Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 39
॥
Devanāgarī
भद्रो भद्रवनं भाण्डीर इति भाण्डीरवनं श्रीवनं लोहवनं वृन्दया वृन्दावनं । एतैरावृता पुरी भवति
Transliteration (IAST)
bhadro bhadravanaṁ bhāṇḍīra iti bhāṇḍīravanaṁ śrīvanaṁ lohavanaṁ vṛndayā vṛndāvanaṁ | etairāvṛtā purī bhavati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भद्रः भद्रवनम्bhadraḥ bhadravanamBhadra — Bhadravana; from Bhadra, the wood of Bhadra
भाण्डीरः इति भाण्डीरवनम्bhāṇḍīraḥ iti bhāṇḍīravanamBhāṇḍīra — Bhāṇḍīravana; from the Bhāṇḍīra banyan, its wood
श्रीवनम्śrīvanamŚrīvana; the wood of Śrī
लोहवनम्lohavanamLohavana; the iron wood
वृन्दया वृन्दावनम्vṛndayā vṛndāvanamfrom Vṛndā, Vṛndāvana; named after Vṛndā, her wood
एतैः आवृता पुरी भवतिetaiḥ āvṛtā purī bhavatiby these the city is encircled; with these the town is ringed
Translation
Bhadra — hence Bhadravana; the Bhāṇḍīra banyan — hence Bhāṇḍīravana; Śrīvana, Lohavana; and after the name of Vṛndā, Vṛndāvana. By these the city is encircled.
Version
a5861a128385 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:30:24 PM UTC
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The answer begins with geography: the forests that surround the city are listed. The city is Mathurā, and mantras 46 and following will speak of it in detail.
The names of the woods are given with their etymologies, like the names of Kṛṣṇa in the book's first part. Bhadravana from Bhadra, "the good"; Bhāṇḍīravana from the famous Bhāṇḍīra banyan under which, by tradition, the cowherd women played; Vṛndāvana after the name of Vṛndā, that is tulasī, and also "a grove".
More important than the details is this: the abode is described as a forest, not as a palace. In the Upaniṣads the highest abode is usually described by light or by negations; here it is named after trees.
And it says "by these the city is encircled": the woods are not outskirts but a wall. Mathurā in this description stands within a ring of forest, and the following mantras will speak of who lives in those woods.
Tradition knows twelve such forests; their full number will be named in mantra 42.