Aum Chamundayai Namaha!

13

Chamunda

Ya Devi sarvabhuteshu, sraddha rupena samsthita

Namasthasyai, namasthasyai, namasthasyai namo namaha!

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

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

The fifth through the tenth chapters of the Devi Mahatmyam are devoted to the killing of the asuras Shumbha and Nishumbha and their allies. This third section of the epic is devoted to Maha Saraswati. It deals with the overthrow of another most powerful enemy: ignorance of reality or avidya. All our human troubles arise from the fact that we are in total ignorance of who we are, what is happening to us, and what may happen to us. Thus ajnana or ordinary ignorance is the subtle power that really binds us. The mind churns and desires only because we do not know the nature of supreme truth. When the sun of wisdom is covered with clouds, our minds experience a darkness in which the cyclone of desire can sweep us off our feet and project us into a maelstrom of hate and anger. As long as the jivatman is unaware of its own effulgent nature, the tornado of desire will keep blowing.

Human nescience has its root in the three cosmic gunas: tamas, rajas, and sattva. The epic story of the destruction of Shumbha and Nishumbha represents the overcoming and transformation of cosmic nature in the form of these gunas. Sattva is a subtle medium of obstruction. It is like a clear pane of glass that does not obstruct your view but obstructs your approach to the reality within. Psychologically, it manifests as feelings of complacency and satisfaction with what we think we have achieved. Esoterically, these feelings are typified by Shumbha and Nishumbha. Only Maha Saraswati, the power of higher wisdom, can dispel them. Liberation is not an individual effort. It is a cosmic endeavor in which we are helped by the great celestial powers. When you step into the spiritual path, you have to leave your petty individual concepts behind and cross into the way of cosmic relationships. A spiritual seeker is not just another individual like millions of others but a special person, for he or she has connected with the universal reality. The Devi Mahatmyam involves us in this cosmic dance that overcomes the powers of tamas, rajas, and sattva and helps us attain supreme realization. In this we are helped by the great forces of Adi Shakti.

In days of yore two mighty asuras called Shumbha and Nishumbha decided to practice tapas in order to wrest some boons from the creator. They undertook severe austerities in the lake known as Pushkara until eventually Brahma revealed himself and prompted them to ask for a boon. Of course, in the nature of all demons they immediately asked for immortality, which was denied to them. Brahma told them to ask for any other boon, and after due consideration they requested, as Mahisha had done, that they should be granted invulnerability from the hands of any male creature, whether demon, god, animal, or bird. This Brahma promptly approved. (No doubt Brahma knew in his heart that he could always depend on the goddess to rescue him. The constant repetition of this pattern makes us think that Brahma must be reenacting the whole drama only in order to give us a chance to enjoy the divine lilas.)

The brothers returned and installed Shumbha, who was the elder, on a golden throne made for him by the sage Brighu, whom he had propitiated. They then started to amass a large army of asuras headed by their powerful commanders Chanda, Munda, Dhumralochana, and Raktabija. The demon Raktabija was said to be invincible because he had been granted the boon that every drop of his blood that fell on the ground would give rise to another asura, equal to him in valor and carrying the same weapons. Many heroes arrived and pledged their allegiance to Shumbha and Nishumbha, until their army swelled and rolled like a mighty ocean. Shumbha’s army marched to the heavens and conquered the host of gods lead by Indra in no time. He then proceeded to overthrow the rulers of the quarters and established his suzerainty over the three worlds.

The dejected gods went to their guru, Brihaspati, and begged him to chant some mantras that would free them of their troubles. Brihaspati told them that good by itself could not resist evil since good is only the countercorrelative of evil. Only that which is neither good nor evil— nirguna, without qualities—can defeat evil.

“Don’t you remember,” he said, “at that time when she killed the mighty asura Mahisha, the Divine Mother promised to help you whenever you were afflicted by evil? Go to her therefore and praise her with hymns, and she will surely come to your aid.”

The devas hopefully departed to the Himalayas, the abode of the goddess, and started to extol her with many beautiful hymns. They said, “Salutations to the blessed devi. Salutations again and again to Prakriti, the auspicious. Prostrations to the dreadful, to the eternal, to the pure and the effulgent. Prostrations to Durga, the essence, the doer of everything. All hail to her who manifests in all creatures as Vishnu Maya, as consciousness, as intellect, as sleep, as hunger, as shadow, as power, as thirst, as forbearance, as birth, as modesty, as memory, as mercy, as contentment, as mother, and as delusion, and who is known among all beings as the sustainer of all. May that devi bestow her blessings on us, who are forlorn and helpless.”

Hardly had they finished eulogizing her when they saw the goddess Parvati coming out of her cave in order to take her bath in the river Ganga (Ganges). She was incredibly beautiful, adorned with divine clothes and jewels. In sweet accents she asked the devas what they wanted. They made their request and begged her to help them.

As they spoke she smiled, and out of her bodily sheath or kosha another supremely beautiful form emerged, known as Kaushiki, a form of Durga. When Kaushiki came out of her body, Parvati’s body changed color and became black and terrible to behold. She came to be known as Kalika or Kaali. Kaushiki told the gods to return to their own abode and promised to settle the matter with their enemies.

The beautiful Kaushiki or Durga then seated herself on the branch of a tree while Kalika sat below her and started to sing in a melodious voice. Just then, Chanda and Munda, the bodyguards of Shumbha and Nishumbha, happened to pass by. They saw the enchanting form of the goddess seated playfully on the tree. They were enthralled by her appearance and ran to inform their masters of this beautiful vision.

Asuras are noted for their vanity and lust, and immediately Shumbha asked his minister Sugriva to go and woo the beauty and ask her to become his bride.

The minister pleaded his master’s case with great dexterity: “O Devi! Shumbha, the king of the asuras, is lord of the three worlds. He has sent me here to request you to become his bride. He is capable of giving you anything you desire.”

The goddess smiled sweetly when she heard these words and told the minister, “I have no doubt that you are speaking the truth and that your master is the greatest in all the three worlds. I will gladly marry him. But there is a condition attached. I have taken a vow to marry only one who can defeat me in battle. So let either Shumbha or Nishumbha come here and defeat me, and I assure you that I will marry the one who vanquishes me.”

The messenger was shocked when he heard this and begged her to reconsider her foolish vow, but the goddess merely smiled her secret smile and told him to return to his master and repeat her words.

When Shumbha heard this strange vow, he decided to send his general Dhumralochana to capture and bring her to him.

Dhumralochana tried his best to persuade Kaushiki to accompany him back to his master, but she refused to talk and merely sent Kalika to confront him. After a fierce fight Dhumralochana charged at Kalika, shouting imprecations. Kalika merely gave a mighty ham (seed mantra of akasa) and he was immediately burnt to ashes. His frightened soldiers ran back to Shumbha to give a report of these extraordinary happenings. Shumbha was astounded to hear this and did not know what to do. His brother Nishumbha now offered to go and conquer Kaali, but Shumbha said, “It is not necessary to send an elephant to kill a rabbit, so let us send our generals Chanda and Munda. They will be able to kill Kalika easily and bring Durga to me.”

Now it was the turn of Chanda and Munda to march toward Durga and try their hand at defeating her. When they tried to lay their hands on her, she became furious. Her face became black with rage and from her furrowed brow there emerged another hideous form of Kaali. The demons were horrified when they saw her. She was gaunt and terrifying with thin, pendulous breasts and sunken, bloodshot eyes. Her tongue lolled from her bloodstained, cavernous mouth and she belched fire. She was clad in tiger skin with a necklace of human skulls, and she wielded a many-colored staff topped with a skull. Her eyes rolled revoltingly as she gave the most hideous, bloodcurdling roars. The asura army fell unconscious at the very sound. The earth trembled with every step she took. Taking up handfuls of asuras in her enormous hands, she stuffed them into her cavernous mouth and munched them with apparent relish. Chariots, elephants, and horses went the same way. She swallowed even the weapons they flung at her, crunching them like biscuits. Soon the entire army was destroyed. Undaunted, Chanda and Munda ran at her with upraised weapons. She caught hold of them as if they were puppets and brought them to Durga, who was sitting on the lion, and presented them to her as human sacrifices. Taking up her axe, Kaali cut off their heads, offering them to Durga, and drank the blood that gushed from their severed necks.

Durga said, “Since you have brought me the heads of Chanda and Munda, you will be renowned in the world by the name of Chamunda.”

An eighteenth-century poem by Bhavabhuti glorifies her thus:

Hail! Hail! Chamunda! Mighty goddess hail!

I glorify thy sport, when in the dance,

That fills the court of Shiva with delight,

Thy foot descending spurs the earthly globe.

The elephant hide that robes thee, to thy steps,

Swings to and fro; the whirling talons rend

The crescent on thy brow;

And from the torn orb the trickling nectar falls,

And every skull that gems thy necklace

Laughs with horrid life!

The remaining soldiers were terrified by this gruesome spectacle and ran back to their masters to report all that had taken place on the battlefield. Shumbha now ordered his best general, Raktabija, to go with another huge army to capture Durga. The asura hordes encircled the goddess, her lion, and Kaali and prepared to rush at them. At this time the watching gods sent their powerful shaktis to help her. The energy of Brahma appeared as Brahmaani, riding on a swan, carrying a kamandalu (water pot). The energy of Shiva came as Maheswari, riding on a bull, holding aloft a trident, wearing the crescent moon in her hair. The force of Skanda came as Kaumari, riding on a peacock, holding a spear. The energy of Vishnu appeared as Vaishnavi, flying on the eagle Garuda, holding the discus, conch, mace, and bow. The energy of Indra came as Indrani, riding the white elephant and brandishing the thunderbolt. The shaktis of Vishnu came as Vaarahi the boar and Nrisimhi the lady-lion. Another fierce shakti came out of Durga herself, howling like a jackal; she ordered Lord Shiva to go as her ambassador to Shumbha and Nishumbha, and therefore she came to be known as Shivaduti—one who sent Shiva as an emissary.

First to arrive on the scene of battle was Brahmaani, who sprinkled the waters of her kamandalu over the asura army and drained their strength. Then came Maheswari, who flung her trident, discus, spear, and thunderbolt at them and arrested the onslaught. The boar Vaarahi came next and tossed the asuras hither and thither with her tusks, and then came Nrisimhi, who began to devour them.

Seeing this destruction, Raktabija came forward. From every drop of blood that was spilt from him there arose another demon, as fearsome as he. All of them started to fight Durga with renewed vigor. With one throw of her thunderbolt she severed his head, but again every drop of blood that fell on the ground turned into a clone of him. Thousands of warriors rose from his flowing blood, enough to fill the earth. The gods were filled with horror when they saw this. Then all the shaktis and the Sapta Matrikis (seven mothers)—Brahmaani, Maheswari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Vaarahi, Indrani, and Nrisimhi—fell on Raktabija, but thousands of Raktabijas rose up and filled the battle-field, to the dismay of the watching gods. The whole world seemed to be filled with asuras, and only the Sapta Matrikas, Durga, and Kaali were left on the battlefield to fight with these hordes.

Then Durga told Kaali, “Widen your face and spread your tongue as far as the eye can see. When I kill these asuras with my weapons, don’t let even a drop of blood fall on the ground. Drink up every drop with your wide and long tongue, and eat up as many asuras as possible at the same time. Only then will we be able to stop this demon’s onslaught.”

With these words, Durga pierced Raktabija with her trident, and Kaali spread her tongue and drank up his blood before a drop could fall on the ground. Raktabija roared with pain and fell upon Durga with great force. She put an end to his life with her discus, which caused a great flood of blood. Kaali drank all the blood and ate all the rakshasas (giants of darkness and evil) who had been created by the few drops that had escaped her tongue.

The remaining asuras fled in terror and reported the matter to Shumbha: “O King! The goddess Durga has killed all the asuras and Chamunda has drunk all their blood and ate the rest. We advise you not to keep on with this battle if you fear for your life. She is not an ordinary woman. She is Maha Maya. There is no doubt about this. She has manifested herself only to help the gods and is bent on destroying our whole race.”

Shumbha was furious when he heard this and told them scornfully, “You are all cowards to be chased by a woman. You may go down to the netherworld if you wish, but I will go and destroy her myself.”

Then Nishumbha said, “Brother! Fear not! I will go first and kill this woman. There is no need for you to bestir yourself.”

Seeing the approaching army, Durga laughed and spoke in her soft, sweet voice to Kaali: “O Kaali! See how foolish they are. Hope springs ever in the human breast. Even after witnessing the death of so many of their generals they still think they can defeat me.”

Nishumbha fell upon Maha Maya and fought with her various manifestations, including Kaali and the Sapta Matrikas (Vaishnavi, Maheswari, Brahmaani, Kaumari, Indrani, Vaarahi, and Nrisimhi). Shumbha followed, close on the heels of his brother, and supported him from the rear. When Nishumbha wounded her lion, Durga (Chandika) became angry and stuck him down. He rose up immediately and came forward to fight with Durga. He flew at her in his chariot, holding aloft many weapons. Seeing him approach, she blew her conch, and the sound made the blood freeze in his bones. However, he rallied himself and fell upon the lion with his club and then made as if to lunge at Durga. She immediately struck off his head with her axe, but to the horror of the devas, the headless demon danced around, lashing at everyone with his club. Durga then cut off his hands and feet, and at last the lifeless trunk fell to the ground with a mighty thud.

The soldiers ran back and told Shumbha about the death of his brother and advised him not to proceed.

Shumbha said, “Fools! Do you expect me to run away and save my skin when I have been the cause of the death of my brother and my ministers? This woman is a woman only in name. She has the strength of a hundred heroic warriors. Since death is certain for every creature, let me die on the battlefield rather than rot in the netherworld!”

So saying, Shumbha got into his chariot and advanced toward Durga. When he set eyes on her, he was smitten by her charms and tried to woo her with conciliatory words: “O thou of delicate limbs, why do you want to fight with me? A woman’s eyebrows are her bow and her looks are her arrows. Her gestures and postures are her weapons. Give up these fierce ministers of yours, this ugly Kalika and Chamunda, and come with me. I shall serve you as you deserve to be served.”

Durga laughed at his words and said, “O stupid one! If you think I’m too beautiful to fight with you, then fight with this ugly Kalika or fierce Chamunda. I will stand and watch.”

Then turning to Chamunda she said, “O Chamunda, your nature is violent and this person likes to fight with ferocious people, so please go and humor him.”

Hearing this command, Chamunda pounced on Shumbha with her axe and cut off his left hand, which was adorned with jewels and weapons. Then Shumbha said, “O wicked Durga, you are fighting with the help of so many others while I am all alone.”

Durga replied, “Look at me. I am alone. There is none other than

I. I alone exist in this whole universe. You are imagining that you see people other than me.”

As soon as she said these words all her other avataras, from Kaali to the Sapta Matrikas, reentered her body, and Durga remained alone, holding aloft her trident. But Shumbha was too immersed in his own ego to understand the message. He continued to think that he could conquer the divine. He failed to understand the inner meaning of the show she had just put forth: that he was also a part of her and could merge himself in her if he so wished.

Shumbha now waged a terrific battle with the goddess. He hurled his most powerful weapons at her, and the gods watched with bated breath as she smashed his chariot and made him fall to the ground. He fell on her with his most powerful astra (missile), but she sliced it with her arrows. Now he hit her on the breast with his club. She retaliated and beat his chest with her mace, and he fell down senseless. She waited until he regained consciousness. Then he soared into the sky and rained arrows on her. She immediately flew after him and brought him down to the ground. The infuriated Shumbha charged at her as if to throttle her with his bare hands. Thus the fight went on and on. The Devi Mahatmyam says that Durga allowed Shumbha to wrestle with her for a long time.

At last Durga decided to put an end to Shumbha’s life and tore his chest in two with her trident. As he fell, the whole earth trembled and oceans churned. The celestials rejoiced and danced. The trees began to bloom and the rivers to flow swiftly. Fires in all hearths burned vibrantly, and the wind blew softly while the sun shone brightly. The earth had been rid of her burdens.

The gods rejoiced and came to hymn Durga (Chandika) with the famous Narayani sthuti (praise).

O Narayani! Destroyer of woes! Be pleased, O Mother of the universe.

Supreme controller! Protect us all! You are the support of the universe.

You are Vishnu Maya, cause of both bondage and liberation. All knowledge is thy form. All women are thyself, O Mother!

O Narayani! Thou art time, space, and causation. All this is filled by thee alone.

Thou art intelligence, O Narayani!

O blessed refuge of the distressed, O Narayani! Salutations to thee!

O destroyer of all troubles of the devoted, who take refuge in thee, O Narayani! Salutations to thee!

O Devi, whenever evil prevails, you manifest yourself.

You are that power of the eternal that manifests as the power of creation, sustenance, and destruction. O queen of all, you protect all.

Having all for your very soul, you support all.

O Mother of all the worlds! Destroyer of woes! Support of the universe! Please continue to protect the world. O Brahmaani, carrying the kamandalu, riding on the swan; O Maheswari, with the trident sitting on a bull; O Kaumari, with the spear sitting on the peacock; O Vaishnavi, carrying the conch, discus, mace, and bow, seated on Garuda, salutations to you!

O Devi of the dreadful form of Vaarahi and Nrisimhi, O Narayani, salutations to you!

O Lakshmi! O Kaali! O Saraswati! Pray protect us.

O Narayani! Salutations to you again and again!

Wherever there is unrighteousness, there will you manifest. Those who take refuge in you have no cause for fear.

O adorable one! Pray protect us who rest under your feet!

O Mother, be gracious! Just as you rescued us from the demons today, please promise to save us whenever we call out to you in all the times to come.

The goddess was pleased with the hymn of the gods and told them of her future incarnations:

In the Vaivasvata manvantara, in the twenty-eighth Dwapara Yuga, I will be born in the house of Nandagopa in Yasoda’s womb and will destroy Shumbha and Nishumbha once again in the Vindhya mountains, where I will take up my abode and be known as Vindhya Vaasini.

Again I will be invoked by rishis at the time of a universal famine, and I will be born in order to relieve the distress of the people. At that time I will be known as Satakshi and Shakambari.

Whenever there is oppression by evil forces I shall descend into the three worlds and save you, if you call to me with hearts full of faith. Whoever contemplates my saving grace with full concentration and loving devotion will be relieved of disease and misfortune. They need fear neither weapons, fire, nor floods. I will never abandon that abode where prayers are offered to me continually. Listening to the tales of my deeds, one becomes fearless and is unaffected by evil dreams and the influence of malefic planets.

Whenever there is trouble anywhere I shall manifest myself and bring peace on Earth. The mere reading of my stories will destroy the troubles of my devotees.

Thus saying, she blessed the gods and disappeared from their sight.

Shumbha typifies that part of our nature that keeps resisting the truth that we are all fundamentally the same and all emanate from the supreme. We are confirmed individualists and will not give up our separate egos even if we are promised the kingdom of God. We find it difficult to accept the fact that we cannot force the divine to obey our will. When she doesn’t bend to our will, we feel the same frustration and anger as Shumbha. We are allowed full freedom to entertain this idea and combat with her for a long time—until the moment comes when she decides that we should be made aware of our true nature.

Shumbha’s general Raktabija is an allegory for our unhealthy thoughts, which multiply if left to feed on the negativity that surrounds us. They have to be caught before they take root in our subconscious and multiply beyond our control. Kaali has to be invoked to do this. If left alone, these thoughts will harden into our personality, and then we will never be able to eradicate them. As Swami Shivananda says, “Constant vigilance is the price of spiritual liberty.”

The Devi Mahatmyam is the story of an inner battle. Victory comes to us only when we find the strength to surrender our negative emotions to Durga’s purifying influence. The different types of conflicts that are described here actually happen daily within our hearts and in the external world. We are constantly waging a war between our negative and positive emotions. It is a battle that has to be fought by every generation. The answers have to be given by the Divine Mother herself. Unless we surrender to her, we can never end the conflict. If, like Chanda and Munda, we try to defy the goddess and usurp her special powers for our own benefit, she become enraged and out of her beautiful form will emanate the terrible figure of Kaali, the power of time, who will devour us with her fierce fangs.

When worshipped by your devotees,

You remove their ignorance and bondage,

Their fear, disease, and threat of death.

You protect their children and their goods.

I, who have lost everything, appeal to you for help.

Protect me, O lotus-eyed savior.

I am fighting for truth,

Protect me with all the power of truth.

O Durga, shelter me in your wide lap.

You who are ever loving and merciful to devotees,

Help me!

—FROM THE DURGA STOTRAM

IN THE MAHABHARATA

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter of Shakti, known as “Chamunda,” which describes the killing of the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha.

Aum Aim Hreem Kleem