विधि - HOW TO CHANT
How to Practise the Namavali
Best Time
Early morning (Brahma muhurta) or at dusk during Navratri. Sit facing east or north. Light a diya and offer flowers before beginning.
With a Mala
Use a rudraksha or crystal mala of 108 beads. Chant each name as you pass one bead - completing one full round of the namavali.
With Flowers
For deeper practice: offer one flower or petal at the feet of Devi's image with each name. This is the most meritorious form of the namavali puja.
The Fruit
Daily chanting of all 108 names is said to destroy all sins, remove fear and illness, and fill the devotee's life with the goddess's grace and protection.
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः॥
Yā devī sarvabhūteṣu śaktirūpeṇa saṃsthitā, Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaḥ.
"To the goddess who dwells in all beings in the form of Shakti - salutation, salutation, salutation to her again and again." Begin and end the namavali with this verse from the Devi Mahatmya.
॥ १–१२ ॥ - The Forms of the Goddess
01
सती
Satī
The Ever-Chaste - she who is the embodiment of fidelity and truth
02
साध्वी
Sādhvī
The Virtuous - she of noble and sacred character
03
भवप्रीता
Bhavaprītā
Beloved of Shiva (Bhava) - she who is dear to the lord of existence
04
भवानी
Bhavānī
She who gives life - the consort of Bhava (Shiva), the giver of existence
05
भवमोचनी
Bhavamochanī
The Liberator from the ocean of worldly existence
06
आर्या
Āryā
The Noble One - she who is the most honoured and exalted
07
दुर्गा
Durgā
She who is difficult to reach - the invincible, the one who destroys evil
08
जया
Jayā
Victory personified - she who is always victorious
09
आद्या
Ādyā
The Primordial - she who existed before all creation, the first cause
10
त्रिनेत्रा
Trinetrā
The Three-Eyed - she who sees past, present and future simultaneously
11
शूलधारिणी
Śūladāriṇī
The Trident-Bearer - she who holds the trishul that destroys all evil
12
पिनाकधारिणी
Pinākadāriṇī
Bearer of the Pinaka bow - she who wields Shiva's great bow
॥ १३–२४ ॥ - Names of Power and Nature
13
चित्रा
Citrā
The Wondrous - she who is marvellous and beyond all description
14
चंद्रघंटा
Candraghaṇṭā
She whose forehead bears a crescent moon shaped like a bell
15
महातपा
Mahātapā
She of great austerity - the goddess who embodies supreme tapasya
16
मन:
Manaḥ
The Mind - she who is the essence of pure consciousness and thought
17
बुद्धि
Buddhi
The Intellect - she who is the source of all wisdom and understanding
18
अहंकारा
Ahaṃkārā
The Ego-principle - she who is the cosmic sense of "I am"
19
चित्तरूपा
Cittarūpā
She who is pure consciousness itself - the form of awareness
20
चिता
Citā
The funeral pyre - she who presides over death and transformation
21
चिति:
Citiḥ
Consciousness - the awareness that underlies all existence
22
सर्वमंत्रमयी
Sarvamantramayī
She who is the essence of all mantras - the source of all sacred sound
23
सत्ता
Sattā
Existence itself - she who is the very being of all that is
24
सत्यानंदस्वरूपिणी
Satyānanda-svarūpiṇī
She whose very form is truth and bliss - sat-chit-ananda made feminine
॥ २५–३६ ॥ - Names of the Cosmic Goddess
25
अनंता
Anantā
The Infinite - she who has no beginning, no end, no boundary
26
भाविनी
Bhāvinī
The Beautiful - she who is radiant with divine loveliness
27
भव्या
Bhavyā
The Magnificent - she who is grand and auspicious beyond all measure
28
भैरवी
Bhairavī
The Terrible - consort of Bhairava, she who inspires awe and sacred fear
29
भूधात्री
Bhūdhātrī
The bearer of the earth - she who holds and sustains the world
30
बुद्धानंदा
Buddhānandā
The bliss of wisdom - she who gives the joy of awakened intelligence
31
विभावरी
Vibhāvarī
The Night - she who is the luminous night full of stars
32
सिद्धा
Siddhā
The Accomplished - she who has mastered all and is ever perfect
33
सर्वाणी
Sarvāṇī
She who is everything - the all-encompassing goddess
34
सर्वशक्तिमया
Sarvaśaktimayā
She who is composed of all powers - the omnipotent
35
सर्वमंगला
Sarvamaṅgalā
She who is all-auspicious - the source of every blessing and good fortune
36
गुणवती
Guṇavatī
She who possesses all virtues - the embodiment of all divine qualities
॥ ३७–४८ ॥ - Names of the Warrior and Destroyer
37
नित्या
Nityā
The Eternal - she who is without beginning or end, ever-present
38
नीलधारा
Nīladhārā
She who wears the blue - the goddess of the dark blue sky
39
निशापर्वती
Niśāparvatī
The mountain goddess of the night - Parvati in her nocturnal aspect
40
चंडिका
Caṇḍikā
The Fierce - she who is terrible in wrath against all that is evil
41
क्षेमकारी
Kṣemakārī
The Benefactress - she who bestows welfare and safety on her devotees
42
क्षेत्रपालिका
Kṣetrapalikā
Guardian of the sacred field - protector of pilgrimage places and the body
43
रोहिणी
Rohiṇī
The Red One - she who is the rising, growing, auspicious force of nature
44
रेवती
Revatī
She who bestows wealth and abundance - the prosperous one
45
शूलकरी
Śūlakarī
She who acts with the trident - destroyer of the three kinds of pain
46
सुधा
Sudhā
The Divine Nectar - she who is amrita itself, the nectar of immortality
47
सर्वशुभंकरी
Sarvaśubhaṃkarī
She who does good to all - the universal bestower of auspiciousness
48
विशुद्धि
Viśuddhi
The Purifier - she who cleanses all sin and impurity from the devoted soul
॥ ४९–६० ॥ - Names of the Mother and Protector
49
वाग्देवी
Vāgdevī
Goddess of speech - she who is the sacred power of divine word and language
50
वामा
Vāmā
The Beautiful Left-Handed One - she who is the left aspect of divine power
51
वैष्णवी
Vaiṣṇavī
The Shakti of Vishnu - she who is Vishnu's divine feminine power
52
वाराही
Vārāhī
The Boar-Faced One - the Shakti of Varaha, fierce and earth-upholding
53
विमला
Vimalā
The Spotless - she who is utterly pure, stainless and unblemished
54
वनदुर्गा
Vanadurgā
Durga of the forest - the goddess who protects in wilderness and nature
55
महामाया
Mahāmāyā
The Great Illusion - she who is the cosmic creative power of divine maya
56
महाद्री
Mahādrī
She of the great mountain - the goddess dwelling in the highest peaks
57
महालक्ष्मी
Mahālakṣmī
The Great Lakshmi - encompassing all wealth, beauty and divine fortune
58
मृड़ालनी
Mṛḍālanī
The Gentle - consort of Mrida (Shiva), she who is tender and compassionate
59
मित्ररूपा
Mitrarūpā
The Friendly One - she who presents herself as a dear friend to her devotees
60
नित्यमुक्ता
Nityamuktā
The Eternally Liberated - she who is forever free from bondage
॥ ६१–७२ ॥ - Names of Grace and Wisdom
61
निर्वाणसुखदायिनी
Nirvāṇa-sukhadāyinī
She who gives the bliss of nirvana - the joy of final liberation
62
अपराजिता
Aparājitā
The Unconquered - she who has never been and can never be defeated
63
भगवती
Bhagavatī
The Divine - she who possesses all six divine qualities in full
64
कात्यायनी
Kātyāyanī
Daughter of sage Katyayana - the slayer of Mahishasura, the Nav Durga form
65
कौशिकी
Kauśikī
She who emerged from the sheath (kosha) of Parvati - the golden goddess
66
कालिका
Kālikā
The dark goddess - she who devours time and transcends all cycles
67
कामाक्षी
Kāmākṣī
She whose eyes fulfil all desires - the enchanting, wish-granting one
68
करुणार्णवा
Karuṇārṇavā
Ocean of compassion - she whose mercy is as vast and fathomless as the sea
69
कल्पवृक्षसमा
Kalpavṛkṣasamā
Like the wish-fulfilling tree - she who grants all desires to those who approach
70
कुमारिका
Kumārikā
The Young Virgin - eternally youthful, pure, the goddess in her maiden form
71
कुमुदा
Kumudā
She who delights in the earth - the one who brings joy to all of creation
72
क्षीराब्धिनिलया
Kṣīrābdhi-nilayā
She who dwells in the ocean of milk - the goddess of the cosmic ocean of bliss
॥ ७३–८४ ॥ - Names of the Transcendent One
73
तामसी
Tāmasī
She who dwells in darkness - the form associated with tamas and dissolution
74
त्रिगुणा
Triguṇā
She who embodies all three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas in perfect union
75
त्रिशूला
Triśūlā
Wielder of the trident - she who destroys the three-fold suffering of existence
76
त्रिशक्ति:
Triśaktiḥ
The threefold power - Iccha Shakti, Jnana Shakti and Kriya Shakti in one
77
त्रिलोकात्मिका
Trilokātmikā
Soul of the three worlds - she who pervades earth, heaven and the underworld
78
त्रिलोकरक्षिणी
Triloka-rakṣiṇī
Protector of the three worlds - the guardian of all realms of existence
79
पार्वती
Pārvatī
Daughter of the mountain - Parvati, the beloved consort of Shiva
80
परमेश्वरी
Parameśvarī
The Supreme Goddess - she who is the highest divine ruler of the cosmos
81
प्रत्यक्षा
Pratyakṣā
The Manifest - she who makes herself directly visible to devoted eyes
82
प्राणरूपिणी
Prāṇarūpiṇī
She whose form is prana - the life-breath that animates all living beings
83
प्रियंकरी
Priyaṃkarī
She who does what is dear - the one who fulfils the heart's deepest wish
84
पंडिता
Paṇḍitā
The Learned - she who is the source of all true knowledge and scholarship
॥ ८५–९६ ॥ - Names of the Final Liberation
85
सर्वेश्वरी
Sarveśvarī
Ruler of all - the sovereign goddess over every being and every realm
86
सर्वदायिनी
Sarvadāyinī
The giver of all - she who bestows every blessing upon those who seek her
87
सर्वगा
Sarvagā
She who pervades all - omnipresent in every atom of creation
88
सर्वविजया
Sarvavijayā
Victorious over all - the goddess who triumphs in every realm
89
सर्वघ्नघ्नी
Sarvaghnaghni
Destroyer of all destroyers - she who eliminates every negative force
90
सर्वदा
Sarvadā
Always giving - she who bestows blessings at all times, in all conditions
91
शिवा
Śivā
The Auspicious - the feminine form of Shiva, all-goodness and grace
92
शिवप्रिया
Śivapriyā
Beloved of Shiva - the one most dear to the lord of auspiciousness
93
शिवंदात्री
Śivaṃdātrī
She who gives all that is auspicious - the bestower of Shiva's grace
94
शिवशक्ति
Śivaśakti
The power of Shiva - she who is the inseparable energy of the supreme
95
उमादेवी
Umādevī
Goddess Uma - Parvati in her serene, gracious and gentle aspect
96
उमाशक्ति
Umāśakti
The power of Uma - divine energy in its most loving and nurturing form
॥ ९७–१०८ ॥ - The Final Names · Samapti
97
कामरूपिणी
Kāmarūpiṇī
She who takes the form of desire - the power that gives shape to all longing
98
कालरात्री
Kālarātrī
The night of time - she who is the darkness that precedes divine dawn
99
महादेवी
Mahādevī
The Great Goddess - the supreme Devi encompassing all divine feminine forms
100
महाकाली
Mahākālī
The Great Kali - beyond time and death, the ultimate transformative power
101
महालक्ष्मी
Mahālakṣmī
The Great Lakshmi - all beauty, wealth and auspiciousness in their fullest expression
102
महासरस्वती
Mahāsarasvatī
The Great Sarasvati - supreme wisdom, arts and the divine power of creation
103
योगमाया
Yogamāyā
The illusion of yoga - she whose divine maya creates and sustains the universe
104
योगिनी
Yoginī
The Yogini - she who is forever absorbed in divine meditation and union
105
योगनिद्रा
Yoganidrā
The sleep of yoga - she who is the divine rest between creation and dissolution
106
यक्षिणी
Yakṣiṇī
The Yakshini - goddess of hidden treasures and the guardians of nature
107
योगेश्वरी
Yogeśvarī
The Ruler of Yoga - she who is the supreme mistress of all spiritual practice
108
दुर्गा
Durgā
The Invincible - she who is beyond all reach of evil, the eternal protector. The journey of 108 names returns to where it began - in her.
सर्वमंगलमांगल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके।
शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तुते॥
Sarvamaṅgala-māṅgalye śive sarvārtha-sādhike, Śaraṇye tryambake gauri Nārāyaṇi namo'stute.
"O auspicious one, the most auspicious of all auspicious things - O Shiva, the fulfiller of all wishes - O refuge of all, O three-eyed one, O Gauri, O Narayani - salutation to you." End the namavali with this verse and offer flowers at Devi's feet.