Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.27
॥
Devanāgarī
सोऽहं पृथिवी । सोऽहमापः । सोऽहं तेजः । सोऽहं वायुः । सोऽहं कालः । सोऽहं दिशः । सोऽहमात्मा । मयि सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम्
Transliteration (IAST)
so'haṃ pṛthivī | so'hamāpaḥ | so'haṃ tejaḥ | so'haṃ vāyuḥ | so'haṃ kālaḥ | so'haṃ diśaḥ | so'hamātmā | mayi sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सः अहं पृथिवीsaḥ ahaṃ pṛthivīI am the earth
सः अहम् आपःsaḥ aham āpaḥI am the waters
सः अहं तेजःsaḥ ahaṃ tejaḥI am the light
सः अहं वायुःsaḥ ahaṃ vāyuḥI am the wind
सः अहं कालःsaḥ ahaṃ kālaḥI am time
सः अहं दिशःsaḥ ahaṃ diśaḥI am the directions
मयि सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम्mayi sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitamin me all is established
Translation
«I am the earth; I am the waters; I am the light; I am the wind; I am time; I am the directions; I am the self. In me all is established».
Version
9e50deef50c9 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The list of identifications ends with the words mayi sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitam, «in me all is established». Worth unpacking this closing phrase, for it is not an identification and stands at the end of a list of identifications. It is said: all is established in me, pratiṣṭhita. That is, He is not called all things, but is called that on which everything stands.
This distinction matters in disputes, and the word pratiṣṭhā, «support», was discussed when reading Katharudra (8): a support is the support of something, and this word is never used without a second term. And so a list that went «I am this and that» ends with a word that requires two parties. The Vaishnava side points to just this. The Gītā says almost the same words: «by Me this whole world is pervaded; in Me all beings dwell» (9.4) — and immediately adds: «but I do not dwell in them».
That is, the same phrase — «in Me all» — is left without qualification in one book, and qualified in the other. And this qualification, to my mind, is what distinguishes exposition from argument: one who says «in Me all» and stops there leaves the listener to draw the conclusion himself; one who says «in Me all, but I am not in them» forestalls the conclusion.