Articulated by Sri K. Natesan in collected works of Vasishtha Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni.
It is customary in our spiritual tradition to endow the nameless, formless, qualityless Absolute Brahman with a thousand names (sahasranama) or with three hundred names (trishati), and also with one hundred and eight names (ashtottarashatanama). It is a unique experience to worship the Lord with these Divine names. ``Umatrishati,'' three hundred names of goddess Uma is a most beautiful composition of the seerpoet Kavyakantha. This is one of his powerful, potent mantric utterances. The sound OM consists of three letters A U M. The word UMA too has these three letters in a transposed manner. This is the name of the Primordial Shakti, the Mother Goddess of the universe. In tantrashastra, Uma is considered to be the shaktapranava. Therefore, the trishati befittingly starts with the names Uma and haimavati. The stories of devimahatmyam find a place in this namavali (garland of names). The names of navadurga; the ten cosmic powers of the Goddess, dashamahavidya; the saptamatrka (various incarnations of the goddess) are described in this poem. The saguna (with form) attributes of the Goddess from the tresses on her head down to her feet are also briefly narrated in some elegant verses. The trishati is an exceedingly terse composition. The poet says in the concluding verse that he has churned the ocean of all the vedas and shastras, taken the essence, the cream, which is the nectar in the form of the ``Three Hundred Names of Uma''. A recital of these names of Uma restores a person's poise in the Self and also dispels the fear of enemies, diseases, death and all other obstacles.
In Umashatakam goddess Uma, the Mother of the Universe, is adored in a hundred verses distributed over ten sections, each having ten verses. The first section explains the svarupa (characterstic nature) of Uma. The second and third deal with surrender. The fourth one is a prayer. Apitakuchamba, the consort of Arunachala, is praised in the fifth. The sixth extols the glory of the names of goddess Uma. The poet exhibits his genius in versification in both the seventh and eighth sections. In the eighth section the ten incarnations of Vishnu are also mentioned. The poet praises the compassionate glance of the Goddess in the ninth, and the spiritual aspect of the Goddess is extolled in the concluding ten verses.
Umaksharamala extolls goddess Uma in fifty verses arranged in Sanskrit alphabetical order. All the vowels and consonants of the Sanskrit alphabet have been made use of in this poem.
Umasahasram is the magnum opus of the Muni which he wrote after he accepted Sri Ramana Maharshi as his guru. He composed the Umasahasram as a part of his tapas, in gratitude to the great Goddess Uma for having given him the Maharshi as his Master. After the momentous meeting with the Maharshi in 1907, the Muni wanted to continue his tapas. At the suggestion of Sri Maharshi he repaired to the Mangotree Cave in the Arunachala hills. Here he decided to compose a thousand verses in praise of goddess Uma, and the Maharshi gave his tacit approval and blessings. The Muni took a vow that he would complete the thousand verses in twenty days and started the composition on 26.11.1907. But no sooner did he begin the work an obstacle took place: a severe whitlow on the writing finger of his right hand afflicted him. But by the grace of the Goddess the finger healed miraculously and he resumed his writing.
On the last day (15.12.1907) he had yet to compose more than 200 verses. Resolutely facing the situation, he engaged five scribes and feverishly dictated all the required verses in the night. The Maharshi sat by his side with his eyes closed. It was midnight and all the verses of the Umasahasram were completed. The Maharshi then slightly opened his eyes and asked: ``Have you written down all that was said?'' ``With your abounding grace I have completed the task,'' replied the Muni, realizing that he owed to the Maharshi the sudden flurry of inspiration that seized him, enabling him to complete his immortal poem on Uma. As a result, each verse of Umasahasram has the potency of a mantra. A devoted recital or even the mere reading of it can bestow all happiness on the devout aspirant. As part of his tapas, the poet revised this sacred text seven times. A copy of the final text, in Ganapati Muni's own handwriting, was presented to Sri Aurobindo, before they met.
The text is divided into forty cantos, each having twentyfive verses. All the verses in each canto are of the same meter. In all, the poet has used twentynine different meters in this work. The first verse of each canto is a benedictory verse, extolling the smile of the Goddess Uma. The last verse in each canto mentions the name of the meter employed in the canto. The process of creation, the supreme form of the Empress of all, the manifestation of the Vedic and Tantric deities, the means to win their grace, yogic experiences resulting from their upasana, the truth of the ten great vidyas, the way of their adoration, the relevant sadhanas in the Upanishads such are the profound truths presented by the seerpoet in sublime poetry, drawing from the deep reservoir of his personal spiritual experiences. Umasahasram is a living synthesis of the Veda, the Upanishads and the Tantra, built out of his lifelong realization in Yoga. Each verse opens the door to spiritual experience.