Sri Mata is the embodiment of causeless compassion! “ Avyaja karunamurthi rajnana dwanta dipika” She is the torch that dispels the darkness of ajnana! There is no limit for her kindness! “Sarvajna Sandra karuna samanadhika varjitha”.She is the knower of all; her kindness is unfathomable! But for Her kindness nothing can move in the universe! Kenopanishad narrates the story of how Agni, Varuna, Vayu and Indra were puffed up with pride and arrogance on achieving their victory over the demons! Uma appeared as a Spirit and humiliated them. They could not burn, move or blow away a straw placed before them! She is the concentration of dynamic energy, bestower of wellness, good position, Lord of everything, the inherent force and the personification of all mantras! “ Sarva Shakti mayi sarva mangala sadgatiprada sarveswari sarvamayi sarvamantra swarupini”. Sankara is all praise for the way she had blessed Vishnu and even the Love God Manmatha!
The Devas wanted ‘Amirta’ for which they teamed up with Asuras.The ocean of milk had to be churned with Meru mountain and Vasuki the king of snakes was the rope with which it had to be churned! The Devas were on the side of the head while the Asuras took the tail to churn! As the churning progressed, terrible fumes and poison were released! The Devas and Asuras ran helter skelter to escape death! On fervent prayers, Lord Siva collected the entire poison into a ball and gulped it down his throat! That was stopped at the neck by Goddess Parvati! That was how Siva came to be called “Nilakanta” because of the black mark on his throat! As the churning continued, amazingly many objects started emerging out of the ocean one by one! The horse by name, Ucchaisrava, Kamadhenu, the white elephant Iravata, Goddess Lakshmi, Chandra, precious stones Kaustubha, Chintamani and many other things came in a procession from the ocean!
Finally came Dhanwantari carrying the “Amirta Kalasa” the pot of divine nectar that granted immortality! Excited at this appearance, the Asuras grabbed the vessel and tried to share it among themselves!The Devas were at a loss and didn't know what to do. They prayed to Lord Vishnu for help. Vishnu took the guise of an astonishingly beautiful damsel in her prime youth and created a flutter among the Asuras! They were enchanted at the bewitching beauty of the lady and wanted her favor! She said she would distribute Amrita fairly among the Devas and Asuras and took the vessel into her hands! But cunningly, she distributed the maximum quantity to the Devas! Rahu and ketu, sensing this injustice, sat in the row of the Devas disguising themselves! Detecting their guile, Vishnu beheaded them with his Sudarsana Chakra! Thus Rahu and Ketu, having sipped Amirta, are considered equal to Devas and respected and worshipped!
Referring to this incident, Adi Sankara points out that it is because of worshipping Sri Mata and her Grace that Vishnu could transform himself into the glamorous lady! Sankara says “ O Mother, capable of granting prosperity to your humble devotees! It is because Vishnu worshipped you that he could take the form of that Divine beauty! Even Lord Siva was deceived by the exceptional beauty of Mohini who was Vishnu in reality!” It is said that Lord Ayyappa was the child of Mohini and Lord Siva and was called “ Harihara Putra! Sankara refers to another incident of her compassion and love that made Manmatha very beautiful!
“ Even Manmatha worshipped Devi and was granted exceptional beauty that made Rati Devi fall in love with him!” comments Sankara! The power of Manmatha is unassailable as he disturbed Siva himself twice; once during Siva’s tapas which led to the birth of Lord Kumaraswamy or Karthikeya! The second time was when Siva fell in love with Mohini and Lord Ayyappa was born! Even sage Viswamitra could not protect himself against the wiles of Menaka when she appeared before him to spoil his penance! Is it not because of Sri Mata's Grace that the Love God is invincible and disturbs the minds of even the greatest sages and seers? questions Sankara in glorifying the Universal Mother!
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