The Devis' Sea-Esta

The Devis of the Vedic Age chilled on the banks of the Saraswati River. Saraswati herself lounged on a lotus beneath a tree, Vedas in hand. Durga took it easy, still not ready to revert to Parvati. Lakshmi sat on the banks of the river with her feet in the water. She played with a large fish that swam around her feet.

“So… How long are you going to remain as Durga?” asked Saraswati.

“Who knows?” replied Durga. “The world is full of so many threats. It could be so long before I could relax as Parvati. Besides, it is nice to have a feeling of power. And I can do so many things with all of these arms!”

As they were talking, a man approached them. He carried a khartal and a veena similar to Saraswati’s own. It was the great sage and musician Narada. He came jovially singing with skips in his steps to the beat. Saraswati’s eyes lit up when she saw him. “Narada, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you this way?”

Narada stopped and smiled. “Lady and Master Saraswati, as always, it is a great honor to see you. I am but wandering without a purpose going wherever the universe guides me.” He noticed Lakshmi by the river. “However…” He coolly slid beside Lakshmi. “Lovely Lady Lakshmi, it is wonderful to see you as well! You are looking as beautiful as ever! You should come with me sometime and let me serenade you.” The fish near Lakshmi’s feet flailed; a “No!” squeaked from the fish.

“Narada, you know that we all enjoy your company,” lilted Lakshmi, “but you know that I could not do that. Remember that I am wife of Vishnu.”

A look flashed across his face. “Yes, yes, how could I forget? I should not disrespect you and Lord Vishnu like this.” Narada picked up her conch and fiddled with it. “This is a lovely shankha you have here. I heard about your incredible performance at Amravati not too long ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to go see it. I am sure another opportunity to see you all play will come.” He set the conch back down. “Well, I must be off now. I feel I have dallied too long here. I wish you all farewell and good fortune.” He flashed a smile at the Devis then continued his strut down the river.

The Devis returned to their relaxation. Lakshmi’s shankha twitched. The fish became frantic. She picked up the conch and looked at it. A pair of eyes inside of it looked back at her. She squealed and dropped it. Out popped the demon Shankhasura. He bounced across the ground in the shell and then ripped the Vedas away from Saraswati. “Yes! Yes! They’re mine!” he cackled. “What a fortune for me! Ah, but not so much for you, huh, Goddesses? I guess someone hurt Narada’s little heart if he summoned me here to cause some trouble. No matter. Away I go with my treasure!” Shankhasura began to bounce away, but Saraswati blocked his path. Durga made way to smash the demon.

“No, wait!” Lakshmi pleaded. “Don’t break the shankha! Please, let me take care of this.”

The demon twisted its head around to look at Lakshmi. “Is that a challange? With what have you to fight? I am sure I could break you just as easily as I could break this shell. I could bring your world into a state of cacophony without lifting a finger!”

“I am not too sure of that,” responded Lakshmi. “Saraswati, please, can you grant for me but a simple flute? I wish to subdue this demon with music as sweet and entrancing as Lord Krishna once played.” Saraswati granted the flute. “Thank you. Here goes nothing.”

Shankhasura played the conch without lifting a finger or getting out of the shell. A sound like a saxophone emanated from the conch. Lakshmi’s flute sang and trilled as she matched and countered Shankhasura’s every verse. Her notes spun him around in circles. The other two Goddesses danced around him to prevent his escape. The pounding of their feet provided a great beat to the musical battle. So enraptured in the music, Lakshmi began to dance around the demon while she played as well. Unfortunately, she was so lost in the music that she accidentally stepped on the demon, which crushed both him and the shell.

She stared, distraught. “Oh, no,” Lakshmi wept, “I destroyed it! It was just like my beloved Vishnu’s conch! How could I do such a thing?” Saraswati and Durga tried to console her.

A small voice called to Lakshmi from the river. It was the fish. “Lakshmi, my love, do not be upset. It was just a shell. I can always acquire another for you just like that one. I am sorry that I was unable to stop the demon before he did all of this.”

Lakshmi looked at the fish in confusion. Then it hit her. “Oh, Matsya! You are my Vishnu! My loving Vishnu!” She bubbled with happiness and excitement as she talked to him, her sorrows now forgotten. Saraswati and Durga looked at each other and shrugged. They returned to their relaxation. Finally, they bid farewell to the fish, and the Goddesses began their journey to their next gig.

Author’s Note. In case you could not tell, there are quite a few elements in this story. The first one is Narada. He is a great sage, a skilled musician, a devotee of Vishnu, a storyteller, and a mischief maker. I had first encountered him in one of the “7 Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art” videos (link below). That video had a story about him and his rival musician, Tumburu, competing in a swayamvara for a princess incarnation of Lakshmi. While Narada would not be one to purposefully antagonize Vishnu or hurt Lakshmi, I felt that his attraction to Lakshmi and his mischievous nature were good catalysts for starting the conflict here in Lakshmi’s story.

The other components, the shell demon, Shankhasura, and the fish incarnation of Vishnu, Matsya, were taken from the story about Matsya defeating the demon Shankhasura. In that story, the Vedas escape from the mouth of a sleeping Brahma, and Shankhasura steals them. Vishnu is incarnated as Matsya to defeat this demon and to retrieve the Vedas. This form also had the purpose of warning people about a flood that was going to wash away the universe, but that’s not important in this story. Here I decided to make it Vishnu’s counterpart, Lakshmi, the one who defeated the demon. I also decided to add a bit of irony where Vishnu was still there as Matsya, but he was overall useless in doing anything to stop him. At least he made Lakshmi happy at the end.

Bibliography. Lakshmi, link to Wikipedia page.

Narada, link to Wikipedia page.

Khartal, link to Wikipedia page.

Shankha, link to Wikipedia page.

Matsya, link to Wikipedia page.

Image: Painting of maybe Lakshmi in Tanjore Big temple. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Image: Hermit crab. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Video:"Nepali song at Indian singing reality show यस्तो पो आवाज त्यो पनि नेपाली गीत , हिन्दि च्यानलमा" from Rajan Dil Gurung on YouTube.

Video: "Raag Rang Video - Jagadodhaarana. Kadri Gopalnath &Pravin Godkhindi." from Sagar Music on YouTube.