Śrīmad Devī Bhāgavatam

The king Suratha spoke :-- “O Best of the twice born! Who is that Devī that you spoke just now? Why the Devī deludes all these beings? What for does She do so? Whence is the Devī born? What is Her Form? and what are Her qualities? O Brāhmin! Kindly describe all these to me.”

The Muni spoke :-- O King! I will now describe the nature of the Devī Bhagavatī and why does She take Her Form in due time. Listen. In ancient days, when Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, the king of the Yogis, was lying in deep sleep on the ocean on the bed of Ananta, after He had destroyed the Universe, there came out of the wax of his ear the two Dānavas, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, of monstrous appearances.

They wanted to kill Brahmā, who was lying on the lotus coming out of the navel of Bhagavān. Seeing the two Daityas Madhu and Kaiṭabha and seeing also Hari asleep the Lotus-born Brahmā became very anxious and thought :--

:-- Now Bhagavān is asleep; and these two indomitable Daityas are ready to kill me. Now what am I to do? Where to go? How shall I get ease? O Child! Thus thinking, the high souled Lotus born suddenly came to a practical conclusion. He said :-- “Let me now take refuge to the Goddess Sleep, Nidrā, the Mother of all and under Whose power Bhagavān Hari is now asleep.”

Brahmā then began to praise Her thus :-- “O Devī of the Devas! O Upholdress of the world! Thou grantest desires of Thy devotees. O Thou auspicious! Thou art Para Brahmā! By Thy Command all are doing respectively their works in their proper spheres!

Thou art the Night of Destruction (Kāla Rātri); Thou art the Great Night (Mahā Rātri). Thou art the greatly terrible Night of Delusion (Moha Rātri); Thou art omnipresent; omniscient; of the nature of the Supreme Bliss. Thou art regarded as the Great. Thou art highly worshipped; Thou art alone in this world as highly intoxicated; Thou art submissive to Bhakti only; Thou art the Best of all the things; Thou art sung as the Highest; Thou art modesty; Thou art Puṣṭi (nourishment); Thou art forgiveness (Kṣamā); Thou art Beauty (Kānti); Thou art the embodiment of mercy; Thou art liked by all; Thou art adorned by the whole world; Thou art of the nature of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep; Thou art the Highest; Thou art alone Highest Deity; Thou art highly attached to the Supreme Bliss. There is no other thing than Thee. There is One only and that is Thee. Hence Thou art denominated as One; Thou becomest again the two by contact with Thy Māyā.

Thou art the refuge of Dharma, Artha and Kāma; hence Thou Thou art Three; Thou art the Turīya (the fourth state of consciousness) hence Thou art Four. Thou art the God of the five elements; hence Thou art Pañcamī (five); Thou presidest over the six passions Kāma, anger, etc.; hence Thou art Ṣaṣṭhī; Thou presidest over the seven days of the week and Thou grantest boons seven by seven; hence Thou art Seven. Thou art the God of the eight Vasus; hence Thou art Aṣṭamī; Thou art full of the nine Rāgas and nine parts and Thou art the Goddess of nine planets; hence Thou art Navamī.

Thou pervadest the ten quarters and Thou art worshipped by the ten quarters; hence Thou art named Daśamī (the tenth day of the fortnight); Thou art served by the Eleven Rudras, the Goddesses of eleven Gaṇas and Thou art fond of Ekādaśī Tithi; hence Thou art denominated Ekādaśī; Thou art twelve armed and the Mother of the twelve Ādityas; hence Thou art Dvādaśī; Thou art dear to the thirteen Gaṇas; Thou art the presiding Deity of Visve Devas and Thou art the thirteen months including the Malas Māsa (dirty month), hence Thou art Trayodaśī.

Thou didst grant boons to the fourteen Indras and Thou gavest birth to the fourteen Manus; hence Thou art Caturdaśī. Thou art knowable by the Pañchadaśī. Thou art sixteen armed and on Thy forehead the sixteen digits of the Moon are always shining; Thou art the sixteenth digit (ray) of the Moon named Amā; hence Thou art Ṣoḍaśī.

O Deveśī! Thou, though attributeless and formless, appearest in these forms and attributes. Thou hast now enveloped in Moha and Darkness the Lord of Ramā, the Bhagavān, the Deva of the Devas. These Daityas, Madhu and Kaiṭabha are indomitable and very powerful. So to kill them, Thou better dost awake the Lord of the Devas.”

The Muni said :-- Thus praised by the Lotus-born, the Tāmasi Bhagavatī (the Goddess of sleep and ignorance), the Beloved of Bhagavān, left Viṣṇu and enchanted the two Daityas.

On being awakened, the Supreme Spirit Viṣṇu, the Lord of the world, the Bhagavān, the Deva of the Devas, saw the two Daityas. Those two monstrous Dānavas, beholding Madhu Sūdana, came up before Him, ready to fight. The hand-to-hand fight lasted amongst them for five thousand years.

Then the two Dānavas, maddened by their great strength, were enchanted by the Māyā of Bhagavatī and told the Supreme Deity, “Ask boon from us.” Hearing this, the Bhagavān Ādi Puruṣa, (the Prime Man) asked the boon that both of them would be killed that day by Him.

Those two very powerful Dānavas spoke to Hari again, “Very well. Kill us on that part of the earth which is not under water.” O King! Bhagavān Viṣṇu, the Holder of the conch and club, spoke :-- “All right. Indeed! Let that be so.”

Saying this He placed their heads on His thigh and severed them with His disc (cakra). O King! Thus Mahā Kālī, the Queen of all the Yogas arose on this occasion when the praise was offered Her by Brahmā. O King! Now I will describe another account how this Mahā Lakṣmī appeared on another occasion. Listen. Here ends the Eleventh Chapter of the Tenth Book on the killing of Madhu Kaiṭabha in the Mahā Purāṇam Śrī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Mahārṣi Veda Vyāsa.