From Heaven to Household: The Many Tales of Shakti

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The Great Guru Shankaracharya once went to Kashmir, wanting to engage

in debate the followers of the Goddess (Shakti), known as

the 'Shaktas.' No sooner had he reached the place than he was

rendered immobile by a severe bout of dysentery. So seriously was he

affected, that unable to get up from his bed, he for the moment, lost

the power to speak.

 

Soon after, a twelve-year-old girl came near him and whispered in his

ears: " O Shankara, do you think you can negate the cult of Shakti? "

 

Feeling helpless, Shankaracharya said, " Devi, I have come here for

this very purpose, but right now I feel devoid of any potency. When I

gain enough power to speak, only then will I be able to do so.

Without Shakti, I cannot do anything. "

 

The charming girl replied thus: " O revered preceptor, when you

yourself cannot move an inch without your Shakti, how will you refute

its cult? O Wise One, know me to be Shiva's Shakti - The supreme

power activating this world. Charged by my own energy, you want to

negate me? "

 

His mind now at rest, Shankaracharya bowed to the goddess, and left

Kashmir as soon as he recovered.

 

Ignoring Shakti (At Our Own Peril)

 

Indeed, so indistinguishable are we from our Shakti that we often

tend to take it (her) for granted, with sinister consequences. The

Devi Bhagavata Purana, a primary text narrating the goddess, speaks

of an episode where the great gods Shiva and Vishnu were attacked by

a powerful army of demons. It was only after grappling with them for

a long duration that they were able to vanquish the villains. Even

though their success was due to their respective powers, they were

vain enough to think it to be their individual victory, even going to

the extent of boasting of their prowess before their respective

Shaktis. The two goddesses, Parvati and Lakshmi, found the whole

situation comical and laughed at their naiveté. Thereupon the gods

became angry and addressed their spouses rudely. Immediately, the

goddesses vanished from their midst.

 

No sooner had this happened than the world was plunged into turmoil.

Relieved of their power, the two deities became lusterless and fell

into a lifeless, deranged state. It was only after a severe penance

was performed that the Great Goddess (Shakti) was pleased enough to

restore herself to the two gods, saying: " The insult shown towards my

manifestations has led to this calamitous state. Such a crime should

never again be committed. " Shiva and Vishnu, now devoid of pride, got

back their previous natures and were thus enabled to perform their

functions as before. (Devi Bhagavata Purana: 7.29.25-45)

 

Shakti - The Burning Power of Fire

 

A similar instance occurred when, after the creation of worldly and

heavenly beings, the perplexing question remained of the latter's

sustenance. While creatures of the earth could partake of the food

available there, no provision had still been made for the gods.

Brahma, the creator, then decreed that the offerings poured into the

sacrificial fires (on the earth), would be the food of gods. Towards

this end, they worshipped the Great Goddess, who appeared before them

in the form of goddess 'Svaha.'

 

The assembled deities then addressed her: " O Goddess, Let yourself

become the burning power of fire; who is not able to burn anything

without thee. At the conclusion of any mantra, whoever taking thy

name (Svaha), will pour oblations in the fire, he will cause those

offerings to go directly to the gods. Mother, let yourself, the

repository of all prosperity, reign over as the lady of his (fire's)

house. "

 

Later, Agni, the deity of fire, approached her with some fear, and

worshipped her as the Mother of the World. Then, with the chanting of

sacred mantras, they were tied in the knots of holy matrimony. From

then, it is believed, that whosoever pours libations in the

sacrificial fire accompanied by the sacred name 'Svaha,' has all his

dreams immediately fulfilled. (Devi Bhagavata Purana: 9.43)

 

Shakti - The Power of the Gods

 

The Kena Upanishad, a major text of Indian philosophy, narrates a

profounder story, where the gods, having defeated the demons, puffed

up with pride. The Highest God (Sanskrit: Brahman), that formless

entity who is beyond any gender, realized their folly and revealed

itself before their eyes, to grace them with repentance. However,

blinded with the veil of egoism, the gods were unable to understand

the vision revealed to them.

 

The deity of fire was then deputed by the gods to enquire who the

divine person in front of their eyes was. When Agni reached the Great

Being, the latter asked him as to what power he (fire) possessed. Pat

came the reply: " I can burn down the whole world. " The manifested

Brahman then placed a blade of grass between them and asked him to

burn it. Using all his might, fire tried his utmost to set the twig

ablaze, but could not do so. Unable to know the Brahman, he then

returned dejected to the waiting gods.

 

Next came the god of wind. He too bragged about his ability to carry

along anything with his mighty power. Faced with the same miniscule

twig, he had to retreat.

 

It then fell to the lot of Indra, the king of gods, to approach the

Great Being. No sooner had he tried to do so, than the latter

vanished, and instead appeared in the sky, the beautiful goddess Uma,

also known as Parvati. (Kena Upanishad: 3.1-12)

 

The Devi Bhagavata Purana describes the physical form of this goddess:

 

A virgin blooming with fresh youth, the luster of her body was like

the rising sun. Shining on her crown was the digit of the moon. She

was holding a noose and goad in her two hands and the other two arms

displayed the mudras of boon granting (varada) and fearlessness

(abhaya) respectively.

 

Her body, decked with various ornaments, looked auspicious and

exceedingly lovely. She was like the wish-fulfilling tree (Kalpa

Vriksa). Three-eyed, her face was endowed with the beauty of ten

million cupids (Kamadeva).

 

Her clothing was red and her body was covered with sandal paste. She

was the Cause of all causes, and the embodiment of compassion (karuna-

murti).

 

Seeing her, the hairs on Indra's body stood on ends with ecstasy. His

eyes were filled with tears of love and deep devotion and he

immediately fell prostrate at the feet of the goddess, singing hymns

in her praise. (Devi Bhagavata Purana: 12.8.52-60)

 

The goddess then instructed Indra regarding the essence of the

Supreme Reality, stressing that it was the power of Brahman

(manifested as herself), which was responsible for victory over the

demons, and the gods were but instruments in the grander design.

 

The Strange Couch and the Vision of Shakti as the Power of All

 

The goddess is however sometimes more assertive in driving home the

truth. When the three gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, on eve of the

creation of the world, sat perplexed as how to go about it, she

appeared before the trio, seated them on a golden chariot and took

them on a round of the numerous universes created by her.

 

At one instant, they came upon a strange and beautiful bed, with Lord

Shiva forming its mattress. Its four legs were Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva

and Dharma respectively. Seated over it was a divine lady, wearing

red garments, garlands, and also smeared with sandal paste of the

same color. Her eyes were dark-red and the beautiful crimson-lipped

lady was lustrous like the rising sun; beautiful like ten million

Lakshmis. She had a sweet smile on her face and held in her four

hands a noose, goad, and two mudras indicating readiness to grant

boons and fearlessness respectively. Never before had the gods seen

such a form. All merciful, and in the full bloom of youth, the

goddess had blossoming breasts which surpassed even the buds of a

lotus (in softness).

 

Suddenly, the four-armed lady transformed herself, and instead

revealed to them a young woman with infinite eyes and limbs. The gods

stood transfixed, dazzled by this spectacular vision celebrating the

supremacy of Shakti.

 

Wishing to pay obeisance to her, the gods then got down from their

chariot and approached the goddess. No sooner had they done so than

she transformed them all into beautiful, young maidens. When they

reached near her smiling form, the goddess looked at the female-gods

affectionately, and the latter too stood around her, admiring each

other appreciatively. When they bowed at her feet, they beheld in her

mere toenails, a reflection of the entire universe.

 

The three then sang hymns in her praise, asking her: " We have

forgotten your sacred mantra of creation. To be able to continue the

cycle of creation, preservation and destruction, kindly initiate us

again into your mystery. "

 

To this, the Great Goddess replied:

 

" There is no difference at all between the Great God (Purusha) and

myself. It is only for the sake of the world that we appear as two.

In absence of this manifested world, there is neither the male, not

female nor androgyne. "

 

" Nothing in this world is devoid of me. I enter into every substance,

and making Purusha the instrument. I do all the actions. I am the

coolness of water, the heat of fire, the luster in the sun and also

the soothing rays of the moon, which are but manifestations of my

power. "

 

" If abandoned by me, this universe becomes motionless. If I leave

Shiva, he will not be able to kill demons. A weak man is declared to

be without any Shakti, nobody says that he is without Shiva, or

without Vishnu. Those who are timid, afraid, or under one's enemies -

they are all called Shakti-less; no one says that this man is Shiva-

less and so forth. "

 

" So, the creation that you are about to perform, know Shakti to be

the cause thereof. When you will be endowed with that Shakti, you

will be able to create the world. Vishnu, Shiva, Indra, Agni, Moon,

Sun, Death, and all the other deities are able to do their karmas

only when they are united with their respective Shaktis. This earth,

when united with Shakti, remains fixed and becomes capable to hold

all beings inhabiting it. If it be devoid of this power, it cannot

support even an atom. " (Devi Bhagavata Purana: 3.6)

 

She then created from her body the three goddesses - Saraswati,

Lakshmi and Parvati, and offered them to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva,

entrusting the couples with the functions of creation, preservation

and destruction respectively.

 

Power in the Household - The Strange Story of Tulsi Devi

 

An enlightening case is of the demon named Shankhachuda, who defeated

in battle even the mighty army of Shiva, which was led by the

latter's wife, the great Kali herself and their son Karttikeya.

 

Puzzled, Shiva reasoned with Vishnu regarding the villain's apparent

infallibility. The two deities then came to the conclusion that his

invincible Shakti stemmed from the unflinching devotion and chastity

of his loving wife Tulsi.

 

Vishnu, then taking on the form of Shankhachuda, approached the

innocent Tulsi, who, mistaking him for her husband, welcomed him into

her arms with rapturous joy. Vishnu, the great lord of the world,

then shared her bed and engaged in physical union with her. But the

chaste wife, finding this time her experience quite different from

what she used to enjoy before, argued all the time within herself and

at last questioned him: " O Magician! Who are you? By spreading your

magic, you have enjoyed me. As you have taken my chastity, I will

curse you. "

 

The lord, fearing the curse of a pure woman, assumed his original

self. Seeing his divine form, Tulsi fainted. When she regained her

consciousness, she cursed Vishnu: " You merciless lord, your heart is

hard as a stone, so may you too turn into a stone. "

 

Thus because of this curse does Vishnu manifest himself in the stone

known as Shaligrama, found only on the banks of the river Gandaki in

Nepal, where, with tiny teeth, millions of insects incise slow rings

of torture into his body of stone, carving strange and sacred

sculptures. Those of these pieces, that fall into the river, are

considered the most auspicious. Hence did the lord take upon himself

the anguish of Tulsi on separation from her husband.

 

Before leaving however, Vishnu did not neglect to bless the virtuous

lady, who by her chastity and unblemished character, had acted as the

power behind the scenes, protecting her spouse. The lord hailed her

saying: " Your hair will transform into sacred trees and as being born

of you, they will be known by the name of Tulsi. The whole world will

perform their rituals with the leaves and flowers of this Tulsi

plant. Therefore, O fair-faced one! You will be reckoned as the chief

amongst all vegetation. All the sacred pilgrimages will reside at the

bottom of the Tulsi tree, where I and all the other deities will sit,

waiting in anticipation to be blessed by a falling leaf. "

 

To this day, this auspicious plant occupies a place of honor in the

homes of devotees, as the archetypal symbol of our 'Shakti at home,'

venerated by innumerable modern day women, still following the

glorious standards laid down by Tulsi.

 

Truly does say the Devi Bhagavata Purana elaborating on the concept

of Shakti:

 

She is the Heavenly Lakshmi (Swargalakshmi), residing in the heavens,

the Royal Lakshmi (Rajalakshmi) in the palaces of kings and in the

ordinary families of the world, she is the Household Lakshmi

(Grihalakshmi). (9.1.26)

 

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References and Further Reading:

 

Date, V.H. Upanisads Retold (2 Volumes): New Delhi, 1999.

 

Kenopnishad (With the Commentary of Shri Shankaracharya): Gorakhpur,

2000.

 

Menon, Ramesh. The Devi Bhagavatam Retold: New Delhi, 2006.

 

Goswami, Chimmanlal and Hanumanprasad Poddar (eds.). Shrimad Devi

Bhagavatam (Hindi): Gorakhpur, 2005.

 

Pandey, Shri Pandit Ram Tej (tr.). Shrimad Devi Bhagavatam (Hindi):

Delhi, 2004

 

Poddar, Hanumanprasad. Shakti Anka (Special Issue of the Spiritual

Magazine Kalyan): Gorakhpur, 2002.

 

Sarma, Dr. S.A. Kena Upanishad: A Study from Sakta Perspective:

Mumbai, 2001.

 

Sivananda, Swami. Lord Siva and His Worship: Shivanandanagar, 2004.

 

Vijnanananda, Swami (tr.). The Srimad Devi Bhagavatam (English): New

Delhi, 1998.

 

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