Discourse of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji on Chandi Saptashati – Day 1 Navaratri Celebrations – Mysore – October 16, 2012
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Matre Namaha – Sri Durgadevyai Namaha
“Everyone knows that Maata means mother. Sapta maatrkaa means seven mothers. Aparna Devi got the name Maatrkaa because she gave birth to Lord Kumara Swami (Subrahmanya). The Devi Purana describes her as Skandotpaadena Maatrkaa. Aparna Devi is addressed by different names as per the context. This bhajan, Saptamaatrika Krpaashraye – introduces several of the names of the seven mothers.
There is a procedure of dividing the 51 letters of the alphabet into seven divisions and offering a special worship to the Mother. This procedure is used in the Sri Chakra worship. For the seven divisions, these seven Mothers are the presiding deities.
Refrain: O Mother, who is the combined form of the Seven Mothers! O compassionate one! You reside in the temple built of the mantras in the Saptashati.
O Mother! You are renowned by the names of Kali, Tara, Chinnamasta, Sumukhi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bala, and Kubja. May you be victorious!
O Mother! You are renowned by the names of Lakshmi, Lalita, Kali, Durga, Gayatri, Arundhati, Saraswati. Victory to you!
O Mother! You are famous by the names of Brahmi, Maaheshwari, kaumari, Vaishnavi, Vaaraahi, Indraani, and Chaamunda. Victory to you.
O Mother! You are famous by the names of Nanda, Shataakshi, Shaakambhari, Bheemaa, Raktadantika, Durga, and Bhraamaree. Victory to you.
O Mother! You are worshiped by Brahma, Indra, Brihaspati, Shukra, Vishnu, Shiva and all such deities. You are pure and pristine. You are the manifestation of Sat, Chit, and Ananda (Truth, Pure Consciousness, and Bliss). O Mother, who manifests as the Seven Mothers! May you be victorious!
Wishing her victory, on our part, is only a desire, a prayer. It is not a blessing. Her victory is the true victory.
During these Navaratri Celebrations, we are going to discuss a little bit about the Saptashati Mantra. It takes a long time to study it in depth. Hence, we will try to understand it in brief during these festivities.
Saptashati means 700. Since this work contains 700 mantras that describe the worship of Mother Goddess, it is called Saptashati. Among mantras, there are different varieties, such as one syllable mantras, five syllable mantras, 16 syllable mantras, and so forth.
When a mantra is very long, like a garland, it is referred to as a garland of mantras. When all the 700 mantras of the Saptashati are considered as one mantra, then it is called the Saptashati Mala Mantra. This is also referred to Chandi Saptashati and Durga Saptashati.
Chandi means Mother who is furious. The question may arise as to how Mother who is of the form of Peace ever become furious. Whoever treads the path of Adharma and whoever performs forbidden actions incurs her wrath. Hence she is given the name Chandi.
Durga means one who is difficult to access. Only such devotees and enlightened souls who have done extensive penance and spiritual practices are able to fully grasp her principle.
Worship is of two kinds: with form and without form. When God is worshiped with form, then the deity’s glories, stories, miracles, and mantras will all be a part of it. Worshiping God without form will deal only with spiritual knowledge and wisdom.
The specialty of Saptashati is that through the worship of the Supreme with form, it leads the seeker to the worship of God without form. The Saptashati occurs in the Markandeya Purana. Markandeya Purana consists of the dialog between the Sage Markandeya and Bhaaguri. This dialog was conveyed by the birds that were the sons of Sage Drona to Sage Jaimini. That is why it got the name Markandeya Purana.
The 700 verses of the Saptashati have been divided into three parts by the worshipers of the past into the preliminary, middle, and the highest or concluding top part. Saptashati consists of 13 chapters. The first chapter is the preliminary story. Chapters 2-4 are the middle section. Chapters 5-13 are the final section.
Mahakali is the presiding deity of the first section. Mahalakshmi is the presiding deity of the second section. Maha Saraswati is the presiding deity of the final section. For the entire garland of mantras known as Saptashati, Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra are the presiding sages. The metric rhythms are Gayatri, Ushnik, and Anushtup. The deities are Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, and Mahasaraswati. Nanda, Shakambhari, and Bheema are the energies. Raktadantika, Durga, and Bhramari are the seeds. The principles are Fire, Air, and the Sun. The meditation is upon the Rg, Yajur, and Sama Vedas.
The Puranas declare that to obtain the grace of Mother Goddess Durga Devi, who is a composite of all the three types of energy, the Saptashati should be studied and chanted. It should be recited. Homa should be performed with these mantras. The essential meaning of the mantras should be learned from the Guru.
To understand the important aspect aspects of this Saptashakti, let us first meditate upon the Mother Goddess.
Mother Goddess, who is brilliant as lightning is seated on a lion, striking terror in the hearts of the demons. She is attended upon by many celestial maidens who are wielding different types of weapons. She herself is armed with various types of weapons. The Moon adorns her head. She has three eyes. I offer my reverential prostrations to Durga Devi.
When we commence with the first chapter, the introductory section, we find that:
Brahma is the presiding sage, Gayatri is the meter, Mahakali is the presiding deity, Nandaja is the energy, Raktadantika is the seed, Agni is the principle, and it is in the form of Rg Veda.
Let us learn the important features of the first chapter to give happiness to Mother Mahakali.
This Chandi Saptashati, which is also knows as Devi Mahatmyam begins with the words, Markandeya uvaacha. Markandeya is the son of the Sage Mrikandu. His disciple is Bhaguri. Markandeya taught his disciple Bhaguri, the reasons for the birth of the eighth Manu, Saavarni.
Even a pauper becomes a king if he has the grace of the Mother Goddess. If it is lacking, even the rich become poor. Chandi Saptashati came into being to instruct us that through the grace of Guru, one should acquire the grace of the Mother Goddess.
During the manvantara (an eon) known as Svarochisha, there was an emperor in the dynasty of Chaitra, by the name of Suratha. Although he was a righteous king, because of some enemies, he was forced to run away from his kingdom. He entered a fierce jungle and found the hermitage of Sage Medho. There the animals of the forest were all living in mutual harmony. Some scholars say that Sage Medho is none other than Sage Vasishtha.
The Sage welcomed Suratha and offered him hospitality at his ashram. One day Suratha, as he was moving about in the ashram, began to get concerned about the welfare of his kingdom. He wondered and lamented whether the enemies were properly ruling the kingdom or not. The king came across a businessman who was also in grief. The king asked him who he was, and why he was in sorrow. He asked the merchant what had brought him to the ashram.
The merchant said, “My name is Samadhi. I was born in a wealthy family. Out of greed for money my wife and children threw me out of the house. I have no one to call as kith and kin. I am grieving about the welfare of my family members. I am concerned whether they are being virtuous or not.
The king asked the merchant why he was grieving about those who had chased him out of the house. The merchant said, “O king, what you say may be true. But what can I do? I am not able to be firm with them in how I feel. I know that those who have deceived me do not deserve my compassion. Yet, I am drawn by fond sentiments for my relatives. I do not know what to do.”
The king who lost his kingdom and the merchant who got chased out of his home went to the sage in their state of mental dilemma, and offered their obeisance to him. The Sage welcomed them with respect. The king said, “O Sage! I wish to ask you a very important question. I heart is unsteady and not in my control. It is getting drowned in sorrow. I have lost my kingdom, and yet my fondness for it has not left me. That is my story. Look at this merchant. His family has insulted him and has thrown him out. Yet he has not lost his fondness for them. We are both in grief. Our minds are being tormented by our attachments and our hatred. We are not able to use discretion. Kindly explain to us the reason for this.”
The Sage said, “O king! Everyone on earth has some knowledge of beauty, taste, and so on. It is the sense organs and their attachment to objects that is the cause of all delusion. All living beings possess some type of knowledge. Human beings are highly knowledgeable. But just for that reason, you cannot say that all men are wise. Most men are ignorant. Mother Goddess, who is of the form of great illusion, can overpower even the minds of the enlightened. That being the case, is it any surprise that the ignorant fall prey to illusion?”
The king asked, “O Sage! Who is this powerful energy that you are talking about? Who is this Great Maya (illusion)? How was she born? What does she do? What is her power like? What is her form? Where is she born, how, and why? I wish to know all the details.”
This question is the basis for the Saptashati. Upon hearing this request from the king, the Sage replied:
“O Suratha! O Samadhi! That Supreme Power is eternal. She is immortal. Without her this world does not exist. Although she is ever existent, on certain special occasions, she assumes some specific forms. Her main mission is to fulfill the command of God. Her manifestation is referred to ‘Utpanna’ or birth.
Let me tell you a story.
When there was a deluge of water at the end of one Kalpa and the entire world was nothing but water, Maha Vishnu was absorbed in Yoga Nidra, the Sleep of Yoga. At that time, out of the ear wax, two demons, Madhu and Kaitabha were born. Brahma, who knew of the torment that would be caused to the world in the future because of these two ferocious demons, he sang the praises of Vishnu’s Yoga Nidra thus: This is the first prayer in the Saptashati, composed by Brahma.
“O Mother Parashakti! You are Swahaa Devi, the consort of Agni, the God of Fire. Assuming the name of Swadha, you convey the offered oblations to the manes. You are the presiding deity of the Vashatkara mantras. Your form is that of the nectar of immortality. You are indestructible. You are the Omkara formed of the syllables, A, U, and M.
O Mother, this world has been created and supported by you. It is being protected by you. You withdraw this creation back into yourself. O Mother, Lord Vishnu, who has been created by you, protects the worlds. He is now immersed in sleep. Whom can I praise now? Myself, Vishnu, and Shiva, have all been created by you. These demons are going to torment the worlds. Hence, please wake Lord Vishnu up. May he destroy these demons.”
As Brahma was praising her thus, Mother Parashakti who was of the form of the Power of Sleep, emerged from the eyes, face, nose, hands and heart of Maha Vishnu and appeared before Brahma. At once Maha Vishnu woke up from his sleep and began fighting against Madhu and Kaitabha. Their battle extended over 5000 years. The demons were protected by all kinds of boons from the gods. The demons who were impressed by the fighting skills of Sri Hari (Lord Vishnu), but did not know that it was he, because of their Tamo Guna, in arrogance, offered him a boon. They thought that they were being very generous. Sri Hari then asked them for the boon that they should get killed by him. The demons realized that they had been deceived. They cleverly told him that he may kill them at a place on earth where it is not filled with water. Then Maha Vishnu placed them both on his thighs and killed them. This incident reminds us of another story from the Puranas (the story of Hiranyakashipu being killed by Lord Narasimha) Thus he protected the worlds.
That is how Parashakti, who was praised by Brahma, woke Vishnu up and fulfilled God’s mission,” said Sage Medho, concluding the first story.”
Courtesy: Hira Duvvuri