Fwd: THE DEVI-MAHATMYAM-Chapter 2

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Kali_Ma, "kalis_word" <kalis_word> wrote:

 

{CHAPTER 2}*****{Slaughter of the armies of Mahisasura}

 

Meditation of Mahalakshmi I resort to Mahalakshmi,

the destroyer of Mahisasura, who is seated on the

lotus, is of the complexion of coral and who holds

in her (eighteen ) hands rosary, axe, mace, arrow,

thunderbolt, lotus, bow, pitcher, rod, sakti, sword,

shield, conch, bell, wine-cup, trident, noose and the

discus Sudarsana. The Rishi said:

 

1-3. Of yore when Mahisasura was the lord of

asuras and Indra the lord of devas, there was a war

between the devas and asuras for a full hundred

years. In that the army of the devas was vanquished

by the valorous asuras. After conquering all the

devas, Mahisasura became the lord of heaven(

Indra).

 

4-5. Then the vanquished devas headed by Brahma,

the lord of beings, went to the place where Siva and

Vishnu were. The devas described to them in detail,

as it had happened, the story of their defeat wrought

by Mahisasura.

 

6-8. 'He(Mahisasura) himself has assumed the

jurisdictions of Surya, Indra, Agni, Vayu, Candra,

Yama and Varuna and other (devas). Thrown out

from heaven by that evil-natured Mahisa, the hosts

of devas wander on the earth like mortals.

 

All that has been done by the enemy of the devas,

has been related to you both, and we have sought

shelter under you both. May both of you be pleased

to think out the means of his destruction.'

 

9. Having thus heard the words of the devas, Vishnu

was angry and also Siva, and their faces became

fierce with frowns.

 

10-11. The issued forth a great light from the face

of Vishnu who was full of intense anger, and from that

of Brahma and Siva too. From the bodies of Indra

and other devas also sprang forth a very great light.

And (all) this light united together.

 

12-13. The devas saw there a concentration of light

like a mountain blazing excessively, pervading all the

quarters with its flames. Then that unique light,

produced from the bodies of all the devas, pervading

the three worlds with its lustre, combined into one

and became a female form.

 

14-15. By that which was Siva's light, her face came

into being; by Yama's (light) her hair, by Vishnu's

light her arms; and by Candra's (light) her two

breasts. By Indra's light her waist, by Varuna's

(light) her shanks and thighs and by earth's light her

hips.

 

16-18. By Brahma's light her feet came into being;

by Surya's light her toes, by Vasus (light) her

fingers, by Kubera's (light) her nose; by Prajapati's

light her teeth came into being and similarly by

Agni's light her three eyes were formed. The light of

the two sandhyas became her eye-brows, the light of

Vayu her ears; the manifestation of the lights of

other devas too (contributed to the being of the )

auspicious Devi.

 

 

19. Then looking at her, who had come into being

from the assembled lights of all the devas, the

immortals who were oppressed by Mahisasura

experienced joy.

 

20-21. The bearer of Pinaka (Siva) drawing forth a

trident from his own trident presented it to her; and

Vishnu bringing forth a discus out of his own discus

gave her. Varuna gave her a conch, Agni a spear;

and Maruta gave a bow as well as two quivers full of

arrows.

 

22-23. Indra, lord of devas, bringing forth a

thunderbolt out of (his own) thunderbolt and a bell

from that of his elephant Airavata, gave her. Yama

gave a staff from his own staff of Death and Varuna,

the lord of waters, a noose; and Brahma, the lord of

beings, gave a string of beads and a water-pot.

 

24. Surya bestowed his own rays on al the pores of

her skin and Kala (Time) gave a spotless sword and

a shield.

 

25-29. The milk-ocean gave a pure necklace, a pair

of un-decaying garments, a divine crest-jewel, a pair

of ear-rings, bracelets, a brilliant half-

moon(ornament), armlets on all arms, a pair of

shining anklets, a unique necklace and excellent

rings on all the fingers.

 

Visvakarman gave her a very brilliant axe, weapons of

various forms and also an impenetrable armour. The ocean

gave her a garland of unfading lotuses for her head and

another for her breast, besides a very beautiful lotus

in her hand. The (mountain) Himavat gave her a lion to

ride on a various jewels.

 

30-33. The lord of wealth (Kubera) gave her a drinking

cup, ever full of wine. Sesa, the lord of all serpents,

who supports this earth, gave her a serpent-necklace

bedecked with best jewels.

 

Honoured likewise by other devas also with

ornaments and weapons, she (the Devi) gave out a

loud roar with a decrying laugh again and again. By

her unending, exceedingly great, terrible roar the

entire sky was filled, and there was great

reverberation. All worlds shook, the seas trembled.

 

34-46. The earth quaked and all the mountains

rocked. 'Victory to you,' exclaimed the devas in joy

to her, the lion-rider. the sages, who bowed their

bodies in devotion, extolled her. Seeing the three

worlds agitated the foes of devas, mobilized all their

armies and rose up together with uplifted weapons.

 

 

Mahisasura, exclaiming in wrath, 'Ha! What is this?'

rushed towards that roar, surrounded by

innumerable asuras. Then he saw the Devi pervading

the three worlds with her lustre. Making the earth

bend with her footstep, scraping the sky with her

diadem, shaking the nether worlds with the twang of

the bowstring, and standing there pervading all the

quarters around with her thousand arms. Then began

a battle between that Devi and the enemies of the

devas, in which the quarters of the sky were

illumined by the weapons and arms hurled diversely.

 

Mahisasura's general, a great asura named Ciksura

and Camara, attended by forces comprising four

parts, and other (asuras) fought. A great asura

named Udagra with sixty thousand chariots, and

Mahahanu with ten millions (of chariots) gave battle.

Asiloman, another great asura, with fifteen millions

(of chariots), and Baskala with six millions fought in

that battle. Privarita with many thousands of

elephants and horses, and surrounded by ten millions

of chariots, fought in that battle.

 

An asura named Bidala fought in that battle surrounded

with five hundred crores of chariots. And other great

asuras, thousands in number, surrounded with chariots,

elephants and horses fought with the Devi in that

battle.

 

47-48. Mahisasura was surrounded in that battle

with thousands of crores of horses, elephants and

chariots. Others (asuras) fought in the battle against

the Devi with iron maces and javelins, with spears

and clubs, with swords, axes and halberds. Some

hurled spears and others nooses.

 

49-58. They began to strike her with swords in order

to kill her. Showering her own weapons and arms,

that Devi Chandika very easily cut into pieces all

those weapons and arms. Without any strain on her

face, and with gods and sages extolling her, the

Isvari threw her weapons and arms at the bodies of

the asuras.

 

And the lion also which carried the Devi, shaking its

mane in rage, stalked among the hosts of the asuras

like a conflagration amidst the forests. The sighs which

Ambika, engaged in the battle, heaved became at once her

battalions by hundreds and thousands. Energized by the

power of the Devi, these (battalions) fought with axes,

javelins, swords, halberds, and destroyed the asuras.

 

Of these battalions, some beat drums, some blew conches

and others played on tabors in that great martial festival.

Then the Devi killed hundreds of asuras with her

trident, club, showers of spears, swords and the like,

and threw down others who were stupefied by the

noise of her bell; and binding others with her noose,

she dragged them on the ground.

 

Some were split into two by the sharp slashes of her sword,

and others, smashed by the blows of her mace, lay down

on the ground; and some severely hammered by club

vomited forth blood.

 

[continued]

 

(extracted from website:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8175/d

evi-1.txt)

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