Durgasaptashati

(“700 [verses in praise of ] Durga”)
Another name for the Devimahatmya,
the earliest and most important mythic
text for the worship of the Goddess as
208
Duhshasana
the supreme divine power. It has this
name because the text is 700 verses
long, and Durga is one of the common
names designating this powerful goddess. The Devimahatmya is well-known
for its assertion that God is female. This
is a notion with no clear source in the
earlier tradition, where female deities
were insignificant. The text begins with
a frame story, but the bulk of the work is
three stories describing the salvific
activity of the Goddess, who is portrayed
as far superior to the pantheon’s male
gods. See Devimahatmya.