Upanishads · Tārasāra 2.10
॥
Devanāgarī
कलातीता भगवती स्वयं सीतेति संज्ञिता । तत्परः परमात्मा च श्रीरामः पुरुषोत्तमः
Transliteration (IAST)
kalātītā bhagavatī svayaṃ sīteti saṃjñitā | tatparaḥ paramātmā ca śrīrāmaḥ puruṣottamaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कला-अतीता भगवतीkalā-atītā bhagavatībeyond the fraction — the sovereign lady
स्वयं सीता इति संज्ञिताsvayaṃ sītā iti saṃjñitāherself, called Sītā
तत्-परः परम-आत्मा चtat-paraḥ parama-ātmā cathat which is beyond it — Paramātmā
श्री-रामः पुरुष-उत्तमःśrī-rāmaḥ puruṣa-uttamaḥŚrī Rāma, the highest of men
Translation
«Beyond the fraction — the sovereign lady herself, called Sītā; that which is beyond it — Paramātmā, Śrī Rāma, the highest of men».
Version
3c2eb0dc6f99 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The ladder is crowned, and at its summit are two: Sītā and Rāma. This, to my mind, is the central point of the entire book, and it deserves slow examination. The seventh step, kalātīta, "beyond the fraction" — that is, what lies beyond the limit of audibility — is called bhagavatī, "sovereign lady," and Sītā.
The eighth, tatpara, "that which is beyond it" — is called Paramātmā and Rāma, with the addition puruṣottama, "highest of men." That is, the summit of the ladder of abstractions turns out not to be one. This observation deserves stating outright, for it is an objection to the non-dual reading built into the very structure of the book.
The ladder went from sound to the fading of sound, from fading to the inaudible, from the inaudible to what lies beyond it. Every step took something away. And if taking-away were the true path, no one would be left at the top of the ladder.
Yet two were found there, and named by name. This is exactly what the Vaiṣṇava side asserts: beyond the limit of taking-away lies not emptiness, but a person, and not one alone, for a person is never solitary. The position that the highest is two is expressed, in its teaching, by the pair of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, discussed when reading the Gaṇapati (2.2); here the same thought is expressed by the pair of Sītā and Rāma.
Let us add the order: bhagavatī is named seventh, and Rāma eighth. That is, she stands closer to us, and He is beyond her; and this corresponds to what the Vaiṣṇava side says about śakti: one approaches Him through her, not around her.