Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 4.6
॥
Devanāgarī
सत्त्वनुष्णगुविश्वश्चेदग्नीषोमात्मकं जगत् । उत्पन्नः सीतया भाति चन्द्रश्चन्द्रिकया यथा
Transliteration (IAST)
sattvanuṣṇaguviśvaścedagnīṣomātmakaṃ jagat | utpannaḥ sītayā bhāti candraścandrikayā yathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सत्त्वगुणविश्वः चेत्sattvaguṇaviśvaḥ cetif the world is of the quality of clarity; should the universe be woven of sattva
अग्नीषोमात्मकम् जगत्agnīṣomātmakam jagatthe world made of fire and soma; the universe of Agni and Soma
उत्पन्नः सीतया भातिutpannaḥ sītayā bhātihaving appeared, he shines with Sītā; having been born, he beams together with Sītā
चन्द्रः चन्द्रिकया यथाcandraḥ candrikayā yathāas the moon with its moonlight; like the moon with its radiance
Translation
The world is made of fire and soma; and He, having appeared, shines with Sītā as the moon with its light.
Version
6b79bea6703d · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
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The verse gives what makes this book a Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣad rather than a collection of ritual rules: the image of Rāma and Sītā as the moon and the moonlight.
First the old Vedic pair is named: agnīṣoma — fire and soma. With them the world's structure was described as two principles: the burning and the quenching, the giving and the receiving, the sun and the moon. The world, it is said, consists of them.
And then the comparison: “as the moon with its light”, candraś candrikayā yathā.
Think it through. The moon's light is not the moon, nor is it something other. It cannot be separated — there is no moon without its shining; and to say it simply is the moon is also impossible. It is from her, and it is she.
So is explained Sītā's relation to Rāma, and this explanation is exactly what Vaiṣṇava Vedānta calls the inconceivable oneness-and-difference. The śakti is neither a creature at the Lord's side nor a second Lord: she is His radiance.
Note the verb too: bhāti, “he shines”. Not “abides” and not “stands beside”. He shines by her — as the moon shines by its light; without her He too would not be seen.