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 29/1:55
On the stealing of Sita and the sorrows of Rama
1-2. Vyâsa
said :-- Hearing these vicious words, Jânakî became very much confounded with
fear and began to tremble; somehow collecting herself she began to say :-- “O descendant
of the family of Pulastya! Why are you,
prompted by lust, uttering these sinful words?
I am born of the family of Janaka; therefore I cannot act wantonly according
to my own inclination.
3. O ten
faced one! Better you go to Lankâ
quickly; else Râmchandra will take away your life; you will no doubt incur
death for my sake.”
4-5. Thus
saying, Sîtâ Devî went towards the Sacred fire called Gârhapatya, placed in the
house, with words “go away” “go away” in her mouth. He, whose wickedness has caused all the Lokas
cry out “save” “save”, the same Râvana, of perverted intellect, then assumed
his real form, went towards the hut and caught hold of Sîtâ Devî who was
crying, bewildered with fear.
6. Sîtâ
cried “Râma” “Râma” “Laksmana”, and the sinful Râvana caught hold of her and
quickly mounting her on the chariot, fast got away.
7-9. On the
way Jatâyu, the son of Aruna, met Râvana; and a terrible fight then ensued between
the two, when the evil minded Râvana, the king of the Demons, killed Jatâyu. Râvana carried Sîtâ to Lankâ. Then Sîtâ cried like a forlorn deer and
Râvana kept her in the As’oka forest (Jaffna), surrounded and guarded by the
Râksasis. The king of Lankâ tempted Sîtâ
with comforting words, and the kingdoms, etc., but she never swerved from her
own pure and stainless chastity.
10-12. On the
other side, Râmachandra after killing the deer and taking it was coming back
calmly, when he saw Laksmana going to him and said “O Laksmana! What a great blunder you have committed! Hearing the voice of that villain conjurer,
how is it that you have left my dear Sîtâ alone and come here!” Laksmana said
:-- “O Lord! Being pierced sharply by
Sîtâ Devî’s words (coming like sharpened arrows) and being driven away by her,
under the guidance of the Inevitable Destiny as it were, I have come here;
there is no doubt in this.”
13. They,
then, both hurriedly went to their hut, made of leaves; and there not finding Sîtâ,
they were very much afflicted with sorrows and went in quest of Jânakî.
14. Râma and
Laksmana in their search for Sîtâ, came at last to the spot where Jatâyu, the
king of birds, was lying on the surface of the earth, with his life ultimately
on the point of parting away from his body.
15-16. Jatâyu
said :-- Râvana, the king of Lankâ, carried away today stealthily Sîtâ Devî; I
resisted that villain who then fought with me on that account and threw me down
on this spot by weapons. Thus saying,
the king of birds died; whereupon Râmchandra performed the burning of his dead
body as well his funeral ceremonies. Then
both of them went out of that place.
17. Then the
Lord Râmachandra killed Kabandha and freed him from his curse; and, through his
advice, he made friendship with Sugrîva, the king of the monkeys, and was thus
bound under a tie.
18. Next
Râma killed the hero Balî as a duty and gave the excellent kingdom of Kiskindhyâ
to his new friend Sugrîva according to his promise.
19. Then, he
began to ceaselessly think of the stealing away of Sîtâ by Râvana and passed
away the four months of the rainy season there with his brother Laksmana.
20. Râma,
being very much shaken on account of the bereavement of Sîtâ, began to address
Laksmana thus :-- “O Saumitre! The
desires of the daughter of the king of Kekaya are now fulfilled.
21. Jânakî
will no more be obtained; without Jânakî I will not go back to Ayodhyâ; without
Jânakî I won’t be able to live any longer.
22. Kingdom
lost, dwelling in forests happened, father left his body, at last the dear wife
is lost; the cruel hands of Destiny are tormenting me now thus; what more it
will inflict, how can I say now?
23. O
Brother Laksmana! What is to happen is
very hard to be known beforehand by men; I cannot say, what is written on my
fate after this, painful or otherwise.
24. See! Both of us, the descendants of Manu, though
born in a royal family, are exiled in forests due to our past deeds.
25. O
Laksmana! It is by Fate, too, that you,
abandoning the pleasures of the royal surroundings, have come out with me; and
you, too, are now suffering heaps of dire troubles with me.
26. No one
in our family suffered so much as we are suffering; why we talk of our family! No human being was ever born or will ever
take his birth that suffered or will suffer like me so many troubles, will be
like me incapacitated and a penniless pauper.
27. O
Saumitre! I am drowned in the ocean of
pains and troubles; What am I to do now?
I have no means to cross this ocean; I am quite helpless, no doubt.
28. No
money, nor armies, O hero! you are my
one and only one companion; O brother! On
whom shall I be angry when I am suffering on account of my own deeds?
29. Alas! The kingdom that could have been compared in
prosperity to the Indra Sabha, was almost obtained by me when, in an instant, I
lost it and am now in exile in forest. Laksman! Who can ascertain what is in the womb of
Destiny?
30. Oh! That soft bodied Sîtâ, with her child like
nature came out with us in this forest; but the inexorable Fate has now drowned
her, that perfectly beautiful woman, into an ocean of sorrows, difficult to be
crossed?
31. That fair daughter of
Janaka is extremely devoted to me; she is pure and holy. How will she be able to suffer troubles in
the house of the king of Lankâ!
32. O
Laksmana! Sîtâ Devî will never come
under the control of Râvana; how can that excellent chaste woman act like an
ordinary public woman?
33. O
Laksmana! Rest assured that in case
Râvana exercises, out of his lordly position, any violence on Sîtâ, she will
rather put an end to her life than come under his control.
34. O
Laksmana! And when Jânakî sacrifices her
life, I will assuredly do the same; for, of what use, then is this body to me
when that fair Sîtâ has gone away with her life?”
35. While
the lotus eyed Râmchandra was thus weeping and expressing his regrets and sorrows,
the religious Laksmana consoled him with the following sweet, truthful, words
:--
36. “O Hero
of the heroes! Kindly cast aside this
weakness and have patience; I will soon kill that villain demon Râvana and get
you back your Sîtâ Devî.
37. The wise
steady persons remain on account of their fortitude, unshaken in their hearts
whether in joy or in sorrow; whereas men, of little intellect, indulge in
sorrows when they are happy.
38. Coming in
union and going out in disunion, both are under the hands of Destiny; What,
then, there is the need for expressing sorrows for this body, which is not
soul.
39. As we
have been banished from our kingdom into this forest, as there has happened this
bereavement of Sîtâ, so, in proper time, we will again get back Sîtâ Devî.
40. O
Darling of Jânakî! There must come a
time when sorrows will be converted into happiness and vice versa; there will
be nothing otherwise. So avoid this
sorrow now and have firmness.
41. There
are multitudes of monkeys, who are our helping hands; they will go to all the four
quarters and bring back to us the news of the daughter of Janaka; there is no
doubt in this.
42. O Lord! Knowing the way to Lankâ, we will go there and
kill by our prowess the villainous Râvana and bring back Sîtâ Devî.
43. Or we
will call Bharata with Satrughna and with all the armies we all united will kill
our enemy; why, then, are you thus expressing sorrows in vain.
44. O Lord! our ancestor Raghu, the hero of heroes, the
monarch; won his victories over the ten quarters; and you belong to that family
and are now plunged in grief!
45. Alone, I
can defeat all the Devas and the Demons; and if I get help, is there any doubt,
then, in my killing, that Râvana, the disgrace of the family of Râksasas.
46. O
Powerful One! We may call to, our aid
the king of Janaka and root out that wicked source of enemy to the Devas.
47-48. O
Descendant of Raghu! Like the rim of a
wheel, happiness and pain come alternately; it is not that happiness, or pain
comes and remains for ever. He whose
mind is very much overwhelmed. with pain
or happiness, is the man who is always plunged in an ocean of misery; and he
can never expect to become happy.
49. See! In days of yore, Indra once got addicted into
vicious habits. The Devas united put in
place of Indra, the king Nahusa.
50. Then
Indra, terrified, relinquished his post and passed very many years into an unknown
and unnoticed state within the lotus.
51. Again,
when time changed, he got his own post back; and the king Nahusa fell down on
this earth and became transformed into a boa constrictor (a big serpent), through
the curse of a Risi.
52. The king
Nahusa wanted the wife of Indra and insulted a Brâhmin; therefore, he was,
under the curse of Maharsi Agasti, transformed into a snake on the earth.
53. Therefore,
O Râghava! One ought not to plunge in
grief, when a danger comes; rather one should be quite energetic in times of
danger and remain firm; thus, the sages do.
54. O Lord
of the world! You are high minded,
omniscient and omnipotent; why are you now overwhelmed with grief, like an
ordinary mortal.”
55. Vyâsa
said :-- Oh king! Thus consoled by
Laksmana, Râma discarded all his heavy sorrows and began to remain with his
heart firm and at rest.
Thus ends the 29th chapter on the stealing of Sîtâ and the sorrows
of Râma in the 3rd Skandha of S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Source: Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami Vijnanananda
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