Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 42
॥
Devanāgarī
एवमेतां चक्रासनगतां त्रिपुरवासिनीं सदोदितां शिवशक्त्यात्मिकमवेदितां जातवेदाः शिव इति सेति शक्त्यात्माक्षरमिति शिवादिशक्त्यन्तरालभूतां त्रिकूटादिचारिणीं सूर्याचन्द्रनमस्कां मन्त्रासनगतां त्रिपुरं महालक्ष्मीं
Transliteration (IAST)
evametāṃ cakrāsanagatāṃ tripuravāsinīṃ sadoditāṃ śivaśaktyātmikamaveditāṃ jātavedāḥ śiva iti seti śaktyātmākṣaramiti śivādiśaktyantarālabhūtāṃ trikūṭādicāriṇīṃ sūryācandranamaskāṃ mantrāsanagatāṃ tripuraṃ mahālakṣmīṃ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
चक्र-आसन-गतां त्रिपुर-वासिनींcakra-āsana-gatāṃ tripura-vāsinīṃseated on the cakra, dwelling in Tripura
सदा-उदितांsadā-uditāṃever-rising
शिव-शक्ति-आत्मिकाम्śiva-śakti-ātmikāmconsisting of Śiva and Śakti
शिव-आदि-शक्ति-अन्तराल-भूतांśiva-ādi-śakti-antarāla-bhūtāṃbecome the interval between Śiva and Śakti
त्रिपुरं महा-लक्ष्मींtripuraṃ mahā-lakṣmīṃTripura, the great Lakṣmī
Translation
«So this one — seated on the cakra, dwelling in Tripura, ever-rising, consisting of Śiva and Śakti… become the interval between Śiva and Śakti, going forth from the three summits, with sun and moon, Tripura, the great Lakṣmī…»
Version
b534dd8bd4f3 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
In the line stands a word worth transcribing: śiva-ādi-śakti-antarāla-bhūtām, «become the interval between Śiva and Śakti». Antarāla means «interval, middle, that which is between»; it is said, then, that the Goddess is not Śiva, not Śakti, but what is between them. This definition is unexpected and, in my view, the most profound in the whole book. Usually one asks who is higher — he or she; but here the answer is that the highest is neither him nor her, but their «between». This thought is not empty. Between two who love, there is something that belongs to neither one separately and does not exist without both. It cannot be named by his name or hers, and yet it exists, and it is exactly this that makes them a couple.
What is between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa has a name — prema; and Vaishnava books say it is neither Him nor Her, but greater than both, and that He Himself seeks it, and that this is why He comes as Caitanya. The word sadā-udita, «ever-rising», is added to this. Not «having risen» and not «standing at zenith», but rising always: what is between two is never finished — it is forever at its beginning.