Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Pūrva 14
॥
Devanāgarī
भक्तिरस्य भजनं तदिहामुत्रोपाधि नैरास्येनामुष्मिन्मनःकल्पनमेतदेव नैष्कर्म्यमिति
Transliteration (IAST)
bhaktirasya bhajanaṁ tadihāmutropādhi nairāsyenāmuṣminmanaḥkalpanametadeva naiṣkarmyamiti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भक्तिःbhaktiḥbhakti; loving devotion
अस्य भजनम्asya bhajanamis service to Him; is the worship of Him
तत् इह अमुत्रtat iha amutrait, here and hereafter; in this world and in the other
उपाधि नैरास्येनupādhi nairāsyenaby the giving up of all claims; through hopelessness toward external appendages
अमुष्मिन्amuṣminin Him; toward Him
मनःकल्पनम्manaḥkalpanamthe setting of the mind; the fixing of thought
एतत् एवetat evathis very thing; and this same thing
नैष्कर्म्यम्naiṣkarmyamis actionlessness; is freedom from works
इतिitithus; so
Translation
Service to Him is bhakti: the setting of the mind upon Him, when every hope for what is here and for what is hereafter has been given up. And this same thing is actionlessness.
Version
61fc10f3303b · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:22:17 PM UTC
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The answer to the sages' third question — and one of the clearest definitions of bhakti in all of śruti.
The definition has two parts. The positive: manaḥ-kalpanam amuṣmin — "the setting of the mind upon Him", the direction of thought, and not merely outward acts. The negative: upādhi-nairāsyena — "through the giving up of hopes in the appendages", that is, in everything that is not He: both the goods of this world and those of heaven.
The word nairāsya literally means "hopelessness". It is a harsh word, chosen on purpose: bhakti begins where a man has stopped hoping to get from his service anything besides Himself. Not "has stopped desiring altogether", but has stopped expecting payment.
And the last word overturns an old dispute. Naiṣkarmya, "actionlessness", is the goal of those who seek freedom from karma by renouncing action. The Upaniṣad says: this same thing is actionlessness. That is, freedom from works is reached not by inaction but by service without self-interest; an act turned toward Him does not bind by karma.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa cites this mantra in the Govinda-bhāṣya in showing that bhakti is not an aid to knowledge but an independent and highest practice, and that it is itself the true naiṣkarmya.