The durgA saptaSatI is  a part of the mArkaNDeya purANa (chapters 81 to 93). durgA saptaSatI means  "Seven-hundred verses in praise of She who removes all  difficulties".  This is the name used in North India.  The same  text is called chaNDI  pAThaH in  East India – "Recitation of She who tears apart thought" and devI  mAhAtmyam ("Glory  of the Goddess") in South India.

In  this 13-chapter text, devI slays  numerous asuras.   The enemies of the devas (usually  rendered as "gods"), the asuras are generally regarded as "demons".  Swami Satyananda Saraswati  of Devi Mandir (Click Here To View Link)  in his acclaimed translation of chaNDI pAThaH has  beautifully recognised asuras as  "thoughts" – thoughts that occlude sentient beings from the  perception and realisation of their own inherent divinity.  Truly,  such psychic demons are the enemies of our realisation of godhead  and, hence, the enemies of the devas.
 
In  a similar vein, the devas may be understood as the forces that combat the thought-demons, ie  the forces of clear perception.

Let  us look at the characterisation of asuras and devas from each chapter of devI  mahAtmyam more  specifically:

Chapter 1 – The slaying of madhu and kaiTabha (madhukaiTabhavadho  nAma prathamo’dhyAhaH)
 asuras:
 madhu and kaiTabha = The twin thoughts Too Much and Too  Little
 devas:
 brahmA = Creative  Capacity
 hariH = Remover  of Confusion

Chapter  2 and 3 – The slaying of the armies of mahishAsura (mahishAsura  sainya nAma dvitIyo’dhyAhaH)  and mahishAsura himself (mahishAsuravadho  nAma tritIyo’dhyAhaH)
asura:
mahishAsura = The  delusion of Great Ego
devas:
sUrya =    The  Light of Wisdom
indrA = The  Rule of the Pure
agni = The  Light of Meditation
anila = Emancipation
indu = Devotion
yama = The  Power that Controls
varuNa = Equilibrium
brahma = Creative  Capacity
vishNu = The  All-pervading Consciousness
Sambhu = The  Bliss of Being

Chapter 6 – The slaying of dhUmralochana  (dhUmralochana vadho nAma  shashTho’dhyAhaH)
asura:
dhUmralochana =    The delusion of the Sinful Clouded Eyes

Chapter 7 – The slaying of chaNDa  and muNDa (chaNDamuNDa vadho nAma saptamo’dhyAhaH)
asuras:
chaNDa and muNDa = The twin delusions of Passion and Anger
devI:
kAlI = Remover of Darkness

Chapter 8 – The slaying of raktabIja  (raktabIjavadho nAma ashTamo’dhyAhaH)
asura:
raktabIja = The  Seed of Desire
devIs:
brahmANI = Creative Energy
mAheSvarI = Energy  of the Great Seer
kaumArI =    Energy  of the Ever Pure
vaiSNavI = Energy  of the All-pervading Consciousness
vArAhI = Energy  of the Desire of Union
nArasiMhI = Energy  of Courageous Fortitude
aindrI =    Enregy  of the Rule of the Pure
chamuNDA = Slayer of Passion and Anger

Chapter  9  – The slaying of niSuMbha  (niSuMbhavadho nAma navamo’dhyAhaH)
asura:
niSuMbha = The  delusion of Self-Deprecation
devIs:
chaNDikA = She who tears apart Thought
SivadUtI = She for whom Consciousness is Emissary
durgA =    Destroyer  of Troubles and Afflictions

Chapter 10  – The slaying of SuMbha  (shuMbhavadho nAma daSamo’dhyAhaH)
asura:
SuMbha = The  delusion of Self-Conceit
devI:
ambikA = Mother  of the Universe

  Thus, we get a glimpse into the path back to  once again perceiving and realising our own inherent divinity.  This  occurs through the removal of deluded thoughts that obstruct clarity  of perception, diminish constructive energy, distort empathy and,  thereby, prevent our lives from being blissful.  One may say here,  that to a practitioner, durgAsaptaSati is  both a road map and a road itself – a way!

An edited version of the above was first published in Click To View