उपनिषद् · Tripurā 4
॥
देवनागरी
ऊर्ध्वज्वलज्वलनं ज्योतिरग्रे तमो वै तिरश्श्चीनमजरं तद्रजोऽभूत् । आनन्दनं मोदनं ज्योतिरिन्दो रेता उ वै मण्डला मण्डयन्ति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
ūrdhvajvalajvalanaṃ jyotiragre tamo vai tiraśścīnamajaraṃ tadrajo'bhūt | ānandanaṃ modanaṃ jyotirindo retā u vai maṇḍalā maṇḍayanti
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
ऊर्ध्व-ज्वल-ज्वलनं ज्योतिः अग्रेūrdhva-jvala-jvalanaṃ jyotiḥ agreupward-blazing flame, light in front
तमः वै तिरश्चीनम् अ-जरंtamaḥ vai tiraścīnam a-jaraṃdarkness indeed transverse, unaging
तत् रजः अभूत्tat rajaḥ abhūtthat became passion
आनन्दनं मोदनं ज्योतिः इन्दोःānandanaṃ modanaṃ jyotiḥ indoḥdelighting, gladdening light of the moon
रेतः उ वै मण्डलाः मण्डयन्तिretaḥ u vai maṇḍalāḥ maṇḍayantiseed indeed the orbs adorn
अनुवाद
«Upward-blazing flame, light in front; darkness — transverse, unaging — that became passion. The delighting, gladdening light of the moon — seed; and the orbs adorn».
संस्करण
6ad7beb4a472 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The verse gives three lights and three qualities at once: fire upward — sattva; darkness across — and it is said that it became rajas; the moon — delighting and gladdening.
Worth noting is the design: the qualities are described through direction. Fire moves upward, darkness lies athwart; and this is not ornament but observation: a flame always strains upward, however the candle is turned, while darkness has no direction at all and is therefore called transverse — that which lies as a hindrance.
The three guṇas in these books are usually set out as a list of properties; here they are given as images, and the images are more precise than a list. Clarity is likened to a flame that itself strains upward; passion — to that which lies athwart; and the moon, with its soft light, is taken as that which ānandana modana, “delights and gladdens.”
Worth noting also is the last half-verse: retaḥ u vai maṇḍalāḥ maṇḍayanti, “seed, and the orbs adorn.” Retas means “seed, effusion”; the moon’s light is called seed, and the orbs — maṇḍalas — that which it adorns.
This likeness is old in Vedic speech: the moon is called the vessel of soma and of seed, and moisture, growth, and fertility are bound up with it. Behind the dark syllable of the ancient verse, then, stands a simple and true observation: all living things grow from moisture and light, not from light alone.