વરાહપુરાણમ્

હે દેવી, સર્વ જીવોની કલ્યાણકર્તા, તમામ પ્રાણીઓમાં વ્યાપી, અવિચલ અને સ્થિર, જ્ઞાન, શાસ્ત્રો અને કલાઓની માતા, અને તમામ તત્વોને ધારણ કરતી—you are revered as the embodiment of all that nourishes and sustains. O auspicious one, knower of divine secrets, incarnate in all beings, you alone are our refuge, O Ambikā. You are both knowledge and ignorance, fortune, patience, and the unmanifest, even as you dwell disturbed in the waters within. We bow to you, O Mahાદેવી, supreme ruler, eternal and imperishable, unchanging among all the gods. Whoever seeks refuge in you, O supreme ruler, is protected—even in the dangers of battle, nothing inauspicious befalls them. Whoever, in the terrible fear of tigers or bandit kings, recites this hymn to you with self-control, O Goddess, finds shelter. Even one bound in chains who remembers you, O Goddess, is freed from bondage and lives happily and content. શ્રી વરાહ કહે છે: એ સમયે દેવતાઓએ શ્રદ્ધાપૂર્વક સ્તુતિ કરી, તો સુંદર કટિ ધરાવતી દેવી દેવતાઓને કહ્યું: “મહાન વર પસંદ કરો.” Then, the gods replied, “O sinless Goddess, grant us this boon: whoever recites your hymn, may you fulfill all their desires.” The supreme Goddess said, “So be it,” blessed the gods, and remained there herself. Whoever knows this second birth of the Goddess on earth becomes free from sorrow, pure, and attains a state without affliction. શ્રી વરાહ કહે છે: તે દેવી, જે નીલગિરિ પર ગઈ, અવિચલ તપસ્વિ, ભયાનક, અંધકારથી જન્મેલી—હે ધરા, સાંભળો, એના શક્તિના વ્રત વિશે. Having performed austerities for a long time, she sustained the entire world, accomplishing the radiant five-fire practice. At another time, while the Goddess was engaged in supreme austerity, an asura named Ruru, of great brilliance, granted a boon by Brahmā, arose. In the midst of the ocean was a city rich in jewels, with a great forest—there, that demon king, terror of all the gods, ruled. He was accompanied by countless hundreds of thousands, tens of millions, and hundreds of millions of asuras, glorious like a second Namuci. Eventually, surrounded by a great army, he desired to conquer the ancient cities of the guardians of the worlds, causing fear among the gods. As that great asura rose up, the ocean’s waters swelled immensely, flooding the slopes of the mountains, teeming with countless crocodiles, sharks, and fish. From within, a vast, formidable, and splendid army emerged from the ocean’s waters—adorned with diverse armor and weapons, filled with many groups of enemies of the gods, mighty and skilled in battle. Islands filled with the foremost daityas, equipped with masses of bells and terrifying in their forms, came forth on all sides, displaying themselves loudly. Horses, adorned with golden ornaments and resembling red fish in the water, stood ready and swiftly emerged in hundreds of thousands and millions. Chariots, swift as the sun’s chariot, equipped with fine wheels, poles, and triple yokes, well-armed, crowded with warriors, their flags fluttering, moved quickly without hesitation. The warriors, closely arrayed and eager to cross over, foremost and swift-handed, victorious in battle after battle, shone greatly as followers of the asuras. When the gods were defeated, that army, equipped with fourfold forces, emerged from the water and advanced towards the city of Indra. The lord of the daityas, Ruru, fought together with his heroes, using maces, clubs, spears, arrows, and staff-weapons; the daityas struck the gods in battle, and the gods likewise struck the asuras. After a moment of battle, the gods along with Indra were suddenly defeated by the asuras and fled in great disarray. When the gods were broken and scattered, the mighty asura pursued all the gods. Then all the hosts of gods, fleeing and overwhelmed by fear, went to the great blue mountain where the goddess was present. That goddess, devoted to austerities, fierce, and of supreme power, the destroyer, is known as Kalaratri. Seeing the terrified gods, the goddess spoke loudly to them, “Do not be afraid.” She asked, “Why are you so troubled, O gods? What danger is seen? Quickly tell me, O gods, the cause of your fear.” The gods replied, “This king of the daityas, Ruru, of terrible might, is coming. Protect these frightened gods, O supreme goddess.” Thus addressed by the gods, the goddess of terrible power, beautiful, laughed with great delight before the gods. As she laughed, many goddesses emerged from her mouth, by whom this whole world is pervaded, taking on many fierce forms. All of them held nooses and goads, all had full breasts, all bore spears and were terrifying, and all were beautiful archers. All those goddesses, numbering in the millions, surrounded that Goddess and stood firm; together, possessing great might and armed with bows, they fought with the armies of the demons, and in a moment, all the demon forces were destroyed by them. All the gods assembled and fought against the army of the demons—the Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Visvedevas, and Ashvins—all took up weapons and battled the demon forces. Whatever power belonged to Kalaratri and whatever great strength the gods possessed, all of it drove the demon army to the abode of Yama. Only one great demon, Ruru, remained standing in the mighty battle; and he unleashed a most terrible and fearsome illusion. That illusion grew immense and dreadful, deluding all the gods; and under its spell, the gods immediately fell into sleep. But the Goddess, with her trident on the battlefield, struck that demon; and from the demon, thus struck by her, two beings—Charma and Munda—emerged, separate and distinct.