What is the symbolism of the Raktabija episode in the Devi Mahatmya?

[Guest guest]

What is the symbolism of " Raktabija " ?

 

" [in the final episode of the Devi Mahatmya] [w]hen [the

demons] Chanda and Munda lie dead, a demon named

Raktabija strides onto the battlefield. He possesses a unique

power. Whenever a drop of his blood falls to earth, another

demon of identical size and strength springs up. In the

fighting, demons proliferate from his spilled blood, and utter

terror seizes the gods, until Durga merely smiles and tells

Kali to roam the battlefield and lap up the drops of blood as

they fall. The demons arising from it soon perish between

her gnashing teeth; and Raktabija, drained of blood, falls

dead.

 

This scene bridges two levels of reality. On one level the

glistening red drops of Raktabija's blood represent the

overwhelming power of desire. Like a seed, every desire

that falls on the fertile soil of our mind grows to maturity

and bursts with seeds for the next planting. Every desire

produces the seeds of many more, and we find we are never

satisfied. The ghastly image of Kali, in her red-eyed,

emaciated form known as Chamunda, avidly licking up the

drops of blood, tells us that desires are best conquered when

nipped in the bud.

 

Another interpretation of the Raktabija episode takes us

deeper into the mind. Patanjali, whose Yoga Sutra

systematized the science of meditation more than two

thousand years ago, wrote, " Yoga is the control of the

thought-waves in the mind. " Anyone who has ever sat to

meditate knows how difficult this is. No matter how hard

we try to concentrate, the mind wanders from here to there.

One thought gives rise to another. Raktabija symbolizes this

normal, unruly state of human consciousness, where mental

energy is scattered and unfocused. Chamunda Kali is the

power of concentrated awareness that subdues the thought-

waves and takes us to a calmer, purer state of

consciousness. "

 

 

The Message of the Chandi

byDevadatta Kali

http://www.vedanta.org/reading/monthly/articles/2003/2.message_of_chan

di.html

or

http://tinyurl.com/cr2w5