षष्ठीदेवी-स्तोत्रम्

About this stotra

From the Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa (Prakṛti Khaṇḍa), in the story of Ṣaṣṭhī as Nārāyaṇa tells it to Nārada. Ṣaṣṭhī Devī is the presiding goddess of children (bālādhiṣṭhātṛ-devī), the sixth portion of the Śakti, and Devasenā, the beloved of Skanda. King Priyavrata, son of Svāyambhuva Manu, praises Her: Giver of boons, sons and wealth, ever present to Her devotees, free of violence and anger. He asks: “Give wealth, give a beloved wife, give a son; give dharma, fame, land, children, learning, welfare and victory.” Having praised Her, he receives a glorious son, a king among kings, by Her grace.

The phala-śruti:

• One without a son who listens to the hymn for a year gains a fine, long-lived son.
• A woman who listens with devotion and restraint for a year is freed of all sins and gives birth, even if long barren, to a son who is brave, virtuous, learned, famous and long-lived.
• A woman who bore only one child (kāka-vandhyā) or whose children did not survive is blessed with a son after a year of listening.
• When a child is ill and the father and mother listen to it, the child recovers within a month.