Devi Upanishad: Verse 3
अहं पञ्चभूतान्यपञ्चभूतानि । अहमखिलं जगत् । वेदोऽहमवेदोऽहम् । विद्याहमविद्याहम् । अजाहमनजाहम् । अधश्चोर्ध्वं च तिर्यक्चाहम् । अहं रुद्रेभिर्वसुभिश्चराम्यहमादित्यैरुत विश्वदेवैः । अहं मित्रावरुणावुभौ बिभर्म्यहमिन्द्राग्नी अहमश्विनावुभौ । अहं सोमं त्वष्टारं पूषणं भगं दधाम्यहम् । विष्णुमुरुक्रमं ब्रह्माणमुत प्रजापतिं दधामि । अहं दधामि द्रविणं हविष्मते सुप्राव्ये यजमानाय सुन्वते ॥३–६॥
अहम् । पञ्च-भूतानि । अ-पञ्च-भूतानि । अहम् । अखिलम् । जगत् । वेदः । अहम् । अ-वेदः । अहम् । विद्या । अहम् । अ-विद्या । अहम् । अजा । अहम् । अ-नजा । अहम् । अधः । च । ऊर्ध्वम् । च । तिर्यक् । च । अहम् । अहम् । रुद्रेभिः । वसुभिः । च । चरामि । अहम् । आदित्यैः । उत । विश्व-देवैः । अहम् । मित्रा-वरुणौ । उभौ । बिभर्मि । अहम् । इन्द्र-अग्नी । अहम् । अश्विनौ । उभौ । अहम् । सोमम् । त्वष्टारम् । पूषणम् । भगम् । दधामि । अहम् । विष्णुम् । उरु-क्रमम् । ब्रह्माणम् । उत । प्रजापतिम् । दधामि । अहम् । दधामि । द्रविणम् । हविष्मते । सु-प्राव्ये । यजमानाय । सुन्वते ।
ahaṃ pañcabhūtāny apañcabhūtāni | aham akhilaṃ jagat | vedo’ham avedo’ham | vidyāham avidyāham | ajāham anajāham | adhaś cordhvaṃ ca tiryak cāham | ahaṃ rudrebhir vasubhiś carāmy aham ādityair uta viśvadevaiḥ | ahaṃ mitrāvaruṇāv ubhau bibharmy aham indrāgnī aham aśvināv ubhau | ahaṃ somaṃ tvaṣṭāraṃ pūṣaṇaṃ bhagaṃ dadhāmy aham | viṣṇum urukramaṃ brahmāṇam uta prajāpatiṃ dadhāmi | ahaṃ dadhāmi draviṇaṃ haviṣmate suprāvye yajamānāya sunvate ||3–6||
ನಾನು ಪಂಚಭೂತಗಳೂ ಹೌದು, ಅಪಂಚಭೂತಗಳೂ ಹೌದು; ನಾನು ಸಮಸ್ತ ಜಗತ್ತೇ. ನಾನು ವೇದವೂ ಅವೇದವೂ. ನಾನು ವಿದ್ಯೆಯೂ ಅವಿದ್ಯೆಯೂ. ನಾನು ಅಜ (ಅಜನ್ಮ)ವೂ ಅನಜವೂ. ನಾನು ಅಧಃ, ಊರ್ಧ್ವ ಮತ್ತು ತಿರ್ಯಕ್—ಎಲ್ಲ ದಿಕ್ಕುಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ವ್ಯಾಪಿಸಿರುವೆ. ನಾನು ರುದ್ರರು ಮತ್ತು ವಸುಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ; ಆದಿತ್ಯರು ಹಾಗೂ ವಿಶ್ವದೇವರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಹ. ನಾನು ಮಿತ್ರ ಮತ್ತು ವರುಣ—ಇಬ್ಬರನ್ನೂ ಧರಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ; ನಾನು ಇಂದ್ರನೂ ಅಗ್ನಿಯೂ; ನಾನು ಅಶ್ವಿನೀಕುಮಾರರು ಇಬ್ಬರೂ. ನಾನು ಸೋಮ, ತ್ವಷ್ಟೃ, ಪೂಷನ್ ಮತ್ತು ಭಗನನ್ನು ಧರಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ವಿಶಾಲಪಾದವಂತ ವಿಷ್ಣು, ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರಜಾಪತಿಯನ್ನು ಸಹ ಧರಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಹವಿಸ್ಸು ಅರ್ಪಿಸುವವನಿಗೆ, ಸುಸಂರಕ್ಷಿತ ಯಜಮಾನನಿಗೆ, ಸೋಮವನ್ನು ಪೀಡಿಸುವವನಿಗೆ ನಾನು ದ್ರವಿಣ (ಸಂಪತ್ತು) ನೀಡುತ್ತೇನೆ.
I am the five elements and the non-five-elements; I am the entire universe. I am the Veda and I am the non-Veda. I am knowledge and I am ignorance. I am the unborn and the not-unborn. I am below, above, and across (horizontally). I move with the Rudras and the Vasus; (I move) with the Ādityas and also with the Viśvedevas. I uphold both Mitra and Varuṇa; I am Indra and Agni; I am both Aśvins. I uphold Soma, Tvaṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, and Bhaga. I uphold Viṣṇu of wide stride, and Brahmā, and also Prajāpati. I bestow wealth upon the offerer of oblation, upon the well-protected sacrificer who presses (the soma).
- vedo’ham = vedaḥ + aham (visarga → ’)
- avedo’ham = a-vedaḥ + aham
- vidyāham = vidyā + aham (ā + a contraction)
- avidyāham = a-vidyā + aham
- ajāham/anajāham similarly
- adhaś cordhvam = adhaḥ + ca + ūrdhvam (visarga before c, then c + ū → co)
- tiryak cāham = tiryak + ca + aham
- rudrebhir vasubhiś = rudrebhiḥ/vasubhiḥ + (visarga → r/ś before voiced/voiceless)
- carāmy aham = carāmi + aham
- ādityair uta = ādityaiḥ + uta (visarga → r)
- mitrāvaruṇāv ubhau = mitrāvaruṇau + ubhau (au + u → āv)
- indrāgnī = indra + agnī (a + a → ā)
- dadhāmy aham = dadhāmi + aham
- urukramam is bahuvrīhi epithet
- brahmāṇam uta = brahmāṇam + uta
- dadhāmi draviṇam etc. mostly external sandhi absent
About this Verse
- Central concept
- Sarvātmatva (all-as-Self); Brahman/Devī as immanent and transcendent; integration of deities as functions of one Reality
- The mahavakyas
- Strongly aligned with ‘ahaṃ brahmāsmi’ (first-person universal identity) and supportive of ‘sarvaṃ khalv idaṃ brahma’ (Chāndogya) in spirit, though not one of the four canonical mahāvākyas.
- Veda
- Atharva Veda
- Shakha
- Atharvaveda (Śaunaka tradition; Upaniṣad transmitted in Atharva-upaniṣad corpus)
- Chandas
- Mixed: largely mantraic prose with Ṛgvedic-style refrain; portions echo Ṛgveda Devīsūkta (RV 10.125) in triṣṭubh/jagatī-like cadence, but in this Upaniṣadic form meter is not consistently preservable—best classified as mixed/irregular.
Yoga and practice
For meditation, expand ‘I’-sense into universal witnessing (bhūta-śuddhi and viśvarūpa-dhyāna); dissolve sectarian deity-forms into one consciousness; use japa of Devī-bīja with contemplation ‘ahaṃ sarvam’ to reduce ego-boundaries and cultivate nondual samādhi.
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