Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 9
॥
Devanāgarī
त्रिकोणशक्तिरेकारेण महाभागेन प्रसूते । तस्मादेकार एव गृह्यते । वरेण्यं श्रेष्ठं भजनीयमक्षरं नमस्कार्यम् । तस्माद्वरेण्यमेकाराक्षरं गृह्यत इति य एवं वेद । भर्गो देवस्य धीमहीत्येवं व्याख्यास्यामः
Transliteration (IAST)
trikoṇaśaktirekāreṇa mahābhāgena prasūte | tasmādekāra eva gṛhyate | vareṇyaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ bhajanīyamakṣaraṃ namaskāryam | tasmādvareṇyamekārākṣaraṃ gṛhyata iti ya evaṃ veda | bhargo devasya dhīmahītyevaṃ vyākhyāsyāmaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
त्रि-कोण-शक्तिः ए-कारेणtri-koṇa-śaktiḥ e-kāreṇathe triangular power, by the sound «e»
महा-भागेन प्रसूतेmahā-bhāgena prasūtewith great portion, begets
वरेण्यं श्रेष्ठं भजनीयम्vareṇyaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ bhajanīyamthe desired — the best, revered
अ-क्षरं नमस्कार्यम्a-kṣaraṃ namaskāryamthe syllable to which one bows
य एवं वेदya evaṃ vedawho knows this
Translation
«The triangular power begets with the great-portioned sound «e»; hence «e» is taken. «The desired» — the best, revered, the syllable to which one bows; hence «the desired» is the syllable «e» — who knows thus».
Version
2d7ad44f92f3 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The sign e in Devanāgarī script is written as a triangle above the line, and the triangle in tantra is a sign of the Goddess: trikoṇa — the center of the śrī-cakra. From this comes the conclusion that «the triangular power begets by the sound «e»». This connection proceeds from the written form, not from the sound and not from a root, and so it is weaker than the previous one. The shape of a letter depends on the script, and Sanskrit's script changed and differed by region: in Brāhmī and in the southern scripts «e» is written differently, and the whole argument falls apart there.
There is no need to mock this. Such connections are common in tantric literature and serve to hold a long mantra in memory: each syllable has its own image, and by the images the order is remembered. As memory this is excellent; as proof, it is not.
The second half of the line is better than the first: vareṇya is explained through bhajanīya, «revered, worthy of worship», and namaskārya, «that to which one bows». The word bhajanīya is from the same root as bhakti; «the desired» from the gāyatrī is read, then, as «that which is loved and revered», not simply as «the best». This reading is correct, and Vaishnava commentators read it the same way.