Sri Durga Apad Uddhara Astakam
namaste śaraṇye śive sānukampe
namaste jagad vyāpike viśvarūpe
namaste jagad vandya pādāra vinde
namaste jagat tāriṇi trāhi durge
namaste jaga ccintya māna svarūpe
namaste mahāyogi vijñāna rūpe
namaste namaste sadānanda rūpe
namaste jagat tāriṇi trāhi durge
anāthasya dīnasya tṛṣṇā turasya
bhayār tasya bhītasya baddhasya jantoḥ
tvamekā gatirdevi nistāra kartrī
namaste jagat tāriṇi trāhi durge
araṇye raṇe dāruṇe śatru madhye
jale saṅkaṭe rāja grehe pravāte
tvamekā gatirdevi nistāra hetur
namaste jagat tāriṇi trāhi durge
apāre mahadustare'tyanta ghore
vipat sāgare majjatāṃ dehabhājām
tvamekā gatirdevi nistāra naukā
namaste jagat tāriṇi trāhi durge
namaś caṇḍike caṇḍordaṇḍa līlā
samut khaṇḍitā khaṇḍa lā śeṣa śatroḥ
tvamekā gatir vighna sando hahartrī
namaste jagat tāriṇi trāhi durge
tvamekā sadā rādhitā satya vādin
yanekā khilā krodhanā krodha niṣṭhā
iḍā piṅgalā tvaṃ suṣumnā ca nāḍī
namaste jagat tāriṇi trāhi durge
namo devi durge śive bhīmanāde
sadā sarva siddhi pradātṛ svarūpe
vibhūtiḥ satāṃ kāla rātri svarūpe
namaste jagat tāriṇi trāhi durge
śaraṇam asi surāṇāṃ
siddha vidyā dharāṇāṃ
muni danuja varāṇāṃ
vyādhi bhiḥ pīḍitānām
nṛpati gṛha gatānāṃ
dasyubhis trāsitānāṃ
tvamasi śaraṇam
ekā devi durge prasīda
A Note to All Seekers Walking the Path of Mā Vanadurgā
For those who tread the sacred path of Mā Vanadurgā,
there is one stotram that must become a companion of your heart and breath
— this Śrī Durgā Āpaduddhārāṣṭakam,
This stotra is not just a prayer — it is a lifeline.
You do not require elaborate kavacas or additional textual appendices in your sādhana.
If this one hymn is recited with niṣṭhā (firm resolve and single-minded devotion), it is more than sufficient. This alone carries the potency to hold and guide you through the entire arc of your inner journey.
When your sādhana intensifies and the residue of your past karmas rises
— when the cleansing begins
— this stotram becomes a gentle but firm support,
helping you face yourself and walk onward without fear.
You can listen to that very album here:
Dr. Ambika Kameshwar – Durga Stotram (YouTube link)
And so, in this Vanadurgā Arādhana series, I feel compelled to acknowledge this — to bow before this missing stuti, not yet incorporated in the series — but forever etched in my heart.
