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 4/Chapter 3/1:55
On the former curse of Vasudeva and Devakî
1. Vyâsa said :-- O king; The incarnation of Hari
and the incarnation of the Amsa Avatâras of all the other Devas are accountable to many causes. The
chief cause being Karma; the minor causes being many.
2. Hear, now, the cause of the incarnations of
Vasudeva (Krisna's father), Devakî and Rohinî in detail.
3. Once, on an occasion, S’rîmân Kas'yapa stole
away the Kâmadhenu (the heavenly Cow, yielding all desires) of the Deva Varuna
for his sacrificial purpose; and though he was entreated by Varuna often and
often to return the cow, Kas'yapa did not return to him that, the best of all
the cows.
4. Varuna became very sorry; he went to Brahmâ,
the Lord of the creation and told him humbly all that had happened and about
his sorrows.
5-6. O Glorious One! Maharsi Kas'yapa is now almost infatuated
with his sacrifice; and though I have tried all my means, he is not returning
me my cow. I could not hear the pitiful cries and
wailings of the calves or bereavement from their mother; and I cursed Kas'yapa
saying ‘You would go down and take birth in the human world as a cow-herd; and
your two wives also are to go there as human mortals, suffering under the
greatest difficulties and dangers.
7. O Brâhmana!
On seeing the distressed condition of the calves I cursed Aditi a second time that she would be put to prison, her children would be
still born, and she would suffer lots of troubles.
8. O Janamejaya!
Hearing this, the Lotus-born Brahmâ called Kas'yapa before him and asked.
9. O Fortunate One! Why have you stolen away all the cows of the
Varuna Deva, the Guardian of a quarter of the world? And why have you committed
an offence in not returning the cows to Him?
10. Bhagavân!
You are intelligent, you know everything fully; knowing that it is a sin
to steal other's property, why have you committed the unlawful act of stealing
away the cows.
11. Oh! What
is the wonderful influence of covetousness!
Even those that are great are not free from the clutches of greed. Covetousness is the source of all sins, is unapproved
by the Sages and leads to hell.
12. Lo! Maharsi
Kas'yapa is not able to leave this vicious habit even now; what shall I do? I
will hence count greed as more powerful than even Fate, the Ruler of all
destinies.
13. Blessed are those saints that have devoted
themselves wholly to the attainment of peace, who are tranquil-hearted, lead a
hermit life and don't ask themselves of anything from any body. Verily
those are blessed.
14. This covetousness is a powerful enemy; it is
always unholy and odious. See! Its
influence has overpowered the Maharsi Kas'yapa and has tied him down to an
ordinary affection and has urged him to commit a sinful act.
15-16. Then the Prajâpati Brahmâ, to preserve and
keep the prestige in the name of Justice and Religion, cursed his own very dear
grandson Kas'yapa, the best of the Munis, and said :-- Go to the earth in your
Ams'a, and take your birth in the Yadu clan, be united with your wives and work
as a Cowherd.
17. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Thus was cursed the Maharsi Kas'yapa by
Brahmâ and Varuna to come down to the earth as Amsâ Vatâra to relieve the
earth of her burden.
18. Diti, too, becoming grieved much with sorrows,
cursed Aditi that seven of her sons would be killed consecutively after their
births.
19. Janamejaya said :-- O best of Munis! Why was it that Diti so cruelly cursed her sister
Aditi, the mother of Indra? Kindly explain to me the cause of this and oblige. I am
sorry to hear of this curse.
20. Sûta said :-- Thus asked by the son of
Pariksit, Vyâsa, the son of Satyabatî, himself replied to the king about their
causes in the following words :--
21. Vyâsa said :-- Daksa Prajâpati had two
daughters, Diti and Aditi; these two, of high rank, were married to Kas'yapa;
and they were his favourites.
22. Aditi gave birth to the very powerful Indra,
the king of the Devas. Diti, too, asked for a son of the same
strength, prowess, and splendour as those of Indra.
23. Diti, of beautiful dark blue eyes, entreated
to her husband and said, ? Give me a
son, O giver of due respects to every body!
who shall be a hero as strong as Indra, religious and of indomitable
energy. ?
24. The Muni said to her :-- O Dear! Be peaceful; I advise you to take a vow,
practise a rite, and when the period of your practice will be over, you will
get a son like Indra.
25. Diti promised to act according to his word and
took an oath; and when she practised the vow, Maharsi Kas'yapa impregnated the seed in her
womb. Diti also bore the seed in her womb according
to the usual rite.
26. The excellent fair complexioned Diti remained
sacred, observed all the rules and, deeply intent on her vow, subsisted only on
milk and slept or the ground.
27-28. Thus when the foetus was fully developed, Diti
began to look white and full of splendour.
On seeing her thus, Aditi became
anxious and thought if there be born of Diti a son like the powerful Indra,
then my son will no doubt be deprived of his brilliancy and splendour.
29. The proud Aditi, thinking thus, said to Indra
:-- O Son! There, in the womb of Diti, is
your powerful enemy.
30. O Beautiful One! Even now think out how you can kill your
enemy. Before the child is born of the womb, try to
destroy it.
31. Since the time I have looked, on my co-wife
Diti, of beautiful eyes and proud, this is the one and only thought that
troubles the peace in the innermost of my hearts.
32. The enemy, if he firmly gets hold like a fully
developed consumption, cannot be killed; therefore the intelligent persons
should destroy the enemies, when they are in their buds.
33. O S’atakratu!
My heart is being pierced wholly by an iron spoke when I see the womb of
Diti; kill it by any means you can!
34. O High minded One! If you like my welfare, then destroy the
foetus, in the womb of Diti, by any of the existent means, Sâma, Dâna or
strength and thus remove the cause of grief in my heart.
35. Vyâsa said :-- On hearing his mother, Indra,
the King of the Immortals, thought over all the means and went then to his
step-mother Diti.
36. That evil minded Indra bowed down at the foot
of Diti with humility and addressed her with words, sweet but full of poison.
37. O mother!
You have become very weak, lean and thin in the practise your vow. I have
come to serve you; order me now what I can do for you.
38. O chaste one to your husband! I want to shampoo your feet. To
serve one's Guru means to earn righteousness and immortality.
39. O mother!
I swear, on oath, I don't make any difference between you and my mother Aditi. Saying thus, he touched her feet and began to
shampoo her legs.
40. The beautiful eyed Diti, tired of the vow,
lean and thin, thus being shampooed and having full faith in Indra's words,
fell to deep sleep.
41-42. Seeing her asleep, Indra, with thunderbolt in
his hand, took subtle form and by the influence of his yogic power, entered
carefully into her womb quickly and cut asunder the foetus in the womb into
seven parts.
43-44. The child in the womb, struck by the thunder
bolt, cried out. Indra spoke to the child gently :-- Do not cry, and in the mean while cut each of
the seven parts into seven parts again. Thus, O king!
The forty-nine Maruts were born.
45. When the good natured Diti awoke, she came to
know that Indra has treacherously cut the foetus in her womb and became very
sorry and angry.
46-47. Knowing that all these treacherous acts are
really done under the advice of her sister, the truthful Diti; who was under
the vow, cursed Aditi, and Indra, saying that as her son Indra has
treacherously cut the foetus in her womb, Indra's kingdom over the three worlds
would be destroyed.
48-49. And as the sinful Aditi has secretly caused
the destruction of my son, her sons, too, would also die after their birth
consecutively and she would dwell in the prison house in much trouble and anxiety
and would also bear still born sons in her next birth.
50. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Maharsi Kas'yapa, the son of Marîchi, hearing
the curse, allayed her anger with loving words.
51. O Blessed One!
Do not be angry. Your sons would all become very powerful and would
be called Maruts. They would be companions and friends to Indra.
52. O Dear!
Your curse won't be fruitless; in the 28th Manvantara, at the end of the
Dvâpara Yuga, your curse will bear fruit.
Then Aditi, sinful for her jealousy
and anger, will go down on earth to take the human birth through her Amsa
(part) and suffer according to your curse.
53. Varuna, too, had become very grieved and
cursed her. And, due to both these curses, this Aditi will be born as a woman.
54. O King!
The fair complexioned Diti, thus consoled by her husband, became glad and
did not utter any more unpleasant words.
55. O king!
Thus I have narrated to you the cause of the previous curse. O best
of kings! Thus Aditi was born as Devakî
out of her Ams'a.
Here ends the third Chapter of the Fourth Book of the Mahâ Purânam
S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, of 18,000 verses on the former curse of Vasudeva and
Devakî by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Source:
Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami Vijnanananda
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