She alone was there

In this episode

• The Devi alone overcame the last opponent.
• The gods praised her and she granted their boons.
• The Devi granted the king a kingdom and the merchant freedom.

Read along

Namaste, and welcome to the ninth night of Navratri. This year Ashtami and Navami fall on the same day, so tonight we finish our story. Light a lamp if you like. One slow breath with me, in, and out.

Last night the Shaktis came forth from the gods to stand with the Devi. Raktabija, from whom more of him rose again and again, was overcome, because Kali made sure no new form could rise.

**

Only the two brothers were left. First **Nishumbha** stepped out, with all his strength. It was a long contest, and in the end Nishumbha was overcome.

Then **Shumbha** saw that his brother was gone, and that his great host was gone. He was angry, and he said to the Devi: "Do not be proud, Durga. You are not winning by your own strength. You are leaning on the strength of all these others."

**

The Devi answered him. She told him that she alone was there in the world. Who else was there, besides her? All those powers, she said, were only her own.

And as Shumbha watched, Brahmani, Maheshvari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, all of the Mothers, went into the Devi's body and became one with her. Kali too. Every one of them.

Only Ambika stood there now. One Devi.

Remember last night. One strength became many. Tonight, the many become one again. They were never anyone else.

**

Then the last contest began, between Shumbha and the Devi alone. It went on for a long time, on the earth and even up into the sky. And at last, Shumbha was overcome.

The text says that when it was over, the whole world grew calm. The rivers flowed in their own courses again. The winds blew gently. The sky cleared. And the sacred fires burned bright once more.

**

The gods came before her, led by Agni, the god of fire, their faces shining. And they praised her again, with a new hymn. In it they call her **Narayani**.

They say she is the good in everything that is good. She is the refuge of all who come to her. She is the one who makes the world, keeps it, and takes it back into herself. They see her riding the swan as Brahmani, riding the bull as Maheshvari, on the peacock, on Garuda, on the white elephant. All those forms, they say, are her. And after each line they bow: to you, Narayani, we bow.

**

The Devi was pleased, and she told the gods to ask for a boon.

They asked only this: that whenever the worlds are in trouble, she would come and remove it.

She agreed. And she told them how she would come again in later ages. She would be born in the home of Nanda and Yashoda, and live in the Vindhya mountains. In a time of long drought, when no rain fell, she would look upon the people with a hundred eyes, and be called Shatakshi. She would feed the world with green plants from her own body, and be called Shakambhari. And in another age she would come as Bhramari, surrounded by bees.

**

Then, the text says, she told the gods what this story is for. Those who read it or listen to it with devotion, especially on the eighth, ninth and fourteenth days of the moon, and at the great worship held each year in autumn, will be protected from many troubles. That is what the text says. These very nights of Sharad Navratri are that autumn worship.

We do not make promises. We only tell you what the text says, and that people have kept it close for a very long time.

And then the Devi disappeared from the gods' sight.

**

Now, at last, the sage **Medhas** stops.

He looks at the two men in front of him. King Suratha, who lost his kingdom. Samadhi, the merchant, sent away by his family. They have been listening all this time.

The sage says: this is the greatness of the Devi. She is the one who draws the mind into attachment. And she is the one who sets it free. Go to her for refuge.

**

So the king and the merchant went to the bank of a river. They made an image of the Devi from the earth of the riverbank. They offered her flowers, incense, fire and water. They ate very little. They kept their minds on her. For three years they did this.

And the Devi was pleased. She appeared before them.

The king asked for his kingdom back in this life, and in the next life, a kingdom that could never be lost.

The merchant asked for something else. His mind had turned away from the world. He asked for the knowledge that frees a person from "I" and "mine".

She granted both. She told the king that he would have his kingdom back within a few days, and that in his next life he would be born of the sun god, and become the Manu called **Savarni**. And to Samadhi she gave the knowledge he asked for, the knowledge that sets a person free.

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Do you remember our first night? A king and a merchant, both caught, both asking: why does the mind still cling to what it has lost?

Here is the answer the story gives. Not one answer, but two. The king still wanted the world, and the Devi gave him the world, and more. The merchant no longer wanted it, and the Devi gave him freedom from it. She binds, and she releases. One Devi, two gifts, each one what the heart was ready for.

**

Tomorrow, 20 October, is Vijayadashami, the day of victory. Our nine nights are complete.

So here is the last question, and you can take it with you for a long time. If the Devi stood before you tonight, by a quiet river, what would you ask her for? The kingdom, or the knowing? Or perhaps, like most of us, a little of both?

Thank you for sitting with us these nine nights.

**

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

Keep going

• Listen: She alone was there
• Previous: One strength, many forms
• All episodes of Devi Mahatmya: nine nights, nine stories