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 25/1:46
On the installation of the
Devî in Ayodhyâ and Benares
1-4. Vyâsa
said :-- The king Sudars’ana, surrounded by his friends, on coming to the palace
at Ayodhyâ, bowed down to Lîlâvatî, the mother of S’atrujit, and said :-- “O mother! I swear by touching your feet, that I have
not killed in battle your son S’atrujit nor your father Yudhâjit; it is the
Devî Durgâ that has killed them; I am not to be blamed a bit in this. O mother!
You need not be sensitive in this; there is no remedy for what will
inevitably come to pass; therefore you do not be sorry for the death of your son;
you must know that the Jîvas enjoy pleasure and pain as the results of their
own Karmas.
5. O mother! I am your servant; you are entitled to the
same respect and worship as Manoramâ, my own mother; there is no difference
whatsoever between her and you.
6. O mother! One must bear the effects of one’s Karma,
good or bad; therefore when pleasure or pain arises, you should not be glad or
otherwise.
7. When pain
arises, more pain is said to be conceived and when pleasure arises, more pleasure
is seen. But the learned say that man ought
not to subject himself to excessive pleasure or pain.
8. O mother! This whole world is under Fate, Destiny;
nothing of it is yours. Therefore the
intelligent persons ought not to grieve their hearts at any time with sorrow.
9. As the
wooden dolls dance in a stage as danced by the actor, so the individual souls here
work as the results of their past Karmas; there is no doubt in this.
10. O mother! I know that the effect of one’s own Karma,
must have to be borne; it is, on that account, that I never felt sorrow in my
exile in the forest.
11. You are
quite aware that my mother’s father was killed here, and my mother, becoming
very much afraid and sorrowful, took me and escaped to the forest.
12-13. The
robbers robbed us of everything save our clothes on our bodies; I was then very
young; my mother was without any shelter; she carried me with this minister Vidalla
and my helpless nurse to the hermitage of Bhâradvâja.
14. There the
kind hermit and his wife and the other wives of the hermits protected our lives
in that forest, with the roots and fruits, that can be obtained there in that
forest. Thus our time passed.
15. Mother! I had felt no pain then; nor do I feel any
pleasure at present, when wealth is flowing unto me. What more to say, I have no feeling of
jealousy or envy whatsoever in my mind.
16. O mother! Rather it is better, in my eyes, to subsist
on roots and fruits than to enjoy kingdoms; for the kings go to hell; but the
ascetics living on roots and fruits never meet with that result.
17. The wise
should undoubtedly practice Dharma and control their passions and thus save
themselves from being led into hells.
18-19. O mother! The human birth in this auspicious
Bhâratvarsa is seldom obtained. The
enjoyments in eating and drinking are possible in every womb, but it is highly incumbent
on us when we have got the privilege of this human birth, to earn Dharma, leading
to the Heavens and salvation which can be very rarely attained in being born in
other wombs.”
20-21. Vyâsa
said :-- When Sudars’ana had told thus, Lîlâvatî became very abashed; she cast
aside the sorrow for the death of her son, told him with tears in her eyes :--
“O my son Sudars’ana! I am very much
guilty on account of my father Yudhâjit killing your mother’s father and taking
hold of the sovereignty of this kingdom.
22. I could
not then hinder my father and son; whatever unlawful evil and cruel deeds were
then committed, all were done by my father Yudhâjit. Therefore, my child, I am not to be made
guilty in any way in these doings.
23. Both my
father and son were killed out of the wickedness of their own actions; how can
you account for those wicked things? Child! I am not expressing sorrow at the death of my
son; I have been pained by his doings.
24-25. O noble
souled one; You are my son; Manoramâ is my sister; Child! I am not at all offended with you nor am I
the least sorry for your obtaining the kingdom; Child! You are very fortunate; therefore you have
obtained, by the grace of Bhagavatî, this kingdom without any enemies; now rule
your subjects according to the prescribed rules of Dharma.”
26-28. Vyâsa
said :-- O king! The king Sudars’ana
heard Lîlâvatî and bowed down at her feet.
Then he went to the beautiful palace where Manoramâ had previously gone and
began to live there. Inviting the
ministers and the astrologers, he asked them what was the auspicious day and
the auspicious moment, that he can establish Durgâ Devî on a beautiful golden
throne and he would worship Her.
29. “O
ministers! First I will install on the
throne the Devî, the Awarder of the four main objects of human pursuits (viz. virtue, wealth, enjoyment and final
beatitude) and then I will govern my kingdom like the kings S’rî Râma Chandra
and others.
30. All the
people of this city of Ayodhyâ ought also to worship this Auspicious S’akti, the
Highest Energy, the Giver of all desires and Siddhis, and that is respected and
adored by all.”
31. The
ministers, on hearing his words, had a beautiful palace built by the engineers,
artists and workmen and proclaimed in the city the king’s proclamation.
32. Then the
king Sudars’ana had an image of the Devî nicely built and got that installed
with the help of the Pundits, versed in the Vedas, on an auspicious day and at an
auspicious moment.
33. The
intelligent king performed the worship and Homa ceremony, according to the prescribed
rules, and thus finally settled the ceremony of invocation of the Deity into the
new image and established it as an idol in the temple.
34. O Janamejaya! There the soundings of the various drums and
other musical instruments, the chanting of the Veda mantrams by the Brâhmanas,
and sweet music were heard; and various sorts of festivities and rejoicings
were celebrated.
35. Vyâsa
said :-- Thus completing the installation ceremony of the Durgâ Devî by the Brâhmanas,
versed in the Vedas, the king Sudars’ana duly worshipped the image in various
ways, etc.
36. Thus
gaining his father’s kingdom and worshipping the Devî, he and the Devî became
celebrated throughout the kingdom.
37. The
religious largehearted Sudars’ana, on gaining his kingdom, brought all the other
feudatory princes under his control by the sheer force of his religious
character.
38. The
subjects became happy and got honor in the reign of Sudars’ana, as they got before
in the reigns of Dilîp, Raghu and Râmachandra.
39. The
virtue of all the citizens under Varnâs’rama shone complete with all its four pâdas;
and there remained none in the world irreligious.
40. In
villages after villages, the chief townsmen began to build temples, worship the
Goddess there with all their jolliness. Thus
everywhere in the Kosala kingdom spread the Devî worship.
41. On the
other hand, the king Subâhu established the Idol in Benares, had temples built and
worshipped there the Devî.
42. The
inhabitants of Kâs’î became then filled with devotion and intense love towards the
Devî and duly worshipped Her, as they used to do to S’iva in the temple of Vis’vanâtha.
43. Thus the
Durgâ Devî became very widely celebrated in this world. O king!
Thus in different countries, the devotion began to increase towards the
Goddess.
44. The Devî
Bhagavatî Bhavânî became in every way an object to be worshipped and adored by
all people and everywhere in Bhâratavarsa.
45. The
people began to recite slowly, meditate, and chant hymns as advocated by the Âgamas
constantly and became deeply attached to the S’akti worship and began to be looked
upon with the highest honour by others.
46. O king! From that time all the people used to
worship, perform Homa ceremony and sacrifice duly in honour of the Devî in
every Navarâtri (for the first nine days of the bright half in the months of
Âs’vin and Chaitra).
Here ends the 25th Chapter on the installation of the Devî in
Ayodhyâ and Benares in the Mahâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.
Source: Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami Vijnanananda
