Upanishads · Rāma-tāpanī Uttara 3.10
॥
Devanāgarī
ततः प्रसन्नो भगवान् श्रीरामः प्राह शंकरम् । वृणीश्व यदभीष्टं तद्दास्यामि परमेश्वर
Transliteration (IAST)
tataḥ prasanno bhagavān śrīrāmaḥ prāha śaṃkaram | vṛṇīśva yadabhīṣṭaṃ taddāsyāmi parameśvara
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ततः प्रसन्नः भगवान् श्रीरामःtataḥ prasannaḥ bhagavān śrīrāmaḥthen the propitiated Lord Śrī-Rāma; then the gracious master Śrī-Rāma
प्राह शंकरम्prāha śaṃkaramsaid to Śaṅkara; spoke to Śaṅkara
वृणीश्व यत् अभीष्टम्vṛṇīśva yat abhīṣṭamchoose what thou desirest; ask what thou wilt
तत् दास्यामि परमेश्वरtat dāsyāmi parameśvarathat I will give, O Highest Lord; that I shall grant, supreme master
Translation
“Then the propitiated Lord Śrī-Rāma said to Śaṅkara: ‘Choose what is dear to thee — that I will give, O Highest Lord.’”
Version
362e21be3c84 · published Jul 29, 2026, 5:15:19 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Rāma appears to Śiva and offers him to choose a boon.
The address deserves notice: parameśvara — “the Highest Lord”. So Rāma calls Śiva.
This is neither courtesy nor condescension. The word stood twice in the pūrva-tāpanī: in the thirty-first verse of the fourth Upaniṣad — of Rāma Himself on the throne, and in the eighth verse, in the feminine, of Sītā.
And now He says it to the one who stands before Him.
The Vaiṣṇava tradition has always pointed to such places in explaining the mutual reverence between Viṣṇu and Śiva. He who is worshipped calls lord the one who worships Him.
The word prasanna — “propitiated, become bright” — is familiar already: with it were described both Rāma's face and the soul of the rite's performer in the fifth Upaniṣad of the pūrva. Here it means that the thousands of manvantaras were not lost.
And then — the offer that in these books always decides much: “ask what thou wilt.” By what is asked, one sees who the asker is.
The next paragraph will show what Śiva asked for.