Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Pūrva 40
॥
Devanāgarī
नमो विज्ञानरूपाय परमानन्द रूपिणे ।
कृष्णाय गोपीनाथाय गोविन्दाय नमो नमः
Transliteration (IAST)
namo vijñānarūpāya paramānanda rūpiṇe |
kṛṣṇāya gopīnāthāya govindāya namo namaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
नमः विज्ञानरूपायnamaḥ vijñānarūpāyaobeisance to Him whose form is knowledge; homage to Him whose nature is knowing
परमानन्द रूपिणेparamānanda rūpiṇewhose form is supreme bliss; who embodies the highest joy
कृष्णायkṛṣṇāyato Kṛṣṇa; to the All-attractive
गोपीनाथायgopīnāthāyato the Lord of the cowherd women; to the master of the gopīs
गोविन्दाय नमो नमःgovindāya namo namaḥto Govinda obeisance and obeisance; to Govinda homage again and again
Translation
Obeisance to Him whose form is knowledge, whose form is supreme bliss — to Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of the cowherd women, to Govinda obeisance and obeisance.
Version
3f2546b8f71f · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:22:17 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The second verse of the hymn passes from the universe to Him Himself — and sets side by side two descriptions that are usually parcelled out to different schools.
Vijñāna-rūpa — "whose form is knowledge": He is not a possessor of knowledge attached to Him but consciousness itself in a form. Parama-ānanda-rūpin — "whose form is supreme bliss": the same of joy.
And then three names, all three from the village: Kṛṣṇa, Gopīnātha, Govinda. It is precisely this neighbourhood that makes the thought of the verse. The philosophical definitions of Vedānta and the name "Lord of the cowherd women" are applied to one Person without any transition, as though it could not be otherwise.
The word gopī-nātha stands here for the first time. Nātha means "lord, protector" — one who takes another under his hand. In the later tradition this name will become one of the chief ones.
And again the verse ends with a double obeisance to Govinda. So it will be in all twelve: however high the praise rises, it comes back to the cowherd's name.