The Song of the Goddess: The Devi Gita: Spiritual Counsel of the Great Goddess

March 22, 2004

The Song of the Goddess: The Devi Gita: Spiritual Counsel of the Great GoddessThe Song of the Goddess: The Devi Gita: Spiritual Counsel of the Great Goddess by C. Mackenzie Brown (State University of

New York Press) provides a translation, with introduction, commentary, and annotation, of the medieval Hindu Sanskrit text the Devi Gita (Song of the Goddess). It is an important but not well-known text from the rich Sakta (Goddess) tradition of India . The Devi Gita was composed around the fifteenth century C.E., in partial imitation of the famous Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord), composed some fifteen centuries earlier. The Song of the Goddess makes available a contemporary translation of the Devi Gita, with an historical and theological analysis of the text in the introduction. The book is divided into sections of verses, and each section is followed by a comment explaining key terms, concepts, ritual procedures, and mythic themes. The comments also offer comparisons with related schools of thought, indicate parallel texts and textual sources of verses in the Devi Gita, and briefly elucidate the historical and religious background, supplementing the remarks of the introduction.

To avoid any confusion and also be aware, there are two other devi gitas. The first of which is found in the Kurma purana. This is a conversation with Parvati and Himavan, introduced by Lord Vishnu as Kurma. Goddess Parvati is praised here by 1008 names and She grants him two cosmic visions and i nstructs him. The other devi gita is found in the Mahabhagavata purana, which actually refers to the conversation of Parvati and Himavan as Parvati Gita. The narrator of this section of the Mahabhagavata Purana is Lord Shiva. However, by Devi gita, we refer only to the gita found in the Devi Bhagavatam. The magnificent dialogue between Himalayas and the Divine Mother, when She declared that She would take birth in his house as the Goddess Parvati. Himalayas asked, "How shall I act when I become the father of the Divine Mother? What will be my attitudes towards life? What will be my spiritual discipline? How can I remember Your divinity all the time?" The answers to these and

other questions are presented in English translation.Devi Gita teaches both the worship of the deity with form and the meditation on the Cosmic Divinity beyond form and knowledge, It is a compendium of spiritual disciplines constantly weaving its tapestry of harmony so that all actions in life become expressions of the longing for the highest attainment. It is an excerpt from a much larger work, the the Srimad Devî Bhagavatam. This self-contained text describes an incarnation of the Devi, the Goddess. She discourses on her nature, and how she wants to be worshipped, particularly with Yogic practices, meditation and rituals.Devi Gita constitutes the last ten chapters of the seventh Skandha of the Devi Bhagavatam. In the puranas, one will find several gitas and many mahatmyas. The differences are that in the mahatmya, the glorification of the deity is by recounting the various deeds of the God and offering praise to the divinity. A gita, on the other hand, is a

direct revelation of the truth from the disciple, which often includes the manifestation of the cosmic form. While mahatymas emphasize bhakti, gita stresses a balance of bhakti and jnana. The setting of the Devi Gita is introduced by Janamejaya’s query to Vyasa regarding the supreme light who became manifest on top of the Himalaya mountain. Vyasa talks about the demon Taraka, who has obtained a boon that he can be killed only the son of Lord Shiva, knowing fully well that Sati has immolated herself. Therefore, the gods became scared and went to Himalayas and worshipped Her asking to born and marry Lord Shiva. Shakti then appears before them and grants them a boon that her manifestation will be born as Gauri as the daughter of Himavan. Himalaya becomes choked with emotion when he hears that She, whose belly contains millions of universes, is about to become his daughter. He requests as follows, “Proclaim to me your nature, and declare that yoga conjoined with bhakti and that

jnana in accord shruti whereby you and I become one.” In the Devi Gita, following Himalayas request, the Devi proceeds to describe her essential forms. The Devi declares that prior to creation, She is the only existent entity, the one supreme Brahman and is pure consciousness. Then She outlines the basic evolution of the causal, subtle and gross bodies of the supreme Self when enjoined with maya. The treatment here is very similar to that of Vedantasara and Panchadasi, but in much more simpler terms than the latter. Then She reveals Her forms (both the frightful and pleasing) to the gods and Himalaya . Then follows a detailed summary of the yoga, the stages of bhakti and the ways to attain Her. Devi Gita is both simple and profound. It is different from other gitas in the respect that statements are clear and can not be reinterpreted according to one’s taste. For example, several commentaries have been written on the Bhagavad Gita of Krishna , wherein each

commentator feels differently regarding bhakti and jnana. For example, it required Madhusudana Saraswati to explain krama mukti in clear terms (though Shankara mentions it also) of bhakti. But Devi Gita is clear: “Even when a person performs bhakti, knowledge need not arise. He will go to the Devi’s Island (similar to Brahmaloka). Till the complete knowledge in the form of my consciousness arises, there is no liberation.” Similarly, the words of ‘coming’ ‘going’ ‘becoming’ cause confusion since one can not ‘become’ Brahman, if one is already one. The Devi Gita provides a clear explanation that all these terms are applicable only as long as one in maya. It is the clarity of these terms and the simple explanation of complex vedantic and philosophical questions that makes Devi Gita unique. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0791453944/reviews/104-2662646-5898301#07914539443200

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