Devi Upanishad: Verse 27
मन्त्राणां मातृका देवी शब्दानां ज्ञानरूपिणी । ज्ञानानां चिन्मयातीता शून्यानां शून्यसाक्षिणी ॥
यस्याः परतरं नास्ति सैषा दुर्गा प्रकीर्तिता । तां दुर्गां दुर्गमां देवीं दुराचारविघातिनीम् । नमामि भवभीतोऽहं संसारार्णवतारिणीम् ॥२७–२८॥
मन्त्राणाम् । मातृका । देवी । शब्दानाम् । ज्ञान-रूपिणी ।
ज्ञानानाम् । चिन्मय-अतीता । शून्यानाम् । शून्य-साक्षिणी ।
यस्याः । परतरम् । न । अस्ति । सा । एषा । दुर्गा । प्रकीर्तिता ।
ताम् । दुर्गाम् । दुर्गमाम् । देवीम् । दुराचार-विघातिनीम् ।
नमामि । भव-भीतः । अहम् । संसार-अर्णव-तारिणीम् ।
mantrāṇāṃ mātṛkā devī śabdānāṃ jñānarūpiṇī | jñānānāṃ cinmayātītā śūnyānāṃ śūnyasākṣiṇī ||
yasyāḥ parataraṃ nāsti saiṣā durgā prakīrtitā | tāṃ durgāṃ durgamāṃ devīṃ durācāravighātinīm | namāmi bhavabhīto'haṃ saṃsārārṇavatāriṇīm ||27–28||
الإلهةُ هي «الماتريكا»؛ أمُّ المانترا، وللكلماتِ هي صورةُ المعرفة. وفوقَ المعارفِ تتجاوزُ بوصفِها الوعيَ المحض؛ وللخلواتِ هي شاهدةُ الخلاء. التي ليس فوقَها أسمى—هي المعلَنةُ باسمِ دورغا. لتلكَ دورغا، الإلهةِ العسيرةِ العبور، مُحطِّمةِ سوءِ السلوك، أنحني—إذ أنا خائفٌ من صيرورةِ العالم—إلى من تُعَبِّرُ بي بحرَ السَّمسارا.
The Goddess is the matrix (mātṛkā) of mantras; of words she is of the form of knowledge. Beyond knowledges, she transcends as consciousness itself; of voids, she is the witness of void. Than whom there is nothing higher—she is proclaimed as Durgā. That Durgā, the difficult-to-cross Goddess, the destroyer of evil conduct, I bow to—being afraid of worldly becoming—(to her) who ferries across the ocean of saṃsāra.
- cinmayātītā = cinmaya + atītā
- śūnyasākṣiṇī = śūnya + sākṣiṇī
- saiṣā = sā + eṣā
- durācāravighātinīm = durācāra + vighātinīm
- bhavabhīto'haṃ = bhavabhītaḥ + aham
- saṃsārārṇavatāriṇīm = saṃsāra + arṇava + tāriṇīm
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Śabda-śakti and Cit (consciousness) as Brahman; mokṣa as crossing saṃsāra; sākṣin (witness)
- The mahavakyas
- Implicitly aligns with ‘prajñānam brahma’ (Brahman as consciousness/knowledge) and supports ‘tat tvam asi’ in contemplative import: the witnessing consciousness (śūnyasākṣiṇī) is the innermost self, not an external object.
- Veda
- Atharva Veda
- Shakha
- Atharva-veda (Śaunaka tradition; Śākta Upaniṣad corpus)
- Chandas
- Mixed: first line resembles anuṣṭubh pāda structure; overall devotional śloka style with some metrical looseness; not a strict Vedic meter in common recensions.
Yoga and practice
Mantra-yoga grounded in mātṛkā (phonemic power) and śabda; japa leading to absorption in cit; inquiry into the witness even in states of mental blankness (laya/śūnya) to avoid dullness; ethical purification (durgācāra-vighātinī) as prerequisite for stable samādhi; bhava-bhaya (fear of becoming) as vairāgya catalyst.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Upanishads in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
