The Boons for Suratha and Samadhi

In the thirteenth and final adhyay, the sage Medha completes the story: 'O king, this is the great glory of the Devi. By her maya, you, this merchant and even other wise people fall into attachment. Take refuge in that supreme goddess. When worshipped, she grants the joys of this world, heaven and liberation.'

Hearing the sage, King Suratha and Samadhi bowed to him and went to a riverbank to pray and practise austerity. There they made a clay image of the Devi and worshipped it with flowers, incense, lamps and water. Sometimes they fasted, sometimes they ate a little, and they kept their minds fixed on the Devi.

After three years of such tapasya, Chandika, the Mother of the world, was pleased and appeared before them. She said, 'Ask for whatever you both wish.' The king asked for his kingdom back in this life, one that enemies could not take, and in his next life a kingdom that would never perish.

The Devi said, 'In a few days you will defeat your enemies and regain your kingdom. And in your next birth you will be born as the son of Surya and be known as Savarni Manu.' Samadhi's heart had turned away from the world. He asked for the wisdom that ends the attachment of 'I' and 'mine'.

The Devi told Samadhi, 'You will receive the wisdom that sets you free.' Saying this, the Devi vanished. So the Durga Saptashati comes to a close: one devotee received the boon to rule rightly in the world, the other the wisdom to rise above it. The Devi is mother to both kinds of devotees.