Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 1.3
॥
Devanāgarī
रामनाम भुवि ख्यातमभिरामेण वा पुनः । राक्षसान्मर्त्यरूपेण राहुर्मनसिजं यथा
Transliteration (IAST)
rāmanāma bhuvi khyātamabhirāmeṇa vā punaḥ | rākṣasānmartyarūpeṇa rāhurmanasijaṃ yathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
रामनाम भुवि ख्यातम्rāmanāma bhuvi khyātamthe name “Rāma” is famed on earth; on earth the name of Rāma is renowned
अभिरामेण वा पुनःabhirāmeṇa vā punaḥor else from “the delightful”; or from “the beautiful”
राक्षसान् मर्त्यरूपेणrākṣasān martyarūpeṇathe rākṣasas, in human form; the demons, having taken man's shape
राहुः मनसिजम् यथाrāhuḥ manasijam yathāas Rāhu — the mind-born; like Rāhu — the god of love
Translation
The name “Rāma” is famed on earth — or else because He is “the delightful”; and the rākṣasas He overcame in human form, as Rāhu — the mind-born.
Version
f70c349bbab2 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third interpretation, and it is the gentlest: the name is derived from the word abhirāma — “delightful, ravishing to the eye”.
So to the two former senses — “the giver” and “the subduer” — is added a third: “the beautiful”. Out of one name are read generosity, strength and beauty; and these are not three different Rāmas, but three sides of one.
The second half of the verse is dark and, it seems, damaged in transmission. The general sense: the rākṣasas He overcame by taking human form — and the comparison is with Rāhu, the demon of eclipse, who swallows the luminaries.
“The mind-born”, manasija, is a usual name of the god of love: he arises out of thought. The comparison, then, is this: as an eclipse covers a luminary, so the human form of Rāma covered and quenched the demons' power.
More important here, though, is something else, and it deserves attention. It is said martya-rūpeṇa — “in human form”. The victory was won not by a deity's force hurled from above, but by a man: by one who walked, suffered and lost. Of this the whole book will speak — and in the fourth Upaniṣad it will call Rāma “the Ātman” and “Brahman” without taking from Him the bow and the chariot.