उपनिषद् · Bhāvanā p38
॥
देवनागरी
पवनावच्छिन्नोत्ध्वज्वलनसच्चिदुल्काकाशदेहो दीपः
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
pavanāvacchinnotdhvajvalanasaccidulkākāśadeho dīpaḥ
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
पवन-अवच्छिन्न-ऊर्ध्व-ज्वलन-pavana-avacchinna-ūrdhva-jvalana-separated by the wind, blazing upward
सत्-चित्-उल्का-आकाश-देहःsat-cit-ulkā-ākāśa-dehaḥthe body-space, a firebrand of being and consciousness
दीपःdīpaḥis the lamp
अनुवाद
Separated by the wind, blazing upward — the body-space, a firebrand of being and consciousness — this is the lamp.
संस्करण
080bcb5ddee5 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The thirteenth service — dīpa, the showing of a lamp; this is the very rite everyone in India has seen and which is called āratī: a burning lamp is circled before the image. The reinterpretation is inward and rests on ūrdhva-jvalana, "blazing upward," discussed when reading the Tripurā (4): a flame always leans upward, whichever way the candle is turned. It is worth saying that of all sixteen, this rite is the most understandable without explanation and the most moving. Its meaning is simple in the extreme: in the darkness of the temple, a light is kindled and shown to Him — that is, He is lit so that He may be seen.
This is explained variously, and no explanation is needed: anyone who has ever had a dear guest in the house with insufficient light has raised a lamp to look at him — and done exactly the same thing. The Vaiṣṇava side performs āratī several times a day, accompanied by singing and bell-ringing; and this custom is among those that passed into other faiths of the same land, so it is seen in Śaiva and Jain temples too. A separate word is worth saying about the word ulkā, "firebrand, meteor," by which the lamp is here named. A strong word is chosen: not a quiet flame, but a flying fire; and such, indeed, is the movement in the rite — the lamp does not stand still, but travels in circles.