Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 83
॥
Devanāgarī
त्रयाणां पुराणामम्बकं स्वामिनं तस्मादुच्यते त्र्यम्बकमिति । अथ कस्मादुच्यते यजामह इति । यजामहे सेवामहे वस्तु महेत्यक्षरद्वयेन कूटत्वेनाक्षरैकेण मृत्युंजयमित्युच्यते
Transliteration (IAST)
trayāṇāṃ purāṇāmambakaṃ svāminaṃ tasmāducyate tryambakamiti | atha kasmāducyate yajāmaha iti | yajāmahe sevāmahe vastu mahetyakṣaradvayena kūṭatvenākṣaraikeṇa mṛtyuṃjayamityucyate
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
त्रयाणां पुराणाम् अम्बकं स्वामिनंtrayāṇāṃ purāṇām ambakaṃ svāminaṃthe eye, the lord of the three cities
तस्मात् उच्यते त्र्यम्बकम् इतिtasmāt ucyate tryambakam itihence it is said «tryambaka»
यजामहे सेवामहेyajāmahe sevāmahe«we worship» — we serve
वस्तु महा इतिvastu mahā iti«a great thing»
मृत्युं-जयम् इति उच्यतेmṛtyuṃ-jayam iti ucyateit is called «victory over death»
Translation
«The eye, the lord of the three cities — hence it is said «tryambaka». — Why is «yajāmahe» said? «We worship» — we serve; «a great thing» — with two syllables, and one syllable in summit-ness, — it is called «victory over death»».
Version
78e22917e0eb · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the explanation for whose sake it is worth reading this whole book: yajāmahe sevāmahe, ««we worship» — [means] we serve». The verb yaj, «to sacrifice, to worship», is the oldest word of Vedic ritual; from it comes yajña, «sacrifice», and yajus, «sacrificial formula». And here the book explains it by the verb sev, «to serve, to attend, to be at someone's side».
This shift is enormous, and it deserves being spoken out. To sacrifice means to give away a thing: one pours ghee, lays down grain, burns. To serve means to be at someone's side and to do what is needed for them. The first can be performed and one can leave; the second is a relationship that continues.
Here lies the whole difference between the two understandings of ritual. One who sacrifices performs an act and has the right to expect a consequence; one who serves performs no act, but stays by a person, and the consequence is beside the point. Vaishnava theology rests on this very word. Sevā, «service», is its chief concept, and it is from the same root standing here; and the Gītā says: «those who worship Me through the service of love» — bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (18.55) — where knowledge comes through service, not the other way around.
It is remarkable that this explanation is given not by a Vaishnava composition, but by a Śākta one, and given in passing, as if self-evident. What for some is the conclusion of a long dispute turns out, for others, to be a mere dictionary note.