Devi-Charit

Devi-Charit — 15 chapters, 150 questions. From several texts.

The Goddess's stories are found whole in no single text either. The largest source is the Devi Mahatmya (the Durga Saptashati), which sits inside the Markandeya Purana — Mahisha, Raktabija and Shumbha-Nishumbha are all from there. The Devi Bhagavata Purana, the Kalika Purana and the Lalitopakhyana of the Brahmanda Purana each add their own parts. The oldest voice is the Devi Sukta of the Rig Veda (10.125). One question runs through the whole gatha: is the Goddess one, or many? The Shakta tradition says one — Durga, Kali, Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati are all her forms. Vaishnava and Shaiva texts often make her a wife or a helper rather than the supreme power, and that difference is recorded in every chapter. Village goddesses like Manasa and Shitala are a separate living stream. The stories of Sati and Daksha, the Shakti Pithas and the ashes of Kama are already told on this site in Shiv-Mahima — here they are seen from her side, not retold.