Upanishads · Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 5.11
॥
Devanāgarī
देवा ह वै प्रजापतिमब्रुवन्नानुष्टुभस्य मन्त्रराजस्य नारसिंहस्य फलं नो ब्रूहि भगव इति
Transliteration (IAST)
devā ha vai prajāpatimabruvannānuṣṭubhasya mantrarājasya nārasiṃhasya phalaṃ no brūhi bhagava iti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
देवाः ह वै प्रजापतिम् अब्रुवन्devāḥ ha vai prajāpatim abruvanthe gods said to Prajāpati; the celestials spoke to Prajāpati
आनुष्टुभस्य मन्त्रराजस्यānuṣṭubhasya mantrarājasyaof the anuṣṭubh king of mantras; of the chief mantra in the anuṣṭubh
नारसिंहस्य फलम्nārasiṃhasya phalamthe Nṛsiṃha — its fruit; of the nārasiṃha — the phala
नः ब्रूहि भगवः इतिnaḥ brūhi bhagavaḥ ititell us, O lord; declare to us, master
Translation
The gods said to Prajāpati: “Tell us, O lord, the fruit of this anuṣṭubh king of mantras, the Nṛsiṃha.”
Version
43f3a3d7bc0e · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:39:50 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The last of the questions, and it is about the fruit.
Let us gather all the questions of this book. In the second Upaniṣad the gods begged the mantra itself, frightened of death. In the third — its power and seed. In the fourth — its limbs, and then: with what shall we please Him? In the fifth — the diagram, and now: what will come of it?
The order is right, and it is the reverse of how a person of today asks. Usually the first thing one wants to know is what will be given for it; here it is asked at the very end, after receiving, examining, drawing and praising.
The word phala means “fruit” — what grows of itself, not what is handed out for work.
The answer will take nine paragraphs and will be the longest list in the book.
Note that it will not be monotonous. First of purification, then of the crossing, then of the stopping of the elements, then of attraction, then of the worlds, of sacrifices, of the Vedas; and only toward the end — of what is behind them all.