Manasā Devī

Manasā Devī is a chief part (prādhāna-aṃśa) of Mūla Prakṛti, the first Prakṛti. She is the daughter of Kaśyapa Maharṣi and the sister of Ananta (Śeṣa-nāga). She is the adhidevī (ruling devī) of all serpents and of all mantras. She is a siddha-yoginī, a great devotee of Bhagavān Viṣṇu, and a great tapasvinī who did tapas for three lakh (300,000) divine years for Śrī Hari.

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa also gives her the name Jaratkāru. She married the ṛṣi Jaratkāru and became the mother of the great Āstīka Maharṣi.

Nature and identity

The Prakṛti Khaṇḍa (Chapter 1) calls Manasā Devī a chief part of the divine Prakṛti. She has great jñāna (knowledge). She is the most loved śiṣyā (woman disciple) of Śaṅkara and is very dear to Bhagavān Śiva. Ananta (Śeṣa), the greatest of all serpent-lords, is her brother.

All serpents worship her at all times. Her own ornaments are the serpents themselves: the nāgas are her ābharaṇa (adornments). She is a siddha-yoginī, always absorbed in brahma-bhāvanā (meditation on the Supreme), and she is a great devotee of Bhagavān Viṣṇu.

Tapas for Śrī Hari

Manasā Devī did tapas for Śrī Hari for three lakh divine years (tīna-lakṣa deva-varṣa). Because she herself did such hard sādhana, she is revered among all sādhakas (seekers).

Devī of all mantras

Manasā Devī is the adhidevī of all mantras, the ruling śakti over the whole field of mantra-vidyā. Without her grace no mantra reaches its full siddhi (success). She shines with brahma-tejas (the light of the highest knowledge) and always stays in brahma-bhāvanā.

Her rule over all the nāgas makes her central to the serpent pūjā of Bhāratavarṣa.

Her other name, Jaratkāru

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa says that Manasā Devī also bears the name Jaratkāru. She married the brāhmaṇa ṛṣi Jaratkāru, who has the same name. From this union the great Āstīka Maharṣi was born. He is the ṛṣi who, by his wisdom and speech, stopped the great sarpa-satra (serpent yajña) of Janamejaya and so saved the serpent clan.

Her place among the aṃśas of Prakṛti

In the order given in the Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Manasā Devī stands among the chief parts (prādhāna-aṃśas) of Mūla Prakṛti. The others named with her are Gaṅgā, Tulasī, Devasenā, Maṅgalacaṇḍikā, Kālikā, Svāhā, Surabhī and more. Each of these devīs is a different śakti through which Prakṛti acts in the world. Manasā Devī stands for the śakti of mantra knowledge and of rule over serpents.

Her battle with Dhanvantarī

Chapter 51 of the Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa gives one of the longest accounts of the power of Manasā Devī. It tells of her battle with Dhanvantarī. It is one of a series of garvabhaṅga (breaking of pride) accounts that Kṛṣṇa tells to Rādhādevī.

Her credentials

This chapter names these as her strengths.

  • She was the student of Śaṅkara in mantra-śāstra for a whole kalpa (one full cycle of creation).
  • Bhagavān Śeṣa, the first serpent-king, had given her the Nārāyaṇa Kavaca, the great protective armour.
  • She says: “With the power of this kavaca, I could burn all of saṃsāra and make it again.”
  • Her husband, the ṛṣi Jaratkāru, had given her great jñāna.

She went into the battle with a bold claim. Garuḍa, the guru of Dhanvantarī, is himself a student of Śambhu (Śiva). So Dhanvantarī is only a student’s student of Bhagavān Śiva. She, who had been his direct student for a whole kalpa, ranks far above him in the line of Śaiva initiation.

The weapons

The battle went on through an exchange of weapons.

  1. Cakra-lotus (padma). Manasā threw a lotus in the shape of a cakra, charged with mantra. Dhanvantarī burned it to nothing with his breath. He made the ash harmless with earth blessed by mantra.
  2. Śaktyāyudha. She threw a divine weapon of Śakti, charged with the power of the sun. Dhanvantarī cut it with the śūla (trident) that Bhagavān Viṣṇu had given him.
  3. Nāgapāśa. She threw a serpent noose charged with a siddha mantra, as bright as Yama. Garuḍa, the guru of Dhanvantarī, came and ate all the serpents, and the weapon failed.
  4. Bhasma of Śiva. She took the holy ash that Bhagavān Śiva had given her, charged it with mantra and threw it. The wind from the wings of Garuḍa scattered it without harm.
  5. The divine śūla of Śiva. At last Manasā lifted the invincible śūla of Bhagavān Śiva. It blazed with the tejas of a hundred suns and the brightness of the fire of pralaya (the end of the world). It could not be stopped in any world. She was about to release it when Brahmā and Śaṅkara arrived.

The end of the battle

When Brahmā and Śaṅkara came to the field, both sides laid down their weapons and bowed. Brahmā said plainly that the fight was not equal: “She can burn all three worlds with the invincible śūla of Śiva.” He told Dhanvantarī to do pūjā to Manasā Devī.

Dhanvantarī worshipped Manasā Devī with the ṣoḍaśopacāra (sixteen offerings) as given in the Kauthuma śākhā of the Sāma Veda. Then he recited the stotra of Āstīka Muni in her praise.

Dhanvantarī’s dhyāna of Manasā Devī

This is the dhyāna (meditation picture) of Manasā Devī that Dhanvantarī gave in this chapter.

She has the colour of campaka flowers, golden-yellow and shining. All her limbs are beautiful. Her face has a gentle smile. She wears thin clothes. Her hair is tied in a lovely braid. She is adorned with ornaments of gems. She gives abhaya (fearlessness) to all devotees. She is quick to bless. She is the mistress and giver of all vidyās (branches of knowledge). She has a śānta (peaceful) form. She rides an elephant as her vāhana (vehicle). She is Nāgeśvarī, the ruler of all serpents.

Phala of the Manasā Devī Stotra. Whoever recites this stotra with devotion will never have fear of serpents, and neither will their children and grandchildren. This is stated as certain.

Manasā Devī was pleased. She gave Dhanvantarī a vara (a boon) and went back to her own home. All the nāga-rājas left in peace.

Sources

  • Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 1
  • Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51