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(Cheever Mackenzie Brown) The Song of The Goddess
(Cheever Mackenzie Brown) The Song of The Goddess
of the Goddess
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The Song
of the Goddess
The Devi Gita:
Spiritual Counsel of the
Great Goddess
C. Mackenzie Brown
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory of Wilfred Cantwell Smith
Glossary 127
Selected Bibliography 147
A Note on the Text
The translation presented here is essentially the same
as the one appearing in my previous work, The Devi
Gita; The Song of the Goddess: A Translation, Anno-
tation, and Commentary (State University of New
York Press, 1998). Some words or phrases have been
modified for the sake of greater clarity and consis-
tency, and fewer Sanskrit terms remain untranslated
in the text. Diacritical marks in transliterating San-
skrit terms and proper names have not been used.
The major changes from the earlier presenta-
tion to this one are four. First, the translation here
is formatted as one continuous text without division
into sections, each with commentary and annota-
tion. Second, all annotation has been eliminated
and the extensive commentarial sections have been
vastly reduced and collected together, appearing here
in the synopsis of the text included in the introduc-
tion. Third, the original introductory essay on the
historical and literary background of the Devi Gita
has been considerably condensed and revised. And
fourth, to compensate for the reduction in explana-
tory aids, a glossary of key terms and concepts has
been added.
Other changes include elimination of the “Es-
sential Devi Gita in Nine Verses” (a modern selec-
tion of nine verses representing the essential teachings
and most powerful mantric verses of the Devi Gita),
as well as the afterword on contemporary uses of the
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Vyasa spoke:
1.74 Hearing these words of Himalaya, and with
her lotus face kindly disposed,
The Mother undertook to reveal the mystic
teachings hidden in scripture.
Chapter 2
The Goddess as the Supreme Cause
of Creation
The Goddess spoke:
2.1. May all the gods attend to what I have
to say.
By merely hearing these words of mine, one
attains my essential nature.
2.2. I alone existed in the beginning; there was
nothing else at all, O Mountain King.
My true Self is known as pure conscious-
ness, the highest intelligence, the one su-
preme Brahman.
2.3. It is beyond reason, indescribable, incompa-
rable, incorruptible.
From out of itself evolves a certain power
renowned as Maya.
2.4. Neither real nor unreal is this Maya, nor is
it both, for that would be incongruous.
Lacking such characteristics, this indefinite
entity has always subsisted.
2.5. As heat inheres in fire, as brilliance in the
sun,
As cool light in the moon, just so this Maya
inheres firmly in me.
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Himalaya said:
3.20. Ruler of the Gods, since you have mentioned
your aggregated cosmic form,
I yearn to see it, O Goddess, if you would
favor me.
Vyasa said:
3.21. Hearing his request, all the gods including
Vishnu
Rejoiced with gladdened hearts, praising
Himalaya’s words.
3.22. Then the Auspicious Goddess, who is a wish-
granting cow to her devotees, knowing the
minds of the gods,
Revealed her own cosmic form, satisfying the
desire of her devotees.
3.23. They beheld that Cosmic Body of the Great
Goddess, that form beyond all other forms.
The sky is its head, the moon and sun its
eyes.
3.24. The cardinal directions are its ears, the Vedas
its speech, the wind its breath, so it is pro-
claimed;
The universe is its heart, they say; the earth
its loins, so it is thought.
3.25. The atmosphere is its navel, the stellar sphere
its breast;
The world known as Maharloka is the neck,
Janarloka its face, so it is thought.
3.26. Taparloka is the forehead, situated beneath
Satyaloka.
The Goddess Reveals Her Cosmic Body 65
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