Essence Of Devi Bhagavatha Purana

Lord Krishna prays to Maha Deva

As the seniormost Queen Rukmini secured illustrious sons like Pradyumna who was the Demi-God of Love  Manmadha himself in his earlier birth as evidenced by Narada, other Queens like Jambavati were desirous of ideal sons to be born from Krishna, who too was expressive of the same kind of desire. Krishna thus approached the Great Sage Upamanyu, who was not only an expert of Vedas but a noted devotee of Lord Maha Deva with extraordinary mystic powers to initiate and guide Krishna in ascetic practice.

[ Sage Upamanyu was one of the three disciples of Sage Ayodhaumya named Aruni and Veda, besides himself. The Guru who assigned Upamanyu the duty of taking cows out for grazing asked him as to how was he so healthy and Upamanyu told that what ever was received as alms was consumed by him. The Guru asked him not to receive alms further.  But the  student was still healthy and the reason was the milk of the cows taken out for grazing. The Guru forbade that too and asked Upamanyu not to eat fruits nor drink water even. Finally, the student ate tree leaves and of the leaves some were poisonous and he became blind and fell in a deep well.The Guru prayed to Aswani Kumars to heal Upamanyu and the Kumars gave a medicine, but the disciple refused it unless approved by his Guru. Aswinis argued that his Guru never took permission from the Guru’s Guru and hence the medicine be taken;but Upamanyu said that who would rather continue to be blind but would never take the medicine without the Guru’s permission. Aswini Kumars were so pleased that Upamanyu imbibed the full knowledge of Vedas and Sastras at once, besides reviving his eye sight.]

Sri Krishna learnt from the Sage Upamanyu the Holy ‘Pasupati Mantra’, shaved his head and performed Tapasya to Lord Pasupatinath by subsisting on fruits in the first month, water in the second and third months and on air only standing on one leg later. In the sixth month, Lord Shiva appeared before Him seated on ‘Nandi’ the bull along with Devi Girija, when Maha Vishnu, Brahma, Indra and many Devas also accompanied. Sri Krishna prostrated before Maha Deva and Maha Devi and secured boons of getting sixteen thousand more wives, each getting ten sons all of whom very virtuous and valiant. Maha Devi too spoke that after living for hundred years, Krishna and Balarama would leave the mortal bodies and return to their own abodes; also, following a curse of Sages, their dynasty of Yadavas, Vishnis and Andhakas would be destroyed. Further, after Krishna’s ‘Niryana’ or demise, His wives would be plundered by robbers of their valuable jewellery as cursed by Sage Ashtavakra  and great misfortune would  befall on Yadu Vamsa. Thus prophesied Maha Devi and these future events were precisely as per one’s own ‘Karma’. Having seen the vision of Holy Appearences, Sri Krishna bowed out of immense adoration, showed reespect  to His spiritual Guru Sage Upamanyu and returned to Dvaraka happy with the boons, still awestruck with the memorable experience that He had!