Tripuratapini Upanishad
The Upanishad presents goddess Shakti and god Shiva together as the source of universe
Devanagari	त्रिपुरातापिनी
IAST	Tripurātāpinī
Title means	Devotee of the three cities
Date	12th- to 15th-century CE[1]
Type	Shakta[2]
LinkedVeda	Atharvaveda[3]
Chapters	5[4]
Philosophy	Shaktism,Shakta,Vedanta[2]

TheTripuratapini Upanishad (Sanskrit:त्रिपुरातापिनी उपनिषद्,IAST: Tripurātāpinī Upaniṣad) is a medieval era Sanskrit text and one of the minorUpanishads ofHinduism.^[2] It is classified as one of the eightShakta Upanishads and attached to theAtharvaveda.^[3]

The Upanishad is a notable goddess and tantra-related text. It asserts that the universe was created by the union ofShiva andShakti, that all existence is interdependent on both the feminine and the masculine.^[4] The text presentsTripura, as the primordial power,^[5] as the great goddess of three cities,^[6] tantrachakras (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 anAdvaita-style discussion of goddess (Shakti) as the ultimate realityBrahman with the text asserting that one'sAtman (self, soul) is identical with the Brahman.^[8][9] These philosophical premises ofTripuratapini Upanishad belong to theShaktadavaitavada tradition (literally, the path of nondualistic Shakti).^[10]

The author and the century in whichTripuratapini 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.^[1] While this text is a relatively late composition in the Upanishadic collection, literary evidence confirms that Shakta Tantrism has roots in ancient times and the interaction betweenVedic andTantric traditions trace back to at least the sixth century,^[11] and the surge in Tantra tradition developments during the late medieval period, states Geoffrey Samuel, were a means to confront and cope withIslamic invasions and political instability in and after 14th-century CE in parts of India and Tibet.^[12]

TheTripuratapini Upanishad, along withTripura Upanishad, have attracted scholarlybhasya (commentary) in the second half of 2nd-millennium, such as byBhaskararaya,^[13] and by Ramanand.^[14]

Manuscripts of this text are also found titled asTripuratapinyopanisad andTripuratapinyupanisad, but latter is different in structure and verses than former, even though the message is similar in both.^[8] In theTelugu languageanthology of 108 Upanishads of theMuktika canon, narrated byRama toHanuman, it is listed at number 80.^[15]

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 threeBija (seeds), asserts the text, areVagbhava-kuta (peak of creative feeling),Kama-kuta (peak of desire) andShakti-kuta (peak of power), and text explains all of them as codedGayatri Mantra.^[17][18]

Tat states the text is the eternal Brahman (metaphysical reality), manifesting in the world as that filled with desires, or Shiva.Tat is reflected byka withinka-e-i-la-hrim tantric code, while thela 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 theSrividya andSrichakra as it discussesKama-kuta, asserting it to be feminine and her procreative nature.^[17][21] TheShakti-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 accomplishVagbhava-kuta is to master speech, to accomplishKama-kuta is to master splendor, and to accomplishSakti-kuta is to master and attract all three worlds, asserts the Tripuratapini text.^[21]

The second Upanishad part describesTripura-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.^[22] The third Upanishad part describesYantras (mystic geometrical diagrams), as a means to conceptualize the divine within and for external ritualistic devotion.^[23] The fourth Upanishad part is shortest of all chapters, and asserts a theory of life, the meaning ofBhagavati, and the possibility of victory over death.^[24] Goddess Tripura, states Mahadevan, is presented here in tantric terms, as theKundalini Shakti.^[5]

The fifth and last Upanishad part is predominantly philosophical, presenting its theory of the abstractnirguna Brahman (ultimate unchanging reality without qualities, without attributes), one's Atman (unchanging reality within as soul, self), mind as a source of egotism, superficial cravings and suffering.^[19] Thereafter, the text asserts that the spiritual person should quieten this mind, meditate and know of the Atman within his heart, know that same one soul exists in all beings and this is identical with the formless Brahman.^[19][25][26]

TheTripuratapini Upanishad along withBhavana Upanishad,Devi Upanishad andSri Sukta of theRigveda, states Brooks, is often appended in both Kaula and Samaya Tantra traditions toShri 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]

• Devi
• Jabala Upanishad
• Nirvana Upanishad
• Yogatattva Upanishad

• 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). Retrieved27 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.ISBN 978-0835673181.OCLC 2606086.

• Upanishads

• Articles containing Sanskrit-language text
• CS1 Sanskrit-language sources (sa)
• CS1 French-language sources (fr)