{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/db/bk09ch39.htm","path":"hin/db/bk09ch39.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/db/bk09ch39.htm","text":"THE NINTH BOOK\nChapter XXXIX\nOn the story of Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee\n1-3 N\u00e2rada said :-- \u201cO Lord! I have heard in the discourse on S\u00e2vitr\u00ee and Yama about the Formless Dev\u00ee M\u00fbla Prakriti and the glories of S\u00e2vitr\u00ee, all true and leading to the endless good. Now I want to hear the story of the Dev\u00ee Laksm\u00ee. O Thou, the Chief of the knowers of the Vedas! What is the nature of Laksm\u00ee? By whom was She first worshipped? and by what Mantra? Kindly describe Her glories to me.\u201d\n4-33. N\u00e2r\u00e2yana said :-- Of old, in the beginning of the Pr\u00e2kritik Creation, from the left side of Krisna, the Supreme Spirit, appeared in the R\u00e2samandalam (the Figure Dance) a Dev\u00ee. She looked exceedingly handsome, of a dark blue colour, of spacious hips, of thin waist, and\nwith high breast, looking twelve years old, of steady youth, of a colour of white Champaka flower and very lovely. The beauty of Her face throws under shade millions and millions of autumnal full moons. Before Her wide expanded eyes, the midday lotus of the autumnal season becomes highly ashamed. By the Will of God, this Dev\u00ee suddenly divided Herself into two parts. The two looked equal in every respect; whether in beauty, qualities, age, loveliness, colour, body, spirit, dress, ornaments, smile, glance, love, or humanity, they were perfectly equal.\nNow she who appeared from the right side is named R\u00e2dh\u00e2 and she who came from the left side is named Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee. R\u00e2dh\u00e2 wanted first the two armed S\u2019r\u00ee Krisna, Who was Higher than the highest; then Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee wanted Him. R\u00e2dh\u00e2 came out of the right side and wanted first Krisna; so Krisna, too, divided himself at once into two parts. From His right side came out the two-armed and from his left side came out the four-armed. The two-armed person first made over to Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee the four armed One; then the two armed Person Himself took R\u00e2dh\u00e2. Laksm\u00ee looks on the whole universe with a cooling eye; hence She is named Laksm\u00ee and as She is great, She is called Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee. And for that reason the Lord of R\u00e2dh\u00e2 is two-armed and the Lord of Laksm\u00ee is four-armed. R\u00e2dh\u00e2 is pure Apr\u00e2 kritic S\u2019uddha Sattva (of the nature of pure Sattva Guna, the illuminating attribute) and surrounded by the Gopas and Gop\u00ees. The four-armed Purusa, on the other hand, took Laksm\u00ee (Padm\u00e2) to Vaikuntha. The two-armed person is Krisna; and the four-armed is N\u00e2r\u00e2yana. They are equal in all respects. Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee became many by Her Yogic powers (i.e., She remained in full in Vaikuntha and assumed many forms in parts). Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee of Vaikuntha is full, of pure Sattva Guna, and endowed with all sorts of wealth and prosperity. She is the crest of woman-kind as far as loving one\u2019s husbands is concerned. She is the Svarga Laksm\u00ee in the Heavens; the N\u00e2ga Laksm\u00ee of the serpents, the N\u00e2gas, in the nether regions; the R\u00e2ja Laksm\u00ee of the kings and the Household Laksm\u00ee of the householders. She resides in the houses of house-holders as prosperity and the most auspicious of all good things. She is the progenetrix, She is the Surabhi of cows and She is the Daksin\u00e2 (the sacrificial fee) in sacrifices. She is the daughter of the milk ocean and she is Padmin\u00ee, the beauty of the spheres of the Moon and the Sun. She is the lustre and beauty of the ornaments, gems, fruits, water, kings, queens, heavenly women, of all the houses, grains, clothings, cleansed places, images, auspicious jars, pearls, jewels, crest of jewels, garlands, diamonds, milk, sandal, beautiful twigs, fresh rain cloud, or of all other colours. She was first worhipped in Vaikuntha by N\u00e2r\u00e2yana. Next She was worshipped by Brahm\u00e2 and then\nby S\u2019ankara with devotion. She was worshipped by Visnu in the Kshirode Samudra. Then she was worshipped by Sv\u00e2yambhuva Manu, then by Indras amongst men, then by Munis, Risis, good householders, by the Gandharbas, in the Gandharbaloka; by the N\u00e2gas in the N\u00e2galoka. She was worshipped with devotion by Brahm\u00e2 for one fortnight commencing from the bright eighth day in the month of Bh\u00e2dra and ending on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the three-worlds. She was worshipped by Visnu, with devotion in the three worlds on the meritorious Tuesday in the months of Pausa, Chaitra, and Bh\u00e2dra. Manu, also, worshipped Her on the Pausa Sankr\u00e2nti (the last day of the month of Pausa when the Sun enters another sign) and on the auspicious Tuesday in the month of M\u00e2gha. Thus the worship of Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee is made prevalent in the three worlds. She was worshipped by Indra, the Lord of the Devas and by Mangala (Mars) on Tuesday. She was then worshipped by Ked\u00e2ra, N\u00eela, Subala, Dhruva, Utt\u00e2napada, S\u2019akra, Bali, Kas\u2019yapa, Daksa, Kardama, S\u00fbrya, Priyavrata, Chandra, V\u00e2yu, Kuvera, Varuna, Yama, Hut\u00e2sana and others. Thus Her worship extended by and by to all the places. She is the Presiding Deity of all wealth; so She is the wealth of all.\nHere ends the Thirty-ninth Chapter of the Ninth Book on the story of Mah\u00e2 Laksm\u00ee in the Mah\u00e2 Pur\u00e2nam S\u2019r\u00ee Mad Dev\u00ee Bh\u00e2gavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vy\u00e2sa.","title":"The Devi Bhagavatam: The Ninth Book: Chapter 39","type":"page"}