Upaniṣads · Nṛsiṃha-tāpanī Pūrva 4.13
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं नृसिंहाय विद्महे वज्रनखाय धीमहि । तन्नः सिंहः प्रचोदयात् इत्येषा वै नृसिंहगायत्री देवानां वेदानां निदानं भवति य एवं वेद निदानवान्भवति
Transliteración (IAST)
oṃ nṛsiṃhāya vidmahe vajranakhāya dhīmahi | tannaḥ siṃhaḥ pracodayāt ityeṣā vai nṛsiṃhagāyatrī devānāṃ vedānāṃ nidānaṃ bhavati ya evaṃ veda nidānavānbhavati
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
ओं नृसिंहाय विद्महेoṃ nṛsiṃhāya vidmaheOṁ. May we know Nṛsiṃha; Oṁ. Let us come to know Nṛsiṃha
वज्रनखाय धीमहिvajranakhāya dhīmahimay we meditate on the adamant-clawed; let us ponder the vajra-nailed
तत् नः सिंहः प्रचोदयात्tat naḥ siṃhaḥ pracodayātmay that lion impel us; let this lion urge us on
इति एषा वै नृसिंहगायत्रीiti eṣā vai nṛsiṃhagāyatrīsuch is this gāyatrī of Nṛsiṃha; this then is the nṛsiṃha-gāyatrī
देवानाम् वेदानाम् निदानम् भवतिdevānām vedānām nidānam bhavatiit is the foundation of the gods and the Vedas; it is the root-cause of gods and Vedas
यः एवम् वेद निदानवान् भवतिyaḥ evam veda nidānavān bhavatiwho so knows becomes possessed of a foundation; the one who understands is made one who has ground
Traducción
“Oṁ. May we know Nṛsiṃha, may we meditate on the adamant-clawed — may that lion impel us.” This gāyatrī of Nṛsiṃha is the foundation of the gods and the Vedas; who so knows becomes possessed of a foundation.
Versión
c5d6795507ef · publicado 29 jul 2026, 4:39:50 UTC
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The fourth limb, and it is at last addressed to Him himself.
The mantra is built on the usual model of gāyatrī addresses, of which the śāstras have many: “may we know so-and-so, may we meditate on so-and-so, may that one impel us”.
The name given in the second line is remarkable: vajra-nakha — “adamant-clawed”, whose claws are like the vajra.
This is the only indication in the whole Upaniṣad of that with which He slew Hiraṇyakaśipu. Nowhere does the book tell the legend and nowhere describe the torn one; but here, in the mantra, the claw is named.
And the third line, instead of “Nṛsiṃha”, says simply siṁhaḥ — “the lion”.
Then it is said of the mantra: devānāṁ vedānāṁ nidānaṁ bhavati — “it is the foundation of the gods and the Vedas”.
The word nidāna means “first cause, root, that from which one derives”; in the science of healing it names the cause of a disease, and in the science of interpretation — the starting premise.
And the fruit: nidānavān bhavati — “becomes possessed of a foundation”. Not “receives something”: he gains ground beneath him.
The four limbs are named and examined. The next paragraph will begin the main thing.