Devi Mahatmya - Place in The Hindu Canon

Place in The Hindu Canon

Devi Māhātmyam has been called the Testament of Shakta philosophy It is the base and root of Shakta doctrine. It appears as the centre of the great Shakti cult.

Here, for the first time, "the various mythic, cultic and theological elements relating to diverse female divinities were brought together in what has been called the 'crystallization of the Goddess tradition."

The unique feature of Devi Māhātmyam is the oral tradition. Though it is part of the devotional tradition, it is in the rites of the Hindus that it plays an important role. The entire text is considered as one single Mantra and a collection of 700 Mantras.

The Devi Māhātmyam is treated in the cultic context as if it were a Vedic hymn or verse with sage(ṛṣi), meter, pradhnadevata, and viniyoga (for japa). It has been approached, both by Hindus and Western scholars, as scripture in and by itself, where its significance is intrinsic, not derived from its Puranic context.

According to Damara Tantra "Like Aswamedha in Yagnas, Hari in Devas, Sapthsati is in hymns." "Like the Vedas; Saptasati is eternal" says Bhuvaneshwari Samhita.

There are many commentaries on Devi Māhātmya.

• Guptavati by Bhaskararaya
• Nagesi by Nagoji Bhat
• Santhanavi
• Puspanjali
• Ramashrami
• Dhamsoddharam
• Durgapradeepam are some of them.

The significance of Devi Māhātmya has been explained in many Tantric and Puranic texts like Katyayani Tantra, Gataka Tantra, Krodha Tantra, Meru Tantram, Marisa Kalpam, Rudra Yamala, and Chidambara Rahasya. A number of studies of Shaktism appreciate the seminal role of Devi Māhātmya in the development of the Shakta tradition.