Mantra 27
Sukta 8
त्वं स्त्री त्वं पुमानसि त्वं कुमार उत वा कुमारी॥ त्वं जीर्णो दण्डेन वञ्चसि त्वं जातो भवसि विश्वतोमुखः
tváṃ strī́ tváṃ púmān asi tváṃ kumārá utá vā kumārī́ | tváṃ jīrṇó daṇḍéna vañcasi tváṃ jātó bhavasi viśváto-mukhaḥ ||
Thou art woman, thou art man; thou art a boy, yea—or a maiden. Thou, grown old, dost move with staff; thou, when born, becomest all-faced, looking every way.
Rishi: Within AV 10.8 speculative corpus (variable/collective attribution).
Devata: Protean all-form deity/principle (often glossed as Brahman/Prajāpati/Time; here explicitly sarvarūpa).
Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (with extended cadence)
{"primary_rasa":"adbhuta","secondary_rasa":"shanta","emotional_arc":"From intimate identity statements to expansive omni-directional guardianship.","listener_experience":"Awe at the deity’s protean nature, followed by calm confidence that nothing is outside protection.","intensity":6}