Devi-Bhagavata Purana

!Devi bhagavata The Devi Bhagavata Purana (देवी भागवतपुराणम्, ‘), also known as the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavata Purana or simply Devi Bhagavatam,’’’ is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit by Veda Vyasa, the text is considered as a major purana for Devi worshippers. It promotes bhakti (devotion) towards Mahadevi, integrating themes from the Shaktadvaitavada tradition (syncretism of Samkhya and Advaita Vedanta. literally, the path of nondualistic Shakti).

The purana consists of twelve cantos (sections) with 318 chapters. Along with Devi Mahatmya, it is one of the most important works in Shaktism, a tradition within Hinduism that reveres Devi or Shakti (Goddess) as the primordial creator of the universe and the Brahman (ultimate truth and reality). It celebrates the divine feminine as the origin of all existence, the creator, the preserver and the destroyer of everything, as well as the one who empowers spiritual liberation. While all major Puranas of Hinduism mention and revere the Goddess, this text centers around her as the primary divinity. The underlying philosophy of this text is Advaita Vedanta-style monism combined with devotional worship of Shakti (feminine power).It is believed that this was spoken by Vyasa to King Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit.

Nomenclature

• ’’’ |source=}}Fifteen chapter in 1st canto Supreme Devi reveals her true identity to god Vishnu lying on a banyan leaf. its also mentioned that half stanza which revealed by supreme goddess is the seed of Bhagavata Purana. The title of the text, Srimad Devi Bhagavata, is composed of two words, which together mean “devotees of the blessed Devi”.

Second Canto

• Birth of Krishna Dvaipayana
• Birth of Pandavas
• On the Kurukshetra War
• Death of Parikshit Consisting of 12 chapters, This canto is short, and historical. It weaves in the characters well known in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, states Rocher, and introduces in the key characters that appear in remaining books of the Devi-Bhagavata Purana.Its also include:

Third Canto

• Description about the secondary creation
• Trimurti going towards the heavens on the celestial car
• Fight between Yudhâjit and Vîrasena
• Details about Navaratri festival and Rama’s performing the Navarâtra ceremony Consisting of 30 chapters,This canto mentioned the Glory of Devi Bhuvaneshvari and her worship, At the Beginning of the universe Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva see Goddess reside in Manidvipa and praise her and also weaves in legends from the well known epic the Ramayana.

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Fourth Canto

• The questions put by Janamejaya regarding Krishna’s incarnation
• Details about Nara and Narayana
• The fight between the Risis and Prahlada
• Description about several avatars of Vishnu
• Explain about Devi’s Highest Supremacy Consisting of 25 chapters, this fourth canto presents more legends, including those of interaction between avatars of Hari, Krishna and Shiva, Kashyapa birth as Vasudeva, but also introduces tantric themes and presents yoga meditation.

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Fifth Canto

• Story of Mahishasura and the origin of goddess Mahalakshmi
• The conquest of the Heavens by Shumba - Nishumbha and Birth of Devi Kaushiki Consisting of 35 chapters, The Canto mentioned glory devi (Devi Mahatmya), Fight between Goddess Durga and Mahishasura, Killing Sumbha and Nisumbha and other demons.

Sixth Canto

Consisting of 31 chapters, The sixth book continue these legends, states Rocher, with half of the chapters focussed on the greatness of Goddess, how male gods are befuddled by problems, how they run to her for help, and how she solves them because she is enlightened knowledge. The text presents the feminine to whom all masculine deities are subordinate and dependent on. Its also include Indra killing of Vritra.

Seventh Canto

Consisting of 40 chapters, The seventh canto of the Srimad Devi-Bhagavatam shifts towards more philosophy, asserting its version of the essence of the Vedas. This book contains the philosophical text called Devi Gita, or the “Song of the Goddess”. The Goddess explains she is the Brahman that created the world, asserting the Advaita premise that spiritual liberation occurs when one fully comprehends the identity of one’s soul and the Brahman. This knowledge, asserts the Goddess, comes from detaching self from the world and meditating on one’s own soul.Chapter 28 of the seventh book contain the story of Durgamasur and his annihilation by goddess Sivaa (Parvati) in her form of Shakambhari.

Festivals and culture

This canto, states Rocher, also includes sections on festivals related to Devi, pilgrimage information and ways to remember her. Her relationship with Shiva and the birth of Skanda is also briefly mentioned in the 7th book. The last ten chapters (31 to 40) of the canto 7 is the famous and philosophical Devi Gita, which often circulates in the Hindu tradition as a separate text.

Eighth Canto

• In the beginning of creation Manu (Hinduism) praise Devi and Lord taking Varaha avatar
• Divisions of Bhu Mandala with Seven islands
• Various avatars of Vishnu worship in Jambudvīpa
• Description of the movement of the Moon and other planets.
• Narada worship and praises Lord Ananta
• Description about nether worlds and different hells Consisting of 24 chapters, The eighth book of the Devi-Bhagavata Purana incorporates one of the five requirements of Puranic-genre of Hindu texts, that is a theory of the geography of the earth, planets and stars, the motion of sun and moon, as well as explanation of time and the Hindu calendar. Its include:

Ninth Canto

• Description of five forms of Devi Prakriti
• Manifestation of Shri Krishna and Description of First creation (Sarga)
• Birth of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
• Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganga (goddess), mutually curse each other and descend them on Bharatavarsha.
• Description of the period of Kali Yuga.
• Story of Devi Tulsi
• Significance and attributes of Bhagavati Bhuvaneshvari
• Goddess Mahalakshmi manifests from ocean of Milk
• Description of mantras and songs of praise to Devi Radha and goddess Durga. The largest canto is the 9th skandha Consisting of 50 chapters, which is very similar in structure and content of the Prakriti-kanda of the Brahmavaivarta Purana. Both are goddesses-focused, and discuss her theology, but have one difference. The Prakriti-kanda of the Brahmavaivarta Purana also includes many verses which praise Vishnu using various names (incarnations), which re-appear in the 9th book of the Devi Bhagavata Purana with Vishnu names substituted with Devi names (incarnations). Its also Mentioned Krishna as the male form of goddess.

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Tenth Canto

!Devi Bhuvaneswari at Parashakthi Temple|||Devi Bhuvaneshwari

• The creation Swayambhu Manu and Description of other Manus.
• Narada describes the greatness of Vindhya who tries to stop the path of Sun God. Consisting of 13 chapters, This Canto of the Devi-Bhagavata Purana is one of the shortest, and integrates manavantaras, another structural requirement for this text to be a major Purana, but wherein the Devi is worshiped in every cosmic time cycle, because she is the greatest, she kills the evil and she nurtures the good.Chapter 13 of the tenth book describes the glory of goddess Bhramri that how in the past she killed the demon Arunasura.

Eleventh Canto

Consisting of 24 chapters, This canto of the text discusses Sadachara (virtues) and Dharma to self as an individual, as belonging to a Grama (village, community) and to a Desha (country). The text praises Sruti and asserts it to be the authoritative source, adding that Smriti and Puranas are also sources for guidance. This section is notable for adding that Tantra is also a source of guidance, but only if it does not conflict with the Vedas. Verses in the 11th books also describe sources for Rudraksha as Japa beads, the value of Tripundra mark on the forehead, five styles of Sandhyas (reflection, meditation) and five types of Yajnas.

Twelfth Canto

The last and 12th canto of the Devi-Bhagavatam Consisting of 14 chapters, Its describes the Goddess as the mother of the Vedas, she as the Adya Shakti (primal, primordial power), and the essence of the Gayatri mantra. The verses map every syllable of the Gayatri mantra to 1008 names of reverence in the Hindu tradition. These names span a spectrum of historic sages, deities, musical meters, mudras and the glories of the goddesses. Also in Chapter 10 to Chapter 12 Describe the supreme abode of Devi called Manidvipa which is above Vaikuntha and Goloka.

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SDB 12.13.27:28 original Sanskrit

Devi Gita

Main articles: Devi Gita

The Devi Gita, like the Bhagavad Gita, is a condensed philosophical treatise. It presents the divine female as a powerful and compassionate creator, pervader and protector of the universe. She is, states Brown, presented in the opening chapter of the Devi Gita as the benign and beautiful world-mother, called Bhuvaneshvari (literally, ruler of the universe, and the word is feminine). Thereafter, theological and philosophical teachings become the focus of the text, covering chapters 2 to 10 of the Devi Gita (or, chapters 32 to 40 of this Purana’s Book 7). Some of the verses of Devi Gita are almost identical to the Devi Upanishad.

The Devi Gita frequently explains Shakta ideas by quoting from the Bhagavad Gita. The Devi is described by the text as a “universal, cosmic energy” resident within each individual, weaving in the terminology of Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. It is suffused with Advaita Vedanta ideas, wherein nonduality is emphasized, all dualities are declared as incorrect, and interconnected oneness of all living being’s soul with Brahman is held as the liberating knowledge. However, adds Tracy Pintchman, Devi Gita incorporates Tantric ideas giving the Devi a form and motherly character rather than the gender-neutral concept of Adi Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta.

Supreme Goddess describes her gross form in Devi Gita as follows:

{{Blockquote|text=Brahma, Vishnu, Rudhra, Ishvara and Sadashiva: these are the five great disembodied spirits, who are situated at the base of my feet.|source=Devi Gita (Swami Satyānanda Saraswati), Chapter 12, Verse 10

The Bhakti theology of the Devi Gita part of this Purana may have been influenced by the Bhagavad Gita, and with Vaishnava concepts of loving devotion to Krishna found in the Bhagavata Purana. All these texts highlight different types of devotion in a Samkhya philosophy framework.{{Sfn|June McDaniel|2004|pp=158-161}}{{Sfn|Cheever Mackenzie Brown|1998|pp=23-25}} Tamasic Bhakti is one, asserts the text, where the devotee prays because he is full of anger, seeks to harm others, induce pain or jealousy to others.{{Sfn|Cheever Mackenzie Brown|1998|pp=23-25}} Rajasic Bhakti is one where the devotee prays not to harm others, but to gain personal advantage, fame or wealth.{{Sfn|June McDaniel|2004|pp=158-161}} Sattvic Bhakti is the type where the devotee seeks neither advantage nor harm to others but prays to purify himself, renounce any sins and surrender to the ideas embodied as Goddess to liberate himself.

SDB 07.37.11:12 original Sanskrit: {{Blockquote| }}

SDB 07.37.13:14 original Sanskrit: {{Blockquote| }}

Disciples of Swami Vijnanananda translation: {{Blockquote|text=Now hear attentively about the Para Bhakti that I am now describing to you. He who hears always My Glories and recites My Name and Whose mind dwells always, like the incessant flow of oil, in Me who is the receptacle of all auspicious qualities and Gunas.|source=Canto 07, Chapter 37, Verse 11:12 }}

{{Blockquote|text=But he has not the least trace of any desire to get the fruits of his Karma; yea he does not want Samipya, Sarsti, Sayujya, and Salokya and other forms of liberations! He becomes filled with devotion for Me alone worships Me only; knows nothing higher than to serve Me and he does not want final liberation even.|source=Canto 07, Chapter 37, Verse 13:14}}

Translations

• Devi Gita - The Song of The Goddess translated by C. Mackenzie Brown
• Devi Gita translated by swami Satyananda Saraswati
• Sri Devi Gita translated by Ramamurthy Natarajan There are several separate translations of Devi Gita.

Vedic Literature

Devi Bhagavatam mentioned number of Vedic mantras connected with observance. In eleventh canto describes certain rites, also Devi is identified with Yajurveda and Rudra. In the ninth canto mentioned various phase powers of Devi. Dhyana stotras of Lakshmi and Svaha are adopted from Samaveda. Use of Rudrakshas mentioned in ninth canto is supported by the Sruti.

Upanishad

Devi Bhagavatam adopted some of passages in Upanishad. In seventh canto in purana Devi describe her own form these verses are identical with some verses of Devi Upanishad. Also in fourth canto some famous expressions of Taittiriya Upanishad are used to describe the nature of Devi. The four states of consciousness described in the Mandukya Upanishad, are mentioned in 30th chapter of sixth canto.

Samkhya

Devi Bhagavatam belong to the Shaktadvaitavada tradition (syncretism of Samkhya and Advaita Vedanta. literally, the path of nondualistic Shakti). The duality of Prakriti and Purusha in Samkhya is not accepted by Devi Bhagavatam. In the text prakriti is identified with Parashakti. She is also called Mulaprakriti. The text maintains that the Gunas are of mixing nature and when they pair together they condition each other. This is an adaptation from the Samkhya theory.

Bhakti

Main articles: Bhakti and Bhakti yoga

The Devi Bhagavata Purana adds Para Bhakti (Sanskrit: दवी) in Devi Gita as the highest level of devotion, states McDaniel, where the devotee seeks neither boon nor liberation but weeps when he remembers her because he loves the Goddess, when he feels her presence everywhere and sees the Goddess in all living beings, he is intoxicated by her ideas and presence.

From Swami Vijnanananda translation:

Reception

The verses and ideas in the Devi-Bhagavata Purana, state Foulston and Abbott, are built on the foundation of the Upanishads wherein the nonduality and oneness of Brahman and Atman) (soul) are synthesized. The text makes references to the philosophy and metaphors used in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Adi Shankara. However, those ideas are reformulated and centered around the Goddess in the Devi Bhagavata Purana, states C Mackenzie Brown, as well as other scholars. In Devi Bhagavata text, states Tracy Pintchman, the Devi is not only Brahman-Atman (soul, interconnected oneness), she is also the always-changing empirical reality (Maya)).

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The Goddess, in Devi Bhagavata Purana, is both the source of self-bondage through Avidya (ignorance) and the source of self-liberation through Vidya (knowledge), state Foulston and Abbott. She is identical to the Vedic metaphysical reality concept of Brahman, the supreme power, the ruler of the universe, the hero, the hidden energy, the power, the bliss innate in everything, according to the text. The Devi, states Kinsley, is identified by this Purana to be all matter, mother earth, the cosmos, all of nature including the primordial. The Goddess is presented, states Brown, as “the womb of the universe”, who observes the actions of her children, nurtures them to discover and realize their true nature, forgive when they make mistakes, be fearsomely terrible to the wicked that threaten her children, and be friend of all souls.

Cynthia Humes compares the depiction of Goddess in the 6th-century Hindu text Devi Mahatmya, with that in this later Devi-Bhagavata Purana text. Both revere the feminine, states Humes, but there are some important differences. Nowhere does the Devi Mahatmya state anything negative about women, and it is explicit in asserting that “all women are portions of the Goddess”. By contrast, states Humes, the portrayal of women in Devi-Bhagavata Purana is more complex. It includes verses critical of the feminine, with the text stating that behavior of woman can be “reckless, foolish, cruel, deceitful” and the like. The Devi Bhagavata also praises women and describes their behavior can be “heroic, gentle, tenacious, strong” and the like.

The Devi-Bhagavata Purana is an important and historic Shakta Bhakti text, states June McDaniel.

Commentaries

• Studies in Devi Bhagavata - P.G. Layle
• Srimad Devi Bhagavatam with the Tika of Nilakantha
• Discourses on the Devi Bhagavatam - Pt Vidur Prasad Dahal
• The Triumph of the Goddess : The Canonical Models and Theological Visions of the Devi-Bhagavata Purana

Translations

The Devi Bhagavata Purana has been translated into different languages.

Telugu

• Mulugu Papayaradhya, an 18th-century Telugu poet, is regarded as the first poet to translate the Devi Bhagavata Purana into Telugu. Tirupati Venkata Kavulu also translated this purana into Telugu language in 1896 entitled Devi Bhagavatamu. They have divided the purana into 6 skandas and themselves published it in 1920.
• Sri Devi Bhagavatham by Acharya Bethavolu Ramabrahmam in 2005
• Sri Devi Bhagavatam translated by Smt. S Rukminamma

Kannada

• Edatore Chandrashekhara Sastry has translated the entire Devi Bhagavatam to Kannada with Sanskrit Text. This was published in 11 volumes at Mysore. (Jayachamarajendra Grantha Ratna Mala - 5)
• Sri Devi Bhagavata by Pavana Sutha

Malayalam

• Srimad Devi Bhagavatam translated by Varavoor Shamu Menon and Dr. N. P Unni
• Shrimad Devi Bhagavata published by Aarshasri Publications Co

Hindi

• Devi Bhagavatam published by Gita Press
• Shri Mad Devi Bhagwat Mahapuran by Laxmi prakashan
• Shrimad Devi Bhagavata Purana in Simple Hindi Language by Gita Press
• A Synopsis of Devi Bhagawat by Gita Press
• Srimad Devi Bhagawat Mahapurana by Shivjeet Singh

Gujarati

• શરીમદ દવી ભાગવત: Shrimad Devi Bhagavata Purana by Harendra Shukla

Bengali

• Devi Bhagavatam by Navabharat Publishers, Kolkata

Nepali

• Srimad Devi Bhagawat Mahapuran (Nepali) translated by Gaurishankar Vasistha (SRI DURGA SAHITYA BHANDAR, VARANASI)

Tamil

• Devi Bhagavatam - Karthikeyan by Giri Trading Agency private limited
• Sri Devi Bhagavatha 3 parts translated by Durgadoss S.K.Swami and Prema Pirasuram
• Shrimad Devi Bhagavata Purana in Tamil (Set of 2 Volumes) by Vidya Venkataraman
• Sri Devi Bhagavatham by Acharya Bethavolu Ramabrahmam - V.G.S Publishers

English

• Swami Vijnanananda translated the Devi Bhagavatam to English with Sanskrit Text.
• Ramesh Menon translated condensed English version of The Devi Bhagavatam in 2010
• Srimad Devibhagavata Puranam (Sanskrit Text with English Translation in Two Volumes) by Bahadur Sris Chandra

German

• Shrīmad Devī Bhāgavatam: Mutter Natur in Aktion by Michael Stibane

Russian

• Девибхагавата-Пурана. В 6 томах (Devi Bhagavata Purana) - Клуб Касталия (Kastalia Club)

In Popular Culture

• Colors TV launched a mythological series named Jai Jag Janani Maa Durga in 2012 based on Devi-Bhagavata Purana.
• Colors TV launched a mythological series named Mahakali — Anth Hi Aarambh Hai in 2017 partially based on Devi-Bhagavata Purana
• Sony Entertainment Television launched a mythological series named Vighnaharata Ganesha in 2017 which also portrayed episodes from this text.
• Dangal TV launched a mythological series named Devi Adi Parashakti in 2020 which is also based on Devi-Bhagavata Purana.

See also

• Devi Mahatmya
• Markandeya Purana
• Shiva Purana
• Mahadevi

External links

• English Translation of the Devi Bhagavata by Swami Vijnanananda
• Devi Bhagavata Purana English translation correct IAST transliteration and glossary