Upanishads · Tripurātāpinī 97
॥
Devanāgarī
पञ्चाशद्वर्णविग्रहेणा कारादिक्षकारान्तेन व्याप्तानि भुवनानि शास्त्राणि च्छन्दांसीत्येवं भगवतीं सर्वं व्याप्नोतीत्येव तस्यै वै नमोनम इति
Transliteration (IAST)
pañcāśadvarṇavigraheṇā kārādikṣakārāntena vyāptāni bhuvanāni śāstrāṇi cchandāṃsītyevaṃ bhagavatīṃ sarvaṃ vyāpnotītyeva tasyai vai namonama iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पञ्चाशत्-वर्ण-विग्रहेणpañcāśat-varṇa-vigraheṇaby a body of fifty sounds
अ-कार-आदि-क्ष-कार-अन्तेनa-kāra-ādi-kṣa-kāra-antenafrom «a» to «kṣa» at the end
व्याप्तानि भुवनानि शास्त्राणि छन्दांसिvyāptāni bhuvanāni śāstrāṇi chandāṃsipervaded are the worlds, the sciences, the meters
भगवतीं सर्वं व्याप्नोतिbhagavatīṃ sarvaṃ vyāpnotithe Goddess — she pervades everything
तस्यै वै नमः नमः इतिtasyai vai namaḥ namaḥ itito her, bow, bow
Translation
«By a body of fifty sounds, from «a» to «kṣa» at the end, the worlds, sciences, and meters are pervaded; so the Goddess pervades everything. To her, bow, bow».
Version
98f0a63e595a · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The alphabet is called vigraha, «the body» of the Goddess: the fifty sounds from «a» to «kṣa» are her constitution. This position is foundational in tantra and was discussed when reading Paśupata (1.3): letters there are not signs but beings, and the alphabet is called mātṛkā, «mother». Here it is carried to its conclusion — the alphabet is a body, not an attribute.
A curious consequence follows: since everything said consists of these fifty, everything said consists of her. And so «the worlds, sciences, and meters are pervaded» is not a poetic turn, but a conclusion from the premise. One objection is worth making here, and it concerns not tantra, but the manner of reasoning. From the fact that everything expressible consists of the sounds of speech, it does not follow that everything that exists consists of them: a mountain is not made of the word «mountain». Confusing a word with the thing is an old and tenacious error, and it lies at the foundation of many teachings about the power of mantras.
Vaishnava theology, in one place, does assert something similar, and it is worth pointing out the difference precisely. The Lord's name is held to be not different from Him — but not because words in general are things, but because He Himself is present in His own name, being able to be present wherever He wills. This is an assertion about Him, not about language; and so it does not follow that other words are of the same kind.