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Upanishads · Gāruḍa 1.8
॥
Devanāgarī
कुङ्कुमारुणसर्वाङ्गं कुन्देन्दुधवलाननम् । विष्णुवाह नमस्तुभ्यं क्षेमं कुरु सदा मम
Transliteration (IAST)
kuṅkumāruṇasarvāṅgaṃ kundendudhavalānanam | viṣṇuvāha namastubhyaṃ kṣemaṃ kuru sadā mama
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
कुङ्कुम-अरुण-सर्व-अङ्गंkuṅkuma-aruṇa-sarva-aṅgaṃwhose whole body is crimson as saffron
कुन्द-इन्दु-धवल-आननम्kunda-indu-dhavala-ānanamwith a face white as jasmine and the moon
विष्णु-वाह नमः तुभ्यंviṣṇu-vāha namaḥ tubhyaṃO bearer of Viṣṇu, homage to you
क्षेमं कुरु सदा ममkṣemaṃ kuru sadā mamado always work my welfare
Translation
«Whose whole body is crimson as saffron, with a face white as jasmine and the moon — O bearer of Viṣṇu, homage to you! Work my welfare always».
Version
9da074564c98 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The contemplation ends with an address, and it deserves noting exactly what kind. The vocative: viṣṇu-vāha, “O bearer of Viṣṇu.” The bow: namas tubhyam, “homage to you.”
The request: kṣemaṃ kuru sadā mama, “work my welfare always.” That is, after eight verses of description — a call, a bow, and a request; and we examined this triad reading the Dattātreya (1.5, 1.6), where it made up the very structure of the mantra. Let us add the word kṣema, for it is precise.
Kṣema means “the preservation of what is,” as distinct from yoga, meaning “the acquisition of what is not.” This pair is constant in Indian usage and stands in the famous verse of the Gītā: yoga-kṣemaṃ vahāmy aham, “I carry [for them] both acquisition and preservation” (9.22). This verse deserves examination, for it is directly relevant here.
It is said: for those who worship Me without turning to another, teṣāṃ nityābhiyuktānāṃ yoga-kṣemaṃ vahāmy aham. The verb vah means “to carry, to bear”; and this is the very root as in the word viṣṇu-vāha, “bearer of Viṣṇu.” That is, Garuḍa carries Viṣṇu, and Viṣṇu carries care for His own; and the word is one and the same.
This coincidence, to my mind, is fortuitous; but it shows well what this whole practice rests on: everyone carries someone.