ମାତୃକାଵର୍ଣ ସ୍ତୋତ୍ରମ୍

Twelve verses to the alphabet itself as a goddess — the Matrika, mother of the letters, saluted in the first verse as Ganesha and the planets and the constellations and the yoginis and the signs of the zodiac all at once, and as the seat on which the letters stand. The third verse states the claim the hymn rests on: a man who perfects even one syllable of hers contends with the sun and Garuda and the moon, with Kama, with Shankara, with fire and with Vishnu. The three worlds are strung on the great thread of her letters, her eight groups of letters are the eight great powers, and she dwells in the Sri Pitha as the syllable that fulfils desire, where the hymn names her Sri Tripura. It closes with its most quoted verse: as the earth alone holds up those whose feet slip on the earth, so you alone are the refuge of those who have offended you.