Devi Svaha: Wife of Agni Deva
After Brahma finishes his task of creation he feels satisfied when he sees the devas. They all live in Swarga, have bodies of light and seem blissful. But when the devas feel hungry, they realize that like the manavas they too have to sustain themselves. But they don’t know what they can eat as food. So, they ask Brahma about it.
Since Brahma does not have a solution for their problem. He worships Narayana. Narayana incarnates as Yagna Deva and says, “The Brahmanas and Kshatriyas will conduct Yagnas and pour their offerings along with ghee into the sacred fire. The burnt offerings of all Yagnas will become the food for the devas.” Narayana disappears after saying this. The devas feel relieved and look forward to satiating their hunger.
But in those ancient times, Agni contains no heat within Him. So, he is unable to convey the burnt offerings to the devas. And even when the Brahmanas and Kshatriyas offer the devas their share of the havis (the burnt offerings) the devas are unable to eat it.
The devas again go to Brahma and ask him to solve their problem. This time Brahma goes to Goloka and seeks Krishna’s help. Krishna says, “Only Mula Prakriti can help the devas. Worship the goddess devoutly. She never fails her devotees.”
After hearing Krishna’s words, Brahma decides to perform a tapasya. And in time, a radiant Devi materialises in front of him. The Devi says, “O Brahma, I am Devi Svaha, an amsa of the formless Mula Prakriti. What boon do you seek?”
Brahma says, “O Devi Svaha, please become the heat of the fire. Let the offerings of every yagna be burnt by Agni. And let Agni carry these burnt offerings as food for the devas. Also please marry Agni Deva. Everyone in the three worlds will worship you as Agni’s wife and all yagnas will remain incomplete without you.”
Devi Svaha looks sadly at Brahma and says, “I have decided to wed Krishna alone. And I will perform a tapasya till Krishna fulfils my wish.” That was it. Devi Svaha performs a tapasya for several years. And the devas continue to remain hungry. This time Brahma goes in search of Agni Deva with the hope that he can make Devi Svaha see reason.
Meanwhile, Krishna appears before Devi Svaha and says, “O Devi Svaha, I will marry you in the next Varaha kalpa. In that age, you will be born as king Nagnajita’s daughter. But right now, the devas are in dire straits. Please marry Agni Deva, become the love and heat of his light and satiate the hunger of the devas.” Devi Svaha agrees to do so.
When Brahma finds Agni Deva, he discusses his intentions with him. Agni Deva says, “I’m very skeptical about getting married O Pitamah. I’m not sure I want a woman in my life right now.” But Brahma pleads with him and asks him to at least look at Devi Svaha.
Brahma and Agni Deva appear before Devi Svaha just as Krishna is disappearing. Agni Deva is instantly smitten by Devi Svaha’s beauty. And Agni and Svaha get married in Brahma’s presence. In time, Svaha sires three sons called Dakshinagni, Garhapatyagni and Ahavaniyagni.
That is why we invoke Devi Svaha after every mantra whenever we perform a yagna. She burns the offerings that the Brahmanas and Kshatriyas pour into each Yagna with her heat. And Agni Deva carries the burnt offerings to the devas and satiates their hunger. Devi Svaha presides over every yagna and makes it fruitful.
*Garhapatyagni is the preserving form of Agni. The lord of the house creates Agni by rubbing two arani sticks. It is akin to giving birth to Agni. Chants infuse divinity in Agni after which the Garhapatyagni is placed in the Yagna vedi.
*Ahavaniyagni is the constructive form of Agni. After lighting the Garhapatyagni we take it to another square pit that faces east to invite, perform sacrifices and honour a specific deva.
*Dakshinagni represents the destructive form of Agni. We place Dakshinagni to the south of the Garhapatyagni to ward off evil forces.
Devi Svadha: wife of the Pitrs
Now Brahma moves on to his next task. He creates the three realms Swarga, Bhumi and Patala and then the seven Pitrs from his mind. Four Pitrs have forms. But the three other Pitrs are beings of light.
The Brahmanas and the Kshatriyas pour ghee and other libations into the Yagna whenever they perform the Shraddh ceremonies for their Pitrs. But like the devas, the Pitrs too were unable to receive these oblations.
So, Brahma creates a radiant woman with a serene and content disposition from his mind. He names her Svadha and asks her to become the bride of all the Pitrs. Devi Svadha agrees to do so. The Pitrs too gladly accept her as their wife because she conveys all the Shraddh offerings to them.
That is why we worship Devi Svadha before we worship our Pitrs. She blesses us with the benefit of performing a Shraddh and Tarpana and also with the punya of bathing in the holiest teerthas even if we just chant her mantra.
*The word Shraddh is derived from the word Shraddha which means faith. We invoke our Pitrs during the Shraddh ceremony.
*Tarpana is a Vedic practice in which we make offerings to our Pitrs to seek their blessings.
Devi Dakshina: wife of Yagna Deva
Sushila, a witty, genteel and intelligent gopika masters the sixty-four arts of love and lives in Goloka. One day, she sits to Krishna’s left in the presence of Radha.
Radha as usual flies into a rage. And to Sushila’s horror, Krishna too vanishes from there. Sushila starts trembling and asks Radha for forgiveness. But Radha curses her and says, “You will turn to ashes if you ever come to Goloka again.” Sushila feels heartbroken and seeks refuge in Mahalakshmi who immediately absorbs her into her body. Sushila decides to perform a tapasya inside Mahalakshmi’s body.
In another realm, the devas are frustrated because none of their yagnas bears fruit. So, Brahma worships Narayana. Narayana says, “The yagnas are not yielding fruit because Yagna Deva does not have his Shakti with him. I will lure Sushila out of Mahalakshmi’s body when I incarnate as Krishna.”
Krishna fulfils his promise to Brahma on the full moon night of Kartik. He requests Sushila to come to His Raas Mandal and participate in the Maha Raas. Krishna then asks her to marry Yagna Deva and become his Shakti.
Krishna assures her saying that Yagna Deva is his amsa. Sushila accepts Krishna’s offer with delight and marries Yagna Deva. Since Sushila emerges out of Devi Lakshmi’s right shoulder and is highly intelligent too, she is known as Dakshina. In time, Dakshina gives birth to a son, Karmaphala, who bestows the fruits of every yagna to the performer.
*Whenever we perform a Yagna, the priests chant hymns to infuse Devi Dakshina’s Shakti in us and enable us to perform our Yagna fruitfully. And we express our gratitude to the priest by giving him some Dakshina – a small token of appreciation for his services.
And the Yagnas of the devas, Pitrs and manavas bear fruit only because Devi Svaha, Devi Svadha and Devi Dakshina shower their abundant blessings on all of us. Always. Yes. We truly have a lot to be grateful for.
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