Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Pūrva 5
॥
Devanāgarī
तानुवाच ब्राह्मणः ।
पापकर्षणो गोभूमिवेदविदितो गोपीजनाऽविद्या कलाप्रेरकस्तन्माया चेति सकलं परं ब्रह्मैवेतत्
Transliteration (IAST)
tānuvāca brāhmaṇaḥ |
pāpakarṣaṇo gobhūmivedavidito gopījanā'vidyā kalāprerakastanmāyā ceti sakalaṁ paraṁ brahmaivetat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तान् उवाच ब्राह्मणःtān uvāca brāhmaṇaḥBrahmā answered them; the creator said to them
पापकर्षणःpāpakarṣaṇaḥthe drawer-away of sins; he who draws off evil
गोभूमिवेदविदितःgobhūmivedaviditaḥknown through cows, the earth and the Vedas; known by go — cattle, the earth and the speech of the Veda
गोपीजनाऽविद्या कलाप्रेरकःgopījanā'vidyā kalāprerakaḥwho impels the knowledge and powers of the cowherd women; who sets in motion the vidyā and kalās of the gopīs
तन्माया चtanmāyā caand His māyā; and His own power
इतिitithus; this is what it is
सकलम्sakalamall this; all of it together
परम् ब्रह्म एवparam brahma evais the supreme Brahman itself; is the Highest Himself
एतत्etatthis; it
Translation
Brahmā answered them: "Kṛṣṇa" is He who draws sins away; "Govinda", He who is known through cows, the earth and the Vedas; "Beloved of the cowherd women", He who impels their knowledge and powers; and "svāhā" is His own power. And all this together is nothing but the supreme Brahman.
Version
a9e04ee77253 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:22:17 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The answer is given by etymologies, and each of them is a small theology.
"Kṛṣṇa" is derived from the root kṛṣ, "to draw, to pull": pāpa-karṣaṇa — "the drawer-away of sins". The name usually rendered "the Dark One" or "the All-attractive" is here understood as a promise: He who draws one to Himself thereby draws the evil out of a man.
"Govinda" is taken through the word go, which has three chief meanings: cow, earth, and speech-Veda. Hence: known through cows, through the earth, and through the words of the Veda. One name binds together cowherd simplicity, dominion over the whole earth, and the height of revelation.
"Gopī-jana-vallabha" is explained unexpectedly: not merely "dear to the cowherd women", but He who moves their knowledge and their powers. Love is called not a feeling accompanying knowledge but the very engine of knowing.
"Svāhā" is His māyā, that is, His own energy. The word was examined in the Śvetāśvatara, where it is said: "māyā is prakṛti, and the Wielder of māyā is Maheśvara"; here the sense is the same — a power belonging to Him.
And the conclusion for whose sake the etymologies are given: "all this together is the supreme Brahman". Not four subjects but one, named from four sides.