Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 3
॥
Devanāgarī
अनु कस्मै ब्राह्मणाय भक्ष्यं दातव्यं भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
anu kasmai brāhmaṇāya bhakṣyaṁ dātavyaṁ bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अनुanufurther; then
कस्मै ब्राह्मणायkasmai brāhmaṇāyato which brāhmaṇa; to which of the brāhmaṇas
भक्ष्यम्bhakṣyamthe food; the offering of fare
दातव्यम् भवतिdātavyam bhavatiis to be given; should be presented
Translation
"To which brāhmaṇa are we to present the food?"
Version
c343a363a26f · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:30:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The question is entirely domestic: the food is ready, to whom shall it be taken? With this the whole Uttara-tāpanī begins.
The word bhakṣya means food that is eaten, fare; in other recensions of the text there stands bhaikṣya, "alms". The sense is one: the feeding of a brāhmaṇa, an ordinary and honoured act.
Behind the simplicity of the question stands a custom: to feed a worthy guest was held to bring more than many a sacrifice. The cowherd women wish to perform it properly and therefore ask to whom exactly.
The answer will be unexpected: Durvāsā — a sage known not for mildness but for wrath. And to him, across the river, the women will be sent.
Note that the whole lofty part of this half of the book — Nārāyaṇa's teaching, the exposition of the names, the description of Mathurā — will grow out of this simple household question. So the Upaniṣad shows that the high enters life through its ordinary business and not apart from it.