Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 17
॥
Devanāgarī
शिवोऽयं परमं देवं शक्तिरेषा तु जीवज्जा । सूर्याचन्द्रमसोर्योगाद्धंसस्ततत्पदमुच्यते ॥ 1॥ तस्मादुज्जृम्भते कामः कामात्कामः परः शिवः । कार्णोऽयं कामदेवोऽयं वरेण्यं भर्ग उच्यते ॥ 2
Transliteration (IAST)
śivo'yaṃ paramaṃ devaṃ śaktireṣā tu jīvajjā | sūryācandramasoryogāddhaṃsastatatpadamucyate || 1|| tasmādujjṛmbhate kāmaḥ kāmātkāmaḥ paraḥ śivaḥ | kārṇo'yaṃ kāmadevo'yaṃ vareṇyaṃ bharga ucyate || 2
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शिवः अयं परमं देवंśivaḥ ayaṃ paramaṃ devaṃhe is Śiva, the highest god
शक्तिः एषा तु जीव-जाśaktiḥ eṣā tu jīva-jāshe, however, Śakti, giving birth to the living
सूर्या-चन्द्रमसोः योगात्sūryā-candramasoḥ yogātfrom the union of sun and moon
हंसः तत् पदम् उच्यतेhaṃsaḥ tat padam ucyatehaṃsa — that step is called
कामात् कामः परः शिवःkāmāt kāmaḥ paraḥ śivaḥfrom desire — desire, the highest Śiva
Translation
«He is Śiva, the highest god; she, however, is Śakti, giving birth to the living; from the union of sun and moon, called haṃsa, [and] that step. Hence desire unfolds; from desire — desire, the highest Śiva…»
Version
4a82346ac213 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The first verse in this book to be written in meter, and in it the couple is spoken of directly: śivaḥ ayam, «he is Śiva»; śaktir eṣā, «she is Śakti»; sūryā-candramasor yogāt, «from the union of sun and moon». Sun and moon, in the tantric scheme, denote the right and left breaths, piṅgalā and iḍā, and the haṃsa, discussed when reading Kuṇḍikā and Paśupata, is their union — that which travels the central path once the two lateral ones have equalized. Again it is said not «one», but yogāt, «from a union». This is already the third place in the book where the foundation of everything is called the conjunction of two, and this insistence is not accidental.
Worth adding to this a verifiable observation on breath. The union of sun and moon is, in experience, that minute when both nostrils breathe at once; it occurs several times a day for everyone, lasts briefly, and is held by yogīs to be the best time for concentration. Neither faith nor initiation is required to verify this.