Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Pūrva 31
॥
Devanāgarī
एतस्यैव यजनेन चन्द्रध्वजो गतमोहमात्मानं वेदयित्वा ओंकारान्तरालिकं मनुमावर्तयन् सङ्गरहितोऽभ्याप तत्
Transliteration (IAST)
etasyaiva yajanena candradhvajo gatamohamātmānaṁ vedayitvā oṁkārāntarālikaṁ manumāvartayan saṅgarahito'bhyāpa tat
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एतस्य एव यजनेनetasya eva yajanenaby the worship of Him alone; by rendering honour to Him
चन्द्रध्वजःcandradhvajaḥCandradhvaja; the king named Moon-bannered
गतमोहम् आत्मानम्gatamoham ātmānamhimself, free of delusion; his soul, rid of beguilement
वेदयित्वाvedayitvāhaving known; having understood
ओंकारान्तरालिकम् मनुम्oṁkārāntarālikam manumthe mantra enclosed in the oṁkāra; the manu within the syllable oṁ
आवर्तयन्āvartayanrepeating; reciting
सङ्गरहितःsaṅgarahitaḥfree of attachments; without clingings
अभ्याप तत्abhyāpa tatattained that; reached that abode
Translation
By the worship of Him alone king Candradhvaja, having known himself free of delusion and repeating the mantra enclosed in the oṁkāra, without any attachments attained that very thing.
Version
0e5eb68730cf · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:22:17 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The teaching is backed with an example. Candradhvaja, "the Moon-bannered", is a king of whom tradition says that he reached the goal by this road; the Upaniṣads often cite men in this way and not only gods.
Three things are said of him, and all three are essential. He "knew himself free of delusion" — self-knowledge was there; he "repeated the mantra enclosed in the oṁkāra" — he held to japa, as mantra 24 enjoined; and he was saṅga-rahita, "without attachments".
The last stands beside the first two for a reason. Knowledge and repetition bear no fruit for one who goes on clinging; detachment here is not a separate merit but the condition under which everything else works.
The verb abhyāpa, "attained", stands without an object: "attained that". What exactly, the next mantra will say, quoting the Vedic word about "the supreme abode of Viṣṇu".
Note that the example chosen is royal. The one who attained is neither a hermit nor a priest but a man of power; the book, which has just described a rite with a diagram and offerings, shows that this road is open to a householder too.