अहं पञ्चभूतान्यपञ्चभूतानि । अहमखिलं जगत् । वेदोऽहमवेदोऽहम् । विद्याहमविद्याहम् । अजाहमनजाहम् । अधश्चोर्ध्वं च तिर्यक्चाहम् । अहं रुद्रेभिर्वसुभिश्चराम्यहमादित्यैरुत विश्वदेवैः । अहं मित्रावरुणावुभौ बिभर्म्यहमिन्द्राग्नी अहमश्विनावुभौ । अहं सोमं त्वष्टारं पूषणं भगं दधाम्यहम् । विष्णुमुरुक्रमं ब्रह्माणमुत प्रजापतिं दधामि । अहं दधामि द्रविणं हविष्मते सुप्राव्ये 3 यजमानाय सुन्वते
ahaṃ pañcabhūtānyapañcabhūtāni | ahamakhilaṃ jagat | vedo'hamavedo'ham | vidyāhamavidyāham | ajāhamanajāham | adhaścordhvaṃ ca tiryakcāham | ahaṃ rudrebhirvasubhiścarāmyahamādityairuta viśvadevaiḥ | ahaṃ mitrāvaruṇāvubhau bibharmyahamindrāgnī ahamaśvināvubhau | ahaṃ somaṃ tvaṣṭāraṃ pūṣaṇaṃ bhagaṃ dadhāmyaham | viṣṇumurukramaṃ brahmāṇamuta prajāpatiṃ dadhāmi | ahaṃ dadhāmi draviṇaṃ haviṣmate suprāvye 3 yajamānāya sunvate
«I am the five elements and the non-five-elements; I am the whole world. I am the Veda and I am the non-Veda; I am knowledge and I am ignorance; I am the unborn and I am the not-unborn; I am below, above, and across. I go about with the Rudras, with the Vasus, with the Ādityas and the All-gods; I bear both Mitra and Varuṇa, I am Indra and Agni, I am both Aśvins. I bear Soma, Tvaṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, Bhaga; Viṣṇu the wide-strider, Brahmā, and Prajāpati I bear; I bestow wealth on the one who offers sacrifice».
a412bc5b3e64 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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Here, almost word for word, one of the most famous hymns of the Ṛgveda is cited — the Vāk-sūkta, “the hymn of Speech” (10.125), also called the Devī-sūkta. In it, Vāc, Speech, speaks in the first person, and speaks precisely these words: “I go about with the Rudras,” “I bear Mitra and Varuṇa,” “I bear Viṣṇu.”
It must be said in advance that the verse about “bearing Viṣṇu” is the strongest passage in the Śākta books, and it cannot be passed by.
The first thing to know is who speaks in the original. In the Ṛgveda these words belong to Speech; the seer of the hymn is Vāc, daughter of the sage Ambhṛṇā. And what she says is perfectly intelligible in her own mouth: without speech, not a single god would be known. Speech bears Mitra and Varuṇa in the sense that language bears names: take away the word, and no one will name, invoke, or remember.
Understood this way, “I bear Viṣṇu” means not seniority over Him, but that He becomes known through the word; and this is plain truth, from which nothing about superiority follows.
The second point lies in the hymn itself and will be cited by this very book three lines on. There it says: “the gods brought forth Speech” (5). The speaker, then, is herself produced — and produced by those whom she bears; and the hymn does not hide this.
Note, too, that the list in this line runs in pairs: “I am the Veda and the non-Veda,” “knowledge and ignorance,” “unborn and not-unborn.” This is how one speaks not of someone who is one of two things, but of one who encompasses both sides; and this device suits Speech better than anyone else: one can say both a thing and its opposite.