Sri Mahishasura Mardini Stotram - Verse 1 Commentary

[Guest guest]

Respected bhaktas,

 

Namaskaram. Since some people have recently been asking about the meaning of

Sri Mahishasura Mardini Stotram, I thought it would be nice to post some

material on the spiritual significance of this great stotram. This material

is taken from the teachings of my guru, and in this post I have provided

some background as well as a condensed version of my guru's commentary on

the first verse.

 

Jayambe,

Ekta

 

SRI MAHISHASURA MARDINI STOTRAM

 

Sri Mahishasura Mardini Stotram (MMS) is a great stotram that was composed

by Sri Sankaracharya. According to my guru, Sri Sankaracharya understood that

most people cannot chant the Chandi, for whatever reason. Out of compassion, he

composed this stotram so that everyone would be able to enjoy the benefits of

reciting the glories of Divine Mother in Her form as Sri Mahishasura Mardini.

Not only is the essential story of the Chandi contained within MMS, but the

important sound energies have also been captured in this stotram. My guru has

advised that for those who cannot chant Chandi, for whatever reason, they can

chant MMS instead and receive the same kind of spiritual benefit.

 

For example, the bijakshara "ra", which contains the essence of fire, occurs

frequently in MMS. The purpose of including this bijakshara is to build a

tremendous spiritual fire that will burn up all the negativities in the subtle

body of the chanter. It is only by purifying all the inner negativity that we

will attain oneness with Divine Mother, and by chanting MMS, we can achieve

this highest purpose of the human life.

 

According to my guru, there are two main levels of significance in MMS. One

level is the "pravrutti" level, and the other is the "nivrutti" level. The

pravrutti level is the surface level of literal events. My guru says that

these events actually happened, many thousands of years ago. Divine Mother

really did manifest on Earth and destroy all the demons, like Sumbha,

Nisumbha, Canda, Munda, etc. These events actually happened in a literal

way, so we shouldn't say that the events are "just" symbolic.

 

However, those demons have now taken up residence in all human minds in the

form of the six inner enemies: lust, greed, jealousy, anger, ignorance, and

arrogant pride. In today's world, we must pray to Devi to manifest within our

lives and our minds so that She can destroy all the demons in the form of our

inner negativity. A very powerful way of requesting Devi to come and destroy

all the arishadvargas is to chant MMS every day. So the nivrutti level of MMS

refers to the inner spiritual significance of the MMS verses.

 

My guru has given a number of discourses on the MMS, and the material is

currently being edited for printing. What I am providing here is a highly

condensed version of my guru's commentary, which was provided in a chanting

booklet designed to help people learn how to chant MMS. Please keep in mind

that this is a commentary based on the spiritual significance of MMS, or the

nivrutti level of meaning, according to my guru's insight. **It is not meant

to be a literal, word for word translation;** rather, it is derived from the

bhava one experiences after chanting and meditating on this stotram for a long

time. Much of the commentary is phrased in the form of a prayer addressed to

Divine Mother, instead of using the third person, in order to evoke a certain

devotional attitude in the chanter.

 

By chanting MMS frequently and meditating on its inner meaning, we can make

rapid spiritual progress. I pray that everyone who reads this condensed

commentary will feel inspired to chant MMS at least once, if not daily, and

thereby gain the tremendous spiritual benefits which Sri Sankaracharya intended

all people to receive. Please forgive me if the Sanskrit is not one hundred

percent correct.

 

***********************

Verse 1

 

Ayi giri nandini nandita medini vishva vinodini nandinute

Girivara vindhya shirodhi nivAsini viSNu vilAsini jiSNunute

Bhagavati he shiti kaNTha kuTumbini bhUri kuTumbini bhUrikR^ite

Jaya jaya he mahiSAsura mardhini ramya kapardhini shailasute

 

Oh Mother, You are the essence of the sacred sound of Omkara, which has been

resounding throughout the universe since before the beginning of Time. You are

Adiparasakti, the original supreme Power, which, bursting with energy,

manifested this entire Creation. This universe with its many millions of spiral

galaxies containing billions of suns and moons is truly Your form only. You are

the divine light that pervades all space and dwells in the inner recesses of

every soul, without exception. As you are beyond time and space, beyond name

and form, beyond even Truth, how is it, then, that from time to time You appear

on this Earth in human form? It is only because as the supremely compassionate

Divine Mother, You look on all beings as Your most beloved children, and you

have taken a holy vow to do whatever is necessary to guide, protect, and

provide for the welfare of all Your children. Every mother cares only for the

happiness of her children, and Your greatest joy lies in giving joy to Your

devotees; thus, when You incarnate, you delight in granting bliss to all,

especially Mother Earth, who is comforted tremendously by the gentle touch of

Your tender lotus feet on Her surface. Mother, You are present in my heart as a

divine energy of purification. Please take up Your holy trident and destroy all

the dark forces of negativity that have been ruling my heart for many millions

of births. Oh Mother, You are my only hope for salvation. I take refuge in You

alone!

 

 

 

lokAH samastAH sukhino bhavantu - May All Beings Be Happy

 

 

 

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