Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Pūrva 5.2
॥
Devanāgarī
कृत्वा मृदुश्लक्ष्णसुतूलिकायां रत्नासने देशिकमर्चयित्वा । शक्तिं चाधाराख्यकां कूर्मनागौ पृथिव्यब्जे स्वासनाधः प्रकल्प्य
Transliteration (IAST)
kṛtvā mṛduślakṣṇasutūlikāyāṃ ratnāsane deśikamarcayitvā | śaktiṃ cādhārākhyakāṃ kūrmanāgau pṛthivyabje svāsanādhaḥ prakalpya
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कृत्वा मृदुश्लक्ष्णसुतूलिकायाम्kṛtvā mṛduślakṣṇasutūlikāyāmhaving done it, on a soft smooth mat; having performed, on a tender even couch
रत्नासने देशिकम् अर्चयित्वाratnāsane deśikam arcayitvāon the jewelled seat having honoured the preceptor; honouring the teacher on the gem throne
शक्तिम् च आधाराख्यकाम्śaktim ca ādhārākhyakāmand the power named the support; and the śakti called ādhāra
कूर्मनागौ पृथिव्यब्जेkūrmanāgau pṛthivyabjethe tortoise and the serpent — in the earth lotus; kūrma and nāga on the lotus of earth
स्वासनाधः प्रकल्प्यsvāsanādhaḥ prakalpyahaving set beneath his own seat; placing under his own sitting-place
Translation
Having done this, on a soft smooth mat, on the jewelled seat having honoured the preceptor, and the power named the support, and the tortoise with the serpent in the earth lotus, having set them beneath his own seat…
Version
960bd5753150 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
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The order of worship continues, and the first of the living to be honoured is not Rāma but the deśika — the preceptor.
This is the rule of all Vaiṣṇava rites and no trifle of the rubric. One approaches the Lord through the one who showed the road; and in the office of worship the guru is named before the Deity.
Then — that on which everything stands: the ādhāra-śakti, “the power-support”, and beneath her the tortoise and the serpent.
This image is from the lore of the universe: the earth rests on the serpent Śeṣa, the serpent on the tortoise, the tortoise on the power that holds everything and itself stands on nothing.
And here is what is remarkable. All this is placed “beneath his own seat”, svāsanādhaḥ. That is, the worshipper mentally sets himself on the very support on which the world is held.
The rite, then, not only draws the universe outside — it sets the performer into its middle. The nyāsa did the same in the fourth verse of the previous Upaniṣad, placing the syllables of the mantra over the body.
Hence the whole point of such offices: the world and the body are built alike, and therefore in the body can be done what is done in the world.