Upanishads · Jābāladarśana 8.5
॥
Devanāgarī
आकाशांशस्तथा प्राज्ञ मूर्धांशः परिकीर्तितः । ब्रह्माणं पृथिवीभागे विष्णुं तोयांशके तथा
Transliteration (IAST)
ākāśāṃśastathā prājña mūrdhāṃśaḥ parikīrtitaḥ | brahmāṇaṃ pṛthivībhāge viṣṇuṃ toyāṃśake tathā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
आकाश-अंशः तथा प्राज्ञākāśa-aṃśaḥ tathā prājñathe space portion, likewise, O wise one
मूर्ध-अंशः परिकीर्तितःmūrdha-aṃśaḥ parikīrtitaḥis proclaimed the crown portion
ब्रह्माणं पृथिवी-भागेbrahmāṇaṃ pṛthivī-bhāgeBrahma — in the earth portion
विष्णुं तोय-अंशके तथाviṣṇuṃ toya-aṃśake tathāVishnu, likewise, in the water portion
Translation
"The space portion is likewise proclaimed the crown portion, O wise one. Brahma — in the earth portion, Vishnu, likewise, in the water portion…"
Version
7f554c6ddc4e · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Deities are assigned to the elements: earth — Brahma, water — Vishnu, fire — Maheshvara, wind — Ishvara, space — Sadashiva. The distribution is Shaiva, and such charts have been discussed more than once; but the tying of Vishnu to water deserves separate comment, for it is not arbitrary. In His own books, water is His element above all. He is called Narayana, and this name is interpreted as "having the waters as His abode": nara means "waters" (or "man"), ayana — "refuge."
He reclines on a serpent amid the milk ocean; He, in the form of a boar, lifts the earth from the waters; He, in the form of a fish, saves during the flood; and every image of Him is surrounded by water. The Bhagavatam even begins creation with the waters: narasya ayanam, and the first thing to appear is the ocean, in which lies Garbhodakashayi, "the one reclining on the waters of the womb." Hence the correspondence made here by another's hand turns out precise; and this is a case where a school's chart coincided with the substance of the matter.
Let us add what stands behind the image of water and makes it fitting. Water holds and nourishes, without having its own shape; it takes the form of the vessel and penetrates everywhere. All these are properties ascribed to Vishnu as the sustainer.
And one thing more: water offers no resistance. It cannot be cut and cannot be held in a fist; and in this its image is closer to what is called all-pervasiveness than the image of fire or earth.