Āryā, from the Harivamśā
ĀRYĀ 1
FROM THE HARIVAMŚĀ
THOU art liberation, 2 prosperity, life, 3
Fame, modesty, and learning, reverence and intelligence,
Twilight, 4 night, lustrous day,
Sleep and the night of death, 5
Āryā, Kātyāyanī, Kauśikī, 6
Observant of brahmacarya, 7
Mother of the leader of the celestial hosts, 8
Formidable one, 9
She who undergoes great austerities 10
Jaya and Vijayā, 1
Contentment, nourishment, forgiveness, mercy, eldest sister of Yama, 2 clad in blue silken raiment,
Of various form, 3 without form, having many forms. 4 With red, half-opened eyes. 5
Large-eyed protectress of Thy votaries.
O Goddess! Thou resideth on the peaks of fearful mountains, by rivers, and in caves, forests, and groves.
Greatly worshipped by the Śavara, Varvara, and Pulinda tribesmen, 6
Thou traverseth in all directions of the world
With peacock-feathered flags.
Thou livest on the Vindhya mountain,
Surrounded by fowls, goats, sheep, lions, and tigers,
Amidst the constant ringing of bells. 7
Thou holdest the trident and spear. 8
Sun and moon are Thy banners.
Thou art the ninth day of the dark half of the month,
And the eleventh day of the light half thereof. 1
Baladeva's 2 sister art Thou, glorious one, 3
Fond of warring 4 (with demons),
Abode of all creatures.
Thou art death, 5 and the supreme end 6 of men,
Daughter of the cowherd Nanda, 7
Unconquered,
Wearing bark and good cloth;
Raudrī, 8 twilight, 9
With dishevelled hair, 10
And who art death,
Fond art Thou of offerings of wine and flesh. 11
Thou art Lakṣmī, 12
And assumest the form of Alakṣmī 13 for the destruction of Dānavas, 14
Thou art Sāvitri 1 of the Vedas,
Mother of Mantras. 2
Thou art the Dakṣinā 3 of the ṛtvik, 4 and art in the altars of sacrificial rites,
And the religious sense 5 of Ṛṣis.
Thou art Aditi of Devas. 6
Plough of cultivators, earth of all creatures,
The success of merchants who fare in big ships, 7
The coast of ocean,
And foremost Yakṣi of the Yakṣas, 8
Surasā of Nāgās, 9
Virginity 10 of maidens and good fortune of women,
Knower of the knowledge of Brahman, 11
Initiation and supreme beauty,
Lustre of light, Rohinī 12 of planets.
Lakshmī, most successful art Thou in courts and fortresses,
In the confluence of rivers and in the full moon.
Thou art called Krittivāsa. 13
Thou art Sarasvatī in the works of Vālmīki, 1
Memory in those of Dvaipāyana, 2
Religious sense of Ṛṣis 3 and (perfect) mind of Devas. 4
Thou art the Goddess of wine, 5
Adored art Thou by Thy creatures for Thy deeds.
Thou art the charming look of Indra,
And art the thousand-eyed 6,
Devī of ascetics,
Āranī 7 of Agnihotra Brāhmaṇas, 8
Hunger of all creatures,
Who satisfieth those in heaven.
Thou art Svāhā, 9
Contentment, patience,
Receptacle of the Vasus, 10 hope of men,
Contentment which comes of work fully done;
All the quarters and their opposites, 1
Flame of fire, lustrous Sakunī, 2
Pūtanā, 3 the terrible Revatī, 4
Overpowering sleep of all beings,
Warrior. 5
Of learning Thou art, Brahmavidyā, 6
Om and Vaṣat. 7
The Ṛṣis know Thee as Pārvati amongst women.
As Prajāpati 8 has said, Thou art Arundhatī 9 amongst women, with but one husband. 10
The difference of disputants. 11
Famous also art Thou as Indrāṇī 12
This universe, mobile and immobile, is permeated by Thee.
Without a doubt Thou art saviour in all battles.
Amidst fires and on the banks of rivers,
Amidst robbers, in forests and caverns,
When in prison or when assailed by enemies,
And in all times and places where life is in peril.
My heart, my reason, and mind are devoted to Thee.
Deliver me from all sins. Be gracious to me.
Whoever rising at dawn reads 1 for the space of three months
This sacred hymn to Devī compiled by Vyāsa,
Being himself pure and of controlled mind.
Obtains the desired fruit.
Whoever reads it for six months, to him also
The desired fruit is given. Such as read it for nine months obtain celestial vision, and he who reads it for one year gains all such success 2 as man may desire.
O Devī! as was said by Dvaipāyana, Thou art the supreme divine Brahman.
Thou destroyest the bonds and the fearful destruction of men,
The loss of children and wealth, fear of death and disease.
Thou art in the form of desire, and dost grant the objects thereof.
Having deluded Kamsa, Thou enjoyest the whole world,
And I also shall live as a cowherd among kine;
To accomplish my work I shall become a cowherd of Kamsa. 3
Footnotes
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- 154:10
- 155:1
- 155:2
- 155:3
Bahurūpā (see the Lalitā, verse 155). The Devī Bhāg. Pr. says, "She is formless because She is supreme, She has many forms because of Her activity" (see also Devī and Vāmana Purāṇas): "She is also the Śakti of the countless Rudras." The term is much commented upon in the Purāṇas, Upapurāṇas, and Tantras.
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- 156:1
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- 158:1
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Vide ante (see p. 157, note 5).
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- 160:1
Here follows the phala portion. (see p. 73, note 1).
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