Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 1.5
॥
Devanāgarī
तथा ध्यानेन वैराग्यमैश्वर्यं स्वस्य पूजनात् । तथा रात्यस्य रामाख्या भुवि स्यादथ तत्त्वतः
Transliteration (IAST)
tathā dhyānena vairāgyamaiśvaryaṃ svasya pūjanāt | tathā rātyasya rāmākhyā bhuvi syādatha tattvataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तथा ध्यानेन वैराग्यम्tathā dhyānena vairāgyamso by contemplation — detachment; likewise by meditation — dispassion
ऐश्वर्यम् स्वस्य पूजनात्aiśvaryam svasya pūjanātlordship — from worshipping Him; might — from doing Him honour
तथा राति अस्य रामाख्याtathā rāti asya rāmākhyāso He gives: hence the name “Rāma”; so he bestows, therefore he is called Rāma
भुवि स्यात् अथ तत्त्वतःbhuvi syāt atha tattvataḥlet it be on earth in truth; may it be on earth truly
Translation
So by contemplation He gives detachment, and by worship of Him — lordship; so He gives, and hence His name on earth is in truth “Rāma”.
Version
01b53666bef5 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse closes the parsing of the name, returning to the first and chief root: rā — “to give”.
It is listed what exactly is given and by what. By contemplation — vairāgya, detachment. By worship — aiśvarya, lordship. The pairing is unexpected: one usually thinks the reverse, that contemplation gives power and worship humility. Here it is said otherwise, and said truly: he who gazes steps back from things; he who serves receives.
And the conclusion: “so He gives, and hence His name is Rāma”. Five verses in a row parsed the name by its roots: the giver, the subduer, the delightful — and all the interpretations are brought back to the first. Whatever the name means, it means giving.
Note the word tattvataḥ, “in truth”. The name is called neither a conventional label nor an honorific: it is true, because it rightly describes its Bearer. Such is the whole stance of the Upaniṣads toward names — to unfold a name is to explain the thing.
The next verse will give the last, sixth interpretation, and it will be the most abstract of all.