ॐ अहमित्यष्टर्चस्य सूक्तस्य वागाम्भृणी ऋषिः, सच्चित्सुखात्मकः सर्वगतः परमात्मा देवता, द्वितीयाया ऋचो जगती, शिष्टानां त्रिष्टुप् छन्दः, देवीमाहात्म्यपाठे विनियोगः।
ōṁ ahamityaṣṭarcasya sūktasya vāgāmbhṛṇī ṛṣiḥ, saccitsukhātmakaḥ sarvagataḥ paramātmā dēvatā, dvitīyāyā ṛcō jagatī, śiṣṭānāṁ triṣṭup chandaḥ, dēvīmāhātmyapāṭhē viniyōgaḥ |
Translation
Om. Of this hymn of eight verses beginning “aham”, the seer is Vāk, daughter of Ambhṛṇa; the deity is the supreme Self, all-pervading, whose nature is being, consciousness and bliss; the meter of the second verse is Jagatī and of the rest Triṣṭubh; it is applied in the recitation of the Devī Māhātmya.
Word by word
- ōṁ
- sacred syllable
- aham iti
- beginning with “aham” (I)
- aṣṭarcasya sūktasya
- of this hymn of eight verses
- vāgāmbhṛṇī ṛṣiḥ
- the seer is Vāk, daughter of Ambhṛṇa
- saccitsukhātmakaḥ
- whose nature is being, consciousness and bliss
- sarvagataḥ
- all-pervading
- paramātmā dēvatā
- the deity is the supreme Self
- dvitīyāyāḥ ṛcaḥ jagatī
- Jagatī for the second verse
- śiṣṭānām triṣṭup chandaḥ
- Triṣṭubh is the meter of the rest
- dēvīmāhātmyapāṭhē viniyōgaḥ
- applied in the recitation of the Devī Māhātmya
Meaning
The hymn is the tenth book of the Ṛgveda, hymn 125. Its seer is a woman, Vāk Āmbhṛṇī, and its deity is not a god among the gods but the supreme Self: in this hymn the seer speaks as that Self. The book says to recite this viniyoga, then meditate on Durgā, then recite the hymn.