The Devi said:

1-2. And whoever with a concentrated mind shall pray to me constantly with these, hymns, I shall without doubt put down every trouble of his.

3. And those who shall laud (the story of) the destruction of Madhu and Kaitabha, the slaughter Nisumbha likewise.

4-5. And those also who shall listen with devotion to this sublime poem on my greatness on the eighth, the fourteenth and on the ninth days of the fortnight with concentrated mind, to them nothing wrong shall happen, nor calamities that arise from wrong doings nor poverty and never separation from beloved ones.

6. He shall not experience fear from enemies, or from robbers and kings, or from weapon, fire and flood.

7. Hence this poem of my greatness must be chanted by men of concentrated minds an dlistened to always with devotion; for it is the supreme course of well-being.

8. May this poem of my glories quell all epidemic calamities, as also the threefold naturral calamities.

9. The place of my sanctuary where this poem is duly chanted everyday, I will never forsake and there my presence is certain.

10. When sacrifice is offered, during worship, in the fire-ceremony, and at a great festival, all this poem on my acts must be chanted and heard.

11. I will accept with love the sacrifice and worship that are made and the fire-offering that is offered likewise, whethere they are done with due knowledge (of sacrifice) or not.

12-13. During autumnal seasson, when the great annual worship is performed, the man hearing this glorification of mine with devotion shall certainly through my grace, be delivered without doubt from all troubles and be blessed with riches, grains and children.

14. Hearing this glorification and auspicious appearances of mine, and my feats of prowess in battles, a man becomes fearless.

15. Enemies perish, welfare accrues and the family rejoices for those who listen to this glorification of mine.

16. Let one listen to this glorification of mine everywhere, at a propitiatory ceremony, on seeing a bad dream, and when there is the great evil influence of planets.

17. (By that means) evil protents subside, as also the unfavourable influence of planets, and the bad dream seen by men turns into a good dream.

18. It creates peacefulness in children possessed by the seizes of children(i.e., evil spirits), and it is the best promoter of friendship among men when split occurs in their union.

19. It diminishes most effectively the power of all men of evil ways. Verily demons, goblins, and ogres are destroyed by its mere chanting.

20-30. This entire glorification of mine draws ( a devotee) very near to me. And by means of finest cattle, flowers, arghya and incenses, and by perfumes and lamps, by feeding Brahmanas, by oblations, by sprinkling (consecrated) water, and by various other offerings and gifts (if one worships) day and night in a year-the gratificattion, which is done to me, is attained by listening but once to this holy story of mine. The chanting and hearing of the story of my manifestations remove sins, and grant perfect health and protect one from evil spirits; and when my martial exploit in the form of the slaughter of the wicked daityas is listened to, men will have no fear from enemies. And the hymns uttered by you, and those by the divine sages, and those by Brahma bestow a pious mind. He who is (lost) on a lonesome spot in a forest, or is surrounded by forest fire, or who is surrounded by robbers in a desolate sopt, or who is captured by enemies, or who is pursued by a lion, or tiger, or by wild elephants in a forest, or who, under the orders of a wrathful kinng, is sentenced to death, or has been imprisoned, or who is tossed about in his boat by a tempest in the vast sea, or who is in the most terrible battle under shower of weapons, or who is amidst all kinds of dreadful troubles, or who is afflicted with pain - such a man on remembering this story of mine is saved from his strait. Through my power, lions etc., robbers and enemies, flee from a distance from him who remembers this story of mine.

The Rishi said:

31-32. Having spoken thus the adorable Chandika, fierce in prowess, vanished on that very spot even as the Devas were gazing one.

33. Their foes having been killed, all the devas also were delivered from fear; all of them resumed their own duties as before and participated in their shares of sacrifices.

34-35. When the exceedingly valourous Sumbha and Nisumbha, the most fierce foes of devas, who brought ruin on the world, and who were unparallelled in prowess had been slain by the Devi in battle, the remaining daityas went away to Patala.

36. Thus O King, the adorable Devi, although eternal, incarnating again and again, protects the world.

37. By her this universe is deluded, and it is she who creates this universe. And when entreated, she bestows supreme knowledge, and whne propitiated, whe bestows prosperity.

38. By her, the Mahakali, who takes the form of the great destroyer at the end of time, all this cosmic sphere is pervaded.

39. She indeed takes the form of the great destroyer at the (proper) time. She, the unborn, indeed becomes this creation (at the time proper for re-creation), She herself, the eternal Being, sustains the beings at (another) time.

40. In times of prosperity, she indeed is Lakshmi, who bestows prosperity in the homes of men; and in times of misfortune, she herself becomes the goddess of misfortune, and brings about ruin.

41. When praised and worshipped with flowers, incense, perfumes, etc., she bestows wealth and sons, and a mind bent on righteousness and prosperous life.

Here ends the twelfth chapter called Eulogy of the Merits of Devi-mahatmya in the period of Markandya-purana, during the period of Savarni, the Manu.

26. ’Terrible with flames, exceedingly sharp destroyer of all the asuras, may your trident guard us from fear. salutation be to you, O Bhadrakali!

27. ’May your bell that fills the world with its ringing, and destroys the prowess of the daityas, guard us, O Devi, as a mother protects her children, from all evils.

28. ’May your sword, smeared with the mire like blood and fat of asuras, and gleaming with rays, be for our welfare, O Chandika, we bow to you.

29. ’When satisfied, you destroy all illness but when wrathful you (frustrate) all the longed-for desires. No calamity befalls men who have sought you. Those who have sought you become verily a refuge of others.

30. ’This slaughter that you, O Devi, multiplying your won form into many, have now wrought on the great asuras who hate righteousness, O Ambika, which other (goddess) can do that work?

31. ’Who is there except you in the sciences, in the scriptures, and in the Vedic sayings the light the lamp of discrimination? (Still) you cause this universe to whirl about again and again within the dense darkness of the depths of attachment.

32. ’Where raksasas and snakes of virulent poison (are), where foes and hosts of robbers (exist), where forest conflagrations (occur), there and in the mid-sea, you stand and save world.

33. ’O Queen of the universe, you protect the universe. As the self of the universe, you support the universe. You are the (goddess) worthy to be adored by the Lord of the universe. Those who bow in devotion to you themselves become the refuge of the universe.

34. ’O Devi, be pleased and protect us always from fear of foes, as you have done just now by the slaughter of asuras. And destroy quickly the sins of all worlds and the great calamities which have sprung from the maturing of evil portents.

35. ’O Devi you who remove the afflictions of the universe, be gracious to us who have bowed to you. O you worthy of adoration by the dwellers of the three worlds, be boon-giver to the worlds.’

The Devi said:

36-37. ’O Devas, I am prepared to bestow a boon. Choose whatever boon you desire in your mind, for the welfare of the world. I shall grant it.’

The devas said:

38-39. ’ O Queen of all, this same manner, you must destroy all our enemies and all the afflictions of three worlds. The Devi said:

40-41. ’When the twenty-eighth age has arrived during the period of Avaisvsvata Manu, two other great asuras, Sumbha and Nisumbha will be born.

42. ’Then born from the womb of Yasoda, in the home of cowherd Nanda, and dwelling on the Vindhya mountains, I will destroy them both.

43. ’And again having incarnated in a very terrible form on the earth, I shall slay the danavas, who are the descendants of Vipracitti.

44. ’When I shall devour the fierce and great asuras descended from Vipracitti, my teeth shall become red like the flower of pomegranate.

45. ’Therefore when devas in heaven and men on the earth praise me, shall always talk of me as the ’Red-toothed.’

46. ’And again when rain shall fail for a period of hundred years, propitiated by the munis I shall be born on the drought-ridden earth, but not womb-begotten.

47. ’Then I shall behold the munis with a hundred eyes and so mankind shall glorify me as the ’hundred-eyed.’

48. ’At that time, O devas, I shall maintain the whole world with life-sustaining vegetables, born out of my own (cosmic) body, till rains set in.

49. ’I shall be famed on the earth then as Sakambhari. At that very period I shall slay the great asura named Durgama.

50-53. ’Thereby I shall have the celebrated name of Durgadevi and again, assuming a terrible form on the mountain Himalaya, I shall destroy the raksasas for the protection of the munis. Then all the munis, bowing their bodies reverently, shall praise me, and thereby I shall have the celebrated name of Bhimadevi. When the (asura) named Aruna shall work great havoc in the three worlds, having taken a (collective) bee-form, consisting of innumerable bees, I shall slay the great asura for the good of the world.

54-55. ’And then people shall laud me every where as Bhramari. Thus whenever trouble arises due to the advent of the danavas, I shall incarnate and destroy the foes.’

Here ends the eleventh chapter called ’Hymn to Narayani’ of Devi-mahatmyam in Markandeyapurana, during the period of Savarni, the Manu.

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