Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 16
॥
Devanāgarī
स्पर्शवान् वायुः स्पर्शवायुभ्यां भिन्नस्तस्मिन् वायौ तिष्ठति वायुर्न वेद तं स ह्यात्माहं कथं भोक्ताभवामि
Transliteration (IAST)
sparśavān vāyuḥ sparśavāyubhyāṁ bhinnastasmin vāyau tiṣṭhati vāyurna veda taṁ sa hyātmāhaṁ kathaṁ bhoktābhavāmi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
स्पर्शवान् वायुःsparśavān vāyuḥwind possesses touch; air has tangibility
स्पर्शवायुभ्याम् भिन्नःsparśavāyubhyām bhinnaḥHe is other than touch and wind; different from touch and from air
तस्मिन् वायौ तिष्ठतिtasmin vāyau tiṣṭhatiHe abides in that wind; He stands within the air
वायुः न वेद तम्vāyuḥ na veda tamthe wind does not know Him; the air 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
Wind possesses touch; but He is other than touch and than wind, though He abides in wind — and wind does not know Him. He is I. How then can I be the enjoyer?
Version
af0561b58c8e · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:30:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The same formula as with space is applied to wind and its quality, touch.
The repetition here is not verbosity. In the Upaniṣads the running through of all the elements on one pattern is a mode of proof: it is shown that the conclusion does not depend on which element is taken. An argument repeated five times has the force of a list with no omissions.
Note the order: space — wind — fire — water — earth; from the subtlest to the densest. The same order of creation stood in the Pūrva-tāpanī, where the elements were derived from the syllables of the mantra.
And the formula "the wind does not know Him" is worth holding on to. We usually think that the knower is within and the known without. Here it is said otherwise: the one within knows, and the container knows nothing of him at all. The vessel does not know its contents, the body does not know its tenant.
Hence the whole force of Durvāsā's answer: he does not deny that the body ate — he denies that he ate.