Upanishads · Tripurā 14
॥
Devanāgarī
भगः शक्तिर्भगवान्काम ईश उभा दाताराविह सौभगानाम् । समप्रधानौ समसत्वौ समोजौ तयोः शक्तिरजरा विश्वयोनिः
Transliteration (IAST)
bhagaḥ śaktirbhagavānkāma īśa ubhā dātārāviha saubhagānām | samapradhānau samasatvau samojau tayoḥ śaktirajarā viśvayoniḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भगः शक्तिः भगवान् कामः ईशःbhagaḥ śaktiḥ bhagavān kāmaḥ īśaḥBhaga [is] Śakti, Bhagavān [is] Kāma the lord
उभौ दातारौ इह सौभगानाम्ubhau dātārau iha saubhagānāmboth here are givers of blessings
सम-प्रधानौ सम-सत्त्वौsama-pradhānau sama-sattvauequal in headship, equal in being
सम्-ओजौsam-ojauequal in might
तयोः शक्तिः अ-जरा विश्व-योनिःtayoḥ śaktiḥ a-jarā viśva-yoniḥtheir power — unaging, all-generating
Translation
«Bhaga is Śakti, Bhagavān is Kāma the lord; both here are givers of blessings: equal in headship, equal in being, equal in might. Their power is unaging, all-generating».
Version
be08ad4e1d64 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the central verse of this book, and it deserves that every word in it be examined.
It says: ubhau dātārau, “both are givers.” The dual number, which does not exist in Russian or English: not “two,” but precisely a pair, and both are called givers.
Then three words in a row, all with the prefix sama, “equal”: sama-pradhāna, “equal in headship”; sama-sattva, “equal in being”; sam-ojas, “equal in might.” That is, neither is higher, neither is prior, neither is stronger.
And finally, the names: he is Bhagavān, she is Bhaga. These words are of one root: bhaga means “portion, share, fortune, blessing,” discussed reading Tripurātāpinī (41); Bhagavān is “possessor of the portion.” That is, she is the very portion, and He is the one who possesses that portion.
Let us compare this with what is disputed. The Advaita reading takes as its limit the one without a second; here at the limit there are two, and their equality is declared three times running. And the Vaiṣṇava position consists precisely in this: the Highest is not alone, and the Lord is never without His power, just as one who possesses a portion is never without the portion.
Worth noting too is the last line: tayoḥ śaktiḥ ajarā viśva-yoniḥ, “their power — unaging, all-generating.” The power is said to belong to both, and the pronoun stands in the dual number. That is, the world arises neither from him alone nor from her alone, but from what is between them — and this is the very thing said reading Tripurātāpinī (42): the Highest is their “between.”