Upanishads · Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 4.35
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं यो ह वै नृसिंहो देवो भगवान् यानि च पञ्चमहाभूतानि भूर्भुवः स्वस्तस्मै वै नमो नमः
Transliteration (IAST)
oṃ yo ha vai nṛsiṃho devo bhagavān yāni ca pañcamahābhūtāni 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
यानि च पञ्चमहाभूतानिyāni ca pañcamahābhūtāniand which are the five great elements; and those that are the five great first-elements
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 the five great elements. Earth, mid-air, heaven! To him be bow upon bow.
Version
743b28d07747 · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:39:50 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The twenty-first name is the five elements: earth, water, fire, air and space.
This is the world's stuff — that of which everything visible is made, including the body.
The litany, then, has reached the very bottom. It began with Brahmā and through the goddesses, the syllable, the Vedas and the gods has come to earth and water.
Note that the third Upaniṣad of this book named as the mantra's seed precisely ākāśa, space — the subtlest of the five. There it was the ground of sound; here it stands among the other four.
One and the same thing is named twice and differently: as the origin and as one member of the row.
In this is the litany's device. It builds no hierarchy — it names.