Order of Creation and Dasa Mahavidya (10 aspects) of Adi Parashakti
Devimahatmyam is given to us by Rishi Markandeya.
It’s a part of the Markandeya Purana comprising seven hundred verses.
It is said in the Rudrayamala Tantra that this contains the secret most knowledge about the Divine Mother and it bestows all siddhis – asti guhyatamaṃ devyaḥ mahatmyaṃ sarvasiddhidam.
Damara Tantra extolling the glory of this text says:
As among all yajnas Ashvamedha is significant, as Vishnu is highly glorified among all Gods, so saptasati is among all stutis or praises of the Divine Mother – stavanamapi sarvesam tatha saptasatistavaḥ.
One needs to have the vision or the drishti of a Rishi to see what secret lies hidden in this text – cakṣuṣmantoonupasyanti netare tadvido janaḥ. The secret of this text can reveal itself to the sadhaka who engages himself in parayanam, japa, homa and tarpana. Devimahatmyam dealing with the purpose of life (artha). Devimahatmyam makes the sadhaka aware of the very purpose of life.
सप्तशती saptasati vs सप्तसती saptasati; As Devimahatmyam of Markandeya Purana contains 700 (saptasata) verses it is widely known as saptasati. But did you know that it is also called saptasati (Gatha) or the story of seven satis.
The seven mothers – Brahmi, Maheswari, Kaumari, Vaisṇavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamuṇda are regarded by some as seven satis. Some others consider Nanda, Sakambari, Bhima, Raktadantika, Durga, Bhramari and Sataksi as seven satis.
The term “Dasha Mahavidya” comes from the Sanskrit, Dasa, meaning “ten,” maha, meaning “great,” and Vidya, meaning “knowledge.” The Mahavidyas are different forms of the Divine Mother, Adi Shakti, or Parashakti. According to Hindu Puranas, the Dasa Mahavidya were created after a disagreement between Lord Shiva and Goddess Sati (a form of Shakti).
The Mahavidya is a group of ten powerful goddesses in the Hindu Dharma. They encompass every aspect of the physical and spiritual realm, from motherhood and nurturance to destruction and wealth. The Dasa Mahavidya (dasa; ten; maha; great; vidya; wisdoms) are ten Hindu Goddesses, namely; Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Chhinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala.
The ten Mahavidyas, or Wisdom Goddesses, represent various aspects of divinity that help guide the spiritual seeker on their journey to liberation. The seeker focused on devotion (Bhakti) may approach these forms with reverence, love, and increasing intimacy. The seeker focused on knowledge (Jnana) may view these forms as representing various states of inner awakening along the path to enlightenment.
These ten forms of Shakti are the epitome paradigm of the entire universe. They are a guide to spiritual awakening for devotees. The Devis also have specific directions in which they reside, like, Goddess Kali and Tara Maa are for North direction, Devi Bhuvaneshvari is West direction, Shodasi (Tripura Sundari) is the Ishaan corner and so on.
Lalitopakhyanam; There are many sacred texts which speak about Godess Lalita and Her divine powers. Of them, Srimad Devi Bhagavata, Brahmanda Purana, Durga Saptashati, Tripura Rahasya are highly revered. As for Brahmanda Purana, it is said that Brahma himself narrated the entire purana to the sages in the Naimisha forest. It is termed as Brahmanda Purana because it talks about the origin of the cosmic egg and the reality of the universe.
Basically, Brahma in Sanskrit means “creator” or by extension, it means “universe” coming from its root word “Brih” ; “Anda” means “egg”. Therefore, Brahmanda means universal or cosmic egg. Brahmananda Purana is the 18th Purana. It has 1200 verses. The three important sections in it are:
1. The Mokshada Ekadasi (narrated by the god Krishna to the Pandava King Yudhishthira)
2. The Lalitopakhyanam about Devi Lalita Tripura Sundari. This also contains the Lalita Sahasranama Stotra and the Lalita Trishati Stotra, both of which are in our Stotras section.
3. The Sons of Sagara – story by Rishi Jaimini according to which they dug into the earth to find a horse in Patala loka.
Brahmananda Purana has four parts- Prakriya, Anushanga, Upotaghat and Upasamhar. This Purana is said to be narrated by Sutaji on the bank of the river Drishdvati in Yaksh kshetra (identified with Sutlej in modern Himachal Pradesh). From his narration, it is clear that Sutaji had heard the Purana from Veda Vyasa who, in his turn, received it from Vayudev.
Creation of the universe, determination of Kalpa, differentiation of Yugas, description of Manvantaras, description of Jambudweep and Bharatvarsh, description of Kimpurush. Anudweep, Ketumaal varsh etc. and description of Bharat vansha, Prithu vansha, Dev vansh, Rishi vansh, Agni vansh and preceptors are the main topics of Brahmand Purana. Sages, the dynasties of rulers and the legends of Pitas and their propitiation, the conflict between Karttikeya, King of Hihayas and Bhargava Parasurama.
Order of Creation; She extended Herself in both male and female forms and continued the process of creation.
A. From the left eye, which was of the nature of Soma (moon) came Brahmaand Lakshmi Devi.
B. From the right eye, which was of the nature of Soorya (sun) came Vishnu and Parvati.
C. From the third eye, which was of the nature of Agni (fire), came Rudra and Sarasvati.
D. Lakshmi & Vishnu, Shiva & Parvati and Brahma & Sarasvati became couples.
E. Lalita Devi directed them to continue the process of Creation.
She herself continued to create certain things.
From her long hair she created darkness.
From her eyes, she created the sun, the moon and the fire.
From the pendent hanging in front of her forehead came the stars.
From the chain above her forehead came the nine planets.
From the eyebrows, she created the penal code.
From her breath, she created the Vedas.
From her speech, she created poetry and plays.
From her chin she created the Vedangas.
From the three lines in her neck, she created various Shaastras.
From her breasts, she created mountains.
From her mind, she created the power of bliss.
From her fingernails, she created the 10 incarnations of Vishnu.
From her palms, she created the Sandhyas.
She created other things as narrated in the Purusha Sookta.
From her heart, she created Baalaa Devi.
From her intellect, she created Shyamala Devi.
From her ego, she created Vaaraahi Devi.
From her smile, she created Vighneshwara.
From the Ankusha (a special hook), she created Sampatkare.
Form the noose, she created Ashwaa Roodha Devi.
From her cheeks, she created Nakuleshvari Devi.
From her Kundalini Shakti, she created Gayatri.
From the eight wheels of the Chakra Raja chariot, she created 8 Devatas.
In the 9th landing, in the Bindu Peetha, she herself was seated.
Afterwards, she created the Devatas who would protect the Chakra Rajachariot. After having thus completed the great creation, Lalita Devi requested her consort, Shiva Kama Sundara to create the Shiva Chakra. He immediately brought out a big humming sound and from this, the Shiva Chakra Devatas numbering 23 manifested. Later, Lalita Devi crowned Shyamala Devi as the main minister. Therefore Shyamala Devi is called Mantrini Devi. Lalita Devi handed over the finger ring to Mantrini Devi.
She made Vaartaalee Devi the chief of her army. Therefore Vaartaalee Devi is also called as Dandanaathaa Devi. She is also called as Vaaraahee Devi. Lalita Devi created a mace (a weapon) from her eye brows and gave it to Dandanathaa Devi. After this, Lalita Devi created two chariots from her chariot and gave them to Mantrini Devi and Dandanatha Devi.
Mantini Devi’s chariot is called “Geya Chakra Ratha”. This chariot used to make musical sounds whenever it moved. Dandanatha Devi’s chariot is called “Kiri Chakra Ratha”.
Later, Lalita Devi hummed with rage. From this hum, 64000000 Yoginis were born. Another 64000000 Bhairavas were also born (today Hindu’s Ancestors). Innumerable Shakti Senas (armies) were also created by her hum.
Having thus completed the great creation, Goddess Lalita requested Her consort Shiva Kama Sundara to create the great “Shiva Chakra”. Immediately, with a great humming sound manifested the 23 devatas from the Shiva chakra. The Goddess readied Herself for the war that had to be waged against the demon Bhandasura.
She crowned Shyamala Devi as Her prime minister (which is why Shyamala Devi is also referred to as Mantrini Devi in the Sahasranama) and handed over Her finger ring.
She made Vaaraahi Devi as the chief of Her army (She is also referred to as Dandanatha Devi and Vaartaali Devi). She created a mace from Her eyebrow and handed over to Vaaraahi Devi.
She created a chariot called “Geya chakra ratha” and gave it to Mantrini Devi which made beautiful music when it moved (geya chakra rathaarudha mantrini parisevita – line from the sahasranama which talks about Mantrini being seated on geya chakra ratha).
She created another chariot called “Kiri chakra ratha” for Dandanatha Devi (kiri chakra rathaarudha dandanatha puraskrita – line from the sahasranama which talks about Dandanatha being seated on kiri chakra ratha).
When She hummed with rage, 64 sahasra Yoginis and 64 sahasra Bhairavas came into being along with innumerable Shakti Senas (Yogini gana sevita, maha bhairava pujitha, shakti sena samanvita lines explaining that She was served by the yoginis, bhairavas and shakti senas).
Shakti Peeths; wherever the pieces of body parts, clothes and ornaments worn by Sati fell, a Shakti Peetha came into existence. These are scattered all over Indian subcontinent. There are 51 Shakti Peethas in Devi Purana. Whereas Devi Bhagavad suggests 108 Peeths and Devi Gita suggest 72 Shakti Peeths, while Tantra-cudamani suggest 52 Shakti Peeths. Devi Purana definitely discussed about 51 Peethas. Some are abroad from these Peeths. At present India has 42, Pakistan has 1, Bangladesh has 4, Sri lanka has 1, Tibet has 1 and Nepal has 2 Shakti Peetha.
صفحتنا الرسمية توأم الشعلة بالعربي
صفحتنا الرسمية فرندة – Farandh