Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 20
॥
Devanāgarī
धामैति भगवांश्चैतस्माद्य एवं वेद । अथैतस्मादपरं तृतीयं शक्तिकूटं प्रतिपद्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
dhāmaiti bhagavāṃścaitasmādya evaṃ veda | athaitasmādaparaṃ tṛtīyaṃ śaktikūṭaṃ pratipadyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
धाम एति भगवान्dhāma eti bhagavānreaches the abode, the Lord
च एतस्मात् यः एवं वेदca etasmāt yaḥ evaṃ vedaand from that — who knows thus
अथ एतस्मात् अपरंatha etasmāt aparaṃthen from that, another
तृतीयं शक्ति-कूटंtṛtīyaṃ śakti-kūṭaṃthe third, the summit of power
प्रतिपद्यतेpratipadyateattains
Translation
«…the Lord reaches the abode; and from that — who knows thus. Then from that another is attained, the third, the summit of power».
Version
c2fadceb6d33 · published Aug 7, 2026, 5:19:24 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The line is short and serves as a transition, but it contains a turn of phrase worth noting: dhāma eti bhagavān, «the Lord reaches the abode». Usually it is one who attains the Lord; here the Lord attains an abode. This must apparently be understood thus: the second summit of the mantra is exactly the abode He comes to — that is, the mantra describes not a person's journey to Him, but His arrival. The difference is great: if the mantra is a road, then walking it is the person's work; if the mantra is an abode, then the person's task is to prepare it, and He Himself will come.
The second understanding is the Vaishnava one. The Bhāgavatam says that the Lord comes into a heart purified by hearing, and comes Himself, rather than being brought (1.2.17–18); hence the instruction given is not «arrive», but «sweep the room» — the master will enter when he enters. The word dhāman, «abode, dwelling, radiance», is from the root dhā, «to place, to establish», and means literally «a place that has been laid». An abode, then, is not something found, but something prepared; and so it has one who prepares it.