I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to Swāmī Jagadīśvarānanda’s translation of the Devīmāhātmya, published in India in 1953. Its glowing devotional spirit was the initial spark that led me almost two decades later to devote eight years of my life to this work.
This book would not have been possible without the initial encouragement and continuing assistance of Pravrajika Anandaprana and Pravrajika Vrajaprana of the Sarada Convent in Santa Barbara. I owe them my inestimable gratitude for their editorial skills, sensitivity, constructive criticism, and selfless dedication, which guided and shaped the work from its inception. I would like to express my thanks also to Joseph Cooper, my partner, who read the manuscript repeatedly throughout its evolution and often contributed just the right word or phrase that eluded me. Thanks also to Swami Sarvadevananda of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, who provided his oversight and requested the inclusion of the associated texts that form the third part of this volume; to Swami Atmajnanananda of the Vedanta Society of Greater Washington, DC, who clarified several important points; to Swami Chetanananda of the Vedanta Society of St. Louis, who advised me to “meditate on every verse”; to my fellow Vedānta devotees—Shuddha Barnes, Radhika and Govinda Eschner, Amala Kenny, Connie Magwood, Nalini Tipple, and Deepti Zaremba—who read portions of the manuscript and were unfailingly generous with their encouragement and suggestions; to Kalishyam DeVito, whose enthusiastic questioning guided me in revising the manuscript; and to my revered Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati for confirming the book’s spiritual validity. Heartfelt thanks to my editor, Valerie Cooper, for the intelligence, sensitivity, and commitment she brought to the realization of this book. To Swami Tyagananda of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of Boston, I can only say that words fail to express my profound gratitude for the editorial expertise and spiritual authority he brought to bear on the work. By reading the entire manuscript from beginning to end with meticulous care, he invested the work with a legitimacy far beyond that which I could have envisioned. Finally, to the Divine Mother herself, my inexpressible gratitude for engaging me in what has been truly a labor of love.