The Goddess Who Wept for Nine Days

The stolen Vedas

Ruru had a mighty son named Durgama. By a boon from Brahmā he took possession of all four Vedas, and won a strength that even the gods could not overcome. He began to torment the earth, and in heaven the gods trembled.

With the Vedas gone, every rite ceased. The brahmins, and the gods with them, fell away from right conduct. No one gave gifts, no one did tapas, there was no sacrifice and no offering in the fire — and so no rain fell on the earth for a hundred years.

A cry went up in all three worlds. Everyone suffered hunger and thirst. Rivers and seas, wells, pools and lakes ran dry; the trees and creepers withered.

Countless eyes

Seeing the misery of creatures, the gods went for refuge to Yogamāyā, the great Goddess. Protect your creatures, Mahāmāyā, they said, and set aside your anger, or all the worlds will perish. As you killed Śumbha and mighty Niśumbha, Dhūmrākṣa, Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, Raktabīja, Madhu and Kaiṭabha and Mahiṣa, kill this one too. Children do wrong at every step — who but their mother can bear it? Whenever the gods and brahmins have suffered, you have come down and made them happy.

Moved by their words, the compassionate Goddess showed them a form with countless eyes. Her face was glad as a lotus, and in her four hands she held a bow, arrows, a lotus, and every kind of fruit and root.

Nine days of tears

Then, seeing her creatures in such distress, her eyes filled with pity, and she wept. She wept without stopping for nine days and nine nights, and thousands of streams of water flowed from her eyes. Those streams quenched all the worlds and all the plants. The seas and rivers filled to their depths, and greens, fruits and roots sprang up all over the earth.

The Goddess herself handed out the fruits from her hands to those of pure heart. She set sweet grass before the cows and fitting food before every other creature. When brahmins, gods and humans were all satisfied, she asked: what shall I do for you now?

You have satisfied everyone, the gods said. Now, in your grace, give us back the Vedas Durgama has taken. So be it, said the Goddess. Go home; I will give you the Vedas soon.

Ten great powers

A great clamour rose through heaven, earth and sky, and when Durgama heard it he surrounded the city of the gods. The Goddess drew a ring of light around the city to protect the gods, and came out beyond it herself. Battle broke out between the Goddess and the asura, and sharp arrows that split armour rained from both sides.

Then from her body there came forth, armed and beautiful, the ten Mahāvidyās: Kālī, Tārā, Chinnamastā, Śrīvidyā, Bhuvaneśvarī, Bhairavī, Bagalā, Dhūmrā, Tripurasundarī and Mātaṅgī. After them came countless Mother goddesses of divine form, each wearing the crescent moon, bright as lightning. They fought Durgama's host and destroyed his hundred akṣauhiṇīs.

Then the Goddess struck the asura with the point of her trident, and he fell to the ground like a tree torn up by the roots. She took the four Vedas from him and gave them to the gods.

Three names, one Goddess

The gods praised her. Mother, for us you took a form with a hundred eyes — so the sages will call you Śatākṣī. You fed the worlds with greens born from your own body — so you will be known as Śākambharī. You killed the great asura Durgama — so people will call you Durgā.

The Goddess answered: as cows run anxiously when they see their calves, I run to you when I see you. I look on you as my children; when I cannot see you, a moment is an age to me. I would give my life for you. While I am here to end your troubles, you need never worry.

And she told them what was to come. When another Śumbha and Niśumbha are born, I will be born from the womb of Yaśodā, wife of Nanda, in the cowherds' Gokula, and kill them; then they will call me Nandajā. I will take the form of a bee to kill the asura Aruṇa, and be called Bhrāmarī. I will take a terrible form to devour the rākṣasas, and be called Bhīmā. Whenever the asuras trouble the earth, I will come down and bring good.

Śatākṣī, Śākambharī and Durgā, the Purāṇa ends, are three names for one being. And there is no deity on earth as tender as Śatākṣī, who wept for nine days without stopping when she saw her creatures suffer.