Preface

The Sri Durga Saptashati is the heart of Shakta practitioners. For centuries, devotees have used this jewel of a book for the easy attainment of worldly pleasure and liberation. The Saptashati holds equal importance in the traditions of Shruti, Smriti, and Agama. Therefore, practitioners of both Samayachara a path of internal worship and Kaulachara a path involving external and internal ritual have engaged in the worship of Goddess Durga, considering the Saptashati to be self-evident and authoritative for their practice.

The name "Durga" is immensely glorious. This is why the Atharvashirsha Shruti says: "We take refuge in the Goddess Durga." According to the Rudrayamala Tantra, even Lord Shiva repeats this holy name. The five-faced Lord original: "panchanan" is known as such precisely because he is a repeater of this name:

Whose recitation of the name of Durga is like this, what shall I tell you of him?

I myself am five-faced, O Beloved, only because of the chanting of that name, O virtuous one.

The names of the five faces of Lord Shiva are Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, and Ishana. These faces are composed of mantras; from them, the Shaiva and Shakta Agamas were taught and expanded. The five paths original: "panchamnayas" originated from these five faces. Shiva attained this power only through the chanting of Durga's name. It has been said: "Gauri, you are indeed the one whose devotion is established by the Moon-crested One Shiva."

Shakta worship and the principle of Power original: "shakti-tattva" are also discussed in the Shrutis. The fortieth chapter of the Yajurveda deals with the theory of Power as the cause of the universe. The great master, Sri Shankaracharya, clearly stated in his Saundaryalahari that only when Brahman is united with Power is it capable of acting; without Power, it cannot even stir:

If Shiva is united with Shakti, he is capable of manifesting;

Otherwise, the Divine is not even able to vibrate.

In this way, the entire visible and invisible world appears filled with power. Interpreting the Shruti "All this is pervaded by the Lord" original: "ishavasyamidam sarvam", the Shakta master Sri Jagannath Tarkapanchanan...