Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 15
॥
Devanāgarī
शब्दवानाकाशः शब्दाकाशाभ्यां भिन्नस्तस्मिन्नाकाशे तिष्ठति स ह्याकाशस्तं न वेद स ह्यात्माहं कथं भोक्ता भवामि
Transliteration (IAST)
śabdavānākāśaḥ śabdākāśābhyāṁ bhinnastasminnākāśe tiṣṭhati sa hyākāśastaṁ na veda sa hyātmāhaṁ kathaṁ bhoktā bhavāmi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
शब्दवान् आकाशःśabdavān ākāśaḥspace possesses sound; the ether has sound
शब्दाकाशाभ्याम् भिन्नःśabdākāśābhyām bhinnaḥHe is other than sound and space; different from sound and from ether
तस्मिन् आकाशे तिष्ठतिtasmin ākāśe tiṣṭhatiHe abides in that space; He stands within the ether
सः हि आकाशःsaḥ hi ākāśaḥbut space itself; yet the ether
तम् न वेदtam na vedadoes not know Him; has no knowledge of Him
सः हि आत्मा अहम्saḥ hi ātmā ahamHe is the self, and He is I; that soul is myself
कथम् भोक्ता भवामिkatham bhoktā bhavāmihow then am I the enjoyer; in what way do I enjoy
Translation
Space possesses sound; but He is other than sound and than space, though He abides in space — and space does not know Him. He is I. How then can I be the enjoyer?
Version
59de8ad16397 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:30:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Durvāsā's answer begins, and it turns out to be no domestic excuse but an examination of the very notion of "enjoyer".
The reasoning runs thus. Every element has its own object of sense: space has sound. He who abides in them is other than the element and than its quality. He lives in space, but space knows nothing of Him: the vessel does not know its contents.
The argument is familiar from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, where the Inner Ruler is described in the same words: "who, dwelling in space, is other than space, whom space does not know". Durvāsā takes a ready formula of śruti and applies it to himself.
And hence the conclusion for whose sake all this is said: "He is I; how then can I be the enjoyer?" That is: the real I is not the one who eats but the one who dwells in all this and remains untouched.
Thus it is explained why a sage who has just eaten the offering calls himself one who does not eat. Not because he is dissembling, and not because he ate little, but because eating belongs to the body and the senses, not to the one who lives in them.
The next four mantras will repeat the same reasoning for wind, fire, water and earth — through all five elements.