Devi Upanishad: Verse 31
इदमथर्वशीर्षं योऽधीते पञ्चाथर्वशीर्षजपफलमवाप्नोति । इदमथर्वशीर्षं ज्ञात्वा योऽर्चां स्थापयति शतलक्षं प्रजप्त्वापि सोऽर्चासिद्धिं च विन्दति । शतमष्टोत्तरं चास्याः पुरश्चर्याविधिः स्मृतः । दशवारं पठेद्यस्तु सद्यः पापैः प्रमुच्यते । महादुर्गाणि तरति महादेव्याः प्रसादतः ॥२९–३१॥
इदम् । अथर्व-शीर्षम् । यः । अधीते । पञ्च । अथर्व-शीर्ष-जप-फलम् । अवाप्नोति । इदम् । अथर्व-शीर्षम् । ज्ञात्वा । यः । अर्चाम् । स्थापयति । शत-लक्षम् । प्र-जप्त्वा । अपि । सः । अर्चा-सिद्धिम् । च । विन्दति । शतम् । अष्ट-उत्तरम् । च । अस्याः । पुरश्चर्या-विधिः । स्मृतः । दश-वारम् । पठेत् । यः । तु । सद्यः । पापैः । प्रमुच्यते । महा-दुर्गाणि । तरति । महा-देव्याः । प्रसादतः ।
idam atharvaśīrṣaṃ yo ’dhīte pañcātharvaśīrṣajapaphalam avāpnoti | idam atharvaśīrṣaṃ jñātvā yo ’rcāṃ sthāpayati śatalakṣaṃ prajaptvāpi so ’rcāsiddhiṃ ca vindati | śatam aṣṭottaraṃ cāsyāḥ puraśceryāvidhiḥ smṛtaḥ | daśavāraṃ paṭhed yas tu sadyaḥ pāpaiḥ pramucyate | mahādurgāṇi tarati mahādevyāḥ prasādataḥ ||29–31||
Barangsiapa mempelajari Atharvaśīrṣa ini, ia memperoleh buah seperti melafalkan lima Atharvaśīrṣa. Setelah memahami Atharvaśīrṣa ini, siapa yang menegakkan arcā (arca/mūrti) Sang Dewi—meski telah mengulanginya seratus ribu kali—ia pun meraih keberhasilan pada arcā itu (arcā-siddhi). Tata cara puraścaraṇa bagi-Nya dikenang berjumlah seratus delapan. Namun siapa yang membacanya sepuluh kali, seketika terbebas dari dosa; oleh anugerah Mahādevī ia menyeberangi kesukaran-kesukaran besar.
Whoever studies this Atharvaśīrṣa attains the fruit of reciting five Atharvaśīrṣas. Having understood this Atharvaśīrṣa, whoever establishes an image (arcā) [of the Goddess]—even after repeating it a hundred thousand times—also obtains success with that image (arcā-siddhi). The rite of puraścaraṇa for Her is remembered as one hundred and eight [repetitions/units]. But whoever recites it ten times is immediately released from sins; by the grace of the Great Goddess he crosses great difficulties.
- yo ’dhīte = yaḥ + adhīte
- pañcātharvaśīrṣajapaphalam = pañca + atharvaśīrṣa + japa + phalam
- avāpnoti (no sandhi)
- yo ’rcāṃ = yaḥ + arcām
- prajaptvāpi = prajaptvā + api
- so ’rcāsiddhiṃ = saḥ + arcā-siddhim
- cāsyāḥ = ca + asyāḥ
- daśavāraṃ = daśa + vāram
- paṭhed yastु = paṭhet + yaḥ + tu
- pāpo ’pāpo (not in this verse)
- mahādurgāṇi = mahā + durgāṇi
- mahādevyāḥ = mahā + devyāḥ
- prasādataḥ (no sandhi)
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Mokṣa (purification and grace as means toward liberation)
- The mahavakyas
- Indirect: emphasizes śravaṇa/adhyayana and upāsanā leading to purification (citta-śuddhi) supportive of mahāvākya-jñāna; no explicit mahāvākya citation.
- Veda
- Atharva Veda
- Shakha
- Atharvaveda (Śaunaka tradition; Śākta Atharvaśīrṣa corpus)
- Chandas
- Prose (gadya) with concluding anuṣṭubh-like cadence in the phalaśruti sentences; overall treated as Upaniṣadic prose.
Yoga and practice
Japa as mantra-yoga; structured sādhana (puraścaraṇa) for steadiness; repetition with meaning (jñātvā) aligns with dhāraṇā and supports meditation on Devī as the inner power (śakti).
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