Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 4.41
॥
Devanāgarī
तन्मध्ये बीजमालिख्य तदधः साध्यमालिखेत् । द्वितीयान्तं च तस्योर्ध्वं षष्ठ्यन्तं साधकं तथा
Transliteration (IAST)
tanmadhye bījamālikhya tadadhaḥ sādhyamālikhet | dvitīyāntaṃ ca tasyordhvaṃ ṣaṣṭhyantaṃ sādhakaṃ tathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तन्मध्ये बीजम् आलिख्यtanmadhye bījam ālikhyahaving written the seed in its middle; having inscribed the bīja at the centre
तदधः साध्यम् आलिखेत्tadadhaḥ sādhyam ālikhetbelow it let him write the aim; beneath let him write the goal
द्वितीयान्तम् च तस्य ऊर्ध्वम्dvitīyāntam ca tasya ūrdhvamending in the second case, and above it; in the accusative, and over it
षष्ठ्यन्तम् साधकम् तथाṣaṣṭhyantam sādhakam tathāending in the sixth — the practicant likewise; in the genitive — the doer himself
Translation
Having written the seed syllable in the middle, below it let him write the thing sought, in the accusative; and above it — the practicant himself, in the genitive.
Version
91deabb2be33 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The direction is purely of the craft, but behind it stands a thought worth discerning.
In the middle — the bīja, the seed syllable of Rāma. Below — the sādhya, “the thing sought”: that for which the yantra is drawn, and moreover in the accusative case, as a direct object. Above — the sādhaka, “the practicant”, the drawer himself, in the genitive.
A connected sentence comes out, inscribed in the diagram: “of so-and-so — such-and-such.” Between them — the seed syllable.
That is, the desired thing and the desirer are not merely mentioned: they are set on opposite sides of the name, and the name stands between them.
Recall the first verse of this Upaniṣad, where the mantra was parsed: “namaḥ” meant the jīva, the dative case — māyā, and in the middle stood Rāma. The same structure, only now not in sound but on paper.
The yantra, then, is a sentence in which the subject is the drawer and the predicate his need, and the whole is held by the Name in the middle.
Notice too that the drawer's name is inscribed with his own hand. The rite is personal: it is not performed in general — it is performed by this very man.