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Ninth Skandha · Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Unit 248 of 318Ninth Skandha · Chapter 31Ninth Skandha · Chapter 311 source entries

Ninth Skandha · Chapter 31

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श्रीनारायण उवाच शक्तेरुत्कीर्तनं श्रुत्वा सावित्री यमवक्त्रतः । साश्रुनेत्रा सपुलका यमं पुनरुवाच सा ॥ १ ॥ सावित्र्युवाच शक्तेरुत्कीर्तनं धर्म सकलोद्धारकारणम् । श्रोतॄणां चैव वक्तॄणां जन्ममृत्युजराहरम् ॥ २ ॥ दानवानां च सिद्धानां तपसां च परं पदम् । योगानां चैव वेदानां कीर्तनं सेवनं विभो ॥ ३ ॥ मुक्तित्वममरत्वं च सर्वसिद्धित्वमेव च । श्रीशक्तिसेवकस्यैव कलां नार्हन्ति षोडशीम् ॥ ४ ॥ भजामि केन विधिना वद वेदविदांवर । शुभकर्मविपाकं च श्रुतं नॄणां मनोहरम् ॥ ५ ॥ कर्माशुभविपाकं च तन्मे व्याख्यातुमर्हसि । इत्युक्त्वा च सती ब्रह्मन् भक्तिनम्रात्मकन्धरा ॥ ६ ॥ तुष्टाव धर्मराजं च वेदोक्तेन स्तवेन च । सावित्र्युवाच तपसा धर्ममाराध्य पुष्करे भास्करः पुरा ॥ ७ ॥ धर्मं सूर्यः सुतं प्राप धर्मराजं नमाम्यहम् । समता सर्वभूतेषु यस्य सर्वस्य साक्षिणः ॥ ८ ॥ अतो यन्नाम शमनमिति तं प्रणमाम्यहम् । येनान्तश्च कृतो विश्वे सर्वेषां जीविनां परम् ॥ ९ ॥ कामानुरूपं कालेन तं कृतान्तं नमाम्यहम् । बिभर्ति दण्डं दण्डाय पापिनां शुद्धिहेतवे ॥ १० ॥ नमामि तं दण्डधरं यः शास्ता सर्वजीविनाम् । विश्वं च कलयत्येव यः सर्वेषु च सन्ततम् ॥ ११ ॥ अतीव दुर्निवार्यं च तं कालं प्रणमाम्यहम् । तपस्वी ब्रह्मनिष्ठो यः संयमी सञ्जितेन्द्रियः ॥ १२ ॥ जीवानां कर्मफलदस्तं यमं प्रणमाम्यहम् । स्वात्मारामश्च सर्वज्ञो मित्रं पुण्यकृतां भवेत् ॥ १३ ॥ पापिनां क्लेशदो यस्तं पुण्यमित्रं नमाम्यहम् । यज्जन्म ब्रह्मणोंऽशेन ज्वलन्तं ब्रह्मतेजसा ॥ १४ ॥ यो ध्यायति परं ब्रह्म तमीशं प्रणमाम्यहम् । इत्युक्त्वा सा च सावित्री प्रणनाम यमं मुने ॥ १५ ॥ यमस्तां शक्तिभजनं कर्मपाकमुवाच ह । इदं यमाष्टकं नित्यं प्रातरुत्थाय यः पठेत् ॥ १६ ॥ यमात्तस्य भयं नास्ति सर्वपापात्प्रमुच्यते । महापापी यदि पठेन्नित्यं भक्तिसमन्वितः । यमः करोति संशुद्धं कायव्यूहेन निश्चितम् ॥ १७ ॥

śrīnārāyaṇa uvāca śakterutkīrtanaṃ śrutvā sāvitrī yamavaktrataḥ | sāśrunetrā sapulakā yamaṃ punaruvāca sā || 1 || sāvitryuvāca śakterutkīrtanaṃ dharma sakaloddhārakāraṇam | śrotṝṇāṃ caiva vaktṝṇāṃ janmamṛtyujarāharam || 2 || dānavānāṃ ca siddhānāṃ tapasāṃ ca paraṃ padam | yogānāṃ caiva vedānāṃ kīrtanaṃ sevanaṃ vibho || 3 || muktitvamamaratvaṃ ca sarvasiddhitvameva ca | śrīśaktisevakasyaiva kalāṃ nārhanti ṣoḍaśīm || 4 || bhajāmi kena vidhinā vada vedavidāṃvara | śubhakarmavipākaṃ ca śrutaṃ nṝṇāṃ manoharam || 5 || karmāśubhavipākaṃ ca tanme vyākhyātumarhasi | ityuktvā ca satī brahman bhaktinamrātmakandharā || 6 || tuṣṭāva dharmarājaṃ ca vedoktena stavena ca | sāvitryuvāca tapasā dharmamārādhya puṣkare bhāskaraḥ purā || 7 || dharmaṃ sūryaḥ sutaṃ prāpa dharmarājaṃ namāmyaham | samatā sarvabhūteṣu yasya sarvasya sākṣiṇaḥ || 8 || ato yannāma śamanamiti taṃ praṇamāmyaham | yenāntaśca kṛto viśve sarveṣāṃ jīvināṃ param || 9 || kāmānurūpaṃ kālena taṃ kṛtāntaṃ namāmyaham | bibharti daṇḍaṃ daṇḍāya pāpināṃ śuddhihetave || 10 || namāmi taṃ daṇḍadharaṃ yaḥ śāstā sarvajīvinām | viśvaṃ ca kalayatyeva yaḥ sarveṣu ca santatam || 11 || atīva durnivāryaṃ ca taṃ kālaṃ praṇamāmyaham | tapasvī brahmaniṣṭho yaḥ saṃyamī sañjitendriyaḥ || 12 || jīvānāṃ karmaphaladastaṃ yamaṃ praṇamāmyaham | svātmārāmaśca sarvajño mitraṃ puṇyakṛtāṃ bhavet || 13 || pāpināṃ kleśado yastaṃ puṇyamitraṃ namāmyaham | yajjanma brahmaṇoṃ'śena jvalantaṃ brahmatejasā || 14 || yo dhyāyati paraṃ brahma tamīśaṃ praṇamāmyaham | ityuktvā sā ca sāvitrī praṇanāma yamaṃ mune || 15 || yamastāṃ śaktibhajanaṃ karmapākamuvāca ha | idaṃ yamāṣṭakaṃ nityaṃ prātarutthāya yaḥ paṭhet || 16 || yamāttasya bhayaṃ nāsti sarvapāpātpramucyate | mahāpāpī yadi paṭhennityaṃ bhaktisamanvitaḥ | yamaḥ karoti saṃśuddhaṃ kāyavyūhena niścitam || 17 ||

English translation

1-2. Narayana said O Narada! Hearing thus the supreme nature of Mula Prakriti from Dharmaraja Yama, the two eyes of Savitri were filled with tears of joy and her whole body was filled with a thrill of rapture, joy and ecstacy. She again addressed Yama “O Dharmaraja! To sing the glories of Mula Prakriti is the only means of saving all. This takes away the old age and death of both the speaker and the hearer.

3-12. This is the Supreme Place of the Danavas, the Siddhas, the ascetics. This is the Yoga of the Yogins and this is studying the Vedas of the Vaidiks. Nothing can compare even to one sixteenth of the sixteenth parts of the (full) merits of those who are in S’akti’s Service; call it Mukti, immortality, or attaining endless Siddhis, nothing can come to it. O Thou, the foremost of the Knowers of the Vedas! I have heard by and by everything from Thee. Now describe to me how to worship Mula Prakriti and what are the ends of karmas, auspicious and inauspicious.” Thus saying, the chaste Savitri bowed down her head and began to praise Yama in stotras according to the Vedas. She said “O Dharmarajan! The Sun practised of yore very hard austerities at Puskara and worshipped Dharma. On this, Dharma Himself became born of Surya as his son. And Thou art that son of Surya, the incarnation of Dharma. So I bow down to Thee. Thou art the Witness of all the Jivas; Thou seest them equally; hence Thy name is Samana. I bow down to Thee. Sometimes Thou by Thy own will takest away the lives of beings. Hence Thy name is Kritanta. Obeisance to Thee! Thou boldest the rod to distribute justice and pronounce sentence on them and to destroy the sins of the Jivas; hence Thy name is Dandadhara; so I bow down to Thee. (Note:-- Any Jiva, in course of his travelling towards Mukti, can expect to pass through the stage Yamaship; and if he pleases, he

can become a Yama.) At all times Thou destroyest the universe. None can resist Thee. Hence Thou art named Kala; so obeisance to Thee! Thou art an ascetic, devoted to Brahma, self-controlled, and the distributor of the fruits of Karmas to the Jivas; Thou restrainest Thy senses. Hence Thou art called Yama. Therefore I bow down to Thee.

13-17. Thou art delighted with Thy Own Self; Thou art omniscient; Thou art the Tormentor of the sinners and the Friend of the Virtuous. Hence Thy name is Punya Mitra; so I bow down to Thee. Thou art born as a part of Brahma; the fire of Brahma is shining through Thy body. Thou dost meditate on Para Brahma, Thou art the Lord. Obeisance to Thee!” O Muni! Thus praising Yama, She bowed down at the feet of Him. Yama gave her the mantra of Mula Prakriti. How to worship Her and He began to recite the fruition of good Karmas. O Narada! He who recites these eight hymns to Yama early in the morning, getting up from his bed, is freed of the fear of death. Rather he becomes freed of all his sins. So much so, that even if he be a veritable awful sinner and if he recites daily with devotion this Yamastakam, Yama purifies him thoroughly.

Here ends the Thirty-first Chapter of the Ninth Book on the Yama’s giving S’akti Mantra to Savitri in the Mahapuranam S’ri Mad Devi Bhagavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyasa.

Complete chapter-aligned witnesses. Sanskrit Wikisource page 24526, revision 75172 (2016-07-27T13:42:47Z). 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/bk09ch31.htm. Historic spelling and transliteration are lightly normalized; no verse-by-verse alignment is asserted.