Upanishads Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 3.6

Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī UpaniṣadNṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 3.6

2238 / 6055

Upanishads · Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 3.6

॥

Devanāgarī

तदेतदृषिणोक्तं निदर्शनं हंसः शुचिषद्वसुरन्तरिक्षसद्धोत वेदिषदतिथिर्दुरोणसत् । नृषद्वरसदृतसद्व्योमसदब्जागोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतं बृहत् । य एवं वेदेति महोपनिषत्

Transliteration (IAST)

tadetadṛṣiṇoktaṃ nidarśanaṃ haṃsaḥ śuciṣadvasurantarikṣasaddhota vediṣadatithirduroṇasat | nṛṣadvarasadṛtasadvyomasadabjāgojā ṛtajā adrijā ṛtaṃ bṛhat | ya evaṃ vedeti mahopaniṣat

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

तत् एतत् ऋषिणा उक्तम् निदर्शनम्tat etat ṛṣiṇā uktam nidarśanamthis was spoken by the seer as testimony; this the ṛṣi declared in confirmation

हंसः शुचिषत् वसुः अन्तरिक्षसत्haṃsaḥ śuciṣat vasuḥ antarikṣasatthe swan sitting in the pure; the vasu sitting in the mid-air; the haṁsa dwelling in light; the vasu abiding in the sky

होता वेदिषत् अतिथिः दुरोणसत्hotā vediṣat atithiḥ duroṇasatthe hotṛ sitting at the altar; the guest sitting in the house; the priest at the altar-ground; the guest in the dwelling

नृषत् वरसत् ऋतसत् व्योमसत्nṛṣat varasat ṛtasat vyomasatsitting in men, in the best, in the law, in heaven; present in men, in the choicest, in ṛta, in the vault

अब्जाः गोजाः ऋतजाः अद्रिजाःabjāḥ gojāḥ ṛtajāḥ adrijāḥborn in the waters, in cows, in the law, in the mountains; born of the waters, of the kine, of ṛta, of the rocks

ऋतम् बृहत्ṛtam bṛhatthe great law; ṛta most vast

यः एवम् वेद इति महोपनिषत्yaḥ evam veda iti mahopaniṣatwho so knows — such is the great upaniṣad; the one who understands this; this is the great secret

Translation

This too was spoken by the seer as testimony: “The swan sitting in the pure; the vasu sitting in the middle region; the hotṛ sitting at the altar; the guest sitting in the house; sitting in men, in the best, in the law, in heaven; born in the waters, in cows, in the law, in the mountains — he is the great law.” Who so knows — such is the great upaniṣad.

Commentary

The third Upaniṣad ends with one of the most beautiful verses of the Ṛg-veda, and this verse is worth pausing over.

It consists entirely of words ending in -sad — “sitting, abiding”: śuciṣad, antarikṣasad, vediṣad, duroṇasad, nṛṣad, varasad, ṛtasad, vyomasad.

Sitting in the pure, in the air, at the altar, in the house, in men, in the best, in the law, in heaven.

The list deliberately mixes the lofty and the homely. “The guest sitting in the house” stands between the priest at the altar and the one sitting in men; and “born in cows” beside the one born in the law.

That is why this verse is cited precisely here, after space has been named the seed. Space is no emptiness somewhere above: it is there where a guest sits in the house.

The word haṁsa is “swan”, and in these books it means more than the bird: so is called the soul that goes and returns, and so is called the Highest. We read it in the first verse of the Māntrikā: “the eight-footed, pure swan, whom, gazing everywhere, they do not see”.

That verse, both there and here, is set in one place — where it must be said that the sought is spread everywhere and still not found.

And it ends with two words: ṛtaṁ bṛhat — “the great law”.

Version

9fd21b4c93ef · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:39:50 AM UTC

Available inRUEN

PreviousVerse Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 3.5 NextVerse Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 4.1

Page between verses with