We can also use the word ansh (part or expansion). The Vedas (the eternal DIvine scriptures) say:
स एक एवेश्वरो नारायणोऽखिलब्रह्माण्डाधिपतिर् एकांशः।
Sa ek eveśhvaro Nārāyaṇo ‘khila-brahmāṇḍādhipatir ekāṁśhaḥ.
- Gopāla-Tāpanī Upaniṣad
That Mahavishnu, who is the creator of the entire universe and the governor of infinite brahmands (universes), the one Mahavishnu in Vaikunth (the Divine abode of Vishnu), He is ekāṁśhaḥ (one expansion). He is one ansh of Shree Krishna. So Shree Krishna’s ansh is Mahavishnu. Mahavishnu’s ansh is Vishnu, Brahma, and Shankar of each brahmand. Therefore, they are the ansh of Shree Krishna’s ansh.
So we can understand it like that. They are His swa-ansh (personal expansions). Swa-ansh. Ansh means ‘a part of’, but like I explained, not like a fractional part of. It’s Shree Krishna Himself, but just revealing a fraction of His potential or a fraction of His power. So they are also called His anshavatar (descensions who are Divine expansions).
We are also His ansh.
ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः ।
Mamaivāṁśho jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ.
- Bhagavad Gita 15.7
Shree Krishna says, “All the souls are My ansh.”
But we are His vibhinnansh (separated expansions). Vibhinna means ‘distinct from’. Vishnu, Shankar, and Brahma are His swa-ansh, because they are the expansion of His own Self. But we are distinct from Him. We are a distinct entity, although He pervades us and we reside in Him.
The Vedas say:
एको देवः सर्वभूतेषु गूढः सर्वव्यापी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा ।
Eko devaḥ sarva-bhūteṣhu gūḍhaḥ sarva-vyāpī sarva-bhūtāntarātmā.
- Shvetashvatar Upanishad 6.11
“God resides in the heart of every soul. And He’s also omnipresent. He’s all-pervading. So we also reside within Him. But we are distinct from Him as an individual entity with free will.”
So we are His vibhinnansh, and Brahma, Vishnu, and Shankar are His swa-ansh.
