Durga Dwadasanama Stotram
Durga Dwadasanama Stotram in English · English
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✦ Meaning
The Durga Dwadasanama Stotram is a short, powerful litany of the twelve sacred names of Goddess Durga, each beginning with 'Durga' and describing how She overcomes every difficulty, danger and demon. It closes with the assurance that whoever recites this garland of names is freed from all fears, without doubt. Drawn from the Devi tradition surrounding the Durga Saptashati, it is treasured as an easily-memorised protective prayer for times of fear and distress and for daily recitation during Navaratri.
Origin & Story
Traditional Devi stotra (recited within the Durga Saptashati / Devi Mahatmyam tradition) · Traditional (Puranic) · Ancient / Classical
The Durga Dwadasanama — the 'twelve names of Durga' — is a beloved protective hymn of the Shakta tradition, recited alongside the Durga Saptashati (Devi Mahatmyam). Its names recall the Mother as the conqueror of every 'durga' — every fort, every difficulty, every danger that is hard to cross — and as the slayer of demons and the giver of liberating wisdom. Devotees in every age of hardship have turned to this brief litany, trusting its own vow that its recitation frees one from all fear.
✦ As told in scripture
It is traditionally told that those overwhelmed by calamity — imprisonment, disease, debt, the threat of enemies or the terror of death — who recite these twelve names of Durga with faith find their dangers dissolved, for the stotra itself promises that the reciter 'shall be freed from all fears, without doubt'.
Complete Text with Meaning
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om durgā durgārti-śamanī durgāpad-vinivāriṇī | durgama-cchedinī durga-sādhinī durga-nāśinī ||
Meaning:Om. Durga; the queller of the suffering born of difficulties; the averter of hard-to-overcome calamities; She who cuts through the impassable; the accomplisher of the unattainable; the destroyer of every difficulty.
durgato-ddhāriṇī durga-nihantrī durgamāpahā | durgama-jñāna-dā durga-daitya-loka-davānalā ||
Meaning:She who uplifts those fallen into distress; the slayer of hardship; the remover of the impassable; the giver of hard-won wisdom; a blazing forest-fire to the world of invincible demons.
durgamā durgamālokā durgamātma-svarūpiṇī | durgamārga-pradā durgama-vidyā durgamāśritā ||
Meaning:The inaccessible One; hard even to behold; whose very form is the unreachable Self; the revealer of the difficult path; the hard-to-attain sacred knowledge; the refuge of those who turn to Her.
nāmāvalim imāṃ yastu durgāyā mama mānavaḥ | paṭhet sarva-bhayān mukto bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ ||
Meaning:Whatever person recites this garland of the twelve names of Durga shall be freed from all fears — of this there is no doubt.
Word-by-Word Meaning
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Benefits of Chanting Durga Dwadasanama Stotram
Invokes the twelve sacred names of Goddess Durga, each calling on Her power over difficulty and danger
The hymn itself promises freedom from all fears (sarva-bhaya) to its reciter
A short, easily memorised litany ideal for daily protective recitation
Traditionally chanted in times of calamity, illness, debt, enemies and great distress
Bestows courage and victory over seemingly insurmountable obstacles
Especially powerful during Navaratri and on Tuesdays and Fridays, the days of the Goddess
How to Chant Durga Dwadasanama Stotram
After a bath, sit before an image of Maa Durga with red flowers, kumkum and a ghee lamp. Recite the twelve names slowly with faith, ideally daily or 12 / 108 times during Navaratri. Because the closing verse promises freedom from all fear, it is traditionally recited at once in any sudden danger or calamity. Conclude with a prayer for the Mother's protection.
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Read the full Durga Dwadasanama Stotram with verse-by-verse meaning, or explore more sacred texts