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 24/1:62
On the stealing away of Pradyûmna
1-2. Vyâsa said :-- On the other hand, there, at
the house of Nanda, early in the next morning, commenced the grand birth day
festivity. Kamsa came to know, afterwards, by his spies
as will as by general rumour, that at Gokula, in the
house of Nanda, a
very joyous festival on a grand scale was being performed; he also knew before
that the other wives of Vâsudeva, his animals and his servants were all staying
at Nanda’s residence in Gokula.
3-4. O Bhârata!
Thus all these gave reasons to Kamsa to suspect the place Gokula. Especially
Nârada told him before that the residents, the cowherds at Gokula, Nanda and
others, their wives, Devakî and Vâsudeva were all Devas incarnates; and consequently
they were his enemies.
5-7. Thus being brought to more confidence by
Nârada’s words, that vicious Kamsa, the disgrace to his family, was very angry
and sent there his demons Pûtanâ, Baka, Vatsa, the great Asura, the powerful
Dhenuka, Pralamba. They were all killed by Krisna, of
unsurpassable prowess. S’rî Krisna held aloft also the hillock
Gobardhana (to protect the cow herds and cows, etc. ) Hearing all these, Kamsa became certain
also of his own death.
8. Lastly when the evil minded Kamsa heard that
the Daitya Kes’î was also slain, then he made arrangements for a sacrifice,
known as Dhanuryajña; and under this pretext wanted to bring over there at
Mathurâ the two brothers Krisna and Balarâma.
9. The evil minded Kamsa to effect the death of
those two, Râma and Krisna, of
unsurpassable
prowess, sent Akrûra to Gokula to bring them over to Mathurâ.
10. Akrûra, the son of Gandinî, under the orders
of Kamsa, went to Gokula and brought the two boys on a chariot to Mathurâ.
11-12. On arriving at Mathurâ, Râma and Krisna first
broke the bow; killed Râjaka, the elephant Kubalaya, Chânûr, Mustika, S’ala, Tos’ala
and other athletes and warriors. Last of all, Hari, the Lord of the Devas,
holding Kamsa by his hair, killed him with utmost ease.
13. The enemy-destroyer Krisna removed the sorrows
of his father and mother and released them from their prisons and gave over the
kingdom of Mathurâ to Ugrasena (the father of Kamsa).
14-15. The high minded Vâsudeva, then, with the
triple girdle made of Munja grass, performed the Upanayana ceremonies (wearing
the sacred thread round the body) of Râma and Krisna and made them accept the
vow of Brahmacharya. They then departed to the hermitage of the
holy Muni S’andîpana to acquire knowledge.
Learning all the vidyâs
(knowledges) there, they returned quickly to Mathurâ.
16. The two sons of Ânakadundubhi stayed there and
on attaining their twelfth year, became proficient in all the branches of
learning and became very powerful.
17. That time Jarâsandha, being grieved at the
killing of his son-in-law Kamsa,
collected a strong
and numerous army and marched to Mathurâ.
18. Seventeen times Jarâsandha, the king of
Magadha, attacked Mathurâ and seventeen times he was defeated by the ingenuity
of that highly intelligent S’rî Krisna, who was of firm resolve and was then
residing in Mathurâ.
19. Lastly, Jarâsandha sent the Kâlayavana (Black
Yavana) to invade Mathurâ. These Yavanas were brave and the lords of all
Mlechchâs (untouchables) and extremely terrific to the Yâdavas.
Note: Kâlayavana - A
king of Yavanas and enemy of Krisna and an invincible foe of the Yâdavas. Krisna
finding it impossible to vanquish him in the field of battle,
cunningly decoyed him
to the cave where Muchukunda was sleeping who burnt him down.
Yavana means a Greek,
an Ionian; then any foreigner, or barbarian (the word is applied at present to
a Mahomedan or a European also).
20-21. Hearing that Kâla Yavana was coming to attack
the Yâdavas, Krisna the
destroyer of Mâdhu,
called all the Yâdavas and Baladeva and addressed them thus :--
“O blessed ones! Now a cause of great terror has appeared
amongst us; Kâla Yavana is being sent by our powerful enemy Jarâsandha to
attack Mathurâ. Now what to do? It is better to save one’s
life by leaving aside all our homes, wealth and army.
22. You should all know that is the place of our
fathers and forefathers where we can safely and happily dwell; where there is a
constant source of anxiety and uneasiness that, though the place of our fathers
and forefathers, ought to be avoided; never ought anyone to dwell there.
23. If you want to dwell at ease and comfort, you
ought to dwell in that country or
place which is
adjacent to a sea or a mountain; where there is no fear from an enemy, the
sages will always remain there.
24. See! The
Bhagavân Hari, being afraid, as it were, of his enemy has taken refuge on the
body of the thousand headed S’esa serpent as his sleeping place and is sleeping
at ease and comfort on the ocean. It seems likely that the enemy of Trîpurâ, the
great S’iva is also dwelling on the Kailâs’a mountain.
25. We, too, are being constantly worried by our
enemies here; therefore we ought not to live here any longer. We
should all go to Dwârkâ city with our friends, relatives and wealth.
26. Garuda, the king of the birds, has given us
the detailed information of the city
Dwârkâ. That
beautiful city is situated on the sea shore in the vicinity of the Raivataka mountain. ”
27. Vyâsa said :-- The Yâdava chiefs, hearing S’rî
Krisna’s utterances fraught with their welfare, were ready to depart to that
place Dwârkâ, attended by their friends, relatives, and appurtenances.
28. They then collected their camels, mares, and
buffaloes and filled their conveyances with wealth, gems and precious stones
and marched out of their place.
29. Râma and Krisna went in front; the Yâdavas and
other subjects then marched in groups (several parties).
30. Marching some days, they all reached Dvârâvatî. Then
the portions of the city that were dilapidated or destroyed, S’rî Krisna had
them repaired by engineers, artisans and craftsmen.
31. Placing the Yâdavas there, Kes’ava and Baladeva
quickly returned to Mathurâ and began to stay in that desolated city.
32. The extremely powerful king of the Yavanas
arrived then at Mathurâ. Krisna
knowing that the
Yavana chief had come there, went out of the city.
33. The Bhagavân Madhusûdana, the destroyer of the
boastings of Asuras and other people, dressed in yellow robes, appeared on foot
before the Kâlayavan with smile on his lips.
34. Seeing the lotus-eyed Krisna before him, the
treacherous Lord of the Yavanas,
pursued him on foot
to catch hold of him.
35. Where the powerful Râjarsi Muchukunda was
sleeping soundly, the Bhagavân Hari led Kâlayavana there.
36. There S’rî Krisna, saw Muchukunda and vanished
away at once; the king of the Yavanas on arriving there found the Râjarsi (the
royal sage) there in deep sleep.
37. The wicked Yavana mistaking Muchukunda for
S’rî Krisna, gave him a good kick. The powerful king Muchukunda got up and was
very angry; his eyes became red and reduced that vicious Yavana instantly into
ashes.
38. When Muchukunda burnt the Yavana, he saw the
lotus-eyed Krisna; he bowed down to that Supreme Deva, Vâsudeva, and went to
forest.
39. S’rî Krisna then went back to the city Dwârkâ
with Râma and made Ugrasena there the king and began to enjoy at his will.
40. At the marriage ceremony of S’is’upâla, at the
palace of the king of Vidarbha,
Janârdan Visnu
carried away by force Rukminî, the bride elect from the Svayambara assembly
(where the husband is self elected by the bride herself) and afterwards married
her according to the rule called Râkhsasa Vidhi (one of the eight forms of marriage
in Hindu Law in which a girl is forcibly seized and carried away after the defeat
or destruction of her relatives in battle).
41-42. Afterwards He brought also Jâmbavatî,
Satyabhâmâ, Mitravindâ, Kâlindî,
Laksmanâ, Bhadrâ, and
auspicious Nâgnajitî (the daughter of the king Nagnajit) on
various occasions and
married them. O Lord of the earth! These eight women were the best and most
beautiful of S’rî Krisna’s wives.
43. Rukminî first gave birth to the beautiful
child Pradyûmna and S’rî Krisna
performed the
religious ceremony at the birth of his child.
44. Then the powerful Dânava named S’amvara stole
away the little baby from the lying-in-chamber and carried him to his own city
and made him over under the charge of Mâyâvatî.
45. Coming to know that His son had been stolen
away, S’rî Krisna became very much overpowered with sorrow and took the shelter
of the Supreme Goddess, the Devî, with a heart full of devotion.
46-47. S’rî Krisna then began, to chant, in sweet
auspicious tone, hymns in alphabets, conveying the highest meanings, in
adoration of the Yoga Mâyâ, Who slew Vritrâsura and other Daityas with ease and
alacrity.
48. O Mother!
I, in my former birth as the son of Dharma, appeased You by my ascetic practices
in the hermitage of Badari and worshipped You with various offerings; O Mother! Have you now forgotten all my devotion to
You?
49. O Mother!
Has any evil minded enemy stolen away my son from the lying-in
chamber? Or have You
Yourself done this to make a fun and see the amusement? It seems that some one
of my enemies has done so to insult me; however, You, O
Mother! ought not to put your devotee under this
shameful condition.
50. O Mother!
This Dwârakâ city is well guarded; a very strong fort is built in its
middle and my place
is in the midst of that again; and the lying in-chamber is again in the middle;
I therefore must say that it is due to my bad luck that the child is stolen away!
51. O Mother!
I did not go to the house of my enemy; the Yâdavas also did not go there;
this city is guarded by valiant soldiers; then how is it, under what charm, the
baby has been stolen? O Mother! Now I
come to know that it is due to Your Mâyâ; such things are common due to Your
Mâyâ in the three worlds.
52. O Mother!
When I am ignorant of your deepest mysteries, how can there exist anyone
among the little minded Jîvas that can know your doings? My watchmen could not
see anything, where my child was taken away and who has stolen it. O
Mother! I come to the conclusion that it
is hidden behind the screen of Your Mâyâ.
53. O Mother!
It is not strange with You; to the chaste woman, Rohinî Devî, though situated
at a great distance and not connected with any male persons, You, in the fifth month,
moved away the son to my knowledge from the womb of my mother; and thus Baladeva
was born to Rohinî. This is now known to all.
54. Mother!
You are incessantly creating, preserving, and destroying this whole
universe by the
mixture of the three qualities. Who can know Your sin-destroying
doings? Mother! There is no need of dwelling at length. Suffice it to say that You, no doubt, are
doing all that are being done in this whole universe.
55. You first create the joy at the birth of a
child; again You load us with heavy
burdens of sorrows
due to the separation from that child; thus you are always sporting; otherwise
how my joy at the birth of my child would thus be rendered quite useless?
56. The mother of that child is always weeping
like an ewe, straying from a flock; she is giving vent to her sorrows always to
me; O Kind-hearted! Being thus endowed
with illimitable prowess and understanding, do You not know my troubles! O Mother!
You are the only source of consolation to one, suffering from the
sorrows of this world. There is no doubt
in this.
57. O Goddess!
The wise seers say that the birth of a child in any house is the highest
bliss there, and the death of a child is the greatest sorrow that can befall to
any house. Therefore, O Mother! What shall I do in this? What shall I say
more than that my heart is going to burst, due to the disappearance of my child.
58. O Mother!
I will perform all the necessary sacrifices, take up vows, perform all sorts
of worship to the entire satisfaction of the Great Fate (Ordainer of things);
You be pleased to remove my sorrow. O Mother!
If my son be alive, kindly shew him once to me. Mother! There is no other than You Who is fully
capable to destroy this my pain and sorrow, raging in my heart.
59. Vyâsa said :-- He who brings into practice,
things that are considered impracticable for the Devas and removes the load of
the Goddess Earth with ease and alacrity, the same Saviour of world, S’rî
Krisna thus chanted hymns in adoration of the Great Goddess. The
Devî then became visible to him and said.
60. O Lord of the Devas! Do not any longer be sorrowful and miserable;
there had been a curse on you before; and, for that reason, the Daitya S’ambara
has stolen away your son by his demonic magic.
61. Therefore, when your son will grow sixteen
years old, then he will, by My Grace, kill the Daitya perforce and will return
to you. There is no doubt in this.
62. O king!
Thus saying these words full of hope and confidence, the Great Goddess Chandikâ,
of formidable prowess, disappeared. Krisna too, quitted his sorrows, due to the bereavement
of his child, and began to spend his time in happiness and peace.
Here ends the
Twenty-fourth Chapter of the Fourth Book of S’rî Mad Devî
Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ
Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the
stealing away of
Pradyûmna.
Source:
Translation of The Srimad Devi Bhagvatam by Swami Vijnanananda
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