The Devīpurāṇa (DP) is a unique text in Sanskrit literary history due to its focus on the goddess Śakti and her incarnations. As a ‘Śākta Upapurāṇa’ (Hazra 1963, p. 36), it sheds valuable light on the different elements and perspectives of early Śakti worship. The DP has nonetheless received relatively little scholarly attention, no doubt in part because its text has suffered considerably in transmission.
The first scholar to draw attention to the (then still unpublished) DP was R.C. Hazra in his groundbreaking book of 1963. He dated it between the 6th and the 11th centuries (1963, pp. 75–78), a date since refined by Hatley (2021, p. 102), who places its composition around the 8th/9th century CE. Sushmita's own engagement with this text began under the guidance of Prof Dominic Goodall and Dr S.A.S. Sarma as part of her doctoral studies at the Pondicherry centre of the Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO).
Though the DP has printed editions, they are full of errors and do not meet the high standard of scholastic rigour that this text deserves. Sushmita hopes to rectify this by compiling a new critical edition of the text, beginning with a ‘pilot study’ of chapter 50 that she intends to undertake at the IIAS. This chapter, called the Devīsaṃvatsaramanḍalabaliharaṇavidhānam, is particularly interesting for how it relates goddess worship to early notions of astronomy. Its use of astronomical terms reinforces the idea that the DP is an eclectic text (De Simini 2016, p.77) with far-reaching intertextual connections; an interesting feature in this regard is the chapter’s reference to sixty years (varṣas) corresponding to sixty forms of goddess Maṅgalā. These same sixty years appear in chapter 8 (Bṛhaspaticāra, a chapter related to the movement of Jupiter) of the Bṛhatsaṃhitā in the same order, showing that the texts drew from a common astronomical tradition.
Apart from this, this chapter provides detailed iconographical descriptions of the sixty forms of the Devī Maṅgalā. These descriptions point to ties with chapter 6 (Rudrādivyaktaliṅgavartana) of the Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇasārasamuccaya, which likewise features iconographical descriptions of these sixty goddesses.
Due to the uniqueness of DP chapter 50, Sushmita proposes to focus on this text during a six-month stay at the IIAS. This will allow her to understand better the structure and content of this crucial chapter, which divides the forms of the Devī Maṅgalā into three groups – sattva, rajas, and tamas – while detailing their iconography, worship procedures, and how this relates to the astronomical terms used for years. As she aims to pursue further research on the DP, this study will help her elaborate on the historical importance and contemporary relevance of the text. A critical edition and translation of the relevant verses, along with a comparative study of the Bṛhatsaṃhitā and the Pratiṣṭhālakṣaṇasārasamuccaya, makes this chapter a fitting focus for her research during her fellowship.
Apart from this, if time permits, Sushmita will also examine the seven nibandhas where chapter 50 is quoted:
- Caṇḍeśvara’s Kṛtyaratnākara
- Hemādri’s Caturvargacintāmaṇi
- Raghunandana’s Durgāpūjātattva
- Raghunandana’s Smṛtitattva
- Śrīdatta Upādhyāya’s Ācārādarśa (alias Kṛtyācāra)
- Vidyāpati’s Durgābhaktitaraṅgiṇī
- Vidyāpati’s Gaṅgāvākyāvalī