LinuxTurn pages
Upanishads · Sarasvatīrahasya 3.6
॥
Devanāgarī
नमामि यामिनीनाथलेखालङ्कृतकुन्तलाम् । भवानीं भवसन्तापनिर्वापणसुधानदीम्
Transliteration (IAST)
namāmi yāminīnāthalekhālaṅkṛtakuntalām | bhavānīṃ bhavasantāpanirvāpaṇasudhānadīm
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नमामि यामिनी-नाथ-लेखा-namāmi yāminī-nātha-lekhā-I honor her whose braided hair
अलङ्कृत-कुन्तलाम्alaṅkṛta-kuntalāmis adorned by the crescent of the lord of night
भवानीं भव-सन्ताप-bhavānīṃ bhava-santāpa-Bhavānī, the river of nectar
निर्वापण-सुधा-नदीम्nirvāpaṇa-sudhā-nadīmthat quenches the fever of existence
Translation
I honor her whose braided hair is adorned by the crescent of the lord of night — Bhavānī, the river of nectar that quenches the fever of existence.
Version
976dc0e11f9e · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
It is worth noting that Sarasvatī is here called Bhavānī, that is, by the name of Śiva's consort, and adorned with the crescent moon in her hair, which is his mark. That is, in this hymn what constantly happens in this literature has occurred: the names and marks of goddesses flow into one another. This detail is not carelessness, and it is worth saying how to read it.
In śākta practice, all goddesses are manifestations of one power; and so Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, and Pārvatī are called by each other's names without difficulty. The Vaiṣṇava side does not permit such flowing-together and holds to distinction; and it is worth saying why this is not pettiness. If names flow into one another, a name ceases to be an address and becomes a designation of a power; and one cannot address a power.
Her position was cited when reading the Varāha (5.51): every power belongs to someone, and so for her Lakṣmī is Lakṣmī, and Rādhā is Rādhā, and one is not replaced by the other. Let us add the image with which the verse ends: bhava-santāpa-nirvāpaṇa-sudhā-nadīm, "the river of nectar that quenches the fever of existence." The image is beautiful and understood by everyone in a hot land: existence is fever, and speech about the highest is a river.
And it is worth noting that the fever is quenched not by wind or shade but by a river that is drunk; that is, the means named is what is taken within.