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Upanishads · Sarasvatīrahasya 3.5
॥
Devanāgarī
या श्रद्धा धारणा मेधा वाग्देवी विधिवल्लभा । भक्तजिह्वाग्रसदना शमादिगुणदायिनी
Transliteration (IAST)
yā śraddhā dhāraṇā medhā vāgdevī vidhivallabhā | bhaktajihvāgrasadanā śamādiguṇadāyinī
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
या श्रद्धा धारणा मेधाyā śraddhā dhāraṇā medhāshe who is faith, retention, aptitude
वाक्-देवी विधि-वल्लभाvāk-devī vidhi-vallabhāthe goddess of speech, dear to the Ordainer
भक्त-जिह्वा-अग्र-सदनाbhakta-jihvā-agra-sadanādwelling on the tongue-tip of the devotee
शम-आदि-गुण-दायिनीśama-ādi-guṇa-dāyinīgiver of calm and other virtues
Translation
She who is faith, retention, and aptitude, the goddess of speech, dear to the Ordainer, dwelling on the tongue-tip of the devotee, giver of calm and other virtues …
Version
dd8be0719abd · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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It is worth noting the phrase bhakta-jihvā-agra-sadanā, "dwelling on the tongue-tip of the devotee." That is, it is said of her that she already lives there — she does not come at request, but dwells. And it is said in whom: in the bhakta, "devotee."
This joining, to my mind, is the finest thing in this hymn, and it is worth voicing. The previous verse's request was "settle"; here it is said that she settles of herself — in one who is devoted. That is, the condition named is not practice but disposition; and this is precisely the Vaiṣṇava sevonmukhe cited when reading the previous passage.
Let us add the list standing at the beginning: śraddhā, dhāraṇā, medhā — faith, memory, aptitude. It repeats the one given at the imposition on the limbs (2.0), and this repetition shows the list was stable. Let us add the last: śama-ādi-guṇa-dāyinī, "giver of calm and other virtues."
Śama is the first of the six attainments examined when reading the Śāṭyāyani (5); and it is worth noting that here these virtues are called given, not acquired. This agrees with what the Vaiṣṇava side holds as her own, cited when reading the Jābāla-darśana (1.11): qualities are not acquired by direct effort, they come to dwell (Bhāgavatam 5.18.12).