देव्युवाच- शृणु देव प्रवक्ष्यामि कलौ सर्वेष्टसाधनम्। मया तवैव स्नेहेनाप्यम्बास्तुतिः प्रकाश्यते॥
devyuvāca - śṛṇu dēva pravakṣyāmi kalau sarvēṣṭa-sādhanam। mayā tavaiva snēhēnāpy ambāstutiḥ prakāśyatē॥
Translation
The Goddess said: Listen, O God, I will declare the means to attain all desires in the Kali Yuga. Indeed, out of my affection for you, the praise of the Mother is revealed.
Word by word
- devyuvāca
- the Goddess said
- śṛṇu
- listen
- dēva
- O God (Shiva)
- pravakṣyāmi
- I will declare
- kalau
- in Kali Yuga
- sarvēṣṭa
- all desired
- sādhanam
- means/attainment
- mayā
- by me
- tavaiva
- your own
- snēhēna
- with affection
- api
- indeed
- ambāstutiḥ
- praise of the Mother
- prakāśyatē
- is revealed
Meaning
In this second verse of Saptashloki Durga, Goddess Durga responds to Shiva’s request (śiva uvāca from verse 1), addressing him as dēva and promising to reveal the method (sādhanam) for fulfilling all desires (sarvēṣṭa) in the Kali Yuga (kalau). She lovingly (snēhēna) shares the ambāstutiḥ, the praise of the Divine Mother (herself), as the effective means. This underscores her role as the compassionate śakti who, out of love for Shiva and her devotees, offers a path to success through devotion. In the Shakta tradition, particularly within the Durga Saptashati, this verse highlights the power of hymn recitation (stuti) as a spiritual practice for overcoming obstacles and achieving goals in the challenging Kali Yuga. It sets the stage for the subsequent verses, which likely elaborate on her glories and protective powers.