११ एकादशदशकः - ब्रह्मनारदसंवादः

11 ekaadashadashakah'brahmanaaradasamvaadah'
Dasakam 11- Brahma Narada SAmvadam-
Discussion between Brahma and Narada

(Once sage Narada wanted to know, the principle

behind creation and he asked Lord Brahma, his father
about it. Lord Brahma replied to him in detail
emphasizing Parasakthi is responsible for it and she
gets it done through the trimurthis. though she lives
in the middle of the ocean of nectar. This is given in
the chapters VII, VIII,IX of the third book of Devi
Bhagawatha,)

श्रीनारदः पद्मजमे कदाऽऽह

पपतस्त्वया सृष्टपमदं जगत्किम् ।
पकं पिष्णुना िा पगररशेन िा
पकमकतृृकं िा सकलेश्वरः कः ॥ ११-१॥
shreenaaradah' padmajamekadaa''ha
pitastvayaa sri'sht'amidam jagatkim .
kim vishnunaa vaa girishena vaa
kimakartri'kam vaa sakaleshvarah' kah' .. 11-1..

1.Once sage Narada approached Lord Brahma,

And asked him, “Is this world made by you?
Is it Lord Vishnu, Is it by Lord Shiva, Or is not created
by anyone ? Who is the greatest God?
After they finished seeing bhuvaneswari, the trimurthis
started creation etc. one day sri narada muni went to
satyaloka and started asking brahma a few questions.
How was this universe created?-this is the essence of
his question. He had asked this question to many
people. He got different answers from all of them.
Vaishnavaites said, The creator of this universe is
Vishnu; Shaivites said, it is shiva; Shakti devotees said
the creator is shakti- this way several people gave
various answers. Narada was not happy. It was finally
that he went to brahma and asked him this question.
This universe is an evolution of nature, that is what
statistics say. The question ‘akartri'kam vaa’ (nobody
has created) is directed to the opinions of the
staticians. But, narada maharshi knows that without
the presence of the supreme no work can be done.
That is why he asked the question ‘sakaleshvarah'
kah'( who is the lord of all), finally.

इतीररतोऽजः सुतमाह साधु

पृष्टं त्वया नारद मां शृणु त्वम् ।
पिभापत दे िी खलु सिृशत्किस्वरूपपणी
सा भुिनस्य हे तुः ॥ ११-२॥
iteerito'jah' sutamaaha saadhu
pri'sht'am tvayaa naarada maam shri'nu tvam .
vibhaati devee khalu sarvashaktisvaroopinee
saa bhuvanasya hetuh' .. 11-2..

2.Thus spoken to, Brahma replied to his son

“Oh Narada, good you asked this question. Please
listen to me with concentration. The very beautiful
Goddess who is a combination of all Shakthis, is
shining bright. She only is the cause of this world.
Sri Narada asked a question that needed to be asked.
So brahma congratulated him. He immediately
answered the question ‘Who is the lord of the
universe’?-the all pervading shakti is the cause for the
existence of this universe.

एकं परं ब्रह्म सदपितीयमात्मेपत

िेदान्तिचोपभरुिा ।
न सा पुमान् स्त्री च न पनगुृणा सा
स्त्रीत्वं च पुंस्त्वं च गुणैदृधापत ॥ ११-३॥
ekam param brahma sadadviteeyamaatmeti
vedaantavachobhiruktaa .
na saa pumaan stree cha na nirgunaa
saa streetvam cha pumstvam cha gunairdadhaati .11-3
3.There is only one, no second, is the essence of
parabrahma, is the soul etc., always, as suggested by
the vedantas, is devi. That devi is not a man or a
woman, that devi has no properties, she assumes
good properties, she handles feminity and masculinity.
The words ‘ekam eva adviteeyam brahma’ as
suggested by the vedantas, is Devi. What we call
paramaatma also is this devi. Devi is nirguna-that is
she is neither a man or a woman. Bit, with qualities
that she possess she can be a man or a woman-same
way as an actor, who dresses up either as a man or a
woman and acts accordingly. Check dashakam 1
shloka 3

सिं तदािास्यपमदं जगत्सा

जाता न सिं तत एि जातम् ।
तत्रैि सिं च भिेत्प्रलीनं
सैिात्कखलं नात्कि च पकञ्चनान्यत् ॥ ११-४॥
sarvam tadaavaasyamidam jagatsaa
jaataa na sarvam tata eva jaatam .
tatraiva sarvam cha bhavetpraleenam
saivaakhilam naasti cha kinchanaanyat .. 11-4..

4. This entire universe is covered in a veil by that devi.

Devi is not born. Everything that is there is born out of
devi. Also everything goes and merges with the devi.
Everything is devi only. There is nothing that is
different from devi.
This universe is an expression of devi that is, it is a veil.
Remember the mantra from the Upanishad-
‘eeshaavaasyamidam sarvam’. The lord, the reason
and the foundation, everything is devi. In the ocean
we find, waves, foam and paths. Their lord, the reason
and foundation everything is the ocean only. They are
not different from the ocean. Same way, whatever
sights you see in this universe is not different from
devi.
The waves, foam and pathway is made by the ocean.
the ocean is its existence and it merges with the
ocean. same way this universe that we see is born
from devi, its exists because of devi, and it merges
with devi- everything is devi maya.

गौणापन चान्तः करणेत्कियापण

सा पनगुृणाऽिाङ्मपतगोचरा च ।
सा िोत्रमन्त्ैः सगुणा महत्कभः
संिूयते भिपिपपिहन्त्ी ॥ ११-५॥
gaunaani chaantah'karanendriyaani
saa nirgunaa'vaangmatigocharaa cha .
saa stotramantraih' sagunaa mahadbhih'
samstooyate bhaktavipannihantree .. 11-5..
5.Her conscience and sense organs are full of good
qualities, But she is without properties. Unreachable
to words and intelligence, she is with good qualities,
she destroys the dangers of devotees, And she is the
one who is praised in manthras, by great souls.
Devi is saguna and nirguna. Saguna form of devi can
expressed in words, she can also be visualised in our
mind. The nirguna form of devi we cannot express in
words, nor visualise it mentally nor can we assume
with our intelligence; that is because intelligence,
mind and words are qualitative. Remember that we
had mentioned earlier that devi was saguna and
nirguna. go over the shlokas from the 1st dashakam.
Nirguna means one without any qualities, isn’t it.
satvam, rajas, and tamo the natural qualities means
past. When the devi is in nirguna form itself she has
good qualities like compassion, and devotion. Still the
mahatmas praise the saguna form of devi with various
stotras and mantras. the nirguna form of devi is
needed for words. Devi can be worshipped according
to the wish of the worshipper-saguna form or the
nirguna form. Both will give equal results.

सुधासमुद्रे िसतीयमायाृ
िीपे पिपचत्राद् भुतशत्कियुिा ।
सिं जगद्यिशगं ियं च
पत्रमूतृयो नाम यदापश्रताः स्मः ॥ ११-६॥
sudhaasamudre vasateeyamaaryaa
dveepe vichitraadbhutashaktiyuktaa .
sarvam jagadyadvashagam vayam cha
trimoortayo naama yadaashritaah' smah' .. 11-6..

6. She who is a gentle woman lives in an island, On the

ocean of nectar with wonderful power. We who are
famous as trinity of Gods also know, that the world is
under her control and worship her.
Devi is saguna and nirguna. The nirguna form of devi
stands everywhere, inside, outside, filled, and dense.
The saguna form of devi, according to the
convenience of the worshipper, lives in a pure place.
That is the ocean of nectar. In the middle there is
manidweepam-which is a place wrapped in by 18
forts. The interiormost fort is where the Chintamani
graham is situated. There are 4 mandapas there-their
names shringarmandapam, muktimandapam,
gyaanmandapam and ekaanthmandapam. In the
shringar mandapam, in an assembly of the
manifestations of devi, where there is always music, as
an audience, devi is present. The devi who is seated in
the muktimandapam gives deliverance to the
unliberated souls. The devi in gyaanmandapam, gives
knowledgeable advice to all the curious intellectuals
who are present there. it is in the ekaanth mandapam
that devi thinks of solutions for the protection of this
world.- devi’s presence is always there in all the 4
mandapams. Brahma has seen this world of devi with
his own eyes. Check 9th and 10th dashakam.

तद्दत्तशत्कित्रयमात्रभाज-
त्कस्त्रमूतृयः पुत्र ियं पिनीताः ।
तदाज्ञया साधु सदाऽपप कुमो
ब्रह्माण्डसगृत्किपतसंहृतीश्च ॥ ११-७॥
Taddattashaktitrayamaatrabhaaja-
strimoortayah' putra vayam vineetaah' .
tadaajnyayaa saadhu sadaa'pi kurmo
brahmaand'asargasthitisamhri'teeshcha .. 11-7..

7.Oh son we the holy trinity having the three

Shakthis given by her , depend upon them And as
per her orders and as per rule look after The creation,
upkeep and destruction of the universe.
The trimurthis travel in the airplane, seeing the devi
who is the resident of manidweepa, and getting the
powers to create ,protect, and destroy from that devi
has been described in the previous dashakams. All the
proceedings brahma tells narada. Son! See how
brahma addresses narada. Narada is sitting like an
ignorant small child. Brahma, the father, is explaining
the details of manidweepam in sweet words full of
experience. Obey the devi’s instructions-that is the
trimurthis duty. They are not free(independent) in
performimg these duties; nor do they have the
freedom to not do the duties; nor the freedom to do
the duties according to their own wishes.

दै िेन मूढं कपिमातनोपत सा

दु र्ृलं तु प्रर्लं करोपत ।
पङ् गुं पगररं लङ्घयते च मूकं
कृपािती चाऽतनुते सुिाचम् ॥ ११-८॥
daivena mood'ham kavimaatanoti saa
durbalam tu prabalam karoti .
pangum girim langhayate cha mookam
kri'paavatee chaa'tanute suvaacham .. 11-8..

8.She who is merciful, makes a fool -wise Who makes

weak one, strong , makes a lame One climb the
mountains and makes the dumb speak.
Brahma knew about devi’s compassion and influence
very well. He has experienced and seen it first hand
with the killing of madhukaitabham. Devi can do
anything effortlessly-a scholar out of a blockhead, a
strong person out a weak one. Can make a lame
person fit enough to climb a mountain, an orator out
of a dumb person. Whatever a devotee cannot do,
devi makes him capable to do that. That is devi’s
compassion. Whatever shlokas are going to be
described now, will be examples of tis shloka.

यत्किपञ्चदज्ञापय मया महत्त्वं

दे व्यािदु िं ति सङ् रहे ण ।
सिृत्र तिणृय पििरे ण
पिधत्स्व भत्किं हृदये जनानाम् ॥ ११-९॥
yatkinchidajnyaayi mayaa mahattvam
devyaastaduktam tava sangrahena .
sarvatra tadvarnaya vistarena
vidhatsva bhaktim hri'daye janaanaam .. 11-9..

9.Whatever little about her greatness that I know I

have told you in brief. Please spread it in detail
everywhere and create devotion in the minds of
people.
By answering narada’s questions brahma was satisfied.
‘Who is the lord, is there a lord’-these are the doubts
that narada had. The lord of the universe, the reason
for the existence of the world and the foundation of
the world is devi,this was brahma’s answer to narada’s
questions. Devi’s power, compassion, her existence(be
it with form or formless),-all these brahma answered.
The greatness of devi should be known to all the
worlds, that way everyone will become devotees of
devi, so brahma thought. Brahma wanted narada to
spread devi’s greatness all over. He put the burden of
that responsibility onto narada.

इतीररतोऽजेन मुपनः प्रसि-

िि प्रभािं करुणाद्रृ पचत्ते ।
व्यासं तथाऽन्यां श्च यथोपचतं स
प्रर्ोधयामस पपित्रिात्कभः ॥ ११-१०॥
iteerito'jena munih' Prasanna-
stava prabhaavam karunaardrachitte .
vyaasam tathaa'nyaamshcha yathochitam sa
prabodhayaamasa pavitravaagbhih' .. 11-10..

10, Oh compassionate Goddess Those sages who were

told like this by Brahma ,Became happy, praised sage
Vyasa and several others, And with pure words, told
about your greatness using proper words.
Narada himself took up the duty of spreading the
greatness of devi all over- not gloomily but very
happily. Without any delay he got the right time to do
it. It was around this time that vyasa was doing
penanace to beget a good son. ‘which god should he
pray to’, thinking like this he was standing, when sage
narada suddenly appeared there. standing there
narada told vyasa the greatness of devi. See dashakam
6. Not just vyaasa, narada told to many people, the
greatness of devi. The story, where narada tells the
greatness of devi, to srikrishna’s father Vasudeva, can
be seen in devi bhagvatham, where the importance
and greatness of navaham is mentioned in skanda
puranam. The story of sudyumna, who lived a life of
alternating between being a lady and a man, who
received the navakshari mantra from narada and got
sayoojya mukti, is given in devibhagvatham 1st
skandam chapter 12 and in this book chapter 5.
In devi bhagvatham 3rd skanda 30th chapter one can
read about narada telling the importance of devi, to
an extremely sad rama, who was upset after the
kidnapping of sita. In this book it can be seen in the
18th chapter. The story, of how janmajeya did devi
yagyam to give sadgati to king Parikshit, was told by
narada to people of this world. This story can be seen
in devi bhagvatham 12th skandam ,13th chapter.
Anyways it is definite that narada obeyed brahma’s
instructions very happily. He was able to do this was
because of devi’s compassion and blessings.

न मे गुरुस्त्वच्चररतस्य ििा
न मे मपतस्त्वत्स्मरणैकसिा ।
अिाच्यििाऽहमकायृकताृ
नमापम मातश्चरणाम्बुजं ते ॥ ११-११॥
na me gurustvachcharitasya vaktaa
na me matistvatsmaranaikasaktaa .
avaachyavaktaa'hamakaaryakartaa
namaami maatashcharanaambujam te .. 11-11

11. I do not have A Guru who can describe your story,

Nor do I have a mind which is firm that can meditate
on your form, I just go on saying things as it comes.
And oh mother I salute your lotus like feet.
Naradan got a very good guru as his father. He got
vyaasa also as his guru. The poet is frustrated:- to hear
the description of devi mahima he does not have a
guru, nor is he able to meditate on devi. Even though I
did not do any thing good I could at least avoid doing
evil. That also I am unable to do. Doing what should
not be done and telling what should not be told my
life is just moving. To escape from this I need devi’s
compassion and blessing. The poet pays obesience to
devi.
Devibhagvatham 3rd skandam, 8 chapters, from 2 to 9
is described in this book’s chapters 9,10,11

Thus ends the 11th dashakam