MAHĀKĀLI DHYANAM
Meditation on Mahākāli
From the Devī Mahātmyam [Mārkendeya Purana]
Om Namaś Chaṇḍikāyai.
Om khaḍgaṁ chakra-gadeṣu-chāpa-parighāñ
chūlaṃ bhuśuṇḍīṁ śiraḥ
śaṅkhaṁ saṃda-dhatīṁ karai-stri-nayanāṁ
sarvāṅga-bhūṣāvṛitām
Nīlāśma-dyutimāsya pāda-daśakāṁ
seve Mahākālikāṁ
yāmastaut-svapite harau kamalajo
hantuṁ madhuṁ kaiṭabham.
Om Namaś Chaṇḍikāyai.
Om, I bow to the Goddess Chaṇḍikā.
Om, holding a scimitar, disk, mace, arrows and bow, lance, club, a skull and a conch shell in Her ten hands. The three-eyed goddess, Her body covered with ornaments, Her countenance with the brilliance of blue diamonds, with ten limbs. We offer our service to Mahākāli, She who Brahma praised for protection from the demons Madhu and Kaitava, when Vishnu was in sleep.
Om, I bow to the Goddess Chaṇḍikā.
Book 3/Chapter 15/1:61
On the battle between Yudhâjit and Vîrasena
1. Vyâsa
said :-- O king! When the war was
declared, the two kings, excited by greed and anger, took up arms; and a
dreadful encounter ensued.
2. On one
side the king Yudhâjit of long arms, surrounded by his own army, with bows and
arrows came ready to fight.
3. On the
other hand, the fiery Vîrasena, the second God of the Devas appeared in the battle,
following a true Ksattriya custom, on behalf his daughter’s son.
4. Then
that truthful king Vîrasena, seeing Yudhâjit in battle, became very angry and hurled
arrows on him, as a cloud rains on the mountain tops.
5. On
being covered, as it were, by the sharp and swift arrows, sharpened on a stone slab
hurled at him by Vîrasena, Yudhâjit, too, quickly, shot arrows at Vîrasena and
cut off all his arrows.
6. O King! A dreadful fight then ensued between the
cavalries, the warriors on the elephants; and the Devas, men, and Munis began
to witness this terrible battle with wonder and astonishment. Birds, vultures and crows, desirous to eat
the flesh of the dead soldiers, flew in the air.
7. Blood of
elephants, horses and warriors, the bodies that lay dead, flowed in torrents awfully
like rivers in that deadly battle ground.
The torrent of blood excited fear amongst those who came to see it, as
the river Vaitarani on the way to hell (the Lord of Death) is very fearful to
the sinners.
8. The
human skulls were driven ashore by the current and they look like so many hollow
shells of gourds scattered there for the play of the boys on the banks of the Jumnâ.
9. When any
warrior lay dead on the field, the vultures began to fly about in the air for devouring
his flesh. It seemed then that the soul
of the warrior beholding his beautiful body tried to reenter into his body,
though he thought that it had become very inaccessible to him.
10. Some
warriors on being slain in the battle instantly arose in a celestial car to the
heavens and was seen addressing the celestial nymph, who came already within
his embrace, thus “O one of beautiful thighs.
Behold! how my beautiful body is
lying on the earth below!”
11. Another
warrrior thus slain got up in the heavens on a celestial car, came in possession
of a celestial nymph and when he was sitting with her in the car, his former wife
in the earth made herself a sati and burnt herself up in the funeral pyre, thus
got a celestial body, came up to the heavens; and that chaste virtuous woman
drew away perforce her own husband away from that celestial nymph.
12. Two
warriors, went up, slew each other and lay down dead at the same time. They went up in the heavens at the same time
and there began quarrel with each other and fight with their weapons for one
and the same celestial nymph.
13. Some
hero got in the heavens a nymph more lovely and beautiful than himself and he
thus became very much attached and devoted her.
He began to describe his own heroic qualities and also to copy dotedly
the qualities of his lover so that she might remain faithfully attached to him.
14. The
dust, arising from the dreadful encounter of the soldiers in battle field, rose
up in the air and covered the sun. It
appeared night. After a while that dust
became absorbed in the blood below, and the sun appeared very red, reflected
with the colour of the blood.
15. Some
Brahmachârî fought in the battle and was slain.
He went up to the heavens; instantly a lovely eyed Devakanyâ, a
celestial nymph desired to select him as bridegroom with great devotion. But that clever man did not accept the offer,
thinking that his vow of Brahmacharya would be thus broken.
16-17. O King! Thus when the battle was deadly, the king
Yudhâjit shot a sharp, dreadful arrow at Vîrasena and severed his head from
body. Vîrasena lay dead on the battle
field and his army was routed. The
soldiers fled away from the battle.
18-19. Hearing
that her father was slain in the battle, Manoramâ became very terrified and
anxious. She then began to think that
the vicious wicked king Yudhâjit will surely slay her son, for kingdom's sake
and to satisfy his enmity with her father.
20. What
shall I do now? My father is slain in
the battle. My husband is no more. My child is a minor to-day. Where shall I go?
21. Greed is
very sinful; who is there that cannot be bought over by love of gold? And what vicious act can there be, that
cannot be done when actuated by covetousness?
22. A greedy
man does not hesitate to kill his father, mother, spiritual guide, friends and
others. There is no doubt in this.
23. It is
the inordinate love of worldly things that makes a man eat what is held unclean
in society, that makes a man approach a woman who is unapproachable, and it is
greed that makes a man discard his own religion and become an apostate.
24. In this
city I find none so powerful as I can remain there under his shelter and be able
to rear up my child.
25. What can
I do if the king Yudhâjit slay my son? There
is none in this world who can save me, and, counting on whose shelter, I can
stay here without any anxiety.
26. And this
my co-rival wife Lîlâvatî will always practise enmity with me. She will never shew mercy on my son.
27. When
Yudhâjit will arrive in this city, I will never be able to go out of it and he will
to-day put my son in the prison on the pretext that he is a minor.
28-29. I heard
that, in days of yore, Indra entered into the womb of his pregnant step mother
with a small thunderbolt in his hand and divided the foetus into seven parts with
that weapon, again each of these seven into seven parts again, thus the forty
nine Maruts were born in the Heavens.
30-31. I heard
also that in ancient times one queen gave poison to destroy the foetus in the
womb of her rival wife. When the child
came out of the womb, he was celebrated by the name of Sagara (with poison) in
this earth.
32. The
husband was alive, and still his queen Kaikeyi banished the eldest son of his king,
S’rî Râmchandra to the forest; and the king Das’aratha sacrificed his life for
that very reason.
33. The
ministers no doubt wanted before to install my son as the king; but now they are
not independent; they have now yielded themselves to the king Yudhâjit.
34. There is
no brother of mine powerful enough to release me from my bondage; I see I have
fallen into a great difficulty by the combination of unforeseen circumstances.
35. Though
the success depends on Fate, still one should make an earnest effort. If one does not make any effort, fate also
remains asleep. I will therefore soon
make out a plan to save my son.
36-38. O King! Thinking thus, that woman Manoramâ called in
private the best and very respectable minister Vidalla, who was intelligent and
expert in everything, and holding the hands of her son and weeping, said humbly
in a depressed spirit “O Minister! My
father is slain in the battle field, this my son is a minor, and Yudhâjit is a powerful
king; consider all these and tell me what I should do now?”
39-40. The
venerable minister Vidalla then said to the queen Manoramâ “It is never advisable
for us to stay here. Soon we will go
into the forests of Benares. There I
have got my powerful uncle Subâhu. He is
prosperous and has got a strong army. He
will protect us.”
41. “I will
make the pretext that I am become very anxious for the king and therefore I am
going out to see the king Yudhâjit and will go out of the city in my chariot. There is no doubt in this.”
42-43. Hearing,
thus, the Vidalla's words, the queen Manoramâ went to Lîlâvatî and said “O
faireyed! To-day I am going to see the
father Yudhâjit.” Thus saying, she went out of the city in a chariot,
accompanied by her son, attendants and Vidalla.
44-45. Grieved
at the loss of her father, fearful, distressed, and fatigued, Manoramâ saw
Yudhâjit and performed the cremation of her father Vîrasena; and, trembling
with fear, got to the banks of the Ganges after two days’ swift journey.
46-48. There
the robbers, the Nisâdas plundered all their riches and took the chariot and
went away. Manoramâ had only her
clothings, that she wore, left to her. She
began to weep, and, holding the hands of her attendant, went to the Ganges
shore, and being afraid crossed the river on a raft and went to the Chitrakûta
mountain.
49. That
terrified Devî went to the hermitage of Bhâradvâja as early as possible. There she saw the ascetics and was relieved
of her fear.
50. Bhâradvâja
asked, “O lotus eyed! Who are you and
whose wife are you? Why have you taken
so much trouble to come here? Answer all
these truly.”
51. “O
beautiful one! are you a Devî or a human
being? your son is a very minor. Why have you come in this dense forest? It seems, as if you are deprived of your
kingdom.”
52. Thus
asked by the best of the Munis, the beautiful Manoramâ became very much afflicted
with grief and began to weep; she could not speak anything herself and ordered
Vidalla to inform the Muni all what had happened.
53-54. Vidalla
then said :-- There was a king of Kosala, named Dhruvasandhi. She is the legal wife of that king. Her name is Manoramâ. That powerful king of the Solar Dynasty was
killed by a lion in a forest. This boy
Sudars’ana is his son.
55. The
father of this Manoramâ was very religious.
He died fighting for the cause of his daughter's son. Now the present queen has become much afraid
and has therefore come to this wild forest.
56. The son
of this woman is now a minor; he is now taking your refuge. O best of the Munis! Protect them.
57. To give
protection to any distressed person is to acquire merits higher than performing
a sacrifice. Therefore to protect one
who is very much afflicted with fear and who is helpless will have still higher
merits.
58. Bhâradvâja
said :-- “O beautiful one! Remain in
this hermitage without any fear; rear up your son here. O auspicious one! There is no cause of fear here from your enemies.
59. Better
nourish and support your child. Your son
will surely be a king and if you remain in this hermitage, no sorrow or grief
will overtake you.”
60. Vyâsa
said :-- When the great Muni Bhâradvâja said thus, the queen Manoramâ became
peaceful. The Muni gave them a cottage
to live in and there they dwelt without any sorrow.
61. Thus
Manoramâ dwelt obediently with her maid servant, liked by all. Vidalla also remained there and Manoramâ
began to nourish her child.
Here ends the Fifteenth chapter on the Devî Mâhâtmya and the
battle between Yudhâjit and Vîrasena and the going away of Manoramâ to the forest
in the 3rd Adhyâya of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Source: Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami
Vijnanananda
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