(“The Goddess's Greatness”) The religion of the Goddess as the highest divine power's oldest and most significant legendary source.
The Devimahatmya is a portion of the Markandeya Purana, a major Sanskrit (holy language) literature that is generally thought to have been written in the Narmada River area in the fifth or sixth centuries.
The Devimahatmya is famous for asserting that God is a woman.
The previous Hindu tradition, in which female deities exist but are minor, has no obvious root for this concept.
Because it appears fully formed in the Devimahatmya, this belief must have existed at some level, and the notion must have taken some time to grow before it reached its complete perfection in this work.
The Durgasaptashati ("700 poems to Durga") is another frequent name for the Devimahatmya, which is a 700-verse book.
A framing tale introduces the book, in which a monarch and a merchant, both tormented by worldly problems, seek sanctuary in the forest.
They meet a guru there, who listens to each of their experiences and explains that Mahamaya (a Goddess epithet) is to blame for all of their problems.
This is an appellation for the Goddess as the single force behind the cosmos and wielder of illusion.
When prodded for further information, the sage relates three mythological stories, each depicting the Goddess's salvific activities.
These three stories make up the majority of the book and serve as the foundation for Goddess worship.
The first tale retells the legend of the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, who are created from the deity Vishnu's earwax during the cosmic dissolution era (pralaya).
A lotus blooms from Vishnu's navel as the universe is created all over again.
It begins by revealing Brahma, the creator-god, who is immediately threatened by Madhu and Kaitabha.
Although the narrative of these two demons exists in Vishnu mythology, there are considerable differences in this rendition.
Brahma asks for aid in all versions of the narrative, and Vishnu finally slays the demons.
Brahma's song of appreciation in the Devimahatmya, however, is to the Goddess, who, in her guise as Yoganidra (“yoga sleep”), has lulled Vishnu into a cosmic coma, making him powerless to assist Brahma.
The Goddess withdraws her power over Vishnu in response to Brahma's praise, and he wakes and slays the demons.
The buffalo-demon Mahishasura is the focus of the second narrative, and he is so strong that none of the gods can defeat him.
When the gods are recalling their defeats at the hands of the demon, each deity begins to emit a dazzling brilliance.
This light condenses into a single luminous mass, from which the Goddess's form emerges.
The Goddess is depicted in this tale as the concentrated essence of all the gods, making her superior to any of them.
This concept is emphasized by each of the gods gifting her a replica of their weapons, implying that she wields all of their heavenly abilities figuratively.
After a horrific struggle, the Goddess takes up arms against Mahishasura and his army and slays him.
The Goddess is also shown as a warrior-queen in the third narrative.
In this episode, she battles and defeats Shumbha and Nishumbha's demon armies, as well as their subordinates Chanda, Munda, and Raktabija.
The violent goddess Kali, who breaks out from the Goddess's forehead as her fury embodied, makes her first appearance in this myth.
By cramming the demon armies into her mouth and digesting them, Kali aids the Goddess in defeating the demon armies.
Kali also aids in the defeat of the demon Raktabija, who has been given the request that everytime a drop of his blood falls on the ground, it would turn into a full-size replica of himself.
This renders him invulnerable to traditional methods of assassination.
By consuming Raktabija's blood before it hits the earth, Kali is able to counter this extraordinary ability.
This narrative, like the second, includes extensive details of combat devastation.
All of these tales portray the Goddess as the highest celestial being, considerably superior to the pantheon's male gods.
The framing tale concludes with a long song of praise to the Goddess, as well as enumeration of the benefits of her adoration.
Both the monarch and the merchant begin to worship her, and three years later, both of their wishes are realized.
The monarch requests a bigger and impregnable realm, referring to the Goddess's ability to grant earthly desires.
The merchant, on the other hand, asks for complete emancipation, demonstrating his understanding of her power over illusion and the ultimate spiritual objective.
Thomas B. Coburn, Devi Mahatmya, 1984, is a good source of knowledge.
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