11 - The Incarnation of the Goddess

Lord Kurma said:

1. After creating Marici and others, god Brahma the grand-sire of the world and the Lord of Devas performed very severe penance, along with his mind-born sons.

2. Even as he was performing the penance, the three-eyed, trident-bearing Ishana, Rudra, born of the world-destructive fire, manifested himself from his mouth.

3. His body was half-male and half-female and was too terrible to behold. "Divide yourself," saying this Brahma vanished out of fear.

4. When addressed thus, Rudra separated the male being into ten plus one (eleven) forms.

5. These eleven are called Rudras. They are the Lords of the three worlds. O Brahmanas, these Rudras, known as Kapalisha and others, were entrusted with the affairs of Devas.

6. The Lord divided his female form too into many beings, such as beautiful and ugly, quiet and turbulent, white and black in complexion etc.

7. Those forms, Lakshmi and others are the Vibhutis (magnificent excellences) and well-known as Shaktis (super-human powers) on the earth, O Brahmanas, Goddess Shankari pervades the whole universe through their forms.

8. O Brahmanas, Ishani split herself into many more forms (v.l. separated herself from god Shiva). At the behest of the great god Shankara, she went and stood near god Brahma, the grand-sire.

9. Lord Brahma told her, "Become the daughter of Daksha.” At his behest, she too manifested herself from Daksha, the progenitor of the world.

10. He gave goddess Sati (former Ishani) to Rudra in marriage, at the bidding of god Brahma. Rudra the trident-bearing deity too accepted the daughter of Daksha who was his own.

11-13a. After some time at the direction of Prajapati (v.l. in her wrath against Daksha) Ishani, the Supreme goddess, separated herself from Lord Shankara. Then Sati became the daughter of Men, and Himavan. That prominent mountain gave Parvati to Rudra for the welfare of all Devas of the three worlds and of himself.

1. Prajapati-vinirdeshát-This reading is supported by a majority of good MSS. Its emendation to Prajapatim vinindyaisha in the Crt. Ed. because it conforms to the story of Sati's incarnation as the daughter of Himavan and Mena contained in several Puranas but has little support in the MSS of KP., is rather strange, when prajapatir vinirdeshat is given in a number of good MSS (and printed editions) and conforms to the preceding Shlokas. To change such a valid reading strongly supported by a majority of good MSS, simply because it is not supported by other Puranas is, from the point of Text criticism, rather awkward as we constitute the text mainly on the basis of the critical apparatus. We should not deny the right of giving a different version of an episode to the author of KP.

13b-14a. She is the great Goddess Maheshvari, the partner of half of the body of Shankara, Shiva, Sati, Haimavati who is revered and bowed to by both Devas and Asuras.

14b-15a. All Devas including (their king) Indra extol her unequalled prowess. So do all the sages. It is only Shankara or Hari who understands her real greatness.

15b-16. O Brahmanas, thus I have recounted to you the son-hood of Shankara of unmeasured splendour and prowess and birth of god Brahma, the Parameshthin from the lotus.

Summary of chapter 11 of the Kūrma Mahā Purana is as follows:

Brahmā performed rigorous Tapas, causing the manifestation of Nīlalohita Ishāna Rudra from his mouth, possessing a form half-male and half-female. At Brahmā's request, Rudra divided His body into male and female aspects, expanding the male half into the eleven Ekādaśa Rudras to govern cosmic functions. The female half expanded into various glorious Shaktis including Lakshmī and other divine powers that permeate the cosmos. Under Brahmā's instructions, this divine Supreme Goddess incarnated as Satī, the daughter of Daksha Prajāpati, and wedded Mahādeva. Following the events of Daksha's sacrifice, Satī relinquished Her body and re-incarnated as Parvatī, the daughter of King Himavān and Queen Menā. Himavān joyfully gave his daughter Parvatī in marriage to Parameshvara Śiva for the welfare of the three worlds, fulfilling the eternal cosmic divine union of Shakti and Śiva.