Skandha 3 (contd.)
Gunas (Attributes)
On this occasion, Vyasa explained to Janamejaya the three qualities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The entire universe – all moving objects, all immobile objects and all living beings – are made up of these three qualities. Objects and living beings are distinguished by the varying predominance of these three qualities. Sattva Guna consists of the good qualities of truth, purity, tolerance, steadfastness, compassion, love for Dharma, happiness etc. It cultivates the power of knowledge. It is white in color. Rajo Guna consists of the qualities of desire, hatred, greed, treachery etc. It cultivates the power of action. It is red in color. Tamo Guna consists of the bad qualities of delusion, crookedness, atheism, cruelty, lethargy etc. It cultivates the power of matter. It is black in color.
These three qualities are dependent on each other in the universe. It is good for humans to suppress the qualities of Rajas and Tamas, and develop the quality of Satva. Pure Satva nature (without the mixture of Rajas and Tamas) belongs to Devi and Iswara alone. The living beings who have bodies are a mixture of the three qualities. However, the effort of humans should always be to chant the names of Devi, meditate on Her lotus feet, and thereby aim at the development of the quality of Satva.
Vyasa praised the mercy of Devi and said, ” नामोच्चारणमात्रेण वांछितार्थफलप्रदा” – She gives everything one desires by just chanting Her names.
In the Mookpanchashati, the Mookakavi says:
महाभाष्यव्याख्यापटुशयनमारोपयति वा स्मरव्यापारेर्ष्यापिशुननिटिलं कारयति वा ।
द्विरेफाणामध्यासयति सततं वाधिवसतिं प्रणम्रान्कामाक्ष्याः पदनलिनमाहात्म्यगरिमा ॥२. ६४॥
“The glory of Kamakshi’s Lotus Feet – it grants those who worship it the status of Vishnu, who has as his bed, Adisesha, who wrote the Mahabhashya (Samskrit Vyakarana) (as Patanjali), or the status of Shiva, whose eye on the forehead burnt Manmatha, or the status of Brahma, who is seated on a lotus on which bees swarm.”
Episode on Satyavrata
On this occasion, Vyasa narrated the story of Satyavrata, a brahmana from Kosala. Devadatta, a virtuous brahmana, was not blessed with a son, so he performed Putrakameshti Yajna. Celebrated Ritviks conducted the sacrifice. Hota – the one who invokes the Devatas with Rigvedic mantras – was Brihaspati; Udgata – the one who praises with Samavedic singing of mantras – Gobila; Adhvaryu – the one who makes offerings in Agni with Yajurvedic mantras – Yajnavalkya; Brahma – the one who supervises and recites Atharva mantras – Suhotra. Hota, Udgata, Adhvaryu, Brahma – these four are like pillars of support for the sacrifice. Gobila was the best of the Samavedic priests. Due to his advanced age, while singing the famous Sama called Rathantara Sama, he had difficulty holding his breath, resulting in a deviation in swara. Noting this, Devadatta became very angry and severely criticized Gobila in front of everyone. It is surprising to note how much Vedic knowledge the grihasthas had at that time. Gobila immediately cursed Devadatta, saying, ‘Your son will be born as a great fool and will not speak a word.’ Trembling, Devadatta bowed down to him and prayed for release from the curse. He said:
क्षणकोपा महान्तो वै पापिष्ठाः कल्पकॊपनाः
“The anger of noble persons will only last for a moment, whereas, for sinners, the anger will last for eternity,” and prayed. Gobila also changed his mind and said that the curse he had given could not be altered, but he blessed him by saying that even if his son is born as a fool, he would turn into a scholar later. After the birth of his son, Devadatta, who had performed all the rituals properly, performed Upanayana at the age of 8. But the boy did not utter a single mantra; even at the age of 12, he did not know how to perform the basic Sandhyavandana. The boy, overcome by grief, left home and went to the forest. There he was firm in truth and celibacy, and in the forest, he became known by the noble name of Satyavrata. He was very sad ruminating that it was now clear that he had not given a book in Danam even to one brahmana in his previous birth and had not parted with the knowledge he had with anyone. In this way, 14 years passed.
One day, when Satyavrata was seated in the ashram, a pig, attacked and bleeding, ran into a corner of the ashram. Unknowingly, Satyavrata said, ‘Ai! (ऐ)’. The hunter, who was chasing the pig, came there and asked Satyavrata if he had seen the pig, and begged him, being Satyavrata, to tell the truth and save his family from starvation. Now Satyavrata faced a terrible clash of dharmas. If he said that he had seen the pig and that it was in the ashram, he would be guilty of committing violence against the living being who had come to him, seeking refuge. If he said that he had not seen the pig, his vow to protect the truth would be broken. The hunter continued to question Satyavrata, who was stunned and did not know what to do. It was then that Satyavrata, the confirmed fool, received the immense mercy of Devi. A rare verse emerged from his mouth, which had been unable to speak anything.
या पश्यति न सा ब्रूते या ब्रूते सा न पश्यति । अहो व्याध स्वकार्यार्थिन् किं पृच्छसि पुनः पुनः ॥
“The sense of sight does not speak, the sense of speech does not see. O hunter, why do you keep asking again and again for selfish gain?” The basic meaning of this verse is – the eye sees, but does not speak; the mouth speaks, but does not see; that is why I am unable to say anything. This verse has a deep Vedantic meaning also. That is, the one who has seen the Supreme has not spoken; the one who has spoken has not seen. Knowledge of the Self – Atmajnana is experience; neither book knowledge nor knowledge from hearing is of any use. By the grace of Devi, the power of poetry equal to that of Valmiki suddenly arose in Satyavrata.
The reason why Satyavrata received the immense grace of Devi was that when the pig entered, he simply shouted “Ai (ऐ)”, and Devi took the word as “Aim (ऐं)” as if it had been spoken by him and bestowed her grace. He was already a Satyavrata; the time came when the grace of Gobila Maharishi came to bear fruit. “Aim (ऐं)” is what gives the power of speech, Saaraswata bija. Durvasa, the greatest of the devotees of Devi, in his Shaktimahimna stotra, has highly praised this bijakshara and said that it is capable of giving Moksha. This bijakshara is also praised as Chaturveda Sanketa Saram. That is, the first letter of the Rigveda’s opening mantra ‘Agnimeele’ is ‘ अ ‘. The first letter of the Yajurveda’s mantra ‘Ishetva’ is ‘ इ ‘. The first letter of the Samaveda’s opening mantra ‘Agna Ayahi’ is ‘ अ ‘. When these three first letters are combined according to Sanskrit grammar, they become अ + इ = ए ; ए + अ = ऐ . When the Ardhamatra ‘ म् ‘ is added to the letter ‘ ऐ ‘, it becomes ‘ ऐं ‘ and is praised as the essence of the four Vedas.
Story of Sudarshana
Another story that explains the greatness of the Devi’s Bijakshara begins with a king named Dhruvasandhi who rose in the Ikshvaku dynasty of Ayodhya after Sri Rama. Dhruvasandhi had two wives – Manorama and Lilavati. A month after Manorama gave birth to a son named Sudarshana, Lilavati gave birth to Shatrujit. When King Dhruvasandhi died while hunting in the forest, on the orders of Vasishta, the young Sudarshana was made king. Lilavati’s father, King Yudhajit of Ujjain, did not like this. He fought a fierce battle with Manorama’s father, Kalinga King Veerasena. Veerasena died in the battle. Manorama was now afraid that her son Sudarshana would be in danger because of the greedy Yudhajit. What would a greedy person not do?
पितरं मातरं भ्रातॄन्गुरून्स्वजनबांधवान् । हंति लोभसमाविष्टो जनो नात्र विचारणा ।
A greedy person would not hesitate to kill anyone, be it his own mother, father, Gurus, or relatives. Manorama set out with her son Sudarshana, a trusted minister, and a maidservant to the battlefield to see the body of Veerasena, and fled from there. On the banks of the Ganga, robbers stole her chariot and all of the little money she had. Somehow, with difficulty, she crossed the Ganga and reached the ashram of the disciples of Maharishi Bharadwaja, and took refuge. In the meantime, Yudhajit made his grandson Shatrujit the king and came to this ashram in order to kill Sudarshana. The sages there came forward to save Sudarshana, hence Yudhajit returned fearing the sage’s curse.
At the age of five, Sudarshana accidentally heard a sound in the forest that sounded like ‘Klim (क्लीं)’ while two people were talking. He became very fond of it and kept repeating ‘Klim’, ‘Klim’. At the age of eleven, Upanayanam was performed. He learnt Vedas and archery. One day, Devi, who was very pleased with his chanting of the ‘Klim’ mantra, appeared to him in the form of Vaishnavi and bestowed upon him a bow, arrow, armor, and quiver. The ‘Klim’ bijakshara is extolled as the Lakshmi bijakshara. Since ‘Ka’ represents Dharma, ‘La’ means wealth, ‘E’ means desire, and Bindu stands for Liberation, it is capable of granting all four Purusharthas. After some time, Shashikala, the daughter of Subahu, the king of Kashi, heard about Sudarshana and loved to marry him. She was also a devotee of the Devi. The Devi asked her in her dream to wed Sudarshana. Similarly, the Devi also instructed Sudarshana in his dream to marry Shashikala. When Subahu tried to arrange a swayamvaram for his daughter, Shashikala sent a message to Sudarshana through a brahmana. Sudarshana immediately started off for Kashi. Fearing that Yudhajit and Shatrujit would definitely come to Kashi, his mother Manorama chanted Devi Kavacham and created a protective shield for Sudarshana.
अग्रतस्तेऽम्बिका पातु पार्वती पातु पृष्ठतः । …… सर्वदा सर्वदॆशेषु पातु त्वां भुवनेश्वरी ।
महामाया जगद्धात्री सच्चिदानन्दरूपिणी ।
“May Ambika protect you in front; ……. may Bhuvaneshwari protect you at all times and in all places. She is Mahamaya, the sustainer of the world, the one who is in the form of Sat-Chit-Ananda.” Though she armed Sudarshana with Devi’s armour, Manorama, out of fear, accompanied him to Kashi.
Devi’s Grace for Sudarshana
Many kings had gathered in Kashi with an army of 63 Akshauhinis. Yudhajit had vowed to come there and kill Sudarshana. The other kings warned Sudarshana to go back to save his life. Then the answer given by Sudarshana would have taken anyone to the very edge of astonishment. He said: “By the grace of the Devi, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva themselves receive power to perform their work. What is my anxiety? I have come to Kashi only on the orders of the Devi.
जये पराजये लज्जा न मेऽत्राण्वपि पार्थिवाः । भगवत्यास्तु लज्जास्ति तदधीनोऽस्मि सर्वथा ॥
“I am not ashamed of victory or defeat. Since I am Bhagavati’s slave, it is Bhagavati who should be ashamed,” he said. The next day, Shashikala refused to come to the royal assembly for the swayamvaram. She told her father to get Sudarshana married to her. Subahu said in the Durbar that the swayamvaram had been postponed by a day. That evening, Sasikala insisted that her marriage to Sudarshana be performed in the palace in great secrecy. Subahu, who had no other choice, performed the marriage. The next morning, when the announcement of the marriage was made in the royal assembly, there was a great commotion. Yudhajit, along with all the kings, besieged the palace with his army. He was determined to kill Sudarshana when he came out. After six days, with the chanting of the bijakshara ‘Klim’, Sudarshana, Shashikala, Subahu, and his army came out of the palace, and a fierce battle began. Then suddenly the Devi appeared there mounted on a lion, with her embodied Shaktis and weapons, and fought. She killed Yudhajit, Shatrujit, and many others. While praising the Devi, Subahu said,
सत्सङ्गतिः कथमहो न करोति कामं प्रासङ्गिकामपि विहिता खलु चित्तशुद्धिः ।
‘I have accidentally received the virtuous company of Sudarshana. What does satsangh not give? It gives purity of the mind. It has granted me the darshan of the Devi.’ When the Devi told him to ask for a boon, he prayed that she should reside permanently in Kashi with the name of Durgadevi. The Devi granted him the same. She ordered Sudarshana to go immediately to Ayodhya and take over rulership of the kingdom. After the Devi went out of sight, Sudarshana told the other kings, who were stunned, about the Devi’s glory. Returning to Ayodhya, he first spoke to his stepmother Lilavati of Vedanta and consoled her by saying that the experience of karmic results was inevitable. His kingdom was one of Dharma like the Rama Rajya. Devi temples and Devi worship flourished in Ayodhya and Kashi. There is a famous Durga Devi temple in Kashi even today. There, we can see the story of Sudarshana engraved on stone based on the Devi Bhagavatam.
Devi Yajna
When Bhagavan Vyasa reiterated to Janamejaya the necessity of performing Devi Yajna for the sake of deliverance of Parikshit, he said that Manasa Yajna is the best and can lead to the ate of Jivanmukta. He added said that the first Dravya Yajna for Devi was performed by Vishnu in Vaikuntham. He called Brahma, Shiva and the Devas and performed it elaborately with 27 Ritviks. The grace of Devi was received through incorporeal voice. Similarly, later Shiva, Brahma and the Devas also benefited by performing Devi Yajna.
Navratri Vratham
Four Navaratris should be celebrated in a year. When the seasons (Ritus) change, they cause misery to the people like the fangs of Yama. Four Navarathris have been ordained so that if one takes refuge under Devi, one gets well. They come in the months of Chaitra (Spring), Aashadha, Sarath (Aasvina), and Magha. Chaitra and Asvina are very important; especially Asvina is even more significant, so we celebrate it notably. A beautiful Mandap should be erected and decorated, Devi should be invoked in an image (Pratima) or yantra, and also in a kalash, and 9 or 5, 3, or at least one brahmana should be invited and Devi Bhagavata Parayanam, Vishnu Sahasranama Parayanam, Durga Saptasati Parayanam, Devi Bhagavata Katha, Trikala Puja, and Homam should be performed for all 9 days. Homam can be performed as Chandi Homa or with Gayatri Mantra. There should be a comfortable place for the listeners. Fasting is important. Daily Kumari, Suvasini, and Vatu pujas are to be performed. Kumari should be between 2 and 10 years old. It is very good if one performs every day, such as 2-year-old Kumari on the first day, 3-year-old Kumari on the second day, and so on till 10-year-old Kumari on the 9th day. If one cannot, do the puja as per availability of Kumaris for Puja. Vyasa recounts a special name, hymn, and benefits for Kumari of each age. A 2-year-old girl’s name is Kumarika- worship will cause removal of sorrow, poverty, and destruction of enemies. A 3-year-old Kumari- Trimurti- Dharma, Artha, Kama, wealth, and foodgrain will be obtained. A 4-year-old-Kalyani- Vidya, victory, kingdom, comfort and profit. A 5-year-old-Rohini- destruction of karma of previous Janmas. A 6-year-old-Kalika- destruction of enemies. 7 years- Chandika- attainment of wealth. 8 years- Sambhavi- Attraction. 9 years- Durga- completion of awe-inspiring activities. 10 years- Subhadra- All auspicious things will happen.
Stotras during Kumari Puja:
Kumarika:
कुमारस्य च तत्त्वानि या सृजत्यपि लीलया । कादीनपि च देवांस्तां कुमारीं पूजयाम्यहम् ।
I worship that Kumari, who enunciates the esoteric tatvas of Kumara and creates Devas including Brahma.
Trimurti:
सत्त्वादिभिस्त्रिमूर्तिर्या तैर्हि नानास्वरूपिणी । त्रिकालव्यापिनी शक्तिः त्रिमूर्तिं पूजयाम्यहम् ॥
That Trimurti Devi I worship, who assumes three forms through the three attributes of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, and who pervades all three times and places.
Kalyani:
कल्याणकारिणी नित्यं भक्तानां पूजितानिशम् । पूजयामि च तां भक्त्या कल्याणीं सर्वकामदाम् ॥
I worship Kalyani, who always bestows all auspiciousness on her devotees who worship her constantly and fulfils all their desires.
Rohini:
रोहयन्ती च बीजानि प्राग्जन्मसञ्चितानि वै । या देवी सर्वभूतानां रोहिणीं पूजयाम्यहम् ॥
I worship that Devi Rohini, who now grows the seeds (karmic) that all living beings have collected in previous births.
Kali:
काली कालयते सर्वं ब्रह्माण्डं सचराचरम् । कल्पान्तसमये यां तां कालिकां पूजयाम्यहम् ॥
I worship that Devi Kali, who at the end of the Kalpa absorbs the entire universe of both moving and non-moving objects in herself.
Chandika:
चण्डिकां चण्डरूपां च चण्डमुण्डविनाशिनीम् । तां चण्डपापहरिणीं चण्डिकां पूजयाम्यहम् ॥
I worship Devi Chandika, who with fierce nature and fierce form, kills the fierce and cruel demons Chanda and Munda, and also removes the gravest sins.
Shambhavi:
I worship that Devi Shambhavi, whose very form is Vedas, and whose manifestation is proclaimed by Vedas as voluntary and causeless.
Durga:
दुर्गात्त्रायति भक्तं या सदा दुर्गार्तिनाशिनी । दुर्ज्ञेया सर्वदेवानां तां दुर्गां पूजयाम्यहम् ॥
I worship that Durga, who protects devotees from difficulties, who always removes miseries and sufferings, and who is beyond the perception of all Devas.
Subhadra:
सुभद्राणि च भक्तानां कुरुते पूजिता सदा । अभद्रनाशिनीं देवीं सुभद्रां पूजयाम्यहम् ॥
I worship Devi Subhadra, who, worshipped by devotees, bestows all auspiciousness on them and destroys everything inauspicious.
Devi should be worshipped on all the nine days; if not possible, at least on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami tithis; if that is also not possible, certainly on Ashtami day. Ashtami is the day on which Bhadrakali, who destroyed Dakshayajna, manifested; hence important. It is good to spend to one’s capacity in Navaratri celebrations, without being miserly. Those who are prosperous in this birth, it is clear, have indeed worshipped Devi with devotion in all ways in their previous births.
(to be continued)