Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 54
॥
Devanāgarī
सकामाद्याकर्षिणीषोडशकं भवति । सगुप्तं भवति । त्रिपुरेश्वर्याधिष्ठितं भवति । सर्वविद्राविणीमुद्रया जुष्टं भवति । तृतीयं सर्वसंक्षोभणं चक्रं भवति । सानङ्गकुसुमाद्यष्टकं भवति । सगुप्ततरं भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
sakāmādyākarṣiṇīṣoḍaśakaṃ bhavati | saguptaṃ bhavati | tripureśvaryādhiṣṭhitaṃ bhavati | sarvavidrāviṇīmudrayā juṣṭaṃ bhavati | tṛtīyaṃ sarvasaṃkṣobhaṇaṃ cakraṃ bhavati | sānaṅgakusumādyaṣṭakaṃ bhavati | saguptataraṃ bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स-काम-आदि-आकर्षिणी-षोडशकंsa-kāma-ādi-ākarṣiṇī-ṣoḍaśakaṃwith the sixteen attracting ones, Kāma and the rest
स-गुप्तं भवतिsa-guptaṃ bhavatiit becomes hidden
त्रिपुर-ईश्वर्या अधिष्ठितंtripura-īśvaryā adhiṣṭhitaṃpresided over by Tripureśvarī
तृतीयं सर्व-संक्षोभणं चक्रंtṛtīyaṃ sarva-saṃkṣobhaṇaṃ cakraṃthe third — the cakra «shaking everything»
स-अनङ्ग-कुसुम-आदि-अष्टकंsa-anaṅga-kusuma-ādi-aṣṭakaṃwith the eight, Anaṅgakusuma and the rest
Translation
«With the sixteen attracting ones — Kāma and the rest; hidden; presided over by Tripureśvarī… The third — the cakra that shakes everything; with the eight, Anaṅgakusuma and the rest; more hidden».
Version
c83a5eff74f4 · published Aug 7, 2026, 5:19:24 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second and third circles, and in them two words worth analyzing. The first — ākarṣiṇī, «the attracting ones», sixteen in number; «attraction» here is not an abstraction but a precise word — these are the powers that draw one toward an object. Their names are Kāma, Buddhi, Ahaṅkāra, Śabda, Sparśa, and the rest: a person is drawn through desire, through intellect, through self-conceit, through hearing, through touch.
This list is, in essence, an inventory of the entrances: what a person is caught by. And it is rightly placed — in the second circle, right after the powers: first one is drawn by abilities, then through the senses and the mind. The third circle is called saṅkṣobhaṇa, «agitation»; the word means «churning, throwing into confusion». This circle disturbs and unsettles.
This order describes not an ascent, but what happens along the way: first temptation by power, then attraction through the senses, then confusion. And confusion is placed closer to the center than temptation: the closer a person gets, the more he is shaken — an observation any traveler on the path will confirm.