The hymn on the mountain

In this episode

• The gods, dispossessed, remember the Devi's promise.
• They praise her as consciousness, peace, and mother in all beings.
• Ambika emerges from Parvati, and Shumbha desires her.

Read along

Namaste, and welcome to the sixth night of Navratri. Sit comfortably, wherever you are. One slow breath with me, in, and out.

So far, the sage Medhas has told King Suratha and the merchant Samadhi two stories. In the first, the Devi woke Vishnu from his deep sleep. In the second, she rose from the light of all the gods, Mahishasura was overcome, and she promised the gods that she would come whenever they remembered her.

Tonight the sage begins the third story, the longest one. It is called the Uttama charitra, the highest telling. It will stay with us until the end of these nights.

**

Long after Mahishasura, the sage says, two brothers rose to great power. Their names were **Shumbha** and **Nishumbha**. They were proud, and they were strong, and little by little they took everything that belonged to the gods.

They took the three worlds from Indra. They took the shares of the offerings that the gods received. They took over the work of the sun and the moon, of wind and of fire, of the lord of wealth and the lord of the waters. The gods were pushed out of their own heaven. They wandered without a home, rather like a certain king we know, who lost his city.

**

And then the gods remembered something. The Devi had told them that if they were ever in trouble, they had only to think of her, and she would come. So they did the one thing left to them. They went to the Himalaya, the king of mountains, and they began to praise her.

**

Their hymn is one of the most loved parts of the whole Devi Mahatmya. Many of you will know it. It has a simple shape. Again and again the gods say: to the Devi who lives in all beings in this form, we bow, we bow, we bow.

And then they name the forms.

She lives in all beings as consciousness, the quiet knowing by which we know anything at all.

She lives in all beings as understanding. As sleep. As hunger. As thirst. As strength. As forgiveness, the patience that lets us bear with one another. As modesty. As peace. As faith. As beauty. As good fortune. As memory. As compassion. As contentment. And she lives in all beings as mother.

The gods even say that she lives in beings as error, as confusion. That may surprise you. But remember what the sage told the king on the very first night. She is the one who binds the mind, and the one who sets it free. Nothing is outside her.

**

Let us hear one line of that hymn, as it is read in many homes.

या देवी सर्वभूतेषु चेतनेत्यभिधीयते। नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥ yā devī sarvabhūteṣu cetanety abhidhīyate | namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namaḥ ||

It means: to the Devi who, in all beings, is called consciousness, we bow to her, we bow to her, we bow to her, again and again.

**

Think about that for a moment. The gods have lost heaven. They are tired and far from home. And what do they do first? They do not ask for anything. They simply notice her, everywhere. In hunger. In sleep. In a mother's care. Sometimes praise begins with just seeing.

**

While the gods were praising her, someone came along the mountain path. It was **Parvati**, the wife of Shiva, coming to bathe in the Ganga.

She saw the gods and asked them kindly whom they were praising.

And before they could answer, another goddess came forth from Parvati's own body. She was radiant and calm. She told Parvati that this hymn was meant for her. The gods, pushed out by Shumbha and Nishumbha, were calling her.

This goddess is called **Ambika**. Because she came forth from the sheath, the kosha, of Parvati's body, she is also called **Kaushiki**. And once Ambika had come forth, Parvati became dark in colour. She was called Kalika, and she made her home in the Himalaya.

**

Now, two servants of Shumbha were passing near the mountain. Their names were **Chanda** and **Munda**. They saw Ambika, and they had never seen anyone so beautiful.

They hurried to Shumbha. "Great king," they said, "every treasure of the three worlds is already in your palace. Indra's white elephant. The wish-granting tree. The finest jewels. But on the Himalaya there is a woman more radiant than all of them. Surely she belongs with you too."

That was how Shumbha thought. Everything precious had to be his.

So he sent a messenger, a smooth speaker named **Sugriva**. The messenger went to the Devi and spoke very politely. "Shumbha, lord of the three worlds, sends you this message. All the jewels of the world are his. You are a jewel among women. Come to him, or to his brother Nishumbha. Choose, and all this wealth will be yours."

**

The Devi listened, and she smiled. She told the messenger that what he said was true; Shumbha was very great. But she had once made a small vow, she said, without much thought. She would marry only the one who could overcome her in a contest, the one who was her equal in strength. So let Shumbha come, she said, or Nishumbha, and win her, if they could.

The messenger was surprised. "Do you know whom you are speaking of? No one in the three worlds can stand before them. You are alone. Do not be so proud."

She answered gently. She knew all this, she said. But a vow is a vow. Let him go and tell his master exactly what she had said, and let his master do what he thought best.

**

That is where we stop tonight. Tomorrow is Saptami, the seventh night. The messenger goes back to Shumbha, and Shumbha is not pleased. He sends his commanders to the mountain. And from the Devi herself, a new and astonishing form is about to appear.

But for tonight, keep one line of the hymn with you. She lives in all beings as peace. As patience. As mother. Where did you see her today, without noticing?

**

This narration uses an AI voice. The Sanskrit line was recited by a person. The story is retold from the Devi Mahatmya by the DharmikStudio team.

Keep going

• Listen: The hymn on the mountain
• Previous: Courage that does not change shape
• Next: Kali, from the Devi's brow
• All episodes of Devi Mahatmya: nine nights, nine stories