The Atharva Veda

In the Nārāyaṇa Upanishad, they teach: "Though he does not take birth, he is born in many ways. The wise understand his origin." Although the absolute Brahman cannot be divided into four parts, the description of "feet" is used to signify that the world is very small compared to the nature of Brahman. Regarding the "three feet": because of the elision of the preceding base, the accent falls on the final syllable of the second part.

The Puruṣa is indeed this entire universe, both what has been and what is to be. He is the lord of immortality, for he thrives by the offering. || 4 ||

Whatever past world has been, whatever future world will be, and whatever is presently visible, manifesting as moving and non-moving—all that is the Puruṣa alone. Just as in this cycle all current animal bodies are his parts, it is to be understood that the same applies to the past and future cycles. Or, this entire world is a manifestation of the Puruṣa.

Moreover, this Puruṣa is the Lord of immortality, the master even of the divine state. Whatever part of him thrives upon the sacrificial offering—the consumable—he is the lord of that too. He is the lord of the gods who are born without a womb, the immortal ones, and the mortals. This is the all-encompassing nature of the Nārāyaṇa who performs the sacrifice. For the Sūtrātman Universal Soul, the cause of the world, this is natural. The rest is the same.

When they prepared the Puruṣa, into how many parts did they divide him? What is said to be his mouth, what his arms, what his thighs, and what his feet? || 5 ||