Śakti Worship

The source of śakti worship has been delineated in the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa through an interesting story. According to the story-king Suratha, being defeated and driven from the kingdom, departed to the forest. One day, king Suratha saw a solitary Vaiśya nearing the hermitage. Being enquired by Suratha, Vaiśya Samādhi told that he had been driven from his home by his family members. Both the king Suratha and Vaiśya discussed about the selfish behaviour of their near and dear ones and approached the sage, Medhas to express before him their longings and love for their own place and home. Then, they were advised by Medhas to worship Mahāmāyā for getting their questions answered.^[1] Both of them began to practise austerities on the sandbank of a river. Making an earthen image of the Devī they worshipped śakti or Mahāmāyā reciting hymns, offering flowers, incense and libations of water and abstaining from food. They concentrated their minds on worship, offered bali, sprinkled blood drawn from their own limbs.^[2] After a long time, their prayer attended with success and well-pleased Devīmahāmāyā appeared in a visible shape before them and blessed them boon.^[3]

Benefits of Devī Worship

In this Purāṇa, it is observed that the speech of praise and its benefits come from the mouth of the goddess Śakti herself. It also explains the results of daily and yearly worship to her. Devi Śaktī also protects all from all kinds of problems and dangers relating to wealth, prosperity, war etc. whatever her devotees face in their life. It is evident from the chapter 89 of the Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa that this goddess is mainly invoked for protection of the devotees against violence, brutality and from ghost and wild beasts.

According to Devī Śakti, those who praise and worship her with the hymns and with a composed mind, she will definitely help them to get rid of the bad situations and quiet down every trouble. The Goddess explained the merits and beneficent results of worshipping her.^[4] Those who praise her with devotion and listen to her māhātmya with faith and intent mind, on the eighth, fourteenth and ninth day of a month, nothing wrong happens with them, nor do they face any calamity, poverty, no indeed separation from their desires shall occur and shall never experience fear from enemies, robbers, kings, weapons, fire and water flood etc.^[5] A man who utters these hymns with composed mind and listens to them with faith, praises the Devīmāhātmya, the supreme course of blessings and he becomes able to quell all kinds of calamities which arise from grievous pestilence i.e. mahāmārī^[6] and the three fold portent^[7] i.e. ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika and āhibhautika. Devī Śakti also declares that when the hymns are duly read constantly at consecrated places, she would never forsake that place and her presence is fixed in that place.^[8] The story of Devī Śakti must be proclaimed verily and listened to at the time of offering bali, at the time of worship and in the ceremonies with fire, at a great festival. Devī Śakti also accepts with kindliness both the bali worship and fire worship whether these are offered knowingly or without knowing. In the context the results of listening and uttering the hymns of the Devī have also been proclaimed. Accordingly, a person who listens to Devīmāhātmya with faith, at the autumn worship in her honour, she rescues them from every problem and is blessed with riches and children. One who hears hymns, account of her powers in battles, he becomes fearless, his enemies also pass to destruction, he accrues prosperity and his family rejoices. On the other hand, she prohibits the bad influence of the planets, the portents and turns the evil dream into a good sweet dream. The Devī produces peacefulness among the children who have been possessed by the evil demon and it is the best promoter of friendship among men when union is dissolved.^[9] That is the most potent diminishment of the power of all persons of ill behaviour. By the utterance of the hymns of Devī the demons, goblins and piśācas are destroyed.^[10]

All the recitation of the hymns included in the Devīmāhātmya brings man near to her. It is also said by Devī that the favour, which is won by means of offering the cattle, flowers, arghya, incenses, perfumes, lamps and by giving feats to Brahmins, by oblations, by sprinkling water day and night and by various things of enjoyment, by yearly gifts, is also won from her and hearing once the exploiting stories of her. Again, who listens to the story of her birth, they remove sins in men and confer perfect bodies and who heard the story of her exploits in battles and the annihilation of the wicked daityas, he has no worries about the fear caused by enmity. She also declares that the hymns recited by the gods, Brahmarṣis and Brahmā bestow a splendid mind i.e. issue.^[11] Devī śakti also mentions that one who is surrounded by a raging fire in a forest or on a lonesome road, who is encompassed by robbers in a desolate spot, who is captured by enemies, who is prowled after by a lion or tiger or by wild elephants in a forest, who is under the command of an enraged king, who is sentenced to death, who has fallen into bonds, who is whirled around by the wind, who stands in a ship in the wide sea, who is in the most dangerous battle with weapons falling upon him, who is affected with pain amidst all kinds of terrible troubles etc. he, recollecting in his mind, the story of her exploits, will be rescued from his strait. At last, Devi śakti mentions that through her power lions and other evil beasts, robbers and enemies flee even from a distance from him who remembers the story of her exploits.^[12]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 78.1-22

[2]:

nirviṇṇo’timamatvena rājyāpaharaṇeṇa ca /
jagāma sadyastapase sa ca vaiśyo mahāmune //
saṃdarśanārthamambāyā nadīpulinasaṃsthitaḥ /
sa ca vaiśyastapastepe devīsūktaṃ paraṃ japan //
tau tasmin puline devyāḥ kṛtvā mūrtiṃ mahīmayīm /
arhaṇāṃ cakratustasyāḥ puṣpadhūpāgnitarpaṇaiḥ //
nirāhārau yatātmānau tanmanaskau samāhitau /
dadatustau baliṃ caiva nijagātrāsṛgukṣitam // Ibid., 90.5-8

[3]:

Ibid., 90.9-10 a

[4]:

Ibid., 89.1

[5]:

Ibid., 89.2-5

[6]:

F. E. Pargiter, The Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, p.403

[7]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 89.6-7

[8]:

Ibid., 89.8

[9]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 89. 9-17

[10]:

durvṛttānāmaśeṣānāṃ balahānikaraṃ param /
rakṣobhūtapiśācānāṃ paṭhanādeva nāśanam // Ibid., 89.18

[11]:

Ibid., 89. 19-24

[12]:

Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, 89.25-29; cf. Harivaṃsa, 2.3.7-8