॥ Devi Suktam ॥
Rigveda, Mandala 10, Hymn 125 — The Goddess speaks in her own voice
This extraordinary hymn is unique in Vedic literature: the Goddess herself is the speaker. She declares her own cosmic nature, her omnipresence, and her identity with the supreme Brahman.
Verse 1
Ahaṃ rudrabhirvasubhiścarāmyaham ādityairuta viśvadevaiḥ
Ahaṃ mitrāvaruṇobhā bibharmyahamindragni ahamaśvinobhā
Meaning: I move with the Rudras (storm gods), the Vasus (elemental beings), I move with the Adityas (solar deities) and with all the gods. I bear both Mitra and Varuna; I am the power behind Indra and Agni; I sustain both the divine physicians, the Ashvins.
Verse 2
Ahaṃ somam āhanasaṃ bibharmy ahaṃ tvaṣṭāram uta pūṣaṇaṃ bhagam
Ahaṃ dadhāmi draviṇaṃ haviṣmate suprāvye yajamānāya sunvate
Meaning: I bear the powerful Soma; I sustain Tvashtra (the cosmic craftsman), Pushan (the nourisher), and Bhaga (the bestower of good fortune). I give wealth to the worthy sacrificer who presses Soma and offers correctly — wealth to the one who is diligent and sincere.
Verse 3
Ahaṃ rāṣṭrī saṃgamanī vasūnāṃ cikituṣī prathamā yajñiyānām
Tāṃ mā devā vyadadhurh purutrā bhūristhātrāṃ bhūryāveśayantīm
Meaning: I am the sovereign queen, the gatherer of all wealth, the most knowing, the first among those worthy of worship. The gods established me in many places — wherever I enter, I enter in abundance, pervading everywhere.
Verse 4
Mayā so annamatti yo vipaśyati yaḥ prāṇiti ya īṃ śṛṇotyuktam
Amantavo māṃ ta upa kṣiyanti śrudhi śruta śraddhivaṃ te vadāmi
Meaning: Through me, whoever sees eats food; whoever breathes, breathes through me; whoever hears the spoken word — they hear through me. Those who do not know me dwell near me without knowing it. O listener, I tell you something worthy of faith: hear this!
Verse 5
Ahameva svayamidaṃ vadāmi juṣṭaṃ devebhiruta mānuṣebhiḥ
Yaṃ kāmaye taṃ tamugram kṛṇomi taṃ brahmāṇaṃ tamarṣiṃ taṃ sumedhām
Meaning: I myself speak this — what is beloved of the gods and humans alike. Whomever I love, I make formidable; I make them a Brahmin (sage), a seer, a person of great intelligence.
Verse 6
Ahaṃ rudrāya dhanurā tanomi brahmadviṣe śarave hantavā u
Ahaṃ janāya samadaṃ kṛṇomyahaṃ dyāvāpṛthivī ā viveśa
Meaning: I bend the bow for Rudra so that his arrow may slay the hater of sacred wisdom. I wage war on behalf of the people. I have entered heaven and earth — I pervade both.
Verse 7
Ahaṃ suve pitaramasya mūrdhan mama yonirapsvanataḥ samudre
Tato vi tiṣṭhe bhuvanānu viśvotāmūṃ dyāṃ varṣmaṇopa spṛśāmi
Meaning: I breathe forth the Father of this world from the crown of my head. My womb is in the waters, within the cosmic ocean. From there I spread out through all the worlds; with my greatness I touch the very sky.
Verse 8 (Final Verse)
Ahameva vāta iva pra vāmyārabhamāṇā bhuvanāni viśvā
Paro divā para enā pṛthivyaitāvatī mahinā saṃbabhūva
Meaning: I blow forth like the wind, giving form to all the worlds. Beyond the heaven, beyond this earth — so vast is my greatness that I have come into being.
The Significance of the Devi Suktam
This hymn is extraordinary in the entire history of world religion: a goddess speaking in the first person, declaring herself to be the universal principle underlying all existence. She does not merely personify a natural force or a social function — she is the cosmic consciousness itself, speaking through all things:
- She is the power behind all the gods
- She is the intelligence in every act of perception
- She is the breath in every living being
- She is the force of creation that fashions the cosmos
- She is simultaneously transcendent (beyond heaven and earth) and immanent (within the ocean, within all)
This non-dual vision — the Divine Feminine as the all-encompassing reality — is the foundation of the Shakta philosophical tradition, fully developed later in the Devi Bhagavata Purana and the Devi Mahatmya.
Benefits of Recitation
- Alignment with the cosmic feminine power — opens the heart to grace
- Empowerment — the Goddess promises to make worthy devotees wise, strong, and influential
- Protection — she bends the bow of Rudra against the enemies of wisdom
- Universal awareness — gradually dissolves the sense of separation from the Divine
- Liberation — the supreme benefit of recognizing one’s identity with the all-pervading Devi
Phala Shruti
Devyā mahimā ayaṃ — sarvasya mātur paro’sti naiva kaścit
“This is the glory of the Goddess — she is the Mother of all. There is nothing greater than her, and nothing exists apart from her.”
Whoever recites the Devi Suktam with understanding and devotion shall be blessed with wisdom, wealth, health, and liberation. The Goddess herself promises: “Whomever I love, I make great.”