Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Pūrva 53
॥
Devanāgarī
अनेजदेकमनसो जवीयो नैतद्देवा आप्नुवन् पूर्वमर्शदिति
Transliteration (IAST)
anejadekamanaso javīyo naitaddevā āpnuvan pūrvamarśaditi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अनेजत् एकम्anejat ekamunmoving, one; unwavering, single
मनसः जवीयःmanasaḥ javīyaḥswifter than the mind; faster than thought
न एतत् देवाः आप्नुवन्na etat devāḥ āpnuvanthe gods did not reach it; the deities did not overtake this
पूर्वम् अर्शत्pūrvam arśatfor it went before; since it was moving ahead
इतिitithus; so
Translation
Unmoving, one, swifter than the mind; the gods did not overtake it, for It went before.
Version
a8f14861a494 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:22:17 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The line is taken from the Īśa Upaniṣad and cited here as testimony. The device is usual for this book: it props its teaching again and again with words from universally acknowledged Upaniṣads.
The line itself is built on a contradiction: "unmoving" — and "swifter than the mind". Both are true. He has nowhere to move, for He is already everywhere; and therefore anyone who sets out in pursuit will find Him already ahead.
"The gods did not overtake it" is a sharp assertion: even the deities, whose thought is immeasurably swifter than ours, did not catch up. The reason is named: pūrvam arśat, "it went before".
After the previous mantra's promise — "without effort he goes to that abode" — this verse sounds like a counterweight, and it is placed here deliberately. By one's own speed no one can run Him down, not even the gods; while the one who goes with the name on his lips arrives without strain. The difference is not in speed but in who leads.
So the Upaniṣad balances the generosity of its promises with sobriety: the ease of the way of the name is not a property of our powers but a property of His mercy.