1) Dēvī Māhātmyam ("The Glory of the Goddess is a Shaktism scripture that elevates the Divine Mother to the place of ultimate prominence as the supreme creator and ruler of the universe.
Subsequently, this text Dēvī Māhātmyam is structurally embedded in chapters 81–93 of the Markandeya Purana, which was composed at a much later date.
Much before Tantra texts came into existence, this text is known as Dēvī Māhātmyam, as the Devi is frequently referred to a Caṇḍikā or Devi or Ambikā. Very rarely, Devi is called Durga.
a) Dēvī Māhātmyam is also known as Durga Saptaśatī, which means that the text contains 700 shlokas. If we carefully study, the Durga Saptashati contains only 535 Anushtup shlokas. The followers of tantra added 57 Uvacha mantras and 42 arthashlokas and 66 Avadānāni, which appear in Dēvī Māhātmyam, also to the 535 shlokas to make it 700 shlokas.
b) What are the 66 Avadānāni (अवदानानि)?
In Vedic and Puranic ritual contexts, the word Avadāna (अवदान) refers to a portion of an offering, a sacrificial fragment, or a specific narrative unit meant for an oblation (Ahuti.
Specifically, in the Devi Mahatmyam, the 66 Avadanas refer to the 66 special triple-foot mantras (Tri-pāda mantras) found in the 5th Chapter (Pañcama Adhyāya).
How the Count is Derived:
- The
22 Core Verses: In
Chapter 5, from verse 9 to verse 82, the divinities praise the Devi Chandika
in her various forms (e.g., "Yā devī sarvabhūteṣu viṣṇumāyeti
śabditā..."). There are 22 specific verses in this
section that contain the famous repetitive salutation:{"Namastasyai\
Namastasyai\ Namastasyai\ Namo\ Namaḥ"}\)
- The Triple Splitting: For ritualistic practices and Havan (fire sacrifices), each repetition of the word "Namastasyai" is counted as a separate, distinct offering unit (Avadāna).
c) Uvacha Mantras (e.g., Rishiruvacha, Devyuvacha)
d) Ardha-shlokas (Half-verses treated as separate, complete units of injection)
A prominent example of an Ardha-shloka occurs at the very end of Chapter 10 (The Slaying of Shumbha):
Sanskrit Text:
जज्वलुश्चाग्नयः शान्ताः शान्ता दिग्जनितस्वनाः ॥ (jajvaluścāgnayaḥ śāntāḥ śāntā digjanitasvanāḥ ॥)
Translation: "The sacrificial fires blazed up with a calm and auspicious glow, and the terrifying noises that had been echoing from all directions fell completely silent."
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2) Bhagavad gita, which also contains 700 shlokas, did not add uvacha mantras like “धृतराष्ट्र उवाच “, " श्री भगवानुवाच" to the core shlokas so that the total number of shlokas to become 700. It contains standalone 700 shlokas.
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3) Due to addition of 57 Uvacha mantras and 42 arthashlokas and 66 Avadānāni, which appear in Dēvī Māhātmyam, also to the 535 shlokas so as to make it 700 shlokas text, the tantra people converted it to a tantric text, instead of a soft poetic narrative praising the achievements of Devi.
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4) Further, the tantric people popularised the name Durga Saptaśatī ( a text with 700 verses) for this text, instead of the original name of Dēvī Māhātmyam, though Devi is called very rarely as Durga in Dēvī Māhātmyam.
दुर्गादेवीति विख्यातं तन्मे नाम भविष्यति ।
पुनश्चाहं यदा भीमं रूपं कृत्वा हिमाचले ॥ (11th Chapter)
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5) In 7th chapter it was mentioned that Kali emerges from Caṇḍikā.
भ्रुकुटीकुटिलात्तस्या ललाटफलकाद्द्रुतम् ।
काली करालवदना विनिष्क्रान्तासिपाशिनी ॥ ७.६॥
Kali kills Chanda and Munda and thus, Chandika names Kali as called चामुण्ड - Cāmuṇḍa. Therefore, Cāmuṇḍa is structurally a subset/offshoot of Caṇḍikā.
यस्माच्चण्डं च मुण्डं च गृहीत्वा त्वमुपागता ।
चामुण्डेति ततो लोके ख्याता देवी भविष्यसि ॥ ७.२७॥
In the very first chapter of Dēvī Māhātmyam, Devi Caṇḍikā is praised as ॐ नमश्चण्डिकायै.
So, the mantra of Devi Caṇḍikā should be ॐ नमश्चण्डिकायै, but cannot be ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे (Navarna Mantra).
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6) Further, by altering the mantra of the Devi from ॐ नमश्चण्डिकायै to ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे, the tantra people totally altered way of worship from Satvik to Rajasik or Tamasik.
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7) Finally, a ridiculous inclusion of mandatory recitation by the practitioner of Shapoddhara Mantra, before starting the recitation of Dēvī Māhātmyam text proper.
According to Hindu scriptural tradition, the Durga Saptaśatī was cursed by Brahma, Rishi Vashishta, and Rishi Vishvamitra. Because of this threefold curse, the text is traditionally believed to be spiritually "locked" or "neutralized" for common use, making it necessary to recite the Shapoddhara Mantra (also known as the Shaap Vimochan Mantra) to unlock its full spiritual potency.
- Shapoddhara Mantra: Recited at the very beginning to explicitly lift the curses imposed by Brahma, Rishi Vashishta, and Rishi Vishvamitra
- Utkilana Mantra: Recited to "un-pin" or release the hidden energy of the verses.
- Keelakam Stotram: Shiva is also said to have "locked" (keelit) the high-voltage energy of the Chandi Path so that practitioners wouldn't face unintended side effects from incorrect pronunciation. Reading the Keelakam removes Shiva's lock
It is quite ridiculous to think that some rishis, Brahma, Shiva, who were considered to be at a lower level to Devi Caṇḍikā, can lock something in the text related to Devi Caṇḍikā and Devi remains silent.
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8) In ancient Indian literature, titles on front covers did not exist. A text defined itself at the end of each chapter in the colophon. The chapter colophons (the concluding statements) are the most conservative and structurally unaltered parts of any manuscript tradition.
The colophons across almost all authentic palm-leaf and early printed manuscripts of this text uniformly declare it as the "Devī Māhātmyam. - ॥ इति श्री देवीमाहात्म्ये ..........ऽध्यायः ॥ "
If the original name of this text is Durgā Saptaśatī, the colophons across all authentic palm-leaf and early printed manuscripts of this text uniformly should have declared it as the ॥ इति श्री दुर्गासप्तशतीयां ..........ऽध्यायः ॥ ".
Hence, we can safely conclude that the original name of this text was "Devī Māhātmyam, but not Durgā Saptaśatī.
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According to my understanding, this is the inclusion of Tantriks to uphold their superiority.
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