Fwd: THE DEVI-MAHATMYAM-Chapter 3

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Kali_Ma, "kalis_word" <kalis_word> wrote:

CHAPTER 3} *****{The Slaying of Mahisasura}

 

The Rishi said:

 

1-2. Then Ciksura, the great asura general, seeing

that army being slain(by the Devi), advanced in

anger to fight with Ambika.

 

3. That asura rained showers of arrows on the Devi

in the battle, even as a cloud (showers) rain on the

summit of Mount Meru.

 

4. Then the Devi, easily cutting asunder the masses

of his arrows, killed his horses and their controller

with her arrows.

 

5. Forthwith she split his bow and lofty banner, and

with her arrows pierced the body of that(asura)

whose bow had been cut.

 

6. His bow shattered, his chariot broken, his horses

killed and his charioteer slain, the asura armed with

sword and shield rushed at the Devi.

 

7. Swiftly he smote the lion on the head with his

sharp-edged sword and struck the Devi also on her

left arm.

 

8. O king, his sword broke into pieces as it touched

her arm. Thereon his eyes turning red with anger, he

grasped his pike.

 

9. Then the great asura flung at Bhandrakali the

pike, blazing with lustre, as if he was hurling the

very sun from the skies.

 

10. Seeing that pike coming upon her, the Devi

hurled her pike that shattered his pike into a hundred

fragments and the great asura himself.

 

11. Mahisasura's very valiant general having been

killed, Camara, the afflictor of devas, mounted on an

elephant, advanced.

 

12. He also hurled his spear at the Devi. Ambika

quickly assailed it with a whoop, made it lustreless

and fall to the ground.

 

13. Seeing his spear broken and fallen, Camara, full

of rage, flung a pike, and she split that also with her

arrows.

 

14. Then the lion, leaping up and seating itself at the

centre of the elephant's forehead, engaged itself in a

hand to hand fight with that foe of the devas.

 

15. Fighting, the two then came down to the earth

from the back of the elephant, and fought very

impetuously, dealing the most terrible blows at each

other.

 

16. Then the lion, springing up quickly to the sky,

and descending, severed Camara's head with a blow

from its paw.

 

17. And Udagra was killed in the battle by the Devi

with stones, trees and the like, and Karala also

stricken down by her teeth and fists and slaps.

 

18. Enraged, the Devi ground Uddhata to powder

with the blows of her club, and killed Baskala with

a dart and destroyed Tamra and Andhaka with arrows.

 

19. The three-eyed Supreme Isvari killed Ugrasya

and Ugravirya and Mahahanu also with her trident.

 

 

20. With her sword she struck down Bidala's head

from his body, and dispatched both Durdhara and

Durmudha to the abode of Death with her arrows.

 

21. As his army was thus being destroyed,

Mahisasura terrified the troops of the Devi with his

own buffalo form.

 

22. Some ( he laid low) by a blow of his muzzle,

some by stamping with his hooves, some by the

lashes of his tail, and others by the pokes of his

horns.

 

23. Some he laid low on the face of the earth by his

impetuous speed, some by his bellowing and

wheeling movement, and others by the blast of his

breath.

 

24. Having laid low her army, Mahisasura rushed to

slay the lion of the Mahadevi. This enraged Ambika.

 

25. Mahisasura, great in valour, pounded the surface

of the earth with his hooves in rage, tossed up the

high mountains with his horns, and bellowed terribly.

 

26. Crushed by the velocity of his wheeling, the

earth disintegrated, and lashed by his tail, the sea

overflowed all around.

 

27. Pierced by his swaying horns, the clouds went

into fragments. Cast up by the blast of his breath,

mountains fell down from the sky in hundreds.

 

28. Seeing the great asura swollen with rage and

advancing towards her, Chandika displayed her

wrath in order to slay him.

 

29. She flung her noose over him and bound the

great asura. Thus bound in the great battle, he

quitted his buffalo form.

 

30. Then he became a lion suddenly. While Ambika

cut off the head (of his lion form), he took the

appearance of a man with sword in hand.

 

31. Immediately then the Devi with her arrows

chopped off the man together with his sword and

shield. Then he became a big elephant.

 

32. (The elephant) tugged at her great lion with his

trunk and roared loudly, but as he was dragging, the

Devi cut off his trunk with her sword.

 

33. The great asura then resumed his buffalo shape

and shook the three worlds with their movable and

immovable objects.

 

34. Enraged threat, Chandika, the Mother of the

worlds, quaffed a divine drink again and again, and

laughed, her eyes becoming red.

 

35, And the asura, also roared intoxicated with his

strength and valour, and hurled mountains against

Chandika with his horns.

 

36. And she with showers of arrows pulverized (

those mountains) hurled at her, and spoke to him in

flurried words, the colour of her face accentuated

with the intoxication of the divine drink. The Devi

said:

 

37-38. 'Roar, roar, O fool, for a moment while I

drink this wine. When you sill be slain by me, the

devas will soon roar in this very place.' The Rishi

said:

 

39-40. Having exclaimed thus, she jumped and

landed herself on that great asura, pressed him on

the neck with her foot and struck him with her

spear.

 

41. And thereupon, caught up under her foot.

Mahisasura half issued forth ( in his real form) from

his own (buffalo) mouth, being completely

overcome by the valour of the Devi.

 

42. Fighting thus with his half-revealed form, the

great asura was laid by the Devi who struck off his

head with her great sword.

 

43. Then, crying in consternation, the whole asura

army perished; and all the hosts of deva were in

exultation.

 

44. With the great sages of heaven, the

devas praised the Devi. The Gandharva chiefs sang

and the bevies of apsaras danced. Here ends the

third chapter called 'The Slaying of Mahisasura' of

Devi-Mahatmya in Markandeya-Purana during the

period of Savarni, the Manu.

 

[continued]

 

(extracted from website:

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

evi-1.txt)

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