Aum Maheswaryai Namaha!

5

Maheswari

Ya Devi sarvabhuteshu, nidra rupena samsthita,

Namasthasyai, namasthasyai, namasthasyai namo namaha!

O Goddess who resides in all creatures in the form of sleep,

Hail to thee, hail to thee, all hail to thee!

The birth of the two terrible asuras or demons that Vishnu destroyed at the beginning of this kalpa (cycle of creation), Madhu and Kaitabha, is a curious phenomenon. At the end of the Maha Pralaya, when the whole universe was dissolved in the cosmic waters, Lord Vishnu lay sleeping on the cosmic serpent Ananta. At that time it is said that a drop of honey (madhu) came out of his right ear, and it transformed into the enormous demon known as Madhu. Out of his left ear came a small pellet of wax, which turned into the mighty demon Kaitabha. What is the esoteric meaning of this strange episode? Lord Vishnu is the preserver in the Hindu trinity, and he is the one who is always aware of what goes on in the universe. The Upanishads describe him as having many limbs, many eyes, and many ears. This means that he hears all that happens in the world, both the good and the evil. All the slanderous and ugly tales, lies, and falsehoods that are told by so many countless people collect as wax in his ears. The driving human passion for comfort, luxury, power, fortune, and wealth is transformed into the drop of honey. The karmic effect of the uncontrollable desire for wealth and comfort and the accumulated amount of negative, self-destructive thoughts and talk transformed into two terrible demons who threatened to destroy the creator, Brahma. This happens at the beginning of every kalpa, and it demonstrates the power of collective negativity. It is this that erupts into world wars. The terror that we are facing now is nothing but the work of these two demons who have been brought to life out of our own negativity.

These two titans who had thus been borne out of Lord Vishnu’s ears found themselves splashing about in the cosmic waters, pondering on the where and why of their existence. At last the idea came into their minds that the mighty goddess Maha Devi or Maheswari was their cause. They determined to discover her whereabouts. As they cogitated over the matter, they heard the celestial voice of the goddess Saraswati, who told them to meditate on her seed mantra. They decided to try this, and they proceeded to repeat the mantra and meditate on her for a thousand years.

At the end of this period of time they heard the celestial voice once again: “I’m very pleased with your tapas, and you can ask for any boon you like.”

The asuras immediately asked for immortality. The divine voice said that no one could be granted that. So they opted for death only of their own volition. This was granted, and the demons became bloated with pride and thrashed about the mighty ocean searching for a suitable opponent on whom to try their valor. When they came upon Brahma, they did not think him a suitable candidate on whom to display their prowess. Nevertheless, they ordered him to give up his lotus seat and accept their suzerainty or fight. Brahma was frightened and desperately searched in the waters for some aid. At last he was given the vision of Lord Narayana (Vishnu). But as described in chapter 3, Vishnu was in the thrall of Yoga Nidra, the goddess of sleep. It was only after she left him that he rose from his couch and saw Brahma.

Brahma bowed low before Vishnu, the lord of all lords, and begged him to deliver him from the threat of these two mighty demons. Vishnu pacified him and told him to retire to his own abode, leaving him to deal with the demons. At this point the bloodthirsty demons arrived on the scene, glad to have found a more worthy opponent.

They saw Lord Hari (Vishnu) of unspeakable beauty lying on his divine bed, the coil of a snake that was many leagues wide and many leagues long. He was clad in a yellow robe and had a diamond diadem on his head. On his chest flashed the enormous ruby known as the Kaustubham. He glowed with an ethereal splendor and beauty. From his navel sprouted a lotus with the luster of the sun, and within the lotus was seated Brahma, the four-faced one, the guru (spiritual teacher) of the world, with four arms holding the four Vedas.

The asuras were blinded by the brilliance emanating from Vishnu. They were astonished to see this sight, but undaunted, they roared and tried to intimidate the trembling Brahma. They cried:

There is nothing greater than us in this world, O Great Sage! We are the ones who cover this whole universe with darkness (tamas) and passion (rajas). We, whose nature consists of tamas and rajas, are the main cause of dukkha (sorrow) to the world. We are deceitful among those of virtuous conduct and invincible among all embodied ones. We are born age after age and delude the world. We are made up of those objects that are desired by everyone: wealth, possessions, happiness, joy, and fortune.

We will kill you first and then kill this one who seems to be sleeping on a serpent.

Brahma immediately disappeared from the lotus and took up a safe position behind Vishnu.

Lord Vishnu laughed and leisurely got up from his bed. He told the demons that he was ready to fight with them if that was what they desired. The brothers were delighted to put their might to use.

Madhu came first and challenged the lord. After some time, when he saw his brother getting tired, Kaitabha joined the fray. Vishnu used only his fists since the demons had no weapons. A tremendous battle ensued between the bloodthirsty demons and Lord Vishnu. Brahma and Adi Shakti from above witnessed this spectacle. After fighting for a thousand years the titans were still not tired. Lord Vishnu started wondering why this was so.

The asuras were elated at their success and taunted him: “If you are too tired to fight you can give up and become our slave!”

Vishnu replied, “O danavas (demons)! You are two in number and mighty in size, whereas I am single and puny when compared with you. Therefore let us rest awhile and then we will recommence our battle.

The asuras agreed with alacrity, since they were sure of the outcome and did not mind having a small rest themselves. While they rested Vishnu began to think of the reason for the apparent invincibility of the two brothers. He soon came to know of the boon of the goddess. He thought, “If this is the reason, they can never be slain, since no one ever wishes for their own death. So my only hope is to appeal to that devi herself who has granted them this boon.”

So thinking, he looked up at Adi Shakti, who was shining in the sky, and extolled her: “O Maha Kaali! Bhuvaneswari! Chandika! You have given them these boons and puffed up their pride. Kindly help me destroy them, since they are threatening to kill Brahma.”

Pleased with his hymn, Adi Shakti told him sweetly, “O Narayana! Do not fear. I will delude these two heroes by my maya, and then you will be able to kill them easily. Let it be a battle of wits between you and not just of fists.” (It is to be noted that from the very commencement of this yuga or cycle of time, the gods have had to depend on the Maha Devi’s power to help them in their tasks.)

In all his encounters with foes Lord Vishnu is noted for using his intelligence, showing the superiority of brains over brute strength. Once again he proceeded to challenge the asuras, who were still thirsty for battle. Fist for fist, arm for arm, thrust for thrust, the fight went on and on, interminably. At last Vishnu shot a desperate look at Adi Shakti or Maha Maya, who was shining with all her beauty in the sky. Seeing his look, the goddess came down to the ocean and cast her sidelong glances enticingly at the two demons, who became quite bemused by her.

To those asuras, who were thus swollen and drunk with pride, Vishnu spoke: “O danavas! I’m pleased with your prowess in the art of wrestling and wish to give you a boon. Go ahead and ask for what you want.”

The haughty demons were quite insulted by this and told him, “We are not beggars to accept boons from you. We are the ones who should be giving you boons. We are donors, not receivers! We are your benefactors, so you can go ahead and ask us for whatever you want!”

The lord smiled at the enormity of their egos and sweetly replied, “I accept your boon, O heroes! Indeed there is something I desire. I know you have great prowess. There is none equal to you. But for the good of the world I have to ask you for something. I wish that the two of you will allow yourselves to be killed by my hands.”

The asuras realized that they had been neatly tricked by Vishnu’s maya, which is a power of the Divine Mother. They thought for a minute and saw that there was nothing but water everywhere, so they swiftly hit upon a ruse to save their skins: “O mighty being! No one is equal to us in strength, beauty, bravery, generosity, might, and self-control. We will always keep our word. Yet we want to change our minds and ask you for the boon that we refused previously. You have our permission to kill us provided you do it on that which is not covered by water.”

“So be it,” said Vishnu, and he allowed them to set conditions on their commitment even though he could not see any space that was not covered with water. He then happened to glance at his own uncovered thighs, which had not a trace of water on them, and he expanded them so that they appeared like solid earth.

“O mighty danavas!” Vishnu said. “Place your heads on this solid foundation and keep your word, as I will keep mine!”

When they saw this, the demons were terrified and expanded their forms to double their size. Vishnu also expanded his thighs. This game went on until the demons realized that they were beaten. They laid their gargantuan heads on Vishnu’s thighs and the lord took his discus—the Sudarshana Chakra—and used it to saw off their mighty heads. The marrow (medhas) from their bones filled the ocean and was sucked into the earth, and that is how the earth goddess got the name Medini. And after slaying Madhu and Kaitabha, Vishnu came to be called Madhusudana.

It should be noted that in this episode of the killing of Madhu and Kaitabha, the goddess did not take an active part. The episode establishes her cosmic, transcendental status. Adi Shakti is indeed Maha Maya, the great illusion who deludes the asuras into thinking that they could outwit the divine. How great was their opinion of themselves when they talked to Brahma! This is typical of the asuric ego that thinks itself to be superior to God. As they themselves proclaimed to Brahma, these asuras are born at the beginning of every cycle of time, and the earth is nourished by the fat of their enormous egos. Naturally they are at the root of all our desires for earthly pleasures. But behind all such desires is the power of Maha Maya, who leads human beings to believe that this life has an absolute reality of its own and that we are are the masters of our own life, and thus we make their own futile attempts to outwit the divine. These attempts will end in failure, for only the divine truly abides.

He who would save the world, must be one with the world,

All suffering things contain in his heart’s space.

And bear the grief and joy of all that lives.

His soul must be wider than the universe,

And feel eternity as its very stuff.

Rejecting the moment’s personality,

Know itself older than the birth of time.

—SAVITRI BY SRI AUROBINDO

Thus ends the fifth chapter of Shakti, known as “Maheswari,” describing the defeat of the asuras Madhu and Kaitabha by Lord Vishnu.

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