Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 4.4
॥
Devanāgarī
बीजशक्तिं न्यसेद्दक्षवामयोः स्तनयोरपि । कीलो मध्ये विना भाव्यः स्ववाञ्छाविनियोगवान्
Transliteration (IAST)
bījaśaktiṃ nyaseddakṣavāmayoḥ stanayorapi | kīlo madhye vinā bhāvyaḥ svavāñchāviniyogavān
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
बीजशक्तिम् न्यसेत्bījaśaktim nyasetlet him lay the power of the seed; let him place the bīja-śakti
दक्षवामयोः स्तनयोः अपिdakṣavāmayoḥ stanayoḥ apion the right and the left breast; on the right and left nipples
कीलः मध्ये विना भाव्यःkīlaḥ madhye vinā bhāvyaḥthe peg in the middle is to be conceived; the kīlaka at the centre must be contemplated
स्ववाञ्छाविनियोगवान्svavāñchāviniyogavānwith an application at his own wish; having a viniyoga by his own need
Translation
Let him lay the power of the seed on the right and the left breast, and in the middle let him conceive the peg — with an application according to his own wish.
Version
700a08504742 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
From the mantra's meaning the book passes to the rite of its utterance, and the first thing in it is nyāsa, “the laying-on”.
Nyāsa is when the utterer touches parts of his own body while pronouncing the syllables of the mantra, and thereby places them within himself. The rite is ancient and common to all the schools that know the mantra.
Here three places are named: the right breast, the left breast and the middle. And each has its content: bīja — the seed syllable; śakti — the power; kīlaka — “the peg, the wedge”.
The last word needs explaining. The kīlaka is that by which the mantra is “nailed” — fastened to the one who utters it, so that it not scatter. Hence the image: a peg in the middle of the breast.
The verse's last word is viniyoga, “application”: the declaration of what the mantra is uttered for. And sva-vāñchā is added, “at his own wish”: the intention is named by the utterer himself.
This addition is honest. The book does not pretend that people come to the mantra only for liberation; the last verses of this very Upaniṣad will name outright long life, health and progeny. But this wish is placed not at the centre, only at the very edge of the rite.