Durgā’s Stotra to Kṛshṇa

This is the stotra sung by Durgā, who is also called Mūlaprakṛti (the original prakṛti, the root of nature), to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. She sang it when she came out of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa’s buddhi (intellect) at the beginning of creation. It is found in the Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, chapter 3.

In it Durgā praises Bhagavān Kṛshṇa as the supreme creator, destroyer and re-creator. She also says, “I am Prakṛti, but I am not independent.”

The setting

Durgā, the Mūlaprakṛti, came out of the buddhi of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. She had one hundred arms, and each arm held a divine weapon.

The weapons named are:

  • the triśūla (trident)
  • the śakti (spear)
  • the Śārṅga bow (dhanus)
  • the khaḍga (sword)
  • bāṇas (arrows)
  • the śaṅkha (conch)
  • the cakra (discus)
  • the gadā (mace)
  • the padma (lotus)
  • the spaṭika-mālā (crystal rosary)
  • the kamaṇḍalu (water pot)
  • the vajra (thunderbolt)
  • the aṅkuśa (goad)
  • the pāśa (noose)
  • the bhuśuṇḍi
  • the daṇḍa (staff)
  • the tomara
  • the great astras: Nārāyaṇāstra, Brahmāstra, Raudrāstra, Pāśupatāstra, Vāyavyāstra, Vāruṇāstra, Āgneyāstra and Gāndharvāstra

Durgā stood before Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and praised him with great joy. All the devas rejoiced.

The stotra

Durgā’s stotra makes these statements.

  • She says she is Prakṛti-svarūpiṇī (the very form of Prakṛti), Īśvarī and Sarveśvarī, taking all forms. She is the source of all power in this world.
  • She says she is not independent, because Bhagavān Kṛshṇa created her. So he alone is the Īśvara, the refuge, the protector, the creator, the destroyer and the re-creator of all.
  • She calls him the creator of the creators and the destroyer of the destroyers. He is Paramānanda-svarūpa (the form of supreme joy), and she bows to him in joy.
  • She says that at a single blink of his eye Brahmā perishes. Nobody can describe his prabhāva (power). From a single frown of his brow he can create crores of Vishṇus. Brahmā, the whole moving and unmoving world (carācara jagat) and all the devas are created from him in his own līlā (play).
  • She says the mahat-svarūpa and the virāṭ-svarūpa (the great form and the cosmic form) are only a tiny part (kalā) of his being. He is pūrṇa (complete), Paramātmā and Īśvara. She bows to him in happiness.
  • She says that Brahmā, Vishṇu, Śiva, the Vedas, she herself, Sarasvatī and the greatest of scholars are all unable to praise him. She bows to him, the nirīha (desireless) one.

The phalaśruti

Whoever reads this stotra during pūjā receives these results.

  • Vijaya (victory) in all places.
  • Sukha (happiness).
  • Durgādevī never leaves that person’s home.
  • In this life, kīrti (fame).
  • After death, the person reaches the presence of Śrī Hari.

Sources

  • Brahma Vaivarta Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, chapter 3