ଶ୍ରୀ ବାଲା ଶାନ୍ତି ସ୍ତୋତ୍ରମ୍

Sixteen verses spoken by Bhairava, built on a refrain that asks for one thing only — be peace in my worship. Every verse begins with jaya, victory, and stacks two or three epithets before the refrain: victory to the goddess, holder of the world, victory to her who carries off the mass of sins, victory to her who quiets sorrow. The second turns to her by name — Bala, supreme mistress, maker of the end of the age, destroyer of every misfortune — and the pattern holds to the end. What the hymn asks for is not a boon but a condition: that the goddess herself be present as peace while the worship is going on. The closing verse promises every good thing, victory everywhere, and the merit of a crore of pilgrimages and a crore of gifts.