During the festival of Navratri, Devi Mahatmayam is often recited. Composed around 400-500 CE, it is the definitive text of the Shakta tradition and one that established the Goddess as the supreme creatrix.
The three central episodes of the Devi Mahatmayam revolve around the allegorical slaying of ignorance by the Goddess.
In the first episode, two demons attack Brahma as he prepares to launch a new cycle of creation.
He calls out to Vishnu for help, who is asleep.
Brahma then petitions the Goddess in her form as Yoganidra (yogic sleep), who withdraws from Vishnu, causing him to awaken.
So while Vishnu does the actual slaying, Devi enables him.
She lifts the veil of ignorance from him, an awakening occurs, and the afflictions of the mind and the ego are slain.
In the second episode, Devi makes her debut as warrior goddess Durga, invoked to overcome the shapeshifter, Mahishasura.
Astride a lion, she engages Mahishasura in a fierce battle where he changes form each time she is about to kill him, suggesting the slippery nature of the ego and the many manifestations of ignorance that constantly attempt to subdue it.
Eventually, Durga vanquishes Mahishasura.
The third episode of Devi Mahatmayam comprises a cluster of stories that introduce an aspect of the Goddess that is perhaps the most feared and the least understood.
Kali is the mistress of time (kala) and transience, who keeps the cosmic balance by ensuring an end to created life.
The reason Kali is such a powerful icon is because she uses the negative impulses of anger, vengeance and violence to create balance and harmony.
Swati Chopra writes on spirituality and mindful living. Her most recent book is Women Awakened: Stories of Contemporary Spirituality in India. Website: www.swatichopra.com
