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The rains had passed, and on that mountain peak above Kishkindha, Rama was still sunk in the grief of Sita’s absence. He had killed Bali, handed the kingdom to Sugriva, and let four months slip by in that place. Lakshmana’s steady words had eased his mind a little, yet the wound of remembering Janaki stayed raw. The two brothers were deep in counsel about what to do next when Narada, the sage among the gods, came down out of the sky, playing his great vina and singing the Brihadrathantara chant. Rama, whose splendor knew no measure, rose and offered him the finest seat, honored him with water for his hands and feet, folded his palms, and sat down beside him.
Rama’s full story lives in the Ramayana section of this collection; here you have the particular angle of the Devi Bhagavata, where the root of the victory over Ravana is named as the worship of the Goddess and the vow of Navaratra.
What Narada Revealed
Narada asked warmly after his welfare, then said, “Raghava, why do you grieve now like an ordinary man? I know that the wicked Ravana has carried Sita away; in the world of the gods I heard that he seized the daughter of Janaka out of blind desire, unable to recognize his own death. Kakutstha, your very birth is for the ending of Ravana, and it is to bring that about that Sita has been taken.”
Then he opened a secret. “In a former birth Vaidehi was the daughter of a sage, a girl given to austerity. Seeing her at her tapas in the forest, Ravana begged her to become his wife; refused and stung, he seized her by the hair. Wishing to be rid of the body his touch had defiled, that ascetic girl, blazing with anger, laid a curse on him: Vile one, for your destruction I will appear again as a noble woman born of no womb. With those words she gave up her body. This same Sita, born of a portion of Lakshmi, is that girl; and Ravana, like a man who lifts a serpent mistaking it for a garland, has carried her off toward the ruin of his own line. Sinless one, you too have come down into the line of Manu from a portion of Vishnu, at the prayer of the gods, for this very Ravana’s death. Hold to your courage; Sita, faithful in the way of the true wife, keeps her mind on you day and night in Lanka. Indra has sent to her, in a vessel, the milk of Kamadhenu, sweet as the nectar of the gods, and drinking it she is free of the pain of hunger and thirst; that lotus-eyed woman I have seen with my own eyes.”
The Counsel of the Navaratra Vow
“Raghavendra, now I will tell you the means to Ravana’s destruction. This very month of Ashvin, keep the vow of Navaratra with full faith. The worship of the Goddess, done by the rule of fasting and of chanting and fire-offering, grants every accomplishment; when you offer the Goddess her pure oblation and complete the tenth-part fire-rite, you will become fully powerful. In ages past Vishnu himself kept this vow, and Shiva, and Brahma, and Indra in heaven kept it too. Vishvamitra, Bhrigu, Vasishtha, and Kashyapa have kept it; and Brihaspati, guru of the gods, whose own wife had once been carried off, kept this same vow. Indra kept it to slay Vritrasura, Shiva to destroy Tripura, and Vishnu on Mount Sumeru to kill the demon Madhu. So, lord of kings, for the death of Ravana and the winning back of Sita, cast off all sloth and keep this vow by its proper rule.”
When Rama asked who that Goddess was, Narada said, “She is the Devi, eternal and without beginning, the primordial Shakti; she fulfills every longing of the heart and lifts away every sorrow. She is the creative power of my father Brahma, the sustaining power of Vishnu, and the destroying power of Shankara. At the dawn of creation, when there is no Brahma, no Vishnu, no Shiva, no sun, no Indra, no earth, and no mountain, she alone, the attributeless one, the source of all good, the supreme Prakriti, moves in play with the supreme Purusha; then, taking on attributes, she first shapes Brahma and the rest, gives them their powers, and through them fashions the three worlds. When a living being comes to know that Goddess, who is knowledge itself and the first cause of the Vedas, it is set free from the bondage of the world. In this vow I myself will be your officiant, for my zeal is great in the work of the gods. On a level piece of ground raise an altar-seat, install the Mother of the World upon it, and fast for nine days by the proper rule.”
The Boon of Durga, Rider of the Lion
Taking Narada’s words for truth, the valiant Rama had a fine altar-seat built, installed Ambika upon it, and when the month of Ashvin came, worshipped the Goddess on that same great mountain. Given over to the fast, Rama performed the fire-offering, the oblation, and the worship by the proper rule; the two brothers completed the vow with love. Worshipped in full, in the deep middle of the night of the eighth day, the Goddess Durga came riding her lion and gave them her darshan in person. Pleased by their devotion, standing upon the mountain peak, she spoke in a voice grave as thunder.
“Rama, mighty-armed one, I am content with your vow; ask the boon your heart desires. You are born in the pure line of Manu from a portion of Narayana. In ages past you took the form of the Fish and guarded the Vedas; as the Tortoise you bore Mount Mandara on your back and let the ocean be churned; as the Boar you lifted the earth on your tusks and killed Hiranyaksha; as the Man-Lion you protected Prahlada and killed Hiranyakashipu; as the Dwarf you outwitted Bali; and as Parashurama you made an end of the warrior kings and gave the earth to the brahmins. Now, at the prayer of the gods, you have come down as Rama, son of Dasharatha. These mighty apes, born of portions of the gods, will be filled with my power and serve as your helpers; your younger brother Lakshmana, born of a portion of Shesha, will kill Ravana’s son Meghanada. Kill the sinful Ravana and rule in happiness; you will reign on the earth for eleven thousand years and then set out once more for the world of the gods. In the Navaratra of the spring season, worship me once again with full faith.”
Vijayadashami and the Bridge to Lanka
With these words the Goddess Durga vanished on the spot. His heart glad, Rama brought the vow to its close, performed the Vijaya worship on the tenth lunar day, gave gifts of many kinds, and set out from that place. With the army of Sugriva, king of the apes, and his younger brother Lakshmana, his every wish now sure and carried by the drive of the supreme Shakti herself, Rama reached the shore of the sea; there he had the bridge built, destroyed Ravana the enemy of the gods, made Vibhishana king of Lanka, and returned to Ayodhya to win a kingdom free of every thorn. By the power of this very Navaratra vow, Rama of measureless splendor came into great happiness on the earth.
Vyasa says that whoever listens with devotion to this noble account of the Goddess enjoys many happinesses and reaches the highest state; and though there are many other vast Puranas, not one among them equals this Shrimad Devi Bhagavata.
Source: Shrimad Devi Bhagavata Mahapurana (Gita Press, Gorakhpur)