Devi
Durga Gayatri
ॐ कात्यायनाय विद्महे कन्याकुमारि धीमहि । तन्नो दुर्गिः प्रचोदयात् ॥
Oṁ kātyāyanāya vidmahe kanyākumāri dhīmahi, tanno durgiḥ pracodayāt
Simple reading: Om kaat-yaa-ya-naa-ya vid-ma-he, kan-yaa-ku-maa-ri dhee-ma-hi, tan-no dur-gih pra-cho-da-yaat
About this mantra
The Vedic Gayatri of the Goddess, from the Taittiriya Aranyaka — she is named Katyayani and Kanyakumari, and asked, as Durga, to impel the mind toward courage.
Meaning
We know Katyayani; we meditate on Kanyakumari; may Durga impel us. The two names hold her paradox: Katyayani, the warrior Goddess born to the sage Katyayana's tapasya, and Kanyakumari, the eternal maiden — the name the temple at India's southern tip also bears. Ferocity and purity in one metre; And what is asked of Durga is motion: push the hesitating mind through what it fears.
When to recite it
Navratri sadhana above all, and steady Tuesday or Friday practice; counted before facing what one has long been avoiding — the conversation, the diagnosis, the decision.
Word by word
- कात्यायनाय विद्महेkātyāyanāya vidmahe
- we know Katyayani
- कन्याकुमारि धीमहिkanyākumāri dhīmahi
- we meditate on Kanyakumari
- तन्नो दुर्गिः प्रचोदयात्tanno durgiḥ pracodayāt
- may Durga inspire us
Source: Taittirīya Āraṇyaka 10 (Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad)