Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 21
॥
Devanāgarī
यत्र सर्वमात्मैवाभूत्तत्र वा कुत्र मनुते क्व वा गच्छतीति स ह्यात्माहं कथं भोक्ता भवामि
Transliteration (IAST)
yatra sarvamātmaivābhūttatra vā kutra manute kva vā gacchatīti sa hyātmāhaṁ kathaṁ bhoktā bhavāmi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यत्र सर्वम् आत्मा एव अभूत्yatra sarvam ātmā eva abhūtwhere everything has become the Self; when all has proved to be Him
तत्र वा कुत्र मनुतेtatra vā kutra manutethere of what is one to think; there what is there to think of
क्व वा गच्छतिkva vā gacchatior where is one to go; and where is one to move
इतिitithus; so
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
And where everything has become the Self — what is there to think of, and where is there to go? He is I. How then can I be the enjoyer?
Version
a00a84277cf7 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:30:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mantra repeats almost word for word the famous passage of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka: "where everything has become the Self for him, there by what and whom should one see, by what and of whom should one think?"
Its sense is this. The work of the mind described in the previous mantra is possible only in duality: there is I and there is an object toward which I reach. Where everything has been recognised as He, there is nowhere to reach — and so there is neither thought of an object nor movement toward it.
"Where is there to go?" is a question about movement, and not bodily movement only: all movement is a striving toward what is not here. Where nothing is outside Him, movement loses its sense.
This does not mean that for the attained the world has vanished. Durvāsā goes on eating, walking and speaking; what has vanished is the claim to the role of enjoyer, not life itself. The Īśa Upaniṣad draws the same distinction, promising that the knower, "even doing deeds, is not smeared by them".
And for the fifth time the question is repeated: "how then can I be the enjoyer?" With this Durvāsā's answer about himself ends; next he will speak of Kṛṣṇa.