Abstract
The Hindu Goddess makes her Brahmanical debut circa 5th century CE in the Sanskrit narrative work Devī Māhātmya, the “Greatness of the Goddess” (henceforth DM). This monumental mythic moment enshrines the first Indic articulation of ultimate divinity as feminine. That she is perennially feminine and ever omnipotent, there can be no doubt. But how do we further characterize this feminine face? This study performs a close synchronic examination of the DM to demonstrate the extent to which it encodes an ambivalence on behalf of the Devī (Goddess) between violent wrath and compassionate care. Preserving paradox as only narrative can, the DM dispenses with neither face of the supreme Goddess—yet it posits her benign visage as ultimately supreme. This paper firstly examines the use of sound throughout the DM as expressive of the Devī’s sacrality and virulence alike. While violent sound is something the Devī deploys, sacred sound is something the Devī is. It then proceeds to analyze the second of the four hymns within the DM—the Śakrādi Stuti, occupying Chapter 4—to demonstrate the artful manner in which the hymn encodes the Devi’s ambivalence through its sophisticated design. This paper ultimately suggests that this ambivalence of the Devī finds an earthly analogue in the Indian king.
Highlights
The Hindu Goddess makes her Brahmanical debut circa 5th century CE in the Sanskrit narrative work Devı Māhātmya, the “Greatness of the Goddess” ( DM)
Primordial power is construed as the Great Goddess (Mahādevı) whose might transcends that of the Vedic pantheon, and even that of the Hindu great gods Śiva, Vis.n.u, and Brahmā
How do we further characterize the Goddess (Devı) based on what we see in her glorification (Māhātmya)? Is she an angry entity? A compassionate mother?. Does she delight in destruction? Or is she content in caring for her children, all beings within creation?. While either of these divergent descriptions might be apt in any given juncture of the text, what do see when we examine the vision of the feminine divine in the DM as a whole?
Summary
The Hindu Goddess makes her Brahmanical debut circa 5th century CE in the Sanskrit narrative work Devı Māhātmya, the “Greatness of the Goddess” ( DM). The text interweaves sound as mantric praise; sound as menacing laughter, roars, and bellows; sound as the threatening twang of the Goddess’ bowstring; and even rhythmic sound occasioning dance during the battle When she emerges in Episode II and is gifted with weapons by all of the gods, Indra gifts the Goddess with a bell as a weapon (DM 2.21). Having seen him coming forth, the Goddess caused her conch to resound, And the twanging of her bowstring made a ghastly noise She filled the directions with the sound of her own bell, Which destroyed the radiance of all the demon armies. In order to further examine this ambivalence between destructive and creative aspects of the Goddess (and sound), let us look to perhaps the most exquisite of the DM’s hymns: the Śakrādi Stuti, the praise from Indra and the gods
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