१० दशमदशकः - शक्तिप्रदानम्

10 dashamadashakah' - shaktipradaanam
(As soon as the Trinity entered her house they all became females. They
were three Sakthi forms of the divine Parasakthi. The Parasakthi then
gave Saraswathi to Brahma, Lakshmi to Lord Vishnu and Sathi devi to
Lord Shiva. This again occurs in chapters IV and V of Book III of the Devi
Bhagawatham)

ततो विमानादजविष्णुरुद्रा-
स्त्वद्गोपुरद्वार्य िरुह्य सद्यः ।
स्त्रिर्ः कृता दे वि तिेच्छर्ैि
सविस्मर्ास्त्वविकटं समीर्ुः ॥ १०-१॥
tato vimaanaadajavishnurudraa-
stvadgopuradvaaryavaruhya sadyah' .
striyah' kri'taa devi tavechchhayaiva
savismayaastvannikat'am sameeyuh' .. 10-1..

1.Oh Goddess, afterwards Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra got down from the
air vehicle. As soon as they got down near your tower gate, as per your
wish became ladies. And was surprised to find themselves standing in
front of you (devi).
The airplane landed at the entrance gate. The trimurtis got down from it.
Without anyone stopping them they crossed the threshold. Amazing! they
suddenly became ladies. All 3 reached close to Devi.

कृतप्रणामास्ति पादर्ुग्म-
नखेषु विश्वं प्रवतविस्त्रितं ते ।
विलोक्य साश्चर्यममोघिास्त्रभः
पृथक्पृथक् तुष्टु िुरस्त्रिके त्वाम् ॥ १०-२॥
kri'tapranaamaastava paadayugma-
nakheshu vishvam pratibimbitam te .
vilokya saashcharyamamoghavaagbhih'
pri'thakpri'thak tusht'uvurambike tvaam .. 10-2..

2. When they saluted you, they were surprised to see the entire universe
getting reflected on the nail of your feet. Oh mother Ambika, individually
they prayed to you with words that are not in vain.
The moment they crossed the entrance gate, the trimurtis changed into
young girls. How? They did not know how; nobody knew how. Everything
was according to devi’s wish. They came in front of devi and saluted to
her. When they stood up they saw another marvel-the entire universe was
reflected onto devi’s nails, like a mirror. 1st Vishnu started praying to devi;
then shiva and last brahma. Vishnu’s hymn extolling devi’s compassion
and solution. Siva prayed and requested to devi to impart the navakshari
mantram to them. Brahma had a doubt wether devi was a man or lady. Is
devi the supreme being, the subject of the vedas?-brahma started
thinking.
Vishnu’s hymn to devi-book 3,4th chap of SDB
Siva’s and brahma’s hymn to devi-book 3, 5th chap SDB

नुवतप्रसिा वनजसर्यशस्त्रतं
महासरस्वत्यविधामजार् ।
रक्षाथयशस्त्रतं हरर्े महाल-
क्ष्म्याख्ां च लीलावनरते ददाथ ॥ १०-३॥
nutiprasannaa nijasargashaktim
mahaasarasvatyabhidhaamajaaya .
rakshaarthashaktim haraye mahaala-
kshmyaakhyaam cha leelaanirate dadaatha .. 10-3..

3.Oh Goddess who is always cheerful and lively, you who became happy
on hearing their prayers gave Your own creative power called Saraswathi
to Lord Brahma, your own protective called Mahalakshmi to Lord Vishnu.
On hearing the hymns by brahma, Vishnu & rudra, devi was very happy.
Devi decided to give them 3 shaktis, full of divine beauty and lustre. She
gave brahma the power to create. This shakti was named maha saraswati.
Then she gave the power to protect to Vishnu. That shakti was named
mahalakshmi.

र्ौरीं महाकाल्यविधां च दत्वा

संहारशस्त्रतं वर्ररशार् मातः ।
निाक्षरं मन्त्रमुदीरर्न्ती
िद्धाञ्जलींस्तान् स्त्रस्मतपूियमात्थ ॥ १०-४॥
gaureem mahaakaalyabhidhaam cha datvaa
samhaarashaktim girishaaya maatah' .
navaaksharam mantramudeerayantee
baddhaanjaleemstaan smitapoorvamaattha .. 10-4..

4.Oh mother! After giving the Gowri form of your destructive power called
mahakali, to Lord Shiva, with a shy smile, you told the trimurthis who were
standing with folded hands chanting the Navakshara manthra:
We have already discussed in the previous shloka how devi gave the
power to create, to brahma, and the power to protect, to Vishnu. This
shloka describes how she gave the power to destroy, to shiva. The name
of this shakti is mahakali or gauri. After accepting these 3 shaktis from
devi,the trimurthis stood in front of the devi ,humble & saluting her. At
this time devi gave them the navakshara manthram. Devi gave this mantra
to the trimurtis on shiva’s request. The below is the navakshara manthram

“ॐ ऐं ह्ीं क्ीं चामुण्डार्ै विच्चे” |

“om aiṁ hrīṁ klīṁ cāmuṇḍāyai vichhe” ||
We can think about the shakti named mahakali for some time. She is the
dark coloured(tamoguna) avataram of the formless(nirguna) devi. To
assist Vishnu in the killing of madhukaitabha, shakti gave mahakali to him.
It is according to the instruction of this devi that the trimurtis got onto
the airplane. Check the 2nd shloka of the 9th chapter. While travelling in
the airplane is when they madweepam and bhuvaneshwari. It is from
bhuvaneshwari that they got the 3 shaktis. Here it should be understood,
that the mahakali shakti that siva got, is a fraction of the mahakali shakti
that devi gave Vishnu to help him destroy madhukaitabha. Seeing the
trend of the story, this mahakali is only a shakti of bhuvaneshwari. So, the
shakti shiva got, vishnu’s helper in the killing of madhukaitabham and
bhuvaneshwari though different are one.

ब्रह्मन् हरे रुद्र मदीर्शस्त्रत-

त्रर्ेण दत्तेन सुखं ििन्तः ।
ब्रह्माण्डसर्यस्त्रिवतसंहृतीश्च
कुियन्तु मे शासनर्ा विनीताः ॥ १०-५॥
brahman hare rudra madeeyashakti-
trayena dattena sukham bhavantah' .
brahmaand'asargasthitisamhri'teeshcha
kurvantu me shaasanayaa vineetaah' .. 10-5..

5. Oh Brahma! Vishnu! Shiva! As per my instructions, with modesty, all

three of you, along with the three Sakthis that you got now, will easily be
able to start looking after creation, protection and destruction of this
universe.
To brahma the shakti to create; to Vishnu the shakti to protect; & to siva
the shakti to destroy-in this way devi gave her own shakti’s to the
trimurthis. accordingly brahma should Create, Vishnu should protect that
which brahma has created and when the time comes siva should destroy.
The trimurthis, having got the shakti’s from devi, should do the duty of
creation etc.,as per devi’s instructions. From this point of view the
trimurthis are not independent. Check 5th shloka in 1st dasakam & 7th
shlokam in 6th dashakam.

मान्या ििस्त्रभः खलु शतर्ो मे

स्याच्छस्त्रतहीनं सकलं विवनन्द्द्यम् ।
स्मरे त मां सन्ततमेिमुक्त्वा
प्रिापर्ामावसथ तां स्त्रिमूतीन् ॥ १०-६॥
maanyaa bhavadbhih' khalu shaktayo me
syaachchhaktiheenam sakalam vinindyam .
smareta maam santatamevamuktvaa
prasthaapayaamaasitha taamstrimoorteen .. 10-6..

6.You have to respect my Shakthis for without them everything will be

abusive/hateful. Always meditate on me. Saying like this She bid farewell
to those divine trinity
Devi continues: devi gave, Vishnu, siva and brahma, each of them, specific
responsibilities. To carry out these responsibilities devi has given them the
shaktis. They should carry out their duties by giving respect to these
shaktis. If disrespect is shown to those shaktis, they will leave that place
immediately. If the shakti goes then everything will come to a standstill-
eyes without the power to see, ears without the power to hear, is
fruitless. One should always remember the devi. Then all the shaktis will
be always with you. This order of devi should always be remembered. The
story of Shiva Vishnu and Brahma losing their power has been described
in chap 28 of this book.

नत्वा त्रर्स्ते िितीं वनिृत्ताः

पुंस्त्वं र्ता आरुरुहुवियमानम् ।
सद्यस्त्रस्तरोधाः स सुधासमुद्रो
द्वीपो विमानश्च वतरोििूिुः ॥ १०-७॥
natvaa trayaste bhavateem nivri'ttaah'
pumstvam gataa aaruruhurvimaanam .
sadyastirodhaah' sa sudhaasamudro
dveepo vimaanashcha tirobabhoovuh' .. 10-7..

7. All the three of them saluted her and returned. They who had again
turned into men, got onto the air vehicle; you (devi) immediately
disappeared from there; The ocean of nectar, Manidweepa and the air
vehicle also disappeared.
The trimurthi after saluting the devi who gave them her 3 shaktis,
returned. The moment they crossed the threshold of the entrance gate ,
they turned into men as before. We had mentioned in the 1st shloka
about them turning into ladies. The airplane was waiting for them outside
the entrance gate. The trimurthis got onto the airplane. The airplane took
off from there. The next instant everything disappeared- airplane was not
there, no devi, no ocean of nectar.

एकाणयिे पङ्कजसविधौ च
हतासुरे ते खलु तस्त्रििां सः ।
दृष्टं नु सत्यं वकमु िुस्त्रद्धमोहः
स्वप्नो नु वकं िेवत च न व्यजानन् ॥ १०-८॥
ekaarnave pankajasannidhau cha
hataasure te khalu tasthivaamsah' .
dri'sht'am nu satyam kimu buddhimohah'
svapno nu kim veti cha na vyajaanan .. 10-8..

8.They, who were standing in the vast ocean(in the water of deluge),
where they had punished the asuras, near the Lotus flower, were not
clearly knowing whether what had happened, was the truth, or weakness
of their intellect or a dream.
When the devi,the ocean of nectar and the airplane disappeared the
trimurthis were staying near the lotus flower-the same lotus flower where
brahma was seated! Not much time had passed after the destruction of
madhukaitabha by Vishnu. It was immediately after mahukaitabha was
killed rudra reached there. The airplane landing there, according to the
instruction of the devi the trimurthis climbing onto it, they seeing the
other trimurthi’s and other stories have been described in the 9th chapter.
Did the airplane actually come there? Did the trimurthis climb onto it? Did
they see the other trimurthi, ocean of nectar and devi?-they remember
seeing all this. What they saw was it a reality? Was it a hallucination? Or
was it a dream?-the trimurthis were unable to know.

ततिर्स्ते खलु सत्यलोक-

िैकुण्ठकैलासकृतावधिासाः ।
ब्रह्माण्डसृष्यावदषु दत्तवचत्ता-
स्त्वां सियशतामिजन्त दे वि ॥ १०-९॥
tatastrayaste khalu satyaloka-
vaikunt'hakailaasakri'taadhivaasaah' .
brahmaand'asri'sht'yaadishu dattachittaa-
stvaam sarvashaktaamabhajanta devi .. 10-9..

9.Oh Goddess! Afterwards, those three divine beings, living in Sathyaloka,

Vaikunta and Kailasa got engaged in creation, protecting and destruction,
of the universe, with full concentration, they always kept praying to the all
powerful you.
And also praying to you mother who had the form of all Sakthis.
The airplane journey, seeing bhuvaneshwari form of devi, was it a reality,
or was it a dream?-don’t know. whatever the trimurthis experienced devi’s
compassion, & majestic influence of devi. They became her great
devotees than before. Sitting in satyaloka brahma started to create the
universe; Vishnu sitting in vaikuntham went on protecting the creation;
seated in kailash rudra at the correct time annihilated. They got the
confidence to do their work by praying to the devi. Any work getting
done is due to the blessings of devi. Devi should be pleased for that.

सुधासमुद्रं तरलोवमयमालं
िानं मवणद्वीपमनोपमं ते ।
मञ्चे वनषण्ां िितीं च वचत्ते
पश्यावन ते दे वि नमः प्रसीद ॥ १०-१०ll
sudhaasamudram taralormimaalam
sthaanam manidveepamanopamam te .
manche nishannaam bhavateem cha chitte
pashyaani te devi namah' praseeda .. 10-10.

10. oh devi! I would like to see in my mind, the ocean of nectar where
tides would be always hitting the shores of Manidweepa, which is your
unmatched place of residence, and you sitting on your bedstead, My
salutations to you.
The trimurthis seeing the devi and the the ocean of nectar might be
reality or a dream. I pray that may I always, see the devi who is a resident
of manidweepa and a panchbrahmaswaroopini, in my heart.

Thus ends chapter 10