Durga Sapta Shlokee and Devi Mahatmyam

The seven slokas, known as Durga Sapta Shlokee, represent the very essence of the Devi Mahatmyam. The first three days of Navarathri are dedicated to prayers to Devi in the form of Durga. The first step in the path to liberation (Mukti or Moksha) that we all seek is the victory over our tamo guna (mode of ignorance), represented by the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, who are produced from the dirt in the ears of Lord MahavishNu. The story of the killing of these two demons is described in the first two slokas discussed here. The document will be updated as the story progresses through this Navarathri week of 2012.