Devi Mahatmyam 11th chapter Narayani Stuti
THE RISHI SAID:
When the great demon was killed by the Devī, all the Gods, led by
Agni, sang the praise of Kātyāyanī. Th eir shining faces fi lled the universe with radiant light:
‘O Devī, you who remove the suff erings of your devotees, be pleased
with us.
O Mother of all the world, be gracious.
O Queen of the universe, protect the universe.
O Devī, you rule everything that moves and everything that is immovable.
You alone are the foundation of everything. You stand in the form of
the Earth. All this universe gets satisfaction from you in the form of water.
You have limitless courage. You are the Vishnu Shakti. You are the ultimate power of Māyā, the seed-source of the universe.
By your power, all this universe has been thrown into illusion, O Devī,
if you become pleased you become the cause of liberation of all Creation.
All sciences are part of you. The feminine power of all women is from
you.
By you alone, O Great Mother, by you alone this world is filled.
How can we sing your praise when you are beyond praise? All the sublime words are deficient.
O Devī, you are the power which resides in all beings to give them
Self-realization, to give the bliss of moksha. How then can we find words
to describe your glory?
You dwell as intelligence in every heart to bestow heaven and the ultimate freedom. O Nārāyanī, we bow to you!
We bow to you, O Nārāyanī, who, in the form of minutes and other
divisions of time, brings about change in all things and, ultimately, the
destruction of the universe.
O three-eyed Devī, giver of auspiciousness and prosperity, O Nārāyanī,
you are our only refuge, we surrender to you.
We bow to you, O Nārāyanī. You are the power of creation, sustentation
and destruction, eternally. You are the cause of the three Gunas and also
beyond them. You are the supreme path of salvation.
You give refuge to the dejected and distressed. You also absorb all that
distresses your devotees. O Nārāyanī, we bow to you.
You, who ride in the heavenly chariot drawn by swans, when you take
the form of Brahmānī, you sprinkle water steeped in Kusha grass.
O Nārāyanī, we bow to you.
We bow to you O Nārāyanī, you who have the form of Māheshvarī
when, holding your trident, you ride the great bull. You are adorned with
the moon and a serpent.
O you who are sinless, you take the form of Kaumārī, wielding great
power in your spear, accompanied by cocks and peacocks. O Nārāyanī, we
bow to you.
O you who, in the form of Vaishnavī, hold the great conch, discus, mace
and bow, be pleased with us, O Nārāyanī.
We bow to you, O Nārāyanī, when in the form of Vārāhī, you grasp the
huge discus and support the Earth on your tusks.
In the fierce form of Nārasimha, you protect the three worlds, killing the
demons. O Nārāyanī, we bow to you.
As Aindrī, you hold the thunderbolt. Crowned with a diadem, dazzling
with your thousand eyes you took Vritra’s life.
O Nārāyanī, we bow, we bow to you who slew the mighty hosts of daityas when you became Shivadūtī of terrible appearance and roaring voice.
In your form as Chāmundā with the garland of skulls, with your wide
mouth and fearsome teeth, you killed the Demon Munda. O Nārāyanī, we
bow to you.
O Nārāyanī, reverence to you, you are nourishment, modesty, prosperity, wisdom, faith.
You are the sweet libation and the sacrificial ladle.
You are the great night, the great illusion, we bow to you.
We bow to you, O Nārāyanī; you are Sarasvatī the source of understanding, beautiful, dark-bodied, and intuitive. Be pleased with us.
O Queen of all, you reside in every being. You are the power that enlivens every being.
In the form of Durgā you cross the sea of terrible calamities to rescue us.
We bow to you.
May this benevolent face of yours, adorned with three eyes, protect us
from all terror. O Kātyāyanī, we bow to you.
The slicing edge of your flame-forged trident kills all demons. It guards
us from fear. O Bhadrakālī we bow to you.
O Devī! That bell of yours fills the world with its ringing. It destroys the
vigor of the demon hosts. May it save us from error, like a mother’s voice.
O Chandikā! That sword you wield in your bright hands has brought
our salvation, smeared as it was with the fat and blood of the demons We
bow to you.
When pleased you destroy all disease.
When angry you frustrate impure desires.
Those who seek you are always protected. Indeed, others seek refuge in
them.
O Ambikā, you manifest your many forms as you worked this great
slaughter. What other Goddess is capable of this?
You are the light which reveals the wisdom of the Vedas, of the sciences
and of the ancient sayings. But in the dark pit of the selfish mind you cause
the universe to reel terribly.
Wherever rākshasas dwell, and virulent, poisonous snakes exist; where
enemies and hosts of robbers are, there you stand, even in volcanoes under
water, there you stand to protect the world.
O Queen of the universe, you protect and hold the universe. You are
the very Self of the universe. You are the Goddess adored by the Lord of the
universe. Those who submit to you in devotion also become themselves the
refuge of the universe.
O Goddess! Be gracious and protect us always as you have done just now
by this slaughter of asuras. Destroy the sins of all the worlds, protect us from
the calamities which spring from the maturing of evil conditions.
We surrender before you, be gracious O Goddess. You alone can remove
the agony of the world. You are the one to be worshipped by the three worlds.
Please bestow boons to the worlds.’
The Devī said:
‘O Devas, I am ready; ask a boon; whatever you wish for the world, I
will grant it.’
The Devas said:
‘O Queen of all, as you have now destroyed our enemies, we pray you,
please destroy all the troubles of the three worlds.’
The Devī said:
‘When the twenty-eighth age has arrived, during the period of Vaivasvata’s Manvantara, the Demons Shumbha and Nishimbha will be born
as two different demons. Then I shall come out of the womb of Yashoda, in the house of Nanda-gopa, dwelling in the Vindhya Mountain, I
will destroy the demons.
I shall incarnate again on Earth in a ferocious form to slay the dānavas
who descend from the Viprachitti Demon. And when I chew those
fierce asuras, my teeth will become red as pomegranate flowers. Therefore the Gods in heaven and the men on Earth shall praise me as
Raktadantikā when they pray.
And again, when a hundred year drought will occur I will come, mindborne on the prayers of the saints. I shall not be born of a womb, but
will behold the Munis with a hundred eyes. Then mankind shall praise
me as Shatākshī, the Hundred-eyed, and I shall nourish the world
with life-sustaining foliage which shall grow from my cosmic body,
until the rains set in. I shall be known then as Shākambharī and shall
slay the great demon called Durgama.
Then I shall be known as the Goddess Durgā, when I again assume that
terrible form on the mountain Himālaya, and shall eat the rākshasas
for the sake of the devoted Munis. They shall bow and humbly praise
me as Durgā-devī.
When the Demon Aruna shall create havoc in the three worlds, I will
be known as Bhīmā-devī. In my bee-like form as a swarm I shall slay
that asura.
Then everywhere people will praise me as Bhrāmarī whenever demons
disturb them and I will incarnate and kill their enemies.