El Devi Bhagavatam

1-17. Vyâsa said :-- O King! The messenger of the Dânavas having departed, Indra, the lord of the Devas, Yama, Vâyu, Varuna, and Kuvera and other Devas, called an assembly and addressed thus :-- O Devas! the most powerful Mahisa, the son of Rambha, is now the king of the Dânavas; he is particularly expert in hundreds of Mâyâs (magic) and has become haughty on the strength of his boon. O Devas! Mahisa has sent his messenger; he wants to take possession of the heaven; he came down to me and spoke thus :-- “O Indra! Quit your this heaven and go any where you like, or be ready to pay your homage to the highsouled Mahisâsura, the Lord of the Dânavas. The Dânava Chief never becomes angry with his opponent who becomes submissive like a servant; if you surrender and serve him, he will, out of mercy, grant an allowance to you. O Lord of the Devas! If this does not like you, then collect your forces and be ready for fight; no sooner I return, the Lord of the Dânavas will come here at once ready to give battle to you.” Thus saying, the messenger of that wicked Dânava departed. Now what are we to do? O Devas! Think on that. O Devas! Even a weak enemy is not to be overlooked by a powerful opponent, especially when the enemy is powerful by his own powers and is ever energetic, never is he to be overlooked. It is always incumbent on us to make our efforts, as best as we can, both by our body and mind as far as lies in our power; the result, victory or defeat depends entirely on Fate. It is useless to make treaty with a deceitful and dishonest person; we therefore never should make treaty with this person; you are all honest; that Dânava is dishonest; therefore ponder and ponder deeply and ponder again; do you that which is proper. It is not advisable to go out at once for fight when we are unaware of our enemy's strength; let us therefore send spies truthful, honest, motiveless, quick, to ascertain their strength, those who can easily enter amongst our enemies and yet who have no relation, nor any interest with them. The arrangements of their forces, their movements, their numbers, they will ascertain correctly who are their generals, what is their number and what is their strength, they will thoroughly examine and return here quickly. First, we will ascertain the strength of the forces of our opposite party and then we will decide at once whether we will start for battle or seek protection within forts. Wise persons always consider before they act; any act done rashly leads in all respects to many troubles, and anything done after mature

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prejudgments leads to happiness; so the wise do. The Dânavas are all one in their heart and mind; therefore it is not advisable, in any way to apply the principle of Bheda (sowing principles of discord). Let our spies go there, ascertain their strength, return and inform us; we will then judge what principle is proper and apply to the expert Dânavas. Any act done contrary to policy and expediency will undoubtedly produce effects contrary in every way just like a medicine which we have not tried already.

18-22. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Thus counselling with the Devas; Indra sent expert spies to ascertain the true state of affairs. The spies, too, went into the abode of the Daityas, with no delay and made their searches thoroughly into every nook and corner and returned and told Indra all the strength of the Dânava forces. Indra was very much startled to know, then, of their arrangements. He immediately bade all the Devas be ready for battle and called for his High priest Brihaspati, expert in giving advices and began to consult with him how to carry on the warfare with that indomitable enemy, the Lord of the Asuras. On Bhihaspati, the best and famous of the Angirâ family, taking his excellent seat.

23-25. Indra thus said :-- “O Guru of the Devas! O Learned! Please say what are we to do now in this critical juncture? You are omniscient; to-day you are our guide. The Demon Mahîsa has become very powerful, very haughty; surrounded by Dânavas he is now coming to fight with us. You are expert in mantras; find out the remedy for us. S'ukrâchârya is the remover of all obstacles on their side; and that you are our safe guard is well known to us.”

26. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing these words of Indra, Brihaspati, who is always ready to effect the Deva's purposes, thought intently on the subject, said very shortly thus :--

27-51. Brihaspati spoke :-- O Lord of the Devas! O Venerable One! Be peaceful; have patience; when a difficulty comes, one should not, all on a sudden, lose one's patience. O Chief of the Immortals! Victory or defeat is completely under the control of destiny: therefore intelligent ones should always be patient. O S'atakratu! What will unavoidably be done must come to pass; knowing this as certain, one would always be an enthusiast and exert one's powers. Everything is guided by Fate. Knowing this, the Munis devote themselves at all times solely filled with energy in their meditation and Yoga practices for their final liberation. Therefore, to show one's energy, according to the rules of the daily

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practices, ought to be indispensably done; and one should not repel or feel pleasure on failure or success; for that is under Fate. Success sometimes comes without the exercise of one's own powers, as seen in cases of the lame and the blind; and that is not the reason why one should be very glad. The embodied beings are all under Daiva (Fate); therefore even if success be not attained, though one's own powers are exercised thoroughly, no one is to blame for that. O Lord of the Suras! What to say of forces, Mantras, or advices, what of chariots or weapons, nothing to lead to success; It is Daiva, and only Daiva that makes one successful. This whole universe is under Daiva; it is, therefore, that we see powerful persons suffering pains, and weak ones getting happiness; the intelligent ones sleeping without any food and fools enjoying merrily; distressed persons getting victory and powerful ones suffering defeats; what cares, then ought one to entertain in this. O Lord of the Suras! Whatever is inevitable to come to pass, be it success or failure, one will lead one's energies to that end; therefore one needs to consider beforehand whether one's energies will be successful or not. In times of distress, one sees distress too much and in times of pleasure, one seeks pleasure too much; one's self, therefore one should not surrender to one's enemies, pleasure and pain. Pain and suffering is not felt so much in patience as is felt when impatient; therefore one must practise patience when pain or pleasure comes. Indeed it is very difficult to bear oneself up in distress or happiness; therefore wise persons try not to let these feelings crop up at all from the very beginning. “I am always full, undiminishable, I am beyond these Prâkritic qualities. Who is there to suffer? What is suffering?” Thus one ought to think at that moment. I am beyond the twenty-four Tattvas; what pleasure or pain can, then, arise to me? Hunger and thirst are the Dharma of Prâna; pain and insensibility is the Dharma of mind, age and death belong to this physical body. I am free from these six diseases; I am S’iva. Grief and delusion are the qualities of this body what then do I care for them? “I” am not the qualities of the body nor “I” am the soul pertaining to that. I am beyond the seven transfigurations, changes, e. g., Mahat, etc., I am beyond this Prakriti, Nature, and beyond the sixteen changes wrought out by Prakriti; I am therefore eternally happy, I am beyond Prakriti and its transformation, then why am I to suffer pain always? O Lord of the Suras! Think on these and be without any passion. O S'atakratu! This attachment is the root of all miseries and non-attachment is the source of all happiness; non-attachment therefore, is the chief means of the extirpation of all your troubles. Lord of S'achi! Nothing can be happier than contentment.  In case you find it difficult to practise dispassion, apply, then, discrimination and

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think of Fate, that what comes inevitably to pass. O Lord of the Suras! Actions already done cannot die out without their effects being enjoyed. O Best of the Suras! Let all your intelligence be brought to action, let all the Devas lend their helping hands to you; what is inevitable must come to pass; what then can you care for your happiness or pain? O King! Happiness is felt for the expiation of good deeds and pain is felt for the expiation of bad deeds; therefore wise persons get thoroughly delighted when their punya ends. O King! Judge and hold a council to-day; then try your best. But what is unavoidable will come to pass, even if you try your best.

Here ends the Fourth Chapter of the Fifth Book on the counsels given by Indra in the Mâhâ Purânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fifth Book: Chapter 5

THE FIFTH BOOK

Chapter V

On the defeat of the Dânava forces of Mahisa

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1-6. Vyâsa said :-- The thousand eyed Indra, hearing this, again asked to Brihaspati that he would make preparations for war against Mahisâsura. Without effort kingdoms are not attained; no - nor happiness, nor fame, nor anything; those who are weak, they extol effortlessness; but the powerful never praise that. Knowledge is the ornament of the ascetics and contentment is the ornament of the Brâhmanas; but those who desire lordship over powers, effort and prowess to destroy one's enemies are their excellent ornaments. O Muni! I will kill this Mahisâsura by my heroism as I had, of old, destroyed Vritra, Namuchi and Balâsura. You are the Deva Guru; therefore you and my thunderbolt are my strength. The immortal Hari and Hara also will help me in this. O Guru! Preserver of my honour and prestige! Now recite the mantras calculated to remove all the obstacles towards my victory. I, too, am making preparations and raising up my own forces to wage up war against that Dânava Mahisa.

7-13. Vyâsa said :-- On hearing Indra's words, Brihaspati smiled and said “O Lord of the Devas! I see you are bent on fight. I will neither stimulate you to fight nor shall I make you desist from the purpose. The issue is doubtful. There may be defeat or there may be victory. O Lord of S'achî! You are not to blame at all in this matter; what is written in the Book of Fate will come to pass, be it victory or defeat. I am not aware of the future in this respect. O Child! You know already what an amount of suffering I had to endure in times gone by when my wife had

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been stolen. O Destroyer of the enemies! My wife had been stolen by Moon who turned out my enemy; living in my stage of an householder I was put to all sort of miseries, deprived of all my happiness. O Lord of the Suras! I am renowned in all the worlds as a man of much wisdom and intelligence. Where then was my intelligence, when Moon carried away, perforce, my wife. O Lord of the Suras! To my mind, the success or failure depends entirely on destiny; yet intelligent ones should always resort to efforts and be energetic.

14-17. Vyâsa said :-- O King! On hearing the words of Brihaspati, pregnant with truth, Indra went with him to Brahmâ, took his refuge and saluting him said :-- O Grand Sire! The Dânava is collecting a big army, and wants to conquer and take possession of the Heavens. All the other Dânavas have enrolled themselves in the list of his army; they are eager to fight and they are all very powerful and skilled in arts of warfare. I am therefore very afraid and have come to you. You know everything; please help me in this matter.

18-20. Brahmâ said :-- We all will go today to the Mount Kailâs’a and take S'ankara with us and go to Visnu. There all the Devas, assembled, will hold a council and consider the time and place, when it will be settled whether it is proper or not to fight. For one who dares to do any act without considering one's strength and without any judgment, certainly courts his own downfall.

21-35. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing this, Indra with the other Lokâpalas and Devas, headed by Brahmâ, went to Kailâs'â. Then they came to S'ankara and sang vedic hymns to him. Mahes'vara became very much pleased and they taking Him went to Vaikuntha, the abode of Visnu. Indra saluted Visnu and sang hymns to him, and told him about his errand thus :-- “Mahisa has become very haughty on account of the favour bestowed on him and therefore we are very afraid (and therefore ask your help to relieve us from this danger).” Visnu, then, hearing the cause of fear, told them :-- “We all will fight and kill that Demon.” Vyâsa said :--O king! Thus settling the question, Brahmâ, Visnu, and Hari and Indra and the other Devas riding on their own Vâhanas (means of conveyance) respectively dispersed. While Brahmâ on his vehicle Swan, Visnu on his Garuda, S'ankara on his Bull, Indra on his elephant Airâvata, Kârtika on his peacock, and Yama, the god of death on his Vâhana, the Buffalo, were on the point of going with the other Deva forces, the army of the Dânava Mahisa met them on their way, all fully equipped with arms and weapons. A dreadful fight then ensued between the Devas and the Dânavas.

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Arrows, axes, Prâsas, Musalas (clubs), Paras'us (pick axes), Gadâs (clubs), Pattis'as, S'ûlas (tridents), chakras (discus) S'akti (weapons), Tomaras, Mudgaras, Bhindipâlas, Lângalas, and various other deadly weapons appeared on the scenes with which they fought against one another. The Commander-in-Chief of Mahisa, the very powerful Chiksura, shot five sharp arrows at Indra. The ever-ready and light-handed Indra too, with his arrows cut off all of them and struck at his heart heavily with his Ardhachandra (half moon) arrow. The Commander-in-Chief, struck by this arrow fell senseless on the back of his elephant. Indra, then struck the trunk of the elephant with his Vajra (thunderbolt); the elephant then severely struck with the Vajra fled away into the Dânava's forces. The Lord of the Dânavas seeing this, got very angry and addressed the general Vidâla “O Hero! You are very powerful; go then and kill first that haughty Indra; then kill Varuna and other Devas and come back to me.”

36-57. Vyâsa said :-- The very powerful Asura Vidâla, on receiving the order came up at once to Indra, mounted on a very furious elephant. Seeing him coming, Vâsava shot at him angrily with very terrible and most powerful arrows that looked like deadly snakes. But the Demon, too, out off those arrows at once with his excellent arrows and quickly shot at Vâsava fifty arrows, sharpened on stones. Indra cut off all those and, being infuriated, shot again sharp deadly serpent-like arrows at him, and cutting off again all his enemies' arrows by arrows discharged from his bow, struck the elephant's trunk with his Gadâ (club). The elephant, being thus struck on his head, cried aloud in a distressed tone and being afraid turned back, thus killing the Dânava forces as he fled away. The general Vidâla, seeing the elephant fleeing away from the battle-field, mounted on a beautiful chariot and instantly appeared before the Devas to fight with them. Seeing the Dânava coming again on a chariot, Indra shot at him sharp arrows after arrows like venomous snakes. The powerful Dânava, too, infuriated hurled at him terrible arrows; then a sharp conflict ensued between Vâsava and the Dânava. Finding the Dânava powerful, Vâsava's senses were confounded with anger; he then took his son Jayanta before him and began to fight. Jayanta stretched his bow tight and shot at the breast of the Dânava swelled with pride, five sharp arrows with his full strength. Thus shot at by the network of arrows, the Dânava fell unconscious on the chariot; the charioteer then fled away with his chariot from the battle-field. Thus on the Dânava Vidâla becoming unconscious and being taken away from the field, the Dunduvis (drums) of the Devas were resounded and great acclamations

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of “Victory to the Devas” were heard. The Devas were very glad and sounded hymns before Indra; the Gandarbhas began to sing and the Apsarâs began to dance. O king! Hearing the loud acclamations of victory to the Devas, Mahisa became very angry and ordered the Dânava Tâmra, the destroyer of enemy's pride, to go to the battle-field. Tâmra appeared in the battle, and, coming face to face with many Deva warriors, hurled on them showers of arrows. Varuna appeared with his Pâs'a weapon and Yama, mounted on his buffalo, appeared with his Danda (staff). A terrible fight then ensued between the Devas and Dânavas and the weapons, arrows, axes, Musalas, S'aktis and Paras'us glittered in the fields. Yama raising his Danda with his hands struck at Tâmra; but the powerful Tâmra, though severely struck, was not at all moved and remained firm in his place in the field. On the other hand Tâmra, violently drawing his bow, hurled a mass of sharp arrows at Indra and the other Devas. The Devas got angry and shot at the Dânava multitudes of divine arrows sharpened on stone, and frequently called aloud “Wait, wait.” The Dânava Tâmra thus shot at by the arrows of the Devas, fell unconscious in the battle-field; the Dânava forces got afraid and a cry of universal consternation and distress arose.

Here ends the Fifth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the defeat of the Dânava forces of Mahisa in the Mâhâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fifth Book: Chapter 6

THE FIFTH BOOK

Chapter VI

On the Deva Dânava fight

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1-8. Vyâsa said :-- O King! On the Daitya Tâmra becoming unconscious Mahisa became very angry and, raising his Gadâ (club), came up before the Devas and said :-- “Devas! O Ye powerless like crows; wait; with one stroke of Gadâ, I will kill you.” Thus saying, the powerful Mahisa swelled with pride, seeing Indra before him mounted on his elephant instantly struck him on his arms. Indra, again lost no time, and struck violently with his thunderbolt and cut the Dânava's Gadâ into pieces, and came up very close, wanting to strike at him. Mahisa, too, becoming very angry took up his lustrous sword and came to Indra to attack him with this weapon. A fight then occurred between the two, terrible to all the Lokas and wonderful to the Munis, where various weapons were showered from both the sides. The Demon Mahisa spread then his S'âmvarî Mâyâ, destructive to all the worlds and fascinating to the Munis.

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Hundreds and hundreds of powerful buffalo-like appearances resembling Mahisa became, then, visible on the battle-field; they all began to kill the Deva forces with weapons in their hands.

9-14. Seeing this magic of the Dânava, Indra became thunderstruck and very much confounded with terror. Varuna, Kuvera, the Lord of wealth, Yama, Fire, Moon, Sun, and other Devas all fled with terror. Indra then, being surrounded by the network of magic, began to call Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a in his mind. At the instant when they were called in mind, Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a riding on respective conveyances Swan, Garuda, and Bull, came up there with best weapons in their hands for Indra's protection. Visnu seeing the play of that fascinating magic hurled his bright discus, Sudars'an; and caused the magic to vanish at once. Seeing the three, the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer, the Dânava Mahisa came up there with his Parigha (a club tipped with iron) weapon, desirous to fight with them.

15-16. Then the general Chiksura, Ugrâsya, Ugravîrya, Asilomâ, Trinetra, Vâskala, Andhaka and other warriors came up to fight.

17-23. Those Proud Dânavas, clad in armour and mounted on chariots with bows in their hands besieged the Devas, like a tiger attacking an heifer. Then those Dânavas swelled with pride began to shower on arrows after arrows; the Devas, too, began to do the same, desiring to extirpate them.The General Andhaka, coming up to Hari, drew his bow with great force up to his ear and shot at him five sharp arrows tipped with poison. Vâsudeva, the Destroyer of the enemies, cut off those arrows no sooner they came up before him; and He shot at the Dânavas five arrows. Then Hari and the Dânava struck each other with various weapons and arrows, swords, discus, Musala, clubs, S’akti, and Paras'u. Here, on the other hand, the fight lasted for fifty days between Mahes'a versus Andhaka; and it was a very close conflict, causing horripilation. Thus severe fights ensued between Vâskala and Indra, Mahisa and Rudra, Trinetra and Yama, Mahâ Hanu and Kuvera, Asilomâ and Varuna.

24-39. The Dânava Mahisa struck Garuda, the conveyance of Hari, with his club; Garuda, being very much distressed with the blow, sat down, gasping. Visnu then comforted the powerful Garuda, the son of Vinatâ and made him calm and quiet. Wanting to kill Andhaka, Janârdana became infuriated, and, drawing his bow made of horn, call S'ârnga, shot at him arrows after arrows. The Dânava cut off all those arrows to pieces with his own mass of arrows. Then, becoming very angry, he shot fifty sharp arrows at Hari. Vâsudeva quickly made all those arrows useless

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and hurled Sudars'ana Chakra with thousand spokes on the Dânava with great violence. Andhaka thwarted this with his own discus and shouted aloud with such a great force that all the Devas became confused and confounded. Visnu's Chakra being baffled, the Devas became distressed with grief and the Dânavas got elated. Seeing the Devas thus grieved, Visnu held aloft his Kaumodakî Gadâ (club) and came hurriedly before the Dânava. Hari struck then with his Gadâ on the Dânava's head whereon he fell senseless on the ground. The hot-tempered Mahisa, seeing Andhaka senseless, bellowed aloud and, terrifying Hari, came up there. Seeing him there, Vâsudeva made such a thundering noise with his bow string that the Devas became highly glad. Then the Bhagavân shot showers of arrows on Mahisa; and Mahisa, too, cut those arrows while they were seen in the air. O king! Then a very close fight ensued between the two, Kes'ava struck on the head of the Dânava with his club. Thus struck, he fell in a swoon on the ground and a general cry of distress arose amongst the Dânavas. In a moment the Dânava got up again, free from trouble; he then struck again on Visnu's head with his Parigha (a club mounted with iron, a mace). Struck by that mace, Janârdan lay senseless; Garuda, seeing him thus unconscious, immediately took him away from the battle field.

40-55. When Visnu thus fled, Indra and the Devas were much distressed with fear and began to cry aloud. Hearing the Devas cry, S'ankara became wrathful and, quickly coming before Mahisa, struck him with his trident (S'ûla). The wicked Mahisa made his weapon ineffectual and bellowed aloud and struck on the breast of S'ankara with his S’akti (a kind of missile). Thus wounded in his breast S'ankara did not feel any pain; rather, with his eyes red with anger, He struck him again with Trisûla. Seeing S'ankara engaged with Mahisa, Hari becoming conscious came again on the battle-field. Seeing the two powerful Deva-chiefs, Hari and Hara, in the battle-field Mahisa became very much angry: he then assumed a buffalo body and wagging his tail to and fro came in front of them with a desire to fight. That terrible Mahisa of a huge body shook his horns and bellowed so deep like a thunder cloud that even the Devas got frightened. He began to hurl the huge mountain peaks with his two horns. The two powerful Devas Hari and Hara, began to shoot at the Dânava deadly arrows after arrows. Seeing these two gods shower arrows upon him, Mahisa began to hurl mountains on them by his tail. Visnu cut off those mountains into hundred pieces by his arrow; and struck at him instantly with his Chakra. Struck thus by Chakra, the Lord of the Dânavas fainted, but he instantly rose up with a human body. The mountain-like terrible Dânava with

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a club in his hand frightened the Devas and uttered grave sounds like those of rumbling rain clouds. Hearing that, the Bhagavân Visnu sounded a more terrible sound with his Pañchajanya S'ankha (conchshell). Hearing the sound of that conchshell, the Dânavas were struck with terror and the ascetic Risis and Devas became exalted with joy.

Here ends the Sixth Chapter of the Fifth Skandha on the Deva Dânava fight in S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam, of 18,000 versus by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fifth Book: Chapter 7

THE FIFTH BOOK

Chapter VII

On the going of the Devas to Kailâsa

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1-3. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Mahisa seeing the Dânavas afflicted with grief, quitted his buffalo appearance, assumed a lion form and spreading this long manes began to roar aloud and fell amidst the Deva forces; then the Devas were terrified on seeing his sharp nails. That lion-form Mahisa first attacked so severely the Garuda with his nails, that his whole body was besmeared with blood; then he attacked Visnu's arms with his nails.

4-11. Seeing the Dânava, Vâsudeva Hari raised his discus in anger and attacked him with great force to kill him. Just when Hari struck the Dânava violently with his Chakra, the powerful Dânava quitted immediately his lion-form, assumed the buffalo form and struck Hari with his two horns. Vâsudeva, thus pierced in his breast with the horns, became confounded and fled away as best as he could till he reached his own abode, Vaikuntha. Seeing Hari thus fleeing away, S'ankara, too, thought him invulnerable and fled to his Kailâs'a mountain with fear. Brahmâ, too, fled to his own abode with terror; but the powerful Vâsava took patience and remained steady in the battle. Varuna taking his S'akti waited patiently for battle. Yama, too, with his staff remained there ready to fight. Kuvera, the Lord of the Yaksas, remained very busy in close fighting with the Dânavas; Fire, taking S’akti, also waited. The Sun and Moon, the Lord of the stars, both remained in firm resolve to fight with Mahisa, the lord of the Dânavas.

12-22. O King! In the meanwhile, the Dânava forces got angry and attacked them on all sides, shooting at the enemies a mass of dangerous serpent-like arrows. The Lord of the Dânavas, Mahisa, too, assuming the buffalo appearance, reigned supreme in the middle. At this moment fierce sounds of the warriors on both the sides were heard. During the

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sharp contest of the Devas and Dânavas, the sounds from the bowstrings and the clappings of the hands were heard like the roarings of thunder. The powerful Dânava, then, swelled with pride, began to hurl the mountain tops with his horns, thus killing the Deva forces. Some by hoofs and some by the lashing of the tail, that angry Mahisa, very wonderful to behold, sent to the region of Death. Then the Devas and Gandarbhas became very much frightened; so much so, that Indra fled away at once on the sight of Mahisa. Indra thus retreating from the field, Yama, Kuvera, and Varuna all quitted the battle-ground with fear. Indra fled away quitting his Airâvata elephant and Uchchais'ravâ horse; so Mahisa got the possession of the elephant and the horse, as well the heavenly cow of the Sun. So the Dânavas considered themselves pre-eminently victorious and returned to their abodes. Next they wanted to go, as early as possible, to the Heavens, with all their forces. In no time Mahisa went to the abode of Indra, deserted by all the terror-stricken Devas and got the possession thereof. Then taking his seat on the beautiful throne of Indra, he made the other Dânavas occupy the several seats of the other Devas.

23-27. Thus fighting full one hundred years, the Dânava Mahisa, puffed up with pride, acquired the seat of Indra, his desired object. He banished the Devas from the Heavens; the Devas, thus tormented began to wander in the caves of hills and dales for a period of good many years. O King! The Devas, at last, were quite tired and took the four-faced Brahmâ, the Creator's refuge. At that instant, the Lord of the world, the Rajas incarnate, the Originator of the Vedas, was seated on His lotus seat; surrounding Him were standing his mortal sons Marîchi, etc., with their passions subdued, mind calm and beyond the sphere of the Vedas and Vedângas; there were there also Siddhas, Gandarbhas, Kinnaras, Châranas, Uragas, and Pannagas. The terrified Devas then began to praise and chant hymns to Brahmâ, the Lord of the world.

28-33. The Devas said :-- “O Creator! O Lotus-born! O Thou, the Remover of the pains and afflictions of all this world! How is it that you are not moved with pity towards the Devas, seeing that we are defeated by the lord of the Dânavas and have been banished from our abode; what more shall we say, our troubles are now indescribable, as we are living in the caves of hills and dales. O Creator! A son may be a hundred times guilty of offence; is it, then, that the father, devoid of any feeling of covetousness, deserts his sons and gives them trouble! We are oppressed by the Dânavas, we who are wholly devoted to your lotus-feet, why are you today showing signs of indifference towards us! That wicked Dânava is thoroughly enjoying to-day the Heavens of the Devas, is forcibly taking their share of the oblations of clarified butter in the Yajñas (sacrifices)

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from the Brâhmanas; is enjoying the Pârijâta tree and also the heavenly milching cow, the jewel of the ocean. What more shall we describe to you the strange doings of the Asuras; O Lord of the Devas! You are perfectly aware of all that they strive and execute; for, by your knowledge, you know everything of this world; therefore, O Lord! We lie prostrate at your feet. That vicious Dânava, of wicked character and full of mischievous actions, gives us troubles in various ways wherever we go; O Lord of the Devas! Thou art our only Protector; therefore, O Lord! Do what is good to us. Thou art the Awarder of the desires of the Devas. Thou art the First Creator of the world, and Preserver; therefore if Thou dost not do us our good, to whom else shall we take refuge, when we are so severely oppressed as if we are burnt in a forest conflagration! Who else is more lustrous, more beneficent and more peace-giving Governor?

34-35. Vyâsa said :-- O king! All the Devas, praising Him thus, bowed down to the Lord of creation with folded hands and saluted him, with their faces very heavy, overladen with deep sorrow. The Grand Sire of all the Lokas, seeing the plight of the Devas, consoled them with sweet words and made them happy.

36-43. O Suras! What shall I do? The Dânava has become exceedingly haughty on account of his getting boons; he can be killed by females only; He is invulnerable by any male. What remedy is there now? Therefore, O Suras! Let us all go to Kailâsa, the best of all the mountains; thence we will take S'ankara, the expert in doing the works of Gods, and go to Vaikuntha, where Visnu, the Deva of the Devas resides. There we all will unite and hold a counsel and decide what is best to do, to serve the purpose of the gods. Thus making out the programme, Brahmâ riding on his Hamsa went to Kailâsa, accompanied by all the Devas. At the same time S'iva came to know out of his introspection about the coming of Brahmâ and the other Devas and soon came out of his dwelling abode. When they met each other, they saluted each other and felt very glad. The Devas then bowed down to them. Seats were given to the Devas; and when they sat respectively on their Âsanas, the Lord of Pârvatî also took his own seat. S'iva asked the welfare of Brahmâ and the Devas and asked the reasons of their coming to Kailâsa.

44. O Brahmâ! What has caused you to come here along with Indra and the other Devas? O highly fortunate one! Please mention it.

45-47. Brahmâ said :-- O Deva of the Devas! The Dânava Mahisa is oppressing all the Devas in the Heavens; they therefore terrified are wandering hither and thither in the caves and hills with Indra. Mahisa

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and the other Dânavas are now accepting their share of Yajñas; the Lokopâlas, being oppressed, have come to-day and are now taking shelter of Thee. O S'ambhu! Considering the situation serious, I have taken them with me here; therefore, O Deva, do that which is reasonable and by which the purpose of the Devas can be carried out. O Bhûta Bhâvana! (The creator of the world) The whole charge and responsibility of all the Devas devolves on Thee.

48. Vyâsa said :-- O King! Hearing thus, S'ankara smiled a little and spoke charming words to the Lotus-born in the following manner :--

49-55. O Bibhu! It is You that gave before this boon to Mahisa; and therefore it is you that have wrought this mischief. The Dânava has become so strong a hero that he has caused terror to all the Devas even. Now where can we get such a noble woman who becomes able to kill that Dânava, elated with pride. My wife nor your wife ought to go to battle; even if they, the good ladies go, how will they be able to fight? The fortunate wife of Indra, too, is not expert in the art of warfare; where else there is another lady who can kill this demon, blinded with pride. I, therefore, propose this; let us all go today to Visnu and, praising him with hymns, engage him quickly to this cause of the gods. Visnu is foremost amongst the intelligent; therefore it is highly advisable to execute all actions after duly consulting with him. He, by dint of his high intelligence, will find out means and effect our purpose.

Vyâsa said :-- O King! Brahmâ and the other Devas heard Rudra and approved heartily and saying, “Be it so” instantly rose up. At the time, seeing all the auspicious signs concerning the success of the gods, they all became glad; and, riding on their respective vehicles, drove towards the abode of Visnu. Favourable fragrant winds, pleasant to touch, began to blow gently, birds began to chant hymns of praise and signs of success were seen all along their way. The sky was clear and the quarters became free; in short, everything showed favourable all along their way.

Here ends the Seventh Chapter on the going of the Devas to Kailâsa in the Fifth Skandha of S'rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam, the Mahâ Purânam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâsa.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Fifth Book: Chapter 8

THE FIFTH BOOK

Chapter VIII

On the description of the origin and the form of the Devî

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1-4. Vyâsa said :-- Soon the Devas reached Vaikuntha, protected by Visnu; they at once began to look at the exquisite indescribable beauty of the place. At intervals they saw nice lovely divine houses, shining and appearing very splendid; pools and lakes were seen in front of them beautified with Kalhâra lotus flowers. They began to see, at other places, rivers flowing; swans, cranes, Chakravâkas and other aquatic birds were swimming there easily and warbling lovely sounds. At other places again, beautiful gardens came to their sight adorned exquisitely by Champaka, As'oka Mandâra, Bakula, Âmrâtaka, Tilaka, Kuruvaka and Mallikâ and various other flower trees, the cuckoos were seen there cooing melodiously, bees humming gently and peacocks dancing beautifully.

5-6. In the centre was situated the golden palace of Hari, towering to heavens, the rooms and quadrangles were all charming; at places, they were bedecked with gems and jewels and adorned with various paintings. There was the Divine Seat in the centre, composed wholly of gems and jewels; and Visnu was occupying this place. There were Visnu's Pârisadas or attendants, Sunanda, Nandana, and others; they were so much devoted to their master that their hearts never become attached to any other thing; so they were devotedly singing His praises and chanting His hymns with undivided attention.

7-10. There were dancing the Apsarâs (celestial nymphs) and the Devas, Gandarbhas, and Kinnaras were singing in melodious tunes. Those who love the chanting of the Vedas, such calm-tempered Munis were reciting the Vedic Sûktas and thus highly extolled Him. The two lovely gate-keepers Jaya and Vijaya were waiting at the entrance gate with golden sticks in their hands; the Devas coming nigh the city of Visnu caught sight of them and said :-- “Any of you may go and inform Visnu that Brahmâ, Rudra, and the whole host of gods are waiting at His door to see Him.”

11. Vyâsa said :-- O king! Hearing their words, Vijaya went away at once to Visnu; and, saluting Him, informed Him of the arrival of the Devas.

12-13. Vijaya said :-- O Lord! Thou destroyest the enemies of the gods; hence Thou art the most worshipped of them. O Lord of Ramâ! The whole hosts of gods have come and are waiting at Thy door, O Bibhu!

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Brahmâ, Rudra, Indra, Varuna, Fire and Yama and other gods, anxious to see Thee, are all praising Thee by proper hymns.

14-32. Vyâsa said :-- Hearing Vijaya's words, Visnu, the Lord of Ramâ became very anxious and soon went out of his room to see the Devas. Hari came up to them and seeing the Devas waiting at the doors very morose and tired, cheered them up by casting a favourable glance full affection and love. The gods bowed down and praised hymns to Jagannâtha the Deva of the Devas, the enemy of the Daityas and revealed in the Vedas. O Deva of the Devas! Thou art the Creator, Preserver and the Destroyer of the worlds; Thou art the ocean of mercy and the sole refuge of this Universe; O Lord! We have come to Thee as our Great Refuge; therefore dost Thou save us from the present difficulty. Thus praised by the gods, Visnu said :-- O Immortals! Take your respective seats and speak how are you all? Why have you all in a body come here? Why are you so much depressed and worn out with cares? Why do you look so melancholy? Say soon for what purpose you with Brahmâ and Rudra have come here. The Devas said :-- “O Lord! The Asura Mahisa is very cruel and wicked; always addicted to vicious acts; now that most sinful Dânava has become very much puffed up with pride and is tormenting us always. What more shall we say than this, he is appropriating to himself the share of the Yajñas performed by the Brâhmins; we are therefore, terror-stricken and are wandering in mountains and fastnesses. O Destroyer of Madhu! He has become unconquerable due to his being granted the boon; considering, therefore, the gravity of our situation we have taken refuge unto Thee. O Krisna! Thou art acquainted with all the tricks and Mâyâ of the Daityas; therefore Thou art capable to kill them. Therefore Thou alone art able to deliver us from the present difficulty; be pleased, therefore; to Devîse means for that purpose. The Creator Brahmâ has granted him this boon that the demon could not killed by any man; therefore we are asking you where can we get a female who will be able to kill that hypocrite in battle. Mahisa has turned out very wicked on the strength of that boon; say, therefore, who amongst Umâ, Laksmî, S'achî, or Vidyâ or any other woman will be able to kill him. Therefore, O Gracious One to faithful worshippers and attendants! Thou art the Preserver of this world; now Devîse specially the cause of his death and carry out the purpose of the gods.” Vyâsa said :-- O king! Visnu on hearing their words, spoke smiling “We fought before; but this Asura could not at that time be killed. Hence if some beautiful female Deity be now created out of the collective energy and form of the S'aktis of each of the Devas, then that Lady would be able easily to destroy that Demon

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by sheer force. The Lady Deity then sprung from the collective energy of ours, would at once be able to destroy that Mahisa, elated on his getting the power, though he is skilled in hundreds of Mâyâs (magics). Therefore ask ye now all, with your wives respectively, boons from that portion which resides in you all in the form of Fiery Energy, that the collected energy thus manifested may assume the form of a Lady. We will then offer unto Her, all the Divine weapons, the trident, etc., that belong to us. That Deity, then, full of energy and with all the weapons in Her hands would kill that wicked Demon, vicious and swelled with vanity.”