Have You Heard About Sangrama Devatas?

The battle between Devi and Mahishasura has started. Crores of asuras under various commanders are attacking Devi. She is destroying all of them playfully.

From her every breath, thousands of her own soldiers are born. They are also fighting the asuras. They are playing drums and music in excitement. Because it is a mahotsava, what is going on is a mahotsava. Dharma is going to be victorious. That is why they are all excited.

Devi killed big asuras in hundreds with her trishoola and gada, showering spears upon them. With her sword, many fainted just by hearing the ghanta nada, the sound of her bell. Who had given her the bell? Indra.

Many of the asuras she tied up with ropes and started pulling them over the ground like how you plough a field. Some of them she split into two with her sword. Some fell down fractured with the blows of her gada. Blood was springing out of many asuras who suffered repeated beatings from her musala.

The chests of many were split open by her spear. Some had so many arrows struck on their bodies. All dead, lying in that battlefield. There were so many arrows struck on the bodies of some asuras that it looked like they had grown wings. Some had so many arrows struck to their bodies, they looked like porcupines. Many who led the asura sena from the front now lay dead. Some such bodies did not have hands, some did not have heads.

Heads without bodies were seen all around. The bodies of some were cut from the middle horizontally. Some did not have legs. Some bodies were lying vertically split, only one half of the body was there—one eye, one hand, one leg, like that. See the result of adharma, what they have to suffer eventually. That is why so much description is given.

You may be getting upset listening to so much violence, but that is how it was, and we have no mandate to skip the portion and talk about the soft parts in Devi’s story. Once in a while, you could see a headless body getting up and sitting.

Now, there is more than one meaning here. Some of the headless bodies got up, looked around for their severed heads, reconnected them, picked up weapons, and started fighting with Devi again. Many asuras are mayavis. They have this siddhi. Kabandha also refers to a class of asuras who are always air-bound—they can fly. Some of these headless bodies got up, reconnected their heads, and started dancing in rhythm with the drums that were playing.

There is more to this. There are devatas particularly connected to warfare. They are called sangrama devatas. You must have heard about Manyu Sukta. Manyu is one such devata. Manyu means devata. I have seen Manyu Sukta circulating on social media. If you listen to these mantras, rage and anger will arise within you. You will feel like fighting with everyone for no reason. You may not even realize that it was because of listening to Manyu Sukta.

Mantras have specific purposes. Manyu Sukta is employed to charge up soldiers during wartime. When this devata called Manyu is invoked, he brings anger and rage within soldiers so that they can attack and destroy the enemy. These devatas are naturally present in the battlefield. They enter into headless bodies and revive them for the fight.

Another reason I am explaining Saptashati in such detail is because you should understand the content and decide for yourself whether it is proper to chant it on a daily basis at home, like how many ladies do now. There are many rules to be followed. You should not stop in between, your attention should not wander. You should not get up to turn off the milk cooker. If you are reading a portion describing battle, then you should not stop before taking it to its conclusion. Leaving a battle unfinished means you will soon see that happening around you, at your own home. There may not be beheaded bodies, but battle-like situations. You will not be able to connect.

Mantras of Saptashati have the power to kill. There are such prayogas with these mantras. You should know how to handle them. Do not take Devi Mahatmyam casually. Follow proper methods of chanting. Whatever you are doing, understand and do. Learn from people who know all these.

Devi Mahatmya parayana used to be done when there were calamities, either in the country or in personal life, or by those who have proper deeksha and follow a disciplined life. Carrying Saptashati with you is like carrying a powerful bomb, like how soldiers do it. You should know how it can help, how it can harm, and what precautions are needed. If devotion is your intention, read Soundarya Lahari, stotras.

Devi Mahatmya should be handled very carefully. Understand the meaning—no problem. This is not to discourage you. It is a great scripture, a great blessing to be able to learn and understand it. But like the Vedas, follow the proper procedure. Follow the dos and don’ts.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi