Devī Sūkta – The Feminine Aham Brahmāsmi

Devi Suktam, features the goddess speaking as the universal Self, expressing her immanence in all aspects of the cosmos.

This hymn is narrated by a Ṛṣikā (female seer) named Vāk Ambhṛṇī, who speaks as Vāk (Divine Speech) or Śakti, the cosmic power of consciousness. It’s a revelation of Self-realized awareness, where the seer identifies completely with the Supreme Śakti, the dynamic expression of Brahman (Consciousness).

Here, the I is not the ego, but the I of the Self—the eternal feminine voice of the universe, flowing through gods, men, rituals, and the very breath of life.

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✨ Devī Sūkta – Ṛg Veda 10.125

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अहं रुद्रेभिर्वसुभिश्चराम्यहमादित्यैरुत विश्वदेवैः ।
अहं मित्रावरुणोभा बिभर्म्यहमिन्द्राग्नी अहमश्विनोभा ॥१॥
ahaṁ rudrebhir vasubhiś carāmy aham ādityair uta viśvadevaiḥ |
ahaṁ mitrāvaruṇobhā bibharmy aham indrāgnī aham aśvinobhā ||

I move among the Rudras and the Vasus; I abide with the Ādityas and all the Viśvedevas.
I sustain both Mitra and Varuṇa, Indra and Agni, and the twin gods Aśvins.

The Self, the Goddess, is the inner power behind all the deities. She is not outside them—she is them, and they are her expressions.

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अहं सोममाहनसं बिभर्म्यहं त्वष्टारमुत पूषणं भगम् ।
अहं दधामि द्रविणं हविष्मते सुप्राव्ये यजमानाय सुन्वते ॥२॥
ahaṃ somam āhanasaṃ bibharmy ahaṃ tvaṣṭāram uta pūṣaṇaṃ bhagam |
ahaṃ dadhāmi draviṇaṃ haviṣmate suprāvye yajamānāya sunvate ||2||

I support the powerful Soma, the nourishing Tvaṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, and Bhaga (gods of strength, creation, protection, and fortune).
I bestow wealth upon the sacrificer who offers oblations with devotion.

This verse shows how the Divine Feminine empowers both natural forces and the spiritual seeker.

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अहं राष्ट्री संगमनी वसूनां चिकितुषी प्रथमा यज्ञियानाम् ।
तां मा देवा व्यदधुः पुरुत्रा भूरिस्थात्रां भूर्यावेशयन्तीम् ॥३॥
ahaṃ rāṣṭrī saṃgamani vasūnāṃ cikituṣī prathamā yajñiyānām |
tāṃ mā devā vyadadhuḥ purutrā bhūristhātrāṃ bhūryāveśayantīm ||3||

I am the Queen, the gatherer of treasures, the knower, the foremost among the worshipful.
The gods have established me in many places, making me enter into many forms and dwellings.

Here, she declares herself as Rāṣṭrī—the spiritual sovereign, pervading the society, rituals, and knowledge itself. She is consciousness embodied in everything.

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मया सो अन्नमत्ति यो विपश्यति यः प्राणिति य ईं शृणोत्युक्तम् ।
अमन्तवो मां त उप क्षियन्ति श्रुधि श्रुत श्रद्धिवं ते वदामि ॥४॥
mayā so annam atti yo vipaśyati yaḥ prāṇīti ya īṃ śṛṇoty uktam |
amantavo māṃ ta upa kṣiyanti śruddhi śruta śraddhivaṃ te vadāmi ||4||

Through me, one eats, sees, breathes, and hears spoken words.
Those who do not recognize me are lost, but listen—I speak words worthy of your faith.

She is the power of awareness—the force behind all sensory perception and life itself. If we live without recognizing this, we live disconnected from our source.

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अहमेव स्वयमिदं वदामि जुष्टं देवेभिरुत मानुषेभिः ।
यं कामये तंतमुग्रं कृणोमि तं ब्रह्माणं तमृषिं तं सुमेधाम् ॥५॥
ahameva svayam idaṃ vadāmi juṣṭaṃ devebhir uta mānuṣebhiḥ |
yaṃ kāmaye taṃ tam ugraṃ kṛṇomi taṃ brahmāṇaṃ tam ṛṣiṃ taṃ sumedhām ||5||

I speak this truth myself, approved by gods and humans.
The one I choose, I make mighty—I make him a knower of Brahman, a seer, and wise.

Spiritual wisdom is not earned by effort alone, but by Divine Grace. She chooses and empowers the true seeker.

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अहं रुद्राय धनुरा तनोमि ब्रह्मद्विषे शरवे हन्तवा उ ।
अहं जनाय समदं कृणोम्यहं द्यावापृथिवी आ विवेश ॥६॥
ahaṃ rudrāya dhanurā tanomi brahmadviṣe śarave hantavā u |
ahaṃ janāya samadaṃ kṛṇomy ahaṃ dyāvāpṛthivī ā viveśa ||6||

I stretch the bow for Rudra, to slay the haters of knowledge (Brahmavidyā).
I bring peace to the people. I have entered heaven and earth.

The Goddess is also the force of righteous destruction, protector of truth, and bringer of harmony. She is transcendental and immanent.

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अहं सुवे पितरमस्य मूर्धन्मम योनिरप्स्वन्तः समुद्रे ।
ततो वि तिष्ठे भुवनानु विश्वोतामूं द्यां वर्ष्मणोप स्पृशामि ॥७॥
ahaṃ suve pitaramasya mūrdhan mama yonir apsvantaḥ samudre |
tato vi tiṣṭhe bhuvanānu viśvotāmūṃ dyāṃ varṣmaṇopa spṛśāmi ||7||

I give birth to the Father (the Creator) on the summit of the world.
My womb is in the waters, deep within the ocean. From there I spread through the entire cosmos, touching even the sky.

Even the masculine divine (the Creator) is born of her. She is primordial, with her womb in the cosmic ocean, symbolizing the mystery of creation.

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अहमेव वात इव प्र वाम्यारभमाणा भुवनानि विश्वा ।
परो दिवा पर एना पृथिव्यैतावती महिना सं बभूव ॥८॥

aha meva vāta iva pra vāmyārabhamāṇā bhuvanāni viśvā |
paro divā para enā pṛthivyaitāvatī mahinā saṃ babhūva ||8||

I move like the wind, setting all the worlds in motion.
I transcend the heavens and the earth—so vast is my greatness.

She is the force of motion, of evolution, of life itself. She transcends dualities—moving between spirit and matter, heaven and earth.

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🌺 Reflection

This hymn is not just philosophy—it’s revelation. It shows how the Vedas saw the divine feminine not as subordinate, but as the source, mover, and revealer of all. It breaks the illusion of separateness. Everything is Her—every god, every breath, every wisdom, every life.

If you let this hymn enter your heart, you will feel something shift—a recognition of the sacred feminine within you, and the cosmic Self in every moment.

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Why “I” in this Hymn is not the Ego

The “I” in Ṛg Veda 10.125 – Devī Sūkta is not the limited, individual ego (ahaṅkāra). It is Vāk, the primordial speech or creative power of Consciousness—the Śakti who knows she is the source, sustainer, and dissolver of all. This isn’t poetic exaggeration; it’s an experiential realization of the seer, Vāk Ambhṛṇī, who has fully merged her identity with the Cosmic Self.

Let’s look at why we can say this confidently:

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The Scope of “I” Transcends Individuality

In the verses, the speaker says:

• “I move among all the gods…”

• “I give birth to the Creator…”

• “I support Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, Indra, Soma, etc.”

• “I enter heaven and earth…”

• “I am the Queen, first of the sacred, dwelling in many forms…”

👉 No individual ego can truthfully claim such things. These are cosmic actions, not psychological ones.

Only a universal force—an all-encompassing Consciousness—can speak this way. It is the Self-aware energy that moves through all beings, known in Tantra and Vedanta as Mahāśakti or Cit-Śakti.

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The Seer is Identified as Vāk (Divine Speech)

This hymn is not about the goddess. It is the goddess speaking through a seer who has become one with her.

• Vāk is not just “speech” but Conscious Speech—that which gives form to formless consciousness.

• In later texts like the Brāhmaṇas and Upaniṣads, Vāk is often the first manifestation of Brahman (like in Aitareya Brāhmaṇa).

This “I” is the power of Brahman to express itself. She is the voice of the Self—not the personality.

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The Upanishadic Echo: "Aham Brahmāsmi"

This hymn is like a feminine counterpart to “Aham Brahmāsmi” (“I am Brahman”) from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.

When the Self-realized sage says, “I am Brahman”, it is not egoic inflation—it is identity with the unconditioned, impersonal, all-pervasive Consciousness.

Similarly, when Vāk says:

“I am the one through whom gods live, people breathe, and all knowledge flows…”

—this is the same realization but voiced through the Feminine.

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Śakti is the Self in Motion

Vedanta speaks of Brahman as the unchanging reality.

Tantra adds: Śakti is Brahman in motion, in expression. She is not different from Brahman, but Brahman as experience, will, love, vibration.

So when the voice in this hymn says:

“I give birth to the Father…”
“I set the worlds in motion like the wind…”

—it is not ego, but Self-aware Śakti, the dynamic face of the Absolute.

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No Craving, No Insecurity—Only Radiant Presence

The ego’s speech is usually filled with:

• Possessiveness

• Defensiveness

• Self-centeredness

• Fragmentation

But the speech in this hymn is expansive, sovereign, integrated.

It doesn’t seek validation. It simply is—a clear hallmark of Self-realization.

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The “I” is Universal, Not Personal

In the Devī Sūkta, the “I” isn’t:

• I, Vāk Ambhṛṇī, the daughter of a sage

• I, a person chanting a hymn

• I, a seeker trying to praise the Divine

It is:

• I, the conscious current in all

• I, the witness, the voice, the breath

• I, who give light to gods and beings

In this sense, it’s the same “I” that looks out through your eyes right now, but without the filters of identity.

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If You Want to Feel It…

Try chanting just the first line, slowly and with awareness:

ahaṁ rudrebhir vasubhiś carāmi

Let yourself feel into that “aham”… not as you the person, but as you—the timeless presence that has always been watching.