Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 1.1
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं चिन्मयेऽस्मिन्महाविष्णौ जाते दशरथे हरौ । रघोः कुलेऽखिलं राति राजते यो महीस्थितः
Transliteration (IAST)
oṃ cinmaye'sminmahāviṣṇau jāte daśarathe harau | raghoḥ kule'khilaṃ rāti rājate yo mahīsthitaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ओं चिन्मये अस्मिन् महाविष्णौoṃ cinmaye asmin mahāviṣṇauOṁ. In this conscious Mahāviṣṇu; in this sentient great Viṣṇu
जाते दशरथे हरौjāte daśarathe harauborn as Hari to Daśaratha; Hari appearing in Daśaratha's house
रघोः कुलेraghoḥ kulein the line of Raghu; in the family of Raghu
अखिलम् रातिakhilam rātihe bestows everything; he gives out all
राजते यः महीस्थितःrājate yaḥ mahīsthitaḥwho reigns, abiding on earth; who shines, standing on the earth
Translation
Oṁ. In this conscious Mahāviṣṇu, born as Hari to Daśaratha, in the line of Raghu — He bestows everything and reigns, abiding on earth.
Version
786ce555582f · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The book opens with a word that at once sets its method: Rāma is explained through the parsing of his own name.
The first line sets an equation: Rāma is mahāviṣṇu, “the great Viṣṇu”, and moreover cinmaya — “made of consciousness”. That is, the speech is not of a hero of legend who became a god, but of the Highest who took birth in Daśaratha's house.
And the second half already begins the etymology. In the name rāma is heard the root rā — “to give, to bestow”: “he bestows everything”, akhilaṁ rāti. And beside it the verb rājate — “he reigns, he shines”, from which comes the word “rāja”. Two roots sounding in one name: he who gives and he who reigns.
This device is usual in the Upaniṣads, and we have seen it already: in the Gopāla-tāpanī the names of Kṛṣṇa, Govinda and Gopī-jana-vallabha were parsed by roots, and the parsing served as theology. Here the same is done with the name of Rāma, and the next five verses will give four more interpretations in a row.
Note the last word too: mahīsthita, “abiding on earth”. He who is named the great Viṣṇu and made of consciousness is at once named standing on the earth. The whole book rests on this joining — and in this it is the very sister of the Gopāla-tāpanī, where the Lord of all was described as a cowherd under a tree.