Upanishads · Devī 11
॥
Devanāgarī
वियदाकारसंयुक्तं वीतिहोत्रसमन्वितम् । अर्धेन्दुलसितं देव्या बीजं सर्वार्थसाधकम्
Transliteration (IAST)
viyadākārasaṃyuktaṃ vītihotrasamanvitam | ardhendulasitaṃ devyā bījaṃ sarvārthasādhakam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
वियत्-आकार-संयुक्तंviyat-ākāra-saṃyuktaṃjoined with the form of space
वीति-होत्र-समन्वितम्vīti-hotra-samanvitamendowed with fire
अर्ध-इन्दु-लसितंardha-indu-lasitaṃadorned with the half-moon
देव्याः बीजंdevyāḥ bījaṃthe seed of the Goddess
सर्व-अर्थ-साधकम्sarva-artha-sādhakamaccomplishing every purpose
Translation
«Joined with the form of space, endowed with fire, adorned with the half-moon — the seed of the Goddess, accomplishing every purpose».
Version
a41f076f4132 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Another riddle, but this time solvable without initiation, and it deserves examination, for it shows how such riddles are constructed.
Viyat, “space,” is in tantric notation the sound ha; vīti-hotra, “fire,” is ra; ardha-indu, “half-moon,” is the sign of the anusvāra, the dot over the line. Put together: ha + ra + i + dot = hrīm.
This is the māyā-bīja, the most famous of the seed-syllables in the Śākta books, and it is here also called sarva-artha-sādhaka, “accomplishing every purpose.”
Worth noting is that this riddle is not profound: it is simply a way to write a syllable without writing it. The same method is used in the Gaṇapati-atharvaśīrṣa, where “gaṃ” is likewise spelled out piece by piece.
A word should also be said about the syllable itself. Hrīm means nothing — it is not a word, but a designated sound; and the difference between sentence-mantras and mantras made of designated sounds was discussed examining the Tripurātāpinī (71). Let us add only an observation directly relevant to this book: eight lines on, it will itself turn to describing a form — with a lotus, three eyes, red garments — and will command contemplation of that form, not the syllable. The syllable serves as an entrance, the form is the object; and this order is constant in such books.