Tripuratapini Upanishad
Tripuratapini Upanishad | ||
---|---|---|
Veda Atharvaveda[3] | | |
Chapters | 5[4] | |
Philosophy | Shaktism, Vedanta[2] |
The Tripuratapini Upanishad (
The Upanishad is a notable goddess and tantra-related text. It asserts that the universe was created by the union of Shiva and Shakti, that all existence is interdependent on both the feminine and the masculine.[4] The text presents Tripura, as the primordial power,[5] as the great goddess of three cities,[6] tantra chakras (yantra) as means of her worship, the wheel of kamakala and describes mantras to remember her.[7][8]
The last chapter of the Upanishad is an
History
The author and the century in which Tripuratapini Upanishad was composed is unknown. The text was likely composed, in the same period as other Shakta Upanishads, between the 12th- and 15th-century CE.
The Tripuratapini Upanishad, along with
Manuscripts of this text are also found titled as Tripuratapinyopanisad and Tripuratapinyupanisad, but latter is different in structure and verses than former, even though the message is similar in both.
Contents
The text consists of 5 chapters, each of which it calls as an Upanishad.[9][4]
The first Upanishad section describes the nature of Tripura - the goddess of three cities, asserting that the world was created by the union of Shiva and the Shakti of Tripura.[16] The three Bija (seeds), asserts the text, are Vagbhava-kuta (peak of creative feeling), Kama-kuta (peak of desire) and Shakti-kuta (peak of power), and text explains all of them as coded Gayatri Mantra.[17][18]
Meditation
Free of attachment to objects,
enveloped in the heart[note 1]
the mind ceases to be the mind.
This is the supreme state,
control the mind,
till it quietens within the heart,
this is knowledge,
this is meditation.
—Tripuratapini Upanishad 5.7-8
Translated by William Mahony[20]
Tat states the text is the eternal Brahman (metaphysical reality), manifesting in the world as that filled with desires, or Shiva. Tat is reflected by ka within ka-e-i-la-hrim tantric code, while the la in that code is goddess earth.[21] Similarly, the text maps all the portions of Vedic Gayatri mantra to be part of the secret code within the Srividya and Srichakra as it discusses Kama-kuta, asserting it to be feminine and her procreative nature.[17][21] The Shakti-kuta, is described by the text as a code for the genderless individual Self (soul), masculine god (Shiva) and feminine goddess (Tripura).[17][21] To accomplish Vagbhava-kuta is to master speech, to accomplish Kama-kuta is to master splendor, and to accomplish Sakti-kuta is to master and attract all three worlds, asserts the Tripuratapini text.[21]
The second Upanishad part describes Tripura-vidya (knowledge of the Tripura), in three forms - Atmasana, Shakti and Shiva. The text explains Srichakra first in natural order and then in reverse order, then describes techniques for goddess worship and methods for devotion to her.
The fifth and last Upanishad part is predominantly philosophical, presenting its theory of the abstract
Influence
The Tripuratapini Upanishad along with Bhavana Upanishad, Devi Upanishad and Sri Sukta of the Rigveda, states Brooks, is often appended in both Kaula and Samaya Tantra traditions to Shri Vidya rituals.[13] This suggests the text's widespread reach across two major tantra traditions, and their attempts to link relatively modern texts to ancient Vedic foundations.[27][28]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b Cush 2007, p. 740.
- ^ a b c Mahadevan 1975, pp. 235–236.
- ^ a b Tinoco 1996, p. 88.
- ^ a b c Warrier 1967, pp. 1–34.
- ^ a b Mahadevan 2006, p. 202.
- ^ Warrier 1967, pp. 11–13.
- ^ Warrier 1967, pp. 14–28.
- ^ a b c Vedic Literature, Volume 1, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. PA410, at Google Books, Government of Tamil Nadu, Madras, India, pages 410-413
- ^ a b Hattangadi 2000.
- ^ McDaniel 2004, pp. 89–91.
- ^ Brooks 1990, p. xii.
- ISBN 978-8120827523, pages 60-61, 87-88, 351-356
- ^ a b Brooks 1990, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Brooks 1990, p. 221 with note 64.
- ^ Deussen 1997, pp. 556–557.
- ^ Warrier 1967, pp. 1–2.
- ^ a b c Warrier 1967, pp. 2–7.
- ^ Brooks 1992, pp. 93–94.
- ^ a b c Warrier 1967, pp. 29–34.
- ^ Mahony 1997, p. 197 with footnote 166.
- ^ a b c d Brooks 1992, pp. 93–95.
- ^ Warrier 1967, pp. 13–21.
- ^ Warrier 1967, pp. 21–25.
- ^ Warrier 1967, pp. 25–28.
- ^ Mahony 1997, pp. 194–199.
- ^ Hattangadi 2000, p. 11, for example verses 5.8, 5.12, 5.21, for translation see Warrier (1967) pages 30-33.
- ^ Brooks 1990, pp. 37–39, 224 with note 81.
- ^ McDaniel 2004, pp. 90–94.
Bibliography
- Brooks, Douglas Renfrew (1990). The Secret of the Three Cities. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226075693.
- Brooks, Douglas Renfrew (1992). Auspicious Wisdom. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0791411452.
- Cush, Denise; et al. (2007). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Routledge. ISBN 978-0700712670.
- Deussen, Paul (1997). Sixty Upanishads of the Veda. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1467-7.
- Hattangadi, Sunder (2000). "त्रिपुरातापिन्युपनिषत् (Tripuratapini Upanishad)" (PDF) (in Sanskrit). Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- Mahadevan, T. M. P. (1975). Upaniṣads: Selections from 108 Upaniṣads. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1611-4.
- Mahadevan, T. M. P. (2006). Los Upanishad Esenciales (in French). LD Books. ISBN 970-732-184-9.
- Mahony, William (1997). The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0791435809.
- McDaniel, June (2004). Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534713-5.
- Tinoco, Carlos Alberto (1996). Upanishads. IBRASA. ISBN 978-85-348-0040-2.
- Warrier, AG Krishna (1967). Śākta Upaniṣads. Adyar Library and Research Center. OCLC 2606086.