mahiṣāsuramardinī stotram

O Daughter of the Mountain, who delight the earth, who make the whole universe enjoy, who are praised by Nandikesvara, who dwel l on the summit of the king of mountains, the Vindhyas, who took t he form of the consort of Vishnu (as Lakshmi), who are praised by Indra, O consort of Siva (the blue-necked), who have innumerable families, who are the Creatrix of the whole universe, who slew the demon Mahisha, w ho have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail u nto You, hail unto You.

O Daughter of the Mountain, who delight Indra, who cru shed the demon Durdhara, who subdued Durmukha, who are immersed in bliss, who nourish all the three worlds, who make Sankara happy, who remove all sins, who delight in celebration, who are angry with Asur as, who destroy evil pride, who destroyed the demon Durdama, who was b orn as the daughter of the ocean (as Lakshmi), who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto Y ou.

O Mother of the universe, who enjoy dwelling in Kadambavan a, who is anointed with perfume, who sport a gentle smile, who dwell in Your abode on the peak of the lofty Himalaya mountain, the crest -jewel among mountains, who enjoy the sweetness of honey, who slew Madhu and Kaitabha, who destroy all sins, who delight in the Raasa da nce, who crushed Mahishasura, who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

You who eliminated Dhoomralochana and hundreds of Dho omras by a mere ‘humkaara’, who slew in battle numerous Raktabijas wh o rose up from the blood of Raktabija who was weakened in the fight, and, wonder of wonders, who slew in a mighty battle Sumbha, Nisumbha, and the arrogant leaders of the ghosts, who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You .

You who cut down with the weapon known as ‘Satakhand a’ the heads and trunks of mighty elephants, whose mount is the powerful l ion which killed the elephants of the enemy with severe blows on their necks, w ho killed the ferocious generals of the army of Bhandasura with b lows by your hand, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

You whose clinking bangles shine by contact with your body in the festival of the battle with bows, whose enemies are killed by blo ws on the back of their necks with the weapon known as ‘Sringa’ which i s resplendent like gold and yellow in colour, and adorns your hip, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hai l unto You, hail unto You. been removed by the slaying of arrogant enemies in battle, who ma de Siva Your messenger—Siva who is foremost in the art of discriminat ing between right and wrong, who slew the demon messenger who was sinful, cruel, and evil-minded, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You . 8. You whose hands gave protection and boons to the brave husba nds of the women in the enemy’s camp who surrendered themselves to You, who wield in Your hand for the slaying of enemies the sanctifi ed trident which removes the sorrows of all the three worlds, who make the quarters resound with the divine musical instrument known as ‘Dundubhi’, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You. 9. You whose praises are sung by people ever eager to praise You with charming words like ‘victory to You’, who captivate even Siva, t he Lord of all beings with the clinging sound of Your anklets, who are fo nd of dancing with Siva in the sport in which He dances as Ardhanarees wara, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mount ain, hail unto You, hail unto You. 10. You who are supremely lustrous and decorated by the flower s in the form of the charming minds of the good, who shine like the mo on for the lotuses in a lotus-pond, the movement of whose charming eyes gives t he impression of hovering bees, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You . 11. You who are fond of the sport in the form of a might y battle against groups of mighty warriors, who are surrounded by hunters who build their huts with creepers and forest tribes known as Mallikas, Jh illikas and Bhillikas, whose body is soft like the beautiful tender r ed leaf, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You. 12. You whose gait is like that of a well-nourished lordly elephant in rut along whose cheeks there is an abundant flow of ichor, You who took the form of Goddess Lakshmi, the daughter of the ocean of milk wh ich is the place of origin of the moon which is the eternal ornament of the three worlds, who captivate even Manmatha who captivates the minds of beautiful women full of desire, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You . 13. O You whose forehead is incomparable and is lustrous like a tender beautiful lotus petal, who are the repository of all kinds of dances and are like the gently cooing swan, in whose hair there is an arra y of bees, whose hair is adorned with a garland of beautiful flowers, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail u nto You, hail unto You. 14. You who put to shame even the koel with the sweet tunes spr eading out from Your flute, who move about among the creepers in the Kailasa mountain, who enjoy the dances of Your divine damsels and vari ous other sports, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You. 15. You set at nought even the splendour of the moon with the charm of your reddish body, black locks of hair and the yellow robe worn around the waist, whose toe-nails shine with the resplendence of the gems in the crowns of the gods and asuras who prostrate before You, whose hi gh breasts quiver as if by the force of the torrents of water flowi ng down from the summits of the Meru mountain which was conquered by Lord Siva, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You. 16. You who by Your splendour defeat even the sun with thousa nds of rays, You who are prostrated to by the sun god with his tho usands of rays, You who were praised by the son of Tarakasura after th at asura was killed by Your son Lord Subrahmanya in the battle bet ween the gods and Tarakasura when the gods were defeated, You who were pleased with the chanting of mantras by the royal sage Suratha and the Vaisya named Samadhi who was himself like samadhi and who prayed for nirvikalpa samadhi, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You. 17. Whoever constantly worships Your lotus feet, You who are th e abode of compassion and who are auspiciousness itself, he will certainly be endowed with all prosperity. O Goddess Parvati, I who alway s meditate on Your lotus feet looking upon them as my ultimate refuge wi ll certainly get it. O Goddess Lakshmi, who bestow everything on devotees, You wh o have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hai l unto You, hail unto You. 18. Whoever sprinkles the sacred precincts of Your abode with water from a golden pot will attain the position of Indra by Your grace. O consort of Lord Siva, I take refuge at Your holy feet. Deign t o bless me with all prosperity, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You. 19. Whoever repeatedly meditates on Your divine face adorned by th e crescent moon, will he ever be rejected by beautiful women like tho se in Indra’s abode? O most valued treasure of Siva, why do You no t fulfill my wishes, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You. 20. O Goddess Uma, deign to bestow on me also Your compassion, You who are always inclined to shower compassion on the weak, O Go ddess Rama, may You be hailed as the Mother of the universe. You ar e my mother also. I too am Your son. You may reject my prayer if it is not proper. Deign to remove my sorrow. **************

You whose hands gave protection and boons to the brave husba nds of the women in the enemy’s camp who surrendered themselves to You, who wield in Your hand for the slaying of enemies the sanctifi ed trident which removes the sorrows of all the three worlds, who make the quarters resound with the divine musical instrument known as ‘Dundubhi’, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

You whose praises are sung by people ever eager to praise You with charming words like ‘victory to You’, who captivate even Siva, t he Lord of all beings with the clinging sound of Your anklets, who are fo nd of dancing with Siva in the sport in which He dances as Ardhanarees wara, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mount ain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

You who are supremely lustrous and decorated by the flower s in the form of the charming minds of the good, who shine like the mo on for the lotuses in a lotus-pond, the movement of whose charming eyes gives t he impression of hovering bees, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You .

You who are fond of the sport in the form of a might y battle against groups of mighty warriors, who are surrounded by hunters who build their huts with creepers and forest tribes known as Mallikas, Jh illikas and Bhillikas, whose body is soft like the beautiful tender r ed leaf, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

You whose gait is like that of a well-nourished lordly elephant in rut along whose cheeks there is an abundant flow of ichor, You who took the form of Goddess Lakshmi, the daughter of the ocean of milk wh ich is the place of origin of the moon which is the eternal ornament of the three worlds, who captivate even Manmatha who captivates the minds of beautiful women full of desire, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You .

O You whose forehead is incomparable and is lustrous like a tender beautiful lotus petal, who are the repository of all kinds of dances and are like the gently cooing swan, in whose hair there is an arra y of bees, whose hair is adorned with a garland of beautiful flowers, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail u nto You, hail unto You.

You who put to shame even the koel with the sweet tunes spr eading out from Your flute, who move about among the creepers in the Kailasa mountain, who enjoy the dances of Your divine damsels and vari ous other sports, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

You set at nought even the splendour of the moon with the charm of your reddish body, black locks of hair and the yellow robe worn around the waist, whose toe-nails shine with the resplendence of the gems in the crowns of the gods and asuras who prostrate before You, whose hi gh breasts quiver as if by the force of the torrents of water flowi ng down from the summits of the Meru mountain which was conquered by Lord Siva, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

You who by Your splendour defeat even the sun with thousa nds of rays, You who are prostrated to by the sun god with his tho usands of rays, You who were praised by the son of Tarakasura after th at asura was killed by Your son Lord Subrahmanya in the battle bet ween the gods and Tarakasura when the gods were defeated, You who were pleased with the chanting of mantras by the royal sage Suratha and the Vaisya named Samadhi who was himself like samadhi and who prayed for nirvikalpa samadhi, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

Whoever constantly worships Your lotus feet, You who are th e abode of compassion and who are auspiciousness itself, he will certainly be endowed with all prosperity. O Goddess Parvati, I who alway s meditate on Your lotus feet looking upon them as my ultimate refuge wi ll certainly get it. O Goddess Lakshmi, who bestow everything on devotees, You wh o have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hai l unto You, hail unto You.

Whoever sprinkles the sacred precincts of Your abode with water from a golden pot will attain the position of Indra by Your grace. O consort of Lord Siva, I take refuge at Your holy feet. Deign t o bless me with all prosperity, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

Whoever repeatedly meditates on Your divine face adorned by th e crescent moon, will he ever be rejected by beautiful women like tho se in Indra’s abode? O most valued treasure of Siva, why do You no t fulfill my wishes, You who have charming locks of hair, O Daughter of the Mountain, hail unto You, hail unto You.

O Goddess Uma, deign to bestow on me also Your compassion, You who are always inclined to shower compassion on the weak, O Go ddess Rama, may You be hailed as the Mother of the universe. You ar e my mother also. I too am Your son. You may reject my prayer if it is not proper. Deign to remove my sorrow.