Chapter Seven: Literature of the Rasika Tradition
Upanishads
1. Śrī Rāma-tāpanīya Upaniṣad
This work is associated with the Atharvaveda and contains approximately seventy-five mantras. It begins by establishing Rama’s supremacy and declares that the entire universe is pervaded by Rama and therefore real.1
It then sets out nine possible relationships between the individual self and the Supreme Self: served and servant; support and supported; ruler and ruled; whole and dependent remainder; pervader and pervaded; indwelling self and body; father and child; sustainer-husband and wife.
Just as an entire tree abides within its seed, so the whole moving and unmoving universe—from Brahma down to immobile existence—abides in the seed of Rama.2 Rama is forever embraced and united with Sita, his bliss-bestowing power.3
The work then uses a Tantric discipline to establish Rama’s panchayatana upon a seat formed from two interlocking triangles. The arrangement is:
| Position | Deity |
|---|---|
| Centre | Oṃ Rāṃ |
| Top point | Rama |
| Upper-left point | Lakshmana |
| Upper-right point | Sita |
| Lower-left point | Bharata |
| Lower-right point | Shatrughna |
| Bottom point | Hanuman |
The double-triangle method unmistakably suggests Tantric influence, since the triangle is there a sign of the yoni-mudrā. The interlocking triangles require us to acknowledge that Tantra had some—
Footnotes
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Rāmaṃ satyaṃ paraṃ brahma Rāmāt kiñcin na vidyate / tasmād Rāmasya rūpo ’yaṃ satyaṃ satyam idaṃ jagat //—“Rama is reality, the supreme Brahman; nothing exists apart from Rama. Therefore this form of Rama is real, and this universe is real.” ↩
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Yathaiva vaṭa-bīja-sthaḥ prākṛtaś ca mahā-prabhuḥ / tathaiva Rāma-bīja-sthaṃ jagad etac carācaram //. ↩
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Hemāmayā dvibhujayā sarvālaṅkṛtayā Sītā / āśliṣṭaḥ kamala-dhāriṇyā puṣṭaḥ Kosalajātmājaḥ //. ↩