Upanishads · Tārasāra 3.8
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं यो ह वै श्रीपरमात्मा नारायणः स भगवान्कलातीता भगवती सीता चित्स्वरूपा भूर्भुवः सुवस्तस्मै वै नमोनमः
Transliteration (IAST)
oṃ yo ha vai śrīparamātmā nārāyaṇaḥ sa bhagavānkalātītā bhagavatī sītā citsvarūpā bhūrbhuvaḥ suvastasmai vai namonamaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कला-अतीता भगवती सीताkalā-atītā bhagavatī sītābeyond the fraction, the sovereign lady Sītā
चित्-स्वरूपा भूः भुवः सुवःcit-svarūpā bhūḥ bhuvaḥ suvaḥwhose essence is consciousness; earth, atmosphere, heaven
तस्मै वै नमः नमःtasmai vai namaḥ namaḥhomage, homage to him
Translation
«…beyond the fraction, the sovereign lady Sītā, whose essence is consciousness; earth, atmosphere, heaven; homage, homage to him».
Version
adfab7964c69 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Sītā is called cit-svarūpā, "whose essence is consciousness"; and this definition deserves dwelling on, for it settles an old dispute. In Indian teachings, the feminine principle, śakti, is placed now on one side, now on the other. Sāṃkhya places it on the side of matter: prakṛti is feminine and acetana, "unconscious," as was discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (8.9).
Here the opposite is said: Sītā is cit, "consciousness," that is, she belongs not to matter. This distinction is fundamental in Vaiṣṇava theology and deserves stating. The Lord's power is divided into three: cit-śakti ("conscious," also called svarūpa-śakti, "own [power]"), jīva-śakti ("the power of living beings"), and māyā-śakti ("material").
Sītā, called here cit-svarūpā, belongs to the first; and so she is not nature, not illusion, and not something to be surpassed. The consequence of this is great and deserves naming. If the highest feminine side is matter, liberation consists in leaving her. If she is consciousness, one comes to her.
The Vaiṣṇava side holds the second, and so it lacks the contempt for the feminine found in ascetic teachings. Rādhā, for it, is neither an obstacle nor a step, but the one through whom one approaches; and the order in which she stands closer to us, and He beyond her, was discussed when reading the second pāda (2.10). Let us add what deserves surprise. In the mantra she is addressed with the word tasmai, masculine in gender — following the pattern of the other seven, without changing the case. Usage proved stronger than grammar; and this too is testimony that the pattern was fixed.