2023-02-16 06:27:18 by ambuda-bot
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INTRODUCTION
17
despatches the two leaders-Sumbha and Nišumbha, and
the fight comes to a close. The gods sing again a hymn
of thanksgiving, and the goddess vanishes after promis-
ing that she will take birth again and again for
vanquishing the wicked demons in the future ages.
VIII
In the course of this narrative we find four hymns
to the Goddess, which show a great advance from the
early hymns we have already considered. First of all,
the very origin of the Goddess, as we said above, is
significant. It indicates that Chandi is not simply a
goddess with many names, but that she is the very
essence of all the gods, including Brahma, Vişnu and
Siva. Secondly, she is now represented as having two
sets of forms a set of gentle forms and a set of terrible
forms. In the gentle form she is surpassingly beauti-
ful and in the terrible form she is surpassingly fearful.
Thirdly, it is interesting to notice that, while in the
early hymns the name Durga is explained as one who
rescues men from dangers and difficulties, it is explained
here as one who helps men to cross the difficult ocean
of existence. It is also stressed that the Devi can give
prosperity on earth and happiness in heaven and also
emancipation from samsära. Fourtbly, great emphasis
is laid on her immanence. In one of the hymns here,
there are more than twenty ślokas heginning with the
words ya devi sarvabhüleşu and saying that the goddess
is present in all creatures as consciousness, as power, as
intellect, as memory, as desire and so on. And finally,
equally great emphasis is laid on her connection with
2
17
despatches the two leaders-Sumbha and Nišumbha, and
the fight comes to a close. The gods sing again a hymn
of thanksgiving, and the goddess vanishes after promis-
ing that she will take birth again and again for
vanquishing the wicked demons in the future ages.
VIII
In the course of this narrative we find four hymns
to the Goddess, which show a great advance from the
early hymns we have already considered. First of all,
the very origin of the Goddess, as we said above, is
significant. It indicates that Chandi is not simply a
goddess with many names, but that she is the very
essence of all the gods, including Brahma, Vişnu and
Siva. Secondly, she is now represented as having two
sets of forms a set of gentle forms and a set of terrible
forms. In the gentle form she is surpassingly beauti-
ful and in the terrible form she is surpassingly fearful.
Thirdly, it is interesting to notice that, while in the
early hymns the name Durga is explained as one who
rescues men from dangers and difficulties, it is explained
here as one who helps men to cross the difficult ocean
of existence. It is also stressed that the Devi can give
prosperity on earth and happiness in heaven and also
emancipation from samsära. Fourtbly, great emphasis
is laid on her immanence. In one of the hymns here,
there are more than twenty ślokas heginning with the
words ya devi sarvabhüleşu and saying that the goddess
is present in all creatures as consciousness, as power, as
intellect, as memory, as desire and so on. And finally,
equally great emphasis is laid on her connection with
2