Chandi Path: reciting the Durga Saptashati

Chandi Path explained: the Durga Saptashati's 700 verses in 13 chapters, its three episodes, Kavacham, Argala and Kilakam, and how to read or listen at home.

An illustrated leaf of the Devi Mahatmya. Photo: SpeakingArch, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

The frame story

The Devi Mahatmya opens with a human story. King Suratha has lost his kingdom, and a merchant named Samadhi has been cast out by his greedy family.

Durga with her family, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik, at Maddox Square, Kolkata. Photo: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

The three episodes

Each episode is associated in tradition with a form of the goddess, as in the last column, though all are understood as one supreme goddess.

An illustrated leaf of the Devi Mahatmya. Photo: SpeakingArch, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

The companion texts

A full Chandi Path is rarely the 13 chapters alone.

Mahishasuramardini, Durga slaying the buffalo demon: a 12th-century chlorite sculpture of the Pala school. Photo: SpeakingArch, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

How families read it during the puja

In Bengal, Chandi Path is part of the priest's duties on each main day of the puja, often done in parallel with the main worship by a second priest.

An illustrated leaf of the Devi Mahatmya. Photo: SpeakingArch, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Respectful guidance for reading at home

These are general suggestions, not rules; your family priest's guidance comes first.

Durga with her family, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartik, at Maddox Square, Kolkata. Photo: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Listening as an alternative

Not everyone can read Sanskrit, and many traditions value shravana, attentive listening, as a form of worship.

Effigies of Ravana and his brothers before Ravan Dahan on Dussehra. Photo: Thesocialtalks, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.