2023-02-16 06:27:18 by ambuda-bot
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14
LALITA-SAHASRANAMA
into the mighty theophanies of the Devi-Mahatmya
and the Lahtasahasranama And, as this develop-
ment proceeds apace, the mountain fastnesses, the
inaccessible places, the sacrificial victims and the
spirituous liquors of the early hymns shrink into
mere specks on a vast flood of spirituality For in-
stance, miles away as the Lalita is from these
odes, we still hear distinct echoes of them in its
thousand names We are still told that the goddess
lives in the Vindhy a mountains (Vindhyachala-niväsını}
that she is fond of mead (kadambari priya) and that
she even becomes intoxicated (varuni mada-vihvala,
madhvi-panalasa). But we hardly remember these
merely traditional epithets in the flood of the new
subject matter regarding the marvellous beauty of the
goddess, her heroic fight with the forces of evil, her
vast and varied powers and her extensive dominion in
the hearts of men To take one example, while the
early hymns describe her as living in dreary deserts
(kantāra-vāsını), the Lalita describes her as the swan
that swims in the hearts of saints (muni-mānasa-hamsi-
kā).
VII
A distinct stage in the process of development is
represented by the famous Chandi-Mahatmya in the
Markandeya Purana, which describes the Devi's fight
with Mahisisura and the other demons, Sumbha and
Nisumbha. The very story of her birth is significant
of the new developments There was once a long war
between the gods and the demons The former were
LALITA-SAHASRANAMA
into the mighty theophanies of the Devi-Mahatmya
and the Lahtasahasranama And, as this develop-
ment proceeds apace, the mountain fastnesses, the
inaccessible places, the sacrificial victims and the
spirituous liquors of the early hymns shrink into
mere specks on a vast flood of spirituality For in-
stance, miles away as the Lalita is from these
odes, we still hear distinct echoes of them in its
thousand names We are still told that the goddess
lives in the Vindhy a mountains (Vindhyachala-niväsını}
that she is fond of mead (kadambari priya) and that
she even becomes intoxicated (varuni mada-vihvala,
madhvi-panalasa). But we hardly remember these
merely traditional epithets in the flood of the new
subject matter regarding the marvellous beauty of the
goddess, her heroic fight with the forces of evil, her
vast and varied powers and her extensive dominion in
the hearts of men To take one example, while the
early hymns describe her as living in dreary deserts
(kantāra-vāsını), the Lalita describes her as the swan
that swims in the hearts of saints (muni-mānasa-hamsi-
kā).
VII
A distinct stage in the process of development is
represented by the famous Chandi-Mahatmya in the
Markandeya Purana, which describes the Devi's fight
with Mahisisura and the other demons, Sumbha and
Nisumbha. The very story of her birth is significant
of the new developments There was once a long war
between the gods and the demons The former were