Devi Has a Thousand Hands but She Is Worshipped as Having Eighteen Hands

After Devi Mahamaya manifested for the destruction of Mahishasura, the Devas equipped her with weapons and ornaments.

हिमवान्वाहनं सिंहं रत्नानि विविधानि च

If you have noticed, these divinities are giving to Devi whatever they have. The Himalayas have rocks like pegmatites and gneisses, which are abundant in gemstones. There is historical evidence that sapphires from Lahaul were brought to Simla in the 1880s.

What about the lion? Aren't they only found in the Gir forests?

That is today. The national emblem of Tibet itself is a lion—Gangs Seng Ge. How could the Himalayan kingdom have an animal as their national emblem if they had never seen it? Lions were present in the Himalayan forests.

ददावशून्यं सुरया पानपात्रं धनाधिपः

What is sura? Don't think sura always means liquor. It means madira (liquor) also, but that is not its only meaning. Sura means amrita.

सूयते परिवास्यते सुरा गन्धोत्तमा

Or anything that is fragrant. Kubera gave Devi a panapatra (chalice) of sura, which will always be full. It will never become empty.

शेषश्च सर्वनागेशो महामणिविभूषितम् नागहारं ददौ तस्यै धत्ते यः पृथिवीमिमाम्

Adishesha gave her a garland adorned with a big naga mani. Who is Adishesha? He is the one who carries the earth upon his hood.

अन्यैरपिसुरैर्देवी भूषणैरायुधैस्तथा संमानिता ननादोच्चैः साट्टहासं मुहुर्मुहुः

The weapons and ornaments provided by the chief divinities have been described, but this is not all. Many more gods gave her weapons and ornaments. This is why it is said in Vaikritika Rahasya:

अष्टादशभुजा पूज्या सा सहस्रभुजा सती

Even though she has a thousand hands, each holding a divine weapon, she is worshiped as Ashtadashabhuja—having eighteen hands.

The Dhyana Shloka for Mahalakshmi is:

आयुधान्यत्र वक्ष्यन्ते दक्षिणाधः करक्रमात्

From the lowermost right hand, start visualizing:

• Rosary, lotus, arrow or the quiver, sword, lightning, gada, chakra, trishula, parashu (axe).

And in the left hands:

• Shankha, bell, rope, spear, rod, shield, bow, panapatra, kamandalu.

These are arranged from top to bottom. If you observe her carefully:

• The arrow and bow are opposite to each other.
• The sword and shield are opposite to each other.

Adorned with all these weapons and ornaments, she started doing attahasa. What is attahasa?

अट्टेन अतिशयेन हासः शब्दयुक्तो हासः

Roaring laughter, loud violent laughter—the laughter of ascertaining her immense power. She is imagining how insignificant Mahishasura is before her, like a mosquito. She envisions the battle with him and laughs loudly at the thought.

In Lakshmi Tantra, Devi tells Indra:

'In the Swayambhuva Manvantara, I manifest as Mahishamardini for the benefit of all Devas.'

If you look at it another way, each Deva is just one part of her, an amsha of her. Even the weapons of the Devas, such as Sri Hari's chakra, are merely one of Devi's shaktis. Every Deva, including his weapon, is just a small part of her. The collective power of all the thirty-three crore Devas is Devi herself, or each Deva is just an amsha of Devi.

Any drink that is fragrant, like panaka, is also considered sura.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi