Chapter 1: Description of Killing of Madhu and Kaidabha.

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Makandeya told: -
Please hear from me about the origin of Savarni who is the son of Sun god and the eighth Manu in detail.
(There were fourteen Manus who ruled the world. The seven before Savarni were Swayambhuva, Swarochisha, Uthama, Thapasa, Raivatha, Chakshusha and Vaiwaswatha. Markandeya was the son of Sage Mrukandu and was telling this story to another sage called Bagoori. Some versions have two additional slokas regarding the announcement of Sage Sootha that Jaimini the disciple of Vyasa approached Sage Markandeya and requested him to tell the story of Devi Mahatmya)

Please hear in detail how that very famous and lucky Savarni who was the son of Sun God became the king for 71 sets of four yugas with the blessing of the great goddess in whom the entire world rests.

During ancient times and in the time of Manu Swarochisha, Suradha who belonged to the clan of Chaithras became king of the entire earth. (Swarochisha was the second Manu)

To him who looked after his people like his own sons, the Kola Vidhwamsi kings became enemies
The Kola Vidhwamsi kings might indicate any of the following
Kings belonging to Kola dynasty
Kings from another capital city called Kola
The Greeks who killed pigs(kolas)

Though extremely learned in war, he was defeated in a war with the kola vidhwamsi kings who were not experts in war.

Attacked by those famous enemy kings, that great one reached his city and became a king to it. (Being defeated, he lost his kingdom and became the chief of his native city only. )

His powerful and bad ministers took away his treasury and army from him who was powerless in his city.

Afterwards that king, who had lost his kingdom, reached the dark forests alone on a horse under the pretext of hunting.

There he saw the hermitage of the great Brahmin Sumedhas, which was populated by peaceful animals and was shining, with his disciples.

Under the hospitality of the sage in the hermitage that king lived there for some time traveling here and there.

Mind attracted by egoism, he thought as follows. That city which was looked after by my ancestors is definitely not mine now.

“I do not know whether my citizens are being properly looked after by my servants who are with bad character. Nor do I know how my chief of elephant brigade who is a exuberant and heroic fares in the hand of my enemies.”

“It is definite that those who lived out of recognition, wealth and food given by me, are living by serving other kings.”

“Because those spendthrifts because of their bad habits always spend, my treasury would become soon empty. ” thus worried the king.

That king saw near the sage’s hermitage a Vaisya(One who belongs to the community of business people) and asked him, “Who are you? And why have you come here?”

To the loving question by the king as to why he was sad and appeared with a disturbed mind, that Vysya with humility told the king.

Vaisya told:-
“I am Vysya called Samadhi, born in a rich family. Because of intense desire for money, I was robbed of all my wealth and driven out by my wives and sons who were of bad character. Thus I, without my wives sons and forsaken by my intimate friends, have arrived in this forest with intense sorrow. ”

“I do not know sitting here, about the well being of my sons, wives and other relatives. I do not know whether they are happy or suffering in their homes. I do not know whether my sons are well behaved or of bad character. ”

The king told:-
“You have been driven out by your sons and wives due to their intense longing for money. Why is it your mind still loves them?”

Vaisya told:-
“Whatever has been told by you are the truth but somehow my mind does not take recourse to cruel hatred.”

My mind still has love for those, who have driven me out forsaking love towards father, love towards husband and love towards ones own people.

Hey great soul, though I am intelligent, my mind has love towards those relations who are not good. I am not able to understand why.

Because of them I have hard breath and deep sorrow but my mind is not cruel on them who do not have love for me.

Markandeya told:-
Hey Brahmin, after that the Vysya called Samadhi and that great king joined together and went near that sage.

The Vysya and the king after holding conversation with the sage according to etiquette told him some news and stories.

Hey great soul, I want to ask you a question. Why is it that my mind is not under my control? Why does it create sorrow for me? Please tell me this secret.

Hey great sage, though I am wise, I who have lost my kingdom feel attached to my kingdom. Why is this happening?

This Vysya who has been forsaken by his children, wives servants and his own people is also feeling very much attached to them.

Though he and myself, in spite of our finding bad qualities in a matter, our mind is being attracted by that matter and both of us are becoming sad.

Hey great wise soul, why is it that this foolish quality of an unwise individual has come to him and me who both are wise people.

The sage told:-
All animals born in the world have knowledge of present activity. But great soul, this knowledge is of different types.

Some animals are blind during day, some blind during night but there are also animals that can see equally both in day and night.

(The sage says that just because some are blind at night or day or not blind either at night or day, their passion and desire does not change. )

It is truth that men are wise but they are not the only wise ones.. Even cow, birds and wild animals are also wise.
(The sage tries to tell that wisdom is always mixed with wrong knowledge or ignorance. This is true in all cases including man)

Whatever wisdom an animal or bird has, that wisdom man also has. Similarly whatever special knowledge man has for his needs, the bird and animal also have just sufficient to their needs. Except this special knowledge other knowledge (about food, sleep and making love) is same for man and animals and birds.

Though they know that their hunger will be quenched only if they eat and though they suffer due to hunger, observe that the birds due to their attachment keep pieces of food on the beaks for their little ones

Hey lion among men, Man shows affection to their sons with a hope that they would help them in their need. But are you not seeing these birds?
(The sage points out that birds do this action without any expectation. )

In spite of that due to the power of the great enchantress, man is pushed in to the whirlpool of attachment and the pit of affection and observes the rules of human life.

The great enchantress is but the yogic sleep of Vishnu, the lord of the universe. That enchantress enchants the entire world and so you need not wonder about your reaction.
(Devas do not sleep but take away their senses from happenings and forget about the world. This is the yogic sleep. )

That famous lady Maha Maya (great enchantress) who is personification of all riches, draws the minds of even those who have special knowledge and make them behave with baser instinct of affection.
(When she can draw the instincts of those blessed with special knowledge, she can do it easily in case of people like you. )

She creates the three worlds with its movable and immovable things and though she is the cause of this attachment if she becomes pleased she grants salvation to human beings.

She is the greatest knowledge, which is the cause of salvation, and she also is the ignorance that leads to attachment with the mundane world. Also she is the goddess of all gods.

The king told:-
Hey Godly person, who is this holy lady who was mentioned by you as the Great enchantress? Where from was she born? Hey twice born, what are her duties?

Hey one of the chiefs among those who know Brhama(Ultimate truth), what are the powers of that holy lady, how does she look like and wherefrom was she born? Be pleased to tell me all these.

The sage told:-
That holy lady who is of the form of the universe is permanent and she has created this entire world. But be pleased to hear from me how she took form in several cases.

Though that holy lady exists permanently, whenever she appears in the world for helping the Devas, it is told that she was born at that time.

When the great Lord Vishnu entered in to his yogic slumber on the bed of Sesha, the great snake which was lying over the single ocean (the earth and sea transformed thus at the end of the world (deluge), out of the ear wax of Vishnu two famous and terrible Asuras called Madhu and Kaidabha rose with an intention of troubling Brahma.
(Sesha also indicates that it was the only thing remaining after the deluge. )

That Lord Brahma who was the lord of all men sitting on the lotus flower originating from the belly of Vishnu seeing those two Rakshasas and also seeing that lord Vishnu was in deep yogic slumber prayed that “Yoga Nidhra,” who is omnipresent, who creates, looks after and destroys people, who is incomparable and who lives within the eyes of Vishnu, with an intention of waking up Vishnu.

Brahma old,
You are one who satisfies Gods (Swaha is also the name of the wife of fire God), You are one who satisfies our manes, (swadha is the food of manes) You are the sound Vashat (the sound of fire sacrifice), you are the personification of heaven, you are Amrutha (Nectar) and you are half syllable of the three letters AA, UU and MA.

You live in the half syllable “OM”, you are ever living, specially you are the one whose name cannot be told, You are Gayathri, and holy lady, you are the great mother of us all.

Hey holy Goddess, this universe is created by you, this universe is looked after by you, and at the end you destroy this universe and thus this world is carried by you again and again.

You are the all pervasive in this universe, you are the creator in creating the universe, you are the administrator in looking after the universe and you are the personification of the destruction at the end.

You are the great knowledge, you are the great enchantress, and you are the great power of knowing, you are the great knowledge of Vedas, you are the great passion, you are the great goddess and you are the great power behind Gods.

You are mother nature which differentiates between the three qualities of Sathwa(spiritual),, Rajasa(materialistic) and Thamo(baser) instincts, you are the final night of deluge, you are the last night of Brahma, and You are the base darkness which makes one do that action which should not be done,

You are Goddess Lakshmi, you are the wife of Lord Shiva, you are shyness, you are the intellect helping to take definite decision, you are the intellect which makes us hesitate to take decisions, and similarly you are happiness, solace and patience.

You are one with sword, you are one with spear, you are one who carries a head in one hand, you are one with mace, you are one with a wheel, you are one with a conch, you are one with a bow and similarly you are one with arrow, with shield and with Bhoosundi.
(This indicates that she has ten hands. )

You are one with face full of grace and happiness, you are one with more patience, you are the most pretty among all pretty things, and you are greater than all gods are and you are the wife of Lord Shiva.

Soul of all that is in this world, I am praying to you because you are the power behind even the smallest living and thing without life.

You have made that Lord Vishnu who creates, looks after and destroy, asleep. Because of that who among this world capable of praying you?

You have taken over the body of Lord Vishnu Lord Rudra and me. Because of this who in this world would become capable of praying you?

Being thus prayed with all your great qualities, please make the bad Asuras viz. Madhu and Kaidhabha in to senseless beings.

Lei Achyutha the lord of all the world wake up quickly. He also should be given the enthusiasm and strength of wisdom to kill these great Asuras.

The sage told:-
Thus being praised and prayed By Brahma sitting on the lotus originating from Vishnu’s belly, that holy lady who is the soul of sleep and who has baser qualities came before Brahma from the eyes, face, nose, hands, heart and the soul of Vishnu for the sake of waking up Vishnu and for killing Madhu and Kaidaba.

Woken (Freed) by her that Lord of the Universe Vishnu got up from the bed of serpent floating on the unified sea. Afterwards he saw the very valorous and cruel brained Madhu and Kaidaba who were having very red eyes due to extreme anger and who were intent on killing Brahma.
(Though Devi as the great enchantress has externally baser qualities, in the inside she is filled with good qualities, She came out of Lord Vishnu with this external appearance of baser qualities. The Thanthric literature ascribes the killing of Madhu and Kaidabha to her instead of Vishnu. Since she had to do wrestling with these two Rakshasas,she took the form of Vishnu, according to them. )

Afterwards that God Vishnu who was spread everywhere got up and fought using bare hands with Madhu and Kaidabha for five thousand years.
(They were not getting tired even after fighting 500 years because they had taken a boon that they will die only according to their own will. At the end Lord Vishnu offered them any boon that they want. -Some texts have two slokas carrying the above meaning)

Those very strong Madhu and Kaidabha loosing their senses (by not loosing the war) and being enchanted by the Goddess who was the great enchantress, told Vishnu that they both are offering him a boon.

The great God told:-
If both of you are happy you should consent to be killed by me. What is the use of any other boon? I want only that boon.

The sage told:-
Thus deceived by Lord Vishnu who had lotus eyes and seeing that the whole world was full of water, they requested him to kill them in a place on earth, which was free of water.

He told, “let it be like that” and their heads were kept on his lap and were cut by the holy wheel by the Lord who carries a conch, holy wheel and mace.
(There is a story that Lord Vishnu created the earth out of the fat (Medhas) of Madhu and Kaidabha and that is why one of the synonyms of earth in Sanskrit is Medhas. There is also a story that Lord Vishnu did penance for the sin of killing Madhu and Kaidabha and consecrated two Shiva Lingas called Mahukeswara and Kaidabheswara in the shore of the river varadha. Please also note that sea water in deluge cannot raise above the feet of Lord Vishnu. )

Thus this great enchantress rose up as a result of great prayer of Brahma. I would further tell you about the greatness of this Goddess.