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110 JAYA OlEMBURKAR

neutralize the efforts of the opposite party.

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33.    The dcmons are said to have employed a magieal power called Sarpinl against the army of the Goddess Lalitfi⁵¹ She (Sarpinl) is said to have produced from her body a numbcr of serpenls,⁵² which inllicted the army of LalitS with their poison and troubled them.⁵³ In order to counteract the power of Sarpinl, NakulT DevT is said to have emerged from the palate of Lalila⁵⁴ (LaJitatalusambhava). NakulI opened her moulh from which an army of mungooses proceeded forth. This army of mungooses destroyed all the serpcnts⁵⁵ and eventually, the goddess Nakuli killed Sarpinr* with a Garudastra (a missile of thal namc). Nakuli also killed the leaders of the dcmons.⁵⁷ Goddess Lalita (SySmalambika) respccled Nakuli and impartcd to her, Her (LaliUfs) divine naturę.

34.    It will be secn here that the Lalitopakhyina has madę use of the well-known hostility bctween a mungoose and a serpent. A mungoose always ovcrpowers a serpent; here NakulT is dcscribcd as dcslroying the magieal power of the dcmons viz., the Sarpinl, and hcnce she (NakulT) has been lookcd upon as a goddess (NakulT Devl).⁵⁸

35.    It may be pointed out here that Sarpinl was a power of the demon and NakulT was a power on the side of the Goddess LalitH. But here NakulT has been dcscribcd as Dcvl or a goddess, but Sarpinl has been dcscribcd only as may3. The word Dcvl implics divine, bencvolent naturę of NakulT, whereas the word m3ya indieales evil, malicious, malevolenl naturę of Sarpinl. Here NakulT is said to overpower Sarpinl and not vice versa. Though bolh, Sarpinl and NakulT are powers, yel we sec that Nakuli overpowers and defcats Sarpinl. The reason is that here the struggle bctween the Goddess Lalita and the demon is the struggle bctween Vidy3 and AvidyS (knowledge

and ignorance or nescience) respectively which are only two aspects of the

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Goddess Sakli. VidyS always prevails over Avidyi and that is why NakulT is said to have oyerpowered Sarpinl. Sarpinl has been described as m3yS (illusion),⁵⁹ dustS sarpim,⁶⁰ durScarś (of wicked conduct) and bahum3y3pariprah3 (assuming manifold forms with magieal power)⁶¹ and SarpamayS, (illusive, magieal serpent power)⁶², whereas NakuB has been referred to as DcvT⁶³ who is of the form of speech (samastav3ńmay&k3r3J,⁶⁴ (may be bccause she originalcd from the palate of Lalitił), Nakuleśvari,⁶⁵ and YftnT,⁶⁶ the presiding dcity of speech (\^,3ńmayasyaik3n3yik3f¹ and Mah3sattva ⁶⁸ (high-spirited), possessed of extraordinary ąualities.⁶⁹ These descriplions of the two Saklis viz., Nakuli and Sarpinl eslablish that NakulT DevT conresponds to Vidy3 and Sarpini to AvidyS.

36.    The Flames and the Lustre of the Fire - Forms of Sakti : Two

goddesses viz., JvaIamalinikS and Vahniv5sinT are said to have disclosed the dcmons who had concealcd thcmselvcs in darkness, to the gods. These two