Bhagavadgita Parva — Hymn to Durga

Sanjaya said Having seen the army of Dhritarashtra's son approach with the desire to fight, Krishna spoke these words to Arjuna for his benefit.

The Deity said “O mighty-armed hero, purifying yourself, utter, on the even of battle, the hymn to Durga, so that you may defeat the foe".

Sanjaya said Being thus addressed by the greatly wise Vasudeva, the son of Pritha, Arjuna alighted from his car and chanted the following hymn with joined hands.

Arjuna said O lord of the Yogins, O dweller of Mandara forest, O identified Deity with Brahma, I bow to you. O Goddess free from decrepitude and decay, O Kali, O wife of Kapala, O Deity of black and brown colour,

I bow to you. O giver of benefits to your devotecs, O Mahakali, I bow to you. O wife of the universal destroyer, I bow to you. O proud one, O rescuer from dangers, O possessor of every auspicious attribute, I bow to you.

O goddess who has sprung from the Katar ace, O worshipped of all, O fearful one, O giver of victory, O victory itself, O bearer of the banner of peacocks plumes, O wearer of ornaments.

O wielder of fearful spear, O holder of sword and shield, O the younger sister of the cowherd chief, O eldest one, O goddess born in the race of Nandagopa,

O lover of buffalo's blood, o deity born in the race of Kushika, O wearer of yellow robes, O devourer of Asuras, O lover of battle, I bow to you.

O Uma, O Shakambhari, O white-coloured deity, O black-coloured goddess, O destroyer of Kaitabha Asura, O yellow-eyed one, O various eyed one, O smoke coloured eyed one, I bow to you. You are the Vedas, you are the Shrutis, you are the highest virtue. You are propitious to Brahmanas who are engaged in sacrifices, you posses the knowledge of the past, you are ever present in the sacred abodes erected in your honour in the Jambudvipa.

You are the science of Brahma among sciences, you are that sleep of creatures, which has no waking, C_mother of Skanda, O possessor of the six attributes, O Durga, O dweller of inaccessible regions,

You are described as svaha, as svadha as Kala, as Kashta, as Sarasvati, as Savitri, the mother of the Vedas and as the science of the Vedanta.

O great goddess with my inner soul purified, I adore you. Let, through your grace, victory always attend me in the field of battle.

You always live in inaccessible regions where there is fear, in places of difficulty, in the abodes of your worshippers and in the nether region. You always anguish the Asuras.

You are consciousness, you are sleep, you are illusion, you are modesty, you are beauty. You are the twilight's, you are the day, you are Savitri, you are the mother.

You are contentment, you are growth you are light, you support the sun and the moon, you make them shine. You are the prosperity of those that are prosperous. The Siddhas and the Charanas see you in the Samadhi.

Sanjaya said Knowing Partha's (Arjuna's) great devotion, Durga, who is always graciously inclined towards mankind, appeared in the sky. In the presence of Govinda (Krishna) she thus spoke to Arjuna.

The goddess said O son of Pandu, you will vanquish your enemy in no time. O invincible one. You have Narayana himself to help you.

You are incapable of being defeated by any foe, not even by the wielder of thunder-bolt (Indra). Having said this, that boon-giving goddess disappeared.

The son of Kunti (Arjuna), considered himself blessed by obtaining that boon. Partha then mounted his excellent chariot.

Then Krishna and Arjuna, both seated in one car, blew their celestial conchs. The man, who chants this hymn in the morning.

Has nothing to fear from the Yakshas, the Rakshasas and Pishachas,. He will have no enemies. He will have no fear from snakes and all animals that have poisonous stings and teeth, and also from kings. He is certain to win victory in all disputes. If bound, he will be freed from the bonds.

He is certain to get over all difficulties, be is certain to be freed from thieves. He will ever win victory, and the goddess of prosperity.

He will live with health and strength for one hundred years. I have known all this through the grace of the greatly wise Vyasa.

Your wicked sons, however, having been entangled in the meshes of death do not, out of ignorance, know them to be Nara and Narayana.

Entangled in the net and death, they do not know that the last hour of their kingdom has come. Dvaipayana (Vyasa) Narada, Kanva, the sinless Rama had dissuaded your son. But he did not accept their words. Where there is piety there are glory and beauty. Where there is modesty there are intelligence and prosperity. Where there is righteousness, there is Krishna, and where there is Krishna, there is victory.