Upaniṣads · Mahā 5.120
॥
Devanāgarī
तथैवात्मात्मशक्त्यैव स्वात्मन्येवैति लोलताम् क्षणं स्फुरति सा देवी सर्वशक्तितया तथा
Transliteración (IAST)
tathaivātmātmaśaktyaiva svātmanyevaiti lolatām kṣaṇaṃ sphurati sā devī sarvaśaktitayā tathā
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
तथा एव आत्मा आत्म-शक्त्या एवtathā eva ātmā ātma-śaktyā evajust so the Ātman by his own power; in the same way the Self through his proper might
स्व-आत्मनि एव एति लोलताम्sva-ātmani eva eti lolatāmin himself comes to oscillation; within his very self arrives at waveriness
क्षणम् स्फुरति सा देवीkṣaṇam sphurati sā devīfor an instant that goddess sparkles; for a moment the said goddess shimmers
सर्व-शक्तितया तथाsarva-śaktitayā tathāas the universal power thus; in the capacity of the all-embracing might
Traducción
“Just so the Ātman by his own power comes to oscillation in himself; and for an instant that goddess sparkles — as the universal power.”
Versión
7cbc61ef2595 · publicado 29 jul 2026, 6:29:20 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The verse gives the power of consciousness a name, and the name is feminine: devī — “goddess”.
This is the first such passage in the book. Till now śakti was spoken of abstractly; here she is named the Goddess.
Note the word kṣaṇam — “for an instant”. The whole world-order with its kalpas is described as a momentary tremor.
This agrees with 4.67: the mind turns a kalpa into an instant and an instant into a kalpa. The measure of time depends on whose eyes look.
Sarva-śaktitayā — “in the capacity of the universal power”.
Vaiṣṇava Vedānta knows this Goddess and does not count her an abstraction: the Supreme's power is not faceless. Here the book itself comes right up to this, naming her devī; and He whose she is, is named by name at the book's very opening (1.1).