Around the 14th century, a set of six ancillary texts, or angas (“limbs”), became associated with The Devīmāhātmya. The first three angas—the Devyāḥ Kavacam, Argalāstotra, and Kīlakastotra—are preparatory prayers and incantations employed in The Devīmāhātmya’s ritual recitation.
The remaining three—the Prādhānika Rahasya, Vaikṛtika Rahasya, and Mūrtirahasya—deal with
cosmogony and formal worship and are optionally recited afterward.
Besides these, two Vedic hymns —the Rātrisūkta and the Devīsūkta—are customarily chanted immediately before and after the text of The Devīmāhātmya.
In recognizing the Word (Vāk) as an actual Manifestation of Śakti, Śākta Tantra correlates the physical universe with The Divine Reality from which it flows.
Accordingly, the words of The Devīmāhātmya are not merely poetry (śloka), but the actual Embodiment Of Divine Power (Mantra). This Power Śiva Himself is said to have Restrained “as if with a bolt” to prevent the intentional or unwitting misuse.
Formal recitation, performed according to elaborate and strictly defined ritual practices involving physical and mental preparation, affords access to that power, which may be directed toward either temporal or spiritual ends.
