Upanishads · Tārasāra 3.2
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं यो ह वै श्रीपरमात्मा नारायणः स भगवानकारवाच्यो जाम्बवान्भूर्भुवः सुवस्तस्मै वै नमोनमः
Transliteration (IAST)
oṃ yo ha vai śrīparamātmā nārāyaṇaḥ sa bhagavānakāravācyo jāmbavānbhūrbhuvaḥ suvastasmai vai namonamaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ओं यः ह वै श्री-परम-आत्माoṃ yaḥ ha vai śrī-parama-ātmāoṃ; he who is Śrī Paramātmā
नारायणः सः भगवान्nārāyaṇaḥ saḥ bhagavānNārāyaṇa, he the Lord
अ-कार-वाच्यः जाम्बवान्a-kāra-vācyaḥ jāmbavāncalled by the sound 'a,' Jāmbavān
भूः भुवः सुवःbhūḥ bhuvaḥ suvaḥearth, atmosphere, heaven
तस्मै वै नमः नमःtasmai vai namaḥ namaḥhomage, homage to him
Translation
«Oṃ. He who is Śrī Paramātmā Nārāyaṇa, he the Lord, called by the sound 'a' — Jāmbavān; earth, atmosphere, heaven; homage, homage to him».
Version
e9aca3d0f511 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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The set of eight mantras begins, and all are built on one pattern; so it is worth examining the pattern at once. Every one begins with the words yo ha vai śrī-paramātmā nārāyaṇaḥ sa bhagavān, "he who is Śrī Paramātmā Nārāyaṇa, he is the Lord" — and only then is it named by which syllable He is denoted and in which person He is manifest. This is the whole theology of this book, expressed in the structure of the sentence.
The mantras do not revere eight [different beings]. They revere one, repeating eight times that this is He — and each time indicating in what form. It is worth noting that the order is precisely this: first "Paramātmā Nārāyaṇa," then "Jāmbavān." Not "Jāmbavān is Nārāyaṇa," but "Nārāyaṇa is the one who [here] is Jāmbavān."
The difference in order matters and determines what is subordinate to what. In the first order, Jāmbavān is elevated; in the second, it is indicated where to seek Nārāyaṇa. The Vaiṣṇava side reads all such identifications this way, and its rule is stated in the Bhāgavatam: ete cāṃśa-kalāḥ puṃsaḥ, "all these are parts and portions of the Puruṣa" (1.3.28); that is, the many are traced back to the one, not the one scattered into the many.
Bhūr bhuvaḥ suvaḥ, "earth, atmosphere, heaven," are the three vyāhṛtis, discussed when reading the Gaṇapati (6.3): with them the prayer encompasses the three worlds. Let us add that the first in the set is Jāmbavān — the old bear, who accomplished nothing brilliant in the Rāmāyaṇa; he only reminded Hanumān who he was, when it was necessary to leap across the ocean. And that is enough to stand first.