The Metaphysical Goddess of the Devi-Mahatmya and Devi-Bhagavatam Purana

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The Metaphysical Goddess

 

The Devi-Mahatmya

 

Two texts in particular have been most influential in establishing the

all-inclusive nature of feminine power. The first and most popular

goddess-centred text is the Devi-Mahatmya, originally a section of the

Markandeya Purana. The importance of this text, and its uniqueness, are apparent

in its independence from the parent text. Thomas Coburn comments that while

there are very few complete manuscripts of the Markandya Purana, those of the

Devi-Mahatmya are countless. The recitation of the text is still an integral

part of goddess worship, where, according to Coburn, it forms a part of " daily

liturgy in temples of Durga " and " a central place during the … festival of Durga

Puja " .

 

It is here, in the Devi-Mahatmya, that the concept of an all-inclusive Goddess

is fully elucidated. Within a mythical framework of the Goddess's martial deeds,

is the assertion that she is the Ultimate Reality, an idea transmitted by

inference rather than in direct terms. Mythically, in order to conquer the

asuras (demons) that threatened the very existence of the devas (gods), a

supremely powerful goddess was created from the combined anger of the gods.

 

Then from Visnu's face, which was filled with rage, came forth a great fiery

splendor (tejas), (and also from the faces) of Brahma and Siva.

And from the bodies of the other gods, Indra and the others, came forth a fiery

splendor, and it became unified in one place.

An exceedingly fiery mass like a flaming mountain did the gods see there,

filling the firmament with flames.

That peerless splendour, born from the bodies of all the gods, unified and

pervading the triple world with its lustre, became a woman.

 

Devi Mahatya 2. 9-12

 

The vital power that emanated from the gods took shape in the feminine form, and

from there on was accepted as the Mahadevi, a supreme Goddess in her own right.

She is entirely separate from the gods, the embodiment of sakti, and able to

produce further powers of her own. When her work is done, she disappears; she

does not return to her source, the gods. The text reinforces the conceptual

notion of a Great Goddess, Mahadevi, the embodiment of power…

 

One of the most interesting facets of Devi`s character in the Devi-Matahmya is

her independence and her challenge to the stereotypes of goddesses previously

presented. The Goddess here does not depend on a male consort, and successful

manages male roles herself. In battle, for instance, she does not fight with

male allies; if she needs assistance, she tends to create female helpers, like

Kali, from herself. Her role as Sakti also differs from that of the puranic

goddesses as she does not empower the male deities. " Unlike the normal female,

Durga does not lend her powers or sakti to a male consort but rather takes power

from the male gods in order to perform her own heroic exploits. They give up

their inner strength, fire, and heat to create her and in so doing surrender

their potency to her.``

 

The Devi-Mahatmya makes clear that the conceptual goddess cannot be easily

categorized. The " Goddess " so carefully outlined in the text leaves the reader

in no doubt of the fluidity of her character. She is the personification of all

aspects of energy, being simultaneously creative, preservative and destructive.

 

By you is everything supported, by you is the world created; by you is it

protected,

O Goddess, and you always consume (it) at the end (of time).

At (its) emanation you have the form of creation, in (its) protection (you have)

the form of steadiness; likewise at the end of this world (you have) the form of

destruction. O you who consist of this world!

You are the great knowledge (mahavidya), the great illusion (mahamaya), the

great insight (mahamedha), the great memory, and the great delusion, the great

Goddess (mahadevi), the great demoness (mahasuri).

 

Devi-Mahatmya 1. 56-8

 

This verse makes it clear that the all-encompassing Goddess in this text

represents all aspects of power and energy, both positive and negative, as she

is described as devi (goddess) and asuri (demoness). The Devi of the

Devi-Mahatmya is fully equated with Ultimate Reality, presented as the power

behind the functions of the trimurti, the triad of deities – Visnu, Siva and

Brahma – who are responsible of the preservation, dissolution and creation of

the universe respectively:

 

You are the primordial material (praktri) of everything, manifesting the triad

of constituent strands, the night of destruction (periodic dissolution), the

great night (final dissolution), and the terrible night of delusion.

 

Devi-Mahatmya 1. 59

 

The Devi-Bhagavatam Purana

 

The Devi-Mahatmya is not the only text to offer an all-inclusive concept of

female divinity, equated with the principle of Ultimate Reality. The later

Devi-Bhagavatam presents a Sakta response to a variety of puranic strands of

thought. According to Cheever Mackenzie Brown, its original parts were written

in response to the Bhagavata Purana. The Devi Gita, which comprises skanda

(book) 7, chapters 30-40 of the Devi-Bhagavatam, is based on the style of the

Bhagavad Gita, but is presented from a Sakta perspective. The ninth skanda,

according to Brown, is almost a verbatim copy of the " Praktri Khanda " of the

Brahmaraivarta Purana, which Brown describes as " a kind of encyclopedia of

goddesses " , associating them with praktri. The Devi-Bhagavatam also encompasses

a version of the Devi-Mahatmya and retells a number of puranic myths. The text

is more consistently metaphysically oriented than the earlier Devi-Mahatmya,

frequently eulogizing the conceptual goddess who is the power behind all other

deities.

 

That Goddess is Eternal and Ever Constant Primordial Force…

She is the source of Brahma, Visnu and the others and all of these living beings

Without Her force, no body would be able even to more their limbs.

That Supreme Auspicious Goddess is the preserving energy of Visnu, is the

Creative power of Brahma, and is the destroying force of Siva.

 

Devi-Mahatmya 3. 30. 28-30

 

It is also significant that in the Devi-Bhagavatam, the Great Goddess is

explicitly shown to be independent of any male authority and control. Indeed in

the previous verses it is the gods that are completely subject to her will,

being totally reliant on her power. The goddess/ses of Devi-Bhagavatam are

repeatedly portrayed as eternal, the basis of everything, identical with

Brahman.

 

When everything melts away i.e. there comes the Pralaya or general dissolution,

then, I am not female, I am not male, nor am I hermaphrodite. I then remain as

Brahma with Maya.

 

Devi-Bhagavatam 3. 6. 2

 

The Adya or Primordial Sakti is explicitly shown to be the source of all

goddesses, from the highest to the lowest forms.

 

Maha Laksmi is Her sattvaki Sakti, Sarasvaati is Her Rajasik Sakti and Maha Kali

is Her tamasik Sakti, these are all feminine forms.

 

Devi-Bhagavatam 1. 1. 20

 

The highest forms represent the major facets of her power or energy, the three

gunas, encompassing both positive and negative energies. In the Devi-Bhagavatam,

the essential character of the Mahadevi encompasses both praktri (material

nature), in its unmanifest and manifest forms, and purusa (pure consciusness) –

the dual realities of Sankhya philosophy. Unlike Sankhya and other schools of

thought, particularly Advaita, the Devi-Bhagavatam portrays praktri in a more

positive light; as an integral feature of the Goddess's power. Similarly, the

concept of maya (illusion) is also presented positively rather than negatively,

as an integral energy inherent in the act of creation.

 

I am Nirguna. And when I am united with my Sakti, Maya, I become saguna, the

Great Cause of this world. This Maya is divided into two, Vidya and Avidya.

Avidya Maya hides me; whereas Vidya Maya does not. Avidya creates whereas Vidya

Maya liberates.

 

Devi-Bhagavatam 7. 32. 7-8

 

Brown points out an interesting and important difference between the conception

of maya in the Bhagavata Purana, in which Visnu is the supreme deity, and that

in the Devi-Bhagavatam. Whereas in the Bhagavata Purana, Visnu is the

" controller and possessor of maya " , the Goddess of the Devi-Bhagavatam, as well

as wielding the power of maya, actually is maya. There appears to be a much more

intimate relationship in the Devi-Bhagavatam between the Goddess and the

workings of the cosmos, for as Visnu and Siva resort to their respective saktis

for assistance, Devi resorts to no one but herself.

 

At the Feet of the Goddess: Divine Feminine in Local Hindu Religion

Pages 11-15, Sussex Academic Press 1999

ISBN: 1902210441

EAN: 9781902210445