Hymn to Vana Durga

 

HYMN TO VANA-DURGA, PROTECTOR OF WILDNESS

During the Holy Days of Navratri that honors the Goddess Durga, I received a series of hymns to VanaDurga, the Durga of the deepest primal forest. She is a very powerful Goddess who uses all the weapons and powers of  the gods to defeat evil. In this case she is envisioned as the voice and strength of the Earth Mother, a Feral Goddess who protects all the endangered wilderness and wild animals. May she hear our cries.

 

O great Goddess of Beasts 

Lady of the holy mountains 

Mother of fang and claw, scales and wings and tusks

great primordial mother of the deepest darkest  jungles 

Of sacred Groves and Crevices 

You who lurks in the host ancient caverns and deep-sea caves

O Lady of infinite wildness in life, Hear us!

You who stalk and pounce, slash and bite

Abiding in the heart of every predator

You bring blood in the joy upon rough hewn altars

and the play and the dance and the song of every hunt.

You are the dignity and the intensity of the undomesticated 

you are greatest Mother of the uncivilized and wild

you who’s many arms of lightning power 

hold everything everything everything!

Everything sharp and pointed and ready to bite the evil ones

Every blessing and curse, every life and death whisper.

You are the greatest, O Most Ancient Primordial Goddess!

All things wild come from you, all prey is devoured by you 

you are the Primal Protector of cub and child 

You are  She Who Kills the vermin and invader 

You alone speak in the roar of the lion!

You you are the silence of the stalking tiger and the screech of the peacock 

you are The Indomitable One, the core of wilderness with eyes of fire! 

We hear you whispering within the darkest forest 

You are the terrifying place where no human is meant to tread

The holy hidden verdant shrine, impossible to reach

There you are, there you dwell, until you leap forth

You wear glittering vines of tropical flowers and, 

dripping with moisture and sweat and blood and sap 

Upon your altar of the ancient bones of every beast 

Mossy remains, caressed, loved, remembered 

Between between you bloody paws your wild children sleep, protected

from the smallest margay to the largest elephant for you are MA

At twilight feral ones gather there  in the gloaming 

To bow and sing you O Fur Mother of Wild and Hidden Wonders

Roaring and hissing hymns for protection

O MA, save all your wild children from the tyranny of man!

We your wild children of howled blessings, join the paeons and pleas! 

May your  jungles Leap fourth with claws of green and red!

To destroy the human interlopers!

O Durga Ma! Hear us , protect us, bless the wildness in us all!

One flaming with all the energy and power of all the gods!

Come riding your leaping lion from the the sacred mountains 

Roaring and howling and growling, waving a wall of demon-killing blades

Filled with the holy fires of feral intensity! 

Come and defend the green world, defend your children! 

Defend we beasts who love you, for we are your kin and your progeny!

Terrifying mother! Loving Mother! 

Save us from the demons of death machines and hate and greed 

Destroy them utterly! Devour them! Drive the mindless ones into the sea! 

You of mountains, forests and deep bloody oceans 

Defend us, the wild ones, the green ones with feet rooted in earth

Shield us from the insane devouring ones O Ma, for no one else can! 

Jai Durga Jai Durga Jai Durga Ma! Svaha!

 

Primal Lady, come erupt  from the depths of dark forest

Take what is yours!

You, sharp teeth of Great Earth Mother

Bloody tongue of Great Earth Mother 

Red claws, terrifying roar, blazing eyes of Shakti Ma!

Come O voice and lioness of Bhu Devi!

It is you who guard and push and kill when it is necessary 

Containing all the fire and power of the gods you kill the anti-gods! 

Now come forth! Now pounce upon the mindless destroyers! 

Those who rape and burn and tear and kill the Earth

Devour  those that slaughter the wild children who gather about you! 

For the wild beasts of the jungle are your the ganas, your feral spirits, 

You call and they emerge from trees and rocks, caves and rivers 

They drum and dance and howl growl ancient paens

To the slashing clashing of your weapons and terrifying laughter! 

O Shri Durga save us, save the wild ones! 

you instill in us all your pure ferocious spirit

of wardship and love and nurturing and red anger 

Come great Durga Ma! O greatest ancient power! Heed our rising cries! 

Come from the depths of every forest!

Come from every deep hidden place!

Come cascading from all the celestial lights!

Your weapons are shooting stars blazing across the sky! 

Your blinding image emerges from a great cloud of every color!

O hidden one ever revealed, 

By the keening cry of the wildness hidden within each of us. 

you you are the first and the last

From your burning love, all things are born and die with joy.

 

We invoke you by the pounding of our furious feet

By the clapping of our grieving hands, listen to out cry:

DUM DUM DUM O MA!

Prowl prowl!

Stop stop! 

Crush crush! 

Push aside push aside

the evil devouring, poisoning, hate!

There is no stopping you, no stopping you, no stopping you!

No way to stop you O greatest  Mother Mother Mother! 

Crush crush! 

Put the flight, put the flight!

Stab, cut, hound hound hound all the evil ones! 

All those who destroy Ma

All those who poison Ma 

All those who kill the the children of Ma!

Stab stab 

Crush crush 

Pound pound!

Put to flight, put to flight with your fearful roar the hateful despoilers!

Burn burn burn those burn the Forest and the mountains

Those demons who poison rivers and oceans 

Those who torture your wild children! 

Cut cut!

crush crush! 

pound pound!

The wildness killers, into the black earth!

Drive, drive them away from the wild places! 

Push, push them away from the secret places!

Expel expel them from the clean rivers, waterfalls and seas

Destroy them without mercy! Save your surviving wild children!

O mighty mighty goddess who wields all weapons, all power! 

Unleash your terrible gaze, your destroying smile, 

For you are the pure mother of all things, protector of forests

You are one who makes us or our children not die of sickness and poison 

You stand and fight and protect the helpless, the voiceless

The furred and clawed ones, the scaled and creeping ones, the flying ones

The monstrous beasts and all that is green and glowing, 

Protect and save with your vast green love 

all living things that are disappearing

Safeguard all with your million pointed arms 

Durda Ma, purify and change the hearts of men, 

Open their eyes and souls to feel wildness, to know and understand

O Mother, you are the force and fire of the universe-wake up!

Come forth from the dark heart of the primal!

We call you to save your wild crying dying children! 

Descend now with ferocious love O Durga Ma! Dum Dum Dum! Svaha!

On paw and claw and hoof we bow to you O Ma with utter devotion

Hear our cry!

Let it be done, done, DONE!

Svaha svaha SVAHA!

OM

  • The cry of the wild ones unto Durga, Navratri 2020- Hermeticusnath