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 2/1:40
On Rudras going towards the heavens on the celestial car
Book 3/Chapter 2/1:40
On Rudras going towards the heavens on the celestial car
1-19. Vyâsa said :-- O mighty armed Kuru! What you have asked me just now, I also asked
the same thing to Nârada, the lord of the Munis and he gave me the following
reply
:-- O Vyâsa! What shall I say to you on this point more
than this that a doubt occurred to me also in my former days. The question that you have put to me today rose
in my mind before; and I went to my father Brahmâ, of endless energy and asked to
him thus :-- O Lord! O Father! Whence is this whole Brahmânda born? Have You created it? Or is it Visnu or Mahes'vara? O all pervading soul! Who is there in this Brahmânda fit to be
worshipped? O Lord of the world! Who is the top-most Lord ruling over
everything? Kindly say. O Brahmân!
I am plunged in this sea of Maya and perils; my heart is agitated with
doubts; hence it is not appeased in any place of pilgrimage ; or in thinking any Deva or in
practising any Sâdhan or in any other object.
O Sinless one! Give me the answers duly and thus remove my
doubts. O Tormentor of foes! Unless the highest truth is not known, peace
is not found. This heart, distracted in various
ways, cannot rest fixed on one subject. Whom
am I to remember? Whom to worship? Where to go?
Whom to praise? Who is the
Supreme God this Universe? I do not
understand these things.
O Satyavatî's son! Hearing these my serious queries, Brahmâ, the
grand-Sire of beings, replied to me as follows :-- O highly illustrious son! What more shall I say to you than this that
even Visnu is unable to answer your questions; so difficult are they indeed! O great intelligent one! Nobody that is attached to the world knows
anything about this. Those who are
unattached to this world, who are free from any envy, these who are without
desires and calm, those highsouled ones know the secret of all this. In former days when all was water, water
everywhere and all things, moving and non-moving were destroyed, when five
elements were sprung, then I was also born from the lotus navel of Visnu. Then not seeing Moon, Sun, trees, or
mountains or anything and sitting on the centre (Karnikâ) of the lotus thought thus
:-- When I am born in this great ocean of waters? Who has created me? Who is now my protector?
And Who will be my Destroyer when this
cycle ends? There is no earth distinctly
visible anywhere here; on what, then, this mass of water rests? Lotus is termed Pankaja because it springs
from mud and dirt; so unless there exists the earth underneath with mud and dirt,
how this lotus will come out here! Now
let me try and find out where is the root of this lotus, where is the mud and
dirt? If this be found, then the earth
will be also certainly there. Thus
thinking, I dived underneath the water and searched for one thousand years but
could not find earth anywhere, when the celestial voice entered my ears
“Practise tapasyâ (austerities).” Hearing this celestial voice, I sat on the
lotus, my birth place, and practised tapasyâ for one thousand years.
20-30. Next, the celestial voice came again
“Create.” Hearing this, I became quite confounded and began to think within
myself “now what am I to create? What to
do?” After this, the two terrible Daityas Madhu and Kaitabha came to me and
affrighted me saying “Fight with us.” I became quite terrified and holding the
stem of the lotus, I got down within the water.
There I saw a wonderful person, sleeping on the Ananta serpent. He was of a deep blue colour like a
rain-cloud, wearing yellow clothes, fourarmed, garlanded with forest flowers, and the
Lord of this whole Universe. On the four
arms of this Mahâ Visnu there were conch-shells, disc, club, and lotus and
other weapons. I saw this Achyuta
Purusa, sleeping on the Ananta serpent bed, motionless and under the influence of
Yoga Nidrâ.
I then thought within myself “What am I to
do?” Not being able to find out any other way, I recollected the Devî who was
then of the nature of sleep and began to praise Her. The auspicious Devî Yoga Nidrâ, whose form
could not be determined, immediately left the body of Visnu and decorated with
divine ornaments, began to shine in the
air. After She left the body of Visnu,
Visnu immediately got up. And He fought
terribly for five thousand years with the Dânavas Madhu Kaitabha; then by the grace
of the Bhagavatî, He extended His own thighs and then, on those thighs, He slew
the two demons. Where Visnu and myself
were standing, Rudra Deva came also and joined with us. Then we three saw the beautiful Devî in the
celestial space.
31-40. We three, then, commenced to chant hymns to
Her and She gladdened our hearts by Her gracious look and said :-- “O Brahmâ! O Visnu!
O Rudra! The two great Daityas
are slain. Now forsake your laziness and
do your respective works of creating, preserving, and destroying the Universe;
create your own abodes, and live in happiness; create by your respective lordly
powers, the fourfold beings.” Hearing the Devî's gentle sweet words, we spoke
:-- “O Mother! There is no wide earth
here; all is one mass of infinite ocean.
No five elements, no five tanmâtrâs, no sensual organs, no Gunas,
nothing exist here; how can we then execute the works of creation, etc. Hearing our words, the Devî smiled. Immediately there came from the sky overhead a beautiful aerial car. The Devî said :-- “O Brahmâ! O Visnu!
O Rudra! Get in this car without
any fear. To-day I will show you one
wonderful thing.” At Her word, we got into the beautiful car without any fear. It was decorated with various gems and
jewels, bedecked with pearls, emitting sweet tinkling sounds of bells and looking
as the abode of the celestials. Seeing
us seated without any fear, She made the car get high up in the sky by Her
force.
Thus ends the second chapter of the third
skandha on Brahmâ, Visnu and Rudra's going towards the heavens on the celestial
car, given by the Devî in the Mahâpurâna S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs.
Source: Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami Vijnanananda
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