Four Durga Saptashati Hymns That Need No Initiation, With Unfailing Effect

The speaker says this video is for completely new sadhakas and sadhikas who have just started walking — who, after hearing videos or others, feel drawn to the Durga Saptashati and wish to recite it this Navratri, but do not see a direct path as possible, whether from lack of time or because they cannot pronounce Sanskrit. If they are learning, he says, that is very good; it will not happen the first time, but by Bhagavati's grace they will surely do the Saptashati path, and the sooner in life the better. Still, this Navratri must not go empty. He asks that this be done by younger brothers and sisters, by children of the house who have reached 9th or 10th class and can read — anyone short of time. Those who have time should do the Saptashati path; not everyone will. But whoever, for any reason, lacks the capacity for the full path and recites the four stutis he is describing, which lie inside the Saptashati, will receive Bhagavati's special grace and the fruit of the Saptashati path. The reason he gives: in the shlokas of these stutis the presence of the ten Mahavidyass forms — the great shaktis, the fiercest chief forms of Bhagavati, the Navadurga, the ten Mahavidyas, the Ashtamatrika, the 64 Yoginis — all of them become present in these mantras. So the effect of the Saptashati's 700 mantras is here in essence, its ark and nichod. He points to an earlier video that describes in full which Mahavidyas are present in the 15 shlokas of the Tantrokta hymn; here he only asks the listener to know that all the Mahavidyas are present in all of these stutis, which is why the full fruit is obtained. He draws the boundary clearly: this is for those who cannot do the full path. It is not at all the case that those who do the full path should leave it and start doing this. It is for new people just beginning, and for those without time who would otherwise say "leave it, do nothing" — better than that, do this.

The speaker says the first of the four is the Tantrokta Ratri Suktam itself, 15 shlokas. Go to the first chapter, the first charitra: shlokas 73 to 87 — these 15 are the Tantrokta Ratri Suktam, the stuti Brahma ji made of Bhagavati Yoganidra, who appears from Bhagavan Vishnu's eyes for the killing of Madhu and Kaitabha. From it, he says, the Devi's fiercest grace comes, because everyone's presence is in it — all the shaktis are present in these 15 shlokas. So recite it, and have it recited by those short of time: reading 15 shlokas will not take even 15 minutes; it is done comfortably in 5 to 10. At the very least, he says, during Navratri the children and old people of the house who cannot do anything else should light one dhoop and lamp each day and recite it. It is the smallest, and through it everyone's grace comes: whether you lack strength, lack wealth, have a problem of illness or a problem of money — in all of these Bhagavati shows grace. And whoever becomes your enemy, her blow falls on all of them. By its grace, he says, you get the full fruit.

The second hymn, the speaker says, is in the fourth chapter of the Durga Saptashati: from the first shloka to the 27th, the Shakradi Stuti, the praise of Bhagavati made by Indra and the other gods. If you recite this stuti of 27 shlokas, he says, whatever Lakshmi-related problem you have, however big, Bhagavati removes it. His reason: it is the stuti of the Madhyama charitra, made by the wealth-possessing gods for the sake of gaining back their wealth — when Mahishasura had seized all their aishvarya, after their riches were taken, Bhagavati's presence was brought about through these shlokas by praising her. So by the effect of these shlokas Mahalakshmi shows special grace. He adds that apart from this, each shloka has its own independent prayoga in which all the Mahavidyass are present — but that is a different matter altogether, a most secret subject that he is placing before everyone gradually. What he wants known now is that if you have no time, reciting these 27 shlokas will certainly bring Bhagavati's special grace.

After the Ratri Suktam and the Shakradi Stuti, the speaker comes to the fifth chapter, which he calls the heart — the heart of Devi devotees. Even if you do nothing else, do this; and if you keep Navratri, it is absolutely mandatory for you. After Ghatasthapana, until this is recited, it is held that Bhagavati has not come and gone at all. He says that at the time of pratishtha of any Yantra, Vigreh or astra, and at the time of establishing a peetha, the Tantrokta Devisuktam is always recited along with the AtharvashirshaA Vedic Upanishadic hymn drawn from the Atharvaveda (here, to Ganapati) — self-proven (Siddha), but its Vedic mantras demand correct pronunciation., because by the mere recitation of these Bhagavati's closeness (sannidhya) is obtained. Take it, he says, as the heart of the Saptashati. Its location: in the fifth chapter of the Durga Saptashati, from the 9th shloka to the 82nd. The Tantrokta Devi Suktam is also given independently — it stands within the Saptashati as its own unit — so you can recite it on its own as well.

The speaker raises a question that comes up here: how does the Tantrokta Devisuktam come to 82 — 81, 82 — shlokas, when there are not that many? His answer is a rule that people who do Havan must especially note: havan of the Devi Suktam is not done straight through with the whole mantra as one unit. In it, every "Namastasyai" has been counted as a complete shloka. His example: "Ya devi sarvabhuteshu shakti-rupena samsthita, namastasyai" — up to that namastasyai is one shloka. Then "namastasyai namastasyai namo namah": the namastasyai that comes next is the second shloka, and "namastasyai namo namah" is the third. So the full line splits into three shlokas. This is why the shloka count grows: namastasyai is an independent mantra in itself, and namastasyai namo namah is an independent mantra in itself. He touches on why. There is an episode, he says, of a king who had such a siddhi that whomever he bowed to — and the namaskara-mantra concerned is something those who recite the PashupatastraLord Shiva's supreme, near-invincible weapon, capable of destroying all creation. path will know, if they are guru-initiated and have received the guru's instruction: in that path each astra is described, and it is not done by merely reading it off — a knowing guru will have taught the whole set: how it works, which rishi, which devata, who first used it. In the mantra it is just a single utterance, but its full independent subject is separate — how, by namaskara-astras, someone is slain. He calls it a strange subject in itself and goes no further. So, he concludes, all the namastasyai-type mantras in the fifth chapter of the Saptashati are independent shlokas, independent mantras, each with its own devata, rishi, ChhandasMeter — the structured, rhythmic pattern (such as Anushtubh's eight-syllable units) governing how a stuti or scripture must be chanted, specified in its Viniyoga., kilaka and shakti — and that is why the number rises.

The speaker says that whenever a Vigreh of anyone is to be installed at home — Hanuman ji, Shiva ji, Bhagavati Durga, Kali, any form of the devis or of the devatas — as with the Lakshmi-Ganesh puja people are about to do, do not bring clay idols. Install solid metal idols, whether small or large, and never change them. When their praan pratishtha is to be done — since not everyone will call a pandit ji and have the puja done — what should be done at home? Not, he says, what people do: wash them and put them down. Wash them, yes; but when you seat them in their place, smear the whole idol with ghrita, cow's ghee, over its entire body. Then, releasing a stream of raw milk over them, recite the Tantrokta Devisuktam over both. Then, he says, the pure sattva shaktis related to the Ganesha tattva and the Lakshmi tattva enter into them and their pratishtha is done. The samskaras that go with it are taken as done in brief within this, and the agnyuttarana vidhi and so on also happen within it. He adds that the complete murti-pratishtha vidhi, in the simplest Hindi, is given on his channel, with a PDF made so that anyone can do it — you can look at that too — but this is also a simplest method. The Devi Suktam, he says, is itself the heart; without it nothing can be done.

Having called the Tantrokta Devisuktam the heart without which nothing can be done, the speaker adds a caution: recite it and obtain Bhagavati's special grace, but its prayoga should not be done without cause. When you get stuck somewhere, it is not that you use it over some small thing — no. Then a promise: if you have done 40,000 recitations of all these mantras in your life, Bhagavati's Yoginis, her shaktis, her Paricharikas and the Kshetrapals all become gracious toward you. No one can do you harm. Know, he says, that the effect of the PhalashrutiThe closing section of a hymn or scripture that lists the benefits and results promised to whoever recites it. given in the Lalita SahasranamaA recitation of a deity's thousand names — a devotional text genre used across many deities, not one single fixed composition. is obtained through this. He frames it for a particular person: those who cannot do that much, who are not initiated (Diksha) — if they do even this much, it is enough.

After the Devi Suktam, the speaker says, comes Bhagavati Jai Durga Stuti — in the eleventh chapter of the Durga Saptashati, the 35 shlokas from the first to the 35th. Through these too, he says, whatever kind of wish you have — of wealth, of strength, of destroying disease, of destroying enemies, of destroying Abhichara tantra — the essence of all the fiercest shaktis present in the Saptashati's 700 shlokas is present in these 35. So do this as well. He then gives a specific use: people who recite the Durga Saptashati for nine days and do not have the capacity to do the Havan — a havan of 700 shlokas — should do this shakti-havan instead; this is a shakti path. In these 35 shlokas of the eleventh chapter, knowing the subjects, no ahuti is to be given for Uvacha"Said" — the narrative-verse marker (Rishi Uvacha, Devi Uvacha, etc.). and no ahuti for the astra-mantras — this must be learnt from one's Guru. After that, from these 35 shlokas, ahuti should be given with kheer, with ghee, with GuggulA fragrant resin burnt as dhoop or mixed with ghee for ahutis, used heavily in protective and prosperity rites. and ghee, and with sesame. From this Bhagavati's grace is obtained. So this too, he says, you should recite — and you can recite it daily as well.

Of these four stutis, the speaker says, any one should be brought into one's life; Bhagavati's most special grace is obtained. He then assigns them. If you are a devotee of Mahakali, especially, then do the Ratri Suktam. If you are a devotee of Bhagavati MahasaraswatiThe Goddess presiding over the third charitra of the Saptashati., do the Jai Durga Stuti of the eleventh chapter. If you are an exclusive upasaka of Bhagavati Mahalakshmi, do the Shakradi Stuti — the 27 shlokas, first to 27th, of the fourth chapter. And if you are a devotee of any form of Bhagavati and want the grace of all her forms — you see your Mother in all shaktis, your Durga, your Kali appear to you in every shakti, you are the fiercest kind of upasaka — then never leave the Tantrokta Devisuktam. These four stutis, he says, have the capacity to change our lives, and all of them have their own independent prayoga. Do them now and keep them: when, by the Devi's grace, such a guru appears in life — a learned Guru who makes all these things happen — these things will be of great use to you; these are what will show grace upon you. He closes hoping the listener's Navratri goes very well, and that at other times too these stutis bring Bhagavati's special grace and closeness.