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Puranic encyclopaedia

by Vettam Mani | 1975 | 609,556 words | ISBN-10: 0842608222

This page describes the Story of Durgama included the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani that was translated into English in 1975. The Puranas have for centuries profoundly influenced Indian life and Culture and are defined by their characteristic features (panca-lakshana, literally, ‘the five characteristics of a Purana�).

Story of Durgama

An asura chief born in the dynasty of ᾱṇyṣa and son of Taru, Durgama was an enemy of the Devas from his very birth. He argued to himself thus: "the very strength and power of the Devas depend on the Vedas; if there is no Veda there is no ⲹñ, if there is no ⲹñ the Devas do not get their share of the havis, if they do not get the havis they will lose all their strength and prowess, and, therefore, the best means to teach the Devas a lesson is to destroy the Vedas." Durgama decided that the surest means to achieve that was to perform penance. Accordingly he went to the ᾱⲹ and began doing penance abstaining from food and drink. After a thousand years appeared to him and asked him what boon he wanted. Durgama said "I must get the Vedas; I should get all the mantras known to brahmins and Devas in the three worlds, and all the presiding deities of those mantras should come and stand before me and be subject to my control; I must also get the strength to defeat all the Devas." granted Durgama all the boons. And, thenceforth the brahmins could not recollect the Vedas or the mantras. No bathing, no homas, no daily rites, no rites for the dead, no ⲹñs, no japa (repeating divine names) and no tapas. Symptoms of old age caught the Devas in its grips. Durgama drove them out of Devaloka and they hid in mountain caves. Within a hundred years the world reached the rock bottom of destruction. Water disappeared from the world. Alarmed beyond measure at these developments the brahmins went to the ᾱⲹ and prayed to (mother of the universe). appeared to them, and their lamentations brought tears to the eyes of , and thus water scarcity came to an end. gave them Ś첹 (a vegetable) fruits and roots to eat. Because she protected her devotees by supplying Ś첹 to them she came to be known as Ś첹mbharī, thenceforward. Also because she shed tears from her eyes, thenceforth she came to be addressed as Śatākṣ� also.

Being told about the above developments Durgama, with his army attacked ٱī. The fight became fierce and furious. From ٱī’s body emerged numerous Śپ fully armed. ٳṇ�, , հܰ, 󲹾ī and ī with 10,000 hands were some of the prominent and powerful Śپ which thus emerged. The army of Durgama was annihilated. Then the fight commenced directly between ٱī and Durgama. Fifteen arrows of ٱī hit the asura at the very same time and he was killed. (ٱī Bhāgavata, Saptama Skandha).

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