Devī Gītā

The Devī Gītā fills Chapters 29 to 40 of Skanda 7 of the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa. It is the highest point of that Purāṇa. It is a talk between Devī Parāśakti and Himālaya, held on the slopes of Himālaya’s peak, Bindu-parvata. In it Devī Parāśakti shows that she is one with the nirguṇa (without qualities) Parabrahman. She teaches a meditation on her cosmic form in three steps, speaks of karma, jñāna and bhakti, shows Himālaya her Viśvarūpa (her form as the whole universe), and ends with teaching on pūjā and the five kinds of moksha. It is often called the Śākta (of Devī) counterpart of the Bhagavad Gītā.

Setting and occasion

Veda Vyāsa has just finished a long account of the solar and lunar dynasties. He turns to Janamejaya and says that all the glory of those great kings, their śakti (power), their rule and their tejas (brilliance), was the gift of Śrī Parāśakti alone. He teaches that every place in creation where greatness, brilliance or divine power is seen is only an aṃśa (part) of Śrī Parāśakti. Just as no one can cover the sky with leather, so no one can reach prosperity without the grace of Devī Parāśakti. So one must give up all attachments and fix the mind on her lotus feet at all times, whether sleeping, walking or standing.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapter 29.

Himālaya’s questions

Himālaya had welcomed Devī Parāśakti on the peak of Bindu-parvata and honoured her with great devotion. He then put to her the basic questions of Vedānta:

• Who are you really?
• Are you the Ādiśakti or Parabrahman?
• Are you nirguṇa or saguṇa (with qualities)?
• How are you related to the Trimūrtis?
• How did this universe arise from you?
• What is the path by which a bound jīva (living being) reaches moksha?

Her answers to these questions make up the body of the Devī Gītā.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapter 30.

Her oneness with Parabrahman

The central teaching of the Devī Gītā is that Devī Parāśakti and the nirguṇa Parabrahman are one. She tells Himālaya:

“I alone am this entire creation. The difference between Śakti and Śaktimān is like the difference between fire and its heat. At the finest level they cannot be parted. When the difference vanishes, what remains is pure cit, consciousness alone, and that is me.”

She teaches that the Trimūrtis, Brahmā, Vishṇu and Śiva, arise from the three guṇas (qualities of nature) of her Māyā. Brahmā is led by rajoguṇa, Vishṇu by sattvaguṇa and Śiva by tamoguṇa. All three come from her will, and they get their power to create, to keep and to dissolve wholly from her śakti. Without her not an atom moves in the universe.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapters 30 and 31.

She says further that everything seen and unseen in the fourteen worlds is filled with her caitanya-śakti (the power of consciousness). This includes all the lokapālas (guardians of the worlds), all the ṛshis, the five bhūtas (elements), the tanmātras (subtle elements), the mind, the intellect and the ahaṃkāra (sense of “I”). She is like the thread through the pearls of a necklace, running through all of them without being seen. She names herself as the Virāṭ (the body of the whole universe), as the Sūtrātmā (the subtle self of the universe) and as the Sarvāntaryāmī (the one who lives within all). She is at once Brāhmaṇī, Vaishṇavī and Raudrī, and yet beyond all three.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapter 31.

The meditation in three steps

One of the most useful teachings of the Devī Gītā is the meditation on the form of Devī Parāśakti in three steps, each one rising above the last (sopāna-krama):

1. Virāṭ-rūpa (the vast gross form): The sādhaka (seeker) first meditates on her Virāṭ form. Her head is Satyaloka, her eyes are the sun and moon, her ears are the directions, her words are the Vedas, her prāṇa (life breath) is Vāyu, her heart is the great cosmos, her navel is the wide sky, her waist is the earth, and her arms are Indra and the lokapālas. In this vision the whole universe is her body.

1. Sūkshma-rūpa (the subtle form): When the sādhaka is steady in the Virāṭ meditation, he moves to the subtle form. Here she is pure consciousness filling all things, finer than ākāśa (space), the ground of all sense experience, and the śakti behind all knowing.

1. Sarvāntaryāmi-rūpa (the form that lives within): In the last step she is meditated on as the innermost self of all beings. She is not apart and not outside. She is the witness-consciousness itself, in the heart of every living creature. At this stage the difference between the bhakta (devotee) and Devī Parāśakti melts away.

She says that through this step-by-step meditation the mind becomes still, pure and clear (nirmala, niścala), and the sādhaka sees her directly as saccidānanda-svarūpiṇī (her own form of being, knowledge and bliss).

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapter 32.

Karma and jñāna

Himālaya asked whether karma (action) alone is enough for moksha. Devī Parāśakti answered without doubt: karma, however cleansing, cannot remove ajñāna, the root ignorance of one’s true nature. No matter how much leather one spreads, it cannot cover the sun. In the same way karma alone cannot reach the root of saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death). Karma cleanses the antaḥkaraṇa (the inner instrument) and makes it ready for jñāna. But moksha comes only when the veil of māyā is lifted by direct knowledge (aparoksha-anubhava) of Devī Parāśakti as one’s own self. So she teaches that karma must be joined to jñāna, and jñāna must be held up by bhakti, for moksha to come.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapter 33.

Bhakti yoga

Chapters 34 and 35 of the Devī Gītā describe the path of bhakti in great detail. Devī Parāśakti says that of all paths, bhakti is the easiest to reach and the most dear to her. Bhakti does not need the hard tapas (austerity) of jñāna or the careful exactness of karma-kāṇḍa (the ritual part of the Veda). It needs only honest surrender, constant remembrance (smaraṇa) and loving service (sevā). The marks of a true bhakta of Devī Parāśakti are these:

• Devī-nishṭhā: constant absorption in remembering her.
• Devī-pūjā-tatparatā: devotion to her pūjā.
• Seeing her in all beings, above all in brāhmaṇas, young girls (kumārīs), married women (sumaṅgalīs) and children.
• Giving food to her devotees without hoping for anything in return.
• Keeping the two Navarātri mahotsavas (great festivals) with devotion and joy.

She says that such a bhakta will receive her direct grace and in the end reach sāyujya, union with her.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapters 34 and 35.

Viśvarūpa darśana

Himālaya asked her with deep feeling, “O Devī, show me your divine cosmic form!” Devī Parāśakti then showed her Viśvarūpa. The whole assembly of devas, ṛshis and celestial beings saw this great vision:

• Her head was Satyaloka, and her brow was the tāpasaloka below it.
• Her eyes were the sun and moon, her ears were the directions, and her words were the Vedas.
• Her arms were Indra and the lokapālas, and her navel was the wide sky.
• Her breasts were the realms of cosmic fire (jyotishchakra).
• Her backbone was Mount Meru, and her bones were the mountains.
• Her hair was the trees and plants, and her robes were the oceans.
• Her laughter was creation (srishṭi), her glance was Māyā, and her compassion was the sustaining of all life.

All the Trimūrtis, the lokapālas, the saptaṛshis (seven ṛshis) and the siddhas were held within this one form. Himālaya and all who were there were overcome with devotion and bowed to the ground.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapter 36.

The five kinds of moksha

In Chapter 37, Himālaya asked about moksha. Devī Parāśakti described five kinds of mukti (liberation) that her devotees can reach:

She says that sāyujya is the highest and fullest kind of moksha. In it all difference between the bhakta and Devī Parāśakti ends for good. The other four are steps of moksha that match how fully the devotee is able to surrender. A devotee who recites the Devī Gītā every day and follows the path of bhakti with a sincere heart will reach the kind of moksha that fits his readiness.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapter 37.

Pūjā vidhi

Chapters 38 to 40 of the Devī Gītā describe the whole pūjā vidhi (method of pūjā) of Devī Parāśakti. She names two broad kinds of worship:

1. Bāhya-pūjā (outer pūjā): It is done by either the Vaidika or the Tāntrika way. The two ways must not be mixed. One who has taken dīkshā (initiation) in the Vaidika way must follow only the Vedic rules, and one initiated in the Tāntrika way must follow the Tāntrika vidhi. Mixing the two brings a fault in the rite.

1. Ābhyantara-pūjā (inner pūjā): This is the highest form of her worship. She is meditated on as living in one’s own heart (hṛdaya) and honoured there with the flowers of virtue, selfless action and surrender.

She says that her two Navarātri mahotsavas, the Caitra Navarātri and the Āśvina Navarātri, are very dear to her. Other festivals dear to her are the Dola-utsava, Śayana-utsava, Jāgaraṇa-utsava, Ratha-utsava, Damana-utsava and above all the Pavitra-utsava of the month of Śrāvaṇa.

She also teaches that her bhaktas should see her in young girls (kumārīs), married women (sumaṅgalīs), young initiates (vaḍugas) and devotees. They should honour them, feed them, and give them flowers, tāmbūla (betel) and cloth, without any stinginess. Seeing her in every form of the feminine is the peak of Devī bhakti practice.

This is from the Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapters 38 to 40.

What the Devī Gītā shows

The Devī Gītā holds the Śākta view that Parāśakti is not only a consort and not only a cosmic power. She is the very ground of being, one with Parabrahman, the source and substance of all creation. As the Bhagavad Gītā shows Kṛshṇa to Arjuna as the Supreme Reality, the Devī Gītā shows Parāśakti to Himālaya, and through him to all seekers. Śākta ācāryas have recited, taught and honoured it as one of the most important dialogues of revelation in all the Purāṇas.

Sources

• Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 7, Chapters 29 to 40