Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 4.15
॥
Devanāgarī
पूषा यशस्विनी चैव पिङ्गला पृष्ठपूर्वयोः । कुहोश्च हस्तिजिह्वाया मध्ये विश्वोदरी स्थिता
Transliteration (IAST)
pūṣā yaśasvinī caiva piṅgalā pṛṣṭhapūrvayoḥ | kuhośca hastijihvāyā madhye viśvodarī sthitā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पूषा यशस्विनी च एवpūṣā yaśasvinī ca evapusha and yashasvini likewise
पिङ्गला-पृष्ठ-पूर्वयोःpiṅgalā-pṛṣṭha-pūrvayoḥbehind and before pingala
कुहोः च हस्ति-जिह्वायाःkuhoḥ ca hasti-jihvāyāḥbetween kuhu and hasti-jihva
मध्ये विश्वोदरी स्थिताmadhye viśvodarī sthitāin the middle, vishvodari stands
Translation
"Pusha and yashasvini, behind and before pingala; between kuhu and hasti-jihva, in the middle, stands vishvodari."
Version
6489c481ea01 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The placement continues, and worth noting is the name vishvodari, "belly of the universe," from vishva, "the whole world," and udara, "belly." This name stands out in the list: the others are named after gods, rivers, and likenesses, while this one is named after the universe. Behind such a naming stands the same thought of correspondence already discussed: in a person's belly is found the belly of the world.
This thought has a famous expression, in persons, in Vaishnava books, and it deserves citing, for it is, in substance, the same image carried to its limit. The Bhagavatam tells how Yashoda looked into the mouth of the infant Krishna, checking whether He had eaten dirt — and saw there the whole universe: the quarters of the sky, islands, mountains, seas, luminaries, wind, fire, and herself (10.8.37–39). This story, examined closely, speaks of the same correspondence, but overturns it. In the book on yoga, the small (the belly) contains a likeness of the great (the world). There, the small (the infant's mouth) contains the greatest itself, and truly, including even the one who looks.
And added there is what does not happen in correspondences: Yashoda, having seen this, did not become wiser and did not take up contemplation — she was frightened, and then forgot, and grew afraid again lest the child catch cold. This trait is held the most important in its books. Greatness was shown and withdrawn, so as not to hinder love; and the whole difference between the contemplation of the universe and motherhood is that the first requires distance, and the second cannot bear it.