ଜଯଦୁର୍ଗାସ୍ତୋତ୍ରମ୍

A hymn spoken by Brahma in the Brahmavaivarta, whose body is an etymology. Eight names are set down in the first verse — Durga, Shiva, Abhaya, Maya, Narayani, Sanatani, Jaya, Sarvamangala — and the fifteen verses after it take them apart letter by letter, so that in Durga the da destroys the daityas, the u obstacles, the ra disease, the ga sin, and the last vowel fear and enemies; or else durga is calamity and the vowel its undoing; or else Durga was a lord of the daityas whom she killed. The rest is the hymn's own history. Narayana gave the eight names to Brahma on the navel-lotus and then slept, and Brahma used them when Madhu and Kaitabha rose against him; the closing verses say the women of Vraja kept it for a month and won Hari.