Sri Devi Atharva Shirsha, also called Devyupanishad, is a

part of Atharvana Veda. Here is a brief translation of this

great Upanishad.

"OM, all the Devas (celestials) approached Sridevi and

asked her politely, "Great goddess (Mahadevi)! Who are
you? What is your actual form?"

Sridevi answered thus, "I am indeed the supreme

Parabrahman (my form is the same as that of Brahman). I
emanate this world, composed of Prakriti and Purusha. I am
the Shoonya (nothingness) and beyond the Shoonya. This
world is both `Sat' (existent or true) as well as `Asat' (non-
existent or false). I am both `Ananda' (bliss) and `Anananda'
(misery). I am both `Vijnana' (science or right knowledge) as
well as `Avijnana' (ignorance). I am the one who is
recognized as Brahman and also as not Brahman or I am
the Brahman that everyone should know and also the
illusion. I am both Panchikrita as well as Apanchikrita
Mahabhoota (I am of the form of all the elementals like air,
water etc. as well as non-elementals), I am the entire visible
world!"

In this way, Sridevi is describing her incomprehensible form

in order to destroy the ignorance of her devotees (Devas),
who are Mumukshus (have a desire to know her original
form). One has to understand that if anything exists, its `her'.
There is nothing that is existent other than Sridevi. She is the
only ultimate truth.

"I wander in the form of Rudras and Vasus (a class of deities

who are eight in number). I also roam in the form of Adityas
and Vishwe Devas. I nurture (protect) Mitra, Varuna, Indra,
Agni and Ashwini Devas. I hold Devas like Soma, Tvashta,
Poosha and Bhaga in me (i.e. I appear in their form or they
reside in me). I bear within myself, Brahma, Prajapati and
Mahavishnu (whose gigantic feet transverse the three
worlds)".

"I grant the sacred Havis to the Devas. I grant immense

wealth (the greatest wealth being Sridevi herself!) to
Yajamana (the one who performs Yagna and generates
Soma Rasa thereby). I am the supreme Ishwari of this entire
creation; I am the great Parabrahman, who grants wealth
and prosperity to Upasakas. I am the chief (most important)
among the Devas, who are eligible for accepting Havis in
Yajnas. I am of the form of atman and from me are created
the skies. My residence is in the intellect that recognizes the
Self as Atman (Paramatman) (i.e. my place is in the intellect
that is enlightened with the light of Atman). A person who
understands this shall acquire divine wealth".

Sridevi here mentions the importance of Vedic Yagnas in

achieving Moksha. She also describes that she is the one
who grants Havis to the Devas and she is the one who
receives it in the form of various Devas. She is the
Yajamana as well as the Yagna. She also confers wealth
and prosperity as well as Moksha to those who understand
her form as being non-different from oneself i.e. as one's
own Atman or as the Paramatman. Also here, `Paramanu
Vada' is completely rejected. It is Sridevi who is the nucleus
of the entire cosmos. She is also the nucleus in every minute
cell. It is this Parabrahman who is in charge of the
Paramanu.

Having understood Sridevi as their own self, as being non-

different from the entire universe, as the sole existing entity,
as the only truth, the Devas now pray: "O goddess, o great
goddess! O auspicious Devi, o primordial nature, o granter of
auspicious boons, we bow down to you repeatedly and
regularly. Having a fire-like golden luster, Sridevi is shining
due to austerities (here `Tapas' should be read to mean
Jnana or knowledge). She has extraordinary brilliance. Every
one bows down to this great goddess Durga for obtaining the
fruits of the actions they have performed. Let us all seek
refuge in Sri Durga Parameshwari, who destroys great
demons".

Here, the Sruti refutes the claim of Mimamsa. It has to be

understood that it is Sridevi or Brahman, who grants fruits for
the actions or Yajnas performed. There is nothing called
`Adrishta' that automatically assigns fruits for every
mechanical action performed. Also, Sridevi is indicated here
to be the very embodiment of Jnana. What she gives as a
result to the actions performed? Herself and she is Brahma
Vidya or Brahma Jnana. Thus, the purpose of every karma is
obtaining Jnana – of the self, of Sridevi.

"Devas (i.e. Prana Vayu) created Vaikhari (audible speech)

and living beings communicate through this Vaikhari. May
that great goddess who resides in all beings as the power of
speech, who is like the wish-fulfilling cow Kamadhenu, who
grants bliss, who grants nutrition and strength through food
and who is of the form of divine Paraa speech (which is
subtle and beyond Vaikhari) come to us, pleased with our
prayers".

"Let us bow down to Kalaratri (who is the destroyer of even

Kala – Yama i.e. who is beyond the limitation of time), to the
great goddess, who is praised by Brahma (i.e. the Vedas),
who is the power of Vishnu and who is the mother of Skanda
or Kartikeya (i.e. symbolizes Shiva-Shakti undifferentiated
form), who is Saraswati – Brahma's creative power, who is
Aditi, the mother of all Devas, who took birth as Dakshayani
– Daksha's daughter, who is sanctifying and who grants
auspicious boons".
"We meditate and invoke the great Mahalakshmi, who is the
personification of all Shaktis, so that she may lead us to
Jnana and Dhyana".

"O Daksha! From your daughter Aditi, the deathless Devas,

who grant auspicious boons, originated".

Now the highly secretive Srividya Panchadashi Mahamantra

is illustrated. I shall omit this since this has to be learnt from
a guru.

"This great Vidya, which fulfills the desires of all beings, is

the primary or the primordial Vidya of Sri Parashakti. This
Vidya indeed is the Shakti of Parabrahman or atman (i.e. it is
nothing but Brahma Vidya). It charms the entire universe
with its brilliance. This great Sri Mahavidya pertains to Sri
Lalita Mahatripurasundari who shines with noose, goad, bow
and arrows in her hands. This Vidya indeed is the Veda. One
who knows and understands this shall escape misery (of
duality and ignorance)".

In this way, the Upanishad first gives out the Rahasya

mantra in a code and then describes that this Vidya pertains
to Sri Parashakti, who is none but the supreme formless
Parabrahman. However, for the less advanced aspirant, it
also gives out the Saguna meditation form describing the
Lalita or Mahatripurasundari aspect of Sri Parashakti -
Parabrahman. It is also declared that this Vidya is the
essence of all the Vedas. One, who understands this, will
become the knower of Brahma Vidya and shall thus escape
from all bondages and attain liberation. Great scholars have
also traced the meaning of this great Mahamantra in this
Upanishad. It can be briefly summarized as follows:

"Mahatripurasundari is Shiva-Shakti Abheda Roopini (Shiva-

Shakti one, without any difference), the congregation of
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, the aggregation of Lakshmi,
Saraswati and Gauri, she is approachable through Shuddha,
Ashuddha and Mishra (pure, impure and a mixture of the
two) Upasanas (depending on the eligibility and capacity of
the Sadhaka), she is Nirvikalpa Jnana Swaroopini (Sridevi is
pure consciousness) and is the essence of all Tatvas".

"O mother, we bow down to you, please protect us on all

sides, in all ways. This great goddess appears as eight
Vasus. She herself is the eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas,
Vishwe Devas – both eligible for drinking Soma and
otherwise too (i.e. she is in the form of Devas both eligible
and ineligible for accepting Havis), Yatudhanas (a demon
like race), Rakshas, Pishachas, Yakshas and Siddhas. She
is of the form of Satva-rajas-Tamas, she is Brahma-Vishnu
and Rudra, and she is Prajapati, Indra and Manu. She is the
planets and stars. She indeed is Kalaa, kaashtaa and other
units of time (i.e. she is time). we bow to this Mahadevi who
is eternal".

The beauty of this Upanishad is that it establishes in every

possible way, the Swaroopa of Sri Parashakti as being non-
different from Parabrahman.

"I am Veda as well as anything that is not Veda (I am

described by the Vedas, but I am not totally graspable even
by the Vedas), I am Vidya as well as Avidya (knowledge as
well as ignorance), I am the begginningless Prakriti and
anything other than Prakriti (or I am the begginningless
Maya as well as anything that is there apart from Maya).
Down, above, left, right – every direction is pervaded by me!"

"We salute to her, who is the destroyer of sins, who grants

both Bhoga (enjoyment) and Moksha, who is endless or
infinite, who is ever victorious, who is pure, refuge of all
beings, who grants auspiciousness and who is Brahman
(Shiva represents Brahman)."

In the next verse, the Upanishad gives out Devi Pranava

Mahamantra. "The Matrika letter `ha' represents Viyat, which
means `Sky'. With a combination of `ii' kaara, it becomes
`hii'. Viitihotra means Agni and is represented by the letter
`ra'. Ardhendu means bindu. Thus, the mantra becomes
`Hriim'. This mantra grants all desires. This mantra of single
letter is Parabrahman i.e. it is the Akshara form of Brahman.
Sages with pure consciousness, dive into the ocean of
knowledge and experience supreme bliss by meditating on
this Mahamantra".

The letter `ham' denotes Sadashiva Tatva. It is an

aggregation of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma Swaroopas. Thus,
Sridevi is of the form of the Iccha – Jnana – Kriya triad. Also,
since Sadashiva Tatva hints at Shiva – Shakti Samarasya,
she is `Shiva- Shakti- one'. Letter `Ra' denotes `SphuraNa'.
Thus, by the knowledge of Shiva – Shakti Aikya (i.e. the
unity of Jiva and Parabrahman), the Chaitanya Shakti of
Sridevi or Sri Kameshwara flows.

An alternate explanation would be: by understanding Shiva –

Shakti Aikya (i.e. the unity of Jiva and Parabrahman), one
burns or dissolves all Tatvas (i.e. gets rid of Satva, Rajas
and Tamas). Then what? Next is `ii' – the Kamakala
Akshara. It represents bliss. However, with Bindu, it
becomes `iiM' and denotes Sat – chit – ananda. The letter
has the same meaning as `Tat – Tvam – Asi'. Thus, by
meditating on this Bija, one attains Sridevi who is Shiva –
Shakti –one and who is of the form of sat – chit – ananda.
Now, these are the Lakshanas of Parabrahman right! Thus,
this mantra is also Brahma Vachaka at the same time. It is a
pity people look down upon this Bija as `Tantrika Pranava'.
Where `Aum' denotes the same Parabrahma Tatva, it
speaks of Nishchala, Nirakara, Nirguna Tatva. Hrim also
denotes the chit aspect of the same Parabrahma Tatva, with
an added notion of `SphuraNa'.

Now, there is the uddhAra of navArNa Mahamantra.

"Vak is `Aim', Maya is `Hrim' and Brahmasuu (originated

from Brahma i.e. Manmatha) is `Klim'. Then there is the sixth
consonant (shashtham) along with `Vaktra' i.e. with `aa'
kaara. Thus we get `chaa'. Surya is `ma'. `Avaama' is right
and `Karna' is ear. Thus, the Nyasa letter for the right ear i.e.
`u' with bindu is obtained. Together, it becomes `mu' with a
bindu. The third letter from `Ta' is `Da' and along with
Narayana (i.e. `aa') it becomes `Daa'. Vayu Bija is `Ya' and
adharayuk (lower-lip, represented by `ai') together form `yai'.
Add the word `Vicche' to these letters at the end. This nine-
lettered Mahamantra grants extreme bliss to Sadhakas and
also grants Brahma Sayujya".

The meaning of this mantra is as follows: O great mother

Chamunda Durga, who is of the form of chit
(Mahasaraswati), sat (Mahalakshmi) and Ananda
(Mahakali), we meditate on you for obtaining Brahmavidya.
Please sever the knots (Rajju Granthi) of Avidya and liberate
us from duality. This Mahamantra thus, is also Brahma
Vachaka. Next, the Saguna meditation of the mantra is
illustrated.

"I bow down to Sridevi, who is seated in `Hrit Kamala' (heart

lotus), who is bright like the rising sun, who is holding Pasha
and Ankusha in her hands, who has a serene-beautiful form,
who is three-eyed, who is wearing red garments and who
grants all desires of her devotees. O mother, I salute to you,
the great goddess, who destroys fear (the greatest fear
being Bhava Bhaya), who removes the greatest of difficulties
and who is the very personification of KaruNaa".

It is to be noted that the Dhyana here is actually of

`Tripurasundari'. Thus, the claim that Sri Lalita
Mahatripurasundari is the essence of seven crore mantras is
supported even in the Sruti!

"Her form is unknown even to Brahma and the other Devas.

Hence she is called `Ajneya' (impossible to be known as
`this' or `that'). She is called `Ananta' because she is without
any end. Since no one can see or identify her Lakshya (goal
or gaze), she is `Alakshya'. No one knows of her birth and
hence she is `Aja' – without birth i.e. begginningless. Since
she exists everywhere, she is `Eka' – the one. But she is
also the entire universe with its infinite forms of creation;
thus she is also `Aneka' – many"

Here again, the Brahma swaroopa of Parameshwari is

illustrated.

"I bow down to Sridevi who is present in all mantras as

`Matrika' (i.e. the letters of the alphabet are her form and
hence also the mantras which originate from these root
letters), who is the meaning of every word (Shiva represents
`Shabda' or word and Shakti its `Artha' or meaning. These
two do not have a separate existence and this Avinabhava
Sambandha is what is expressed here) and who is
`Chinmayaateeta' (Jnana is through chit and Sridevi is even
beyond chit (chit here should be taken to mean `Manas' or
`Buddhi' i.e. mind or intellect. Sridevi represents the
knowledge of Brahman, which cannot be grasped by mind or
intellect. Also, she is above the planes of Manomaya and
other Koshas). She is the silent witness of even Shoonya or
`nothing'. It is this great goddess who is called Sri Durga and
there is nothing existing beyond her (or she has no second)".
All these are again descriptions of the Vedanta Brahman.
She is to be understood as the very Parabrahman or chit
Parashakti. One of the many Pramanas could be her
description as `silent witness'. This also speaks of `Kriya
Shoonyata' of goddess. This is the concept of Brahman as
accepted by Advaitins. This Upanishad beautifully expresses
the same concept. Also, since she is the witness to `nothing'
(which existed before everything and which shall exist after
everything), she is the Anaadi Paramatman.

"Scared of the Samsara (duality), I salute to that Durga, who

destroys the evil (durachara means anything that is
unacceptable to Sruti and Smriti) and who takes us across
the ocean of Samsara".

"One who studies (shravaNa, manana, dhyana and

Sankirtana – listen, understand its meaning, contemplate on
its purport and then chant the hymn) this Upanishad obtains
the merit of chanting five other (Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva
etc.) Atharvopanishads. One who performs actions like
worship, Pratimaa Sthaapana (installing an idol for ritualistic
worship) without knowing this Upanishad will not get Siddhi
even after chanting his a hundred lakh times! The
Purashcharana prescribed for this hymn is 108. By chanting
this hymn (after the Purashcharana. all the fruits described
hereafter require purashcharana) ten times, one gets rid of
all sins. By Sridevi's grace, one escapes from the greatest of
difficulties. By chanting this hymn in the evening, one gets
rid of the sins committed during the day. By chanting this
hymn in the morning, one gets rid of the sins committed
during the previous night. By using this hymn in the morning
and evening (everyday) one becomes free from all sins. By
chanting this during the Turiya Sandhya (midnight when
Turiya meets Turiyatita), one gets Vak Siddhi. By chanting
this hymn, Devata Saanidhya (presence of divinity) is
accomplished in a new idol. By chanting this mantra during
Bhaumashwini yoga (this could mean on a Tuesday with
Ashwini Nakshatra or more appropriately during Amrita
Siddhi Yoga), one escapes from the great death (untimely as
well as timely!). In this way this Upanishad is Avidya Nashini
and Brahma Pratipadini".

JagadambaarpaNamastu!