Shloka 84
देवकी-विवाहः, आकाशवाणी, भूरभारावतरण-याचना, क्षीराब्धि-स्तुति, केशावतार-नियोजनम्
ये त्वाम् आर्येति दुर्गेति वेदगर्भे ऽम्बिकेति च भद्रेति भद्रकालीति क्षेम्या क्षेमकरीति च
ye tvām āryeti durgeti vedagarbhe 'mbiketi ca bhadreti bhadrakālīti kṣemyā kṣemakarīti ca
Those who praise you by these sacred names—“Arya,” “Durga,” “Vedagarbha,” “Ambika,” “Bhadra,” “Bhadrakali,” “Kshemya,” and “Kshemakari”—invoke your protecting power.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The efficacy of nāma-stuti (praise by sacred names) and the protective function of divine śakti for the worlds.
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: compassionate
Concept: Recitation of sacred names (āryā, durgā, vedagarbhā, ambikā, bhadrā, bhadrakālī, kṣemyā, kṣemakarī) invokes the protective potency that secures cosmic and social well-being.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Adopt regular nāma-japa/stotra as a discipline of remembrance, aligning one’s life with auspiciousness and protection.
Vishishtadvaita: Divine grace is accessed through names and attributes: the Lord and His śakti are personally approachable while remaining cosmic governors.
Vishnu Form: Hari
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse presents a litany of epithets to indicate that the one divine protective power is approached through many names, each highlighting a specific function—auspiciousness, protection, and the granting of welfare (kṣema).
Parāśara uses honorific titles (Āryā, Durgā, Ambikā, Bhadrakālī) to portray the Goddess as the sustaining, protective energy aligned with dharma and the well-being of the worlds.
In the Vishnu Purana’s broader theology, protective divine power ultimately serves preservation of cosmic order—an aim identified with Vishnu’s sovereignty—so the praise of protective energy complements the Purana’s vision of a supremely ordered universe.