เคฎเคนिเคทाเคธुเคฐเคฎเคฐ्เคฆिเคจी
Mahishasura Mardini — Commentary
A poetic commentary on the sacred hymn to Goddess Durga, the slayer of the buffalo demon Mahishasura. These verses celebrate the Divine Mother in her myriad forms — as daughter of the mountains, as universal nurturer, as fierce warrior, and as the supreme protector who vanquishes evil and brings abundance to all.
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1) Ayi giri nandini
O Parvati! Daughter of mountains! The earth rejoices when you descend. The universe is entertained by you. Nandi, the holy Bull, Indra the god-conqueror, laud you. You also reside frequently at the summits of Blessed-of-Hills, the Vindhya. You perform ballet along with Vishnu. O goddess! You turned the most dispassionate of yogis, the blue-necked Shiva himself into a householder. You manifest in a myriad of relationships. You bring abundance to all. O slayer of the Taurus-demon. O Goddess with charmingly dishevelled hair! O Goddess of Beauty! Victory to you, O daughter of mountain! Hail Hail!
2) Sura vara varshini
You shower the gods with boons. Swell your chests with unmatched pride. You, who is engaged in joy alone, save us from ugliness and shame. As Mother you nurture the three worlds. As Wife you please your husband Shankara. As Saviour you cleanse us of sins. As warrior-goddess you roar battlecries and din. O daughter of oceans! You quench the fury of Danavas, the pride of Daityas and disillusion their egos.
3) Ayi jagadamba
O Mother of the Universe! My dear mother thou art! You enjoy leisurely dwellings in the lush forests of Kadamba. Laugh you do, so sweetly.. You have made the tallest lofty peaks of Himalayas, the crown-jewel of the arduous mountains, your serene home. O mother, sweeter than honey! You made a mockery of demons Madhu and Kaitabha. You mitigate the risks and bitterness of life. You love to ballet and indulge in the juices of life.
4) Ayi shata khanDa
You ride the majestic elephant which has twisted ivories, blood soaked from the hundreds of heads it crushed and gnashed. And you ride sometimes the fierce valorous lion which heaves after tearing down temples of the enemy-rooks with its mighty claws. With your spear like slender arms you decapitated Munda and his combat comrade (Chanda).
5) Ayi raNa durmada
O you, who was consecrated by the collective unstoppable energies of the gods when they annihilated their power-drunk demonic enemies! You rule over seas of battle warriors. You turned the great Shiva himself into a mere messenger seeing him fit in matters of tongue. You showed Dhumralochana, the sinful, lustful, misled, mistreating, demon-ambassador, his just end.
6) Ayi sharaNaagata
To the sooth-seeking maidens of eminent warriors you killed, you graciously grant boons and fearlessness. The unswerving ever-severing, three-world-representing trident makes harmonious home in your hand, for it knows the next opposing head, its meal, is coming soon. "Dhum dhum" thump they the drums, which set you into rapturing rhapsodies, making you skip all about like crocodiles in water.
7) Ayi nija hunkruti
With just a puff of air, you, rejecting his proposal to wed, consigned him to hundred bits of burning ashes. You made a garland of corpses that arose from Demon RaktaBeeja, vaporising them with your enormous bedazzling heat. O Shiva! My God! Finally you enjoy feeding Daemons Shumba and Nishumbha to your entourage ghouls and ghosts, as though like the Bali given during a Great Yajna.
8) Dhanuranu sanga
In the heat of battle, you throw up your bow, with your bangles clanking sonorously. The golden heads of arrows you shoot, pierce unfailingly your screaming enemies and acquire reddish tones. You reduce the quaternary army to mere specs of red on the grand arena of battlefield, and paint it vividly with your auras, as though to console the crying infantile Rudra.
9) Sura lalanaa
You love to dance merrily to the "Tha tha tha theyy theyyy" tunes of the angelic damsels. And so do you love to sing poems to the "Ku kuth, ku kuth kuth" upbeat rhythm of drums. You do love to listen to the "Dhruk dhrukkuk dhrudhruk dhim dhim" thundering reverberatory beats of Mrdanga.
10) Jaya jaya japya jaye
Hail! Hail! Hail the Goddess, before whom the whole universe bows chanting wholeheartedly cries of victory. Your "Jhin-jhin jhin" clanking jingling of anklets enchants even the Lord of creatures. And when you dance, Shiva, the Dancer-Maestro cannot but help join you in that elegance. And while he dances in the play of life, you accompany with your sweet dulcis melody.
11) Ayi sumanas sumanas
O charisma-endowed charming maiden! Your splendor steals the purest of hearts of the good gods and flowery angels. The beauty of your face matches the luster of the cool moon - the bringer of night. Your face provides the well needed rest to your devotees, much like the moon makes the red lilies -born of water, bloom in ecstasy and excitement.
You charm Shiva, the lord who won over Mara(Manmatha- desire), by merely moving your mellow eyes, like the bumbling bees roaming around in a frenzy on a cloudy day.
12) Sahita mahahava
You who enjoys wrestling with the toughest and strongest of wrestlers in fiercest battles, subdue them like crushing a woolen blanket.Your army comprises the equally combatant Jhils and Bhils tribal women who like the jasmine creeper envelope you for support and strength.
You move about wantonly, O excellent amongst curvy maiden, like the young slender cool shoots which blossom happily at orange-hued dawn moved by the gentle breeze
13) Avirala ganda galan
O spouse of Shiva, the mad elephants! You slay prideful wild elephants in their state of strems of musth leaking down their temples. You, daughter of the Ocean, remind me of the world-soothing, sky-adorning spotted moon born- rising from the vast ocean.
You birthed the god of desire, Manmatha who enchants the mind with lust for "sweet-toothed" glancing ladies.
14) Kamala dalaa
Your forehead is adored craftfully as though by a vine of supple pure pristine lotus petals. You strut about wantonly with the fluttering royal swans in the lunar garden creating waves of excitement in all.
People swarm to you like buzzing bumbling bees to a bouquet of bright lotuses, like crores of cuckoo to a cherry tree.
15) Karamuralii rava
O warm hearted Goddess! The dulcet melody of the flute in your hands surpasses the sweet cuckoos' voice bewildering them into submission. You take hoards of lasses down the valleys of Himalayas, entertaining them with your galloping serenade.
You play hopscotch merrily with your fellow Shabari clan lasses who like you are paragons of virtue.
16) Kati taTa peeta
You wear silken glittering golden drapes round your waist, which surpasses the beauty of the moon. Your nails rest on the throne to which have prostrated the gods with their blazing crowns.
The image is reminiscent of the crescent moon in the sky decorated by the night lit city. Your bosoms resemble the beaming crests of divine Airavata which is playing about pridefully having summitted the Mount Gold.
17) Vijita sahasra kara
You have won over the thousand-rayed Sun with your unmatched prowess of bearing a thousand arms wielding a thousand suns. You have thus been saluted and prayed to by thousands of hands.
You are the mother to have birthed Skanda for the purpose of saving the pantheon of gods from the terrible war-monger Taraka.
You love to be born in the deepest states of focused equanimous samaadhi like you did for Suratha and Samaadhi.
18) Pada kamalam
Oh sea of compassion! The one who shall worship daily, your holy feet, soft and charming like a lotus, shall necessarily become Vishnu himself, the consort of Kamalaa.
When you, O mother, have Kamalaa at your feet, how would he not beget fortune! O Shivaa! What about me who considers your feet themselves to be the holiest of the abodes?
Would I be fortunate too?
19) Kanaka lasat
Shall the one who bathes your body, the drama-stage of Gunas, with pure water in golden pitchers, not have the blessed fortune of embracing tightly the swelled filled bosoms of Goddess Shachi?
Will he have not become Indra himself? I should make your feet my home, O mother, for at your feet has prostrated Sarasvati and your feet alone have stood on Shiva!
20) Tava vimalendu
Seeing your face alone, the shining glittering unblemished moonlit face.....is enough to bewitch everyone, is it not? Why even the lunar damsels of Indra's palace shy away in embarrassment when they see your face!
This is how I feel about you, O Shivaa. What else can be done? Your treasure is Shiva's name itself. How else can one feel about you? Take pity on me.
21) Ayi mayi deena
O Mother Uma! You 've got to take pity and compassion on this wretched poor man. O mother of the world! O lover of scathed swords! Calm down and resort to your splendid form of compassion and motherly love. We pray you to be that way.
Whatever is good, whatever is appropriate for me here, be pleased and prayed to do that. May my feverish pains diminish.
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