Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 35
॥
Devanāgarī
तान्होवाच भगवाञ्जातवेदसे सुनवाम सोमं तदत्यम्रवाणीं विलोमेन पठित्वा प्रथमस्याद्यं तदेवं दीर्घं द्वितीयस्याद्यं सुनवाम सोममित्यनेन कौलं वामं श्रेष्ठं सोमं महासौभाग्यमाचक्षते
Transliteration (IAST)
tānhovāca bhagavāñjātavedase sunavāma somaṃ tadatyamravāṇīṃ vilomena paṭhitvā prathamasyādyaṃ tadevaṃ dīrghaṃ dvitīyasyādyaṃ sunavāma somamityanena kaulaṃ vāmaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ somaṃ mahāsaubhāgyamācakṣate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तान् ह उवाच भगवान्tān ha uvāca bhagavānto them said the Lord
विलोमेन पठित्वाvilomena paṭhitvāhaving recited in reverse order
प्रथमस्य आद्यंprathamasya ādyaṃthe start of the first
कौलं वामं श्रेष्ठं सोमंkaulaṃ vāmaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ somaṃkaula, left, best, soma
महा-सौभाग्यम् आचक्षतेmahā-saubhāgyam ācakṣatethey call great good fortune
Translation
«To them said the Lord: «To Jātavedas let us pour soma»… having recited in reverse order — the beginning of the first, long; the beginning of the second — «let us pour soma»: by this they call kaula, left, best, soma, great good fortune».
Version
25759f37bdcf · published Aug 7, 2026, 5:19:24 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here for the first time kaula and vāma, «left», are named, and these words must be spoken of directly, for behind them stands a whole direction, and not the most harmless one. Vāma-ācāra, «the left path», and kaula are the branch of tantra where the rite is performed with what is forbidden in ordinary practice: with wine, meat, fish, and the rest of the famous «five m's». Opposed to it is dakṣiṇa-ācāra, «the right path», where the same things are performed by substitution: milk instead of wine, sesame instead of meat.
Of the left path one must say once, and without evasion. The Vaishnava tradition does not accept it, and not for ritual reasons, but for moral ones: what is done there harms people — both participants and outsiders — and the promised justification is exactly what was discussed when reading Avadhūta (32p): permission granted to oneself in advance. The device is also named here: vilomena paṭhitvā, «having recited in reverse order». The mantra is read backward; this is common in tantra. There is nothing to be horrified at, but nothing to sympathize with either: reading in reverse is a way to conceal — a mantra turned inside out is incomprehensible to the uninitiated.
Sorcery, however, is also concealed. The difference between concealment for the sake of purity and concealment for the sake of impunity is seen not by the device, but by what precisely is being concealed.