Narayani Stuti

Meaning:

Sarvasya buddhi rūpeṇa janasya hṛdi saṁsthite .
Svargāpavargade devi nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..1..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who is present in the heart of all people as intelligence, and grants heaven and liberation.

Kalākāṣṭādi rūpeṇa pariṇāma pradāyini . 
Viśvasyoparatau śakte nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..2..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who causes change in the form of time periods such as kala and kashtha (~1.6 min and ~3.2s respectively), and has the power to withdraw the universe. 

Sarva maṅgala māṅgalye śive sarvārtha sādhike .
Śaraṇye tryambake gaur nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..3..
O Narayani, who is the most auspicious among the auspicious, who is peaceful, who grants all boons, who gives refuge to all, who has three eyes, and who has a fair complexion! Salutations to you.

Sṛṣṭisthitivināśānāṁ śaktibhūte sanātani .
Guṇāśraye guṇamaye nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..4..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who has become the power of creation, sustenance, and destruction, who is eternal, who is the creator of all qualities and who possesses them.

Śaraṇāgata-dīnārta-paritrāṇa-parāyaṇe .
Sarvasyārthihare devi nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..5..


Salutations to you, O Goddess Narayani, who is engaged in saving the poor and distressed who take refuge in her, and who removes the sorrows of all people

Haṁsayukta-vimānasthe brahmāṇīrūpa-dhāriṇi .
Kauśāmbhaḥ-kṣarike devi nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..6..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who is seated in a vehicle drawn by swans, and who, taking the form of Brahmani, sprinkles water with kusha grass.

Triśūla-candrāhi-dhare mahāvṛṣabhavāhini .
Māheśvarī-swarūpeṇa nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..7..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who, in the form of Maheswari, bears the moon, the snake, and the trident and rides on a great bull .

Mayūra-kukkuṭavṛte mahāśaktidhare'naghe .
Kaumārīrūpa-saṁsthāne nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..8..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who has assumed the form of Kaumari, who is flanked by a peacock and a cock, who holds the great spear, and who is flawless.

Śaṅkhacakra-gadāśārṅa-gṛhīta-paramāyudhe .
Prasīda Vaiṣṇavīrūpe nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..9..

Salutations to you,O Narayani, who has assumed the form of Vaishnavi, who holds the conch, the disc, the mace and the bow;may you be pleased with us.

Gṛhītogra-mahācakre daṁṣṭoddhṛta-vasundhare .
Varāharūpiṇi śive nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..10..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who, in the form of Varaha(wild pig), holds a terrible disc, and lifted the earth with her teeth, and who is Shiva.

Nṛsiṁharūpeṇogreṇa hantuṁ daityān kṛtodyame .

Trailokyatrāṇa-sahite nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..11..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who, in the form of Narasimha, is ever ready to kill the demons, and who protects the three worlds.

Kirīṭini mahāvajre sahasranayanojjvale . 
Vṛtraprāṇahare caindri nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..12..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who wears a crown, who holds the great thunderbolt, who has a thousand shining eyes, and who killed Vritra as Aindri.

Śivadūtīsvarūpeṇa hathadaitya-mahābale .
Ghorarūpe mahārāve nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..13..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who, in the form of Shivaduti(one who has Shiva as her messenger), slaughtered the demons with her great strength, who has a terrible form, and a terrible cry.

Daṁṣṭrākarālavadane śiromālā-vibhūṣaṇe .
Chāmunde mundamathane nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..14..

Salutations to you, O Narayani, who are Chamunda, whose canines make her face dreadful, who is decorated with a necklace of severed heads, and who destroyed the demon Munda.

Lakshmi lajje mahāvidye sraddhe puṣṭi svadhe dhruve .
Mahāratri mahāvidye nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..15..

Salutation to you,O Narayani, who is Lakshmi, who is modesty, who is the great knowledge, who is faith, who is nourishment, who is oblation, who is eternal, who is the great night and who is the greatest knowledge.

Medhe sarasvati vare bhūti bābhravi tāmase .
Niyate tvaṁ prasīdeśe nārāyaṇi namo'stute ..16..

Salutations to you,O Narayani, who is intelligence, who is Saraswati, who is prosperity, who is reddish-brown in colour, who is dark, who is the mistress of all, and who is fate;be pleased with us.

This hymn is found in the 11th chapter of the Devimahatmya .

Notes:

  The Devimahatmya is a  portion of the Markandeya Purana which describes the glories of the Mother Goddess. The gods praise the Goddess with this hymn after she killed the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. The demons Shumbha and Nishumbha obtained a boon from Lord Brahma that only the most powerful woman in the world can kill them. Armed with this boon they created havoc in the three worlds. The troubled gods and sages requested the Mother Goddess Durga to save them from the demons and she obliged. 

  Taking the form of Kaushiki, Durga descended to the Earth. This was when Chanda and Munda, two demons in the service of Shumbha, saw her and reported the news to him. Shumbha sent a group of demons, led by Dhumralochana, to persuade Kaushiki to come with them and marry their masters. Kaushiki flatly refused, and said that she would only marry the person who defeats her in war. This made Dhumralochana angry and he tried to molest her. The enraged Kaushiki uttered the syllable "hmm", causing Dhumralochana to explode. 

  The news reached Shumbha and he decided to take her by force. He sent Chanda and Munda with a small army to bring Kaushiki by force. On seeing herself outnumbered, Kaushiki created a black goddess from her mind. This goddess was dreadful to look at, had sharp teeth, and a dark complexion. She slaughtered the demons, including Chanda and Munda. Kaushiki named her Kalika, as she was black in colour. She was also called Chamunda as she killed Chanda and Munda.

  Shumbha and Nishumbha now decided to launch a full-fledged attack against Kaushiki. Kaushiki decided to send Shiva as a messenger of peace, but the mission failed. The demon launched their attack on Kaushiki. On seeing this, the gods pooled their energies to help Kaushiki in the form of eight goddesses. Brahmani sprinkled water with kusha grass on the demon forces, making them senseless. Vaishnavi, Maheshwari, Kaumari, Varahi, Narasimhi, and Aindri then killed the demons. These seven goddesses were later known as the seven Matrikas. Other goddesses also joined the war.

  One of the major problems the army of Kaushiki faced was Raktabeeja, Shumbha's general. Every drop of his blood that touched the ground would form a new Raktabeeja. The goddesses then invoked Chamunda to help them. Chamunda assumedas man forms as there were Raktabeejas, killed each one and then drank their blood, preventing newones from being formed. The goddesses then killed Nishumbha. An enraged Shumbha taunted Kaushiki saying that it was the other goddesses who helped her defeat his brother. On hearing this, Kaushiki absorbed all the other goddesses into her body and killed Shumbha in single combat. The delighted gods then praised her for restoring order to the three worlds.