El Devi Bhagavatam

14. He sent the chief monkeys to all the quarters in search of Sîtâ and had to undergo all the troubles of deadly battles in the great battlefield.

15. The most powerful Raghunandana was tied down by Nâgapâs’a (snakes) and was afterwards freed from it by Garuda.

16. Then, being furiously enraged, the great Râghava slew Kumbhakarna, Nikumbha, Megha Nâda and Râvana.

17. The Janârdan Râmchandra was not aware of the innocence of Sîtâ; and therefore He made her take an oath about the purity of Her character and even made Her undergo an ordeal of fire.

18. Afterwards Râmachandra, the son of Das’aratha, had to banish his dear blameless Sîtâ on the mere ground of bad name, imputed to her by some ignorant person and that he would be thus blamed by the public.

19. He did not know that Kus’î and Lava were His two sons, born in the forest. Afterwards when the Muni Vâlmikî told him, He came to know of them.

20. Behold also Râmachandra could not know about the departure of Sîtâ to Pâtâla; getting angry once He was about to kill his brother Laksmana even.

21. Râma, the slayer of the Râks’asa Khara did not know that Kâla Purusa was coming to him. He, incarnating in the human body, did acts all becoming to a man. Similarly S’rî Krisna, the descendant of Yadu, taking human birth did acts all like a man. What more discussion can there be in this?

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22. Lo! From the very outset He fled, out of fear of Kamsa, to Gokula; afterwards he fled out of fear of Jarâsandha to the Dwârkâ city.

23. Knowing all the rites and ceremonies of the Sanâtan Dharma (the Eternal Religion) He stole away Rukminî who was chosen as bride elect by S’is’upâla. This act was very unreligious of Him.

24. S’ambara Daitya stole away his newly born child and Krisna lamented for this. Afterwards on coming to know of the real state of things from the Goddess Bhagavatî, He was very glad. Therefore it can be easily seen from all these circumstances that He had to yield to pleasures and to undergo remorse like ordinary human beings.

25. Again, under the orders of his wife Satyabhâmâ, He had to go to Heaven to bring the Pârijâta tree and He had to fight with Indra. This shows clearly that He was under the subjection of His wife.

26. In that battle Hari with disc in hand defeated Indra; the Lord of the Devas, took away the Kalpa tree and retained the prestige of His respected wife (whom He had offended).

27. Again Satyabhâmâ tied down Hari against a tree and presented Him as a gift to Nârada; afterwards she, the passionate woman, freed Krisna on paying an equivalent of gold coins.

28-29. On seeing Rukminî’s many sons, Pradyûmna and others, all qualified with diverse qualifications, His wife Jâmbavatî prayed to S’rî Krisna with humility, so that she may have also many beautiful sons. For her sake, Krisna firmly resolved to practise tapasyâ and went to the place where the great devotee of S’iva, Upamanyu, was staying.

30. Hari desiring to have sons engaged Upamanyu as His spiritual guide and obtained from him the Mantram called Pâs’upata Mantra and became a Dundee (holder of a staff) and shaved His head.

31-32. In the first month He subsisted on fruits only and meditated on S’iva and repeated silently the S’iva mantra. Thus He practised very severe austerities. In the second month He subsisted on water only and stood on only one leg. In the third month he lived on air only and stood on the end of His great toe.

33-36. Thus time passed away. In the sixth month the God Rudra, holding Moon on His forehead, was pleased with His asceticism and devotion and appeared before Him on that spot. The God Mahâ Deva came on a bull; He was attended by Brahmâ  and Visnu, Indra and the other Devas, Yakshas and Gandarbhas and addressed thus :-- “O high minded Krisna of Yadu’s descent; I am pleased with Your severe asceticism; now ask Your desired boon; I will grant it just now. I fulfil all the desires of all my devotees;

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what desire, then, there can be that is not fulfilled, when I am seen by the devotees!”

37-38. Vyâsa said :-- The son of Devakî was very glad to see the God S’amkara and fell prostrate at His feet. Then that eternal supreme God of the Devas began to recite hymns in praise of Him in a tone as deep as the rumbling of a cloud.

39. Krisna said :-- O Deva of the Devas! O Lord of the world! You alone destroy the misfortunes and sorrows of all the beings. O Destroyer of Asuras! You are the Cause and Creator of this universe. I salute Thee.

40. O One having a blue throat! I bow down to Thee! O Holder of trident! I again and again salute Thee! O Lord of Pârvatî! You destroyed Daksa’s sacrifice. I salute Thee.

41. I am blessed by Thy sight and think myself as having discharged all my duties and satisfied. O Virtuous One! My human birth is crowned with success by saluting Thy feet.

42. O Lord of everything! O three-eyed! I am tied down to this world by my attachment towards my wives; now I take refuge unto Thee to free me from these bonds.

43. O Destroyer of sorrows! I am very much troubled on attaining this human birth; O Bhava! I am afraid of this world; and hence I take refuge unto Thee; now save me.

44-45. O Destroyer of cupidity! I experienced a good deal of troubles in the womb; next out of fear to Kamsa I had to go to Gokula where I suffered much pains; there I had to obey the orders of cow-herds; there I had to attend as Nanda’s cow-herd, the pasturing of his cows and was constantly suffocated with the awful dust thrown up by the cows; I had to wander constantly in the wild forests of Brindâban.

46. O Omnipresent One! I had to leave my dear ancestral place, the city of Mathurâ, a rare place to be found anywhere else, out of the great fear of Kâla Yavana, the king of the Mlechchas and had to go to Dwârakâ city.

47-48. O Lord! In order to preserve the cause of religion, I had to hand over the best prosperous kingdom to Ugrasena, due to the curse of Yayâti. My elders made him the king of the Yâdavas; following their examples, I gave him the kingdom and am now serving him always like his servant.

49. O S’ambhu! The householder’s life is exceedingly troublesome;  it makes one subject to one’s wife and go against his religion. There we are

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always dependent on others; and no word is heard or dreamt even, how to free oneself from those bondages of the world. Oh! What an irony of Fate.

50. O Destroyer of cupid! My wife Jâmbavatî, on seeing the sons of my wife Rukminî has urged me to practise this Tapasyâ so that she might get excellent sons born to her also.

51. O Lord of the Devas! O Lord of the world! I am engaged in this asceticism with the desire to get sons; O Deva! I feel shame in asking you for the sons!

52. You are the lover of your devotees; You give eternal freedom; You are the Lord of all the Devas. By worshipping and satisfying You, who is so fool as to ask for this trivial and transient thing!

53. O Omnipresent One! O S’ambhu! O Lord of the world! Knowing You as the giver of salvation, I, still deluded by Mâyâ, ask from You, being requested by my wife, this happiness that sons be born to me of my wife.

54-55. O S’amkara! This world and its concerns are the abode of all sorrows; it is the cause that brings in all sorts of pains and troubles, and it is transient and will go to destruction. I know all these; still my mind does not desist from it.

56. Vyâsa said :-- O great and powerful king! The God of Gods, Mahâ Deva, thus praised and adored by Govinda, the Destroyer of enemies, replied :-- You will get many sons.

57. You will get sixteen thousand one hundred wives and no doubt you will get ten sons of each of them. These sons will be very powerful and valorous.

58-60. The good-looking S’amkara saying these words remained silent; then S’rî Krisna bowed down at the feet of Girijâ, the wife of S’amkara. Then the Goddess Pârvatî addressed repeatedly to Vâsudeva and said :-- O mighty armed! O Krisna! O best of human beings! You will be the typical exemplary householder; (all people will try to follow you). When one hundred years will pass away, your race will be extinct, due to the curse of the Brâhmana and Gândhâri.

61. Your sons and the other Yâdavas will lose their senses on drinking liquor; they will kill each other in the battle field and thus will be extirpated.

Note: Here Visnis and Andhkas are meant.

62. Then you and your elder brother Balabhadra (Balarâma) will give up your bodies and will ascend to the Heavens; O Mighty Person! Do not grieve in matters that cannot be avoided.

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63. You should know that there can be no remedy to what will inevitably come to pass; therefore no one is to grieve for them; this is all along my view.

64. O Madhusûdana! After Your death, due to the curse of Astâvakra Muni, your wives will be forcibly stolen away by indomitable robbers. There is no doubt in this.

65. Vyâsa said :-- When Devî Pârvatî thus spoke, S’ambhu, with the other gods disappeared; Krisna too, bowed down to Upamanyu and went back to the city Dvârkâ.

66-67. Therefore, O King! Though Brahmâ  and the other Devas are heard to be the lords of the world, still they are all being tossed hither an thither by the waves of the ocean of Mâyâ. They are all like wooden dolls subject to Mâyâ.

68. As their previous karmas, so their several manifestations in the field of action, by the Great Mâyâ, the incarnate of Parâ Brahmâ.

69. She has no differences nor any want of mercy; That Goddess of the universe is always leading the Jîvas towards the Eternal Freedom (freedom from Mâyâ).

70. Had She not created this world, moving and unmoving and if She had not remained there as the Controller of the Jîvas in the shape of unshakeable consciousness the Kûtasthya Chaitanya, this whole world would have become devoid of any consciousness, like an insentient substance and would have dissolved in the Tâmasî Mâyâ (sheer darkness). There is no doubt in this.

71. Therefore that Goddess of the Universe has, through Her mercy, created all these worlds and Jîvas, and resting incarnate in each Jîva, is directing each and every of them according to his karmic merits and demerits.

72. Therefore it is a matter not to be doubted that Brahmâ  and the other gods are all under this Mâyâ; the Suras and Asuras are subject to Her.

73. Therefore, O king! Know this as certain that the Great Goddess moves and enjoys freely according to Her will; She is not dependent on anybody. Therefore it is the duty of everyone to serve and worship, with whole head and heart, that Devî.

74. In these three worlds there is nothing higher or more excellent than Her. Therefore this birth cannot be crowned with success in any other way than remembering that Highest Force, the Parâ S’akti and Her place.

75-77. One should always think, without any difference, that Eternal World Mother, thus “Let me not be born in that family which has not that Supreme Goddess for its presiding Deity; I am that Goddess Bhagavatî and no other; I am Brahmâ, untouched by sorrows.” One should hear first from the mouth of one’s Spiritual Guide; next by hearing Vedanta and

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other religious scriptures, one should first form an idea of that Bhagavatî; and then if one daily meditates on That Goddess, the Highest Self incarnate with one minded devotion, one will get, within a short period, the Eternal Freedom; else there is not the least chance, even if one performs lots of innumerable good works of becoming free.

78. S’vetâs’vatara and other pure hearted Risis obtained this freedom from the bondages of Mâyâ by meditating, in their hearts, this Highest Self and nothing else.

79. Brahmâ, Visnu and the other Devas, Gaurî, Laksmî and other goddesses, all worship This Supreme Goddess, of Sachchidânanda Parâ Brahmânî.

80. O pure-hearted king! I answered all that you asked me, terrified with the fears of this world; what more do you want to hear?

81-82. O king! I have described this wonderful Purâna narrative, destructive of sins, productive of virtue. He who daily listens to this Bhâgavatam equal alike to Veda, becomes freed from all sorts of sins and goes to the region of the Highest Goddess and passes his time in the midst of the Highest Glory. There is no doubt in this.

83. Sûta said :-- “O Risis! This Srî Mad Bhâgavatam, called otherwise the Fifth Purânam was recited, in detail, in days of yore by Vyâsa. Whatsoever I heard from him, I have now told exactly the same to you.”

Here ends the 25th Chapter in the Fourth Skandha of Srî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa on the Devî’s Highest Supremacy.

Note :-- The best mantra is the whole hearted devotion to one’s Guru, and devotion and surrender of one’s Self to the Supreme Mother, doing works without attachment to the fruits thereof. This will lead to dispassion and Renunciation. To one who is faithful in this, all the other mantras will be duly revealed and all his desires will be found to be true and fulfilled.

Here ends as well as the Fourth Skandha.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fifth Book: Chapter 1

THE FIFTH BOOK

Chapter I

On the superiority of Rudra over Visnu

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1-5. The Risis said :-- “The great legendary story, the life of S’rî Krisna, supremely divine, destructive of all sins, has been narrated by you, O Sûta! But, O Blessed One! You, though highly intelligent, have dwelt on it not at a great length; hence many doubts are cropping up in our minds. A very difficult tapasyâ was performed by Vâsudeva the part incarnate of Visnu, who had to go to forest to worship S’iva. Next, it has been known that the Devî Pârvatî, the part incarnate of the Great Mother, the Mother of the universe, the Supreme, and Perfect offered boons to S’rî Krisna. How did it then come to pass that S’rî Krisna, being himself the God, had to worship Pârvatî and Mahâdeva? Is it that S’rî Krisna was inferior to Mahâdeva and Pârvatî? This is our doubt.”

6-7. Sûta spoke :-- “Hear then, the reasons, O noble Risis! that I heard from Vyâsa; I will now sing before you those meritorious deeds S’rî Krisnâ.” The son of Parîksit, the intelligent Janamejaya had also the same doubts that you now have, when he heard the story before from Vyâsa; and he asked the same questions that you now ask.”

8-11. Janamejaya said :-- “O son of Bhagavatî! I have heard from you much about the Supreme Goddess, the Highest Cause; still the doubts are not leaving me. O Fortunate One! Krisna the Deva of the Devas, the Visnu incarnate, worshipped Sambhû and had to perform dire penances; this is my great wonder! He is the soul of all the Jîvas, the One Ruler and Lord of this world and He is able to confer all the Siddhis; how is it, then, that the Lord Hari had to perform very difficult asceticism like an ordinary mortal. He who is able to create this universe, moving and non-moving, He who is able to preserve and destroy it, why did He practise such a terrible penance.”

12-54. Vyâsa said :-- “True it has been said by you that Vâsudeva the Janârdana, is the destroyer of the Daityas and He is able to create

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and preserve the Devas and do all other acts for them. But the Great Lord assumed a human body; therefore he had to perform his duties like a man and observe the Varna and Âs'rama Dharmas pertaining to human beings. Respecting the elderly persons, worshipping the spiritual teachers, doing service to the Brahmânas, adoring and propitiating the Devas, feeling sorrow at times of sorrow, feeling pleasure at times of happiness, feeling dejection or expressing censure or scandal, or having sexual intercourse with women, in other words, to feel lust, anger, greediness and other passions when their proper time arises. All these are natural to all human beings; how can, then, S’rî Krisna though intrinsically of pure qualities, become Nirguna (devoid of human qualities) when he assumed a human body which is Saguna, i.e., with qualities. O Ruler of men! The extinction of the Yâdava race by the curse of Gândhârî, the daughter of Subala, and the curse of a Brâhmin, Krisna's leaving his human coil, the stealing away of his wives, the robbing of their wealth on the way by the dacoits of the Âvîra tribe, Arjuna's becoming powerless to hurl any weapons on those dacoits, Krisna's not knowing anything about the stealing away of Pradyumna and Aniruddha from his Dvârkâ palace, these all correspond verily to exertions and failings appropriate to human bodies. Again the Risi Nârâyana is the part incarnate of Visnu, and Vâsudeva is the part incarnate of the Risi Nârâyana; hence what wonder is there, if Vâsudeva be seen to adore and propitiate S’iva? S’iva is the God of gods; and He is the Lord of all the causal bodies that exist; in the state of Susupti (deep sleep). In this respect, S’iva is the creator of Visnu and Visnu worships Him in this light. Râma, Krisna and others are all part incarnations of Visnu; so there is no wonder if they worship S’iva. The letter A is Bhagvân Brahmâ ; the letter “U” is Bhagvân Hari; the letter “M” is Bhagvân Rudra and the half letter m is Mahes'varî, the Supreme Mother of the universe. The sages, therefore, consider Visnu superior to Brahmâ; they again consider Rudra superior to Visnu and Mâhes'varî (Turîya State) again superior to Rudra. The speciality of the half letter is that it can never be uttered; it is the symbol of the Eternal Devî. In all the S'âstras, therefore, the superiority of the Devî is established. Visnu is superior to Brahmâ; Rudra is superior to Visnu. Therefore no doubt can arise in Krisna's worshipping S’iva. It is through the will of S’iva that a second Rudra originated from the forehead of Brahmâ to offer boons to him (i. e., to Brahmâ). This second Rudra is venerable and entitled to all worship; what to speak of the First Rudra? O King! It is through the proximity of the Devî that the importance and superiority of S’iva is thus established. Thus the incarnations of Hari arise in yugas after yugas through the intervention of the Yoga

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Mâyâ; so there is no need to discuss on this point. Why to Achyuta alone, to Brahmâ and S’iva also She gives troubles for getting involved into incarnations, She the Yoga Mâyâ who is indirectly, with the twinklings of Her eyes, creating, preserving and destroying this universe. It is the Yoga Mâyâ that caused Krisna to be transferred from his lying-in chamber to the village Vraja and then protected him in the house of the cowherd Nanda; afterwards took him to Mathurâ for the destruction of Kamsa, whence he was led again out of Jarâsandha's fear to the city Dvârkâ. It is She that created from Her Ownself the eight Nâikâs (the leading mistresses) and also sixteen thousand and fifty women for the pleasure and enjoyment of Krisna Bhagwân, the incarnation of Ananta (Visnu Bhagavân); thus Krisna Bhagavân was made completely subservient to them just like a perfect slave. When a young woman, though she is alone, can bind a man down by the network of Mâyâ, like strong iron chain, what wonder is there that the sixteen thousand and fifty women would make Krisna play in their hands like a S’uka bird and make him an instrument to serve any purpose that they liked. S’rî Krisna got himself so much under the control of Satyabhâmâ that He went gladly under her commands to Indra's heavens to get the Pârijâta flowers. There he had to fight with Indra and subsequently stole away the Pârijâta tree and gave it to Satyabhâmâ as a very valuable ornament to be kept in her room. Behold! The same Krisna, by His own prowess, defeated S’is'upâla and others for the preservation of religion and then stole away Rukminî, the daughter of Bhîma and afterwards married her as his legal wife; where is the rule, then observed that it is a sin to take away another's wife? Thus all embodied beings get themselves subdued by Ahamkâra and do acts, good or bad, confounded and deluded by the network of Moha that always drags one down below. From the Mûlâ Prakriti are born Brahmâ, Visnu, and Hara and from the Tâmasic Ahamkâra of Prakriti is created this whole cosmos, moving and non-moving. The lotus-born Brahmâ becomes free when he is free from Ahamkâra; otherwise He becomes engaged in this world affairs. When freed from this Ahamkâra, all the Jîvas become free; and their houses, wealth, wives, sons and brothers are quite powerless to tie them down; but when bound by Ahamkâra, the Jîvas come under their control. O king! This Ahamkâra is the cause bondage to all the beings; “I am the doer, this work is done by my power; or this I will do myself” thinking thus, the embodied beings fall themselves under this bondage. An earthen pot cannot be made without earth; no effects can be visible without a cause; consequently Visnu is preserving this universe, because of this Ahamkâra (imposed on

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him by Prakriti). The human beings are always drowned in their cares and anxieties simply because they are bound by this Ahamkâra; when they become free from this Ahamkâra, their cares and anxieties at once vanish. Moha (delusion) comes out of Ahamkâra; world and the enjoyments thereof come out of Moha; otherwise how can it be accounted for, that Hari and others, the mine of all good and auspiciousness, take their several incarnations in various wombs? Neither Moha nor this world comes to those that are bereft of Ahamkâra. Men are of three kinds, Sâttvic, Râjasic, and Tâmasic; O king! Brahmâ, Visnu and S'iva are sprung respectively from the Râjasic, Sâttvic, and Tâmasic Ahamkâras. In these three, the three Ahamkâras are always to be found, so the Munis, that have realised the Real Essence, declare. They are all bound by this Ahamkâra; there is no doubt in this. The Pundits of dull intellect, and deluded by Mâyâ declare that Visnu takes various incarnations out of his own free will; for when it is seen that men of even inferior intellects do not entertain any desire to enter into the wombs, painful and terrible; how will Visnu, then, the Holder of the discus, like to come into this womb! The slayer of Madhu, the Vaisnavas say, entered all at once into the wombs of Kaus'alyâ and Devakî, full of faeces and other dirty things, of His own free will. But you must think out what happiness can Madhusûdana, quitting his Vaikuntha Heavens, attain in this womb, full of so many troubles, and where arise, like poisons, hundreds of cares and thoughts to torment an individual! Especially when it is seen that human beings perform asceticism, sacrifice Yajñas and do various charities, that they would avoid thus entering in wombs, which is very painful and terrible. How can Bhagavân Visnu be called independent? If so, He would never have yielded to enter into various wombs. Therefore, O king! Know this that this whole universe is under the control of Yoga Mâyâ; the Devas, men, birds, what more everything from Brahmâ down to a blade of grass are all under the control of Yoga Mâyâ. Brahmâ, Visnu and Hara all are bound by the rope of Her Mâyâ. So they roam easily by Her Mâyâ from womb to womb like a spider.

Here ends the First Chapter of the Fifth Book on the superiority of Rûdra over Visnu in the Mahâ Purânam of S'rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa, consisting of eighteen thousand verses.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fifth Book: Chapter 2

THE FIFTH BOOK

Chapter II

On the birth of Dânava Mahisa

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1-2. The king said :-- “Lord! You have described fully the glory of the Mahâ Mayâ Yoges'varî; now describe Her Life and Character; I am very eager to hear them. This whole universe, moving and nonmoving, has been created by Mahes'varî; who is there that desires not to hear Her Glory!”

3-7. Vyâsa spoke :-- O king! You are very intelligent; I will describe in detail all this to you; whoever does not describe Her Glory to the peaceful and faithful, is certainly low-minded? In days of yore, a terrible battle ensued between the Devas and Dânava forces on this earth when Mahisâsura was the Ruler of this world. O king! Mahisâsura went to the mountain of Sumeru and performed a very severe and excellent tapasyâ, wonderful even to the gods. O king! Meditating on his Ista Devatâ (the deity for his worship) in his heart, elapsed full ten thousand years, when Brahmâ the Grandfather of all the Lokas, was pleased with him. The fourfaced Brahmâ, arrived there on his vehicle the swan, asked Mahisâsura “O One of virtuous soul! Ask from me what is your desired object; I will grant thee boon.”

8. Mahisa said :-- “O Lord, Lotus-eyed! I want to become immortal! therefore O Thou, the Grandfather of the Devas! Dost thou do for me so that I have no fear of death.”

9-11. Brahmâ said :-- “O Mahisa! Birth must be followed by death, and death must be followed by birth; this is the eternal law of nature. Then know this as certain that when one is born, one must die; and when one dies, one will be born. O Lord of the Dânavas! What more to say than this, that high mountains, vast oceans, and all the beings will die when time will come. O Ruler of the earth! You are virtuous; therefore ask any other boon than this immortality; I will grant that to you.”

12-13. Mahisa said :-- “O Grand Sire! Grant, then, that no Deva, Dânava, nor human being of the male sex can cause my death. There is none among women who can cause my death. Therefore, O Lotus-eyed! Let woman be the cause of my death; how can women slay me! The are too weak to kill me!”

14. Brahmâ said :-- “O Lord of the Dânavas! Your death will certainly occur, at any time, through a woman; O Highly Fortunate One! No man will be able to cause your death.”

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15. Vyâsa said :-- Thus granting him the boon, Brahmâ went to his own abode; the lord of the Dânavas, too, returned to his place, very glad.

16. The king said :-- “O Bhagavân! Whose son was this powerful Mahisâsura; how his birth took place? and why, too, did he get a body of a buffalo?”

17-26. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Rambha and Karambha were the two sons of Danu; these two Dânavas were far famed in this world for their pre-eminence. O king! They had no issues; hence, desirous of issues, they went to the sacred banks of the Indus (Pañcha Nada) and there performed severe asceticism for long years. Karambha got himself submerged in water and thus began his severe tapasyâ; while the other, Rambha, had recourse to a juicy peepul tree (haunted by Yakshinîs) and there began to worship Fire. Rambha remained, engaged in worshipping the Five Fires; knowing this, Indra, the Lord of S'achî, was pained and hurried thither, being very anxious. Going to Pañcha Nada, Indra assumed the form of a crocodile and caught hold of the legs of the wicked Karambha and killed him. Hearing of the death of his brother, Rambha got very much enraged and wishing to offer his own head as an oblation to the Fire, he wanted to cut off his own head; he, being infuriated, held the hairs of his head by his left hand, and, catching hold of a good axe, by his right hand, was on the point of cutting it, when the Fire gave him knowledge, desisted him from this act and spoke thus :-- You are stupid; why have you desired to cut off your own head; killing one's ownself is a great sin; and there is no means of deliverance from this sin. Why are you then ready to execute it? Do not seek your death now; what end will that serve you? Rather ask boons from me; thus you will get your welfare.

27-31. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hearing thus the sweet words of Fire, Rambha quitted the hold of his hairs and said :-- O Lord of the Devas! If thou art pleased, grant my desired boon that a son be born unto me, who will destroy the forces of my enemy and who will conquer the three worlds. And that son be invincible in every way by the Devas, Dânavas and men, very powerful, assuming forms at will, and respected by all. The Fire said :-- O highly Fortunate! You will get your son, as you desire; therefore desist now from your attempting suicide. O highly fortunate Rambha! With any female of whichever species, you will co-habit, you will get a son, more powerful than you; there is no doubt in this.

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32-50. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hearing thus the sweet words of the Fire as desired, Rambha, the chief of the Dânavas, went, surrounded by Yaksas, to a beautiful place, adorned with picturesque sceneries; when one lovely she-buffalo, who was very maddened with passion, fell to the sight of Rambha. And he desired to have sexual intercourse with her, in preference to other women. The she-buffallo, too, gladly yielded to his purpose and Rambha had sexual intercourse with her, impelled as it were by the destiny. The she-buffalo became pregnant with his semen virile. The Dânava, too, carried the she-buffalo, his dear wife, to Pâtâla (the lower regions) for her protection. On one occasion, another buffalo got excited and wanted to fall upon the she-buffalo. The Dânava was also ready to kill him. The Dânava came hurriedly and struck the buffalo for the safety of his wife; whereon the excited buffalo attacked him with his horns. The buffalo struck him so violently with his sharp horns that Rambha fell down senseless all on a sudden and finally died. Seeing her husband dead, the she-buffalo quickly fled away in distress and, with terror, she quickly went to the peepul tree and took refuge under the Yaksas. But that buffalo, excited very much and maddened with vigour, ran in pursuit of her, desiring intercourse with her. On seeing the miserable plight of the weeping she-buffalo, distressed with fear, and seeing the buffalo in pursuit of her, the Yaksas assembled to protect her. A terrible fight ensued between the buffalo and the Yaksas, when the buffalo, shot with arrows by them, fell down and died. Rambha was very much liked by the Yaksas; so they cremated his dead body for its purification. The she-buffalo, seeing her husband laid in the funeral pyre, expressed her desire to enter also into that fire. The Yaksas resisted; but that chaste wife quickly entered into the burning fire along with her husband. When the she-buffalo died, the powerful Mahisa rose from his mother's womb from the midst of the funeral pyre; Rambha, too, emerged from the fire in another form out of his affection towards his son. Rambha was known as Raktavîja after he had changed his form. His son was thus born as a very powerful Dânava and became famous by the name of Mahisa. The chief Dânavas installed Mahisa on the throne. O king! The very powerful Raktavîja and the Dânava Mahisa, thus took their births and became invincible of the Devas, Dânavas and human beings. O king! I have now described to you the birth of the highsouled Dânava Mahisa and his getting the boon, all in detail.

Here ends the Second Chapter of the Fifth Book on the birth of Mahisa Dânava in the Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam composed of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fifth Book: Chapter 3

THE FIFTH BOOK

Chapter III

On the Daitya armies getting ready

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1-14. Vyâsa said :--  The very powerful Asura Mahisa, puffed up with vanity on his getting the boon, obtained sovereignty and brought the whole world under his control! He, being the paramount power, began to protect the sea-girt earth acquired by the power of his own arms, over which he had the sole sovereignty, there being no other rival king nor any cause of the slightest fear. His Commander-in-Chief was then the very powerful Chiksura, maddened with pride; and Tâmra was in charge of the Royal Treasury, guarded by many soldiers. There were, then, many generals Asilomâ, Vidâla, Udarka, Vâskala, Trinetra, Kâla, Bandhaka and others, very proud, and each in charge of his own corps respectively and occupying this sea-girt earth. O king! The powerful kings that reigned before were made subservient and tributary; and those, that fought valiantly befitting the Ksattriya line, were slain by Mahisa. The Brâhmanas over the earth became subservient to Mahisa and gave their Yajña offerings to him. When that Mahisâsura got the sole sovereign sway of this world, he, proud of his boons, desired to conquer the Heavens. Then Mahisa, the Lord of the Daityas, desirous to send an envoy to Indra, the Lord of S'achî, instantly called for the messenger and spoke to him thus :-- Go, O hero! O valiant one! to Heaven. Act as my messenger and tell Indra fearlessly thus :-- “O thousand-eyed one! Quit the Heavens; go anywhere you like, or offer your service to the high-souled Mahisa! He is the lord; and if you take refuge unto him, he will certainly protect you. Therefore, O Lord of S'achî, better seek the protection of Mahisa. If, O Balasûdana! Not willing, wield your Vajra at once; we know your powers; you were, in days of yore, conquered by our ancestors. O chief of the Sûras! You are the paramour of Ahalyâ; your strength is well known, give battle or go anywhere you like.”

15-21. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing the messenger's words, Indra became very indignant and laughed and said :-- I did not know, O you stupid, that you were maddened with vanity; I will shortly give medicines for your master's disease. Now I will extirpate him by the roots; wise persons do not slay messengers; I therefore let you go. Better go and tell him what I say :-- “Son of a buffalo! If you are willing to fight, better come and do not delay. O Enemy of horse! (Buffaloes and horses are always at war with each other) Your strength is well known to me; you are a grass eater and your appearance is stupid, idiotic; out of your horns I will make a good bow. You depend on your horns for your strength;

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that I well know. You are clever in striking with your horns; you don't know anything about warfare; therefore I will out off your both the weapons and render you powerless. You are very much puffed up with vanity due to that.”

22. Vyâsa said :-- Indra having spoken thus, the messenger quickly returned to his haughty master Mahisa and saluting, spoke :--

23-28. The messenger said :-- Indra counts you not even a fig, as he is surrounded by his Deva forces and considers himself quite sufficient. It ought one's servant to speak true and pleasant before one's master; how can I utter the words before my master, that are spoken by that brute Indra. Whereas the well known maxim reigns in my mind withal that I am your well-wishing servant and I ought to speak truth before you, my master, and that truth is to be pleasant to hear also. If pleasant words I speak only, then I fail in my duty; at the same time, harsh words ought not to be spoken by me, your sincere well-wisher. My Lord! The cruel poison-like words that come from the mouth of an enemy, how can I, a servant of yours, utter those harsh sayings! O Lord of the Earth! I will never be able to utter those rude sayings that Indra has spoken.

29-53. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing the messenger's words full of meaning the grass-eater Mahisa Dânava got very angry and, waggling his tail behind his back, passed urine; then his eyes reddened with anger, he called the Dânavas before him and said :--O Dânavas! The Lord of the Devas is firmly resolved on battle; therefore collect your forces; we will have to conquer that devil, the chief of the Sûras. Who can stand for him a my rival here! If hundreds and thousands of warriors like Indra come I do not fear any of them at all; O Dânavas, we will thoroughly put a end to him. His heroism is before those only that are peaceful and quiet before the ascetics that have become lean and thin by the penances; he is licentious and can only seduce other's wives by craftiness and arts. He is a thorough rogue and hypocrite, vicious and faultfinding; otherwise why does he put obstacles before others, depending for his strength only on the beauties of the Apsarâs or heavenly prostitutes. He is treacherous to his very core; therefore he, being afraid at the very outset, took oaths, and entered into agreement with the high-souled Namuchi; afterwards, when his time turned favourable, that villain broke his treaty and treacherously killed him. Again the powerful Visnu is a thorough master of treachery and hypocrisy, the mine in taking oaths and can only show his vanity and is expert in that. He can assume many forms at will by his Magic power. For these very reasons Visnu had to take the form of a boar and

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kill Hiranyâksa; and again he had to take up a man-lion form to kill Hiranya Kas'îpu. O Dânavas! Never shall I surrender myself to Visnu, for I never place my trust in the words or deeds of Visnu and his Devas. What can Indra or Visnu do against me, when the most powerful Rudra is not able to fight against me in the battle-field! I will instantly defeat Indra, Varuna, Yama, Kuvera, Fire, Sun and Moon and get possession of their Heavens. On our conquering the Devas, we all shall get our share of Yajñas and we along with other Dânavas drink the Soma juice and enjoy ourselves in Heaven. O Dânavas! I have got the boon; what do I now care for the Devas. My death is not from men too. What can a woman do to me? O my emissaries! Call without any delay the chief Dânavas from the nether regions and the mountains and make them my generals? O Dânavas! I can alone conquer all the Devas; only to make the war arrangements look nice, that I am taking you to defeat them. There is no fear of mine from the Devas, consequent on the boon conferred on me. I will kill them by my hoofs and horns. I am not to be killed by Suras, Asuras, as men; therefore get yourselves ready to conquer the Devas. O Dânavas! After conquering the Heavens we will be garlanded with Pârijâta wreaths and we will enjoy the Deva women in the Nandana Garden. We will drink the milk of the heavenly milching cow (the cow that yields all desires) and, intoxicated with the heavenly drinks, we will hear and see the music and singing the dancing of the Gandarbhas there. You will all be served there with various bottles of wine by Urvasî, Menakâ, Rambhâ, Ghritâchî, Tillottamâ, Pramadvarâ Mahâsenâ, Mira Kesî, Madotkatâ, Viprachitti and others. Then be all ready at once for this auspicious occasion to march to Heavens and fight there with the Suras. And be pleased to call that pure-souled Muni S'ukrâchârya, the son of Bhrigu and the Guru of the Daityas and worship him and tell him to perform sacrificial ceremonies for the safety and victory of the Dânavas. O king! Thus, ordering the chief Dânavas, the wicked Mahisa went to his abode, with gladness.

Here ends the Third Chapter of the Fifth Book on the Daitya armies getting ready in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâpurânam by Maharsi Vedavyâsa of 18,000 verses.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fifth Book: Chapter 1

THE FIFTH BOOK

Chapter IV

On the war counsels given by Indra

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