Upanishads · Devī 9
॥
Devanāgarī
कामो योनिः कामकला वज्रपाणिर्गुहा हसा । मातरिश्वाभ्रमिन्द्रः पुनर्गुहा सकला मायया च पुनः कोशा विश्वमाता दिवि द्योम्
Transliteration (IAST)
kāmo yoniḥ kāmakalā vajrapāṇirguhā hasā | mātariśvābhramindraḥ punarguhā sakalā māyayā ca punaḥ kośā viśvamātā divi dyom
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कामः योनिः काम-कलाkāmaḥ yoniḥ kāma-kalāKāma, womb, the portion of desire
वज्र-पाणिः गुहा हसाvajra-pāṇiḥ guhā hasāthunder-wielder, cave, "hasā"
मातरिश्वा अभ्रम् इन्द्रःmātariśvā abhram indraḥMātariśvan, cloud, Indra
पुनः गुहा सकला मायया चpunaḥ guhā sakalā māyayā caagain the cave, with parts, and with māyā
पुनः कोशा विश्व-माता दिवि द्योम्punaḥ kośā viśva-mātā divi dyomagain the sheath, mother of the world, in heaven — "dyom"
Translation
«Kāma, womb, the portion of desire, the thunder-wielder, the cave, "hasā"; Mātariśvan, cloud, Indra, again the cave, with parts, and with māyā; again the sheath, mother of the world, in heaven — "dyom"».
Version
db391362a861 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
This line appears meaningless, and it must be explained why it is so. Before us is a mantra written as a riddle: each word points to a syllable, and the syllables, strung together in order, yield the famous fifteen-syllable śrī-vidyā.
This device was named examining the Tripurātāpinī (27), and explained there as well. The syllables are not written directly but are called by names: “Kāma” means the syllable ka, “womb” — e, “the portion of desire” — i, “the thunder-wielder” — la, “the cave” — hrīm. The key to the names is given at initiation, and without the key the line cannot be read.
This, it is worth noting, partly explains the strange reputation of such books. The reader sees a string of words and concludes that before him lies something ineffably profound; but before him is a cipher, and its depth equals the depth of what is enciphered.
The Vaiṣṇava side takes almost no part in this custom, and it is worth saying why. Its chief mantras are given in open text: “homage to the Lord Vāsudeva,” “Hare Kṛṣṇa” — and no one is forbidden to speak them. A mantra requiring a key is, by its very design, the property of the few; a mantra consisting of a name is the property of anyone who will speak that name.
The difference is not one of piety but of purpose. Where a mantra is a tool, it is held like a tool — with training and admission. Where a mantra is a call by name, no admission is required: anyone who calls in earnest may call.