One strength, many forms

In this episode

• The gods' powers came forth as the Matrikas, each in a distinct form.
• Shivaduti, a power from the Devi, sent Shiva as her messenger.
• Kali overcame Raktabija by absorbing his multiplying forms.

Read along

Namaste, and welcome to the eighth night of Navratri. By the calendar it is still Saptami today, and in Bengal this is Maha Saptami. One slow breath with me, in, and out.

Last night Shumbha sent his commanders to the mountain. From the Devi's own brow Kali came forth, Chanda and Munda were overcome, and the Devi gave Kali the name Chamunda.

**

Now Shumbha did not hold anything back. He called out every clan and every company that followed him, and sent all of them to the Himalaya together. The great host came up the mountain and surrounded the Devi, her lion and Kali on every side.

The Devi did not move. She sounded her bell, and the sound filled the valleys. Her lion roared. Kali's voice rolled out like thunder. Three sounds, and the mountain rang with them.

**

And then the sage tells us something beautiful.

The gods had been watching. And now, from each of the great gods, his own power, his Shakti, came forth in a shape like his, and went to stand beside the Devi.

From **Brahma** came Brahmani, riding a swan, carrying a string of beads and a water pot.

From **Shiva** came Maheshvari, riding a bull, with the crescent moon in her hair.

From **Skanda**, the young god of the peacock, came Kaumari, riding a peacock.

From **Vishnu** came Vaishnavi, riding Garuda, the great eagle. And from Vishnu's forms as the boar and as the man-lion came Varahi and Narasimhi.

From **Indra** came Aindri, riding the white elephant.

Each one had the form, the ornaments and the vehicle of the god she came from. And these together are often called the **Matrikas**, the Mothers.

**

Then something more happened. From the Devi's own body, another power came forth, very strong, with a great voice. And she asked Shiva himself to be her messenger.

Shiva went to Shumbha and Nishumbha with her message. Let the asuras go back to their own world below, the message said. Let Indra have the three worlds again, and let the gods receive their offerings. If they wished, they could leave in peace. If not, let them come.

Because she sent Shiva as her messenger, this power is called **Shivaduti**, the one whose messenger is Shiva.

The asuras would not leave. They pressed on up the slope. And one by one, the Mothers turned them back, until the great host began to thin.

**

Then a different kind of opponent stepped out. His name was **Raktabija**.

He had a strange gift. Each time he was pushed back, more of him rose. Not one, but another, and another, each just as strong as the first. The Mothers stood against him, and still more of him rose again and again, until it seemed the whole mountainside was full of him.

The gods grew anxious. How do you overcome someone who keeps becoming more?

It is an old question, and not only for gods. Some troubles are like that. A worry you set down at night is back by morning, and it has brought two more with it. One unkind word turns into ten in the mind. You push one away, and another rises in its place. The story does not tell us to push harder. Watch what the Devi does instead.

**

The Devi looked at Kali, and she smiled. She asked Kali to spread herself wide, wider than the field itself, so that wherever a new form of him began to rise, Kali would already be there, and would take it into herself before it could stand.

And so Kali did. She grew vast, and she was everywhere at once. Wherever a new Raktabija began to rise, Kali was there first, and none could rise.

Now there was only one of him. And with no new forms to stand beside him, he grew weaker and weaker. At last, Raktabija too was overcome.

The Mothers rejoiced. The text says they danced for joy.

**

Think about what we have seen tonight.

One strength became many. Each god's power stepped out and took its own form, each with its own vehicle and ornaments. A swan here, a peacock there, a bull, an eagle, an elephant. Many faces of one Devi.

And against them stood one who also became many. But his many were only copies of himself, again and again, the same thing multiplied. Theirs were different, each one whole, each one itself, and all of them one in her.

There is a lovely echo of this in Bengal on Maha Saptami morning. Nine plants are bathed and wrapped together in a sari, and worshipped as the Devi. The banana, the turmeric, the paddy and others. Nine different lives, one Devi.

And notice one more thing. The Mothers did not come because the Devi was weak. She had already shown on the mountain that a single sound from her was enough. They came because the gods, who had lost so much, could at last give something of their own. Standing with her was their offering.

Tomorrow, you will see where all these many forms go.

**

Tomorrow is the ninth and last night of our story. This year Ashtami and Navami come together on the same day. Shumbha and Nishumbha themselves will step out. Shumbha will say something to the Devi that he will soon wish he had not. And we will go back, at last, to the forest where all this began, to a king and a merchant who are still listening.

For tonight, here is a question to keep. Think of a time when you were not alone, when a family, friends or neighbours each brought something different and stood with you. Each was different. Was it, in the end, one strength?

**

This narration uses an AI voice. The story is retold from the Devi Mahatmya by the DharmikStudio team.

Keep going

• Listen: One strength, many forms
• Previous: Kali, from the Devi's brow
• Next: She alone was there
• All episodes of Devi Mahatmya: nine nights, nine stories