Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 87
॥
Devanāgarī
देवा ह वै भगवन्तमूचुः सर्वं नो व्याख्यातम् । अथ कैर्मन्त्रैः स्तुता भगवती स्वात्मानं दर्शयति तान्सर्वाञ्छैवान्वैष्णवान्सौरान्गाणेशान्नो ब्रूहीति
Transliteration (IAST)
devā ha vai bhagavantamūcuḥ sarvaṃ no vyākhyātam | atha kairmantraiḥ stutā bhagavatī svātmānaṃ darśayati tānsarvāñchaivānvaiṣṇavānsaurāngāṇeśānno brūhīti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
देवाः ह वै भगवन्तम् ऊचुःdevāḥ ha vai bhagavantam ūcuḥthe gods said to the Lord
सर्वं नः व्याख्यातम्sarvaṃ naḥ vyākhyātameverything has been explained to us
अथ कैः मन्त्रैः स्तुता भगवतीatha kaiḥ mantraiḥ stutā bhagavatīnow by what mantras, praised, the Goddess
स्व-आत्मानं दर्शयतिsva-ātmānaṃ darśayatireveals herself
तान् शैवान् वैष्णवान् सौरान् गाणेशान्tān śaivān vaiṣṇavān saurān gāṇeśānthose Śaiva, Vaishnava, solar, Gaṇeśa's
Translation
«The gods said to the Lord: everything has been explained to us. Now by what mantras, praised, does the Goddess reveal herself? Those, Śaiva, Vaishnava, solar, Gaṇeśa's — tell us».
Version
0d88dc9fa527 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The question is put in a way that deserves attention: the gods ask for a listing of mantras of four directions — Śaiva, Vaishnava, solar, and Gaṇeśa's — and they ask this of the Goddess. This is what in India is called pañcāyatana, «the fivefold»: the custom of worshipping five deities at once — Śiva, Viṣṇu, Sūrya, Gaṇeśa, and the Goddess — with one of the five placed at the center by one's own choice, and the remaining four at the corners. This is an ancient custom, attributed to Śaṅkara, and still alive today in a great many households.
Here the Goddess stands at the center, and the other four are called her mantras. The structure, then, is the same, only the center is occupied differently than a Vaishnava would occupy it. This deserves saying without irritation. The dispute over who is at the center is a genuine dispute and is not settled by taste; but the very structure — that there is one center and the rest are around it — is accepted by everyone, and this is already no small thing. No one proposes five equal centers, because there is no such thing as two centers.
More curious is something else, to be revealed in the lines that follow. Four were asked about, and in answer only two mantras will be given: the Śaiva one — briefly, in a single line, and the Vaishnava one — with analysis, with a Vedic verse, and with a count of syllables. As for the solar and Gaṇeśa's, the book will not name them at all. The author, listing, promised equally; expounding, he gave himself away.