S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter VII-VIII

S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK

Chapter VII-VIII

On the praise of the Devî

1-26. Sûta said :-- Seeing the two Dânavas very powerful, Brahmâ, the knower of all the S’âstras, thought of the means Sâma, Dâna, Bheda, Danda (conciliation, gifts, bribe, or sowing dissensions and war or punishment); which of these four he should apply. He thought thus :-- “I do not know their strength and it is not advisable to enter into war without knowing their strength. Again if I offer praises to them puffed up with pride, it will be simply displaying my own weakness; and when they will come to know this, only one of them will be sufficient to kill me and this they will do certainly. To offer bribes is not also advisable; and how can I sow dissensions. Therefore it is best that I should rouse the four armed Janârdana Visnu, who is very powerful, from his sleep on the thousand headed Ananta serpent. He will remove my difficulties”.

Thus thinking in his mind, Bhagavân Brahmâ, the lotus-born remained in the tubular stalk of the lotus from Visnu's navel and thence took refuge mentally of Visnu, the remover of difficulties and began to chant auspicious hymns composed of various metres to Jagannâth Nârâyana, involved in deep Yoganidrâ (meditative sleep). He said :-- “O Refuge of the poor! O Hari! O Visnu! O Vâmana! O Mâdhava, Thou art the Lord of the universe and omnipresent. O Hrisikes'a! Thou removest all the difficulties of Thy devotees; therefore leave your Yoganidrâ and get up. O Vâsudeva! O Lord of the Universe! Thou residest within the hearts of all and knowest their desires.

O Thou, holder of the disc and club! Thou always destroyest the enemies of Thy devotees; O Omniscient One! Thou art the Lord of all the Lokas and all-powerful; no one can know what is Thy form; O Lord of the Devas! Thou art the destroyer of all pains and sufferings! So get up and protect me. O Protector of the Universe! nothing is concealed from Thy eyes! Every one becomes pure by hearing and chanting Thy name. Thou art Nirâkâra (without any form); yet Thou createst, preservest and destroyest the Universe. O Cause of the world! O Supporter of all! Thou art shining as king of kings over all and yet Thou dost not understand that the two Dânavas, puffed up with pride have become ready to kill me. If thou dost neglect me, seeing me very much distressed and under your protection then Thy name as Preserver will become quite useless. Thus praised, when Visnu did not get up, Brahmâ thought that "Bhagavân Visnu is now surely under the influence of sleep of the Primal Force Âdyâ S’akti and is not therefore getting up; what am I to do now, thus distressed! These two Dânavas, elated with pride are ready to kill me; now what am I to do and where shall I go? I don't find any body who can protect me any where.” Thus thinking, Brahmâ came to the conclusion and decided to chant hymns to Yoga Nidrâ Herself with one pointed heart. Discussing in his mind, He thought that that Âdyâ S’akti (the Prime Force) which kept Bhagavân Visnu, senseless and motionless would alone be able to save him. As a dead man cannot hear any sound so Hari, merged in deep sleep, knows not anything. When I have praised Him so much and when He has not awakened, then it is certain that sleep is not under Hari, but Hari is under sleep, and he who is under another becomes his slave; so this Yoga Nidrâ is now exercising Her control over Hari. Again she, too, who brought Hari under control, that daughter of the Krsîra (milk) ocean is now under the control of Yoga Nidrâ; so it seems that that Bhagavatî Mahâmâyâ has brought the whole Universe under Her control.

Whether it be Myself, or Visnu or S’ambhu, or Sâvitrî or Ramâ or Umâ, all are under Her control; there is nothing to be doubted here? What to speak of other high souled persons! Now I will chant hymns to Yoga Nidrâ, under whose influence Bhagavân Hari even is lying, under deep sleep, inert like an ordinary man. When the eternal Vâsudeva Janârdana will be dispossessed by Her, He will no doubt fight with the Dânavas. Thus deciding, Bhagavân Brahmâ, seated on the tubular stalk of the lotus, began to chant hymns to Yoga Nidrâ, residing on the body of Visnu, thus :--

27-32. Brahmâ said :-- “O Devî! I have come to understand on the authority of all the words of the Vedas, that Thou art the only One Cause of this Universal Brahmânda. The more so when Thou hast brought the best Purusa Visnu, endowed with discrimination above all beings, under the control of sleep, then the above remark is self-evident.

O Thou, the Player in the minds of all beings! O Mother! I am extremely ignorant of the knowledge of Thy nature; when Bhagavân Hari is sleeping inert by Thy power, then who is there amongst Kotis and Kotis of wise men, who can understand completely the Pastime, Leelâ, full of Mâyâ of Thine, who art beyond the Gunas. The Sânkhya philosophers say (that the Purusa (the male aspect of S’akti) is the pure, conscious being and that Thou art the Prakriti, without any consciousness, material inert, Creatrix of the universe; but, O Mother! art Thou really inert like that? Never like that; had it been like that, how is it that Thou hast made Bhagavân Hari, the receptable of the world quite unconscious like this? O Bhavâni! Thou, being beyond the Gunas art displaying like a dramatic performance these various dramatic plays by the conjunction with the three Gunas. It is Thy three qualities, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas that the Munis meditate every day in the morning mid-day, and evening, the three Sandhyâs; but no one is aware of Thy ways of doings. O Devî! Thou art of the nature of the judgment and understanding giving rise to knowledge of all the beings in the Universe; Thou art always the S’ri (wealth and prosperity) giving pleasures to the Devas. O Mother! Thou art reigning in all as Kîrti (fame), mati (intellect), Dhriti (fortitude). Kânti (beauty) S’raddhâ (faith) and Rati (enjoyment). O Mother! Now I am put to great difficulties and therefore I have got eye witness of Thy nature; no need of further reasoning and discussing about it.

27-50. I have now known that verily, verily Thou art the only Mother of all the worlds as Thou hast brought Hari under the influence of sleep. O Devî! Now when it is evident that all the worlds, etc., have come from Thee, then the Vedas have also come from Thee; what doubt is there? So the Vedas, too, do not know fully Thy nature; for the effect can never know its cause. So, it is very true that Thou art incomprehensible of the Vedas, O Mother! When I, Hari, Hara and the other Devas and my son Nârada and other Munis have not able to realise Thy nature fully, then who else can be so intelligent in this world that will realise all Thy nature? So Thy glory is beyond the speech of all beings. O Devî! If, in the place of sacrifice, the ritualists, the knowers of the Vedas, do not utter Thy name Svâhâ, then the Devas, participators of the offerings in Yajña, do not get their share, however hundreds of oblations be offered; so Thou art also the giver of sustenance allowances to the Devas. O Bhagavatî! In previous Kalpas, Thou hadst saved me terrified from the fear of the Dânavas. O Devî Varade! now, too, I am terrified at the sight of the terrible forms of Madhu and Kaitabha and take Thy refuge. O high-minded one! Now I thoroughly see that by Thee, by Thy power Yoganidrâ the whole body of Bhagavân Visnu is senseless; but how is it that Thou dost not realise my sufferings. So, either dost Thou leave possession of this Âdi-Deva, or destroy Thyself these two Danavendras -- lost do either of the two as Thou likest. O Devî! Those that do not know Thy extraordinary powers, those stupid ones meditate Hari, Hara, etc. But, O Mother! By Thy grace, I realise to-day, as eye-witness, that Visnu even is to-day lying unconscious in deep sleep, totally senseless of anything outside by Thy force. O Bhagavatî! Now, when Kamalâ, the daughter of Sindhu is unable to rouse Her husband Hari, by her effort, or rather Thou hast made Her, too, perforce, sleep unconsciously, it seems she is without any effort and does not know anything of what is going on outside. O Devî! Verily those are blessed who worship Thy lotus feet with their whole heart full of devotion and without any hope of getting rewards, abandoning the worship of other Devas and knowing Thee as the Creatrix of the whole world and the giver of all desires. Alas! now the intelligence, beauty, fame, and all good qualities have forsaken Hari and fled away to some unknown quarters. O Bhagavatî! Thou art really adorable in the three worlds for, by Thy power of Yoganidrâ, Hari has been kept in prison, as it were, in this way. O Mother! Thou art the S’akti of all this universe and endowed with all prowess and energy; all other things are Thy creation. As a dramatic player, though one, plays in the theatre, assuming many forms, so Thou, too, being one, playest always in this charming theatre of world, created by Thy Gunas, in various forms.

O Mother! Thou, in the beginning of the Yugas, dost manifest first the Visnu form and givest him the pure Sattrik Sakti, free from any obscuration and thereby madest Him preserve the Universe; and now it is Thyself that hast kept Him thus unconscious; therefore, it is an undoubted fact that Thou art doing whatever Thou willest, O Bhagavatî! I am now in danger; if it be Thy desire not to kill me, then dost break the silence, look on me and show Thy mercy. O Bhavâni! If it be not Thy desire to kill me, then why hast Thou created these two Dânavas, my death incarnate; or is it that Thou wantedest to put me to ridicule. I have come to know of Thy wonderful acts; Thou createst this whole Universe, and Thyself remaining aloof, playest always and in the time of Pralaya resolvest everything again into Thee. Therefore, O Bhavâni, what wonder is there, that Thou wouldst want to kill me in this way? But, O Mother! I won't feel any pain if Thou willingly killest me but this is to my great dishonour that being given power over these beings, I would then be made an object to be killed by the Daityas; this, indeed, is hard to me. So, O Thou Leelâmayî like a sportive girl! get up! O Devî! assumest the wonderful form Thyself and killest me or the two Daityas, as Thou willest; or rouse Hari who will then kill the Daityas. All these are in Thy hands.”

Sûta said :-- Thus praised by Brahmâ, the Nidrâ Devî (the goddess of sleep), of the nature of Tamo Gunas, quitted the body of Bhagavân Hari and stood by him. When thus left completely by the Devî Yoga Nidrâ, of unequalled brilliance and splendour, for the destruction of Madhu Kaitabha, Visnu began to move his body and at this Brahmâ became very glad.

Thus ends the seventh chapter of the First Skandha on the praise of the Devî in the Mahâ Purânam S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses, by Maharsi Vedavyâs.

Chapter VIII

On deciding who is to be worshipped

1-7. The Risis said :-- “O highly fortunate one! A great doubt has arisen on your statement. This is ascertained by all the wise men as written in the Vedas, Purânas and other Sâstras that Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'var, these three Devas are eternal. None is superior to them in this Brahmânda. Brahmâ creates all the beings, Visnu preserves and Mahes'var destroys all in due time. These are the causes of creation, preservation and destruction. The Trinity Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes'a are really one form, indeed, Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity.

Being endowed respectively with Sattva, Raja and Tamo Gunas they do their respective works. Amongst these, again, Purushottam Âdideva Jagannâth Hari, the husband of Kamalâ is the best; for he is capable of doing all the actions; no other than the Visnu, of unrivalled prowess is so capable. How is it, then that Yogamâyâ has overpowered Hari with sleep and made him altogether senseless? O highly fortunate one! whither did, then, go that extraordinary self knowledge and power, etc., of Hari while alive? This is our greatest doubt; so kindly advise us that our this doubt be removed and our well-being be thus ensured.

8-30. What is that S’aktî? Which you mentioned to us before; as well by whom Visnu is conquered? Whence is She born? What is the power of that S’aktî and what is Her nature? O Suvrata! explain to us these fully.

How was it that Yogamâyâ overpowered with sleep the Highest Deity Bhagavân Visnu who is everlasting-intelligence bliss! who is the God of all, the Guru of the whole world, the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer, who is omni-present, an incarnate of purity and holiness and beyond Rajoguna; how was such a personage brought under the control of sleep? O Sûta! You are very intelligent and the pupil of Vyasa Deva; destroy our this doubt by the sword of wisdom.

Hearing this, Sûta said :--“O highly fortunate Munis! There is none in the three Lokas who can clear your this doubt; the mind-born sons of Brahmâ, Nârada, Kapila and other eternal sons get bewildered by these questions; what can I, then, say on this very difficult point! See, some persons call Bhagavân Visnu omnipresent, the preserver of all and the best of all the Devas; according to them all this universe moving and non-moving, is created by Visnu; they bow down before the Highest Nârâyan Hrisikes'a Janârdana Vâsudeva and worship Him, whereas others worship Mahâdeva S’ankara, having Gauri for the other half of his body, endowed with all powers, residing in Kailâs'a, surrounded by hosts of bhutas, that destroyed the Daksha's sacrifice, who is mentioned in the Vedas as S’as'is'ekhara (having moon on his forehead), with three eyes and five faces and holding trident in his hand and known as Vrisadhaja and Kaparddi. O highly intelligent ones! There are some other persons, that know the Vedas and worship the Sun everyday in the morning, mid-day and in the evening with various hymns.

In all the Vedas, it is stated that the worship of the sun is excellent and they have named the high-souled sun as Paramâtmâ (the Highest Deity). Whereas there are other Vedavits (the knowers of the Vedas) who worship the Devas, Fire, Indra, and Varuna. But the Maharsis say, that as Gangâ Devi (the river Ganges), though one, is expressing Herself by many channels, so the one Visnu is expressing in all the Deva forms. Those who are big Pundits, declare perception, inference, and verbal testimony as the three modes of proofs. The Naiyâyik Pundits add to the above three, a fourth proof which they call upamâ, resemblance, similitude and some other intelligent Pundits add another fifth proof called Arthâpatti, an. inference from circumstances, presumption, implication. It is deduction of a matter from that which could not else be; it is assumption of a thing, not itself perceived but necessarily implied by another which is seen, heard or proved; whereas the authors of the Purânas add two other, called Sâksî and Aitijhya, thus advocating. seven modes of proofs. Now the Vedânta S’âstra says that the supreme being (Param Brahmâ), the Prime cause of the Universe, cannot be comprehended by the above-mentioned seven proofs. Therefore, first of all, adopt the reason leading to sure belief, the Buddhi, according to the words of the Vedas and discriminate and discuss again and again and draw your inference about Brahmâ. And the intelligent person should adopt what is seen by perception as self-evident and what is inferred by the observance of good conduct. The wise persons say, and it is also stated in the Purânas, that the Prime Force is present in Brahmâ as the Creative Force; is present in Hari as the Preservative Force; is present in Hara as the Destructive Force; is present in Kurma (tortoise) and in Ananta (the thousand headed Snake) as the earth supporting Force; is present in fire as the Burning Force, is present in air as the moving Force, and so is present everywhere in various manifestations of forces.

31-51. In this whole Universe, whoever he may be, all are incapable of any action if he be deprived of his force; what more than this, if S’iva be deprived of Kula Kundalinî S’aktî, He becomes a lifeless corpse; O great ascetic Risis! She is present everywere thus in everything in this universe from the highest Brahmâ to the lowermost blade of grass, all moving and non-moving things. Verily everything becomes quite inert, if deprived of force; whether in conquering one's enemies, or in going from one place to another or in eating -- one finds oneself quite incapable, if deprived of force. Thus the omnipresent S’aktî, the wise call by the name of Brahmâ. Those who are verily intelligent should always worship Her in various ways and determine thoroughly the reality of Her by every means. In Visnu there is the Sattviki S’aktî; then He can preserve; otherwise He is quite useless; so in Brahmâ there is Rajasi S’aktî and He creates; otherwise He is quite useless; in S’iva, there is Tamasi S’aktî and He destroys; else He is quite useless. Thus, arguing again and again in one's mind, everyone should come to know that the Highest Âdya S’aktî by Her mere will creates and preserves this Universe and She it is who destroys again in time the whole Brahmânda, moving and non-moving; no one is capable to do his respective work be he Brahmâ, Visnu, Mahes'var, Indra, Fire, Sun, Varuna or any other person whatsoever; verily all the Devas perform the respective actions by the use of this Âdya S’aktî. That She alone is present in cause and effect and is doing every action, an be witnessed vividly. The intelligent ones call that S’aktî twofold; one is Sagunâ and the other is Nirgunâ. The people, attached to the senses and the objects, worship the Sagunâ aspect, and those who are not so attached worship the Nirguna aspect. That conscious S’aktî is the Lady of the fourfold aims of life, religion, wealth, desires, and liberation. When She is worshipped according to due rules, She awards all sorts of desires. The worldly persons, charmed by the Mâyâ of this world, do not know Her at all; some persons know a little and charm other; whereas some stupid and dull-deaded Pundits, impelled by Kali, start sects of heretics, Pâsandas for the sustenance of their own bellies. O highly fortunate Munis! In no other Yugas were found acts as prevalent in this Kali Yuga, based on various different opinions and altogether beyond the pale of the Vedic injunctions. Behold again, if Brahmâ, Visnu and Mahes’a be the supreme Deities, then why do these three Devas meditate on another One beyond speech, beyond mind and practise, for years, hard austerities; and why do they perform Yajñas (sacrifices) for their success in creation, preservation, and destruction? They know, verily, the Highest Supreme Being, Brahmâni Devî S’aktî eternal, constant and therefore they meditate Her always in their minds. Therefore the wise man, knowing this firmly, should serve in every way the Highest S’aktî. O Munis! This is the settled conclusion of all the Sâstras. I have heard of this great hidden secret from Bhagavân Krisna Dvaipâyan. He heard it from Nârada, and Nârada heard it from his own father Brahmâ. Brahmâ heard this from Visnu. O Munis it is well that the wise even should not hear or think anything to the contrary from other sources; they should with their concentrated heart serve the Brahmâ Sanâtanî S’aktî. It is clearly witnessed in this world that if there be any substance wherein this conscious S’aktî does not exist, that becomes inert, quite useless for any purpose. So know this fully that it is the Highest Divine Mother of the Universe that is playing here, residing in every being.

Thus ends the eighth chapter of the first Skandha on deciding who is to be worshipped in the Mahapurâna Sri Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Vedavyâsa.

S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter V-VI

S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter III-IV

S’rimad Devî Bhâgavatam THE FIRST BOOK Chapter I-II

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VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III. CHAP. XV.

VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III. CHAP. XIV.

VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III. CHAP. XIII.

VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III. CHAP. XII.

VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III. CHAP. XI.

VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III. CHAP. X

VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III. CHAP. IX

VISHNU PURANA. - BOOK III. CHAP. VIII