Devi Mahatmyam

The Glory of the Goddess

By: Sage Markandeya, Lyndal Vercoe - translator

Narrated by: Tim Bruce

Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Celebrating the ultimate triumph of good over evil, the Devi Mahatmyam by Sage Markandeya is an epic poem to the Mother of the Universe, a song of praise that echoes through the ages.

For millions worldwide, the Devi Mahatmyam is of central spiritual importance and of equal cultural significance within Indian Sanskrit literature to the Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, and the Ramayana. Also known as the Shri Durga Saptashati (700 verses to Goddess Durga), it forms a major part of the Markandeya Purana (dating from around 550 CE) and remains the prime focus of festivity and devotion to the Divine Mother during the nine nights of Navaratri.

Listening to this story nurtures a strong positive feeling of protection and well-being within the Heart chakra, stimulates the energy of the sternum bone that produces the antibodies that fight infection, and is of particular benefit to mankind today, as the world struggles to cope with the many physical and psychological challenges and the increasing pressures of modern life. This is a Devi Mahatmyam for our time.

Featuring:

• Devi Mahatmyam (read in English)
• The Kavach of the Devi (read in English)
• Shri Siddha Kunjika Stotram (sung in Sanskrit)

Public Domain (P)2020 Raconteurs Audio LLP

Superb!

I loved every moment. Felt like I was completely transported to a different realm. It's a must have for everyone especially INDIANS, who have grown up with the Devi Mahatmayam but don't have a real clue what's it about.
Superb for its crisp delivery, easy to understand translation and very soothing tonality. Excellent. Excellent!

A superb reading of a great classic story

I have read several translations of the Devi Mahatmyam but have never read one that so beautifully captures the spirit of the original. This is a work to be read and savored in these turbulent times. My Russian wife has read an excellent translation in Russian and she and I listed to Tim Bruce's reading in two sessions on a recent long, road trip. It is spectacularly good and we will listen to it, again and again.

Best book for all time

If you need balance in your heart and feelings or If you have experienced negative maternal or paternal relationships or if you feel confused in love and compassion with less desirable feelings of possession and selfishness. listen to this book.

It is so calming

I play this every day, the story is so intense, the voice so calming, and the message so deep. It just doesn’t get old on me at all. My 2 year old enjoys it too, she goes to bed with it. I love how I can skip to our favorite chapters / battles. If one enjoys meditation I found this performance quite soothing as a background, and helps to set the mood.

Accessible and insightful

An accessible and insightful narration, performance and recitation for those interested in furthering their understanding.

As an impartial outsider, fascinating but dense

First of all, this is my opinion, and I'm sure for the majority of listeners this text may have some deep cultural significance, so please don't think I'm unduly knocking a sacred manuscript with a 3-star review. I'm merely rating how much I enjoyed my listen.

I'm non-religious, but I find the mythologies of all religions fascinating, so I came here for self-education. I've always thought the Hindu pantheon as the most compatible with a comic-book. It's colourful, psychedelic and full of beautiful underlying messages. There's plenty of that colourful chaos on show here, with great, large scale, high stakes battles.

The bad: kind of a trope of ancient manuscripts, but for me, an ignorant monolingual Englishman, it's sometimes just a massive list of incomprehensible names that I forgot mere moments after hearing them. Not a fault of the text, but it did hinder my ability to enjoy everything on offer here. It's a tough listen, and any narrator would struggle to sell this to a person with no prior knowledge of the source material.

The good: I mean, a 1,500 year-old piece of literature about Kaiju slaying giant demons with a discus. What's not to love about that?

Also, I thought I'd hate it when it started with the musical Interludes, but I actually really enjoyed the sense of atmosphere it gave to the narrative.

If you're a person with an interest in mythology, this is a mere 2 hours or so of your life and a vital part of the Hindu religion. Recommended, but perhaps be prepared to listen through this twice if you're not familiar with the names of the characters already.

awesome awesomeness

a w e s o m e n e s e n e s s