Devi Mahatmya
Devi Mahatmya
Devi Mahatmya
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The Devi Mahatmyam or Devi Mahatmya (Sanskrit: devmhtmyam, ) , or "Glory of the Goddess")
is a Hindu religious text describing the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. As part of
the Markandeya Purana, it is one of the Puranas or secondary Hindu scriptures. It was composed in Sanskrit
around 400500 CE, with authorship attributed to the sage (Rishi) Markandeya.
Devi Mahatmyam is also known as the Durg Saptashat ( ) or simply Saptashat, Ca ( ) or
Ca Pha ( ): pha "reading" refers to the act of ritual reading. The text contains 700 (saptashata;
"seven hundred") verses, arranged into 13 chapters. By far one of the most important texts of Shaktism,[1] the
text has a central place in Shakta ritual.
Devi Mahatmyam is seen as an attempt to unify the Vedic male pantheon with the pre-existing mother goddess
worship possibly dating to the 9th millennium BCE,[2] and an attempt to define divinity as a shakti, which takes
form of the female gender, and that pervades all beings and non-beings and yet is transcendental. The text
synthesizes a number of pre-existing mother goddess mythological puranas into a single narrative.[3] Also, there
are links to aspects of Samkhya philosophy in the narrative.
For ritual reading purposes a number of subsidiary texts are appended before and after. A ritual reading of this
text is part of the Navaratri celebrations in honour of the goddess. In eastern India, the ritual reading
(chandipATh) is common at several functions, particularly in death rites. On Mahalaya, the last day of the
previous fortnight Pitri Paksha (Pitri Pokkho), Fortnight of the Forefathers, recitation of Devi Mahatmyam
(Chandi Path), and signifies the beginning of Durga Puja festivities. Bengalis traditionally wake up at 4:00 in
the morning on Mahalaya day to listen to Mahisasura Mardini in the voice of the Birendra Krishna Bhadra and
the Pankaj Kumar Mullick on All India Radio, since 1932 as they recite hymns from the scriptures.[4]
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Etymology
Significance
Place in the Hindu canon
Philosophy
Contents
5.1 First episode
5.2 Middle episode
5.3 Final episode
5.4 Symbolism of the three episodes
5.5 Hymns
Angs (Appendages)
6.1 Preceding subsidiary texts
6.2 Succeeding subsidiary texts
Mantra
In popular tradition
See also
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Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Sanskrit mhtmya- "magnanimity, highmindedness, majesty" is a neuter abstract noun of mha-tman- "great
soul". The title devmhtmyam is a tatpurusha compound, literally translating to "the magnanimity of the
goddess".
The text is called Saptaati as it contains 700 shlokas (sapta=7, shata=100 verses). This count includes one-line
sentences which are not strictly verses. There is another opinion that the name should be Saptasati as it deals
with the story of seven Satis or "pious persons". The seven mothers are Brhmi, Mhewari, Kaumri, Vaisavi,
Vrhi, Indri, and Cmuna.[5]
Ca or Caka is the name by which the Supreme Goddess is referred to in Dev Mhtmya. According to
Coburn, "Cak is "the violent and impetuous one", from the adjective caa "fierce, violent, cruel". The
epithet has no precedent in Vedic literature and is first found in a late insertion to the Mahabharata, where
Cha and Cha appear as epithets."[6]
Devi Mhtmyam has been called the Testament of Shakta philosophy.[8] It is the base and root of Shakta
doctrine.[9] It appears as the centre of the great Shakti tradition.[10]
Here, for the first time, "the various mythic, cultic and theological elements relating to diverse female divinities
were brought together in what has been called the 'crystallization of the Goddess tradition."[11]
The unique feature of Devi Mhtmyam is the oral tradition. Though it is part of the devotional tradition, it is in
the rites of the Hindus that it plays an important role. The entire text is considered as one single Mantra and a
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Guptavati by Bhaskararaya
Nagesi by Nagoji Bhat
Santhanavi
Puspanjali
Ramashrami
Dhamsoddharam
Durgapradeepam are some of them.[14]
Devi Mahatmya accepts the ancient Vedic tradition in the form of Vk and Tray Vidy and the philosophical
doctrine of the codified system of Samkhya (Prakriti manifesting as the three Gunas) and Vednta as
Paramavidy, the cause of Mukti. Further it synthesizes the then prevailing local Mother goddess traditions of
Aryan and non-Aryan origin.[15]
In the first chapter it is said
"all lives are conscious, but that knowledge is connected with senses. That goddess Bhagavat,
granting all kinds of prosperity, makes even the wise attracted to worldly pleasures and things
forcibly with her great power of attraction. This ever-changing world with all its animate and
inanimate things, is created by her. As the cause of salvation she turns into supreme spiritual
knowledge, and is thus eternal; and again as the cause of bondage to worldly things she turns into
things mundane and is the mistress of all, including Gods. She is eternal (and is thus beyond our
knowledge) and pervades the world which may accordingly be called her form. Yet for the
assistance of the lustrous souls, she appears in different forms."[16]
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The Dev Mhtmya consists of chapters 81-93 of the Mrkandeya Purana, one of the early Sanskrit Puranas,
which is a set of stories being related by the sage Markandeya to Jaimini and his students (who are in the form
of birds). The thirteen chapters of Devi Mhtmya are divided into three charitas or episodes. At the beginning
of each episode a different presiding goddess is invoked, none of whom is mentioned in the text itself.[17]
The framing narrative of Devi Mahatmya presents a dispossessed king, a merchant betrayed by his family, and a
sage whose teachings lead them both beyond existential suffering. The sage instructs by recounting three
different epic battles between the Devi and various demonic adversaries (the three tales being governed by,
respectively, Mahakali (Chapter 1), Mahalakshmi (Chapters 2-4) and Mahasaraswati (Chapters 5-13). Most
famous is the story of Mahishasura Mardini Devi as "Slayer of the Buffalo Demon" one of the most
ubiquitous images in Hindu art and sculpture, and a tale known almost universally in India. Among the
important goddess forms the Devi Mahatmyam introduced into the Sanskritic mainstream are Kali and the
Sapta-Matrika ("Seven Mothers").[18]
First episode
The first story of the Devi Mahatmya depicts Devi in her
universal form as Shakti. Here Devi is central and key to the
creation; she is the power that induces Narayana's deep
slumber on the waters of the cosmic ocean prior to the
manifestation of the Universe which is a continuous cycle of
manifestation, destruction and re-manifestation. Vishnu
manifests from all pervading Narayan and goes into deep
slumber on Adi Sesha. Two demons, Madhu-Kaitabh, arise
as thoughtforms from Vishnu's sleeping body and endeavour
to vanquish Brahma who is preparing to create the next
Vishnu killing Madhu-Kaitabh - a folio from Devi
cycle of the Universe. Brahma sings to the Great Goddess,
Mahatmya
asking her to withdraw from Vishnu so he may awaken and
slay the demons. Devi agrees to withdraw and Vishnu
awakens and vanquishes the demons. Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order to be
restored.[19]
Middle episode
"Durga, the great Warrior Goddess, represents the lethal energy of divine anger when turned against evil. The
world was under attack by Mahishasura, the most evil demon in the world, who took many different forms,
including that of a buffalo. The male gods, fearing total annihilation endowed Durga with their powers. Riding a
lion into battle, Durga slew the buffalo by cutting off its head and then she destroyed the spirit of the demon as
it emerged from the buffalo's severed neck. It is through this act that order was established in the world."[20]
Final episode
Kali may be understood to represent or "aspect" the darker, chthonic, transformative qualities of Devi's power
or Shakti. Kali's emergence is chronicled in the third story of the Devi Mahatmya. Kali emerges from Devi's
eyebrows as a burst of psychic energy. Kali overpowers and beheads Chanda and Munda, and when she delivers
their severed heads to Devi, she is dubbed Chamunda.
During a fierce battle in which the Great Goddess demonstrates her omnipotence by defeating powerful demons
who terrify the devas, she encounters the fierce Raktabija (chapter 8). Every drop of blood Raktabija sheds
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Hymns
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As an independent text, Dev Mhtmya has acquired a number of "limbs" or "subsidiary texts" or
"appendages" (angas) over the years "fore and aft". According to Coburn "artistic evidence suggests that the
angas have been associated with the text since the fourteenth century." The angas are chiefly concerned with the
ritual use of Dev Mhtmya and based on the assumption that the text will be recited aloud in the presence of
images.[28]
There are two different traditions in the Anga parayana. One is the trayanga parayana (Kavacha,
Argala,Keelaka). The other is the Navanga parayana (Nyasam, Avahanam, Namani, Argalam, Keelakam,
Hrudayam, Dhalam, Dhyanam, Kavacham). The navanga format is followed in kerala and some other parts in
South India.
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verses indicated.[29]
Devi-kavacham - The Devi Kavacham consisting of 61 Slokas is in Markandeya Purana. This Kavacham
(armour) protects the reader in all parts of his body, in all places and in all difficulties.[30]
Argala-stotram - Here Rishi Markandeya is telling his disciples in 27 inspiring couplets on the greatness
of Devi. She has been described in all aspects and names and at the end of each Sloka, prayer is offered to
Devi for material prosperity, physical fitness, fame and victory.[30]
Keelakam - Here also Rishi Markandeya tells his disciples in 16 Slokas, the ways and means of removing
obstacles faced by devotees, while reading Devi Mahatmya.[30]
Ratri Suktam (Vedic) - Ratri Suktam (8 Slokas) has been taken from Rig Veda, 10th Mandala, 10th
Anuvaka, 127 th Sukta,which shows that Devi was worshipped from time immemorial. Devi is described
as the all-pervading Supreme Lord of the Universe appearing in Omkara. Here Ratri is the Goddess who
fulfills our prayers.[30]
Kunjika Stotram is also a beautiful hymn written in the saptashati which is said to be the mixture of the
three hymns i.e.,Kavacham,Argala stotram,Keelakam and also Rahasya parvam (Murthy Rahasyam and
Vaikrutika Rahasyam).It is said that Lord Shiva had recited this shloka to Parvathi at her attainment of
BramhaGyaan. This shloka plays an importantrole in Devi Saptashati. It is at the ending of the book.
Ratri Suktam (Tantrik) - The hymn in the first chapter is the Tantrik Ratri Sukta.[31]
Either the Ratri Suktam (Vedic) or Ratri Suktam (Tantrik) is read depending upon whether the ritual is Vaidic or
Tantrik.
One of the texts recited by some traditions is the Dev-Atharva-ira-Upaniad (Devi Upaniad).
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Bhskararya in his commentary "Guptavati" has noted that, among the mantras related to the worship of
Brahman vis a vis Sakthi with attributes, the Navrna mantra and Saptasati are preeminent. Saptasati here is
understood as constituting one very long mantra. Navrna mantra has been explained in Dev-Atharva-iraUpaniad (Devi Upaniad).[35]
Chandi di Var
Mahadevi
Mother Goddess
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Anna, Sri. Devi Mhtmyam with commentary in Tamil, Sri Ramakrishna Matam, Chennai, India, 1973.
(ISBN 81-7120-128-8)
Brown, C. MacKenzie, The Triumph of the Goddess: The Canonical Models and Theological Issues of
the Devi-Bhagavata Purana (http://books.google.com/books?id=p6KumJp_wNgC). State University of
New York Press (Suny Series in Hindu Studies, 1991). (ISBN 0791403637)
Coburn, Thomas B., Encountering the Goddess: A translation of the Devi-Mahatmya and a Study of Its
Interpretation (http://books.google.com/books?id=c7vIzNrC-coC). State University of New York Press,
1991. (ISBN 0791404463)
Coburn, Thomas B., Dev Mhtmya, The Crystallization of the Goddess Tradition
(http://books.google.com/books?id=hy9kf7_TOHgC). South Asia Books, 2002. (ISBN 81-208-0557-7)
Goyal S.R., A religious History of Ancient India, Volume Two, Kusumanjali Prakashan, Meerut, India,
1986.
Kali, Davadatta, In Praise of the Goddess: The Devimahatmya and Its Meaning. Nicolas-Hays, Inc.,
Berwick, Maine, 2003. (ISBN 8120829530)
Manna, Sibendu, Mother Goddess, Cha, Punthi Pustak, Calcutta, India, 1993. (ISBN 81-85094-60-8)
Sankaranarayanan, S., Glory of the Divine Mother (Dev Mhtmyam), Nesma Books, India, 2001.
(ISBN 81-87936-00-2)
Sarma, Sarayu Prasad, Saptashat Sarvasvam, in Sanskrit, - A cyclopaedic work on Dev Mhtmya.
Rashtriya Sanskrita Samsthan, New Delhi, India, 2006.
Sri Durga Saptashat, - Original text and ritual manual with Hindi translation, Gita Press, Gorakpur, India.
Swami Jagadiswarananda, Devi Mhtmyam English translation, Sri Ramkrishna Math, Madras, 1953.
(ISBN 978-8171201396)
Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Cha Ph, Devi Mandir Publications, USA and Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, India, 1995. (ISBN 81-208-1307-3)
Swami Sivananda, Devi Mhtmya (with a lucid running translation), The Divine Life Society,
Shivanandanagar, India, 1994. (ISBN 81-7052-103-3)
Coburn, Thomas B. Encountering the Goddess A Translation of the Dev-Mhtmya and a Study of Its
Interpretation (http://books.google.com/books?id=FHP23b4Gd-0C). SUNY series in Hindu studies.
Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1991. ISBN 0-7914-0445-5
Hiltebeitel, Alf, and Kathleen M. Erndl. Is the Goddess a Feminist? The Politics of South Asian
Goddesses. New York: New York University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8147-3618-1
Jyotir Maya Nanda. Mysticism of the Devi Mahatmya Worship of the Divine Mother. South Miami, Fla:
Yoga Research Foundation, 1994. ISBN 0-934664-58-7
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devi_Mahatmya
/DeviMahatmyamEnglishTransiteration)
Wikimedia Commons has
Dev Mhtmya - Sanskrit original in pdf form
media related to Devi
(http://sanskrit.safire.com/Sanskrit.html)
Mahatmya.
Dev Mhtmya (http://www.divinelifesociety.org/graphics
/activities/navaratri_04/durga_saptasati.htm) by Swami Sivananda at Divine Life Society
Shree Maa at Devi Mandir - recording of recitation in sanskrit (http://www.shreemaa.org/chandipath-series-recitation-english/)
The Esoteric Significance of the Dev Mhtmya (http://www.dlshq.org/religions/devi_mahatmya.htm)
Durga Saptashati (http://www.hinduism.co.za/durga.htm)
Skhya-Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://www.iep.utm.edu/s/sankhya.htm)
Durga Saptashati - Hindi verses (http://durgasaptashati.discoveryofindia.com)
in Sanskrit Verses (also in English Rhyme) (http://knol.google.com/k/munindra-misra/durga-saptashati
/1ac8r252a8rvj/42#)
Lokakshema Yagna Trust - Charitable spiritual organization performing Chandi Yagnas
(http://www.lokakshemayagna.org/)
Shree Durga Sapta Shati - Video with meanings explained in Hindi (http://www.hariom.tv/english/durgamata/shree-durga-sapt-shati-part-1-navratra/)
- Video classes on Chandi Path by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (http://www.shreemaa.org/chandipath-hi-res-class/)
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