Fifth Skandha · Chapter 19
Sourceव्यास उवाच अथ प्रमुदिताः सर्वे देवा इन्द्रपुरोगमाः । महिषं निहतं दृष्ट्वा तुष्टुवुर्जगदम्बिकाम् ॥ १ ॥ देवा ऊचुः ब्रह्मा सृजत्यवति विष्णुरिदं महेशः शक्त्या तवैव हरते ननु चान्तकाले ॥ ईशा न तेऽपि च भवन्ति तया विहीना- स्तस्मात्त्वमेव जगतः स्थितिनाशकर्त्री ॥ २ ॥ कीर्तिर्मतिः स्मृतिगती करुणा दया त्वं श्रद्धा धृतिश्च वसुधा कमलाजपा च । पुष्टिः कलाथ विजया गिरिजा जया त्वं तुष्टिः प्रमा त्वमसि बुद्धिरुमा रमा च ॥ ३ ॥ विद्या क्षमा जगति कान्तिरपीह मेधा सर्वं त्वमेव विदिता भुवनत्रयेऽस्मिन् । आभिर्विना तव तु शक्तिभिराशु कर्तुं को वा क्षमः सकललोकनिवासभूमे ॥ ४ ॥ त्वं धारणा ननु न चेदसि कूर्मनागौ धर्तुं क्षमौ कथमिलामपि तौ भवेताम् । पृथ्वी न चेत्त्वमसि वा गगने कथं स्था- स्यत्येतदम्ब निखिलं बहुभारयुक्तम् ॥ ५ ॥ ये वा स्तुवन्ति मनुजा अमरान्विमूढा मायागुणैस्तव चतुर्मुखविष्णुरुद्रान् । शुभ्रांशुवह्नियमवायुगणेशमुख्यान् किं त्वामृते जननि ते प्रभवन्ति कार्ये ॥ ६ ॥ ये जुह्वति प्रविततेऽल्पधियोऽम्ब यज्ञे वह्नौ सुरान्समधिकृत्य हविः समृद्धम् । स्वाहा न चेत्त्वमसि ते कथमापुरद्धा त्वामेव किं न हि यजन्ति ततो हि मूढाः ॥ ७ ॥ भोगप्रदासि भवतीह चराचराणां स्वांशैर्ददासि खलु जीवनमेव नित्यम् । स्वीयान्सुराञ्जननि पोषयसीह यद्व- त्तद्वत्परानपि च पालयसीति हेतोः ॥ ८ ॥ मातः स्वयंविरचितान्विपिने विनोदा- द्वन्ध्यान्पलाशरहितांश्च कटूंश्च वृक्षान् । नोच्छेदयन्ति पुरुषा निपुणाः कथञ्चि- त्तस्मात्त्वमप्यतितरां परिपासि दैत्यान् ॥ ९ ॥ यत्त्वं तु हंसि रणमूर्ध्नि शरैरराती- न्देवाङ्गनासुरतकेलिमतीन्विदित्वा । देहान्तरेऽपि करुणारसमाददाना तत्ते चरित्रमिदमीप्सितपूरणाय ॥ १० ॥ चित्रं त्वमी यदसुभी रहिता न सन्ति त्वच्चिन्तितेन दनुजाः प्रथितप्रभावाः । येषां कृते जननि देहनिबन्धनं ते क्रीडारसस्तव न चान्यतरोऽत्र हेतुः ॥ ११ ॥ प्राप्ते कलावहह दुष्टतरे च काले न त्वां भजन्ति मनुजा ननु वञ्चितास्ते । धूर्तैः पुराणचतुरैर्हरिशङ्कराणां सेवापराश्च विहितास्तव निर्मितानाम् ॥ १२ ॥ ज्ञात्वा सुरांस्तव वशानसुरार्दितांश्च ये वै भजन्ति भुवि भावयुता विभग्नान् । धृत्वा करे सुविमलं खलु दीपकं ते कूपे पतन्ति मनुजा विजलेऽतिघोरे ॥ १३ ॥ विद्या त्वमेव सुखदासुखदाप्यविद्या मातस्त्वमेव जननार्तिहरा नराणाम् । मोक्षार्थिभिस्तु कलिता किल मन्दधीभि- र्नाराधिता जननि भोगपरैस्तथाज्ञैः ॥ १४ ॥ ब्रह्मा हरश्च हरिरप्यनिशं शरण्यं पादाम्बुजं तव भजन्ति सुरास्तथान्ये । तद्वै न येऽल्पमतयो मनसा भजन्ति भ्रान्ताः पतन्ति सततं भवसागरे ते ॥ १५ ॥ चण्डि त्वदङ्घ्रिजलजोत्थरजःप्रसादै- र्ब्रह्मा करोति सकलं भुवनं भवादौ । शौरिश्च पाति खलु संहरते हरस्तु त्वां सेवते न मनुजस्त्विह दुर्भगोऽसौ ॥ १६ ॥ वाग्देवता त्वमसि देवि सुरासुराणां वक्तुं न तेऽमरवराः प्रभवन्ति शक्ताः । त्वं चेन्मुखे वससि नैव यदैव तेषां यस्माद्भवन्ति मनुजा न हि तद्विहीनाः ॥ १७ ॥ शप्तो हरिस्तु भृगुणा कुपितेन कामं मीनो बभूव कमठः खलु सूकरस्तु । पश्चान्नृसिंह इति यश्छलकृद्धरायां तान्सेवतां जननि मृत्युभयं न किं स्यात् ॥ १८ ॥ शम्भोः पपात भुवि लिङ्गमिदं प्रसिद्धं शापेन तेन च भृगोर्विपिने गतस्य । तं ये नरा भुवि भजन्ति कपालिनं तु तेषां सुखं कथमिहापि परत्र मातः ॥ १९ ॥ योऽभूद् गजाननगणाधिपतिर्महेशा- त्तं ये भजन्ति मनुजा वितथप्रपन्नाः । जानन्ति ते न सकलार्थफलप्रदात्रीं त्वां देवि विश्वजननीं सुखसेवनीयाम् ॥ २० ॥ चित्रं त्वयारिजनतापि दयार्द्रभावा- द्धत्वा रणे शितशरैर्गमिता द्युलोकम् । नोचेत्स्वकर्मनिचिते निरये नितान्तं दुःखातिदुःखगतिमापदमापतेत्सा ॥ २१ ॥ ब्रह्मा हरश्च हरिरप्युत गर्वभावा- ज्जानन्ति तेऽपि विबुधा न तव प्रभावम् । केऽन्ये भवन्ति मनुजा विदितुं समर्थाः सम्मोहितास्तव गुणैरमितप्रभावैः ॥ २२ ॥ क्लिश्यन्ति तेऽपि मुनयस्तव दुर्विभाव्यं पादाम्बुजं न हि भजन्ति विमूढचित्ताः । सूर्याग्निसेवनपराः परमार्थतत्त्वं ज्ञातं न तैः श्रुतिशतैरपि वेदसारम् ॥ २३ ॥ मन्ये गुणास्तव भुवि प्रथितप्रभावाः कुर्वन्ति ये हि विमुखान्ननु भक्तिभावात् । लोकान्स्वबुद्धिरचितैर्विविधागमैश्च विष्ण्वीशभास्करगणेशपरान्विधाय ॥ २४ ॥ कुर्वन्ति ये तव पदाद्विमुखान्नराग्र्या- न्स्वोक्तागमैर्हरिहरार्चनभक्तियोगैः । तेषां न कुप्यसि दयां कुरुषेऽम्बिके त्वं तान्मोहमन्त्रनिपुणान्प्रथयस्यलं च ॥ २५ ॥ तुर्ये युगे भवति चातिबलं गुणस्य तुर्यस्य तेन मथितान्यसदागमानि । त्वां गोपयन्ति निपुणाः कवयः कलौ वै त्वत्कल्पितान्सुरगणानपि संस्तुवन्ति ॥ २६ ॥ ध्यायन्ति मुक्तिफलदां भुवि योगसिद्धां विद्यां पराञ्च मुनयोऽतिविशुद्धसत्त्वाः । ते नाप्नुवन्ति जननीजठरे तु दुःखं धन्यास्त एव मनुजास्त्वयि ये विलीनाः ॥ २७ ॥ चिच्छक्तिरस्ति परमात्मनि येन सोऽपि व्यक्तो जगत्सु विदितो भवकृत्यकर्ता । कोऽन्यस्त्वया विरहितः प्रभवत्यमुष्मिन् कर्तुं विहर्तुमपि सञ्चलितुं स्वशक्त्या ॥ २८ ॥ तत्त्वानि चिद्विरहितानि जगद्विधातुं किं वा क्षमाणि जगदम्ब यतो जडानि । किं चेन्द्रियाणि गुणकर्मयुतानि सन्ति देवि त्वया विरहितानि फलं प्रदातुम् ॥ २९ ॥ देवा मखेष्वपि हुतं मुनिभिः स्वभागं गृह्णीयुरम्ब विधिवत्प्रतिपादितं किम् । स्वाहा न चेत्त्वमसि तत्र निमित्तभूता तस्मात्त्वमेव ननु पालयसीव विश्वम् ॥ ३० ॥ सर्वं त्वयेदमखिलं विहितं भवादौ त्वं पासि वै हरिहरप्रमुखान्दिगीशान् । कालेऽत्सि विश्वमपि ते चरितं भवाद्यं जानन्ति नैव मनुजाः क्व नु मन्दभाग्याः ॥ ३१ ॥ हत्वासुरं महिषरूपधरं महोग्रं मातस्त्वया सुरगणः किल रक्षितोऽयम् । कां ते स्तुतिं जननि मन्दधियो विदामो वेदा गतिं तव यथार्थतया न जग्मुः ॥ ३२ ॥ कार्यं कृतं जगति नो यदसौ दुरात्मा वैरी हतो भुवनकण्टकदुर्विभाव्यः । कीर्तिः कृता ननु जगत्सु कृपा विधेया- प्यस्मांश्च पाहि जननि प्रथितप्रभावे ॥ ३३ ॥ व्यास उवाच एवं स्तुता सुरैर्देवी तानुवाच मृदुस्वरा । अन्यत्कार्यं च दुःसाध्यं ब्रुवन्तु सुरसत्तमाः ॥ ३४ ॥ यदा यदा हि देवानां कार्यं स्यादतिदुर्घटम् । स्मर्तव्याहं तदा शीघ्रं नाशयिष्यामि चापदम् ॥ ३५ ॥ देवा ऊचुः सर्वं कृतं त्वया देवि कार्यं नः खलु साम्प्रतम् । यदयं निहतः शत्रुरस्माकं महिषासुरः ॥ ३६ ॥ स्मरिष्यामो यथा तेऽम्ब सदैव पदपङ्कजम् । तथा कुरु जगन्मातर्भक्तिं त्वय्यप्यचञ्चलाम् ॥ ३७ ॥ अपराधसहस्राणि मातैव सहते सदा । इति ज्ञात्वा जगद्योनिं न भजन्ते कुतो जनाः ॥ ३८ ॥ द्वौ सुपर्णो तु देहेऽस्मिंस्तयोः सख्यं निरन्तरम् । नान्यः सखा तृतीयोऽस्ति योऽपराधं सहेत हि ॥ ३९ ॥ तस्माज्जीवः सखायं त्वां हित्वा किं नु करिष्यति । पापात्मा मन्दभाग्योऽसौ सुरमानुषयोनिषु ॥ ४० ॥ प्राप्य देहं सुदुष्प्रापं न स्मरेत्त्वां नराधमः । मनसा कर्मणा वाचा ब्रूमः सत्यं पुनः पुनः ॥ ४१ ॥ सुखे वाप्यथवा दुःखे त्वं नः शरणमद्भुतम् । पाहि नः सततं देवि सर्वैस्तव वरायुधैः ॥ ४२ ॥ अन्यथा शरणं नास्ति त्वत्पादाम्बुजरेणुतः । व्यास उवाच एवं स्तुता सुरैर्देवी तत्रैवान्तरधीयत । विस्मयं परमं जग्मुर्देवास्तां वीक्ष्य निर्गताम् ॥ ४३ ॥
vyāsa uvāca atha pramuditāḥ sarve devā indrapurogamāḥ | mahiṣaṃ nihataṃ dṛṣṭvā tuṣṭuvurjagadambikām || 1 || devā ūcuḥ brahmā sṛjatyavati viṣṇuridaṃ maheśaḥ śaktyā tavaiva harate nanu cāntakāle || īśā na te'pi ca bhavanti tayā vihīnā- stasmāttvameva jagataḥ sthitināśakartrī || 2 || kīrtirmatiḥ smṛtigatī karuṇā dayā tvaṃ śraddhā dhṛtiśca vasudhā kamalājapā ca | puṣṭiḥ kalātha vijayā girijā jayā tvaṃ tuṣṭiḥ pramā tvamasi buddhirumā ramā ca || 3 || vidyā kṣamā jagati kāntirapīha medhā sarvaṃ tvameva viditā bhuvanatraye'smin | ābhirvinā tava tu śaktibhirāśu kartuṃ ko vā kṣamaḥ sakalalokanivāsabhūme || 4 || tvaṃ dhāraṇā nanu na cedasi kūrmanāgau dhartuṃ kṣamau kathamilāmapi tau bhavetām | pṛthvī na cettvamasi vā gagane kathaṃ sthā- syatyetadamba nikhilaṃ bahubhārayuktam || 5 || ye vā stuvanti manujā amarānvimūḍhā māyāguṇaistava caturmukhaviṣṇurudrān | śubhrāṃśuvahniyamavāyugaṇeśamukhyān kiṃ tvāmṛte janani te prabhavanti kārye || 6 || ye juhvati pravitate'lpadhiyo'mba yajñe vahnau surānsamadhikṛtya haviḥ samṛddham | svāhā na cettvamasi te kathamāpuraddhā tvāmeva kiṃ na hi yajanti tato hi mūḍhāḥ || 7 || bhogapradāsi bhavatīha carācarāṇāṃ svāṃśairdadāsi khalu jīvanameva nityam | svīyānsurāñjanani poṣayasīha yadva- ttadvatparānapi ca pālayasīti hetoḥ || 8 || mātaḥ svayaṃviracitānvipine vinodā- dvandhyānpalāśarahitāṃśca kaṭūṃśca vṛkṣān | nocchedayanti puruṣā nipuṇāḥ kathañci- ttasmāttvamapyatitarāṃ paripāsi daityān || 9 || yattvaṃ tu haṃsi raṇamūrdhni śarairarātī- ndevāṅganāsuratakelimatīnviditvā | dehāntare'pi karuṇārasamādadānā tatte caritramidamīpsitapūraṇāya || 10 || citraṃ tvamī yadasubhī rahitā na santi tvaccintitena danujāḥ prathitaprabhāvāḥ | yeṣāṃ kṛte janani dehanibandhanaṃ te krīḍārasastava na cānyataro'tra hetuḥ || 11 || prāpte kalāvahaha duṣṭatare ca kāle na tvāṃ bhajanti manujā nanu vañcitāste | dhūrtaiḥ purāṇacaturairhariśaṅkarāṇāṃ sevāparāśca vihitāstava nirmitānām || 12 || jñātvā surāṃstava vaśānasurārditāṃśca ye vai bhajanti bhuvi bhāvayutā vibhagnān | dhṛtvā kare suvimalaṃ khalu dīpakaṃ te kūpe patanti manujā vijale'tighore || 13 || vidyā tvameva sukhadāsukhadāpyavidyā mātastvameva jananārtiharā narāṇām | mokṣārthibhistu kalitā kila mandadhībhi- rnārādhitā janani bhogaparaistathājñaiḥ || 14 || brahmā haraśca harirapyaniśaṃ śaraṇyaṃ pādāmbujaṃ tava bhajanti surāstathānye | tadvai na ye'lpamatayo manasā bhajanti bhrāntāḥ patanti satataṃ bhavasāgare te || 15 || caṇḍi tvadaṅghrijalajottharajaḥprasādai- rbrahmā karoti sakalaṃ bhuvanaṃ bhavādau | śauriśca pāti khalu saṃharate harastu tvāṃ sevate na manujastviha durbhago'sau || 16 || vāgdevatā tvamasi devi surāsurāṇāṃ vaktuṃ na te'maravarāḥ prabhavanti śaktāḥ | tvaṃ cenmukhe vasasi naiva yadaiva teṣāṃ yasmādbhavanti manujā na hi tadvihīnāḥ || 17 || śapto haristu bhṛguṇā kupitena kāmaṃ mīno babhūva kamaṭhaḥ khalu sūkarastu | paścānnṛsiṃha iti yaśchalakṛddharāyāṃ tānsevatāṃ janani mṛtyubhayaṃ na kiṃ syāt || 18 || śambhoḥ papāta bhuvi liṅgamidaṃ prasiddhaṃ śāpena tena ca bhṛgorvipine gatasya | taṃ ye narā bhuvi bhajanti kapālinaṃ tu teṣāṃ sukhaṃ kathamihāpi paratra mātaḥ || 19 || yo'bhūd gajānanagaṇādhipatirmaheśā- ttaṃ ye bhajanti manujā vitathaprapannāḥ | jānanti te na sakalārthaphalapradātrīṃ tvāṃ devi viśvajananīṃ sukhasevanīyām || 20 || citraṃ tvayārijanatāpi dayārdrabhāvā- ddhatvā raṇe śitaśarairgamitā dyulokam | nocetsvakarmanicite niraye nitāntaṃ duḥkhātiduḥkhagatimāpadamāpatetsā || 21 || brahmā haraśca harirapyuta garvabhāvā- jjānanti te'pi vibudhā na tava prabhāvam | ke'nye bhavanti manujā vidituṃ samarthāḥ sammohitāstava guṇairamitaprabhāvaiḥ || 22 || kliśyanti te'pi munayastava durvibhāvyaṃ pādāmbujaṃ na hi bhajanti vimūḍhacittāḥ | sūryāgnisevanaparāḥ paramārthatattvaṃ jñātaṃ na taiḥ śrutiśatairapi vedasāram || 23 || manye guṇāstava bhuvi prathitaprabhāvāḥ kurvanti ye hi vimukhānnanu bhaktibhāvāt | lokānsvabuddhiracitairvividhāgamaiśca viṣṇvīśabhāskaragaṇeśaparānvidhāya || 24 || kurvanti ye tava padādvimukhānnarāgryā- nsvoktāgamairhariharārcanabhaktiyogaiḥ | teṣāṃ na kupyasi dayāṃ kuruṣe'mbike tvaṃ tānmohamantranipuṇānprathayasyalaṃ ca || 25 || turye yuge bhavati cātibalaṃ guṇasya turyasya tena mathitānyasadāgamāni | tvāṃ gopayanti nipuṇāḥ kavayaḥ kalau vai tvatkalpitānsuragaṇānapi saṃstuvanti || 26 || dhyāyanti muktiphaladāṃ bhuvi yogasiddhāṃ vidyāṃ parāñca munayo'tiviśuddhasattvāḥ | te nāpnuvanti jananījaṭhare tu duḥkhaṃ dhanyāsta eva manujāstvayi ye vilīnāḥ || 27 || cicchaktirasti paramātmani yena so'pi vyakto jagatsu vidito bhavakṛtyakartā | ko'nyastvayā virahitaḥ prabhavatyamuṣmin kartuṃ vihartumapi sañcalituṃ svaśaktyā || 28 || tattvāni cidvirahitāni jagadvidhātuṃ kiṃ vā kṣamāṇi jagadamba yato jaḍāni | kiṃ cendriyāṇi guṇakarmayutāni santi devi tvayā virahitāni phalaṃ pradātum || 29 || devā makheṣvapi hutaṃ munibhiḥ svabhāgaṃ gṛhṇīyuramba vidhivatpratipāditaṃ kim | svāhā na cettvamasi tatra nimittabhūtā tasmāttvameva nanu pālayasīva viśvam || 30 || sarvaṃ tvayedamakhilaṃ vihitaṃ bhavādau tvaṃ pāsi vai hariharapramukhāndigīśān | kāle'tsi viśvamapi te caritaṃ bhavādyaṃ jānanti naiva manujāḥ kva nu mandabhāgyāḥ || 31 || hatvāsuraṃ mahiṣarūpadharaṃ mahograṃ mātastvayā suragaṇaḥ kila rakṣito'yam | kāṃ te stutiṃ janani mandadhiyo vidāmo vedā gatiṃ tava yathārthatayā na jagmuḥ || 32 || kāryaṃ kṛtaṃ jagati no yadasau durātmā vairī hato bhuvanakaṇṭakadurvibhāvyaḥ | kīrtiḥ kṛtā nanu jagatsu kṛpā vidheyā- pyasmāṃśca pāhi janani prathitaprabhāve || 33 || vyāsa uvāca evaṃ stutā surairdevī tānuvāca mṛdusvarā | anyatkāryaṃ ca duḥsādhyaṃ bruvantu surasattamāḥ || 34 || yadā yadā hi devānāṃ kāryaṃ syādatidurghaṭam | smartavyāhaṃ tadā śīghraṃ nāśayiṣyāmi cāpadam || 35 || devā ūcuḥ sarvaṃ kṛtaṃ tvayā devi kāryaṃ naḥ khalu sāmpratam | yadayaṃ nihataḥ śatrurasmākaṃ mahiṣāsuraḥ || 36 || smariṣyāmo yathā te'mba sadaiva padapaṅkajam | tathā kuru jaganmātarbhaktiṃ tvayyapyacañcalām || 37 || aparādhasahasrāṇi mātaiva sahate sadā | iti jñātvā jagadyoniṃ na bhajante kuto janāḥ || 38 || dvau suparṇo tu dehe'smiṃstayoḥ sakhyaṃ nirantaram | nānyaḥ sakhā tṛtīyo'sti yo'parādhaṃ saheta hi || 39 || tasmājjīvaḥ sakhāyaṃ tvāṃ hitvā kiṃ nu kariṣyati | pāpātmā mandabhāgyo'sau suramānuṣayoniṣu || 40 || prāpya dehaṃ suduṣprāpaṃ na smarettvāṃ narādhamaḥ | manasā karmaṇā vācā brūmaḥ satyaṃ punaḥ punaḥ || 41 || sukhe vāpyathavā duḥkhe tvaṃ naḥ śaraṇamadbhutam | pāhi naḥ satataṃ devi sarvaistava varāyudhaiḥ || 42 || anyathā śaraṇaṃ nāsti tvatpādāmbujareṇutaḥ | vyāsa uvāca evaṃ stutā surairdevī tatraivāntaradhīyata | vismayaṃ paramaṃ jagmurdevāstāṃ vīkṣya nirgatām || 43 ||
English translation
1. Vyasa said O King! Then Indra and all the Devas became very glad to see the great Mahisasura slain; they all began to praise and chant hymns to the World-Mother.
2-33. The Devas said It is by thy Power that Brahma becomes able to create this world, Visnu, to preserve, and MahesVara 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 Devi! Thou art undoubtedly the Prime Cause in the preservation and destruction of this whole Universe. O Devi; Thou art, in this world. Fame, idea and ideal, memory; Thou art the goal, mercy, compassion, faith, constancy, earth; Thou art Kamala, the Mantra Ajapa, respiration and perspiration, nourishment, Jaya, Vijaya (the destroyer of obstacles; a name of Durga); Thou art contentment, correct notion, measure, intellect, Rama (Laksmi), (wealth), knowledge, forgiveness, beauty, intelligence; Thou art the S’akti (power) of Rudra, Thou art Girija and the Energy of God Uma 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 Brahma, Visnu, Rudra, Moon, Fire, Yama, the God of Death, Vayu, Ganes’a, and the other Devas, they are certainly deluded by Thy Maya. 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 Svaha, 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 Danavas, 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 Devi! 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 Devi! Those human beings that do not worship Thee in this dreadful age of Kali, they are certainly deceived by the cunning Purana 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 Devi! 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 Vidya (Blissful Intelligence) and Thou grantest pleasure and liberation; Thou art the Avidya, (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 Brahma, 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 Chandika! It is through the grace of the dust of Thy lotus-feet that Brahma, Visnu, and MahesVara 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 Hah takes several incarnations as Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Man-Lion, and deceitful Dwarf Incarnations; all these show clearly the dependence of Hah,
*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 Mahadeva 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 Devi! Those that worship Ganes’a, born of the above qualified Maha 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 Devi! 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. Brahma, Hari, Hara and the other Devas cannot realise Thy greatness; how can, then, ordinary men know Thee,
when they are deluded by immeasureably strong Sattva, Rajas and Tannas 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 Sattva, Rajas and Tamas 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, MahesVara, Sun and Ganes’a and thus detract them from worshipping Thee. O Mother! Those that detract thus the Brahmanas from worshiping Thy lotus-feet and advise them through the Agamas, 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, Sattva Guna was more powerful and therefore the untrue S’astras could not rear their heads; but in this Kali Age, owing to the Sattva 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 Brahma Vidya, the knowledge of the Supreme Consciousness, Thou givest liberation to Thy devotees when they succeed in their Yogas. Therefore the pure Sattvik 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 Devi! 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 Bhagavati! 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 Devi! 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 Svaha, the instrumental cause in the sacrifice, how could the Devas have got their shares of the ghee offered in the Yajhas by the Munis! Therefore, O Devi! Thou art, no doubt, preserving this universe. O Bhagavati! It is Thou that hast created this world in the beginning; it is Thou that art preserving the gods Hah, Hara and others; it is Thou that art destroying this universe. Therefore, O Brahman! 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 Mahisasura. 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 Danava, 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. Vyasa said O King! The Devas having praised the Devi thus, the Devi 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 Devi! All our purposes have been served when Thou hast killed lately our enemy Mahisasura. 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, Jivatma (human soul) and the Paramatma (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 Devi! Whether in times of distress or happiness. Thou art our Saviour; therefore dost Thou protect us with Thy best weapons. O Devi! There is no other means of our security than the Grace of the dust of Thy Feet.”
43. Vyasa said O King! The Devas having prayed to the Devi thus, the Devi vanished then and there. The Devas, seeing the disappearance of the Devi, were sufficiently struck with surprise.
Here ends the Nineteenth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the prayer and hymns to the Devi in S’ri Mad Devi Bhagavatam, the Maha Puranam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyasa.
Complete chapter-aligned witnesses. Sanskrit Wikisource page 24416, revision 74853 (2016-07-21T23:57:25Z). English is Swami Vijñanananda’s complete 1921–23 public-domain translation, controlled against the archival OCR and its chapter page at https://sacred-texts.com/hin/db/bk05ch19.htm. Historic spelling and transliteration are lightly normalized; no verse-by-verse alignment is asserted.