Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 4
॥
Devanāgarī
दुर्वाससेति
Transliteration (IAST)
durvāsaseti
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दुर्वाससेdurvāsaseto Durvāsā; to the sage Durvāsā
इतिitithus; to him, then
Translation
"To Durvāsā", He said.
Version
3cf1ac9326c2 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:30:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
An answer of one word, and the word is plainly chosen with intent.
Durvāsā is a sage whom tradition remembers above all for his wrath: his curses altered the fates of kings and of gods. To send someone to him is to send them where nothing may be amiss.
His name is explained two ways, and both etymologies will play a part in this book. Durvāsas — "ill-clad", going about in rags. And dur-vāsa — "one hard to live with". Later, in mantra 11, Kṛṣṇa will call him durvāśin, playing on the word vāśa — "food, eating".
The choice of recipient sets the cowherd women a task: Durvāsā must still be reached, and between them lies the Yamunā. Hence the next question — and the whole conversation that follows.
Note that the name is given without any explanation: the narrator is sure the hearer knows who is meant. So in the Upaniṣads one speaks of persons known to all.