The seer said:
- OṀ. The Devī, Who Appears Manifest In Three Ways—as containing The Three Guṇas, As Dark, and As Brilliantly Pure—Is Called Śarvā, Caṇḍikā, Durgā, Bhadrā, and Bhagavatī.
- She Is Said to be Viṣṇu’s Mystic Sleep, Mahākālī, Whose Energy Is Tamas, Whom Brahmā, seated on the lotus, Praised That She Might Destroy madhu and kaiṭabha.
- She Has Ten Faces, Ten Arms, And Ten Feet. She Is Lustrous As Collyrium; She Shines Radiantly, As If Garlanded With Her Thirty Eyes.
- O king, even though She Is Of Frightful Appearance With Glistening Teeth And Fangs, She Is The Beauty In Form, The Foundation Of All Loveliness And Great Splendor.
- She Bears The Sword, Arrow, Mace, Spear, Discus, Conch, And Sling; She Carries The Iron Club And Bow And A Head Dripping With Blood.
- She Is Viṣṇu’s Deluding Power, The Inscrutable Mahākālī. When Pleased, She Brings All that Is moving and unmoving under Her worshiper’s Control.
- She Who Emerged From the bodies of all the Gods As Boundless Light Is Mahālakṣmī, Who Contains The Three Energies, and Who Became Embodied As mahisa’s Slayer.
- White Is Her Face, Deep Blue Her Arms, Brilliant White The Orbs Of Her Breasts, Red Her Waist, Red Her Feet, Deep Blue Her Arousing Shanks And Thighs.
- Many-Colored Is Her Lap. Bedecked with multihued garlands and raiment, She Is Variously Anointed and Abounds In A Beauty That Is Pure Loveliness.
- Although She Has A Thousand Arms, She should be worshiped In Eighteen-Armed Form. The Weapons here described proceed in order From Her Lower Right Hand:
- Prayer Beads, Lotus, Arrow, Sword, Thunderbolt, Mace, Discus, Trident, Ax, Conch, Bell, and Noose,
- Spear, Staff, Shield, Bow, Drinking-Vessel, And Waterpot. She Whose Arms Are Adorned With These Weapons, She Who Is Seated On The Lotus,
- The Sovereign Who Encompasses all the Gods, This Mahālakṣmī Is to be worshiped, O king. Doing so, one becomes the master of all the worlds and of the Gods.
- She Who Was Born From The Body Of Gaurl and Who Embodies The Sole Energy Of Sattva Is Proclaimed To Be [Mahā] Sarasvati, The Destroyer of the demon śumbha.
- In Her Eight Arms She Carries The Arrow, Pestle, Spear, Discus, Conch, Bell, Ploughshare, And Bow, O king.
- When worshiped with devotion, She Grants Omniscience. She Is The Goddess Who Crushed niśumbha and Destroyed the demon śumbha.
- Thus, O king, The True Nature Of The Devī’s Embodied Forms has been told to you. Hear How The Mother Of the world is worshiped in Her Individual Forms.
- When MahāLakṣmī is worshiped, MahāKālī and [Mahā] Sarasvatī are to be worshiped on Her Right And Left. At The Back Are The Three Couples:
- Brahmā And Ma Sarasvatī In The Middle, Rudra And Ma Gaurī On Their Right, and Viṣṇu And Ma Lakṣmī On Their Left, With The Three Goddesses Standing Forward.
- The Eighteen-Armed [MahāLakṣmī] Is In The Middle, The Ten-Faced [MahāKālī] On The Left, And The Eight-Armed [MahāSarasvatī] On The Right. [Mahā] Lakṣmī is to be worshiped as The Primary Deity.
- When This Eighteen-Armed Form Is Worshiped, O king, along With The Ten-Faced And Eight-Armed Forms, then On The Right And Left,
- Time and Death should be worshiped to Allay all misfortune. When The Eight-Armed Slayer of the demon śumbha is worshiped,
- Her Nine Śaktis should be worshiped and also Rudra And Vināyaka. With the hymn that begins “Salutation To The Devī” [The Aparājitāstuti] one should honor Mahālakṣmī.
- In the worship of The Three Manifestations, the verses of their respective hymns should be uttered. The Eighteen-Armed Slayer of mahiṣa is to be worshiped [as foremost, for]
- She Herself Is Proclaimed As MahāLakṣmī, MahāKālī, and [Mahā]Sarasvatī, The Great Ruler of all worlds, reigning over the virtuous and the wicked.
- One who worships mahisa’s Slayer becomes master of the world. To Caṇḍikā, The Upholder of the worlds, Who Is Tender toward her devotees, one should offer worship
- with oblations and the like, with adornments, with flowers perfumed with sandal paste, with whole blossoms, incense and lights, and with all manner of food offerings,
- with blood sacrifice, flesh, and wine, O king, and with prostrations, the ritual sipping of water, and sweetly fragrant sandalwood,
- with offerings of camphor and betel nut, all made with complete devotion. On The Left Side In Front Of The Devī, the great decapitated demon,
- mahiṣa, should be honored, having attained Union With Her Who Is Supreme. On The Right Side In Front, the lion, who is the whole and mighty dharma,
- The Devī’s Mount, should be worshiped, for he Sustains all that is moving and unmoving. With one-pointed mind the wise one should sing Her Praises,
- then, with folded hands, should Praise Her with these episodes [of The Devīmāhātmya] or by the middle one alone, but not by one only of the other two
- or by chanting half an episode, for that would create a weak point in the recitation. Circumambulating The Deity reverently with hands folded on the head,
- one should vigorously ask for forgiveness again and again from The Sustainer Of the world. With each verse should one make an oblation of milk, sesame, and ghee.
- Or, one can make an auspicious offering to Ma Caṇḍikā with the verses of The [Devīmāhātmya’s] hymns. With the mind turned inward and fully concentrated, one should worship The Devī with the “salutation verses” [the Aparājitāstuti].
- Intent on devotion, with hands folded and head bowed in reverence, deeply collected in oneself, one should meditate on The Supreme Ma Caṇḍikā for a long while and become Filled With Her. One who daily worships The Supreme Sovereign in this way, having accordingly experienced
- all enjoyment with dispassion, attains union with The Devī.
- If one does not always worship Ma Caṇḍikā, Who Is Tender Toward Her devotees, his merits will The Supreme Sovereign Burn to ashes.
- Therefore, O king, worship The Divine Mother Caṇḍikā, The Great Ruler of all the worlds, in the prescribed manner, and you will attain happiness.
