The following is an excerpt from the book ‘The Holy Mother: Her Life and Conversations’ by Swami Tapasyananda. It’s a remarkable story told in Her own words about a time She was attacked while staying at Kamarpukur (the birthplace of Ramakrishna), and defending Herself in a way almost identical to the image of Goddess Bagalamukhi:
The most remarkable manifestation of her courage and presence of mind, however, took place during her Kamarpukur days, when she was attacked by a devotee of the Master (Ramakrishna), named Harish, who had turned insane. To describe the incident in her own words: “Harish was then staying at Kamarpukur for a few days. One day, when I was entering the house after visiting a neighbour, he began to chase me. He was then in a distracted state of mind. He had lost his senses on account of his wife. There was then no one else in the house. I did not know where to go and ran quickly behind the barn. He would not, however, leave me. I ran and ran round it seven times till I got exhausted. Then my true Self came out. I threw him to the ground, pressed my knee on his chest, drew out his tongue and slapped him hard on the cheeks until my fingers became red with slapping. He began to gasp for breath”. Thus her mild and motherly personality had unsuspected potentialities within it.
Swami Tapasyananda “Sri Sarada Devi – The Holy Mother: Her Life and Conversations”, Book I, Ch. 15, Glimpses of Her Personality, pp. 217-9.
