Philosophy and Religion / S'rîmad Devî Bhâgawatam

S'rîmad Devî Bhâgawatam

The Tenth Book

Chapter I: 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 II: 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 III: 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 IV: 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 V: 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 VI: 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 VII: 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 VIII: 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 IX: 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 X: 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 XI: 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 XII: 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 XIII: 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).¹

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.

Footnotes

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