahâdeva role on His Bull. Hundreds and hundreds of Dânavas were slain. But extraordinarily endowed with divine power, S’ambhu restored to life all those of His party that were slain.

7-30. In the meanwhile, an aged Brâhmana, very distressed in his appearance, came to the battlefield and asked S’ankhachûda, the King of Dânavas :-- “O King! Grant me what I beg of you; you give away in charity all sorts of wealth and riches; give me also what I desire; give me, a Brâhmin, something also. I am a quiet peaceable aged Brâhmin, very very thirsty. Make your Promise first and then I will speak to you what I desire.” (Note :-- The Brâhmins only are fit for receiving frauds and cheatings.)

The King S’ankhachûda, with a gracious countenance and pleasing eyes swore before him that He would give him what he would desire. Then the Brâhmin spoke to the King with great affection and Mâyâ :-- “I am desirous of your Kavacha (amulet).” The King, then, gave him the Kavacha (the amulet, mantra written on a Bhurja bark and located in a golden cup). Bhagavân Hari (in the form of that Brâhmin) took that Kavacha and, assuming the form of S’ankhachûda came to Tulasî. Coming there, He made His Mâyâ (magic) manifest and held sexual intercourse with her. At this time Mahâdeva took up the Hari’s trident-aiming at the king of the Dânavas. The trident looked like the Mid-day Sun of summer, flaming like a Pralaya fire. It looked irresistible and invincible as if quite powerful to kill the enemies. In brilliance it equalled the Sudars’an Chakra (disc) and it was the chief of all the weapons. No other body than S’iva and Kes’ava could wield such a weapon. And everybody feared that but S’iva and Kes’ava. In length it was one thousand Dhanus and in width it was one hundred hands. It seemed lively, of the nature of Brahmâ, eternal and not capable to be noticed, whence and how it proceeded. The weapon could destroy, by its own free Lîlâ (Will) all the worlds. When S’iva held it aloft and aiming at S’ankhachûda, He hurled it on him, the King of the Demons quitted his bows and arrows and with mind collected in a yoga posture, began to meditate on the lotus-feet of S’rî Krisna with great devotion. At that moment, the trident, whirling round fell on S’ankhachûda and easily burnt him and his chariot to ashes. He, then assuming the form of a two-armed Gopa, full of youth, divine, ornamented with jewels, holding flute, mounted on a Divine Chariot, surrounded by kotis and kotis of Gopas who came there from the region of Goloka, whose bodies were built up of excellent jewels, and S’ankhachûda then went up to the Heavens (Goloka, where S’rî Brindâbana is located in the middle). He went to Vrindâban, full of Râsas (sentiments) and bowed down at the lotus feet of Râdhâ Krisna with devotion. Both of them were filled with love when they saw Sudâmâ, and, with a gracious countenance and joyful eyes, they took him on their laps. On the other hand the S’ûla weapon came with force and gladness back again to Krisna. The bones of S’ankhachûda, O Narada! were transformed into conch-shells. These conch-shells are always considered very sacred and auspicious in the worship of the Devas. The water in the conch-shell is also very holy and pleasing to the Devas. What more than this, that the water in the conch-shell is as holy as the water of any Tîrtha. This water can be offered to all the Gods but not to S’iva. Wherever the conch-shell is blown, there Laksmî abides with great pleasure. If bathing be done with conch-shell water, it is equivalent to taking bath in all the Tîrthas. Bhagavân Hari resides direct in the conch-shell. Where S’ankha is placed, there Hari resides. Laksmî also resides there and all inauspicious things fly away from there. Where the females and S’ûdras blow the S’ankhas, Laksmî then gets vexed and, out of terror, She goes away to other places. O Nârada! Mahâdeva, after killing the Dânava, went to His own abode. When He gladly went away on His Vehicle, on the Bull’s back, with His whole host, all the other Devas went to their respective places with great gladness. Celestial drums were sounded in the Heavens. The Gandharbas and the Kinnaras began to sing songs. And showers of flowers were strewn on S’iva’s head. All the Munis and Devas and their chiefs began to chant hymns to Him.

Here ends the Twenty-Third Chapter of the Ninth Book on the killing of S’ankhachûda in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 24. On The Glory Of Tulasî

1. Nârada said :-- How did Nârâyana impregnate Tulasî? Kindly describe all that in detail.

2-11. Nârâyana said :-- For accomplishing the ends of the Devas, Bhagavân Hari assumed the Vaisnavî Mâyâ, took the Kavacha from S’ankhachûda and assuming his form, went to the house of Tulasî. Dundubhis (celestial drums) were sounded at Her door, shouts of victory were proclaimed and Tulasî was informed. The chaste Tulasî, hearing that sound very gladly looked out on the royal road from the window. Then for auspicious observances, She offered riches to the Brâhmins; then She gave wealth to the panegyrists (or bards attached to the courts of princes), to the beggars, and the other chanters of hymns. That time Bhagavân Nârâyana alighted from His chariot and went to the house of the Devî Tulasî, built of invaluable gems, looking exceedingly artistic and beautiful. Seeing her dear husband before her, She became very glad and washed his feet and shed tears of joy and bowed down to Him. Then She, impelled by love, made him take his seat on the beautiful jewel throne and giving him sweet scented betels with camphor, began to say :-- “Today my life has been crowned with success. For I am seeing again my lord returned from the battle.” Then she cast smiling glances askance at him and with her body filled with rapturous joy lovingly asked him the news of the war in sweet words :--

12-13. O Thou, the Ocean of mercy! Now tell me of your heroic valour, how you have come out victorious in war with Mahâdeva who destroys countless universes. Hearing Tulasî’s word, the Lord of Laksmî, in the guise of S’ankhachûda, spoke these nectar-like words with a smiling countenance.

14-17. O Dear! Full one Samvatsara the war lasted betwixt us. All the Daityas were killed. Then Brahmâ Himself came and mediated. Peace, then, was brought about and by the command of Brahmâ, I gave over to the Devas their rights. When I returned to my home, S’iva went back to His S’ivaloka. Thus saying, Hari, the Lord of the world, slept and then engaged in sexual intercourse with her. But the chaste Tulasî, finding this time her experience quite different from what She used to enjoy before, argued all the time within herself and at last questioned him :--

18-22. Who are you? O Magician! By spreading your magic, you have enjoyed me. As you have taken my chastity, I will curse you. Bhagavân Nârâyana, hearing Tulasî’s words and being afraid of the curse, assumed His real beautiful figure. The Devî then saw the Eternal Lord of the Devas before her. He was of a deep blue colour like fresh rain-clouds and with eyes like autumnal lotuses and with playful Lîlâs equivalent to tens and tens of millions of Love personified and adorned with jewels and ornaments. His face was smiling and gracious; and he wore his yellow-coloured robe. The love-stricken Tulasî, seeing That Lovely Form of Vâsudeva, immediately fell senseless; and at the next moment, regaining consciousness, she began to speak.

23-27. O Lord! Thou art like a stone. Thou hast no mercy. By hypocrisy Thou hast destroyed my chastity, my virtue and for that reason didst kill my husband. O Lord! Thou had no mercy; Thy heart is like a stone. So Let Thee be turned into a stone. Those who declare Thee as a saint, are no doubt mistaken. Why didst Thou for the sake of others, kill without any fault, another Bhakta of Thine. Thus speaking, Tulasî overpowered with grief and sorrow, cried aloud and repeatedly gave vent to lamentations. Seeing her thus very distressed, Nârâyana, the Ocean of Mercy, spoke to her to cheer her up according to the rules of Dharma.

28-102. O Honoured One! For a long time you performed tapasyâ in this Bhârata, to get Me. S’ankhachûda, too, performed tapasyâ for a long time to get you. By that tapas, S’ankhachûda got you as wife. Now it is highly incumbent to award you also with the fruit that you asked for. Therefore I have done this. Now quit your this terestrial body and assume a Divine Body and marry Me. O Râme! Be like Laksmî. This body of yours will be known by the name of Gandakî, a very virtuous, pure and pellucid stream in this holy land of Bhârata. Your hairs will be turned into sacred trees and as they will be born of you, you will be known by the name of Tulasî. All the three worlds will perform their Pûjâs with the leaves and flowers of this Tulasî. Therefore, O Fair-faced One! This Tulasî will be reckoned as the chief amongst all flowers and leaves. In Heavens, earth, and the nether regions, and before Me, O Fair One, you will reign as the chief amongst trees and flowers. In the region of Goloka, on the banks of the river Virajâ, in the Râsa circle (the celestial ball dance,) where all amorous sentiments are played in Vrindârana forest, in Bhândîra forest, in Champaka forest, in the beautiful Chandana (Sandal Forests and in the groves of Mâdhavî, Ketakî, Kunda, Mallikâ, and Mâlatî, in the sacred places you will live and bestow the highest religious merits. All the Tîrthas will reside at the bottom of the Tulasî tree and so religious merits will accrue to all. O Fair-faced One! There I and all the Devas will wait in expectation of the falling of a Tulasî leaf. Anybody who will be initiated and installed with the Tulasî leaves water, will get all the fruits of being initiated in all the sacrifices. Whatever pleasure Hari gets when thousands and thousands of jars filled with water are offered to him, the same pleasure He will get when one Tulasî leaf will be offered to Him. Whatever fruits are acquired by giving Ayuta cows as presents, those will be also acquired by giving Tulasî leaves. Especially if one gives Tulasî leaves in the month of Kârtik, one gets the fruits same as above mentioned. If one drinks or gets the Tulasî leaf water at the momentous Time of Death, one becomes freed of all sins and is worshipped in the Visnu Loka. He who drinks daily the Tulasî leaf water certainly gets the fruit of one lakh horse sacrifices. He who plucks or culls the Tulasî leaf by his own hand and holding it on his body, quits his life in a Tîrath, goes to Visnu Loka. Whoever holds in his neck the garland made up of Tulasî wood, gets certainly the fruit of horse sacrifices at every step. He who does not keep his word, holding the Tulasî leaf in his hand, goes to the Kâlasûtra Hell as long as the Sun and Moon last. He who gives false evidence in the presence of the Tulasî leaf, goes to the Kumbhîpâka Hell for the life-periods of fourteen Indras. He who drinks or gets a bit of the Tulasî leaf water at the time of death, certainly goes to Vaikuntha, ascending on a car made up of jewels. Those who pluck or cull the Tulasî leaves in the Full Moon night, on the twelfth lunar day, on the passing of the sun from one sign to another, the mid-day, or on the twilights, on the night, while applying oil on their bodies, on the impurity periods, and while putting on night dresses, verily eat off the Nârâyana’s head. O Chaste One! The Tulasî leaf kept in the night, is considered sacred. It is considered good in S’râddha, vow ceremony, in the making over of any gift, in the installation of any image or in worshipping any Deva. Again, the Tulasî leaf fallen on the ground or fallen in water or offered to Visnu, if washed out can be used in holy and other purposes. Thus, O Good One! You will remain as tree in this earth and will remain in Goloka as the Presiding Deity thereof and will enjoy daily the sport with Krisna. And also you will be the Presiding Deity of the river Gandakî and thus bestow religious merits in Bhârata; you will be the wife of the Salt Ocean, which is My part. You are very chaste; in Vaikuntha you will enjoy me as Râma lives with Me. And as for Me, I will be turned into stone by your curse; I will remain in India close to the bank of the river Gandakî. Millions and millions of insects with their sharp teeth will make rings, (the convolutions in the S’âlagrâma or sacred stones), on the cavities of the mountains there, representing Me. Of these stones, those that have one door (entrance hole), four convolutions, adorned by the garland of wild flowers (having a mark like this) and which look like fresh rain-cloud, are called Laksmî Nârâyana Mûrtis (forms). And those that have one door, four convolutions and look like fresh rain-clouds but no garlands are called Laksmî Jânardana Chakras (discus). Those that have two doors, four convolutions, and decked with mark like cow’s hoof and void of the garland mark are called Raghunâtha chakras. Those that are very small in size, with two Chakras and look like fresh rain clouds and void of the garland marks are named Vâmana Chakras. Those that that are very small in size, with two Chakras and the garland mark added, know then to be the S’rîdhara Chakras. These always bring in prosperity to the household. Those that are big, circular, void of garland mark, with two circular Chakras, are known as Dâmodara forms. Those that are mediocre in size, with two Chakras and marked as if struck by an arrow, having marks of arrows and bow-cases are known as Rana-Râmas. Those that are middling, with seven Chakras, having marks of an umbrella and ornaments, are called Râjarâjes’varas. They bestow the royal Laksmî to persons. Those that have twice seven chakras, and are big, looking like fresh rain-clouds are named Anantas. They bestow four fold fruits (Dharma, wealth, desire and liberation). Those that are in their forms like a ring, with two chakras, beautiful, looking like rain-clouds, having cow-hoof marks and of mediocre size are named Madhusûdanas. Those that have one Chakra are called Sudars’anas. Those that have their Chakras hidden are called Gadâdharas. Those that have two Chakras, looking horse-faced, are known as Hayagrîvas. O Chaste One! Those that have their mouths very wide and extended, with two Chakras, and very terrible, are known as Narasimhas. They excite Vairâgyas to all who serve them. Those that have two Chakras, mouths extended and with garland marks (elliptical marks) are called Laksmî Nrisinghas. They always bless the householders who worship them. Those that have two Chakras near their doors (faces), that look even and beautiful, and with marks manifested are known as Vâsudevas. They yield all sorts of fruits. Those that have their Chakras fine and their forms like fresh rain-clouds and have many fine hole marks within their wide gaping facets are called Pradyumnas. They yield happiness to every householder. Those that have their faces of two Chakras stuck together and their backs capacious, are known as Sankarsanas. They always bring in happiness to the householders. Those that look yellow, round and very beautiful are Anirudhas. The sages say, they give happiness to the householder. Where there is the S’âlagrâma stone there exists S’rî Hari Himself; and where there is Hari, Laksmî and all the Tîrthas dwell there. Worshipping S’âlagrâm S’ilâ, destroys the Brahmahatyâ (killing a Brâhmin) and any other sin whatsoever. In worshipping the S’âlagrâma stone looking like an umbrella, kingdoms are obtained; in worshipping circular S’ilâs, great prosperity is obtained; in worshipping cart-shaped stones, miseries arise; and in worshipping stones, whose ends look like spears (S’ûlas), death inevitably follows. Those whose facets are distorted, bring in poverty; and yellow stones bring in various evils and afflictions. Those whose Chakras look broken, bring in diseases; and those whose Chakras are rent asunder bring in death certainly. Observing vows, making gifts, installing images, doing S’râddhas, worshipping the Devas, all these become highly exalted, if done before the S'âlagrâma S’ilâ. One acquires the merits of bathing in all the Tîrthas and in being initiated in all the sacrifices, if one worships the Sâlagrâma S’ilâ. What more than this, that the merits acquired by all the sacrifices, all the Tîrthas, all vows, all austerities and reading all the Vedas are all acquired by duly worshipping by the holy S’âlagrâma S’ilâ. He who performs his Abhis’eka ceremony always with S’âlagrâma water (being sprinkled with S’âlagrâma water at the initiation and Installation ceremonies), acquires the religious merits of performing all sorts of gifts and circumambulating the whole earth. All the Devas are, no doubt, pleased with him who thus worships daily the S’âlagrâma. What more than this, that all the Tîrthas want to have his touch. He becomes a Jîvanmukta (liberated while living) and becomes very holy; ultimately he goes to the region of S’rî Hari and remains in Hari’s service there and dwells with him for countless Prakritic dissolutions. Every sin, like Brahmâ Hatyâ, flies away from him as serpents do at the sight of Garuda. The Devî Vasundharâ (the Earth) becomes purified by the touch of the dust of his feat. At his birth, all his predecessors (a lakh in number), are saved. He who gets the S’âlagrâma S’ilâ water during the time of his death, he is freed of all his sins and goes to the Visnu Loka and gets Nirvâna; he becomes freed entirely from the effects of Karma and he gets, no doubt, dissolved and diluted for ever in (the feet of) Visnu. He who tells lies, holding S’âlagrâma in his hands, goes to the Kumbhîpâka Hell for the life-period of Brahmâ. If one does not keep his word, uttered with the S’âlagrâma stone in his hand, one goes to the Asipatra Hell for one lakh manvantaras. He who worships the S’âlagrâma stone without offering Tulasî leaves on it or separates the Tulasî leaves from the stone, will have to suffer separation from his wife in his next birth. So if one does not offer the Tulasî leaves in the conchshell, for seven births he remains without his wife and he becomes diseased. He who preserves the S’âlagrâma stone, the Tulasî and the conchshell, in one place, becomes very learned and becomes dear to Nârâyana. Look! He who casts his semen once in his wife, suffers intense pain, no doubt, at each other’s separation. So you become dear to S’ankhachûda for one Manvantara. Now, what wonder! That you will suffer pain, at his bereavement. O Nârada! Thus saying, S’rî Hari desisted. Tulasî quitted her mortal coil and assumed a divine form, began to remain in the breast of S’rî Hari like S’rî Laksmî Devî. Hari also went with her to Vaikuntha. Thus Laksmî, Sarasvatî, Gangâ, and Tulasî, all the four came so very dear to Hari and are recognised as Îs’varîs. On the other hand, the mortal coil of Tulasî, no sooner quitted by Tulasî, became transformed into the river Gandakî. Bhagavân Hari, too, became also converted into a holy mountain, on the banks thereof, yielding religious merits to the people. The insects cut and fashion many pieces out of that mountain. Of them, those that fall into the river, yield fruits undoubtedly. And those pieces that fall on the ground become yellow coloured; they are not at all fit for worship. O Nârada! Thus I have spoken to you everything. What more do you want to hear now? Say.

Here ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the glory of Tulasî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 25. On The Method Of Worship Of Tulasî Devî

1-2. Nârada said :-- When the Devî Tulasî has been made so dear to Nârâyana and thus an object for worship, then describe Her worship and Stotra (the hymn of Tulasî) now. O Muni! By whom was She first worshipped? By whom were Her glories first sung? And how did She become therefore an object of worship? Speak out all these to me.

3. Sûta said :-- Hearing these words of Nârada, Nârâyana, laughing, began to describe this very holy and sin-destroying account of Tulasî.

4-15. Nârâyana said :-- Bhagavân Hari duly worshipped Tulasî, and began to enjoy her with Laksmî; He raised Tulasî to the rank of Laksmî and thus made her fortunate and glorious Laksmî and Gangâ allowed and bore this new union of Nârâyana and Tulasî. But Sarasvatî could not endure this high position of Tulasî owing to Her anger. She became self-conceited and beat Tulasî on some quarrel before Hari. Tulasî became abashed and insulted and vanished off. Being the Îs’varî of all the Siddhis, the Devî, the Self-manifest and the Giver of the Siddhiyoga to the Jñânins, Tulasî, Oh! what a wonder, became angry and turned out as invisible to S’rî Hari even.

Not seeing Tulasî, Hari appeased Sarasvatî and getting Her permission went to the Tulasî forest. Going there and taking a bath in due accord, and with due rites, worshipped with His whole heart the chaste Tulasî and then began to meditate on Her with devotion. O Nârada! He gets certainly all siddhis who worships Tulasî duly with the ten lettered mantra :-- “S’rîm Hrîm Klîm Aim Vrindâvanyai Svâhâ,” the King of mantras, yielding fruits and all gratifications like the Kalpa Tree. O Nârada! At the time of worship, the lamp of ghee, was lighted and dhûp, sindûra, sandal, offerings of food, flowers, etc., were offered to Her. Thus hymned by Hari, Tulasî came out of the tree, pleased. And She gladly took refuge at His lotus feet. Visnu, then, granted her boon that, “You will be worshipped by all; I will keep you in My breast and in My head and the Devas also will hold you on their heads.” And He then took her to His own abode.

16. Nârada said :-- “O Highly Fortunate One! What is Tulasî’s dhyân, stotra and method of worship? Kindly describe all these.”

17. Nârâyana said :-- When Tulasî vanished, Hari became very much agitated at her bereavement and went to Vrindâvana and began to praise her.

18-44. The Bhagavân said :-- The Tulasî trees collect in multitudinous groups; hence the Pundits call it Vrindâ. I praise that dear Tulasî. Of old, She appeared in the Vrindâvana forest and therefore known as Vrindâvanî. I worship that fortunate and glorious One. She is worshipped always in innumerable universes and is, therefore, known as Vis’vapûjitâ (worshipped by all). I worship that Vis’vapûjitâ. By whose contact, those countless universes are always rendered pure and holy; and therefore She is called Vis’vapâvani (purifying the whole universe). I am suffering from her bereavement, I remember the Devî. Without Tulasî, the Devas do not get pleased, though other flowers be heaped on them; therefore She is considered as the essence of all the flowers. Now I am in sorrow and trouble and I am very eager to see her, who is of the nature of purity incarnate. The whole universe gets delighted when the Bhaktas receive her; hence She is called Nandinî; so may She be pleased with me. There is nothing in the universe that can be compared to Her; hence She is called Tulasî; I take refuge of that clear Tulasî. That chaste dear one is the life of Krisna, hence She is known as Krisnajîvanî. Now may She save my life. O Nârada! Thus praising, Ramâpatî remained there. The chaste Tulasî then came to His sight and bowed down to His lotus feet; when She becoming sensitive out of the insult, began to weep. Bhagavân Visnu, seeing that sensitive dear one, immediately took her to His breast. Taking, then, Sarasvatî’s permission, He took her to His own home and brought about, first of all, the agreement between her and Sarasvatî. Then He granted her the boon, “You will be worshipped by all, respected by all, and honoured by all; and all will carry you on their heads.” I will also worship, respect and honour you and keep you on My head. Receiving this boon from Visnu, the Devî Tulasî became very glad.

Sarasvatî then attracted her to her side, made her sit close to her. Laksmî and Gangâ both with smiling faces attracted her and made her enter into the house. O Nârada! Whosoever worships her with her eight names Vrindâ, Vrindâvanî, Vis’vapûjitâ, Vis’vapâvanî, Tulasî, Puspasârâ, Nandanî and Krisna Jîvanî and their meanings and sings this hymn of eight verses duly, acquires the merit of performing As’vamedha Yajña (horse sacrifice). Specially, on the Full Moon night of the month of Kârtik, the auspicious birth ceremony of Tulasî is performed. Of old Visnu worshipped her at that time. Whoever worships with devotion on that Full Moon combination, the universe purifying Tulasî, becomes freed of all sins and goes up to the Visnu Loka. Offerings of Tulasî leaves to Visnu in the month of Kârtik bring merits equal to those in giving away Ayuta Cows. Hearing this stotra at that period gives sons to the sonless persons, wives to the wifeless persons and friends to friendless persons. On hearing this stotra, the diseased become free of their diseases, the persons in bondage become free, the terrified become fearless, and the sinners are freed of their sins. O Nârada! Thus it has been mentioned how to chant stotra to her. Now hear her dhyân and method of worship. In the Vedas, in the Kânva S’âkhâ branch, the method of worship is given. You know that one is to meditate on the Tulasî plant, without any invocation (âvâhana) and then worship her with devotion, presenting all sorts of offerings as required to her. Now hear Her Dhyânam. Of all the flowers, Tulasî (the holy basil) is the best, very holy, and captivating the mind. It is a flame burning away all the fuel of sins committed by man. In the Vedas it is stated that this plant is called Tulasî, because there can be made no comparison with Her amongst all the flowers. She is the holiest of them all. She is placed on the heads of all and desired by all and gives holiness to the universe. She gives Jîvanmukti, mukti and devotion to S’rî Hari. I worship Her. Thus meditating on Her and worshipping Her according to due rites, one is to bow down to Her. O Nârada! I have described to you the full history of S’rî Tulasî Devî. What more do yo want to hear now, say.

Here ends the Twenty-fifth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the method of worship of Tulasî Devî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 26. On The Narration Of Sâvitrî

1-2. Nârada said :-- I have heard the anecdote of Tulasî. Now describe in detail the history of Sâvitrî. Sâvitrî is considered as the Mother of the Vedas. Why was She born, in days gone by? By whom was She first worshipped and subsequently also?

3-4. Nârâyana said :-- O Muni! She was first worshipped by Brahmâ. Next the Vedas worshipped her. Subsequently the learned men worshipped her. Next the King As’vapati worshipped Her in India. Next the four Varnas (castes) worshipped Her.

5. Nârada said :-- O Brâhman! Who is that As’vapati? What for did he worship? When the Devî Sâvitrî became adorable by all, by which persons was She first worshipped and by which persons subsequently?

6-14. Nârâyana said :-- O Muni! The King As’vapati reigned in Bhadrades’a, rendering his enemies powerless and making his friends painless. He had a queen very religious; her name was Mâlatî; She was like a second Laksmî. She was barren; and desirous of an issue, She under the instruction of Vas’istha, duly worshipped Sâvitrî with devotion. But She did not receive any vision nor any command; therefore She returned home with a grievous heart. Seeing her sorry, the king consoled her with good words and himself accompanied her to Puskara with a view to perform Tapas to Sâvitrî with devotion and, being self-controlled, practised tapasyâ for one hundred years. Still he could not see Sâvitrî, but voice came to him. An incorporeal, celestial voice reached his ears :-- “Perform Japam (repeat) ten lakhs of Gâyatrî Mantram.” At this moment Parâsara came up there. The king bowed down to him. The Muni said :-- O King! One japa of Gâyatrî, destroys the days sins. Ten Japams of Gâyatrî destroy day and night’s sins.

15-40. One hundred Gâyatrî Japams destroy one month’s sins. One thousand Japams destroy one year’s sins. One lakh Gâyatrî Japams destroy the sins of the present birth and ten lakh Gâyatrî Japams destroy the sins of other births. One hundred lakhs of Japams destroy the sins of all the births. If ten times that (i.e., 1,000 lakhs) be done, then liberation is obtained. (Now the method, how to make Japam). Make the palm of the (right) hand like a snake’s hood; see that the fingers are all close, no holes are seen; and make the ends of the fingers bend downwards; then being calm and quiet and with one’s face eastward, practise Japam. Then count from the middle of the ring (name-less) finger and go on counting right-handed (with the hands of the watch) till you come to the bottom of the index finger. This is the rule of counting by the hand. O King! The rosary is to be of the seed of white lotus or of the crystals; it should be consecrated and purified. Japam is to be done then in a sacred Tîrtha or in a temple. Becoming self-controlled one should place the rosary on a banyan leaf or on a lotus leaf and smear it with cowdung; wash it, uttering Gâyatrî Mantra and over it perform one hundred times Gâyatrî Japam intently in accordance with the rules. Or wash it with Pañchagavya, milk, curds, clarified butter, cow urine and cowdung, and then consecrate it well. Then wash it with the Ganges water and perform best the consecrations. O Râjarsi! Then perform ten lakhs of Japam in due order. Thus the sins of your three births will be destroyed and then you will see the Devî Sâvitrî. O King! Do this Japam, being pure, everyday in the morning, mid-day, and in the evening. If one be impure and devoid of Sandhyâ, one has no right to do any action; and even if one performs an action, one does not get any fruit thereby. He who does not do the morning Sandhyâ and the evening Sandhyâ, is driven away from all the Brâhminic Karmas and he becomes like S’ûdras. He who does Sandhyâ three times throughout his life, becomes like the Sun by his lustre and brilliance of tapas. What more than this, the earth is always purified by the dust of his feet. The Dvîja who does his Sandhyâ Bandanam and remains pure, becomes energetic and liberated while living. By his contact all the Tîrthas become purified. All sins vanish away from him as snakes fly away at the sight of Garuda. The Dvîja who becomes void of Sandhyâ three times a day, the Devas do not accept his worship nor the Pitris accept his Pindas. He who has no Bhakti towards the Mûla Prakriti, who does not worship the specific seed Mantra of Mâyâ and who does not hold festivities in honour of Mûla Prakriti, know him verily to be an Ajagara snake without poison. Devoid of the Visnu mantra, devoid of the three Sandhyâs and devoid of the fasting on the Ekâdas’i Tithi (the eleventh clay of the fortnight), the Brâhmin becomes a snake devoid of poison. The vile Brâhmin who does not like to take the offerings dedicated to Hari and who does the washerman’s work and eats the food of S’ûdra and drives the buffaloes, becomes a snake devoid of poison. The Brâhmin who burns the dead bodies of the S’ûdras, becomes like the man who is the husband of an unmarried girl. The Brâhmin also who becomes a cook of a S’ûdra, becomes a snake void of poison. The Brâhmin who accepts the gifts of a S’ûdra, who performs the sacrifice of a S’ûdra, who lives as clerks and warriors becomes like a snake void of poison. The Brâhmin who sells his daughter, who sells the name of Hari or eats the food of a woman who is without husband and son, as well as of one who has just bathed after her menstruation period, becomes like a serpent void of poison. The Brâhmin who takes the profession of pimps and pampers and lives on the interest, is also like a serpent void of poison. The Brâhmin who sleeps even when the Sun has risen, eats fish, and does not worship the Devî is also like a poisonless serpent. Thus stating all the rules of worship in order, the best of the Munis told him the Dhyânam, etc., of the Devî Sâvitrî, what he wanted. Then he informed the King of all the mantras and went to his own Âs’rama. The king, then worshipped accordingly and saw the Devî Sâvitrî and got boons.

41-43. Nârada said :-- What is the Sâvitrî’s Dhyân, what are the modes of her worship, what is stotra, mantra, that Parâs’ara gave to the King before he went away? And how did the King worship and what boon did he get? This great mystery, grand and well renowned in the S’rutis, about Sâvitrî, I am desirous to hear in brief on all the points.

44-78. Nârâyana said :-- On the thirteenth day (the trayodas’i tithi) of the black fortnight in the month Jyaistha or on any other holy period, the fourteenth day (the chaturdas’i tithi) this vow is to be observed with great care and devotion. Fourteen fruits and fourteen plates with offerings of food on them, flowers and incense are to be offered and this vow is to be observed for fourteen years consecutively. Garments, holy threads and other articles are also offered and after the Vrata is over, the Brâhmins are to be fed. The lucky pot (mangal ghat) is to be located duly according to the rules of worship with branches and fruits. Ganes’a, Agni, Visnu, S’iva and S’ivâ are to be worshipped duly.

In that ghat Sâvitrî is to be next invoked and worshipped. Now hear the Dhyânam of Sâvitrî, as stated in the Mâdhyan Dina Sakhâ, as well the stotra, the modes of worship, and the Mantra, the giver of all desires. I meditate and adore that Sâvitrî, the Mother of the Vedas, of the nature of Pranava (Om), whose colour is like the burnished gold, who is burning with Brahmâ teja (the fire of Brahmâ), effulgent with thousands and thousands of rays of the midday summer Sun, who is of a smiling countenance adorned with jewels and ornaments, wearing celestial garment (purified and uninflammable by fire), and ready to grant blessings to Her Bhaktas; who is the bestower of happiness and liberation, who is peaceful and the consort of the Creator of the world, who is all wealth and the giver of all riches and prosperity, who is the Presiding Deity of the Vedas and who is the Vedas incarnate, I meditate on Thee. Thus reciting the Dhyânam, mantra and meditating on Her, one is to offer Naivedyas (offerings of food) to Her and then place one’s fingers on one’s head; one is to meditate again, and then invoke the Devî within the pot. One should next present fourteen things, uttering proper mantras according to the Vedas. Then one must perform special pûjâ and chant hymns to the Devî and worship Her. The fourteen articles of worship are as under :--

(1) Seat (Âsan); (2) water for washing feet (Pâdya), (3) offering of rice and Durba grass (Arghya), (4) water for bath (Snânîya), (6) anointment with sandalpaste and other scents (Anulepana), (7) incense (Dhûpa), (8) Lights (Dipa), (9) offerings of food (Naivedya), (10) Betels (Tambûl), (11) Cool water, (12) garments, (13) ornaments, (14) garlands, scents, offering of water to sip, and beautiful bedding. While offering these articles, one is to utter the mantras, this beautiful wooden or golden seat, giving spiritual merits is being offered by me to Thee. This water from the Tîrthas, this holy water for washing Thy feet, pleasant, highly meritorious, pure, and as an embodiment of Pûjâ is being offered by me to Thee. This holy Arghya with Durba grass and flowers and the pure water in the conch-shell is being offered by me to Thee (as a work of initial worship). This sweet scented oil and water being offered by me to Thee with devotion for Thy bathing purposes. Kindly accept these. O Mother! This sweet-scented water Divine-like, highly pure and prepared of Kunkuma and other scented things I offer to Thee. O Parames’varî! This all-auspicious, all good and highly meritorious, this beautiful Dhûpa, kindly take, O World Mother! This is very pleasant and sweet scented; therefore I offer this to Thee. O Mother! This light, manifesting all this Universe and the seed, as it were, to destroy the Darkness is being offered by me to Thee. O Devî! Kindly accept this delicious offering of food, highly meritorious, appeasing hunger, pleasant, nourishing end pleasure giving. This betel is scented with camphor, etc., nice, nourishing, and pleasure-giving; this is being offered by me to Thee. This water is nice and cool, appeasing the thirst and the Life of the World. So kindly accept this. O Devî! Kindly accept this silken garment as well as the garment made of Kârpâsa Cotton, beautifying the body and enhancing the beauty. Kindly accept these golden ornaments decked with jewels, highly meritorious, joyous, beauteous and prosperous. Kindly accept these fruits yielding fruits of desires, obtained from various trees and of various kinds. Please have this garland, all auspicious and all good, made of various flowers, beauteous and generating happiness. O Devî! Kindly accept this sweet scent, highly pleasing and meritorious. Please take this Sindûra, the best of the ornaments, beautifying the forehead, highly excellent and beautiful. Kindly accept this holy and meritorious threads an purefied by the Vedic mantrams and made of highly holy threads and knitted with highly pure knots. Uttering thus, offer the above articles that are to be offered to the Devî, every time the specific seed mantra being uttered. Then the intelligent devotee should recite the stotras and subsequently of the Daksinâs (presents) with devotion to the Brâhmanas. The Radical or the Specific Seed Mantra mantra is the eight lettered mantra Srîm Hrîm Klîm Svâitrai Svâhâ; So the sages know. The Stotra, as stated in the Mâdhyandîna S'âkhâ, gives fruits of all desires. I am now speaking to you of that mantra, the Life of the Brâhmanas. Listen attentively. O Nârada! Sâvitrî was given to Brahmâ, in the ancient times of old in the region of Goloka by Krisna; but Sâvitrî did not come to Brahmâ loka with Brahmâ. Then by the command of Krisna, Brahmâ praised the mother of the Vedas. And when She got pleased, She accepted Brahmâ as Her husband.

79-87. Brahmâ said :-- Thou art the everlasting existence intelligence and bliss; Thou art Mûlaprakriti; thou art Hiranya Garbha; Thou didst get pleased, O Fair one! Thou art of the nature of fire and Energy; Thou art the Highest; Thou art the Highest Bliss, and the caste of the twice-born. Dost thou get appeased, O Fair One! Thou art eternal, dear to the Eternal; thou art of the nature of the Everlasting Bliss. O Devî, O Thou, the all auspicious One! O Fair One! Beest thou satisfied. Thou art the form of all (omnipresent)! Thou art the essence of all mantras of the Brâhmanas, higher than the highest! Thou art the bestower of happiness and the liberator O Devî, O Fair One! Beest thou appeased. Thou art like the burning flame to the fuel of sins of the Brâhmanas! O Thou, the Bestower of Brahmâ teja (the light of Brahmâ) O Devî! O Fair One! Beest appeased. By Thy mere remembrance, all the sins to me by body, mind and speech are burnt to ashes. Thus saying, the Creator of the world reached the assembly there. Then Sâvitrî came to the Brahmaloka with Brahmâ. The King As’vapati chanted this stotra to Sâvitrî and saw Her and got from Her the desired boons. Whosoever recites this highly sacred king of Stotras after Sandhyâ Bandanam, quickly acquires the fruits of studying the Vedas.

Here ends the Twenty Sixth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the narration of Sâvitrî in S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 27. On The Birth, Etc., Of Sâvitrî

1-2. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! After having chanted the above hymn to the Goddess Sâvitrî and worshipped Her in accordance with due rites and ceremonies, the king As’vapati saw the Devî, effulgent like the lustre of thousand suns. She then smilingly told the king, as a mother to her son, whilst all the quarters were illumined with the lustre of Her body :--

3-14. Sâvitrî said :-- “O King! I know your desire. Certainly I will give what you and your wife long for. Your chaste wife is anxious for a daughter, while you want a son. So, one after another, the desires of both of you will be fulfilled.” Thus saying, the Devî went to the Brahma Loka. The King also returned to his house. First a daughter was born to him. As the daughter was born, as if a second Laksmî was born after worshipping Sâvitrî, the King kept her name as Sâvitrî. As time rolled on, the daughter grew, day by day, like the phases of bright fortnight moon, into youth and beauty. There was a son of Dyumat Sena, named Satyavâna, always truthful, good natured and endowed with various other qualifications. The daughter chose him for her bridegroom. The King betrothed her with jewels and ornaments, to Satyavâna, who gladly took her home. After one year expired, the truthful vigorous Satyavâna gladly went out, by his father’s command, to collect fruits and fuel. The chaste Sâvitrî, too, followed him. Unfortunately Satyavâna fell down from a tree and died. Yama, the God of Death, saw his soul as a Purusa of the size of one’s thumb and took it and went away. The chaste Sâvitrî began to follow Him. The high souled Yama, the Foremost of the Sadhus, seeing Sâvitrî following Him, addressed her sweetly :-- O Sâvitrî! Whither are you going in your this mortal coil? If you like to follow after all, then quit your this body.

15-25. The mortal man, with his transient coil of these five elements, is not able to go to My Abode. O Chaste One! The death time of your husband arrived; therefore Satyavâna is going to My Abode to reap the fruits of his Karma. Every living animal is born by his Karma. He dies again through his life long Karma. It is his Karma alone that ordains pleasure, pain, fear, sorrows, etc. By Karma, this embodied soul here becomes Indra; by Karma he can become a Brahmâ’s son. What more than this that Jîva, by his Karma, can be in Hari’s service and be free from birth and death! By one’s own Karma all sorts of Siddhis and immortality can be obtained; the four blessed regions as Visnu’s Sâlokya, etc., also can be obtained by Karma. What more than this that by Karma, a being becomes divine, human, or a King, or S’iva or Ganes’a! The state of Munîndra, asceticism, Ksattriyahood, Vais’yahood, Mlechhahood, moving things, stones, Râksasahood, Kinnaras, Kingship, becoming trees, beasts, forest animals, inferior animals, worms, Daityas, Dânavas, Asuras, all are fashioned and wrought by Karma and Karma alone. O Nârada! Thus speaking, Yama remained silent.

Here ends the Twenty-seventh Chapter of the Ninth Book on the birth, etc., of Sâvitrî in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 28. On The Story Of Sâvitrî

1-4. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Hearing the words of Yama, the chaste intelligent Sâvitrî, replied with great devotion :-- “O Dharmarâjan! What is Karma? Why and how is its origin? What is the cause of Karma? Who is the embodied soul (bound by Karma)? What is this body? And who is it that does Karma? What is Jñâna? What is Buddhi? What is this Prâna of this embodied Jîva? What are the Indriyas? And what are their characteristics? And what are the Devatâs thereof? Who is it that enjoys and who is it that makes one enjoy? What is this enjoyment (Bhoga)? And what is the means of escape from it? And what is the nature of that State when one escapes from enjoyment? What is the nature of Jîvatmâ? And what of Paramâtmâ? O Deva! Speak all these in detail to me.”

5-21. Dharma said :-- Karma is of two kinds: good and bad. The Karma that is stated in the Vedas as leading to Dharma is good; all other actions are bad. The God’s service, without any selfish ends (Sankalpa) and without the hope of any fruits thereof (ahaitukî), is of such a nature as to root out all the Karmas and gives rise to the highest devotion to God. A man who is such a Bhakta of Brahmâ becomes liberated, so the S’rutis say. Who then does the Karma and who is it that enjoys? (i.e., no such body). To such a Bhakta to Brahmâ, there is no birth, death, old age, disease, sorrow nor any fear. O Chaste One! Bhakti is two-fold. This is stated by all in the S’rutis. The one leads to Nirvâna and the other leads to the nature of Hari. The Vaisnavas want the Bhakti to Hari, i.e., the Saguna Bhakti. The other Yogis and the best knowers of Brahmâ want the Nirguna Bhakti. He who is the Seed of Karma, and the Bestower for ever the fruits of Karma, Who is the Karma Incarnate and the Mûla Prakriti, is the Bhagavân; He is the Highest Self. He is the Material Cause of Karma. Know this body to be by nature liable to dissolve and die. Earth, air, âkâs’a, water, and fire; these are the threads, as it were, of the work of creation of Brahmâ, Who is of the nature of Being. “Dehî” or The Embodied Soul is the Doer of Karma, the Kartâ; he is the enjoyer; and Âtmâ (self) is the prompter, the stimulator within to do the Karma and enjoy the fruits thereof. The experiencing of pleasures and pains and the varieties thereof is known as Bhoga (enjoyment). Liberation, Mukti is the escape therefrom.

The knowledge by which Âtmâ (sat) and Mâyâ (Asat) are discriminated is called Jñânam (Brahmâ Jñânam). The knowledge is considered as the root discriminator of various objects of enjoyments (i.e., by which the various objects are at once recognised as different from Âtmân). By Buddhi is meant the right seeing of things, (as certain) and is considered as the seed of Jñânam. By Prâna is known as the different Vâyus in the body. And this Prâna is the strength of the embodied. Mind is the chief, the best, of the senses, it is a part of Îs’vara; its characteristic is its doubtful uncertain state. It impels to all actions, irresistible. It is inascertainable, invisible; it obstructs the Jñâna. The senses are seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting. These are the several limbs, as it were, of the embodied and the impellers to all actions. They are both enemies and friends as they give pain (when attached to worldly objects) and happiness (when attached to virtuous objects) both. The Sun, Vâyu, Earth, Brahmâ and others are their Devatâs. The Jîva is the holder, the sustainer of Prâna, body, etc. The Paramâtmâ, the Highest Self, is the Best of all, Omnipresent, transcending the the Gunas, and beyond Prakriti. He is the Cause of all causes and He is the Brahmâ Itself. O Chaste One! I have replied, according to the S’âstras to all your questions. These are Jñânas of the Jñânins. O Child! Now go back to your house at pleasure.

22-30. Sâvitrî said :-- Whither shall I go, leaving my Husband and Thee, the Ocean of Knowledge? Please oughtest to answer the queries that I now put to Thee. What wombs do the Jîvas get in response to which Karmas? What Karmas lead to the Heavens? And what Karmas lead to various hells? Which Karmas lead to Mukti? And which Karmas give Bhakti? What Karmas make one Yogi and what Karmas inflict diseases? Which Karmas make one’s life long? or short? Which Karmas again make one happy? And what Karmas make one miserable? Which Karmas make one deformed in one’s limbs, one-eyed, blind, deaf, lame or idiotic? Which Karmas again make one mad? Make one very much avaricious or of a stealing habit? What Karmas make one possess Siddhis? Or make one earn the four Lokas Sâlokya, etc.? What Karmas make one a Brâhmin or an ascetic? Or make one go to Heaven or Vaikuntha? What Karmas enable one to go to Goloka, the par excellence and free from all diseases? How many are the hells? What are their names and how do they appear? How long will one have to remain in each hell? and what Karmas lead to what diseases? O Deva, now tell me about these that I have asked to you and oblige.

Here ends the Twenty-Eighth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the story of Sâvitrî in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 29. On The Anecdote Of Sâvitrî, On Gifts And On The Effects Of Karmas

1. Nârâyana said :-- Yama got thunderstruck at these queries of Sâvitrî. He then began to describe, with a smiling countenance, the fruition of the several works of the Jîvas.

2-8. He said :-- “O Child! You are now a daughter only twelve years old. But you speak of wisdom like the Highest Jñânins and Yogis, Sanaka and others. O Child! By virtue of the boon granted by Sâvitrî, you have become incarnate of Her in part. The King As’vapati got you before by performing severe penances. As Laksmî is dear and fortunate with regard to Visnu, as Mahâdevi is to Mahâdeva, Aditi to Kas’yapa, Ahalyâ to Gautama, so you are to Satyavâna in respect of affection and good-luck and other best qualities. As S’achî is to Mahendra, as Rohinî is to Moon, as Rati is to Kâma, as Svâhâ is to Fire, as Svadhâ is to the Pitris, as Sanjñâ is to the Sun, as Varunânî is to Varuna, as Daksinâ is to Yajñâ, as Earth is to Varâha, as Devasenâ is to Kârtika, so you are fortunate and blessed with respect to Satyavâna. O Sâvitrî! I myself grant you this boon of my own accord. Now ask other boons. O highly fortunate One! I will fulfil all your desires.”

9-12. Sâvitrî said :-- “O Noble One! Let there be one hundred sons of mine by Satyavâna. This is the boon that I want. Let there be one hundred sons of my Father as well; let my Father-in-law get back his (lost) eyesight and may he get back his lost kingdom. This is another boon that I want. Thou art the Lord of the world. So grant me this boon, too, that I may have this my very body for a lakh years when I may go to Vaikuntha with Satyavâna. Now I am eager to hear the various fruitions of Karmas of several Jîvas. Kindly narrate them and oblige.”

13-70. Dharma said :-- You are very chaste. So what you have thought will verily come to pass. Now I describe the fruition of Karmas of the Jîvas. Listen. Excepting this holy land of Bhârata, nowhere do the people enjoy wholly the fruition of their two-fold Karmas, good and bad. It is only the Suras, Daityas, Dânavas, Gandharvas, Râksasas, and men that do Karmas. The beasts and the other Jîvas do not do Karmas. The special Jîvas, e.g., men, etc., experience the fruition of their Karmas in Heavens, hells and in all the other Yonis (wombs). Specially, as the Jîvas roam in all the different Yonis, they enjoy their Karmas, good or bad, as the case may be, carved in their previous births. The good works get fructified in Heavens; and the bad works lead the Jîvas to hells. This Karma can be got rid of by Bhakti. This Bhakti is of two kinds :-- (1) Nirgunâ of the nature of Nirvâna; and (2) towards Prakriti, of the astute of Brahmâ, and with Mâyâ inherent. Diseases come as the result of bad and ignorant actions and healthiness comes from good and certain scientific Karmas. Similar are the remarks for short and long lives for happiness and pain. By bad works, one becomes blind or deformed in body. So by doing excellent Karmas, one acquires Siddhis, etc.. These are spoken generally. I will now speak in detail; listen. This is very secret even in Purânas and Smritis. In this Bhâratavarsa men are the best of all the various classes of beings. The Brâhmans are the best of men and are best in all Kinds of Karmas. They are responsible, too, for their actions. O Chaste One! Of the Brâhmins, again, those that are attached to the Brâhmanas are the best. The Brâhmanas are of two kinds as they are Sakâma (with desires) or Niskâma (without desires). The Niskâmî Brâhmanas are superior to the Sakâmî Brâhmanas. For the Sakâmîs are to enjoy the fruits of their Karmas, while the Niskâmî Brâhmanas are perfectly free from any such disturbances (they have not to come back to this field of Karma). The Niskâma Bhakta after they quit their bodies, go to a place free from sickness or disease, pure and perfect. From there they do not come back. The Niskâma Bhaktas assuming the divine forms go to the Goloka and worship the Highest God, the Highest Self, the two-armed Krisna. The Sakâmî Vaisnavas go to Vaikuntha; but they come back in Bhârata and get into the wombs of the twice-born. By degrees they also become Niskâma when they certainly acquire pure undefiled Bhakti. The Brâhmanas and Vaisnavas that are Sakâmîs in all the births, never get that pure undefiled intellect and never get the devotion to Visnu. The Brâhmanas, living in the Tîrthas (sacred places of pilgrimages) and attached to Tapas go to Brahmaloka (the region of Brahmâ); they again come down to Bhârata. Those that are devotedly attached to their own Dharma (religion) and reside in places other than Tîrthas, go to Satyaloka and again come to Bhârata. The Brâhmanas, following their own Dharma and devoted to the Sun go to the world of the Sun and again come to Bhârata. And those who are devoted to Mûla Prakriti and devoted to Niskâma Dharma go to Mani Dvîpa and have not to come back from thither. The Bhaktas of S’iva, S’akti, and Gane’sa, and attached to their own Dharmas respectively go to the S’iva Loka and return from thence. Those Brâhmanas that worship the other Devas and attached to their own Dharmas go to those regions of theirs respectively and again come to Bhârata. Attached to their own Dharmas, the Niskâmî Bhaktas of Hari go by their Bhakti step by step to the region of S’rî Hari. Those that are not attached to their own Dharmas and do not worship the Devas and always bent on doing things as they like without any regard to their Âchâras go certainly to hells. No doubt in this. The Brâhmanas and the other three Varnas, attached to their own Dharmas all enjoy the fruits of their good works. But those who do not do their Svadharma, go verily down into hells. They do not came to Bhârata for their rebirth, they enjoy their fruits of Karmas in hells! Therefore the four Varnas ought to follow their own Dharmas of the Brâhmanas, they are to remain attached to their own Dharmas and give their daughters in marriage to the similarly qualified Brâhmanas. They then go to the Chandraloka (the region of the Moon). There they remain for the life periods of the fourteen Indras. And if the girl be given, with ornaments, the results obtained would be twice. If the girl be given with a desire in view, then that world is obtained; but if the girl be given without any desire but to fulfil the God’s will and God’s satisfaction only, then one would not have to go to that world. They go to Visnu Loka, bereft of the fruits of all Karmas. Those that give to the Brâhmanas pasture ground and cattle, silver, gold, garment, fruits and water, go to the Chandraloka and live there for one Manvantara. They live long in those regions by virtue of that merit. Again those that give gold, cows, copper, etc., to the holy Brâhmanas, go to the Sûrya Loka (the region of the Sun) and live there for one Ayuta years (10,000 years), free from diseases, etc., for a long time. Those that give lands and lots of wealth to the Brâhmins, go to the Visnu Loka and to the beautiful S’veta Dvîpa (one of the eighteen minor divisions of the known continents). And there they live as long as the Sun and Moon exist. O Muni! The meritorious persons live long in that wide region. Note :-- S’veta Dvîpa may mean Vaikuntha, where Visnu resides. Those who give with devotion dwelling places to the Brâhmanas, go to the happy Visnu Loka. And there, in that great Visnu Loka, they live for years equal to the number of molecules, in that house. He who offers a dwelling house in honour of any Deva, goes to the region of that Deva and remains there for a number of years equivalent to the number of particles in that house. The lotus-born Brahmâ said that if one offers a royal palace, one obtains a result four times and if one offers a country, one gets the result one hundred times that; again if one offers an excellent country, twice as much merit one acquires. One who dedicates a tank for the expiation of all one’s sins, one lives in Janar Loka (one of the pious regions) for a period equivalent to the number of particles therein). If any man offers a Vâpî (a well) in preference to other gifts, one gets ten fold fruits thereby. If one offers seven Vâpîs, one acquires the fruits of offering one tank. A Vâpî is one which is four thousand Dhanus long and which is as much wide or less (Note :-- Dhanu equals a measure of four hastas). If offered to a good bridegroom, then the giving of a daughter in marriage is equivalent to a dedication of ten Vâpîs. And if the girl be offered with ornaments, twice the merits accrue. The same merit accrues in clearing the bed of the mud of a pond as in digging it. So for the Vâpî (well). O Chaste One! He who plants an As’vattha tree and dedicates it to a godly purpose, lives for one Ayuta years in Tapar Loka. O Sâvitrî! He who dedicates a flower garden for the acquirement of all sorts of good, lives for one Ayuta years in Dhruva Loka.

O Chaste One! He who gives a Vîmâna (any sort of excellent carriage) in honour of Visnu, in this Hindoosthân, lives for one Manvantara in Visnuloka. And if one gives a Vîmâna of variegated colours and workmanship, four times the result accrues. And one who gives a palanquin, acquires half the fruits. Again if anybody gives, out of devotion, a swinging temple (the Dol Mandir) to Bhagavân S’rî Hari, lives for one hundred Manvantras, in the region of Visnu. O Chaste One! He who makes a gift of a royal road, decorated with palatial buildings on either side, lives with great honour and love in that Indraloka for one Ayuta years. Equal results follow whether the above things are offered to the Gods or to the Brâhmanas. He enjoys that which he gives. No giving, no enjoying. After enjoying the heavenly pleasures, etc., the virtuous person takes birth in Bhârata as a Brâhmin or in other good families, in due order, and ultimately in the Brâhmana families. The virtuous Brâhmana, after he has enjoyed the heavenly pleasures, takes his birth again in Bhârata in Brâhmana, Ksattriya or in Vais’ya families. A Ksattriya or a Vais’ya can never obtain Brâhmanahood, even if he performs asceticism for one Koti Kalpas. This is stated in the S’rutis. Without enjoying the fruits, no Karma can be exhausted even in one hundred Koti Kalpas. So the fruits of the Karmas must be enjoyed, whether they be auspicious or inauspicious. By the help of seeing the Devas and seeing the Tîrthas again and again, purity is acquired. O Sâvitrî! So now I have told you something. What more d o you want to hear? Say.

Here ends the Twenty-Ninth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the anecdote of Sâvitrî on the fruits of making gifts and on the effects of Karmas in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 30. On The Conversation Between Sâvitrî And Yama And On The Fruition Of Karmas

1. Sâvitrî said :-- “O Dharmarâjan! Kindly tell me in detail about those works that lead the meritorious persons to the Heavens and various other spheres.”

2-20. Dharmarâj said :-- O Child! He who gives rice and food to the Brâhmanas in India, goes to the S’ivaloka where he dwells with great respect for years equivalent to the measure of that food. This “Anna-dâna” (the giving of boiled rice and other eatables) is a great dân (charity) and this can be done not only to the Brâhmanas but to the other castes also, where similar results also follow. There is, or will be, no other charity superior to this charity of anna (rice, boiled it may be and other eatables). For here no distinction is made as to what caste will get it or not, nor the discrimination of time, when to give such a charity. O Child! Seats (Âsanas) given to the Devas and the Brâhmanas, carry the donor to the Visnu Loka, where he dwells for Ayuta years with great respect and love. Giving excellent cows yielding milk to Brâhmanas take the donor to Visnuloka, where he is glorified and remains for years equivalent to the number of pores in that cow or those cows. And if cows be given on a meritorious day, four times the merits accrue, and if given in a sacred place of pilgrimage, hundred times the result occurs; and if given in a tîrath, where Nârâyana is worshipped, koti times the results accrue. He who gives with devotion, cows to the Brâhmanas in Bhârata, remains in the Chandraloka for one Ayuta years and is glorified. He who gives a two-mouthed cow to a Brâhmana, goes to Visnuloka and remains there for as many years as there exist the numbers of hairs on the body of that cow and is glorified. A gift of a beautiful white umbrella to a Brâhmana makes one go to Varunaloka for Ayuta years where he remains with great pleasure. Giving garments to the diseased Brâhmanas makes one fit to remain with glory in Vayuloka for one ayuta years. Giving to a Brâhmana the S’âlagrâma with garments makes one remain with glory in Vaikuntha as long as there exist the Sun and Moon. Giving a beautiful bedding to a Brâhmana, glorifies a man in the Chandraloka as long as there exist the Sun and Moon. To give lights to the Devas and Brâhmana glorifies a man in Agniloka (the region of Fire) for one Manvantara. To give elephants to the Brâhmanas in Bhârata, makes one sit in the same throne with Indra for his life period.

Giving horses to the Brâhmanas makes one remain in Varunaloka for fourteen Indra’s life periods. Giving a good palanquin to a Brâhmana makes one remain in the Varunaloka for fourteen Indra’s life-periods. Giving a good site or a good orchard to a Brâhmana leads one to the Vayuloka where he remains with glory for one Manvantara. Giving a white châmara and fan to a Brâhmana, leads the donor to the Vayuloka where he remains for one ayuta years. Giving grains and jewels make one long-lived and both the donors and receivers go certainly to Vaikuntha.

21-40. He who always recites the name of S’rî Hari, lives for ever and Death goes far far away from him. The intelligent man that celebrates the Swinging Festival (Dol Jâtrâ) in the last quarter of the Full Moon night in this land of Bhârata, becomes liberated while living, enjoying pleasures in this world, goes in the end to Visnuloka, where he remains for one hundred Manvantaras; there is no doubt in this. If the Swinging Festival be performed under the influence of the asterism Uttara Phâlgunî then the fruits become doubled; this is the saying of Brahmâ  Himself. The performer lives to the end of a Kalpa. To give til (Sesamum) to a Brâhman, leads one to S’iva Loka, where one enjoys for a number of years equal to the number of til. Then one is born in a good yoni and becomes longlived and happy. To give a copper plate yields double the effect. To give in India a chaste wife with garments and ornaments to a Brâhman (and then to purchase her with an equivalent in gold) leads one to Chandra Loka where one remains for fourteen Indra’s life periods and enjoys day and night the celestial Apsarâs. Thence the donor goes to the Gandharba Loka for one ayuta years and day and night enjoys Urvas’î. Then he gets for thousand births chaste, fortunate, wealthy, gentle and sweet-speaking, beautiful wives. He who gives nice and delicious fruits to the Brâhmanas, remains with glory in the Indra Loka for a number of years equivalent to the fruits. He gets again a good Yoni (birth) and gets excellent sons. To give thousand trees while there are fruits on them, or nice fruits only to the Brâhmanas, makes one enjoy the Heavens for a long, long time and he then comes back to Bhârata. To give various things and good edifices with grains, etc., to the Brâhmanas leads one to the regions of the Devas where he remains for one hundred Manvantaras. Then he gets a very good birth and becomes the master of abundant wealth. He who gives with devotion to the Brâhmanas lands certainly goes for one hundred Manvantaras and remains there in glory for one hundred Manvantras; and, coming again to be born in good wombs, they become Kings. The earth does not leave him for hundred births. He becomes prosperous, wealthy and possesses many sons and becomes the lord of his subjects. He who gives a good village with pasture land and cows, dwells with glory in Vaikuntha for one lakh manvantaras. Then he gets a good birth (becomes born in a high caste family) and obtains a lakh villages. The earth quits him not even if he be born a lakh times. (This is very bad then, to one who does not like to be born again).

41-60. He who gives a village inhabited by good and obedient subjects with ripe excellent grains, various tanks, trees and adorned with fruits and leaves dwells in Kailâsa with great glory for ten lakh Indra’s life periods. Getting again born in a high family, he becomes Râja Dhirâja in Bhârata and obtains Niyuta towns. There is no doubt in this. The earth quits him not, even if he be born ayuta times. Really he gets the highest prosperity in this earth. He who gives to a Brâhmana one hundred towns and countries, inhabited by good or mediocre subjects, with wells, tanks, and various trees, remains with glory in Vaikuntha for one koti manvantaras. Then he becomes born in this earth in a high caste family, becomes the Lord of Jambudvîpa and attains in this earth great prosperity like Indra. The earth quits him not even if he comes here Koti times; in reality he is a Mahâtmâ (a great soul man), Râjrâjes’vara (the Lord of Kings) and lives upto the end of a Kalpa. He who gives his whole property to a Brâhmin, gets in the end four times that; there is no doubt in this. He who gives Jambu Dvîpa to an ascetic Brâhmana, gets undoubtedly in the end one hundred times the fruit. If you give away Jambu Dvîpa, the whole earth; if you travel all the Tîrthas, if you perform all sorts of asceticisms, if you give shelter to all, if you make gifts of all sorts, know that you will have to come again to be reborn in this earth; but if you become a devotee of Mûla Prakriti, then be sure that you won’t have to come here and be reborn. The devotees of Mûla Prakriti go to Mani Dvîpa, the highest place of S’rî Bhuvanes’arî Devî and remain there and they see the fall of innumerable Brahmâs. The worshippers of the Devî Mantra when they quit their mortal coils, assume divine appearances endowed with Bibhûtis (manifestations of powers) and free from birth, death and old age, assume the Sârûpya (the same form) of the Devî and remain in Her Service. They reside in Manidvîpa and see the part Pralayas. The Devas die, the Siddhas die, the whole universe vanishes; but the Devî Bhaktas never die and they remain free form birth, death, and old age. He who offers Tulasî leaf to Bhagavân Hari in the month of Kârtik resides for three yugas in the temple of Hari. Getting again a good birth, he acquires the devotion to S’rî Hari and becomes the Foremost of those who restrain their senses. He who bathes in the Ganges early before the rising of the Sun remains in enjoyment in the temple of Hari for sixty thousand yugas. Getting again a good birth, he gets the Visnu Mantra, and, quitting his mortal coil, becomes united with the Feet of S’rî Hari.

61-77. He has not to come back from Vaikuntha to this earth. He remains in Hari’s Service and gets the same form of Hari. He who bathes daily in the Ganges, becomes purified like the Sun and gets the result of performing the Horse-sacrifice at every step. The earth becomes purified by the dust of his feet and he enjoys in Vaikuntha as long as the Sun and Moon exist. Then again he becomes born in a good and beautiful womb, and is liberated by acquiring the devotion to Hari. He becomes very energetic and the foremost of the ascetics, pure, religious, learned, and self-restrained. When the Sun comes midway between Pisces and Cancer and heats intensely the earth, the man who in Bhârata gives cool water to drink to the people, resides in happiness in Kailâs’a for fourteen Indra’s life periods. Getting again a good birth here, he becomes beautiful, happy, devoted to S’iva, energetic and expert in the Vedas, and the Vedangas. He who gives to a Brâhmana the S’aktu (sattu). in the month of Vais’âkhe enjoys in the S’iva temple for as many years as there are number of particles in that quantity of sattu (powders in parched oat). He who performs the Krisna Janmâstamî vow in this Bhârata, is freed from the sins incurred in his hundred births; there is no doubt in this. The observer of the vow remains in great enjoyment in Vaikuntha for fourteen Indra’s life periods, gets again a good birth here and acquires Hari Bhakti. He who performs the S’ivarâtri vow in this Bhârata Varsa, resides with great joy in S’iva Loka for seven manvantaras. He who offers the Bel leaves to S’iva in S’ivarâtri time, resides with great joy in S’iva’s Abode for as many yugas as there are number of leaves. Getting again a good birth here, he acquires the devotion to S’iva and becomes learned, prosperous and possesses sons, subjects and lands. He who performs vow and worships S’ankara in the month of Chaitra or Mâgha and who, with a branch of a tree in hand, dances day and night for one month, or half a month, for ten days or for seven days, dwells in S’iva Loka for as many yugas as the number of days he dances. He who performs the vow of S’rî Râma Navamî, lives in the abode of Visnu for seven Manvantaras in great joy. Getting again a good birth, he becomes devoted to S’rî Râma, the foremost of those who have self restraint and he becomes very wealthy.

78-87. He who performs the Sâradîyâ Pûjâ (the great Durgâ Pûjâ in the month of autumn) of the Mûla Prakriti with incense, lights, offerings of food, and animal sacrifices of buffaloes, goats, sheep, rhinoceros, frogs or other animals, together with dancing, music, and various other auspicious things, resides in the S’iva Loka for seven Manvantaras. Getting an excellent birth, and a pure understanding, he gets unbounded prosperity, sons and, no doubt, grandsons and he becomes a very powerful sovereign possessing many horses and elephants. There is no doubt in this. Again he who worships daily with devotion for a fortnight beginning from the eighth day of the bright fortnight the Mahâ Devî Laksmî, remains in the region of Goloka for fourteen Indra’s life periods. Then, obtaining an excellent birth, he becomes a sovereign. He who in the full moon night in the month of Kârtik prepares a Râsa mandal with one hundred Gopas and Gopis and worships S’rî Krisna and Râdhâ in S’âlagrâma or in images with sixteen varieties of offerings remains in Goloka for Brahmâ’s life-time and coming again to Bhârata acquires an unflinching devotion to S’rî Krisna.

88-99. And when this Bhakti becomes greatly intensified, ho gets initiated into S’rî Hari mantra and after quitting his mortal coil, he goes to the Goloka. Then he gets the Sârûpya (the same form) of Krisna and becomes the chief Pârisad (attendant of Krisna) and, becoming free from old age, he has no fear, to fall again down to this earth. He who observes the Ekâdas’î day, remains fasting and performing penances in the bright or dark eleventh day, remains in Vaikuntha in great enjoyment and comfort. Then, again coming into this Bhârata he becomes a devotee of Hari. And when that Bhakti is intensified he becomes solely devoted to Hari and quitting his mortal coil, goes again to the Goloka and gets the Sârûpya of Krisna and becomes His Pârisada (attendant). Then, freed of old age and death, he does not fall. He who worships Indra in the month of Bhâdra in the twelfth day of the white fortnight is worshipped in the regions of Indra for sixty thousand years. He who performs in Bhârata the worship of the Sun on Sunday Sankrânti (when the Sun goes from one sign to another) and the bright seventh Tithi, according to due rules and ceremonies and eats the food called Havisyânna (rice boiled in ghee), dwells in the Sûryaloka for fourteen Indra’s life periods. Then coming to Bhârata, he becomes free from all diseases and becomes prosperous. He who worships Sâvitrî on the fourteenth day of the black fortnight dwells in the region of Brahmâ for seven Manvantaras with great eclât and glory. Coming again to Bhârata he enjoys beauty, unequalled valour, long life, knowledge and prosperity. He who worships on the fifth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Mâgha, with his senses controlled and full of devotion, the Devî Sarasvatî with sixteen articles of food, resides in Mani Dvîpa for one day and one night of Brahmâ.

100-140. On getting re-birth, he becomes a poet and a learned man. He who daily gives with devotion for his whole life, cow and gold to a Brâhmana dwells in Visnu Loka for twice as many years as there are the numbers of hairs on the bodies of these cows and plays and jests with Visnu and doing auspicious things he finds pleasure. In the end he comes again to this Bhârata and becomes the King of Kings. He becomes fortunate, prosperous, possesses many sons, becomes learned, full of knowledge and happy in every way. He who feeds a Brâhmana here with sweetmeats goes to Visnu Loka and enjoys there for as many years as there are hairs on the body of the Brâhmin. In the end he comes again to Bhârata and becomes happy, wealthy, learned, long lived, fortunate and very powerful. He who utters the name of Hari or gives the name (i.e., the mantra) of Hari to others, is worshipped in Visnu loka for as many yugas as the number of times, the name or mantra was uttered. Coming again to Bhârata, he becomes happy and wealthy. And if such things be done in Nârâyana Ksettra, koti times the above results ensue. He who repeats the name of Hari koti times in Nârâyana Ksettra, becomes, no doubt, freed of all sins and liberated while living and he will not get rebirth. He lives always in Vaikuntha. He gets the Sâlokya (the same region of Visnu), is not liable to fall, becomes a Bhakta of Visnu. He who daily worships the earthen phallic symbol (after making it daily) for his whole life, goes to the S’iva Loka and dwells there, for as many years as there are the number of particles of earth. Getting rebirth he becomes the King of Kings. He who worships daily the S’âlagrâma stone and eats the water (after bathing it) is glorified in Vaikuntha for one hundred Brahmâ’s lives and becomes born again. When he acquires the rare Hari Bhakti and quiting his mortal coil goes to Visnu Loka, whence he is not to return. He who performs all the Tapasyâs (asceticims) and observes all the vratas (vows), dwells in Vaikuntha for fourteen Indra’s life peroids. Getting rebirth in Bhârata he becomes the King of Kings and then he becomes liberated. He is not to return any more. He who bathes in all the Tîrthas and makes a journey round the whole world, gets Nirvâna. He is not reborn. He who performs the Horse-Sacrifice in this holy land Bhârata enjoys half the Indraship for as many years as there are hairs on the body of the horse. He who performs a Râjasûya Sacrifice, gets four times the above result. Of all the sacrifices, the Devî Yajñâ, or the Sacrifice before the Devî is the Best. O Fair One! Of old, Visnu, Brahmâ, Indra and when Tripurâsura was killed, Mahâ Deva did such a sacrifice. O Beautiful One! This sacrifice before the S’akti is the highest and best of all the sacrifices. There is nothing like this in the three worlds. This Great Sacrifice was done of yore by Daksa when he collected abundant sacrificial materials of all sorts. And a quarrel ensued on this account between Daksa and S’ankara. The Brâhmins conducting the sacrifice cursed the Nandî and others. And Nandî cursed the Brâhmanas. Mahâdeva, therefore, disallowed the going on of sacrifice and brought it to a dead stop. Of yore the Prajâpati Daksa did this Devî Yajñâ; it was done also by Dharma, Kas’yapa; Ananta, Kardama, Svâyambhuva Manu, his son Priyavrata, S’iva, Sanat Kumâra, Kapila and Dhruva. The performance of this sacrifice brings fruits equal to performing thousands and thousands of Râjasûya sacrifices. Therefore there is no other sacrifice greater than this Devî Yajñâ. One becomes surely endowed with a long life of one hundred years and is liberated while living. He becomes equal to Visnu in knowledge, energy, strength, and asceticism. This is as true as anything. O Child! This Devî Yajñâ is the best and highest of all the sacrifices as Visnu is the highest amongst the Devas; Nârada, amongst the Vaisnavas; the Vedas, amongst all the S’âstras; the Brâhmanas amongst all the castes; the Ganges amongst the sacred places of pilgrimages, S’iva amongst the Holy of Holies, the Ekâdas’î vow amongst all the Vratas; Tulasî, amongst all the flowers; the Moon, amongst the asterisms; Garuda, amongst the birds; Prakriti, Râdhâ, Sarasvatî and Earth amongst the females; the mind, amongst the quick-going and restless senses; Brahmâ, amongst the Prajâpatis; Brahmâ, amongst all the subjects; Vrindrâban, amongst all the forests; Bharat Varsa, amongst all the Varsas; Laksmî, amongst the prosperous; Sarasvatî, amongst the learned; Durgâ, amongst the chaste; Radhikâ, amongst the fortunate. If one hundred horse sacrifices are performed, Indrahood is sure to be obtained. It is by the influence of bathing in all the Tîrthas, performing all the sacrifices, observing all the Vratas, practising all the austerities, studying all the Vedas and circumambulating the whole earth, that this Highest S’akti’s service is obtained and this service of S’akti is the direct cause of Mukti (liberation). To worship the lotus-feet of the Devî is the best and highest, is stated in all the Purânas, in all the Vedas, and in all the Itihâsas. To sing the glories of Mûla Prakriti, to meditate on Her, to chant Her Name and attributes, to remember Her stotras, bow down before Her, to repeat Her Name, and to drink daily Her Pâdodoka (water after washing Her feet) and the offerings already offered to Her, these are approved of by all; and everyone desires this. So worship, worship this Mûla Prakriti, Who is of the nature of Brahmâ, and, lo! Who is again endowed with Mâyâ. O Child! Take your husband and live happily with him in your home. O Child! Thus I have described to you the fruition of the Karmas. This is auspicious to every human being, desired by all and approved of by all. The Real Knowledge springs from this. There is no doubt in this.

Here ends the Thirtieth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the conversation between Sâvitrî and Yama and on the fruition of Karmas in the Great Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 31. On The Yama's Giving S’akti Mantra To Sâvitrî

1-2. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Hearing thus the supreme nature of Mûla Prakriti from Dharmarâja Yama, the two eyes of Sâvitrî were filled with tears of joy and her whole body was filled with a thrill of rapture, joy and ecstacy. She again addressed Yama :-- “O Dharmarâja! To sing the glories of Mûla Prakriti is the only means of saving all. This takes away the old age and death of both the speaker and the hearer.

3-12. This is the Supreme Place of the Dânavas, the Siddhas, the ascetics. This is the Yoga of the Yogins and this is studying the Vedas of the Vaidiks. Nothing can compare even to one sixteenth of the sixteenth parts of the (full) merits of those who are in S’akti’s Service; call it Mukti, immortality, or attaining endless Siddhis, nothing can come to it. O Thou, the foremost of the Knowers of the Vedas! I have heard by and by everything from Thee. Now describe to me how to worship Mûla Prakriti and what are the ends of karmas, auspicious and inauspicious.” Thus saying, the chaste Sâvitrî bowed down her head and began to praise Yama in stotras according to the Vedas. She said :-- “O Dharmarâjan! The Sun practised of yore very hard austerities at Puskara and worshipped Dharma. On this, Dharma Himself became born of Sûrya as his son. And Thou art that son of Sûrya, the incarnation of Dharma. So I bow down to Thee. Thou art the Witness of all the Jîvas; Thou seest them equally; hence Thy name is Samana. I bow down to Thee. Sometimes Thou by Thy own will takest away the lives of beings. Hence Thy name is Kritânta. Obeisance to Thee! Thou holdest the rod to distribute justice and pronounce sentence on them and to destroy the sins of the Jîvas; hence Thy name is Dandadhara; so I bow down to Thee. (Note :-- Any Jîva, in course of his travelling towards Mukti, can expect to pass through the stage Yamaship; and if he pleases, he can become a Yama.) At all times Thou destroyest the universe. None can resist Thee. Hence Thou art named Kâla; so obeisance to Thee! Thou art an ascetic, devoted to Brahmâ, self-controlled, and the distributor of the fruits of Karmas to the Jîvas; Thou restrainest Thy senses. Hence Thou art called Yama. Therefore I bow down to Thee.

13-17. Thou art delighted with Thy Own Self; Thou art omniscient; Thou art the Tormentor of the sinners and the Friend of the Virtuous. Hence Thy name is Punya Mitra; so I bow down to Thee. Thou art born as a part of Brahmâ; the fire of Brahmâ is shining through Thy body. Thou dost meditate on Para Brahmâ, Thou art the Lord. Obeisance to Thee!” O Muni! Thus praising Yama, She bowed down at the feet of Him. Yama gave her the mantra of Mûla Prakriti. How to worship Her and He began to recite the fruition of good Karmas. O Nârada! He who recites these eight hymns to Yama early in the morning, getting up from his bed, is freed of the fear of death. Rather he becomes freed of all his sins. So much so, that even if he be a veritable awful sinner and if he recites daily with devotion this Yamâstakam, Yama purifies him thoroughly.

Here ends the Thirty-first Chapter of the Ninth Book on the Yama’s giving S’akti Mantra to Sâvitrî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 32. On The Enumeration Of Various Hells For Sinners

1-28. Nârâyana said :-- Then, initiating her with the Great Seed, the Âdi Radical Mantra of the Mahâ S’akti, S’rî Bhuvanes’varî in accordance with due rules, the son of Sûrya began to recite the various effects of various Karmas, auspicious and inauspicious. Never do the persons go to hell when they perform good Karmas; it is only the bad works that lead men to hells. The different Purânas narrate various heavens. The Jîvas go to those places as the effects of their various good Karmas. The good Karmas do not lead men to hells; but the bad Karmas do lead them veritably to various hideous hells. In different S’âstras, different hell-pits are ascertained. Different works lead men to different hells. O Child! Those hell-pits are very wide, deep, painful and tormenting, very horrible and ugly. Of these, eighty six pits or Kundas are prominent. Many other Kundas exist. Now listen to the names of the Kundas mentioned in the Vedas. Their names are :-- Vahni Kunda, Tapta Kunda, Ksâra Kunda, Bhayânaka Kunda, Vit Kunda, Mûtra Kunda, S’lesma Kunda, Gara Kunda, Dûsikâ Kunda, Vasâ Kunda, S’ukra Kunda, S’onita Kunda, As’rû Kunda, Gâtramala Kunda, Karnamala Kunda, Majjâ Kunda, Mâmsa Kunda, impassable Nakra Kunda, Loma Kunda, Kes’a Kunda, impassable Asthi Kunda, Tâmra Kunda, the exceedingly hot and painful Lauha Kunda (the pit of molten iron), Charma Kunda, the hot Surâ Kunda, sharp Thorny Kunda, Visa Kunda, the hot Taila Kunda, very heavy Astra Kunda, Krimi Kunda, Pûya Kunda, terrible Sarpa Kunda, Mas’aka Kunda, Dams’a Kunda, dreadful Garala Kunda, Vajra Damstra Vris’chika Kunda, S’ara Kunda, Sûla Kunda, awful Khadga Kunda, Gola Kunda, Nakra Kunda, sorrowful Kâka Kunda, Manthâna Kunda, Vîja Kunda, painful Vajra Kunda, hot Pâts’âna Kunda, sharp Pâs’âna Kunda, Lâlâ Kunda, Masî Kunda, Chakra Kunda, Vakra Kunda, very terrible Kurma Kunda, Jvâlâ Kunda, Bhasma Kunda, Dagdha Kunda, and others. Besides these, there are the Taptasûchî, Asipatra, Ksuradhâra, Sûchîmukha, Gokhâmûkha, Kûmbhîpâka, Kâlasûtra, Matsyoda, Krimi, Kantuka, Pâms’ubhojya, Pâs’avesta, Sûlaprota, Prakampana, Ulkâmakha, Andhakûpa, Vedhana, Tâdana, Jâlarandhra, Dehachûrna, Dalana, S’osana, Kasa, S’ûrpa, Jvâlâmûkha, Dhûmândha, Nâgavestana and various others. O Savitri! The Kundas give much pain and torment greatly the sinners; they are under the constant watch of innumerable servants. They hold rods in their hands; some of them have nooses; others hold clubs, S’aktis, awful scimitars; they are fierce fanatics, maddened with vanity. All are filled with Tamogunas, merciless, irresistible, energetic, fearless and tawny-eyed (like copper). Some of them are Yogis; some are Siddhas, they assume various forms. When the sinners are about to die, they see these servants of Yama. But those who do their own duties, who are S’âktas, Sauras, or Gânapatyas or those who are virtuous Siddha Yogis, they never see the servants of Yama. Those who are engaged in their own Dharmas, who are possessed of wisdom, who are endowed with knowledge, who are mentally strong, who are untouched by fear, who are endowed with the feelings of the Devas, and those who are real Vaisnavas, they never see these servants of Yama. O Chaste One! Thus I have enumerated to you the Kundas. Now hear who live in the Kundas.

Here ends the Thirty-second Chapter of the Ninth Book on the enumeration of various hells for sinners in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 33. On The Description Of The Destinies Of Different Sinners In Different Hells

1-19. Dharmarâjan said :-- Those that are in Hari’s service, pure, the Siddhas in Yoga (those that have attained success in Yoga), the performers of Vratas (vows), the chaste, the ascetics, the Brahmachâris never go to hells. There is no doubt in this. Those persons that are proud of their strong positions and who use very harsh burning words to their friends, they go to Vahni Kunda and live there for as many years as  there are hairs on his body; next they attain animal births for three births and get themselves scorched under the strong heat of the Sun. He goes to the Tapta Kunda hell who does not entertain any Brâhman guest with any eatables who comes to his house hungry and thirsty. He lives there for as many years as there are hairs on his body and he has to sleep on a bed of fire, very tormenting. Then he will have to be born for seven births as birds. If anybody washes any clothing with any salt on Sunday, or on the day of Samkrânti (when the Sun enters another sign), or on any new-moon day or on any S’râddha day (when funeral ceremonies are performed), he will have to go to the Ksâra Kunda hell where he remains for as many years as there are threads in that clothing and finally he becomes born for seven births as a veritable washerman. The wretch that abuses Mûla Prakriti, the Vedas, the S’âstras, Purânas, Brahmâ, Visnu, S’iva and the other Devas, Gaurî, Laksmî, Sarasvatî and the other Devîs, goes to the hell named Bhayânaka Narakakunda. There is no other hell more tormenting than this. The sinners live here for many Kalpas and ultimately become serpents. There is no sin greater than the abuse of the Devî. There is no expiation for it. So one ought never to abuse the Devî. If one discontinues the allowances given by oneself or other persons to the Devas or Brâhmanas, one goes to Visthâ Kunda and has to eat the faeces there for sixty thousand years and finally to be born in Bhârata as worms in faeces the same number of years. If any person without the owner’s permission digs another’s tank dried of water, or makes water in the water of any tank, he goes to Mûtra Kunda and drinks urine for as many years as there are the particles in that tank. Then he becomes born in this Bhârata its an ox for one hundred years. If any person eats good things himself without giving any portion thereof to the member of his family, he goes to S’lesma Kunda where he eats phlegm, for full one hundred years. Then he becomes born as Preta (disembodied spirits) in this Bhârata for hundred years and drinks phlegm, urine and pus; then he becomes pure. He who does not support his father, mother, spiritual teacher, wife, sons, daughters and the helpless persons, goes to Gara Kunda where he eats poison for full one hundred years. Finally he becomes born and wanders as Bhûtas (disembodied spirits). Then he becomes pure.

20-50. He who becomes angry and shrinks his eyes at the sight of a guest who has come to his house offends the Devas or Pitris, who do not accept the water offered to them by that villain. On the contrary, he earns all the sins of Brahmahatyâ (murder of a Brâhmin and so forth) and finally goes to Dûsikâkunda where he remains for one hundred years and eats polluted things. Then wandering as Bhûtas for one hundred years he becomes purified. If anybody makes a gift of any article to a Brâhmin and then again gives that article to a different man, he goes to Vasâ Kunda where he eats marrows for one hundred years. Then he has to roam about in India for seven births as a Krikalâsa (lizard) and finally he becomes born as a very poor man with a very short life. If any woman or any man makes another of a different sex eat semen, out of passion, he goes to S’ukra Kunda where he drinks semen for one hundred years. Then he crawls about as worms for one hundred years. And then he gets purified. If anybody beats a Brâhmana who is a family preceptor and causes his blood to come out, he will have to go to Rakta Kunda where he has to drink blood for one hundred years. Finally he has to roam about for seven births in India as tigers; then he becomes pure by degrees. If anybody mocks and laughs at any devotee of Krisna who sings with rapt consciousness and sheds tears of joy, he will have to go to As’ru Kunda where he drinks tears for one hundred years. Then he has to roam as Chândâla for three births and then he becomes pure. He who always cheats his friends, lives for one hundred years in Gâtramala Kunda. Then roaming about for three births as an ass and for three births as a fox concurrently, he becomes purified. Out of vanity, if anybody jests at a deaf person, he goes to Karnamalakunda where he eats for one hundred years the wax of the ear. Next he comes to the earth as a deaf and very poor man for seven births, when at last he gets purified. If anybody commits murder out of greed to support his family, he goes to the hell Majjâkunda where he eats marrow for one lakh years. Next he becomes a fish for seven births, for seven births he becomes a mosquito, for three births he becomes a boar, for seven births he becomes a cock, deer and other animals concurrently; at last he gets purified. If any stupid person sells the daughter whom he has supported, out of greed for money, he goes to Mânsakunda and lives there for as many years as there are hairs on her body. The Yama’s servants beat him with their clubs. His head becomes overloaded with the burden of the flesh; and, out of hunger, he licks the blood coming out of his head. Next that sinner comes to Bhârata and for sixty years becomes a worm in any daughter’s faeces, for seven births he becomes a hunter; for three births, a boar; for seven births, cock; for seven births, frog; for seven births, leech; and for seven births, crow; when he gets purified. One who shaves on the day of observing vows, fasting and funeral ceremony day, becomes impure and unfit to do any action, and, in the end, he goes to the Nakha Kunda where he receives blows of clubs and eats nails for one hundred Deva years. If anybody worships, out of carelessness, the earthen S’iva phallic symbol with any hairs on it, he goes to the hell Kes’a Kunda where he remains for as many years as there are particles in that hair; then he gets to the yoni (womb) a Yâvanânî (a Mlechcha woman) out of Hara’s wrath. After one hundred years he becomes freed from that and then he becomes a Râksasa; there is no doubt in this. He who does not offer Pindas to the Visnupâda in honour of his Pitris at Gayâ goes to the hell Asthikunda where he remains for as many years as there are dirts on his body. Then he becomes a man; but for seven births he becomes lame and poor. Then he gets purified. The stupid man who commits outrage and violence on his pregnant wife, resides for one hundred years in the hot Tâmra Kunda (where coppers are in a molten condition). He who takes the food of a childless widow and the same of any woman that has just bathed after menstruation goes for one hundred years to the hot Lauha Kunda (where iron is in a molten condition). For seven births he becomes then a crow and for seven births he becomes born of a washerwoman, full of sores and boils, and poor. Then he gets purified.

51-61. If one touches the things of the Devas after touching skins or impure hides, one remains in the Charma Kunda for full one hundred years. If any Brâhmin eats a S’ûdra’s food, requested by him, he lives for one hundred years in the hot Surâ Kunda. Then for seven births he performs, the funeral rites for a S’ûdra; at last he becomes pure. If any foul-mouthed person uses always harsh and filthy language to his master, he will have to go to Tîksna Kantaka Kunda where he eats thorns. Besides, the Yama’s servants give severe beatings to him with their clubs. For seven births he will have to become horses when he gets purified. If any man ministers poison to another and so takes away his life, he will have to remain for endless years in Visakunda, where he will have to eat poison. Then he will have to pass for one hundred years as a murderer Bhilla, full of sores and boils, and for seven births he will have to be a leper when at last he gets purified. Being born in this holy land Bhâratavarsa, if any man strikes a cow with a rod or any driver does so whether by himself or by his servant, he will have to dwell certainly in the hot Lauha Kunda for four yugas. He will have to pass as many years as a cow as there are hairs on that cow when ultimately he gets purified. If anybody strikes any other body with a red-hot iron dart (Kunta weapon), he will have to dwell in the Kunta Kunda for ayuta years. Then he will have to remain for one birth in a good womb, with a diseased constitution, when ultimately he will be purified.

62-85. If any Brâhmin villain eats, out of greed, any flesh (not sacrificed before the goddess) or anything not offered to Hari, he will have to remain in the Krimi Kunda where he eats those things for as many years as there are hairs on his body. Then he will have to pass for three births as Mlechchas when ultimately he becomes born in a Brâhmin family. If any Brâhmin performs the S’râdh of a S’ûdra, eats the food pertaining to a S’râdh of a S’ûdra or burns the dead body of a S’ûdra, he will have to dwell certainly in Pûya Kunda, where, being beaten by the rod of Yama, he eats the pus, etc., for as many years as there are hairs on his body. Then he becomes reborn in this Bhârata as one greatly diseased, poor, deaf and dumb and ultimately he will have to roam for seven births as a S’ûdra. He who kills a black serpent on whose hood there is the lotus mark, lives in Sarpa Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body and he is bitten by serpents there and beaten by the servants of Yama and eats the excrescences of snakes and finally becomes born as a serpent. Then he becomes a man shortlived and having the cuticaneous disease and ringworm. And his death also comes out of snake-bite. He who kills mosquitoes and other small fanged-animals, that earn their substance rightly and pass so their lives, goes to Dams’a mas’a Kunda where he is eaten by mosquitoes and other fanged-creatures and lives there without food and crying, weeping, for as many years as the numbers of lives destroyed. Besides the Yama’s servants tie his hands and feet and beat him. Then he becomes born as flies when ultimately he becomes purified. He who beats and chastises any man not fit to be chastised and beaten and as well as a Brâhmana, goes to Vajra Damstra Kunda, full of worms, and lives there day and night for as many years as there are the number of hairs on the chastised person. When he is bitten by the worms and beaten by Yama’s servants, he cries sometimes, weeps sometimes, and becomes very miserable. Next he is reborn as a crow for seven births when ultimately he gets purified. If any foolish king punishes and gives trouble to his subjects out of greed of money, he goes to Vrischika Kunda where he lives for as many years as there are hairs on the bodies of his subjects. There is no doubt in this. Finally he becomes born in this Bhârata as a scorpion; then a man diseased and defective in limbs, when ultimately he becomes freed of his sins. If any Brâhmin carries or raises weapons, washes the clothes of others who do not perform Sandhyâs and abandons his devotion to Hari, he lives in Sarâdi Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body; he is, then, pierced by arrows. Finally he becomes purified. If any king maddened by his own folly and fault, shuts his subjects in a dark cell and kills them, then he will have to go to a dreadful dark hell filled with worms having fanged teeth and covered with dirt. This hell is named Gola Kunda. He lives there bitten by insects for as many years as there are hairs on the bodies of his subjects. Finally he becomes a slave of those subjects, when he gets purified.

86-103. If anybody kills the sharks and crocodiles, etc., that rise out of the water spontaneously, he will have to remain, then, in Nakra Kunda for as many years as there are thorns or edged points on those animals. Then he will have to be born as crocodiles, etc., for some time, when he will be purified. If any man, overpowered with lust, sees another’s wife’s uncovered breast, loins, and face, he will have to remain in Kâka Kunda for as many years as there are hairs in his own body. Here the crows take out his eyes. Finally for three births he gets himself burned by Fire when he becomes pure. He who steals in India the gold of the Devas and the Brâhmanas, dwells certainly in Manthâna Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body. My servants give him good beatings, and cudgellings; his eyes are covered by Manthâna Danda insects (or animals) and he eats their dirty faeces. Then he is reborn as a man but for three births he becomes blind and for seven births he becomes very poor, cruel, and a sinful goldsmith and then he is born a Svarnavanik (Sonâr bene). O Fair One! He who steals in India copper or iron, silver or gold, dwells in Vîja Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body. There the Vîjas (a kind of insect) cover his eyes and he eats the excrescences of those insects. My messengers torment him. Finally he gets purified. If anybody steals in India any Devatâ or the articles of a Devatâ, he dwells in Vajra Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body. There his body gets burnt up. My messengers torment him and he a cries and weeps and remains without any food. Then he gets purified. If anybody steals the metal gold or silver, cows, or garments of any Deva or a Brâhmana, certainly he dwells in hot Pâsâna Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body. Next for three births he becomes a tortoise and all sorts of white birds. Finally for three births he becomes a leper and for one birth be becomes a man with white marks on his body. Next for seven births he becomes diseased with a severe colic pain and bad blood and lives short. Then he gets purified. If anybody steals brass or Kâmsya properties of any Deva or a Brâhmana, he will have to remain in the sharp Pâsâna Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body. Next he becomes born in Bhârata for seven births as horses; and ultimately his both the testicles get enlarged and he gets diseases in his legs when he gets purified. If anybody verily eats the food of an adulterate woman or lives on her alms, he will have to go to the Lâlâ Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body. My messengers torment him there and he eats the saliva and thus lives miserably. Then he gets eye diseases and colic; when ultimately he gets purified.

104-126. If any Brâhmana lives on writing only or on the service of Mlechchas, he lives in Masi Kunda very painfully, eating ink, tormented by My messengers for as many years as there are hairs on his body. Then he becomes a black animal for three births and for another three births he becomes a black goat. Then he becomes a Tâl tree when he gets purified. If anybody steals a Deva’s or a Brâhmana’s grains, or any other good materials, betel, Âsan (seat) or bedding, he lives in Chûrna Kunda for one hundred years, tormented by My Dûtas (messengers). Next for three births he gets himself born as a goat, cock, and monkey. Finally he becomes born as a man with the heart disease, without any issue, poor, and short lived. When, at last, he gets purified. If anybody steals any Brâhmin’s property and thereby does chakra pûjâ (the famous chakra circle worship in Tantra), or prepares a potter’s wheel or any other wheels, he will have to go to Chakra Kunda and remain there for one hundred years, tormented by My messengers. Then he will be born for three births as an oilman suffering from very severe diseases when he will ultimately be poor, without any issue and diseased. Finally he gets purified. If anybody casts a sinful eye on any Brâhmana or on cows, he will have to remain in Vakra Kunda for one hundred Yugas. Next for three births he becomes a cat, for three births he becomes a vulture; for three births he becomes a boar; for three births he becomes a peacock; for seven births he becomes a man deformed and defective in limbs, his wife being dead, without any issue. Finally he becomes purified. If any person born in a Brâhmin family eats the flesh of a tortoise that is prohibited, he lives in Kûrma Kunda, for one hundred years, eaten by tortoises. Then he becomes for three births a tortoise; for three births, a boar; for three births a cat; for three births, a peacock; till at last he gets purified. If anybody steals clarified butter or oil of any Devas or a Brâhmana he will have to go to Jvâlâ Kunda or Bhasma Kunda. That sinner remains in oil for one hundred years and gets soaked through and through. Then for seven births he becomes a fish and a mouse when he gets purified. If anybody, born here in this holy land Bhârata steals sweet scented oil of a Deva or of a Brâhmana, the powdered myrobalan or any other scent, he goes to Dagdha Kunda where he lives, burnt day and night for as many years as there are hairs on his body. For seven births he becomes born emitting a nasty smell, for three births he becomes musk (mriga-nâbhi); for seven births, as a Manthâna insect. Then he becomes born as a man. If, out of envy, a powerful man appropriates to his purpose another’s ancestral property by cheating, by using force, he goes to the hot Sûchî Kunda, being tormented there like a Jîva dropped in the midst of a very hot oil tank, full of boiling oil. His body is, then, being burnt up severely as the result of his own Karma; the wonder being that his body never gets completely destroyed nor reduced to ashes. For seven manvantaras he lives there without any food. My messengers give him good beatings and cudgellings and chastise him; he cries aloud. Next he gets himself born as worms of faeces for sixty thousand years. When he becomes born as a pauper without owning any land. Thus that villain, getting a fresh lease of human birth, begins again to do fresh good acts.

Here ends the Thirty-third Chapter of the Ninth Book on the description of the destinies of different sinners in different hells in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000  verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 34. On The Description Of The Various Hells

1-28. Dharma Râja Yama said :-- O Fair One! If, in this Bhârata, any murderer, merciless and fierce, kills any man, out of greed for money, he goes and miserably dwells in the Asipattra hell for fourteen Indra’s life periods. And if that murderer kills a Brâhmana, he lives in that hell for one hundred manvantaras. While in hell, his body becomes fiercely cut and wounded by the swords. There My messengers chastise him and beat him and he cries aloud and passes his time without any food. Then he becomes born for one hundred years as a Manthâna insect, for hundred births as a boar, for seven births as a cock; for seven births as a fox, for seven births as a tiger; for three births, as a wolf; for seven births, as a frog; then as a buffalo when he becomes freed of his sins of murders. If anybody sets fire to a city or a village, he will have to live in Ksuradhâra Kunda for three yugas with his body severed. Then he becomes a Preta (disembodied spirit) and travels over the whole earth, being burnt up with fire. For seven births he eats unclean and unholy food and spends his time as a pigeon. Then for seven births he becomes diseased with a severe colic pain, for seven births as a leper; when ultimately he gets a pure human body. If anybody whispers in one’s ear another’s calumny and thus glorifies himself and abuses and vilifies the Devas and Brâhmanas, he goes and remains in Sûchî Kunda for three Yugas, and he is pierced there by needles. Then he becomes a scorpion for seven births, a serpent for seven births, and an insect (Bhasma Kîta) for seven births; then he gets a diseased human body when, at last, he becomes purified. If anybody breaks into another’s house and steals away all the household articles, cows, goats or buffaloes, he goes to Gokâ Mukha Kunda where faeces are like cow’s hoofs, there, beaten by My servants, for three Yugas. (Gokâ is Goksura, hoof of a cow). Then, for seven births, he becomes a diseased cow; for three births, a sheep; for three births, a goat; and finally he becomes a man. But in this man-birth he is born first as diseased, poor, deprived of wife and friends, and a repenting person; when ultimately he is freed of his sin. If anybody steals any ordinary thing, he goes to Nakra Mukha Kunda and lives there for three years, greatly tormented by My messengers. Next for seven births, he becomes a diseased ox. Then he attains a very diseased man-birth, and ultimately he is freed of his sins. Such are the horrible results. If anybody kills a cow, elephant, horse, or cuts a tree, he goes to Gaja Dams’a Kunda for three yugas. There he is punished by My messengers freely by the teeth of elephants. Then he attains three elephants’ births, three horse-births; then he becomes born as a cow and ultimately he is born a Mlechcha when he becomes pure. If anybody obstructs any thirsty cow from drinking water, he goes to Krimi Kunda and Gomukha Kunda filled with hot water and lives there for one manvantara. Next when he attains a human birth he owns not any cattle nor any wealth; rather he is born as a man, very much diseased, in low castes, for seven births when he becomes freed. If anybody, being born in Bhârata, kills cows, Brâhmins, women, beggars, causes abortions or goes to those not fit to be gone into, he lives in the Kumbhîpâka hell for fourteen Indra’s life periods. There be is pulverised always by My messengers. He is made to fall sometimes in fire, sometimes over thorns, sometimes in hot oil, sometimes in hot water, sometimes in molten iron or copper. That great sinner gets thousand vulture births, hundred boar births, seven crow births and seven serpent births. He then becomes worms of faeces for sixty thousand years. Thus travelling frequently in ox births he at last becomes born as a very poor leper.

29-31. Sâvitrî said :-- “O Bhagavân! What is, according to the S’âstras, Brahmahattyâ (murdering a Brâhmin) and Gohatyâ (killing a cow)? Who are called Agamyâs (women unfit to be approached)? Who are designated as void of Sandhyâ (daily worship of the twice born castes)? Who can be called uninitiated? Who are said to take Pratigrahas (gifts) in a Tîrath? What are the characteristics of a real Grâmayâjî (village priests), Devala, (Brâhmana of an inferior order who subsists upon the offerings made to the images which he attends), the cook of a S’ûdra, of one who is infatuated (Pramatta) and the Vrisalîpati (one who has married an unmarried girl twelve years old in whom menstruation has commenced; a barren woman). Kindly describe all these to me.”

32-91. Dharmarâjan said :-- O Fair Sâvitrî! If anybody makes a distinction between Krisna and His Image or between any Deva and his image, between S’iva and His phallic emblem, between the Sun and the stone Sûrya Kânta (a precious stone of a bright and glittering colour) between Ganes’a and Durgâ, he is said to be guilty of the sin Brahmahattyâ. If anybody makes any difference (superiority or inferiority) between his own Ista Deva (his Deity), his Spiritual Teacher, his natural father, and mother, is certainly involved in the sin of Brahmahattyâ. He who shews any difference (superiority or inferiority) between the devotees of Visnu and those of other Devas, is said to commit Brahmahattyâ. He who makes any difference in matters of respect between the waters of the feet of any Brâhmana and those of S’âlagrâma stone, is said to commit Brahmahattyâ. The difference between the offerings to Hari and Hara leads to Brahmahattyâ. He who shews any difference between Krisna, Who is verily the God of gods, the Cause of all causes, the Origin of all, Who is worshipped by all the Devas, Who is the Self of all, Who is attributeless and without a second yet Who by His Magic powers assumes many forms and who is Is’âna, is said to commit, indeed, the Brahmahattyâ. If any Vaisnava (a devotee of Visnu) abuses and envies a S’akta (a devotee of S’akti), he commits Brahmahattyâ. He who does not worship, according to the Vedas, the Pitris and the Devas or prohibits others in doing so, commits Brahmahattyâ. He who abuses Hrisikes’a, Who is the Highest of the Holy things, Who is Knowledge and Bliss and Who is Eternal, Who is the only God to be served by the Devas and Vaisnavas, and those Who are worshippers of His Mantra, and those who do not worship themselves are said to commit Brahmahattyâ. He who abuses and vilifies Mûlaprakriti Mahâ Devî, Who is of the nature of Causal Brahmâ (Kârana Brahmâ), Who is All Power and the Mother of all, Who is worshipped by all and who is of the nature of all the Devas and the Cause of all Causes, Who is Âdyâ S’akti Bhagavatî, is said to commit Brahmahattyâ. He who does not observe the Holy S’rî Krisna Janmâstami, S’rî Râma Navamî, S’ivarâtri, the Ekâdas’î happening on Sunday, and five other holy Pârvanas (festivals), commits Brahmahattyâ; is considered more sinful than a Chândâla. He who in this land of Bhârata, digs earth on the day of Ambuvâchî or makes water, etc., in the waters of the tanks, is involved in the sin of Brahmahattyâ. He who does not support his spiritual teacher, mother, father, chaste wife, son and daughter, though they are faultless, commits Brahmahattyâ. He whose marriage does not take place during his whole life-time, who does not see the face of his son, who does not cherish devotion to Hari, who eats things unoffered to S’rî Hari, who never worshipped throughout his life Visnu or an earthen symbol of S’iva, verily commits Brahmahattyâ. O Fair One! Now I will recite the characteristics, according to the S’âstras, of Gohattyâ (killing a cow). Listen. If anybody does not prohibit one, seeing one to beat a cow, or if he goes between a cow and a Brâhmin, he is involved in the sin of Gohattyâ. If any illiterate Brâhman, carrying an ox, daily beats with a stick, the cows, certainly he commits the Gohattyâ. If anybody gives the remains of another’s meal to a cow to eat, or feeds a Brâhmin who carries, rather moves or drives, cows and oxen; or eats himself the food of such a Brâhmin driver, he commits Gohattyâ. Those who do sacrifices of the husband of a barren woman (Vrisalî) or eat his food, commit sin equal to one hundred Gohattyâs; there is no doubt in this. Those who touch fire with their feet, beat the cows or enter the temple bathing but not washing their feet, commit Gohattyâ. Those who eat without washing their feet or those who sleep with their feet wetted with water and those who eat just after the Sun has risen, commit Gohattyâ. Those who eat the food of women without husbands or sons or the food of pimps and pampers or those who do not perform their Sandhyâs thrice, commit Gohattyâ. If any woman makes any difference between her husband and the Devatâ, or chastises and uses harsh words to her husband, she commits Gohattyâ. If anybody destroys cow’s pasture land, tanks, or land for forts and cultivates there grains, he commits Gohattyâ. He who does not do Prâyas’chitta (expiation, atonement) for the expiation of the sin of Gohattyâ done by his son (for fear of his son’s life), commits the sin himself. If any trouble arises in the state or from the Devas, and if any master does not protect then his own cows, rather torments them, he is said to commit Gohattyâ. If any Jîva oversteps the image of a Deva, fire, water, offerings to a god, flowers, or food, he commits the great sin Brahmahattyâ. When a guest comes, if the master of the house always says, “there is nothing, nothing with me; no, no,” and if he be a liar, cheat and an abuser of the Devas, he commits the above sin. O fair One! Whoever seeing his spiritual teacher, and a Brâhman, does not bow down and make respectful obeisance to them, commits Gohattyâ. If any Brâhmin, out of sheer anger, does not utter blessings to a man who bows down or does not impart knowledge to a student, he commits Gohattyâ. O Fair One! Thus I have described to you the characteristics, approved by S’âstras, of cow-killing (Gohattyâ) and murdering a Brâhmin(Brahmahattyâ). Now hear which women are (Agamyâs) not fit to be approached and those which are fit to be approached (Gamyâs). One’s own wife is fit to be approached (Gamyâ) and all other women are Agamyâs, so the Pundits, versed in the Vedas, declare. This is a general remark; now hear everything in particular. O Chaste One! The Brâhmin wives of S’ûdras or the S’ûdra wives of Brâhmanas are Atyâgamyâs (very unfit to be approached) and blameable both in the Vedas and in the society. A S’ûdra going to a Brâhmanî woman commits one hundred Brahmahattyâs; so a Brâhmana woman going to a S’ûdra goes to the Kumbhîpâka hell. As a S’ûdra should avoid a Brahmâni, so a Brâhmana should avoid a S’ûdra woman. A Brâhmana going to a S’ûdra woman is recognised a Brisalipati (one who has married an unmarried girl twelve years old in whom menstruation has commenced). So much so that that Brâhmana is considered an outcast and the vilest of the Chândâlas. The offerings of Pindas by him are considered as faeces and water offered by him is considered as urine. Nowhere whether in the Devaloka or in the   Pitriloka, his offered Pindas and water are accepted. Whatever religious merits he has acquired by worshipping the Devas, and practising austerities for Koti births, he loses all at once by the greed of enjoying the S’ûdra woman. There is no doubt in this. A Brâhmin, if he drinks wine, is considered as the husband of a Vrisalî, eating faeces. And if he be a Vaisnava, a devotee of Visnu, his body must be branded with the marks of a Taptamudrâ (hot seal); and if he be a S’aiva, his body is to be branded with the Tapta S’ûla (hot trident). The wife of a spiritual teacher, the wife of a king, step-mother, daughter, son’s wife, mother-in-law, sister of the same father and mother, the wife of one’s brother (of the same father and mother), the wife of a maternal uncle, the father’s mother, mother’s mother, the mother’s sister, sisters, the brother’s daughter, the female disciple, the disciple’s wife, the wife of the sister’s son, the wife of the brother’s son, these all are mentioned by Brahmâ as Atyâgamyâs (very unfit to be approached). The people are hereby warned. If anybody, overpowered by passion, goes to these Atyâgamyâ women, he becomes the vilest of men. The Vedas consider him as if going to his mother and he commits one hundred Brahmahattyâ sins. These have no right to do any actions. They are not to be touched by any. They are blamed in the Vedas, in the society everywhere. Ultimately they go to the dreadful Kumbhîpâka hells. O Fair One! He who performs Sandhyâs wrongly or reads it wrongly or does not perform at all the three Sandhyâs daily, is called as void of Sandhyâ. He is said to remain uninitiated who does not, out of sheer vanity, receive any Mantra, whether he be a Vaisnavite, S’aivite, or a Sun worshipper or the Ganes’a worshipper. Where there is the running stream of the Ganges, lands on either side, four hands in width, are said to be the womb of the Ganges (Gangâ Garbha) Bhagavân Nârâyana incessantly dwells there. This is called the Nârâyana (Ksetra). One goes to Visnupada who dies in such a place. Vârânasî (Benares), Vadarî, the Confluence of the Ganges with the ocean (Ganga-Sâgara), Puskara, Hari Hara Ksettra (in Behar near Châprâ), Prabhâsa, Kâmarûpa, Hardwar, Kedâra, Mâtripura, the banks of the river Sarasvatî, the holy land Bindrâban, Godâvarî, Kaus’ikî, Trivenî (Allahabad), and the Himâlayâs are all famous places of pilgrimages. Those who willingly accept gifts in these sacred places are said to be Tîrthapratigrâhîs (the acceptors of the gifts in the Tîrtha). These Tîrthaprathigrâhîs go in the end to Kumbhîpâka hell. The Brâhmana who acts as priest to the S’ûdras is called S’ûdrayâjî; the village priests are called Grâmayâjîs. Those who subsist on the offerings made to the gods are called Devalas. The cooks of the S’ûdras are called Sûpakâras. Those who are void of Sandhyâ Bandanams are called Pramattas (mad). O Bhadre! These are the marks of the Vrisalîpatis that I have (now) enumerated. These are the Great Sinners (Mahâ Pâtakas). They go ultimately to the Kumbhîpâka hell. O Fair One! I now state by and by the other Kundas (hells) when other people go. Listen.

Here ends the Thirty fourth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the description of the various hells in the Mahâ Purânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 35. On The Description Of The Various Hells For The Various Sinners

1-44. Dharmarâjan said :-- O Chaste One! Without serving the Gods, the Karma ties can never be severed. The pure acts are the seeds of purities and the impure acts lead to impure seeds. If any Brâhmana goes to any unchaste woman and eats her food, he will have to go ultimately to the Kâlasûtra hell. There he lives for one hundred years when ultimately he gets a human birth when he passes his times as a diseased man and ultimately he gets purified. Those women who are addicted to their (one) husbands only are called Pativratâs. Those addicted to two persons are named Kulatâs; to three, are called Dharsinîs; to four, called Pums’chalîs; to five, six persons, called Ves’yâs; to seven, eight, nine persons are called Pungîs; and to more than these, are called Mahâves’yâs. The Mahâves’yâs are unfit to be touched by all the classes. If any Brâhmana goes to Kulatâ, Dharsinî, Pums’chalî, Pungî, Ves’yâ and Mahâves’yâs, he will have to go to the Matsyoda Kunda. Those who go to Kulatâs remain there for one hundred years; those who go to Dharsinîs, remain for four hundred years, those who go to Pums’chalîs for six hundred years; those who go to Ves’yâs, for eight hundred years;  those who go to Pungîs, remain for one thousand years and those who go to Mahâves’yâs remain in the Matsyoda Kunda for ten thousand years. My messengers chastise and beat and torment them very severely. And when their terms expire, the Kulatâ-goers become Tittiris (a bird), the Dharsinî-goers become crows, the Pums’chalî-mongers become cuckoos, the Ves’yâ haunters become wolves; the Pungî-goers become for seven births boars. If any ignorant person eats food during the lunar and solar eclipses, he goes to Aruntuda Kunda for as many years as there are particles in that food. He then becomes born diseased with Gulma (a chronic enlargement of spleen) having no ears nor teeth, and after passing his time so, he becomes freed of his previous sin. If anybody makes a promise to give his daughter to one but he gives actually to a different person, he goes to Pâms’u Kunda where he eats ashes for one hundred years. Again if anybody sells his daughter, he sleeps on a bed of arrows in Pams’uvesta Kunda for one hundred years, chastised and beaten by My messengers. If any Brâhmana does not worship with devotion the phallic emblem of S’iva, he goes to the dreadful S’ûlaprota Kunda for that heinous sin. He remains there for one hundred years; then he becomes a quadruped animal for seven births and again he becomes born a Devala Brâhmin for seven births when he becomes freed. If any Brâhmana defeats another Brâhmana in a bad useless argument and trifles him and makes him tremble, he goes to the Prakampana Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body. If any woman, being very furious with anger, chastises and uses harsh words to her husband, she goes to Ulkâmukha Kunda for as many years as there are hairs on his body. My servants put fiery meteors or torches in her mouth and beat on her head. At the end of the term, she becomes a human being but she has to bear the torments of widowhood for seven births. Then she is again born as diseased; when at last she gets herself freed. The Brâhmana woman, enjoyed by a S’ûdra, goes to the terrible dark Andhakûpa hell, where she remains, day and night, immersed in the impure water and eats that for fourteen Indra’s life periods. Her pains are unbounded and My messengers beat her severely and incessantly.

At the expiry of the term in that hell, she becomes a female crow for thousand births, a female boar for one hundred births, a female fox for one hundred births, a hen for one hundred years, a female pigeon for seven births, and a female monkey for seven births. Then she becomes a Chândâlî in this Bhârata, enjoyed by all. Then she becomes an unchaste woman with the pthisis disease, a washerwoman, and then an oilwoman with leprosy when she becomes freed. O Fair One! The Ves’yâs live in the Vedhana, and Jalarandhra hells; the Pungîs live in the Dandatâdana hell; the Kulatâs live in the Dehachûrna hells; the Svairinîs live in the Dalana hells; the Dharsinîs live in S’osana hells. Their pains know no bounds at all those places. My messengers always beat and chastise them and they eat always the urine and faeces for one Manvantara. Then, at the expiry of their hell period, they become worms of faeces for one lakh years when they become freed. If a Brâhmana goes to another Brâhmana’s wife, if a Ksattriya, Vais’ya and S’ûdra do so, they go to the Kasâya hell. There they drink the hot Kasâya water for twelve years when they become purified. The lotus-born Brahmâ has said that the wives of Brâhmins, Ksattriyas, etc., live in hells like Brâhmins, Ksattriyas, etc., and they then get freed. If a Ksattriya or a Vais’ya goes to a Brâhmin’s wife, he is involved in the sin of his going to his mother and goes and lives in the S’ûrpa hell. There the worms of the size of a S’ûrpa bite that Ksattriya, that Vais’ya and that Brâhmana’s wife. My messengers chastise them and they have to eat the hot urine. Thus they suffer pains for fourteen Indra’s life periods. When they become boars for seven births and goats for seven births, when at last they are freed. Now if anybody makes a false promise or swears falsely, taking the Tûlasî leaf in his hands, if anybody makes a false promise, taking the Ganges water, S’âlagrâma stone, or any other images of God in his hand; if anybody swears falsely, placing his right palm on the palm of another; if anybody swears falsely, being in a temple or touching a Brâhmana or a cow; if anybody acts against his friends or others, if he be treacherous or if he gives a false evidence; then all these persons go to Jvâlâ Mukha hell, and remain there for fourteen Indra’s life periods, chastised and beaten by My messengers and feeling pain as if one’s body is being burnt by red hot coal. One who gives a false evidence, with the Tûlasî (holy basil) in his hand becomes a Chândâla for seven births; one who makes a false promise with the Ganges water in his hand, becomes a Mlechcha for five births; one who swears falsely while touching the S’âlagrâma stone, becomes a worm of the faeces for seven births; one who swears falsely, touching the image of the God, becomes a worm in a Brâhmin’s house for seven births; one who gives a false evidence touching with the right hand, becomes a serpent for seven births; then he becomes born as a Brâhmin, void of the knowledge of the Vedas, when he becomes freed. One who speaks falsely, while in a temple, is born as a Devala for seven births.

45-59. If one swears falsely, touching a Brâhmana, one becomes a tiger. Then he becomes dumb for three births, then for three births he becomes deaf, without wife, without friends, and his family becomes extinct. Then he becomes pure. Those that rebel against their friends, become mongoose; the treacherous persons become rhinoceroses; the hypocrite and treacherous persons become tigers and those who give false evidences become frogs. So much so, that their seven generations above and seven generations below go to hell. If any Brâhmana does not perform his daily duties (Nitya Karma), he is reckoned as Jada  (an inert matter). He has no faith in the Vedas. Rather he laughs at the Vedic customs. He does not observe vows and fastings; he blames others who give good advices. Such persons live in Dhûmrândhakâra hell where they eat dark smoke only. Then he roams about as an aquatic animal for one hundred births successively. Then he becomes born as various fishes when he is freed. If anybody jests at the wealth of a Deva or a Brâhmana, then he with his ten generations above and below becomes fallen and he himself goes to the Dhûmrândhakâra hell, terribly dark and filled with smoke. There his pains know no bounds and he lives there for four hundred years, eating smoke only. Then he becomes a mouse for seven births, and he becomes various birds and worms, various trees and various animals when ultimately he gets a human birth. If a Brâhmin earns his livelihood by being an astrologer or if he be a physician and lives thereby or if he sells lac, iron, or oil, etc., he goes to the Nâgavstana Kunda hell where he lives for as many years as there are hairs on his body, tied up by snakes. Then he becomes born as various birds; ultimately he gets a human birth and becomes an astrologer for seven births and a physician for seven births. Then for sometime he becomes a cowherd (milkman), for sometimes a blacksmith; for sometimes a painter, when he becomes freed of his sin. O Chaste One! Thus I have described to you all the famous Kundas or hells. Besides there are innumerable small Kundas. The sinners go there and suffer the fruits of their own Karmas and travel through various wombs. O Fair One! What more do you now want to hear ? Say.

Here ends the Thirty-Fifth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the description of the various hells for the various sinners in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 36. On The Destruction Of The Fear Of The Yama Of Those Who Are The Worshippers Of The Five Devatâs

1-7. Sâvitrî said :-- “O Dharmarâjan! O Highly Fortunate One! O Thou! Expert in the Vedas and the Amgas thereof! Now kindly describe that which is the essence of the various Purânas and Itihâsas, which is the quintessence, which is dear to all, approved of by all, which is the seed by which the Karmic ties are cut asunder, which is high, noble and happy is this life. Kindly describe the above by which man can acquire all his desires, and what is the only source of all the good and auspicious things. All by knowing which man has not to face any dangers or troubles, nor has he to go to the dreadful hells that thou hast severally just now described and that by which men can be freed of those various wombs. Kindly now describe all these. O Bhagavan! What is the size of the several kundas or hells that Thou hast just now enumerated? How do the sinners dwell there? When a man departs, his body is reduced to ashes. Then of what sort is that other body by which the sinners enjoy the effects of their Karmas and why do not those bodies get destroyed when they suffer so much pains for so long a time? What sort of body is that? Kindly describe all these to me.”

8-33. Nârâyana spoke :-- Hearing the questions put forward by Sâvitrî, Dharmarâja remembered S’rî Hari and began to speak on subject that sever the bonds of Karma :-- O Child! O One of good vows! In the four Vedas, in all the books on Dharma, (Smritis) in all the Samhitâs, all the Itihâsas, all the Purânas, in the Nârada Pañcharâtram, in the other Dharma S’âstras and in the Vedângas, it is definitely stated that the worship of the Pañcha Devatâs (the five Devatâs) S’iva, S’akti Visnu, Ganes’a, and Sûrya is the best, the highest, the destroyer of the old age, disease, death, evils and sorrows, the most auspicious and leading to the highest bliss. In fact, the worship of these Pañcha Devatâs is the source of acquiring all the Siddhis (the success) and saves one from going to the hells. From their worship springs the Bhaktic Tree and then and then only the Root of the Tree of all Karmic bonds is severed for ever and ever. This is the step to Mukti (final liberation) and is the indestructible state. By this one can get Sâlokya, Sârsti, Sârûpya, and Sâmîpya, the different state of beatitudes in which the soul (1) resides in the same world with the Deity, (2) possesses the same station, condition, or rank, or equality with the Supreme Being in power and all the Divine attributes (the last of the four grades of Mukti), (3) possesses the sameness of form or gets assimilated to the Deity or (4) gets intimately united, identified or absorbed into the Deity. O Auspicious One! The worshipper of these five Devatâs has never to see any of the hells, watched by My messengers. Those who are devoid of the devotion to the Devî see My abode; but those who go to the Tîrthas of Hari, who hold Harivâsaras (festivities on the days of Hari) who bow down at the feet of Hari and worship Hari, never come to My abode named Samyamana. Those Brâhmanas that are purified by their performing the three Sandhyâs and by the following the pure Âchâras (customs and observances), those that find no pleasure until they worship the Devî, those that are attached to their own Dharmas and their own Âchâras, never come to My abode.

My terrible messengers, seeing the devotees of S’iva, run away out of terror as snakes run away terrified by Garuda. I also order My messengers with nooses in their hands never to go to them. My messengers go mostly to other persons than the servants of Hari. No sooner do My Messengers see the worshippers of the Krisna Mantra, than they run away as snakes get terrified at the sight of Garuda. Chitragupta, too, one of the beings in Yama’s world, recording the vices and virtues of mankind, strike off the names of the Devî worshippers, out of fear and prepare Madhuparka, etc., for them (a mixture of honey; respectful offering made to a guest or to the bridegroom on his arrival at the door of the father of the bride). They rise higher than the Brahmâ Lokas and go to the Devî’s abode, i.e., to Manidvîpa. Those that are the worshippers of the S’akti Mantra and are highly fortunate, whose contact removes the sins of others, they deliver the thousand generations (from the downward course). As bundles and bundles of dry grasses become burnt to ashes, no sooner they are thrown into fire, so the delusion at once becomes itself deluded at the sight of the forms of those devotees. At their sight, lust, anger, greed, disease, sorrow, old age, death, fear, Kâla (time that takes away the life of persons), the good and bad karmas, pleasures and enjoyments drop off to a great distance. O Fair One! Now I have described to you the states of those persons that are not under the control of Kâla, good and bad karmas, pleasures and enjoyments, etc., and those that do not suffer those pains. Now I am speaking of this visible body. Listen. Earth, water, fire, air, and ether are the five Mahâ Bhûtas (the great elements); these are the seeds of this visible body of the person and are the chief factors in the work of creation. The body that is made up of earth and other elements is transient and artificial, i.e., that body becomes burnt to ashes. Within this visible body, bound, is there a Purusa of the size of a thumb; that is called the Jîva Purusa; the subtle Jîva assumes those subtle bodies for enjoying the effects of karmas. In My world, that subtle body is not burnt by the burning fire. If that subtle body be immersed in water, if that be beaten incessantly or if it be struck by a weapon or pierced by a sharp thorn, that body is not destroyed. That body is not burnt nor broken by the burning hot and molten material, by the red hot iron, by hot stones by embracing a hot image or by falling into a burning cauldron. That body has to suffer incessant pains. O Fair One! Thus I have dwelt on the subject of the several bodies and the causes thereof according to the S’âstras. Now I will describe to you the characters of all the other Kundas. Listen.

Here ends the Thirty-sixth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the destruction of the fear of the Yama of those who are the worshippers of the Five Devatâs, in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 37. On The Eighty-Six Kundas And Their Characteristics

1-60. Dharmarâja said :-- All the Kundas (hells) are circular in form like the Full Moon. Of these, the Vahnikunda has the fire lit at its bottom, by the help of various kinds of stones. This Kunda will not be destroyed till Mahâpralaya comes. Here the sinners are tormented severely. It looks like a blazing coke. The flames are rising from it one hundred hands high. In circumference those flames are two miles. This is named Vahnikunda. It is full of sinners crying loudly. It is constantly watched by My messengers who are chastising and punishing the sinners. Next comes the Tapta Kunda. It is filled with hot water and full of rapacious animals. The sinners there are severely beaten by My messengers and they are always crying out very loudly, which is being echoed and re-echoed all around terribly. It extends for one mile. This Kunda is filled with hot salt water and the abode of many crows. Then there is the Bhayânaka Kunda. It extends for two miles and it is filled with sinners. They are being punished by My messengers and they are incessantly crying, “Save us, save us.”

Next comes the Visthâ Kunda. It is filled with faeces and excrements where the sinners are moving without any food and with their palate and throats dry. Its size is two miles and it is very bad and ugly with foetid and nasty smell. It is always filled with sinners, who are being chastised by My Dûtas (messengers) and eat those faeces and excrements. The worms therein are constantly biting and stinging them and they are crying, “deliver us, deliver us.” Then comes the hot Mûttra Kunda. It is filled with the hot urine and the worms thereof. The great sinners always dwell here. It measures four miles; and it is quite dark. My Dûtas always beat them and their throats, lips, palates are all dry. Then comes the S’lesma Kunda. It is filled with phlegm and the insects thereof. The sinners dwell in phlegm and eat that phlegm. Then comes the Gara Kunda. It is filled with (factitious) poison. It measures one mile. The sinners eat this poison and dwell here. The worms thereof bite them. They tremble at the chastisement of My Dûtas and cry aloud. My messengers look like serpents, with teeth like thunderbolt and they are very furious and fierce, with their throats dry and their words very harsh. Then comes Dûsikâ Kunda. It is filled with the rheum and dirt of the eyes and it measures one mile. Innumerable worms are born therein. Numberless sinners live there, and as they move, the insects immediately bite and sting them. Next comes the Vasâ Kunda. It is filled with the serum or marrow of the flesh and it measures one-half mile. The sinners dwell there, chastised and punished by My messengers. Then comes the S’ukra Kunda. It measures two miles in diameter. The insects, born in the semen, bite the sinners, and they move on and on. Then comes the Rakta Kunda, with very offensive, foetid smell. It is deep like a well and filled with blood. The sinners dwell here, drinking blood. The insects therein are always biting them. Then follows the As’ru Kunda. It measures in size one fourth the measure of the well (above-mentioned). It is always filled with hot tears of the eyes; and many sinners are seen there living weeping and crying and being bitten by the snakes. Then there is the Gâtra Mala Kunda. The sinners are chastised and punished there by My messengers and being bitten by the insects thereof, they eat the dirts of the body and dwell there. Then comes the Karna Mala Kunda. The sinners eat the wax of the ear and fill the place. The insects always bite them and they are crying aloud. It measures one fourth the measure of a Vâpî. Then comes the Majjâ Kunda. It is filled with fat and marrow, emitting foetid offensive odour. It measures one fourth the measure of a Vâpî. The great sinners always dwell there. Then comes the Mâmsa Kunda. This is filled with the greasy flesh. It measures (one-fourth) that of a Vâpî. Those who sell their daughters dwell here. My messengers always chastise and punish them and horrible insects bite and sting them and they cry, out of fear and agony, “Save us, save us,” and eat at times that flesh. Then come in succession the four Kundas Nakha, Loma and others. They also measure each one-fourth that of a Vâpî. The sinners dwell there, always chastised by My messengers. Next comes the very hot Tâmra Kunda. Burning cokes exist on the top of very hot coppers. There are lakhs and lakhs of very hot copper figures in that Kunda. The sinners, being compelled by My messengers, are made to embrace each of these hot copper figures and they cry loudly and live there. It measures four miles. Then come the burning Angâra Kunda and the hot Lauha Dhâra Kunda. Here the sinners are made to embrace the hot iron figures and, feeling themselves burnt, cry out of fear and agony. Whenever My messengers punish them, they immediately cry out, “Save us, save us.” It measures eight miles; and it is pitch dark and very awful. This is named the hot Lauha Kunda. Then come the Charma Kunda and Surâ Kunda. The sinners, beaten by My men, eat the skin and drink the hot urine and dwell there. Then comes the S’âlmalî Kunda; it is overspread with thorns and thorny trees, causing intense pain. It measures two miles. Millions and millions of great sinners are made by My men to fall from the tops of those trees down below where their bodies get pierced by very sharp thorns, six feet long; and thus they dwell there, beaten by My men. Out of thirst, their palates get dried up; and they cry out repeatedly, “Water, water.” Out of fear, they get very anxious and then their heads get broken by the clubs brought down on them by My men. So they move there like the beings burnt in very hot oil. Then comes the Visoda Kunda. It measures two miles in diameter and is filled with the poison of the serpent called Taksakas. My men punish the sinners and they drink the poison thereof and dwell there. Then comes the hot Taila Kunda. There are no insects here. Only the great sinners dwell. All around burning coals are flaring and when My men beat the sinners, they run hither and thither. It is filled with horrible intense darkness and it is exceedingly painful. It looks dreadful and measures two miles. Then comes the Kunta Kunda. Sharp pointed iron weapons like tridents are placed in order all round. The sinners, pierced by those weapons, are seen encircling the Kunda. It measures one-half mile. Beaten by My men, their throats and lips get dried up. Then comes the Krimi Kunda. It is filled with terrible worms and insects, snake-like with sharp teeth, of the size of a S’anku (a Sâl tree) deformed and hideous looking; and it is filled with pitch darkness, terrible to look at. Beaten by My men, the great sinners dwell there. Then comes the Pûya Kunda. It measures eight miles in diameter (or in circumference?). The sinners dwell and eat the pus thereof and, are beaten by My men. Then comes the Sarpa Kunda. Millions and millions of snakes of the length of a Tâl tree are existing there. These serpents encircle the sinners and as they bite them, My men also beat them at the same time. So there arises a general hue and cry, “Save us, save us; we are done for.” Then come in order the Dams’a Kunda, Mas’aka Kunda, and the Garala Kunda. These are filled with gad-flies, mosquitoes, and poison respectively. Each of them measures one mile. The sinners’ hands and feet are tied up. So when the gad-flies and mosquitoes fiercely sting them, and My men violently beat them simultaneously, they raise a loud uproar and are made to move on, in their tied states by My persons. Their bodies get thoroughly reddened and covered with blood by the stinging of the flies, etc. Then come the Vajra Kunda and the Vris’chika Kunda filled respectively with Vajra insects and the scorpions. Each of them measures one-half that of the Vâpî. The sinners that dwell there, are incessantly bitten by insects (Vajras and scorpions). Then come in order the S’ara Kunda, S’ûla Kunda, and the Khadga Kundas. They are filled respectively with arrows, spikes, and scimitars. Each of them measures one half that of the Vâpî. The sinners are pierced by arrows, etc., and become covered over with blood and dwell there. Then comes the Gola Kunda. It is filled with boiling hot water and it is pitch dark. The sinners live there, bitten by the insects. This Kunda measures half that of the Vâpî. The insects bite them and My men beat them so their fear knows no bounds; everyone of them is weeping and crying loudly. This Kunda is filled with hideously offensive smells. So the pains of the sinners are infinite. The Nakra Kunda comes next. It measures half the Vâpî, is filled with millions and millions of crocodiles living in water. The horrible looking deformed sinners live there. The Kâka Kunda then follows. The sinners here are being bitten by hundreds of deformed crows eating faeces, urines and phlegm. Then come the Manthâna Kunda and Vîja Kunda. These are filled respectively with insects called Manthâna and Vîja. Each of them measures one hundred Dhanus (one Dhanu - four hastas). Those insects are stinging the sinners and they cry out very loudly. Then follows the Vajra Kunda. It measures one hundred Dhanus. Many insects with their teeth as hard as thunderbolt live there and bite the sinners who cry out loudly. It is pitch dark. Then comes the hot Pâsâna Kunda. It measures twice that of the Vâpî. It is so built of hot stones as it resembles a burning mass of coal. The sinners become restless with the heat and turn round and round in the middle. Then comes the Pâsâna Kunda and the Lâlâ Kunda. The Pâsâna Kunda is made up of the sharp pointed stones, having sharp edges. Innumerable sinners dwell there. Many red beings live in the Lâlâ Kunda. Then comes the Mapî Kunda. Its size is one hundred Dhanus and its depth is two miles. It is made up of hot stones, each measuring the Anjana mountain. The sinners, beaten and driven by My persons, move on and on in the middle. Then comes the Chûrna Kunda. It measures two miles (in circumference) and is filled with (seven) chûrnas (powders). The sinners, driven and beaten by My men, go on, restless hither and thither and eat the powders and get themselves burnt. Then comes the Chakra Kunda. Here a potter’s wheel with sixteen sharp-edged spokes is constantly whirling round and round; the sinners are being crushed by this wheel.

61-80. Then comes the Vakra Kunda. Its depth is eight miles. lt is fashioned very much curved; and with and sharp slope it has gone down. It is built on the plan of a mountain cave, filled with hot water and it is enveloped with deep dense darkness. The aquatic animals there are biting the sinners, who got very much restless and are crying out very loudly. Then comes the Kûrma Kunda. Here millions and millions of tortoises in the water awfully distorted, are biting the sinners. Then comes the Jvâlâ Kunda. It is built of fierce fiery flames. It measures two miles in circumference. The sinners here are always in great difficulty, with intense pain and crying out loudly. Next follows the Bhasma Kunda. It measures two miles. The sinners get themselves well burnt in hot ashes and live there, eating the ashes. It is filled with hot stones and hot irons. The sinners here are always being burnt in hot irons and hot stones and their throats and palates are being parched up. Then comes the Dagdha Kunda. It is deep and horrible. It measures two miles in circumference. My messengers threaten always the sinners there. Then comes the Sûchî Kunda. It is filled with salt water. Waves are always rising there. It is filled with various aquatic animals making all sorts of noises. It measures eight miles in circumference and it is deep and dark. The sinners here cannot see each other and are bitten by the animals. Pained very much, they cry out loudly. Then comes the Asipattra Kunda. On the top surface of the Kunda there is a very big Tâl tree very high. The edges of the leaves of this tree are sharp like the edge of a sword. One mile below this Tâl tree is situated the Kunda. The sharp-edged Tâl leaves, then, fall on the bodies of the sinners from the height of a mile and they get cut and wounded; blood comes out of them and the sinners, in great pain, cry out “save, save.” It is very deep, very dark and filled with Rakta Kîta a kind of blood like insects. This is the horrible Asipatra Kunda. Next comes the Ksura Dhâra Kunda, measuring one hundred Dhanus (one Dhanu - four hastas). It is filled with keen-edged weapons, as sharp as nice razors. The blood of the sinners is flowing here profusely. Then comes the Sûchî Mukha Kunda, filled with sharp weapons of the form of long needles. It measures fifty Dhanus. The sinners get pierced by them end are constantly emitting blood. Their intense pain knows no bounds. Then comes the Gokâmukha Kunda; inhabited by a sort of insect, called Gokâ. They look like mouths; hence they are named Gokâmukha. It is deep like a well and it measures twenty Dhanus. The great sinners suffer an intense amount of pain there. They have got to keep their mouths always downwards as the Gokâ insects always bite and sting them. Then comes the Nakra Kunda. It resembles like the mouth of a crocodile and measures sixteen Dhanus. It is deep like a well and numbers of sinners dwell there. Then comes the Gaja Dams’a Kunda. It measures one hundred Dhanus. Next comes the Gomukha Kunda. It measures thirty Dhanus and resembles the mouth of a cow. It gives incessant pains and troubles to the sinners.

81-101. Then comes the Kumbhîpâka Kunda. It is like a wheel resembling that of this Kâlachakra, very horrible; and it is rotating incessantly. It looks like a water-jar, measuring eight miles, and it is quite dark. Its depth is one lakh Purusas of the height of 100,000 persons. There are many other Kundas, Tapta Taila Kunda and Tapta Taila Tâmra Kunda, etc., within it. This Kunda is filled with almost unconscious great sinners and insects. They beat each other and cry out loudly. My messengers also threaten them with clubs and Musalas. So at times they fall dizzy-headed, at times they get unconscious, and sometimes they get up and cry. O Fair One! The numbers of sinners here equal to four times that of all the other sinners in all the other Kundas. They know no death, however much you beat them. Their lives persist. For the body is built up for sufferance, it is indestructible. This Kumbhîpâka Kunda is the chief of all the Kundas. This Kunda where the sinners are tied to a thread built by Kâla, where My men lift the sinners on high at one time, and sink them down below at another time, where the sinners becoming suffocated for a long time, get unconscious, where their sufferings know no bounds, where it is filled with boiling oil, is named the Kâlasutra Kunda. Then comes the Matsyoda Kunda, hollow like a well. It is filled with boiling water and it measures twenty-four Dhanus. Next comes the Abatoda Kunda. It measures one hundred Dhanus. The sinners get their bodies burned and chastised by My persons, live there. No sooner they drop into the water of this Kunda, then they are attacked with all sorts of diseases. Then comes the Krimikantuka Kunda. The sinners are bitten by the Krimi Kantuka insects and cry out loudly, creating a general consternation and live there. Its another name is Aruntuda Kunda. Next comes the Pâms’u Kunda. It measures one hundred Dhanus. It is overspread with burning rice husks. The sinners eat those hot husks and live there. Then comes the Pas’avestana Kunda. It measures two miles. No sooner the sinners fall in this Kunda than they are twined round by this rope or Pâs’a. Hence its name. Then comes the Sûlaprota Kunda. It measures twenty Dhanus. No sooner the sinners fall here than they are encircled with the Sûlâstra (darts). Then comes the Prakampana Kunda. It measures one mile. It is filled with ice-cold water. The sinners, going there, shiver at once. Next follows the Ulka Kunda. It measures twenty Dhanus. It is filled with burning to ashes and meteors. My messengers thrust the torches and meteors into the mouths of the sinners living there. Next comes the Andha-Kûpa Kunda. It is pitch-dark, shaped like a well, circular and very horrible. The sinners beat each other and eat the insects thereof. Their bodies are burnt with hot water; they cannot see anything on account of dire darkness.

102-118. The Kunda where the sinners are pierced by various weapons is known as the Vedhana Kunda. It measures twenty Dhanus. Then comes the Dandatâdana Kunda. It measures sixteen Dhanus. The sinners dwell here, threatened by My messengers. Then comes the Jâlarandhra Kunda. Here the sinners live encompassed by a great net as fishes, etc., are tied in a net. Next comes the Dehachûrna Kunda. It is quite dark and its depth is that of the height of one koti persons; its circumference is twenty Dhanus. The sinners, here, encompassed by iron chains are made to fall below where their bodies are reduced to powders and they are inert and almost unconscious. The Kunda where the sinners are crushed and threatened by My messengers is known as the Dalana Kunda; it measures sixteen Dhanus in circumference. Next comes the S’osana Kunda. It is deep up to the height of one hundred persons and it is very dark. It measures thirty Dhanus. On falling on the hot sand, the throats and palates of sinners get dried up. Their pain knows no bounds. Hence it is called the S’osana Kunda. Then comes the Kasa Kunda. It measures one hundred Dhanus. It is filled with the juices of skins and its smell is very offensive. The sinners eat those astringent waters and live there. Then comes S’ûrpa Kunda. It measures twelve Dhanus and is extended like a winnowing basket. It is filled with hot iron dust and many sinners live there, eating those foetid iron dusts. Next comes the Jvâlâmukha Kunda. It is filled with red hot sand. From the (bottom) centre rises a flame, over-spreading the mouth of the Kunda. It measures twenty Dhanus. The sinners are burnt here by the flame and live awfully; they get fainted no sooner they are dropped in this Kunda. Then comes the Dhumrândha Kunda. It is dark, quite filled with smoke. Within that the hot bricks are placed. The sinners get suffocated with smoke; and their eye-sight becomes also obstructed. It measures one hundred Dhanus. Then comes the Nâgabestana Kunda. It is encircled and filled with the serpents. No sooner the sinners are let fall there, than they are surrounded by the snakes. O Sâvitrî! Thus I have spoken to you about the eighty-six Kundas and their characteristics. Now what more do you want to hear? Say.

Here ends the Thirty-seventh Chapter of the Ninth Book on the eighty-six Kundas and their characteristics in the Mahâ Purânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 38. On The Glories Of The Devî And On The Nature Of Bhakti

1-6. Sâvitrî said :-- “O Lord! Give me the devotion to the Devî to that Âdyâ S’akti Bhagavatî Mahâ Mâye, Parames’varî Mâyî that is the Essence of all essences, the Door of final liberation to the human beings, and the Cause of delivering them from hells, that is the Root of all the Dharmas that lead to Mukti, that destroys all the inauspiciousness, that takes away the fear of all the Karmas, and that takes away always all the sins committed before. O Thou, the Foremost amongst the knowers of the Vedas! How many kinds of Muktis are there in this world? What is the True Bhakti? What are its characteristics? What is to be done by which the enjoyment of the karmas done can be desisted and nullified? O Bhagavân! The woman kind has been created by the Creator as devoid of any Tattvajñâna or true knowledge; now tell me something about this True Knowledge. All the charities, sacrifices, bathing in the sacred places of pilgrimages, observing vows and austerities cannot be compared with one sixteenth of imparting knowledge to those who are ignorant (of true knowledge). Mother is hundred times superior to father; this is certain; but the Spiritual Teacher, the Giver of True Knowledge, is hundred times more to be reverenced and worshipped than the mother. O Lord!”

7-79. Dharmarâja said :-- O Child! What boons you desired of Me before, I granted them all to you. Now I grant this boon to you that, “Let the devotion towards the S’akti now arise in your mind.” O Auspicious One! You want to hear the reciting of the Glories of S’rî Devî; by this, both he who puts forward the question and he who hears the answer, all their families are delivered. When the S’esa Nâga Ananta Deva with His thousand mouths is unable to recite the glories of the Devî, when Mahâdeva cannot describe with His five mouths, when the Creator Brahmâ is incapable to recite Her glories with His four mouths, when Visnu, the Omniscient, falls back, when Kârtîkeya with His six mouths cannot sufficiently describe, when Ganes’a, the Guru of the Gurus of the great yogis is incapable, when the Pundits, the knowers of the four Vedas, the Essence of all the S’âstras, cannot know even a bit of Her, when Sarasvatî becomes inert in going to describe Her glories; when Sanatkumara, Dharma, Sanâtana, Sananda, Sanaka, Kapila, Sûrya and other sons of the Creator have fallen back, when the other Siddhas, Yogîndras, Munîndras are quite incapable to glorify the deeds of Prakriti Devî, then how can I recite fully the Glories of Her? Whose lotus-feet Brahmâ, Visnu, S’iva and others meditate; and lo! when it becomes difficult for Her devotees even to think of Her, then what wonder is there that She will be so very rare to others! Brahmâ, skilled in the knowledge of the Vedas knows more of Her than what other ordinary persons know so little of Her auspicious Glories. More than Brahmâ, Ganes’a, the Guru of the Jñânins, knows; again S’ambhu, the Omniscient, knows the best of all. For, in ancient times, the knowledge of the Prakriti Devî was given to Him by Krisna, the Highest Spirit in a solitary place in the Râsa Mandalam in the region of Goloka. Mahâdeva, again, gave it to Dharma in the S’ivaloka; Dharma again gave the Prakriti Mantra to My father. My father became successful (Siddha) in the worship of Prakriti Devî when he practised austerities. Of old, the Devas wanted to offer to me the Government of the Yama Loka; but as I was very much dispassionate towards the world, I became unwilling and became ready to perform austerities. Then my Father told the Glories of Prakriti Devî. Now I describe to you what I heard from my Father and what is stated in the Vedas, though very difficult to comprehend. Listen carefully. O Fair Faced One! As the eternal space does not know its own extent, so Prakriti Devî Herself knows not Her own Glories; then what can be said of any other person on this! She is the Self of all, endowed with all powers and lordship, the Cause of all causes, the Lord of all, the Origin of all and the Preserver of all; She is Eternal, always with Her Cosmic Body, full of everlasting bliss, without any special form, unrestrained, having no fear, without any disease and decay, unattached, the Witness of all, the Refuge of all, and Higher than the Highest; She is with Mâyâ and She is Mûla Prakriti; the objects created by Her being known as the Prakriti creation; Who remains as Prakriti and Purusa inseparable from each other as Agni and Her burning force; the Mahâ Mâyâ, of the nature of everlasting existence, intelligence and bliss. Though formless, She assumes forms for the gratification of the desires of Her Bhaktas. She created first the beautiful form of Gopâla Sundarî, i.e., the form of S’rî Krisna very lovely and beautiful, captivating the mind. His body is blue like the fresh rain cloud; He is young and dressed like that of a cow herd. Millions of Kandarpas (the Love deity) are, as it were, playing in his body. His eyes vie with the midday lotus of the autumn. The beauty of His face throws under shade the millions and millions of the Full Moon. His body is decorated with invaluable ornaments decked with jewels. Sweet smile reigns ever in His lips; it is adorned moreover with His yellow coloured invaluable robe. He is Parama Brahmâ. His whole body is burning with the Brahmâ Teja, the Fire of Brahmâ.

His Body is Fiery. He is lovely, sweet to look at, of a peaceful temper, the Lord of Râdhâ and He is Infinite. (Note :-- The Universe; as we see, is unreal like what we see in the kaleidoscope; various apparent pictures of an endless variety of beautiful colours and forms.) He is sitting on a jewel throne in the Râsa Mandalam, and is incessantly looked upon by the smiling lovely Gopîs at one and the same time. He is two-armed. A garland made of wild flowers is hanging from His neck. He is playing on His flute. His breast is resplendent with Kaustubha gem that He always wears. His body is anointed with Kunkuma (saffron), aguru (the fragrant and cooling paste of the Aguru wood), musk, and sandal-paste. The garland of beautiful Champaka and Mâlatî flowers is hanging from His neck. On His head, the beautiful crest is being seen, a little obliquely situated in the form of the beautiful Moon. Thus the Bhaktas, filled with Bhaktis, meditate on Him. O Child! It is through His fear that the Creator is doing His work of creation of this Universe; and is recording the Prârabdha fruits of their Karmas. It is through His fear that Visnu is awarding the fruits of Tapas and preserving the Universe. By His command the Kâlagni Rudra Deva is destroying all. By Whose favour S’iva has become Mrityumjaya, the Conqueror of Death and the Foremost of the Jñânins; knowing whom S’iva has become Himself endowed with knowledge and the Lord of the knowers of knowledge, full of the Highest Bliss, devotion and dispassion. Through Whose fear the wind becomes the foremost of runners and carries things, the Sun gives heat, Indra gives rain, Yama destroys, Agni burns, and Water cools all the things. By Whose command the Regents of the (ten) quarters of the sky are watching and preserving nice orders; through Whose fear the planets are describing their several orbits. Through Whose fear, trees flower and yield fruits; By Whose command the Kâla destroys all. By Whose command all the beings whether on land or in water are quitting their lives in time; until the proper time comes no man does not die even if he be pierced whether in battle or in danger. By Whose command the wind supports the water; the water supports the tortoise; the tortoise supports the Ananta and the Ananta supports the earth; the earth supports the oceans, mountain and all the jewels. The earth is of the nature of forgiveness, i.e., endures all. For this reason all things, moving and non-moving, rest on Her and again melt away in Her. Seventy-one Divine Yugas constitute one Indra’s life period. Twenty-eight Indra’s life periods constitute Brahmâ’s one day and one night. Thus thirty days constitute Brahmâ’s one month; so two months constitute one Ritu (season); six Ritus make one year. Thus one hundred years constitute Brahmâ’s life. When Brahmâ dies, S’rî Hari’s eye closes. That is the Prâkritik Pralaya. At this time, everything, moving and non-moving, from the Deva loka to Bhûr loka (earth) dies. The Creator Brahmâ gets dissolved in the navel of S’rî Krisna. The four-armed Visnu, of Vaikuntha, sleeps on Ksîra Samudra, the ocean of milk, i.e., He dissolves on the left side of S’rî Krisna, the Highest Spirit. All the other S’aktis (forces) dissolve in Mûla Prakriti, the Mâyâ of Visnu. The Mûla Prakriti Durgâ, the Presiding Deity of Buddhi (reason) dissolves in the Buddhi of Krisna. Skanda, the part of Nârâyana, dissolves in His breast. Gane’sa, the foremost of the Devas, born in part of Krisna, dissolves in the arm of S’rî Krisna. And those who are born in parts of Padmâ, dissolve in Her body and Padmâ dissolves in the body of Râdhâ. All the cow-herdesses and all the bodies of the Devas dissolve in Râdhâ’s body. But Râdhâ, the Presiding Deity of the Prâna of S’rî Krisna, dissolves in the Prâna of S’rî Krisna. Sâvitrî, the four Vedas and all the S’âstras dissolve in Sarasvatî; and Sarasvatî gets dissolved in the tongue of S’rî Krisna, the Highest Self. The Gopâs in the region of Goloka dissolve in the pores of His skin; the Prâna Vâyu of all dissolve in His Prâna Vâyu; the fire dissolves in the fire in His belly; water dissolves in the tip of His tongue, and the Vaisnavas, (devotees of Visnu), drinking the nectar of Bhakti, the Essence of all essences, dissolve in His lotus-feet. All smaller Virâts dissolve in the Great Virât and the Great Virât dissolves in the Body of S’rî Krisna. O Child! He is Krisna, on the pores of Whose skin are situated endless Universes; at the closing of Whose eyes, the Prâkritic Pralaya comes and on the opening of Whose eyes, the creation takes place. The closing and opening of the eyes takes the same time. Brahmâ’s creation lasts one hundred years and the Pralaya lasts one hundred years. O One of good vows! There is no counting how many Brahmâs or how many creations and dissolutions have taken place. As one cannot count the number of dusts, so one cannot count the creations and dissolutions. This is the Great Unspeakable Wonder! Again on Whose closing of the eyes the Pralaya takes place and on whose opening of the eyes the creation takes place, out of the will of God, That Krisna dissolves at the time of Pralaya in Prakriti. This Highest S’akti, the Mûla Prakriti is the Only One without a second; it is the only one Nirguna and the Highest Purusa. It is considered as “Sat” existing, by the Seers of the Vedas. Such a thing as Mûla Prakriti is the unchanged state (Mukti). During the Pralaya, this only One Mûla Prakriti appears as Jñâna S’akti or the Knowledge Force. Who can in this universe recite Her glories? Mukti is of four kinds.

(1) Sâlokya, (2) Sârûpya, (3) Sâmîpya and (4) Nirvâna. So it is stated in the Vedas. Out of them Bhakti towards the Deva is the highest; so much so that the Deva Bhakti is superior to Mukti. Mukti gives Sâlokya, Sârûpya, Sâmîpya, and Nirvâna. But the Bhaktas do not want anything. They want service of the Lord. They do not want anything else. The state of becoming S’iva, of becoming an Amara or an immortal, becoming a Brahmâ, the birth, death, disease, old age, fear, sorrow, or wealth, or assuming a divine form, or Nirvâna or Moksa all are looked on alike by the Bhaktas with disregard and contempt. Because Mukti is without any service while Bhakti increases this service. Thus I have told you the difference between Bhakti and Mukti. Now hear about the cutting off of the fruits of the past Karmas. O Chaste one! This service of the Highest Lord severs the ties of Karmas (past acts). This service is really the True Knowledge. So, O Child! I have now told you the Real Truth, leading to auspicious results. Now you can go freely as you desire. Thus saying to Sâvitrî, Yama, the son of Sûrya, gave life back to her husband and blessing her, became ready to go to His own abode. Seeing Dharmarâja ready to go away, Sâvitrî became sorry to have the bereavement of a good company, bowed down at His feet and began to cry. Yama, the Ocean of Mercy, hearing the crying of Sâvitrî began to weep and told the following words :--

80-96. Dharma said :-- O Child! You enjoy in this holy Bhârata happiness for one lakh years and you will in the end go to the Devîloka or Mani Dvîpa. Now go back to your house and observe for fourteen years the vow called Sâvitrî-vrata for the mukti of women. This Vrata is to he observed on the fourteenth day of the white fortnight in the month of Jyaistha. Then observe the Mahâ-Laksmî Vrata. Its proper time is the eighth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhâdra. For sixteen years consecutively without any break this vow is to be observed. The woman who practises with devotion this vow, goes to the abode of Mûla Prakriti. You would worship on every Tuesday in every month the Devî Mangala Chandikâ, the giver of all good; on the eighth day in the bright fortnight you should worship Devî Sâsthî (i.e., Devasenâ); you should worship Manasâ Devî, the giver of all siddhis, on the Samkranti day (when the Sun enters another sign) in every year; you should worship Râdhâ, the Central Figure of Râsa, more than the Prâna of Krisna on every Full Moon night in the month of Kârtik and you should observe fasting on the eighth day in the bright fortnight and worship the Visnu Mâyâ Bhagavatî Devî, the Destructrix of all difficulties and dangers.

(Note :-- The Râsa is the playing out of the Vedantic saying of Brahmâ as “Raso vai Sah.” He is of the nature of Râsa, the most sweet and lovely Divine Principle which unites the Rasika and the Rasikâ.) The chaste woman having husband and sons who worships the World Mother Mûla Prakriti, whether in Yantra, or in Mantra or in image, enjoys all pleasures in this world; and, in the end, goes to the Devîloka or Mani Dvîpa. O Child! The worshipper Sâdhaka (one who is in one’s way to success) must worship all the manifestations of the Devî, day and night. At all times one must worship the omnipresent Durgâ, the Highest Îsvarî. There is no other way to attain blessedness than this. Thus saying, Dharmarâja went to His own abode. Sâvitrî, too, with her husband Satyavân went to her home. Both Sâvitrî and Satyavân, when they reached home, narrated all their stories to their friends and acquaintances. In time, by the blessing of Yama, Sâvitrî’s father got sons and father-in-law recovered his eye-sight and kingdom and Sâvitrî Herself got sons. For one lakh years, Sâvitrî enjoyed pleasures in this holy land of Bhârata, and ultimately went with her husband to the Devîloka. Sâvitrî is the Presiding Deity of the Sûryamandalam, the solar orb. The Sun is the central Para Brahmâ. The Gâyatrî Mantra, the Presiding Devî, proves the existence of the highest Brahmâ in the centre of the Sun. Therefore She is called Sâvitrî. Or Her name is Sâvitrî because all the Vedas have come out of Her. Thus I have narrated the excellent anecdote of Sâvitrî, and the fruitions of the Karmas of the several Jîvas. Now what more do you want to hear? Say.

Here ends the Thirty-eighth Chapter in the Ninth Book on the glories of the Devî and on the nature of Bhakti in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 39. On The Story Of Mahâ Laksmî

1-3 Nârada said :-- “O Lord! I have heard in the discourse on Sâvitrî and Yama about the Formless Devî Mûla Prakriti and the glories of Sâvitrî, all true and leading to the endless good. Now I want to hear the story of the Devî Laksmî. O Thou, the Chief of the knowers of the Vedas! What is the nature of Laksmî? By whom was She first worshipped? and by what Mantra? Kindly describe Her glories to me.”

4-33. Nârâyana said :-- Of old, in the beginning of the Prâkritik Creation, from the left side of Krisna, the Supreme Spirit, appeared in the Râsamandalam (the Figure Dance) a Devî. She looked exceedingly handsome, of a dark blue colour, of spacious hips, of thin waist, and with high breast, looking twelve years old, of steady youth, of a colour of white Champaka flower and very lovely. The beauty of Her face throws under shade millions and millions of autumnal full moons. Before Her wide expanded eyes, the midday lotus of the autumnal season becomes highly ashamed. By the Will of God, this Devî suddenly divided Herself into two parts. The two looked equal in every respect; whether in beauty, qualities, age, loveliness, colour, body, spirit, dress, ornaments, smile, glance, love, or humanity, they were perfectly equal.

Now she who appeared from the right side is named Râdhâ and she who came from the left side is named Mahâ Laksmî. Râdhâ wanted first the two armed S’rî Krisna, Who was Higher than the highest; then Mahâ Laksmî wanted Him. Râdhâ came out of the right side and wanted first Krisna; so Krisna, too, divided himself at once into two parts. From His right side came out the two-armed and from his left side came out the four-armed. The two-armed person first made over to Mahâ Laksmî the four armed One; then the two armed Person Himself took Râdhâ. Laksmî looks on the whole universe with a cooling eye; hence She is named Laksmî and as She is great, She is called Mahâ Laksmî. And for that reason the Lord of Râdhâ is two-armed and the Lord of Laksmî is four-armed. Râdhâ is pure Aprâ kritic S’uddha Sattva (of the nature of pure Sattva Guna, the illuminating attribute) and surrounded by the Gopas and Gopîs. The four-armed Purusa, on the other hand, took Laksmî (Padmâ) to Vaikuntha. The two-armed person is Krisna; and the four-armed is Nârâyana. They are equal in all respects. Mahâ Laksmî became many by Her Yogic powers (i.e., She remained in full in Vaikuntha and assumed many forms in parts). Mahâ Laksmî of Vaikuntha is full, of pure Sattva Guna, and endowed with all sorts of wealth and prosperity. She is the crest of woman-kind as far as loving one’s husbands is concerned. She is the Svarga Laksmî in the Heavens; the Nâga Laksmî of the serpents, the Nâgas, in the nether regions; the Râja Laksmî of the kings and the Household Laksmî of the householders. She resides in the houses of house-holders as prosperity and the most auspicious of all good things. She is the progenetrix, She is the Surabhi of cows and She is the Daksinâ (the sacrificial fee) in sacrifices. She is the daughter of the milk ocean and she is Padminî, the beauty of the spheres of the Moon and the Sun. She is the lustre and beauty of the ornaments, gems, fruits, water, kings, queens, heavenly women, of all the houses, grains, clothings, cleansed places, images, auspicious jars, pearls, jewels, crest of jewels, garlands, diamonds, milk, sandal, beautiful twigs, fresh rain cloud, or of all other colours. She was first worhipped in Vaikuntha by Nârâyana. Next She was worshipped by Brahmâ and then by S’ankara with devotion. She was worshipped by Visnu in the Kshirode Samudra. Then she was worshipped by Svâyambhuva Manu, then by Indras amongst men, then by Munis, Risis, good householders, by the Gandharbas, in the Gandharbaloka; by the Nâgas in the Nâgaloka. She was worshipped with devotion by Brahmâ for one fortnight commencing from the bright eighth day in the month of Bhâdra and ending on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the three-worlds. She was worshipped by Visnu, with devotion in the three worlds on the meritorious Tuesday in the months of Pausa, Chaitra, and Bhâdra. Manu, also, worshipped Her on the Pausa Sankrânti (the last day of the month of Pausa when the Sun enters another sign) and on the auspicious Tuesday in the month of Mâgha. Thus the worship of Mahâ Laksmî is made prevalent in the three worlds. She was worshipped by Indra, the Lord of the Devas and by Mangala (Mars) on Tuesday. She was then worshipped by Kedâra, Nîla, Subala, Dhruva, Uttânapada, S’akra, Bali, Kas’yapa, Daksa, Kardama, Sûrya, Priyavrata, Chandra, Vâyu, Kuvera, Varuna, Yama, Hutâsana and others. Thus Her worship extended by and by to all the places. She is the Presiding Deity of all wealth; so She is the wealth of all.

Here ends the Thirty-ninth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the story of Mahâ Laksmî in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 40. On The Birth Of Laksmî In The Discourse Of Nârada And Nârâyana

1-2. Nârada said :-- “O Lord! How did the eternal Devî Mahâ Laksmî the dweller in Vaikuntha, the beloved of Nârâyana, the Presiding Deity of Vaikuntha, come down to the earth and how She, became the daughter of the ocean? By whom was She first praised? Kindly describe all these in detail to me and oblige.”

3-10. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! In ancient days when on Durvâsâ’s curse, Indra was dispossesed of his kingdom, all the Devas came down to earth. Laksmî, too, getting angry, quitted the Heavens, out of pain and sorrow and went to Vaikuntha and took the shelter of Nârâyana. The Devas, then, went to Brahmâ with their hearts full of sorrow and, taking Him from there, they all went to Nârâyana in Vaikuntha. Going there they all took refuge of the Lord of Vaikuntha. They were very much distressed and their throats, palate and lips were quite dry. At that time Laksmî, the wealth and prosperity of all, came down on earth by the command of Nârâyana and became born in part as the daughter of the ocean. The Devas, then with the Daityas churned the Ksîroda Ocean and, out of that, Mahâ Laksmî appeared. Visnu looked on Her. Her joy knew no bounds. She smiling, granted boons to the Devas and then offered a garland of flowers on the neck of Nârâyana (as a symbol of marriage celebrated). O Nârada! the Devas, on the other hand, got back their kingdoms from the Asuras. They then worshipped and chanted hymns to Mahâ Laksmî and since then they became free from further dangers and troubles.

11-12. Nârada said :-- “O Bhagavân! Durvâsâ was the best of the Munis; he was attached to Brahmâ and had spiritual knowledge. Why did he curse Indra? What offence had he committed? How did the Devas and Daityas churn the ocean? How, and by what hymns Laksmî became pleased and appeared before Indra? What passed on between them. Say all this, O Lord.”

13-25. Nârâyana said :-- In ancient days, Indra the Lord of the three worlds, intoxicated with wine and becoming lustful and shameless, began to enjoy Rambhâ in a lonely grove. After having enjoyed her, he became attracted to her; his mind being wholly drawn to her, he remained there in that forest, his mind becoming very passionate. Indra then saw the Muni Durvâsâ on his way from Vaikuntha to Kailâs’a burning with the fire of Brahmâ. From the body of the Risi, emitted, as it were, the rays of the thousand midday Suns. On his head was the golden matted hair. On his breast there was the hoary holy thread; he wore torn clothes; on his hands there was the Danda and Kamandalu; on his forehead there was the bright Tilaka in the form of the Crescent Moon. (Tilaka - a sectarian mark on the forehead made with coloured earth or sandalpaste.)

One hundred thousand disciples, thoroughly-versed in the Vedas and the Vedângas, were attending him. The intoxicated Purandara, seeing him, bowed down to him and he began to chant with devotion hymns to his disciples also. They were very glad. The Risi with his disciples then blessed Indra and gave him one Pârijâta flower.

When the Muni was returning from the region of Vaikuntha, Visnu, gave him that beautiful Pârijâta flower. Old age, death, disease, sorrows, etc., all are removed by the influence of the flower; and the final liberation is also attained. The Devendra was intoxicated with his wealth; so taking the flower given by the Risi, he threw it on the head of the elephant Airârata. No sooner the elephant touched the flower, than he became suddenly like Visnu, as it were, in beauty, form, qualities, fire and age. The elephant, then, forsook Indra and entered into a dense forest. The Lord of the Devas could, in no way, get him under his control. On the other hand, the Muni Durvâsâ seeing that Mahendra had thus dishonoured the flower, became inflamed with rage and cursed him saying, “O Indra! You are so mad with wealth that you have dishonoured me. The flower that I gave you so lovingly, you have thrown that, out of vanity, on the elephant’s head!

26-46. No sooner one gets the food, water, fruits that had been offered to Visnu, one should eat that at once. Otherwise one incurs the sin of Brahmahattyâ. If anybody forsakes the things offered to Visnu, that he has got perchance, he becomes destitute of wealth, prosperity, intelligence, and his kingdom. And if he eats the food already offered to Visnu with devotion, he then elevates his hundred families passed before him and he himself becomes liberated while living. If anybody daily eats Visnu’s Naivedyam (food offered to Visnu) and bow down before Him or worships Hari with devotion and chants hymns to Him, he becomes like Visnu in energy and wealth. By mere touch with the air round about his body, the places of pilgrimage become all purified. O You Stupid! The earth becomes purified by the contact of the dust of the feet of such a one devoted to Visnu. If anybody eats the food unoffered to Hari and flesh that is not offered to any Deity; if he eats the food of any unchaste woman, any woman without husband and sons, the food offered at any S’ûdra’s Srâdh (funeral) ceremony, the food offered by a Brâhmana, who is a priest to the S’ûdras in honour of a S’iva Lingam, the food of a Brahmân priest who subsists on the presents of a temple, the food of one who sells his daughter, the food of one who subsists on dealing with womb concerns, the leavings of others, the stale food left after all others had eaten, the food of the husband of an unmarried girl (twelve years old in whom menstruation has commenced), the driver of oxen, the food of one uninitiated in one’s Istamantram, of one who burns a corpse, of a Brâhmin who goes to one not fit for going, the food of a rebel against friends, of one who is faithless, treacherous, who gives false evidence, the food of a Brâhmin who accepts offerings in a sacred place of pilgrimage, all his sins (incurred in the ways above-mentioned) will be removed if he eats the prasâdam of Visnu, i.e., the food offered to Visnu. Even if a Chândâla be attached to the service of Visnu, he sanctifies his millions of persons born in his family before him. And the man who is devoid of the devotion to Hari is not able even to save himself. If anybody takes unknowingly the remains of an offering (such as flowers) made to Visnu, he will certainly be freed from all the sins incurred in his seven births. And if he does this knowingly and with intense devotion, he will certainly be freed of all sorts of sins incurred in his Koti births. So, O Indra! I am a devotee of S’rî Hari. And when you have cast away the Pârijâta to flower offered by me on the elephant’s head, then I say unto you that the Mahâ Laksmî will leave you and She will go back to Nârâyana. I am highly devoted to Nârâyana; so I do not fear anybody, I fear neither the Creator, nor Kâla, the Destroyer, nor old age, nor death; what to speak of other petty persons! I do not fear your father Prajâpati Kas’yapa nor do I fear your family priest Brihaspati. Now he, on whose head there lies the flower Pârijâta offered by me, verily he should be worshipped by all means.” Hearing these words of Durvâsâ, Indra became bewildered with fear, and being greatly distressed and holding the feet of Muni, cried out loudly. He said :-- “The curse is now well inflicted on me; and it has caused my delusion to vanish. Now I do not want back my Râja Laksmî from you; instruct me on knowledge. This wealth is the source of all coils; it is the cause of the veil to all knowledge, it hides the final liberation and it is a great obstacle on the way to get the highest devotion.”

47-67. The Muni said :--“This birth, death, old age, disease, and afflictions, all come from wealth and the manipulation of great power. Being blind by the darkness of wealth, he does not see the road to Mukti. The stupid man that is intoxicated with wealth is like the one that is intoxicated with wine. Surrounded by many friends, he is surrounded by the unbreakable bondage. The man that is intoxicated with wealth, blind with property and overwhelmed with these things has no thought for the real knowledge. He who is Râjasik, is very much addicted to passions and desires; he never sees the path to Sattvaguna. The man that is blind with sense-objects is of two kinds, firstly, Râjasik and secondly Tâmasik. He who has no knowledge of the S’âstras is Tâmasik and he who has the knowledge of the S’âstras is Râjasik. O Child of the Devas! Two paths are mentioned in the S’âstras; one is Pravritti, going towards the sense objects and the other is Nivritti, going away from them. The Jîvas first follow the path of Pravritti, the path that is painful, gladly and of their own accord like a mad man. As bees, blind with the desire of getting honey, go to the lotus bud and get themselves entangled there, so the Jîvas, the embodied souls, desirous first of getting enjoyments come to this very painful circle of births and deaths, this worldly life, which in the end is realised as vapid and the only cause of old age, death, and sorrow and get themselves enchained there.

For many births he travels gladly in various wombs, ordained by his own Karmas, till at last by the favour of gods, he comes in contact with the saints. Thus one out of a thousand or out of a hundred finds means to cross this terrible ocean of world. When the saintly persons kindle the lamp of knowledge and show the way to Mukti, then the Jîva makes an attempt to sever this bondage to the world. After many births, many austerities and many fastings, he then finds safely the way to Mukti, leading to the highest happiness. O Indra! What you asked me, I thus heard from my Guru.” O Nârada! hearing the words of the Muni Durvâsâ Indra became dispassionate towards the Samsâra. Day by day his feeling of dispassion increased. One day, when he returned to his own home from the hermitage of the Muni, he saw the Heavens overspread by the Daityas and it had become terrible. At some places outrage and oppression knew no bounds; some places were devoid of friends; at some places, some persons had lost their fathers, mothers, wives, relations; so no rest and repose could be found. Thus, seeing the Heavens in the hands of the enemies, Indra went out in quest of Brihaspati, the family preceptor of the Devas. Seeking to and fro Indra ultimately went to the banks of the Mandâkinî and saw that the Guru Deva had bathed in the waters of the Mandâkinî and sitting with his face turned towards the East towards the Sun, was meditating on Para Brahmâ, Who has His faces turned everywhere. Tears were flowing from his eyes and the hairs of the body stood erect with delight. He was elderly in knowledge; the spiritual Teacher of all, religious, served by all great men; he was held as most dear to all the friends. Those who are Jñânins regard him as their Guru. He was the eldest of all his brothers; he was considered as very unpopular to the enemies of the Devas. Seeing the family priest Brihaspati merged in that state of meditation, Indra waited there. When after one Prahara (three hours), the Guru Deva got up, Indra bowed down to his feet and began to weep and cry out repeatedly. Then he informed his Guru about his curse from a Brâhmin, his acquiring the true knowledge as so very rare, and the wretched state of Amarâvatî, wrought by the enemies.

68-92. O Best of Brâhmanas! Hearing thus the words of the disciple, the intelligent speaker Brihaspati spoke with his eyes reddened out of anger. “O Lord of the Devas! I have heard everything that you said; do not cry; have patience; hear attentively what I say. The wise politicians of good behaviour, with moral precepts, never lose their heads and get themselves distressed in times of danger. Nothing is everlasting; whether property or adversity; all are transient; they only give troubles. All are under one’s own Karma; one is master of one’s own Karma. What had been done in previous births, so one will have to reap the fruits afterwards. (Therefore property or adversity, all are due to one’s own Karma.) This happens to all persons eternally, births after births. Pain and happiness are like the ring of a rolling wheel. So what pain is there? It is already stated that one’s own Karma must be enjoyed in this Holy Bhârata. The man enjoys the effects of his own Karmas, auspicious or inauspicious. Never the Karma gets exhausted in one hundred Koti Kalpas, without their effects being enjoyed. The Karma, whether auspicious or inauspicious must be enjoyed. Thus it is stated in the Vedas and as well by S’rî Krisna, the Supreme Spirit. Bhagavân S’rî Krisna addressed Brahmâ, the lotus-born, in the Sâma Veda Sâkhâ that all persons acquire their births, whether, in Bhârata or in any other country, according to the Karma that he had done. The course of a Brâhmana comes though this Karma; and the blessings of a Brâhmana come again by this Karma. By Karma one gets great wealth and prosperity and by Karma again one gets poverty. You may take one hundred Koti births; the fruit of Karma must follow you. O Indra! The fruit of Karma follows one like one’s shadow. Without enjoyment, that can never die. The effects of Karma become increased or decreased according to time, place, and the person concerned. As you will give away anything to persons, of different natures, in different times and in different places, your merit acquired will also vary accordingly. Gifts made on certain special days bring in Koti times the fruits (merits, punyam) or infinite times or even more than that. Again gifts, similar in nature, made in similar paces yield punyam the same, in character also. Gifts made in different countries yield punyams, Koti times, infinite times, or even more than that. But similar things given to similar persons yield similar punyams. As the grains vary in their natures as the fields differ, so gifts made to different persons yield different grades of punyas infinitely superior or infinitely inferior as the case may be.

Giving things to a Brâhmana on any ordinary day yields simple punya only. But if the gift be made to a Brahmân on an Amavasyâ day (new moon day) or on a Sankrânti day (the day when the Sun enters another’s sign) then hundred times more punyam is acquired. Again charities made on the Châturmâsya period (the vow that lasts for four months in the rainy season) or on the full moon day, yield infinite punyams. So charities made on the occasion of the lunar eclipses yield Koti times the result and if made on the occasion of the solar eclipse yield ten times more punyams. Charities made on Aksayaya Tritîyâ or the Navamî day yield infinite and endless results. So charities on other holy days yield religious merits higher than those made on ordinary days. As charities made on holy days yield religious merits, so bathing, reciting mantrams, and other holy acts yield meritorious results. As superior results are obtained by pious acts; inferior results are obtained by impious acts. As an earthen potter makes pots, jars, etc., out of the earth with the help of rod, wheel, earthen cups or plates and motion, so the Creator awards respective fruits to different persons, by the help of this thread (continuity) of Karma. Therefore if you want to have cessation of this fruition of Karma, then worship Nârâyana, by whose command all these things of Nature are created. He is the Creator of even Brahmâ, the Creator, the Preserver of Visnu, the Preserver, the Destroyer of S’iva, the Destroyer and the Kâla (the great Time) of Kâla (the Time). S’ankara has said :-- He who remembers Madhusûdana (a name of Visnu) in great troubles, his dangers cease and happiness begins.” O Nârada! The wise Brihaspati thus advised Indra and then embraced him and gave him his hearty blessings and good wishes.

Here ends the Fortieth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the birth of Laksmî in the discourse of Nârada and Nârâyana in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 41. On The Churning Of The Ocean And On The Appearing Of Laksmî

1-2. Nârâyana said :-- O Twice-born! Indra then remembered Hari and took Brihaspati, the Guru of the Devas, to the assembly of Brahmâ, accompanied by the other Devas. They soon reached the region of Brahmâ and no sooner they saw Him, than Indra and the other Devas and Bihaspati all bowed down to Him.

3-25. Brihaspati, the Âchârya of the Devas, then communicated all to Brahmâ. Hearing this, He smiled and spoke, addressing Indra :-- O Indra! You have been born in My race; nay, you are My grandson; the Ârya Brihaspati is your Guru; you yourself are the ruler of the Devas and you are very wise and sagacious; the mother of your father is the powerful Daksa, a great Visnu Bhakta. How is it, then that when the three sides of the family are pure, one would turn out so haughty and arrogant! Whose mother is so much devoted to her husband, whose father, mother’s father and mother’s brother are self-controlled and of pure Sattva Guna, he is not expected to be so very haughty! Every man may be guilty to Hari for the three faults :-- For some fault due to that of his father, or of his mother’s father, or of Guru, the Spiritual Teacher. Bhagavân Nârâyana, resides in this great holy temple of our this physical body controlling the hearts of all. At whatever moment, S’rî Nârâyana quits this temple-body, at that moment this body becomes dead. I myself am the mind; S’ankara is the Knowledge, Visnu is the vital breaths, Bhagavatî Durgâ is the intelligence (Buddhi), sleep, etc., the powers of Prakriti; when these are being reflected on by the Âtman, Jîva is formed with a body for enjoyment called Bhoga S’arîrabhrit. When a king departs, his attendants also follow him; so when this Âtman departs from this temple of body, his attendants mind, buddhi, etc., instantly depart from this body and follow the Âtman. O Indra! We all, are verily, the parts of S’rî Krisna. I myself, S’iva, Ananta Deva, Visnu, Dharma, Mahâ Virât, you all are His parts and entirely devoted to Him. And you have shown contempt for His flower. Bhagavân S’ankara, the Lord of the Bhûtas, worshipped the lotus-feet of S’rî Krisna with that flower. The Risi Durvâsâ gave you that flower. But you showed disrespect to it. The flower, Pârijâta, after being offered at the lotus-feet of Krisna, should be placed on the head of an Immortal; His worship is to be done first; and it is the foremost amongst the Devas. So you are now being afflicted by the inevitable course of Fate; Fate is the most powerful of all. Who can save that unlucky man against whom Fate has turned? Seeing that you have rejected the flower offered to S’rî Krisna, S’rî Laksmî Devî has left you out of anger. Now come with Me and with your family priest Brihaspati to Vaikuntha and worship the Lord of Laksmî; then by His grace you may get back your Heavens. Thus saying, Brahmâ with Indra and all the other Devas, went to the Eternal Purusa, Bhagavân Nârâyana and saw that He was full of Fire and Energy like one hundred koti summer midday Suns, yet perfectly cool and calm. He has no beginning, and no end, nor any middle. He is Infinite. The four-armed Pârisadas, Sarasvatî, the four Vedas, and the Ganges, all were surrounding Him. Seeing Him, Brahmâ and the other Devas bowed down with devotion and began to chant hymns to Him with tears in their eyes. Brahmâ, then, informed Him of everything when all the Devas, dispossessed of their places, began to weep before Him. Nârâyana saw that the Devas were very afraid and much distressed. They had no jewel ornaments as before, no vehicles (Vâhanas), nor the Daivic splendour as before, not that brillance; always fearful. Then Nârâyana, the Destroyer of fear, seeing the Devas in that state, addressed Brahmâ and the other Devas :-- O Brâhman! O Devas! Discard all fears. What fear can overcome you? I am here. I will give you again the immoveable prosperous Râjya Laksmî (the Laksmî of the kings).

26-47. But for the present, I give you some advice proper for this moment. Listen. There are endless universes where exist innumerable persons. All of them are under Me. So know verily, that I am under them also. My devotees regard Me as the Highest. They know no other than Me; they are fearless; so I do not remain in that house where My devotees are dissatisfied. I instantly quit that house with Laksmî. Durvâsâ Risi is born in part of S’ankara. He is highly devoted to Me. He is a pakkâ Vaisnava. He cursed you and, as a matter of fact, I and Laksmî instantly left your house.

Laksmî does not reside in that house where conch shells are not blown, where there are no Tulasî trees, where there is no worship of S’iva and S’ivâ, where the Brâhmanas are not fed. O Brâhman! O Devas! Where I and My Bhaktas are blamed, Mahâ Laksmî becomes greatly displeased. She instantly goes away out of that house. Laksmî does not stay even for a moment in that house where the stupid person, without any devotion for me, takes his food on the Harivâsara Ekâdas’î day (the eleventh day of the moon’s wane or increase) or on My anniversary birthday. If anybody sells My name or his own daughter, where the guests are not served, Laksmî quits that house instantly and goes away.

(Note :-- That Guru is the Real Guru, who, being capable, imparts the name of God to worthy persons without taking any fee at all.)

If the son of an unchaste woman be a Brâhmana, he and the husband of an unchaste woman are great sinners. If anybody goes to such a person’s house or eats the food of a S’ûdra during a Srâddha ceremony, Laksmî becomes very angry and vacates that house. Being a Brâhmin, if one burns a S’ûdra’s corpse, one becomes very wretched and the vilest of the Brâhmins. Laksmî never stays for a moment more in that house. Being a Brâhmin, if he be a S’ûdra’s cook and drives oxen, Laksmî fears to drink water there and quits his house. Being a Brâhmin, if his heart be unholy, if he be cruel, envies others and blames persons, if he officiates as a priest for the S’ûdra, Laksmî Devî never stays in his house. The World-Mother never stays even for a moment in his house who eats at the house of one who marries an unmarried girl twelve years old in whom menstruation has commenced. He who cuts grass by his nails, or writes on the ground with his nails, or from whose house a Brâhmana guest goes back disappointed, Laksmî never stays in his house. If any Brâhmana eats food at the early sunrise, sleeps during the day or engages in a sexual intercourse during the day, Laksmî never stays in his house. Laksmî slips away from that Brâhmana who is devoid of Âchâra (rules of conduct), who accepts gifts from S’ûdras, from him who remains uninitiated in his Mantram. The ignorant man who sleeps naked and with his feet wet, who laughs always, and always talks at random on disconnected subjects like a mad man, is forsaken at once by Laksmî. Laksmî becomes angry and goes away from the house of that man who applies oil all over his body first and then touches the bodies of others and always makes some sounding noise on several parts of his body. If any Brâhmana forsakes observing vows, fastings, the Sandhyâ ceremony, purity and devotion to Visnu, Kamalâ (Laksmî) does not remain in his house any longer. If anybody blames always the Brâhmanas and shews his hatred always towards the Brâhmanas, if he does injury to the animals, and if he does not indulge in his heart anything of pity, kindness, Laksmî, the Mother of the Worlds, quits him. O Lotus-born! But where Hari is worshipped and Hari’s Name is chanted, Laksmî, the Mother of all auspiciousness, remains there. Laksmî remains where the glories of S’rî Krisna and His Bhaktas are sung.

48-59. Laksmî always remains there with the greatest gladness where conch-shells are blown, where there are conchsells, the S’âlagrâma stone, the Tulasî leaves and the service and meditation of Laksmî are daily done.

Where the phallic emblem of S’iva is worshipped, and His glories sung, where S’rî Durgâ is worshipped and Her glories are sung, Laksmî, the Dweller in the Lotus, remains there. Where the Brâhmanas are honoured and they are gladly feasted, where all the Devas are worshiped; the chaste Laksmî, the Lotus-faced, remains there. Thus saying to the Devas, the Lord of Laksmî said :-- O Devî! Go without any any delay to the Ksiroda Ocean and incarnate there in part. He then addressed Brahmâ and said :-- “O Lotus-born! You also better go there and churn the Ksiroda Ocean; when Laksmî will arise, give her to the Devas.” O Devarsi! Thus saying, the Lord Kamalâ went to His inner compartment. On the other hand the Devas, after a long time, reached the shores of the Ksiroda Ocean. The Devas and the Daityas then made the Golden Mountain (the Sumeru) the churning rod, the Deva Kurma (the tortoise), the churning pot and Ananta Deva (the thousand headed serpent) the churning cord and began to churn the ocean. While churning was going on, by and by arose Dhanvantarî, Amrita (the nectar), the horse Uchchaihs’ravâ, various other invaluable jewels that were desired, the elephant Airâvata and the beautiful eyed Laksmî. Visnupriyâ, S’rî Laksmî Devî, no sooner She got up from the ocean, she, the chaste woman, presented on the neck of Nârâyana, of beautiful appearance, the Lord of all, Who slept on the Ksiroda ocean the garland (indicative of accepting Him for her bridegroom). Then Brahmâ and Mahes’vara and the other Devas gladly worshipped Her and chanted hymns. At this time Laksmî Devî being pleased, cast a favourable glance towards the homes of the Devas, in order to free them from their curse. Then, by the grace of Mahâ Laksmî and by the granting of the boon by Brahmâ, the Devas got back their own possessions from the hands of the Daityas. O Nârada! Thus I have described to you the story of Laksmî Devî, the Essence of all Essences, and very pleasant to hear. Now what more do you want to hear? Say.

Here ends the Forty-first Chapter of the Ninth Book on the churning of the ocean and on the appearing of Laksmî in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 42. On The Dhyânam And Stotra Of Mahâ Laksmî

1-50. Nârada said :-- O Bhagavân! I have heard about the glories of Hari, about the Tattvajñânam (the True Knowledge) and the story of Laksmî. Now tell me Her Dhyânam (meditation) and Stotram (recitation of hymns) of Her. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Indra then, bathed first in the Tîrath (holy place) and, wearing a cleansed cloth, installed, first of all, an earthen jar (ghata) on the beach of the Ksiroda Ocean. Then he worshipped with devotion Ganes’a, Sûrya, Fire, Visnu, S’iva, and S’ivâ, the six deities with scents and flowers. Next Indra invoked Mahâ Laksmî, of the nature of the highest powers and greatest prosperity, and began to worship Her as Brahmâ, who was acting as an officiating priest in the presence of the Munis, Brâhmanas, Brihaspati, Hari and the other Devas, had dictated him. He first smeared one Pârijâta flower with sandal paste and reciting the meditation mantra of Mahâ Laksmî offered it to Her feet. The meditation mantra that was recited by Devendra, was what Bhagavân Hari first gave to Brahmâ. I am now telling you that. Listen.

“O Mother! Thou residest on the thousand-petalled lotus. The beauty of Thy face excels the beauty of koti autumnal Full Moons. Thou art shining with Thy own splendour. Thou art very beautiful and lovely; Thy colour is like the burnished gold; Thou art with form, chaste, ornamented all over with jewel ornaments; Thou art wearing the yellow cloth and look! What beauty is coming out of it! Always a sweet smile reigns on Thy lips. Thy beauty is constant; Thou art the bestower of prosperity to all. O Mahâ Laksmî! I meditate on Thee.” Thus meditating on Her endowed with various attributes with this mantra, Indra worshipped devotedly with sixteen upachâras (articles offered). Every upachâra (article) was offered with the repetition of mantra. All the things were very excellent, right and commendable. “O Mahâ Laksmî! Vis’vakarmâ has made this invaluable Âsan (a carpet seat) wonderfully decked with jewels; I am offering this Âsan to Thee. Accept. O Thou residing in the Lotus! This holy Ganges water is considered with great regard and desired by all. This is like the fire to burn the fuel in the shape of the sins of the sinners. O Thou! The Dweller in the Lotus! This Dûrbha grass, flowers, this Arghya (offering) of the Ganges water perfumed with sandalpaste, I am offering to Thee. Accept. O Beloved of Hari! This sweet scented flower oil and this sweet scented Âmalaki fruit lead to the beauty of the body; therefore I present this to Thee. Accept. O Devî! I am presenting this cloth made of silk to Thee; Accept. O Devî! This excellent ornament made of gold and jewels, which increases the beauty, I am presenting to Thee. Accept. O Beloved of Krisna! I am presenting this sweet scented holy Dhûpa prepared from various herbs and plants, exquisitely nice and the root of all beauty, to Thee. Accept. This sweet scented pleasant sandalpaste I offer to Thee, O Devî! Accept. O Ruler of the Devas! I present this pleasing holy Dîpa (lights) which is the eye of this world and by which all the darkness is vanished; accept. O Devî! I present to Thee these very delicious offerings of fruits, etc., very juicy and of various kinds. Accept. O Deves'î! This Anna (food) is Brahmâ and the chief means to preserve the life of living beings. By this the nourishment of the body and the mental satisfaction are effected. Therefore I am presenting this food to Thee. Accept. O Mahâ Laksmî! I am presenting this most delicious Paramânna, which is prepared out of rice, milk and sugar, to Thee. Accept. O Devî! I am presenting this most delicious and pleasant svastika prepared of sugar and clarified butter to Thee; accept. O Beloved of Achyuta! I am presenting to Thee various beautiful Pakkânnas, ripe delicious fruits and clarified butter out of cow’s milk; accept. O Devî! The sugarcane juice, when heated, yields a syrup which again heated yields very delicious and nice thing called Gur. I am presenting this Gur to Thee; accept. O Devî! I am presenting to Thee the sweetmeats prepared out of the flour of Yava and and wheat and Gur and clarified butter; accept. I am presenting with devotion the offering made of Svastika and the flour of other grains; accept. O Kamale! I am presenting to Thee this fan and white châmara, which blows cool air and is very pleasant when this body gets hot; accept. O Devî! I am presenting this betel scented with camphor by which the inertness of the tongue is removed; accept. O Devî! I am presenting this scented cool water, which will allay the thirst and which is known as the life of this world; accept. O Devî! I am presenting this cloth made of cotton and silk that increases the beauty and splendour of the body. Accept. O Devî! I am presenting to Thee, the ornaments made of gold and jewels which are the source of beauty and loveliness. Accept. O Devî! I am presenting to Thee these pure garlands of flowers which blossom in different seasons, which look very beautiful and which give satisfaction to the Devas and to the kings. Accept. O Devî! I am presenting to Thee this nice scent, this very holy thing to Thee by which both the body and mind become pure, which is most auspicious and which is prepared of many fragrant herbs and plants; accept. O Beloved of the God Krisna! I am presenting this Âchamanîya water to Thee for rinsing the mouth, pure and holy, and brought from holy places of pilgrimages; accept. O Devî! I am presenting to Thee, this bed made of excellent gems and jewels and flowers, sandalpaste, clothings and ornaments; accept. O Devî! I am presenting to Thee all those things that are extraordinary, very rare in this earth and fit to be enjoyed by the Devas and worthy of their ornaments; accept.” O Devarsi! Uttering those mantras, the Devendra offered those articles, with intense devotion according to the rules. He, then, made Japam of the Mûla Mantra (the Radical Seed Mantra) ten lakhs of times. Thus his Mantra revealed the Deity thereof and thus came to a successful issue. The lotus born Brahmâ gave this Mantra “S’rîm Hrîm Klîm Aim Kamalâvâsinyai Svâhâ” to the Devendra. This is like a Kalpavriksa (the tree in Indra’s garden yielding whatever may be desired). This Vaidik mantra is the chief of the mantras. The word “Svâhâ” is at the end of the mantra. By virtue of this Mantra, Kuvera got his highest prosperity. By the power of this Mantra, the King-Emperor Daksa Sâvarni Manu and Mangala became the lords of the earth with seven islands. Priyavrata, Uttânapâda, and Kedârarâja all these became Siddhas (were fructified with success) and became King-Emperors. O Nârada! When Indra attained success in this Mantra, there appeared before him Mahâ Laksmî, seated in the celestial car, decked with excellent gems and jewels. The Great Halo, coming out of Her body made manifest the earth with seven islands. Her colour was white like the white champaka flower and Her whole body was decked with ornaments. Her face was always gracious and cheerful with sweet smiles. She was ever ready to shew Her kindness to the Bhaktas. On Her neck there was a garland of jewels and gems, bright as ten million Moons. O Devarsi! No sooner did Indra see that World Mother Mahâ Laksmî, of a peaceful appearance, than his body was filled with joy and the hairs of the body stood on ends. His eyes were filled with tears; and, with folded palms, he began to recite stotras to Her, the Vaidik stotras, yielding all desires, that was communicated to him by Brahmâ.

51-75. Indra said :-- “O Thou, the Dweller in the lotus! O Nârâyanî! O Dear to Krisna! O Padmâsane! O Mahâ Laksmî!

Obeisance to Thee! O Padmadaleksane! O Padmanibhânane! O Padmâsane! O Padme! O Vaisnavî! Obeisance to Thee! Thou art the wealth of all; Thou art worshipped by all; Thou bestowest to all the bliss and devotion to S’rî Hari. I bow down to Thee. O Devî! Thou always dwellest on the breast of Krisna and exercisest Thy powers over Him. Thou art the beauty of the Moon; Thou takest Thy seat on the beautiful Jewel Lotus. Obeisance to Thee! O Devî! Thou art the Presiding Deity of the riches; Thou art the Great Devî; Thou increasest always Thy gifts and Thou art the bestower of increments. So I bow down to Thee. O Devî! Thou art the Mahâ Laksmî of Vaikuntha, the Laksmî of the Ksiroda Ocean; Thou art Indra’s Heavenly Laksmî; Thou art the Râja Laksmî of the Kings; Thou art the Griha Laksmî of the householders; Thou art the household Deity of them; Thou art the Surabhî, born of the Ocean; Thou art the Daksinâ, the wife of the Sacrifices; Thou art Aditi, the Mother of the Devas; Thou art the Kamalâ, always dwelling in the Lotus; Thou art the Svâhâ, in the offerings with clarified butter in the sacrificial ceremonies; Thou art the Svadhâ Mantra in the Kâvyas (an offering of food to deceased ancestors). So obeisance to Thee! O Mother Thou art of the nature of Visnu; Thou art the Earth that supports all; Thou art of pure S’uddha Sattva and Thou art devoted to Nârâyana. Thou art void of anger, jealousy. Rather Thou grantest boons to all. Thou art the auspicious Sâradâ; Thou grantest the Highest Reality and the devotional service to Hari. Without Thee all the worlds are quite stale, to no purpose like ashes, always dead while existing. Thou art the Chief Mother, the Chief Friend of all; Thou art the source of Dharma, Artha, Kâma and Moksa! As a mother nourishes her infants with the milk of her breasts, so Thou nourishest all as their mother! A child that sucks the milk might be saved by the Daiva (Fate), when deprived of its mother; but men can never be saved, if they be bereft of Thee! O Mother! Thou art always gracious. Please be gracious unto me. O Eternal One! My possessions are now in the hands of the enemies. Be kind enough to restore my kingdoms to me from my enemies’ hands. O Beloved of Hari! Since Thou hast forsaken me, I am wandering abroad, friendless, like a beggar, deprived of all prosperities. O Devî! Give me Jñânam, Dharma, my desired fortune, power, influence and my possessions.” O Nârada! Indra and all the other Devas bowed down frequently to Mahâ Laksmî with their eyes filled with tears. Brahmâ, S’ankara, Ananta Deva, Dharma and Kes’ava all asked pardon again and again from Mahâ Laksmî. Laksmî then granted boons to the Devas and before the assembly gladly gave the garland of flowers on the neck of Ke’sava. The Devas, satisfied, went back to their own places. The Devî, Laksmî, too, becoming very glad went to S’rî Hari sleeping in the Ksiroda Ocean. Brahmâ and Mahes’vara, both became very glad and, blessing the Devas, went respectively to their own abodes. Whoever recites this holy Stotra three times a day, becomes the King Emperor and gets prosperity and wealth like the God Kuvera. Siddhi (success) comes to him who recites this stotra five lakhs of times. If anybody reads regularly and always this Siddha Stotra for one month, he becomes very happy and he turns out a Râjarâjendra.

Here ends the Forty-second Chapter of the Ninth Book on the Dhyânam and Stotra of Mahâ Laksmî in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 43. On The History Of Svâhâ

1-4. Nârada said :-- “O Risi Nârâyana! O Highly Fortunate One! O Lord! Thou art equal to Nârâyana whether in beauty or in qualities, or in fame or in energy or in everything. Thou art equal to Nârâyana. Thou art the foremost of the Jñânins; there cannot be found a second like Thee as a Siddha Yogî, the ascetics and the Munis. And Thou art the crest of the knowers of the Vedas. I have heard the wonderful anecdote of Mahâ Laksmî that Thou hast told me. Now tell me any other thing that is unknown, very good in everyway, in accordance with Dharma, in the Vedas, and that which is not as yet written in the Purânas.”

5-6. Nârâyana said :-- “There are many wonderful hidden anecdotes that are not published as yet in the Purânas. What you have heard is very small in fact. Please mention to me what you like to hear, what you think as best amongst them and I will describe that to you.”

7-8. Nârada said :-- “When clarified butter is poured as libations in all the sacrificial ceremonies to the gods, Svâhâ is to be uttered everywhere as excellent, and commendable; so Svadhâ is to be repeated in the offerings when the oblations are offered to the Pitris, the deceased ancestors. Then, again, Daksinâ (the sacrificial fee) is always to be paid as right and excellent. So, O Knower of the Vedas! I like to hear the accounts of Svadhâ, and Daksinâ and their merits. Please now tell me about them.”

9. Sûta said :-- “Hearing the words of Nârada, Nârâyana Risi smiled and began to speak the very ancient words of the Purânas.”

10-11. Nârâyana said :-- Before the creation, the Devas assembled in the beautiful Brahmâ’s Council to decide on their food question.

They all brought to the notice of Brahmâ the scarcity about their food. Brahmâ promised to remove their food difficulties and began to chant hymns to Hari.

12. Nârada said :-- “O Lord! Bhagavân Nârâyana Himself incarnated in part as Sacrifice. Are not the Devas satisfied when the Brâhmanas pour oblations of ghee to the Devas in those sacrifices?”

13-17. Nârâyana said :-- O Muni! The Devas, in fact, did not get the offerings of the clarified butters that were poured in with devotion in sacrificial acts by the Brâhmanas and Ksattriyas. So they were very much depressed and went again to the council of Brahmâ and informed Him that they could not get any food for themselves. On hearing this, Brahmâ at once meditated and took refuge of S’rî Krisna; Krisna advised them to worship Mûla Prakriti. Brahmâ then, by the command of S’rî Krisna, began to meditate on Prakriti, worship Her and chant hymns to Her. Then from the part of Prakriti, an all-powerful Devî appeared. She was very beautiful, Shyâmâ (of a blue colour) and very lovely. This Devî was Svâhâ. She looked always gracious with smile in Her face; it seemed that She was always ready to show favour towards the Bhaktas. She appeared before Brahmâ and said :-- “O Lotus born! Want any boon you desire.”

18-22. Hearing Her words, the Creator spoke reverentially :-- “O Devî! Let Thou be the burning power of Fire; without Thee Fire would not be able to burn anything. At the conclusion of any Mantra, whoever taking Thy name, will pour oblations in the Fire to the Gods, will cause those oblations to go to the Gods and reach them. And then they will be very glad. O Mother! Let Thou be the wealth of Fire, the beauty and housewife of Fire; let Thou be incessantly worshipped in the regions of the Gods and amongst men and other beings.” Hearing these words of Brahmâ, Svâhâ Devî became very sad and expressed Her own intentions :-- “I will get Krisna as my husband; let me perform Tapasyâ as long as it takes. This is my object. All other things are false as dreams.

23-28. I always meditate with devotion on the lotus-feet of S’rî Krisna, serving Which You have become the Creator of this world, S’ambhu has become the Conqueror of death, Ananta Deva is supporting this universe, Dharma is the Witness of the virtuous, Ganes’a is getting, first of all, the first worship. Prakriti Devî has become the adorable of all and the Munis and the Risis respected by all.” O Child! Having spoken thus to the Lotus-born, Padmâ, with Her lotus-face, meditating incessantly on the Lotus-Feet of S’rî Krisna, free from any disease, started to perform tapasyâ for attaining Him. She, first of all, stood on one leg and practised austerities for one lakh years. Then She saw the Highest Purusa S’rî Krisna, Who is beyond Prakriti and Her attributes. The beautiful amorous Svâhâ, seeing the Lovely Form of the Lord of Love, fainted.

29-43. The omniscient Bhagavân Krisna knowing Her intentions, took Her to His lap, reduced very much in body by long continued Tapasyâ, and He said :-- “O Devî! Thou shalt be My wife in the next Varâha Kalpa. Then Thou wilt be the daughter of Nagnajit and wilt be known by the name of Nâgnajitî. O Beloved! At present let Thou be the Energy of Fire and be His wife. By My boon Thou wilt be worshipped by all. Fire will make Thee the Lady of His house and take the utmost care of Thee. Thou wilt be able to enjoy easily with Him.” O Nârada! Thus saying to Svâhâ, Bhagavân disappeared. On the other hand, Fire came in there by the command of Brahmâ, with a doubtful mind and began to meditate on Her, the World Mother as per Sâma Veda and worshipped Her. He then pleased and married Her with mantrams, etc. For one hundred divine years they enjoyed each other. In a very solitary place while they were enjoying each other, Svâhâ Devî felt pregnant. For full twelve divine years She retained Her pregnancy. Then She delivered gradually three sons Daksinâgni, Gârhyapatyâgnî, and Âhavanîyâgni. The Risis, Munis, Brâhmanas, Ksattriyas poured oblations of clarified butter pronouncing the terminal mantra “Svahâ.” He who pronounces this excellent terminal Mantra “Svâhâ” gets immediate success in his actions. Then all the mantras without “Svâhâ” in the end became impotent as snakes become when void of poison, the Brâhmanas when they are devoid of the knowledge of the Vedas, the wife when she does not serve her husband, the men when they turn illiterate and the trees, when void of fruits and branches. O Child! The Brâhmanas then became satisfied. The Devas began to receive the oblations. With the “Svâhâ” mantra everything turned out fruitful. Thus I have described to you the anecdote of “'Svâhâ.” One who hears this essential anecdote gets his happiness enhanced and the Moksa in his hands. What more do you want to hear ? Say.

44. Nârada said :-- I like to hear how Fire worshipped Svâhâ and recited stotras (hymns of praise) to Her. Kindly tell me the method of worship, the Dhyânam and Stotra.

45-49. Nârâyana said :-- O Best of Brâhmanas! I now tell you the meditation (Dhyânam) as per Sâma Veda, the method of worship and stotra. Listen attentively. At the commencement of any sacrificial ceremony, one should first of all worship whether on the S’âlagrâma stone or in an earthen jar (ghata), the Devî Svâhâ and then commence the ceremony with the expectation of getting the desired fruit. The following is the Dhyânam (meditation) of Svâhâ Devî :-- O Devî Svâhâ! Thou art embodied of the Mantras; Thou art the success of the Mantras; Thou art Thyself a Siddhâ; Thou givest success and the the fruits of actions to men; Thou dost good to all. Thus meditating, one should offer Pâdya (water for washing the feet), etc., uttering the basic Mantra; success then comes to him. Now hear about the Radical Seed Mantra. The said mantra (Mûla mantra) is this :-- “Om Hrîm S’rîm Vahnijâyâyai Devyai Svâhâ.” If the Devî be worshipped with this Mantra, all the desires come to a successful issue.

50-54. Fire recited the following stotra :-- “Thou art Svâhâ, Thou art the Beloved of Fire, Thou art the wife of Fire; Thou pleasest all; Thou art the S’akti, Thou art the action, Thou art the bestower of Kâla (time); Thou dost digest the food; Thou art the Dhruvâ; Thou art the resort of men; Thou art the burning power; Thou canst burn everything, Thou art the essence of this world; Thou art the deliverer from the terrible world; Thou art the life of the gods and Thou nourishest the Gods.” O Nârada! He who reads with devotion these sixteen names, gets success both in this world as well as in the next. None of his works become deficient in any way; rather all the works are performed successfully and with a successful issue. Reading this stotra, one who has no wife, gets wife. So much so that the man who recites the stotra gets for his wife equal to Rambhâ, the heavenly nymph, and passes his time in greatest bliss.

Here ends the Forty-third Chapter of the Ninth Book on the history of Svâhâ in S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 44. On The Story Of Svadhâ Devî In The Discourse Between Nârada And Nârâyana

1-18. Nârâyana said said :-- O Nârada! I will tell you now the excellent anecdote of Svadhâ, pleasing to the Pitris and enhancing the fruits of the S’râdh ceremony when foods are offered to the Pitris. Listen. Before the creation, the Creator created seven Pitris. Four out of them are with forms and the other three are of the nature of Teja (light).

Note :-- Kavyavâhoanalah Somo Yamaschaivâryamâ tathâ, Agnisvâttâh Barhisadah Somapâ Pitri Devatâh. These seven Pitris are according to the other Purânas. Seeing the beautiful and lovely forms of the Pitris, He made arrangements for their food in the form of S’râddhas and Tarpanas, etc. (funeral ceremony and peace-offerings), etc. (S’râdh, solemn obsequies performed in honour of the manes of deceased ancestors.)

Taking bath, performing S’râdh ceremony upto Tarpanam (peace-offerings), worshipping the Devas and doing Sandhyâ thrice a day; these are the daily duties of the Brâhmanas. If any Brâhmana does not perform daily the Trisandhyâs, S’râddha, Tarpanam, worship and the reciting of the Vedas, he becomes devoid of fire like a snake without any poison. He who does not perform the devotional service of the Devî, who eats food not offered to S’rî Hari, who remains impure till death, is not entitled to do any karma whatsoever. Thus, introducing the S’râddhas, etc., for the Pitris, Brahmâ went to His own abode. The Brâhmanas went on doing the S’râddhas for the Pitris, but the Pitris could not enjoy them and so they remained without food and were not satisfied. They all, being hungry and sad, went to the Council of Brahmâ and informed Him everything from beginning to end. Brahmâ then created out of His mind one daughter very beautiful, full of youth and having a face lovely, as if equal to one hundred moons. That woman was best in all respects whether in form, beauty, qualities or in learning. Her colour was white like the white Champaka flower and her body was adorned all over with jewel ornaments. This form was very pure, ready to grant boons, auspicious and the part of Prakriti. Her face was beaming with smiles; her teeth were very beautiful and her body showed signs of Laksmî (i.e., of wealth and prosperity). Her name was Svadhâ. Her lotus-feet were situated on one hundred lotuses. She was the wife of the Pitris. Her face resembled that of a lotus and Her eyes looked like water lilies. She was born of the lotus born Brahmâ. The Grand-father Brahmâ made over that daughter of the nature of Tusti (Contentment) to the hands of the Pitris and they were satisfied. Brahmâ advised the Brâhmanas privately that whenever they would offer anything to the Pitris, they should offer duly with the mantra Svadhâ pronounced at the end. Since then the Brâhmanas are offering everything to the Pitris, with the Mantra Svadhâ uttered in the end. Svâhâ is laudable, when offerings are presented to the Gods and Svadhâ is commendable when offerings are made to the Pitris. But in both the cases, Daksinâ is essential. Without Daksinâ (sacrificial fee), all sacrifices are useless and worthless. The Pitris, Devatâs, Brâhmanas, the Munis, the Manus worshipped the peaceful Svadhâ and chanted hymns to Her with great love. The Devas, Pitris, Brâhmanas, all were pleased and felt their ends achieved when they got the boon from Svadhâ Devî. Thus I have told you everything about Svadhâ. It is pleasing to all. What more do you want to hear? Say. I will answer all your questions.

19. Nârada said :-- “O Thou, the Best of the knowers of the Vedas! O Muni Sattama! I want now to hear the method of worship, the meditation and the hymns of Svadhâ Devî. Kindly tell me all about this.”

20-27. Nârâyana said :-- You know everything about the all-auspicious Dhyân, Stotra, as stated in the Vedas; then why do you ask me again? However I will speak out this for the enhancement of knowledge. On the thirteenth day of the Dark Fortnight in autumn when the Maghâ asterism is with the Moon and on the S’râddha day. One should worship with care Svadhâ Devî; then one should perform S’râddha. If, out of vanity, a Brâhmin performs S’râdh without first worshipping Svadhâ Devî then he will never get the fruits of Tarpanam or S’râdh. “O Devî Svadhe! Thou art the mind-born daughter of Brahmâ, always young and worshipped by the Pitris. Thou bestowest the fruits of S’râddh. So I meditate on Thee.” Thus meditating, the Brâhmin is to pronounce the motto (mûla mantra) and offer the Pâdyam, etc., on the S’âlagrâma stone or on the auspicious earthen jar. This is the ruling of the Vedas. The motto is “Om Hrîm, S’rîm, Klîm, Svadhâ Devyai Svâhâ.” She should be worshipped with this Mantra. After reciting hymns to the Devî, one is to bow down to the Svadhâ Devî. O Son of Brahmâ! O Best of Munis! O Skilled in hearing! I now describe the stotra which Brahmâ composed at the beginning for the bestowal of the desired fruits to mankind. Listen.

Nârâyana said :-- The instant the Mantra Svadhâ is pronounced, men get at once the fruits of bathing in the holy places of pilgrimages. No trace of sin exists in him at that time; rather the religious merits of performing the Vâjapeya sacrifice accrue to him.

28-36. “Svadhâ,” “Svadhâ,” “Svadhâ,” thrice this word if one calls to mind, one gets the fruits of S’râdh, Tarpanam, and Bali (offering sacrifices). So much so, if one hears with devotion during the S’râdh time the recitation of the hymn to Svadhâ, one gets, no doubt, the fruit of S’râdh. If one recites the Svadhâ mantra thrice every time in the morning, midday and evening, every day, one gets an obedient, chaste wife begetting sons. The following is the hymn (Stotra) to Svadhâ :-- “O Devî Svadhe! Thou art dear to the Pitris as their vital breaths and thou art the lives of the Brâhmanas. Thou art the Presiding Deity of the S’râdh ceremonies and bestowest the fruits thereof. O Thou of good vows! Thou art eternal, true, and of the nature of religious merits. Thou appearest in creation and disappearest in dissolution. And this appearing and disappearing go on forever. Thou art Om, thou art Svasti, Thou art Namas Kâra (salutation); Thou art Svadhâ, Thou art Daksinâ, Thou art the various works as designated in the Vedas. These the Lord of the world has created for the success of actions.” No sooner Brahmâ, seated in His assembly in the Brahmâ Loka, reciting this stotra remained silent, than Svadhâ Devî appeared there all at once. When Brahmâ handed over the lotus-faced Svadhâ Devî over to the hands of the Pitris, and they gladly took Her to their own abodes. He who hears with devotion and attention this stotra of Svadhâ, gets all sorts of rich fruits that are desired and the fruits of bathing in all the Tîrthas.

Here ends the Forty-fourth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the story of Svadhâ Devî in the discourse between Nârada and Nârâyana in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 45. On The Anecdote Of Daksinâ

1-63. Nârâyana said :-- The excellent, most sweet stories of Svâhâ and Svadhâ are told; now I will tell you the story of Daksinâ; hear attentively. In early days, in the region of Goloka, there was a good-natured Gopî named Sus’îlâ, beautiful, Râdhâ’s companion and very dear to S’rî Hari. She was fortunate, respected, beautiful, lovely, prosperous, with good teeth, learned, well qualified and of exquisitely handsome form. Her whole body was tender and lovely like Kalâvatî (one versed in 64 arts; moon). She was beautiful and her eyes were like water lilies. Her hips were good and spacious; Her breasts were full; she was Shyâmâ (a kind of women having colour like melted gold; body being hot in cold and cool in summer; of youthful beauty); as well She was of the Nyagrodha class of women (an excellent woman. Stanau Sukathinau Yasyâ Nitambe cha Vis’âlatâ. Madhye Ksînâ bhavedyâ Sânyagrodha parimandalâ). Always a smile sweetened Her face; and that looked always gracious. Her whole body was covered with jewel ornaments. Her colour was white like the white champakas. Her lips were red like the Bimba fruits; Her eyes were like those of a deer.

Sus’îlâ was very clever in amorous sciences. Her gait was like a swan. She was specially versed in what is called Prema Bhakti (love towards God). So She was the dearest lady of S’rî Krisna. And She was of intense emotional feelings. She knows all the sentiments of love; she was witty, humorous, and ardent for the love of S’rî Krisna, the Lord of the Râsa circle. She sat by the left side of S’rî Krisna in the presence of Râdhâ. S’rî Krisna, then cast His glance on Râdhâ, the Chief of the Gopîs and hung down His head through fear. Râdhâ’s face turned red; the two eyes looked like red lilies; all Her bodies began to quiver out of anger and Her lips began to shake. Seeing that state of Râdhâ, Bhagavân S’rî Krisna disappeared, fearing that a quarrel might ensue. Sus’îlâ and other Gopîs seeing that the peaceful Krisna of Sattvâ Guna and of lovely form had disappeared, began to tremble with fear. Then one lakh Koti Gopîs seeing Krisna absent and Râdhâ angry, became very much afraid and bowing their heads down with devotion and with folded palms began to say frequently, “Râdhe! Protect us, protect us,” and they took shelter at Her feet. O Nârada! Three lakh Gopas also including Sudâmâ and others took shelter at the lotus feet of S’rî Râdhâ out of fear. Seeing, then, Krisna absent and Her companion Sus’îlâ running away, Râdhâ cursed her thus :-- “If Sus’îlâ comes again to this Goloka, she will be reduced to ashes.” Thus cursing Her companion Sus’îlâ out of anger, Râdhâ, the Darling of the Deva of the Devas, and the Lady of the Râsa circle went to the Râsa circle and called on Krisna, the Lord of the same. Not being able to find out S’rî Krisna, a minute appeared a yuga to Her and she began to say :-- “O Lord of Prânas! O Dearer than My life! O Presiding Deity of my life! O Krisna! My life seems to depart from Thy absence! Come quickly and show Thyself to me. O Lord! It is through the favour of one’s husband that the pride of women gets increased day by day. Women’s safeguards of happiness are their husbands. Therefore women, who are helpless creatures, ought always to serve their husbands according to Dharma. The husband is the wife’s friend, presiding deity and the sole refuge and the chief wealth. It is through husbands that women derive their pleasures, enjoyments, Dharma, happiness, peace and contentment. If husbands are respected, wives are respected and if husbands are dishonoured, women are dishonoured too. The husband is the highest thing to a woman. He is the highest friend. There is no better friend than him. The husband is called Bhartâ because he supports his wife; he is called Pati, because he preserves her; he is called S’vâmî, because he is the master of her body; he is called Kântâ because he bestows the desired things to her; he is called Bandhu, because he increases her happiness; he is called Priya, because he gives pleasure to her; he is called Is’a, because he bestows prosperity on her; he is called Prânes’vara, because he is the lord of her Prâna; and he is called Ramana, because he gives enjoyment to her. There is no other thing dearer than husband. The son is born of the husband; hence the son is so dear. The husband is dearer to a family woman than one hundred sons. Those who are born in impure families, cannot know what substance a husband is made up of. Taking Baths in all the Tîrthas, giving Daksinâs in all the Yajñas (sacrifice), circumambulating round the whole earth, performing all austerities, observing all vows, making all great gifts, holy fastings, all that are dictated in the S’âstras, serving the Guru, the Brâhmanas and the Devas all cannot compare to even one sixteenth part with serving faithfully the feet of the husband. The husband is the highest; higher than the Spiritual Teacher (Guru), higher than the Brâhmanas, higher than all the Devas. As to man, the Spiritual Teacher who imparts the Spiritual Knowledge is the Best and Supreme, so to the women their husbands are the best of all. Oh! I am not able to realise the glory of my Dearest, by Whose favour I am the Sole Ruler of one lakh Koti Gopîs, one lakh Koti Gopas, innumerable Brâhmandas, and all the things thereof, and all the lokas (regions) from Bhu (earth) to Goloka. Oh! The womanly nature is insurmountable.” Thus saying, Râdhikâ began to meditate with devotion on S’rî Krisna. Tears began to flow incessantly from Her eyes. She exclaimed, “O Lord! O Lord! O Ramana! Shew Thyself to me. I am very much weak and distressed from Thy bereavement.” Now the Daksinâ Devî, driven out from Goloka; practised Tapasyâ for a long time when She entered into the body of Kamalâ. The Devas, on the other hand, performed a very difficult Yajña; but they could not derive any fruit therefrom. So they went to Brahmâ, becoming very sad. Hearing them, Brahmâ meditated on Visnu for a long time with devotion. At last Visnu gave Him a reply. Visnu got out of the body of Mahâ Laksmî a Martya Laksmî (Laksmî of the earth) and gave Her Daksinâ to Brahmâ.Then with a view to yield to the Devas the as a fruits of their Karmas, Brahmâ made over to the Yajña Deva (the Deva presiding the sacrifice) the Devî Daksinâ, offered by Nârâyana. Yajña Deva, then, worshipped Her duly and recited hymns to Her with great joy. Her colour was like melted gold; her lustre equalled koti Moons; very lovely, beautiful, fascinating; face resembling water lilies, of a gentle body; with eyes like Padmâ Palâsa, born of the body of Laksmî, worshipped by Brahmâ, wearing celestial silken garments, her lips resembling like Bimba fruits, chaste, handsome; her braid of hair surrounded by Mâlatî garlands; with a sweet smiling face, ornamented with jewel ornaments, well dressed, bathed, enchanting the minds of the Munis, below the hair of her forehead the dot of musk and Sindûra scented with sandalpaste, of spacious hips, with full breasts, smitten by the arrows of Kâma Deva (the God of Love). Such was the Daksinâ Devî. Seeing Her, the Yajña Deva fainted. At last he married her according to due rites and ceremonies. Taking her to a solitary place, he enjoyed her for full divine one hundred years with great joy like Laksmî Nârâyana. Gradually then Daksinâ became pregnant. She remained so for twelve divine years. Then she duly delivered a nice son as the fruit of Karma. When any Karma becomes complete, this son delivers the fruits of that Karma. Yajña Deva with His wife Daksinâ and the above named Karmaphala, the bestower of the fruits of actions, gives the desired fruits to all their sacrificial acts and Karmas. So the Pundits, the knowers of the Vedas, say. Really he, henceforth, began to give fruits to all the persons of their acts, with his wife Daksinâ and son, the bestower of the fruits of the actions. The Devas were all satisfied at this and went away respectively to their own abodes. Therefore, the man who performs Karmas, generally known as Karma Kartas, should pay the Daksinâ (the Sacrificial fee) and so he completes at once his actions. It is stated in the Vedas, that no sooner the Karma Karta pays the Daksinâ, than he obtains the fruits of his Karmas at once. In case the Karma Karta, after he has completed his acts, does not pay either through bad luck or through ignorance, any Daksinâ to the Brâhmanas, its amount is doubled if a Muhûrta passes away and if one night elapses, its amount is increased, to one hundred times. If three nights pass away, and the Daksinâ not paid, the amount last brought forward, is increased again to hundred times; if a week passes, the last amount is doubled, and if one month passes away, the Daksinâ is multiplied to one lakh times. If one year passes away, that is increased to ten millions of times and the Karma, also, bears no fruit. Such a Karma Karta is known as taking away unfairly a Brâhmana’s property and is regarded as impure. He has no right to any further actions. For that sin, he becomes a pauper and diseased. Laksmî Devî goes away from his house, leaves him, cursing him severely. So much so that the Pitris do not accept the S’râdh, Tarpanam offered by that wretched fellow. So the Devas do not accept his worship, nor the Fire accepts the oblations poured by him. If the person that performs sacrifices does not pay the sacrificial fee that he resolves to pay and he who accepts the offer does not demand the sum, both of them go to hell. But if the performer of the sacrifices does not pay when the priests demand the fee, then the Yajamâna (the performer of the sacrifices) only falls down to hell as the jar, severed from the rope, falls down. The Yajamâna (pupil) is denominated as a Brahmâsvapahârî (one who robs a Brâhmana’s property); he goes ultimately to the Kumbhîpâka hell. There he remains for one lakh years punished and threatened by Yama’s messengers. He is then reborn as a Chândâla, poor and diseased. So much so that his seven generations above and his seven generations below go to hell.

64-65. O Nârada! Thus I have narrated to you the story of Daksinâ. What more do you want to hear? Say. Nârada said :-- “O Best of Munis! Who bears the fruits of that Karma where no Daksinâ is paid. Describe the method of worship that was offered to Daksinâ by Yajña Deva.” Nârâyana said :-- Where do you find the fruit of any sacrifice without Daksinâ? (i.e., nowhere.) That Karma only gets fruits where Daksinâs are paid. And the fruits of the acts void of any Daksinâ, Bali who lives in the Pâtâla only enjoys; and no one else.

66-71. For, in olden times, it was ordained by Vâmana Deva that those fruits would go to the king Vali. All those that pertain to S’râdh not sanctioned by the Vedas, the charities made without any regard or faith, the worship offered by a Brâhmin who is the husband of a Vrisala (an unmarried girl twelve years in whom menstruation has commenced), the fruits of sacrifices done by an impure Brâhmana (a Brâhmana who fails in his duties), the worship offered by impure persons, and the acts of a man devoid of any devotion to his Guru, all these are reserved for the king Bali. He enjoys the fruits of all these. O Child! I am now telling you the Dhyân Stotra, and the method of worship as per Kanva S’âkhâ of Daksinâ Devî. Hear. When Yajña Deva, in ancient times got Daksinâ, skillful in action, he was very much fascinated by her appearance and being love-stricken, began to praise her :-- “O Beautiful One! You were before the chief of the Gopîs in Goloka. You were like Râdhâ; you were Her companion; and you were loved by Srî Râdhâ, the beloved of S’rî Krisna.

72-97. In the Râsa circle, on the Full Moon night in the month of Kârtik, in the great festival of Râdhâ, you appeared from the right shoulder of Laksmî; hence you were named Daksinâ. O Beautiful One! You were of good nature before; hence your name was Sus’îlâ. Next you turned due to Râdhâ's curse, into Daksinâ. It is to my great good luck that you were dislodged from Goloka and have come here. O highly fortunate One! Now have mercy on me and accept me as your husband. O Devî! You give to all the doers of actions, the fruits of their works. Without you, their Karmas bear no fruit. So much so, if you be not present in their action the works never shine forth in brilliant glory. Without Thee, neither Brahmâ, nor Visnu nor Mahes’a nor the Regents of the quarters, the ten Dikpâlas, can award the fruits of actions. Brahmâ is the incarnate of Karma. Mahes’vara is the incarnate of the fruits of Karmas; and I Visnu myself is the incarnate of Yajñas. But Thou art the Essence of all. Thou art the Parâ Prakriti, without any attributes, the Parâ Brahmâ incarnate, the bestower of the fruits of action. Bhagavân S’rî Krisna cannot award the fruits of actions without Thee. O Beloved! In every birth let Thou be my S’akti. O Thou with excellent face! Without Thee, I am unable to finish well any Karma.” O Nârada! Thus praising Daksinâ Devî, Yajña Deva stood before Her. She, born from the shoulder of Laksmî, became pleased with His Stotra and accepted Him for Her bridegroom. If anybody recites this Daksinâ stotra during sacrifice, he gets all the results thereof.

If anybody recites this stotra in the Râjasûya sacrifice, Vâjapaya, Gomedha (cow sacrifice) Naramedha (man sacrifice), As’vamedha (horse sacrifice), Lângala Sacrifice, Visnu Yajña tending to increase one’s fame, in the act of giving over wealth or pieces of lands, digging tanks or wells, or giving fruits, in Gaja medha (elephant sacrifice), in Loha Yajña (iron sacrifice), Svarna Yajña (gold sacrifice), Ratna Yajña (making over jewels in sacrifices), Tâmra Yajña (copper), S’iva Yajña, Rudra Yajña, S’akra Yajña, Bandhuka Yajña, Varuna Yajña (for rains), Kandaka Yajña, for crushing the enemies, S’uchi Yajña, Dharma Yajña, Pâpa mochana Yajña, Brahmânî Karma Yajña, the auspicious Prakriti Yâga, sacrifices, his work is achieved then without any hitch or obstacle. There is no doubt in this. The stotra, thus, is mentioned now; hear about the Dhyânam and the method of worship. First of all, one should worship in the S’âlagrâma stone, or in an earthen jar (Ghata) Daksinâ Devî. The Dhyânam runs thus :-- “O Daksinâ! Thou art sprung from the right shoulder of Laksmî; Thou art a part of Kamalâ; Thou art clever (Daksa) in all the actions and Thou bestowest the fruits of all the actions. Thou art the S’akti of Visnu, Thou art revered, worshipped. Thou bestowest all that is auspicious; Thou art purity; Thou bestowest purity, Thou art good natured. So I meditate on Thee.” Thus meditating, the intelligent one should worship Daksinâ with the principal mantra. Then with the Vedic Mantras, pâdyas, etc. (offerings of various sorts) are to be offered. Now the mantra as stated in the Vedas, runs thus :-- “Om S’rîm Klîm Hrîm Daksinâyai Svâhâ.” With this mantra, all the offerings, such as pâdyas, arghyas, etc., are to be given, and one should worship, as per rules, Daksinâ Devî with devotion. O Nârada! Thus I have stated to you the anecdote of Daksinâ. Happiness, pleasure, and the fruits of all karmas are obtained by this. Being engaged in sacrificial acts, in this Bhâratavarsa, if one hears attentively this Dhyânam of Daksinâ, his sacrifice becomes defectless. So much so that the man who has got no sons gets undoubtedly good and qualified sons; if he has no wife, he gets a best wife, good natured, beautiful, of slender waist, capable to give many sons, sweet speaking, humble, chaste, pure, and Kulîna; if he be void of learning, he gets learning; if he be poor he gets wealth; if he be without any land, he gets land and if he has no attendants, he gets attendants. If a man hears for one month this stotra of Daksinâ Devî, he gets over all difficulties and dangers, bereavements from friends, troubles, inprisonments, and all other calamities.

Here ends the Forty-fifth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the anecdote of Daksinâ in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 46. On The Anecdote Of Sasthî Devî

1. Nârada said :-- “O Thou, the foremost of the Knowers of the Vedas! I have heard from you the anecdotes of many Devîs. Now I want to hear the lives of other Devîs also. Kindly describe.”

2. Nârâyana said :-- “O Best of the Brâhmanas! The lives and glorious deeds of all the Devîs are described separately. Now say, which lives you want to hear.”

3. Nârada said :--“O Lord! Sasthî, Mangalâ Chandî, and Manasâ, are the parts of Prakriti. Now I want to hear the lives of them.”

4-22. Nârâyana said :-- O Child! The sixth part of Prakriti is named as Sasthî. The Devî Sasthî is the Presiding Deity of infants and children; She is the Mâyâ of Visnu and She bestows sons to all. She is one of the sixteen Mâtrikâs. She is known by the name of Devasenâ. She performs Vratas (vows); She is the chaste and dearest wife of Skanda. She decides on the longevity of children and is always engaged in their preservation. So much so, that this Siddha Yoginî always keeps the children on her side.

O Best of Brâhmanas! I will now talk about the method of worshipping this Devî and the history about Her bestowing children that I heard from Dharma Deva. Hear. Svâyambhuva Manu had one son Priyavrata. He was a great Yogîndra and remained in practising austerities. So he was not inclined to have any wife. At last by the effort and request of Brahmâ, he got himself married. But many days passed, and he could not see the face of a son. Then Maharsi Kas’yapa became his priest in the Putresti Sacrifice (to get a son); and when the sacrifice was over, he gave the sacrificial offering called charu to his wife Mâlinî. On eating the charu, the queen Mâlinî become pregnant. For twelve Deva years she held the womb. After twelve years she delivered a full developed son, of a golden colour; but the son was lifeless and his two eyeballs were upset. At this, the friends’ wives became very sorry and began to weep. The mother of the child became so very sorrowful that she became senseless. O Muni! The King himself took the son on his breast and went to the burning ground. There with his child on his breast he began to cry aloud. Rather he got himself ready to quit his own life than leave the son from away his breast. At this time he saw in the space overhead an aerial car, white as crystal, made of excellent jewels, coming towards him. The car was shining with its own lustre, encircled with woven silken cloth, which added to its beauty. Innumerable garlands of variegated colours gave it a very nice and charming appearance. On that car was seated a Siddha Yoginî, very beautiful, of a lovely appearance of a colour like that of white champakas, always youthful, smiling, adorned with jewel ornaments, ever gracious to show favour to the devotees. On seeing Her, the King Priyavrata placed the child from his breast on the ground and began to worship Her and chant hymns to Her with great love and devotion. And he then asked that peaceful lady, the wife of Skanda, Who was shining like a summer sun :-- “O Beautiful! Who art Thou? Whose wife art Thou and whose daughter art Thou? From Thy appearance it seems that Thou art fortunate and respected amongst the female sex.”

23-24. O Nârada! In ancient times, when the Daityas dispossessed the Devas of their positions, this Lady was elected as a general and got victory for the Devas; hence She was named Devasenâ. Hearing the words of the King Priyavrata, Devasenâ, who fought for the Devas and was all good to the whole world, said :--

25-42. O King! I am the mind-born daughter of Brahmâ. My name is Devasenâ. The Creator before created Me out of His mind and made Me over to the hands of Skanda. Amongst the Mâtrikâs, I am known as Sasthî, the wife of Skanda. I am the sixth part of Prakriti; hence I am named Sasthî. I give sons to those who have no sons, wives to those who have no wives, wealth to the poor, and I give works to those who are workers (karmîs.)

Happiness, pain, fear, sorrow, joy, good, and wealth and adversity all are the fruits of Karmas. As the result of one’s Karmas, people get lots of sons and it is due to the result of one’s Karma again that people are denuded of all the issues of their family. As the result of Karma, the people get dead sons; and as the result of Karma the people get long lives. All enjoy the fruits of their Karmas, whether they be well qualified, or deformed or whether they have many wives, or whether they have no wife, whether they be beautiful, religious, diseased, it is all through Karmas, Karmas. Disease comes out of their Karmas. Again they get cured by their Karmas. So, O King! It is stated in the Vedas that Karma is the most powerful of all. Thus saying, Devasenâ took the dead child on her lap; and, by the wisdom, early made the child alive. The King saw the child, of a golden colour got back his life and began to smile. Thus bidding goodbye to the King, Devasenâ took the child and became ready to depart. At this the King’s palate and throat got dry and he began again to chant hymns to Her. The Devî Sasthî became pleased at the stotra made by the King. The Devî then addressed the King and said :-- “O King! All that is stated in the Vedas, is made up of Karmas. You are the son of Svâyambhuva Manu, and the Lord of the three worlds. You better promulgate My worship in the three worlds and you yourself worship Me. Then I will give you your beautiful son, the lotus of your family. Your son, born in part of Nârâyana, will be famous by the name of Suvrata. He will be well-qualified, a great literary man, able to remember his conditions in his former lives, the best of Yogis, performer of one hundred Yajñas, the best of all, bowed down by the Ksattriyas, strong as one lakh powerful elephants, wealthy, fortunate, pure, favourite of literary persons, learned and bestower of the fruits of the ascetics, renowned and bestower of wealth and prosperity to the three worlds.” Thus saying Devasenâ gave the the child to the king. When the king promised that he would promulgate Her worship, the Devî granted him boons and went up to the Heavens.

43-57. The king, too, becoming very glad and surrounded by his ministers, returned to his own abode and informed all about the son. The ladies of the house, become highly delighted when they heard everything. On the occasion of the son’s getting back his life, the king performed everywhere auspicious ceremonies. The worship of Sasthî Devî commenced. Wealth was bestowed to the Brâhmins. Since then, on every sixth day of the bright fortnight in every month, great festivals in honour of Sasthî Devî began to be celebrated. Since then, throughout the kingdom, on every sixth day after the birth of a child in the lying-in-chamber, Sasthî Devî began to be worshipped. On the twenty-first day, the auspicious moment, at the ceremony of giving rice to a child for the first time, when sixth months old, and on all other auspicious ceremonies of the children, Sasthî Devî’s worship was made extant and the king himself performed those worships with great care and according to due rules. Now I will tell you about the Dhyânam and method of worship and stotra as I heard from Dharma Deva, and as stated in Kauthuma S’âkhâ. Hear. He has said :-- In a S’âlagrâma stone, in a jar, on the root of a Bata tree, or drawing the figure on the floor of the rooms, or making an image of Sasthî Devî, the sixth part of Prakriti and installing it, one should worship the Devî. The Dhyânam is this :-- “O Devasenâ Thou art the bestower of good sons, the giver of good luck; Thou art mercy and kindness and the progenitor of the world; Thy colour is bright like that of the white Champaka flowers. Thou art decked with jewel ornaments. Thou art pure, and the highest and best Devî. Obeisance to Thee! I meditate on Thee.” Thus meditating, the worshipper should place flower on his own head. Then again meditating and uttering the principal mantra one is to offer the Pâdya (water for washing feet), Arghya, Âchamanîya, scents, flowers, dhûp, lights, offerings of food and best roots and fruits and one should worship thus with various things Sasthî Devî. “Om Hrîm Sasthî Devyai Svaha” is the principal Mantra of Sasthî Devî. This great Mantra of eight letters a man should repeat as his strength allows. After the Japam, the worshipper should chant hymns with devotion and undivided attention and then bow down. The Stotra (hymn) of Sasthî Devî as per Sâma Veda is very beautiful and son-bestowing.The lotus-born Brahmâ has said :-- If one repeats (makes Japam) this eight lettered mantra one lakh of times, one gets certainly a good son. O Best of Munis! Now I am going to say the auspicious stotra of Sasthî Devî as composed by Priyavrata. Hear.

58-73. One’s desires are fulfilled when one reads this very secret stotra. Thus the King Priyavrata said :-- “O Devî, Devasenâ! I bow down to Thee. O Great Devî! Obeisance to Thee! Thou art the bestower of Siddhis; Thou art peaceful; obeisance to Thee! Thou art the bestower of good; Thou art Devasenâ; Thou art Sasthî Devî, I bow down to Thee! Thou grantest boons to persons; Thou bestowest sons and wealth to men. So obeisance to Thee! Thou givest happiness and moksa; Thou art Sasthî Devî; I bow down to Thee. Thou thyself art Siddha; so I bow down to Thee. O Sasthî Devî! Thou art the sixth part of this creation; Thou art Siddha Yoginî, so I bow down to Thee. Thou art the essence, Thou art Sâradâ; Thou art the Highest Devî. So I bow down again and again to Thee. Thou art the Presiding Deity Sasthî Devî of the children; I bow down to Thee. Thou grantest good; Thou Thyself art good and Thou bestowest the fruits of all Karmas. O Thou O Sasthî Devî! Thou shewest thy form to thy devotees; I bow down to Thee! Thou art S’uddha Sattva and respected by all the persons in all their actions. Thou art the wife of Skanda. All worship Thee. O Sasthî Devî! Thou hadst saved the Devas. So obeisance to Thee O Sasthî Devî! Thou hast no envy, no anger; so obeisance to Thee. O Sures’varî! Give me wealth, give me dear things, give me sons.

Give me respect from all persons; give me victory; slay my enemies. O Mahesvarî! Give me Dharma; give me name and fame; I bow down again again to Sasthî Devî. O Sasthî Devî! worshipped reverentially by all! Give me lands, give me subjects, give me learning; have welfare for me; I bow down again and again to Sasthî Devî.” O Nârada! Thus praising the Devî, Priyavrata got a son, renowned and ruling over a great kingdom through the favour of Sasthî Devî. If any man that has no son, hears this stotra of Sasthî Devî for one year with undivided attention, he gets easily an excellent son, having a long life. If one worships for one year with devotion this Devasenâ and hears this stotra, even the most barren woman becomes freed from all her sins and gets a son. Through the grace of Sasthî Devî, that son becomes a hero, well qualified, literate, renowned and long-lived. If any woman who bears only a single child or delivers dead children hears with devotion for one year this stotra, she gets easily, through the Devî’s grace, a good son. If the father and mother both hear with devotion, this story during the period of their child’s illness, then the child becomes cured by the Grace of the Devî.

Here ends the Forty-sixth chapter of the Ninth Book on the anecdote of Sasthî Devî in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 47. On Manasâ’s Story

1-25 Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I have now narrated the anecdote of Sasthî as stated in the Vedas. Now hear the anecdote of Mangala Chandî, approved of by the Vedas and respected by the literary persons. The Chandî, that is very skilled in all auspicious works and who is the most auspicious of all good things, is Mangal Chandîkâ. Or the Chandî who is an object of worship of Mangala (Mars), the son of earth and the bestower of desires is Mangala Chandîkâ. Or the Chandî who is an object of worship of Mangala of the family of Manu who was the ruler of the whole world composed of seven islands and the bestower of all desires is Mangala Chandî. Or it may be that the Mûla Prakriti, the Governess, the Ever Gracious Durgâ assumed the form of Mangala Chandî and has become the Ista Devatâ of women. When there was the fight with Tripurâsura, this Mangala Chandî, higher than the highest was first worshipped by Mahâdeva, stimulated by Visnu, on a critical moment. O Brâhmin! While the fighting was going on, a Daitya threw out of anger one car on Mahâdeva and as that car was about to fall on Him, Brahmâ and Visnu gave a good advice when Mahâdeva began to praise Durgâ Devî at once. Durgâ Devî that time assuming the form of Mangala Chandî appeared and said “no fear no fear” Bhagavân Visnu will be Thy Carrier buffalo. I will be also Thy S’akti in the action and Hari, full of Mâyâ, will also help Thee. Thou better slayest the enemy that dispossessed the Devas. O Child! Thus saying, the Devî Mangala Chandî disappeared and She became the S’akti of Mahâ Deva. Then with the help of the weapon given by Visnu, the Lord of Umâ killed the Asura. When the Daitya fell, the Devas and Risis began to chant hymns to Mahâdeva with devotion and with their heads bent low. From the sky, a shower of flowers fell instantaneously on Mahâ Deva’s head. Brahmâ and Visnu became glad and gave their best wishes to Him. Then ordered by Brahmâ and Visnu, S’ankara bathed joyously. Then He began to worship with devotion the Devî Mangala Chandî with pâdya, Arghya, Âchamanîya and various clothings. Flowers, sandal paste, various goats, sheep, buffaloes, bisons, birds, garments, ornaments, garlands, Pâyasa (a preparation of rice, ghee, milk and sugar), Pistaka, honey, wine, and various fruits were offered in the worship. Dancing, music, with instruments and the chanting of Her name and other festivals commenced. Reciting the Dhyân as in Mâdhyandina, Mahâdeva offered everything, pronouncing the principal Radical Mantra, “Om Hrîm S’rîm Klîm Sarvapujye Devî Mangala Chandîke Hum Phat Svâhâ” is the twenty-one lettered Mantra of Mangala Chandî. During worship, the Kalpa Vriksa, the tree yielding all desires, must be worshipped. O Nârada! By repeating the Mantra ten lakhs of times, the Mantra Siddhi (success in realising the Deity inherent in the Mantra) comes. Now I am saying about the Dhyânam of Mangal Chandî as stated in the Vedas and as approved by all. Listen. “O Devî Mangala Chandîke! Thou art sixteen years old; Thou art ever youthful; Thy lips are like Bimba fruits, Thou art of good teeth and pure. Thy face looks like autumnal lotus; Thy colour is like white champakas; Thy eyes resemble blue lilies; Thou art the Preserver of the world and thou bestowest all sorts of prosperity. Thou art the Light in this dark ocean of the world. So I meditate on Thee.” This is the Dhyânam. Now hear the stotra, which Mahâdeva recited before Her.

26-37. Mahâdeva said :-- Protect me, Protect me, O Mother! O Devî Mangal Chandîke! Thou, the Destroyer of difficulties! Thou givest joy and good. Thou art clever in giving delight and fortune. Thou the bestower of all bliss and prosperity! Thou, the auspicious, Thou art Mangala Chandîkâ. Thou art Mangalâ, worthy of all good, Thou art the auspicious of all auspicious; Thou bestowest good to the good persons. Thou art worthy to be worshipped on Tuesday (the Mangala day); Thou art the Deity, desired by all. The King Mangala, born of Manu family always worships Thee. Thou, the presiding Devî of Mangala; Thou art the repository of all the good that are in this world. Thou, the Bestower of the auspicious Moksa. Thou, the best of all; Thou, the respository of all good; Thou makest one cross all the Karmas; the people worship Thee on every Tuesday; Thou bestowest abundance of Bliss to all. Thus praising Mangala Chandîkâ with this stotra, and worshipping on every Tuesday, S’ambhu departed. The Devî Sarva Mangalâ was first worshipped by Mahâdeva. Next she was worsh ipped by the planet Mars; then by the King Mangala; then on every Tuesday by the ladies of every household. Fifthly she was worshipped by all men, desirous of their welfare. So in every universe Mangal Chandîkâ, first worshipped by Mahâdeva, came to be worshipped by all. Next she came to be worshipped everywhere, by the Devas, Munis, Mânavas, Manus. O Muni! He who hears with undivided attention this stotra of the Devî Mangala Chandîkâ, finds no evils anywhere. Rather all good comes to him. Day after day he gets sons and grandsons and so his prosperity gets increased, yea, verily increased!

38-58. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Thus I narrated to you the stories of Sasthî and Mangala Chandîkâ, according to the Vedas. Now hear the story of Manasâ that I heard from the mouth of Dharama Deva.

Manasâ is the mind-born daughter of Maharsi Kas’yapa; hence she is named Manasâ; or it may be She who plays with the mind is Manasâ. Or it may be She who meditates on God with her mind and gets rapture in Her meditation of God is named Manasâ. She finds pleasure in Her Own Self, the great devotee of Visnu, a Siddha Yoginî. For three Yugas She worshipped S’rî Krisna and then She became a Siddha Yoginî. S’rî Krisna, the Lord of the Gopîs, seeing the body of Manasâ lean and thin due to austerities, or seeing her worn out like the Muni Jarat Kâru called her by the name of Jarat Kâru. Hence Her name has come also to be Jarat Kâru. Krisna, the Ocean of Mercy, gave her out of kindness, Her desired boon; She worshipped Him and S’rî Krisna also worshipped Her. Devî Manasâ is known in the Heavens, in the abode of the Nâgas (serpents), in earth, in Brahmâloka, in all the worlds as of very fair colour, beautiful and charming. She is named Jagad Gaurî as she is of a very fair colour in the world. Her other name is S’aivî and she is the disciple of S’iva. She is named Vaisnavî as she is greatly devoted to Visnu. She saved the Nâgas in the Snake Sacrifice performed by Pariksit, she is named Nages’varî and Nâga Bhaginî and She is capable to destroy the effects of poison. She is called Visahari. She got the Siddha yoga from Mahâdeva; hence She is named Siddha Yoginî; She got from Him the great knowledge, so she is called Mahâ Jñanayutâ, and as she got Mritasamjîvanî (making alive the dead) she is known by the name of Mritasanjîvanî. As the great ascetic is the mother of the great Muni Âstîk, she is known in the world as Âstîka mâtâ. As She is the dear wife of the great high-souled Yogi Muni Jarat Kâru, worshipped by all, she is called as Jarat

Kârupriya, Jaratkâru, Jagadgaurî, Manasâ, Siddha Yoginî, Vaisnavî, Nâga Bhaginî, S'aivi, Nages’varî, Jaratkârupriyâ, Âstikamâtâ, Visahari, and Mahâ Jñanayutâ; these are the twelve names of Manasâ, worshipped everywhere in the Universe. He who recites these twelve names while worshipping Manasâ Devî, he or any of his family has no fear of snakes. If there be any fear of snakes in one’s bed, if the house be infested with snakes or if one goes to a place difficult for fear of snakes or if one’s body be encircled with snakes, all the fears are dispelled, if one reads this stotra of Manasâ. There is no doubt in this. The snakes run away out of fear from the sight of him who daily recites the Manasâ stotra. Ten lakhs of times repeating the Manasâ mantra give one man success in the stotra. He can easily drink poison who attains success in this stotra. The snakes become his ornaments; they carry him even on their backs. He who is a great Siddha can sit on a seat of snakes and can sleep on a bed of snakes. In the end he sports day and night with Visnu.

Here ends the Forty-seventh Chapter of the Ninth Book on Manasâ’s story in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 48. On The Anecdote Of Manasâ

1-30. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I will now speak of the Dhyânam and the method of worship of S’rî Devî Manasâ, as stated in the Sâma Veda. Hear. “I meditate on the Devî Manasâ, Whose colour is fair like that of the white champaka flower, whose body is decked all over with jewel ornaments, whose clothing is purified by fire, whose sacred thread is the Nâgas (serpent), who is full of wisdom, who is the foremost of great Jñanins, who is the Presiding deity of the Siddhas, Who Herself is a Siddha and who bestows Siddhis to all.” O Muni! Thus meditating on Her, one should present Her, flowers, scents, ornaments, offerings of food and various other articles, pronouncing the principal Seed Mantra. O Nârada! The twelve lettered Siddha Mantra, to be mentioned below, yields to the Bhaktas their desires like the Kalpa Tree. Now the Radical mantra as stated in the Vedas is “Om Hrîm S’rîm Klîm Aim Manasâ Devyai Svâhâ.” Repetition of this, five lakhs of times, yields success to one who repeats. He who attains success in this mantra gets unbounded name and fame in this world. Poison becomes nectar to him and he himself becomes famous like Dhanvantari. O Nârada! If anybody bathes on any Samkrânti day (when the sun enters from one sign to another) and going to a private room (hidden room), invokes the Devî Manasâ Îs’ânâ and worships Her with devotion, or makes sacrifices of animals before the Devî on the fifth day of the fortnight, he becomes certainly wealthy, endowed with sons and name and fame. Thus I have described to you the method of worship of Manasâ Devî. Now hear the anecdote of the Devî as I heard from Dharma. In olden days, men became greatly terrified on earth from snakes and took refuge of Kas’yapa, the supreme amongst the Munis. The Maharsi Kas’yapa became very afraid. He then with Brahmâ, and by His command composed a mantra following the principal motto of the Vedas. While composing this mantra, he intensely thought of the Devî, the Presiding Deity of that Mantra, through the power of his Tapasyâ and through the mental power, the Devî Manasâ appeared and was named so, as She was produced from the sheer influence of mind. On being born, the girl went to the abode of S’ankara in Kailâs’a and began to worship Him and chant hymns to Him with devotion. For one thousand Divine years, the daughter of Kas’yapa served Mahâdeva when He became pleased. He gave her the Great Knowledge, made Her recite the Sâma Veda and bestowed to her the eight-lettered Krisna mantra which is like the Kalpa Tree. S’rîm Hrîm Klîm Krisnâya Namah was the eight lettered Mantra. She got from Him the Kavacha (amulet) auspicious to the three worlds, the method of worship and all the rules of Purascharana (repetition of the name of a deity attended with burnt offerings, oblations, etc.) and went by His command to perform in Puskara very hard austerities. There she worshipped Krisna for the three Yugas. S’rî Krisna then appeared before Her. On seeing Krisna, immediately the girl, worn out by austerities, worshipped Him, and she was also worshipped by S’rî Krisna. Krisna granted her the boon, “Let you be worshipped throughout the world” and departed. O Nârada! She was thus first worshipped by the Supreme Spirit, the Devî Krisna; secondly by S’ankara; thirdly by the Maharsi Kas’yapa and the Devas. Then she was worshipped by the Munis, Manus, Nâgas, and men; and She became widely renowned in the three worlds. Kas’yapa gave Her over to the hands of Jaratkâru Muni. At the request of the Brâhmin Kas’yapa, the Muni Jarat Kâru married Her. After the marriage, one day, being tired with his long work of Tapasyâ, Jarat Kâru laid his head on the hip and loins of his married wife and fell fast asleep. Gradually the evening came in. The sun set. Then Manasâ thought, “If my husband fails to perform the Sandhyâ, the daily duty of the Brâhmanas, he would be involved in the sin of Brahmahatyâ. It is definitely stated in the S’âstras, that if any Brâhmana does not perform his Sandhyâ in the morning and in the evening, he becomes wholly impure and the sins Brahmahattyâ and other crimes come down on his head.” Arguing thus, these thoughts in her mind, as commanded by the Vedas, at last she awakened her husband, who then got up from his sleep.

31-60. The Muni Jarat Kâru said :-- “O Chaste One! I was sleeping happily. Why have you thus interrupted my sleep? All his vows turn out useless who injures her husband. Her tapas, fastings, gifts, and other meritorious works all come to vain who do things unpleasant to her husband. If she worships her husband, she is said to have worshipped S’rî Krisna. For the sake of fulfilling the vows of the chaste women, Hari himself becomes their husbands. All sorts of charities, gifts, all sacrifices, fastings, practising all the virtues, keeping to truth, worshipping all the Devas, nothing can turn out equal to even one-sixteenth part of serving one’s husband. She ultimately goes with her husband to the region of Vaikuntha, who serves her husband in this holy land Bhârata. She comes certainly of a bad family who does unpleasant acts to her husband or who uses unpleasant words to her husband. She goes to the Kumbhîpâka hell as long as the Sun and Moon last and then she becomes born as a Chandâlî, without husband and son.” Speaking thus, Jarat Kâru, the best of the Munis, became angry and his lips began to tremble. Seeing this, the best Manasâ, shivering with fear, addressed her husband :--

I have broken your sleep and awakened you, fearing you might miss your time of Sandhyâ. I have committed an offence. Punish me as you think. I know that a man goes to the Kâlasûtra hell as long as the Sun and Moon last in this world, who throws an obstacle when any man eats, sleeps or enjoys with the opposite sex. O Nârada! Thus saying, the Devî Manasâ fell down at the feet of her husband and cried again and again. On the other hand, knowing the Muni angry, and ready to curse her, the Sun came there with Sandhyâ Devî. And He humbly spoke to him with fear :-- “O Bhagavân! Seeing Me going to set, and fearing that you may miss Dharma, your chaste wife has  awakened you. O Brâhmin! Now I am also under your refuge; forgive me. O Bhagavân! You should not curse Me. The more so, a Brâhmana’s heart is as tender as the fresh butter. The anger of a Brâhman lasts only half the twinkling of an eye (Ksan). When a Brâhmana becomes angry, he can burn all this world and can make a new creation. So who can possess an influence like a Brâhmana. A Brâhmin is a part of Brahmâ; he is shining day and night with the Tejas of Brahmâ. A Brâhmana meditates always on the Eternal Light of Brahmâ.” O Nârada! Hearing the words of the Sun, the Brâhmin became satisfied and blessed Him. The Sun also went to His own place, thus blessed daily. To keep his promise, the Brâhmin Jaratkâru quitted Manasâ. She became very sorry and began to cry aloud with pain and anguish. Being very much distressed by the then danger, she remembered Her Îsta Deva, Mahâdeva, Brahmâ, Hari and Her father Maharsi Kas’yapa. On the very instant when Manasâ remembered S’rî Krisna, the Lord of the Gopis, Mahâdeva, Brahmâ and Maharsi Kas’yapa appeared there. Then seeing his own desired Deity S’rî Krisna, superior to Prakriti, beyond the attributes, Jaratkâru began to praise Him and bowed down to Him repeatedly. Then bowing down to Mahâdeva, Brahmâ and Kas’yapa, he enquired why they had come there. Brahmâ, then, instantly bowed down at the lotus feet of Hrisîkes’a and spoke in befitting words at that time if the Brâhmin Jaratkâru leaves at all his legal wife, devoted to her own Dharma, he should first of all have a son born of her to fulfil his Dharma. O Muni! Any man can quit his wife, after he has impregnated her and got a son. But if without having a son, he leaves his wife, then all his merits are lost as all water leaks out of a sieve or a strainer. O Nârada! Hearing thus the words of Brahmâ, the Muni Jaratkâru by his Yogic power recited a Mantra and touching the navel of Manasâ spoke to her :-- “O Manasâ! A son will be born in your womb self-controlled, religious, and best of the Brâhmanas.

61-77. That son will be fiery, energetic, renowned, well-qualified the foremost of the Knowers of the Vedas, a great Jñânin and the best of the Yogis. That son is a true son, indeed, who uplifts his family who is religious and devoted to Hari. At his birth all the Pitris dance with great joy. And the wife is a true wife who is devoted to her husband, good-natured and sweet-speaking and she is religious, she is the mother of sons, she is the woman of the family and she is the preserver of the family. He is the true friend, indeed, the giver of one’s desired fruits, who imparts devotion to Hari. That father is a true father who shows the way to devotion to Hari. And She is the True Mother, through whom this entering into wombs ceases for ever, yea, for ever! That sister is the true kind sister from whom the fear of Death vanishes. That Guru is the Guru who gives the Visnu Mantra and the true devotion to Visnu. That Guru is the real bestower of knowledge who gives the Jñânam by which S’rî Krisna is meditated in whom this whole universe, moving and non-moving from the Brahmâ down to a blade of grass, is appearing and disappearing. There is no doubt in this. What knowledge can be superior to that of S’rî Krisna. The knowledge derived from the Vedas, or from the sacrifices or from any other source is not superior to the service to S’rî Krisna. The devotion and knowledge of S’rî Hari is the Essence of all knowledge; all else is vain and mockery. It is through this Real Knowledge; that this bondage from this world is severed. But the Guru who does not impart this devotion and knowledge of S’rî Hari is not the real Guru; rather he is an enemy that leads one to bondage. Verily he kills his disciple when he does not free him. He can never be called a Guru, father or friend who does not free his disciple from the pains in the various wombs and from the pains of death. Verily he can never be called a friend who does not show the way to the Undecaying S’rî Krisna, the Source of the Highest Bliss. So, O Chaste One! You better worship that Undecaying Para Brahmâ S’rî Krisna, Who is beyond the attributes. O Beloved! I have left you out of a pretence; please excuse me for this. The chaste women are always forgiving; never they become angry because they are born of Sattvagunas. Now I go to Puskara for Tapasyâ; you better go wherever you like. Those who have no desire have their minds always attached to the lotus feet of S’rî Krisna.” O Nârada! Hearing the words of Jaratkâru, the Devî Manasâ became very much distressed and bewildered with great sorrow. Tears began to flow from her eyes. She then humbly spoke to her dearest husband :-- “O Lord! I have not committed any such offence, as you leave me altogether when I have thus broken your sleep.

78-115. However kindly show Thyself to me when I will recollect you. The bereavement of one’s friend is painful; more than that is the bereavement of a son. Again one’s husband is dearer than one hundred sons; so the bereavement of one’s husband is the heaviest of all. To women, the husband is the most beloved of  all earthly things; hence he is called Priya, i.e., dear. As the heart of one who has only one son is attached to that son, as the heart of a Vaisnava is attached to S’rî Hari; as the mind of one-eyed man to his one eye, as the mind of the thirsty is attached to water, as the mind of the hungry is attached to food, as the mind of the passionate is attached to lust, as the mind of a thief is attached to the properties of others, as the mind of a lewd man to his prostitute, as the mind of the learned is attached to the S’âstras, as the mind of a trader is attached to his trade, so the minds of chaste women are attached to their husbands.” Thus saying, Manasâ fell down at the feet of her husband. Jaratkâru, the ocean of mercy, then, took her for a moment on his lap and drenched her body with tears from his eyes. The Devî Manasâ, too, distressed at the bereavement of her husband also drenched the lap of the Muni with tears from her eyes. Some time after, the true knowledge arose in them and they both became free from fear. Jaratkâru then enlightened his wife and asked her to meditate on the lotus feet of S’rî Krisna the Supreme Spirit repeatedly; thus saying he went away for his Tapasyâ. Manasâ, distressed with sorrow, went to his Îsta Deva Mahâdeva on Kailâs’a. The auspicious S’iva and Pârvatî both consoled her with knowledge and advice. Some days after, on an auspicious they and on an auspicious moment she gave birth to a son born in part of Nârâyana, and as the Guru of the Yogis and as the Preceptor of the Jñânins. When the child was in mother’s womb, he heard the highest knowledge from the mouth of Mahâdeva; therefore he was born as a Yogîndra and the Spiritual Teacher of the Jñânins. On his birth, Bhagavân S’ankara performed his natal ceremonies and performed various auspicious ceremonies. The Brâhmanas chanted the Vedas for the welfare of the child; various wealth and jewels and Kirîtas and invaluable gems were distributed by S’ankara to the Brâhmanas; and Pârvatî gave one lakh cows and various jewels to others. After some days, Mahâdeva taught him the four Vedas with their Angas (six limbs) and gave him, at last, the Mrityumjaya Mantra. As in Manasâ’s mind there reigned the devotion to her husband, the devotion to her Îsta Deva and Guru, the child’s name was kept Âstika.

Âstika then got the Mahâ Mantra from S’ankara and by his command went to Puskara to worship Visnu, the Supreme Spirit. There he practised tapasyâ for three lakh divine years. And then he returned to Kailâs’a, to bow down to the great Yogi and the Lord S’ankara, Then, bowing down to S’ankara, he remained there for some time when Manasâ with her son Âstika went to the hermitage of Kas’yapa, her father. Seeing Manasâ with son, the Maharsi’s gladness knew no bounds. He fed innumerable Brâhmanas for the welfare of the child, and distributed lakhs and lakhs of jewels. The joy of Aditi and Diti (the wives of Kas’yapa) knew no bounds; Manasâ remained there for a long, long time with his son. O Child! Hear now an anecdote on this. One day due to a bad Karma, a Brâhmana cursed the king Pariksit, the son of Abhimanyu; one Risi’s son named S’ringî, sipping the water of the river Kaus’ikî cursed thus :-- “When a week expires, the snake Taksaka will bite you, and you will be burnt with the poison of that snake Taksaka.” Hearing this, the King Pariksit, to preserve his life, went to a place, solitary where wind even can have no access and he lived there. When the week was over, Dhanvantari saw, while he was going on the road, the snake Taksaka who was also going to bite the king. A conversation and a great friendship arose between them; Taksaka gave him voluntarily a gem; and Dhanvantari, getting it, became pleased and went back gladly to his house. The king Pariksit was lying on his bed-stead when Taksaka bit the king. The king died soon and went to the next world. The king Janamejaya then performed the funeral obsequies of his father and commenced afterwards the Sarpa Yajñâ (a sacrifice where the snakes are the victims). In that sacrifice, innumerable snakes gave up their lives by the Brahmâ Teja (the fire of the Brâhmins). At this, Taksaka became terrified and took refuge of Indra. The Brâhmins, then, in a body, became, ready to burn Taksaka along with Indra, when, Indra and the other Devas went to Manasâ. Mahendra, bewildered with fear, began to chant hymns to Manasâ. Manasâ called his own son Âstika who then went to the sacrificial assembly of the king Janamejaya and begged that the lives of Indra and Taksaka be spared. The king, then, at the command of the Brâhmanas, granted their lives. The king, then, completed his sacrifice and gladly gave the Daksinâs to the Brâhmins. The Brâhmanas, Munis, and Devas collected and went to Manasâ and worshipped Her separately and chanted hymns to Her. Indra went there with the various articles and He worshipped Manasâ with devotion and with great love and care; and He chanted hymns to Her. Then bowing down before Her, and under the instructions of Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a, offered her sixteen articles, sacrifices and various other good and pleasant things. O Nârada! Thus worshipping Her, they all went to their respective places. Thus I have told you the anecdote of Manasâ. What more do you want to hear. Say.

Nârada said :-- “O Lord! How did Indra praise Her and what was the method of His worshipping Her; I want to hear all this.”

116-124. Nârâyana said :-- Indra first took his  bath; and, performing Âchamana and becoming pure, He put on a fresh and clean clothing and placed Manasâ Devî on a jewel throne. Then reciting the Vedic mantras he made Her perform Her bath by the water of the Mandâkinî, the celestial river Ganges, poured from a jewel jar and then He made Her put on the beautiful clothing, uninflammable by fire. Then He caused sandalpaste to be applied to Her body all over with devotion and offered water for washing Her feet and Arghya, an offering of grass and flowers and rice, etc., as a token of preliminary worship. First of all the six Devatâs Ganes’a, Sun, Fire, Visnu, S’iva, and S’ivâ were worshipped. Then with the ten lettered mantra, “Om Hrîm S’rîm Manasâ Devyai Svâhâ” offered all the offerings to Her. Stimulated by the God Visnu, Indra worshipped with great joy the Devî with sixteen articles so very rare to any other person. Drums and instruments were sounded. From the celestial heavens, a shower of flowers was thrown on the head of Manasâ. Then, at the advice of Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a, the Devas and the Brâhmanas, Indra, with tears in his eyes, began to chant hymns to Manasâ, when his whole body was thrilled with joy and hairs stood on their ends.

125-145. Indra said :-- “O Devî Manase! Thou standest the highest amongst the chaste women. Therefore I want to chant hymns to Thee. Thou art higher than the highest. Thou art most supreme. What I now praise Thee? Chanting hymns is characterised by the description of one’s nature; so it is said in the Vedas. But, O Prakriti! I am unable to ascertain and describe Thy qualities. Thou art of the nature of S’uddha Sattva (higher than the pure sattva unmixed with any other Gunas); Thou art free from anger and malice. The Muni Jaratkâru could not forsake Thee; therefore it was that he prayed for Thy separation before. O Chaste One! I have now worshipped Thee. Thou art an object of worship as my mother Aditi is. Thou art my sister full of mercy; Thou art the mother full of forgiveness. O Sures’varî! It is through Thee that my wife, sons and my life are saved. I am worshipping Thee. Let Thy love be increased. O World-Mother! Thou art eternal; though Thy worship is extant everywhere in the universe; yet I worship Thee to have it extended further and further. O Mother! Those who worship Thee with devotion on the Sankrânti day of the month of Âsûdha, or on the Nâga Pañchamî day, or on the Sankrânti day of every month or on every day, they get their sons and grandsons, wealth and grains increased and become themselves famous, well gratified, learned and renowned. If anybody does not worship Thee out of ignorance, rather if he censures Thee, he will be bereft of Laksmî and he will be always afraid of snakes. Thou art the Griha Laksmî of all the householders and the Râja Laksmî of Vaikuntha. Bhagavân Jarat Kâru, the great Muni, born in part of Nârâyana, is Thy husband. Father Kas’yapa has created Thee mentally by his power of Tapas and fire to preserve us; Thou art his mental creation; hence thy name is Manasâ. Thou Thyself hast become Siddha Yoginî in this world by thy mental power; hence thou art widely known as Manasâ Devî in this world and worshipped by all. The Devas always worship Thee mentally with devotion; hence the Pundits call Thee by the name of Manasâ. O Devî! Thou always servest Truth, hence Thou art of the nature of Truth. He certainly gets Thee who always thinks of Thee verily as of the nature of truth.” O Nârada! Thus praising his sister Manasâ and receiving from her the desired boon, Indra went back, dressed in his own proper dress, to his own abode. The Devî Manasâ, then, honored and worshipped everywhere, and thus worshipped by her brother, long lived in Her father’s house, with Her son.

One day Surabhi (the heavenly cow) came from the Goloka and bathed Manasâ with milk and worshipped Her with great devotion and revealed to Her all the Tattva Jñânas, to be kept very secret. (This is now made the current story wherever any Lingam suddenly becomes visible.) O Nârada! Thus worshipped by the Devas and Surabhi, the Devî Manasâ went to the Heavenly regions. O Muni! One gets no fear from snakes who recites this holy Stotra composed by Indra and worships Manasâ; his family descendants are freed from the fear due to snakes. If anybody becomes Siddha in this Stotra, poison becomes nectar to him. Reciting the stotra five lakhs of times makes a man Siddha in this Stotra. So much so that he can sleep on a bed of snakes and he can ride on snakes.

Here ends the Forty-eighth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the anecdote of Manasâ in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 49. On The Anecdote Of Surabhi

1. Nârada said :-- “O Bhagavân! Who was that Surabhi, who came down from the region of Goloka. I want to hear Her life. Kindly describe.”

2-23. Nârâyana spoke :-- “O Devarsi! The Devî Surabhi sprang in the Goloka. She was the first in the creation of cows; and, from Her, all the other cows have come. She is the Presiding Deity of the cows. I will now speak Her history from the very beginning. Hear. Before, She appeared in the holy Vrindâban. One day the Lord of Râdhâ, surrounded by the Gopîs, was going gladly with Râdhâ to the Holy Vrindâvan. There he began to enjoy in a solitary place with great pleasure. He is All Will and suddenly a desire arose in His mind that He would drink milk. Then He created easily the Devî Surabhi, full of milk, with Her calf, from His own left side. The calf of Surabhi is nothing else but Her wish personified. Seeing Surabhi, S’rîdâma milked Her in a new earthen jar. The milk is more sweet than even the nectar and it prevents birth and death! The Lord of the Gopîs drank the milk. What milk dropped out of the jar, created a big tank! The tank measured one hundred Yojanas in length and in breadth and is known in Goloka by the name of Ksîrasâgara. The Gopîkas and Râdhâ play therein. At the will of S’rî Krisna, Whose Nature is All Will, that tank become full of excellent gems and jewels. Then, from every pore of Surabhi, there appeared suddenly one lakh koti Kâmadhenus (cows who yields according to one’s desires). So much so that every Gopa who used to live there in Goloka had one Kâmadhenu and each house had one such. Their calves again became so many that no limit can be put to them. Thus, by degrees, the whole universe was filled with cows. This is the origin of the Cow Creation. O Nârada! Surabhi was first worshipped by Bhagavân S’rî Krisna. Therefore She is so much honoured everywhere. On the day next the Divâlî night (new moon in the month of October), Surabhi was worshipped by the command of S’rî Krisna. This is heard from the mouth of Dharma Deva. O Child! Now hear the Dhyânam, Stotra, and the method of worship of Surabhi as mentioned in the Vedas. I will now speak on this. “Om Surabhyai namah,” is the principal six-lettered mantra of Surabhi. If anybody repeats this mantra one lakh times, he becomes Siddha in this mantra. This is like Kalpa Vriksa (a tree yielding all desires) to the devotees. The Dhyânam of Surabhi is mentioned in the Yajur Vedas. Success, prosperity, increase and freedom come as the result of worshipping Surabhi. The Dhyânam runs as follows :-- “O Devî Surabhi! Thou art Laksmî, Thou art best, Thou art Râdhâ; Thou art the chief companion of S’rî Râdhâ, Thou art the first and the source of the cow-creation, Thou art holy and Thou sanctifiest the persons; Thou fufillest the desires of the devotees and Thou purifiest the whole universe. Therefore I meditate on Thee.” Reciting this Dhyânam, the Brâhmanas worship the Devî Surabhi in jars, on the heads of cows, or on the pegs where cows are fastened or on S’âlagrâma stone or in water or in fire. O Muni! He who worships with devotion on the next day morning after Divâlî night, becomes also worshipped in this world. Once a day in the Vârâhakalpa Surabhi did not yield milk, by the influence of Visnu Mâyâ. The Devas became very anxious. Then they went to the Brahmaloka and began to praise Brahmâ. At His advice, Indra began to chant hymns (Stotra) to Surabhi :--

24-33. The Devendra said :-- “O World-Mother! O Devî! O Mahâ Devî! O Surabhi! Thou art the source of the cow creation. Obeisance to Thee! Thou art the dear companion of Râdhâ; Thou art the part of Kamalâ; Thou art dear to S’rî Krisna; Thou art the mother of cows, I bow down to Thee. Thou art like the Kalpa Vriksa (a tree yielding all desires), Thou art the Chief of all; Thou yieldest milk, wealth and prosperity and increase thereof. So I bow down to Thee. Thou art auspicious, Thou art good, Thou bestowest cows. Obeisance to Thee! Thou givest fame, name and Dharma. So I bow down to Thee.” O Nârada! Thus hearing the praise sung by Indra, the eternal Surabhi, the originator of the world, became very glad and appeared in the Brahmaloka. Granting boon to Mahendra, so very rare to others and desired by him, Subrabhi went to the Goloka. The Devas, also, went back to their own abodes. The whole world was now full of milk; clarified butter came out of the milk; and from clarified butter sacrifices began to be performed and the Devas were fed and they became pleased. O Child! He who recites this holy Stotra of Surabhi with devotion, gets cows, other wealth, name, fame and sons. The reciting of this Stotra qualifies one as if he had bathed in all the sacred places of pilgrimages and he had acquired the fruits of all the sacrifices. Enjoying happiness in this world, be goes in the end to the Temple of S’rî Krisna. There living long in the service of Krisna, he becomes able to be a son of Brahmâ.

Here ends the Forty-ninth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the anecdote of Surabhi in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 50. On The Glory Of S’akti

1-4. Nârada said :-- “O Bhagavân! I have heard all the anecdotes of Prakriti, as according to the S’âstras, that lead to the freedom from birth and death in this world. Now I want to hear the very secret history of S’rî Râdhâ and Durgâ as described in the Vedas. Though you have told me about their glories, yet I am not satisfied. Verily, where is he whose heart does not melt away on hearing the glories of both of them! This world is originated from their parts and is being controlled by them. The devotion towards them frees one easily from the bonds of Samsâra (rounds of birth and death). O Muni! Kindly describe now about them.”

5-44. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I am now describing the characters of Râdhâ and Durgâ, as described in the Vedas; listen. I did not describe to anybody this Secret which is the Essence of all essences and Higher than the highest. This is to be kept very secret. Hearing this, one ought not to divulge it to any other body. Râdhâ presides over the Prâna and Durgâ presides over the Buddhi. From these two, the Mûlaprakriti has originated this world. These two S’aktis guide the whole world. From the Mahâvirât to the small insect, all, moving or non-moving, are under the Mûlaprakriti. One must satisfy them. Unless these two be satisfied, Mukti cannot be obtained.

Therefore one ought to serve Mûla Prakriti for Her satisfaction. Now of the two in Mûla Prakriti, I will describe fully the Râdhâ Mantra. Listen. Brahmâ, Visnu, and others always worship this mantra. The principal mantra is “S’rî Râdhâyai Svâhâ.” By this six lettered mantra Dharma and other fruits all are obtained with ease. If to this six lettered Mûla mantra Hrîm be added, it yields gems and jewels as desired. So much so, if thousand koti mouths and one hundred koti tongues are obtained, the glory of this mantra cannot be described. When the incorporeal voice of Mûla Prakriti was heard in the Heavens, this mantra was obtained, first by Krisna in the Râsa Mandalam in the region of Goloka where all love sentiments are played. (The Vedas declare him as Raso vai Sah). From Krisna, Visnu got the Mantra; from Visnu, Brahmâ got; from Brahmâ Virât got, from Virât, Dharma, and from Dharma I have got this Mantra. Repeating that Mantra, I am known by the name of Risi. Brahmâ and the other Devas meditate always on the Mûla Prakriti with greatest joy and ecstasy. Without the worship of Râdhâ, never can the worship of S’rî Krisna be done. So men, devoted to Visnu, should first of all worship Râdhâ by all means. Râdhâ is the Presiding Deity of the Prâna of S’rî Krisna. Hence S’rî Krisna is so much subject to Râdhâ. The Lady of the Râsa Mandalam remains always close to Him. Without Her S’rî Krisna could not live even for a moment. The name Râdhâ is derived from “Râdhnoti” or fulfills all desires. Hence Mûla Prakriti is termed Râdhâ. I am the Risi of all the mantras but the Durgâ Mantra mentioned in this Ninth Skandha. Gâyatrî is the chhanda (mantra) of those mantras and Râdhikâ is the Devatâ of them. Really, Nârâyana is the Risi of all the mantras; Gâyatrî is the chhanda; Prânava (om) is the Vîja (seed) and Bhuvanes’varî (the Directrix of the world) is the S’akti. First of all the principal mantra is to be repeated six times; then meditation of the great Devî Râdhikâ, the S’akti of the Risis is to be done, as mentioned in the Sâma Veda. The meditation of Râdhâ is as follows :-- O Devî Radhike! Thy colour is like white Champaka flower; Thy face is like the autumnal Full Moon; Thy body shines with the splendour of ten million moons, Thy eyes look beautiful like autumnal lotus; Thy lips are red like Bimba fruits, Thy loins are very heavy and decked with the girdle (Kânchî) ornament; Thy face is always gracious with sweet smiles; Thy breasts defy the frontal globe of an elephant. Thou art ever youthful as if twelve years old; Thy body is adorned all over with ornaments! Thou art the waves of the ocean of S’ringâra (love sentiments.) Thou art ever ready to show Thy grace to the devotees; on Thy braid of hair garlands of Mallikâ and Mâlatî are shining; Thy body is like a creeping plant, very gentle and tender; Thou art seated in the middle of Râsa Mandalam as the Chief Directrix; Thy one hand is ready to grant boons and another hand expresses “Have no fear.” Thou art of a peaceful appearance; Thou art ever youthful; Thou art seated on a jewel throne; Thou art the foremost guide of the Gopîkâs; Thou art dearer to Krisna than even His life; O Parame’svarî! The Vedas reveal Thy nature. Meditating thus, one is to bathe the Devî on a S’âlagrâma stone, jar, yantra or the eight petalled lotus and then worship Her duly. First the Devî is to be invoked; then Pâdya and Âsana, etc., are to be offered, the principal Mantra being pronounced at every time an offering is given. After giving water for washing both the feet, Arghya is to be placed on the head and Âchamanîyam water to be offered three times on the face. Madhuparka (an oblation of honey, milk etc.) and a cow giving a good quantity of milk are next to be offered. Then the yantra is to be thought of as the bathing place where the Devî is to be bathed. Then Her body is to be wiped and a fresh cloth given for putting on. Sandalpaste and various other ornaments are next to be given. Various garlands of flowers with Tulasî Manjari (flower stalks) Pârijâta flower and Satapatra etc., then, are to be offered. Then within the eight petals, the family members of the Devî are to be thought of; worship is next to be offered in the right hand direction (with the hands of the watch). First of all, Mâlâvatî on the petal in front of (on the east) the Devî, then Mâdhavî on the southeast corner, then Ratnamâlâ on the south, Sus’îlâ on the south-west, Sas’ikalâ on the west, Pârijâta on the north-west, Parâvatî on the north and the benefactious Sundarî on the north-east corner are to be worshipped in order. Outside this, Brâhmî and the other Mâtrikâs are to be worshipped and on the Bhûpûras (the entrances of the yantra,) the Regents of the quarters, the Dikpâlas and the weapons of the Devî, thunderbolt, etc., are to be worshipped . Then all the attendant Deities of the Devî are to be worshipped with scents and various other articles. Thus finishing the worship, one should chant the Stotra (hymns) named Sahasra-nâma (thousand names) Stotra with care and devotion. O Nârada! The intelligent man who worships thus the Râses’varî Devî Râdhâ, becomes like Visnu and goes to the Goloka.

He who performs the birthday anniversary of S’rî Râdhâ on the Full-Moon day of the month of Kârtik, gets the blessings of S’rî Râdhâ who remains near to him. For some reason Râdhâ, the dweller in Goloka was born in Brindâban as the daughter of Vrisavânu. However, according to the number of letters of the mantras that are mentioned in this chapter, Purascharana is to be made and Homa, one-tenth of Purascharana, is to be then performed. The Homa is to be done with ghee, honey, and milk; the three sweet things mixed with Til and with devotion.

45. Nârada said :-- “O Bhagavân; Now describe the Stotra (hymn) Mantra by which the Devî is pleased.”

46-100. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Now I am saying the Râdhâ Stotra. Listen. O Thou, the Highest Deity, the Dweller in Râsa Mandalam! I bow down to Thee; O Thou, the Chief Directrix of the Râsa Mandalam; O Thou dearer to Krisna than His life even, I bow down to Thee. O Thou, the Mother of the three Lokas! O Thou the Ocean of mercy! Be pleased. Brahmâ, Visnu and the other Devas bow down before Thy lotus feet. Thou art Sarasvatî; Thou art Savitrî; Thou art S’ankarî; I bow down to Thee; Thou art Gangâ; Thou art Padmâvatî; Thou art Sasthî; Thou art Mangalâ Chandikâ; Thou art Manasâ; Thou art Tulasî; Thou art Durgâ; Thou art Bhagavatî; Thou art Laksmî; Thou art all, I bow down to Thee. Thou art the Mûla Prakriti; Thou art the Ocean of mercy. Obeisance to Thee! Be merciful to us and save us from this ocean of Samsâra (round of birth and death). O Nârada! Anybody who remembers Râdhâ and reads this Stotra three times a day does not feel the want of anything in this world. He will ultimately go to Goloka and remain in the Râsa Mandalam. O Child This great secret ought never to be given out to any. Now I am telling you the method of worship of the Durgâ Devî. Hear. When any one remembers Durgâ in this world, all his difficulties and troubles are removed. It is not seen that anybody does not remember Durgâ. She is the object of worship of all. She is the Mother of all and the Wonderful S’akti of Mahâdeva. She is the Presiding Deity of the intellect (Buddhi) of all and She controls the hearts of all and She removes the great difficulties and dangers of all. Therefore She is named Durgâ in the world. She is worshipped by all, whether a S’aiva or a Vaisnava. She is the Mûla Prakriti and from Her the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe proceed. O Nârada! Now I am saying the principal nine lettered Durgâ Mantra, the best of all the Mantras. “Aim Hrîm Klîm Châmundâyai Vichche” is the nine lettered Vîja mantra of S’rî Durgâ; it is like a Kalpa Vriksa yielding all desires. One should worship this mantra by all means. Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes’a are the Risis of this mantra; Gâyatrî, Usnik and Anusthubha are the chhandas; Mahâkâlî, Mahâ Laksmî and Sarasvatî are the Devatâs; Rakta Dantikâ, Durgâ, and Bhrâmarî are the Vîjas. Nandâ, Sâkambharî, and Bhîmâ are the S’aktis and Dharma (Virtue), Artha (wealth) and Kâma (desires), are the places of application (Viniyoga). Assign the head to the Risi of the mantra (Nyâsa); assign the chhandas to the mouth and assign the Devatâ to the heart. Then assign the S’akti to the right breast for the success and assign the Vîja to the left breast.

Then perform the Sadamga Nyâsa as follows :-- Aim Hridayâya namah, Hrîm S’irase Svâhâ, Klîm S’ikhâyâm Vasat, Châmundâyai Kavachâya Hum, Vichche Netrâbhyâm Vausat, “Aim Hrîm Klîm Châmundâyai Vichche” Karatalaprisihâbhyâm Phat. Next say touching the corresponding parts of the body :-- “Aim namah S’ikhâyâm, Hrîm Namah” on the right eye; “Klîm Namah” on the left eye, “Châm Namah” on the right ear, “Mum namah” on the left ear, ndam Namah” on the nostrils; “Vim Namah” on the face; “Chchem Namah” on the anus and finally “Aim Hrîm Klîm Châmundâyai Vichche” on the whole body. Then do the meditation (dhyân) thus :-- “O Châmunde! Thou art holding in Thy ten hands ten weapons, viz., Khadga (axe), Chakra (disc), Gadâ (club), Vâna (arrows), Châpa (bow), Parigha, Sûla (spear), Bhûs’undî Kapâla, and Khadga. Thou art Mahâ Kâlî; Thou art three-eyed; Thou art decked with various ornaments. Thou shinest like Lilânjan (a kind of black pigment). Thou hast ten faces and ten feet. The Lotus born Brahmâ chanted hymns to Thee for the destruction of Madhu Kaitabha; I bow down to Thee.” Thus one should meditate on Mahâ Kâlî, of the nature of Kâmavîja (the source whence will comes). Then the Dhyânam of Mahâ Laksmî runs as follows :-- O Mahâ Laksmî, the destroyer of Mahisâsura! Thou holdest the garland of Aksa (a kind of seed), Paras’u (a kind of axe), Gadâ (club), Isu (arrows), Kulis’a (the thunderbolt) Padmâ (Lotus), Dhanu (bow), Kundikâ (a student’s waterpot), Kamandalu, Danda (rod for punishment), S’akti (a kind of weapon), Asi (sword), Charma (shield) Padmâ (a kind of waterlily), Ghantâ (bell,) S’urâpâtra (a pot to hold liquor), S’ûla (pickaxe), Pâs’a (noose) and Sudarsana (a kind of weapon). Thy colour is of the Rising Sun. Thou art seated on the red Lotus. Thou art of the nature Mâyâvîja (the source whence female energy comes). So Obeisance to Thee! (The Vîja and the Devî are one and identical). Next comes the Dhyânam of Mahâ Sarasvatî as follows :-- O Mahâ Sarasvatî! Thou holdest bell, pickaxe, plough (Hala), Conch shell, Musala (a kind of club), Sudars’ana, bow and arrows. Thy colour is like Kunda flower; Thou art the destroyer of S’umbha and the other Daityas; Thou art of the nature of Vânîvîja (the source whence knowledge, speech comes). Thy body is filled with everlasting existence, intelligence and bliss. Obeisance to Thee! O Nârada! Now I am going to say on the Yantra of Mahâ Sarasvatî. Listen. First draw a triangle. Draw inside the triangle eight petalled lotus having twenty-four leaves. Within this draw the house. Then on the Yantra thus drawn, or in the S’âlagrâma stone, or in the jar, or in image, or in the Vânalingam, or on the Sun, one should worship the Devî with oneness of heart. Then worship the Pîtha, the deities seated also on the dais, i.e., Jayâ, Vîjayâ, Ajitâ, Aghorâ, Mangalâ and other Pîtha S’aktis. Then worship the attendant deities called Âvarana Pûjâ :-- Brahmâ with Sarasvatî on the east, Nârâyana with Laksmî on the Nairirit corner, S’ankara with Pârvatî on the Vâyu corner, the Lion on the north of the Devî, and Mahâsura on the left side of the Devî; finally worship Mahisa (buffalo). Next worship Nandajâ, Raktadantâ, S’akambharî, S’ivâ, Durgâ, Bhîmâ, and Bhrâmarî. Then on the eight petals worship Brahmâ, Mahes’varî, Kaumârî, Vaisnavî, Vârâhî, Nâra Simhî, Aindrî, and Châmundâ. Next commencing from the leaf in front of the Devî, worship on the twenty four leaves Visnu Mâyâ, Chetanâ, Buddhi, Nidrâ (sleep), hunger, shadow, S’akti, thirst, peace, species (Jâti), modesty, faith, fame, Laksmî (wealth), fortitude, Vriti, S’ruti, memory, mercy, Tusti, Pusti (nourishment), Bhrânti (error) and other Mâtrikâs. Next on the corners of the Bhûpura (gates of the Yantra), Ganes’a Ksettrapâlas, Vatuka and Yoginîs are to be worshipped. Then on the outside of that Indra and the other Devas furnished with weapons are to be worshipped as per the aforesaid rules. For the satisfaction of the World-Mother various nice offerings and articles like those given by the royal personages are to be presented to the Mother; then the mantra is to be repeated, understanding its exoteric and esoteric meanings. Then Saptas’ati stitra (Chandî pâtha) is to be repeated before the Devî. There is no other stotra like this in the three worlds. Thus Durgâ, the Deity of the Devas, is to be appeased every day. He who does this gets within his easy reach Dharma, Artha, Kâma, and Moksa, the four main objects of human pursuits (virtue, wealth, enjoyment and final beatitude). O Nârada! Thus I have described to you the method of worship of the Devî Durgâ. People get by this what they want. Hari, Brahmâ, and all the Devas, Manus, Munis, the Yogîs full of knowledge, the Âs’ramîs, and Laksmî and the other Devas all meditate on S’ivânî. One’s birth is attained with success at the remembrance of Durgâ. The fourteen Manus have got their Manuship and the Devas their own rights by meditating on the lotus feet of Durgâ. O Nârada! Thus I have described to you the very hidden histories of the Five Prakritis and their parts. Then, verily, the four objects of human pursuits Dharma, Artha, Kâma and Moksa are obtained by hearing this. He who has no sons gets sons, who has no learning gets learning and whoever wants anything gets that if he hears this. The Devî Jagaddhâtrî becomes certainly pleased with him who reads with his mind concentrated on this for nine nights before the Devî. The Devî becomes obedient to him who daily reads one chapter of this Ninth Skandha and the reader also does what is acceptable to the Devî. To ascertain before-hand what effects, merits or demerits, would accrue from reading this Bhâgavata, it is necessary by examining through the hands of a virgin girl or a Brâhmin child, the auspicious or inauspicious signs. First make a Sankalpa (resolve) and worship the book. Then bow down again and again to the Devî Durgâ. Then bring there a virgin girl, bathed well and worship her duly and have a golden pencil fixed duly in her hand and placed in the middle on the body. Then calculate the auspicious or inauspicious effects, as the case may be, from the curves made by that pencil. So the effects of reading this Bhâgavata would be. If the virgin girl be indifferent in fixing the pencil within the area drawn, know the result of reading the Bhâgavata would be similar. There is no doubt in this.

Here ends the Fiftieth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the Glory of S’akti in the Mahâpurânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Here ends the Ninth Book.

The Ninth Book Completed.

The Tenth Book

Chapter 1. On The Story Of Svâyambhuva Manu

1-6. Nârada said :-- O Nârâyana! O Thou, the Supporter of this whole world! The Preserver of all! Thou hast described the glorious characters of the Devî, that take away all the sins. Kindly describe now to me the several forms that the Devî assumed in every Manvantara in this world as well as Her Divine Greatness. O Thou, full of mercy! Describe also how and by whom She was worshipped and praised; how She, so kind to the devotees, having been thus pleased, fulfilled their desires. I am very eager to hear these, the very best and blissful characters of the Devî. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- Hear, O Maharsi! The glories and greatness of the Devî Bhagavatî leading to the devotion of the devotees, capable of giving all sorts of wealth and destroying all sins. From the navel lotus of Visnu, the holder of the Chakra (discus), was born Brahmâ, the Creator of this universe, the great Energetic One, and the Grand Sire of all the worlds.

7-14. The four faced Brahmâ, on being born, produced from His mind Svâyambhuva Manu and his wife S’atarûpâ, the embodiment of all virtues. For this very reason, Svâyambbuva Manu has been known as the mind-born son of Brahmâ. Svâyambhuva Manu got from Brahmâ the task to create and multiply; he made an earthen image of the Devî Bhagavatî, the Bestower of all fortunes, on the beach of the sanctifying Ksîra Samudra (ocean of milk) and he engaged himself in worshipping Her and began to repeat the principal mystic mantra of Vâgbhava (the Deity of Speech). Thus engaged in worship, Svâyambhuva Manu conquered by and by his breath and food and observed Yama, Niyama and other vows and became lean and thin. For one hundred years he remained standing always on one leg and became successful in controlling his six        passions lust, anger, etc. He meditated on the feet of that Âdyâ S'akti (the Primordial S'akti) so much that he became inert like a vegetable or mineral matter. By his Tapas the Devî, the World Mother appeared before him and said :-- “O King! Ask divine boons from Me.” Hearing these joyous words, the King wanted his long cherished and heart-felt boon, so very rare to the Devas.

15-22. Manu said :-- O Large eyed Devî! Victory to Thee, residing in the hearts of all! O Thou honoured, worshipped! O Thou! the Upholdress of the world! O Thou, the Auspicious of all auspicious!

By Thy Gracious Look, it is that the Lotus born has been able to create the worlds; Visnu is perserving and Rudra Deva is destroying in a minute. By Thy command it is that Indra, the Lord of S'achî, has got the charge of controlling the three Lokas; and Yama, the Lord of the departed, is awarding fruits and punishing according, to their merits or demerits, the deceased ones. O Mother! By Thy Grace, Varuna, the holder of the noose, has become the lord of all aquatic creatures and is preserving them; and Kuvera, the lord of the Yaksas, has become the lord of wealth. Agni (fire), Nairrit, Vâyu (wind), Îs'âna and Ananta Deva are Thy parts and have grown by Thy power. Then, O Devî! If Thou desirest to grant me my desired boon, then, O Thou! the Auspicious One! Let all the great obstacles to my work of procreating in this universe and increasing my dominions die away. And if anybody worships this great Vâgbhava Mantra or anybody hears with devotion this history or makes others hear this, they all shall be crowned with success and enjoyment and Mukti be easy to them.

23-24. Specially they would get the power to remember their past lives, acquire eloquence in speaking, all round beauty, success in obtaining knowledge, success in their deeds and especially in the increase of their posterity and children. O Bhagavatî! This is what I want most.

Here ends the First Chapter of the Tenth Book on the story of Svâyambhuva Manu in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On The Conversation Between Nârada And The Bindhya Mountain

1-6. The Devî said :-- “O King! O Mighty armed One! All these I grant unto you. Whatever you have asked for, I give them to you. I am very much pleased with your hard Tapasyâ and with your Japam of the Vâgbhava Mantra. Know Me that My power is infallible in killing the Lords of the Daityas. O Child! Let your kingdom be free from enemies and let your prosperity be increased. Let your devotion be fixed on Me and in the end you will verily get Nirvâna Mukti.” O Nârada! Thus granting the boon to the highsouled Manu the Great Devî disappeared before him and went to the Bindhya Range. O Devarsi! This Bindhya mountain increased in height so much so that it was well nigh on the way to prevent the course of the Sun when it was arrested by Mahârsi Agastya, born of a kumbha (water jar). The younger sister of Visnu, Varades'varî, is staying here as Bindhyavâsinî. O Best of the Munis! This Devî is an object of worship of all.

7-8. Saunaka and the other Risis said :-- O Sûta! Who is that Bindhya Mountain? And why did He intend to soar high up to the Heavens to resist the Sun's course? And why was it that Agastya, the son of Mitrâvaruna quietened that rising mountain? Kindly describe all these in detail.

9-15. O Saint! We are not as yet satisfied with hearing the Glories of the Devî, the ambrosial nectar, that have come out of your mouth. Rather our thirst has been increased. Sûta said :-- O Risis! There was the Bindhya Mountain, highly honoured and reckoned as the chief of the mountains on the earth. It was covered with big forests and big trees. Creeping plants and shrubs flowered these and it looked very beautiful. On it were roaming deer, wild boars, buffaloes, monkeys, hares, foxes, tigers and bears, stout and cheerful, with full vigour and all very merrily. The Devas, Gandharbhas, Apsarâs, and Kinnaras come here and bathe in its rivers; all sorts of fruit trees can be seen here. On such a beautiful Bindhya Mountain, came there one day the ever joyful Devarsi Nârada on his voluntary tour round the world. Seeing the Mahârsi Nârada, the Bindhya Mountain got up and worshipped him with pâdya and arghya and gave him a very good Âsana to sit. When the Muni took his seat and found himself happy, the Mountain began to speak.

16-17. Bindhya said :-- “O Devarsi! Now be pleased to say whence you are coming; your coming here is so very auspicious! My house is sanctified today by your coming. O Deva! Your wandering is, like the Sun, the cause of inspiring the beings with freedom from fear. So, O Nârada! Kindly give out your intention as to your coming here which seems rather wonderful.”

18-28. Nârada said :-- “O Bindhya! O Enemy of Indra! (Once the mountains had a very great influence. Indra cut off their wings and so destroyed their influence. Hence the mountains are enemies of Indra). I am coming from the Sumeru Mountain. There I saw the nice abodes of Indra, Agni, Yama, and Varuna. There I saw the houses of these Dikpâlas (the Regents of the several quarters), which abound in objects of all sorts of enjoyments.” Thus saying, Nârada gave out a heavy sigh. Bindhya, the king of mountains, seeing the Muni heaving a long sigh, asked him again with great eagerness, “O Devarsi! Why have you heaved such a long sigh? Kindly say.” Hearing this, Nârada said :-- “O Child! Hear the cause why I sighed. See! The Himâlayâ Mountain is the father of Gaurî and the father-in-law of Mahâdeva; therefore he is the most worshipped of all the mountains. The Kailâs'a Mountain again, is the residence of Mahâdeva; hence that is also worshipped and chanted as capable of destroying all the sins. So the Nisadha, Nîla, and Gandhamâdana and other mountains are worshipped at their own places. What more than this, that the Sumeru Mountain, round whom the thousand-rayed Sun, the Soul of the universe, circumambulates along with the planets and stars, thinks himself the supreme and greatest amongst the mountains, “I am the supreme; there is none like me in the three worlds.” Remembering this self-conceit of Sumeru, I sighed so heavily. O Bindhya! We are asceties and though we have no need to discuss these things, yet by way of conversation I have told this to you. Now I go to my own abode.”

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Tenth Book on the conversation between Nârada and the Bindhya Mountain in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 3. On The Obstruction Of The Sun’s Course By The Bindhya Mountain

1-16. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Thus advising, the Devarsi, the great Jñanî and Muni going wherever he likes, went to the Brahmaloka. After the Muni had gone, the Bindhya became immersed in great anxiety and becoming always very sorrowful, could not get peace. What shall I do now so as to overthrow Meru? Until I do that, I won't be able to get the peace of my mind or my health. The highsouled persons always praised me for my enthusiasm and energy. Fie to my energy, honour, fame and family! Fie to my strength and heroism! O Risis! With all these cogitations in his mind, Bindhya came finally to this crooked conclusion :-- “Daily the Sun, stars and planets circumambulate round the Sumeru; hence Sumeru is always so arrogant; now if I can resist the Sun's course in the heavens by my peaks, He will not be able to circumambulate round the Sumeru. If I can do this, certainly I will be able to curb the Sumeru in his pride.” Thus coming to a conclusion, Bindhya raised his arms that were the peaks high up to the heavens and blocking the passage in the Heavens, remained so and passed that night with great uneasiness and difficulty, thinking when the Sun would rise and he would obstruct His passage. At last, when the morning broke out, all the quarters were clear. The Sun, destroying the darkness, rose in Udaya Giri. The sky looked clear with His rays; the lotus, seeing Him, blew out with joy; while the excellent white water-lilies, at the bereavement of the Moon, contracted their leaves and closed as if at the separation of one's lover, gone to a distant place. The people began to do their own works on the appearance of the day; the worship of the gods, the offerings to the Gods, the Homas and the offerings to the Pitris were set a going on (in the morning, afternoon and evening respectively). The Sun marched on in His course. He divided the day into three parts, morning, midday, and afternoon. First of all he consoled the eastern quarter which seemed like a woman suffering from the bereavement of her lover; then he consoled the south eartern corner; then as He wanted to go quickly towards the south, His horses could not go further. The charioteer Aruna, seeing this, informed the Sun what had happened.

17. Aruna spoke :-- “O Sun! The Bindhya has become very jealous of the Sumeru as You circumambulate round the Sumeru Mountain daily. He has risen very high and obstructed your course in the Heavens, hoping that you would circumambulate round him. He is thus vying with the Sumeru Mountain.”

18-26. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Hearing the words of Aruna, the charioteer, the Sun began to think thus :-- “Oh! The Bindhya is going to obstruct My course! What can a great hero not do, when he is in the wrong path? Oh! My horses' motions are stopped to-day! The fate is the strongest of all (Because Bindhya is strong today by Daiva, therefore he is doing this). Even when eclipsed by Râhu (the ascending node) I do not stop for a moment even; and now obstructed in My passage, I am waiting here for a long time. The Daiva is powerful; what can I do?” The Sun's course having been thus obstructed, all from the Gods to the lowest became helpless and could not make out what to do. Chitragupta and others ascertain their time through the Sun's course; and that Sun is now rendered motionless by the Bindhya mountain! What a great adverse fate is this! When the Sun was thus obstructed by the Bindhya out of his arrogance, the sacrifices to the Devas, the offerings to the Pitris all were stopped; the world was going to rack and ruin. The people that lived on the west and south had their nights prolonged and they remained asleep. The people of the east and the north were scorched by the strong rays of the Sun and some of them died; some of them lost their health and so forth. The whole earth became devoid of S'râddhas and worships and a cry of universal distress arose on all sides. Indra and the other Devas became very anxious and began to think what they should do at that moment.

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Tenth Book on the obstruction of the Sun's course by the Bindhya Mountain in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 4. On The Devas Going To Mahâ Deva

1-2. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Then Indra and all the other Devas taking Brahmâ along with them and placing Him at the front, went to Mahâdeva and took His refuge. They bowed down to Him and chanted sweet and great hymns to Him, Who holds Moon on His forehead, Deva of the Devas, thus :--

3-5. O Thou, the Leader of the host of Gods! Victory to Thee! O Thou, Whose lotus feet are served by Umâ, Victory to Thee! O Thou, the Giver of the eight Siddhis and Vibhûtis (extraordinary powers) to Thy devotees, Victory to Thee! O Thou, the Background of this Great Theatrical Dance of this Insurmountable Mâyâ! Thou art the Supreme Spirit in Thy True Nature! Thou ridest on Thy vehicle, the Bull, and residest in Kâilâs'a; yet Thou art the Lord of all the Devas. O Thou, Whose ornament is snakes, Who art the Honoured and the Giver of honours to persons! O Thou! the Unborn, yet comprising all forms, O Thou S'ambhu! That findest pleasure in this Thy Own Self! Victory toThee!

6-9. O Thou, the Lord of Thy attendants! O Thou, Giris'a! The Giver of the great powers, praised by Mahâ Visnu! O Thou, That livest in the heart lotus of Visnu, and deeply absorbed in Mahâ Yoga! Obeisance to Thee! O Thou that can'st be known through Yoga, and nothing but the Yoga itself; Thou, the Lord of the Yoga! We bow down to Thee. Thou awardest the fruits of yoga to the Yogins. O Thou, the Lord of the helpless! The Incarnate of the ocean of mercy! The Relief of the diseased and the most powerful! O Thou, whose forms are the three gunas, Sattva, Rajo, Tamas! O Thou! Whose Emblem (carrier) is the Bull (Dharma); Thou art verily the Great Kâla; yet Thou art the Lord of Kâla! Obeisance to Thee! (The Bull represents the Dharma or Speech).

10. Thus praised by the Devas, who take the offerings in sacrifices the Lord of the Devas, whose emblem is Bull, smilingly told the Devas in a deep voice :--

11. O Thou, the excellent Devas! The residents of the Heavens! I am pleased with the praises that you have sung of Me. I will fulfil the desires of you, all the Devas.

12-15. The Devas said :-- O Lord of all the Devas! O Giris'a! Thou whose forehead is adorned with Moon! O Thou, the Doer of good to the distressed. O Thou, the Powerful! Dost Thou do good to us. O Thou, the Sinless One! The Bindhya Mountain has become jealous of the Sumeru Mountain, and has risen very high up in the Heavens and he has obstructed the Sun's course, thereby causing great troubles to all. O Thou, the Doer of good to all! O Îs'âna! Dost Thou check the mountain's abnormal rise. How can we fix time if the Sun's course be obstructed! And when there is no knowledge, what is now the time, the sacrifices to the Devas and the offerings to the Pitris are now almost dead and gone. O Deva! Who will now protect us? We see Thee as the Destroyer of the fear of us and of those who are terrified. O Deva! O Lord of Giris'â! Be pleased with us.

16-18. S’rî Bhagavân said :-- O Devas! I have no power to curb the Bindhya Mountain. Let us go to the Lord of Ramâ and pay our respects to Him. He is our Lord, fit to be worshipped. He is Gobinda, Bhagavân Visnu, the Cause of all causes. We will go to Him and tell Him all our sorrows. He will remove them.

19. Hearing thus the words of Girîs'a, Indra and the other Devas with Brahmâ placed Mahâdeva at their front and went to the region of Vaikuntha, trembling with fear.

Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Tenth Book on the going of the Devas to Mahâdeva in the Mahâ Purânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 5. On The Devas Going To Visnu

1-5. Sûta said :-- Then the Devas, on arriving at Vaikuntha, saw the Lord of Laksmî, the Deva of the Devas, the World-Teacher, with his eyes beautiful like Padmâ Palâsa (lotus-leaves), shining with brilliance and began to praise Him in a voice choked with intense feelings of devotion, thus :-- “Victory to Visnu! O Lord of Ramâ! Thou art prior to the Virât Purusa. O Enemy of the Daityas! O Thou, the Generator of desires in all and the Bestower of the fruits of those desires to all! O Gobinda! Thou art the Great Boar and Thou art of the nature of Great Sacrifices! O Mahâ Visnu! O Lord of Dharma! Thou art the Cause of the origin of this world! Thou didst support the earth in Thy Fish Incarnation for the deliverance of the Vedas! O Thou Satyavrata of the form of a Fish! We bow down to Thee. O Thou! The Enemy of the Daityas! The Ocean of mercy! Thou dost do the actions of the Devas out of mercy. O Thou! the Tortoise Incarnation! That grantest Mukti to others! Obeisance to Thee!

6-18. O Thou! That didst assume the form of a Boar for the destruction of the Daityas Jaya and others and for raising the earth from the waters! Obeisance to Thee! Thou didst assume that form - Half man and half Lion of the Nrisimha Mûrti and tore asunder Hiranya Kas'ipu, proud of his boons, by Thy nails. We bow down to Thee! Obeisance to Thee! That in Thy Dwarf Incarnation, didst deceive Bali, whose head got crazed by the acquisition of the kingdom over the three Lokas. We bow down to Thee, that in Thy Paras'u Râma Incarnation, didst slay Kârta Vîryâryuna, the thousand handed, and the other wicked Ksattriyas! Obeisance to Thee! That wert born of the womb of Renukâ as the son of Jamadagni. Obeisance to Thee, of great prowess and valour, that in Thy Râma Incarnation as the son of Das'aratha, didst cut off the heads of the wicked Râksasa, the son of Pulastya!

We bow down again and again to Thee, the Great Lord, that in Thy Krisna incarnation, didst deliver this earth from the clutches of the wicked King Duryodhana, Kamsa and others and didst establish the religion by removing the then prevailing vicious ideas and doctrines. We bow down to Thy Buddha Incarnation, that Great Deva who didst come down here to put a stop to the slaughtering of the innocent animals and to the performance of the wicked sacrificial ceremonies! Obeisance to the Deva! When almost all the persons in this world will turn out in future as Mlechchas and when the wicked Kings will oppress them, right and left, Thou wilt then incarnate Thyself again as Kalki and redress all the grievances!

We bow down to Thy Kalki Form! O Deva! These are Thy Ten Incarnations, for the preservation of Thy devotees, for the killing of the wicked Daityas. Therefore Thou art called as the Great Reliever of all our troubles. O Thou! Victory to Thee! The Deva Who assumest the forms of women and water for destroying the ailings of the devotees! Who else can be so kind! O Thou, the Ocean of mercy!” O Risis! Thus praising the yellow robed Visnu, the Lord of all the Devas, the whole host of the Devas bowed down to Him and made Shâstâmgas. Then Visnu Gadâdhara, hearing their hymns, gladdened them and spoke :--

19-27. S’rî Bhagavâna said :-- “O Devas! I am pleased with your stotra. You need not be sorrowful. I will remove all your troubles that have become unbearable to you. O Devas! I am very glad to hear the praises that you have offered on Me.

Better ask boons from Me. I will grant them though very rare even and obtained with difficulty. Any person who rises early in the morning and recites with devotion this stotra sung by you, will never experience any sorrow. O Devas! No poverty, no bad symptoms, no Vetâlas nor planets nor Brahmâ Râksasas nor any misfortunes will overtake him. No disease, due to Vâta (windy temperament), Pitta (bile) and Kapha (phlegm) nor untimely death will visit him. His family will not be extinct and happiness will always reign there. O Devas! This stotra can give everything.

Both the enjoyment and freedom will come within anyone's easy access. There is no doubt in this. Nov what is your difficulty? Give out. I will remove it at once. There is not a bit of doubt in this.” Hearing these words of S’rî Bhagavân, the Devas became glad and spoke to Visnu.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Tenth Book on the Devas' going to Visnu, in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On The Devas Praying To The Muni Agastya

1-6. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Hearing the words of the Lord of Laksmî, all the Devas became pleased and they spoke. The Devas said :-- O Deva of the Devas! O Mahâ Visnu! O Thou, the Creator, Preserver and the Destroyer of the Universe! O Visnu! The Bindhya mountain has risen very high and it has stopped the Sun's course. Therefore all the works on earth are suspended. We are not receiving our share of Yajñas. Now where we will go, what we will do, we do not know. S’rî Bhagavân said :-- “O Devas! There is now in Benares the Muni Agastya of indomitable power, in devoted service of that Primordial S'akti Bhagavatî, the Creatrix of this Universe. This Muni alone can put a stop to this abnormal Bindhya Range. Therefore it behoves you all to go to that fiery Dvija Agastya at Benares where the people get Nirvâna; the Highest Place and pray to him (to kindly fulfil your object).”

7-19. Sûta said: -- O Risis! Thus ordered by Visnu, the gods felt themselves comforted and, saluting Him, went to the city of Benares.

In a moment they went to the Holy City of Benares, and bathing there at the Manikarnikâ ghât, worshipped the Devas with devotion and offered Tarpanas to the Pitris and duly made their charities. Then they went to the excellent Âs'rama of the Muni Agastya. The hermitage was full of quiet quadruped animals; adorned with various trees, peacocks, herons, geese and Chakravâkas and various other birds, tigers, wolves, deer, the wild boars, rhinoceros, young elephants, Ruru deer and others. Though there were the ferocious animals, yet the place was free from fear and it looked exceedingly beautiful. On arriving before the Muni, the gods fell prostrate before him and bowed down again and again to him. They then chanted hymns to him and said :-- O Lord of Dvijas! O Thou honoured and most worshipful! Victory to Thee. Thou art sprung from a water jar. Thou art the destroyer of Vâtâpî, the Asura. Obeisance to Thee! O Thou, full of S’rî, the son of Mitrâvaruna! Thou art the husband of Lopâmudrâ. Thou art the store house of all knowledge. Thou art the source of all the S'âstras. Obeisance to Thee! At Thy rise, the waters of the ocean become bright and clear; so obeisance to Thee! At Thy rise (Canopus) the Kâs'a flower blossoms. Thou art adorned with clots of matted hair on Thy head and Thou always livest with Thy disciples. S’rî Râma Chandra is one of Thy chief disciples. O great Muni! Thou art entitled to praise from all the Devas! O Best! The Store-house of all qualities! O great Muni! We now bow down to Thee and Thy wife Lopâmudrâ! O Lord! O very Energetic! We all are very much tormented by an unbearable pain inflicted on us by the Bindhya Range and we therefore take refuge of Thee. Be gracious unto us. Thus praised by the gods, the highly religious Muni Agastya, the twice born, smiled and graciously said :--

20-27. O Devas! You are the lords of the three worlds, superior to all, highsouled, and the preserver of the Lokas. If you wish, you can favour, disfavour, do anything. Especially He who is the Lord of heavens, whose weapon is the thunderbolt, and the eight Siddhis are ever at his service is your Indra, the Lord of the Devas. What is there that he cannot do? Then there is Agni, Who burns everything and always carries oblations to the gods and the Pitris, Who is the mouth piece of the Devas. Is there anything impracticable with him! O Devas! Then again Yama is there amongst you, the Lord of the Râksasas, the Witness of all actions, and always quick in giving punishment to the offenders, that terrible looking Yama Râja. What is there that he cannot accomplish?

Still, O Devas! if there be anything required by you that awaits my co-operation, give out at once and I will do it undoubtedly. Hearing these words of the Muni, the Devas became very glad and joyfully began to say what they wanted. O Mahârsi! The Bindhya mountain has risen very high and thwarted the Sun's course in the Heavens. A cry of universal distress and consternation has arisen and the three worlds are now verging to the ruins. O Muni! Now what we want is this that Thou, by Thy power of Tapas, curbest the rise of this Bindhya Mountain. O Agastya! Certainly, by Thy fire and austerities, that mountain will be brought down and humiliated. This is what we want.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Tenth Book on the Devas' praying to the Muni Agastya for checking the abnormal rise of the Bindhya Range in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 7. On The Checking Of The Rise Of The Bindhya Range

1-21. Sûta said :-- Hearing the words of the Devas, Agastya, the Best of the Brâhmins promised that he would carry out their works. O Risis! All the Devas then became very glad when the Muni, born of the water jar, promised thus. They then bade good-bye to him and went back gladly to their own abodes. The Muni then spoke to his wife thus :-- “O daughter of the King! The Bindhya Mountain has baffled the progress of the Sun's course and has thus caused a great mischief. What the Munis, the Seers of truths said before referring to Kâs’î, all are now coming to my mind when I am thinking why this disturbance has overtaken me. They said that various hindrances would come to him at every step, who is a Sâdhu intending to settle at Kâs'î. Let him who wants Mukti, never quit Kâs'î, the Avimukta place in any case. But, O Dear! Today I have got one hindrance during my stay at Kâs'î.” Thus talking with much regret on various subjects with his wife, the Muni bathed in the Manikarnikâ ghât, saw the Lord Vis'ves'vara worshipped Dandapânî and went to the Kâla Bhairava. He said in the following terms :-- “O Mighty armed Kâlabhairava! Thou destroyest the fear of the Bhaktas; Thou art the God of this Kâs'î City. Then why art Thou driving me away from this Kâs'îdhâm. O Lord! Thou removest all the obstacles of the devotees and Thou preservest them. Then why, O Destroyer of the sorrows of the Bhaktas! art Thou removing me from here? Never I blamed others; nor did I practise any hypocrisy with any person nor did I lie; then under what sin, Thou art driving me away from Kâs'î.” O Risis! Thus praying to Kâla Bhairava, the Muni Agastya, born of water jar and the husband of Lopâmudrâ, went to Sâksi Ganes'a, the Destroyer of all evils and seeing and worshipping Him, went out of Kâs'î and proceeded to the south. The Muni, the ocean of great fortune, left Kâs'î; but he became very much distressed to leave it and he remembered it always. He began to march on with his wife. As if riding on his car of asceticism he arrived at the Bindhya mountain in the twinkling of an eye and saw that the Mountain had risen very high and obstructed the passage of the Sun in the Heavens. The Bindhya Mountain, seeing the Muni Agastya in front, began to tremble and as if desirous to speak something to the earth in a whisper became low and dwarfish and bowed down to the Muni and fell down with devotion in sâstângas with devotion just like a stick dropped flat on the ground before the Muni.

Seeing the Bindhya thus low, the Muni Agastya became pleased and spoke with a gracious look :-- “O Child! Better remain in this state until I come back. For, O Child! I am quite unable to ascend to your lofty heights.” Thus saying, the Muni became eager to go to the south; and, crossing the peaks of the Bindhya, alighted gradually again to the plains. He went on further to the south and saw the S’rî S'aila Mountain and at last went to the Malayâchala and there, building his Âs'rama (hermitage), settled himself. O Saunaka! The Devî Bhagavatî, worshipped by the Muni went to the Bindhya Mountain and settled there and became known, in the three worlds, by the name of Bindhyavâsinî.

22-26. Sûta said :-- Anybody who hears this highly pure narrative of the Muni Agastya and Bindhya, becomes freed of all his sins. All his enemies are destroyed in no time. This hearing gives knowledge to the Brâhmanas, victory to the Ksattriyas, wealth and corn to the Vais'yas and happiness to the S’ûdras.

If anybody once hears this narrative, he gets Dharma if he want Dharma, gets unbounded wealth if he wants wealth and gets all desires if he wants his desires fulfilled. In ancient times Svâyambhuva Manu worshipped this Devî with devotion and got his kingdom for his own Manvantara period. O Saunaka! Thus I have described to you the holy character of the Devî in this Manvantara. What more shall I say? Mention please.

Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Tenth Book on the checking of the rise of the Bindhya Range in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 8. On The Origin Of Manu

1. Saunaka said :-- “O Sûta! You have described the beautiful narrative of the first Manu Svâyambhuva. Now kindly describe to us the narratives of other highly energetic Deva-like Manus.”

2-3. Sûta said :-- “O Risis! The very wise Nârada, well versed in the knowledge of S’rî Devî, hearing the glorious character of the first Svâyambhuva Manu, became desirous to hear of the other Manus and asked the Eternal Nârâyana :-- O Deva! Now favour me by reciting the origin and narratives of the other Manus.”

4. Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi! I have already spoken to you everything regarding the first Manu. He had worshipped the Devî Bhagavatî, and thus he got his foeless kingdom. You know that then.

5-24 Manu had two sons of great prowess, Priyavrata and Uttânapâda. They governed their kingdoms with fame. The son of this Priyavrata, of indomitable valour, is known by the wise as the second Svârochisa Manu. Dear to all the beings, this Svârochisa Manu built his hermitage near the banks of the Kâlindî (the Jumnâ) and there making an earthen image of the Devî Bhagavatî, worshipped the Devî with devotion, subsisting on dry leaves and thus practised severe austerities. Thus he passed his twelve years in that forest; when, at last, the Devî Bhagavatî, resplendent with brilliance of the thousand Suns, became visible to him. She got very much pleased with his devotional stotrams. The Devî, the Saviour of the Devas, and Who was of good vows, granted to him the sovereignty for one Manvantara. Thus the Devî became famous by the name Târinî Jagaddhâtrî. O Nârada! Thus, by worshipping the Devî Târinî, Svârochisa obtained safely the foeless kingdom. Then establishing the Dharma duly, he enjoyed his kingdom with his sons; and, when the period of his manvantara expired, he went to the Heavens. Priyavrata's son named Uttama became the third Manu. On the banks of the Ganges, be practised tapasyâ and repeated the Vîja Mantra of Vâgbhava, in a solitary place for three years and became blessed with the favour of the Devî. With rapt devotion he sang hymns wholly to the Devî with his mind full; and, by Her boon, got the foeless kingdom and a continual succession of sons and grandsons. Thus, enjoying the pleasures of his kingdom and the gifts of the Yuga Dharma, got in the end, the excellent place, obtained by the best Râjarsis. A very happy result. Priyavarata's another son named Tâmasa became the fourth Manu. He practised austerities and repeated the Kâma Vîja Mantra, the Spiritual Password of Kâma on the southern banks of the Narmadâ river and worshipped the World Mother. In the spring and in the autumn he observed the nine nights' vow ( the Navarâtri) and worshipped the excellent lotus eyed Deves'î and pleased Her. On obtaining the Devî's favour, he chanted excellent hymns to Her and made pranâms. There he enjoyed the extensive kingdom without any fear from any foe or from any other source of danger. He generated, in the womb of his wife, ten sons, all very powerful and mighty, and then he departed, to the excellent region in the Heavens.

The young brother of Tâmasa, Raivata became the Fifth Manu and practised austerities on the banks of the Kâlindî (the Jumnâ) and repeated the Kâma Vîja Mantra, the spiritual password of Kâma, the resort of the Sâdhakas, capable to give the highest power of speech and to yield all the Siddhis, and thus he worshipped the Devî. He obtained excellent heavens, indomitable power, unhampered and capable of all success and a continual line of sons, grandsons, etc. Then the unrivalled excellent hero Raivata Manu established the several divisions of Dharma and enjoying all the worldly pleasures, went to the excellent region of Indra.

Here ends the Eighth Chapter of the Tenth Book on the origin of Manu in the Mahâpuranam S'ri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 9. On The Narrative Of Châksusa Manu

1-7. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I will now narrate the supreme glories of the Devî and the anecdote how Manu, the son of Anga, obtained excellent kingdom by worshipping the Devî Bhagavatî. The son of the king Anga, named Châksusa became the Sixth Manu. One day he went to the Brahmârsi Pulaha Risi and taking his refuge said :-- O Brahmârsi! Thou removest all the sorrows and afflictions of those that come under Thy refuge; I now take Thy refuge. Kindly advise Thy servant how he may become the Lord of an endless amount of wealth. O Muni! What can I do so that I may get the sole undisputed sway over the world? How my arms can wield the weapons and manipulate them so that they may not be baffled? How my race and line be constant and my youth remain ever the same, undecayed? And how can I, in the end, attain Mukti? O Muni! Kindly dost Thou give instructions to me on these points and oblige. Hearing thus, the Muni wanted him to worship the Devî and said :-- “O King! Listen attentively to what I say you today. Worship today the all auspicious S'akti; by Her grace, all your desires will be fulfilled.”

8. Châksusa said :-- “O Muni! What is that very holy worship of S’rî Bhagavatî? How to do it? Kindly describe all these in detail.”

9-20. The Muni said :-- O King! I will now disclose all about the excellent Pûja of the Devî Bhagavatî. Hear. You recite (mentally) always the seed mantra of Vâkbhava (Speech) (The Deity being Mahâ Sarasvatî). If any one makes japam (recites slowly) of the Vâkbhava Vîja thrice a day, one gets both the highest enjoyment here and, in the end, release (Mukti). O Son of a Ksattriya! There is no other Vîja Mantra (word) better than this of Vâk (the Word). Through the Japam of this Vîja Mantra comes the increase of strength and prowess and all successes. By the Japam of this, Brahmâ is so powerful and has become the Creator; Visnu preserves the Universe and Mahes'vara has become the Destroyer of the Universe. The other Dikpâlas (the Regents of the quarters) and the other Siddhas have become very powerful by the power of this Mantra, and are capable of favouring or disfavouring others. So, O King! You, too, worship the Devî of the Devas, the World Mother and ere long you will become the Lord of unbounded wealth. There is no doubt in this. O Nârada! Thus advised by Pulaha Risi, the son of the King Anga went to the banks of the Virajâ river to practise austerities. There the king Châksusa remained absorbed in making Japam of the Vâkbhava Vîja Mantra and took for his food the leaves of the trees that dropped on the ground and thus practised severe austerities.

The first year he ate leaves; the second year he drank water and in the third year he sustained his life by breathing air simply and thus remained steady like a pillar. Thus he remained without food for twelve years. He went on making Japam of the Vâkbhava Mantra and his heart and mind became purified. While he was sitting alone, absorbed in the meditation of the Devî Mantra, there appeared before him suddenly the Parames'varî, the World Mother, the Incarnate of Laksmî. The Highest Deity, full of dauntless fire and the Embodiment of all the Devas, spoke graciously in sweet words to Châksusa, the son of Anga.

21-29. O Regent of the earth! I am pleased with your Tapasyâ. Now ask any boon that you want. I will give that to you. Châksusa said :-- “O Thou, worshipped by the Devas! O Sovereign of the Deva of the Devas! Thou art the Controller Inside; Thou art the Controller Outside. Thou knowest everything what I desire in my mind. Still, O Devî! When I am so fortunate as to see Thee, I say Thou grantest me the kingdom for the Manvantara period.” The Devî said :-- “O Best of the Ksattriyas! I grant unto you the kingdom of the whole world for one manvantara. You will have many sons, very powerful, indeed, and well qualified. Your kingdom will be free from any danger till at last you will certainly get Mukti.” Thus granting the excellent boon to Manu, She disappeared then and there, after being praised by Manu, with deep devotion. The Sixth Manu, then favoured by the Devî, enjoyed the sovereignty of the earth and other pleasures and became the best of the Manus. His sons became the devotees of the Devî, very powerful and expert and became respected by all and enjoyed the pleasures of the kingdom. Thus getting the supremacy by the worship of the Devî, the Châksusa Manu became merged in the end in the Holy Feet of the Devî.

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Tenth Book on the narrative of Châksusa Manu in the Mahâpurânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Anecdote Of The King Suratha

1-4. Nârâyana said :-- Now the Seventh Manu is the Right Hon'ble His Excellency the Lord Vaivasvata Manu S'râddha Deva, honoured by all the kings, and the Enjoyer of the Highest Bliss, Brahmânanda. I will now speak of this seventh Manu. He, too, practised austerities before the Highest Devî and by Her Grace, got the sovereignty of the earth for one Manvantara.

The Eighth Manu is the Sun's son, known as Sâvarni. This personage, a devotee of the Devî, honoured by the kings, gentle, patient and powerful king Sâvarni worshipped the Devî in his previous births and, by Her boon, became the Lord of the Manvantara.

5. Nârada said :-- O Bhagavân! How did this Sâvarni Manu worship in his previous birth the earthen image of the Devî. Kindly describe this to me.

6-13. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! This Eighth Manu had been, before, in the time of Svârochisa Manu (the second Manu), a famous king, known by the name of Suratha, born of the family of Chaitra, and very powerful. He could well appreciate merits, clever in the science of archery, amassed abundance of wealth, a generous donor, a very liberal man and he was a celebrated poet and honoured by all. He was skilled in all arts of warfare with weapons and indomitable in crushing his foes. Once on a time, some of his powerful enemies destroyed the city of Kolâ, belonging to the revered king and succeeded in besieging his capital wherein he remained. Then the king Suratha, the conqueror of all his foes went out to fight with the enemies but he was defeated by them. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the king's ministers robbed him of all his wealth. The illustrious king then went out of the city and with a sorrowful heart rode alone on his horse on the plea of having a game and walked to and fro, as if, absent-minded.

14-25. The king, then, went to the hermitage of the Muni Sumedhâ, who could see far-reaching things (a Man of the Fourth Dimension). It was a nice, quiet Âs'rama, surrounded by quiet and peaceful animals and filled with disciples. There in that very sacred Âs'rama, his heart became relieved and he went on living there.

One day, when the Muni finished his worship, etc., the king went to him and saluted him duly and humbly asked him the following :-- “O Muni! I am suffering terribly from my mental pain. O Deva on the earth! Why I am suffering so much though I know everything, as if I am quite an ignorant man. After my defeat from my enemies, why does my mind become now compassionate towards those who stole away my kingdom. O Best of the knowers of the Vedas! What am I to do now? Where to go? How can I make me happy? Please speak on these. O Muni! Now I am in want of your good grace.” The Muni said :-- “O Lord of the earth! Hear the extremely wonderful glories of the Devî that have no equal and that can fructify all desires.

She, the Mahâ Mâyâ, Who is all this world, is the Mother of Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a. O King! Know verily that it is She and She alone, that can forcibly attract the hearts of all the Jîvas and throw them in dire utter delusion.

She is always the Creatrix, Preservrix and Destructrix of the Universe in the form of Hara. This Mahâ Mâyâ fulfills the desires of all the Jîvas and She is known as the insurmountable Kâlarâtri. She is Kâlî, the Destructrix of all this universe and She is Kamalâ residing in the lotus. Know that this whole world rests on Her and it will become dissolved in Her.

She is therefore, the Highest and Best. O King! Know, verily, that he alone can cross the delusion (Moha) on whom the Grace of the Devî falls and otherwise no one can escape from this Anâdi Moha.”

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Tenth Book on the anecdote of the King Suratha in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 11. On The Killing Of Madhu Kaitabha

1-2. The king Suratha spoke :-- “O Best of the twice born! Who is that Devî that you spoke just now? Why the Devî deludes all these beings? What for does She do so? Whence is the Devî born? What is Her Form? and what are Her qualities? O Brâhmin! Kindly describe all these to me.”

3-9. The Muni spoke :-- O King! I will now describe the nature of the Devî Bhagavatî and why does She take Her Form in due time. Listen. In ancient days, when Bhagavân Nârâyana, the king of the Yogis, was lying in deep sleep on the ocean on the bed of Ananta, after He had destroyed the Universe, there came out of the wax of his ear the two Dânavas, Madhu and Kaitabha, of monstrous appearances. They wanted to kill Brahmâ, who was lying on the lotus coming out of the navel of Bhagavân. Seeing the two Daityas Madhu and Kaitabha and seeing also Hari asleep the Lotus-born Brahmâ became very anxious and thought :-- Now Bhagavân is asleep; and these two indomitable Daityas are ready to kill me. Now what am I to do? Where to go? How shall I get ease? O Child! Thus thinking, the high souled Lotus born suddenly came to a practical conclusion. He said :-- “Let me now take refuge to the Goddess Sleep, Nidrâ, the Mother of all and under Whose power Bhagavân Hari is now asleep.”

10-24. Brahmâ then began to praise Her thus :-- “O Devî of the Devas! O Upholdress of the world! Thou grantest desires of Thy devotees. O Thou auspicious! Thou art Para Brahmâ! By Thy Command all are doing respectively their works in their proper spheres! Thou art the Night of Destruction (Kâla Râtri); Thou art the Great Night (Mahâ Râtri). Thou art the greatly terrible Night of Delusion (Moha Râtri); Thou art omnipresent; omniscient; of the nature of the Supreme Bliss. Thou art regarded as the Great. Thou art highly worshipped; Thou art alone in this world as highly intoxicated; Thou art submissive to Bhakti only; Thou art the Best of all the things; Thou art sung as the Highest; Thou art modesty; Thou art Pusti (nourishment); Thou art forgiveness (Ksamâ); Thou art Beauty (Kânti); Thou art the embodiment of mercy; Thou art liked by all; Thou art adorned by the whole world; Thou art of the nature of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep; Thou art the Highest; Thou art alone Highest Deity; Thou art highly attached to the Supreme Bliss. There is no other thing than Thee. There is One only and that is Thee. Hence Thou art denominated as One; Thou becomest again the two by contact with Thy Mâyâ. Thou art the refuge of Dharma, Artha and Kâma; hence Thou Thou art Three; Thou art the Turîya (the fourth state of consciousness) hence Thou art Four. Thou art the God of the five elements; hence Thou art Panchamî (five); Thou presidest over the six passions Kâma, anger, etc.; hence Thou art Sasthî; Thou presidest over the seven days of the week and Thou grantest boons seven by seven; hence Thou art Seven. Thou art the God of the eight Vasus; hence Thou art Astamî; Thou art full of the nine Râgas and nine parts and Thou art the Goddess of nine planets; hence Thou art Navamî. Thou pervadest the ten quarters and Thou art worshipped by the ten quarters; hence Thou art named Das'amî (the tenth day of the fortnight); Thou art served by the Eleven Rudras, the Goddesses of eleven Ganas and Thou art fond of Ekâdas'î Tithi; hence Thou art denominated Ekâdas'î; Thou art twelve armed and the Mother of the twelve Âdityas; hence Thou art Dvâdas'î; Thou art dear to the thirteen Ganas; Thou art the presiding Deity of Visve Devas and Thou art the thirteen months including the Malas Mâsa (dirty month), hence Thou art Trayodas'î. Thou didst grant boons to the fourteen Indras and Thou gavest birth to the fourteen Manus; hence Thou art Chaturdas'î. Thou art knowable by the Pañchadas'î. Thou art sixteen armed and on Thy forehead the sixteen digits of the Moon are always shining; Thou art the sixteenth digit (ray) of the Moon named Amâ; hence Thou art Sodas'î. O Deves'î! Thou, though attributeless and formless, appearest in these forms and attributes. Thou hast now enveloped in Moha and Darkness the Lord of Ramâ, the Bhagavân, the Deva of the Devas. These Daityas, Madhu and Kaitabha are indomitable and very powerful. So to kill them, Thou better dost awake the Lord of the Devas.”

25-34. The Muni said :-- Thus praised by the Lotus-born, the Tâmasi Bhagavatî (the Goddess of sleep and ignorance), the Beloved of Bhagavân, left Visnu and enchanted the two Daityas.

On being awakened, the Supreme Spirit Visnu, the Lord of the world, the Bhagavân, the Deva of the Devas, saw the two Daityas. Those two monstrous Dânavas, beholding Madhu Sûdana, came up before Him, ready to fight. The hand-to-hand fight lasted amongst them for five thousand years. Then the two Dânavas, maddened by their great strength, were enchanted by the Mâyâ of Bhagavatî and told the Supreme Deity, “Ask boon from us.” Hearing this, the Bhagavân Âdi Purusa, (the Prime Man) asked the boon that both of them would be killed that day by Him. Those two very powerful Dânavas spoke to Hari again, “Very well. Kill us on that part of the earth which is not under water.” O King! Bhagavân Visnu, the Holder of the conch and club, spoke :-- “All right. Indeed! Let that be so.”

Saying this He placed their heads on His thigh and severed them with His disc (chakra). O King! Thus Mahâ Kâlî, the Queen of all the Yogas arose on this occasion when the praise was offered Her by Brahmâ. O King! Now I will describe another account how this Mahâ Laksmî appeared on another occasion. Listen.

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Tenth Book on the killing of Madhu Kaitabha in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Anecdote Of Sâvarni Manu

1-6. The Muni said :-- O King! The powerful Asura Mahisa, born of a she-buffalo, defeated all the Devas and became the Lord of the whole universe. That indomitable Dânava seized forcibly all the rights of the Devas and began to enjoy the pleasures of the kingdom over the three worlds. The Devas, thus defeated, were expelled from their abodes in Heavens. They took Brahmâ as their Leader and went to the excellent regions where Mahâ Deva and Visnu resided and informed them of all that had been done by that vicious Asura Mahisa. They said :-- “O Deva of the Devas! The insolent Mahisâsura has become unbearable and he has taken possessions of the rights and properties of the whole host of the Devas and he is now enjoying them. Both of you are quite capable to destroy the Asura. So why do you not devise means to annihilate him in no time!”

7-10. Hearing these pitiful words of the Devas, Bhagavân Visnu became quite indignant. S’ankara, Brahmâ and the other Devas all were inflamed with anger. O King! From the face of the angry Hari, then emanated an Unusual Fire, brilliant like thousand Suns. Then by and by emanated fires also from the bodies of all the Devas who were filled then with joy. From the mass of fire thus emanated there came out a beautiful Female Figure. The face of this figure was formed out of the fire that emanated from the body of Mahâ Deva. Her hairs were formed out of the fire of Yama and Her arms were formed out of the fire that emanated from Visnu.

11-21. O King! From the fire of the Moon came out two breasts; from the fire of Indra came out Her middle portion; from the fire of Varuna, appeared Her loins and thighs; from the fire of Earth, Her hips were formed; from the fire of Brahmâ, Her feet were formed; from the fire of the Sun, Her toes were formed; from the fire of the Vasus, Her fingers were formed; from Kuvera's fire, Her nose came out; from the excellent tejas of Prajâpati, teeth; from the fire of Agni, Her three eyes; from the fire of the twilights, Her eye-brows and from the fire of Vâyu, Her ears appeared.

O Lord of men! Thus Bhagavatî Mahisamardinî was born of the Tejas (fiery substances) of the Devas. Next S’iva gave Her the S’ûla (weapon spear); Visnu gave Sudars'ana (Chakra); Varuna gave the conchshell; Fire gave S'akti (weapon); Vâyu gave Her bows and arrows; Indra gave Her thunder bolt and the bell of the elephant Airâvata; Yama gave Her the Destruction Staff (Kâla Danda); Brâmâ gave Her the Rudrâksa, rosary and Kamandalu; the Sun gave Her, in every pore the wonderful rays; the Time (Kâla) gave Her sharp axe and shield; the oceans gave Her the beautiful necklace and new clothes (two in number); Vis'vakarmâ gladly gave Her the crown, ear-rings, kataka, Angada, Chandrârdha, tinklets; and the Himâlayâs gave Her the Lion as Her Vehicle and various gems and jewels.

22-30. Kuvera, the Lord of wealth gave Her the cup filled with the drink; Bhagavân Ananta Deva gave Her a necklace of snakes (Nâghâra). Thus the World Mother, the Devî, became honoured by all the Devas. The Devas, very much oppressed by Mahisâsura, then, chanted various hymns of praise to the World Mother Mâhes'varî Mahâ Devî.

Hearing their Stotras, the Deves'î, worshipped by the Devas, shouted aloud the War-Cry. O King! Mahisâsura, startled at that War-Cry, came to Bhagavatî with all his army corps. Then that great Asura Mahisa hurled various weapons in the air and overcast the sky with them and began to fight with great skill. The several generals Chiksura, Durdhara, Durmukha, Vâskala, Tâmraka, Vidâlâksa and various other innumerable generals as if Death incarnate, accompanied Mahisa, the chief Dânava. A fierce fight then ensued. Then the Devî Who enchants all the beings, became red-eyed with anger and began to kill the generals of the against party. When the generals were killed one by one Mahisâsura, skilled in the science of magic, came up quickly to the front of the Devî.

31-40. The Lord of the Dânavas, then, by his magic power, began to assume various forms. Bhagavatî, too, began to destroy his those forms. Then the Daitya, the crusher of the Devas, assumed the form of a buffalo and began to fight. The Devî then fastened the animal, the Asura, the Death of the Devas, tightly and cut off his head by Her axe. The remainder of his forces, then, fled away in terror and disorder with a loud cry. The Devas became very glad and began to chant hymns to the Devî. O King! Thus the Laksmî Devî appeared to kill Mahisâsura. Now I will describe how Sarasvatî appeared. Listen. Once on a time the two very powerful Daityas S’umbha and Nis'umbha were born. They attacked the Devas, oppressed them and seized their houses and rights. The Devas became dispossessed of their kingdoms and went to the Himâlayâs and offered stotras to the Devî with the greatest devotion :-- “O Deves’î! O Thou, skilled in removing the difficulties of the Bhaktas! Victory to Thee! O Thou, the Sinless One! Old age and death cannot touch Thee. O Thou! Death incarnate to the Dânavas! O Deves’î! O Thou, of mighty valour and prowess! O Thou, the embodiment of Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a! Unbounded is Thy might; Thou canst be easily reached by the power of devotion. O Thou, the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer! O Mâdhavî! O Thou, the Giver of Bliss! Thou dancest with great joy at the time of the dissolution of all the things (Pralaya).

41-50. O Thou, full of mercy! O Deva Deves’î! Be gracious unto us. O Thou, the Remover of the sufferings of the refugees! We now come unto Thy protection. The terror of S’umbha and Nis'umbha is like an endless ocean unto us. Save, save us from their fast clutches. O Devî! save us O King! verily.” When the Devas praised thus, the daughter of the Himâlayâs, Bhagavatî became pleased and asked “What is the matter?” In the meanwhile, there emitted from the physical sheath of the Devî another Devî Kaus'ikî who gladly spoke to the Devas :-- “O Suras! I am pleased with Thy Stotra. Now ask the boon that you desire.” The Devas then asked for the following boon :-- “O Devî! The two famous Daityas S’umbha and Nis'umbha have attacked forcibly the three worlds. The wicked Lord of the Dânavas, S’umbha, has overcome us by the power of his arm and is now tormenting us without any break. Kindly devise some means to kill him.” The Devî said :-- “O Devas! Be patient. I will kill these two Daityas, S’umbha and Nis'umbha and thus remove the thorn on your way. At an early date I will do good to you.” Thus saying to Indra and the other Devas the merciful Devî disappeared at once before their eyes. The Deva with their hearts delighted went to the beautiful Sumeru Mountain and dwelt there in the caves thereof.

Here the servants of S’umbha and Nis'umbha Chanda and Munda, while they were making their circuits, saw the exquisitely beautiful Devî, the Enchantress of the world, and came back to S’umbha their King and said :--

51-60. “O Destroyer of enemies! O Giver of honour! O Greal King! You are the Lord of all the Daityas and are fit to enjoy all the gems and jewels. To-day we have seen an extraordinary beautiful woman jewel. She is fit to be enjoyed by you. So now you would better bring that perfectly beautiful woman and enjoy. No such enchanting women can be seen amongst the Asura women Nâga Kanyâs Gandharbha women, Dânavîs or men.” Hearing thus the words of the servant, S’umbha, the tormentor of the foes, sent a Daitya named Sugrîva as a messenger to Her. The messenger went to the Devî as early as possible and spoke to Her all that S’umbha had told him. “O Devî! The Asura S’umbha is now the conqueror of the three worlds and respected by the Devas. O Devî!

He is now enjoying all that is best, the gems and jewels; O Devî! I am his messenger sent here to convey to you his message as follows :-- O Devî! I am the sole enjoyer of all the jewels. O Beautiful-eyed! You are a gem; so you would worship me. O Fair One! All the gems and jewels that are in the Deva loka, in the Daitya loka, or amongst the regions of men, are under my control. So you would lovingly worship me.” The Devî said :-- “O Messenger! True that you are speaking for your King; but I made a promise before, how can I act against it? O Messenger! Hear what I promised.

61-70. Whoever in the three worlds will conquer Me by sheer force and thus crush My vanity, whoever will be as strong as Myself, He can enjoy Me. So the King of Daityas can prove My promise true and by sheer force can marry Me. What is there with him that he cannot do? So, Messenger! Go back to your master and tell him all this so that the powerful S’umbha may fulfil My promise.” Hearing thus the words of the Great Devî, the messenger went back to S’umbba and informed him everything regarding the Devî's sayings. The very powerful Lord of the Daityas, S’umbha became very angry at the unpleasant words of the messenger and commanded the Daitya named Dhumrâksa :-- “O Dhumrâksa! Listen to my words with great attention. Go and catch hold of that wicked woman by her hairs and bring her to me. Go quickly; do not delay.” Thus commanded, the very powerful and the best of the Daityas, Dhumrâksa, went at once to the Devî with sixty thousand Daityas and cried aloud to Her :--

“O Auspicious One! You would better worship quickly our Lord S’umbha, who is very powerful and mighty; you will then acquire all sorts of pleasures; else I will hold you by your hairs and take you to the Lord of the Daityas.”

71-80. Thus addressd by Dhumrâksa Daitya, the enemy of the Devas, the Devî said :-- “O Powerful One! O Daitya! What you have spoken is perfectly right, but tell me first what you or your king S’umbha can do to Me?” When the Devî said thus, the Daitya Dhûmralochana rushed on Her at once with arms and weapons. With one loud noise, Mâhes'varî burnt him immediately to ashes. O King! The other forces were partly crushed by the Lion, the vehicle of the Devî and partly fled away in disorder to all the quarters; some became senseless out of fear. S’umbba , the Lord of the Daityas, became very angry to hear this. His face assumed a terrible form with eyebrows contracted. Then he became impatient with anger and sent in order Chanda, Munda and Raktabîja.

The three powerful Daityas went to the battle and tried their might to capture the Devî. The Devî Jagaddhâtrî, of violent prowess, seeing that these three Daityas were coming to Her, killed them by Her trident and laid them prostrate on the ground. Hearing their death with all their army, S’umbha and Nis'umbha came in their own persons arrogantly to the battlefield. S’umbha and Nis'umbha fought for a time with the Devî a terrible fight and became tired, when the Devî killed them outright. When the Bhagavatî, Who is all this world, killed S’umbba and Nis'umbha, the Devas began to praise Bhagavatî the Supreme Deity of Vâk (Word) incarnate.

81-93. O King! Thus I have spoken to you in due order the manner in which the beautiful Kâlî, Mahâ Laksmî and Sarasvatî incarnated themselves on the earth. That Supreme Deity, the Devî Parames'varî thus creates, preserves, and destroys the Universe. You better take refuge of that highly adored Devî, that causes the distinction and the delusion of this Universe. Then only you will attain success. Nârâyana said :-- The king Suratha, hearing these beautiful words of the Muni, took refuge of the Devî, that yields all desired objects. He built an earthen image of the Devî and, with concentrated attention, thought wholly of the Devî and began to worship Her with devotion. When the worship was over, he offered sacrifices of the blood of his body to the Devî. Then the World-Mother, the Deity of the Devas, became pleased and appeared before him and asked him :--  Accept the boon that you desire. When the Devî said thus, the king asked from the Mahes'varî that excellent knowledge whereby the ignorance is destroyed and as well the kingdom free from any dangers or difficulties. The Devî said :-- “O King! By My boon, you will get your foeless kingdom in this very birth as well as the Jñânam that removes ignorance. O King! I will tell you also what you will be in the next birth. Hear. In your next birth, you will be the son of the Sun and be famous as Sâvarni Manu. By My boon you will be the Lord of the Manvantara, become very powerful and you will get good many sons.” Thus granting him this boon, the Devî disappeared. By the Grace of the Devî, Suratha became the Lord of the Manvantara. O Sâdhu! Thus I have described to you the birth and deeds of Sâvarni. He who hears or reads this anecdote with devotion, will be a favourite of the Devî.

Here ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Tenth Book on the anecdote of Sâvarni Manu in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Account Of Bhrâmarî Devî

1-21. S’rî Nârâyana spoke :-- O Child Nârada! Hear now the wonderful anecdotes of the births of the remaining other Manus. The mere remembrance of these birth anecdotes causes Bhakti to grow and well up towards the Devî. Vaivasvata Manu had six sons :-- viz., Karusa, Prisadhra, Nâbhâga, Dista, Saryâti, and Tris'anku. All of them were stout and strong. Once they all united went to the excellent banks of the Jumnâ and began to practise Prânâyama without taking any food and became engaged in worshipping the Devî. Each of them built separately an earthen image of the Devî and worshipped Her with devotion and with various offerings. In the beginning, they took the dry leaves of the trees that dropped of themselves for their food; then they drank water only, then breathed air only; then the smoke from the fire of the Homa; then they depended on the Solar Rays. Thus they practised tapasyâ with great difficulties. The continual worship of the Devî with the greatest devotion made them conscious of their clear intellect, destructive of all sorts of vanities and delusions, and the Manu's sons thought only of the Hallowed Feet of the Devî; their intellects were purified and they were greatly wondered to see within their Self the whole Universe. Thus they practised their Tapasyâ full twelve years when Bhagavatî, the Ruling Principle of this Universe resplendent wiih the brilliance of the thousand Suns, appeared before them. The princes with their intelligences thus purified saw Her, bowed down and, with their lowly hearts, began to chant hymns to Her with greatest devotion. “O Îs'ânî! O Merciful! Thou art the Devî presiding over all. Thou art the Best. So Victory to Thee! Thou art known by the Vâgbhava Mantra. Thou gettest pleased when the Vâgbhava Mantra is repeated. O Devî! Thou art of the nature of Klîm Kâra (of the form of Klîm). Thou gettest pleased with the repetition of Klîm Mantra. O Thou, that gladdenest the Lord! Thou bestowest joy and pleasure in the heart of the King of Kâma. O Mahâ Mâyâ! When Thou art pleased, Thou givest that Unequalled Kingdom. O Thou that increasest the enjoyments! Thou art Visnu, Sûrya, Hara, Indra and the other Devas.” When the highsouled princes praised Her thus, Bhagavatî became pleased and spoke to them the following sweet words :-- “O Highsouled Princes! You all have worshipped Me and practised, indeed, very hard tapasyâs and thus you have become sinless and your intellects and hearts have become thoroughly purged and thus purified. Now ask boons that you desire. I will grant them ere long to you.” The Princes said :-- “O Devî! We want unrivalled Kingdoms, many sons of long longevity, continual enjoyment of pleasures, fame, energy, freedom in all actions, and as well the good and keen intelligence. These will be beneficial to us.” The Devî said :-- Whatever you have desired, I grant them to you all. Besides I give you another boon. Listen attentively. By My Grace you all will be the Lords of the Manvantaras and acquire strength that will experience no defeat, and you will get prosperity, fame, energy, powers, and a continual line of descent and abundant full enjoyments.

22-32. Nârâyana said :-- After the World Mother Bhrâmarî Devî granted them these boons, the princes chanted hymns to Her and then She instantly vanished. The very energetic princes acquired in that birth excellent kingdoms and abundance of wealth. They all had sons and thus established their families, and became the Lords of Manvantara in their next births. By the Grace of the Devî, the first of the princes Karusa became the Ninth Manu, the exceedingly powerful Daksa Sâvarni; the second prince Prisadhra became the Tenth Manu, named Meru Sâvarni; the third prince, the highly enthusiastic Nâbhâga became the Eleventh Manu, named Sûrya Sâvarni; the fourth prince Dista became the Twelfth Manu, named Chandra Sâvarni; the powerful fifth prince S'aryâti became the Thirteenth Manu named Rudra Sâvarni and the sixth prince Tris'anku became the Fourteenth Manu named Visnu Sâvarni and became the celebrated Lord of the world.

33-41. Nârada questioned :-- “O Wise One! Who is that Bhrâmari Devî? What is Her Nature? What for She takes birth? Kindly describe all this beautiful and pain destroying anecdotes to me. I am not satiated with the drinking of the nectar of the Glories of the Devî; my desire to hear further more is as strong as ever. As the drink of the nectar takes away death, so the drink of this anecdote of the Devî takes away the fear of death.” Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I will now narrate the wonderful glories of that unthinkable, unmanifested World Mother, leading to Mukti. Hear, as a Mother behaves towards Her child kindly and without any hypocrisy, so the World Mother in all Her lives manifests Her merciful sincere dealings for the welfare of the humanity. In days gone by, in the nether regions, in the city of the Daityas, there lived a powerful Daitya named Aruna. He was a furious Deva Hater and a pâkkâ hyprocrite. With a view to conquer the Devas, he went to the banks of the Ganges in the Himâlayâs, practised a very bard Tapasyâ, to Brahmâ, taking Him to be the Protector of the Daityas. First influenced by Tamo Guna, he withheld in his body the five Vâyus and partook only the dry leaves and repeated, the Gâyatrî Mantra and practised austerities. Thus he practised for full ten thousand years. Then for another ten thousand years the Daitya lived drinking some drops of water only; then for another ten thousand years he remained by inhaling air only; and then for another ten thousand years he did not take any thing and thus practised he his wonderful Tapasyâ.

42-49. Thus practising his Tapasyâ a sort of wonderful halo of light emitted from his body and began to burn the whole world. This thing then appeared a great wonder. All the Devas then exclaimed. “Oh! What is this! Oh! What is this!” And they trembled. All were very much terrified and took refuge of Brahmâ. Hearing all the news from the Devas, the four-faced Bhagavân rode on His vehicle, the Swan, and with the Gâyatrî went very gladly to where the Daitya was practising his austerities and saw that the Daitya was immersed in meditation with his eyes closed; and he looked, as it were, blazing with fire, as if a second Fire himself. His belly had become dried up, body withered and the nerves of the bodies, too, became almost visible; only the life breath was lingering there. Brahmâ then spoke to him :-- “O Child! Auspices to you! Now ask the boon that you desire.” Hearing these gladdening nectar-like words from the mouth of Brahmâ, Aruna, the chief of the Daityas opened his eyes and saw Brahmâ in his front. Seeing Brahmâ before him with a rosary of beads and Kâmandalu in his hand and attended by Gâyatrî and the four Vedas, muttering the name of the Eternal Brahmâ, the Daitya rose up and bowed down to Him and sang to Him various Stotras.

50-59. Then the intelligent Daitya asked from Brahmâ the following boon that “I shall not die. Grant this.” Brahmâ then gently explained to him :-- “O Best of the Dânavas! See that Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'vara and others are not free from this limitation of death! What to speak then for others! I cannot grant you a boon that is an impossibility. Ask what is possible and just. The intelligent persons never show an eagerness to an impossibility.” Hearing the above words of Brahmâ, Aruna again said with devotion :-- “O Deva! If Thou art unwilling to grant me the above boon, then, O Lord! Grant me such a boon, as is practicable, that my death shall not be caused by any war, nor by any arms or weapons, nor by any man or any woman, by any biped or quadruped or any combination of two and grant me such a boon, such a large army as I can conquer the Devas.” Hearing the words of the Daitya, Brahmâ said “Let that be so” and went back instantly to His own abode. Then, puffed up with that boon, the Daitya Aruna called on all the other Daityas that lived in the nether regions. The Daityas, that were under his shelter, came and saluted him, as their king and, by his command, they sent messengers to the Heavens to fight with the Devas. Hearing from the messenger that the Daityas were willing to fight with the Devas, Indra trembled with fear and went instantly with the Devas to the abode of Brahmâ. Taking Brahmâ, too, along with them from there, they went to the Visnu Loka and took Visnu with them and all went to the S’iva Loka.

60-70. There they all held a conference how to kill the Daitya, the enemy of the Gods. While, on the other hand, Aruna, the king of the Daityas surrounded by his army, went ere long to the Heavens.

O Muni! The Daitya, then, through the power of his Tapas, assumed various forms and seized the rights and possessions of the Moon, the Sun, Yama, Agni and all the othars. All the Devas, then, dislodged from their stations went to the region of Kailas'a and represented to S’ankara about their own troubles and dangers respectively. Then, what was to be done on this subject, on this, great discussions cropped up. When Brahmâ said, that the death of the Daitya would not ensue from any fight, with any arms or weapons, from any man or woman, biped, quadruped or from any combination of the above two. Then the Devas became all anxious and could not find out any solution at that instant, when the Incorporeal Voice was clearly heard in the Heavens :-- Let you all worship the Queen of the Universe. She will carry out your work to success. If the king of the Daityas, always engaged in muttering the Gâyatrî, forsakes the Gâyatrî any how, then his death will occur. Hearing this gladdening Celestial Voice, the Devas held the council with great caution. When it was settled what ought to be done, Indra asked Brihaspati and said :-- “O Guru Deva! You would better go to the Daitya for the carrying out of the Devas' ends and do so that he forsakes the Devî Gâyatrî Parames’varî. We will all now go and meditate on Her. When She will be pleased, She will help us.

71-77. Thus commanding Brihaspati and thinking that the beautiful Protectress of Jâmbû Nada would protect them the Devas all started to worship Her and, going there, began the Devî Yajña and with great devotion muttered the Mâyâ Vîja and practised asceticism. On the other hand, Brihaspati went ere long in the garb of a Muni to the Daitya Aruna. The king of the Daityas then asked him :-- “O Best of Munis! Whence and why have you come here. Say, O Muni! Where have you come? I am not one of your party. Rather I am your enemy.” Hearing the above words, Brihaspati said :-- When you are worshipping incessantly the Devî whom we too worship, then say how you are not a one on our side! O Saint! The vicious Daitya, hearing the above words and deluded by the Mâyâ of the Devas, forsook the Gâyatrî Mantra out of vanity and therefore he became weak, bereft of the Holy Fire.

78-85. Then Brihaspati, having succeeded in his work there, went to the Heavens and saw Indra and told him everything in detail. The Devas became satisfied and worshipped the Highest Deity. O Muni! Thus, a long interval passed, when one day the World Mother, the Auspicious Devî appeared before them. She was resplendent with the brilliance of ten million suns and looked beautiful like ten millions of Kandarpas (Gods of love). Her body was anointed with variegated colours, etc.; She wore a pair of clothings; a wonderful garland suspended from Her neck; Her body was decked with various ornaments and in the fists of Her hands there were wonderful rows of hornets ( large black bees). Her one hand was ready to grant boons and Her other hand was ready to hold out “no fear.” On the neck of  Bhagavatî, the Ocean of Mercy, and peaceful, were seen the variegated garlands with large black bees all round. Those male and female bees singing incessantly all round Her the Hrîmkâra Mantra (the First Vibration of Force), kotis of black bees surrounded Her. The All-auspicious Bhagavatî, praised by all the Vedas, Who is all in all, composed of all, Who is all good, the Mother of all, Omniscient, the Protectress of all, was adorned fully with dress.

86-96. Seeing suddenly the Devî, in their front Brahmâ and the other Devas became surprised and by and by they got relieved and gladly began to chant hymns of praise to Bhagavatî, Whose Glories have been written in the Vedas.

The Devas said :-- “O Devî! Obeisance to Thee! Thou art the Highest Knowledge and the Creatrix, Preservrix and the Destructrix of the Universe. O Thou, the Lotus-eyed! Thou art the Refuge of all! So we bow down to Thee. O Devî! Thou art collectively and individually Vis'va, Taijasa, Prâjña, Virât and Sûtrâtmâ. O Bhagavatî. Thou art differentiated and undifferentiated; Thou art the Kûtastha Chaitanya (the Unmoveable, Unchangeable Consciousness). So we bow down to Thee. O Durge! Thou art unconcerned with the creation, preservation and destruction; yet Thou punishest the wicked and art easily available by the sincere devotion of Thy Bhaktas. O Devî! Thou scorchest and destroyest the ignorance and sin of the embodied souls. Hence Thou art named Bhargâ. So we bow down to Thee. O Mother! Thou art Kâlikâ, Nîla Sarasvatî, Ugra Târâ, Mahogrâ; Thou assumest many other forms. So we always bow down to Thee. O Devî! Thou art Tripura Sundarî, Bhairabî, Mâtangî, Dhûmâvatî, Chhinnamastâ, S'âkambharî and Rakta Dantikâ. Obeisance to Thee! O Bhagavatî! It is Thou that didst appear as Laksmî out of the milk ocean (Ksîra Samudra). Thou hadst destroyed Vritrâsura, Chanda, Munda, Dhûmralochana, Rakta Bîja, S’umbha, Nis'umbha and the Exterminator of the Dânavas and thus, Thou didst do great favours to the Devas. So, O Gracious Countenanced! Thou art Vîjayâ and Gangâ; O Sârade! We bow down to Thee. O Devî! Thou art the earth, fire, Prâna and other Vâyus and other substances. O Merciful! Thou art of the form of this Universe; the Deva form, and the Moon, Sun and other Luminous forms and of the Knowledge Form.

97-109. O Devî! Thou art Sâvitrî; Thou art Gâyatrî; Thou art Sarasvatî; Thou art Svadhâ, Svâhâ, and Daksinâ. So we bow down to Thee. Thou art, in the Vedas, the Âgamas, “Not this, not this.” Thou art what is left after the negation of all this. This all the Vedas declare of Thy True Nature thus as the Absolute Consciousness in all. Thus Thou art the Highest Deity. So we worship Thee. As Thou art surrounded by large black bees, Thou art named Bhrâmarî. We always make obeisance to Thee! Obeisance to Thee! Obeisance to Thy sides! Obeisance to Thy back! Obeisance to Thy front! O Mother! Obeisance to Thy above! Obeisance to Thy below! Obeisance to everywhere round of Thee! O Thou, the Dweller in Manî Dvîpa! O Mahâ Devî! Thou art the Guide of the innumerable Brahmândas! O World Mother! Let Thou be merciful to us. O Devî! Thou art higher than the highest. O World Mother! Victory be to Thee! All Hail! O Goddess of the universe! Thou art the Best in the whole universe; Victory to Thee! O Lady of the world! Thou art the mine of all the gems of qualities. O Parames'varî! O World Mother! Let Thou be pleased unto us.” Nârâyana said :-- Hearing those sweet, ready and confident words of the Devas, the World Mother said in the sweet tone of a Mad Cuckoo:-- “O Devas! As far as granting boons to others is concerned, I am ever ready. I am always pleased with you. So, O Devas! Say what you want.” Hearing the words of the Devî, the Devas began to express the cause of their sorrows. They informed Her of the wicked nature of the vicious Daitya, the neglect of the Devas, the Brahmânas and the Vedas and the ruins thereof, and the dispossession of the Devas of their abodes and the receiving by the Daitya of the boon from Brahmâ; in fact, everything what they had to say, duly and vigorously. Then the Bhagavatî Bhrâmarî Devî sent out all sorts of black bees, hornets, etc., from Her sides, front and forepart.

110-120. Innumerable lines of black bees then were generated and they joined themselves with those that got out of the Devî's hands and thus they covered the whole earth. Thus countless bees began to emit from all sides like locusts. The sky was overcast with the bees; and the earth was covered with darkness. The sky, mountain peaks, trees, forests all became filled with bees and the spectacle presented a grand dismal sight. Then the black bees began to tear asunder the breasts of the Daityas as the bees bite those who destroy their beehives. Thus the Daityas could not use their weapons nor could they fight nor exchange any words. Nothing they could do; they had no help but to die. The Daityas remained in the same state where they were and in that state they wondered and died. No one could talk with another. Thus the principal Daityas died within an instant. Thus completing their destruction, the bees came back to the Devî. All the people then spoke to one another “Oh! What a wonder! Oh! What a wonder!” Or like this :-- “Whose Mâyâ is this! What a wonder that She will do like this!” Thus Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a became merged in the ocean of joy and worshipped the Devî Bhagavatî with various offerings and shoutings of chants “Victory to the Devî” and showered flowers all around. The Munis began to recite the Vedas. The Gandharbas began to sing.

121-127. The various musical instruments, Mridangas, Murajas, the Indian lutes, Dhakkâs, Damarus, S'ankhas, bells, etc., all sounded and the three worlds were filled with their echoes. All with folded palms chanted various hymns of praise to the Devî and said “O Mother! Îsânî! Victory to Thee!” The Mahâ Devî became glad and gave to each separate boons and when they asked “for unshakeable devotion to Thy lotus feet,” She granted them that also and disappeared before them. Thus I have described to you the glorious character of the Bhrâmârî Devî. If anybody hears this very wonderful anecdote, he crosses at once this ocean of the world. Along with the glories and greatness of the Devî, if one hears the accounts of Manus, then all auspiciousness comes to him. He who hears or recites daily this Greatness of the Devî, becomes freed from all his sins and he gets himself absorbed in the thoughts of the Devî (Sâjuya). Note :-- The Mantra is here not merely the Seed, the Spiritual Password, but it connotes, besides the idea of the password, the Âdi First vibration and it exhibits the First Spiritual Form, endowed with the highest feelings of Faith, Wisdom, Bliss and Joy, displayed with the grandest colours, startling thrills, rapt enchanting signs, gestures, and postures, the shooting forth of all powers, the sources of Siddhis, that cannot be ordinarily conceived in the worldly concerns. Their faint echoes govern this mighty world. The Mantras are seated in the six chakras or plexuses or the six Laya centres in the spinal cord. Within these chakras, the transformations of the Tattvas take place. Some vanish. Some appear and so on. Remark :-- In this chapter we find clearly the mention of the several names of the ten Das'a Mahâ Vidyâs.

Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter of the Tenth Book of the account of Bhrâmarî Devî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa and here ends as well the Tenth Book.

[The Tenth Book completed.]

The Eleventh Book

Chapter 1. On What Is To Be Thought Of In The Morning

1-13. Nârada said :-- O Bhagavân! O Thou, the Eternal One! O Nârâyana! O Lord of the past and the future! Thou art the Creator and the Lord of all the beings that lived in the past and that will come into existence in the future. Thou hast described to me the highly wonderful and excellent anecdote of the Exalted Devî. How She did assume the forms of Mahâkâlî, Mahâ Laksmî, Mahâ Sarasvatî and Bhrâmarî, for the fulfilment of the Devas' purposes and how the Devas got back their possessions by the Grace of the Devî. All you have described. O Lord! Now I want to hear the rules of Sadâchâra (right way of living), the due observance of which by the devotees pleases the World-Mother. Kindly describe them.

Nârâyana said :-- O Knower of Truth! Now I am telling you those rules of the right way of living, which rightly observed, always please Bhagavatî. Listen first, I will talk of the Brâhmins, how their welfare is secured, what the Brâhmanas ought to do on getting up early in the morning from their bed. From the sunrise to the sunset the Brâhmanas should do all the daily and occasional duties (Nitya and Naimittik Karmas) and they are to perform the optional works for some particular object such as Puttresti Yajña and other good works (not acts of black magic as killing, causing pain and inconveniences to others, etc.). It is the Self alone and not the Father, Mother, etc., nor any other body that, helps us on our way to that happiness in the next world. Father, Mother, wife, sons and others are helps merely to our happiness in this world. None of them are helpful to us in bettering our states in the next world.

Deliverance of one's Self depends verily on his own Self. Therefore one should always earn and store dharma (religion) and observe always there the right conduct to help one in the next world. If Dharma be on our side, this endless sea of troubles can be safely crossed. The rules of right living as ordained by Manu in S’rutis and Manu Smritis are the principal Dharmas. The Brâhmanas should always be observant to their Dharma as ordained in the S’âstras, S’ruti and Smriti. Follow the right conduct and then you will get life, posterity and increase of happiness easily here and hereafter. By right conduct, food is obtained and sins are easily destroyed; the right conduct is the auspicious principal Dharma of men. Persons of right living enjoy happiness in this world as well as in the next. Those, who are veiled in darkness by Ignorance and thus wildly enchanted, can verily see their way to Mukti if they follow the Great Light revealed to them by Dharma and the right conduct. It is by Sadâchâra, that superiority is attained. Men of right conduct always do good deeds. From good deeds, knowledge comes. This is the advice of Manu.

14-24. Right way of living is the best of all the Dharmas and is great Tapasyâ (asceticism). The knowledge comes from this Right Living. Everything is attained thereby. He who is devoid of Sadâchâra, is like a S’ûdra, even if he comes of a Brâhmin family. There is no distinction whatsoever betwen him and a S’ûdra. Right conduct is of two kinds :-- (1) as dictated by the S’âstras, (2) as dictated by the popular custom (Laukika). Both these methods should be observed by him who wants welfare for his Self. He is not to forsake one of them. O Muni! The village Dharma, the Dharma of one's own caste, the Dharma of one's own family and the Dharma of one's own country all should be observed by men. Never, never he is to do anything otherwise. With great loving devotion that is to be preserved. Men who practise wrong ways of living, are censured by the public; they always suffer from diseases. Avoid wealth and desires that have no Dharma in them. Why? If in the name of dharma, painful acts (e. g. killing animals in sacrifices) are to be committed, those are blamed by the people; so never commit them. Avoid them by all means. Nârada said :-- “O Muni! The S’âstras are not one, they are many and they lay down different rules and contradictory opinions, How then Dharma is to be followed? And according what Dharma S’âstra?” Nârâyana said :-- S’ruti and Smriti are the two eyes of God; the Purânam is His Heart. Whatever is stated in S’ruti, the Smriti and the Purânams is Dharma; whatever else is written in other S’âstras is not Dharma. Where you will find differences between S’ruti, Smriti and Purânas, accept the words of the S’rutis as final proofs. Wherever Smriti disagrees with the Purânas, know the Smritis more authoritative.

And where differences will crop up in the S’rutis themselves, know that Dharma, too, is of two kinds. And where the differences will crop up in the Smritis themselves, consider, then, that different things are aimed at. In some Purânas, the Dharma of the Tantras is duly described; but of these, which go against the Vedas, they are not to be accepted any means.

25-37. Tantra is accepted as the authoritative proof then and then only when it contradicts not the Vedas. Whatever goes clearly against the Vedas can in no way be accepted as a proof. In matters concerning Dharma, the Vedas is the Sole Proof. Therefore that which is not against the Vedas can be taken as proof; otherwise not. Whoever acts Dharma according to other proofs than what is ordained in the Vedas, goes to the hell in the abode of Yama to get his lesson. So the Dharma that is by all means to be accepted as such, is what is stated in the Vedas. The Smritis, the Purânas, or the Tantra S’âstras can be taken also as authoritative when they are not conflicting to Vedas. Any other S’âstras can be taken as authoritative when it is fundamentally coincident with the Vedas. Else it can never be accepted.

Those who do injury to others even by the blade of a Kus'a grass used as a weapon, go to hell with their heads downwards and their feet upwards. Those that follow their own sweet free will, that take up any sort of dress (e. g. Bauddhas), those that follow the philosophical doctrines called Pâs'upatas, and the other hermits and saints and persons that take up other vows contrary to the religions of the Vedas, for example, the Vaikhânasa followers, those who brand their bodies by the hot Mudrâs, at the places of pilgrimages, e. g. Dvârkâ, etc., they go to hell with their bodies scorched by red hot brands (Tapta Mudrâs). So persons should act according to the excellent religions commanded by the Vedas. Everyday he should get up from his bed early in the morning and think thus :-- “What good acts have I done, what have I given as charities? Or what I advised others to do charities what greater sins (Mahâpâtakas) and what smaller sins have I committed?” At the last quarter of the night he should think of Para Brahmâ. He should place his right leg on his left thigh and his left on his right thigh crosswise keeping his head straight up and touching the breast with his chin, and closing his eyes, he should sit steadily so that the upper teeth should not touch the lower jaw.

He should join his tongue with his palate and he should sit quiet, restraining his senses. He should be S’uddha Sattva. His seat should not be very low. First of all he should practice Prânâyâma twice or thrice; and within his heart he should meditate the Self of the shape of the Holy Flame or the Holy Light. (Om Mani Padma Hum.)

38-49. He should fix his heart for a certain time to that Luminous Self whose Eyes are everywhere. So the intelligent man should practise Dhâranâ. Prânâyâma is of six kinds :-- (1) Sadhûma (when the breaths are not steady), (2) Nirdhûma(better than the Sadhûma), (3) Sagarbha (when united with one's mantra), (4) Agarbha (when the practice is without the thought of any mantra), (5) Salaksya (when the heart is fixed on one's Deity) and (6) Alaksya (when the heart is not fixed on one's Deity). No yoga can be compared with Prânâyâma. This is equal to itself. Nothing can be its equal. This Prânâyâma is of three kinds, called Rechaka, Pûraka and Kumbhaka. The Prânâyâma consists of three letters, A, U, M, i. e. of the nature of “Om”. Or, in other words the letter A, of the Pranava Om indicates Pûraka, the letter “U” denotes Kumhhaka and the letter “M” denotes Rechaka. By the Îdâ Nâdi (by the left nostril) inhale as long as you count “A” (Visnu) thirty-two times; then withold breath, i.e., do Kumbhaka as long as you count “U” (S’iva) sixtyfour times and by the Pingalâ Nâdi (the right nostril) do the Rechaka, i.e., exhale the breath as long as you count “M" (Brahmâ) for sixteen times. O Muni! Thus I have spoken to you of the Sadhûma Prânâyâma. After doing the Prânâyâma as stated above, pierce the Six Chakras (i. e., plexuses) (called Sathakra bheda) and carry the Kula Kundalinî to the Brahmâ Randhra, the brain aperture, or to the thousand petalled lotus in the head and meditate in the heart the Self like a Steady Flame. (The Nâdis are not those which are known to the Vaidya or the Medical S’âstras. The latter are the gross physical nerves, The Nâdis here are the Yoga Nâdis, the subtle channels (Vivaras) along which the Prânik currents flow. Now the process of piercing the six Chakras (or nerve centres or centres of moving Prânik forces) is being described. Within this body, the six nerve centres called Padmas (Lotuses) exist. They are respectively situated at the (1) Mûlâdhâra (half way between Anus and Linga Mûla), called the Sacral Plexus; (2) Linga Mûla (the root of the genital organs); called postatic plexus; (this is also called Svâdhisthâna) (3) Navel, the Solar Plexus (4) Heart, the cardiac Plexus, (5) Throat (6) Forehead, between the eye brows there; the lotus in the forehead, called the cavernous plexus (Âjnâ Chakra) has two petals; in these two petals, the two letters “Ham” “Ksam” exist in the right hand direction (with the bands of the watch; going round from left to right keeping the right side towards one circumambulated as as a mark of respect). I bow down to these which are the two-lettered Brahmâ. The lotus that exists in the throat laryngeal or pharyngeal plexus has sixteen petals (vis’uddhâ chakra); in these are in due order in right hand direction the sixteen letters (vowels) a, â, i, î, u, û, ri, rî, lri, lrî, e, ai, o, au, am, ah; I bow down to these which are the sixteen lettered Brahmâ. The lotus that exists in the heart, the cardiac plexus (anâhata chakra), has twelve petals; wherein are the twelve letters k, kh, g, gh, n, ch, chh, j, jh, ñ, t, th; I bow to to these twelve lettered Brahmâ. The Solar plexus forms the Great Junction of the Right and Left sympathetic chains Îdâ and Pingalâ with the Cerebro spinal Axis. The lotus that exists in the navel, called the Solar Plexus, or Epigastric plexus (Manipura Chakra) has ten petals wherein are the ten letters d, dh, n, t, th, d, dh, n, p, ph, counting in the right hand direction (that is clockwise) (and the action of this clock is vertical in the plane of the spinal cord; also it may be horizontal). The lotus that exists at the root of the genital organ, the genital plexus or postatic plexus has six petals. The petals are the configurations made by the position of Nâdis at any particular centre. Svâdhisthâna chakra or Svayambhu Linga, wherein are situated the six letters, b, bh, m, y, r, l; I bow down to this six-lettered Brahmâ. (These are the Laya Centres). The lotus that exists in the Mûlâdhâra, called the sacral or sacrococcygeal plexus has four petals, wherein are the four letters v, s', s, s. I bow down to these four-lettered Brahmâ. In the above six nerve centres or Laya Centres, or lotuses, all the letters are situated in the right hand direction (clockwise). (Note :-- All the nerves of the body combine themselves in these six nerve centres or Laya Centres. Each of these centres is spheroidal and is of the Fourth Dimension. At each centre many transitions take place, many visions take place, many forces are perceived and wonderful varieties of knowledge are experienced. These are called the Laya Centres. For many things vanish into non-existence and many new Tattvas are experienced.) Thus meditating on the Six Chakras or plexuses, meditate on the Kula Kundalinî, the Serpent Fire. She resides on the four petalled lotus (Centre of S’akti) called Mûlâdhâra Chakra (Coccygeal plexus); She is of Rajo Guna; She is of a blood red colour, and She is expressed by the mantra “Hrîm,” which is the Mâyâvîja; she is subtle as the thread of the fibrous stock of the water lily. The Sun is Her face; Fire is Her breasts; he attains Jîvan mukti (liberation while living) within whose heart such a Kula Kundalinî arises and awakens even once. Thus meditating on Kula Kundalinî, one should pray to Her :-- Her sitting, coming, going, remaining, the thought on Her, the realisation of Her and chanting hymns to Her, etc., all are Mine, Who is of the nature of all in all; I am that Bhagavatî; O Bhagavatî! All my acts are Thy worship; I am the Devî; I am Brahmâ, I am free from sorrow. I am of the nature of Everlasting Existence, Intelligence and Bliss. Thus one should meditate of one's own-self. I take refuge of that Kula Kundalinî, who appears like lightning and who holds the current thereof, when going to Brahmârandhra, in the brain, who appears like nectar when coming back from the brain to the Mûlâdhâra and who travels in the Susumnâ Nâdi in the spinal cord. Then one is to meditate on one's own Guru, who is thought of as one with God, as seated in one's brain and then worship Him mentally. Then the Sâdhaka, controlling himself is to recite the following Mantra “The Guru is Brahmâ, the Guru is Visnu, it is the Guru again that is the Deva Mahes'vara; it is Guru that is Para Brahmâ. I bow down to that S’rî Guru.”

Here ends the First Chapter of the Eleventh Book on what is to be thought of in the morning in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On Cleansing The Several Parts Of The Body

1-42. Nârâyana said :-- Even if a man studies the Vedas with six Amgas (limbs of the Vedas), he cannot be pure if he be devoid of the principle of right living (Sadâchâra) and if he does not practise it. All that is in vain. As soon as the two wings of the young ones of birds appear they leave their nests, so the chhandas (the Vedas) leave such a man devoid of Sadâchâra at the time of his death. The intelligent man should get up from his bed at the Brâhma muhûrta and should observe all the principles of Sadâchâra. In the last quarter of night, he should practise in reciting and studying the Vedas. Then for some time he should meditate on his Ista Deva (his Presiding Deity). The Yogi should meditate on Brahmâ according to the method stated before. O Nârada! If meditation be done as above, the identity of Jîva and Brahmâ is at once realised and the man becomes liberated while living. After the fifty-fifth Danda from the preceding sunrise, i.e., 2 hours before the sunrise comes the Usâkâla; after the fifty seventh Danda comes the Arunodayakâla; after fifty eighth Danda comes the morning time; then the Sun rises. On should get up from one's bed in the morning time. He should go then to a distance where an arrow shot at one stretch goes. There in the south-west corner he is to void his urines and faeces. Then the man, if he be a Brahmachârî, should place his holy thread on his right ear and the householder should suspend it on his neck only. That is, the Brahmachârî, in the first stage of of his life should place the holy thread over his right ear; the householder and the Vânaprasthîs should suspend the holy thread from the neck towards the back and then void their faeces, etc. He is to tie a piece of cloth round his head; and spread earth or leaves on the place where he will evacuate himself. He is not to talk then nor spit nor inhale hard. One is not to evacuate oneself in cultivated lands, that have been tilled, in water, over the burning pyre, on the mountain, in the broken and ruined temples, on the ant-hills, on places covered with grass, on road side, or on holes where living beings exist. One ought not to do the same also while walking. One ought to keep silence during both the twilights, while one is passing urine or voiding one's faeces, or while one is holding sexual intercourse, or before the presence of one's Guru, during the time of sacrifice, or while making gifts, or while doing Brahmâ Yajña. One ought to pray before evacuating, thus :-- “O Devas! O Risis! O Pis'âchas! O Uragas! O Râksasas! You all who might be existing here unseen by me, are requested to leave this place. I am going to ease myself here duly.” Never one is to void oneself while one looks at Vâyu (wind), Agni (fire), a Brâhmana, the Sun, water or cow. At the day time one is to turn one's face northward and at the night time southward, while easing oneself and then one is to cover the faeces, etc., with stones, pebbles, leaves or grass, etc. Then he is to hold his genital organ with his hand and go to a river or any other watery place; he is to fill his vessel with water then and go to some other place.

The Brâhmana is to use the white earth, the Ksattriya is to take the red earth, the Vais'ya is to use the yellow earth and the S’ûdra is to apply the black earth and with that he is to cleanse himself. The earth under water, the earth of any temple, the earth of an anthill, the earth of a mouse hole, and the remnant of the earth used by another body for washing are not to be used for cleansing purposes. The earth for cleansing faeces is twice as much as that used in case of urine clearance; in the cleansing after sexual intercourse thrice as much. In urine cleansing the earth is to be applied in the organ of generation once, thrice in the hand. And in dirt clearing, twice in the organ of generation, five times in anus, ten times in the left hand and seven times in both the hands. Then apply earth four times first in the left feet and then on the right feet. The house holder should clean thus; the Brahmachâri is to do twice and the Yatis four times. At every time the quantity of wet earth that is to be taken is to be of the size of an Âmalakî fruit; never it is to be less than that. This is for the clearance in the day time. Half of these can be used in the night time. For the invalids, one-fourth the above measurements; for the passers-by, one-eighth the above dimensions are to be observed. In case of women, S’ûdras, and incapable children, clearings are to be done till then when the offensive smell vanishes. No numbers are to be observed. Bhagavân Manu says for all the Varnas the clearing is to be done till then when the offensive smell vanishes. The clearing is to be performed by the left hand. The right hand is never to be used. Below the navel, the left hand is to be used; and above the navel the right hand is to be used for clearing. The wise man should never hold his water pot while evacuating himself. If by mistake he catches hold of his waterpot, he will have to perform the penance (prâyaschitta).

If, out of vanity or sloth, clearing be not done, for three nights, one is to fast, drinking water only, and then to repeat the Gâyatrî Mantra and thus be purified. In every matter, in view of the place, time and materials, one's ability and power are to be considered and steps are to be taken accordingly. Knowing all this, one should clear oneself according to rule. Never be lazy here. After evacuating oneself of faeces, one is to rinse one's mouth twelve times; and after passing urine and clearing, one is to rinse four times. Never less than that is to be done. The water after rinsing is to be thrown away slowly downwards on one's left. Next performing Âchaman one is to wash one's teeth. He is to take a tiny piece, twelve Ângulas (fingers) long (about one foot) from a tree which is thorny and gummy. The cleansing twig (for teeth) is thick like one's little finger. He is to chew the one end of it to form a tooth brush. Karanja, Udumbara (figtree), Mango, Kadamba, Lodha, Champaka and Vadarî trees are used for cleansing teeth. While cleansing teeth, one is to recite the following mantra :-- “O Tree! Wherein resides the Deity Moon for giving food to the beings and for killing the enemies! Let Him wash my mouth to increase my fame and honour! O Tree! Dost Thou please give me long life, power, fame, energy, beauty, sons, cattle, wealth, intellect, and the knowledge of Brahmâ.” If the cleansing twig be not available and if there be any prohibition to brush one's teeth that day, (say, Pratipad day, Amâvas, Sasthi and Navamî), take mouthfuls of water, gargle twelve times and thus cleanse the teeth. If one brushes one's teeth with a twig on the new moon day, the first, sixth, ninth and eleventh day after the Full or New Moon or on Sunday, one eats the Sun (is it were, by making Him lose his fire), makes his family line extinct and brings his seven generations down into the hell. Next he should wash his feet and sip pure clean water thrice, touch his lips twice with his thumb, and then clear the nostrils by his thumb and fore finger. Then he is to touch his eyes and ears with his thumb and ring finger, touch his navel with his thumb and little finger, touch his breast with his palm and touch his head with all his fingers.

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Eleventh Book on cleansing the several parts of the body in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 3. On The Glories Of The Rudrâksa Beads

1-21. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! There are the six kinds of Âchamana :-- (1) S’uddha, (2) Smârta, (3) Paurânik, (4) Vaidik, (5) Tântrik and(6) S’rauta. The act of cleaning after evacuating oneself of urine and faeces is known as S’uddha S’aucha. After cleaning, the Âchaman, that is performed according to rules, is named as Smârta and Paurânik. In places where the Brahmâ Yajña is performed, the Vaidik and S’rauta Âchamanas are done. And where acts, e.g., the knowledge of warfare are being executed, the Tântrik Âchaman is done. Then he is to remember the Gâyatrî Mantra with Pranava (Om) and fasten the lock of hair on the crown of his head, thus controlling all the hindrances (Bighna Bandhanam). Sipping again, he is to touch his heart, two arms, and his two shoulders. After sneezing, spitting, touching the lower lip with teeth, accidentally telling a lie, and talking with a very sinful man, he is to touch his right ear (where the several Devas reside). On the right ear of the Brâhmanas reside Fire, Water, the Vedas, the Moon, the Sun, and the Vâyu (wind). Then one is to go to a river or any other reservoir of water, and there to perform one's morning ablutions and to cleanse his body thoroughly. For the body is always unclean and dirty and various diets are being excreted out of the nine holes (doors) in the body. The morning bath removes all these impurities. Therefore the morning bath is essentially necessary. The sins that arise from going to those who are not fit for such purposes, from accepting gifts from impure persons or from the practice of any other secret vices all are removed by the morning ablutions. Without this bath, no acts bear any fruit. Therefore everyday, this morning bath is very necessary. Taking the Kus'a grass in hand, one is to perform one's bath and Sandhyâ. If for seven days, the morning ablutions are not taken, and if for three days, the Sandhyâs are not performed, if for twelve days, the daily Homas be not performed, the Brâhmanas become S’ûdras. The time for making the Homa in the morning is very little; therefore lest ablutions be done fully which would take a long time and hence the time for the Homa might elapse, the morning bath should be performed quickly. After the bath the Prânâyâma is to be done. Then the full effects of bath are attained. There is nothing holier in this world or in the next than reciting the Gâyatrî. It saves the singer who sings the Gâyatrî; hence it is called Gâyatrî. During the time of Prânâyâma, one must control one's Prâna and Apâna Vâyus, i.e., make them equal. The Brâhmin, knowing the Vedas and devoted to his Dharma, must practise Prânâyâma three times with the repetition of Gâyatrî and Pranava and the three Vyârhitis (Om Bhu, Om Bhuvar, Om Svah).

While practising, the muttering of Gâyatrî is to be done three times. In Prânâyâma, the Vaidik mantra is to be repeated, never a Laukika Mantra is to be uttered. At the time of Prânâyâma, if anybody's mind be not fixed, even for a short while, like a mustard seed on the apex of a cow-horn, he cannot save even one hundred-and one persons in his father's or in his mother's line. Prânâyâma is called Sagarbha when performed with the repetition of some mantra; it is called Agarbha when it is done simply with mere meditation, without repeating any mantra. After the bathing, the Tarpanam with its accompaniments, is to he done; i.e., the peace offerings are made with reference to the Devas, the Risis, and the Pitris (whereby we invoke the blessings from the subtle planes where the highsouled persons dwell). After this, a clean pair of clothes is to be worn and then he should get up and come out of the water. The next things preparatory to practise Japam are to wear the Tilaka marks of ashes and to put on the Rudrâksa beads. He who holds thirty-two Rudrâksa beads on his neck, forty on his head, six on each ear (12 on two ears), twenty four beads on two hands (twelve on each hand) thirty-two beads on two arms (sixteen on each), one bead on each eye and one bead on the hair on the crown, and one hundred and eight beads on the breast, (251 in all) becomes himself Mahâ Deva. One is expected to use them as such. O Muni! You can use the Rudrâksas after tieing, stringing together with gold or silver always on your S’ikhâ, the tuft of hair on the head or on your ears. On the holy thread, on the hands, on the neck, or on the belly (abdomen) one can keep the Rudrâksa after one has repeated sincerely and with devotion the five lettered mantra of S’iva, or one has repeated the Prânâva (Om). Holding the Rudrâksa implies that the man has realised the knowledge of S’iva Tattva. O Brahmân! The Rudrâksa bead that is placed on the tuft or on the crown hair represents the Târa tattva, i.e., Om Kâra; the Rudrâksa beads that are held on the two ears are to be thought of as Deva and Devî, (S’iva and S’ivâ).

22-37. The one hundred and eight Rudrâksa beads on the sacrificial thread are considered as the one hundred and eight Vedas (signifying the Full Knowledge, as sixteen digits of the Moon completed; on the arms, are considered as the Dik (quarters); on the neck, are considered as the Devî Sarasvatî and Agni (fire). The Rudrâksa beads ought to be taken by men of all colours and castes. The Brâhmanas, Ksattriyas and Vais'yas should hold them after purifying them with Mantras, i.e., knowingly; whereas the S’ûdras can take them without any such purification by the Mantras, i.e., unknowingly. By holding or putting on the Rudrâksa beads, persons become the Rudras incarnate in flesh and body. There is no doubt in this. By this all the sins arising from seeing, hearing, remembering, smelling, eating prohibited things, talking incoherently, doing prohibited things, etc., are entirely removed with the Rudrâksa beads on the body; whatever acts, eating, drinking, smelling, etc., are done, are, as it were, done by Rudra Deva Himself. O Great Muni! He who feels shame in holding and putting on the Rudrâksa beads, can never be freed from this Samsâra even after the Koti births. He who blames another person holding Rudrâksa beads has defects in his birth (is a bastard). There is no doubt in this. It is by holding on Rudrâksa that Brahmâ has remained steady in His Brahmâhood untainted and the Munis have been true to their resolves. So there is no act better and higher than holding the Rudrâksa beads. He who gives clothing and food to a person holding Rudrâksa beads with devotion is freed of all sins and goes to the S’iva Loka. He who feasts gladly any holder of such beads at the time of S’râdh, goes undoubtedly to the Pitri Loka. He who washes the feet of a holder of Rudrâksa and drinks that water, is freed of all sins and resides with honour in the S’iva Loka. If a Brâhmana holds with devotion the Rudrâksa beads with a necklace and gold, he attains the Rudrahood. O Intelligent One! Wherever whoever holds with or without faith and devotion the Rudrâksa beads with or without any mantra, is freed of all sins and is entitled to the Tattvajñâna. I am unable to describe fully the greatness of the Rudrâksa beads. In fact, all should by all means hold the Rudrâksa beads on their bodies.

Note :-- The number one hundred and eight (108) signifies the One Hundred and Eight Vedas, the Brahmân, the Source of all Wisdom and Joy.

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the glories of the Rudrâksa beads in the Mahâ Puranam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 4. On The Greatness Of The Rudrâksam

1-11. Nârada said :-- O Sinless one! The greatness of the Rudrâksa seed that you have described is verily such. Now I ask why is this Rudrâksam so much entitled to worship by the people. Please speak clearly on this point. Nârâyana spoke :-- O Child! This is the very question that was asked once by Kârtika, the sixfaced One, to Bhagavân Rudra, dwelling in Kailâs'a. What He replied, I say now. Listen. Rudra Deva spoke :-- O Child Sadânana. I will dwell briefly on the secret cause of the greatness of the Rudrâksa seed. Hear. In days of yore, there was a Daitya called Tripurâ who could not be conquered by any body. Brahmâ, Visnu and the other Devas were defeated by him. They then came to Me and requested Me to kill the Asura. At their request, I called in my mind the Divine Great weapon, named Aghora, beautiful and terrible and containing the strength of all the Devas, to kill him. It was inconceivable and it was blazing with fire.

For full divine one thousand years I remained awake with eyelids wide open in thinking of the Aghora weapon, the destroyer of all obstacles, whereby the killing of Tripurâsura might be effected and the troubles of the Devas be removed. Not for a moment my eyelids dropped. There by my eyes were affected and drops of water came out of my eyes. Note here. How enemies are to be killed. It requires great thought, great concentration, great yoga and great powers. O Mahâsena! From those drops of water coming out of my eyes, the great tree of Rudrâksam did spring for the welfare of all. This Rudrâksa seed is of thirty-eight varieties. From My Sûrya Netra, i.e., My right eye, symbolizing the Sun, twelve yellow coloured (Pingala colour) varieties have come; and from my left eye representing the Moon, the Soma Netra, sixteen varieties of white colour and from my third eye on the top, representing Fire, i.e., the Agni Netra, ten varieties of black colour have come out. Of these the white Rudrâksams are Brâhmins and they are used by the Brâhmanas; the red coloured ones are the Ksattriyas and should be used by the Ksattriyas and the black ones are S’ûdras and should be used by the Vaisyas and the S’ûdras.

12-19. One faced Rudrâksa seed is the S’iva Himself, made manifest and rendered vivid; even the sin incurred in killing a Brâhmana is destroyed thereby. Two faced or two headed Rudrâksam is like the Deva and the Devî. Two sorts of sins are destroyed thereby. The three faced Rudrâksam is like fire; the sin incurred in killing a woman is destroyed in a moment. The four faced Rudrâksa seed is like Brahmâ and removes the sin of killing persons. The five faced Rudrâksam is verily an image of Rudra; all sorts of sins, e.g., eating prohibited food, going to the ungoables, etc., are destroyed thereby. The six faced Rudrâksam is Kârtikeya. It is to be worn on the right hand. One becomes freed of the Brahmâhatyâ sin. There is no manner of doubt in this. The seven faced Rudrâksam is named Ananga. Holding this frees one from the sin of stealing gold, etc., O Mahâsena! The eight faced Rudrâksa is Vinâyaka. Holding this frees one from the sin of holding an illicit contact with a woman of a bad family and with the wife of one's Guru, etc., and other sins as well. It enables one to acquire heaps of food, cotton, and gold; and in the end the Highest Place is attained.

20-35. The fruit of holding the eight faced Rudrâksa seed has been said. Now I will talk of the nine-faced Rudrâksam. It is verily the Bhairava made manifest. On the left hand it should be worn. By this, the people get both Bhoga (enjoyment) and Moksa (liberation) and they become powerful like Me and get themselves freed at once, without the least delay, of the sins incurred by committing thousands of abortions, hundreds of Brahmâhattyâs (killing the Brâhmanas). Holding the ten-faced Rudrâksa is verily wearing Janârdana, the Deva of the Devas. The holding of which pacifies the evils caused by planets, Pis'âchas, Vetâlas, Brahmâ Râksasas, and Pannagas. The eleven-faced Rudrâksam is like the Eleven Rudras. The fruits, the efficacy of which I now describe. Hear. The fruits obtained through the performance of one thousand horse sacrifices, one hundred Vâjapeya sacrifices, and making gifts of one hundred thousand cows are obtained thereby.

If one wears the twelve-headed Rudrâksam on one's ear, the Âdityas get satisfied. The fruits of performing Gomedha and As'vamedha sacrifices are obtained thereby. No fear comes from burned buffaloes, armed enemies and wolves and tigers and other murderous animals. Also the several diseases of the body never come to him. The holder of the twelve-faced Rudrâksa seed feels always happy and he is the master of some kingdoms He becomes freed of the sins incurred in killing elephants, horses, deer, cats, snakes, mice, frogs, asses, foxes and various other animals.

O Child! The thirteen faced Rudrâksam is very rare; if anybody gets it, he becomes like Kârti Keya and gets all desires fulfilled; and the eight siddhis are under his grasp. He learns how to make gold, silver and other metals; he attains all sorts of enjoyments. There is no manner of doubt in this. O Sadânana! If anybody holds the thirteen faced Rudrâksam, he becomes freed from the sins incurred in killing mother, father and brothers.

O Son! If one holds on one's head the fourteen faced Rudrâksam always, one becomes like S’iva. O Muni! What more shall I speak to you! The Devas pay their respects to one holding the fourteen faced Rudrâksas and he in the end attains the Highest Goal, the state of S’iva. His body becomes verily the body of S’iva.

36-40. The Devas always worship the Rudrâksa seed; the highest goal is attained by wearing the Rudrâksam. The Brâhmanas should hold on their heads at least one Rudrâksam with devotion. A rosary of twenty-six Rudrâksams is to be made and tied on the head. Similarly a rosary of fifty seeds is to be worn and suspended on the breast; sixteen each on each of the two arms; twenty-four Rudrâksams to be worn on the wrists, twelve on each. O Sadânana! If a rosary be made of one hundred and eight, fifty or twenty-seven Rudrâksams and if japam be done with that, immeasurable merits are obtained. If anybody wears a rosary of one hundred and eight seeds, he gets at every moment the fruit of performing the As'vamedha sacrifices and uplifts his twenty-one generations and finally he resides in the S’iva Loka.

Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the Greatness of the Rudrâksam in the Mahâpuranam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 5. On The Rudrâksam Rosaries

1-14. Îs'vara said :-- O Kârtikeya! Now I will speak how to count the Japam (repetition of the mantra) with the rosary. Hear. The face of Rudrâksam is Brahmâ; the upper summit point is S’iva and the tail end of Rudrâksam is Visnu. The Rudrâksam has two-fold powers :-- It can give Bhoga (Enjoyment) as well as Moksa (Liberation). Then string or tie together, like a cow's tail, and like the snake's coiling a body, twenty-five five faced Rudrâksa seeds, thorny and of red, white, mixed colours bored through and through. The rosary is to taper as a cow's tail tapers down. In stringing the beads into a rosary, it should be seen that the flat face of one Rudrâksam is in front of the flat face of another Rudrâksam; so the tail, the pointed end of one, must come in front of the tail or the narrower end of another. The Meru or the topmost bead of the string must have its face turned upwards and the knot should be given over that. The rosary, thus strung, yields success of the Mantra (mantra-siddhi). When the rosary is strung, it is to be bathed with clear and scented water and afterwards with the Pañchagavya (cow-dung, cow urine, curd, milk, and ghee); then wash it with clear water and sanctify it with the condensed electrical charge of the Mantra. Then recite the Mantra of S’iva (Six limbed), with “Hûm” added and collect the rosaries. Then repeat over them the Mantra “Sadyojâta, etc.”, and sprinkle water over it one hundred and eight times. Then utter the principal mantra and place them on a holy ground and perform Nyâsa over it, i.e., think that the Great Cause S’iva and the World-Mother Bhagavatî have come on them. Thus make the Samskâra of the rosary (i.e., purify it) and you will find then that your desired end will be attained successfully. Worship the rosary with the Mantra of that Devata for which it is intended. One is to wear the Rudrâksa rosary on one's head, neck or ear and controlling oneself, one should make japam with the rosary. On the neck, head, breast, or the ears or on the arms, the rosary should he held with the greatest devotion. What is the use in saying about it so often? It is highly meritorious and commendable to hold always the Rudrâksam. Especially on such occasions as taking baths, making gifts, making japams, performing the Homas,or sacrifices to Visve Devas, in performing the Poojâs of the Devas,in making Prâyaschittams (penances), in the time of S’râdh and in the time of initiation, it is highly necessary to hold Rudrâksam. A Brâhmin is sure to go to hell if he performs any Vaidik act without wearing any Rudrâksam. Note :-- It would be offering an insult to S’iva!

15-29. It is advisable to use the true Rudrâksam with gold and jewel, on the head, neck or on one's hand. Never use the Rudrâksam worn by another. Use Rudrâksam always with devotion; never use it while you are impure. Even the grass that grows with the air in contact with the Rudrâksa tree, goes verily to a holy region for ever. Jâbâla Muni says in the S’ruti :-- lf a man wearing Rudrâksam commits a sin, he gets deliverance from that sin. Even if animals hold Rudrâksam, they become S’iva; what of men! The devotees of S’rî Rudra should always use at least one Rudrâksa on the head. Those great devotees, who with Rudrâksam on take the name of the Highest Self S’ambhu, get themselves freed of all sorts of sins and pains. Those who are ornamented with Rudrâksam are the best devotees. It is highly incumbent on those who want their welfare to wear Rudrâksam. Those who hold Rudrâksam on their ears, crown hair, neck, hands, and breast, get Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'vara under them as their Vibhûtis (manifestations, powers). The Devas and all those Risis that started the Gotra, the Âdipurusas (the first chief men in several families), held with reverence the Rudrâksams. All the other Munis, that descended from their families, the ardent followers of S’rauta Dharma, the pure souled, held the Rudrâksams. It may be, that many might not like at first to hold this Rudrâksam, the visible giver of liberation and so well written in the Vedas; but after many births, out of the Grace of Mahâdeva many become eager to take the Rudrâksams. The Munis that are the Jâbâla Sâkhîs are famous in expounding the inestimable greatness of Rudrâksams.

The effect of holding Rudrâksams is well known in the three worlds. Punyam (great merit) arises from the mere sight of Rudrâksams; ten million times that merit arises by its touch; and by wearing it, one hundred Koti times the fruit arises and if one makes Japam every day, then one lakh koti times the punyam arises. There is no manner of questionings in this.

30-36.  He who holds in his hand, breast, neck, ears, head, the Rudrâksams, becomes an image of Rudra. There is no manner of doubt in this. By holding Rudrâksams, men become invulnerable of all the beings, become respected, like Mahâ Deva, by the Devas and Asuras and they roam on the earth like Rudra. Even if a man be addicted to evil deeds and commits all sorts of sins, he becomes respected by all, on holding Rudrâksams. By this men are freed of the sin of taking Uchhista and of all the other sins. Even if you suspend a Rudrâksam rosary on the neck of a dog and if that dog dies in that state, he gets liberation! Then what to speak of others! By holding Rudrâksams, men even if they be devoid of Japam and Dhyânam, become freed of all sins and attain the highest state. Even if one holds merely one Rudrâksa seed purified and surcharged with Mantra S’akti, he uplifts his twentyone generations, gets to Heaven and resides there with respect. I am speaking now further of the Greatness of Rudrâksam.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the Rudrâksam rosaries in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On The Greatness Of Rudrâksams

1-21. Îs'vara said :-- O Kârtikeya! Kus'agranthi, Jîvapattrî and other rosaries cannot compare to one-sixteenth part of the Rudrâksa rosary. As Visnu is the best of all the Purusas, the Gangâ is the best of all the rivers, Kas'yapa, amongst the Munis, Uchchaihsravâ amongst the horses, Mahâ Deva amongst the Devas, Bhagavatî amongst the Devîs, so the Rudrâksam rosary is the best of all the rosaries. All the fruits that occur by reading the stotras and holding all the Vratas, are obtained by wearing the Rudrâksam bead. At the time of making the Aksaya gift, the Rudrâksam bead is capable of giving high merits. The merit that accrues by giving Rudrâksam to a peaceful devotee of S’iva, cannot be expressed in words. If anybody gives food to a man holding the Rudrâksam rosary, his twenty one generations are uplifted and he ultimately becomes able to live in the Rudrâ Loka. He who does not apply ashes on his forehead and who does not hold Rudrâksam and is averse to the worship of S’iva is inferior to a chândâla. If Rudrâksam be placed on the head then the flesh-eaters, drunkards, and the associates with the vicious become freed of their sins. Whatever fruits are obtained by performing various sacrifices, asceticism and the study of the Vedas are easily attained by simply holding the Rudrâksam rosary. Whatever merits are obtained by reading the four Vedas and all the Purânas and bathing in all the Tîrthas and the results that are obtained by immense practice in learning all are obtained by wearing Rudrâksam. If at the time of death, one wears Rudrâksam and dies, one attains Rudrahood. One has not to take again one's birth. If anybody dies by holding Rudrâksam on his neck or on his two arms, he uplifts his twenty-one generations and lives in the Rudra Loka. Be he a Brâhman or a Chândâla, be he with qualities or without qualities, if he applies ashes to his body and holds Rudrâksam he surely attains S’ivahood. Be he pure or impure; whether he eats uneatables or be he a Mlechha or a Chândâla or a Great Sinner, any body if he holds Rudrâksam is surely equal to Rudra. There is no doubt in this.

If any body holds Rudrâksam on his head he gets Koti times the fruit; on his ears, ten Koti times the fruit, on his neck, one hundred Koti times the fruit; on his holy thread, ayuta times the fruit; on his arm, one lâkh Koti times the fruit and if one wears Rudrâksam on one's wrist, one attains Moksa. Whatever acts, mentioned in the Vedas be performed with Rudrâksam on, the fruits obtained are unbounded. Even if a man be without any Bhakti and if he wears on his neck the Rudrâksa rosary though he does always vicious acts, he becomes freed of the bondage of this world. Even if a man does not hold Rudrâksa but if he be always full of devotion towards the Rudrâksam, he attains the fruit that is got by wearing the Rudrâksam and he attains the S’iva Loka and is honoured like S’iva. As in the country of Kîkata, an ass which used to carry Rudrâksam seed got S’ivahood after his death, so any man, whether he be a Jñani (wise) or Ajnâni (unwise), gets S’ivahood if he holds Rudrâksam. There is no doubt in this.

22-28. Skanda said :-- “O God! How is it that in the country of Kîkata (Bihar), an ass had to carry Rudrâksa; who gave him the Rudrâksams! And what for did he hold that?”

Bhagavân Îs'vara said :-- O Son! Now hear the history of the case. In the Bindhya mountain one ass used to carry the load of Rudrâksam of a traveller. Once the ass felt tired and became unable to carry the load and fell down on the road and died. After his death the ass came to Me by My Grace, becoming Mahes'vara with trident in his hand and with three eyes. O Kârtikeya! As many faces as there are in the Rudrâksam, for so many thousand Yugas the holder resides with honour in the S’iva Loka. One should declare the greatness of Rudrâksam to one's own disciple; never to disclose its glories to one who is not a disciple nor a devotee of Rudrâksam nor to him who is an illiterate brute. Be he a Bhakta or not a Bhakta, be be low or very low, if he holds Rudrâksam then he is freed from all sins. No equal can be to the merit of him who holds the Rudrâksams.

29-39. The Munis, the Seers of truth, describe this holding on of Rudrâksam as a very great vow. He who makes a vow to hold one thousand Rudrâksams, becomes like Rudra; the Devas bow down before him. If thousand Rudrâksams be not obtained, one should hold at least sixteen Rudrâksams on each arm, one Rudrâksam on the crown hair; on the two hands, twelve on each; thirty-two on the neck; forty on the head; six on each ear and one hundred and eight Rudrâksams on the breast; and then he becomes entitled to worship like Rudra. If any body holds Rudrâksam together with pearls, Prabâla, crystal, silver, gold and gem (lapis lazuli), he becomes a manifestation of S'iva. If a body, through laziness even, holds Rudrâksam, the sin cannot touch him as darkness cannot come near light. If any body makes japam of a mantram with a Rudrâksa rosary, he gets unbounded results. Such a merit giving Rudrâksam, if one such Rudrâksam be not found in any one's body, his life becomes useless, like a man who is void of Tripundrak (three curved horizontal marks made on the forehead by the worshippers of S'iva). If any body simply washes his head all over with Rudrâksam on, he gets the fruit of bathing in the Ganges. There is no doubt in this. One faced Rudrâksam, the five faced, eleven faced and fourteen faced Rudrâksams are highly meritorious and entitled to worship by all. The Rudrâksam is S'ankara made manifest; so it is always worshipped with devotion. The greatness of Rudrâksam is such as it can make a king out of a poor man. On this point, I will tell you an excellent Purânic anecdote.

40-49. There was a Brâhmin, named Girinâtha in the country of Kosala. He was proficient in the Vedas and Vedâmgas, religious and very rich. He used to perform sacrifices. He had a beautiful son named Gunanidhi. The son gradually entered into his youth and looked beautiful like Kandarpa, the God of Love. While he was studying at his Guru Sudhisana's house, he, by his beauty and youth captivated the mind of his Guru's wife named Muktâvalî. The Guru's wife became so much enchanted by his extraordinary beauty that she, being unable to control herself, mixed with him and for some time remained with him in secret enjoyment. Then feeling inconveniences, due to the fear of. his Guru, to enjoy her freely, used poison to the Guru, killed him and then he began to live freely with her. Next when his father, mother came to know about this, he put to death instantly his father and mother, administering poison to them. He became addicted to various pleasures and his wealth was exhausted gradually. He began to steal in Brâhmans' houses and became addicted very much to drinking. His relatives outcasted him from the society for his bad behaviour and banished him outside the town. He then went into a dense forest with Muktâvalî; and he began to kill the Brâhmins for their wealth. Thus a long time passed away; when at last he fell into the jaws of death.

50-54. Then to take him to the region of Death, thousands of the Yama's messengers came; at the same time the S’iva's messengers came from S’iva Loka. O Kârtikeya! A quarrel then ensued between both the parties of Yama and S’iva. The Yama's messengers then said :-- “O Servers of S’ambhu! What are the merits of this man that you have come to take him? First speak to us of his merits.” S’iva's messengers spoke :-- “Fifteen feet below the ground where this man died, there exists the Rudrâksam. O Yama's messengers! By the influence of that Rudrâksam, all his sins are destroyed; and we have come to take him to S’iva.” Then the Brâhmin Gunanidhi assumed a divine form and, getting on an aerial car went with S'iva's messengers before S'iva. O One of good vows! Thus I have described briefly to you the greatness of Rudrâksam. This is capable to remove all sorts of sins and yield great merits.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the Greatness of Rudrâksams in the Mahâpurânam S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 7. On The Greatness Of One Faced, Etc., Rudrâksam

1-4. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! When Girîs'a thus explained to Kârtikeya the greatness of Rudrâksam, he became satisfied. Now I have spoken to you of the glories of the Rudrâksams as far as I know. Now, as to our subject of right way of acting, I will now speak on other things that ought to be known. Listen. The seeing of Rudrâksam brings in a lakh times of Punyam and koti times the merit arises from touching that; holding it brings in koti times merit; again if one makes the japam of a Mantra with that Rudrâksam, one obtains merit one hundred lakh koti times and one thousand lakh koti times the merit. The merit in holding the Rudrâksam is far superior to that in holding Bhadrâksam. The Rudrâksam seed that is of the size of an Âmalakî is the best; which is the of the size of a plum, is middling; and which is of the size of a gram is the worst. this is my word and promise. The Rudrâksam tree is of four kinds :-- Brâhmana, Ksattriya, Vais’ya, and S’ûdra. The white colour is Brâhmana; the red colour is Ksattriya; the yellow colour is Vais'ya and the black coloured Rudrâksam seed is S’ûdra. The Brâhmanas are to use the white coloured Rudrâksams; the Ksattriyas, the red coloured ones, the Vais'yas, the yellow coloured ones; and the S’ûdras, the black ones. Those Rudrâksa seeds that are nicely circular, smooth, hard, and whose thorns or points are distinctly visible, are the best. Those that are pierced by insects, broken in parts, whose thorns are not clearly visible, with swells and holes and those that are coated over, these six varieties of Rudrâksams are faulty. Those Rudrâksams that have their holes by nature running through and through are best; and those that base their holes pierced by men are middling. The Rudrâksa seeds that are all of uniform shape, bright, hard, and beautifully circular should be strung together by a silken thread. How to test the Rudrâksa seed? As gold is tested by a touch stone; so the Rudrâksam is tested by drawing lines on it; those on which the lines are most uniform, bright and beautiful are the best and they should be worn by the S’aivas. One should hold one Rudrâksam on the crown hair, thirty on the head, thirty six on the neck; sixteen on each arm, twelve on each wrist, fifty on the shoulders, one hundred and eight Rudrâksams in the place of the sacrificial thread; and the devotee should have two or three rounds on the neck. On the earrings, on the crown of the head, the head, on bracelets, on armlets, on necklace, on the ornament worn on the loins one should hold Rudrâksam always, whether one sleeps or eats. Holding three hundred Rudrâksams is the lowest; holding five hundred is middling; holding one thousand Rudrâksams is the best; so one ought to wear one thousand Rudrâksams. At the time of taking Rudrâksam, on one's head, one should utter the Mantra of Îsâna; the mantra of Tat Purusa while holding on one's ears; Aghora mantra on one's forehead and heart; and the vîja of Aghora mantra, i.e., “hasau” while holding on one's hands. One should wear the rosary of fifty Rudrâksa seeds, suspended up to the belly, uttering the Vâmadeva mantra, i.e., Sadyojâtâdi, etc., the five Brahmâ mantras, and the six-limbed S’iva mantra. One is to string every Rudrâksa seed, uttering the root mantra and then hold it. One-faced Rudrâksa reveals Paratattva (the highest Tattva); when worn, the knowledge of the highest Tattva arises; the Brahmâ is seen then. The two-faced Rudrâksam is Ardhanârîs'vara, the Lord of the other half which represents women (in the same person); if worn, Ardhanârîsvara S’iva is always pleased with that man who holds it. The three-faced Rudrâksam is Fire made manifest; it destroys in a moment the sin of killing a woman.

The three-faced Rudrâksam is the three Agnis, Daksinâgni, Gârhapatya, and Âhavaniya; Bhagavân Agni is always pleased with that man who wears the three-faced Rudrâksam. The four-faced Rudrâksam is Brahmâ Himself. The wearer gets his prosperity enhanced, his diseases destroyed, the divine knowledge springs in him and his heart is always pleased. The five-faced Rudrâksam is the five faced S’iva Himself; Mahâdeva gets pleased with him who holds it. The Presiding Deity of the six faced Rudrâksam is Kârtikeya. Some Pundits take Ganapati to be the Presiding Deity of the six-faced Rudrâksam. The presiding Deity of the seven-faced Rudrâksam is the seven Mâtrikâs, the Sun and the seven Risis. By putting on this, the prosperity is increased, health and the pure knowledge are established. It should be put on when one becomes pure. The Presiding Deity of the eight-faced Rudrâksam is Brâhmî, the eight Mâtrikâs. By holding this, the eight Vasus are pleased and the river Ganges is also pleased. The putting on of this makes the Jîvas truthful and pleasant-minded. The Devatâ of the nine-faced Rudrâksam is Yama; holding this puts off the fears of Death. The Devatâ of the eleven-faced Rudrâksam is ten quarters, the ten quarters are pleased with him who wears the ten-faced Rudrâksam. The Devata of the eleven mouthed Rudrâksam is the eleven Rudrâs and Indra. Holding this enhances happiness. The twelve-faced Rudrâksam is Visnu made manifest; its Devatâs are the twelve Âdityas; the devotees of S’iva should hold this. The thirteen-faced Rudrâksam, if worn, enables one to secure one's desires; he does nowhere experience failures. The Kâma Deva becomes pleased with him who wears this. The fourteen-faced Rudrâksam destroys all diseases and gives eternal health. While holding this, one ought not to take wine, flesh, onion, garlic, Sajñâ fruit, Châltâ fruit and the flesh of the boar which eats excrements, etc. During the Lunar and Solar eclipses, during the Uttarâyana S’amkrânti or the Daksinâyana S’amkrânti, during the full Moon or the New Moon day, if Rudrâksam be worn, one becomes instantly freed of all one's sins.

Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the greatness of one faced, etc., Rudrâksam in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 8. On Bhûta S'uddhi

1-21. Nârâyana said :-- O Great Muni! Now I shall tell you the rules of Bhûta S’uddhi, i.e., the purification of the elements of the body (by respiratory attraction and replacement, etc.). Firstly, think of the Highest Deity Kundalinî (the Serpent Fire) as rising up in the hollow canal Susumnâ in the Spinal Cord from the Mulâdhâra (the sacral plexus) to the Brahmârandhra (the aperture supposed to be at the crown of the head). Next, the devotee is to meditate on the Mantra “Hamsa” and consider his Jîvâtmâ (the embodied soul) united with Para Brahmâ. Then think from leg to the knees in the form of a square Yantra (diagram as furnished with Vajra thunderbolt, represented by 63 lines at the four corners); consider this square as the earth, of a golden colour and represented by the letter “Lam,” representing the Seed Mantra of earth. Next from the knee to the navel consider the semi-moon and at its two ends consider that the two Lotuses are situated. Consider this as the circle of water, of white colour, represented by the letter “Vam” the Seed Mantra of water. Then again from the navel to the heart consider it as of a triangular form and the Svastik mark at its three angles and think it as of fire and represented by the letter “Ram” its root Mantra, of red colour. Next from the heart to the centre of the eyebrows, consider as marked with six dots, with the Seed Mantra “Yam” of a smoke-coloured colour (dark-red) and of a circular appearance and consider it as air. Then again from the centre of the eyebrows to the crown of the head consider as Âkâs’a Mandalam (a region of ether) beautiful and clear and with “Ham” as its vîja letter. Thus thinking consider firstly the earthy principle originated from watery principle, dissolved in water. Then think water as dissolved in fire, its cause; fire dissolved in air, its cause; and air dissolved in Âkâs’a ether, its cause; then consider Âkâs’a dissolved in its cause Ahamkâra, egoism; then again Ahamkâra dissolved in the Great Principle (Mahâttatva); and Mahâttatva again in its cause Prakriti and consider Prakriti again diluted in its cause, the Supreme Self. Then consider your ownself as the Highest Knowledge and only that. Think, then, of the Pâpa Purusa, the Sinful Man in your body. The size of this Man is that of a thumb and it is situated in the left abdomen. The head of him is represented by Brahmahatyâ (murdering a Brâhman); his area as stealing gold; his heart as drinking wine; his loins as going to the wife of his Guru, his legs as mixing with people who go to their Guru's wives, and his toes as representing other sins and venial offences. The Sinful Man holds axes and shield in his hands; he is always angry, with his head bent down and his appearance is very horrible. Inhale air through the left nostril thinking of “Vam” the Root Mantra of air and make Kumbhaka, i.e., fill the whole body with that air, and hold it inside, purifying the sinful man; then repeating “Ram,” the seed Mantra of fire, think the sinful man with his own body burnt down to ashes. Then exhale outside through the right nostril  those ashes of the Sinful Man. Next consider the ashes due to the burning of the Sinful Man, as rolled and turned into a round ball with the nectar seed of the Moon. Think steadily this ball as transformed into a golden egg by the Seed Mantra “Lam” of the earth. Repeat then, “Ham” the seed Mantra of Âkâs’a and think yourself as an ideal being; pure and clear, and shape thus your body and the several limbs.

Create, then, fresh in an inverse order from the Brahmâ the elements Âkâs’a, air, fire, water, earth and locate them in their respective positions. Then by the Mantra “Soham” separate the Jîvâtmâ from the Paramâtmâ and locate the Jîvâtmâ in the heart. Think also that the Kundalinî has come to the Sacral Plexus, after locating the Jîvâtmâ, turned into nectar by contact with the Highest Self, in the heart. Next meditate on the vital force, the Prâna S’akti, thus located as follows :-- There is a red lotus on a wide boat in a vast ocean of a red colour; on this lotus is seated the Prâna S’akti. She has six hands holding, in due order, the trident, the arrows made of sugarcane, noose, goad, five arrows and a skull filled with blood. She is three-eyed. Her high breasts are decorated; the colour of Her body is like the Rising Sun. May She grant us happiness. Thus meditating on the Prâna S’akti, Who is of the nature of the Highest Self, one ought to apply ashes on his body in order to attain success in all actions. Great merit arises from the application of ashes (besmearing ashes) on the body. I will now dwell on this subject in detail. Listen. This point of holding ashes on to the body is particularly proved in the Vedas and Smritis.

Here ends the Eighth Chapter in the Eleventh Book on Bhûta S'uddhi (purification of elements in the body) in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 9. On The Rules Of S’irovrata

1-43. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- The Brâhmanas that will perform duly the S’irovrata, to be described in the following, are the only ones who will attain very easily the highest knowledge, destroying all Avidyâ or Ignorance. So much so that the rules of right living and right conduct as ordained in the S’rutis and Smritis are not necessary to be observed by those who duly and devotedly perform the S’irovrata (i.e., vow of the head; i.e., vow to apply ashes on the forehead). O Learned One! It is through this S’irovrata that Brahmâ and the other Devas have been able to get their Brahmâhood and the Devahood. The ancient sages glorified highly this S’irovrata. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra and the other Devas all performed this S’irovrata. O Wise One! Those that performed duly this S’irovrata, all became sinless though they were sinful in every way. Its name is S’irovrata, inasmuch as it is mentioned in the first part of the Atharva Veda. Only this vrata (vow) is called S'irovrata; no other thing is denominated by this name. By no other merit can this be acquired. O Muni! Different names are assigned to this vrata in different S’âkhâs; in fact, they are all one and the same.

N. B. -- Pâsupata vrata, S'ivavrata, etc., are the different names assigned to it. In all the S’âkhâs, the One Substance, Intelligence solidified named S'iva and the knowledge thereof is mentioned. This is “S’irovrata.” He who does not perform this S’irovrata, is irreligious and he is banished from all religious acts, though he is well-qualified in all branches of learning. There is no manner of doubt in this. This S’irovrata is like the blazing fire in destroying wholly the forest of sins. All knowledge fleshes before him who performs this S’irovrata. The Atharva S’ruti expounds the subtle and particularly incomprehensible things; this S’ruti declares the above S’irovrata as daily to be done; so it is one of the daily observances. “Fire is ashes,” “water is ashes,” “earth is ashes,” “air is ashes,” “ether or Âkâs'a is ashes,” “all this manifest Universe is ashes.” These six mantras stated in the Atharva Veda are to be recited; after this, ashes are to be besmeared all over the body. This is named the S’irovrata. The devotee is to put on these ashes named S’irovrata during his Sandhyopâsanâ (practising Sandhyâ thrice a day); so long as the Brahmâ Vidyâ (the knowledge of Brahmâ) does not arise in him. One is to make a Sankalpa (resolve) of twelve years before one starts with this Vrata. In cases of incapability, a period of one year or six months, or three months or at least twelve days are to be adopted. That Guru is considered very cruel and his knowledge will come to an end who hesitates and does not impart the knowledge of the Vedas and other things to him who is purified by observing this S’irovrata. Know him certainly as a very merciful Guru who illumines the heart by Brahmâ Vidyâ just as God is very merciful and compassionate to all the living beings. One who performs one's own Dharmas for many births, acquires particular faith in this S’irovrata; others can have no faith in this. Rather he gets animosity for this vrata, because of the abundance of ignorance in him. So one ought never to advise on spiritual knowledge to an enemy who has no faith, rather who has hatred for any such thing. Those only that are purified by the observance of S’irovrata are entitled to Brahmâ Vidyâ; and none others. So the Vedas command :-- Those are to be advised on Brahmâ Vidyâ who have performed S’irovrata. Even the animal becomes freed of his animalism, as a result of this vrata; no sin occurs in killing that animal; this is the decision of the Vedânta. It has been repeatedly uttered by Jâvâla Risi that the Dharma of the Brâhmanas is to put on the Tripundra (three curved lines of ashes on the forehead). The householders are instructed to put on this Tripundra by repeating the mantra “triyamvaka”' with Om prefixed. Those that are in the stage of the Bhiksus (Sannyâsis, etc.,) are to put on this Tripundra uttering thrice the mantra “Om Hasah.” Such is regularly stated in Jâvâla S’ruti. The house holders and the Vânaprasthis (foresters) are to put on this Tripundra, uttering Triyamvaka mantra purified with “Haum” the pranava of S’iva prefixed.

Those that are the Brahmâchâris are to use daily this Tripundra uttering the mantra “Medhâvî,” etc. The Brâhmanas are to apply the ashes in three curved lines on the forehead. The God S’iva is always hidden under the cover of ashes; so the S’aivas, the devotees of S’iva are to use the Tripundra. The Brâhmanas are to use daily this Tripundra. Brahmâ is the Prime Brâhmin. When He used Tripundra on His forehead, what need to tell, then, that every Brâhman ought always to use it! Never fail, out of error, to besmear your body with the ashes as prescribed in the Vedas and worship the S’iva Lingam. The Sannyâsins are to apply Tripundra on their forehead, arms, chest, uttering the Triyamvaka mantra with Om prefixed and also the five lettered mantra of S'iva “Om Namah S’ivâya.” The Brahmâchâris should use Tripundra of ashes, obtained from their own fire, uttering the mantra “Triyâyusam Jamadagneh,” etc., or the mantra “Medhâvî”, etc. The S’ûdras in the service of the Brâhmins are to use the ashes with devotion, with the mantra “Namah S’ivâya.” The other ordinary persons can use the Tripundra without any mantra. To besmear the body all over with ashes and to put on the Tripundra is the essence of all Dharma; therefore this should be used always.

The ashes from the Agnihotra Sacrifice or from Virajâgni (Virajâ fire) are to be carefully placed on a clean and pure basin. Cleansing hands and feet, one is to sip (perform Âchamana) twice, and then, taking the ashes in the hand, utter the five Brahmâ mantras “Sadyoyâtam prapadyâmi,” etc., and perform short Prânâyâma thrice; he is, then, to utter the seven mantras “Fire is ashes,” “water is ashes,” “earth is ashes” “Teja is ashes,” “wind is ashes,” “ether is ashes,” “All this whatsoever is ashes” and purify and impregnate the ashes with the mantra by blowing out air through the mouth.

Then one is to think of Mahâ Deva, repeating the mantra “Om Apojyoti,” etc., and apply dry ashes of white colour all over the body and become sinless. After this he is to meditate on the Mahâ Visnu, the Lord of the universe and on the Lord of the waters and repeat again the mantras “Fire is ashes” and mix water with the ashes. He is, then, to think of S’iva and apply ashes on his forehead. He is to think of the ashes as S’iva Himself and then, with mantras appropriate to his own Âs'rama (stages of life) use the Tripundra on his forehead, chest and shoulders.

By the middle finger and ringfinger he is to draw the two lines of the ashes from the left to the right and by his thumb draw a third line of ashes from the right to the left. These Tripundras are to be used in the morning, midday and in the evening.

Here ends the Ninth chapter of the Eleventh Book on the rules of S'irovrata in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Subject Of Gauna Bhasma

1-33. Nârâyana said :-- O Knower of Brahmâ! O Nârada! The ashes prepared from ordinary fire are secondary (Gauna). The greatness of this secondary ashes is to be considered by no means trifling; this also destroys the darkest ignorance and reveals the highest knowledge. It is of various kinds. Amongst the secondary ashes, that prepared from Virajâgni is the best; it is equivalent to that obtained from Agnihotra Yajña and it is as glorious. The ashes obtained from the marriage sacrificial fire, that obtained from the burning of the Samidh fuel, what is obtained from the conflagration of fire are known as the secondary ashes. The Brahmânas, Ksattriyas and Vais'yas should use the ashes from the Agnihotra and the Virajâ Fire. For the householders, the ashes from the marriage sacrificial fire are good. For the Brahmâcharis, the ashes from the Samid fuel are good and for the S’ûdras the fire of the cooking place of the Veda knowing Brahmânas is good. For the other persons, the ashes obtained from the conflagration of fire are good. Now I will talk of the origin of the ashes obtained from the Virajâ fire. The chief season of the Virajâ fire sacrifice is the Full-moon night with Chitrâ asterism with the Moon. If this does not take place, the sacrifice may be performed at other seasons; and it should be remembered that the fit place is where one adopts as one's dwelling place. The auspicious field, garden or forest is also commendable for the above sacrifice. On the Trayodas'î Tithi, the thirteenth night preceding the full-moon night, one is to complete one's bathing and Sandhyâ; then one is to worship one's Guru and bow down before Him. Then, receiving his permission, the sacrificer is to put on pure clothing and perform the special Pûjâ. Then with his white sacrificial thread, white garlands, and white sandal paste one is to sit on the Kus'a seat with sacrificial (Kus'a) grass in one's hands. With his face towards the east or north he is to perform Prânâyâma thrice.

Then he is to meditate on S’iva and Bhagavatî and get mentally their permissions. “O Deva Bhagavân! O Mother Bhagavatî! I will perform this vow for my life-time.” Thus making the resolve, he should start with this sacrifice. But this is to be known that this Vrata can be performed for twelve years, for six years, for three years, for one year, for six months, for twelve days, for six days, for three days, even at least for one day. But in every case, he must take mentally the permission of the Deva and the Devî. Now, to perform the Virajâ Homa, one is to light the fire according to one's Grihya Sûtras and then perform Homa with ghee, Samidh (fuel) or with charu (an oblation of rice, milk, and sugar boiled together). Then on the fourteenth lunar day (Chaturdas'î) one is to pray “Let the tattvas (principles) in me be purified” and then perform the Homa ceremony with Samidh, etc., as above-mentioned. Now recollecting that “My principles in my body are purified,” he is to offer oblations to the fire. In other words, uttering “Priththitattvas me sudhyatâm jyotiraham virajâ vipâpmâ bhûyâsam Svâhâ” one is to offer oblations to the Fire. Thus uttering the five element (Mahâbhutas), five tanmâtrâs, five Karmendriyas (organs of action), five Jñânendriyas (organs of perception), five Prânas, seven dhâtus Tvak, etc., mind, buddhi (intellect), Ahamkâra (egoism), Sattva, Raja, Tamah gunas, Prakriti, Purusa, Râga, Vidyâ, Kalâ (arts etc,) Daiva (Fate), Kâla (time), Mâyâ S’uddhavidyâ, Mahes'vara, Sadâ S’iva, S’akti S’ivatattva, etc., respectively by its own name, one is to offer oblations to the fire by the five-lettered Virajâ Mantra; then the sacrificer will become pure. Then form a round ball of fresh cowdung and purifying it by Mantram place it on fire and carefully watch it. On that day, the devotee is to take Havisyânna (a sacred food of boiled rice with ghee). On the morning of the Chaturdas'î, he is to perform his daily duties as above and then to perform Homa on that fire; uttering the five lettered Mantra. He is not to take any food the rest of the time. On the next day, that is, on the full-moon day, after performing the morning duties, he is to do the Homa ceremony, uttering the Five lettered Mantra and then take leave of the Fire (invoked for worship). He is, then, to raise up the ashes. Then the devotee is to keep Jatâ (matted hair) or to shave clean his head or to keep only one lock of hair on the crown of the head. He is to take his bath, then; and if he can, then he should be naked or put on a red coloured cloth, hide, or one piece of rag or bark; he is to take a staff and a belt. Washing his hands and feet and sipping twice he by his two hands, is to pulverise the ashes and, uttering the six Atharvan Mantras, “Fire is ashes” and so forth, apply ashes from his head to foot. Then, as before, he is to apply ashes, gradually to his arms, etc., and all over the body uttering the Pranava of S’iva, “Vam, Vam.” He is to put on the Triyâyusa Tripundra on his forehead. After he has done this, the Jîva (the embodied self) becomes S’iva (the Free Self) and he should behave himself like S’iva. O Nârada! Thus, at the three Sandhyâ-periods; he is to do like this. This Pâs’upata vrata is the source of enjoyment as well as liberation and as well as of the cessation of all brutal desires. By the performance of this vrata the devotee is to free himself gradually of his animal feelings and then to worship Bhagavân Sada S’iva in the form of a phallic symbol. The above bath ashes is highly meritorious and it is the source of all happiness. By holding the ashes, one's longevity is prolonged, one gets even great bodily strength, becomes healthy and his beauty increases and he gets nourishment. This using of ashes is for the preservation of one's own self; it is the source of one's good and of all sorts of happiness and prosperity. Those who use ashes (Bhas'ma) are free from the danger of plague and other epidemic diseases; this bhasma is of three sorts as it leads to the attainment of peace, nourishment, or to the fufilment of all desires.

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the subject Gauna Bhasma (secondary ashes) in the Mahâpurânam S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 11. On The Description Of The Greatness Of The Three Kinds Of Bhasmas

Nârada asked :-- O Bhagavân! How is the above Bhasma of three kinds? I am eager to hear this. Kindly describe this to me. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I am now talking of the three kinds of ashes; hearing this even destroys one's sins and brings in good fame. When a cow evacuates her dung, just as the cow dung leaves her and is far from reaching the ground, one should catch it with one's hand and this cow-dung burnt with “Sadyojâtâdi,” i.e., Brahmâ Mantra, becomes ashes which are called “S’ântika Bhasma,” i.e., ashes producing peace. Before the cowdung is about to reach the ground, the devotee should take it with his hand and uttering the six lettered Mantra, he is to burn the cowdung. The ashes from this are called Paustik Bhasma, i.e., ashes leading to nourishment.

If the cowdung be burned with the Mantra “Haum,” the ashes of this are called “Kâmada Bhasma,” i.e., ashes leading to the granting of desires. O Nârada! On the full moon day, new moon day or on the eighth lunar day, a man is to get up from his bed early in the morning and be pure and go the cow enclosure. He is to salute the cows and take the cowdung, uttering the Mantra Haum. If he be a Brâhmin, he is to collect the white cow dung; if he be a Ksattriya, he would take the red cow dung; a Vais'ya, yellow cow dung and if he be a S’ûdra, he would take the black cow dung. Then by the mantra “Namah” he is to form that into a ball and cover it with the husk of rice or some other grain and dry it in a sacred place, repeating the mantra “Haum.” Bring fire from a forest or from the house of a Veda-knowing Brâhmin and reduce the cowdung to ashes by this mantra, uttering the mantra Haum. Next take out the ashes carefully from the fire place (Agni Kunda) and place it in a new jar or pot, again remembering the mantra “Haum”. Mix with the ashes the Ketakî dust, the Pâtala flower dust, the root of the fragrant grass called khas khas, saffron and other sweet scented things with the mantra “Satyojâtam prapadyâmi,” etc. First perform the water bath, then the bath of the ashes. In case one cannot have the water bath, one is to have the ash bath. Washing the hands, feet and head with the mantra “Is'ânah Sarvavidyânâm,” etc., and uttering “Tatpurusa” one is to besmear one's face with ashes and by the mantra “Aghora” apply ashes on one's chest; with the mantra Vâmadeva. He is to use ashes on his navel; and with the mantra “Sadyo Jâta,” etc., all over his body; he is to quit his former cloth and put on another fresh cloth. Wash your hands and feet and sip (do Âchaman). It will serve the purpose if one simply uses Tripundrak and if one does not besmear the whole body with ashes. Before the midday one is to use Bhasma with water; but after the midday with dry ashes one is to draw the Tripundra lines of ashes with the forefinger, middlefinger and ringfinger. The head, forehead, ears, neck, heart, and the arms are the places whereon the Tripundras are used. On the head the ashes are applied with five fingers and with the mantra “Haum”; on the forehead, the Tripundra is applied with mantra Svâhâ by the forefinger, mindlefinger and ringfinger; on the right ear, it is applied with “Sadyojâta” mantra; on the left ear, with “Vamadeva” Mantra; on the neck with Aghora mantra by the middlefinger; on the chest with “Namah” mantra by the forefing middlefinger and ringfinger; on the right arm with vasat mantra by the three fingers; on the left arm with “Ham” mantra by the three fingers; and on the navel, the ashes are to be applied with the mantra Îs'ânah sarva devânâm by the middlefinger. The first line in every Tripundra is Brahmâ; the second line is Visnu; and the third, the topmost line is Mahâ Deva. The line of ashes that is marked by one finger is Îs'vara. The head is the place of Brahmâ; the forehead is the site of Îs'vara; the two ears are the seats of the two As'vins and the neck is where Ganes'a resides. The Ksattriyas, Vais'yas, and S’ûdras are to use Tripundras without any mantra; they are also not to use the ashes on the whole of the body. The lowest classes (e.g. the chândâlas, etc.,) and the uninitiated persons are to use the Tripundraks without any mantra.

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the description of the greatness of the three kinds of Bhasmas in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahârsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Greatness In Holding The Tripundra And Bhasma

1-20. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi Nârada! Hear now the great secret and the fruits of besmearing one's body with ashes, yieding all desires. The pure cowdung of the Kapila (brown) cow is to be taken up by the hand before it reaches the ground. It should not be like mire, i.e., not like a liquid; it should not be also very hard nor should it emit a bad stench. And in case if the cowdung that has already fallen on the earth, has to be taken, it should be scraped off from the top and bottom; make it into a ball and then burn it in a pure fire, repeating the principal mantra. Take the ash and tie it in a piece of cloth and keep it in a pot. The pot in which the ashes are to be kept should be nice and good, hard, clean and sprinkled over for purification. Uttering the principal mantra, one is to keep the ashes in the pot. The pot may be of metal, wood, earth, or cloth; or it can be kept in any other nice pot. The ashes can be kept in a silken bag where the mohurs are kept. In going to a distant land, the devotee can take the ashes himself or kept with his accompanying servant. When it is to be given to somebody, it is to be given with both the hands; never with one hand. Never keep it in an unholy place. Never apply feet to the ashes, nor throw it in an ordinary place nor ever cross it by your legs. Use always the ashes after purifying it with mantra. These rules of holding the Bhasma are according to the Smritis. By holding Bhasma in this way, the devotee becomes, no doubt, like S’iva. The ashes, that the Vaidik devotees of S'iva prepare are to be taken with devotion. All can ask for that. But the ashes that the followers of the Tantra cult prepare, are taken by the Tântriks only; it is prohibited to the Vaidiks. The S’ûdras, Kâpâlikas, and other heretics (e.g., Jains, Buddhists) can use the Tripundras. Never do they conceive in their minds that they would not take the Tripundra. The holding on of Bhasma (ashes) is according to the Vedas. Therefore one who does not apply it falls down. The Brâhmanas must use the Tripundras, repeating the mantra; and they are to besmear their whole body with ashes; if they don't do so, they are surely fallen. He can never expect to get liberation even after koti births who does not besmear his body with ashes devotedly and who does not hold the Tripundras. O Nârada! The vile man who does not hold Bhasma duly, know the birth of that man as futile as is the birth of a hog. Consider that body as a burning ground which does not bear the Tripundra marks. The virtuous man should not cast a glance at him even. Fie on that forehead which does not carry the Tripundra! Fie on that village which has not a single temple of S’iva! Fie on that birth which is void of the worship of S’iva! Fie on that knowledge which is void of the knowledge of S’iva. Know them to be the slanderers of S’iva who mock at Tripundra. Those that put on the Tripundras, bear S’iva in their forehead. The Brâhmin who is Niragnik (without the holy fire) is not nice in every way. So if the worship of S’iva be not done with any Tripundra is not praiseworthy, even it be attended with abundance of other offerings. Those who do not besmear their bodies with ashes or who do not use the Tripundras, get their previous good deeds converted into bad ones.

21-42. Unless the Tripundra mark is taken up according to the S’âstras, the Vaidik Karmas (works) or those performed according to the Smritis prove injurious; the good works whatsoever done by any man count for nothing; the holy words heard seem as if unheard and the study of the Vedas counted as if not studied.

The study of the Vedas, Sacrifices, Charities, asceticisms, vows and fastings of that man, who does not use the Tripundra, all become fruitless. Without using Bhasma (ashes) if one wants liberation, then that desire is equivalent to live after taking poison. There is no doubt in this. The Creator has not made the forehead vertically high nor round; but he has made it slightly slanting and curved fit to have the Tripundra. Making thus the forehead, the Creator wants, as it were, to inform everyone that every one ought to use Tripundra marks; the curved lines also are made visible for this purpose. Still the igorant illiterate man does not put up the Tripundra. Unless the Brâhmanas use the curved Tripundras, their meditation won't be successful; they will not have liberation, knowledge, nor their asceticism would bear any fruit. As the S’ûdras have no right in the study of the Vedas, so the Brâhmans have not any right to perform the worship of S’iva, etc., unless they use the Tripundras. First of all, facing eastward, and washing hands and feet, he ought to make a resolve and then he takes a bath of the ashes mentally, controlling his breath. Then taking the ashes of the Agnihotra sacrifice he is to put some ashes on his own head, uttering “Îs'âna” mantra. Then he is to recite the Purusa S’ûkta Mantra and apply ashes on his face; with the Aghora mantra on his chest; with the Vâmadeva mantra, on his anus; with Sadyojâta mantra on his legs; and with the mantra Om, he is to besmear his whole body with ashes. This is called the bath of fire by the Munis. So bring all the actions to a successful issue one is to take first of all this bath of fire. Washing his hands, then, he is to make Âchaman duly; and, according to the above-mentioned rules, he is to apply ashes on his forehead, heart, and all round the neck with the five mantras above-mentioned; or with each mantra he is to apply the Tripundras. Thus all works are fructified and he gets the right to do all the Vaidik actions. The S’ûdras, even, are not to use the ashes touched by the lowest classes. All the actions ordained by the S'âstras are to be done after being besmeared with ashes of the Agnihotra sacrifice; otherwise no action will bear any fruit. All his truth, purity, Japam, offering, oblations to the sacrifice, bathing in the holy place of pilgrimage, and worshipping the gods become useless, who does not hold Tripundra. No fear of disease, sins, famine, or robbers comes to the Brâhmins who use Tripundra and rosary of Rudrâksa and thus remain always pure. In the end, they get the Nirvâna liberation. During the time of Srâddhas (solemn obsequies performed in honour of the manes of deceased ancestors) the Brâhmins purify the rows where persons are fed; so much so that the Devas glorify them. One must use the Tripundra marks before one performs any Srâddha, Japam sacrifice, offering oblations or worshipping the Visvedevâs; then one gets deliverance from the jaws of death. O Nârada! I am now speaking further of the greatness in holding the Bhasma; listen.

Here ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the greatness in holding the Tripundra and Bhasma in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Greatness Of Bhasma

1-20. Nârâyana said :-- O Best of Munis! What shall I describe to you the effects of using the Bhasma! Only applying the ashes takes away the Mahâpâtakas (great sins) as well as other minor sins of the devotee. I speak this truly, very truly unto you. Now hear the fruits of using simply the ashes. By using Bhasma, the knowledge of Brahmâ comes to the Yatis; the desires of enjoyments are eradicated; the improvement is felt in all the virtuous actions of the householders and the studies of the Vedas and other S’âstras of the Brahmachâris get their increase. The S’ûdras get merits in using Bhasmas and the sins of others are destroyed. To besmear the body with ashes and to apply the curved Tripundras is the source of good to all beings. The S’ruti says so. That this implies the performance of sacrifices by all, is also asserted in the S’rutis. To apply ashes to the whole of the body and to use Tripundra is common to all the religions; it has nothing, in principle, contradictory to others. So the S’ruti says. This Tripundra and the besmearing with ashes is the special mark of the devotees of S’iva; this again is asserted in the S’ruti. This Bhasma and the Tripundra are the special marks by which one is characterised; it is said so in the Vaidik S’ruti. S’iva, Visnu, Brahmâ, Indra, Hiranyagarbha, and their Avataras, Varuna and the whole host of the Devas all gladly used this Tripundra and ashes. Durgâ, Laksmî, and Sarasvatî, etc., all the wives of the gods daily anoint their bodies with ashes and use the Tripundras. So even the Yaksas, Râksasas, Gandharbhas, Sidhas, Vidyâdharas, and the Munis have applied Bhasma and Tripundra. This holding on of ashes is not prohibited to anybody; the Brâhmanas, Ksattriyas, Vais’yas, S’ûdras, mixed castes, and the vile classes all can use this Bhasma and Tripundra. O Nârada! In my opinion they only are the Sadhus (saints) who use this Tripundra and besmear their bodies with ashes. In seducing this Lady Mukti (liberation is personified here as a lady) one is to have this gem of S’iva Lingam, the five lettered Mantra Namah S’ivâyâ as the loving principle, and holding on the ashes as the charming medicine (as in seducing any ordinary woman, gems, jewels and ornaments, love and charming medicines are necessary). O Nârada! Know the place where the person, who has besmeared the holy with ashes and who has used Tripundra takes his food as where S’ankara and S’ankarî have taken their food together. Even if anybody himself not using the Bhasma, follows another who has used the Bhasma, he will be soon honoured in the society even if he be a sinner. What more than this, if anybody himself not using the ashes, praises another who uses the Bhasma, he is freed from all his sins and gets soon honour and respect in the society. All the studies of the Vedas come to him though he has not studied the Vedas, all the fruits of hearing the S’rutis and the Purânas come to him, though he has not heard them, all the fruits of practised Dharma come to him though he has not practised any, if he always uses this Tripundra on his forehead and gives food to a beggar who uses Tripundra on his forehead. Even in courtries as Bihar (Kîkata, etc., that have got a bad name) if there be a single man in the whole country whose body is besmeared with ashes and who uses this Tripundra, that is considered then as Kâs’î (Benares city). Anybody, of a bad or of a good character, be he a Yogi or a sinner, using Bhasma, is worshipped like my son, Brahmâ. O Nârada! Even if an hypocrite uses Bhasma, he will have a good future, which cannot be attained even by performing hundreds of sacrifices. If anybody uses Bhasma daily either through good companion or through neglect, he will be entitled, like me, to the highest worship. O Nârada! Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes’vara, Pârvatî, Laksmî, Sarasvatî and all the other Devas become satisfied with simply holding on this Bhasma. The merits that are obtained by using only the Tripundra, cannot be obtained by gifts, sacrifices, severe austerities, and going to sacred places of pilgrimages. They cannot give one-sixteenth part of the result that accrues from holding the Tripundra. As a King recognises a person as his own, whom he has given some object of recognition, so Bhagavân S’ankara knows the man who uses Tripundras as His own person. They that hold Tripundras with devotion can have Bholâ Nâtha under their control; no distinction is made here between the Brâhmanas and Chândâlas. Even if anybody be fallen from the state of observing all the Âchâras or rules of conduct proper to his Âs’rama and if he be faulty in not attending to all his duties, he will be Mukta (freed) if he has used even once this Bhasma Tripundra. Never bother yourself with the caste or the family of the holder of the Tripundras. Only see whether the sign Tripundra exists in his forehead. If so, consider him entitled to respect. O Nârada! There is no mantra higher than this S’iva Mantra; there is no Deity higher than S’iva; there is no worship of greater merit-giving powers than the worship of S’iva; so there is no Tîrtha superior to this Bhasma. This Bhasma is not an ordinary thing; it is the excellent energy (semen virile) of fire of the nature of Rudra. All sorts of troubles vanish, all sorts of sins are destroyed by this Bhasma. The country where the lowest castes reside with their bodies besmeared with ashes, is inhabited always by Bhagavân S’ankara, Bhagavatî Umâ, the Pramathas (the attendants of S’iva) and by all the Tîrthas. Bhagavân S’ankara, first of all, held this Bhasma as an ornament to his body by purifying it first with “Sadyo Jâta,” etc., the five mantras. Therefore if anybody uses the Bhasma Tripundra according to rules on his forehead, the writings written at the time of his birth by Vidhâtâ Brahmâ will all be cancelled, if they had been bad. There is no doubt in this.

Here ends the Thirteenth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the greatness of Bhasma in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Greatness In Holding The Bibhûti

1-17. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Whatever is given as charities to any man besmeared with the holy ashes, takes away instantly all the sins of the donor. The S’rutis, Smritis, and all the Purânas declare the greatness of this Bhasma. So the twice-born must accept this. Whoever holds this Tripundra, of this holy ashes at the three Sandhyâ times, is freed from all his sins and goes to the region of S’iva. The Yogi who takes a bath of ashes throughout his body during the three Sandhyâs, gets his Yoga developed soon. By this bath of ashes, many generations are lifted up. O Nârada! This ash bath is many times superior to the water bath. To take once a bath of ashes secures to one all the merits acquired by bathing in all the sacred places of pilgrimages. There is no doubt in this. By this bath of ashes, all the Mahâpâtakas (great heinous sins) and other minor sins as well are instantly destroyed as heaps of wood are brought down to ashes in a moment by the fire. No bath is holier than this one. This is first mentioned by S’iva and He took Himself this bath. Since then this bath of ashes has been taken with great care by Brahmâ and the other Devas and the Munis for their own good in all the virtuous actions. This bath of ashes is termed the bath of fire. So he who applies ashes on his head, gets the state of Rudra while he is in this body of five elements. Those who are delighted to see persons with this ashes on their bodies are respected by the Devas, Asuras, and Munis. He who honours and gets up on seeing a man besmeared with ashes is respected even by Indra, the Lord of Heavens. Even if anybody eats any uneatables, then the sin incurred thereby won’t touch him, if his body be then besmeared with ashes. He who first takes a water bath and then an ash-bath, be he a Brahmachârî or an house-holder or an anchorite (Vânaprasthî) is freed of all sins and gets in the end the highest state. Specially for the Yatis (ascetics), this ash bath is very necessary. This ash bath is superior to the water bath. For the bonds of Nature, this pleasure and pain, are cut asunder by this ash bath. The Munis know this Prakriti as moist and wet; and therefore Prakriti binds men. If anybody desires to cut asunder this bondage of the body, he will find no other remedy for this in the three worlds than this Holy Bath of ashes.

18-43. In ancient days the ashes were first offered to the Devî gladly by the Devas for their protection, their good and purification, when they first saw the ashes. Therefore anybody who takes this bath of fire, gets all his sins destroyed and he goes to S’iva Loka. He who daily uses this ashes has not to suffer from the oppression of the Râksasas, Pis’âchas, Pûtanâs and the other Bhûtas or from disease, leprosy, the chronic enlargement of spleen, all sorts of fistulae, from eighty sorts of rheumatism, sixty four kinds of bilious diseases, twenty two varieties of phlegmatic diseases and from tigers, thieves, and other vicious planetary influences. Rather he gets the power to suppress all these as a lion kills easily a mad elephant. Anybody who first mixes the ashes with pure cold water and then besmears his body with that and puts on the Tripundras, attains soon the Highest Brahmâ. He who holds the Tripundra of ashes becomes sinless and goes to the Brahmâ loka. He can even wipe off the ordnances of the fate on his forehead to go to the jaws of Death, if he uses, according to the S’âstras, the Tripundras on his forehead. If the ashes be used on the neck, then the sin, incurred through the neck, is completely destroyed. If the ashes be used on the neck, then the sin incurred by the neck, in eating uneatable things is entirely destroyed. If the ashes be held on the arms, then the sin incurred by the arms is destroyed. If it be held on the breast, the sin done mentally is destroyed. If it be held on the navel, the sin incurred by the generative organ is destroyed. If it be held on the anus, then the sin incurred by the anus is destroyed. And if it be held on the sides, then the sin incurred in embracing other’s wives is destroyed. So, know fully, to use ashes is highly commendable. Everywhere three curved lines of ashes are to be used. Know these three lines as Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a; Daksinâgni, Gârhapatya fire and Âhavanîva fire; the Sâttva, Râjas and Tâmas qualities, Heaven, earth and Pâtâla (nether regions). If the wise Brâhmin holds properly the ashes his Mahâpâtakas are destroyed. He is not involved in any sin. Rather he, without any questionings, gets his liberation. All the sins, in the body besmeared with ashes, are burnt down by the ashes, which is of the nature of fire, into ashes. He is called Bhasmanistha (a devotee of Bhasma, i.e., ashes) who takes a bath of ashes, who besmears his body with ashes, who use the Tripundras of ashes, who sleeps in ashes. He is called also Âtmanistha, a devotee of Âtman (Self). At the approach of such a man, the Demons, Pis’âchas, and very serious diseases run away to a distance. There is no doubt in this. In as much as these ashes reveal the knowledge of Brahmâ, it is called Bhasita from Bhasma, to shine; because it eats up the sins, it is called Bhasma; because it increases the eight supernatural powers Animâ, etc., it is called Bhûti; because it protects the man who uses it, it is called “Raksâ.” As the sins are all destroyed by the mere remembrance of Bhagavân Rudra, so seeing the person using the Tripundra, the demons, bad spirits and other vicious hosts of spirits fly away quickly, trembling with fear. As a fire burns a great forest by its own strength, so this bath of ashes burns the sins of those who are incessantly addicted to sins. Even if at the time of death one takes a bath of ashes, though he has committed an inordinate amount of vices, all his sins are soon destroyed. By this bath of ashes, the Self is purified, the anger is destroyed; the senses are calmed down. The man who uses even once this Bhasma comes to Me; he has not to take any more births in future. On Monday Amâvasyâ (also on the full moon day) if one sees the S’iva Lingam, with his body besmeared all over with ashes, one’s sins will all be destroyed. (All the sins are not seen; hence the tithi is called Amâvas.) If people use Bhasma daily, all their desires will be fructified whether they want longevity, or prosperity or Mukti. The Tripundra that represents Brahmâ, Visnu and S’iva is very sacred. Seeing the man with Tripundra on, the fierce Râksasas or mischievous creatures flee to a distance. There is no doubt in this. After doing the S’aucha (necessary cleanliness) and other necessary things, one bathes in pure cold water and besmears his body with ashes from head to foot. By taking the water bath only, the outward unclean things are destroyed. But the ash bath not only cleanses the outer external uncleanliness but cleanses also all the internal uncleanliness. So even if one does not take the water bath, one ought to take this ash bath. There is to be no manner of doubt in this.

44-47. All the religious actions performed without this ash bath seem as if no actions are done at all. This ash bath is stated in the Vedas. Its another name is the Fire Bath. By this ash bath both outside and inside are purified. So a man who uses ashes gets the entire fruit of worshipping S’iva. By the water Bath only the outside dirt is removed; but by this bath of ashes, outside dirts and inside dirts, both are fully removed. If this water bath be taken many times daily, still without an ash bath, one’s heart is not purified. What more shall I speak of the greatness of ashes, the Vedas only appreciate its glories rightly! Yea, very rightly!

48-50. Or Mahâ Deva, the Gem of all the Devas, knows the greatness of this Bhasma. Those who perform rites and works prescribed by the Vedas, without taking this bath of ashes, do not get even a tithe of the fruits of their works done. Only that man will be entitled to the entire fruits of the Vedas who perform this bath of ashes duly. This is the opinion of the Vedas. This bath of ashes purifies more the things that are already pure; thus the S’ruti says. That wretch who does not take the bath of ashes as aforesaid is a Great Sinner. There is no doubt in this. By this bath greater interminable merits accrue than what is obtained by innumerable baths taken by the Brâhmanas on the Vârunî momentous occasion. So take this bath carefully in the morning, midday and evening. This bath of ashes is ordained in the Vedas. So know those who are against this bath mentioned in the Vedas, are verily fallen! After evacuating oneself of one’s urine and faeces, one ought to take this bath of ashes. Otherwise men will not be purified. Even if one performs duly the water bath and if one does not take this bath of ashes, that man will not be purified. So he cannot get any right to do any religious actions. After evacuating one’s abdomen of the outgoing air, after yawning, after holding sexual intercourses, after spitting and sneezing, and after easing oneself of phlegm, one ought to take this bath of ashes. O Nârada! Thus I have described to you here the greatness of S’rî Bhasma. I am again telling you more of it specially. Listen attentively.

Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the greatness in holding the Bibhûti (ashes) in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 15. On The Rules Of Using The Tripundra And Ûrdhapundra Marks

1-10. Nârâyana said :-- Only the twice born are to take this Tripundra on the forehead and the other parts of the body after carefully purifying the ashes by the mantra Agniriti Bhasma, etc. The Brâhmans, Ksattriyas, and Vais’yas are known as the twiceborn, (the Dvîjas). So the Dvîjas ought to take daily this Tripundra with great care. O Brâhmana! Those who are purified with the ceremony of the holy thread, are called the Dvîjas. For these the taking of Tripundra as per S’ruti is very necessary. Without taking this Vibhûti, any good work done is as it were not done. There is no doubt in this. Even the japam of Gâyatrî is not well performed if this Bhasma be not used. O Best of Munis! The Gâyatrî is the most important and the chief thing of the Brâhmanhood. But that is not advised if the Tripundra be not taken. O Munis! As long as the ashes born of Agni are not applied on the forehead, one is not entitled to be initiated in the Gâyatrî Mantra. O Brâhman! Unless ashes be applied on the forehead, no one will recognise you as a Brâhmana. For this reason I take this holding of the merit-giving Tripundra as the cause of the Brâhmanhood. I speak this verily unto you, that he is recognised as a Brâhmana and literary on whose forehead there is seen the white ashes purified by the mantra. He is entitled to the state of a Brâhmana who is naturally very eager to collect the ashes as he collects the invaluable gems and jewels.

11-20. Those who are not naturally eager to collect the Bhasma as they are naturally eager to collect gems and jewel, are to be known as Chândâlas in some of their previous births. Those who are not naturally joyous in holding Tripundra, were verily Chândâlas in their previous births; this I tell you truly very truly.

Those who eat roots and fruits without holding ashes go to the terrible hells. He who worships S’iva without having Bibhûti on his forehead, that wretch is a S’iva hater and goes to hell after his death. He who does not hold Bibhûti is not entitled to any religious act.

Without taking Bibhûti, if you make a gift of Tulâ Purusa made of gold, you won’t get any fruits. Rather you will have to go to hell!

As the Brâhmanas are not to perform their Sandhyâs without their holy threads, so without this Bibhûti, one ought not also to perform one’s Sandhyâ.

If at times a man by chance has no holy thread, he can do his Sandhyâ by muttering the Gâyatrî or by fasting. But there is no such rule in holding Bhasma.

If one performs Sandhyâ, without having any Bibhûti, he is liable to incur a sin; as without holding this Bhasma, no right can come to him to perform his Sandhyâ.

As a man of a lowest caste acts contrary and incurs a sin if he hears the Veda mantra, so a twice-born incurs a sin if he performs Sandhyâ without having his Tripundra. The twiceborn must therefore collect his thoughts with his heart intent on this Tripundra whether it be according to S’rauta or Smârta method; or in absence thereof the Laukika Bhasma. Of whatsoever sort is the Bhasma, it is always pure. In the Sandhyâ and other actions of worship, the twiceborn ought to be very careful and punctilious in using this Bhasma.

21-31. No sin can enter into the body of one besmeared with ashes. For this reason, the Brâhmanas ought always to use ashes with great care. One is to hold the Tripundra, six Angulas high or greater by the fore, middle and ring fingers of the right hand. If anybody uses Tripundra, shining and brilliant, and extending from eye to eye, he becomes, no doubt, a Rudra. The ring-finger is the letter “A,” the middle finger is “U” and the forefinger is “M”; so the Tripundra marks drawn by the above three fingers is of the nature of the three gunas. The Tripundra should be drawn by the middle, fore, and ring fingers in a reverse way (from the left of the forehead to its right). I will now tell you an anecdote, very ancient. Listen. Once Durvâsâ, the head of the ascetics, with his body besmeared with ashes and with Rudrâksam, all over, on his body went to the region of the Pitris, uttering loudly, “O S’ankara, of the Form of All! O S’iva! O Mother Jagadambe, the Source of all auspiciousness!” The Pitris Kavya-Vâlâs, etc., (Kavya Vâlanalah Somah Yamah schaivâryamâ Tathâ, Agnisvâttvâ, Varhisadah, Somapâh Pitri Devatâh) got up, received him heartily and gave him seats and shewed him great honours and respect and held many pure conversations with the Muni. During their talk, the sinners of the Kumbhîpâka hell were crying, “Oh! Alas! We are killed, we are being killed. Oh! We are being burnt!” some others cried, “Oh! Oh! We are cut down.” Thus various cries and lamentations reached their ears.

32-40. Hearing their piteous cries, Durvâsâ, the prince of the Risis, asked with a grievous heart the Pitris, “Who are those crying?” The Pitris replied :-- There is a city close to our place called “Samyamanî Purî” of the King Yama where the sinners are punished. Yama gives punishment to the sinners there. O Sinless One! In that city the King Yama lives with his terrible black-coloured messengers, the personifications of Kâla (the Destruction). For the punishment of the sinners, eighty-six hells exist there. The place is being guarded always by the horrible messengers of Yama. Out of those hells, the hell named Kumbhîpâka is very big and that is the chief of the hells. The ailings and torments of the sinners in the Kumbhîpâka hell cannot be described in hundred years. O Muni! The S’iva-haters, the Visnu-haters, the Devî-haters are made to fall to this Kunda. Those who find fault with the Vedas, and blame the Sun, Ganes’a and tyrannise the Brâhmanas fall down to this hell. Those who blame their mothers, fathers, Gurus, elder brothers, the Smritis and Purânas and those as well who take the Tapta Mudrâs (hot marks on their bodies) and Tapta S’ûlas (i.e., those who being S’aivas act as they like) those who blame the religion (Dharma) go down to that hell.

41-50. We hear constantly their loud piteous cries, very painful to hear; hearing which naturally gives rise to feelings of indifference (Vairâgyam). Hearing the above words of the Pitris, Durvâsâ, the prince of the Munis, went to the hell to see the sinners. O Muni! Going there, the Muni bent his head downwards and saw the sinners when, instantly the sinners began to enjoy pleasures more than those who enjoy in the Heavens. The sinners became exceedingly glad. Some began to sing, some began to dance, some began to laugh; some sinners began to play one with one another in great ecstasy. The musical instruments Mridanga, Muraja, lute, Dhakkâ, Dundubhis, etc., resounded with sweet sonorous tones (in accordance with five resonants). The sweet fragrant smell of the flowers of Vâsanti creepers spread all round. Durvâsâ Muni became surprised to see all this. The messengers of Yama were startled and immediately went to their King Yama and said :-- “O Lord! Our King! A wondrous event occurred lately. The sinners in the Kumbhîpâka hell are now enjoying pleasures more than those in the Heavens. O Bibhu! How can this take place! We cannot make out the cause of this. O Deva! We all have become terrified and have come to you.” Hearing the words of the messengers, Dharmarâja, mounting on his great buffalo, came there instantly and seeing the state of the sinners sent news immediately to the Heavens.

51-60. Hearing the news Indra came there with all the Devas, Brahmâ came there from His Brahmaloka; and Nârâyana came there from Vaikuntha. Hearing this, the regents of the quarters, the Dikpâlas came there with all their attendants from their respective abodes. They all came there to the Kumbhîpâka hell and saw that all the beings there are enjoying greater pleasures than those in the Heavens. They all were astonished to see this; and they could not make out why this had happened. “What a wonder is this! This Kunda has been built for the punishment of the sinners. When such a pleasure is now being felt here, the people won’t fear anything henceforth to commit sins. Why is this order of the Vedas created by God reversed? Why has God undone His own doing? What a wonder is this! Now a great miracle is before our sight.” Thus speaking, they remained at a fix. They could not make out the cause of this. In the meanwhile Bhagavân Nârâyana after consulting with the other Devas went with some Devas to the abode of S’ankara in Kailâs’a. They saw there that S’rî Bhagavân S’ankara (with crescent of the Moon on His forehead) was playing there attended always by the Pramathas and adorned with various ornaments like a youth, sixteen years old. His parts of the body were very beautiful as if the mine of loveliness. He was conversing on various delightful subjects with His consort Pârvatî and pleasing Her mind. The four Vedas were there personified. Seeing Him, Nârâyana bowed down and informed him clearly of all the wonderful events. He said :--

61-75. “O Deva! What is the cause of all this? We cannot make out anything! O Lord! Thou art omniscient. Thou knowest everything. So kindly mention how is this brought about!” Hearing Visnu’s words. Bhagavân S’ankara spoke graciously in sweet words, grave as the rumbling of a rain-cloud :-- “O Visnu! Hear the cause of this. What wonder is there? This is all due to the greatness of Bhasma (ashes)! What cannot be brought about by Bhasma! The great S’aiva Durvâsâ went to see the Kumbhîpâka hell, besmearing his whole body with Bhasma and looked downwards while he was looking at the sinners. At that time, accidentally a particle of Bhasma from his forehead was blown by air to the bodies of the sinners in the hell. Thereby they were freed of their sins and they got so much pleasure! Such is the greatness of Bhasma! Henceforth the Kumbhîpâka will no more be a hell. It will be a Tîrtha (holy place of pilgrimage) of the residents of the Pitrilokas. Whoever will bathe there will be very happy. There is no doubt in this. Its name will be henceforth the Pitri Tîrtha.

O Sattama! My Lingam and the form of Bhagavatî ought to be placed there. The inhabitants of the Pitri Loka would worship them. This will be the best of all the Tîrthas extant in the three Lokas. And if the Pitris’varî there be worshipped, know that the worship of the Trilokî is done. Nârâyana said :-- Hearing thus the words of S’ankara, the Deva of the Devas, He thanked Him and, taking His permission came to the Devas and informed them of everything what S’ankara had said. Hearing this, the Devas nodded their heads and said, “Sadhu (well, very well)” and began to glorify the greatness of Bhasma. O Tormenter of the enemies! Hari, Brahmâ and the other Devas began to eulogise the glories of ashes. The Pitris became very glad to get a new Tîrtha. The Devas planted a S’iva Lingam and the form of the Devî on the banks of the new Tîrtha, and began to worship them regularly day by day. The sinners that were there suffering, all ascended on the celestial chariot and got up to Kailâs’a. Even today they are all dwelling in Kailâs’a and are known by the name of the Bhadras. The hell Kumbhîpâka came to be built afterwards in another place.

76-84. Since that day the Devas did not allow any other devotee of S’iva to go to the newly created hell Kumbhîpâka. Thus I have described to you the excellent greatness of the Bhasma. O Muni! What more can there be than the glories of the Bhasma! O Best of Munis! Now I am telling you of the usage of Ûrdhapundra (the vertical marks) according to the proper province of the devotees. Listen. I will now speak what I have ascertained from the study of the Vaisnava S’âstras, the measure of Ûrdhapundra, according to the Anguli measurements, the colour, mantra, Devatâ and the fruits thereof. Hear. The earth required is to be seen red from the crests of hills, the banks of the rivers, the place of S’iva (S’iva Ksettram), the ocean beaches, the ant-hill, or from the roots of the Tulasî plants. The earth is not to be had from any other places. The black coloured earth brings in peace, the red-colour earth brings in powers to bring another to one’s control; the yellow-coloured earth increases prosperity and the white-coloured earth gives Dharma (religion). If the Ûrdhapundra be drawn by the thumb, nourishment is obtained; if it be drawn by the middle finger, longevity is increased; if it be drawn by nameless or ring finger, food is obtained and if it be drawn by the fore finger, liberation is attained. So the Ûrdhapundras ought to be drawn by these fingers, only be careful to see that the nails do not touch at the time of making the mark. The shape of the Ûrdhapundra (the vertical mark or sign on the fore-head) is like a flame or like the opening bud of a lotus, or like the leaf of a bamboo, or like a fish, or like a tortoise or like a conch-shell.

85-95. The Ûrdhapundra, ten Angulis high is the super best; nine Angulis high, is best; eight Angulis high, is good; the middling Ûrdhapundra is of three kinds as it is of seven Angulas, six Angulas, or five Angulas. The lowest Ûrdhapundra is again of three kinds as it is four Angulas, three Angulas or two Angulas high. On the Ûrdhapundra of the forehead, you must meditate Kes’ava, on the belly you must think of Nârâyana; on the heart, you must meditate on Mâdhava; and on the neck, you must meditate on Govinda. So on the right side of the belly, you must meditate on Madhûsûdana; on the roots of the ears, on Trivikrama; on the left belly, on Vâmana; on the arms, on S’rîdhara; on the ears, Hrisîkes’a; on the back, Padmanâbha; on the shoulders Dâmodara; and on the head Brahmarandhra you must meditate on Vâsudeva. Thus the twelve names are to be meditated. In the morning or in the evening time when you are going to make the Pûjâ or Homa, you are to take duly, single-in-intent, the above names and make the marks of Ûrdhapundras. Any man, with Ûrdhapundra on his head, is always pure, whether he be impure, or of unrighteous conduct or whether he commits a sin mentally. Wherever he dies, he comes to My Abode even if he be of a Chândâla caste. My devotees ( Vîra Vaisnavas or Mahâvîra Vaisnavas) who know My Nature must keep an empty space between the two lines of Ûrdhapundra of the form of the Visnupada (the feet of Visnu) and those who are my best devotees are to use nice Ûrdhapundras, made of turmeric powder, of the size of a spear (S’ûla), of the form of the feet of Visnu (Visnu padah).

96. The ordinary Vaisnavas are to use with Bhakti, the Ûrdhapundras without any empty space, but the form of it is to be like a flame, the blossom of a lily or like a bamboo leaf.

97-110. Those who are Vaisnavas in name only can use Ûrdhapundra of both the kinds, with or without any empty space. They incur no sin if they use one without an empty space. But those who are My good devotees, incur sin if they do not keep an empty space between the two vertical lines (in the Ûrdhapundra three vertical lines are used). The Vaisnavas who use excellent vertical rod like Ûrdhapundras keeping an empty space in the middle and uttering the mantra “Kesvâya Namah” build My Temple there. In the beautiful middle space of Ûrdhapundra, the Undecaying Visnu is playing with Laksmî. That wretch, the twice-born who uses Ûrdhapundra without any empty apace kills Visnu and Laksmî, seated there. The stupid who uses Ûrdhapundra without a vacant space goes successively to twenty-one hells. The Ûrdhapundra should be of the size of a clear straight rod, lotus, flame, a fish with sharp straight edges and with vacant spaces between them. O Great Muni! The Brâhmana should always use the Tripundra like the lock of hair on the crown of his head and like his Sacrificial thread; otherwise all his actions will be fruitless. Therefore in all ceremonies and actions the Brâhmanas ought to use Ûrdhapundras of the form of a trident, a circle or of a square form. The Brâhmana who knows the Vedas is never to use the semi-moonlike mark (Tilak) on his bead. The man who is of the Brâhmin caste and follows the path of the Vedas should not even by mistake use any other mark than those above-mentioned. Other sorts of pundras (marks) that are mentioned in other Vaisnava S’âstras for the attainment of fame, beauty, etc., the Veda-knowing Brâhmanas should not use them. The Vaidik Brâhmanas should not use even in error any other Tilaks than the curved Tripundras

If, out of delusion, the man, following the path of the Vedas, uses other sorts of Tripundras, he would certainly go down to hell.

111-118. The Veda-knowing Brâhmanas would certainly go down to hell if they use other sorts of Tripundras on their bodies. Only the Tilakas, prescribed in the Vedas ought to be used by those who are devoted to the Vedas. Those who do not observe the duties of the Vedas would use Tilaks approved of by other S’âstras. Those should use marks approved of by the Vedas whose Deity is that of the Vedas. Those who follow the Tantra S’âstras different from the Vedas, should use marks approved of by the Tantras.

Mahâ Deva is the Veda’s Deity and, ready to deliver from the bondages of the world, He has prescribed the Tilakas prescribed in the Vedas for the benefit of the devotees. The marks prescribed by Visnu, also a Deity of the Vedas, are also those of the Vedas. His other Avataras also use marks approved of by the Vedas. The Tripundras and the besmearing of the body with ashes are according to the Vedas. In the Tantra S’âstra different from the Vedas, there is the usage of Tripundra and other marks. But they are not to be used by the Vaidiks. No never.

Those who follow the path of the Vedas should use the curved Tripundras and Bhasma on their foreheads according to the rules prescribed in the Vedas.

He who has obtained the highest state of Nârâyana, i.e., who has realised My Nature, ought to use always on their foreheads S’ûla marks scented with fragrant sandalpaste.

Here ends the Fifteenth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the rules of using the Tripundra and Ûrdhapundra marks in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 16. On The Description Of Sandhyâ Upâsânâ

1-24. Nârâyana said :-- Now I am speaking of the very holy Sandhyopâsanâ method of Sandhyâ worship of Gâyatrî, the Presiding Deity of the morning, midday and evening, and of the twice-born. Listen. The greatness of using Bhasma has been described in detail. No further need be stated on the subject. I shall talk, first of all, of the morning Sandhyâ. The morning Sandhyâ is to be done early in the morning while the stars are visible. When the Sun is in the meridian, the midday Sandhyâ is to be performed; and while the Sun is visibly going down, the evening Sandhyâ is to be recited over. Now again, the distinctions are made in the above three Sandhyâs :-- The morning Sandhyâ with stars seen is the best; with stars disappeared, middling; and with the Sun risen above the horizon, inferior. So the evening Sandhyâ, again, is of three kinds :-- best, middling, and inferior. When the Sun is visibly disappearing, the evening Sandhyâ is the best; when the Sun has gone down the horizon, it is middling and when the stars are visible, it is inferior. The Brâhmanas are the root of the Tree, the Sandhyâ Vandanam; the Vedas are the branches; the religious actions are the leaves. Therefore its root should be carefully preserved. If the root be cut, no branches or leaves of the tree will remain. That Brâhmana who knows not his Sandhyâ or who does not perform the Sandhyâs is a living S’ûdra. That Brâhmana after his death verily becomes a dog. Therefore the Sandhyâs must be observed every day. Otherwise no right comes at all to do any action. At the sunrise and the sunset the time for Sandhyâ is two Dandas (48 minutes) and if Sandhyâ be not done or rather neglected in the interval, the Prâyas’chitta (penance) is to he paid duly (performed duly). If the proper time for Sandhyâ expires, one more offering of Arghya is to be made in addition to the three Arghayas daily made or the Gâyatrî is to be repeated one hundred and eight times before the Sandhyâ is commenced. In whichever time any action ought to be done, worship, first of all, the Sandhyâ Devî, the Presiding Deity of that time and do the actions proper to that time afterwards. The Sandhyâ performed in dwelling houses is ordinary; the Sandhyâ done in enclosures of cows is middling and on the banks of the rivers is good and the Sandhyâ performed before the Devî’s temple or the Devî’s seat is very excellent. The Sandhyopâsanâ ought to be done before the Devî, because that is the worship of the very Devî. The three Sandhyâs done before the Devî give infinitely excellent fruits. There is no other work of the Brâhmanas better than this Sandhyâ. One can rather avoid worshipping S’iva or Visnu; because that is not daily done as obligatory; but the Sandhyopâsanâ ought to be done daily. The Gâyatrî of the Great Devî is the Essence of all the mantras in the Vedas. In the Veda S’âstras, the worship of Gâyatrî is most definitely pronounced. Brahmâ and the other Devas meditate in the Sandhyâ times on this Devî Gâyatrî and make a japam of that. The Vedas always make japams of Her. For this reason the Gâyatrî has been mentioned as the object of worship by the Vedas. The Brâhmanas are called S’âktas inasmuch as they worship the Primal S’akti (Force) Gâyatrî, the Mother of the Vedas. They are not S’aivas nor Vaisnavas.

Firstly make the ordinary Âchaman three times, and, while inhaling, drink a little of the water of Âchaman, repeating “Om Kes’avâya Svâhâ, Om Nârâyanâya Svâhâ, Om Mâdhavâya Svâhâ.” Then wash your two hands, repeating “Om Gobindâya Namah, Om Visnave Namah.” Then by the root of the thumb rub the lips repeating “Om Madhû sûdanâya Namah, Om Trivikramâya Namah.” So rub the mouth, repeating “Om Vâmamâya Namah, Om S’rîdharâya Namah.” Then sprinkle water on the left hand, saying “Om Hrisîkes’âya Namah.” Sprinkle water on the legs, saying “Om Padmanâbhâya Namah.” Sprinkle water on the head, saying “Om Dâmodarâya Namah.” Touch the mouth with the three fingers of the right hand, saying “Om Samkarsanâya Namah.” Touch the nostrils with the thumb and forefinger saying “Om Vâsudevâya Namah, Om Pradyumnâya Namah.” Touch the eyes with the thumb and ring-finger, saying “Om Aniruddhâya Namah, Om Purusottamâya Namah.” Touch the ears with the thumb and ringfinger saying “Om Adhoksajâya Namah, Om Nârasimhâya Namah.” Touch the navel with the thumb and little finger saying “Om Achyutâya Namah.” Touch the breast with the palm, saying “Om Janârdanâya Namah.” Touch the head saying “Om Upendrâya Namah.” Touch the roots of the two arms saying “Om Haraye Namah, Om Krisnâya Namah.”

25-50. While sipping the Âchaman water on the right hand, touch the right hand with your left hand; otherwise; the water does not become pure. While doing Âchaman, make the palm and the fingers all united and close, of the form of a Gokarna (the ear of a cow) and spreading the thumb and the little finger, drink the water of the measure of a pea. If a greater or less quantity be sipped, then that would amount to drinking liquor. Then thinking of the Pranava, make the Prânâyâma, and repeat mentally the Gâyatrî with her head and the Turîya pâda, i.e., Âpojyotih rasomritam Brahmâ  Bhurbhuvah svarom. Inhale the air by the left nostril (Pûrak), close both the nostrils (Kumbhak) and exhale the air, by the right nostril (Rechak). Thus Prânâyâma is effected. While doing Pûrak, Kumbhak and Rechak repeat the Gâyatrî every time; hold the right nostril with the right thumb and hold the left nostril with the ringfinger and little finger (i.e., don’t use forefinger and middle finger).

The Yogis who have controlled their minds say that Prânâyâma is effected by the three processes Pûraka, Kûmbhaka and Rechaka. The external air is inhaled in Pûraka; air is not exhaled nor inhaled (it is retained inside) in Kûmbhaka; and air is exhaled in Rechaka. While doing Pûraka, meditate on the navel, the four-armed high-souled Visnu, of the blue colour (Syâma) like the blue lotus. While doing Kûmbhaka, meditate in the heart lotus the four-faced grandsire Brahmâ Prajâpati, the Creator seated on the lotus and while doing Rechaka meditate, on the fore-head, on the white sin-destroying S’ankara, pure as crystal. In Pûraka, the union with Visnu is obtained; in Kûmbhaka, the knowledge of Brahmâ is attained and in Rechaka, the highest position of Îs’vara (S’iva) is attained. This is the method of Âchaman according to the Purânas. Now I am speaking of the all sin destroying Vaidik Âchaman. Listen. Reciting the Gâyatrî mantra “Om Bhurbhuvah,” sip a little water; this is the Vaidik Âchaman after repeating the seven great Vyâhritis Om Bhuh; Om Bhuvah, Om Svah, Om Mahah, Om Janah, Om Tapah, Om Satyam, repeat Gâyatrî and the head of the Gâyatrî Âpojyoti Rasomritam Brahmâ  Bhurbhuvah svarom and practise Prânâyâma three times. Hereby all sins are destroyed and all virtues spring. Now another sort of Prânâyâma Mudrâ is described :-- The Vânaprasthîs and Grihasthas would do Prânâyâma with five fingers, holding the tip of the nose; the Brahmâchâris and Yatis would do Prânâyâma with the thumbs, little finger, and ring finger (avoiding middle and fore). Now I am speaking of the Âghamasana Mârjana mantra. Listen. The Mantra of this Mârjana is “Âpohisthâ Mayobhuvah, etc.” There are three mantras in this. There are three Pâdas in every mantra, prefix Om to every pâda (thus nine times Om is to be prefixed); at the end of every pâda sprinkle water on the head with the sacrificial thread and the Kus’a grass. Or at the end of every mantra do so. By the above Mârjana (cleaning) the sins of one hundred years are instantly destroyed. Then making Âchaman (taking a sip of water to rinse the mouth before worship), repeat the three Mantras “Om Sûryas’cha mâ manyus’cha, etc.” By this act, the mental sins are destroyed. As mârjana is done with Pranava, Vyârhitis, and Gâyatrî, so make Mârjana by the three mantras ‘‘Âpohisthâ, etc.” Make your right palm of the shape of a cow’s ear; take water in it and carry it before your nose and think thus :-- “There is a terrible sinful person in my left abdomen, his colour is dark black and he is horrible looking.” Recite, then, the mantras “Om ritamcha satyamchâbhîdhyât, etc.” and “Drupâdâdiva Mumuchâna, etc.” and bring that Sinful Person through your right nostril to the water in the palm. Don’t look at that water; throw it away on a bit of stone to your left. And think that you are now sinless. Next, rising from the seat, keep your two feet horizontal and with the fingers save forefinger and thumb, take a palmful of water and with your face towards the Sun, recite the Gâyatrî three times and offer water to the Sun three times. Thus, O Muni! The method of offering the Arghyas has been mentioned to you.

51-80. Then circumambulate, repeating the Sûrya Mantra. The one thing to be noted in offering Arghyas is this :-- Offer once in the midday, and three times in the morning and three times in the evening. While offering the Arghya in the morning, bend yourself a little low; in offering the arghya in the midday, stand up; and while offering the arghya in the evening, it can be done while sitting. Now I will tell you why the Arghya is offered to the Sun. Hear. Thirty Koti Râksasas known as the Mandehas, always roam on the path of the Sun (the mental Sun also). They are great heroes, treacherous and ferocious. They always try to devour the Sun, while they assume terrible forms. For this reason the Devas and the Risis combined offer the water with their folded hands to the Sun, while they perform the great Sandhyâ Upâsanâ. The water thus offered, becomes transformed into the thunderbolt and burns the heads of the cruel demons (and throws them on the island Mandehâruna) Therefore the Brâhmanas daily do their Sandhyopâsana. Infinite merits accrue from this Sandhyâ Upâsanâ. O Nârada! Now I am speaking to you of the Mantras pertaining to the Arghya. No sooner they are pronounced the full effects of performing the Sandhyâs are obtained. I am That Sun; I am That Light; I am That Âtman (Self); I am S’iva; I am the Light of Âtman; I am clear and transparently white; I am of the nature of all energy; and I am of the nature of Râsa (the sweetness, all the sweet sentiments). O Devî! O Gâyatrî! O Thou! Who art of the nature of Brahmâ! Let Thee come and preside in my heart to grant me success in this Japa Karma. O Devî! O Gâyatrî! Entering into my heart, go out again with this water. But Thou wouldst have to come again. Sit thus on a pure seat and with a single intent repeat the Gâyatrî, the Mother of the Vedas. O Muni! In this Sandhyopâsanâ, the Khhecharî Mudrâ ought to be done after practising the Prânâyâma. Hear now the meaning of the Khhechâri Mudrâ. When the soul of a being leaves the objects of senses, it roams in the Âkâs’a, i.e., it becomes aimless when the tongue also goes to the Âkâs’a and roams there; and then the sight is fixed between the eyebrows; this is called the Khhechâri Mudrâ. There is no Âsana (seat) equal to Siddhâsana and there is no Vâyu (air) equal to the Khumbaka Vâya (suspension of air in the body).

O Nârada! There is no Mudrâ equal to the Khhechâri Mudrâ. One is to pronounce Pranava in Pluta (protracted) accents like the sound of a bell and, suspending his breath, sit quiet motionless in Sthirâsana without any Ahamkâra (egoism). O Nârada! I am now talking of Siddhâsana and its characteristic qualities. Hear. Keep one heel below the root of the genital and the other heel below the scrotum; keep the whole body and breast straight and motionless; withdraw the senses from their objects and look at the point, the pituitary body, between the eyebrows. This posture is called the Siddhâsan and is pleasant to the yogis. After taking this seat, invoke the Gâyatrî. “O Mother of the Vedas! O Gâyatrî! Thou art the Devî granting boons to the Bhaktas. Thou art of the nature of Brahmâ. Be gracious unto Me. O Devî! Whoever worships Thee in the day gets his day sins destroyed and in the night, night sins destroyed. O Thou! Who art all the letters of the alphabet! O Devî! O Sandhye! O Thou who art of the nature of Vidyâ! O Sarasvatî! O Ajaye! O Thou immortal! Free from disease and decay. O Mother! Who art all the Devas! I bow down to Thee.” Invoke the Devî again by the mantra “Ojosi, etc ,” and then pray :-- “O Mother! Let my japam and other acts in Thy worship be fulfilled with success by Thy Grace.” Next for the freedom of the curse of Gâyatrî, do the things properly. Brahmâ gave a curse to Gâyatrî; Vis’vâmitra gave a curse to Her and Vas’istha also cursed Her. These are the three curses; they are removed in due order by recollecting Brahmâ, Vis’vâmitra and Vas’istha. Before doing Nyâsa, one ought to collect oneself and remember the Highest Self; think in the lotus of the heart that Purusa (Person) who is Truth; who is all this Universe, who is the Highest Self and who is All knowledge and who cannot be comprehended by words. Now I am speaking of the Amganyâsa of Sandhyâ; Hear. First utter Om and then utter the mantra.

Touch the two legs, saying “Om Bhuhpâdâbhyâm namah”

Touch the knees, saying “Om Bhuva Jânubhyâm namah”

Touch the hip, saying “Om Svah Katibhyâm namah”

Touch the navel, saying “Om Maharnâbhyai namah”

Touch the heart, saying “Om Janah Hridayâya namah”

Touch the throat, saying “Om Tapah Kanthâya namah”

Touch the forehead, saying “Om Satyam Lalâtâya namah”

Thus perform the Vyârhiti nyâsa.

Next perform the Karâmganyâsa thus :-- Om Tat savituh ramgusthâbhyâm namah (referring to the thumb); Om Varenyam Tarjanîbhyâm namah (referring to the forefinger); Om bhargo devasya madhyamâ bhyâm namah (referring to the middle finger); Om Dhîmahi anâmikâbhyâm namah (referring to the ringfinger); Om dhîyo yonah, Kanisthâbyâm namah (referring to the little finger); Om prachodayât kara tal pristhâbhyâm namah (referring to the upper part and lower part of the palm and all over the body).

81-106. Now I am speaking of the Amganyâsa. Hear. Om tat savitur Brahmâ tmane hridayâya namah (referring to the heart.)

Om Varenyam Visnvâ tmane S’irase namah (referring to the head); Om bhargo devasya Rudrâtmane S’ikhâyai namah (referring to the crown of the head);  Om dhîmahi S’aktyâtmane Kavachâya namah (referring to the Kavacha); Om dhîyoyonah Kâlâtmane netratrayâya namah (referring to the three eyes); Om prachodayât sarvâtmane astrâya namah (referring to the Astra or armour, protecting the body). Now I am speaking of the Varnanyâsa. O Great Muni! Hear. This Varnanyâsa is performed by the letters in the Gâyatrî mantra. If anybody does this, he becomes freed of sins.

“Om Tat namah” on the two toes; (touching them).

“Om Sa namah” on the two heels; (touching them).

“Om Vi namah” on the legs;

“Om Tu namah” on the two knees;

“Om Va namah” on the two thighs;

“Om re namah” on the anus;

“Om ni namah” on the generative organ;

“Om ya namah” on the hip;

“Om bha namah” on the navel;

“Om Rgo namah on the heart;

“Om De namah” on the breasts;

“Om va namah” on the heart;

“Om sya namah” on the throat;

“Om dhî namah” on the mouth;

“Om ma namah” on the palate;

“Om hi namah” on the tip of the nose;

“Om dhi namah” on the two eyes;

“Om yo namah” on the space between the eye-brows;

“Om yo namah” on the forehead;

“Om nah namah” to the east;

“Om pra namah” to the south;

“Om cho namah” on the west;

“Om da namah” on the north;

“Om yâ namah” on the head;

“Om ta namah” on the whole body from head to foot.

Some Jâpakas (those who do the Japam) do not approve of the above nyâsa. Thus the Nyâsa is to be done. Then meditate on the Gâyatrî or the World-Mother. The beauty of the body of the Gâyatrî Devî is like that of the full blown Javâ flower. She is seated on the big red lotus on the back of the Hansa (Flamingo); She is holding the red coloured garland on Her neck and anointed with red coloured unguent. She has four faces; every face has two eyes. On her four hands are a wreath of flowers, a sacrificial ladle, a bead, and a Kamandalu. She is blazing with all sorts of ornaments. From the Devî Gâyatrî has originated first the Rig veda. Brahmâ worships the virgin Gâyatrî; on the idea of S’rî Parames’varî Gâyatrî has four feet. The Rig Veda is one; the Yajurveda is the second, the Sâmaveda is the third and the Atharva veda is the fourth foot. The Gâyatrî has eight bellies; the east side is the one; the south is the second; the west is the third; the north is the fourth; the zenith is the fifth; the nadir is the sixth; the intermediate space is the seventh and all the corners are the eighth belly. Gâyatrî has seven S’iras (heads); Vyâkaranam (Grammar) is one; S’iksâ is the second (that Amga of the Veda, the science which teaches the proper pronunciation of words and laws of euphony); Kalpa is the third (the Vedânga which lays down the ritual and prescribes rules for ceremonial and sacrificial acts); Nirukta is the fourth (the Vedânga that contains glossarial explanation of obscure words, especially those occurring in the Vedas); Jyotish or astronomy is the fifth; Itahâsa (history) and Purânas is the sixth head; and Upanisadas is the seventh head. Agni (fire) is the mouth of Gâyatrî; Rudra is the S’ikhâ (the chief part); Her gotra (lineage) is Sâmkhyâyana; Visnu is the heart of Gâyatrî and Brahmâ is the armour of Gâyatrî. Think of this Mahes’varî Gâyatrî in the middle of the Solar Orb. Meditating on the Gâyatrî Devî as above, the devotee should shew the following twenty-four Mudrâs (signs by the fingers, etc., in religious worship) for the satisfaction of the Devî :-- (1) Sanmukh; (2) Sampût; (3) Vitata (4) Vistrita; (5) Dvîmukha; (6) Trimukha; (7) Chaturmukha; (8) Panchamukha; (9) Sanmukha; (10) Adhomukha; (11) Vyâpaka; (12) Anjali; (13) S’akata (14) Yamapâs’a; (15) fingers intertwined end to end; (16) Vilamba (17) Mustika; (18) Matsya; (19) Kûrma; (20) Varâha; (21) Simhâkrânta; (22) Mahâkrânta; (23) Mudgara; (24) Pallava. Next make japam once only of one hundred syllabled Gâyatrî. Thus twenty-four syllabled Sâvitrî, “Jâtavedase sunavâma, etc.,” forty-four syllabled mantra; and the thirty two syllabled mantra, “Tryamvakam Jajâmahe, etc.” These three mantras united make up one hundred lettered Gâyatrî. (The full context of the last Mantra is this :-- Om Haum Om yum sah - Trayamvakam yajâmahe Sugandhim Pusti Vardhanam. Urbhârukamiva bandhanân mrityo mûksiya ma mritât Bhur Bhhuvah. Svarom Yum Svah Bhurbhuvah Svarom Haum.) Next make japam of Bhurbhuvah Svah, twenty four lettered Gâyatrî with Om. O Nârada! The Brâhmanas are to perform daily the Sandhyo pâsânâ repeating Gâyatrî, completely adopting the rules above prescribed and then he will be able to enjoy completely pleasures, happiness and bliss.

Here ends the Sixteenth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the description of Sandhyâ Upâsânâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgvatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 17. On The Description Of Sandhyâ And Other Daily Practices

1-5. Nârâyana said :-- If one divides or separates the pâdas while reciting or making Japam of the Gâyatrî, one is freed from the Brâhminicide, the sin of Brahmahatyâ. But if one does so without breaking the pâdas, i.e., repeats at one breath, then one incurs the sin of Brahmahatyâ. Those Brâhmanas who do the Japam of the Gâyatrî without giving due pause to the pâdas, suffer pains in hells with their heads downwards for one hundred Kalpas. O Gâyatrî! Thou art of one foot, of two feet, of three feet and of four feet. Thou art without foot, because Thou art not obtained. Salutation to Thy Fourth Foot beautiful and which is above the Trilokî (Râjas). This cannot obtain that. Firstly, Gâyatrî is of three kinds :-- “Samputâ,”  “Ekomkârâ,” and “Sadomkârâ.” There is also the Gâyatrî, with five Pranavas, according to the Dharma S’âstras and Purânas. There is something to be noted while muttering or making the japam of the Gâyatrî :-- Note how many lettered Gâyatrî you are going to repeat (make japam). When you have repeated one-eighth of that, repeat (make japam) the Turîya pâda of Gâyatrî (i.e., the fourth Pâda, the mantram parorajase Sâvadomâ prâpat) etc., (see the daily practices, page 107) once and then complete repeating the Gâyatrî. If the Brâhmana makes the Japam (the silent muttering) in the above way he gets himself united with Brahmâ. Other modes of making the Japam do not bear any fruit. Om Gâyatryasye kapadî dvîpapî Tripadî chatus pâdasi nahi padyase namaste Tûryâya dars’atâyapadâya paro Rajase Sâbado mâ prâpat. Gâyatrî is one-footed in the form of Trilokî, two-footed, the Trayî Vidyâ from thy second foot; tripadî (all Prânas are thy third foot, chatuspadi, as the Purusa apadi without any foot, Parorajase above the Râjas, the dust; asau-that; adah this not prâpat may obtain. The Yogis who are Ûrdharetâs (hold Brahmâ charyam, continence) are to make Japam of the Samputâ Gâyatrî (i.e., with Om). Gâyatrî with one pranava and as well the Gâyatrî with six pranavas. The householder Brahmachârî or those who want moksa are to make Japam of Gâyatrî with Om prefixed.

6. Those householders who affix Om to the Gâyatrî do not get the increase of their families.

7-8. The Turîya pâda (foot) of Gâyatrî is the mantra “Parorajase Sâvodomâ prâpat.” (Brihad. up. v.14.7). Salutation to Thy beautiful Fourth Foot which is above the Trilokî (Râjas). This cannot obtain that. The presiding deity of this mantra is Brahmâ. I am now speaking of the full Dhyânam (meditation) of this Brahmâ so that the full fruit of the Japam (recitation) may be obtained. There is a full blown lotus in the heart; its form is like the Moon, Sun, and the Spark of Fire; i.e., of the nature of pranava and nothing else. This is the seat of the inconceivable Brahmâ. Think thus. Now on that seat is seated well the steady constant subtle Light, the essence of Akâs’a, the everlasting existence, intelligence and bliss, the Brahmâ. May He increase my happiness (see page 107 the daily practice of the Hindus by R. B. Sris Chandra Basu, on the Invocation of the Gâyatrî).

Note :-- Aum! Gâyatryasyekapadî dvîpadî, tripadî, chatuspadasi, nahi padyase namaste turyâya dars’ atâya padâya parorajase, sâvado mâprâpat O Gâyatrî! Thou art of one foot (in the farm of Trilokî), of two feet (the Trayî vidyâ from Thy second foot) of three feet all Prâna, etc., are Thy third foot and of four feet (as the Purusa). Thou art without foot because Thou art not obtained. Salutation to Thy beautiful fourth foot which is above the Trilokî (Râjas). This cannot obtain that.

9. Now I am speaking of the Mudrâ of the Turîyâ Gâyatrî :-- (1) Tris’ûla, (2) Yoni, (3) Surabhi, (4) Aksamâlâ, (5) Linga, (6) Padma and (7) Mahâmudrâ. These seven Mudrâs are to be shewn.

10-14. What is Sandhyâ, that is Gâyatrî; there is no difference whatsoever between the two. The two are one and the same. Both are of the nature of Existence, Intelligence and Bliss. The Brâhmanas would daily worship Her and bow down before Her with greatest devotion and reverence. After the Dhyânam, first worship Her with five upachâras or offerings. Thus :--

Om lam prithivyâtmane gandham, arpayâmi namo namah.  Om Ham âkâs’âtmane puspam arpayâmi namo namah.  Om ram Vahnyâtmane dîpam arpayâmi namo namah.  Aum vam amritâtmane naivedyam arpayâmi namo namah. Om yam ram lam vam ham puspânjalim arpayâmi namo namah. Thus worshipping with five upachâras, you must shew Mudrâs to the Devî.

15-16. Then meditate on the Form of the Gâyatrî mentally and slowly repeat the Gâyatrî. Do not shake head, neck and while making japam, do not show your teeth. According to due rules repeat the Gâyatrî one hundred and eight times, or twenty-eight times. When unable, repeat ten times; not less than that.

17-20. Then raise the Gâyatrî placed before on the heart (seat) by the mantra “Gâyatrasyai kapadî Dvîpadî, etc., and then bid farewell to Her after bowing down to Her and repeating the mantra “Omuttame S’ikhare Devî bhûmyâm parvata mûrdhani Brâhmana ebhyobhya anujñâtâ Gachcha Devî yathâsukham” on the highest top of the mountain summit in earth (i.e., on the Meru mountain) dwells the goddess Gâyatrî. Being pleased with Thy worshippers go back, O Devî! to Thy abode as it pleaseth Thee.” (See page 110, The Daily Practices of the Hindus.)

The wise men never mutter nor recite the Gâyatrî mantra within the water. For the Maharsis say that the Gâyatrî is fire-faced (agnimukhî). After the farewell shew again the following mudrâs :-- Surabhi Jñân, Sûrpa, Kûrma, Yoni, Padma, Linga and Nirvâna Mudrâs.

Then address thus :-- “O Devî! O Thou who speakest pleasant to Kas’yapa! O Gâyatrî! Whatever syllables I have missed to utter in making Japam, whatever vowels and consonants are incorrectly pronounced, I ask Thy pardon for all my above faults.” O Nârada! Next one ought to give peace offerings to the Gâyatrî Devî.

21-33. The Chchhanda of Gâyatrî Tarpanam (peace offerings to Gâyatrî) is Gâyatrî; the Risi is Vis’vâmitra; Savitâ is the Devatâ; its application (Niyoga) is in the peace offerings.

“Om Bhûhrigvedapurusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Bhuvah Yajurvedapurusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Svah Sâmaveda purusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Mahah Atharvaveda purusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Janah Itihâsapurâna purusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Tapah Sarvâgama purusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Satyam Satyaloka purusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Bhûh bhûrloka purusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Bhuvah bhuvoloka purusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Svah svarloka purusam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Bhûh rekapadâm Gâyatrîm tarpayâmi.”

“Om Bhuvo dvîtîyapadâm Gâyatrîm tarpayâmi.”

“Om Svastripadâm Gâyatrim tarpayâmi.”

“Om Bhûrbhûvah Svas’chatuspadâm Gâyatrîm tarpayâmi.”

Pronouncing these, offer the Tarpanams. Next add the word Tarpayâmi to each of the following words “Ûsasîm, Gâyatrîm, Sâvitrîm, Sarasvatim Vedamâtaram, Prithvîm, Ajâm, Kaus’îkîm, Sâmkritîm, Savajitîm, etc.,” and offer Tarpanams. After the Tarpanam is over, offer the peace-chantings, (S’ântivâri) repeating the following mantras.

“Om Jâta vedase sunavâma romam, etc.”

“Om Mânastoka, etc.”

“Om Tryamvakam Yajâmahe, etc.”

“Om Tachchhamyoh, etc.”

Then touch all the parts of your bodies, repeating the two mantra, “Om atodeva, etc.” And reciting the mantram “Svonâ Prithivî,” bow down to the earth, after repeating one’s name, Gotra, etc.

34-45. O Nârada! Thus the rules of the morning Sandhyâ are prescribed. Doing works so far, bid farewell to the above-mentioned Gâyatrî. Next finishing the Agnihotra Homa sacrifice, worship the five Devatâs, S’ivâ, S’iva, Ganes’a, Sûrya and Visnu. Worship by the Purusa Sûkta mantra, or by Hrîm mantra, or by Vyahriti mantra or by S’rischate Laksmîs’cha, etc., place Bhavanî in the centre; Visnu in the north east corner, S’iva in the south-east corner; Ganes’a in the south-west corner, and the Sun in the north-west corner; and then worship them. While offering worship with the sixteen offerings, worship by repeating sixteen mantras. As there is no other act more merit-giving than the worship of the Devî, so the Devî should first of all be worshipped. Then worship in due order the five Devatâs placed in five positions. As the worship of the Devî is the chief object, so in the three Sandhyâs, the worship of the Sandhyâ Devî is approved of by the S’rutis. Never worship Visnu with rice; Ganes’a with Tulasî leaves; the Devî Durgâ with Durba grass and S’iva with Ketakî flower. The under-mentioned flowers are pleasing to the Devî :-- Mallikâ, Jâti, Kutaja, Panasa, Palâsa, Vakula, Lodha, Karavîra, S’ins’apa, Aparâjitâ, Bandhûka, Vaka, Madanta, Sindhuvâra, Palâs’a, Durbhâ, S’allakî, Mâdhavî, Arka, Mandâra, Ketakî, Karnikâra, Kadamba, Lotus, Champaka, Yûthikâ, Tagara, etc.

46-47. Offer incenses Guggul, Dhûpa and the light of the Til oil and finish the worship. Then repeat the principal (male) mantra (make Japam). Thus finishing the work, study the Vedas in the second quarter of the next day; and in the third quarter of that day feed father, mother and other dependent relatives, with money earned by one’s own self according to the traditions of one’s family.

Here ends the Seventeenth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the description of Sandhyâ and other daily practices in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 18. On The Greatness Of The Devî Pûjâ

1. Nârada spoke :-- “O Bhagavân! I am now very eager to hear the special Pûjâ of S’rî Devî. The people get their desires fulfilled if they worship Her.”

2-23. Nârâyana said :-- O Devarsi! I shall now specially speak to you how the World Mother Bhagavatî is worshipped; by worshipping Whom one easily gets objects of enjoyments, liberation and the destruction of all evils. Controlling one’s speech and making Âchaman, one must make one’s sankalpa and perform Bhûtas’uddhi, Mâtrikânyâsa, sadanganyâsa, placing conchshell and doing other necessary acts. Offering the ordinary Arghya, one should give special Arghya and with the mantra “Astrâya Phat” sprinkle over all the articles brought for worship. Taking the Guru’s permission, he is to go on with his Pûjâ. First worship the pîtha or seat whereon the Devî would be placed; then perform dhyân (meditation of the Devî). Then with great devotion, offer to the Deva, the seats (Âsana) and other articles of worship; then perform the bath of the Devî by the water of the Panchâmrita (the five nectars). If anybody performs the bath ceremony of S’rî Devî with one hundred jars of sugarcane juice, he will not have to incur any future birth.

He who performs this bath, and recites the Veda Mantras, with mango juice or sugarcane juice gets for ever Laksmî ever and ever and Sarasvatî bound at his doors. He who gets this sacred bath of the Devî with grape juice, along with his relatives and acquaintences dwells in the Devî-loka for as many years as there are atoms in the juice. He who bathes the Devî with the Vedic mantras, and with water scented with camphor, the fragrant aloe wood (aguru), saffron, and musk, becomes freed at once of the sins acquired in his hundred births. He who bathes the Devî with jars of milk, lives in the ocean of milk (ksîra samudra) for one Kalpa. So he who does this bathing ceremony with jars of curd, becomes the lord of Dadhikunda (the reservoir of curd). He who performs the Snânams of the Devî with honey, ghee and sugar becomes the lord of these things. He who bathes the Devî with one thousand jars, becomes happy in this world as in the next. Note :-- Make the liquid current flow pure in your body is the esoteric meaning of the bath. If you give Her a pair of silken clothes, you will go to the Vâyu-Loka. If you give Her the jewel ornaments, you will become the Lord of gems and jewels. (Make your mind like the gem.) If anybody gives saffron, sandalpaste, musk, Sindûra and Âlaktak (red things), he will go to the Heavens and become there the Indra, the Lord of the Devas, in the next birth. Various flowers ought to be offered in S’rî Bhagavatî’s worship; or the flowers of the season offered to the Devî will lead the devotee to Kailâs’a. The devotee that offers the beautiful Bel leaves to the Devî never experiences anywhere pains and difficulties. The devotee who writes the Vîja mantra of Mâyâ “Hrîm Bhuvanes’varyai Namah” with red sandalpaste thrice on the tri-leaves of the Vilva tree leaf and offers this to the lotus feet of the Devî, becomes Manu by the merit of this virtuous act! The devotee becomes the Lord of the whole universe who worships the Devî Bhagavatî with ten millions of entire Vilva leaves, fresh, green and spotless.

24-40. If any devotee worships with ten millions of entire fresh green Kunda flowers, with eight scents, he gets surely the Prajâpatihood. The worship of the Devî with ten millions of Mallikâ and Mâlatî flowers besmeared with eight scents makes a man the four faced (Brahmâ); and one hundred millions of such flowers will make the devotee a Visnu. In days of yore, Visnu worshipped the Devî in the aforesaid way and so got His Visnuhood. If any devotee worships the Devî with one hundred Kotis of Mallikâ or Mâlatî flowers, the man becomes certainly Sutrâtmâ Hiranyagarbha. In ancient days Hiranyagarbha worshipped thus the Devî with great devotion and so he became Hiranyagarbha! (These Hiranyagarbha, Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a were mere ordinary men before. See the Brihadâranyaka Upanisada). Note :-- The eight scents refer to Jatâ mamsî Kapiyutâ S’aktergandhâs takam! So will be the results if Javâ, Vandhûka and Dâdimî flowers be offered in the worship. Various other beautiful flowers can be offered duly to the Devî by the devotee. The merits accruing from such offers are not known even to the God Îs’vara. The flowers that spring in their proper seasons are to be offered every year to the Devî, repeating Her thousand names enumerated in the Twelfth Book or in the Kûrma Purâna. If the above worship be offered to the Devî, then that man, whether he be a sinner or a great sinner, will be freed from all the sins and after leaving his mortal coil, he will get, no doubt, the lotus feet of the S’rî Devî Bhagavatî. Offer Dhûpa made of black Aguru, camphor, sandalpaste, red sandalpaste, Sihlaka and Guggula, saturated with ghee in such a way as the whole room of S’rî Bhagavatî scents with pure fragrant smell. The Devî Bhagavatî becomes pleased with this and offers the lordship of the three Lokas to the devotee. The devotee, who offers daily the light of camphor to the Devî, goes to the Sûrya Loka. There is no doubt in this. With one’s whole heart, one should give one hundred or one thousand lights to the Devî. The devotee should offer heaps of food consisting of six Râsas, the plates and dishes for chewing, sucking, licking and drinking, that is, all kinds of food solid, and liquid, mountain-like high. Always give food on golden flat plates and cups and various delicious sweet juicy nice heavenly fruits, nicely arranged on trays, cups and saucers. When S’rî Mahâdevî Bhuvane’svarî gets pleased, the whole universe gets pleased. For the whole Universe is all Devî; as a rope is mistaken for a snake, so this Mahâdevî is mistaken for the universe.

41-59. Offer a jar of drinking Ganges water, cool and nice, scented with camphor to the Devî; then offer betels with camphor, cardamum, cloves, and various delicious scents. These all are to be offered with great devotion so that the Devî may be pleased. Next have music with lovely mridangas, flutes, murajas, Dhahkâs and dundubhis and so please Her. The Veda mantras are to be recited, the Purânas are to be read and the hymns to be chanted. With whole head and heart offer to the Devî the umbrella and châmara, the two kingly offerings. Then circumambulate round Her and prostrate before Her and ask Her kindness and pray to Her to forgive all faults and shortcomings. The Devî is pleased with anybody who remembers Her even once! What wonder then that She will be pleased with all these offerings! The Mother is naturally merciful to her child. When She is loved with devotion, then She becomes very merciful. There is nothing strange here! On this point I will recite to you the history of Vrihadratha Râjarsi. Hearing which gives rise to Bhakti and Love.

Once in a certain region in the Himâlayâs there lived a bird called Chakravâk. It flew over many countries and went once to Kâs’îdhâm. As a fruit of his Prârabdha Karma, that bird, desirous to find some rice beans, voluntarily went like an orphan round about the temple of S’rî Annapûrnâ Devî. There circumambulating round the Devî Bhagavatî the bird left the city Kâs’î, that grants liberation and flew away to another country. In time the bird left his body and went to Heavens. There he assumed a heavenly form of a youth and began to enjoy various pleasures. Thus he enjoyed for two Kalpas. Then he got back to the earth and took his birth as the best in the Ksattriya family. He became celebrated as the king Vrihadratha in this world. That King was truthful, controlled his senses, and practised S’amyama and deep concentration and knew everything of the past, the present and the future. He conquered all the enemies and performed various sacrifices and became the Emperor of the sea-girt earth and acquired the very rare faculty in the knowledge of everything of his previous births. The Munis came to know of this from various rumours and came to the King. The King Vrihadratha duly entertained those guests. The Munis took their seats and asked :-- “O King! We hear that all the events of previous births are vividly reflected in your memory. On this point great doubts have come upon us. Kindly describe in detail. By what Punyam (merits) you have come to know all about previous births and the knowledge of the past, the present and the future. We have come to you to know how you got this wonderful supersensual knowledge. Kindly say to us sincerely everything about this and oblige.”

60-71. Nârâyana said :-- O Brâhman! The very religious King Vrihadratha heard them and began to speak out all the secret causes for his knowledge of the past, the present and the future, thus :-- O Munis! Hear how I acquired this knowledge. In my previous birth I was a very low bird chakravâk. Once, out of my ignorance, I circumambulated round the temple of the Devî Bhagavatî Annapurnâ at Kâs’î. And, as the result of that, I lived in the Heavens for a period of two Kalpas and I have got this birth and I have got the knowledge of the past, the present and the future. O You of good vows! Who can ascertain what amount of merits accrues from remembering the Feet of the World-Mother. Remembering Her glories, I always shed tears of joy. Those who do not worship the adorable Deity Jagadambâ are the Great Sinners and they are treacherous. Fie on their births! The worship of S’iva or Visnu is not eternal. Only the Jagadambâ’s worship is eternal. Thus it is stated in the S’rutis. What more shall I speak on this worship of the World-Mother, which is void of the best trace of any doubt. Everyone ought to serve devotedly the lotus feet of the Devî Bhagavatî. There is no other act more glorious in this world than serving the feet of Jagadambâ. It is highly necessary to serve the Highest Deity, whether in Her Saguna or in Her Nirguna aspect. (Eat the sugarcandy, holding it in any way. It makes no difference.) Nârâyana said :-- Hearing the aforesaid words of the virtuous Râjarsi Vrihadratha, the Munis went back to their respective abodes. Such is the power of the Devî Jagadambikâ! So who can question about the certainty of the high merits arising from the Jagadambikâ’s worship and who will not reply, when so questioned? Their births are really fruitful who possess faith in the Devî worship; but of those who have no such faith, there is some wrong mixture, no doubt; in their births.

Here ends the Eighteenth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the Greatness of the Devî Pûjâ, in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 19. On The Midday Sandhyâ

1-24. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Now I am speaking of the auspicious midday Sandhyâ, the practice of which leads to the wonderfully excellent results. Listen. Here the Âchamana and other things are similar to those of the morning Sandhyâ. Only in meditation (Dhyânam) there is some difference. I will now speak of that. The name of the midday Gâyatrî is Sâvitrî. She is ever a youthful maiden, of white colour, three-eyed; She holds in Her one hand a rosary, in Her other hand a trident and with Her two other hands She makes signs to Her Bhaktas to dispel fear and to grant boons. Riding on the bull, She recites the Yayur Vedas; She is the Rudra S’akti with Tâmo gunas and She resides in Brahmaloka, She daily traverses in the path of the Sun. She is Mâyâ Devî, beginningless; I bow down to Her. After meditating on the Âdyâ Devî Bhagavatî perform Âchamanas and other things as in the morning Sandhyâ. Now, about the offering of Arghya (an offer of green grass, rice, etc., made in worshipping a God or Brâhman). Collect flowers for Arghya; in the absence of flowers, the Bael leaves and water will serve the purpose. Facing the Sun, and looking upwards, offer the Arghya to the Sun upwards. Then perform other acts as in the morning Sandhyâ. In midday, some offer Arghya to the Sun, only with the recitation of the Gâyatrî mantra. But that is not approved of by the tradition and community; there is the likelihood of the whole work being thwarted or rendered fruitless. For, in the morning and evening Sandhyâs, the Râksashas named the Mandehâs become ready to devour the Sun. This is stated in the S’rutis. Therefore the midday offering of the Arghya is not for the destruction of the Daityas but for the satisfaction of the Devî; so with the mantra “Âkrisnena, etc.,” the offering of Arghya can be effected; and the reciting of the infallible Gâyatrî mantra is only to create disturbance in the shape of thwarting the action. So in the morning and evening, the Brâhmana is to offer the Sûryârghya, repeating the Gâyatrî and Pranava; and in the midday to offer flowers and water with the mantra “Âkrisnena, rajasâ etc.,” else it will go against the S’ruti. In the absence of flowers, the Durba grass, etc., can be offered carefully as the Arghya; and the full fruits of the Sandhyâ will be secured. O Best of Devarsis! Now hear the important points in the Tarpanam (peace offerings). Thus :--

“Om Bhuvah purusam tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Yajurvedam tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Mandalam tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Hiranyagarbham tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om antarâtmânam tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Sâvitrîm tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Devamâtaram tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Sâmkritim tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Yuvatîm sandhyâm tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Rudrânîm tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Nîmrijâm tarpayâmi namo namah.”

“Om Bhurbhuvah Svah purusam tarpayâmi namo namah.”

Thus finish the midday Sandhyâ mga Tarpanam. Now, with your hands raised high up towards the Sun, worship Him by the two mantras, praising thus :--  “Om Udutyam Jâtavedasam, etc.,” “Om Chitram Devânâm, etc.” Next repeat the Gâyatrî. Hear its method. In the morning, repeat the Gâyatri at the proper moment with hands raised; in the evening time with hands lowered and in the midday with hands over the breast. Begin with the middle phalanx (joint) of the nameless finger, then the phalanx at its root, then the phalanx at the root of the little finger, its middle phalanx and its top, then the tops of the nameless, fore and ring fingers, then the middle and finally the root of the ring finger (in the direction of the hands of the watch; avoiding the middle and root phalanx of the middle finger). Thus ten times it is repeated. In this way if the Gâyatrî be repeated one thousand times, the sins arising from killing a cow, father, mother, from causing abortions, going to the wife of one’s Guru, stealing a Brâhmana’s property, a Brâhman’s field, drinking wine, etc., all are destroyed. Also the sins acquired in three births by mind, word, or by the enjoyments of sensual objects are thereby then and there instantly destroyed. All the labours of him, who works hard in the study of the Vedas without knowing the Gâyatrî, are useless. Therefore if you compare on the one hand the study of the four Vedas with the reciting of the Gâyatrî, then the Gâyatrî Japam stands higher. Thus I have spoken to you of the rules of the midday Sandhyâ. Now I am speaking of Brahmâ Yajñâ. Hear.

Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the midday Sandhyâ in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 20. On The Description Of Brahmâ Yajñâ, Sandhyâs, Etc.

1-25. The twice born (Brâhmana) is firstly to sip three times (make Âchamana); then to make the mârjana (sprinkle water) twice; he is to touch the water by the right hand and sprinkle water on his two feet. Next, he is to sprinkle with water his head, eyes, nose, ears, heart, and head thoroughly. Then speaking out the Des’a and Kâla (place and time) he should commence the Brahmâ Yajñâ. Next for the destruction of all the sins and for getting liberation, he should have the Darbha (sacrificial grass, and the Kus’a grasses), two on his right hand, three on his left hand, one grass each on his seat, sacrificial thread, his tuft, and his heels. No sin can now remain in his body.

“I am performing this Brahmâ Yajñâ for the satisfaction of the Devatâ according to the Sûtra,” thus thinking he is to repeat the Gâyatrî thrice. Then he is to recite the following mantras :-- “Agnimîle purohitam, etc.,” “Yadamgeti” “Agnirvai,” “Mahâvratanchaiva panthâ,” “Athâtah S’amhitâyâs’cha vidâmaghavat,” “Mahâvratasya,” “Îsetvorjetvâ,” “Agna âyâhi” “S’anno Devî rabbîstaye,” “Tasya Samâmnâyo” “Briddairâdaich” “S’iksâm pravaksyâmi,” “Pancha Samvatsareti,” “Mayarasatajabhetyeva,” “Gaurgmâ,” also he is to recite the two following Sûtras :-- “Athâto Dharma Jijñâsâ,” “Athâto Brahmâ Jijñâsa.” Next he is to recite the mantra “Tachhamyoh” and also the mantra “Namo Brâhmane namo stvagnaye namah prithivyai nama Osadhîbhyoh namah”. (These mantras are the famous mantras of the Rig Veda). Next perform the Deva-tarpanam, thus :-- “Om Prajâpati stripyatu”, “Om Brahmâ stripyatu”, “Om Vedâs tripyantu,” “Om Risayastri pyantu”, “ Om Devâstripantu,” “Om Sarvani chhandâmsi tripyantu”, “Om Om Kâra stripyatu”, “Om Vasat Kâra stripyatu”, “Om Vyârhitayas tripyantu”, Om Sâvitrî tripyatu”, “Om Gâyatrî tripyatu”, “Om Yajñâ stripyantu,” Om Dyâvâ prithivyau tripyatâm. Om antarîksam tripyatu, Om Ahorâtrâni tripyantu, Om Sâmkkyâ stripyantu, Om Siddhâ stripyantu, Om Samudrâ stripyantu, Om Nadyâs tripyantu, Om girayas tripyantu, Om Ksettraus adhivana spati gandharvâ Psarasas tripyantu, Om nâgâ vayâmsi gâvascha sâdhyâ viprâsta thaiva cha, yaksâ raksânsi bhutanî tyeva mantâni tripyantu. Next, suspending the sacrificial thread from the neck, perform the Risi tarpanam, thus :-- Om S’atarchinas tripyantu, Om mâdhyamâs tripyantu, Om Gritsamada stripyatu, Om Vis’vâmitra stripyantu, Om Vâmadeva stripyantu, Om Atri stripyatu, Om Bharadvâjastripyatu, Om Vas’isthastripyatu, Om Pragâthastripyatu, Pâvamânyastripyantu. Next, holding the sacrificial thread over the right shoulder and under the left arm, perform the Tarpanam, thus :--

Om Ksudrasûktâ stripyantu.

Om Mahâsûktâstripyantu.

Om Sanaka stripyatu.

Om Sananda stripyatu.

Om Sanâtana stripyatu.

Om Sanat Kumâra stripyatu.

Om Kapila stripyatu.

Om Âsuristripyatu,

Om Vohalistripyatu.

Om Pañchas’ikha stripyatu.

Om Sumantu Jaimini Vais’ampâyana Paila Sûtra Bhâsya bhârata Mahâ Bhârata Dharmâchâryah stripyantu.

Om Jânantîvâha vigârgya Gautama S’âkalya vâbhravya Mândavya Mândûkeyâ stripyantu.

Om Gârgî Vâchaknavî tripyatu.

Om Vadavâ prâtitheyî tripyatu.

Om Sulabhâ maitreyî tripyatu.

Om Kahola stripyatu.

Om Kausîtaka stripyatu.

Om Mahâ Kausitaka stripyatu.

Om Bhâradvâja stripyatu,

Om Paimga stripyatu.

Om Mahâpaimga stripyatu.

Om Sujajñâ stripyatu.

Om Sâmkhyâyana stripyatu.

Om Aitareya stripyatu.

Om Mahaitareya stripyatu.

Om Vâskala stripyatu.

Om Sâkala stripyatu.

Om Sujâta vaktra stripyatu.

Om Audavâhi stripyatu.

Om Saujâmi stripyatu,

Om S’aunaka stripyatu,

Om Âs’valâyana stripyatu.

26-54. Let all the other Âchâryas be satisfied. “Om Ye Ke châsmat kule Jâtâ aputrâ gotrino mritâh. te grihnantu mayâ dattam vastranispîdi to dakam.” Saying thus offer water squeezed out of a cloth. O Nârada! Thus I have spoken to you of the rules of Brahmâ Yajñâ. Whoever performs thus the Brahmâ Yajñâ gets the fruits of studying all the Vedas. Then performing, in due order, the Vais’va deva, Homa, S’râddha, serving the guests, and feeding the cows, the devotee is to take his meals during the fifth part of the day along with the other Brâhmanas. Then the sixth and the seventh parts of the day he is to spend in reading histories and the Purânas. Then the eighth part of the day he is to devote in seeing the relatives, talking with them and receiving visits from other persons; then he will be prepared to perform the evening Sandhyâ. O Nârada! I am now talking of the evening Sandhyâ. Listen. S’rî Bhagavatî is pleased very quickly with him who performs the evening Sandhyâ. First make the Âchaman and make the Vâyu (air) in the body steady. With heart tranquilled and with the seat Baddha Padmâsana, be calm and quiet while engaged in performing the Sandhyâ. At the commencement of all actions prescribed in the S’rutis and Smritis, first perform the Sagarbha Prânâyama. In other words recite the mantra mentally for the due number of moments and make the Prânâyama. Simply meditating is called Agarbha Prânâyama. Here no mantra is necessary to be recited. Then have the Bhutas’uddhi (have the purifications of the elements) and make the Sankalpa. First of all, the purification of elements, etc., are to be done first; one becomes, then, entitled to do other actions. While doing Pûraka (inhaling), Kumbhaka (retaining) and Rechaka (exhaling) in Pranâyâma, meditate on the Deity stated duly. In the evening time meditate on the Bhagavatî Sandhyâ Devî thus :-- The name of the then Gâyatrî Devî is Sarasvatî. She is old, of black colour, wearing ordinary clothes; in her hands are seen conch shell, disc, club and lotus. On Her feet the anklets are making sweet tinkling sounds; on Her loins there is the golden thread; decked with various ornaments. She is sitting on Garuda. On Her head the invaluable jewel crown is seen; on Her neck, the necklaces of stars; Her forehead is shining with a brilliant lustre emitting from the pearl and jewel Tâtamka ornaments. She has put on yellow clothes; Her nature is eternal knowledge and ever-bliss. She is uttering Sâma Veda. She resides in the Heavens and daily She goes in the path of the Sun. I invoke the Devî from the Solar Orb. O Nârada! Meditate on the Devî thus and perform the Sandhyâ. Then perform the Mârjanam by the mantra “Âpohisthâ” and next by the mantra  “Agnis’cha mâ manyus’cha.” The remaining actions are the same as before. Next, repeat the Gâyatrî and offer, with a pure heart, the offering of Arghya to the Sun for the satisfaction of Nârâyana. While offering this Arghya, keep the two legs level and similar and take water in folded palms and meditating on the Devatâ within the Solar Orb, throw it towards Him. The fool that offers Sûryârghya in the water, out of ignorance, disregarding the injunctions of the S’rutis, will have to perform Prâyas’chitta for that sin. Next, worship the Sun by the Sûrya mantra. Then taking one’s seat, meditate on the Devî and repeat the Gâyatrî. One thousand times or five hundred times the Gâyatrî is to be repeated. The worship, etc., in the evening is the same as in the morning. Now I am speaking of the Tarpanam in the Evening Sandhyâ. Hear. Vas’istha is the Risi of the aforesaid Sarasvatî. Visnu in the form of Sarasvatî is the Devatâ; Gâyatrî is the Chhanda; its application is in the Evening Sandhyâ Tarpanam. Now the Tarpanam of the Sandhyânga (the adjunct of Sandhyâ) runs as follows :--

“Om Svah Purusam Tarpayâmi.”

“Om Sâmavedam Tarpayâmi.”

“Om Sûryamandalam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Hiranyagarbham tarpayâmi.”

“Om Paramâtmânam tarpayâmi.”

“Om Sarasvatîm tarpayâmi.”

“Om Devamâtaram tarpayâmi.”

“Om Samkritim tarpayâmi.”

“Om Vriddhâm Sandhyâm tarpayâmi

“Om Visnu rûpinîm Usasîm tarpayâmi.”

“Om Nirmrijîm tarpayâmi.”

“Om Sarvasiddhi kârinîm tarpayâmi.”

“Om Sarvamantrâ dhipatikâm tarpayami.”

“Om Bhurbhuvah Svah Purusam tarpayâmi.”

Thus perform the Vaidik Tarpanam. O Nârada! Thus have been described the rules of the sin destroying evening Sandhyâ. By this evening Sandhyâ, all sorts of pains and afflictions and diseases are removed. And ultimately the Moksa is obtained. What more than this that you should know this Sandhyâ Bandanam as the principal thing amongst the good conduct and right ways of living. Therefore S’rî Bhagavatî fructifies all the desires of the Bhaktas who perform this Sandhyâ Vandanam.

Here ends the Twentieth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the description of Brahmâ Yajñâ, Sandhyâs, etc., in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 21. On Gâyatrî Puras’charanam

1-55. Nârâyana said :-- Now I shall speak of the Gâyatrî-puras’charanam. Hear. By its performance all the desires are obtained and all the sins are destroyed. On the tops of mountains, on the banks of the rivers, on the roots of Bel trees, on the edges of tanks, within the enclosures of the cows (cow-stalls), in temples, on the root of As’vattha trees, in gardens, in the Tulasî groves, in the Punya Ksetrams (holy places), before one’s Guru, or wherever the mind feels exalted and cheerful, and gets strength, the Puras’charanam if performed, lead to a speedy success. Before commencing the Puras’charanam of a mantra (the Puras’charanam means repetition of the name of a deity or of a mantra attended with burnt offerings, oblations, etc.,) first Prâyas’chitta (penance) is done in the shape of repeating one million times the Gâyatrî with the Vyârhitis. In any Vaidic Karma or in making Puras’charanam of the mantra of the Devatâs Nrisinha, Sûrya, Varâha, etc., the first thing done is to repeat the Gâyatrî. Without the japam of Gâyatrî, no action is attended with success. The reason is this :-- Every Brâhman is a S’âkta (a follower of S’akti); he cannot be a Vaisnava or S’aiva; for he is the worshipper of the Prime Force Vedamâtâ Gâyatrî. Therefore obtain first the Grace of one’s own Îsta Devatâ Gâyatrî by Her Japam. Then worship the other Deities.

Thus one should purify one’s jâpya mantra (the mantra that is to be repeated) by first repeating one million times the Gâyatrî; then one is to commence Puras’charanam. Again before purifying the mantra, one is to purify one’s Âtman (Self). In this purification of one’s Âtman three lakh times, in case of inability, one lakh times Gâyatrî is to be repeated without one’s Âtman’s purification, the Japam, Homa and other actions all become useless. This is specially noted in the Vedas. By Tapas e.g., Japam, Chândrâyana and Vrata, (asceticism) mortify your body. By offering Tarpanam (peace-offerings) to the Fathers and the Devas, one can get self purification. If you want to get the Heavens and if you want to become great, practise Tapasyâ. There is no other way. Tapasyâ is the intent calling of the Mother, That Call which penetrates through and through the Brahmânda. The Ksattriyas should cross difficulties and dangers by force of arms; the Vais’yas, by wealth; the S’ûdras, by serving the twice born; and the Brâhmanas should cross difficulties and dangers, by Tapasyâ, Homa, Japam, etc. So the Brâhmanas should always be cheerful and in prompt readiness to do Tapasyâ. Of all sorts of tapasyâs, mortifying the body by observing vows and fastings is the best. So say the Risis. (This mortification of the body gives self-reliance and self intuition more surely and speedily than all the other studies and other practices.) The Brâhmanas should purify themselves by following duly Krichhra Chândrâyana vratas, etc., O Nârada! Now I am speaking of the purification of food. Hear. The following four occupations of the Brâhmanas are the best :-- Ayâchita, (without begging or asking for anything), Unchha, (the gathering in of handfuls of the corn left by the reapers), S’ukla (the maintenance derived by a Brâhmana from other Brâhmanas; a pure mode of life). And Bhiksû (begging). Whether according to the Tantras or according to the Vedas, the food obtained by the above four means is pure. What is earned by Bhiksâ (begging) is divided into four parts :-- one part is given to the Brâhmanas; the second part is given to the cows; the third part is given to the guests, the fourth part is to be taken by him and his wife. Whatever is fixed for taking (swallowing) mouthfuls of food, that is to be taken on a tray or a platter. First throw a little cow-urine over that and count duly the number of mouthfuls. The mouthfuls are to be of the size of an egg; the house-holders are to take eight such mouthfuls and the Vânaprasthîs are to take four such mouthfuls. The Brahmachârins can sprinkle their food with cow-urine nine times, six times, or three times as they like; while sprinkling, the fingers are to remain intact. The Gâyatrî is to be repeated also. The food offered by a thief, Chândâla, Ksattriya or Vais’ya is very inferior. The food of a S’ûdra, or the companion with a S’ûdra or taking food in the same line with a S’ûdra leads one to suffer in the terrible hells as long as there are the Sun and Moon. The Puras’charanam of Gâyatrî is repeating this twenty four lakh times (i.e., as many lakh times as there are syllables in the Gâyatrî). But, according to Vis’vâmitra, repeating thirty two lakh times is the Puras’charanam of Gâyatrî. As the body becomes useless when the soul leaves the body, so the mantra without Puras’charanam is useless. The Puras’charanam is prohibited in the months of Jyaistha, Âsâdha, Pausa and Mala (dirty) months. Also on Tuesday, Saturday; in the Vyatîpâta and Vaidhriti Yogas; also in Astamî (eighth), Navamî (ninth), Sasthî (sixth), Chaturthî (fourth) Trayodas’î (thirteenth), Chaturdasî (fourteenth) and Amâvâsyâ (New Moon), Tithis (lunar days); in the evening twilight and in the night; while the star Bharanî, Krittikâ, Ârdrâ, As’lesâ, Jyesthâ, Dhanisthâ, S’ravanâ, or the Janma naksatra (Birth time star) is with the Moon; while the signs Mesa, Karkata, Tulâ, Kumbha, and Makara are the Lagnas (signs in the ascendant). When the moon and the start are auspicious, especially in the bright fortnight, the Puras’charanam performed, gives the Mantra Siddhi. First of all repeat Svasti vâchan and perform duly the Nândi mukha S’raddha and give food and clothing to the Brâhmanas. Take the permission of the Brâhmanas and begin the Puras’charanam. Where the S’iva Lingam exists, facing west, or in any S’iva temple, commence repeating the mantra. The other S’iva Ksettrams are :-- Kâs’î, Kedâra, Mahâ Kâla, S’rî Ksettra, and Tryamvakam. These five are the Great Ksettrams, known widely on this earth, for the fructification and the siddhis of the Mantras. At all other places than these, the Karma Chakra is to be drawn according to the principles of the Tantra. And then they will be fit for Puras’charanam. The number of times that the Puras’charanam (the repeating of the mantra) is done on the first day, the same number is to be continued every day until completion; not greater nor less than that and also no intermission or stoppage should occur in the interval.

The repeating of the Mantra is to be commenced in the morning and should be done up to midday. While doing this, the mind is to be kept free from other subjects, and it is to be kept pure; one is to meditate on one’s own Deity and on the meaning of the mantra and one should be particularly careful that no inaccuracies nor omissions should occur in the Gâyatrî, Chhandas and in the repetition of the Mantra. One tenth of the total number of Puras’charanams that are repeated is to be used for the Homa purpose. The Charu is to be prepared with ghee, til, the Bel leaves, flowers, jaya grain, honey and sugar; all mixed, are to be offered as oblations to the fire in the Homa. Then the success in the Mantra comes (i.e., mantra siddhi is obtained or the Mantra becomes manifested). After the Puras’charanam one should do properly the daily and occasional duties and worship the Gâyatrî that brings in dharma, wealth, objects of desire and liberation. There is nothing superior an object of worship to this Gâyatrî, whether in this world or in the next. The devotee, engaged in the Puras’charanam, should eat moderately, observe silence, bathe thrice in the three Sandhyâ times, should be engaged in worshipping one’s Deity, should not he unmindful and should not do any other work. He is to remain, while in water, to repeat the Gâyatrî three lakhs of times. In case the devotee repeats the mantra for achieving success in any other desired work (kâmya karma), then he should willingly stick to it until the desired success is attained. Now is being told how to get success in ordinary Kâmya karmas. When the sun is rising, repeat the Purascharanam mantra daily thousand times. Then one’s life will be lengthened, no disease will occur, and wealth and prosperity will be obtained. If it be done this way, success is surely attained within three months, six months or at the end of one year. If the Homa (offering oblations to the fire) be offered one lakh times with lotuses besmeared with ghee (clarified butter), Moksa (liberation) is attained. If, before the Mantra-Siddhi, or the success in realising the Mantra, is attained, one performs Japam or Homam for Kâmya Siddhi (to get certain desires) or moksa, then all his actions become useless. If anybody performs twenty-five lakh Homas by curd and milk, be gets success (Siddhi) in this very birth. So all the Maharsis say. By this the same result is attained that is got by the aforesaid means, i.e., by the eight-limbed Yoga, whereby the Yogis become perfect.

He will attain Siddhi if he be devoted to his Guru and keep himself under restraint for six months only (i.e., practise Samyama) as regards taking food, etc., whether he be incapable or his mind be attached to other sensual objects. One should drink Pañcha gavya (cow-urine, cow-dung, milk, curd, ghee) one day, fast one day, take Brâhmana’s food one day and be mindful in repeating the Gâyatrî. First bathe in the Ganges or in other sacred places and while in water repeat one hundred Gâyatrîs. If one drinks water on which one hundred Gâyatrîs are repeated, one is freed from all one’s sins. He gets the fruit of performing the Krichhra vrata, the Chândrâyana vrata and others. Be he a Ksattriya King, or a Brâhmana, if he is to remain in his own house, hold Âs’rama and be engaged in performing Tapasyâ then he will be certainly freed of all his sins. Be he a house holder or a Brahmachârî or Vânaprasthî, he should perform sacrifices, etc., according to his Adhikâra (or his rights) and he will get fruits according to his desires. The Sâgnik man (who keeps the Holy Fire) and other persons of good conduct and of learning and of good education should perform actions as prescribed in the Vedas and Smritis with a desire to attain Moksa. Thus one should eat fruits and vegetables and and water or take eight mouthfuls of Bhiksânna (the food got by begging). If the Puras’charanam be performed this way, then the Mantra Siddhi is obtained. O Nârada ! If the Puras’charanam be done with the mantra thus, his poverty is removed entirely. What more shall I say than this that if anybody hears this simply, his merits get increased and he attains great success.

Here ends the Twenty First Chapter of the Eleventh Book on Gâyatrî Puras’charanam in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devi Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 22. On The Rules Of Vais’vadeva

1-45. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! In connection with this Puras’charanam it comes now to my memory about the rules concerning the Vais’va Deva worship (An offering made to the Vis’vadevâs; an offering to all deities made by presenting oblations to fire before meals). Hear. The five yajñâs are the following :-- (1) The Devayajñâ, (2) Brahmâ yajñâ, (3) Bhûta yajñâ, (4) Pitri yajñâ, and (5) Manusya yajñâ. Fireplace, the pair of stone pestles, brooms (for sweeping, etc.), sieves and other house-hold things of the sort, wooden mortars (used for cleansing grains from husk) and water-jars, these five are the sources of evils inasmuch as they are the means of killing. So to free one’s self from the above sins, one is to sacrifice before the Vais’vadeva. Never offer oblations of Vais’vadeva on hearths, on any iron vessel, on the ground or on broken tiles. They are to be offered in any sacrificial pit (Kunda) or on any sacrificial altar. Do not fire the hearth by fanning with hands, with winnowing baskets, or with holy deer skin, etc., but you can do so by blowing by your mouth. For the mouth is the origin of fire. If the fire be ignited by clothes, one is liable to get disease; if by winnowing baskets, then less of wealth comes; if by hands, one’s death ensues. But if it be done by blowing, then one’s success comes. (There is the danger of catching fire.)

One should sacrifice with curd, ghee, fruits, roots and vegetables, and water and in their absence with fuel, grass, etc., or with any other substances soaked with ghee, curd, Pâyasa or lastly with water. But never with oil or with salty substances. If one performs the Homa with dry or stale substances, one is attacked with leprosy; if anybody performs Homa with leavings of other food he becomes subdued by his enemy; if one does so with rude and harsh substances, he becomes poor and if one does with salty substances, he meets with a downward course, gets degraded in position and honour. You can offer oblations to Vais’vadeva with burning coals and ashes from the north side of the fire of the hearth after the preparation of the meals. But you should never offer sacrifices with salty things. The illiterate Brâhmana who eats before offering oblations to Vais’vadeva goes headlong downwards into the Kâla Sûtra hell. Whatever food that you are intending to prepare, whether they be vegetables, leaves, roots or fruits, offer oblations to Vais’vadeva with that if, before the Homa be performed of Vais’vadeva, any Brahmachârî comes, then take off, for the Homa, first something; and then give to the beggar and satisfy him and tell him to be off. For the Brahmâchârî mendicant can remove any defects that may occur to Vais’vadeva but Vais’vadeva is unable to remove any defects that may occur regarding the mendicant Brahmachârî. Both the Paramahansa or Brahmachârî mendicant are the masters of the prepared food (Pakkânna); so when anybody takes one’s food without giving to any of these two, if they happen to come there, he will have to make the Chândrâyana (religious or expiatory penance regulated by the moon’s age, that is, waxing or waning). O Nârada! After the offering given to Vais’vanara, one is to offer Gogrâsa, that is, mouthfuls of food to the cows. Hear now how that is done. The mother Surabhi, the beloved of Visnu, is always stationed in the region of Visnu (Visnupada); so O Surabhi! I am offering you mouthfuls of food. Accept it. “Salutation to the cows,” saying this, one is to worship the cows and offer food to them. Hereby Surabhi, the Mother of the cows, becomes pleased. After this, one is to wait outside for a period that is taken to milch a cow, whether any guests are coming. For if any guest goes back disappointed from any house without any food; he takes away all the punyams (merits) of the house-holder and gives him back his own sin. The house-holder is to support mother, father, Guru, brother, son, servants, dependants, guests, those that have come, and Agni (Fire). Knowing all these, he who does not perform the functions of the house-hold is reckoned as fallen from his Dharma both in this world and in the next. The poor house-holder gets the same fruit by performing these five Mahâ jajñâs that a rich Brâhmana gets by performing the Soma Yajñâ. O Best of the Munis! Now I am talking of the Prânâgni Hotra or about taking food, knowing the rules of which makes a man free from birth, old age and death and from all sorts of sins. He who takes his food according to proper rules, is freed of the threefold debts, delivers his twenty one generations from the hells, obtains the fruits of all the Yajñâs and goes unhampered to all the regions of the righteous. Think of the belly as Arani or the piece of wood for kindling the fire

(by attrition), think of the mind as the churning rod, and think of the wind as the rope, and then kindle the fire, residing in the belly; the eyes are to be considered as the sacrificer,  (the Addharyu), and consider fire in the belly as the result of churning. In this fire of the belly, one is to offer oblations for the satisfaction of Prâna, etc., the five deities. First of all offer oblations to the Prâna Vâyu with food taken by the forefinger, middlefinger and thumb; next offer oblations to the Apâna Vâyu with the thumb, middle finger and the nameless (anâmâ) finger; next offer oblations to the Vyâna Vâyu (breath) with the thumb, nameless finger and the little finger; next offer oblations to the Udâna Vâyu with the thumb, forefinger and the little finger and lastly offer oblations to the Samâna Vâyu with food taken by all the fingers. At the same time repeat respectively the mantras :--

“Om Prânâya Svâhâ,”

“Om Apânâya Svâhâ,”

“Om Samânâya Svâhâ,”

“Om Udânâya Svâhâ,”

“Om Vyânâya Svâhâ.”

Within the mouth, there is the Âhavanîya fire; within the heart, there is the Gârhapatya fire; in the navel, there is the Dhaksinâgni fire; below the navel, there is the Sabhyâgni fire and below that there is the Âvasathyâgni fire. Think thus. Next consider the Speech as the Hotâ, the Prâna as the Udgâthâ, the eyes as the Addharyu, the mind as the Brahmâ, the ears as the Hotâ and the keeper of the Agni, the Ahamkâra (egoism) as beast (Pas’u), Om Kâra as water, the Buddhi (intellect) of the house-holder as the legal wife, the heart as the sacrificial altar, the hairs and pores as the Kus’a grass, and the two hands as the sacrificial ladles and spoons (Sruk and Sruva.) Then think of the colour of the Prâna mantra as golden the fire of hunger as the Risi (seer), Sûrya (the sun) as Devatâ, the chhandas as Gâyatrî and Prânâya Svâhâ as the Mantra uttered; also repeat “Idamâdityadevâya namah” and offer oblations to the Prâna. The colour of the Apâna mantra is milk white. S’raddhâgni is the Risi, the Moon is the Devatâ, Usnik is the chhandas, and “Apânâya Svâhâ,” “Idam Somâya na namah” are the mantras. The colour of the Vyâna mantra is red like red lotuses; the fire Deity Hutâsana is the Risi, the fire is the Devatâ; Anustup is the chhandas, “Vyânâya Svâhâ” and “Idamagnaye na namah” are the mantras. The colour of the Udâna mantra is like that of the worm Indra Gopa; fire is the Risi; Vâyu is the Devatâ, Brihatî is the chhandas; “Udânâya Svâhâ’’ and “Idam Vâyave na namah” are the mantras. The colour of the Samâna mantra is like lightning; Agni is the Risi; Parjanya (the rains, water) is the Devatâ; Pankti is the chhanda; “Samânâya Svâhâ” and “Idam Parjanyâya na namah” are the mantras. O Nârada! Thus offering the five oblations to the five breaths, next offer oblations to the Âtman; the Bhîsana Vahni is the Risi; the Gâyatrî is the chhanda; the Self is the Devatâ; “Âtmane Svâhâ,” and “Idamâtmane na namah” are the mantras. O Nârada! He who knows this Homa of Prânâgnihotra attains the state of Brahmâ. Thus I have spoken to you in brief the rules of the Prânâgni hotra Homa.

Here ends the Twenty-Second Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the rules of Vais’vadeva in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 23. On The Tapta Krichchhra Vrata And Others

1-20. Nârâyana said :-- The best Sâdhaka, then uttering after his meals, the mantra “Amritâpidhânamasi.” (O Water-nectar! Let Thou be the covering to the food that I have taken), should make Âchaman (sip one Gandusa water) and distribute the remnant food (the leavings) to those who take the leavings. “Let the servants and maid-servants of our family that expect the leavings of food be satisfied with what leavings I give to them.” “Let those inhabitants of the Raurava hell or other unholy places who have remained there for a Padma or Arbuda years and want to drink water, be satisfied with this water that I offer to them and let this water bring unending happiness to them.” Repeating the above two mantras let the house-holder distribute the leavings of food to the servants and the water to those who want water respectively. Then opening the knot of the Pavitra (a ring of Kus’a grass worn on the fourth finger on certain religious occasions), let him throw this on the square mandalam or the ground. The Brâhmana that throws this Kus’a grass on the vessel (Pâtra) is said to defile the vow of Brâhmanas, taking their food. The Brâhmana that has not yet washed his face after taking the food, or touching another such Brâhmana or a dog, or a S’ûdra, should fast one day and then drink Pañchagabya and thus purify himself. And in case the Uchchista Brâhmin (who has not washed his mouth and hands after meals) be touched by another Brâhmin, who is not Uchchista, then simply bathing will purify him. By offering this Ekâhuti (oblation once) according to rules mentioned above, one obtains the fruit of performing ten million sacrifices; and by offering this oblation five times one gets the endless fruit, of performing fifty million sacrifices, and if one feeds such a man who knows well how to do this Prânâgnihoma, then he as well as he whom he feeds both derive full benefits and they ultimately go to heaven. The Brâhmana acquires while taking each of his mouthful of food the fruit of eating Pañchagavya, who takes his food duly with the holy Pavitra Kus’a grass tied on his finger. During the three times of worship, the devotee is to do his daily Japam, Tarpanam and Homa and he should feed the Brâhmins. Thus the five limbed Puras’charana is completely done. The religious man should sleep on a low bedding (lie on the ground); he is to control his senses and anger; he is to eat moderately, the things that are light, sweet and good; he is to be humble, peaceful and calm. He is to bathe thrice daily and not to hold any unholy conversation with any woman, a S’ûdra, one who is fallen, without any initiation, and who is an atheist; as well he should not speak in a language spoken by the chândâlas. One is to bow down before him who is in the act of performing the Japam, Homa and worship, etc; one is not to talk with him. Never by deed, mind or word, on all occasions never speak about sexual intercourses; nor hold any contact with such people. For the relinquishment of this subject is called Brahmacharyam (continence) of the kings as well as of the house-holders. But one should go to one’s legal wife during the night time after her menstruation duly according to the rules of the S’âstras; the Brahmacharyam is not thereby destroyed. Man cannot repay the three-fold debts and he cannot aspire for moksa without procreating sons or without doing the duties of the house-holders, as prescribed by the S’âstras. An attempt to do so becomes entirely fruitless like the breast on the neck of a goat. Rather it drags one downward. So the S’rutis say. So let yourself be free first from the debts due to the Devas, the debts due to the Risis and the debts due to the Pitris. Make sacrifices first and then be free from the Devas’ debt. Hold Brahmacharyam and be free from the Risis’ debt. Offer til and water; that is, do S’râddhas and tarpanams and be free from the debt due to the Pitris. Then do readily practise your own Varnas’rama Dharma.

21-33. One is to practise Krichchra chândrâ yana Vrata and to take for his food, milk, fruits, roots and vegetables, Habisyannam and food obtained by begging so that one may become sinless. One is to make japam for Puras’charanam. One is to avoid salt, salty or alkaline substances, acid, garlic, turnips, eating in Kâmsa vessels, chewing betels, eating twice, putting on impure clothings, the intoxicating things and the unsâstric nocturnal japam; also one is not to waste one’s time over blaming and trying to find faults with the relatives, playing at dice, or talking at random with one’s wife (so that evil effects may arise). One is to spend one’s time in worshipping the Devas, reciting the hymns of praise, and studying the S’âstras. One is to sleep on the ground, practise Brahmacharyam, and the vow of silence, bathe thrice, not practise anything which befits the S’ûdras only. One is to worship everyday, make charities duly and be always happy, recite stotras daily, do occasional Deva worships, have faith in one’s Guru and Deva. These twelve rules are to ensure success to the devotee who does Puras’charanam. One is to daily praise the Sun, with one’s face turned towards Him, do japam before Him; or one is to worship one’s own Deity in front of fire or the image of any god, and do japam simultaneously. The devotee who practises Puras’charanam is to bathe, worship, do japam, meditate, practise Homa, Tarpanam, is to have no desires and to surrender all fruits to one’s own desired Deity, etc. These are necessarily to be observed by him. Therefore while doing japam, Homa, etc., the devotee’s mind is to remain always pleasant and satisfied. One should be ready to practise tapasyâ, to see the S’âstras and be merciful to all the beings. As asceticism leads one to to heaven and to the attainment of one’s desires, therefore know this that all the powers come to an ascetic. An ascetic can cause another’s death (mâran); he can injure others, cure diseases and kill all. Whatever the several Risis wanted from the Devî Gâyatrî and to that end made Puras’charanam and worshipped Her, they obtained from Her all those things. O Nârada! I will speak of S’ânti Karmas etc., in a future chapter. Here I will speak of those rules, etc., that are to be observed in Puras’charanam in as much as they play the principal part to success.

First of all shave yourself and have your hairs and nails, etc., cut off and bathe and be pure. Then perform the Prâjâpatya prâyas’chitta for one’s peace and purification and next do the puras’charanam of the Gâyatrî. Do not speak the whole day and night. Keep your thoughts pure. If words are to be spoken, speak only what you take as true. First recite Mahâvyârhiti and then the Sâvitrî mantra with Pranava prefixed. Then recite the sin-destroying mantra “Âpohisthâ, etc.,” and Svasti matî Sûkta and “Pâvamânî Sûkta.” In every action, in its beginning and at its end one is to understand the necessity of doing the Japam, why and what for one is doing that.

One is to repeat the Pranava, the three Vyârhitis and Sâvitrî ayuta times or one thousand times or one hundred times or ten times. Then offer with water, the peace offerings (tarpanam) to the Âchârya, Risi, Chhandas, and the Devas. Being engaged in action, do not speak any impure language of the Mlechchhas or talk with any S’ûdra or any bad person. Do not talk with wife in the period of menstruation, with one who has fallen, with the low-class person, with any hater of the Devas and the Brâhmanas, Âchâryas and Gurus, with those who blame the fathers and mothers; nor show any disrespect to anybody. Thus I have spoken in due order about all the rules of Krichchhra vrata. Now I will speak of the rules of the Prâjâpatya Krichchhra, S’ântapana, Parâka Krichchhra and Chândrâyana.

34-54. One becomes freed of all the sins, if one performs the above five Chândrâyanas. By the performance of the Tapta Krichchhra, all sins are burnt off in an instant. By the performance of the three Chândrâyanas the people get purified and go to the Brahma Loka. By doing eight Chândrâyanas, one sees face to face one’s Devatâ, ready to grant boons. With ten Chândrâyanas, one gets the knowledge of the Vedas and one acquires all what one wants.

In the observance of the Krichchhra Prâjâpatya Vrata, one has to take food once in midday for three days, once in the evening for three days, and for the next three days whatever one gets without asking anything from anybody. For the next three days one is not to take any thing at all and go on with one’s work. These twelve days’ work constitutes the Prâjâpatya Vrata.

Now about the rules of the S’ântapana Vrata. On the preceding day one has got to eat food consisting of the mixture of cow urine, cow-dung milk, curd, ghee and the water of the Kus’a grass; the day following he is to fast. These two days’ work constitutes the S’ântapana Vrata.

Now about the Ati Krichchhra vrata. For the first three days, one is to eat one mouthful of food a day and for the next three days one is to fast. This is the Ati Krichchhra vrata. This vrata repeated three times is called Mahâ S’ântapana vrata. Note :-- According to the opinion of Yama, the fifteen days’ work constitutes Mahâ S’ântapana. For the three days one has to eat cow-urine; for the next three days, cow-dung, for the next three days, curd; for the next three days milk; and for the next three days one has to take ghee. Then one becomes pure. This is called the all sin-destroying Mahâ S’ântapan Vrata. Now I am speaking of the nature of the Tapta Krichchhra Vrata.

The Tapta Krichchhra vrata is carried out for the twelve days. For the first three days, one has to drink hot water; for the next three days, hot milk; for the next three days, the hot ghee and for the next three days, air only. Everyday one has to bathe once only under the above rules, and remain self-controlled. If one drinks water simply everyday under the above conditions, that is called the Prâjâpatya vrata.

To remain without any food for twelve days according to rules is called the Parâka Krichchhra vrata. By this vrata, all sins are destroyed.

Now about the rules of taking food in the Chândrâyana vrata. In the dark fortnight one will have to decrease one mouthful of food every day and in the bright fortnight one will have to increase one mouthful every day and one has to fast completely on the Amâvasyâ (new moon) day. One has to bathe thrice daily during every Sandhyâ time. This is known as the Chândrâyana Vrata.

In the S’is’u Chândrâyana Vrata one will have to take four mouthfuls of food in the midday and four mouthfuls in the evening. In the Yati Chândrâyana one has to take eight mouthfuls in the midday and to control his passions.

55. These abovementioned vratas are observed by the Rudras, Âdityas, Vâsus, and Maruts; and they are enjoying thereby their full safety.

Each of the above vratas purifies the seven Dhâtus of the body in seven nights simply! First skin, then blood, then flesh, bones, sinews, marrows and semen are purified. There is no doubt in this. Thus purifying the Âtman by the above vratas, one is to do religious actions. The work done by such a purified man is sure to be met with success. First control the senses, be pure and do good actions. Then all your desires will be undoubtedly fructified. Fast for three nights, without doing any actions and see the result. (You will not do anything and you want self control! Is this a child’s play?) Perform for three days the nocturnal vratas. Then proceed with your desired duties. If one works according to these methods, one gets the fruits of Puras’charanam. O Nârada! By the Puras’charanam of S’rî Gâyatrî Devî all desires are fulfilled and all sins are destroyed. Before doing Puras’charanam purify your body by performing the above vratas. Then you will get all your desires completely fulfilled. O Nârada! Thus I have spoken to you of the secret rules of Puras’charanam. Never disclose this to any other body. For it is recognised equivalent to the Vedas.

Here ends the Twenty-third Chapter of the Eleventh Book on the Tapta Krichchhra vrata and others in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 24. On Sadâchâra

1. Nârada said :-- O Bhagavân! Thou art the ocean of mercy; kindly speak out to me in brief all the things and the duties to be observed and applied in the S’ânti Karmas (the peace bringing acts) of Gâyatrî.

2-20. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! The question asked by you is esoteric. Never divulge this to a wicked person or any hypocrite. It is to be kept secret. While doing this S’ânti Karma, the Brâhmanas are to perform the Homas with fuel soaked in milk (Payah). If the fuel of the S’amî tree be offered in Homa ceremony, then diseases caused by planets are cured. If the Homa be performed with wet As’vaththa or Udumbara or other ksîra trees, the diseases caused by demons and hob-goblins are cured. If one offers Tarpanam with one palmful of water, repeating the mantra “Sûryam Tarpayâmi namah”, the pending evils are also averted and troubles are ceased. The repetition of the Gâyatrî mantra with knees immersed in water averts all evils. The repetition of Gâyatrî with body immersed in water upto the throat, averts the danger of life; and the same with whole body immersed grants all success. This is the best of all the S’ânti karmas, the acts that bring health, wealth, happiness and peace. While performing Homa, light with the fuel of Ksîravriksa (the trees that emit milky juice); place Pañchagavya in a vessel made of gold, silver, copper or wood of ksîra trees, or in the vessels made of earth, without any knot or crack; utter the Gâyatrî mantra and offer one thousand homas. Sprinkle with water at every offering, touching the Pañchagavya with Kus’a grass, thousand times. Then offer the sacrifices there where calamities or nuisances are seen and meditate on the Highest Devatâ. Thus all the magic spells used by other persons for a malevolent purpose will be rendered nugatory. Bring under your control any Deva yoni, Bhûte Yoni, or Pis’âcha Yoni that causes you troubles; then they will quit the house, village, city, way, even that kingdom. Now hear how they are brought under control. Prepare a sacrificial altar with sand, draw a square on it, place a Sûla (spear) in its centre and plaster with Astagandha. For the sake of converting all the evils, repeat Gâyatrî mantra thousand times and impregnate it with the mantra, dig the ground and place or bury the Sûla under it. Place on the level ground or sthandila a jar or Navaphala, a fruit made of gold, silver, or copper or a newly made earthen jar and enclose it with thread. Then have the sacred waters brought from the several Tîrthas by the Brâhmins and fill the jar, repeating the Gâyatrî Mantra. Put within this jar the twigs, then of Cardamom tree, sandal tree, karpûra tree, jâti, aparâjitâ. Saha Devî, Pâtala, Mallikâ flower, Bel leaves, rice, barley, Til, mustard, as’vattha, and udumbara trees and throw them within the jar. (The Ksîra trees are As’vaththa, Udumbara, Plaksa, and Nyagrodha.) Doing all these, prepare one Kus’a Kurcha made of twenty seven Kus’a grass in the form of a braid of hair, round one end of a straight rod and tied in a knot and place it there. Then take your bath and repeat the Gâyatrî mantra over it one thousand times with your whole mind fully concentrated. Then the Veda knowing Brâhmanas would recite the Saura mantra and sprinkle the man attacked by the demon with water and make him drink also the water saturated with the mantra and bathe him also with that. Then that person will be dispossessed of the devil and be happy. Even when the man (possessed by a devil), is going to die, he gets his life again if he be made to drink this water saturated with this mantra and have his bath with that. So a wise King must do this, with a desire to have a long life; and after he is sprinkled with this mantra-charged water he is to give one hundred cows to the Brâhmanas as the Daksinâ.

21-44. The Daksinâ is to be given according to one’s might; and specially what gives satisfaction to the Brâhmanas. If one be terrified by a Devil or so or by the mischievous magic spells of others, one is to sit on Saturday under an As’vattha tree and repeat one hundred Gâyatrîs. For the cure of all diseases, if one has to perform the Mrityunjaya Homa, one will have to do Homa with the Gulancha creeper, soaked in milk and deducting the knots thereof. For the pacification of fever, mango leaves soaked with milk ought to be used in the Homa ceremony. The wasting diseases are cured if Homa be performed with the leaves of the Vacha  soaked in milk; phthisis or consumption is cured if Homa be performed with curd, milk and ghee. Again, if offerings be given to the Solar Deity and if Pâyasânnam be given to him and if this be given to the consumptive patient, his disease will be cured. Again, on the Amâvasyâ tithi (new moon day) if Homa be performed with Soma creeper (excluding the knot joints) soaked in milk, then consumption will be cured. If Homa be made with the flowers of the S’amkhya tree, then leprosy is cured; if the Homa be done with the seed of Apâmârga, the Mrigis or the hysteric and epileptic fits are cured. So if Homa be performed with the fuel of Ksîra trees, lunacy is cured; if, with the fuel of udumbara, meha (spermatorrhea) is cured; if with sugarcane juice, gonorrhea is cured; if with curd, milk and ghee or with the ghee of Kapilâ cow, the homa be performed, the Masûrikâ disease or smallpox will be cured, and if Homa be performed with the fuels of Udumbara, Vata, and As’vatha be performed, then the diseases of cows, elephants and horses are cured. If the trouble be caused by many ants and ant-hills (Madhu Valmîka) then perform the Homa ceremony with the fuel of Samî tree one hundred times and with the food prepared of ghee one hundred times and offer sacrifices with the rest of the food; then the above troubles will cease. If there be a earth quake or if there be seen flashes of lightnings, then homa is to be performed with the fuel of Vana Vetasa and the whole kingdom will be happy. If you surcharge any piece of iron with Gâyatrî mantra repeated hundred times and if you throw it in any direction then no fear will arise from that quarter out of fire, air, or any other enemy. If one be imprisoned, and if he repeats the Gâyatrî mentally, he will be liberated from the prison. If you touch the man possessed by a devil, disease or mortification and sorrow with the Kus’a grass and repeat the Gâyatrî mantra, and thus charge him with Divine electricity, that man will be liberated from the fear caused thereby. If you make the man possessed by devils, etc., drink the water charged with the Gâyatrî mantra or if you cast on his body the ashes charged with hundred Gâyatrîs or tie those ashes on his head repeating the Gâyatrî mantra, he will be instantly freed of all diseases and will live for one hundred years in happiness. In case a man is unable to do fully all these himself, he can get all these done by other Brâhmanas and pay Daksinâ (fees) to them duly for the same.

O Nârada! Now I will tell you how nourishment and wealth are attained. Wealth is attained if the Homa be performed with red lotus or fresh Jâtî flower or with the S’âli rice or with the fuel of Bel tress, leaves, flowers, fruits or roots or with any portions thereof. If for one week the oblations be offered with fuel of Bel tree mixed with Pâyasa or with ghee one hundred times, then Laksmî Devî will surely be attained. If the Homa be performed with Lâja (fried rice) mixed with curd, milk, and ghee, the daughter will be obtained. If for one week, the Homa be performed with red lotus, then gold is obtained. If the Tarpanam (peace offering) be offered to the Sun, then the treasures, gold hidden under the water, are obtained. If the Homa be performed with food (Anna) then Anna is obtained; if Homa be performed with rice, then rice is obtained.

45-51. If Homa be performed with calfdung, dried and powdered, then animals are obtained. If Homa be performed with Priyangu, Pâyasa or ghee then the progeny is obtained. If the oblations of Pâyasânna be offered to the Solar Deity and if the Prasâdam (remnant) be given to one’s wife under menstruation to eat, then excellent sons will be obtained. If the Homa be performed with the fuel of wet pointed Ksîra trees, then longevity is attained. If Homa be performed with the fuel of the Palâs’a tree, pointed and wet and mixed with curd, milk, and ghee for one hundred times consecutively, then longevity and gold are attained. If the Homa be performed with Durbâ grass, milk, honey or ghee, one hundred times, then longevity and golden lotus are obtained. If for one week the Homa ceremony be performed with the fuel of S’amî tree mixed with food, milk or ghee one hundred times of each or if for one week the Homa he performed with the fuel of Nyagrodha tree and afterwards one hundred Homas be made with Pâyasânna, the fear of unnatural death is removed.

52-60. That man can conquer death who can remain for one week living on milk only and who performs during that time hundreds, and hundreds of Homas and repeats the Gâyatrî, controlling his speech. If anybody can fast three nights and control his speech and repeat Gâyatrî he gets himself freed from the hands of Death; or totally immersed in water if he repeats Gâyatrî, he will be saved from the impending danger of death. If anybody repeats the Gâyatrî mantra for one month, taking his seat under a Bel tree or performs Homa with Bel fruit, root or leaves, he gets kingdoms. (Know all the Mantrams are electric in their effects). Similarly if anybody performs Homa with one hundred lotuses, he gets a foeless kingdom. So one becomes the lord of a village if one performs Homa with Yavâgu (barley gruel) and Sâlidhânya. If the Homa be performed with the fuel of Asvaththa tree, victory in battle is ensured and if the Homa be performed with the fuel of Âkanda tree, then victory everywhere is ensured. If one hundred Homas be performed extending a week with Vetasa tree’s leaves or fruits, dipped in milk and mixed with Pâyasa, the rainfall is ensured. Similarly if anybody repeats Gâyatrî for one week with his body upto navel immersed in water, the rainfall is ensured; on the contrary if the Homa be performed with ashes in water, then the cessation of heavy rainfall is ensured. The Homa with the fuel of Palâsa gives Brahmateja; Homa with the flowers of Palâsa gives everything desired. Homa with milk or drinking Brâhmarasa, charged with mantra, increases the intellect; and the Homa with ghee gives Buddhi (medhâ) (intelligence).

61-69. Homa with flowers gives good smell; Homa with thread gives cloth; Homa with salt and honey mixed or Bel flowers gives one power to control anything and everything that is desired. If anybody bathes everyday immersed completely within water and sprinkles water on his body, he becomes cured of diseases and he becomes very healthy. If any Brâhmana does these things for others, he becomes also no doubt healthy. If anybody wants to increase his life period he should practise good deeds and repeat Gâyatrî thousand times daily for one month. Thus his longevity will be increased. Two months’ such practice gives long life and perpetual health; three month’s such practice will give life, health, and wealth, four months such practice gives longevity, wealth, fame, women, sons, etc., five months such practice gives longevity, health, wealth, wife, sons and learning. So one should repeat this as many months in proportion to the number of his desires and he would get them. Again any Brâhmana who stands on one leg without holding any other thing and raises both his hands and daily repeats three hundred Gâyatrîs for one month, gets all his desires fulfilled. And if he repeats one thousand one hundred Gâyatrîs, there is nothing in this world that is not met and attained with success. Controlling the Prâna (inhaling) and Apâna (exhaling) Vâyu (breath), he who repeats daily three hundred Gâyatrîs to the Devî, his highest desires are satisfied.

70-77. Vis’vâmitra Risi says :-- Standing on one leg, with both hands raised and controlling Vâyu he who repeats daily one hundred Gâyatrîs for one month, gets all his desires fulfilled. Similarly with three hundred or thousand repeatings, all things are attained. Submerged under water, if one repeats Gâyatrîs as many times as mentioned above, he gets everything. If, for one year, with hands uplifted and without holding anything, anyone stands on one leg, controls one’s breath and repeats Gâyatrî mantra three hundred times or thousand times, eating Havisyânnam only in the night time, he becomes a Risi (Seer). This thing repeated two years gives infallible speech; three years gives knowledge of the present, past and future; four years will enable one to see face to face the Solar God; five years will give the eight Siddhis, lightness, etc., six years will enable one to assume forms as he desires; seven years gives immortality; nine years gives Manuhood; ten years gives Indrahood; eleven years gives Brahmâ-hood; and twelve years gives the state of Parama Brahma.

78-90. O Nârada! By these practices of Tapasyâs you and other Risis have been able to conquer the three Lokas (regions). Some ate only vegetables; some fruits; some, roots; some simply water; some, ghee; some, Somarasa; whereas some others ate only charu and did tapasyâ. Some Risis practised this great Tapasyâ by eating very little for a fortnight only. Some ate food, only what they got by begging during the day; and some ate only Havisyânna. O Nârada! Now hear the rules for the purification and expiation of sins. For the expiation of the sin incurred in stealing gold, one is to repeat three thousand Gâyatrîs (daily) for one month; then the sin will be destroyed. By this act also the sins incurred by drinking or by going to one’s Guru’s wife are destroyed. Vis’vâmitra Risi says :-- The sin incurred by killing a Brâhmana (Brahmahatyâ) is destroyed if one erects a shed in a forest and, living there, repeats three thousand Gâyatrîs daily for one month. Those Brâhmanas that have committed the Great Sins (i.e., Mahâpâtakas), become free, if they repeat one thousand Gâyatrîs daily, submerged under water, for twelve successive days. By controlling speech and by practising Prânâyâma, if one repeats three thousand Gâyatrîs daily for one month, one will be free from the Mahâpâtakas. If one practises one thousand Prânâyâmas repeating the Gâyatrî, one becomes freed also of Brahmahatyâ. If one draws upwards the Prâna and Apâna Vâyus six times, repeating the Gâyatrî with collected mind, this destroys all the sins and it is called all-sin destroying Prânâyâma. If one practises this Prânâyâma one thousand times for one month, the lord of the earth becomes freed of all sins. If any Brâhmana incurs the sin of killing a cow, for twelve days he is to repeat three thousand Gâyatrîs daily for expiation. Similarly the repetition of ten thousand Gâyatrîs removes the sin of going to those not fit to be gone into, eating the uneatables, stealing and killing and this act brings in peace. All sins are destroyed by performing one hundred Prânâyâmas with Gâyatrî. Again if there be a mixture of various sins, one will have to live in the forest for one month and repeat one thousand Gâyatrîs or practise fasting and repeat three thousand Gâyatrîs; thus all sins will be destroyed.

91-100. To repeat Gâyatrî twenty-four thousand times is equal to performing the Krichchhra vrata and to repeat sixty four thousand Gâyatrîs duly is equal to performing the Chândrâyana. If anybody repeats, in the morning and evening Sandhyâ times, the merit giving Gâyatrî one hundred times, with Prânâyâma, all his sins are destroyed. So, submerged under water, if one repeats the Gâyatrî Devî, meditating Her in the Sun, one hundred times daily, one’s all the sins are fully destroyed. O Nârada! Thus I have described to you all about averting or destroying the evils and the purification of various sins. All this is secret. Keep it carefully concealed. Never divulge this. Whoever divulges this will bring his own ruin. I have spoken to you, in brief, all about Sadâchâra (right way of living). If anybody practises this duly, according to rules, S’rî Mahâmâyâ Durgâ Devî becomes pleased with him. If anybody wants to have both enjoyment and liberation, he is to practise all these daily, as well as the occasional, and Kâmya (desired) duties duly according to rules. It is stated in all the S’âstras, that this Âchâra (right way of living) is the foremost and the chief Dharma, the Deity of which is the Supreme Mother Herself. O Nârada! That man who practises duly this Âchâra is, in this world, holy, happy and blessed. This I speak to you truly. If anybody desires to get the Devî Bhagavatî’s Grace, he should first of all set himself at once to practise this Sadâchâra. He who hears this gets wealth and great happiness. There is no doubt in this. Now speak what more you want to hear.

Here ends the Twenty fourth Chapter of the Eleventh Book on Sadâchâra in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa. The Eleventh Book Completed.

[Here ends the Eleventh Book.]

The Twelfth Book

Chapter 1. On The Description Of Gâyatrî

1-7. Nârada said :-- O Deva! The rules of Sadâchâra (right ways of living) and the all-sin-destroying unequalled Glories of the Devî Bhagavatî have been described by Thee. And I, too, have heard the nectar of the Glories of the Devî from Thy lotus mouth. The Chândrâyana and other Vratas; described by Thee, are very difficult to practise. So they are impracticable with the ordinary persons. Therefore, O Lord! Kindly describe those actions which can easily be carried out by common persons, at the same time, the Devî's Grace and Siddhis can be obtained by those practices. Again what thou hast described about the Gâyatrî in connection with Sadâchâra kindly say which are the chief and foremost as well as those that are more meritorious. O Best of the Munis! Thou hast told that there are the twenty-four syllables in the Gâyatrî. Kindly describe now their Risis, Chhandas, Devatâs and other things that should be known regarding them and thus satisfy my longings.

8-27. S’rî Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! The twice-born would have done what they ought to do if they be engaged in repeating their Gâyatrî only, whether they be able or not able to practise the Chândrâyana and the other vratas. Whichever Brâhmin repeats the Gâyatrî three thousand times and offers Arghya to the Sun in the three Sandhyâ times, the Devas worship him; what to speak of other ordinary persons! Whether he practises Nyâsa or not, if anybody sincerely repeats the Gâyatrî Devî, Whose Nature is Existence, Intelligence, and Bliss and meditates on Her, even if he attains siddhi in one syllable even, then as a result of that, he can vie with the best of the Brâhmanas, the Moon, and the Sun; nay, with Brahmâ, Visnu, and Mahes'vara even! O Nârada! Now I will tell in due order the Risis, Chhandas, and the Devatâs of the twenty-four syllables of the Gâyatrî. The Risis, in due order, are (1) Vâma Deva, (2) Attri, (3) Vas'istha, (4) S’ukra, (5) Kanva, (6) Parâs'ara, (7) the very fiery Vis'vamitra, (8) Kapila, (9) S’aunaka, (10) Yâjñavalkya, (11) Bharadvâja, (12) the ascetic Jamadagni, (13) Gautama, (14) Mudgala, (15) Vedavyâsa, (16) Lomas'a, (17) Agastya, (18) Kaus'ika, (19) Vatsya, (20) Pulastya, (21) Mânduka, (22) the ascetic in chief Durvâsâ, (23) Nârada and (24) Kas'yapa.

Now about the chhandas :-- (1) Gâyatrî, (2) Usnik, (3) Anustup, (4) Brihatî, (5) Pankti, (6) Trisnup, (7) Jagatî, (8) Atijagatî, (9) S’akkarî, (10) Ati S’akkarî, (11) Dhriti, (12) Ati Dhriti, (13) Virât, (14) Prastârapankti, (15) Kriti, (16) Prâkriti, (17) Âkriti, (18) Vikriti, (19) Samkriti, (20) Aksarapankti, (21) Bhuh, (22) Bhuvah, (23) Svah and (24) Jyotismatî. The Devatâs of the several letters in due order, are :-- (1) Agni, (2) Prajâpati, (3) Soma, (4) Îs'âna, (5) Savitâ, (6) Âditya, (7) Brihaspati, (8) Maitrâvaruna, (9) Bhagadeva, (10) Aryamâ, (11) Ganes'a, (12) Tvastrâ, (13) Pûsâ, (14) Indrâgnî, (l5) Vâyu, (16) Vâmadeva, (17) Maitrâ varunî (18) Vis'vadeva, (19) Mâtrikâ, (20) Visnu, (21) Vasu, (22) Rudra Deva, (23) Kuvera, and (24) the twin As'vinî Kumâras. O Nârada! Thus I have described to you about the the Devatâs of the twenty-four syllables. The hearing of this destroys all sins and yields the full results of repeating the mantra Gâyatrî. (Note :-- The Devatâs, mentioned in the Gâyatrî Brahmâ Kalpa are different from those mentioned here.)

Here ends the first Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the description of Gâyatrî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 2. On The Description Of The S’aktis, Etc., Of The Syllables Of Gâyatrî

1-18. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! O Great Muni! Now hear which are the S’aktis in due order of the twenty four syllables of the Gâyatrî Devî:--

(1) Vâma Devî, (2) Priyâ, (3) Satyâ, (4) Vis'vâ, (5) Bhadravilâsinî, (6) Prabhâ Vatî, (7) Jayâ, (8) S’ântâ, (9) Kântâ, (10) Durgâ, (11) Sarasvatî, (12) Vidrumâ, (13) Vis'âle'sâ, (14) Vyâpinî, (15) Vimalâ, (16) Tamopahârinî, (17) Sûksmâ, (18) Vis'vayoni, (19) Jayâ, (20) Vas'â, (21) Padmâlayâ, (22) Parâs'obhâ, (23) Bhadrâ, and (24) Tripadâ.

Now hear the respective colours of the several syllables of the Gâyatrî Devî :-- (1) like Champaka and Atasî flowers, (2) like Vidruma, (3) like crystal, (4) like lotus; (5) like the Rising Sun; (6) white like conchshell; (7) white like Kunda flower; (8) like Prabâla and lotus leaves; (9) like Padmarâga, (10) like Indranîlamani; (11) like pearls; (12) like Saffron; (13) like the black collyrium of the eye; (14) red; (15) like the Vaidûrya mani; (16) like Ksaudra (Champaka tree, honey, water); (17) like turmeric; (18) like Kunda flower; and the milk (19) like the rays of the Sun; (20) like the tail of the bird S’uka; (21) like S’atapatra; (22) like Ketakî flower; (23) like Mallikâ flower; (24) like Karavîra flower.

Now about their Tattvas :-- (1) earth; (2) water; (3) fire; (4) air; (5) Âkâs'a (ether); (6) smell; (7) taste; (8) form; (9) sound; (10) touch; (11) male generative organ; (12) anus; (13) legs, (14) hands; (15) speech; (16) Prâna (vital   breath); (17) tongue; (18) eyes; (19) skin; (20) ears; (21) Prâna (up going breath); (22) Apâna; (23) Vyâna, (24) Sâmâna.

Now about the Mudrâs of the syllables:-- (l) Sammukha; (2) Samputa; (3) Vitata; (4) Vistrita; (5) Dvimukha, (6) Trimukha; (7) Chaturmukha; (8) Pañchamukha; (9) Sanmukha; (10) Adhomukha; (11) Vyâpakânjali (12) S’akata; (13) Yamapâs'a; (14) Grathita; (15) Sanmukhon mukha (16) Vilamba; (17) Mustika; (18) Matsya; (19) Kûrma; (20) Varâhaka; (21) Simhâkrânta, (22) Mahâkrânta; (23) Mudgara, and (24) Pallava.

The Mahâmudrâs of the fourth foot of Gâyatrî are (1) Trisûlayonî (2) Surabhi; (3) Aksa mâlâ; (4) Linga; and (5) Ambuja. O Nârada! Thus I have described to you all about the Mudras, etc., of the several syllables of the Gâyatrî. If during Japam, one thinks all these and at the same time repeats, all his sins are destroyed and his wealth gets increase and the fame attends on him.

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the description of the S’aktis, etc., of the syllables of Gâyatrî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 Verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 3. On The Description Of The Kavacha Of S’rî Gâyatrî Devî

1-3. Nârada spoke :-- O Bhagavân! Thou art the Lord of this world; Thou canst shew favour and disfavour both; Thou art specially versed in the sixty-four Kalâs (arts of learning); Thou art the chief of the Yogis. I therefore ask Thee to solve a doubt of mine. By what Punyam a man can become free from all his sins and limitations and he can realise and become of the nature of Brahmâ. O Lord! And what are duly the Risis, Chhandas, Devatâs, Dhyân, and Nyâsa, etc., of this meritorious act? I want to hear.

4-25. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! There is but one and the only one way to this and though that is very secret, I will disclose that to you. It is the Gâyatrî-Kavacha. It can destroy all sins. Therefore to recite or to hold it on one's body enables the man to become free from all his sins and to get all his desires fulfilled and he gets the Sâyuya Mukti with the Devî (be merged in the Devî-Body). Now hear the Risis, Chhandas, etc., of this Kavacha :-- Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'vara are the Risis; the Rik, Yajus, Sâma and Atharva Vedas are the Chhandas; the Paramâ Kalâ Gâyatrî of the nature of Brahmâ is the Devatâ; “Tat” in Gâyatrî is the Vîja; “Bharga” is the S’akti; and “Dhîyah” is the Kîlaka; and its viniyoga (application) is in getting the Moksa (liberation.). With the first four syllables touch the heart; with the next three letters touch the head; with the next four letters touch the tuft on the crown of the head; with the next three letters on the Kavacha; with the next four letters on the eyes and with the last four letters make the Nyâsa, all over the body repeating “Astrâya Phat,” O Nârada! Hear now the Dhyânam of Gâyatrî, that grants all desires. The Gâyatrî Devî has five faces; one of which is of white colour; and the other four is of pearl, Vidruma, golden, and Nîlakântamani colour respectively. Each face has got three eyes; on the head there is a crown of jewels and the digit of the Moon is shining there. Her body is composed of the twenty-four tattvas. She has ten hands :-- On the top right and left hands there are two lotuses; lower down, there are disc and conch shell; lower down, there are rope and skull; lower down, there are noose and goad; and on the bottom hands right and left she is making signs of “No fear” and “ready to grant boons.” Thus meditating on S’rî Gâyatrî, one is to recite the Kavacha thus :-- Let the Gâyatrî Devî protect my front; Sâvitrî Devî protect my right; the Sandhyâ Devî, my back and the Devî Sarasvatî, my left. Let my Mother Pârvatî Devî protect my quarters. Let Jalas'âyinî protect the southeast; Yâtudhâna Bhayankarî protect my South-west; Pavamânavilâsinî my north-west; Rudrarûpinî Rudrânî protect my north-east. Let Brahmânî protect my top and Vaisnavî protect my nether regions. Let the word “Tat” in the Gâyatrî protect my legs; “Savituh” protect my Knees; “Varenyam,” protect my loins; “Bhargah,” my navel. Let “Devasya” protect my heart; “Dhîmahî” protect my neck; “Dhîyah,” protect my eyes; “Yah,” protect my forehead; “Nah” protect my head; and “Prachodayât” protect the tuft on the crown of my head.

Again let the “Tat” of the twenty-four syllabled Gâyatrî protect my head; “Sa,” protect my forehead; “Vi” protect my eyes; “Tu” my cheeks; “Va,” protect my nostrils; “Re,” my mouth; “ni” protect my upper lip; “Yah” protect my lower lip; “Bha” within my face; “rgo,” protect my cheeks; “De,” my throat; “Va” my shoulders; “Sya” my right hand; “Dhi” my navel; “ma,” my heart, “Hi,” my belly; “Dhî,” my navel; “Yo” my loins; “Yo”, my anus; “nah,” my thighs, “Pra,” my Knees; “Cho” my shanks “Da” my heels; “Yâ” my legs; and let “at” protect all my sides. O Nârada! This divine Kavacha of the Devî Gâyatrî can baffle hundreds and thousands of obstructions and evils; can grant sixty-four Kalâs and liberation. By the glory of this Kavacha, man can become free from all evils and can attain the state of Brahmâ. Moreover whoever reads or hears this acquires the fruits of making a gift of a thousand cows.

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the description of the Kavacha of S’rî Gâyatrî Devî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 4. On Gâyatrî Hridaya

1-2. Nârada said :-- O Bhagavân! I have heard from you all about the Kavacha and the Mantra of S’rî Gâyatrî. O Deva Deva! O Thou, the Knower of the present, the past, and the future! Now tell about the Hridaya, the highest, the interior or esoteric Essence of the Gâyatrî, holding which, if one repeats the Gâyatrî, he acquires all the punyam (merits), I am desirous to hear this.

3-8. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! This subject on the Hridaya of Gâyatrî is explicitly written in the Atharva Veda. Now I will speak on that, the great secret, in detail. Listen. First, consider the Gâyatrî, the Devî, the Mother of the Vedas as of a Cosmic Form (Virâ trupâ) and meditate all the Devas as residing on Her Body. Now in as much as the Pinda and Brahmânda are similar, consider yourself as of the form of the Devî and meditate within yourself on the Devatâs, thus :-- The Pundits, the Knowers of the Vedas, say this :-- He is not yet fit to worship the Deva and he is not an Adhikârî as yet who has not been able to make himself a Deva; therefore to establish the knowledge of the oneness of the Deva and himself, he is to meditate the Devas within his body, thus :--O Nârada! Now I will speak on the Hridaya of Gâyatrî, knowing which every man becomes able to become all the Devas. Listen. The Risi of this Gâyatrî Hridaya is Nârâyana; the Chhandas is Gâyatrî; and S’rî Parames'varî Gâyatrî is the Devatâ. Perform the Nyâsa of this as mentioned before and taking your seat in a lonely place, meditate intently on the Devî with your heart and head well collected. Now I am speaking of the Arthanyâsa. Hear. Meditate on the Devatâ Dyau on your head; the twin As'vins on the rows of the teeth; the two Sandhyâs on your upper and lower lips; the Agni, Fire, within your mouth; Sarasvatî, on the tongue; Brihaspati on the neck; the eight Vasus on the two breasts; the Vâyus, on the two arms; the Paryanya Deva on the heart; Âkâs'a, on the belly; Antarîksam (the middle space) on the navel; Indra and Agni, on the loins; Prajâpati, the condensed form, as it were, of Vijñâna, on the hip joints; the Kailâs'a and the Malaya mountains on the two thighs; the Visvedevâs on the two knees; Vis'vâmitra on the shanks; the Sun's northern and southern paths, the Uttarâyana and Daksinâyana on the anus; the Pitris on the thighs; the Earth on the legs; the Vanaspati on the fingers and toes; the Risis on the hairs of the body; the Muhûrtas on the nails; the planets on the bones; the Ritus (seasons) on the blood and flesh; the Samvatsaras on the Nimisa (twinkling of eye) the Sun and the Moon on the day and night respectively. Thinking thus, repeat “I take refuge of the Divine Holy Gâyatrî, the Chief and most Excellent One, the Thousand eyed and I take refuge wholly unto Her.”

Then repeat “I bow down to Tat savitur varenyam,” “I bow down to the Rising Sun on the East,” “I bow down to the Morning Aditya,” “I bow down to the Gâyatrî, residing in the Morning Sun” and “I bow down to all.” O Nârada! Whoever recites this Gâyatrî Hridaya in the morning finds all the sins committed in the night all destroyed! Whoever recites this in the evening gets his sins of the day all destroyed! Whoever recites this in the evening and in the morning can rest assured to have become free of sins; he gets the fruits of all the Tîrthas; he is acquainted with all the Devas; he is saved if he has spoken anything that ought not to have been spoken; if he has eaten anything that is not fit to be eaten; if he has chewn and sucked anything that ought not to have been chewn and sucked; if he has done anything that ought not to have been done and if he has accepted hundreds and thousands of gifts that ought never to have been accepted.

The sins incurred by eating with the others in a line cannot touch him. If he speaks lies, he will not be touched by the sins thereof; even if a non-Brahmachâri recites this, he will become a Brahmachârî. O Nârada! What more shall I say to you of the results of Gâyatrî Hridaya than this :-- that whoever will study this will acquire the fruits of performing thousand sacrifices and repeating the Gâyatrî sixty thousand times. In fact, he will get Siddhi by this. The Brâhmâna, who daily reads this in the morning will be freed of all the sins and go upwards to the Brahmâ (Loka) and is glorified there. This has been uttered by Bhagavân Nârâyana Himself.

Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Twelfth Book on Gâyatrî Hridaya in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 5. On The Gâyatrî Stotra

1. Nârada said :-- O All knowing One! Thou showest Thy grace to Thy devotees! Thou hast described this sin-destroying Gâyatrî Hridaya. Now describe Her Stava (hymn of praise).

2-29. Nârâyana said :-- O World-Mother! O Thou, favouring Thy devotees! O Thou, the Prime Force, O Omnipresent! Infinite! S’rî Sandhye! I bow down to Thee. Thou art the Sandhyâ; Thou art the Gâyatrî, Sâvitrî and Sarasvatî; Thou art Brâhmî, Vaisnavî and Raudrî and Thou art red, white, and black (the colours of Gâyatrî, Sâvitrî and Sarasvatî) that Thou assumest respectively. O Bhagavatî! Thou art always meditated by the Munis as young in the morning, full of youth in the mid-day, and aged in the evening. I bow down to Thee. Thou art seen by the Tapasvis (ascetics) as Brahmânî, riding on Hamsa (swan), Sarasvatî riding on Garuda, and Sâvitrî riding on Bull. Thou art seen within by the ascetics as manifesting the Rigveda (in the form of Sâvitrî) in this world, as manifesting Yayurveda in the middle space (antariksam) and as manifesting Sâmaveda everywhere in the Rudra loka, thus roaming in the three worlds. I bow down to Thee. O Devî! Thou art Rudrânî in the Rudra loka, Vaisnavî in the Visnu loka, and Brahmânî in the Brahmâ loka; thus Thou shewest Thy favour to the Immortals. O Devî! Thou art the Mother delighting the seven Risis (of the Great Bear); Thou art Mâyâ. Thou grantest great many boons to Thy Bhaktas. Thou art sprung from the eyes and hands, tears and perspiration of S’iva and S’ivâ. Thou art the Mother of delights, Durgâ Devî, recited by the following ten names :-- Varenyâ, Varadâ, Varisthâ, Varavarninî, Garisthâ, Varâhâ, Varârohâ, Nîlagangâ, Sandhyâ and Bhoga Moksadâ. Thou art the Bhâgirathî (the river Ganges) in this world; the Bhogavatî in the Pâtâla; and the Mandâkinî (the milky way) in the Heavens. Thou art in this world (Bhur loka) the all-enduring Prithvî (earth); Thou art the Vâyu S’akti (air power) in the middle space (Bhubhar Loka); Thou art the energy (the ocean of Tejas) in the Heavens (Svar loka); Thou art the Great Siddhi in the Mahar loka; Thou art Janâ in the Janar Loka; Thou art Tapasvinî in the Tapar loka; Thou art Truth (True Speech) in the Satya lokam. Thou art Kamalâ in Visnu loka; Gâyatrî in Brahmâ loka; and the other half of Hara as Gaurî in the Rudra loka. O Devî! Thou art sung as Prakriti – “Aham” “Om-Mahat” tattva and beyond that the Highest Sarva Brahmâ rûpinî and Sâmyâvasthâ Prakriti. Thou art the Parâ S’akti; Thou art the Paramâ S’akti; O Devî! Thou art the Tri-S’akti :-- the Ichchhâ S’akti (the will power), the Kriyâ S’akti (power of action) and the Jñâna S’akti (the force of knowledge).

Thou art the Gangâ, Yamunâ, Vipâs'â, Sarasvatî, Sarayu, Devîkâ, Sindhu; Narmadâ, Îrâvatî, Godâvarî, S’atadru; Kâverî, Kaus'ikî, Chandra Bhâgâ, Vitastâ, Gandakî, Tapinî, Karatoyâ, Gomatî, and Vetravatî and other rivers; Thou art the Idâ, Pingalâ, and Susumnâ nerves; Thou art Gândhârî, Hastajihvâ, Pûsâ, Apûsâ, Alambusâ, Kuhû, S’ankhinî, Prânavâhinî and other nerves in the body; O Devî! Thou art the vital power in the lotus of the heart; Thou art Svapna nâikâ in the throat; Thou art Sadâdhârâ in the palate; and Thou art the Vindumâlinî S’akti in the pituitary space between the eyebrows.

Thou art the Kundalinî in the Mûlâdhâra (sacral plexus), the Vyâpinî extending upto the roots of the hairs; Thou art Madhyâsanâ on the crown of the head, and Thou art Manonmanî in the Brahmârandhra. O Devî! What need there is in stating these? Suffice it to say that whatever there is seen in this universe, all art Thou; therefore, O S’rî Sandhyâ Devî! I bow down to Thee. O Nârada! Thus I have spoken to you about the Gâyatrî-Stotra that gives all successes, destroys all sins, and yields all merits.

He who reads this in the Sandhyâ times, with all attention, will get sons if he has no sons, will get wealth if he has no wealth. There is no doubt in this. Whoever reads this Stotra gets the fruits of all Tîrthas, all Tapasyâs, all gifts, all sacrifices and all Yogas. He enjoys happiness in this world and finally gets the Moksa. The Munis who are engaged in Tapasyâs read this Stotra. While bathing, if one reads this, merged under water, acquires the fruits of his being merged in the Sandhyâ. O Nârada! I speak this verily, verily, verily, unto you that there is no trace of any doubt in this statement. Whoever will hear with devotion this Sandhyâ stotra, the nectar-like thing, will be freed from all sins.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the Gâyatrî Stotra in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 6. On The One Thousand And Eight Names Of The Gâyatrî

1-3. Nârada said :-- O Bhagavân! O All-knowing One! O Thou versed in all the S’âstras! I have heard from Thy mouth all the secrets of S’rutis and Smritis. Now I ask Thee, O Deva! How can the knowledge of that Veda Vidyâ (Learning) be obtained by which all sins are rooted out and destroyed, how is Brahmajñânam obtained and how can Moksa be obtained? How can death be conquered and how can the best results be obtained in this world and in the next. O Lotus-eyed One! Thou ought’st to describe fully all these to me.

4-9. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! O Highly Learned One! Sâdhu! Sâdhu! You have now put a nice question indeed! Now I will describe one thousand and eight names of the Gâyatrî Devî. Listen attentively. These all sin-destroying auspicious names were composed by Brahmâ and first recited by Him. Its Risi is Brahmâ; the Chhandas is Anustup; the Devatâ is Gâyatrî; its Vîja is Halavarna (consonants) and its S’akti is Svaravarna (vowels). Perform the Anga Nyâsa and the Kara Nyâsa by the Mâtrikâ varnas (that is, by the fifty syllables). Now hear its Dhyânam, that will do good to the Sâdhakas (the practisers). [N.B. :-- Amga Nyâsa - Touching the limbs of the body with the hand accompanied by appropriate Mantras. Kara Nyâsa - assignment of the various parts of fingers and hand to different deities which is usually accompanied with prayers and corresponding gesticulations.] I worship the Kumârî (virgin) Gâyatrî Devî, the Lotus-eyed One, riding on the Swan (the Prânas), and seated on a lotus (creation); Who is three-eyed and of a red colour; and Who is bright and decorated with gems and jewels of red, white, green, blue, yellow and other variegated colours; Who is holding in Her hands Kundikâ, the rosary, lotus and making signs as if ready to grant the desired boons and on whose neck is suspended the garland of red flowers. I worship the Devî Gâyatrî. [Note :-- The colours are the various emotions and feelings.]

10-16. Now I will recite the one thousand and eight names of the Gâyatrî, beginning with the syllable “a” and going on a, â, i, î, etc., in due order of the alphabets. Listen! Her ways and actions cannot be comprehended by intellect (Buddhi); She is therefore Achintya Laksanâ; She is Avyaktâ (unmanifested; unspeakable); She is Arthamâtrimahes’varî, (because She is the Controller of Brahmâ, etc.); She is Amritârnava madhyasthâ, Ajitâ and Aparâjitâ. Thou art Animâdigunâdhârâ, Arka mandalasamsthitâ, Ajarâ, Ajâ, Aparâ, Adharmâ (she has no dharma, caste, etc.), Aksasûtradharâ, Adharâ; Akârâdaksakârântâ (beginning with the syllable “a” and ending with the syllable “ksa”, thus comprising the fifty syllables), Arisadvargabhedinî (destroying the five passions), Anjanâdripratîkâs’â, Anjanâdrinivâsinî, Aditi, Ajapâ, Avidyâ, Aravindanibheksanâ, Antarvahihsthitâ, Avidyâdhvamsinî, and Antarâtmikâ. Thou art Ajâ. Ajamukhâvâsâ (residing in the mouth of Brahmâ), Aravindanibhânanâ, (Vyanjanavarnâtmikâ, therefore called) Ardhamâtrâ, Arthadânajñâ (because She grants all the Purusârthas.)

Arimandalamarddinî, Asuraghnî, Amâvâsyâ, Alaksîghnî, Antyajârchitâ. Thus end Her names beginning with “A”. Now the names with  “Â” Thou art Âdi Laksmî, Âdi S’akti, Âkriti, Âyatânanâ, Âdityapadavichârâ, Âdityaparisevitâ, Âchâryâ, Âvartanâ; Âchârâ, and Âdi Mûrti nivâsinî.

17-18. Thou art Âgneyî, Âmarî, Âdyâ, Ârâdhyâ, Âsanasthitâ, Âdhâra nilayâ (seated in the Mulâdhâra), Âdhârâ (the Refuge of all), and Âkâs’ânta nivâsini (of the nature of Aham tattva; Thou art Âdyâksara samâyuktâ, Ântarâkâs’arûpinî, Âdityamandalagatâ, Ântaradhvântanâs’inî, (i.e., destroyer of the Moha of Jîvas). Then come the names beginning with “I.”

19-25. Thou art Indirâ, Istadâ, Istâ Indîvaraniveksanâ, Irâvatî, Indrapadâ, Indrânî, Indurûpinî, Iksukodandasamyuktâ, Isusandhânakârinî, Indranîlasamakârâ, Idâpingalarûpinî, Indrâksî, Îs’varî, Devî Îhâtrayavivarjitâ. Thou art Umâ, Usâ, Udunibhâ, Urvârukaphalânanâ, Uduprabhâ, Udumatî, Udupâ, Udumadhyagâ, Ûrdha, Ûrdhakes’î, Ûrdhadhogatibhedinî, Ûrdhavâhupriyâ, Ûrmimâlâvâggranthadâyinî. Thou art Rita, Risi, Ritumatî (the Creatrix of the world), Risidevanamaskritâ, Rigvedâ, Rinahartrî, Risimandala chârinî, Riddhidâ, Rijumârgasthâ, Rijudharmâ, Rijupradâ, Rigvedanilayâ, Rijvî, Lupta dharma pravartinî, Lûtârivarasam bhûtâ, Lûtâdivisahârinî.

26-30. Thou art Ekâksarâ, Ekamâtrâ, Ekâ, Ekaikanisthitâ, Aindrî, Airâvatârûdhâ, Aihikâmusmikapradâ, Omkârâ, Osadhî, Otâ, Otaprotanivâsinî, Aurbbâ, Ausadhasampannâ, Aupâsanaphalapradâ, Andamadhyasthitâ, Ahkâramanurûpinî. (Visargarûpinî). Thus end the names beginning with vowels.

Now begin the names beginning with consonants. Thou art Kâtyâyanî, Kâlarâtri, Kâmâksî, Kâmasundarî, Kamalâ,. Kâminî, Kântâ, Kâmadâ, Kâlakanthinî, Karikumbha stana bharâ, Karavîra Suvâsinî, Kalyanî, Kundalavatî, Kuruksetranivâsinî, Kuruvinda, dalâkârâ, Kundalî, and Kumudâlayâ.

31-32. Thou art Kâlajhibhâ, Karâlâsyâ, Kâlikâ, Kâlarûpinî, Kâmanîyagunâ, Kânti, Kalâdhârâ, Kumudvatî, Kaus’ikî, Kamalâkârâ, Kâmachâraprabhanjinî. Thou art Kaumarî, Karunâpângî, Kakubanta (as presiding over all the quarters), and Karipriyâ.

33-37. Thou art Kes’arî, Kes’avanutâ, Kadamba Kus’umapriyâ, Kâlindî, Kâlikâ, Kâñchî, Kalas’odbhavasamstutâ. Thou art Kâmamâtâ, Kratumatî, Kâmarûpâ, Kripâvatî, Kumârî, Kunda nilayâ, Kirâtî, Kîravâhana, Kaikeyî, Kokilâlâpâ, Ketakî, Kusumapriyâ, Kamandaludharâ, Kâlî, Karmanirmûlakârinî, Kalahansagati, Kaksâ, Kritâ, Krita, Kautukamangalâ, Kastûrîtilakâ, Kamrâ, Karîndra Gamanâ, Kuhû, Karpûralepanâ, Krisnâ, Kapilâ, Kuharâs’rayâ, Kûtasthâ, Kudharâ, Kamrâ, Kuksisthâkhilavistapâ.

Thus end the names with Ka. Now come those with Kha.

38-62. Thou art Khadga Khetadharâ, Kharbhâ, Khecharî, Khagavâhanâ, Khattânga dhârinî, Khyâta, Khagarâjoparisthitâ, Khalaghnî, Khanditajarâ, Khadâksyânapradâyinî, Khandendu tilakâ.

Thou art Gangâ, Ganes’a guhapûjita, Gâyatrî, Gomatî, Gîtâ, Gândhârî, Gânalolupâ, Gautamî, Gâminî, Gâdhâ, Gandharvâpsarasevitâ, Govinda charanâ krântâ, Gunatraya vibhâbitâ, Gandharvî, Gahvarî, Gotrâ, Girîs’â, Gahanâ, Gamî, Guhâvâsâ, Gunavatî (of good qualities), Gurupâpapranâs’inî, Gurbhî, Gunavatî (of the three gunas), Guhyâ, Goptavyâ, Gunadâyinî, Girijâ, Guhyamâtangî, Garudadhvajavallabhâ, Garvâpahârinî, Godâ (grating Heaven), Gokulasthâ, Gadâdharâ, Gokarnanilayâ saktâ, and Guhyamandala vartinî.

Now the names with “Gha”. Thou art Gharmadâ, Ghanadâ, Ghantâ, Ghora Dânava marddinî, Ghrinî mantra mayî (of the Sûrya mantra, Ghrinî is to shine). Ghosâ, Ghanasampâtadâyinî, Ghantâra-vapriyâ, Ghrânâ, Ghrinisantustikârinî (giving pleasure to the Sun), Ghanârimandalâ, Ghûrnâ, Ghritâchî, Ghanaveginî, Gñânadhâtumayî. Thou art Charchâ, Charchitâ, Châruhâsinî, Chatulâ, Chandikâ, Chitrâ, Chitramâlyayi bhûsitâ, Chaturbhujâ. Châru dantâ, Châturî, Charitapradâ, Chûlikâ, Chitravastrântâ, Chandramah Karna Kundalâ, Chandrahâsâ, Chârudâtrî, Chakorî, Ghandrahâsinî, Chandrikâ, Chandradhâtrî, Chaurî, Chorâ, Chandikâ, Chanchadvâgvâdinî, Chandrachûdâ, Choravinâs’inî, Châruchandana liptângî, Chanchachchâmaravîjitâ, Chârumadhyâ, Chârugati, Chandilâ, Chandrarûpinî, Châruhoma priyâ, Chârvâ, Charitâ, Chakrabâhukâ, Chandramandalamadhyasthâ, Chandramandala Darpanâ, Chakravâkastanî, Chestâ, Chitrâ, Châruvilâsinî, Chitsvarûpâ; Chandavatî, Chandramâ, Chandanapriyâ, Chodayitrî (as impelling the Jîvas always to actions), Chiraprajñâ, Châtakâ, Châruhetukî.

Thou art Chhatrayâtâ, Chhatradharâ, Chhâyâ, Chhandhahparichchhadâ, Chhâyâ Devî, Chhidranakhâ, Chhannendriyavisarpinî, Chhandonustuppratisthântâ, Chhidropadrava bhedinî, Chhedâ, Chhatres’varî, Chhinnâ, Chhurikâ, and Chhelanpriyâ. Thou art Jananî, Janmrarahitâ, Jâtaveda, Jaganmayî, Jâhnavî, Jatilâ, Jatrî (Jetrî), Jarâmarana varjitâ, Jambu dvîpa vatî, JvâIâ, Jayantî, Jalasâlinî, Jitendrîyâ, Jitakrodhâ, Jitâmitrâ, Jagatpriyâ, Jâtarûpamayî, Jihvâ, Jânakî, Jagatî, Jarâ (Jayâ) Janitrî, Jahnutanayâ, Jagattrayahitaisinî, Jvâlamulî, Japavatî, Jvaraghnî, Jitavistapâ, Jitâkrântamayî, Jvâlâ, Jâgratî, Jvaradevatâ, Jvalantî, Jaladâ, Jyesthâ, Jyâghosâ sphota dinmukhî, Jambhinî, Jrimbhanâ, Jrimbhâ, Jvalanmânikya Kundalâ. Jhinjhikâ, Jhananirghosâ, Jhanjhâ Mâruta veginî, Jhallakîvâdya kus’alâ, Nrûpâ, Nbhujâ, Tanka bhedinî, Tanka bânasamâyuktâ, Tankinî, Tanka bhedinî, Tankîganakritâghosâ, Tankanîya mahorasâ, Tankâra Kârinî, Tha tha s’avdaninâdinî.

63-80. Now come the names beginning with “Da.” They are :-- Dâmarî, Dâkinî, Dimbhâ, Dundamâraikanirjitâ, Dâmarîtantramargasthâ, Dandadamarunâdinî, Dindîravasahâ, Dimbhalasat krîdâparâyanâ (dancing with joy in battles). Then Dhundhi vighnes’a jananî, Dhakkâ hastâ, Dhilivrajâ (followed by S’iva ganas), Nityajñânâ, Nirupamâ, Nirgunâ and Narmadâ river. Now :-- Trigunâ, Tripadâ, Tantrî, Tulasî, Tarunâ, Tara, Trivikramapadâ krântâ, Tûrîyapadagâminî, Tarunâ ditya samkas’â, Tâmasî, Tuhinâ, Turâ, Trikâlajñâna Sampannâ, Trivalî, Trilochanâ, Tri S’akti, Tripurâ, Tungâ, Turangavadanâ, Timingilagilâ, Tibrâ, Trisrotâ, Tâmasâdinî, Tantra mantravis’esajñâ, Tanumadhyâ, Trivipstapâ, Trisandhyâ, Tristanî, Tosâsamsthâ, Tâlapratâpinî, Tâtankinî, Tusârâbhâ, Tuhinâchala vâsinî, Tantujâlasamâyuktâ, Târahârâ valipriyâ, Tilahomapriyâ, Tîrthâ, Tamâla kusumâ kriti, Târakâ, Triyutâ, Tanvî, Tris’am kuparivâritâ, Talodarî, Tirobhâsâ, Tâtamka priyavâdinî, Trijatâ, Tittirî, Trisnâ, Tribidhâ, Tarunâ kritî, Tapta kânchanasamkâs’â, Tapta kâñchana bhûsanâ, Traiyambakâ, Trivargâ, Trikâlajñânadâyinî, Tarpanâ, Triptidâ, Triptâ, Tâmasî, Tumvarustutâ, Târksyasthâ, Trigunâkârâ, Tribhangî, Tanuvallarî, Thâtkârî, Thâravâ, Thântâ, Dohinî, Dînavatsalâ, Dânavânta karî, Durgâ, Durgâsuranivahrinî, Devarîti, Divârâtri, Draupadî, Dunda bhisvanâ, Devayânî, Durâvâsâ, Dâridrya bhedinî, Divâ, Dâmodarapriyâ, Dîptâ, Digvâsâ, Digvimohinî, Danda kâranya nilayâ, Dandinî, Deva pûjitâ, Deva vandyâ, Divisâdâ, Dvesinî, Dânavâ kriti, Dînanâ thastutâ, Dîksâ, Daivas’â disvarupinî, Dhâtri, Dhanurdharâ, Dhenur Dhârinî, Dharmachârinî, Dhurandharâ, Dharâdharâ, Dhanadâ, Dhânya dohinî, Dharmas’îlâ, Dhanâdhyaksâ, Dhanurvedavis’âradâ, Dhriti, Dhanyâ, Dhritapadâ, Dharmarâjapriyâ, Dhruvâ, Dhûmavatî, Dhûmakes’î Dharmas’âstraprakas’inî.

81-98. Nandâ, Nandapriyâ, Nidrâ, Nrinutâ, Nandanâtmikâ, Narmmadâ Nalinî, Nîlâ, Nîlakanthasamâs’rayâ, Rudrânî, Nârâyanapriyâ, Nityâ, Nirmmalâ, Nirgunâ, Nidhi, Nirâdhârâ, Nirupamâ, Nityas’uddhâ, Nirajñânâ, Nâdabindu Kalâtîtâ, Nâdavindu Kalâtmikâ, Nrisimhinî; Nagadharâ, Nripanâga vibhûsitâ, Naraka Kles’anâs’inî, Nârâyanapadodbhavâ, Niravadyâ, Nirâkârâ, Nâradapriyakârinî, Nânâjyotih, Nidhidâ, Nirmalâtmikâ, Navasûtradharâ, Nîti, Nirupa drava kârinî, Nandajâ, Navaratnâdhyâ, Naimîsâranya vâsinî, Navanîtapriya, Nârî, Nîla jîmûta nisvanâ, Nimesinî, Nadîrûpâ, Nîlagrîvâ, Nis’is’varî, Nâmâvalî, Nis’umbhaghnî, Nâgaloka nivâsinî, Navajâmbû nadaprakhyâ, Nâgalokâ dhidevatâ, Nûpûrâ Krântacharanâ, Narachitta pramodinî, Nimagnâ rakta nayanâ, Nirghâta-sama-nisvanâ, Nandanodyânilayâ, Nirvya hoparichârinî.

99-107. Pârvatî, Paramodârâ, Parabrahmâtmikâ, Parâ, Pañchkos’avinirmuktâ, Pañchapâtaka-nâs’inî, Para chitta vidhânajñâ, Pañchikâ, Pañcharûpinî. Pûrnimâ, Paramâ Prîti, Paratejah prakas’inî, Purânî, Paurusî, Punyâ, Pundarî kanibheksanâ, Pâtâla tala nirmmagnâ, Prîtâ, Prîtivivardhinî, Pâvanî, Pâda sahitâ, Pes’alâ, Pavanâs’inî Prajâpati, Paris’rântâ, Parvatastana mandalâ, Padmapriyâ, Padmasamsthâ, Padmâksî, Padmasambhavâ, Padmapatrâ, Padmapadâ, Padminî, Priyabhâsinî, Pas’upâs’a vinirmuktâ, Purandhrî, Puravâsinî, Puskalâ, Purusâ, Parbhâ, Pârijâta Kusumapriyâ, Pativratâ, Pativratâ, Pavitrângî, Puspahâsa parâyanâ, Prajñâvatîsutâ, Pautrî, Putrapûjyâ, Payasvinî, Pattipâs’adharâ, Pankti, Pitrilokapradâyinî, Purânî, Punyas’ila, Prânatârti vinâs’inî, Pradyumnajananî; Pustâ, Pitâmahaparigrahâ, Pundarîkapurâvâsâ, Pundarîkasamânanâ, Prithujanghâ, Prithubhujâ, Prithupâdâ, Prithûdarî, Pravâlas’obhâ, Pingâksî, Pîtavâsâh, Prachâpalâ, Prasavâ, Pustidâ, Punyâ, Pratisthâ, Prânavâ, Pati, Pañchavarnâ, Panchavânî, Pañchikâ, Panjarasthitâ, Paramâyâ, Parajyotih, Paraprîti, Parâgati, Parâkâsthâ, Pares’anî, Pâvanî, Pâvaka Dyutî, Punyabhadrâ, Parichchhedyâ. Puspahâsâ, Prithûdarâ, Pîtângî, Pîtavasanâ Pîtas’ayâ, Pis’âchinî, Pîtakriyâ, Pis’âchaghnî, Pâtalâksî, Patukriyâ, Pañchabhaksapriyâchârâ, Putanâ prânaghâtinî, Punyâgavanamadhyasthâ, Punyatîrthanisevitâ, Panchângî, Parâs’akti, Paramâdhâda kârinî, Puspakândasthitâ, Pûsâ, Positâkhilavistapâ, Pânapriyâ, Pañchas’ikhâ, Pannagoparis’âyinî, Pañchamâtrâtmikâ, Prithvî, Pathikâ, Prithudohinî, Purânanyâyamîmansâ, Pâtalî, Puspagandhinî, Punyaprajâ, Pâradâtrî, Paramârgaikagocharâ, Pravâlas’obhâ, Pûrnâs’â, Prânavâ, Palhabodarî.

108-149. Phalinî, Phaladâ, Phalgu, Phutkârî, Phalakâkritî, Phanindra bhogas’ayanâ, Phanimandalamanditâ, Bâlabâlâ, Bahumatâ, BâIâtapanibhâms’ukâ, Balabbadrapriyâ, Vandyâ, Badavâ, Buddhisamstutâ, Bandîdevî, Bilavatî, Badis’aghinî, Baliprîyâ, Bândhavî, Bodhitâ, Buddhirbandhûkakusumapriyâ, Bâla bhânuprabhâkârâ, Brâhmî, Brâhmana devatâ, Brihaspatistutâ. Brindâ, Brindavana vihârinî, Bâlâkinî, Bilâhâra, Bilavasâ Bahûdakâ, Bahunetrâ, Bahupadâ, Bahukarnâvatamsikâ, Bahubâhuyutâ, Bijarûpinî, Bahurûpinî, Bindunâdakalâtitâ, Bindunâdasvarûpinî, Baddhagodhângulitrânâ, Badaryâs’ramavâsinî, Brindârakâ, Brihatskandhâ, Brihatî, Bânapâtinî, Brindâdhyaksâ, Bahunutâ, Vanitâ, Bahuvikramâ, Baddhapadmâsanâsîna, Bilvapatratalasthitâ, Bodhidrumanijâvâsâ, Badisthâ, Bindu darpanâ, Bâlâ, Vânâsanavatî, Badavânalaveginî, Brahmânda bahirantasthâ, Brahmakankanasûtrinî, Bhavânî, Bhîsanavatî, Bhâvinî, Bhayahârinî, Bhadrakâlî, Bhujangâksî, Bhâratî, Bhâratâs’ayâ, Bhairavî, Bhîsanâkârâ, Bhûtidâ, Bhutimâlinî, Bhâminî, Bhoganiratâ, Bhadradâ, Bhûrivikramâ, Bhûtavâsâ, Bhrigulatâ, Bhârgavî, Bhûsurârchitâ, Bhâgîrathî, Bhogavatî, Bhavanasthâ, Bhisagvarâ, Bhâminâ, Bhoginî, Bhâsâ, Bhavânî, Bhûridaksinâ, Bhargâtmikâ, Bhâmavatî, Bhavabandhavimochinî, Bhajanîyâ, Bhûtadhâtri-ranjitâ, Bhuvanes’varî, Bhujangavalayâ, Bhîmâ, Bherundâ, Bhâgadheyinî; Thou art Mâtâ, Mâyâ, Madhumatî, Madhujihavâ, Manupriyâ, Mahâdevî, Mahâbhâgîâ, Mâliri, Mînalochanâ, Mâyâtîtâ, Madhumatî, Madhumânsâ, Madhudravâ, Mânavî, Madhusambhûtâ, Mithilâpuravâsinî, Madhukaitabhasamhartrî, Medinî, Meghamâlinî, Mandodarâ, Mahâ Mâyâ, Maithilî, Masrinapriyâ, Mahâ Laksmî, Mahâ Kâlî, Mahâ Kanyâ, Mahes’varî, Mâhendrî, Merutanayâ Mandârakusumârchitâ, Manjumanjîracharanâ, Moksadâ, Manjubhasinî, Madhuradrâvinî, Mudrâ, Malayâ, Malayânvitâ, Medhâ, Marakatas’yâmâ, Mâgadhî, Menakâtmajâ, Mahâmârî, Mahâvîrâ, Mahâs’yâmâ, Manustutâ, Mâtrikâ, Mihirâbhâsâ, Mukundapada Vikramâ, Mûlâdhârasthitâ, Mugdhâ, Manipûranivâsinâ, Mrigâksî, Mahisârûdhâ, Mahisâsuramardinî. Thou art Yogâsanâ, Yogagamyâ, Yogâ, Yauvanakâs’rayâ, Yauvanî, Yuddhamadhyasthâ, Yamunâ, Yugâdharinî, Yaksinî, Yogayuktâ, Yaksarâjaprasûtinî, Yâtrâ, Yâna bidhanajñâ, Yaduvans’asamudbhavâ, Yakârâdi-Ha Kârântâ, (all ântahstha varnas), Yâjusî, Yajñâ rûpinî, Yâminî, Yoganiratâ. Yâtudhâna, bhayamkarî, Rukminî, Ramanî, Râmâ, Revatî, Renukâ, Ratî, Raudrî, Raudrapriyâkârâ Râma mâtâ, Ratipriyâ, Rohinî, Râjyadâ, Revâ, Rasâ, Râjîvalochanâ, Râkes’î, Rûpasampannâ, Ratnasimhâs’anasthitâ, Raktamâlyâmbaradharâ, Raktagandhânu lepanâ, Râja hamsa samârûdhâ, Rambhâ, Raktavalipriyâ, Ramanîyayugâdhârâ, Râjitâkhilabhûtalâ, Rurucharmapari-dhânâ, Rathinî, Ratnamâlikâ, Roges’î, Rogas’amanî, Râvinî, Romaharsinî, Râmachandra padâ Krântâ, Ravanachchhedakârinî, Ratnavastra parichchhinvâ, Rathasthâ, Rukma bhûsanâ, Lajjâdhidevatâ, Lolâ, Lalitâ, Lingadhârinî, Laksmî, Lolâ, Luptavisâ, Lokinî, Lokavis’rutâ, Lajjâ, Lambodarî, Lalanâ, Lokadhârinî Varadâ, Vanditâ, Vidyâ, Vaisnavî, Vimalâkriti, Vârâhî, Virajâ, Varsâ, Varalaksmî, Vilâsinî, Vinatâ, Vyomamadhyasthâ, Vârijâsanasamsthitâ, Vârunî, Venusambhutâ, Vîtihotrâ, Virûpinî, Vâyumandalamadhyasthâ, Visnurûpâ, Vidhikriyâ, Visnupatnî, Visnumatî, Vis’âlâksi, Vasundharâ, Vâmadevapriyâ, Velâ, Vajrinî, Vasudohinî, Vedâksaraparîtâmgî, Vâjapeya-phalapradâ, Vâsavî, Vâmajananî, Vaikunthanilayâ, Varâ, Vyâsapriyâ Varmadharâ, Vâlmîkiparisevitâ.

Thou art S’akambharî, S’ivâ, S’antâ, S’aradâ, S’aranâgati, S’âtodarî, S’ubhâchârâ, S’umbhâsuramardinî, S’obhâbati, S’ivâkârâ, S’amkarârdhas’arîrini, S’onâ (red), S’ubhâs’ayâ, S’ubhrâ, S’irahsandhânakârinî, S’arâvatî, S’arânandâ, S’arajjyotanâ, S’ubbânanâ, S’arabhâ, S’ûlinî, S’uddhâ, S’abarî, S’ukavâhanâ, S’rîmatî, S’rîdharânandâ, S’ravanânandadâyinî, S’arvânî, S’arbharîvandyâ, Sadbhâsâ, Sadritupriyâ, Sadâdhârasthitâdevî, Sanmukhapriyakârinî, Sadamgarûpasumati, Surâsuranamaskritâ.

150-155. Thou art Sarasvatî, Sadâdhârâ, Sarvamangalakârinî, Sâmagânapriyâ, Sûksmâ, Sâvitrî, Sâmasambhavâ, Sarvavâsâ, Sadânandâ, Sustanî, Sâgarâmbarâ, Sarvais’yaryapriyâ, Siddhi, Sâdhubandhuparâkramâ, Saptarsimandalagatâ, Somamandalavâsinî, Sarvajñâ, Sândrakarunâ, Samânâdhikavarjitâ, Sarvottungâ, Sangahînâ, Sadgunâ, Sakalestadâ, Saraghâ (bee), Sûryatanayâ, Sukes’î, Somasamhati, Hiranyavarnâ, Harinî, Hrîmkârî, Hamsavâhinî, Ksaumavastraparîtângî, Ksîrâbdhitanayâ, Ksamâ, Gâyatrî, Sâvitrî, Pârvatî, Sarasvatî, Vedagarbhâ, Varârohâ, S’rî Gâyatrî, and Parâmvikâ.

156-159. O Nârada! Thus I have described to you one thousand (and eight) names of Gâyatrî; the hearing of which yields merits and destroys all sins and gives all prosperity and wealth. Specially in the Astamîtithi (eighth lunar day) if after one’s meditation (dhyânam) worship, Homa, and japam, one recites this in company with the Brahmânas, one gets all sorts of satisfactions. These one thousand and eight names of the Gâyatrî ought not to be given to anybody indiscriminately. Speak this out to him only who is very devoted, who is a Brahmâna, and who is an obedient disciple. Even if any devotee, fallen from the observances of Âcharâ (right way of living), be a great friend, still do not disclose this to him.

160-165. In whatever house, these names are kept written, no cause of fear can creep in there and Laksmî, the Goddess of wealth, though unsteady, remains steady in that house.

This great secret yields merits to persons, gives wealth to the poor, yields moksa to those who are desirous of it, and grants all desires. If anybody reads this, he gets cured of his diseases, and becomes freed from bondages and imprisonment. All the Great Sins, for example, murdering Brâhmanas, drinking wine, stealing gold, going to the wife of one’s Guru, taking gifts from bad persons, and eating the uneatables, all are destroyed, yea, verily destroyed! O Nârada! Thus I have recited to you this Great Secret. All persons get, indeed, united with Brahmâ (Brahama sâyujya) by this. True. True. True. There is not the least trace of doubt here.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the one thousand and eight names of the Gâyatrî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 7. On The Dîksâ Vidhi Or On The Rules Of Initiation

1-3. Nârada said :-- I have heard the one thousand names or nâma stotras equivalent in its fruits to S’rî Gâyatrî, highly potent in making a good fortune and tending to a splendid increase of the wealth and prosperity. Now I want to hear about how initiations in Mantrams are performed, without which nobody, be he a Brâhmin, a Ksattriya, a Vais’ya or a S’ûdra, is entitled to have the Devî Mantra. O Lord! Kindly describe the ordinary (Sâmânya) and the special (vis’esa) rules thereof.

4-41. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! Listen. I am now telling you about the rules of initiation (Dîksâ) of the disciples, pure in heart. When they are initiated, they become entitled then and not before that, to worship the Devas, the Fire and the Guru. That method of instruction, and religious act and ceremony is called the Dîksâ (initiation) by which the Divine Knowledge is imparted; and at once flashes in the heart and mind of the initiated that Knowledge and all his sins are then destroyed. So the Pundits of the Vedas and the Tantras, say. (The Divine Knowledge is like lightning, fire, arising and permeating the body, mind, and spirit.) This Dîksâ ought to be taken by all means. This gives excellent merits and pure results. Both the Guru and the S’isya (disciple) ought to be very pure and true. (This is the first essential requisite. Then the results are instantaneous). First of all, the Guru is to perform all the morning duties, he is to take his bath and perform his Sandhyâ Vandanams. He is to return home from the banks of the river with his Kamandalu and observe maunam (silence). Then, in order to give Dîksâ, he is to enter into the assigned room (Yâga Mandapa) and take his seat on an Âsana that is excellent and calculated to please all. He is to perform Âchanara and do Prânâyâma. Then he should take water in his Arghya vessel and putting scents and flowers in that, charge that water with Phatkâra mantra (that is, condense electricity Spirit in that). Then uttering the Phat mantra, he is to sprinkle the water on the doorways of the worshiproom and begin his Pûjâ. Firstly, on the top of the door at one end invoke the Deity Gananâthâ by His mantra, at the other end invoke Sarasvatî by Her mantra and at the middle, invoke Laksmî Devî by Her mantra duly and worship them, with flowers. Then, on the right side worship Gangâ and Bighnes’a; and on the left side worship Ksettrapâla and Yamunâ, the daughter of the Sun. Similarly, on the bottom of the door, worship the Astra Devatâ by the Phat mantra. Then consider the whole Mandapa as inspired with the presence of the Devî, and see the whole place as pervaded by Her through and through. Then, repeat the Phat mantra and destroy the Celestial obstacles as well as those from the middle space (Antarîksa); strike the ground thrice with the left heel and thus destroy the Terrene obstacles. Then touching the left branch on the left side of the choukât, put the right foot forward and enter into the Mandapa. Then instal the S’ânti Kumbha (the peace jar) and offer the ordinary Arghya (Sâmânyârgha). Next worship the Vâstunâtha and Padmayoni with flowers and Âtapa rice and the Arghya water, on the south-west and then purify the Pancha Gavya. Next sprinkle all the Mandapa and the entrance gate with that Arghya water. And, while sprinkling with Arghya water, consider the whole space right through as inspired with the presence of the Devî and repeat the Mûla Mantra with devotion and sprinkle with Phat mantra. The Kartâ, then, uttering the mantra “Phat,” is to drive away all the evils from the Mandapa and uttering the mantra “Hûm” sprinkle water, all around, thus pacifying the atmosphere and bringing peace into the hearts of all present.

Then burn the Dhûpa incense inside and scatter Vikira (water, sandal-paste, yava, ashes, Durba grass with roots, and Âtapa rice). Then collect all these rice, etc., again with a broom made of Kus’a grass to the north east corner of the Mandapa; making the Sankalpa and uttering Svasti vâchana (invocation of good), distribute and satisfy the poor and orphans with feeding, clothing and money. Then he should bow down to his own Guru and take his seat humbly on the soft Âsanam allotted to him with his face eastwards and meditate on the Deity (Îsta Deva) of the mantra that is to be imparted to the disciple. After meditating thus, he is to do the Bhûta s’ûddhi (purification of elements) and perform Nyâsa, etc., of the Deya mantra (the mantra that is to be imparted to the disciple) according to the rules stated below, i.e., the Risi on the head; the chhandas in the mouth, the Îsta Devatâ in the heart, Bîja on the anus and S’akti Nyâsa on the two legs. Then he is to make sound thrice by the clap of his palm and thus thwart off all the evils of the earth and the middle space and then make digbandhan (tieing up the quarters) by the mudrâ chhotikâ three times (snapping the thumb and forefinger together ). Then perform the Prânâyâma with the Mûla mantra of the would-be-Îsta-Devatâ and do the Mâtrikâ Nyâsa in one’s own body, thus :-- Om Am namah s’irasi, Om Âm namah on the face, Om Im namah on the right eye, Om Îm namah on the left eye, and so on, assign all the letters duly to their respective places. Then perform the Karânga Nyâsa on the fingers and the Sadanga Nyâsa thus :-- Speak: Om Hridayâya namah, touching on the heart, utter Om S’irase svâhâ, touching the head; Om S’ikhâyai Vasat, touching the tuft; Om Kavachâya Hûm, touching on the Kavacha, “Om netratrayâya Vausat,” touching the eye, and “Om Astrâya Phat” touching both the sides of the hand, the palm and its back. Then finish the Nayâsa by doing the Varnanyâsa of the Mûla mantra in those places that are said in the cognate kalpas (i.e., throat, heart, arms, legs, etc.).

O Nârada! Next consider within your body the seat of an auspicious Âsana (a seat) and make the Nyâsa of Dharma on the right side, Jñânam on the left side, of Vairâgyam (dispassion) on the left thigh, prosperity and wealth on the right thigh, of non-Dharma in the mouth and of Non-Jñânam on the left side, Avairâgyam (passion) on the navel, and poverty on the right side. Then think of the feet of the Âsana (the body) as Dharma, etc., and all the limbs as Adharma (non-Dharma). In the middle of the Âsana (body), i.e., in the heart consider Ananta Deva as a gentle bed and on that a pure lotus representing this universe of five elements. Then make Nyâsa of the Sun, Moon, and Fire on this lotus and think the Sun as composed of twelve Kalâs (digits) the Moon composed of sixteen Kalâs (digits) and the Fire as composed of ten Kalâs. Over this make Nyâsa of Sâttva, Râja and Tâmo Gunas, Âtmâ, Antarâtmâ, Paramâtmâ and Jñânâtmâ and then think of this as his Îsta’s altar where the devotee is to meditate on his Îsta Devatâ, the Highest Mother. Nyâsa-assignment of the various parts of the body to different deities which is usually accompanied with prayers and corresponding gesticulations. Next the devotee is to perform the mental worship of the Deya Mantra Devatâ according to the rules of his own Kalpa; next he is to show all the Mudrâs, stated in the Kalpa for the satisfaction of the Deva. The Devas become very pleased when all these Mudrâs are shown to them.

42-46. O Nârada! Now, on one’s left side, erect an hectagon; inside it a circular figure; inside this again a square and then draw within that square a triangle and over it show the S’ankha Mudrâ. After finishing the Pûjâ of the Six Deities at the six corners of the hectagon, Fire, etc., take the tripod of the S’ankha (conch-shell) and sprinkling it with Phat mantra, place it within the triangle. Utter, then, the Mantra “Mam Vahniman dalâya Das’a Kalâtmane Amuka Devyâ Arghyapâtrasthânâya namah” and thus worshipping the S’ânkhya vessel place it within the mandala. Then worship in the S’ankha pâtra, the ten Kalâs of Fire, beginning from the East, then south-east and so on. Sprinkle the S’ankha, conchshell, with the Mûla Mantra and meditating on it, place the S’ankha (conch shell) on the tripod. Repeating the mantra “Am Sûrya mandalâya Dvadas’akalâtmane Amukodevyâ Arghyapâtrâya namah” worship in the Arghyapâtra S’ankha, sprinkle water in the S’ankha with the Mantra “Sam S’ankhya namah.” Worship in due order the twelve Kalâs of the Sun Tapinî, Tâpinî, Dhûmrâ, etc., utter the fifty syllables of the Mâtrikâ in an inverse order (i.e., beginning, see the Sâradâ Tilaka, with Ksam, Ham, Sam, Sam, S’am, etc.,) and repeating the Mûla Mantra also in an inverse order, fill the S’ankha, three-fourths, with water. Next perform in it the Nyâsa of Chandrakalâ and uttering the Mantra “Um Soma mandalâya Sodas’akalâtmane Amukademtâyâ Arghyâ-mritâya namah,” worship in this conchshell. Next with Ankus’a mudrâ, invoke all the tîrthas there, repeating the Mantra “Gange Cha Yamune chaiva, etc.,” and repeat eight times the Mûla Mantra (the basic Mantra). Then perform the S’adamga Nyâsa in the water and with the Mantra “Hridâ namah, etc.,” worship and, repeating eight times the Mûla Mantra, cover it with Matsyamundrâ. Next place on the right side of the S’ankha, the Proksanî Pâtra (the Kos’â vessel from which water is taken for sprinkling) and put a little water in it. By this water sprinkle and purify all the articles of worship as well as one’s own body and consider one’s Âtman as pure and holy.

47-81. After doing works thus far the until Vis’esârghya is placed, the devotee should erect Sarvato bhadra mandala within the altar and put the S’âli rice within its pericarp. Next spread Kus’a grass on that Mandala and put on one Kurcha, looking well and auspicious within it, made of twenty-seven Kus’a grass knotted with Venyagra granthi. Worship here the Âdhâra S’akti, Prakriti, Kûrma, S’esa, Ksamâ, Sudhâsindhu, Manimandala, Kalpa vriksa and Îsta devatâ and the Pîtha. (Durgâ Devî yoga pîthâya namah). Then have an entire kumbha (waterjar) having no defect, wash it inside with Phat mantra, and encircle it with the red thread thrice as symbolising the three Gunas. Place within this jar the Nava ratna (nine jewels) with Kurcha and worshipping it with scents and flowers put them in the jar repeating the Pranava, and place that on the Pîtha (seat). Next consider the Pîtha and Kumbha (waterjar) as one and the same and pour waters from the Tîrthas, repeating in an inverse order the Mâtrikâ Varnas (from Ksa to Ka) and fill it, thinking of the Îsta Deva and repeating the basic mantra, put the new and fresh twigs (Pallavas) of As’vattha, Panasa and mango trees, etc., in the jar and cover its mouth and place over it fruits, rice, and chasaka (honey) and wrap it with two red cloths. Then perform the Prâna-Pratisthâ and invoke the Spirit of the Devî by the Prânasthâpana Mantra and show the Mudrâs, Âvâhana, etc., and thus satisfy the Devî. Then do the Sodas’opachâra Pûjâ of the Devî after me- ditating on the Parames’varî according to the rules of the Kalpa.

First offer “welcome” in front of the Devî and then duly offer the Pâdya, Arghya, Âchamanîya water, Madhuparka, and oils, etc., for the bath. Then offer nice red silken clothes and various jewels, ornaments; repeating the Mâtrikâ syllables electrified with the Deya Mantra, worship the whole body of the Devî with scents and flowers. Next offer to the Devî the sweet scent of Kalâguru mixed with camphor and the Kâs’mîri sandalpaste mixed with Kastûrî and various nice scented flowers, for example, the Kunda flowers, etc. Then offer the Dhûpa prepared from Aguru, Guggula, Us’îra, sandalpaste, sugar, and honey and know that the Dhûpa is very pleasing to the Devî. Next offer various lights and offerings of fruits, vegetables and fooding. Be particular to sprinkle everything with the water of the Kosâ, thus purifying, before it is offered to the Devî. Then complete the Anga Pûjâ, and the Âvarana-Pûjâ of the Devî, then perform the duty of Vais’vadeva. On the right side of the Devî erect an altar (sthandila) six feet square and instal Agni (Fire) there. Invoke there the Deity, thinking of Her Form and worship Her with scents and flowers. Then with the Vyârhiti Mantra with Svâhâ prefixed and Mûla (Deya) Mantra perform the Homa ceremony with oblations, charu and ghee, twenty five times. Next perform Homa again with Vyârhiti. Next worship the Devî with scents, etc., and consider the Devî and Pîtha Devatâ as one and the same. Then take leave of (visarjana) the Agni (Fire). Offer valis (sacrifices) all round to the Pârs’vadas of the Devî with the remnant charu of the Homa.

Now again worship the Devî with five offerings and offer betel, umbrella, châmara and others and repeat the Mûla mantra thousand times. After finishing the Japam, place Karkarî (a water-jar with small holes at the bottom, as in a sieve) on the rice in the north-eastern corner and invoke the Devî there and worship Her. Uttering the mantra “Raksa Raksa” moisten the place with water coming out of Karkarî, and repeat the Phat mantra. After re-worshipping the Devî, place Karkarî in due position. Thus the Guru finishes the Adhivâsa (foregoing) ceremony and takes his meals with the disciple and sleeps that night on that altar.

82-106. O Nârada! Now I am describing briefly about the Homa Kunda (a round hole in the ground consecrated to the Deity) and the Samskâra ceremony of the Sthandila (the sacrificial altar). Uttering, first, the Mûla Mantra, see, fix your gaze on the Kunda; then sprinkle it with water and the Phat mantra and drive away the evil-spirits from there. Then with mantra “Hûm” again sprinkle it with water.

Then draw within it three lines Prâgagra and Udagagra (on the eastern and northern sides). Sprinkling it with water and the Pranava, worship within the Pîtha, uttering the mantras from Âdhâra S’aktaye namah to Amuka Devî Yoga Pîthâya namah. Invoke, in that Pîtha, the Highest One, Who is S’iva S’ivâ with all one-ness of heart and worship Her with scents and offerings. Then think for a moment the Devî as having taken bath and as one with S’ankara. Bring then fire in a vessel and taking a flaming piece thereof throw that in the south-west corner. Then purifying it by the gaze and quitting the portions of Kravyâdah, impart the Chaitanya by “Ram,” the Vahnivîja repeat “Om” over it seven times. Shew, then, the Dhenumudrâ and protect it by Phat Kâra and cover, veil, it with the mantra “Hûm.” Then turn the fire, thus worshipped with sandalpaste, etc., thrice over the Kunda and with both the knees on the ground and repeating the Pranava, consider the Agni as the Vîrya of S’iva and throw it on the yoni of the Devî in the Pîtha. Then offer Âchamana, etc., to the Deva and the Devî and worship. Then light the flame with the mantra “Chit Pingala Hana Hana Daha Daha Pacha Pacha Sarvajñâ Jñâpaya Svâhâ.” Then utter the stotra to the Agni Deva with great love, repeating the mantra “Agnim Prajvalitam vande Jâtavedam Hutâs’anam suvarna varnamamalam samiddham Visvatomukham.” Then perform the Sadamganyâsa to the Agni Deva “Om Sahasrârchchise namah, Om Svasti Pûrnâya Svâhâ,” “Om Uttistha purusâya vasat,” “Om Dhûma vyâpine Hûm Om Sapta Jihvâya vausat” “Om Dhanur dharâya Phat.” Repeating the above six mantras, perform the Nyâsa on the heart, etc., the six places. Now meditate on the Agni as of a golden colour, three-eyed, seated on a lotus and holding in His four hands signs of granting boons, S’akti, Svastika and sign of “no fear,” also meditate on Agni, as the seat of the greatest auspiciousness. Then moisten the Kunda on the top of the belt (mekhalâ) with water. Next spread the Kus’a grass all around and draw the Agni yantra over it, i.e., triangle, hectagon, circle, eight-petalled figure and Bhûpura; rather have this drawing before the Agnisthâpanâ. Now meditate this only. Then, within the Yantra, recite “Vais’vânara Jâtaveda Lohitâksa sarvakarmâni Sâdhaya Svâhâ” and worship Agni. Then worship in the centre and in the hectagon at the corners worship the Saptajihvâ (seven tongues Hiranya, Gaganâ, Raktâ, Krisnâ, Suprabhâ, Bahurûpâ, Atiraktikâ) and next worship within the pericarp of the lotus the Anga Devatâs. Then recite the following mantras within the eight petals :-- “Om Agnaye Jâtavedase namah,” “ Om Agnaye Saptajihvâya namah,” “ Om Agnaye Havyavâhanâya namah,” “Om Agnaye As’vodarajâya namah,” “Om Agnaye Vais’vânarâya namah,” “Om Agnaye Kaumâra tejase namah,” “Om Agnaye Vis’vamukhâya namah,” “Om Agnaye Devamukhâya namah” and considering the forms to hold S’akti and Svastik, worship them. Then consider Indra and the other Lokapâlas (Regents of the several quarters) situated in the east, south-east, and so on together with their weapons, the thunderbolt and the other weapons, and thus worship them.

107-134. O Nârada! Next purify the sacrificial ladles, etc., sruk, sruva, etc., and ghee; then, taking ghee by sruva, go on with the Homa ceremony. Divide the ghee of the Âjyasthâlî (the vessel in which the ghee for the Homa purposes is kept) in three parts; take ghee from the right side and saying “Om Agnaye Svâhâ” offer oblations on the right eye of the Agni; take ghee from the left side and saying “Om Somâye Svâhâ” offer oblations on the left eye of the Agni; take ghee from the centre and saying, “Om Agnisomâbhyâm Svâhâ,” offer oblations on the central eye of the Agni. Take ghee again from the right side and saying “Om Agnaye Svistakrite Svâhâ” offer oblations to the mouth of the Agni. Then the devotee is to repeat “Om Bhuh Svâhâ,” “Om Bhuvah Svâhâ,” “Om Svah Svâhâ” and offer thrice the oblations; next he is to offer oblations thrice with the Agni mantra. After this, O Muni! for impregnation and each of the ten Samskâras, natal-ceremony, tonsure, etc., he is to repeat the Pranava Mantra and offer the eight oblations of ghee on each occasion. Now hear of the tenfold Samskâras :-- (1) Impregnation, (2) Pumsavan (a ceremony performed as soon as a woman perceives the foetus to be quick), (3) Sîmantonnayana (a ceremony observed by women in the fourth, sixth or the eighth month of pregnancy), (4) Jâta Karma (ceremony at the birth of a child), (5) Nâmakarana, (naming the child), (6) Niskrâmana (a ceremony performed when a new-born child is first taken out of the house into the open air usually in the fourth month), (7) Annaprâs’ana (when the rice is put in the mouth of the child), (8) Chûdâkarana (the ceremony of the first tonsure), (9) Upanayana (holding the sacrificial thread; (10) Godâna and Udvâha (gift of cows and marriage). These are stated in the Vedas. Next worship S’iva Pârvatî, the Father and the Mother of Agni and take leave of them. Next in the name of Agni, offer five Samidhas (fuel) soaked in ghee and offer one oblation of ghee to each of the Âvarana Devatâs.

Then take the ghee by the S’ruk and covering it with the S’ruva, offer ten oblations to Agni, and Mahâ Ganes’a with mantras ending in Vausat,

The Mahâ Ganes’a mantras run as follows :-- (1) Om, Om Svâhâ (2) Om S’rîm Svâhâ, (3) Om S’rîm Hrîm Svâhâ, (4) Om S’rîm Hrîm Klîm Svâhâ, (5) Om S’rîm Hrîm Klîm Glaum Svâhâ, (6) Om S’rîm Hrîm Klîm Glaum Gam Svâhâ, (7) Om S’rîm Hrîm Klîm Glaum ityantah Gam Ganapataye Svâhâ, (8) Om Vara Varada ityantah Svâhâ, (9) Sarvajanam me Vas’am ityanto Svâhâ and (10) Ânaya Svâhâ ityantah.

Next perform in the Agni the Pîtha Pûjâ and meditate on the Deya Îstadeva and worship him. Next offer twenty-five oblations to his face, repeating the Mûla Mantra. Then think of that and Agni Deva as one and the same, and then again as one with Âtman. Then offer oblations to each of the Sadamga Devatâs separately. Then search for the Nâdis (veins) of Vahni and Îsta Devatâ and offer twenty one oblations. Then offer oblations to each of the two Devatâs separately. Next offer one thousand and eight oblations to the Îsta Deva with Til soaked in ghee or with the materials enumerated in the Kalpa. O Muni! Thus finishing the Homa ceremony, consider that the Îsta Deva (the Devî), Agni and the Âvarana Deities are all satisfied. Then, by the command of the Guru, the disciple is to take his bath and perform his Sandhyâ, etc., and put on new clothes (cloth and châdar) and golden ornaments. He is to come then, to the Kunda with Kamandalu in his hand and with a pure heart. He is to bow down to the elders and superiors seated in the assembly and take his seat in his Âsana. S’rî Guru Deva then would look at the disciple with kind eyes and think the Chaitanya of the disciple within his own (the Guru’s) body. Then the Guru Deva would perform the Homa and look at the disciple with a divine gaze, so that the disciple becomes pure-hearted and able to get the favours of the Devas. Thus the Guru must purify all the Adhvas (the passages) of the body of the disciple.

Then the Guru is to touch respectively the feet, generative organ, navel, heart, forehead, and the head of the disciple with Kûrcha (a bundle of Kus’a grass) and til soaked in ghee, in his left hand and offer at each touch eight oblations, repeating the mantra “Om adya S’isyasya Kalâdhvânam S’odhayâmi Svâhâ, etc.” Thus the Guru would purify Kalâdhva (in the feet) Tattvâdhva (in the generative organ), Bhûvanâdhva (in the navel), Varnâdhva (in the heart), Padâdhva (in the fore-head) and Mantrâdhva (on the head), the six Adhvâs and think these all to be dissolved in Brahmâ (Brahmalîna).

135-155. Then, again, the Guru would think all these to be re-born from Brahmâ and transfer the Chaitanya of the disciple that was in him to the disciple. Then the Guru must offer Pûrnâhuti and consider the Îsta Devatâ, placed in the fire by the visarjana mantra for the Homa purposes, as entered into the water-jar. He is to perform again the Vyârhiti Homa and offer all the Amgâhutis (oblations to all the limbs) of the fire and take leave of the fire withdrawing the Deity from the jar, into his own body. Uttering then the Vausat Mantra he would tie the eyes of the disciple with a piece of cloth and would bring him from the Kunda to the mandala and make the disciple offer puspânjali (flowers in his palm) to the Îsta deva. Then he would take away the bandage or piece of cloth from his eyes and ask him to take his seat in the seat Kusâsana. Thus the Guru, after having purified the elements of the body of the disciple and performed the Nyâsa of the Deya Mantra, would make the disciple sit in another mandala. Then he would touch the head of the disciple with the twigs (Pallavas) of the Kunda and repeat the Mâtrikâ Mantra and make him have his bath with the water of the jar which is considered as the seat of the Îsta Deva. Then, for the protection of the disciple, he would sprinkle (abhiseka) him with the water of the Vardhani vessel placed already in the north-east corner. Then the disciple would get up and put on the pair of new clothes and besmear his whole body with ashes and sit close by the Guru. When the merciful Guru would consider that the S’iva S’akti has now passed out of his own body and that Divine Force, the Devî, has entered into the body of the disciple, i.e., charged the disciple with the pass. Thinking now the disciple and the Devatâ to be one and the same, the Guru would now worship the disciple with flowers and scents. The Guru would then place his right hand on the head of the disciple and repeat clearly in his right ear the Mahâ Mantra of the Mahâ Devî . The disciple is to repeat also the Mahâ Mantra one hundred and eight times and fall prostrate on the ground before the Guru and thus bow down to the Guru, whom the disciple now thinks as the incarnate of the Deva.

The disciple, the devotee of the Guru, would now give as a Daksinâ all his wealth and property for his whole life to the Guru. Then he would give Daksinâ to the priests and make charities to the virgins; the Brâhmanas, the poor and the destitute and the orphans. Here he is not to be miserly in any way in the expenditure. O Nârada! Thus the disciple would consider himself blessed and he would daily remain engaged in repeating the Mahâ Mantra. Thus I have described to you above

The most excellent Dîksâ. Thinking all these, you are to remain ever engaged in worshipping the lotus feet of the Great Devî. There is no Dharma higher than this in this world for the Brâhmanas. The followers of the Vedas would impart this Mantra according to the rules stated respectively in their own Grihya Sûtras; and the Tântrikas would also do the same according to their own Tantras. The Vaidiks should not follow the Tantra rules and the Tantriks are not to follow the Vaidik rules. Thus all the S’âstras say. And this is the Sanâtan Creed. Nârâyana said :-- O Nârada! I have described all about the ordinary Dîksâ that you questioned me. Now the essence in brief is this that you would remain always merged in worshipping the Parâ S’akti, the Highest Force, the Mahâ Devî. What more shall I say than this that I have got the highest pleasure and the Nirvâna, the peace, that passeth all understanding, from my daily worshipping That Lotus Feet duly. Vedavyâsa said :-- O Mahârâja! O Janamejayan! After having said this Dîksâtattva, the highest Yogi Bhagavân Nârâyana, meditated by the Yogis, closed his eyes and remained merged in Samâdhi, in the meditation of the Lotus Feet of the Devî.

Knowing this Highest Tattva, Nârada, the chief of the Risis, bowed down at the feet of the Great Guru Nârâyana and went away immediately to perform the tapasyâ so that he also might see the Mahâ Devî.

Here ends the Seventh Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the Dîksâ vidhi or on the rules of Initiation in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 8. On The Appearance Of The Highest S’akti

1-8. Janamejaya spoke to Veda Vyâsa :-- O Bhagavân! Thou art the knower of all the Dharmas and Thou art the chief, the crown of the Pundits, knowing all the S’âstras. Now I ask Thee how is it that the twice-born have ceased to worship the Highest S’akti, the Gâyatrî and they now worship the other Devatâs, on the face of the distinct command in the S’rutis that the worship of the Gâyatrî is nityâ, that is, daily to be done at all times, especially during the three Sandhyâ times, by all those that are twice-born?

In this world some are the devotees of Visnu, some, the followers of Ganapatî, some are Kâpâlikas, some follow the doctrines prevalent in China; some are the followers of Buddha or Chârvâka; some of them again wear the barks of trees and others roam naked. So various persons are seen having no trace of faith in the Vedas.

O Brâhmana! What is the real cause underlying secretly here in this! Kindly mention this to me. Again there are seen many men, well versed in various metaphysics and logic, our B.A.s and M.A.s but then, again, they have no faith in the Vedas. How is this? Nobody wants anything ominous to him consciously. But how is it that these so-called learned men are fully aware and yet they are wonderfully void of any trace of faith in the Vedas? Kindly mention the cause underlying this, O Thou! The foremost of the knowers of the Vedas.

There is, again, another question :-- Thou hadst described before the glories of Manidvîpa, the highest and the best place of the Devî. Now I want to hear how is that Dvîpa greater than the great. Satisfy this servant of thine by describing these. If the Guru be pleased, he reveals even the greatest and the highest esoteric secret to his disciple.

9-10. Sûta spoke :-- Hearing the words of the King Janamejaya, the Bhagavân Veda Vyâsa began to answer the questions in due order. The hearing of this increases the faith of the twice-born in the Vedas.

11-30. Vyâsa said :-- Well has this been asked by you, O King! in due time and in an appropriate moment. You are intelligent and it seems that you have got the faith in the Vedas. I now answer. Listen. In ancient days, the Asuras, maddened with pride, fought against the Devas for one hundred years. The war was very extraordinary and remarkable. In this great war various weapons were used, variegated with numerous Mâyâs or ingenious devices. It tended to destroy the whole world. By the mercy of the Highest and the Most Exalted S’akti, the Daityas were overcome by the Devas in that Great War. And they quitted the Heavens and the Earth and went to the nether regions, the Pâtâla. The Devas were all delighted and began to dwell on their own prowesses and became proud. They began to say :-- “Why shall not victory be ours. Why are not our glories great? We are by far the best! Where are the Daityas? They are devils, powerless. We are the causes of creation, preservation and destruction. We all are glorious! Oh! What can be said before us in favour of the Asuras, the devils?” Thus, not knowing the Highest S’akti, the Devas were deluded. At this moment, seeing this plight of the Devas, the World Mother took pity on the Devas and, to favour them, O King! She appeared before them in the form of the Most Worshipful, the Great Holy Light. It was resplendent like ten million Suns, and cool as well like ten million Moons. It was brilliant and dazzling like ten million lightning flashes, without hands and feet, and exceedingly beautiful! Never was this witnessed before! Seeing this Extraordinary Beautiful Lovely Light, the Devas were taken aback; they spoke amongst themselves, thus :-- “What is this! What is this! Is this the work of the Daityas or some other great Mâyâ (Mayic) played by them or is it the work of another for creating the surprise of the Devas!” O King! Then they all assembled together and decided to approach towards that Adorable Light and to ask It what It was. They, then, would determine its strength and decide what to do afterwards. Thus, coming to this ultimate conclusion, Indra called Agni and said :-- “O Agni! You are the mouth-piece of the Devas. Therefore do you go first and ascertain distinctly what this Light is.” Hearing thus the words of Indra, Agni, elated by his own prowess, set out immediately from the place and went to that Light. Seeing Agni coming, the Light addressed him thus :-- “Who are you? What is your strength? State this before Me.” At this Agni replied :-- “I am Agni. All the yajñâs, ordained in the Vedas are performed through me. The power of burning everything in this universe resides in me.” Then that adorable Light took up a straw of grass and said :-- “O Agni! If you can burn everything in this universe, then do you burn this trifling straw.” Agni tried his best to burn the straw but he could not burn it. He got ashamed and fast went back to the Devas. Asked by the Devas, Agni told them everything and said :-- “O Devas! Know verily that the pride cherished by us that we are supreme, is entirely false.”

31-50. Indra then asked Vâyu (wind) and said :-- “O Vâyu! You are dwelling in this universe, through and through; by your efforts, all are moving; therefore you are the Prâna of all; it is possible that all forces are concentrated within you. Go and ascertain what is this Light? Verily I do not see any other person here than you who can ascertain this great adorable Light.” Hearing these commendable words of Indra, Vâyu felt himself elated and went at once to that place where was that Light. Seeing the Vâyu, the Light, the Yaksa, the demi-god, the Spirit asked in a gentle language :-- “Who are you? What strength is there in you? Speak out all these to me.” At this, Vâyu spoke arrogantly, “I am Mâtarisvan, I am Vâyu; about my strength, I can move anything and I hold everything. It is through the strength of mine, that this universe is, and is alive and brisk with movements and works.” That Highest Mass of Light then replied :-- “O Vâyu! Move this straw that lies before you, and if you cannot, quit your pride and go back to Indra ashamed.” At this Vâyu tried all his might but, alas! He could not move the straw a bit from that place!

Vâyu then gave up his pride and returned to the Devas and spoke to them all about the Yaksa (a sort of demi-god, a ghost). O Devas! Our pride is vain; in no way can we be able to ascertain the nature of that Light. It seems that that Holy Light, adorable by all, is extraordinary. Then all the Devas spoke with one voice to Indra :--

“When You are the King of the Devas, better go yourself and ascertain the reality of Its Nature.” Indra, then, with great pride, went himself to the Light; the Light, too, began to disappear gradually from the place, and ultimately vanished from Indra’s sight. When Indra found that he could not even speak to That Light, he became greatly ashamed and began to conceive of his own nothingness. He thought thus :-- “I won’t go back to the Devas. What shall I say to them? Never will I disclose to them my inferiority; one is better to die than do this. One’s self-honour is the only treasure of the great and honourable. If honour is gone, what use, then, is there in living?” O King! Then Indra, the Lord of Devas, quitted his pride and took refuge unto That Great Light which exhibited, ere long, such a glorious character. At this moment, a celestial voice was heard from the Heavens :-- “O Indra! Go on now and do the japam, the reciting of the Mâyâ Vîja Mantra, the basic Mantra of Mâyâ. All your troubles will, then, be over.” Hearing this celestial voice, Indra began to repeat the Mâyâ Vîja, the Seed Mantra of Mâyâ, with rapt concentration and without any food.

51-61. Then on the ninth lunar day of the month of Chaitra when the Sun entered the meridian, suddenly there appeared in that place a Great Mass of Light as was seen before. Indra saw, then, within that Mass of Light, a Virgin Form in full youth. The lustre from Her body was like that of ten million Rising Suns; and the colour was rosy red like a full-blown Javâ flower. On Her forehead was shining the digit of the Moon; Her breasts were full, and, though veiled under the cloth, they looked very beautiful. She was holding noose and a goad in Her two hands and Her other two hands indicated signs of favour and fearlessness.

Her body was decked with various ornaments and it looked auspicious and exceedingly lovely; nowhere can be seen a woman beautiful like Her. She was like a Kalpa Vriksa (celestial tree yielding all desires); she was three eyed and Her braid of hair was encircled with Mâlatî garlands. She was praised on Her four sides by the Four Vedas, Incarnate, in their respective Forms. The brilliancy of Her teeth shed lustre on the ground as if ornamented with Padmarâga jewels. Her face looked smiling. Her clothing was red and Her body was covered with sandalpaste. She was the Cause of all causes. Oh! She was all Full of Mercy. O King Janamejaya! Thus Indra saw, then, the Umâ Parvatî Mahes’varî Bhagavatî and the hairs of his body stood on ends with ecstasy. His eyes were filled with tears of love and deep devotion and he immediately fell prostrate before the feet of the Devî. Indra sang various hymns to Her and praised Her. He became very glad and asked Her, “O Fair One! Art Thou that Great Mass of Light? If this be, kindly state the cause of Thy appearance.” O King! Hearing this, the Bhagavatî replied.

62-83. This My Form is Brahmâ, the Cause of all causes, the Seat of Mâyâ, the Witness of all, infallible and free from all defects or blemishes. What all the Vedas and Upanisadas try to establish, what ought to be obtained, as declared by all the rules of austerity, and for which the Brâhmanas practise Brahmacharyam, I am all that. I have told you about that Brahmâ, of the nature of the Great Holy Light. The sages declare that That Brâhman is revealed by “Om” and “Hrîm”, the two Vîjas (mystic syllables) that are My two first and foremost Mantras wherein I remain hidden. I create this universe with My two parts (in My two aspects); therefore My Vîja mantra is two. “Om” Vîja is denominated as Sachchidânanda (everlasting existence, intelligence and bliss) and “Hrîm” Vîja is Mâyâ Prakriti, the Undifferentiated Consciousness, made manifest. Know, then, That Mâyâ as the Highest S’akti and know Me as that Omnipotent Goddess at present revealed before your eyes. As moonlight is not different from the Moon, so this Mâyâ S’akti in the state of equilibrium is not different from Me. (The powerful man and the power he wields are not different. They are verily one and the same.) During Pralaya (the Great Latency period), this Mâyâ lies latent in Me, without there being any difference. Again at the time of creation, this Mâyâ appears as the fructification of the Karmas of the Jîvas. When this Mâyâ is potential and exists latent in Me, when Mâyâ is Antarmukhî, it is called Unmanifested and when the Mâyâ becomes Kinetic, when the Mâyâ is Bahirmukhî, when She is in an active Kinetic state, it is said to be Manifested. There is no origin or beginning of this Mâyâ. Mâyâ is of the nature of Brahmâ in a state of equilibrium. But, during the beginning of the creation, Her form consisting of the several Gunas appears, when Mâyâ is Bahir Mukhî, She becomes Tâmas, in Her Unmanifested state. O Indra! For this reason Her state of abstraction, and becoming introspective, this is Her Antarmukhî state; it is known as Mâyâ and Her looking outward is Her Bahirmukhî state; it is denominated by Tâmas and the other gunas. From this comes Sâttva and then Râjas and Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a are of the nature of the three gunas. Brahmâ has the Râjo guna in Him preponderating; in Visnu, the Sâttva guna preponderates and in Mahes’a, the Cause of all Causes, is said to reside the Tâmo guna. Brahmâ is known as of the Gross Body; Visnu is known as of the Subtle Body; and Rudra is known as of the Causal Body and I am known as Turîya, transcending the Gunas.

This Turîya Form of Mine is called the state of equilibrium of the Gunas. It is the Inner Controller of all. Beyond this there is another state of Mine which is called the Formless Brahmâ (Brâhman having no Forms). Know, verily, that my Forms are two, as they are with or without attributes (Saguna or Nirguna). That which is beyond Mâyâ and the Mâyic qualities is called Nirguna (without Prâkritic attributes) and that which is within Mâyâ is called Saguna. O Indra! After creating this universe, I enter within that as the Inner Controller of all and it is I that impel all the Jîvas always to their due efforts and actions. Know, verily, that It is I that engage Brahmâ, Visnu and Rudra, the causes of the several works of creation, preservation and destruction of this universe (they are performing their functions by My Command).

Through the terror from Me the wind blows; through my terror, the Sun moves in the sky; through My terror, Indra, Agni, and Yama do their respective duties. I am the Best and Superior to all. All fear Me. Through My Grace you have obtained victory in the battle. Know, verily, that it is I that make you all dance like inert wooden dolls as My mere instruments. You are merely My functions. I am the Integral Whole. I give sometimes victory to you and sometimes victory to the Daityas; Yea, I do everything as I will, keeping My independence duly and, according to the Karmas, justly.

Oh! You all, have forgotten me though your pride and sheer nonsense. You have been carried deep into dire delusion by your vain egoism. And know now that to favour you, this My Adorable Light has issued suddenly. Hence forth banish ever from your heart all your vain boastings and idle pratings. Take refuge wholly unto Me with all your head, heart and soul, unto My Sachchidânanda Form and be safe. (At times the Devas forget and so fall into troubles).

84-93. Vyâsa said :-- Thus saying, the Mûla Pakriti, the Great Devî, the Goddess of the Universe, vanished from their sight. The Devas, on the other hand, began to praise Her then and there, with rapt devotion. Since that day, all the Devas quitted their pride and engaged themselves in worshipping the Devî devotedly. They worshipped the Gâyatrî Devî daily during the three Sandhyâ times and performed various Yajñâs and thus they worshipped Bhagavatî daily. Thus, in the Satya Yuga, everybody engaged themselves in repeating the Mantra Gâyatrî and worshipped the Goddess indwelling in the Pranava and Hrîmkâra. So, See now for yourself, that the worship of Visnu or S’iva or initiation in the Visnu Mantra or in the S’iva Mantra are not mentioned anywhere in the Vedas as to be done always and for ever. They are done for a while and not required any more when the objects are fulfilled; only the worship of Gâyatrî is always compulsory, to be done at all times, as mentioned in the Vedas. O King!

If a Brâhmana does not worship the Gâyatrî, know, then, for certain, that in every way, he is sure to go down lower and lower. There is no doubt in this. A Brâhmin is not to wait, no never, to do any other thing; he will have all his desires fulfilled if he worships only the Devî Gâyatrî. Bhagavân Manu says that a Brâhmin, whether he does any other thing or not, can be saved if he worships only the Divine Mother Gâyatrî. (This worshipping the Gâyatrî is the highest, greatest, and most difficult of all the works in this universe). If any devotee of S’iva or Visnu or of any other Deity worships his desired Deity without repeating the Gâyatrî, he is sure to suffer the torments of hell. (But this age of Kâlî deludes the people and draws away their minds from reciting this Gâyatrî save a few of them.) O King! For this reason, in the Satya Yuga, all the Brâhmanas kept themselves fully engaged in worshipping the Gâyatrî and the lotus feet of the Devî Bhagavatî.

Here ends the Eighth Chapter in the Twelfth Book on the appearance of the Highest S’akti in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 9. On The Cause Of S’râddha In Other Devas Than The Devî Gâyatrî

1-20. Vyâsa said :-- O King Janamejaya! Once on a time, on account of an evil turn of Fate (Karma) of the human beings, Indra did not rain on this earth for fifteen years. Owing to want of rain, the famine appeared horribly; and almost all the beings lost their lives. No one could count in every house the number of the dead persons. Out of hunger the people began to eat horses; some began to eat bears and pigs, some began to eat the dead bodies while some others carried on any how their lives. The people were so much distressed with hunger that the mother did not refrain from eating her baby child and the husband did not refrain from eating his wife. O King! The Brâhmanas then united and after due discussion, came to the conclusion that they would go to the hermit Gautama who would be able to remove their distress. So all of them wanted to go quickly to the hermitage of the Muni Gautama. They began to say :-- “We hear that there is no famine in the hermitage of Gautama. Various persons are running there from various quarters.” Thus coming to a conclusion, the Brâhmanas went to the Gautama’s Âs’rama with their cows, servants and relations. Some went from the east; some from the south; some from the west, and some from the north. Thus from various quarters the people flocked there. Seeing the Brâhmanas coming there, the Risi Gautama bowed down to them and gave them a cordial welcome and served them with seats, etc. When all took their seats and became calm and quiet, Gautama enquired about their welfare and the cause of their arrival. They described everything about the dire famine and their own states and expressed their deep regret. Seeing them very much distressed, the Muni gave them word not to have any fear; he said :-- “I am today become blessed by the arrival of the great ascetics and honourable persons like you. I am your servant. You consider all my houses as yours. Be quite comfortable. Bear no uneasiness. When your servant is alive, what fear do your entertain and whom do you fear? When the demerits are transformed into good merits by your mere sight, and when you have blessed my house with the dust of your holy feet, then who is more blessed than me? O Vipras! Kindly perform your Sandhyâs, and Japams and rest here at ease.” Vyâsa said :-- O King Janamejaya! Thus consoling the Brâhmanas, the Risi Gautama began to worship the Gâyatrî Devî with rapt devotional trance. “O Devî Gâyatrî! Obeisance to Thee! Thou art the Great Vidyâ, the Mother of the Vedas, Higher than the Highest; Thou art Vyârhiti represented by the Mantra ‘Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah,’ O Mother! Thou art the state of equilibrium, i.e., the Turîya; Thou art of of the Form of Hrîm; Thou art Svâhâ and Svadhâ; Thou grantest the desires of the Bhaktas. Thou art the Witness of the three states, Jâgrat (waking), Svapna (dreaming) and Susupti (deep sleep). Thou art the Turîya and Sachchidânanda Brahmâ. O Devî! Thou resident in the Solar Orb and appearest as a ruddy girl in the morning, an youthful maiden at noon and a black old woman in the evening. O Devî! Obeisance to Thee! Now shew favour on us at this severe famine time when all the beings are well nigh on the way to destruction.”

21-40. Thus praised and worshipped, the World-Mother appeared and gave to the Risi one vessel (cup) full to the brim by which every one can he fed and nourished. The Mother told the Muni :-- “This full vessel, given by me to you will yield whatever you wish.” Thus saying, the Devî Gâyatrî, Higher than the Highest, vanished. Then, according to the wish of the Muni, came out from that cup, mountains of cooked rice, various curries and sweetmeats, lots of grass and fodder, silken clothings, various ornaments and various articles and vessels for sacrificial purposes. In fact whatever the Muni Gautama wished, that came out of the brimful cup, given by the Devî Gâyatrî. Then the Muni Gautama called the other Munis that came there and gave them wealth, grains, clothing, ornament, and the sacrificial ladles and spoons and cows and buffaloes for the sacrificial purposes. The Munis then assembled and performed various yajñâs. The place all round, then flourished and became so much prosperous that it looked like a second heaven. In fact whatever fair and beautiful there exist in the Trilokas, all came from the brimful cup given by the Devî Gâyatrî. At this time the Munis, with sandalpaste all over on their bodies, and decorated with very bright ornaments looked like the gods and their wives looked like goddesses. Daily utsabs began to be held in in the Âs’rama of Gautama. Nowhere were seen any diseases or dacoities and there was no fear from any such things. Gradually the Âs’rama’s boundary extended to one hundred Yojanas (4 hundred miles). Hearing this greatness of Gautama, many persons came there from various quarters. And the Muni Gautama, too, gave them words, “cast away fear” and fed them. The Devas, on the other hand, became very much satisfied by the various Yajñâs and extolled the Muni’s greatness. So much so, that the famous Indra, the Lord of the Devas, came in the midst of the assembly and extolled his greatness, thus :-- “This Gautama has fulfilled all our wishes and has verily become a Kalpa Vriksa (celestial tree yielding all desires). If this man had not done such things, in this hard famine time, we would not have got the Havih offered in sacrifices and the prospect of our lives would have been at stake.” O King Janamejaya! Thus the Muni Gautama fed and nourished for twelve years all the Munis, like his sons and that place came to be recognised as the chief centre (the Head Quarters) of the Gâyatrî Devî. Even today, all the Munis perform with devotion the Purasacharanams and worship thrice the Bhagavatî Gâyatrî Devî. Even today the Devî is there seen as a girl in the morning, as a youthful maiden at noon, as an old woman in the evening. Then, once on a time, Nârada, of best conduct, came there playing on his great lute and singing in tune the highest glories of Gâyatrî and took his seat in the assembly of the Munis.

41-62. Seeing the tranquil hearted Nârada coming there, Gautama and the other Munis received him duly and worshipped him with the Pâdya and Arghya. In course of conversation he began to describe the glories of Gautama and said :-- “O Best of Munis! I have heard from the mouth of Indra, in the assembly of the Devas, your glories as to your supporting and feeding the pure-hearted Munis and I have come to see you. By the Grace of S’rî Bhagavatî Gâyatrî Devî, you have now become blessed. There is no doubt in this.” Thus saying, the Devarsi Nârada entered into the temple of the Devî Gâyatrî and with eyes gladdened by love, saw the Devî there and offered due hymns in praise of Her and then ascended to the Heavens. Here, on the other hand, the Brâhmanas that were fed by Gautama, became jealous at so much honour offered to Gautama and tried their best so that no further honour be paid to him. They further settled not to stay any longer in his Âs’rama, when the next good harvest season comes. (Thus his glories will wane). O King! Some days passed when good rains fell and there was an abundance of crops everywhere and the famine ended. Hearing this, all the Brâhmins united, Alas! O King! to curse the Gautama. Oh! Their fathers and mothers are blessed in whom do not arise such feelings of jealousy! This all is the wonderful play of the powerful Time; it cannot be expressed by any person. O King! These Brâhmins created, by Mâyâ, an aged cow, who was to die and pushed her in the sacrificial hall of the Muni Gautama at the time of the Homa ceremony. Seeing that cow entering into the enclosure where the Homa was being performed, Gautama cried out “Hoom Hoom” when the cow fell there and died. And the other Brâhmanas instantly cried out “Look! Look! The wicked Gautama has killed the cow.” Seeing this inconceivable event, Gautama was greatly nonplussed and, completing his Homa ceremony, entered into Samâdhi and began to think the cause of it. Then, coming to know that this has been concocted by the Mâyâ of the Brâhmins, he became angry like Rudra at the time of dissolution; his eyes were reddened and he cursed the Risis, thus :-- Oh vile Brâhmins! When you are ready to cause mischief to me unjustly then let you be averse to meditate and do the japam of the Devî Gâyatrî, the Mother of the Vedas. For your this act, never you will be eager to perform any Vedic sacrificial acts or any action concerning thereof. There is no doubt in this. You will be always averse to the mantra of S’iva or the Tantra of S’iva. You will be always averse to Mûla Prakriti S’rî Devî, to Her Dhyânam, mantra, to any conversation regarding Her; to the visiting of Her place or Temple, to do worship and other ceremonies to Her, to see the Grand Festivals of the Devî, to singing the names and glories of the Devî, to sit before the Devî and to adore Her.

63-81. O vile Brâhmanas! You will be always averse to see the festivals of S’iva, to worship S’iva, to Rudrâksa, to the Bel leaves, and to the holy Bhasma (ashes). You will be wholly indifferent to practise the right ways of living as presented in the Vedas and Smritis, to preserve your conduct good and to observe the path of knowledge to Advaita Jñânam, to practise restraint of senses and continence, to the daily practices of Sandhyâ Bandanam, to performing the Agnihotra ceremonies, to the study of the Vedas according to one’s own S’âkhâ or to the daily studies thereof as to teach those things or to give, as gifts, cows, etc., or to perform the S’râddhas of the fathers, etc., or to perform Krichchra Chândrâyana and other penances. O Vile Brâhmanas! As you are ready to do these mean things, you will have to suffer for this that you will desist from worshipping the Most Adorable S’rî Bhagavatî Devî and that you will worship the other Devas with faith and devotion and hold on your bodies S’amkha, Chakra and other signs. You will follow the Kâpâlikas, Bauddha S’âstras and other heretics. You will sell your father, mother, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters and even your wives too!

You will sell the Vedas, Tîrthas, and your Dharma. You will not feel ashamed in any way to sell all these. You will certainly have faith in Kâpâlika and Bauddha opinions, Pâñcharâtras and Kâma S’âstras. O vile Brâhmanas! You will not hesitate to go to your mother, daughters or sisters and you will always be licentious with others’ wives and spend your time in that. This is not to you only but to the women and men, all that will come in your families. Let the Gâyatrî Devî be always indignant with you and let you all go in the end to the Andha Kûpa hells, etc. Vyâsa said :-- O Janamejaya! Thus taking the water symbolising the true rules and laws of creation, and cursing the Brâhmanas, the Muni Gautama went hastily to see the Gâyatrî Devî and, on arriving at the temple there bowed down to Her. The Devî, too, became surprised to see their actions. O King! Even to day Her Lotus Face looks similarly astonished!

82-90. Then the Gâyatrî Devî told Gautama with amazement :-- “O Gautama! The venom of the snake does not become less if you feed the serpents with milk; so never mind all these things; the Karmas take their peculiar turns; it is hard to say when will happen what things. Now be peaceful. Do not be sorry.” Hearing these words of the Devî, Gautama bowed down to Her and went thence to his own Âs’rama. Here, on the other hand, the Brâhmanas forgot everything due to the curse of Gautama, of the Vedas and the Gâyatrî Mantra. They then began to look at this event with wonder as unique and extraordinary. All united they afterwards repented and going before Gautama, fell prostrate at his feet. But they could not speak any word out of shame. Only they said frequently :-- “Be pleased, be pleased with us.” When all the assembly of the Brâhmanas prayed to him for favour and grace, the Muni Gautama took pity on them and replied. My word will never turn out false. You will have to remain in Kumbhîpâka hell upto the time when S’rî Krisna will take his incarnation. Then you will be born in the earth in the Kâlî age and whatever I have uttered will exactly come unto you. And if you are in earnest to avert my curse then go and worship the Lotus Feet of S’rî Gâyatrî Devî. The is no other remedy.

91-100. Vyâsa said :-- Thus dismissing the Brâhmanas, Gautama Muni thought that all these occurred as a result of Prârabdha Karma and he became calm and quiet. For this reason, after S’rî Krisna Mahârâja ascended to the Heavens, when the Kâlî age came, those cursed Brâhmanas got out of the Kumbhîpâka hell and took their births in this earth as Brâhmins, devoid of the three Sandhyâs, devoid of the devotion to Gâyatrî, devoid of faith in the Vedas, advocating the heretics’ opinion and unwilling to perform Agnihotra and other religious sacrifices and duties and they were devoid of Svadhâ and Svâhâ. They forgot entirely the Unmanifested Mûla Prakriti Bhagavatî. Some of them began to mark on their bodies various heretical signs, e.g., Taptamûdrâ, etc.; some became Kâpâlikas; some became Kaulas; some Bauddhas and some Jainas. Many of them, though learned, became lewd and addicted to other’s wives and engaged themselves in vain and bad disputations. For these, they will have to go again surely to the Kumbhîpâka hell. So O King! Worship with your heart and soul S’rî Bhagavatî Parames’varî Devî. The worship of Visnu or S’iva is not constant (to be done everyday); only the worship of S’akti is to be constantly performed. For this reason whoever does not worship S’akti is sure to fall. Thus I have answered all your questions. Now I shall describe the highest and most beautiful place, Manidvîpa of the Primal Force Bhagavatî, the Deliverer from this bondage of world. Listen.

Here ends the Ninth Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the cause of S’râddha in other Devas than the Devî Gâyatrî in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 10. On The Description Of Mani Dvîpa

1-20. Vyâsa said :-- O King Janamejaya! What is known in the S’rutis, in the Subâla Upanisada, as the Sarvaloka over the Brahmaloka, that is Manidvîpa. Here the Devî resides. This region is superior to all the other regions. Hence it is named “Sarvaloka.” The Devî built this place of yore according to Her will. In the very beginning, the Devî Mûla Prakriti Bhagavatî built this place for Her residence, superior to Kailâs’a, Vaikuntha and Goloka. Verily no other place in this universe can stand before it. Hence it is called Manidvîpa or Sarvaloka as superior to all the Lokas. This Manidvîpa is situated at the top of all the regions, and resembles an umbrella. Its shadow falls on the Brahmânda and destroys the pains and sufferings of this world. Surrounding this Manidvîpa exists an ocean called the Sudhâ Samudra, many yojanas wide and many yojanas deep. Many waves arise in it due to winds. Various fishes and conches and other aquatic animals play and here the beach is full of clear sand like gems. The sea-shores are kept always cool by the splashes of the waves of water striking the beach. Various ships decked with various nice flags are plying to and fro. Various trees bearing gems are adorning the beach. Across this ocean, there is an iron enclosure, very long and seven yojanas wide, very high so as to block the Heavens. Within this enclosure wall the military guards skilled in war and furnished with various weapons are running gladly to and fro. There are four gateways or entrances; at every gate there are hundreds of guards and various hosts of the devotees of the Devî. Whenever any Deva comes to pay a visit to the Jagadîs’varî, their Vâhanas (carriers) and retinue are stopped here. O King! This place is being resounded with the chimings of the bells of hundreds of chariots of the Devas and the neighings of their horses and the sounds of their hoofs. The Devas walk here and there with canes in their hands and they are chiding at intervals the attendants of the Devas. This place is so noisy that no one can hear clearly another’s word. Here are seen thousands of houses adorned with trees of gems and jewels and tanks filled with plenty of tasteful good sweet waters. O King! After this there is a second enclosure wall, very big and built of white copper metal (an amalgam of zinc or tin and copper); it is so very high that it almost touches the Heavens. It is hundred times more brilliant than the preceding enclosure wall; there are many principal entrance gates and various trees here. What to speak of the trees there more than this that all the trees that are found in this universe are found there and they bear always flowers, fruits and new leaves! All the quarters are scented with their sweet fragrance!

21-40. O King! Now hear, in brief, the names of some of the trees that are found in abundance there :-- Panasa, Vakula, Lodhra, Karnikâra, S’ins’apa, Deodâra, Kânchanâra, mango, Sumeru, Likucha, Hingula, Elâ, Labanga, Kat fruit tree, Pâtala, Muchukunda, Tâla, Tamâla, Sâla, Kankola, Nâgabhdra, Punnâga, Pîlu, Sâlvaka, Karpûra, As’vakarna, Hastikarna, Tâlaparna, Pomegranate, Ganikâ, Bandhujîva, Jamvîra, Kurandaka, Châmpeya, Bandhujîva, Kanakavriksa, Kâlâguru (usually coiled all over with cobras, very black poisonous snakes), Sandaltree, Datetree,Yûthikâ, Tâlaparnî, Sugarcane, Ksîra-tree, Khadira, Bhallâtaka, Ruchaka, Kutaja, Bel tree and others, the Talasî and Mallikâ and other forest plants. The place is interspersed with various forests and gardens. At intervals there are wells, tanks, etc., adding very much to the beauty of the place. The cuckoos are perching on every tree and they are cooing sweetly, the bees are drinking the honey and humming all around, the trees are emitting juices and sweet fragrance all around. The trees are casting cool nice shadows. The trees of all seasons are seen here; on the tops of these are sitting pigeons, parrots, female birds of the Mayanâ species and other birds of various other species. There are seen rivers flowing at intervals carrying many juicy liquids. The Flamingoes, swans, and other aquatic animals are playing in them. The breeze is stealing away the perfumes of flowers and carrying it all around. The deer are following this breeze. The wild mad peacocks are dancing with madness and the whole place looks very nice, lovely and charming. Next this Kâmsya enclosure comes the third enclosure wall of copper. It is square shaped and seven yojanas high. Within this are forests of Kalpavriksas, bearing golden leaves and flowers and fruits like gems. Their perfumes spread ten yojanas and gladden things all around. The king of the seasons preserves always this place. The king’s seat is made of flowers; his umbrella is of flowers; ornaments made of flowers; he drinks the honey of the flowers; and, with rolling eyes, he lives here always with his two wives named Madhu S’rî and Mâdhava S’rî. The two wives of Spring have their faces always smiling. They play with bunches of flowers. This forest is very pleasant. Oh! The honey of the flowers is seen here in abundance. The perfumes of the full blown flowers spread to a distance of ten yojanas. The Gandharbhas, the musicians, live here with their wives.

41-60. The places round this are filled with the beauties of the spring and with the cooing of cuckoos. No doubt this place intensifies the desires of the amorous persons! O King! Next comes the enclosure wall, made of lead. Its height is seven yojanas. Within this enclosure there is the garden of the Santânaka tree. The fragrance of its flowers extends to ten yojanas. The flowers look like gold and are always in full bloom. Its fruits are very sweet. They seem to be imbued with nectar drops. In this garden resides always the Summer Season with his two wives S’ukra S’rî and S’uchi S’rî. The inhabitants of this place always remain under trees; otherwise they will be scorched by summer rays. Various Siddhas and Devas inhabit this place. The female sensualists here get their bodies all anointed with sandal paste and all decked with flower garlands and they stalk to and fro with fans in their hands. There is water to be found here very cool and refreshing. And owing to heat all the people here use this water. Next to this lead enclosure comes the wall made of brass, the fifth enclosure wall. It is seven yojanas long. In the centre is situated the garden of Hari Chandana trees. Its ruler is the Rainy Season.

The lightnings are his auburn eyes; the clouds are his armour, the thunder is his voice and the rainbow is his arrow. Surrounded by his hosts he rains incessantly. He has twelve wives :-- (1) Nabhah S’rî, (2) Nabhahsya S’rî, (3) Svarasya, (4) Rasyasâlinî, (5) Ambâ, (6) Dulâ, (7) Niratni, (8) Abhramantî, (9) Megha Yantikâ, (10) Varsayantî, (11) Chivunikâ, and (12) Vâridhârâ (some say Madamattâ). All the trees here are always seen with new leaves and entwined with new creepers. The whole site is covered all over with fresh green leaves and twigs. The rivers here always flow full and the current is strong, indeed! The tanks here are very dirty like the minds of worldly persons attached to worldly things. The devotees of the Devî, the Siddhas and the Devas and those that consecrated in their life times tanks, wells, and reservoirs for the satisfaction of the Devas dwell here with their wives. O King! Next to this brass enclosure comes, the sixth enclosure wall made of five fold irons. It is seven yojanas long. In the centre is situated the Garden of Mandâra trees. This garden is beautified by various creepers, flowers and leaves. The Autumn season lives here with his two wives Isalaksmî and Ûrjalaksmî and he is the ruler. Various Siddha persons dwell here with their wives, well clothed. O King! Next to this comes the seventh enclosure wall, seven yojanas long and built of silver.

61-80. In the centre is situated the garden of Pârijâta trees. They are filled with bunches of flowers. The fragrance of these Pârijâtas extend upto the ten Yojanas and gladden all the things all around. Those who are the Devî Bhaktas and who do the works of the Devî are delighted with this fragrance. The Hemanta (Dewy) season is the Regent of this place. He lives here with his two wives Saha S’rî and Sahasya S’rî and with his hosts. Those who are of a loving nature are pleased hereby. Those who have become perfect by performing the Vratas of the Devî live here also. O King! Next to this silver, there comes the eighth enclosure wall built of molten gold. It is seven Yojanas long. In the centre there is the garden of the Kadamba tree. The trees are always covered with fruits and flowers and the honey is coming out always from the trees from all the sides. The devotees of the Devî drink this honey always and feel intense delight; the Dewy Season is the Regent of this place. He resides here with his two wives Tapah S’rî and Tapasyâ S’rî and his various hosts, and enjoys gladly various objects of enjoyments. Those who had made various gifts for the Devî’s satisfaction, those great Siddha Purusas live here with their wives and relatives very gladly in various enjoyments. O King! Next to this golden enclosure well comes the ninth enclosure made of red Kum Kum like (saffron) Pusparâga gems. The ground inside this enclosure, the ditches or the basins for water dug round their roots are all built of Pusparâga gems. Next to this wall there are other enclosure walls built of various other gems and jewels; the sites, forests, trees, flowers birds, rivers, tanks, lotuses, mandapas (halls) and their pillars are all built respectively of those gems. Only this is to be remembered that those coming nearer and nearer to the centre are one lakh times more brilliant than the ones receding from them. This is the general rule observed in the construction of these enclosures and the articles contained therein. Here the Regents of the several quarters, the Dikpâlas, representing the sum total of the several Dikpâlas of every Brahmânda and their guardians reside. On the eastern quarter is situated the Amarâvatî city. Here the high-peaked mountains exist and various trees are seen. Indra, the Lord of the Devas, dwells here. Whatever beauty exists in the separate Heavens in the several places, one thousand times, rather more than that, exists in the Heaven of this cosmic Indra, the thousand-eyed, here. Here Indra mounting on the elephant Airâvata, with thunderbolt in his hand, lives with S’achî Devî and other immortal ladies and with the hosts of the Deva forces. On the Agni (south-eastern) corner is the city of Agni. This represents the sum total of the several cities of Agni in different Brahmândas.

81-100. Here resides the Agni Deva very gladly with his two wives Svâhâ and Svadhâ and with his Vâhana and the other Devas. On the south is situated the city of Yama, the God of Death. Here lives Dharma Râja with rod in his hand and with Chitragupta and several other hosts. On the south-westen corner is the place of the Râksasas. Here resides Nirriti with his axe in his hand and with his wife and other Râksasas. On the west is the city of Varuna. Here Varuna râja resides with his wife Vârunî and intoxicated with the drink of Vârunî honey; his weapon is the noose, his Vâhana is the King of fishes and his subjects are the aquatic animals. On the north-western corner dwells Vâyudeva. Here Pavana Deva lives with his wife and with the Yogis perfect in the practice of Prânâyâma. He holds a flag in his hand.

His Vâhana, is deer and his family consists of the forty nine Vâyus. On the north resides the Yaksas. The corpulent King of the Yaksas, Kuvera, lives here with his S’aktis Vriddhi and Riddhi, and in possession of various gems and jewels. His generals Manibhadra, Purna bhadra, Manimân, Manikandhara, Manibhûsa, Manisragvî, Manikar-mukadhârî, etc., live here. On the north eastern corner is situated the Rudra loka, decked with invaluable gems. Here dwells the Rudra Deva. On His back is kept the arrow-case and he holds a bow in his left hand. He looks very angry and his eyes are red with anger. There are other Rudras like him with bows and spears and other weapons, surrounding him. The faces of some of them are distorted; some are very horrible indeed! Fire is coming out from the mouths of some others. Some have ten hands; some have hundred hands and some have thousand hands; some have ten feet; some have ten heads whereas some others have three eyes. Those who roam in the intermediate spaces between the heaven and earth, those who move on the earth, or the Rudras mentioned in the Rudrâdhyâya all live here. O King! Îsâna, the Regent of the north eastern quarter lives here with Bhadrakâlî and other Mâtriganas, with Kotis and Kotis of Rudrânîs and with Dâmarîs and Vîra Bhadras and various other S’aktis. On his neck there is a garland of skulls, on his hand there is a ring of snakes; he wears a tiger skin; his upper clothing is a tiger skin and his body is smeared with the ashes of the dead. He sounds frequently his Damaru; this sound reverberates on all sides, he makes big laughs called Attahâsya, reverberating through the heavens. He remains always surrounded with Pramathas and Bhûtas; they live here.

Here ends the Tenth Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the description of Mani Dvîpa in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 11. On The Description Of The Enclosure Walls Built Of Padmarâga Mani, Etc., Of The Mani Dvîpa

1-30. Vyâsa said :-- O King Janamejaya! Next to this Pusparâga mani enclosure wall comes the tenth enclosure wall, made of Padmarâga mani, red like the red Kunkuma and the Rising Sun. It is ten yojanas high. All its ground, entrance gates and temples and arbours are all made of Padmarâga mani. Within this reside the sixty four Kalâs or Sub-S’aktis adorned with various ornaments and holding weapons in their hands. Each of them has a separate Loka (region) allotted and within this Loka he has get his own formidable weapons, Vâhanas, families and their leaders or Governors. O King! Now hear the names of the sixty four Kalâs. They are :-- Pingalâksî, Vis’âlâksî, Samriddhi, Vriddhi, S’raddhâ, Svâhâ, Svadhâ, Mâyâ, Sañgñâ, Vasundharâ, Trîlokadhâtrî, Sâvitrî, Gâyatrî, Tridas’es’vsrî, Surûpâ, Bahurûpâ, Skandamâtâ, Achyutapriyâ, Vimalâ, Amalâ, Arunî, Ârunî, Prakriti, Vikriti, S’rîsti, Sthiti, Samrhiti, Sandhyâ, Mâtâ, Satî, Hamsî, Mardikâ, Vajrikâ, Parâ, Devamâtâ, Bhagavatî, Devakî, Kamalâsanâ, Trimukhî, Saptamukhî, Surâsura vimardinî, Lambosthî, Ûrdhakes’î, Bahusîrsâ, Vrikodarî Ratharekhâhvayâ, S’as’irekâ, Gaganavegâ, Pavanavegâ, Bhuvanapâlâ, Madanâturâ, Anangâ, Anangamathanâ, Anangamekhalâ, Anangakusumâ, Visvarûpâ, Surâdikâ, Ksayamkarî, Aksyobhyâ, Satyavâdinî, Bahurûpâ, S’uchivratâ, Udârâ and Vâgis’î. These are the sixty four Kalâs. All of them have got luminous faces and long lolling tongues. Fire is always coming out from the faces of all of them. The eyes of all of them are red with anger. They are uttering :-- We will drink all the water and thus dry up the oceans; we will annihilate fire, we will stop the flow of air and control it. Today we will devour the whole universe and so forth. All of them have got bows and arrows in their hands; all are eager to fight. The four quarters are being reverberated with the clashing of their teeth. The hairs on their heads are all tawny and they stand upwards. Each of them has one hundred Aksauhinî forces under them. O King! What more to say than this that each of them has got power to destroy one lakh Brahmândas; and their one hundred Aksauhinî forces also can do the same. There is nothing that is not impracticable with them. What they cannot do cannot be conceived by mind nor can be uttered in speech. All the war materials exist within their enclosures. Chariots, horses, elephants, weapons, and forces all are unlimited. All the war materials are ready at all times and in abundance. Next comes the eleventh enclosure wall built of Gomedamani. It is ten Yojanas high. Its colour is like the newly blown Javâ flower. All the ground, trees, tanks, houses, pillars, birds and all other things are all red and built of Gomedamani. Here dwell the thirty-two Mahâ S’aktis adorned with various ornament made of Gomedamani and furnished with various weapons. They are always eager to fight. Their eyes are always red with anger; their bees are like Pis’âchas and their hands are like chakras (discs). “Pierce him,” “Beat him,” “Cut him,” “Tear him asunder,” “Burn him down,” are the words constantly uttered by them. The inhabitants of the place always worship them. Each of them has ten Aksauhinî forces. These are inordinately powerful. It is impossible to describe that. It seems that each S’akti can easily destroy one lakh Brahmândas.

Innumerable chariots, elephants, hordes, etc., and other vâhanas are here. Verily all the war materials of the Devî Bhagavatî are seen in this Gomedamani enclosure.

31-51. Now I am mentioning the auspicious, sin destroying names of these S’aktis :-- Vidyâ, Hrî, Pusti, Prajñâ, Sinî vâlî, Kuhû, Rudrâ, Viryâ, Prabhâ, Nandâ, Posanî, Riddhidâ, S’ubhâ, Kâlarâtri, Mahârâtri, Bhadra KâIî, Kaparddinî, Vikriti, Dandi, Mundinî, Sendukhandâ, S’ikhandinî, Nis’umbha s’umbha mathanî, Mahisâsura marddinî, Indrânî, Rudrânî, S’ankarârdha sarîrinî, Nârî, Nirâyanî Tris’ûlinî, Pâlinî, Ambikâ, and Hlâdinî. (See the Daksinâ Mûrti Samhitâ and other Tantras.)

Never there is any chance that they will be defeated anywhere. Hence if all those S’aktis get angry at any time, this Brahmânda ceases to exist. Next to this Gomeda enclosure comes the enclosure made of diamonds. It is ten yojanas high; on all sides there are the entrance gates; the doors are hinged there with nice mechanisms. Nice new diamond trees exist here. All the roads, royal roads, trees, and the spaces for watering their roots, tanks, wells, reservoirs, Sâranga and other musical instruments are all made of diamonds. Here dwells S’rî Bhuvanes’varî Devî with Her attendants. O King! Each of them has a lakh attendants. All of them are proud of their beauty. Some of them are holding fans in their hands; some are holding cups for drinking water; some, betelnuts; some are holding umbrellas; some chowries; some are holding various clothings; some flowers; some, looking glasses; some, saffrons; some collyrium, whereas some others are holding Sindûra (red lead). Some are ready to do the painting works; some are anxious to champoo the feet; some are eager to make Her wear ornaments; some are anxious to put garlands of flowers on Her neck. All of them are skilled in various arts of enjoyments and they are all young. To gain the Grace of the Devî, they consider the whole universe as trifling. Now I shall mention to you the names of the attendants of the Devî, proud of their possessing lots of amorous gestures and postures. Listen. They are :-- Anangarûpâ, Anangamadanâ, Madanâturâ, Bhuvanavegâ, Bhuvanapâlikâ, Sarvas’is’ira, Anangavedanâ, Anangamekhalâ, these are the Eight Sakhîs. Each of them is as fair as Vidyullatâ. Each is adorned with various ornaments and skilled in all actions. When they walk to and fro with canes and rods in their hands in the service of the Devî, they look as if the lightning flashes glimmer on all sides.

52-71 On the outer portion of the enclosure wall, on the eight sides are situated the dwelling houses of these eight Sakhîs and they are always full of various vâhanas and weapons. Next to this enclosure of diamond comes the thirteenth enclosure wall made of Vaidûrya mani. Its height is ten yojanas. There are entrance gates and doorways on the four sides. The court inside, the houses, the big roads, wells, tanks, ponds, rivers and even the sands are all made of Vaidûrya mani. On the eight sides reside the eight Mâtrikâs Brâhmî, etc., with their hosts. These Mâtrikâs represent the sum-total of the individual Mâtrikâs in every Brahmânda. Now hear their names :-- (1) Brâhmî, (2) Mâhes’varî, (3) Kaumârî, (4) Vaisnavî, (5) Vârâhî, (6) Indrânî, (7) Châmundâ, and (8) Mahâ Laksmî. Their forms are like those of Brahmâ and Rudra and others. They are always engaged in doing good to the Universe and reside here with their own Vâhanas and weapons.

At the four gates, the various Vâhanas of Bhagavatî remain always fully equipped. Somewhere there are Kotis and Kotis of elephants. At some places there are Kotis and Kotis of horses; at others there are camps, houses, at others there are swans, lions; at others there are Garudas; at other places there are peacocks, bulls and various other beings all fully equipped and arranged in due order. Similarly the above mentioned animals are yoked to Kotis and Kotis of chariots; there are coachmen (syces); at some places flags are fluttering high on them so as to reach the heavens and thus they are adding beauty. At other places the aerial cars are arranged in rows, countless, with various sounding instruments in them, with flags soaring high in the Heavens and endowed with various ensigns and emblems. O King! Next to this Vaidûrya enclosure, comes the fourteenth enclosure wall built of Indranîlamani; its height is ten Yojanas. The court inside, houses, roads, wells, tanks and reservoirs, etc., all are built of Indranîlamani. There is here a lotus consisting of sixteen petals extending to many Yojanas in width and shining like a second Sudars’ana Chakra. On these sixteen petals reside the sixteen S’aktis of Bhagavatî, with their hosts. Now I am mentioning the names of these. Hear :-- Karâlî, Vikârâlî, Umâ, Sarasvatî, S’rî, Durgâ, Ûsâ, Laksmî, S’ruti, Smriti, Dhriti, S’raddhâ, Medhâ, Mati, Kânti, and Âryâ. These are the 16 S’aktis. They all are dark blue, of the colour of the fresh rain-cloud; they wield in their hands axes and shields. It seems they are ever eager to fight. O King! These S’aktis are the Rulers of all the separate S’aktis of the other Brahmândas. These are the forces of S’rî Devî.

72-90. Being strengthened by the Devî’s strength, these are always surrounded by various chariots and forces, various other S’aktis follow them. If they like, they can cause great agitation in the whole universe. Had I thousand faces, I would not have been able to describe what an amount of strength they wield. Now I describe the fifteenth enclosure wall. Listen. Next to this Indranîlamani enclosure, comes the enclosure made of pearls (muktâ), very wide and ten Yojanas high. The court inside, its space, trees, all are built of pearls. Within this enclosure there is a lotus with eight petals, all of pearls. On these petals reside the eight S’aktis, the advisers and ministers of the Devî. Their appearances, weapons, dresses, enjoyments, everything is like those of S’rî Devî. Their duty is to inform the Devî of what is going on in the Brahmândas. They are skilled in all sciences and arts and clever in all actions. They are very clever, skillful and clever in knowing beforehand the desires and intentions of S’rî Devî and they perform those things accordingly. Each one of them has many other S’aktis who also live here. By their Jñâna S’akti they know all the news concerning the Jîvas in every Brahmânda. Now I mention the names of those eight Sakhîs. Listen. Anangakusumâ, Anangakusumâ-turâ, Anangamadanâ, Ananga madanâturâ, Bhuvanapâla, Gaganavegâ, S’as’irekhâ, and Gaganarekhâ. These are the eight Sakhîs. They look red like the Rising Sun; and in their four hands they hold noose, goad, and signs of granting boons and “no fear.” At every instant they inform S’rî Devî of all the events of the Brahmânda. Next to this comes the sixteenth enclosure wall made of emerald (marakata); it is ten Yojanas high; the court inside, its space, and houses and everything are built of emeralds (marakata mani). Here exist all the good objects of enjoyments. This is hexagonal, of the Yantra shape. And at every corner reside the Devas. On the eastern corner resides the four-faced Brahmâ; he lives with Gâyatrî Devî; he holds Kamandalu, rosary, signs indicating “no fear” and Danda (rod). The Devî Gâyatrî is also decorated with these. Here all the Vedas, Smritis, the Purânas, and various weapons exist incarnate in their respective forms. All the Avatâras of Brahmâ, Gâyatrî, and Vyâhritis that exist in this Brahmânda, all live here. On the south-west corner Mahâ Visnu lives with Sâvitrî; He holds conch shell, disc, club, and lotus. Sâvitrî has got also all these. The Avatâras of Visnu that exist in every Brahmânda Matsya, Kûrma, etc., and all the Avatâras of Sâvitrî that exist in every universe, all dwell in this place. On the north western corner exists Mahâ Rudra with Sarasvatî. Both of them hold in their hands Paras’u, rosary, signs granting boons and “no fear.”

91-110. All the Avatâras of Rudra and Pârvatî (Gaurî, etc.) facing south that exist in all the Brahmândas, dwell here. All the chief Âgamas, sixty four in number and all the other Tantras reside here, incarnate in their due forms. On the south-eastern corner, the Lord of wealth, Kuvera, of Bhagavatî, surrounded by roads and shops resides here with Mahâ Laksmî and his hosts holding the jar of jewels (Mani Karandikâ). On the western corner exists always Madana with Rati, holding noose, goad, bow and arrow. All his amorous attendants reside here, incarnate in their forms. On the north-eastern corner resides always the great hero Ganes’a, the Remover of obstacles, holding noose and goad and with his Pusti Devî. O King! All the Vibhûtis (manifestations) of Ganes’a that exist in all the universes reside here. What more to say than this, that Brahmâ and the other Devas and Devîs here represent the sum-total of all the Brahmâs and the Devas and the Devîs that exist in all the Brahmândas. These all worship S’rî Bhagavatî, remaining in their own spheres respectively. O King! Next come the seventeenth enclosure wall made of Prabâla. It is red like saffron and it is one hundred Yojanas high. As before, the court inside, the ground and the houses all are made of Prabâla. The goddesses of the five elements, Hrillekhâ, Gaganâ, Raktâ, Karâlikâ, and Mahochchhusmâ reside here. The colours and lustres of the bodies of the goddessses resemble those of the elements over which they preside respectively. All of them are proud of their youth and hold in their four hands noose, goad and signs granting boons and “no fear.” They are dressed like S’rî Devî and reside here always. Next to this comes the eighteenth enclosure wall built of Navaratna (the nine jewels). It is many yojanas wide. This enclosure wall is superior to all others and it is higher also. On the four sides there exist innumerable houses, tanks, reservoirs, all built of Navaratna; these belong to the Devîs, the presiding Deities of Âmnâyas (that which is to be studied or learnt by heart; the Vedas). The ten Mahâ Vidyâs, Kâlî, Târâ, etc., of S’rî Devî and the Mahâbhedâs, that is, their all the Avatâras all dwell here with their respective Âvaranas, Vâhanas and ornaments. All the Avatâras of S’rî Devî for the killing of the Daityas and for showing favour to the devotees live here. They are Pas’amkus’es’varî, Bhuvanes’varî, Bhairavî, Kapâla Bhuvanes’varî, Amkus’a Bhuvanes’varî, Pramâda bhuvanes’varî, S’rî Krodha Bhuvanes’varî, Triputâs’vârûdhâ, Nityaklinnâ, Annapurnâ, Tvaritâ, and the other avatâras of Bhuvanes’varî, and Kâlî, Târâ and the other Mahâvidyâs are known as Mahâvidyâs. They live here with their Âvarana Devatâs, Vâhanas, and ornaments respectively. (Note :-- The Âvarana Deities are the attendant Deities.) Here live also the seven Kotis of Devîs presiding over the Mahâ Mantras, all brilliant and fair like the Koti Suns. O King! Next to this enclosure wall comes the chief and crowning palace of S’rî Devî, built of Chintâmani gems. All the articles within this are built of Chintâmani gems. Within this palace are seen hundreds and thousands of pillars. Some of these pillars are built of Sûryakântamani, some are built of Chandrakânta mani, and some are built of Vidyutkânta mani. O King! The lustre and brilliance of these pillars is so strong that no articles within this palace are visible to the eye. (Note :-- The face of the Goddess Kâlî is so bright that it appears like a shadow, i.e., black.)

Here ends the Eleventh Chapter on the description of the enclosure walls built of Padmarâga mani, etc., of the Mani Dvîpa in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 12. On The Description Of Mani Dvîpa

1-17. Vyâsa said :-- O King Janamejaya! The Ratnagriha, above mentioned, is the Central, the Chief and the Crowning Place of Mûla Prakriti. [The nine jewels are :-- (1) Muktâ, (2) Mânikya, (3) Vaidûrya, (4) Gomeda, (5) Vajra, (6) Vidruma, (7) Padmarâga, (8) Marakata, and (9) Nîla.] This is situated in the centre of all the enclosures. Within this there are the four Mandapas, i.e., halls built of one thousand (i.e., innumerable) pillars. These are the S’ringâra Mandapa, Mukti Mandapa, Jñâna Mandapa and Ekânta Mandapa; on the top there are canopies of various colours; within are many scented articles scented by the Dhûpas, etc. The brilliance of each of these is like that of one Koti Suns. On all sides of these four Mandapas there are nice groups of gardens of Kas’mîra, Mallikâ, and Kunda flowers. Various scents, and scented articles, for example, of musk, etc., are fully arranged in due order. There is a very big lotus tank here; the steps leading to it are built of jewels. Its water is nectar, on it are innumerable full-blown lotuses and the bees are humming always over them. Many birds, swans, Kârandavas, etc., are swimming to and fro. The sweet scents of lotuses are playing all round. In fact, the whole Manidvîpa is perfumed with various scented things. Within the S’ringâra Mandapa, the Devî Bhagavatî is situated in the centre on an Âsana (seat) and She hears the songs sung in tune by the other Devîs along with the other Devas. Similarly sitting on the Mukti Mandapa, She frees the Jîvas from the bondages of the world. Sitting on the Jñâna Mandapa, She gives instructions on Jñâna, and sitting on the fourth Ekânta Mandapa, She consults with Her ministers, the Sakhîs, Ananga Kusuma, etc., on the creation, preservation, etc., of the universe. O King! Now I shall describe about the main, Khâs, room of S’rî Devî. Listen. The Khâs Mahâl palace of the Devî Bhagavatî is named S’rî Chintâmani Griha. Within this is placed the raised platform, the dais and sofa whereon the Devî taketh Her honourable seat. The ten S’akti-tattvas form the staircases. The four legs are (1) Brahmâ, (2) Visnu, (3) Rudra, and (4) Mahes’vara. Sadâs’iva forms the upper covering plank. Over this S’rî Bhuvanes’vara Mahâ Deva or the Supreme Architect of the Universe is reigning. Now hear something about this Bhuvanes’vara. Before creation while intending to sport, the Devî Bhagavatî divided Her Body into two parts and from the right part created Bhuvanes’vara. He has five faces and each face has three eyes. He has four hands and He is holding in each hand speer, signs indicating do not fear, axe, and signs granting boons. He looks sixteen years old. The lustre of of His Body is more beautiful then Koti Kandarpas and more fiery than thousand Suns; and at the same time cool like Koti Suns. His colour is crystal white, and on His left lap S’rî Bhuvanes’varî Devî is always sitting.

18-29. On the hip of S’rî Bhuvanes’varî, is shining the girdle with small tinkling bells, built of various jewels; the ornaments on the arms are made of burnished gold studded with Vaidûryamanis; the Tâtanka ornaments on Her ears are very beautiful like S’rîchakra and they enhance very much the beauty of Her lotus face. The beauty of Her forehead vies with, or defies the Moon of the eighth bright lunar day. Her lips challenge the fully ripened Bimba fruits. Her face is shining with the Tilaka mark made of musk and saffron. The divine crown on Her head is beautified with the Sun and Moon made of jewels; the nose ornaments are like the star Venus and built of transparent gems, looking exceedingly beautiful and shedding charming lustre all around. The neck is decorated with necklaces built of gems and jewels. Her breasts are nicely decorated with camphor and saffron. Her neck is shining like a conchshell decorated with artistic designs. Her teeth look like fully ripe pomegranate fruits. On Her head is shining the jewel crown. Her lotus face is beautified with alakâ as if these are mad bees. Her navel is beautiful like the whirls in the river Bhâgirathî; Her fingers are decorated with jewel rings; She has three eyes like lotus leaves; the lustre of Her body is bright like Padmarâgamani cut and carved and sharpened on stone. The bracelets are adorned with jewel tinkling bells; Her neck ornaments and medals are studded with gems and jewels. Her hands are resplendent with the lustre of the jewels on the fingers; the braid of hair on Her head is wreathed with a garland of Mallikâ flowers; Her bodice (short jacket) is studded with various jewels.

30-45. O King! S’rî Devî is slightly bent down with the weight of Her very high hard breasts. She has four hands and She is holding noose, goad and signs granting boons and “do not fear.” The all beautiful all merciful Devî is full of love gestures and beauties. Her voice is sweeter than that of lute; the lustre of Her body is like Kotis and Kotis of Suns and Moons if they rise simultaneously on the sky. The Sakhîs, attendants, the Devas and the Devîs surround Her on all sides. Ichchâ S’akti, Jñâna S’akti, and Kriya S’akti all are present always before the Devî. Lajjâ, Tusti, Pusti, Kîrti, Kânti, Ksamâ, Dayâ, Buddhi, Medhâ, Smriti, and Laksmî are always seen here incarnate in their due Forms. The nine Pîtha S’aktis, Jayâ, Vijayâ, Ajitâ, Aparâjitâ, Nityâ, Vilâsinî, Dogdhrî, Aghorâ, and Mangalâ reside here always and are in the service of the Devî Bhuvanes’varî. On the side of the Devî are the two oceans of treasures; from these streams of Navaratna, gold, and seven Dhâtus (elements) go out and assume the forms of rivers and fall into the ocean Sudhâ Sindhu. Because such a Devî Bhuvanes’varî, resplendent with all powers and prosperities, sits on the left lap of Bhuvanes’vara, that He has, no doubt acquired His omnipotence. O King! Now I will describe the dimensions of the Chintâmani Griha. Listen. It is one thousand Yojanas wide; its centre is very big; the rooms situated further and further are twice those preceding them. It lies in Antarîksa (the intervening space) without any support. At the times of dissolution and creation it contracts and expands like a cloth. The lustre of this Chintâmani Griha is comparatively far more bright and beautiful than that of other enclosure walls. S’rî Devî Bhagavatî dwells always in this place. O King! All the great Bhaktas of the Devî in every Brahmânda, in the Devaloka, in Nâgaloka, in the world of men or in any other loka, all those that were engaged in the meditation of the Devî in the sacred places of the Devî and died there, they all come here and reside with the Devî in great joy and festivity.

46-59. On all sides rivers are flowing; some of ghee, some of milk, curd, honey, nectar, pomegranate juice, jambu juice, and some of mango juice, sugarcane juices are flowing on all sides. The trees here yield fruits according to one’s desires and the wells and tanks yield water also as people desire. Never is there any want felt here of anything. Never are seen here diseases, sorrow, old age, decrepitude, anxiety, anger, jealousy, and envy and other lower ideas. All the inhabitants of this place are full of youth and look like one thousand Suns. All enjoy with their wives and they worship S’rî Bhuvanes’varî. Some have attained Sâlokya, some Sâmîpya, some Sârûpya and some have attained Sârsti and pass their days in highest comfort. The Devas that are in every Brahmânda all live here and worship S’rî Devî. The seven Koti Mahâ Mantras and Mahâ Vidyâs here assume forms and worship the Mahâ Mâyâ S’rî Bhagavatî, Who is of the nature of Brahmâ. O King! Thus I have described to you all about this Manidvîpa. The lustre of Sun, Moon and Kotis and Kotis of lightnings cannot be one Kotieth of one Koti part of Its lustre. At some places the lustre is like Vidrumamani; some places as are illumined like the lustre of Marakata Mani; some, like Sûrya Kânta mani and some places are rendered brilliant like Kotis and Kotis of lightnings. The light at some places is like Sindûra; at some places like Indranîlamani; at some places, like Mânikya, and at some places like diamond. Some places are blazing like the conflagration of fire; and some places look like molten gold; some places seem filled with the lustre of Chandrakântamani, and some places look brilliant like Sûryakântamani.

60-73. The mountains here are all built of gems and jewels; the entrance gates and enclosures are built of gems and jewels; the trees and their leaves all are of gems; in fact all that exist here are all of gems and jewels. At some places numbers of peacocks are dancing; at some places cuckoos are captivating the minds of persons by cooing in the fifth tune and at others doves and pigeons and parrots are making sweet cackling sounds. Lakhs and lakhs of tanks are there with their pure crystal-like waters. The Red lotuses have blown fully and enhanced the beauty of the place. The captivating scents of these lotuses extend to a distance one hundred Yojanas all round and gladden the minds of people. The leaves are rustling with gentle breeze. The whole sky overhead is radiant with the lustre of Chintâmani gems and jewels. All the sides are illuminated with the brilliancy of the gems and jewels. O King! These jewels act like lamps. And the sweet scented trees emit their flagrance and it is transmitted by breeze all around. Thus these trees serve the purpose of dhûp (scent). The rays of these gems pierce through the openings of the jewel screens on the houses and fall on the mirrors inside, thus causing a nice brilliant appearance that captivates the mind and causes confusion. O King! And what shall I say of this place, more than this, that all the powers, and wealth, all the love sentiments, all the dress suited to amorous interviews, all the splendours, fire, energy, beauty and brilliance, the omniscience, the indomitable strength, all the excellent qualities and all mercy and kindness are present here! The All Comprehending Bliss and the Brahmânanda can always be witnessed here! O King! Thus I have described to you about the Manidvîpa, the most exalted place of the Devî Bhagavatî. At Her remembrance all the sins are instantly destroyed. The more so, if a man remembers the Devî and about this place at the time of death, He surely goes there. O King! He who daily reads the five Chapters, i.e., from the eighth to this twelfth chapter, is surely untouched by any obstacles due to the Bhûtas, Pretas and Pis’âchas. Especially the recitation of this at the time of building a new house and at the time of Vâstuyâga ensures all good and auspiciousness.

Here ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the description of Mani Dvîpa in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 13. On The Description Of Janamejaya’s Devî Yajñâ

1-4. Vyâsa said :-- O King Janamejaya! Thus I have answered all your nice queries; also what Nârâyana spoke to the highsouled Nârada is also said by me. He who hears this greatly wonderful Purânam S’rî Devî Bhâgavatam certainly becomes dear to the Devî and all his actions become fructified with success. Now as regards your mental distress, how you prevent any evil falling to your late father in his future life, I advise you to do the Yajñâ in the name of Bhagavatî; and certainly your father will be saved. And you also better take the Most Excellent Mantra of the Mahâ Devî duly, according to rules; and your human life will then be crowned with success; (your life will be saved; thus you as well as your father will be saved).

5-12. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Hearing thus, the King asked Vyâsa Deva to initiate in the Great Devî Mantra and thus to become his Guru. He was then initiated duly according to rules with the Great Mantra of Bhagavatî united with Pranava. When the Navarâtra period arrived, he called Dhaumya and other Brâhmanas and performed the Navarâtra Vrata so very dear to the Devî, according to his state. At this time for the satisfaction of the Devî, he caused this Devî Bhâgavata Purâna to be read by the Brâhmanas and fed innumerable Brâhmanas and Kumârîs (virgins) and gave in charity lots of things to the poor, orphans, and the Brâhmin boys and thus finished the Vrata. O Risis! Thus completing the Devîyajñâ, while the King was sitting on his seat, the fiery Devarsi Nârada came there from above playing with his lute. Seeing him there, all on a sudden, the King got up, and paid due respects to him by asking him to take his seat, with other necessary things. When the Devarsi became relieved of his labour of journey, the King asked him about his welfare and then enquired into the cause of his coming there.

13-19. O Devarsi! Whence and what for are you now coming? By your arrival here I am become blessed and feel that my Lord has come to me; now what can I serve to you; kindly command and oblige. Hearing this, the Devarsi Nârada said :-- “O King! Today I saw in the Devaloka a very wonderful event. I wanted eagerly to inform that to you. Hence I have come here. Your father met with a bad turn of fate for his bad action. I saw today he assumed a divine form and he was going on a chariot. The Devas were praising him and the Apsarâs were encircling him. It seemed he was going in that dress to the Mani Dvîpa. O King! You performed the Navarâtra Vrata and read the Devî Bhâgavata; it seems, as a result of that, your father has now been rewarded with such a noble and good turn of fate. Now you have become blessed and your actions have borne fruits. You have delivered your father from the hell and so you have become an ornament in your family. Today your name and fame have extended to the Devaloka.”

20-30. Sûta said :-- O Risis! Hearing these words from the mouth of Nârada, the King Janamejaya became very much happy and delighted and fell prostrate at the feet of Vyâsa Deva of glorious deeds and said :-- O Best of Munis! By Thy Grace, today I have become blessed. Now what return can I pay to Thee save bowing down to Thee. I pray that Thou dost shew such favours to me ever and again. O Risis! Hearing these words of the King Janamejaya, Vâdarâyana Veda Vyâsa blessed him and spoke to him in sweet words :-- “O King! Now leave all other actions. Read always the Devî Bhâgavata and worship the Lotus Feet of S’rî Devî. Leave off all laziness and now perform the Devî Yajñâ with great eclât. And you will surely be able to cross this bondage of the world. True there are various Purânas, the Visnu Purâna, the S’iva Purâna, but those cannot compare with one sixteenth of this Devî Bhâgavatam. In fact, this Purâna is the Essence of all the Purânas. How can the other Purânas be compared with this, wherein is established the Devî Mûla Prakriti? Reading this Purâna from the beginning to the end yields the result of reading the Vedas. So the wise persons should try their best to study it always.” Thus saying to Janamejaya, Veda Vyâsa departed. Then the pure minded Dhaumya and the other Brâhmanas highly praised the Devî Bhâgavatam and went to their desired places. And the King Janamejaya, on the other hand, began to read and hear always the Devî Bhâgavatam and spent his days happily in governing his kingdom.

Here end the Thirteenth Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the description of Janamejaya’s Devî Yajñâ in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Chapter 14. On The Recitation Of The Fruits Of This Purânam

1-17. Sûta said :-- “O Risis! In days of yore, from the Lotus Face of the Devî Bhâgavata came out S’rî Mad Bhâgavatam in the form of half a S’loka, as the decided conclusion of the Vedas. About what She gave instructions to Visnu, sleeping on a leaf of a Banyan tree, that same thing, the seed of the S’rî Mad Bhâgavata, Brahmâ Himself expanded into one hundred Koti s’lokas. Then, Veda Vyâsa, in order to teach his own son S’uka Deva, condensed them into eighteen thousand s’lokas, in Twelve Books and named it S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the present volume. That voluminous book comprising one hundred Koti s’lokas compiled by Brahmâ are still extant in the Deva loka. There is no Purâna like the Devî Bhâgavatam, so merit-giving, holy and capable to destroy all the sins. The reading of every line yields the fruits of performing many As’vamedha sacrifices. Human beings addicted to worldly affairs will get the merit of giving lands to the Brâhmanas and they will enjoy also all the pleasures of the world and in the end will go to the region of the Devî, if they can hear, after they have fasted and controlled their passions, the recitation of this Purânam from the mouth of a Paurânik Brâhmana, who has been worshipped and given clothings and ornaments and is considered as a second Veda Vyâsa. Or, if anybody writes the whole of the Devî Bhâgavatam with his own hand or gets it written by a writer from the beginning to the end and gives to a Paurânik Brâhmin the book placed in a box of the form of a lion made up of gold and a cow yielding milk with her calf with gold as his sacrificial fee; or if he feeds as many Brâhmanas as there are the number of chapters of the Devî Bhâgavatam and worship as many Kumârîs (virgin girls) with saffron, sandalpaste and ornaments and feeds them with Pâysânna, he gets the merits of giving lands and enjoys all the pleasures of the world and goes in the end to the region of the Devî. He has no want of anything who daily hears with rapt devotion this Devî Bhâgavatam. One who has no wealth gets abundance of wealth, those who are students get knowledge, one who has no sons, gets sons if one hears this Devî Bhâgavatam with true devotion. A barren woman, or one who bears still-born children or whose offsprings never live long or who bears only a single child, gets all her defects removed, if she hears this Devî Bhâgavatam with a steadfast devotion. The house where this Purâna is worshipped, Laksmî and Sarasvatî dwell there, leaving their animosities towards each other. By the influence of this Devî Bhâgavatam the Dâkinîs, Vetâlas, Râksasas, and other ghosts cannot cast a glance even on its devotee. If anybody gets fever and if the S’rî Devî Bhâgavatam be read touching him with a concentrated attention, all the complaints disappear. By reading this Bhâgavatam, one hundred times even more difficult than the severe disease pthisis is cured.

18-20. If after performing the Sandhyâ, one reads only one chapter of this Bhâgavatam with a collected mind, he soon acquires the Real Knowledge. O Muni S’aunaka! While going to read this Bhâgavatam, first examine omens and then read. I have spoken already on this subject. If during the S’âradîya Pûjâ (the autumnal Durgâ Pûjâ), at the Navarâtra period, one reads with devotion this Bhâgavatam, the Devî Bhagavatî becomes greatly pleased and awards him results more than his desires.

21-31. During the Navarâtri period all can read well this book for the satisfaction of his Îsta Deva (his own deity) whether he be a Vaisnava, S’aiva, Saura, Gânapatya or a S’âkta. All can read this for the satisfaction of Laksmî, Umâ and other S’aktis. The Vaidik Brâhmanas are to recite this daily for the satisfaction of the Devî Gâyatrî. This Purânam is not contradictory to any sectarian belief. The reason of this being that to whatever deity he pays his worship, he must worship some S’akti or other, this is stated everywhere. So for the satisfaction of one’s own S’akti, all can read this, without contradicting each other. Never any woman nor any S’ûdra, is to read this herself or himself, even out of ignorance; rather they should hear this from the mouth of a Brâhmana. This is the rule of the S’âstras. (The vibrations and the consequent results would be truer then.) O Risis! What more to say on this book than this, that this Purânam is the most excellent of all and yields great merits. It is the essence of the Vedas. This I tell you with great certainty. There is not the least doubt in this. Reading or hearing this yields results equivalent to reading or hearing the Vedas. I now bow to the Devî of the nature of Hrîm and established by Gâyatrî, of the nature of Everlasting Existence, Intelligence and Bliss, Who stimulates our activities to the understanding of various subjects. Thus hearing the excellent words of Sûta, the great Paurânik, all the Munis of Naimisâranya worshipped him specially and as the result of hearing this Purânam glady became the servants of the Lotus Feet of the Devî and they attained the Highest Rest. The Munis expressed their humility and gratitude to Sûta frequently and bowed down to him again and again. And they said :-- “O Sûta! It is you that have saved us from this ocean of world.” Thus (the great Bhâgavata) Sûta, the bee drinking the honey of the Lotus Feet of the Devî, recited before the assemblage of the best of the Munis this Purânam from the beginning to the end, the Secret of all the Nigamas and full of the Glories of the Devî Bhagavatî. After this the Risis bowed down to him and he blessed and honoured them.

Then he went away to his desired place. Here the Devî Bhâgavatam ends and is fully completed.

Here ends the Fourteenth Chapter of the Twelfth Book on the recitation of the fruits of this Purânam in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

Here ends as well the Full Treatise, S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam.

Om. Om. Om. Om Tat Sat. Om Hari Om.

THE END

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Notes

[←1]

Kosala is a country situated, according to Râmâyana, along the banks of the Sarayû (or Gogrâ). It was divided into Uttara-Kosala and Dakshina Kosala. The former is also called Ganda and it must have therefore signified the country, north of Ayodhyâ comprising Gonda and Bahraich. Aja and Dasaratha, etc., are said to have ruled over the province. At the time of Râma's death, his two sons Kusa and Lava reigned respectively at Kusâvati in Southern Kosala in the defiles of the Vindhyas and at Srâvasti in northern Kosala.

[←2]

Vâsavî is the name of the mother of Vyâsa.

Table of Contents

Foreword

The First Book

The Second Book

The Third Book

The Fourth Book

The Fifth Book

The Sixth Book

The Seventh Book

The Eighth Book

The Ninth Book

The Tenth Book

The Eleventh Book

The Twelfth Book