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Shakta · Purana

Devi Mahatmya

The 'Glory of the Goddess', a 700-verse text in the Markandeya Purana and the founding scripture of Shaktism; tells of the Goddess slaying Mahishasura and Shumbha-Nishumbha. Recited at Navaratri. Also called the Durga Saptashati or Chandi.

A quick reference entry. For the full account, follow the guides below.

Appears in

  • The Unwritten Library Treatise

    …les of cosmic time, the Bhagavata Purana and the love of Krishna, the Devi Mahatmya and the supreme Goddess, and the living, ever-rewritten Purana that became the scripture of the whole people.

  • Who is the Goddess? Deities

    …a lion, and went to do what the male gods could not. That text is the Devi Mahatmya.

  • What is Navaratri? Worship

    Its name is the Devi Mahatmya , the "Glory of the Goddess," also called the Durga Saptashati , the "seven hundred verses of Durga," and recited simply as the Chandi .

  • The Nine Nights Treatise

    The demon none could kill The story is the Devi Mahatmya , the Glory of the Goddess, a text embedded in the Markandeya Purana and dated by scholars to around the fifth or sixth century of the Common Era, the fi…

  • The Goddess Takes the Field Treatise

    Seven hundred verses The Devi Mahatmya , the Glory of the Goddess, is not a whole Purana.

  • The Mothers Treatise

    The Matrikas ('the Mothers') are a group of fierce mother-goddesses, most often counted as seven (Sapta-Matrika) or eight (Ashta-Matrika), who function as the…

  • What is Shaktism? Lineages

    It was folded into a larger work, the Markandeya Purana , as its chapters 81 to 93, and it took on a life of its own. Hindus call it the Devi Mahatmya , the Glory of the Goddess.