Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 45
॥
Devanāgarī
विद्येयमाह्वानकर्माणि सर्वतो धीरेति व्याचक्षते । एवमेतद्विद्याष्टकं महामाया देव्यङ्गभूतं व्याचक्षते
Transliteration (IAST)
vidyeyamāhvānakarmāṇi sarvato dhīreti vyācakṣate | evametadvidyāṣṭakaṃ mahāmāyā devyaṅgabhūtaṃ vyācakṣate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
विद्या इयम् आह्वान-कर्माणिvidyā iyam āhvāna-karmāṇithis vidyā, in acts of invocation
सर्वतः धीरा इति व्याचक्षतेsarvataḥ dhīrā iti vyācakṣatethey call «firm from every side»
एवम् एतत् विद्या-अष्टकंevam etat vidyā-aṣṭakaṃso this octad of vidyās
महा-माया-देवी-अङ्ग-भूतंmahā-māyā-devī-aṅga-bhūtaṃbecome the limbs of the great Māyā-Goddess
व्याचक्षतेvyācakṣateis explained
Translation
«This vidyā, in acts of invocation, they call «firm from every side». So this octad of vidyās, become the limbs of the great Māyā-Goddess, is explained».
Version
ffea835a2492 · published Aug 7, 2026, 5:19:24 AM UTC
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The second part is summed up: eight vidyās have been derived from the durgā-sūkta, and all eight are called aṅga-bhūta, «become limbs» of the Goddess. A forceful image is chosen — not «belonging to her», not «serving her», but limbs of her own body: hands, feet, eyes. The eight mantras, then, are not eight things she has, but eight parts of herself.
The same image was discussed when reading Adhyātma (1.2): the world is His body, and this relation is neither identity nor separation. Here the same is said of the mantras: they are neither her nor separate from her — as a hand is neither the person nor separate from him. This likeness is invoked more readily than any other in Vaishnava theology. The hand is not me — it is mine; and it is not separate — cut it off, and it ceases to be a hand. In this «mine, and not separate» lies everything said about the soul's relation to Him.
The last vidyā is called dhīra, «firm, steadfast». This word is from the same root as dhī, «thought», as discussed when reading the tenth line: dhīra is one whose thought holds fast. Firmness here is named a property not of the will but of retention, and this is more precise than usual: a person usually breaks not from wanting too little, but from having stopped holding in mind what he is enduring for.