Devi Upanishad: Verse 2
सर्वे वै देवा देवीम् उपतस्थुः । कासि त्वं महादेवि । सा अब्रवीत्—अहं ब्रह्मस्वरूपिणी । मत्तः प्रकृतिपुरुषात्मकं जगत् शून्यं च अशून्यं च । अहम् आनन्दानानन्दाः, विज्ञानाविज्ञाने अहम् । ब्रह्मा ब्रह्मणि वेदितव्ये । इत्य् आह अथर्वणि श्रुतिः ॥१–२॥
सर्वे । वै । देवा: । देवीम् । उपतस्थुः । का । असि । त्वम् । महादेवि । सा । अब्रवीत् । अहम् । ब्रह्म-स्वरूपिणी । मत्तः । प्रकृति-पुरुष-आत्मकम् । जगत् । शून्यम् । च । अशून्यम् । च । अहम् । आनन्दान् । अनानन्दा: । विज्ञान- अविज्ञाने । अहम् । ब्रह्मा । ब्रह्मणि । वेदितव्ये । इति । आह । अथर्वणि । श्रुति: ।
sarve vai devā devīm upatasthuḥ | kāsi tvaṃ mahādevi | sā abravīt—ahaṃ brahmasvarūpiṇī | mattaḥ prakṛtipuruṣātmakaṃ jagac chūnyaṃ cāśūnyaṃ ca | aham ānandān anānandāḥ, vijñānāvijñāne aham | brahmā brahmaṇi veditavye | ity āha atharvaṇi śrutiḥ ||1–2||
सारे देवियों ने देवी के पास जाके खड़े हो गए। उन्होंने पूछा, देवी, तुम कौन हो? देवी ने कहा, मैं खुद ब्रह्मा रूप में हूँ। मेरे से ही यह पूरा दुनिया बनी है, प्रकृति और पुरुष दोनों से। यह शून्य भी है और शून्य नहीं भी। मैं खुश हूँ और खुशी से भी परे। मैं जानती हूँ और जानने से भी परे। ब्रह्मा को ब्रह्मन में जानना है। यह अथर्व वेद की बात है।
All the gods indeed approached the Goddess and stood near (in reverence). “Who are you, O Great Goddess?” She said: “I am of the nature of Brahman. From me arises the world whose character is Prakṛti and Puruṣa—both void and non-void. I am the blissful and the non-blissful; I am knowledge and non-knowledge. Brahmā (the creator) is to be known in Brahman.” Thus speaks the Atharvanic śruti.
- Same sandhi as Devi.1.1 (text duplicated): kāsi = kā asi
- ca aśūnyam → cāśūnyam
- ity āha = iti + āha
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Identity of Devī with Brahman; transcendence of dualities
- The mahavakyas
- Reinforces ‘ayam ātmā brahma’ and ‘ahaṃ brahmāsmi’ by first-person identification of the supreme with the self-revealing Devī.
- Veda
- Atharva
- Shakha
- Atharvaveda (Śaunaka tradition; Upaniṣad transmitted in Atharva-upaniṣad corpus)
- Chandas
- Prose (gadya)
Yoga and practice
Contemplative inquiry (ātma-vicāra) using Devī as the ‘I’-principle: trace ‘I am knowledge/ignorance’ back to the witness beyond both; integrate Śākta devotion with nondual meditation.
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