Durga Chandra Kala Stuthi

Durga Chandra Kala Stuthi

By

Appayya Deekshithar

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

(This durgastuti is like a mantra sastra designed to avert poverty, fear from enemies, fear from death, several difficulties, several unanticipated disasters etc., for devotees and is in nineteen verses. The Devi mahatmya and the other anecdotes about the Devi given in Varahapurana, Harivamsa, Bhagavata etc., are given in condensed form in this work. It has been composed by Sri Appayya Deekshithar who belonged to the village of Adayapalam. After Adhi Shankara he is one of the most important contributors to the philosophy of Advaitha. Though an Advaithin (It is said that he had two wives and one of them was a Visishtadvaithin) he has also contributed to the Visishtadvaitha philosophy. He is supposed to have written 104 books in Sanskrit. Traditionally the descendents of Sri Appayya Dikshita do the japa of this work during their Sandhya worship.)

Vedo hareeswara sthuthyam vihathreem vindhyamoodhare,

Hara praneswareem vande, hanthreem vibhutha vidhwishaam. 1

I salute the darling of Lord Shiva,

Who is being praised by the trinity,

Who plays on the Vindhya Mountain,

And who kills asuras who are the enemies of devas.

Abhyarthanena, saraseeruha sambhavasya,

Thyakthovodhitha bhagawathakshipithanaleelaam,

Visweswari vipadapagamane purastha-

Nmatha mamasthu madhu kaidabhayor nihanthri. 2

Due to the request of Him who was born out of a lotus,

She left her play of shutting the eyes of Lord Vishnu,

And killed the asuras called Madhu and Kaidaba,

And I request the mother who is goddess of the universe,

To come before me, and remove all my dangers.

(The story of killing of Madhu and Kaidabha is alluded here. When Madhu and Kaidabha who were born out of the ear wax of Lord Vishnu, they started troubling Lord Brahma. Lord Vishnu was sleeping. The Goddess appeared and killed Madhu and Kaidabha-Devi Mahatmyam)

Prang nirjareshu nihathair nija shakthi lesai,

Reki bhavadbhirudhithakhila loka gupthyai,

Sampannachasthra nikhara cha thadha yudhasthai,

Matha mamasthu mahishanthakari purasthath. 3

Rising from the power that she has entrusted with devas,

For saving the entire world is my mother,

Who is armed with several weapons which were given by several devas,

And who is the killer of Mahishasura and I request her to come before me.

(For killing Mahishasura , she appeared from the powers of all devas and became a goddess, who could kill him.-Devi Mahatmyam)

Praleya shaila thanaya thanu kanthi sampath,

Kosadhitha kuvalaya schavi charu deha,

Narayani namadha bheepsidha kalpa valli,

Suprrethamavahathu Shumbha Nishumbha hanthri. 4

Let lot of happiness be generated by Narayani,

Who was born out of the excess of luster,

Of the body of the daughter of the mountain,

Who has a body with the luster of the blue lotus,

Who is like the kalpa climber of heaven,

And killer of asuras called Shumbha and Nishumbha.

(When the devas were troubled by two asuras called Shumbha and Nishumbha, she took shape from Goddess Parvathi and killed both these asuras and their armies. –Devi Mahatmyam)

Viswaswareethi mahishanthakareethi yasya,

Narayanothyapicha namabhirangithani,

Sookthani pankaja bhuvacha surarshibischa,

Drushtani pavaga mukhaischa, shivaam bhaje thaam. 5

I sing praises about the holy consort of Shiva,

Who was praised by Lord Brahma , other devas and sages,

By the sookthas containing colourful names like,

Goddess of universe, she who killed Mahisha and Narayani.

(Devi Mahatmyam contains prayers by devas and Lord Brahma praising her on different occasions)

Uthpathi daithya hanana sthavanathmakani,

Samraksha kanyakhila bhootha hithaya yasya,

Sookthanyasesha nigamanthavida padanthi,

Thaam viswa mathara majasram abheeshtaveemi. 6

I praise always the goddess who is the mother of the world,

Who is being praised by learned sages by reciting sookthas,

About her birth with aim of for killing asuras and say that these,

Would save all beings on earth from dangers and cause good.

( In the Phala Shruthi of Devi Mahatmyam Devi tells , that all people will be saved who recite it.)

Yea vaiprachitha punaruthidha shumbha mukhyai,

Durbiksha ghora samayena cha karithasu,

Avishkrutha sthrijagatharthishu roopa bhedha,

Sthairambhika samabhirakshathu maam vipadbhya. 7

Let me be saved from all dangers by that Ambika ,

Who appeared in different forms at the time of extreme famine and fear ,

Caused by asuras like sons of Viprachitha,

And shumbha reborn in the world and others,

And saved the entire world.

(At the end of Devi Mahatmyam , the Devi tells the devas, how she will appear in future times to save them and the world)

Sooktham yadeeyam aravinda bhavadhi drushta,

Mavarthya devyanupadam Suradha Samadhi,

Dwavapyavapathura mishtamanayalabhyam,

Tham adhi deva tharuneem pranamami deveem. 8

I salute that Holy Devi who is the consort of the first God,

Who was praised again and again,

By the king Suradha and the merchant Samadhi,

By repeating the story of her coming again and again,

In this world in response to the praise of Brahma and others,

And fulfilled their desires which could not be done by others.

(Here I is told that by reading Devi Mahatmyam again and again with devotion, we can attain all that we need. Suradha and Samadhi were those people to whom the story of Devi Mahatmyam was told by a sage. Suradha later became the next Manu.)

Mahishmathi thanubhavam cha rurum cha hanthu,

Mavishkruthairnija rasavadavathara bedhai,

Ashta dasa hatha navahatha koti sankyair,

Rambha sada samabhirakshathu maam vipadbhya. 9

Let me saved from dangers by Amba,

Who by her power was born with eighteen crores,

And nine crores of ladies equal to her,

And killed Mahisha the son of Mahishmathi and asura called Ruru.

(This is the story from Varaha Purana and is a slightly different version of the story in Devi Mahatmyam. It is told there that Vaishnavi killed Mahishasura along with crores of other ladies generated by her and later again came at the request of devas and killed the asura called Ruru.)

Ethath charithramakhilam likhitham hi yasya,

Ssampoojitham sadana eva nivesitham vaa,

Durga cha tharayathi dustharamapyasesham,

Sreya prayachadhi cha sarvamumam bhaje Thaam. 10

I chant the names of the great Parvathi,

Who makes us cross the impossible difficulties,

If we write all her story and worship her,

Or even keep her story at our home.

(It is written in Varaha Purana that any one who keeps a copy of the book Devi Mahatmyam need not be afraid of serpents , thieves and others.)

Yath poojana sthuthi namaskruthir bhavanthi,

Preetha pithamaha ramesa hara sthrayopi,

Thesham api swa gunair dadahanth vapoomshi,

Tham easwarasya tharuneem saranam prapadhye. 11.

I submit myself to the lady of the Lord Shiva,

Whose worship or prayer or salutation,

Pleases lord Brahma, Vishnu and Lord Shiva,

And who gives her sathva(good) conduct to them.

(In Varaha Purana there is an instance of Amba saving Lord Brahma,. In Hari Vamsa another instance of her saving lord Vishnu is given.)

Kantharamadhya druda lagna thaya avasanna,

Magnascha varidhi jale ripumischa rudha,

Yasya prapadhya charanou vipadastharanthi,

Saa may sada asthu hrudhi sarva jagad savithri. 12

My mind should always be filled with that mother ,

Who saves those people who loose their way in forest,

And those drowning in the waters of the sea,

If they salute her lotus feet.

(This boon was given to Lord Krishna and is narrated in Hari Vamsa)

Bhandhe vadhe mahathi mruthyu bhaye prasakthe,

Vithakshaye cha vividhe cha mahopa thape,

Yad pada poojanamiha prathikaramahu,

Saa may samastha janani saranam bhavani. 13

I see protection of that Bhavani, who is mother of all worlds,

Whose worship is believed to get rid of the fear,

Of imprisonment, murder, death, loss of property ,

And also fear of the king, thieves, snake and the lion.

(From Hari Vamsa and Varaha Purana)

Bhanasura prahitha pannaga bandha moksha,

Thad bahu darpa dalanad ushaya cha yoga,

Pradhymnina druthamalamyatha yath prasada,

Sa may shivaa sakalamapya shubham kshinothu. 14

I request removal of all bad aspects by that consort of Shiva,

Who blessed the son of Pradhyumna with release,

From the ties of the serpent arrow sent by Banasura,

And destroyed the pride of Bana making his marriage with Usha possible.

(This story is from Bhagawatha. Pradhyumna falls in love with Usha the daughter of Banasura. With the blessings of Devi, Lord Krishna helps him.)

Papa pulasthya thanaya punaruthidho ma,

Madhyapi harthumayamagatha ithyudeetham,

Yathsevanena bhaya mindiraya avadhootham,

Tham adhi deva tharunim saranam gathosmi. 15

Let me seek protection of the lady of Lord Parameshwara,

By whose worship Rukmani got rid of the fear,

Of her being sought in marriage by Shishupala,

Whom she thought as the son of sage Pulasthya born again.

(Another incident from Bhagawatha. Princess Rukhmani falls in love with Lord Krishna. She is afraid that King Shishu pala , who she thinks is like Ravana(son of sage Pulasthya) will marry her against her wishes and prays Devi. Lord Krishna abducts her during the time of this marriage , and marries her himself.)

Yaddhayanajam sukhamavapyamanantha punyai,

Sakshathamachuytha parigrahamaswa vapu,

Gopangana kila yadarchana punyamaathra,

Sa may sada bhagawathee bhavathu prasanna. 16

Always I should get the grace of that Goddess,

By whose worship for a month, the Gopis,

Were able to embrace Lord Krishna and were happy,

While by constant meditation, he can be seen only by mind’s eye.

(The Gopis were able to embrace Lord Krishna by their prayer to Devi but even great sages are only able to see him in their mind’s eye.)

Rathrim prapadhya ithi manthra vida prapanna,

Nudbhodhya mruthyavadhi manya phalai pralobhya,

Bhudwaja thadwimukhatham prathanan nayanthi,

Makasa madhi jananim jagatham bhaje thaam. 17

I pray that primeval mother of the world,

Who instead of waking up and offering mundane things,

Offers the eternal salvation , to those who want it,

If they seek her protection by chanting the mantra starting with “Rathrim prapadhye.”

(Reference is being made to Rathri Suktham of Sama Veda which is a prayer to the Goddess.)

Desa kaleshu dushteshu durga chandrakala sthuthi,

Sandhyayor anusandhaya sarva papa nivrataye. 18

You can get freedom from all dangers,

By chanting this prayer to “Durga Chandra kala”.

During dusk and dawn when the place and times are corrupted.