Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 23
॥
Devanāgarī
स सर्वा वाचो विजृम्भयति । स रुद्रत्वं प्राप्नोति । स वैष्णवं धाम भित्त्वा परं ब्रह्म प्राप्नोति । य एवं वेद । इत्याद्यां विद्यामभिधायैतस्याः शक्तिकूटं शक्तिशिवाद्यं लोपामुद्रेयम्
Transliteration (IAST)
sa sarvā vāco vijṛmbhayati | sa rudratvaṃ prāpnoti | sa vaiṣṇavaṃ dhāma bhittvā paraṃ brahma prāpnoti | ya evaṃ veda | ityādyāṃ vidyāmabhidhāyaitasyāḥ śaktikūṭaṃ śaktiśivādyaṃ lopāmudreyam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स सर्वाः वाचः विजृम्भयतिsa sarvāḥ vācaḥ vijṛmbhayatihe unfolds all speech
स रुद्र-त्वं प्राप्नोतिsa rudra-tvaṃ prāpnotihe attains the state of Rudra
स वैष्णवं धाम भित्त्वाsa vaiṣṇavaṃ dhāma bhittvāhe, having pierced the Vaishnava abode
परं ब्रह्म प्राप्नोतिparaṃ brahma prāpnotiattains the highest Brahman
शक्ति-शिव-आद्यं लोपामुद्रा इयम्śakti-śiva-ādyaṃ lopāmudrā iyamwith power and Śiva at the start — this is Lopāmudrā
Translation
«He unfolds all speech; he attains the state of Rudra; he, having pierced the Vaishnava abode, attains the highest Brahman, — who knows thus. Having set forth this first vidyā, [it is said]: its summit of power, with Śiva and Power at the start, is Lopāmudrā».
Version
4db6dce2b190 · published Aug 7, 2026, 5:19:24 AM UTC
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Here is the line promised at the outset: sa vaiṣṇavaṃ dhāma bhittvā paraṃ brahma prāpnoti, «having pierced the Vaishnava abode, attains the highest Brahman». This is said in a Śākta book, and said as a stage: first the state of Rudra, then the Vaishnava abode, then the highest Brahman. Here one must respond not triumphantly, but with the qualification honesty requires. Read literally, this order places the Vaishnava abode below the highest Brahman, and it is on passages like this that those who dispute with Vaishnavas build their case. One should answer not by denying the order, but by examining what is meant by these words.
Vaiṣṇavam dhāma here means, judging by the whole character of this book, a definite point on the central path — the place called Vaishnava in the tantric scheme (in line 19 it was so called for the mantra's second summit). The talk, then, is of a position within the structure, not of Him Himself, and «to pierce» means «to pass through», as one passes through a gate. The Vaishnava position, however, does not consist in Viṣṇu being some stage; it consists in param brahma being Him: the Gītā says directly — «You are the highest Brahman, the highest abode» (10.12). The line, read to the end, leads not past Him but to Him; and what is pierced here is not Him, but a gate bearing His name.