A History of Indian Literature v3.c35.s8.178

v3.c35.s8.178

The authorship of a large number of hymns dedicated to Śiva or to Devī, the Divine Mother or to Viṣṇu too is attributed to the celebrated philosopher Śaṅkara². Probably many of these hymns are really his own, and perhaps "a great majority of them are wrongly attributed to him. Some of such hymns are dedicated to Devī, i.e. "goddess" par excellence or the "Mother", an appallation by which she is referred to by the Śāktas. In the cult of this sect the divine principle is not conceived as masculine, but as feminine; and the Śāktas believe that the most exhaulted creative principle cannot be most appropriately designated by the word "Father", but by the word "Mother". All the mythological feminine forms, above all, the consort of the god Śiva, who is praised and worshipped under numberless names like Umā, Pārvatī, Durgā, Caṇḍī, etc. as the "Mother of the Universe" (Jaganmātā) are revered by adherents of this sect as the divine "Mother"³. It is comprehensible that when the Indian poets refer to divinity as their "Mother" they utter the word from the core of their heart. It is why we find among these hymns, dedicated to Devī, many of the best pieces of religious lyrics. As examples, a few stanzas from the Devyaparādhakṣamāpaṇa, "Prayer to Devī for Atonement of Sins", attributed to Śaṅkara, are given below:—