Mookambika sahasranama is a very powerful chant next only to Lalitha Sahasranama and Rajarajeshwari Sahsranama.

This chant if done with a bilva leaf on the Mookambika yantra made in gold and p laced before a panchaloha idol of Mookambika along with kumkuma and Jasmine flow ers will please Mookambika very much. After the puja is over offering Kadimadhur a parruppu Payasam(Very very sweet rice pudding made out of Cardomom,rasins,cash ews,badam,Raw brownish sugar,Jaggery and kept in a coconut shell and then added with greated coconut and trasferred into two palm leaves and boiled and kept wil l please immensely the deity(I have reaveld this recipie to all women folk of ou r group. I myself know cooking but i do not know whether other men understand th e divine importance of cooking and food. But women folk do understand I guess,es pecially when cooking for Amba...One should chant some thing like Om sree mathre namaha while cooking for naivedya) (Kadimadhura parruppu payasam) IngredientsGreen gram - 1 cupJaggery (sharkara) - 1 cup Cardamom - 5 Cashew - 15 Badam-6Raisins - 15 Coconut Milk/Cow's milk - 1 cup Water - 2 cups Ghee - 2 teas poonPreparation Cook the green gram in water. When it becomes soft, add jaggery to it. Stir unti ll the jaggery is dissolved. Fry cashew, raisins in ghee and add to the mixture. Stir it for 2 minutes. Remove from the flame and add milk. Mix well.Keep it in a coconut shell with the coconut sticking to it. Then boil it for a few minutes in palm leaves. Add crushed cardamom and mix well.Serev hot to Mookambika devi a nd distribute the naivedya to family.(It is said that shaktha prasadam is for on ly family and to be taken from a temple similarly like shiva prasadam.).The kadi madhura payassam becomes even 'kadi' or rather athimadhuram after it has been of fered as naivedya to Sree Mookambika Devi(Her spit can even change the posion in Neelkanta's neck to 'Amrita'! Amma spit on this Subodha too !

One who does this daily will see Mookiambika soon. Now this chant is so powerful that one who has done it once gets the phala of do ing Sahasra Chandi homa itself! This does not mean one can obviate the need of doing sahsra chandi homa. They gi ve these comparisions only to ellicit enthusiasm from the doer. One should take it in the right spirit and understanding.

I did this chant and throughly enjoyed it. Though I worship,adore,love and expri ence at-oneness with Godess Rajarajeshwari, I just did this in front of Rajaraje shwari considering her to be Mookambika. For me it is all Ammani. But I have been to Mookambika kshetra also.Incidentally,my wife comes from a nam boodiri kerala brahmin family so she had a good fortune of being there too! She makes nice Olan for Devi Mookambika though she loves Lalitha ammavaru of Vizag! All devis are one, all woman are Mas Olan! (Olan recipe begged from my wife for you all mathashris!) IngredientsBlack-eyed beans - 1 cup White pumpkin - 1 cup Pumpkin - 1 cup Green chillies - 3 to 4 nos. Coconut milk - 11/2 cups Curry leaves - 5 to 6 nos. Oil 1 tablespoon Salt to taste Preparation Soak the beans overnight. Pressure cook the next day till 3/4th done. Add choppe d pumpkin, salt and slit green chillies. Cook with a little water. When the pump kin and the beans are completely cooked, pour hot oil tempered with curry leaves into it. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 3 4 minutes. Serve hot with rotis to Sree Mookambika Devi and then partake with relish and with Mother's blessings! Mookambika is a combination of Mahalakshmi,Saraswathy,Lakshmi,Kaushiki,Mahishama r dini,Shatakshi and all gods and godesses. By chanting this Sahsranama regularly one can please Hundred crore Devis and dev as in one go who reside in Sridevi(Mookambika is also called Sridevi). If you look at the sahsranama one can find similarities between this and trishat i atleast for the first few hundrededs of names the letters ma,ka,....come in an order. This is a rare hymn and this litany is generally passed from a Guru to a discipl e when being initiated into Mookambika Mahamantra also known as Gauripanchakshar i. Please do not ask me for this mantra.One has to get it from a guru. the key t o this sahsranam lies in the mantra just like trishati's key lies in panchadasi mantra. That is all I can say! As usual with Devi's hymns this is not be imparted to Unworthy people(as proscri bed by Sage Markendeya) and also to people not initiated into Kaulacharya. Now t hese conditions are good and the kaula clause has been added as an extra protect ion. If one is pure by heart one can chant this litany. Now, a small digression here,as the posting title has the name Markendeya Rishi. Now, Markendeya rishi is not to be confused with the Young shiva devotee who wa s saved by Lord shiva. There are lot of rishis by similar and same names. Just b ecause your gothra contains Bharadwaja one should not jump to the conclusion tha t one's pravara rishi is the original Bharadwaja.It can be some other Rishi in b etween too. It is something similar to that! This whole litany comes in Kolaapuramahatmyam of Skanda purana(Kollur;s ancient sanskirt name was Kolaapuri).This comes as a dialogue between Lord shiva and Mar kendeya mahamuni. Lord shiva always reveals many things when he talks to either Parvathy Devi or t o the Mahamunis like Markendeya. This habit of his is engrained in the incarnati on of Dakshinamurthy of the southindian tradition.My mother used to love Dakshin amurthy very much and said to me" Subodha, Dakshinamurthy is more powerful in gr anting you intellect than saraswathy" and used to take me to a nearby shiva-vish

nu temple in chennai,tnagar and ask me to chant his mahamantra there!.Such was h er staunch belief! The story of Markendeya Rishi(Mookambika sahsranama will not be complete without a story on this Rishi). Markendeya Risi

One evening at dusk Markandeya was sitting at Puspabhadratira when from somewher e a wind began to blow. The wind increased in strength and the sky became covere d with clouds. The place resounded with peals of thunder and soon it began to ra in. Rains became heavy. Rivers became flooded and water level in the oceans rose . Everything around was submerged in water and Markandeya alone stood there with his matted hair swinging in the wind. It was impossible to know the directions and Markandeya started walking. He fell into whirlpools but was the next instant thrown up on to the top of surging waves. Then he saw on the top of a high wave a banyan tree. On a branch on the northeast of the tree he saw an infant lying, devouring the darkness by His effulgence. He was attracted to the infant by His vital force and went inside the infant as the infant inhaled. Inside the belly of the child Markandeya had a vision of the entire universe. He saw the sky, the horizon, the stars, the oceans, the mountains and expanses of land, Suras (demigods), Asuras (demons), forests and all that the un iverse contained in its proper setup. He saw passing before his eyes the element s, the yugas (ages of time), and the Manvantaras. After some time he was thrown out by an exhalation of the infant. He stood on the waters. The old banyan tree was still there. The infant was still lying on a leaf on that tree. Markandeya t hen knew it was Maha Visnu. He rushed to embrace the child but the child disappe ared before he reached Him. Markandeya then praised Maha Visnu.

One who does libation to Godess Mookambika after this chant will be triply bless ed(Libation means Tarpana) Please use this litany with proper discernment and reval it to only worthy peopl e. Hope Babitha Ma does not miss this posting{I beg my 'kooli' of a blessing from y our heart Babitha amma!(as a blessing from a devotee is said to be better than a blessing from Divine mother Herself)},though it is intended for all, Rajeevaranjithapadaa, Subodha