Upanishads · Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Uttara 1.3
॥
Devanāgarī
यत्र सुप्तो न कञ्चन कामं कामयते न कञ्चन स्वप्नं पश्यति तत्सुषुप्तं सुषुप्तस्थान एकीभूतः प्रज्ञानघन एवानन्दमयो ह्यानन्दभुक् चेतोमुखश्चतुरात्मा प्राज्ञ ईश्वरस्तृतीयः पादः
Transliteration (IAST)
yatra supto na kañcana kāmaṃ kāmayate na kañcana svapnaṃ paśyati tatsuṣuptaṃ suṣuptasthāna ekībhūtaḥ prajñānaghana evānandamayo hyānandabhuk cetomukhaścaturātmā prājña īśvarastṛtīyaḥ pādaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्र सुप्तःyatra suptaḥwhere the sleeper; there, where the one asleep
न कञ्चन कामम् कामयतेna kañcana kāmam kāmayatedesires no desire; craves nothing at all
न कञ्चन स्वप्नम् पश्यतिna kañcana svapnam paśyatiand sees no dream; and beholds no vision
सुषुप्तस्थानः एकीभूतःsuṣuptasthānaḥ ekībhūtaḥabiding in deep sleep, become one; stationed in suṣupti, made single
प्रज्ञानघनः आनन्दमयःprajñānaghanaḥ ānandamayaḥa mass of cognition, made of bliss; a density of knowing, woven of joy
आनन्दभुक् चेतोमुखःānandabhuk cetomukhaḥenjoying bliss, whose mouth is thought; tasting joy, whose gate is consciousness
चतुरात्मा प्राज्ञः ईश्वरःcaturātmā prājñaḥ īśvaraḥfourfold, Prājña, Īśvara; of four selves, Prājña and Īśvara
तृतीयः पादःtṛtīyaḥ pādaḥthe third foot; the third quarter
Translation
Where the sleeper desires no desire and sees no dream — that is deep sleep. Abiding in deep sleep, become one, a mass of cognition, made of bliss, enjoying bliss, whose mouth is thought, fourfold — Prājña, Īśvara: this is the third foot.
Version
07222462eb77 · published Jul 29, 2026, 4:39:50 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third foot, and beside Prājña is named Īśvara.
The triad is completed: Vaiśvānara, Hiraṇyagarbha, Īśvara — the three persons of the universe corresponding to the three states of man.
In Vedānta this is a fixed chart, and here it is given in its earliest form.
Note that Īśvara — “the Lord” — is placed with deep sleep, not with waking.
This should be understood. Īśvara is the causal state of the universe, that in which everything is rolled up and out of which it unfolds; and deep sleep is exactly the state of man in which everything is rolled up.
The correspondence is exact: where man has oblivion, the universe has its cause.
And from this too it is clear why Vaiṣṇava Vedānta does not agree to stop at the third foot. The causal state is a rolled-up-ness, not a fullness; and the next paragraph will say that all three are “nothing but māyā”.