Upanishads · Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 4.19
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं यो ह वै नृसिंहो देवो भगवान् यश्चेश्वरः भूर्भुवः स्वस्तस्मै वै नमो नमः
Transliteration (IAST)
oṃ yo ha vai nṛsiṃho devo bhagavān yaśceśvaraḥ bhūrbhuvaḥ svastasmai vai namo namaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ओं यः ह वैoṃ yaḥ ha vaiOṁ. He who; Oṁ. The very one who
नृसिंहः देवः सः भगवान्nṛsiṃhaḥ devaḥ saḥ bhagavānis the God Nṛsiṃha — he is the Lord; the god Nṛsiṃha is — he is Bhagavān
यः च ईश्वरःyaḥ ca īśvaraḥand who is Īśvara; and the one who is the sovereign
भूर्भुवः स्वःbhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥearth, mid-air, heaven; bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ
तस्मै वै नमः नमःtasmai vai namaḥ namaḥto him be bow upon bow; to him worship and worship
Translation
Oṁ. He who is the God Nṛsiṃha — He is the Lord, and He is Īśvara. Earth, mid-air, heaven! To him be bow upon bow.
Version
ab82ad0714ec · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:39:50 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The fifth name is īśvara, “the lord, the able one”.
From the root īś, “to rule, to have power”; from it also īśāna and māheśvara.
In Vedānta this word came to denote God as the ruler of the world — as distinct from Brahman as pure being. The distinction is late, but it rests on places like this.
Note that the first five names of the litany go from person to property: Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara are proper names; Puruṣa and Īśvara are already definitions.
And further, from the sixth, come the feminine names: Sarasvatī, Śrī, Gaurī, Prakṛti, Vidyā.
That is, the list is arranged by classes: the three great ones, two abstract ones, five goddesses, then the syllable and its measures, then the Vedas and the rite, then the classes of gods, then the elements and time, and at the very end — the jīva and “everything”.
The ladder goes from above downward and ends with what is nearest of all.