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||
Die Göttin ist die Mātṛkā, die Urmatrix der Mantras; in den Worten ist sie die Gestalt des Wissens. Jenseits aller Erkenntnisse überragt sie als reines Bewusstsein; in den Leeren ist sie die Zeugin der Leere. Höher als sie gibt es nichts — sie wird als Durgā gepriesen. Vor jener Durgā, der schwer zu überschreitenden Göttin, der Zerstörerin schlechten Wandels, verneige ich mich — aus Furcht vor dem weltlichen Werden — vor Ihr, die über den Ozean des Saṃsāra hinüberträgt.
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
- 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.
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