नमस्ते रुद्ररूपिण्यै नमस्ते मधुमर्दिनि। नमः कैटभहारिण्यै नमस्ते महिषार्दिनि ॥ १ ॥
namastē rudrarūpiṇyai namastē madhumardini | namaḥ kaiṭabhahāriṇyai namastē mahiṣārdini || 1 ||
Translation
Salutation to you whose form is Rudra; salutation to you, slayer of Madhu; salutation to the destroyer of Kaiṭabha; salutation to you, slayer of Mahiṣa.
Word by word
- namaḥ tē
- salutation to you
- rudrarūpiṇyai
- whose form is Rudra
- madhumardini
- slayer of Madhu
- namaḥ
- salutation
- kaiṭabhahāriṇyai
- to the destroyer of Kaiṭabha
- mahiṣārdini
- slayer of Mahiṣa
Meaning
The hymn opens by recalling the Goddess’s deeds in the Saptaśatī: Madhu and Kaiṭabha in the first part, Mahiṣa in the second.