Sarvamaṅgalā Durgā Stotra
The Sarvamaṅgalā Durgā Stotra is a hymn to Bhagavatī Durgā. Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa himself made it and taught it to Brahmā in the time of the great pralaya (dissolution), when the asuras Madhu and Kaiṭabha came against Brahmā. It praises Durgā by eight of her chief names, Durgā, Śivā, Abhayā, Māyā, Nārāyaṇī, Sanātanī, Jayā and Sarvamaṅgalā, and gives the meaning of each. It is found in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27.
The setting
At the time of the great pralaya, the waters covered all three worlds. The asura pair Madhu and Kaiṭabha rose out of the first sea and threatened Brahmā himself. Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa lay in yoga-nidrā (yogic sleep) on Ādi Śesha.
Brahmā could not wake Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa by ordinary means. In great distress he prayed to Mūla Prakṛti, the original Devī. Then Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa taught Brahmā this stotra of Durgā as the way to call on her highest śakti. Brahmā recited it and Devī Durgā was pleased. Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa was woken from yoga-nidrā, and in the end the two asuras were destroyed. At this time Brahmā also received the Śrī Kṛshṇa Kavaca from Devī Durgā, and it served as his protection.
The stotra also has a place in the Gaurī Mārgaśīra Vrata. Nārāyaṇa Muni teaches that the votary is to recite it on the last day of the month-long vrata, together with the Jānakī-kṛta Pārvatī Stotra.
The stotra: eight names of Durgā
Nārāyaṇa Muni explains that the first stotra of Brahmā to Mūla Prakṛti praises Devī Durgā by these eight chief names, and that each name has its own meaning.
1. Durgā
దుర్గా
She is called Durgā because she is the destroyer of the asura Durgāsura. She also takes away all durgam, all that is hard, out of reach or full of calamity, from the lives of her devotees. She destroys the durga (fortress) of bondage in saṃsāra and makes the path that seemed closed open to those who take refuge in her.
2. Śivā
శివా
She is called Śivā because she gives śiva: good fortune, welfare and in the end moksha, to all beings. She is not apart from Bhagavān Śiva (Mahādeva). She is his everlasting śakti and his completion. Together they are Śiva and Śivā, the pair that cannot be parted, at the top of creation.
3. Abhayā
అభయా
She is called Abhayā because she gives abhaya (fearlessness) to all who give themselves to her. The abhaya-hasta, the hand raised to give protection, is her everlasting sign. She frees her devotees from every fear: fear of the world, fear of karma and fear of existence itself.
4. Māyā
మాయా
She is called Māyā because she makes the cosmic māyā (illusion) that veils the true nature of Brahman, and she is also the giver of moksha. When she is pleased by devotion she draws back the veil that she herself has cast. She is Vishṇu-māyā, the highest power of making, without which there is no creation, upkeep or dissolution.
5. Nārāyaṇī
నారాయణీ
She is called Nārāyaṇī because she always lives within the body of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, as Lakshmī on his chest, and is equal to him in tejas (radiance and power). She is not below Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa but his equal. Together they are the everlasting pair Purusha and Prakṛti, from whom all creation flows.
6. Sanātanī
సనాతనీ
She is called Sanātanī because she is everlasting and first, and in her highest form she is nirguṇa-rūpiṇī (without qualities). She is before all that appears and remains after it. She is the ever-existing one, and from her even the making of Brahmā, the upkeep of Bhagavān Vishṇu and the dissolving by Bhagavān Rudra draw their power.
7. Jayā
జయా
She is called Jayā because she gives jaya (victory) in every field: over enemies, over the faults within, over the wheel of birth and death, and over the asuras of adharma. All victories in the three worlds are in the end her śakti working through the devotee.
8. Sarvamaṅgalā
సర్వమంగళా
She is called Sarvamaṅgalā because she gives full aiśvarya (lordship and plenty): all that is auspicious, all prosperity and all well-being, in every part of existence. She is the source and the top of all maṅgala (auspiciousness) in the universe.
The phalaśruti
Nārāyaṇa Muni proclaims these results of reciting the Sarvamaṅgalā stotra.
- Obstacles removed at once. All vighnas (obstacles) in the life of the person, the family, work and spiritual practice are removed at once by sincere recitation.
- Protection in all dangers. The devotee is fully protected in:
- royal courts and disputes at law;
- cremation grounds and unlucky places;
- fires;
- storms and natural disasters;
- shipwrecks and sea crossings;
- battles and war;
- prison and captivity;
- curses (śāpa) and ill-will;
- quarrels in the family and at home;
- poverty and loss of living;
- loss of standing and conflicts of varṇa.
- Hari-bhakti and mukti. Those who recite the stotra three times a day gain firm devotion to Bhagavān Hari. They reach Hari-dāsya-mukti (freedom through service to Hari), and in the end the highest state, called Rādhā-gati, like the place of Rādhādevī in Goloka.
- Family reunion. Relatives and loved ones who have been parted for a long time are brought together again within one month of sincere recitation.
- A good marriage. Unmarried girls who recite the stotra gain a husband whose virtues, looks and devotion are like those of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself.
- Wishes fulfilled. Whatever the sincere devotee wishes and prays for is granted without delay.
Sources
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27