त्वया निर्मितोऽहं विधित्वे विहारं विकर्तुं चतुर्धा विधायादिसर्गम् । अहं वेद्मि कोऽन्यो विवेदातिमाये क्षमस्वापराधं त्वहङ्कारजं मे
I am created by you, O Creator, to play and to shape the primordial creation in fourfold ways. I know this; who else could comprehend your supreme Māyā? Forgive my offense, born of ego.
श्रमं येऽष्टधा योगमार्गे प्रवृत्ताः प्रकुर्वन्ति मूढाः समाधौ स्थिता वै । न जानन्ति ते नाम मोक्षप्रदं वा समुच्चारितं जातु मातर्मिषेण
Those foolish ones who exert themselves in the eightfold path of yoga, established in meditation, do not know your name, nor that it bestows liberation, even when it is uttered by the Mother with intent.
विचारे परे तत्त्वसंख्याविधाने पदे मोहिता नाम ते संविहाय । न किं ते विमूढा भवाब्धौ भवानि त्वमेवासि संसारमुक्तिप्रदा वै
Those deluded ones, lost in the enumeration of ultimate principles and in inquiry, abandon your name. Are they not bewildered in the ocean of existence? O Bhavāni, you alone grant liberation from the cycle of worldly life.
परं तत्त्वविज्ञानमाद्यैर्जनैर्यै- रजे चानुभूतं त्यजन्त्येव ते किम् । निमेषार्धमात्रं पवित्रं चरित्रं शिवा चाम्बिका शक्तिरीशेति नाम
Those who have experienced supreme knowledge of truth through the ancient ones, why do they abandon it? For even half a blink, your pure conduct—named Śivā, Ambikā, Śakti, Īśa—remains.
न किं त्वं समर्थाऽसि विश्वं विधातुं दृशैवाशु सर्वं चतुर्धा विभक्तम् । विनोदार्थमेवं विधिं मां विधाया- दिसर्गे किलेदं करोषीति कामम्
Are you not capable of creating the universe, instantly dividing all into fourfold forms by your sight? For amusement, you have appointed me to this task of primordial creation, and thus I perform it as you wish.
हरिः पालकः किं त्वयाऽसौ मधोर्वा तथा कैटभाद्रक्षितः सिन्धुमध्ये । हरः संहृतः किं त्वयाऽसौ न काले कथं मे भ्रुवोर्मध्यदेशात्स जातः
Is Hari the protector by you, or was he preserved from Madhu and Kaiṭabha in the midst of the ocean? Was Hara destroyed by you at the proper time? How did he arise from the region between my brows?
न ते जन्म कुत्रापि दृष्टं श्रुतं वा कुतः सम्भवस्ते न कोऽपीह वेद । किलाद्यासि शक्तिस्त्वमेका भवानि स्वतन्त्रैः समस्तैरतो बोधिताऽसि
Your birth is neither seen nor heard anywhere; whence is your origin? No one here knows. Surely, you are the primordial Śakti, O Bhavāni, independent of all; thus you are understood.
त्वया संयुतोऽहं विकर्तुं समर्थो हरिस्त्रातुमम्ब त्वया संयुतश्च । हरः सम्प्रहर्तुं त्वयैवेह युक्तः क्षमा नाद्य सर्वे त्वया विप्रयुक्ताः
By you, I am empowered to create; Hari is empowered by you to protect, O Mother; Hara is empowered by you to destroy. Today, all are powerless without you.
यथाऽहं हरिः शङ्करः किं तथाऽन्ये न जाता न सन्तीह नो वाऽभविष्यन् । न मुह्यन्ति केऽस्मिंस्तवात्यन्तचित्रे विनोदे विवादास्पदेऽल्पाशयानाम्
Just as I, Hari, and Śaṅkara exist, so do others not arise, nor are they present here, nor will they be. Who is not bewildered in this exceedingly wondrous play of yours, the source of disputes among those of little desire?
अकर्ता गुणस्पष्ट एवाद्य देवो निरीहोऽनुपाधिः सदैवाकलश्च । तथापीश्वरस्ते वितीर्णं विनोदं सुसम्पश्यतीत्याहुरेवं विधिज्ञाः
The primordial deity is indeed non-agent, manifest in qualities, inactive, always without attributes, and unchanging. Yet, O Lord, you have distributed this play, observing it well—so say those who know the ordinances.
दृष्टादृष्टविभेदेऽस्मिन्प्राक्त्वत्तो वै पुमान्परः । नान्यः कोऽपि तृतीयोऽस्ति प्रमेये सुविचारिते
In this distinction between seen and unseen, the supreme person arises from you alone; there is no other, no third, when the object of knowledge is thoroughly examined.
न मिथ्या वेदवाक्यं वै कल्पनीयं कदाचन । विरोधोऽयं मयाऽत्यन्तं हृदये तु विशङ्कितः
Never should the words of the Veda be considered false or imagined; this contradiction has been deeply pondered in my heart.
एकमेवाद्वितीयं यद्ब्रह्म वेदा वदन्ति वै । सा किं त्वं वाप्यसौ वा किं सन्देहं विनिवर्तय
That which the Vedas declare as the one, non-dual Brahman—are you that, or is it someone else? Remove my doubt.
निःसंशयं न मे चेतः प्रभवत्यविशङ्कितम् । द्वित्वैकत्वविचारेऽस्मिन्निमग्नं क्षुल्लकं मनः
My mind is not free from doubt, nor is it unwavering; in this inquiry into duality and unity, my small mind is immersed.
स्वमुखेनापि सन्देहं छेत्तुमर्हसि मामकम् । पुण्यभोगाच्च मे प्राप्ता सङ्गतिस्तव पादयोः
You should dispel my doubt with your own words; by the merit of my past deeds, I have attained the fortune of reaching your feet.
पुमानसि त्वं स्त्री वासि वद विस्तरतो मम । ज्ञात्वाऽहं परमां शक्तिं मुक्तः स्यां भवसागरात्
Are you male or female? Tell me in detail; knowing your supreme power, I may be liberated from the ocean of worldly existence.
ब्रह्मणे श्रीदेव्या उपदेशवर्णनम् ब्रह्मोवाच इति पृष्टा मया देवी विनयावनतेन च । उवाच वचनं श्लक्ष्णमाद्या भगवती हि सा
Description of the teaching of the Goddess to Brahma. Brahma said: Thus questioned by me, with humility and reverence, the primordial Bhagavati spoke gentle words.
देव्युवाच सदैकत्वं न भेदोऽस्ति सर्वदैव ममास्य च । योऽसौ साहमहं योऽसौ भेदोऽस्ति मतिविभ्रमात्
The Goddess said: There is always oneness, no division, between myself and this one; I am that, and that am I—any sense of difference arises from confusion of the mind.
आवयोरन्तरं सूक्ष्मं यो वेद मतिमान्हि सः । विमुक्तः स तु संसारान्मुच्यते नात्र संशयः
He who knows the subtle distinction between us, being truly wise, is liberated from worldly existence; there is no doubt about this.
एकमेवाद्वितीयं वै ब्रह्म नित्यं सनातनम् । द्वैतभावं पुनर्याति काल उत्पित्सुसंज्ञके
Brahman is truly one, without a second, eternal and ancient; but when the desire to create arises, duality appears again.
यथा दीपस्तथोपाधेर्योगात्सञ्जायते द्विधा । छायेवादर्शमध्ये वा प्रतिबिम्बं तथावयोः
Just as a lamp, by the association with a limiting adjunct, appears as two; so too, like a shadow or a reflection in a mirror, is the distinction between us.
भेद उत्पत्तिकाले वै सर्गार्थं प्रभवत्यज । दृश्यादृश्यविभेदोऽयं द्वैविध्ये सति सर्वथा
Difference arises at the time of creation, O unborn one, for the purpose of manifestation; this division into seen and unseen always exists when there is duality.
नाहं स्त्री न पुमांश्चाहं न क्लीबं सर्गसंक्षये । सर्गे सति विभेदः स्यात्कल्पितोऽयं धिया पुनः
I am neither woman, nor man, nor neuter at the dissolution of creation; when creation exists, difference is imagined again by the mind.
अहं बुद्धिरहं श्रीश्च धृतिः कीर्तिः स्मृतिस्तथा । श्रद्धा मेधा दया लज्जा क्षुधा तृष्णा तथा क्षमा
I am intellect, I am prosperity, fortitude, fame, memory, faith, intelligence, compassion, modesty, hunger, thirst, and forgiveness.
कान्तिः शान्तिः पिपासा च निद्रा तन्द्रा जराजरा । विद्याविद्या स्पृहा वाञ्छा शक्तिश्चाशक्तिरेव च
I am beauty, peace, thirst, sleep, drowsiness, old age and youth; knowledge and ignorance, desire and longing, power and powerlessness as well.
वसा मज्जा च त्वक्चाहं दृष्टिर्वागनृतानृता । परा मध्या च पश्यन्ती नाड्योऽहं विविधाश्च याः
I am fat, marrow, and skin; I am sight, speech, truth and falsehood; I am the supreme, the intermediate, and the seeing speech, and all the various channels in the body.
किं नाहं पश्य संसारे मद्वियुक्तं किमस्ति हि । सर्वमेवाहमित्येवं निश्चयं विद्धि पद्मज
What is there in this world that is not myself? What exists apart from me? Know with certainty, O Lotus-born, that all is truly myself.
एतैर्मे निश्चितै रूपैर्विहीनं किं वदस्व मे । तस्मादहं विधे चास्मिन्सर्गे वै वितताभवम्
Tell me, what exists that is devoid of these forms of mine? Therefore, O Creator, in this creation I have become all-pervading.
नूनं सर्वेषु देवेषु नानानामधरा ह्यहम् । भवामि शक्तिरूपेण करोमि च पराक्रमम्
Indeed, among all the gods, I am the underlying basis of their various forms; I become power itself and perform mighty deeds.
गौरी ब्राह्मी तथा रौद्री वाराही वैष्णवी शिवा । वारूणी चाथ कौबेरी नारसिंही च वासवी
I am Gauri, Brahmi, Raudri, Varahi, Vaishnavi, Shiva; also Varuni, Kauberi, Narasimhi, and Vasavi.