Upanishads · Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 4.23
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं यो ह वै नृसिंहो देवो भगवान् या प्रकृतिः भूर्भुवः स्वस्तस्मै वै नमो नमः
Transliteration (IAST)
oṃ yo ha vai nṛsiṃho devo bhagavān yā prakṛtiḥ 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
या प्रकृतिःyā prakṛtiḥand she who is prakṛti; the one who is the first ground
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 prakṛti. Earth, mid-air, heaven! To him be bow upon bow.
Version
e9061f23e5f9 · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:39:50 AM UTC
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The ninth name is prakṛti, “the first ground, nature”.
In Sāṅkhya this word means the stuff out of which the world unfolds and which itself unfolds out of nothing. The dispute over it in Vedānta is centuries old, and Baladeva conducts it in the first adhyāya, relying among other texts on the Māntrikā Upaniṣad.
Here prakṛti is simply named among the names.
And in this is the whole position of such books. Not “prakṛti is independent” and not “prakṛti is false”: she is one of His names, like Sarasvatī and Gaurī.
Recall the second paragraph of the third Upaniṣad of this very book: there the mantra's power was named māyā nārasiṁhī, “Nṛsiṃha's māyā”, and it was said that she creates, guards and withdraws.
The possessive “Nṛsiṃha's” is implied here too: prakṛti stands in the list of what He is, not of what stands against Him.