The Devi Mahatmya 001: An Introduction and how King Suratha Met the Merchant Samadhi
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Devi Mahatmya: An Introduction
The Devi Mahatmya is a collection of 700 shlokas that celebrates the Devi. As there are 700 verses, the shlokas are collectively also called Durga Saptashati. These form part of book 4 of the Markandeya Purana. There are three main parts, and, there are three Devis that are associated with each part. These Devis are associated based on the gunas. Devi Mahakali is the first Devi who is associated with the Tama guna. This is darkness and inertia, and Mahakali removes that darkness. This darkness is the state of the universe before creation. The Devi in this part is called Yoganidra. The second part is about the killing of Mahishasura. This is the Raja guna and the devi associated with this guna is Devi Mahalakshmi. Raja is about action, and the Devi who is born from the energy of the Devas gets into action. The third and the last part is associated with Satva guna and the Devi here is called Mahasarasvati. She kills Chanda, Munda, Shumbha and Nishumbha, creates Kali and then inspires the Devas. Satva is about clarity, and this is the role associated with Devi Mahasarasvati.
Over the coming posts, I will be sharing the Devi Mahatmya in the form of a story. It will not be a translation. Do join me on this journey and let us all celebrate the Devi.
King Suratha meets the merchant Samadhi
They attacked. These were hostile, merciless warriors. They followed no rules. Fair play did not exist in their dictionary. They knew they had to attack and plunder. They were also powerful and had many allies. The kings never knew when a trusted aide of theirs had joined hands with the enemy. That is what happened with King Suratha. He was a noble king, known to protect his people, and when he got down to attack his enemy, he found himself outnumbered. Part of his land was taken away from him. His people had regarded him as an emperor earlier; he had many vassals who were provided protection, and in turn these vassals provided their armies to fight when there was war.
This time, when the enemy had attacked, some of his vassals had not shared their armies. They had joined hands with the enemy and that was a part of their deal. Suratha fought valiantly, not knowing this, and was outnumbered. With his support reduced, his span of control was also reduced. Suratha then began ruling his small portion of the kingdom.
Why would an enemy who was out to plunder, leave it at that? They bribed and bought over the king’s advisors and were planning an attack. This time, when Suratha, went to the treasury, to pay the army he found it empty. His advisors had not only left him; they had also cleaned out his coffers. He could not attack. He had no army now. He did not want to show this to his people. He wanted those who trusted him, to think that all was well. He wanted to go somewhere and think and plan. Sitting in his kingdom would not work. He wanted a change of place. If he announced and went, his people or family would want to come along. Maybe there were some of those who were allies of the enemy and would tell them where he was. No, a different strategy was needed.
Suratha set out on a hunt. That is what he told the people. He said he wanted to go alone. Only he knew what he was planning. He was not planning to return soon. He asked for his horse to be made ready. While that was happening, he got his weapons ready, and when the horse came, he climbed on. Then without looking back, he rode off into a forest nearby. He had travelled some distance when he saw a tiger in the distance. Then he saw a deer. Surprisingly, the tiger was nuzzling the deer. Anyone seeing this would have been surprised, but this did not surprise Suratha. He knew where he was. This was the ashram of a renowned rishi, who was well known for his knowledge and was called by some Sumedha, and affectionately Medha by others.
Suratha got down from his horse, and finding a grassy spot and a tree close to that, he tied the horse there. The horse would get food and if a tiger could be friendly with a deer, his horse was safe. After securing his horse, the king stepped inside the ashram. It was a beautiful place. It was on the banks of a river and was surrounded by tall trees which formed the boundary of the ashram. Inside was a clearing where there were many huts. Some rishis were there, who were practising mantras from the Vedas. The king passed them and then stopped. He could see the rishi there. He was old in age and looked frail. He was tall and he had a glow in his eyes, a glow that meant intelligence. Nearby, some deer were running around, not bothered about the humans nearby. This was a peaceful place. Suratha decided to stay there. Even though there were many people, it was peaceful and he could think. If he needed advice, the rishi was there. His decision was not enough. The rishi needed to agree too. Suratha went closer and then he prostrated himself before the rishi.
The rishi asked Suratha to sit up, and he then called a disciple asked him to come there. When the disciple came, the rishi asked Suratha to go with the disciple. He said, “Go with him, and refresh yourself. Once done, please come back and tell me who you are and why you are here.”
Suratha did that. The disciple showed Suratha a well. Water was drawn and the king washed his face, hands and feet. After that, he dried himself and went back to the rishi. He sat down in front of the rishi. The rishi wanted to know who he was and Suratha told him. He told him how he had run away, leaving his family behind. He told the rishi that he wanted to fight the enemy but was scared. He wanted to escape and he had come there to the ashram for peace and solitude. He wanted to be there and think. The rishi told the king he was welcome to stay there as long as he wanted. No one with evil intentions would be able to enter the ashram. This was a peaceful place. Even animals with predatory instincts lost their urge to kill. The king was to follow the rules of the ashram and lead a peaceful life. Suratha agreed and began living there. He used to wander there in the ashram and think about how things were back in his kingdom. He used to wonder if everything had been plundered, if the so-called loyal people had joined hands with the enemy. He thought of his wife, whom he had left behind. Days passed in the ashram.
One day, Suratha saw a person there. It was man who would be his age. He was well dressed and sat with a vacant look in his eyes. He looked distressed and Suratha was sure he had not noticed him before. The king approached the person and called him aside. Then he asked him who he was and why he was there.
There was a friendly tone in Suratha’s voice. Hearing that, the person came to Suratha. They then started walking around the ashram and the person began telling his story. He said, “I was a merchant by profession and my name is Samadhi. I was born into a rich family of traders and I worked hard and increased the family wealth. Sometimes greed becomes a hindrance. My wife and children wanted more. They kept asking me for more money to spend and I kept resisting. One day they, with the help of some other relatives, got me to sign papers and hand over everything to them. I was left a pauper and was driven out. With nowhere to go, I came here a few days ago and have been here since. What about you? Why are you here?”
Suratha told Samadhi about his situation and they became close friends. They spoke amongst themselves about the lives they Had left behind, and realised that they were still attached to what they had left behind. While Suratha would talk about his kingdom and his subjects, Samadhi would talk about his wife, children and wealth. They realized whatever may have been the treatment they had been meted to them, both had affection for the ones who had hurt them.
One day, when they were discussing this amongst themselves, they decided they would approach Rishi Sumedha and talk to him. The rishi was intelligent and he could probably give them a solution. Thinking thus, both the king and the merchant went where the rishi was. They told the rishi about the dilemma. Suratha thought about his kingdom, which had been taken away from him, and Samadhi about his wife and children, who had deceived him. They told the rishi that even though they knew that attachment to things was not the goal, they were not able to give that up.
The rishi understood the dilemma these two were facing. He told the two who had come to him, “What you are facing is not new. Every being in this universe faces this. Humans give birth to their young, feed the young and then expect that their children shall take care of them in the later stages of their lives. This is all because of the illusion that Devi Mahamaya has spread all over. Before the process of creation had started, the Devi had arisen from Narayana and using her power, she had confused everyone in the world.”
Suratha had never heard about this Devi. He said to the rishi, “O great one, who is this Devi who goes by the name Mahamaya?
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