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Home › Mantras › Saptashloki Durga
Chandi (Durga) Saptashloki Durga: Shiva asking the Devi on Mount Kailash for a sure way for devotees as she answers, her lion at rest
Shiva asking the Devi on Kailash for a way for devotees, as she answers with her lion at rest
Mantra · Seven verses lifted from the Devi Mahatmya, given by the Devi to Shiva

Saptashloki Durga

देवि त्वं भक्तसुलभे सर्वकार्यविधायिनी । कलौ हि कार्यसिद्ध्यर्थमुपायं ब्रूहि यत्नतः ॥

Also known as Durga Saptashloki

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 Saptashloki Durga is

The Saptashloki Durga, also printed as the Durga Saptashloki, is a set of seven verses to the Goddess drawn out of the 700-verse Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya Purana. It has no named author: the verses are the Purana's own, and a short traditional frame introduces them. Shiva asks a question, the Devi answers, and a viniyoga names Narayana as the seer, Anushtup as the metre, and Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati as the deities. The sequence moves through the larger text. Verse 1 comes from chapter 1, where the sage Medhas describes Mahamaya clouding even the minds of the wise. Verse 2 is taken from the gods' praise in chapter 4 after Mahishasura falls. Verses 3 to 7 all come from the Narayani Stuti of chapter 11, the hymn the gods sing once Shumbha is slain, ending on their plea that she calm the afflictions of the three worlds.

Shiva asks for a remedy in Kali

The seven verses carry their own setting in the two lines printed before them. Shiva, addressing the Devi as one easily reached by devotees, asks her to state with care the means by which undertakings may succeed in the Kali age. The Devi replies that she will reveal it out of affection for him alone, and calls what follows a praise of the Mother. Unusually, the Goddess is the one who teaches a hymn to herself; in the Devi Mahatmya proper, the praises are spoken by gods and sages, and she only listens and grants boons. No Purana is named as the home of this frame, and the standard printed edition of the Shri Durga Saptashati sets it among the shorter texts printed with the main reading. Where the selection was made, and by whom, is not recorded. According to tradition, reading these seven verses carries the essence of the full 700, which is why the set is often described as the Saptashati in miniature. The verses themselves keep their original speakers: the first is the narrator Medhas explaining Mahamaya to King Suratha, and the other six are the voices of the gods, first after the defeat of Mahishasura and then after the death of Shumbha, when they ask her to keep the three worlds free of affliction.

The mantra, in six scripts

DevanagariSanskrit & Hindiदेवि त्वं भक्तसुलभे सर्वकार्यविधायिनी । कलौ हि कार्यसिद्ध्यर्थमुपायं ब्रूहि यत्नतः ॥
Tamilதேவி த்வம் பக்தஸுலபே ஸர்வகார்யவிதாயிநீ । கலௌ ஹி கார்யஸித்த்யர்தமுபாயம் ப்ரூஹி யத்நதஃ ॥
Teluguదేవి త్వం భక్తసులభే సర్వకార్యవిధాయినీ । కలౌ హి కార్యసిద్ధ్యర్థముపాయం బ్రూహి యత్నతః ॥
Kannadaದೇವಿ ತ್ವಂ ಭಕ್ತಸುಲಭೇ ಸರ್ವಕಾರ್ಯವಿಧಾಯಿನೀ । ಕಲೌ ಹಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಸಿದ್ಧ್ಯರ್ಥಮುಪಾಯಂ ಬ್ರೂಹಿ ಯತ್ನತಃ ॥
Malayalamദേവി ത്വം ഭക്തസുലഭേ സര്വകാര്യവിധായിനീ । കലൌ ഹി കാര്യസിദ്ധ്യര്ഥമുപായം ബ്രൂഹി യത്നതഃ ॥
EnglishRoman transliterationdevi tvaṃ bhaktasulabhe sarvakāryavidhāyinī | kalau hi kāryasiddhyarthamupāyaṃ brūhi yatnataḥ ||
“Shiva said: O Devi, you are easily reached by your devotees and you bring every undertaking to its end. Tell me carefully the means by which work can succeed in the Kali age.”
ॐ
oṃ — Om
ज्ञानिनामपि
jñānināmapi — even of the wise
चेतांसि
cetāṃsi — the minds
देवी
devī — the Goddess
भगवती
bhagavatī — the blessed one
हि
hi — indeed
सा
sā — she
बलादाकृष्य
balādākṛṣya — drawing away by force
मोहाय
mohāya — to delusion
महामाया
mahāmāyā — Mahamaya, the great illusion
प्रयच्छति
prayacchati — hands over

Saptashloki Durga lyrics in full

Shiva's question, the Devi's reply and the viniyoga, followed by the seven verses.

All 10 verses, in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English, each with its meaning. Choose a script:

Download the Saptashloki Durga PDFAll 10 verses with their meanings, in Sanskrit. Free to print and keep.

Shiva Uvacha

देवि त्वं भक्तसुलभे सर्वकार्यविधायिनी ।
कलौ हि कार्यसिद्ध्यर्थमुपायं ब्रूहि यत्नतः ॥

Shiva said: O Devi, you are easily reached by your devotees and you bring every undertaking to its end. Tell me carefully the means by which work can succeed in the Kali age.

Devi Uvacha

शृणु देव प्रवक्ष्यामि कलौ सर्वेष्टसाधनम् ।
मया तवैव स्नेहेनाप्यम्बास्तुतिः प्रकाश्यते ॥

The Devi said: Listen, O Lord, I will tell you the means of gaining every wish in the Kali age. Out of my affection for you alone, I now reveal this praise of the Mother.

Viniyoga

ॐ अस्य श्रीदुर्गासप्तश्लोकीस्तोत्रमन्त्रस्य नारायण ऋषिः, अनुष्टुप् छन्दः, श्रीमहाकालीमहालक्ष्मीमहासरस्वत्यो देवताः, श्रीदुर्गाप्रीत्यर्थं सप्तश्लोकी दुर्गापाठे विनियोगः ।

Om. Of this Durga Saptashloki hymn-mantra, the seer is Narayana, the metre is Anushtup, and the deities are Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. It is applied in the recitation of the seven verses to Durga, for the pleasure of Sri Durga.

Verse 1

ॐ ज्ञानिनामपि चेतांसि देवी भगवती हि सा ।
बलादाकृष्य मोहाय महामाया प्रयच्छति ॥

Om. That divine Bhagavati, Mahamaya, forcibly draws away even the minds of the wise and gives them over to delusion.

Verse 2

दुर्गे स्मृता हरसि भीतिमशेषजन्तोः स्वस्थैः स्मृता मतिमतीव शुभां ददासि ।
दारिद्र्यदुःखभयहारिणि का त्वदन्या सर्वोपकारकरणाय सदाऽऽर्द्रचित्ता ॥

O Durga, when remembered you take away the fear of every creature, and when remembered by those at ease you give a mind that is wholly good. O remover of poverty, sorrow and fear, who but you has a heart always tender to help all beings?

Verse 3

सर्वमङ्गलमङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके ।
शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, O Shiva, who accomplishes every aim, O refuge, three-eyed one, Gauri, Narayani, salutation to you.

Verse 4

शरणागतदीनार्तपरित्राणपरायणे ।
सर्वस्यार्तिहरे देवि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

You are devoted to saving the helpless and the suffering who come to you for refuge. O Devi, remover of the pain of all, O Narayani, salutation to you.

Verse 5

सर्वस्वरूपे सर्वेशे सर्वशक्तिसमन्विते ।
भयेभ्यस्त्राहि नो देवि दुर्गे देवि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

O you whose form is all things, ruler of all, endowed with every power: protect us from fears, O Devi. O Durga, O Devi, salutation to you.

Verse 6

रोगानशेषानपहंसि तुष्टा रुष्टा तु कामान् सकलानभीष्टान् ।
त्वामाश्रितानां न विपन्नराणां त्वामाश्रिता ह्याश्रयतां प्रयान्ति ॥

When pleased you destroy all illnesses, and when displeased you take away every cherished desire. The verse says that no misfortune comes to those who take refuge in you, and that those who rely on you become a refuge for others.

Verse 7

सर्वाबाधाप्रशमनं त्रैलोक्यस्याखिलेश्वरि ।
एवमेव त्वया कार्यमस्मद्वैरिविनाशनम् ॥

O Queen of all, in this very way calm every affliction of the three worlds and bring about the destruction of our enemies.

The syllable people get wrong

In verse 6, ruṣṭā (displeased) is set against tuṣṭā (pleased), so its first vowel is a short u and the ṣṭ is retroflex, said with the tongue curled back: ROOSH-taa clipped short, not a drawn-out 'roo-sta'. Lengthening the u, a slip that also turns up in print as rūṣṭā, breaks the rhyme the verse is built on.

When the Saptashloki Durga is chanted

Weekday. Friday

Festival. Navaratri, especially Sharad Navaratri

Questions

Verse 1, on Mahamaya drawing away the minds of the wise, is 1.55. Verse 2, Durge smrita harasi, is 4.17, from the gods' hymn after Mahishasura's defeat. Verses 3 to 7 all belong to the Narayani Stuti of chapter 11; Sarvamangala mangalye is 11.10 and Sarvasvarupe sarveshe is 11.24. Verse numbering inside chapter 11 differs slightly between printed editions.
The line completes a contrast. When the Goddess is pleased (tushta) she removes illnesses without remainder; when displeased (rushta) she takes away every desire that was cherished. The second half of the verse turns to those who take refuge in her: the verse says no misfortune comes to them, and that they in turn become a refuge for others.
Tradition holds that the seven verses carry the essence of the full 700, and the framing lines present them as the Devi's own answer to Shiva about the Kali age. The Saptashati itself, with its three episodes, its angas such as the Kavacham and Argala, and its closing hymns, is a separate and much longer reading. The two are treated as related, not identical.
They are the presiding deities of the three episodes of the Devi Mahatmya: Mahakali for the slaying of Madhu and Kaitabha, Mahalakshmi for the battle with Mahishasura, and Mahasaraswati for the war against Shumbha and Nishumbha. Naming all three tells the reader that the seven verses stand for the whole text, and indeed they are drawn from the first, second and third episodes.
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