Devarṣi-gaṇa- saṃghāta -stūyamānātma-vaibhavā देवर्षि-गण-संघात-स्तूयमानात्म-वैभवा (64)
From this nāma, till nāma 84, Her slaying of demon Bhaṇḍāsura is described. Deva + rṣi + gaṇa. Deva means gods and goddesses, rṣi means sage and gaṇa means demigods. Agni purāṇa says that there are seven types of gaṇa-s. For example Rudra gaṇa-s mean the assistants or helpers to Śiva. There is a separate stanza (11) in Śrī Rudraṁ offering prayers to Rudra gaṇa-s. Rṣi-s mean great sages like Vasiṣṭha, Nārada, etc. Nārada is also called Deva rṣi. She is worshipped by gods, goddesses, sages, demigods and goddesses. Stūyamānātma means worshipping. Vaibhavā means all pervading. Only Brahman or Pramātman is all pervading. Deva-s and rṣi-s will not worship anybody below the grade of the Supreme Brahman. So this indirectly implies Her status of nirguṇa Brahman.
It is also said that sage Nārada (deva) approached Lalitai to slay demon Bhaṇḍāsura who was causing immense trouble to Deva-s and rṣi-s. The deeper meaning of this nāma is - demons here mean the ego arising out of ignorance. Lalitā is approached by them to absolve them of their ego, as She alone is capable of absolving them. Sins are committed because of ego.
Bhaṇḍāsura-vadhodyukta-śakti-senā-samanvitā भण्डासुर-वधोद्युक्त-शक्ति-सेना-समन्विता (65)
She is ready with Her army to wage a war against Bhaṇḍāsura. Her army consists of various goddesses mentioned in Śrī Cakra. There is a story associated with this nāma. Manmatha, the god of love was burnt by Śiva to ashes. Gaṇeśa, playfully collected the ashes of Manmatha and created a man. Brahma, the lord of creation on seeing Gaṇeśa’s act said bhaṇda bhaṇda meaning well done. That was how the demon was named as Bhaṇḍāsura. Since Manmatha was burnt by the fierce fire of the third eye of Śiva, Bhaṇḍāsura was said to be all powerful. He was an embodiment of evils.
Bhaṇda also means bondage. Śiva Sūtra (I.2) says jñānam bhandaḥ. The explanation given to bhandaḥ is limited knowledge. This means ignorance is the cause for bondage. Bondage refers to attachments, desires etc. Since lack of knowledge is the cause for duality, it is called bondage. If one has knowledge, he will say I am That (Brahman). Innate nature or unconditioned state of mind is called ānava mala. It refers to the limitation pertaining to empirical individual. It is the primal limiting condition which reduces universal consciousness to a jīva or individual soul. This state of mind is called innate because, the mind does not realise the Brahman and as a result gets bonded. Liberation is needed to get out of this bondage. This liberation is possible only with knowledge. There is another interpretation for such a situation in Śiva Sūtra (I.6) which says that by intense awareness, the various śakti-s (various acts of Śaktī) are united causing the disappearance of the universe (māyā or illusion and duality), leaving the Supreme Consciousness (the Brahman) to be realized. This process is nothing but Self-realization.
The secretive meaning of this nāma is – Lalitai is ready to give us liberation from the cycles of birth and death, provided we have inclination to know about Her. Bhaṇḍāsura is an embodiment of ignorance and resultant evil acts. She is ready to wage a war against ignorance and its associated acts. Śakti-senā means Her different acts, not just creation but sustenance and dissolution as well. Her different acts are symbolically represented by various goddesses represented in Śrī Cakra (nāma 996).
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