Chapter 5 · Pañcamo’dhyāyaḥ (Fifth Chapter)
Verse 8–9
देवा ऊचुः ॥ ८ ॥ नमो देव्यै महादेव्यै शिवायै सततं नमः। नमः प्रकृत्यै भद्रायै नियताः प्रणताः स्म ताम् ॥ ९ ॥
dēvā ūcuḥ || 8 || namō dēvyai mahādēvyai śivāyai satataṁ namaḥ | namaḥ prakṛtyai bhadrāyai niyatāḥ praṇatāḥ sma tām || 9 ||
Translation
The gods said: 'Salutations to the Goddess, salutations to the Great Goddess, salutations always to the Auspicious One. Salutations to the Primordial Nature, to the Gracious One; steadfastly we bow down to her.'
Word by word
- devā ūcuḥ
- the gods said
- namaḥ
- salutations
- devyai
- to the Goddess
- mahādevyai
- to the Great Goddess
- śivāyai
- to the Auspicious One
- satatam
- constantly
- prakṛtyai
- to the Primordial Nature
- bhadrāyai
- to the Gracious/Prosperous One
- niyatāḥ
- steadfastly
- praṇatāḥ
- bowed down
- sma
- (auxiliary verb for past tense)
- tām
- to her
Meaning
The gods begin their hymn by offering obeisance to the Goddess in her fundamental aspects: her divinity (Devi), her greatness (Mahadevi), her benevolent nature (Shiva), and her essence as the primal creative force (Prakriti). They approach her with unwavering devotion.