Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 12
॥
Devanāgarī
काठिन्याढ्यं ससागरं सपर्वतं स सप्तद्वीपं सकाननमुज्ज्वलद्रूपं मण्डलमेवोक्तं लकारेण । पृथ्वी देवी महीत्यनेन व्याचक्षते । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् । परमात्मा सदाशिव आदिभूतः परः
Transliteration (IAST)
kāṭhinyāḍhyaṃ sasāgaraṃ saparvataṃ sa saptadvīpaṃ sakānanamujjvaladrūpaṃ maṇḍalamevoktaṃ lakāreṇa | pṛthvī devī mahītyanena vyācakṣate | dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt | paramātmā sadāśiva ādibhūtaḥ paraḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
काठिन्य-आढ्यं स-सागरंkāṭhinya-āḍhyaṃ sa-sāgaraṃrich in hardness, with the ocean
स-पर्वतं स-सप्त-द्वीपंsa-parvataṃ sa-sapta-dvīpaṃwith mountains, with the seven continents
मण्डलम् एव उक्तं ल-कारेणmaṇḍalam eva uktaṃ la-kāreṇathe circle is called by the sound «la»
पृथ्वी देवी मही इतिpṛthvī devī mahī itithe Goddess Earth, «mahi»
परमात्मा सदा-शिवः आदि-भूतः परःparamātmā sadā-śivaḥ ādi-bhūtaḥ paraḥthe Highest Ātman, Sadāśiva, primeval, highest
Translation
«Rich in hardness, with the ocean, with mountains, with the seven continents, with forests, of shining form — the circle is called by the sound «la»; the Goddess Earth is meant by «mahi»». — «Who may impel our thoughts»: the Highest Ātman, Sadāśiva, primeval, highest…»
Version
9483476bcb7a · published Aug 7, 2026, 5:19:24 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The earth is described with affection: with the ocean, with mountains, with the seven continents, with forests, ujjvala-rūpam, «of shining form». In a book that says so much of inertness and hardness, the word «shining» is unexpected and good. The reason, in my view, is this. The earth is heavy and opaque — and it is the only one of the five elements that is seen whole: water has no outline, fire has no form, wind and space are invisible altogether. The earth is what has a visible shape, and so it shines — not with its own light, but because everything on it can be discerned.
This consideration also explains why there is so much material substance in Vaishnava books: food, garments, ornaments, times of day. The earth is not despised there, for it is the place where things obtain form — and without form nothing can be known or loved. «The seven continents» is a common distribution of the earth in the purāṇas, and there is no point disputing it as geography: it is the structure of the sacred earth, not a map. In such a distribution, seven each time means fullness — seven means all.