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 22/1:48
On Sudars’ana’s marriage
1. Vyâsa
said :-- O King! Then, on hearing his
daughter’s words, that high souled king of Benares, Subâhu, came to the spot
where the kings were staying and said :-- “O kings! Now you can go to your own camps; tomorrow I
will perform my daughter’s marriage ceremony.
2. Let you
all be pleased with me and graciously accept the food and drink, given by me. Tomorrow let you all come here and perform my
daughter’s marriage ceremony.
3. O Kings! My daughter is not coming today to this hall
of Svayamvara; what can I do now; I will console her and bring her here
tomorrow. Therefore do you all go now to
your own camps respectively.
4. Intelligent
persons should not quarrel with the members of their own family. But they should always shew kindness towards
their own sons and daughters who are under their protection. However, I will make my daughter understand
and bring her tomorrow morning. You may
all go now to your places as you desire.
5. Tomorrow
morning we will settle about the pledge, whether by choice or by fulfilling a
promise, that requires strength, and have the marriage celebrated; or better you
all together would decide what mode of Svayamvara is to be adopted.”
6. The
kings heard Subâhu and trusted him. Then
seeing that the city is well guarded on all sides, they went to their own camps
and performed their mid-day duties.
7-8. The king Subâhu on this side began to perform all the duties
regarding the marriage of his daughter, after duly consulting with all the
chief members of the family. At the
appointed time of marriage he brought his daughter in a well concealed and
guarded chamber, had the bathing ceremony of the bridegroom elect performed by the
priests, versed in the Vedas, and had him well dressed and did other requisite things. Then he brought the bridegroom in the house,
made him seat on a Vedî (platform) and duly worshipped him.
9. Then the
large-hearted king gave to the bridegroom seat, Âchamanîya (water for rinsing
the mouth and such articles of food as require rinsing one’s mouth after eating
them), Arghya (articles for worshipping deservedly, pâdyam, e.g., water for
washing the feet with an offer of green grass, rice, etc., made in worshipping
a God or a Brâhman), the two silken cloths and sheet, cows, and two ear-rings
and then wanted to give Sudars’ana his daughter.
10. The high
minded Sudars’ana accepted all the offerings given by the king. Seeing this, Manoramâ was relieved of her
anxiety. Manoramâ began to think that
beautiful and well adorned daughter as if the daughter of Kuvera (the God of
wealth); and thanked herself and thought as if all her duties were over.
11. Then the
royal ministers carried gladly and fearlessly the beautiful Sudars’ana, worshipped
with ornaments and clothings, in a good nice carriage to the centre of the amusement
court.
12. On the
other hand, the elderly female members, who knew all about the prescribed rules,
performed the dressing of the princess in a befitting manner and placing her in
a beautiful conveyance took her before the bridegroom elect, in the marriage
hall, where there was the platform regularly built.
13-14. The
Sacred Fire was then lit, the royal priest began to perform the Homa ceremony
duly; when the amusement ceremony of the bridegroom and bride united in love
was duly performed, the priest called them there. After this the bridegroom and bride performed
duly the Lâjâ Homa ceremony and circumambulated the Sacred Fire. Thus all the ceremonies, befitting the gotra
and family, were all fully performed according to the prescribed rules.
15-17. Then the
king Subâhu, excited by feelings of love, in the marriage time, gave to the
prince Sudars’ana the following presents: well adorned two hundred chariots,
with horses and the arrow cases filled with arrows, one hundred and twenty five
elephants, dressed with golden ornaments, looking like so many mountains, one
hundred beautiful female elephants and one hundred maid servants, all dressed
in golden ornaments.
18-20. The king
gave the bridegroom also one thousand servants well adorned, bearing the
complete set of all sorts of weapons, many gems and jewels, clothings, nice variegated
woolen clothes, beautiful capacious rooms to live in, and two thousand excellent
horses born in the Sindhu country, three hundred good camels able to carry sufficient
loads, and two hundred carriages, filled with grains, etc.
21. Then the
king bowed to the king’s daughter Manoramâ and with clasped hands, said :-- “O
royal daughter! I am now become your
servant; now kindly say what is your desire?”
22. Hearing
these beautiful words of the king, Manoramâ said :-- “O king! all good to you and let your family increase
in sons and grandsons. You have
increased my honour by giving in marriage your daughter (jewel) to my son. I have no other desire than to see your
welfare constant and the increase in your family, posterity and prosperity.
23. O king! Your are the chief amongst the kings. Your have made my son great and strong like
the Sumeru mountain by giving him your daughter in marriage. You are high and my related. I am not the daughter of a panegyrist or a
bard; how can I then praise you for this noble act of yours.
24-25. O king! Your character is wonderful and pure. What more shall I say to you than this that
you all, in the face of many other kings, have given your daughter to my son in
marriage, who is banished from his kingdom, is deprived of his father and is living
in the forest, penniless, armyless, subsisting himself on roots and fruits
only.
26. In these
cases the kings as a rule make relations with those only, who are their equals
in rank and position, of noble families of equal grade, having forces and
wealth equal to each other. No other
king would have offered his beautiful well-qualified daughter in marriage to my
prince who is without any wealth.
27. O king! On your this act, all the other kings,
holding great influence and possessing armies, have turned out your enemies. I, being a woman am unable to describe the amount
of patience in you.”
28. The king
Subâhu of Benares, hearing the sweet words of Manoramâ was highly pleased and,
with folded hands, began to say, “O Devî, you better take my this celebrated
kingdom; I will become the commander of your forces and will try my best to
guard this city.
29. Or you
can take half of my kingdom and remain here with your son. It is not my desire that you leave this
Benares and go and live in the forest.
30-31. The
kings have become very offended; I will first try to appease them; if they be not
satisfied, I will adopt the means of “gift” or sowing dissensions amongst them;
and even, if, in that, I fail, I will ultimately take to war. O Devî!
Victory or defeat is under the hands of the Destiny; still victory comes
to those who are in the right path and defeat to those who are in the wrong
path. How then can the victor arise to
those sinful kings?”
32. Hearing
the king’s words, pregnant with meaning, Manoramâ felt herself highly respected;
and, with a cheerful heart, said the following good words.
33. “O king! let all good come on you! you better discard all fear and reign with
your sons here; my son Sudars’ana, too, will become the king of Ayodhya by the
Grace of S’rî Bhagavatî Bhuvanes’varî, the Supreme Cause of the innumerable
worlds, and will roam in this world; there is no doubt in this.
34. May
Bhagavatî Bhavanî bring all good unto you; now kindly permit us to depart to our
homes, O king! I always contemplate the
Highest Goddess Ambikâ; and I have no time to indulge in other thoughts.”
35. Thus, on
various subjects, Manoramâ and the king Subâhu began to talk with each other,
causing satisfaction to both like nectar, when the morning broke out.
36. The
kings, knowing early in the morning, that the princess had been given away in marriage,
became very much enraged and went out of the city and began to discuss with one
another. “We will kill today the king
Subâhu, the disgrace amongst the kings as well that boy Sudars’ana, totally
unfit to marry the princess, and take away the kingdom and the princess
S’as’ikalâ. How can we return to our
homes, with this severe disgrace, stamped on our heads.
37. Hear, O
kings! the sound of the drums,
mridangas, other instruments; the sounds of the conchshells have even been
overpowered. Hark! The various musical sounds and the chanting
of the Vedas. It is then certain that
the King Subâhu has finished the marriage ceremony of his daughter S’as’ikalâ
with Sudars’ana.
38. Oh! This king has deceived us with his words and
performed the marriage ceremony, according to ordinary religious rules.
39. Now O
kings! decide unanimously what to do and
come to a definite conclusion.” When the
kings were thus discussing, the king of Benares, of indomitable prowess, the king
Subâhu, after finishing his daughter’s marriage, came there with his famous friends
to invite them.
40. Seeing
the King of Benares present, all the other kings did not utter a single word, but
they remained silent, beaming with anger.
41. Subâhu
then approached to the kings, bowed down, and, with folded hands, said :-- “Be kind enough to come to my house for
dinner.
42. O kings! My daughter S’as’ikalâ after all has selected
Sudars’ana; I could not help in this. You
are all kind and noble; therefore you all be peaceful and let the matter drop.”
43. The
kings hearing him were filled with rage and said, “We have all taken food; our desires
have been fulfilled; you better now go back to your own home.
44-45. Your behavior
with us is all right and proper; now do your other duties and let the kings go
back to their homes.” Hearing these words of the kings, the king of Benares was
very much terrified and returned home, thinking that the kings were all filled
with rage and might do serious harm to him.
Thus he began to pass away his time in dire anxiety.
46. Then the
king Subâhu disappeared; the kings united made this resolve that they would
block the passage of Sudars’ana, kill him, and take the girl away.
47. Some of
these kings rather said :-- “What is the use in killing the king’s son. We will all go willingly to see the fun.”
48. Thus the
kings went and remained blocking the path of Sudars’ana; and the king Subâhu,
on returning home, began to make arrangements for the departure of the bridegroom
and the bride.
Thus ends the 22nd Chapter on Sudars’ana's marriage in S’rî Mad
Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Source:
Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami Vijnanananda
