The Sacred Feminine

I HAVEN’T WRITTEN ON Devi so far. I will start with a few suktams on Devi. The word suktam simply means good saying, well-spoken, well-said. More specifically, suktam is a chant that has been recited properly, a hymn to a divinity. A similar word is stotram. The two words are often used synonymously. A suktam doesn’t always have to be a hymn, a chant of praise. A popular aphorism can also be a suktam. Because of the root meaning, a stotram always has to be a hymn of praise.

There are several Devi suktams/stotrams. One of the earliest is from the Rig Veda. It is the 125th suktam in the 10th mandala. It is also known as Ambhrini suktam. Ambhrini was a rishika, the feminine of rishi. This rishika’s name was Vak and since she was the daughter of the sage Ambhrina, she was known as Ambhrini. In this suktam, she praises herself, since she has completely identified herself with Devi. I will give a simple word for word translation, without the Sanskrit and without interpretations.

“OUM! I move with Rudras, Vasus, Adityas and Vishvadevas. I support Mitra, Varuna, Indra and Agni. I do that for the two Ashvins, too. I support the pressed soma, Tvashta, Pushan and Bhaga. I bestow wealth on the one who is offering oblations, the attentive performer of the sacrifice, the one doing the pressing. I am the queen, the one who gathers wealth, the one who knows, foremost among those who deserve a sacrifice. The devas have established me, with abodes to enter in and reside. It is through me that he eats food, sees, breathes and hears what is said. Those who do not know, also reside near me. O one willing to listen! I will tell you what can be trusted. I am stating this myself and it will be cheered by the devas and men. I make whoever I wish powerful, a Brahmana or a rishi, or make him extremely wise. I bend Rudra’s bow, so that his arrow can kill one who hates a Brahmana. For people, I excite battles. I enter heaven and earth. I bring forth the father [the creator] on the summit of the world. My womb is in the water and inside the ocean. Established there, I enter the worlds. I touch heaven with the top of my head. I am the one who blows like a storm, holding together the worlds and the universe. I am beyond heaven. I am beyond earth. Such is the greatness that originates in me.”

There is another suktam from the Rig Veda, probably more famous than the Ambhrini suktam. This is Shri suktam. Here is more than one Shri suktam. This is the one from the Rig Veda. Shri suktam is not from Rig Veda proper. It is from appendices to the Rig Veda, known as the khila portions. This is a hymn to Shri or Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

“OUM! Her complexion is golden. Her image is golden. She wears gold and silver garlands. She is like a golden moon. O Jataveda [Agni]! Invoke that Lakshmi for me. O Jataveda! Invoke for me that Lakshmi whose arrival is not futile. Through her, I will obtain gold, cattle, horses and men. Horses precede her and she is seated in a chariot in the middle. She is woken up by the trumpeting of elephants. I invoke Devi Shri. May Devi Shri be pleased with me. Who is she, the smiling one? There is a tender golden glow around her. She blazes. She is satisfied and she is the one who satisfies. She is seated on a lotus. Her complexion is like that of a lotus. I invoke that Shri here. Her radiance is like that of the moon. Her blazing glory is radiant in the world. Devas worship the generous one. I seek refuge with the one who resides in a lotus. I seek refuge with her. Through her favours, let the alakshmi [adversity, the antithesis of Lakshmi] in me be destroyed. O one with a complexion like that of the sun! Your austerities are like a large tree, and through those, a tree like bilva has originated. May the fruits of those austerities drive away the internal maya and the external alakshmi. Let the friend of the devas approach me with deeds and jewels. I will originate in this kingdom, which will bestow deeds and prosperity on me. I will destroy the older sister, Alakshmi, associated with hunger, thirst and impurities. Drive away from my house every kind of misfortune and adversity. She is like the gate of all fragrances. She is difficult to approach. She is always nourished. She is a region full of dung [symbolically indicative of the abundance]. She is the power in all beings. Invoke that Shri for me. In thoughts, wishes, intentions and words, I truly try to reach.

Her radiance is like that of the moon. Her blazing glory is radiant in the world. Devas worship the generous one. I seek refuge with the one who resides in a lotus. I seek refuge with her. Through her favours, let the Alakshmi [adversity, the antithesis of Lakshmi] in me be destroyed

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Shri will abide with me in the form of animals, beauty, food and prosperity. Prajas resulted from Kardama. O Kardama! Remain in me. Make Shri, the mother, reside in my lineage. [There are several allusions here. Kardama was a Prajapati and all creation and living beings originate in Prajapatis. According to some accounts, Brahma meditated on Shiva and Parvati before creating Kardama through the powers of his mind. Therefore, Kardama’s mother is Devi/Parvati. Kardama also means mud/filth and all of us have our origins in that.] The waters create pleasantness. O moisture [of the waters]! Reside in my house. May you thus ensure that Devi, the mother, and Shri reside in my lineage. She is like the moisture of a pond of lotuses. She is garlanded with yellow lotuses. She is like the moon. She is golden. Invoke that Lakshmi for me. She is the moisture. She is the staff that supports all acts. She is golden and wears a golden garland. She is like the golden sun. Invoke that Lakshmi for me. Invoke her, the Lakshmi whose arrival is not futile. Through her, I will obtain a lot of gold, cattle, servants, horses and men. If a person is pure and controlled and offers oblations of ghee every day, constantly performing japa with these 15 verses of Shri suktam, he obtains Shri and his desires.”

The last suktam is Devi suktam from the tantra texts. It features in the tantra texts. But we probably know this through what is called Chandi or Durga Saptashati. That text is embedded in Markandeya Purana. In the Markandeya Purana, asuras known as Shumbha and Nishumbha, caused depredations and that is when the devas prayed to Devi for deliverance. This suktam is their prayer. (I will skip a few verses because of the word constraint.)

“We bow down before Devi, before Mahadevi. We always bow down before Shivaa. We bow down before Prakriti, before Bhadraa. We bow down before Raudraa, before Nityaa. We bow down before Gauri, before Dhatri. We bow down before the one whose form is moonlight, the one whose form is the moon. We always prostrate ourselves before the one who is happiness. We prostrate ourselves before the one who grants good fortune, prosperity and success. We bow down before Nairriti, the one who holds up the earth. We bow down before Lakshmi, before Sharvani. We always bow down before Durga, the one who enables us to cross the impassable, the essence, the cause behind all action, the famous one, the dark one, the one smoky in complexion. We bow down before the one who is exceedingly gentle and exceedingly terrible. We bow down before the one in whom the universe is established. We bow down before Devi, who is in all beings and is spoken of as Vishnumaya. We bow down before Devi, who is in all beings and is spoken of as consciousness. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of intellect. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of sleep. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of hunger. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of strength. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of forbearance. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of existence. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of peace. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of faith. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of beauty. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of prosperity. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of memory. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of compassion. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of contentment. We bow down before Devi, who is established in all beings in the form of a mother. We bow down before Devi, who presides over the senses of all beings, who is always established in all beings and pervades them. She is established in the form of consciousness and pervades this entire universe.”

About The Author

Bibek Debroy

Bibek Debroy has translated the Mahabharata and the Valmiki Ramayana into English. He is the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

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