Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 25
॥
Devanāgarī
यो ह वै कामेन कामान् कामयते स कामी भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
yo ha vai kāmena kāmān kāmayate sa kāmī bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यः ह वैyaḥ ha vaihe who truly; the one who indeed
कामेन कामान् कामयतेkāmena kāmān kāmayatedesires the desirable with desire; craving, reaches after objects
सः कामी भवतिsaḥ kāmī bhavatihe becomes one who lusts; he is made lustful
Translation
He who desires the desirable with desire is the one who lusts.
Version
3aa87b6a4d5b · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:30:24 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A definition of lust, and in it one root is repeated three times: kāmena kāmān kāmayate — "with desire he desires the desirable".
The tautology works here as a definition. What makes a man lustful is neither the presence of an object nor the movement toward it, but what moves him: kāmena — "by desire", that is, by a lack that must be made up.
This mantra and the next form a pair and together resolve the riddle set at the start of the Uttara-tāpanī: how can He who spent the night in the dance be called a brahmacārin?
The answer will be given not by denying the closeness but by distinguishing what drives it. For now what is named is what we know from ourselves: our striving toward the beloved is an attempt to fill a void, and therefore it is called kāma.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa cites these two mantras in the Govinda-bhāṣya when examining why śṛṅgāra, conjugal love, is ascribed to the Highest without any damage to His fullness.