Devi Upanishad: Verse 22
वाङ्मया ब्रह्मभूतस्मात् षष्ठं वक्त्रसमन्वितम् ।
सूर्यो वामश्रोत्रबिन्दुः संयुताष्टकतृतीयकः ॥
नारायणेन संयुक्तो वायुश्चाधरसंयुतः ।
विच्चे नवार्णकोऽर्णः स्यान्महदानन्ददायकः ॥२२–२३॥
वाक्-मया । ब्रह्म-भूतस्मात् । षष्ठम् । वक्त्र-समन्वितम् ।
सूर्यः । वाम-श्रोत्र-बिन्दुः । संयुतः । अष्टक-तृतीयकः ।
नारायणेन । संयुक्तः । वायुः । च । अधर-संयुतः ।
विच्चे । नव-अर्णकः । अर्णः । स्यात् । महत्-आनन्द-दायकः ।
vāṅmayā brahmabhūtas māt ṣaṣṭhaṃ vaktrasamanvitam |
sūryo vāmaśrotrabinduḥ saṃyutāṣṭakatṛtīyakaḥ ||
nārāyaṇena saṃyukto vāyuścādharasaṃyutaḥ |
vicce navārṇako’rṇaḥ syān mahadānandadāyakaḥ ||22–23||
वाक्मयी देवी से जो ब्रह्मा स्वरूप है, छठा हिस्सा निकलता है। यह मुँह के पास होता है, जहाँ से बात निकलती है। सूरज का बिंदु बाएँ कान पर है। नारायण और वायु भी इसमें हैं। 'विच्चे' यह नौ शब्द का मंत्र है जो बड़ा आनंद देता है।
From Vāṅmayā, who is of the nature of Brahman, (there is) the sixth (syllable/element) endowed with the face (i.e., with the ‘mouth’/utterance); the Sun is the bindu at the left ear, joined with the third of the octad. Joined with Nārāyaṇa, and Vāyu joined with the lower (lip/part). ‘Vicce’: the nine-syllabled formula is said to be a syllable (mantra) that bestows great bliss.
- vāṅmayā → vāk + mayā (final k before m becomes ṅ by sandhi)
- brahmabhūtas māt → brahma + bhūta + asmāt (word-break; manuscript spacing)
- vaktrasamanvitam → vaktra + samanvitam (compound)
- vāmaśrotrabinduḥ → vāma + śrotra + binduḥ (tatpuruṣa)
- saṃyutāṣṭakatṛtīyakaḥ → saṃyuta + aṣṭaka + tṛtīyakaḥ (tatpuruṣa chain)
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Mantra-śakti as Brahman (Śabda-Brahman), Devī as the ground of speech and liberation
- The mahavakyas
- Indirect: supports ‘prajñānam brahma’ / ‘ahaṃ brahmāsmi’ by identifying Devī/Śabda as Brahman; not a direct Mahāvākya citation
- Veda
- Atharva
- Shakha
- Atharvaśiras / Atharvaṇa tradition (Śākta Upaniṣad corpus)
- Chandas
- Prose/Anuṣṭubh-like śloka (later Upaniṣadic-Śākta style; not strictly Vedic metrical recitation)
Yoga and practice
Japa of the Navārṇa (oṃ aiṃ hrīṃ klīṃ cāmuṇḍāyai vicce) with nyāsa (placing syllables/deities), bindu-dhyāna at the subtle ‘ear’/nāda point, and prāṇa-sādhana (Vāyu) to stabilize mantra resonance
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.
