Sharing the verses of Sri Durga Saptashloki
Sri Durga Saptashloki comprises of 7 verses. The verses in English, and their meaning & essence are included below.
Beginning
Om asya śrī durgā saptaślōkī stōtramantrasya nārāyaṇa ṛṣiḥ, anuṣṭup Chandaḥ, śrī mahākāḻī mahālakṣmī mahāsarasvatyō dēvatāḥ, śrī durgā prītyarthaṃ saptaślōkī durgāpāṭhē viniyōgaḥ
Meaning
Om, this is Sri Durga SaptashlokiStotraMaha Mantra …by Sri Narayana Rishi. It is in Anusthup (4 verses, 8 syllables). This Mahamantra is dedicated to the Goddesses Mahakali, Lakshmi & Saraswathi. It is meant to the recited to please Jagadamba (mother of the universe).
Verse 1
jñānināmapi chētāṃsi dēvī bhagavatī hi sā ।
balādākṛṣya mōhāya mahāmāyā prayachChati ॥ 1 ॥
Meaning
Even the minds of the wise ones are a part of You, O Devi Bhagavati. You draw their minds towards moha (confusion) by your power as Mahamaya. The shloka implies that even for a person of wisdom, Devi can create a setback or confusion. This shows how amazing her greatness and glory are. We can pray to her for removing our ignorance and blessing us with self knowledge.
By worshipping her we are freed from the biggest confusion of thinking that we are separate and hence lonely, isolated and we can be blessed by the knowledge of our inherent oneness.
Verse 2
durgē smṛtā harasi bhītimaśēṣajantōḥ
svasthaiḥ smṛtā matimatīva śubhāṃ dadāsi ।
dāridryaduḥkha bhayahāriṇi kā tvadanyā
sarvōpakārakaraṇāya sadārdra chittā ॥ 2 ॥
Meaning
O Devi Durga, whoever remembers you with devotion, you remove the endless fears from the mind of that person. Whoever meditates on you in their heart, you bestow exceeding auspiciousness beyond description. Apart from you, who else can destroy poverty, sorrow and fear from our lives? Your heart is always full of compassion for helping your devotees.
We may be experiencing poverty of wealth. We might face poverty of ideas. We could be starved of love. We may feel like we don’t have enough or we are not enough. Whatever we lack, Durga who other than you can remove it our lives? We may be experiencing sorrow of any kind, loss of a loved one or loss of opportunities or loss of time squandered away or the existential sorrow hidden in every human heart. Whatever be our sorrow or even fear, who else other than you can it away Durga?
Verse 3
sarvamaṅgaḻamāṅgaḻyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē ।
śaraṇyē tryambakē gaurī nārāyaṇi namō’stu tē ॥ 3 ॥
Meaning
O Auspiciousness in all the auspicious, Auspiciousness Herself and Fulfiller of all the pursuits of the Devotees (Purusharthas – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha), the giver of Refuge, with Three Eyes (spanning the Past, Present and Future; and containing within them the Sun, Moon and the Fire), the Gauri (Shining One); Salutations to You O Narayani.
This shloka can be chanted daily a certain number of times for fulfillment of our desires.
Verse 4
śaraṇāgatadīnārtaparitrāṇaparāyaṇē ।
sarvasyārtiharē dēvi nārāyaṇi namō’stu tē ॥ 4 ॥
Meaning
You are Intent upon rescuing the distressed and the oppressed. They take your refuge whole-heartedly. You remove all their sufferings. Salutations to You O Narayani.
In surrender we stop obsessing about our problems and start being a part of the solution. In surrender we stop being subjective and start being objective about Devi’s power to help. In surrender we stop resisting our situations and opening ourselves to possibilities.
Verse 5
sarvasvarūpē sarvēśē sarvaśaktisamanvitē ।
bhayēbhyastrāhi nō dēvi durgē dēvi namō’stu tē ॥ 5 ॥
Meaning
You exist in all forms of all Gods, and You are the possessor of all powers, O Devi, please protect us from all fears; salutations to you, O Durga Devi.
The one who is all shakti. She is the shakti of the other devi ganas such as Brahmi, Mheshwari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi. And most definitely as iccha shakti, jnana shakti, kriya shakti svarupini. These words in the Lalita sahasranama – a set of 1000 words in praise of Devi, remind us of our shakti that we are blessed with, every moment of our lives.
Verse 6
rōgānaśēṣānapahaṃsi tuṣṭā-
ruṣṭā tu kāmān sakalānabhīṣṭān ।
tvāmāśritānāṃ na vipannarāṇāṃ
tvāmāśritā hyāśrayatāṃ prayānti ॥ 6 ॥
Meaning
When you are pleased with our devotion, you destroy the very root of our wordly diseases, but if you are displeased with us for any reason, you will destroy all our aspirations and wishes, and they remain unfulfilled. By taking refuge in you, one cannot go astray and overcome misfortunes. Your refuge is my final refuge when I depart from this world.
For those who have sought refuge in you, there is no vipat – vipat means accident, misfortune, danger, failure, trouble.
Devi you stop all troubles from reaching the devotee or even if there is trouble you protect them from feeling troubled or the troubles pass away quickly.
The one who seeks refuge in you himself or herself becomes a refuge for others. They are protected as well as blessed with greatness and power to bless others. That person stops having an agenda for herself. She is fully available to help and bless with no expectation of appreciation or acknowledgment.
Verse 7
sarvabādhāpraśamanaṃ trailōkyasyākhilēśvari ।
ēvamēva tvayā kāryamasmadvairi vināśanam ॥ 7 ॥
Meaning
O Goddess of all the three worlds, you mitigate all our distresses. Thus, your Grace works to destroy our enemies and our distresses.
Devi is addressed as Akhileshwari, the ruler of the trayalokah the 3 worlds. Baadha is an obstacle, suffering or pain, prashamanam is the pacifying, curing, healing. I seek your help in the pacifying of misunderstandings I have with friends and family, the stopping of fights and wars, the healing of diseases that do not allow me to lead a full life, the obstacles I put in my own way through self defeating thoughts. We seek relief from all of these.
The complete destruction – vinaashanam of the vairi – enemy should be done by you alone – evameva as you are the goddess of all things – small and big.
Vairi are inimical forces such as negativity, pessimism, unnecessary criticism, corruption, talking ill of others, words and deeds that cause harm to oneself and the environment, basically adharma. Anything that prevents and stunts the glory and greatness of all beings is inimical to it.