Upaniṣads · Muṇḍaka 1.2.4
॥
Devanāgarī
काली कराली च मनोजवा च सुलोहिता या च सुधूम्रवर्णा ।
स्फुलिङ्गिनी विश्वरुची च देवी लेलायमाना इति सप्त जिह्वाः ॥
Transliteración (IAST)
kālī karālī ca manojavā ca sulohitā yā ca sudhūmravarṇā |
sphuliṅginī viśvarucī ca devī lelāyamānā iti sapta jihvāḥ ||
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
कालीkālīKālī; the black
कराली चkarālī caand Karālī; and the terrible
मनोजवा चmanojavā caand swifter than thought; and swift as the mind
सुलोहिताsulohitāthe red; the bright crimson
या चyā caand she who; as well as
सुधूम्रवर्णाsudhūmravarṇāof smoky hue; beautifully grey
स्फुलिङ्गिनीsphuliṅginīthe Sparkling (sphuliṅginī — 'the scatterer of sparks'); the Spark-caster; the Scintillating
विश्वरुची चviśvarucī caand the All-radiant (viśva-ruci); and shining upon all; and lovely to all with light
देवीdevīthe goddess (devī); the shining lady; the divine lady
लेलायमानाःlelāyamānāḥquivering (intensive of √lī); waving; dancing
इतिitithus; such are they
सप्त जिह्वाःsapta jihvāḥthe seven tongues (sapta jihvā); the seven tongues of flame; the sevenfold tongues
Traducción
"Kālī, Karālī, Manojavā and Sulohitā, Sudhūmravarṇā, Sphuliṅginī and the all-radiant goddess — these are the seven quivering tongues [of the fire]."
Versión
f73d47a2fc69 · publicado 26 jul 2026, 20:10:40 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The seven tongues of the sacrificial flame are named one by one, like sisters: Kālī — the Black, Karālī — the Gaping, Manojavā — Swift-as-thought, Sulohitā — the Scarlet, Sudhūmravarṇā — the Smoke-hued, Sphuliṅginī — the Sparkling, Viśvarucī devī — "the goddess All-radiant". Fire, to the Vedic eye, is not a chemical reaction but a living many-faced being: seven sister-tongues receive the gift, and each has her own temper, colour and voice.
The number seven is stitched through the whole Vedic picture (seven flames of the face — Praśna 4.34; seven prāṇas, seven worlds — Muṇḍaka 2.1.8): the seven is the full spectrum of one power's manifestation. The flame, "quivering" (lelāyamānāḥ — the same word as in verse 11: a living waver), is the gate through which a material gift is transubstantiated into the subtle.
But let us remember where this beauty stands: inside the section on the lower vidyā. The Upaniṣad admires the tongues of fire — and is about to say (verse 16) that these very lovely tongues are "unsound rafts". The beauty of a means is no guarantee of its finality; one may gaze at the flame of the ferry and forget that a ferry is for crossing.