The Tantric Secret Seed Syllables of the Seven Hundred Verses to Durga

The transformation of the Saptashati into seed syllables was also possible only because of Agamic thought. In the medieval period, grammarian masters like Nagesh also wrote commentaries on the Saptashati. Recently, the Durga Saptashati has also begun to be considered from a symbolic perspective. Tarkapanchanan even quoted the Saptashati as an authority while writing his commentary on the Brahma Sutras.

The tradition of reciting the Saptashati alongside the seed-mantra text is also prevalent among practitioners. About thirty-four years ago, during a trip to Vindhyavasini in Mirzapur, I met a pundit who used to recite the Saptashati in its seed-mantra form and perform sacrificial fires. I have not seen this experiment anywhere since then, nor have I met any other practitioner of this stream.

A few months ago, Dr. Ramchandra Puri came to my residence with his wife. When he showed me the seed-mantra Saptashati, there was no limit to my surprise and joy. He received this work through the inspiration of the Supreme Mother, and with great scholarship, labor, and dedication, he completed a comprehensive editing of this work. It is even more gratifying that this work of his is being published for the welfare of practitioners. The nuances of scriptural philosophy he has highlighted from the perspective of Upanishadic thought have further strengthened the Vedic basis of the theory of Power as the cause of the universe.

In the end, I bless and congratulate Dr. Puri for this sacrificial ritual and hope that he will continue to do more in this direction.