Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 16
॥
Devanāgarī
तत्परागव्यावृत्तिमादाय शक्तिं दर्शयति । तत्सवितुरिति पूर्वेणाध्वना सूर्याधश्चन्द्रिकां व्यालिख्य मूलादिब्रह्मरन्ध्रगं साक्षरमद्वितीयमाचक्षत इत्याह भगवन्तं देवं शिवशक्त्यात्मकमेवोदितम्
Transliteration (IAST)
tatparāgavyāvṛttimādāya śaktiṃ darśayati | tatsavituriti pūrveṇādhvanā sūryādhaścandrikāṃ vyālikhya mūlādibrahmarandhragaṃ sākṣaramadvitīyamācakṣata ityāha bhagavantaṃ devaṃ śivaśaktyātmakamevoditam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत् पराक्-व्यावृत्तिम् आदायtat parāk-vyāvṛttim ādāyathat, taking the turning away from the external
शक्तिं दर्शयतिśaktiṃ darśayatishows power
सूर्य-अधः चन्द्रिकां व्यालिख्यsūrya-adhaḥ candrikāṃ vyālikhyahaving drawn moonlight beneath the sun
मूल-आदि-ब्रह्म-रन्ध्र-गंmūla-ādi-brahma-randhra-gaṃgoing from the base to the brahma-randhra
शिव-शक्ति-आत्मकम् एव उदितम्śiva-śakti-ātmakam eva uditamconsisting of Śiva and Śakti, uttered
Translation
«Taking the turning away from the external, he shows power; …having drawn moonlight beneath the sun, [taking what] goes from the base to the brahma-randhra, syllabic, without a second, — thus, it is said, the Lord, the god, consisting of Śiva and Śakti».
Version
347eac6d1e55 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The word parāk-vyāvṛtti, «turning away from the external», deserves separate analysis, for it is precise. Parāc means «turned outward, external», vyāvṛtti — «a turn away, an aversion, an exclusion»: the talk is of a turn from the outward to the inward. The same is said in the Kaṭhaka with famous words: «The Self-existent bored openings outward, hence one looks outward, not within oneself; a certain wise one, desiring immortality, turned his eyes back and saw the inner Ātman» (2.1.1).
Worth attention is the order in the line: first the turning away, then śaktim darśayati, «shows power». Power does not appear as a reward for effort, but as soon as a person has turned away from the external; and it is not he himself who shows it, but the One under discussion. The second expression is mūlādi-brahma-randhra-gam, «going from the base to the brahma-randhra», that is, from the lowest point of the spine to the crown. This is the suṣumnā, the central path, discussed when reading Kuṇḍikā (21) and Parabrahma (11).
This path is real and is described consistently in many books, but few travel it, and none travel it without a guide. The turn from the external to the internal, spoken of in the first half of the line, however, is open to everyone, and open today.