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 20/1:89
On Devakî’s marriage
1-2. Vyâsa said :-- O Bharata! I now narrate to you about the relief of the
burden of the Earth, the destruction by the Yoga Mâyâ of the armies Kuruksettra
and Prabhâsa, the two sacred places, and about the birth, due to the curse of
Bhrigu, of the Bhagavân Hari, of unparalleled prowess, under the influence of
Mahâmâyâ, in the race of Yadu.
Now hear.
3. Visnu’s taking birth in the world was effected
under the circumstances caused by Yoga Mâyâ, to relieve the burden of the
Earth; this is my opinion.
N. B. :--
Prabhâsa is a well-known place of pilgrimage near Dvârkâ, in Gujerat.
4. O king!
When the Goddess Mahâmâyâ, the Incarnate of the three qualities can make
Brahmâ, Visnu and the other Devas dance incessantly as their Internal
Controller, then what wonder, that She would appear charming to the other Jîvas
and make them dance incessantly, as wooden dolls.
5. All the troubles incurred in remaining in the
womb, amidst the urine, excreta and tissues, She had brought to bear finally on
Visnu by Her ever famous Leelâ (Divine Sport).
6. In days of yore, in Râma incarnation, She,
That Supreme Goddess made the Gods become monkeys and you know very well
already, what amount of trouble Bhagavân Visnu had to undergo by the hard iron
chain of bondage, “This is mine, this is I,” etc. , imposed by Mâyâ.
7. The Yogis who want final liberation and who
have abandoned all their attachments and who want devotion, they worship the
Supreme Goddess of the Universe, the Incarnate of Auspiciousness.
8. O king!
Who will not serve Her? A trace of devotion towards Whom effects at once
the salvation of the Jîvas.
9. If any human being utters simply the name
“Bhuvanes’varî” (the Goddess of
Universe) She gives
him the three worlds; and if any one cries and utters for help “Save me,” then
the Goddess of the Universe, being unable to find anything that She can repay
him as a fit recompense for his utterance, becomes Herself indebted to that man.
10. O King!
Know Vidyâ (knowledge) and Avidyâ (non-knowledge, spiritual
ignorance, lower
knowledge) Her two forms; Vidyâ gives liberation; Avidyâ causes bondage.
11. Brahmâ, Visnu, Rudra, all these and their
Avatâras are Her instruments and are under Her subjection, as if they are all
fastened by a cord.
12-14. The Bhagavân Hari sometimes resides in
Vaikuntha, sometimes resides in the sea of milk and enjoys pleasures, sometimes
fights the powerful Dânavas, sometimes performs extensive sacrificial
ceremonies sometimes performs severe asceticism and sometimes takes to deep
sleep under the guidance of Yoga Mâyâ. Thus He never becomes free and independent.
15-16. O King!
And like Visnu, Brahmâ, Rudra, the other Gods Indra, Varuna, Yama, Kuvera,
Agni, the Sun, Moon and other celestial gods, the Sanaka and other Munis, Vas’istha
and other Risis, all are incessantly controlled by the Supreme Goddess, as if they
are the dolls in the hands of a playing magician.
17. All the Devas are controlled by the noose of
Time, just as oxen are brought under control by men, by strings passed within
their noses.
18. O King!
Pleasure, pain, sleep, lassitude, idleness, and other passions and
feelings are always found inherent in every embodied being.
19-23. The Devas are written down by authors in their
books as not subject to death or decay; this statement is merely nominal and
not real; for whoever is always subject to birth, growth, decay and death how
can we call him immortal or beyond old age and death? Why do the Devas get into sorrows, and
troubles? How can they be called gods? How can one enjoy when one is involved in a
trouble? In this world, it is seen mosquitoes
and other insects born from water die after a very short time; so, like these, the
Devas at the expiry of their ordained life period, die too. Then why
not the Devas be treated like those insects? Why not shall we term them,
“Mortal”?
24-25. Some human beings live one year; some others
live upto one hundred years, the Devas live longer than men; the life of the
Prâjâpatî Brahmâ exceeds those of the Devas; Rudra lives longer than Brahmâ;
and Visnu lives longer than Rudra. All these are thus subject by turns to birth,
growth, and decay.
26. Those who are born, they die; those that die
are again born. Thus O King!
In this world all the Jîvas, no doubt, move round and round like a wheel.
27. The Jîvas are deluded by the network of Moha
(charms) and thus deluded. They can never gain final release. So
long as Mâyâ exists in them, their delusion is not destroyed.
28. O King!
At the time of creation Brahmâ and all other things came into existence,
in due order, and these will duly dissolve at the time of the Great Dissolution
(the Pralaya)?
29. Whatever is the cause of destruction to
anybody here, that destroys the body in question. According to the Will Power of the Supreme
Goddess, whatever is created by Brahmâ, no none can undo that. Know
this as perfectly certain.
30. Know this the predestined law that the birth,
death, old age, diseases, pain or pleasure overtake all
the Jîvas according to the prescribed order of Nature; never these laws fail to
operate in their actions.
31. See! The
Devas that we see with our physical eyes, the Sun and Moon yield
pleasure to all;
still they suffer always troubles at the hands of their enemies (i. e., Râhu and Ketu, i. e. ,
there always take place regularly solar and lunar eclipses, when they are in
the ascending and descending modes. )
This suffering is never removed.
32. The son of the Sun (Saturn) is always
injurious to people; hence it is termed
“Manda” (bad); the
Moon was attacked with consumption and bears stain on his body (spots in the
Moon disc). What to speak of ordinary men? The great men
even are subject to the prescribed laws of Fate and Nature.
33. The Creator of the world, the four faced
Brahmâ is the author of the Vedas and awarder of Intelligence. He,
too, on seeing Sarasvatî, his own daughter, was afflicted with passion.
34. When Sati, the wife of S’iva, left off Her
mortal coil, Mahâdeva, though He could remove the sorrows of all, was very much
moved with passion and greatly afflicted.
35. Then, being burnt very much as it were by the
fire of passion, he threw himself down into the water of the river Kâlindî; and
the water of that river became blackcoloured, as if burnt by the burning fire
of the sorrows of S’iva.
36-37. O King!
When Mahâdeva, being infatuated with Kâma, went into the forest of Bhrigu
and becoming naked, began to copulate, the ascetic Bhrigu, seeing him in that state,
exclaimed “O You are very shameless” and cursed Him thus :-- Let your penis drop
off just now. Mahâdeva, then to satisfy his thirst for
passion, began to drink the water of the lake Amrita Vapî, dug by the Dânavas.
38-39. Indra, too, the Lord of the Devas, turned into
a bull and carried Visnu on his back on the face of the earth. What
to speak where the omniscience and omnipotence disappeared of Bhagavân Visnu,
Who is the First of all created beings and possessed of reason, and
discrimination? Oh! What a great wonder, that He could not know
about the golden deer?
40-41. Judge, O King!
for yourself, the great power of Mâyâ, that even Râma Chandra was
deluded by passion, and very much grieved for the separation from his dear wife
Sîtâ, and wept much for Her. Greatly deluded, he began to cry aloud and ask
the trees “Where has gone My Sîtâ, the daughter of Janaka? Is she devoured by
the rapacious animals? or whether is she stolen by some mischievous person?
42-44. O Brother Laksmana! I am being consumed by the fire of separation
from my beloved; I will commit suicide now; and you too will die due to the
separation from me; our mother, too, would die when they will hear of our
deaths; Satrughna, too, will be very much afflicted at our death and will not
hold his life. The mother Sumitrâ, too, will destroy her
life, being afflicted with her son’s demise; and then Bharata’s and his mother’s
desires will certainly be fulfilled.
45. O Sîtâ!
I am very much moved by your separation; where have you gone, leaving me
here! O deer-eyed, O one of thin waist! come; give life unto me!
46. What shall I do? Where shall I go? My life is
entirely dependent on you, O
daughter of Janaka! I am your darling! Now I am very much depressed owing to your separation. Please
come and speak to me words of hope and courage.
47. Though Râma, of unequalled prowess, roamed
about weeping from forest to forest, yet he could not find out Sîtâ.
48-49. He, who is the Refuge of all the worlds, the
lotus-eyed Râma, got entangled into the delusion of Mâyâ and had to take refuge
Himself under the monkeys, and with their help, constructed the bridge across
the ocean, crossed the ocean and was thus able to kill the valiant warriors
Kumbhakarna and Râvana.
50. Then Râma got back His Sîtâ before him but
suspecting, since she had been stolen by the vicious Râvana, made her take an
oath, though it is to, be remembered that Râma was all-knowing.
51. O King!
The power of Yoga Mâyâ is very great; what shall I speak of Her great power?
This whole cosmos is always urged into activity by Her and thus goes rolling on
and on incessantly.
52. Thus, in various incarnations, Bhagavân Visnu
was always under the influence of previous curse and also under the control of
Destiny and had to do various functions incessantly.
53. O King!
Now I will speak to you about the birth of S’rî Krisna in the world for serving
the purposes of gods, and will narrate His Leelâ.
54. In days of yore, on the delightful banks of
the river Kâlindî, there was a place,
called Madhuban,
where lived a powerful Daitya named Lavana, the son of Madhu.
55-56. That wicked Demon was exceedingly arrogant, on
getting a boon, and he used to give an enormous amount of trouble to the Dvijas. Satrughna the younger brother of Laksman,
killed that uncontrollable Daitya and built a very beautiful city there and named
it Mathurâ.
57. The intelligent Satrughna, the destroyer of
enemies, installed his two lotus-eyed sons in that kingdom and, when his end
came, went to Heaven.
58. Afterwards on the decline of the Solar race,
the Yâdavas, born of the race of
Yayâti, occupied that
Mathurâ city, giving salvation to all.
59. O King!
There reigned in Mathurâ city one Yâdava king, valiant warrior, named S’ûrasena;
and he enjoyed all the pleasures Mathurâ.
60. Under the curse of Varuna, Vâsudeva took his
birth as the son of the renowned S’ûrasena, as the part incarnate of Kas’yapa.
61. He took up the profession of a Vais’ya and
engaged himself in agriculture. And on the death of his father, the prosperous
and wealthy Ugrasena became the King of Mathurâ. The
powerful Kamsa was the son Ugrasena.
62. On the other hand, the King Devaka had a
daughter born to him named Devakî, the part incarnate of Aditi. She
under the curse of Varuna, followed Kas’yapa.
63. The high souled King Devaka performed the
marriage ceremony of his daughter Devakî with Vâsudeva.
64. When this marriage ceremony was over, a voice
was heard from Heaven, saying :--
O fortunate Kamsa! The eighth son of this Devakî will take away
your life.
65. The powerful Kamsa, hearing that voice from
Heaven, was surprised and took it to be true and became very anxious.
66-67. Kamsa began to argue in his mind. Once
he thought “I would today destroy her; then my death won’t take place; for I
can’t see any other way of escape from this difficulty,” again he thought, “She
is my sister, daughter of my paternal uncle and therefore fit to be worshipped;
how can I kill her!”
68. Lastly, he came to the final conclusion, thus
“She is the cause of my death, though she is my sister, fit to be worshipped;
to kill her will not lead me to sin; for it is enjoined by the wise :-- Do even
a sin to avert one’s own death. ”
69. The sins can be remedied always by penances. Therefore to save one’s life, by committing
even a sinful act, ought to be done by the wise.
70-71. The vicious Kamsa thus arguing, holding the
scabbard in his hand, drew from it the sword and dragged and caught hold of the
newly married handsome woman by her hair to kill her before the presence of the
public.
72. A cry of universal consternation and distress
arose on all sides, seeing Kamsa thus ready to kill Devakî; then the warriors,
under Vâsudeva, at once raised their bows and arrows, ready to fight.
73. These wonderfully valorous warriors loudly
exclaimed to Kamsa, “Leave Devakî at once” “Leave Devakî at once” and then they
were finally able out of their mercy to release the Devamâtâ Devakî, from the
hold of the vicious Kamsa.
74. Deadly battles ensued then between the
powerful Kamsa and those valorous
warriors on
Vâsudeva’s side.
75-76. Seeing the exceedingly terrible battle, the
old Yâdavas asked Kamsa to desist from such a battle and advised him thus. This
Devakî is your sister; you ought to pay her respects. Did
you not consider even for a moment that she is as yet a girl. O
Hero! You ought not to kill her at the
time of this joyous marriage ceremony.
77. O Valiant Warrior! The murder of a woman is intolerable! Destroyer of fame, and most heinous crime! You should also consider that learned persons
ought not to commit such dastardly acts as the murdering of females, depending
simply on a voice from heaven, a very ordinary thing!
78. It may be that some of your Vâsudeva’s enemy
has uttered that harmful word,
hiding himself from
your sight. No reason can be shewn contrary to this.
79. We are of opinion that to ruin your name and
to destroy the house of Vâsudeva, some magician, expert in black magic, your
enemy has framed this voice from Heaven.
80. O king!
You are a hero; why do you fear the words of a devil. We
firmly believe, there is no doubt, that this is done by your malicious enemy to
ruin your name.
81. O king!
What is destined to take place, will take place; no one can stand
against it otherwise. Therefore, at this marriage festivity, you
ought never to kill this your respected sister.
82-83. O King Janamejaya! Though made to understand thus by the old
wise Yâdavas, the king Kamsa did not desist from his purpose; S’rî Vâsudeva,
versed in morals, told him “Kamsa! These
three worlds are established on Truth. I say on Truth that I will hand over to you
all my sons, born of the womb of Devakî, no sooner they are born.
84. And if I do not deliver to you all those sons,
no sooner they are born then all my forefathers will fall down into the hell
called Kumbîhpâka. ”
85-86. The descendants of Puru, that were present
there, hearing his truthful words, praised him repeatedly and told Kamsa
“Vâsudeva is a high minded personage; he is surely not to tell a lie. Therefore, O Thou, blessed one! Now leave Devakî and be free from committing
the murder of woman. ”
87. O king!
Thus made to understand by the aged high minded Yâdavas the king
Kamsa accepted the
truthful words of Vâsudeva and abandoned his anger.
88. Then the Dunduvis and other sounding
instruments were sounded; and their sounds filled the place; and all repeatedly
uttered jai, jai.
89. Then the famous Vâsudeva, the son of
S’ûrasena, thus pleased the king Kamsa and freed Devakî; and, surrounded by his
relatives, he went quickly without any fear to his own house, accompanied by
Devakî.
Here ends the 20th
chapter in the 4th Adhyâya of S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of
18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa, on Devakî’s marriage.
Source:
Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami Vijnanananda
