Upanishads · Varāha 5.34
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रणवेन समुत्थाप्य श्रीबीजेन निवर्तयेत् । स्वात्मानं च श्रियं ध्यायेदमृतप्लावनं तथा
Transliteration (IAST)
praṇavena samutthāpya śrībījena nivartayet | svātmānaṃ ca śriyaṃ dhyāyedamṛtaplāvanaṃ tathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रणवेन समुत्थाप्यpraṇavena samutthāpyahaving raised by the pranava
श्री-बीजेन निवर्तयेत्śrī-bījena nivartayetlet him return it by the seed of Shri
स्व-आत्मानं च श्रियं ध्यायेत्sva-ātmānaṃ ca śriyaṃ dhyāyetlet him contemplate himself and Shri
अमृत-प्लावनं तथाamṛta-plāvanaṃ tathāand likewise the bathing with nectar
Translation
"Having raised by the pranava, let him return it by the seed of Shri; let him contemplate himself and Shri, and likewise the bathing with nectar."
Version
2b630abc4ab9 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is a place where a name enters a purely craft-oriented chapter, and this deserves noting. Shri-bija, "the seed of Shri," is named: this is the syllable shrim, the mantra of Lakshmi. And it is prescribed to contemplate svatmanam cha shriyam, "himself and Shri."
That is, in the description of raising the power, what is placed is not abstract consciousness, but a goddess; and, moreover, the very one who, in Vaishnava teaching, is first of all. This detail is telling and no accident in this book: the book is ascribed to the Boar, that is, Vishnu, and Shri is His consort. Let us add what the Vaishnava side says of Shri, for this is her place.
She is hladini-shakti, "the power of delighting," discussed when reading the Dig-darshini-tika; and her position is such that every approach is made through her. Her rule is stated by Ramanuja most clearly: the Lord is approached not directly, but through Her; and hence, among the Shri-Vaishnavas, She stands in the very definition of refuge. The ground given is simple and understandable to anyone: one asking must have an intercessor, and that intercessor is the one who loves the petitioner and knows the one petitioned.
Let us add what distinguishes the two uses of one name. Here shri-bija is a syllable one acts with: by it, the raised is returned. There Shri is a Person one addresses; and the difference between a syllable-instrument and a name-address is exactly the one discussed when reading the Ganapati (7.3).