Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 48
॥
Devanāgarī
त्रिकोणं त्र्यस्रं कृत्वा तदन्तर्मध्यवृत्तमानयष्टिरेखामाकृष्य विशालं नीत्वाग्रतो योनिं कृत्वा पूर्वयोन्यग्ररूपिणीं मानयष्टिं कृत्वा तां सर्वोर्ध्वां नीत्वा योनिं कृत्वाद्यं त्रिकोणं चक्रं भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
trikoṇaṃ tryasraṃ kṛtvā tadantarmadhyavṛttamānayaṣṭirekhāmākṛṣya viśālaṃ nītvāgrato yoniṃ kṛtvā pūrvayonyagrarūpiṇīṃ mānayaṣṭiṃ kṛtvā tāṃ sarvordhvāṃ nītvā yoniṃ kṛtvādyaṃ trikoṇaṃ cakraṃ bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
त्रि-कोणं त्रि-अस्रं कृत्वाtri-koṇaṃ tri-asraṃ kṛtvāhaving made a triangle, three-cornered
मान-यष्टि-रेखाम् आकृष्यmāna-yaṣṭi-rekhām ākṛṣyahaving drawn a measuring line
विशालं नीत्वाviśālaṃ nītvāhaving widened it
अग्रतः योनिं कृत्वाagrataḥ yoniṃ kṛtvāhaving made a womb in front
आद्यं त्रि-कोणं चक्रं भवतिādyaṃ tri-koṇaṃ cakraṃ bhavatithe first is the triangular cakra
Translation
«Having made a triangle, three-cornered, having drawn a measuring line through the middle of it, having widened it and having made a womb in front, …having raised it above everything and made a womb, — the first is the triangular cakra».
Version
e4aee5a26760 · published Aug 7, 2026, 5:19:24 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The construction of the diagram begins, and it will take five lines. It is remarkable for being draftsman's work: ruler, angles, lines, an order of construction. The word māna-yaṣṭi, «measuring rod», literally means a ruler; ākṛṣya, «having drawn», is a verb of drafting.
This differs strikingly from everything before. Until now the book has parsed syllables and named abodes; here it bids one take up the tool and draw, and explains how. This is a change for the reader's benefit. A diagram is verifiable: built according to the description, it will either come out right or it won't, and no interpretation can change that. A teaching about syllables is hard to disprove; a diagram is easy — draw it and see.
The same precision exists in Vaishnava practice: rules for building a temple, fashioning an image, preparing food are described with the same exactness and the same consequence. Where something is stated precisely, there is nothing to argue about; disputes arise where something is stated vaguely. And the phrase tri-koṇam tryasram, «a triangle, three-cornered», is not a tautology but an indication that the angles must be true: anyone who has drawn by hand knows a triangle does not always come out three-cornered.