81 - Commencement of the Devi-Mahatmya.

The slaughter of Madhu and Kaitahha in the account of the Savarnika Manv-antara.

King Su-ratha being defeated and driven from his kingdom took refuge in the forest with a muni—Me met a vaishya who had been driven from his home by his relatives, and both asked the muni about the selfish feelings which still possessed them. —Me ascribes those feelings to the goddess Maha-maya or Great Illusion, and relates how Brahma lauded the goddess at the end of a former kalpa in order to seek deliverance from, the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, and how Vishnu awaking slew the demons. 

Om! Reverence to Ch’andika.

Markandeya spoke:

Surya’s son Savarni is he who is called the eighth Manu.

2 Hear about his birth, as I tell it at full length, how by reason of the authority of the Great Illusion †† that illustrious son of the Sun, Savarni, became the king of the eighth manv-antara. 

†† Maha-maya. 

3 In times ago in the Svaroch’isha period, a king named Suratha, sprung of the race of Ch’aitra, reigned over the whole

4 earth. And while he guarded his subjects duly as if they were his own children, there arose hostile kings, who did

5 not destroy the Kolas.* He the bearer of a very powerful sceptre had war with them, and was defeated in war by them, inferior though they were, those non-destroyers of the

* Kolavidhvamsinah. This ia an adjective in the nom. plural, agreeing with bhuipah, and not a gen. case; and it is also a single compound, as appears from the next verse. Besides various fanciful explanations, the commentator renders kola as (shkara, and the whole word as “Yavanas.” It seems plain that the Kolas mean aboriginal races, the Kols, and the whole word denotes some enemies who were in alliance with the Kolas.

6 Kolas. Then coming to his own city he reigned as king over his own country. That illustrious king was attacked then by

7 those powerful enemies. His powerful and corrupt ministers, who were evil-disposed to a weak person, thereupon robbed

8 him of treasury and army even there in his own city. Hence the king deprived of his sovereignty departed alone on horse

9 back to a dense forest under the pretence of hunting. There he saw the hermitage of the noble dvija Medhas, inhabited by wild animals which were peaceful, graced by the muni’s

10 disciples; and he dwelt there some time, honoured by the muni. And roaming hither and thither in that fine hermitage of the muni, he fell into thought there then, his mind being distraught by selfishness, egotistical —” Lost indeed is the city which I guarded formerly. Whether it is guarded righteously oi’ not by those my servants of wicked conduct,

12 I know not. My chief war-elephant, always ardent, has passed into the power of my foes; what pleasures will he obtain?

13 They who were my constant followers now assuredly pay

14 court to other kings with favour, riches and food. The treasure which I amassed with great difficulty Trill go to waste through those men, addicted to unbecoming expenditure,

15 who are squandering it continually.” These and other matters the king thought of continually. 

Near the brahman’s hermitage there he saw a solitary

16 vaishya, and asked him, “Ho! who ai’t thou? and what is the reason of thy coming here? “Why appearest thou as if full

17 of Sorrow, as if afflicted in mind? “Hearing this speech of the king, which was uttered in friendly mood, the vaishya,

18 bowing respectfully, replied to the king, “I am a vaishya, Samadhi by name, born in a family of wealthy folk, and have been cast out by my sons and wife, who are wicked through

19 greed for wealth. And bereft of riches, wife and sons, taking my wealth I have come to the forest, unhappy and cast out

20 by my trusted kinsmen. In this state I know not what is the behaviour of my sons as regards prosperity or adversity,

21 nor of my family nor of my wife. Here I dwell. Is welfare theirs at home now or ill-luck? How are they? Are my sons living good or evil lives?” 

The king spoke:

22 Why dost thou, Sir, fix thy mental affection on those Covetous folk, thy sons, wife and others, who have cast thee out from thy wealth? 

The vaishya spoke:

23 This very thought has occurred to me, just as thou hast uttered it, Sir. What can I do? My mind does tiot entertain

24 implacability; and my mind, which bears affection as of a master to his family, is affectionate to those very persons, who have abandoned affection for a father and driven me

25 out in their greed for riches. I do not comprehend, althongh I know it, O high-minded Sir, how it is that the mind is prone

26 to love even towards worthless kinsmen. On their account my sighs flow and distress of mind arises. What can I do since my mind is not relentless to those unloving relatives? 

Markandeya spoke:

27 Thereupon they both, the vaishya named Samadhi and the

28 noble king approached the muni, O brahman, and having both observed the etiquette worthy of him, as was proper, they sat down and held various discourse, the vaishya and the king.

The king spoke:

29 Adorable Sir! I desire to ask thee one thing; tell me that; since it tends to afflict my mind without producing submissireness

30 of my intellect. I have a selfish feeling for my kingdom, even with regard to all the reqvisites of regal administration, although I know what it is, yet like one who

31 is ignorant; how is this, O est of munis? And this man has been set at nought and cast off by his children, wife and servants; and when forsaken by his family he is nevertheless

32 exceedingly full of affection towards them. Thus he and I also are both excessively unhappy; our minds are drawn by selfish thoughts to this matter, even though we perceive the

33 faults in it. How happens this then, illustrious Sir, that we are deluded although aware of it, and that this state of delusion besets me and him, who are each blind in respect of discrimination? 

The rishi spoke:

34 Every animal has this knowledge in objects cognizable by the senses and an object of sense reaches it thus in divers ways,

35 illustrious Sir! Some living beings are blind by day, and others are blind at night; some living beings can see equally

36 well by day and at night. Mankind know what, is true, but not they alone indeed, because cattle, birds, wild animala

37 and other creatures all certainly know it; and men have * the same knowledge which those wild animals and birds have, and equally both wild animals and birds have the other know- 

* The Bombay edition reads na instead of ch’a, “men have not the same knowledge, &c.” 

38 ledge which those men have. Though they have such knowledge, look at these birds, which, though distressed by hunger themselves, are yet because of that same delusion assiduous in 

39 dropping grains into the beaks of their young ones. Human beings are full of longings towards their children, O hero; do they not pass from greed for self unto mutual benefaction; † 

† This is very noteworthy. The altruiatic virtues are here said to have been evolved out of the parental virtnes.

40 dost thou not perceive this? Nevertheless, they are hurled into the whirlpool of selfishness which is the pit of delusion; through the power of the Great Illusion * they make worldly 

* Maha-maya. 

41 existence permanent.† Marvel not then at this. This is the contemplation- sleep of the lord of the world, and the Great Illusion that comes from Hari; by it the world is completely 

† For Samsara-sthiti-karinah the Bombay edition reads Samsara-sthiti- ‘karina, “they are bnrled, &c., through the power of the Great Illnsiou which makes worldly existence permanent.” 

42 deluded. Verily she, the adorable goddess, Great Illusion, forcibly drawing the minds even of those who know, presents

43 them to delusion. By her is created this whole universel both moveable and immoveable; she it is who when propitious bestows boons on men with a view to their final emancipation,

44 She is Knowledge supreme; she is the eternal cause of final emancipation, and the cause of the bondage of worldly existence; she indeed is the queen over all lords. 

The king spoke:

45 Adorable Sir! Who then is that goddess whom thou stylest Maha-maya? How was she born, and what is her sphere of

46 action, O brahman? And what is her disposition, and what is her nature, and whence did she originate, the goddess —all that I wish to hear from thee, O thou most learned in sacred knowledge! 

The rishi spoke:

47 She exists eternally, embodied as the world. By her this universe was stretched forth. Nevertheless, her origin is in

48 many ways; hear it from me. When she reveals herself in order to accomplish the purposes of the gods, i is then said in the world that she is born; she is also named the

49 Eternal One.†† While the adorable lord Vishnu, stretching Sh’esha out, wooed the sleep of contemplation at the end of the kalpa, when the universe was converted into absolute

         ††Nitya. 50 ocean, then two terrible Asuras named Madhu and Kaitabha,§ springing froih the root of Vishnu’s ear, sought to slay

§See Hari-Vamsha, cci. 13562-81.

51 Brahma. Brahma the Praja-pati stood on the lotus that grew from Vishnu’s navel; and” seeing those two fierce Asuras

 52 and sleeping Janardana, and standing with heart solely thereon intent, in order to awaken Hari, extolled that Sleep of contemplation

53 which had made its dwelling in Hari’s eyes — the lord of splendour extolled Vishnu’s Sleep, which is Queen of the universe, the supporter of the world, the cause of permanence and dissolution, full of reverence, incomparable. * 

* The Bombay edition introduces staumi and some changes in the second line, and reads this verse as the beginning of Brahma’s invocation.

Brahma spoke:

54 Thou art Svaha, thou art Svadha; thou indeed art Vashatkara, thou hast sound for thy soul; † thou art the nectar of the gods, the two eternal letters,†† thou existest having 

† Or, “thou hast heaven for thy sonl,” svaratmika. The meaning “sound” seems preferable, as it agrees with the rest of the verse. 

†† Om? The commentary overlooks this expression, akshare nitye.

56 the three-fold matras for thy soul; § thou existest half a matra in duration yet eternal; thou indeed canst not be uttered specifically; thou art || the Savitri, ¶ thou art the 

§ “The three prosodial measures.” The expression tridhamatratmika, is also divided by the commentator into tri-dhama tratmika, “thou hast the three mansions, (i, e., the three worlds, the three Vedas, the three chief deities, &c.), thou hast the preserver (Vishnu) for thy soul.”

|| For sa tvam the Bombay edition reads sandhya, “the twilight.”

¶ The Gayatri verse. 

56 divine mother** sublime. By thee indeed everything is maintained, by thee this world is created, by thee †††† it is protected, goddess! and thou dost always consume it at the 

** For devi janani the Bombay edition reads Veda-janani, “the mother of the veda,” 

†††† For tvayetat read tvayaitat.

57 end. At its emanation thou didst take the form of creation, and in protecting it thou hast the form of permanence, and at the end of this world thou wilt have the form of contraction

58 thou who containest the world! Thou art the Great Knowledge, the Great Illusion, the Great Vigour, the Great Memory, and the Great Delusion,* the Lady, the Great

* Or rather, “thou hast the great delusion,” Maha-moha. 

59 Goddess, the Great Demon.† And thou art the original source †† of the universe, the exciting cause of the three qualities; thou art the Night of the world’s destraction, the

†Mahasuri. The Bombay edition reads Maheshvari, “the Great Queen.” 

††Prakriti. 

60 Great Night, and the Night of delusion, terrible! Thou art Good Fortune, thou art Queen, thou art Modesty; thou art Intelligence characterized by perception; thou art Shame, Nourishment, and Contentment, Tranquillity and Patience

61 also. Thou art terrible, armed with sword, with spear, with club, and with discus, with conch, with how, and having as

62 weapons arrows, slings § and an iron mace. Thou art gentle, yea more than gentle, exceedingly beautiful to those who are wholly gentle; thou art indeed beyond the highest and the

§ Bhushundi, after explaining this word as a contraction of bhuja-shatrumundi, “she who cuts off enemies with her arms,’’ the commentator says it = go-phanika, “a sling.” The dictionary says it is “a kind of weapon (perhaps a kind of fire-arms).” 

63 lowest, Queen supreme! And whatever or wherever a thing is, whether good or bad, thou art the energy which all that possesses, O thou who art the soul of everything. Can I

64 extol thee more than this? || By thee, who art such, he indeed, who created the world, who protects the world, ¶ who consumes the world, is brought under the dominion of sleep,

|| Maya as in the Bombay edition is preferable to tada. 

¶ For gajatpatatti read jagat paty atti according to the Bombay edition; see verse 56.

65 Who is able here to extol thee? Since Vishnu, I and Sh’iva have been made by thee to assume bodies, who then may be

66 powerful enough to extol thee? Being such, do thou, O goddess, lauded thus, bewitch these two unassailable Asuras,

67 Madhu and Kaitabha, with thy exalted powers, and let the imperishable master of the world be lightly brought back to consciousness, and let him rouse up his intelligence to slay these two great Asuras! 

The rishi spoke:

68 Then the goddess of darkness, extolled thus by the Creator there in order to awaken Vishnu to slay Madhu and Kaitabha,

69 issued forth, from his eyes, mouth, nose, arms and heart and breast, and stood in the sight of Brahma whose birth is

70 inscrutable; and Janardana* master of the world, being quitted by her, rose up from bis couch, in the universal ocean

71 and he saw those two then, Madhu and Kaitabha, evil of soul, excelling in heroism and prowess, red-eyed through anger,

72 fully prepared to devour Brahma. Thereupon the adorable lord Hari rose up and fought with those two, striking them

73 with his arms, for five thousands of years. And they, exceedingly frenzied with their power, deluded by the Great Illusion, exclaimed to Keshava, “Choose a boon from us! “

The god spoke:

74 Be ye both now content with me; ye must both be slain by me! “What need is there of any other boon here? Thus much indeed is my choice. 

The rishi spoke:

75 Grazing then at the entire world which was nothing but water, those two, who had been thus tricked, spoke to the adorable lotus-eyed god, — “Slay us where the earth is not overwhelmed with water.” * 

* The Bombay edition makes this sentence the second line of a new verse and reads as the first line of it Pritau svas tava yuddhena shlaghyas tvam mrityur avayoh, “We are pleased at the battle with thee; thou art worthy of praise as Death to us!” 

The rishi spoke:

76 “Be it so” said the adorable wielder of the conch, discus and club, and cutting † them with his discus clove them both asunder, heads and buttocks. 

† For kritva read hrittva?

77 Thus was she born when praised by Brahma himself. Now listen again, I tell thee of this goddess’ majesty.