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Nibbana or nirvana is often interpreted as a state of perpetual bliss but is better translated as "Cooling Down." The opposite of a tense, effortful, clenching up. It is the opposite of Tanha.

The happiness that results from nibbana is due to relinquishing the need to control and arrange reality to match up to our mental projections.

It's like the comfortable silence with a good friend, a good meal eaten to perfect satiation, post-orgasm, etc...

Upadana is literally translated as "fuel" or "seeds". It is a mental event that follows the clenching of Tanha. It can be thought of as the opposite of Equanimity. Instead of keeping your eyes on the road you just HAVE to see the traffic accident.

It's also like fiddling or micro-managing things that are better left alone. We just "have" to make some adjustments so that things are "perfect."

Sankhara is like a "construct". If Upadana is a seed, then Sankharas are the warped houses built out of the twisted lumber that grows. It is a collection of mental events built into a story about how the world works.

E.g. thinking about the world through the lens of Victims and Oppressors. This specific sankhara is called the "Hell Realm" is buddhism b/c it reinterprets signs of how to get out as tricks and attacks.

"It is said that the most tragic aspect of the hell realm is that none of the gates are barred."