Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 89
॥
Devanāgarī
तद्विष्णोः परमं पदं सदा पश्यन्ति सूरयः । दिवीव चक्षुराततम्
Transliteration (IAST)
tadviṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padaṃ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ | divīva cakṣurātatam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तत् विष्णोः परमं पदंtat viṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padaṃthat is the highest step of Viṣṇu
सदा पश्यन्ति सूरयःsadā paśyanti sūrayaḥthe wise always see
दिवि इव चक्षुः आततम्divi iva cakṣuḥ ātatamlike an eye, spread out in the sky
Translation
«That is the highest step of Viṣṇu; the wise always see it, like an eye, spread out in the sky».
Version
d0a0019769ee · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A verse of the Ṛgveda (1.22.20) is cited — the very one Vaishnavas of every school place at the head of their proofs. Let us say at once where we now stand. This is a Śākta, tantric book, devoted to the mantra of the Goddess; for four parts it has built diagrams, parsed syllables, and prescribed rites. And now, reaching the end, it cites in full — without abridgment and without qualification — the most Vaishnava verse of the Ṛgveda.
The verse contains three things, and all three are worth a word. First: paramam padam, «the highest step», or «the highest place» — pada means both «foot» and «footprint» and «place»; and in Vedic speech «the footprint of Viṣṇu» is the place where He has trodden, that is, His own domain. Second: sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ, «the wise always see it». Not «attain», not «merge», not «dissolve», but — see; and see always, that is, continually, not only in a moment of concentration. The verb of sight here decides more than whole chapters of argument: one who exists sees what exists — and the two remain two.
Third: divi iva cakṣur ātatam, «like an eye, spread out in the sky». A comparison with the sun, which is visible from everywhere and looked at by all at once, without hindering anyone. The highest place, then, is not anyone's private discovery: it is open like the sky, and cannot be blocked from view.
The advaitic reading has trouble with this verse and usually interprets «the step of Viṣṇu» as an impersonal, all-pervading principle, and «seeing» as knowing. But the verse itself sets sight and sky side by side, not thought and merging; and the next line of this book will interpret it in a way that leaves nothing further to argue about.