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Upanishads · Saubhāgyalakṣmī 3.9
॥
Devanāgarī
नवममाकाशचक्रम् । तत्र षोडशदलपद्ममूर्ध्वमुखं तन्मध्यकर्णिकात्रिकूटाकारम् । तन्मध्ये ऊर्ध्वशक्तिः । तां पश्यन्ध्यायेत् । तत्रैव पूर्णगिरिपीठं सर्वेच्छासिद्धिसाधनं भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
navamamākāśacakram | tatra ṣoḍaśadalapadmamūrdhvamukhaṃ tanmadhyakarṇikātrikūṭākāram | tanmadhye ūrdhvaśaktiḥ | tāṃ paśyandhyāyet | tatraiva pūrṇagiripīṭhaṃ sarvecchāsiddhisādhanaṃ bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नवमम् आकाश-चक्रम्navamam ākāśa-cakramthe ninth — the circle of space
तत्र षोडश-दल-पद्मम् ऊर्ध्व-मुखंtatra ṣoḍaśa-dala-padmam ūrdhva-mukhaṃthere, a sixteen-petaled lotus, facing upward
तत्-मध्य-कर्णिका-त्रि-कूट-आकारम्tat-madhya-karṇikā-tri-kūṭa-ākāramwith a pericarp shaped like three peaks in its middle
तत्-मध्ये ऊर्ध्व-शक्तिःtat-madhye ūrdhva-śaktiḥin its middle, the rising power
तां पश्यन् ध्यायेत्tāṃ paśyan dhyāyetseeing it, let him meditate
तत्र एव पूर्णगिरि-पीठंtatra eva pūrṇagiri-pīṭhaṃthere itself is the seat of Pūrṇagiri
सर्व-इच्छा-सिद्धि-साधनं भवतिsarva-icchā-siddhi-sādhanaṃ bhavatithe means of accomplishing every wish
Translation
"The ninth — the circle of space; there is a sixteen-petaled lotus, facing upward, with a pericarp shaped like three peaks in its middle; in its middle is the rising power: seeing it, let him meditate. There itself is the seat of Pūrṇagiri, the means of accomplishing every wish."
Version
7bbcf9df830a · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The last circle is named ākāśa-cakra, "the circle of space," and its lotus is ūrdhva-mukha, "facing upward." It is worth noting this in comparison with the heart lotus, which was called facing downward (3.4). That is, below the flower is closed and lowered, above it is opened and raised; and ascent is described as the unfolding of a flower.
This image is, to my mind, the finest in this whole chapter and is worth keeping. Let us add the number: sixteen petals; and of the number sixteen as the number of fullness it was said when reading the Dattātreya (1.8). It is worth noting also the last promise: sarveccha-siddhi-sādhanam, "the means of accomplishing every wish."
That is, the last, highest circle promises not liberation — that was promised by the eighth — but the fulfillment of wishes. This detail is telling and worth voicing plainly. The order of promises in this chapter is such that the highest place is given not to freedom but to the fulfillment of wishes; and this, to my mind, reveals for whom and for what such books were written.
The Vaiṣṇava side holds its own view on this score, and its verse was cited when reading the Dattātreya (2.7): asking for one's needs is not a fall, but stopping there is. Let us add its own order, for it is the reverse: for it the fulfillment of wishes stands at the beginning of the path (Gītā 7.16, the four classes of those who turn to Him), and at the end stands what is not asked for — prema, love; and that the one who asks receives what he asked for and departs with it was discussed when reading the first chapter (1.12).