Devi Devotion & Surrender Devotional Verse
The well-known refrain of the Devi Stuti in the Devi Mahatmya (Durga Saptashati): salutations to the Goddess who lives in all beings. Text and meaning.
Sanskrit
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु विष्णुमायेति शब्दिता ।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥
The same two lines are repeated through the hymn. Only the middle words change, naming each way the Goddess is present in beings (for example “as consciousness”, “as intelligence”). This page gives the first of them.
Transliteration (IAST)
yā devī sarvabhūteṣu viṣṇumāyeti śabditā |
namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaḥ ||
Meaning
To the Goddess who is called Vishnumaya (Vishnu’s own power) in all beings: salutations to her, salutations to her, salutations to her, salutations again and again.
Source / Textual Reference
Devi Mahatmya (Durga Saptashati), chapter 5, the Devi Stuti (Devi Suktam); numbered 5.16 in the Chandi Path edition we compared, 5.14 in some others
Verse numbers in this hymn differ between editions, and a few verses of the hymn are found only in some versions. The Devi Mahatmya forms part of the Markandeya Purana. Text compared with Sanskrit Documents (Chandi Path) and the Wikipedia article on the Devisuktam.
Traditional Significance
These lines come from the hymn of praise that the gods sing to the Goddess in chapter 5 of the Devi Mahatmya (Durga Saptashati), a text widely read during Navratri. Each verse of the hymn says that the Goddess lives in all beings as one of their qualities, and each ends with the same three-fold salutation.
It is a verse of devotion and praise. It does not promise any result to the reader.
Traditional Practice
The hymn is recited as part of reading the Devi Mahatmya, especially at Navratri, and on its own in Devi worship. How often and at what time are matters of family or lineage custom.
Related Content
- Sarva Mangala Mangalye, another verse of the Devi Mahatmya
- The Goddess and Mahishasura, the story of the Devi Mahatmya
- Durga Ashtami