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Mantra · Brahma's hymn wakes Vishnu to behead Madhu and Kaitabha on his thigh

Durga Saptashati Chapter 1

सावर्णिः सूर्यतनयो यो मनुः कथ्यतेऽष्टमः । निशामय तदुत्पत्तिं विस्तराद् गदतो मम ॥

In Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English — with the meaning of every word, and the one syllable most people pronounce wrongly.

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What the Durga Saptashati Chapter 1 is

Durga Saptashati Chapter 1, called Madhu-Kaitabha Vadha in its closing colophon, the slaying of Madhu and Kaitabha, makes up the whole of the first episode of the Devi Mahatmya and is the only chapter given to Mahakali, whose meditation verse is printed before it. Verses 2 to 62 carry the frame told on the main Durga Saptashati page, ending as the sage Medhas names Mahamaya the yoga-sleep of Vishnu (verses 54 to 58) and the king asks who she is and how she came to be (verses 60 to 62). In verses 64 to 71 Medhas answers that she is eternal, yet is said to be born each time she acts for the gods, and opens the scene on the ocean that covers everything at the end of an age. Verses 73 to 87 are Brahma's hymn to Yoganidra, the one hymn in the chapter, which the standard printed edition gives a second time among the preliminary readings as the Ratri Sukta. Verses 89 to 103 tell of Vishnu's waking, the long fight, the bargain over a boon and the two deaths. Verse 104 has Medhas promise to say more of her power, the bridge into chapter 2.

Two demons, a sleeping Vishnu, Brahma's hymn

Medhas sets the episode at the close of an age, when the worlds have sunk into a single ocean and Vishnu lies on the serpent Shesha in yoga-sleep. Out of the wax in his ears grow two demons, Madhu and Kaitabha, and they turn on Brahma, who sits in the lotus rising from Vishnu's navel. Seeing the two and seeing that Vishnu does not stir, Brahma directs his praise not to Vishnu but to the sleep that holds him, the Goddess Yoganidra, who has made her home in Vishnu's eyes (verse 70). In verses 73 to 87 he names her as the ritual calls Svaha, Svadha and Vashat, as the half-syllable that cannot be spoken, as the night of time, and as the power within everything that exists, then asks her to confuse the demons and rouse the sleeper. The text says she comes out of Vishnu's eyes, mouth, nostrils, arms, heart and chest and stands where Brahma can see her. Vishnu rises and wrestles the pair with his bare arms for five thousand years. Clouded by Mahamaya, the demons offer him a boon, and he asks for their deaths. Outwitted, they look round at a world made of water and ask to be killed only where the earth is not flooded. Vishnu agrees, lays their heads on his thigh and severs them with his discus.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiसावर्णिः सूर्यतनयो यो मनुः कथ्यतेऽष्टमः । निशामय तदुत्पत्तिं विस्तराद् गदतो मम ॥

Tamilஸாவர்ணிஃ ஸூர்யதநயோ யோ மநுஃ கத்யதேஷ்டமஃ । நிஶாமய ததுத்பத்திம் விஸ்தராத் கததோ மம ॥

Teluguసావర్ణిః సూర్యతనయో యో మనుః కథ్యతేఽష్టమః । నిశామయ తదుత్పత్తిం విస్తరాద్ గదతో మమ ॥

Kannadaಸಾವರ್ಣಿಃ ಸೂರ್ಯತನಯೋ ಯೋ ಮನುಃ ಕಥ್ಯತೇಽಷ್ಟಮಃ । ನಿಶಾಮಯ ತದುತ್ಪತ್ತಿಂ ವಿಸ್ತರಾದ್ ಗದತೋ ಮಮ ॥

Malayalamസാവര്ണിഃ സൂര്യതനയോ യോ മനുഃ കഥ്യതേഽഷ്ടമഃ । നിശാമയ തദുത്പത്തിം വിസ്തരാദ് ഗദതോ മമ ॥

EnglishRoman transliterationsāvarṇiḥ sūryatanayo yo manuḥ kathyate'ṣṭamaḥ | niśāmaya tadutpattiṃ vistarād gadato mama ||

“Markandeya said: Savarni, son of the Sun, is called the eighth Manu. Listen as I tell you in detail how he came to be.”

सावर्णिः: sāvarṇiḥ — Savarni
सूर्यतनयो: sūryatanayo — son of the Sun
यो: yo — who
मनुः: manuḥ — Manu
कथ्यतेऽष्टमः: kathyate'ṣṭamaḥ — is called the eighth
निशामय: niśāmaya — hear
तदुत्पत्तिं: tadutpattiṃ — his origin
विस्तराद्: vistarād — in detail
गदतो: gadato — as (I) tell it
मम: mama — of me

Durga Saptashati Chapter 1 lyrics in full

The Mahakali meditation verse and all 104 numbered lines of the chapter in the standard numbering; the speaker of each passage is named above it.

All 104 numbered lines, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Durga Saptashati Chapter 1 PDFAll 104 numbered lines with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

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Dhyanam 1

खड्गं चक्रगदेषुचापपरिघाञ्छूलं भुशुण्डीं शिरः शङ्खं संदधतीं करैस्त्रिनयनां सर्वाङ्गभूषावृताम् ।
नीलाश्मद्युतिमास्यपाददशकां सेवे महाकालिकां यामस्तौत्स्वपिते हरौ कमलजो हन्तुं मधुं कैटभम् ॥

I worship Mahakali, who holds in her hands the sword, discus, mace, arrows, bow, iron club, trident, sling, a severed head and a conch; she has three eyes, is adorned on every limb, shines like a blue gem, and has ten faces and ten feet. She is the one whom the lotus-born Brahma praised, while Vishnu slept, so that Madhu and Kaitabha might be slain.

Opening

ॐ नमश्चण्डिकायै ॥

Om, salutation to Chandika.

Verse 2

मार्कण्डेय उवाच
सावर्णिः सूर्यतनयो यो मनुः कथ्यतेऽष्टमः । निशामय तदुत्पत्तिं विस्तराद् गदतो मम ॥

Markandeya said: Savarni, son of the Sun, is called the eighth Manu. Listen as I tell you in detail how he came to be.

Verse 3

महामायानुभावेन यथा मन्वन्तराधिपः ।
स बभूव महाभागः सावर्णिस्तनयो रवेः ॥

Hear how the fortunate Savarni, son of the Sun, became the lord of a Manu-age through the power of Mahamaya.

Verse 4

स्वारोचिषेऽन्तरे पूर्वं चैत्रवंशसमुद्भवः ।
सुरथो नाम राजाभूत्समस्ते क्षितिमण्डले ॥

Long ago, in the age of the Manu Svarochisha, there was a king named Suratha, born in the line of Chaitra, who ruled the whole circle of the earth.

Verse 5

तस्य पालयतः सम्यक् प्रजाः पुत्रानिवौरसान् ।
बभूवुः शत्रवो भूपाः कोलाविध्वंसिनस्तदा ॥

While he protected his subjects well, as if they were his own sons, certain kings called the Kolavidhvamsins became his enemies.

Verse 6

तस्य तैरभवद् युद्धमतिप्रबलदण्डिनः ।
न्यूनैरपि स तैर्युद्धे कोलाविध्वंसिभिर्जितः ॥

He, whose rule was very strong, went to war with them; and though they were fewer, the Kolavidhvamsins defeated him in battle.

Verse 7

ततः स्वपुरमायातो निजदेशाधिपोऽभवत् ।
आक्रान्तः स महाभागस्तैस्तदा प्रबलारिभिः ॥

He then returned to his own city and ruled only his own land; but even there those powerful enemies attacked the noble king.

Verse 8

अमात्यैर्बलिभिर्दुष्टैर्दुर्बलस्य दुरात्मभिः ।
कोशो बलं चापहृतं तत्रापि स्वपुरे ततः ॥

Since he had become weak, his own powerful, wicked and evil-minded ministers seized his treasury and his army there in his own city.

Verse 9

ततो मृगयाव्याजेन हृतस्वाम्यः स भूपतिः ।
एकाकी हयमारुह्य जगाम गहनं वनम् ॥

Robbed of his sovereignty, the king mounted a horse alone on the pretext of hunting and went into a dense forest.

Verse 10

स तत्राश्रममद्राक्षीद् द्विजवर्यस्य मेधसः ।
प्रशान्तश्वापदाकीर्णं मुनिशिष्योपशोभितम् ॥

There he saw the hermitage of Medhas, best of the twice-born, filled with wild beasts grown peaceful and graced by the sage's disciples.

Verse 11

तस्थौ कंचित्स कालं च मुनिना तेन सत्कृतः ।
इतश्चेतश्च विचरंस्तस्मिन्मुनिवराश्रमे ॥

Welcomed with honour by the sage, he stayed there for some time, wandering here and there in the hermitage of that great sage.

Verse 12

सोऽचिन्तयत्तदा तत्र ममत्वाकृष्टचेतनः ।
मत्पूर्वैः पालितं पूर्वं मया हीनं पुरं हि तत् ॥

There, his mind drawn by attachment, he thought: That city, once ruled by my forefathers, is now lost to me.

Verse 13

मद्भृत्यैस्तैरसद्वृत्तैर्धर्मतः पाल्यते न वा ।
न जाने स प्रधानो मे शूरहस्ती सदामदः ॥

I do not know whether my ill-behaved servants rule it rightly or not. And my chief elephant, brave and always in rut,

Verse 14

मम वैरिवशं यातः कान् भोगानुपलप्स्यते ।
ये ममानुगता नित्यं प्रसादधनभोजनैः ॥

now fallen into my enemies' hands, what treatment will he receive? Those who always followed me for my favour, wealth and food

Verse 15

अनुवृत्तिं ध्रुवं तेऽद्य कुर्वन्त्यन्यमहीभृताम् ।
असम्यग्व्ययशीलैस्तैः कुर्वद्भिः सततं व्ययम् ॥

surely now serve other kings. And by those wasteful men who spend without care, constantly spending,

Verse 16

संचितः सोऽतिदुःखेन क्षयं कोशो गमिष्यति ।
एतच्चान्यच्च सततं चिन्तयामास पार्थिवः ॥

the treasury I gathered with great hardship will be emptied. The king kept thinking of these and other such things.

Verse 17

तत्र विप्राश्रमाभ्याशे वैश्यमेकं ददर्श सः ।
स पृष्टस्तेन कस्त्वं भो हेतुश्चागमनेऽत्र कः ॥

Near the sage's hermitage he saw a merchant and asked him: Who are you, friend, and why have you come here?

Verse 18

सशोक इव कस्मात्त्वं दुर्मना इव लक्ष्यसे ।
इत्याकर्ण्य वचस्तस्य भूपतेः प्रणयोदितम् ॥

Why do you look so sorrowful and downcast? Hearing these kindly spoken words of the king,

Verse 19

प्रत्युवाच स तं वैश्यः प्रश्रयावनतो नृपम् ॥

the merchant bowed humbly and replied to the king.

Verse 21

वैश्य उवाच
समाधिर्नाम वैश्योऽहमुत्पन्नो धनिनां कुले ॥

The merchant said: I am a merchant named Samadhi, born in a wealthy family.

Verse 22

पुत्रदारैर्निरस्तश्च धनलोभादसाधुभिः ।
विहीनश्च धनैर्दारैः पुत्रैरादाय मे धनम् ॥

My wicked sons and wife, greedy for wealth, have driven me out. Deprived of wealth, wife and sons, who took my money,

Verse 23

वनमभ्यागतो दुःखी निरस्तश्चाप्तबन्धुभिः ।
सोऽहं न वेद्मि पुत्राणां कुशलाकुशलात्मिकाम् ॥

and cast off by my trusted kinsmen, I have come to the forest in grief. Living here, I do not know whether my sons

Verse 24

प्रवृत्तिं स्वजनानां च दाराणां चात्र संस्थितः ।
किं नु तेषां गृहे क्षेममक्षेमं किं नु साम्प्रतम् ॥

my relatives and my wife are well or unwell. Is all well with them at home now, or not?

Verse 25

कथं ते किं नु सद्वृत्ता दुर्वृत्ताः किं नु मे सुताः ॥

How are my sons? Are they behaving well, or have they turned to bad ways?

Verse 27

राजोवाच
यैर्निरस्तो भवाँल्लुब्धैः पुत्रदारादिभिर्धनैः ॥

The king said: Those greedy sons, wife and others who drove you out for the sake of wealth,

Verse 28

तेषु किं भवतः स्नेहमनुबध्नाति मानसम् ॥

why does your mind still bind itself in affection to them?

Verse 30

वैश्य उवाच
एवमेतद्यथा प्राह भवानस्मद्गतं वचः ॥

The merchant said: What you have said about me is just so.

Verse 31

किं करोमि न बध्नाति मम निष्ठुरतां मनः ।
यैः संत्यज्य पितृस्नेहं धनलुब्धैर्निराकृतः ॥

What can I do? My mind will not turn hard. Those who, greedy for wealth, gave up love for a father and drove me away,

Verse 32

पतिस्वजनहार्दं च हार्दि तेष्वेव मे मनः ।
किमेतन्नाभिजानामि जानन्नपि महामते ॥

and abandoned love for husband and kin, toward them my heart is still loving. O wise one, though I know it, I cannot understand why this is,

Verse 33

यत्प्रेमप्रवणं चित्तं विगुणेष्वपि बन्धुषु ।
तेषां कृते मे निःश्वासो दौर्मनस्यं च जायते ॥

that my mind leans in love toward kinsmen who lack all virtue. For their sake I sigh and feel dejected.

Verse 34

करोमि किं यन्न मनस्तेष्वप्रीतिषु निष्ठुरम् ॥

What can I do, when my mind will not become hard toward those who have no love for me?

Verse 36

मार्कण्डेय उवाच
ततस्तौ सहितौ विप्र तं मुनिं समुपस्थितौ ॥

Markandeya said: Then, O Brahmin, the two of them together approached that sage.

Verse 37

समाधिर्नाम वैश्योऽसौ स च पार्थिवसत्तमः ।
कृत्वा तु तौ यथान्यायं यथार्हं तेन संविदम् ॥

The merchant Samadhi and that best of kings greeted the sage with due and fitting courtesy,

Verse 38

उपविष्टौ कथाः काश्चिच्चक्रतुर्वैश्यपार्थिवौ ॥

sat down, and the merchant and the king began to speak with him.

Verse 40

राजोवाच
भगवंस्त्वामहं प्रष्टुमिच्छाम्येकं वदस्व तत् ॥

The king said: Revered one, I wish to ask you one thing; please tell me.

Verse 41

दुःखाय यन्मे मनसः स्वचित्तायत्ततां विना ।
ममत्वं गतराज्यस्य राज्याङ्गेष्वखिलेष्वपि ॥

Because my mind is not under my control, it causes me pain: though my kingdom is gone, I still feel attachment to the kingdom and all its parts.

Verse 42

जानतोऽपि यथाज्ञस्य किमेतन्मुनिसत्तम ।
अयं च निकृतः पुत्रैर्दारैर्भृत्यैस्तथोज्झितः ॥

I know it is no longer mine, yet I grieve like one who does not know; what is this, best of sages? And this man was wronged by his sons and wife and abandoned by his servants,

Verse 43

स्वजनेन च संत्यक्तस्तेषु हार्दी तथाप्यति ।
एवमेष तथाहं च द्वावप्यत्यन्तदुःखितौ ॥

and cast off by his own people, yet he still loves them dearly. So he and I are both deeply unhappy.

Verse 44

दृष्टदोषेऽपि विषये ममत्वाकृष्टमानसौ ।
तत्किमेतन्महाभाग यन्मोहो ज्ञानिनोरपि ॥

Our minds are drawn by attachment to things whose faults we have plainly seen. Great one, why is it that we both have this delusion although we know better?

Verse 45

ममास्य च भवत्येषा विवेकान्धस्य मूढता ॥

This folly comes upon him and me as if we were blind to discernment.

Verse 47

ऋषिरुवाच
ज्ञानमस्ति समस्तस्य जन्तोर्विषयगोचरे ॥

The sage said: Every living creature has knowledge of the objects its senses reach.

Verse 48

विषयश्च महाभाग याति चैवं पृथक् पृथक् ।
दिवान्धाः प्राणिनः केचिद्रात्रावन्धास्तथापरे ॥

And, fortunate one, the objects of sense are perceived differently by each: some creatures are blind by day, and others blind by night.

Verse 49

केचिद्दिवा तथा रात्रौ प्राणिनस्तुल्यदृष्टयः ।
ज्ञानिनो मनुजाः सत्यं किं तु ते न हि केवलम् ॥

Some creatures see equally by day and by night. It is true that human beings have knowledge, but they are not the only ones,

Verse 50

यतो हि ज्ञानिनः सर्वे पशुपक्षिमृगादयः ।
ज्ञानं च तन्मनुष्याणां यत्तेषां मृगपक्षिणाम् ॥

for cattle, birds, wild animals and all others have knowledge too. The knowledge humans have is what beasts and birds also have,

Verse 51

मनुष्याणां च यत्तेषां तुल्यमन्यत्तथोभयोः ।
ज्ञानेऽपि सति पश्यैतान् पतङ्गाञ्छावचञ्चुषु ॥

and what they have, humans have; in other things too the two are alike. Look at these birds: though they have understanding,

Verse 52

कणमोक्षादृतान्मोहात्पीड्यमानानपि क्षुधा ।
मानुषा मनुजव्याघ्र साभिलाषाः सुतान् प्रति ॥

out of delusion they drop grain into the beaks of their young even while they themselves suffer hunger. O tiger among men, humans long for sons

Verse 53

लोभात्प्रत्युपकाराय नन्वेतान् किं न पश्यसि ।
तथापि ममतावर्ते मोहगर्ते निपातिताः ॥

out of desire for a return of their help; do you not see this? Even so, they are thrown into the whirlpool of attachment and the pit of delusion

Verse 54

महामायाप्रभावेण संसारस्थितिकारिणा ।
तन्नात्र विस्मयः कार्यो योगनिद्रा जगत्पतेः ॥

by the power of Mahamaya, who keeps the round of worldly existence going. So do not wonder at this: she is the yoga-sleep of Vishnu, lord of the world,

Verse 55

महामाया हरेश्चैषा तया संमोह्यते जगत् ।
ज्ञानिनामपि चेतांसि देवी भगवती हि सा ॥

she is Hari's Mahamaya, and by her the world is deluded. That divine Goddess, the Bhagavati, seizes even the minds of the wise

Verse 56

बलादाकृष्य मोहाय महामाया प्रयच्छति ।
तया विसृज्यते विश्वं जगदेतच्चराचरम् ॥

by force and hands them over to delusion. By her this whole universe, moving and unmoving, is brought forth.

Verse 57

सैषा प्रसन्ना वरदा नृणां भवति मुक्तये ।
सा विद्या परमा मुक्तेर्हेतुभूता सनातनी ॥

When she is pleased, she grants boons to people for their liberation. She is the supreme knowledge, the eternal cause of liberation,

Verse 58

संसारबन्धहेतुश्च सैव सर्वेश्वरेश्वरी ॥

and she alone is also the cause of bondage to worldly life; she is the sovereign over all sovereigns.

Verse 60

राजोवाच
भगवन् का हि सा देवी महामायेति यां भवान् ॥

The king said: Revered one, who is that Goddess whom you call Mahamaya?

Verse 61

ब्रवीति कथमुत्पन्ना सा कर्मास्याश्च किं द्विज ।
यत्प्रभावा च सा देवी यत्स्वरूपा यदुद्भवा ॥

O Brahmin, how did she arise, and what are her deeds? Whatever her power, her nature and her origin,

Verse 62

तत्सर्वं श्रोतुमिच्छामि त्वत्तो ब्रह्मविदां वर ॥

I wish to hear all of it from you, best of those who know Brahman.

Verse 64

ऋषिरुवाच
नित्यैव सा जगन्मूर्तिस्तया सर्वमिदं ततम् ॥

The sage said: She is eternal; the world is her form, and by her all this is pervaded.

Verse 65

तथापि तत्समुत्पत्तिर्बहुधा श्रूयतां मम ।
देवानां कार्यसिद्ध्यर्थमाविर्भवति सा यदा ॥

Even so, her manifestation happens in many ways; hear of it from me. Whenever she appears to accomplish the purpose of the gods,

Verse 66

उत्पन्नेति तदा लोके सा नित्याप्यभिधीयते ।
योगनिद्रां यदा विष्णुर्जगत्येकार्णवीकृते ॥

then, though eternal, she is said in the world to have been born. When, at the end of an age, the world had become one ocean and Lord Vishnu

Verse 67

आस्तीर्य शेषमभजत्कल्पान्ते भगवान् प्रभुः ।
तदा द्वावसुरौ घोरौ विख्यातौ मधुकैटभौ ॥

spread out the serpent Shesha as his bed and entered yoga-sleep, two terrible demons, the well-known Madhu and Kaitabha,

Verse 68

विष्णुकर्णमलोद्भूतौ हन्तुं ब्रह्माणमुद्यतौ ।
स नाभिकमले विष्णोः स्थितो ब्रह्मा प्रजापतिः ॥

born from the wax of Vishnu's ears, set out to kill Brahma. Brahma, the lord of creatures, seated in the lotus of Vishnu's navel,

Verse 69

दृष्ट्वा तावसुरौ चोग्रौ प्रसुप्तं च जनार्दनम् ।
तुष्टाव योगनिद्रां तामेकाग्रहृदयस्थितः ॥

saw those two fierce demons and saw Janardana fast asleep. With a one-pointed heart he praised Yoganidra,

Verse 70

विबोधनार्थाय हरेर्हरिनेत्रकृतालयाम् ।
विश्वेश्वरीं जगद्धात्रीं स्थितिसंहारकारिणीम् ॥

to wake Hari: she who had made her home in Hari's eyes, the queen of the universe, the upholder of the world, the cause of its preservation and dissolution,

Verse 71

निद्रां भगवतीं विष्णोरतुलां तेजसः प्रभुः ॥

the incomparable divine Sleep of Vishnu; so did Brahma, the lord of splendour, praise her.

Verse 73

ब्रह्मोवाच
त्वं स्वाहा त्वं स्वधा त्वं हि वषट्कारः स्वरात्मिका ॥

Brahma said: You are Svaha, you are Svadha, you are the sacrificial call Vashat; you are the very essence of sound.

Verse 74

सुधा त्वमक्षरे नित्ये त्रिधामात्रात्मिका स्थिता ।
अर्धमात्रास्थिता नित्या यानुच्चार्या विशेषतः ॥

You are the nectar. O imperishable, eternal one, you abide as the three measures of the sacred syllable, and you are also the eternal half-measure that cannot be specially uttered.

Verse 75

त्वमेव संध्या सावित्री त्वं देवि जननी परा ।
त्वयैतद्धार्यते विश्वं त्वयैतत्सृज्यते जगत् ॥

You are Sandhya and Savitri; O Goddess, you are the supreme mother. By you this universe is upheld, by you this world is created,

Verse 76

त्वयैतत्पाल्यते देवि त्वमत्स्यन्ते च सर्वदा ।
विसृष्टौ सृष्टिरूपा त्वं स्थितिरूपा च पालने ॥

by you it is protected, O Goddess, and you always consume it at the end. At creation you take the form of creation, in its keeping the form of preservation,

Verse 77

तथा संहृतिरूपान्ते जगतोऽस्य जगन्मये ।
महाविद्या महामाया महामेधा महास्मृतिः ॥

and at the end of this world the form of dissolution, O you who are the world itself. You are the great knowledge, the great illusion, the great intellect, the great memory,

Verse 78

महामोहा च भवती महादेवी महासुरी ।
प्रकृतिस्त्वं च सर्वस्य गुणत्रयविभाविनी ॥

the great delusion, the great Goddess and the great Asuri. You are the primal nature of all, bringing forth the three qualities.

Verse 79

कालरात्रिर्महारात्रिर्मोहरात्रिश्च दारुणा ।
त्वं श्रीस्त्वमीश्वरी त्वं ह्रीस्त्वं बुद्धिर्बोधलक्षणा ॥

You are the dreadful Night of Time, the Great Night and the Night of Delusion. You are Shri, you are the Ruler, you are modesty, and you are intelligence marked by understanding.

Verse 80

लज्जा पुष्टिस्तथा तुष्टिस्त्वं शान्तिः क्षान्तिरेव च ।
खड्गिनी शूलिनी घोरा गदिनी चक्रिणी तथा ॥

You are bashfulness, nourishment and contentment, peace and forbearance. You are fearsome, bearing the sword, the trident, the mace and the discus,

Verse 81

शङ्खिनी चापिनी बाणभुशुण्डीपरिघायुधा ।
सौम्या सौम्यतराशेषसौम्येभ्यस्त्वतिसुन्दरी ॥

the conch and the bow, with arrows, slings and iron clubs as your weapons. You are gentle, more gentle still, and more beautiful than all gentle things.

Verse 82

परापराणां परमा त्वमेव परमेश्वरी ।
यच्च किंचित्क्वचिद्वस्तु सदसद्वाखिलात्मिके ॥

You are beyond both the higher and the lower; you alone are the supreme Goddess. O soul of all, whatever thing exists anywhere, real or unreal,

Verse 83

तस्य सर्वस्य या शक्तिः सा त्वं किं स्तूयसे तदा ।
यया त्वया जगत्स्रष्टा जगत्पात्यत्ति यो जगत् ॥

the power of all of it is you; how then can you be praised? Even he who creates, protects and devours the world has, by you,

Verse 84

सोऽपि निद्रावशं नीतः कस्त्वां स्तोतुमिहेश्वरः ।
विष्णुः शरीरग्रहणमहमीशान एव च ॥

been brought under the sway of sleep; who here is able to praise you? Vishnu, I myself and Shiva too

Verse 85

कारितास्ते यतोऽतस्त्वां कः स्तोतुं शक्तिमान् भवेत् ।
सा त्वमित्थं प्रभावैः स्वैरुदारैर्देवि संस्तुता ॥

have been made by you to take bodily form, so who could have the power to praise you? O Goddess, praised thus for your own exalted powers,

Verse 86

मोहयैतौ दुराधर्षावसुरौ मधुकैटभौ ।
प्रबोधं च जगत्स्वामी नीयतामच्युतो लघु ॥

bewilder these two unassailable demons, Madhu and Kaitabha, and let Achyuta, the lord of the world, be woken quickly,

Verse 87

बोधश्च क्रियतामस्य हन्तुमेतौ महासुरौ ॥

and let the resolve be raised in him to slay these two great demons.

Verse 89

ऋषिरुवाच
एवं स्तुता तदा देवी तामसी तत्र वेधसा ॥

The sage said: Praised thus by Brahma, the Goddess of tamas (the dark power of sleep)

Verse 90

विष्णोः प्रबोधनार्थाय निहन्तुं मधुकैटभौ ।
नेत्रास्यनासिकाबाहुहृदयेभ्यस्तथोरसः ॥

came forth, so that Vishnu would wake and slay Madhu and Kaitabha, from his eyes, mouth, nostrils, arms, heart and chest,

Verse 91

निर्गम्य दर्शने तस्थौ ब्रह्मणोऽव्यक्तजन्मनः ।
उत्तस्थौ च जगन्नाथस्तया मुक्तो जनार्दनः ॥

and stood in the sight of Brahma, whose birth is beyond understanding. Released by her, Janardana, lord of the world, rose up

Verse 92

एकार्णवेऽहिशयनात्ततः स ददृशे च तौ ।
मधुकैटभौ दुरात्मानावतिवीर्यपराक्रमौ ॥

from his serpent bed on the single ocean, and saw the two wicked ones, Madhu and Kaitabha, of great strength and valour,

Verse 93

क्रोधरक्तेक्षणावत्तुं ब्रह्माणं जनितोद्यमौ ।
समुत्थाय ततस्ताभ्यां युयुधे भगवान् हरिः ॥

their eyes red with anger, ready to devour Brahma. Then Lord Hari rose and fought with them.

Verse 94

पञ्चवर्षसहस्राणि बाहुप्रहरणो विभुः ।
तावप्यतिबलोन्मत्तौ महामायाविमोहितौ ॥

The mighty Lord fought them with his bare arms for five thousand years. They, drunk with their great strength and bewildered by Mahamaya,

Verse 95

उक्तवन्तौ वरोऽस्मत्तो व्रियतामिति केशवम् ॥

said to Keshava: Choose a boon from us.

Verse 97

श्रीभगवानुवाच
भवेतामद्य मे तुष्टौ मम वध्यावुभावपि ॥

The Lord said: If you are pleased with me, then both of you should now be slain by me.

Verse 98

किमन्येन वरेणात्र एतावद्धि वृतं मम ॥

What need is there of any other boon? This alone is what I choose.

Verse 100

ऋषिरुवाच
वञ्चिताभ्यामिति तदा सर्वमापोमयं जगत् ॥

The sage said: Thus outwitted, the two looked and saw that the whole world was covered with water,

Verse 101

विलोक्य ताभ्यां गदितो भगवान् कमलेक्षणः ।
आवां जहि न यत्रोर्वी सलिलेन परिप्लुता ॥

and they said to the lotus-eyed Lord: Slay us where the earth is not flooded with water.

Verse 103

ऋषिरुवाच
तथेत्युक्त्वा भगवता शङ्खचक्रगदाभृता । कृत्वा चक्रेण वै च्छिन्ने जघने शिरसी तयोः ॥

The sage said: Saying So be it, the Lord who bears the conch, discus and mace placed their heads on his thigh and cut them off with his discus.

Verse 104

एवमेषा समुत्पन्ना ब्रह्मणा संस्तुता स्वयम् ।
प्रभावमस्या देव्यास्तु भूयः शृणु वदामि ते ॥

In this way she herself appeared when praised by Brahma. Now hear further as I tell you of this Goddess's power.

The syllable people get wrong

In verse 73, vaṣaṭkāraḥ (वषट्कारः) carries two retroflex sounds: ṣ is a 'sh' made with the tongue curled back, and ṭ is a hard t from the same position. Say va-shaṭ-kaa-rah, not 'va-sat-kar'.

When the Durga Saptashati Chapter 1 is chanted

Weekday. Friday

Festival. Navaratri, as the first day's reading

Questions

The meditation verse printed before the chapter gives her form: ten faces and ten feet, three eyes, the dark blue of a sapphire, and ten hands holding sword, discus, mace, arrows, bow, iron club, trident, sling, a severed head and a conch. The chapter itself never uses the name Mahakali; it calls her Yoganidra, Mahamaya and, in verse 89, the Goddess of tamas. The Vaikritika Rahasya, read after the thirteen chapters, joins the two: Mahakali, in whom tamas rules, is Hari's yoga-sleep.

It is the opening of verse 73: 'You are Svaha, you are Svadha, you are Vashat.' Svaha is the word said as an offering is poured into the fire for the gods, Svadha the word used in offerings to the ancestors, and Vashat the cry that closes a Vedic offering. Brahma begins by naming the Goddess as the very utterances that make ritual work. Verse 74 goes further, calling her the three measures of the sacred syllable and the half-measure beyond them that cannot be pronounced.

Having offered Vishnu a boon and heard him choose their deaths, the demons look round in verse 100 and see that the whole world is water, the ocean of dissolution described in verse 66. They ask, in verse 101, to be slain only where the earth is not flooded, sure it cannot be done. In verse 103 Vishnu agrees and beheads them on his thigh, the one dry place there is. The Devi Bhagavata Purana tells it at more length, Vishnu enlarging his thighs as the demons enlarge their bodies.

The standard numbering counts every line that belongs to the 700, not only full stanzas. Chapter 1 has 66 full verses, 24 half-verses and 14 lines that only name the speaker: Markandeya twice, the merchant twice, the king three times, the sage five times, Brahma once and Vishnu once. Line 1 is 'om aim markandeya uvaca', so the first verse of text is numbered 2. Here each speaker line is printed above the passage it introduces, which is why the numbers skip at 20, 26, 29 and so on.

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Durga Saptashati Chapter 1

What the Durga Saptashati Chapter 1 is

Two demons, a sleeping Vishnu, Brahma's hymn

The mantra, in six scripts

Durga Saptashati Chapter 1 lyrics in full

The syllable people get wrong

When the Durga Saptashati Chapter 1 is chanted

Questions

Have your chart read before you decide

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