Atharva Veda · Atharva Veda (Shakta Upanishad group) · 32 mantras
Devi Upanishad
Devy-upaniṣad
Central theme: The Goddess as Brahman — Devi's self-disclosure of her own supreme nature to the devas
Mahavakya
अहं ब्रह्मस्वरूपिणी
Ahaṁ brahma-svarūpiṇī
“I am of the form of Brahman.”
— Devi Upanishad 2
A Shakta Upanishad of 32 mantras. Opens with the devas approaching the Great Goddess and asking "Who are you, Mahadevi?" Her reply — the Devi-pratyabhijna — is one of the most powerful first-person self-disclosures in shruti: "I am of the form of Brahman; from me proceeds prakriti-purusha; I am the void and the non-void; I am bliss and non-bliss; I am the Vedas and the non-Vedas; I am born and unborn; I am below and above and around." Embeds the Navakshari mantra of Durga and the dhyana-shloka visualising her as red-hued, three-eyed, smiling, holding noose and goad. Closes with the celebrated assurance that the daily reciter is purified of every sin and gains union with the Devi.
Devi Upanishad 2
अहं ब्रह्मस्वरूपिणी । मत्तः प्रकृतिपुरुषात्मकं जगत् । शून्यं चाशून्यं च
Ahaṁ brahma-svarūpiṇī, mattaḥ prakṛti-puruṣātmakaṁ jagat, śūnyaṁ cāśūnyaṁ ca
I am of the very form of Brahman. From me proceeds the world of prakriti and purusha. I am the void and the non-void.
When the Goddess names herself, the answer is not "consort of" — the answer is Brahman.