Upanishads · Prāṇāgnihotra 2.2
॥
Devanāgarī
महानवोऽयं पुरुषो योऽङ्गुष्ठाग्रे प्रतिष्ठितः । तमद्भिः परिषिञ्चामि सोऽस्यान्ते अमृताय च
Transliteration (IAST)
mahānavo'yaṃ puruṣo yo'ṅguṣṭhāgre pratiṣṭhitaḥ | tamadbhiḥ pariṣiñcāmi so'syānte amṛtāya ca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
महान् अवः अयं पुरुषःmahān avaḥ ayaṃ puruṣaḥgreat is this man, below
यः अङ्गुष्ठ-अग्रे प्रतिष्ठितःyaḥ aṅguṣṭha-agre pratiṣṭhitaḥwho is established at the tip of the thumb
तम् अद्भिः परिषिञ्चामिtam adbhiḥ pariṣiñcāmihim I sprinkle with waters
सः अस्य अन्ते अमृताय चsaḥ asya ante amṛtāya cahe, at its end — toward immortality
Translation
Great is this man, established at the tip of the thumb; I sprinkle him with waters; he, at its end, [leads] toward immortality.
Version
8fd8095754cb · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The image of the aṅguṣṭha-mātra puruṣa, "the man the size of a thumb," is given. This image is one of the most persistent in the upaniṣads. The Kaṭha says: "the size of a thumb, the puruṣa dwells in the middle of the self, the lord of past and future" (2.1.12); and again: "the size of a thumb, in light like a smokeless flame" (2.1.13).
The Śvetāśvatara repeats: "the size of a thumb, radiant in form, dwells in the heart" (3.13). Let us examine what this measure means, for it is puzzling. It is read two ways. The first reading: the size of the feeling — the region in the chest that a person feels as "himself," and it is roughly this size.
The second reading is the Vaiṣṇava one, and it rests on other passages. There it is said that the soul is śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya, "a hundredth part of a hundredth part of a hair's tip" (Śvetāśvatara 5.9); and so "the size of a thumb" is referred not to the soul, but to Paramātmā, dwelling in the heart. This distinction matters and deserves stating. If there are two in the heart — the soul and the Present One — then there are two measures; and books naming different measures speak of different things.
Confirmation is found right here: it says mām adbhiḥ pariṣiñcāmi, "him I sprinkle." One does not sprinkle oneself; and any rite performed over Him presupposes that He is not the one performing it.