Durga Saptashati Chapter 11: Narayani Stuti, Sarva Mangala Mangalye

Chapter 11 is the summit of praise in the Saptashati. After Shumbha's death the gods, led by Agni, praise the Goddess as Narayani, and one verse of their hymn is spoken at every puja and auspicious occasion.

The Narayani Stuti

Indra and the gods, with Agni before them, praised the Goddess with joyful faces:

• O Goddess who removes the suffering of those who take refuge in you, be gracious. O Mother of the whole world, be gracious. O Queen of the universe, protect the universe; you are the ruler of all that moves and is still.
• As the earth you are the support of the world; as water you satisfy the whole world.
• You are the power of Vishnu of infinite strength, the seed of the universe, the supreme maya; you have enchanted the whole world, and when pleased you grant liberation.
• All knowledge in the world and all women are your forms.

Each verse ends: "Narayani namo 'stu te", "O Narayani, salutation to you."

Sarva mangala mangalye shive sarvartha sadhike
sharanye tryambake gauri narayani namo 'stu te

Meaning: O auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, O benevolent Shiva, accomplisher of every aim, giver of refuge, three-eyed Gauri, O Narayani, salutation to you.

Srishti sthiti vinashanam shakti bhute sanatani
gunashraye gunamaye narayani namo 'stu te

Meaning: O eternal one, the power of creation, preservation and dissolution, support of the gunas and made of the gunas, O Narayani, salutation to you.

Sharanagata dinarta paritrana parayane
sarvasyarti hare devi narayani namo 'stu te

Meaning: Devoted to rescuing the helpless and suffering who take refuge in you, remover of everyone's pain, O Goddess Narayani, salutation to you.

Then the gods saluted her in every form: Brahmani in the swan chariot, Maheshvari on the bull, Kaumari on the peacock, Vaishnavi with conch and discus, Varahi bearing the earth on her tusks, Narasimhi, Aindri with the thunderbolt, and fearsome Chamunda. Then the famous verse:

Sarva svarupe sarveshe sarva shakti samanvite
bhayebhyas trahi no devi durge devi namo 'stu te

Meaning: O Goddess who is every form, ruler of all, endowed with every power, save us from all fears; O Goddess Durga, salutation to you.

And the prayer for freedom from every obstacle:

Sarvabadha prashamanam trailokyasyakhileshvari
evam eva tvaya karyam asmad vairi vinashanam

Meaning: O Queen of all, in the same way calm every obstacle of the three worlds and destroy our enemies.

The Goddess's boon and her future avatars

Pleased, the Goddess granted a boon and told of her future avatars:

• Nanda: in the twenty-eighth age of the Vaivasvata Manvantara, when Shumbha and Nishumbha arise again, I will be born of Yashoda in the home of the cowherd Nanda, dwell on the Vindhya mountain and destroy them (Vindhyavasini).
• Raktadantika: devouring the asuras of the Vaiprachitti clan, my teeth will be red as pomegranate flowers.
• Shatakshi: when no rain falls for a hundred years, I will appear, not born of a womb, and look upon the people with a hundred eyes.
• Shakambhari: I will sustain the people with vegetables grown from my own body until the rains return.
• Durga: slaying the asura Durgama, I will be known as Durga.
• Bhima: taking a terrible form in the Himalaya, I will destroy the rakshasas to protect the sages.
• Bhramari: when the asura Aruna oppresses the world, I will take the form of countless bees and slay him.

"Ittham yada yada badha danavottha bhavishyati, tada tadavatiryaham karishyamy ari samkshayam": "Thus whenever trouble arises from the demons, I will descend and destroy the enemies."

What this chapter teaches

• "Sarva mangala mangalye" is spoken at every auspicious beginning: first, ask the Mother for blessing.
• In every form of the Mother, from gentle Gauri to fierce Chamunda, there is one feeling: protecting her children.
• Like the Gita's "yada yada hi dharmasya", the Goddess promises: whenever there is trouble, I will come.
• The Shakambhari form shows that food and nature too are forms of the Goddess.