September 6, 2026
devā ūcurayaṁ devi upahārīkṛto ‘ṁbike
sārdhaṁ svaparivāreṇa śīghramāhriyatāmiti (14)
VIPAŚCIT (BHĀSA) continued:
In response to the prayers of the sages and the siddhas, the divine mother appeared in the sky. She was “dry” and bloodless. She was accompanied by countless goblins and other spirits. She was several thousand miles tall. She was established in the supreme being. She was seated on the corpse.
The gods said to her: “O divine mother, this is our offering to you. We pray that you may consume it quickly, along with your attendant hosts.” As soon as the gods said this, the divine mother began sucking the life-blood of the dead body with the help of her own prāṇa-śakti (life-force). As this blood flowed into her mouth, her own lean body filled with blood and her belly became distended. She began to dance. The gods, seated on the Lokāloka mountains (the boundaries of the earth-plane), witnessed this dance. The goblins began to eat the corpse. The state of the world at that time was indeed pitiable.
The mountains of the earth had disappeared. The firmament appeared to be dressed in a red cloth. As the mother danced swirling her divine weapons in all directions, whatever remained of the towns and cities of the earth was destroyed; only their memory remained. The whole world was populated now only by the goblins and the hosts that formed the retinue of the divine mother. Seeing all this utter destruction, the gods seated on the Lokāloka mountains were distressed.
RĀMA asked Vasiṣṭha:
When it was said that the corpse covered the whole earth-plane, how is it that the Lokāloka mountains were still visible?
VASIṢṬHA said:
Those mountains were visible over the shoulders of the corpse. The distressed gods reflected thus: “Alas, alas, where has the earth gone, where have the oceans gone, what happened to the people and to the mountains? Where has the Malaya mountain gone with all its sandalwood forests and various fragrant flower-gardens? Alas, the pure white snow of the Himālaya mountains appears to be muddy now. Alas, the ocean of milk (the abode of lord Viṣṇu), the wish-fulfilling tree, all other oceans (those full of curd, wine or honey) and the mountains full of cocoanut palms have vanished. Alas, the Krauñca continent with its own beautiful mountain, the Puṣkara continent in which the swan which is the vehicle of Brahmā the creator lived in a lake full of lotuses and in whose mountain-caves the celestials used to enjoy themselves, the Gomedha continent surrounded by fresh-water ocean, the Śāka continent whose very remembrance is auspicious have all been destroyed. All the gardens and forests have vanished. Where will the people who are tired and fatigued take rest now? When shall we again taste the sweetness of sugar and the little figurines made of sugar since all the sugar cane fields have been destroyed? Alas, the Jaṁbūdvīpa which was the support of all other continents has also been destroyed. Alas, where has the good earth disappeared?”