Uma's Manifestation

The sages said

Suta, supreme among those who know the meanings of everything, please tell us of the avatara of Uma Bhuvaneshi, from whom Sarasvati arose, who is chanted of as the supreme brahman, the original Prakriti and Ishvari, with forms and without forms, Sati, who gives eternal bliss.

Suta said

Ascetics, listen lovingly to her supreme, great account. As soon as a man has discernment about this he goes to the supreme destination. Once there was a battle between gods and danavas, and by Mahamaya's powers the immortals won. But the immortals were swollen with self-praise: we are blessed, what can the asuras do to us; on seeing our unbearable powers they were terrified and ran to the nagas' world screaming "Run, leave"; how wonderful is our strength and energy, we have destroyed the daitya line, how wonderful our good fortune. So all of them thought and so they described themselves. Then a mysterious mass of energy descended, the like of which had never been seen, and the gods, seeing it, were amazed and with choked throats cried "What is this?" They did not know that supreme Shyama wished to destroy their pride.

The leader of the gods told the gods to go and examine it and find its real nature. Sent by Indra, Vayu approached the energy and asked who it was. The energy asked him the same. Asked so by that great, superior mass of energy, he answered proudly: I am Vayu, the breath of life in the universe; like warp and weft I am woven into everything in the universe, moving and unmoving; I support everything; I move the whole universe. The great energy said: Vayu, if you can move, move this blade of grass as you wish. The one who goes everywhere tried every way but could not move it from its place and was ashamed. Silent, Vayu returned to Indra's assembly hall and told how he had been shamed: our view that we are lords of everything is surely false, we can do nothing, we are inferior. The Maruts and all the gods were sent but also could not find out anything. Then Indra went himself. Seeing Indra coming the unbearable mass of energy vanished at once, and Vasava was amazed. He said he took refuge in the one who showed such conduct, and the thousand-eyed one thought this again and again. Devi's form is compassion, without deceit. It was the bright navami of the month of Chaitra, the sun at midday. To show them favour and remove their pride, Shiva's beloved, whose form is being-consciousness-bliss, appeared at the spot. She shone amid that mass of energy and her splendour lit the directions. She made all the gods understand and said it was evident she was brahman. Two of her hands made the gestures of fearlessness and boon-giving and the other two held a noose and a goad. She was beautiful with the pride of blooming youth, served by the shruti, in red garments, red garlands and unguents, with the radiance of a crore Kandarpas and a crore moons. Mahamaya is in all selves, the witness inside all beings, and the supreme brahman is her form. She spoke.

Uma said

Brahma, the tormentor of the gods' enemies and Ishvara, destroyer of Tripura, do not show pride before me, to say nothing of other gods. I am the supreme brahman, the supreme radiance. My form is Pranava, without duality. I am everything and there is nothing other than me. I have forms and have none. All the tattvas are my forms. My qualities are not open to debate. I am eternal and cause and effect are my forms. Sometimes I take a woman's form, sometimes a man's, sometimes both. I am Ishvari who takes all forms. I am Virinchi the creator, Achyuta the preserver, Rudra the destroyer. I am the one who deludes the whole universe. I am all the Shaktis, Kalika, Kamala and Vani foremost, all arising as my portions and so all my parts. By my powers all of you beat Diti's sons. Not knowing me, you prided yourselves in vain on being lords of everything. A magician makes a wooden puppet dance, and so I, Ishvari, make all beings dance. Out of fear of me the wind blows, out of fear of me fire consumes everything, out of fear of me the guardians of the worlds do their tasks. I am self-ruling. In my play I sometimes make the gods triumph and sometimes Diti's sons. The shruti describes my form as the indestructible supreme destination, beyond maya and greater than the greatest. It is said I have two forms, with attributes and without, one based on maya and the other independent of it. Gods, knowing my nature to be so, put aside your pride and, full of love, worship me, eternal Prakriti.

Suta continued

The gods heard Devi's compassionate words and, full of devotion, bowed their shoulders and praised Parameshani: Jagadishani, please forgive us; Parameshvari, be pleased; mother, take pity on us and let us not suffer from pride again. Since then the gods controlled themselves and gave up pride, and, by the rules, worshipped Uma as before. Brahmanas, Suta said he had thus described Uma's manifestation, and that as soon as one hears it one reaches the supreme destination.