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14. THE CONCEPT OF AVATARS
Visnu of wonderful prowess, then cut off quickly with His Sudarsan disc the two very big heads over His thighs. Thus the two Dânavas Madhu Kaitabha passed away; and the marrow (meda) of them filled the ocean. O Munis! For this reason, this earth is named Medini and the earth is unfit for eatable purpose.
Thus I have described to you all that you asked. The sum and substance is this that the wise persons should serve Mahâmâyâ with all thei hearts. The Supreme S'akti is worshipped by all the Devas. Verily verily, I say unto you that this is decided, in all the Vedas and other S'astras that there is nothing higher than this Adya S'akti. Therefore this Supreme S'akti should be worshipped anyhow; either in Her Saguna form or in Her Nirguna state.
Thus ends the ninth Chapter of the first Skandha on the killing of Madhu Kaitabha in the Mahapurana S'rimad Devi Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyâs
According to this story Mula-Prakriit (Original Nature), Adi-Sakti(Primal Energy) belongs to Devi (goddess) and not to Vishnu
Madhu means nectar in Sanskrit . Madhu kaita means belonging to honey bees. It can be the qualities or nature of honey bees. One of the meanings of "bha" is "having a similarity to". "Madhu Kaitabha" means "having a semblance to the nature of honey bees". The Asuras Madhu and Kaithabha implies something sweet as honey. It was these sweet honey that destroyed the Vedas and made sacrifices come to a stop.
According to the Maha-bharata and the Puranas, Mahu and Kaitabah sprang from the ear of Vishnu while he was asleep at the end of a kalpa, and were about to kill Brahma, who was lying on the lotus springing from Vishnu's navel. Vishnu killed them, and hence he obtained the names of Kaitabha-jit and Madhu-sudana. The Markandeya Purana attributes the death of Kaitabha to Uma, and she bears the title of Kaitabha. The Hari-vansa states that the earth received its name of Medini from the fat (medas) of these demons). In one passage it says that their bodies, being thrown into the sea, produced an immense quantity of fat, which Narayana used in forming the earth. In another place it says that the medas quite covered the earth, and so gave it the name of Medini. The Fat of the earth comes from these two Asuras. Without that the earth would have no medus - youthhood.
The myth therefore describes the basic fat on which the earth is created now is the fat from Madhu
Kaita.
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