Story to be read out and discussed in the meeting on Tuesday, June 2022 at 10:00 AM (EDT)
Zoom Meeting link: https://devimahatmya.us17.list-manage.com/track/click…
Meeting ID: 913 1847 4224
Passcode: 615506
The Story Of Maa MahaMaya
Maa MahaMaya Creates the universe, then “Seizes the mind of even the wise And Draws them into delusion” (The Devi Mahatmya, 1.55)
But Maa MahaMaya Is Also “The Supreme Knowledge And The Eternal Cause of Liberation” (The Devi Mahatmya, 1.58)
Long before the present creation, when the previous universe was dissolved into an endless primordial ocean, the blessed Lord Viṣṇu lay in deep meditative sleep. Suddenly, two demons named madhu and kaiṭabha sprang forth from the wax in His ears, intent on killing Lord Brahmā, who sat on the lotus growing from Lord Viṣṇu’s navel. Desperately, Lord Brahmā tried to awaken Lord Viṣṇu but in vain, for the sleep that had settled over the Supreme Lord’s eyes Was The Devi Maa MahāMāyā Herself. Lord Brahmā extolled Her with a hymn and asked Her to release Lord Viṣṇu from Her spell. On awakening, Lord Viṣṇu beheld the raging madhu and kaiṭabha and engaged them in combat for five thousand years until Maa MahāMāyā Confounded them with pride. Having withstood the might of Lord Viṣṇu Himself, in their arrogance they decided to grant Him a boon, but they realized their folly too late, for what Lord Viṣṇu asked was to slay them then and there.
– From The Devi Mahatmya
