Original text
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु विष्णुमायेति शब्दिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ १४-१६ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु चेतनेत्यभिधीयते । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ १७-१९ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु बुद्धिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ २०-२२ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु निद्रारूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ २३-२५ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु क्षुधारूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ २६-२८ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषुच्छायारूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ २९-३१ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ३२-३४ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु तृष्णारूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ३५-३७ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु क्षान्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ३८-४० ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु जातिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ४१-४३ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु लज्जारूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ४४-४६ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शान्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ४७-४९ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु श्रद्धारूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ५०-५२ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु कान्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ५३-५५ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु लक्ष्मीरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ५६-५८ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु वृत्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ५९-६१ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु स्मृतिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ६२-६४ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु दयारूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ६५-६७ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु तुष्टिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ६८-७० ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु मातृरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ७१-७३ ॥ या देवी सर्वभूतेषु भ्रान्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ७४-७६ ॥ इन्द्रियाणामधिष्ठात्री भूतानां चाखिलेषु या । भूतेषु सततं तस्यै व्याप्तिदेव्यै नमो नमः ॥ ७७ ॥ चितिरूपेण या कृत्स्नमेतद् व्याप्य स्थिता जगत् । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥ ७८-८० ॥
Transliteration
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu vishnumayeti shabdita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu chetanetyabhidhiyate Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu buddhirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu nidrarupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu kshudharupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshuchchhayarupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu shaktirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu trishnarupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu kshantirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu jatirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu lajjarupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu shantirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu shraddharupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu kantirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu lakshmirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu vrittirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu smritirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu dayarupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu tushtirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu matrirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Ya devi sarvabhuteshu bhrantirupena samsthita Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah || Indriyanamadhishthatri bhutanam chakhileshu ya Bhuteshu satatam tasyai vyaptidevyai namo namah || Chitirupena ya kritsnametad vyapya sthita jagat Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah ||
Where it comes from
These stanzas are the heart of the fifth chapter of the Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmya), the chapter that opens its third and last part, presided over by Mahasaraswati. The demons Shumbha and Nishumbha have taken over the three worlds and the gods' shares of sacrifice, and the gods have been driven out. They remember the Devi as Aparajita, "the unconquered", and the promise she gave them at the end of chapter 4: remembered in a calamity, she would destroy it at once (5.5–6). So they go to the Himalaya and praise her. That hymn, 5.9 to 5.82, is often called the Aparajita Stuti, and the "Ya devi" stanzas (5.14 to 5.80) make up most of it.
Right after the hymn, the text turns the praise into a scene. Parvati comes to bathe in the Ganga and asks the gods whom they are praising, and from the sheath (kosha) of her own body the Devi emerges and answers: "It is me." She is called Kaushiki for that reason, and she goes on to defeat Shumbha and Nishumbha.
In the Saptashati's traditional count of 700 mantras, each "Ya devi" stanza counts as three, one for each namastasyai, which is why the stanzas above are numbered 14–16, 17–19 and so on. There are 21 stanzas beginning "Ya devi sarvabhuteshu", then one single verse (5.77), then a closing triple stanza on consciousness (5.78–80): 67 mantras in all.
What the refrain means
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu ... samsthita: "the Devi who, in all beings, dwells in the form of ..." Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah: "salutation to her, salutation to her, salutation to her, salutation again and again." The first two stanzas are worded a little differently. She is "called Vishnumaya" (vishnumayeti shabdita) and "called consciousness" (chetanetyabhidhiyate), not "dwelling in the form of". The rest all use rupena samsthita.
The forms, in the order of the text
- Vishnumaya: the power of Vishnu that veils and creates, the same Mahamaya who held Vishnu in sleep in chapter 1.
- Chetana: awareness, the fact that a being is conscious at all.
- Buddhi: intelligence, the power to discern.
- Nidra: sleep.
- Kshudha: hunger.
- Chhaya: shadow, also read as reflection or shelter.
- Shakti: power, the ability to act. This is the stanza most people know first.
- Trishna: thirst, and by extension craving.
- Kshanti: forbearance, patience.
- Jati: birth, kind, the class a being is born into.
- Lajja: modesty, the sense of shame that holds us back from wrong.
- Shanti: peace.
- Shraddha: faith.
- Kanti: radiance, beauty.
- Lakshmi: fortune, prosperity.
- Vritti: livelihood, the means by which a being lives.
- Smriti: memory.
- Daya: compassion.
- Tushti: contentment.
- Matri: mother. Every mother's love is her presence.
- Bhranti: delusion, error.
Then a single verse (5.77): she presides over the senses of all beings and pervades all beings always; salutation to the all-pervading Devi. And a last triple stanza (5.78–80): she who, as chiti, pure consciousness, pervades this whole world and abides in it.
The list is worth reading slowly, because it is not a list of only nice things. Hunger, thirst, sleep, craving and delusion are there beside faith, peace and compassion. The hymn's claim is that there is nothing in a living being that is outside the Devi. It ends on bhranti, delusion, which brings it back to the Mahamaya of chapter 1: even our confusion is her doing, which is exactly why she is the one to pray to for its removal. Then it rises from all these forms to the one consciousness behind them.
When and how it is recited
- In the full Saptashati path: it is read as part of chapter 5, usually on the day of Navratri when the third part (chapters 5 to 13) is recited.
- On its own in Navratri: many families recite or sing the whole sequence each evening at the Devi's aarti, or choose a few stanzas, most often the shakti, matri, buddhi, lakshmi and shanti ones.
- Mahalaya and Durga Puja: in Bengal, the stanzas are part of the Mahishasuramardini radio programme voiced by Birendra Krishna Bhadra, which many families still play before dawn on Mahalaya.
- As daily stuti: any one stanza, said with folded hands before the Devi, is complete. Tuesdays and Fridays are the usual Devi days.
It pairs naturally with the Navarna mantra, the root mantra of the Saptashati, and the Durga Saptashloki, whose seven verses come from other chapters (1, 4 and 11), so there is no overlap.
Variants and cautions
- "Sarvabhuteshu chhayarupena": the Gita Press edition joins the words by sandhi as सर्वभूतेषुच्छायारूपेण; many other printings write सर्वभूतेषु छायारूपेण. The meaning is the same.
- 5.77: Gita Press reads व्याप्तिदेव्यै ("to the all-pervading Devi"); some editions read व्याप्त्यै देव्यै. Again, the same meaning.
- Order: popular recordings often begin with shaktirupena and reorder or skip stanzas. That is fine for singing, but the text itself begins with Vishnumaya and ends with bhranti and chiti.
- Navadurga stutis: lines like या देवी सर्वभूतेषु माँ शैलपुत्री रूपेण संस्थिता, used on each day of Navratri (see Maa Shailputri), are later devotional adaptations built on this pattern. They are lovely to use, but they are not in the Saptashati.
Frequently asked questions
Which chapter of the Durga Saptashati has "Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu"?
Chapter 5, verses 14 to 80, inside the hymn the gods sing on the Himalaya after Shumbha and Nishumbha drive them from heaven. The whole hymn (5.9–82) is often called the Aparajita Stuti.
How many "Ya Devi" stanzas are there?
Twenty-one stanzas begin "Ya devi sarvabhuteshu". With the single verse 5.77 and the closing chitirupena stanza, the sequence is 23 stanzas, counted as 67 of the Saptashati's 700 mantras.
Why is "namastasyai" said three times?
The triple salutation is the text's own form. In the traditional count each namastasyai is a separate mantra, so each stanza counts as three. Many devotees also take it as bowing with body, speech and mind.
Is "Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Shakti Rupena" the first stanza?
No. In the text it is the seventh. The sequence begins with Vishnumaya and Chetana; recordings often start with the shakti stanza because it is the best known.
Can it be recited without reading the whole Saptashati?
Yes. It is widely recited on its own, in full or a few stanzas at a time, in Navratri and at daily Devi worship. The full-path rules (kavach, argala, kilak and so on) apply to reading the whole Saptashati, not to singing this stuti.
Are the Navratri lines like "Maa Shailputri rupena samsthita" from the Saptashati?
No. They are later adaptations that use the same pattern with the name of each Navadurga. The Saptashati's own stanzas name qualities like shakti, shraddha and matri, not the nine forms.
What does "bhrantirupena" mean, and why is delusion included?
It means "in the form of delusion". The hymn includes it on purpose: it sees even our confusion as the Devi's power, the Mahamaya of chapter 1, and so only she can remove it.
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