Medhasa
Medhasa
Medhasa (also written Medhas) is a great ṛshi who lives in a peaceful forest āśrama (hermitage). Even fierce animals such as tigers live there without harming weaker creatures. He is the narrator of the Devī Māhātmya cycle in the Umā Saṃhitā.
King Suratha and the vaiśya (merchant) Samādhi come to him with their grief and their questions. He explains Mahāmāyā and tells of the birth of Mahākālī, the slaying of Mahishāsura, the wars against Śuṃbha and Niśuṃbha, and the Durgama-vadha (the slaying of Durgama). He is the frame-narrator of the Devī cycle in the Umā Saṃhitā.
His name and his āśrama
Medhasa’s āśrama is surrounded by flower gardens on every side. It rings with the sound of Vedic recitation and is calm with the sound of mantras. Students live there, and their students, and their students’ students, so it is a gurukula (a teacher’s school) of many generations.
The power of his tejas (radiance) was so great that tigers, lions and other beasts of prey lived in the āśrama without harming smaller animals. The whole forest was made peaceful by him (Umā Saṃhitā, Chapter 45).
His name is linked to medhā (intellect, sacred knowledge). The same passage calls him prabhu (master), paṇḍita (scholar) and mahādayālu (greatly compassionate).
His part in the narrative
King Suratha had lost his kingdom. When he wandered into the forest, he found Medhasa’s āśrama. Medhasa welcomed him, gave him food and shelter, and let him stay as long as he wished.
Suratha and Samādhi were both troubled by an attachment they could not explain, though they were suffering. When they came to Medhasa, he answered with clear thought and with narrative wisdom.
They asked: “What is this force that bewilders even the wise?” Medhasa answered by teaching them about Mahāmāyā. He told them that she is the Śakti of Parabrahman, that she works through the three guṇas (qualities of nature), and that her grace is supreme. Suratha then asked: “Who is this Mahāmāyā and how did she arise?” To answer, Medhasa told the whole cycle of the appearances of the Devī.
Medhasa’s tellings make up Chapters 45 to 50 of the Umā Saṃhitā, the whole Devī cycle. He is the human witness in the Saṃhitā to whom these divine accounts are entrusted (Umā Saṃhitā, Chapters 45–50).
Teacher of the Devī-vidyā
In the Umā Saṃhitā, Medhasa is the direct teacher of the Devī-vidyā (knowledge of the Devī). His āśrama is where Suratha first learns about Mahāmāyā. Through Medhasa’s teaching Suratha goes on to perform a deep worship of the Devī, which leads to her darśana (sight) and to her varas (boons).
Sources
- Umā Saṃhitā (Śiva Purāṇa), Chapter 45
- Umā Saṃhitā (Śiva Purāṇa), Chapters 45–50