Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 61
॥
Devanāgarī
मयोक्तेन स्वधर्मेण निष्कामेण विभागशः ।
तैरहं पूजनीयो वै भद्रकृष्ण निवासिभिः
Transliteration (IAST)
mayoktena svadharmeṇa niṣkāmeṇa vibhāgaśaḥ |
tairahaṁ pūjanīyo vai bhadrakṛṣṇa nivāsibhiḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मया उक्तेन स्वधर्मेणmayā uktena svadharmeṇaby one's own dharma, declared by Me; according to one's own duty as I have stated it
निष्कामेण विभागशःniṣkāmeṇa vibhāgaśaḥwithout desire, by division; with no self-interest, by allotted share
तैः अहम् पूजनीयः वैtaiḥ aham pūjanīyaḥ vaiby them I am to be worshipped; by them it is fitting to render honour to Me
भद्रकृष्ण निवासिभिःbhadrakṛṣṇa nivāsibhiḥby the dwellers in Bhadra and Kṛṣṇa; by the inhabitants of Bhadravana and Kṛṣṇavana
Translation
"By one's own dharma, as I have declared it, without self-interest and by allotted share — so let the dwellers in Bhadravana and Kṛṣṇavana worship Me."
Version
a7ca81cd826c · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:30:24 PM UTC
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Worship is bound up with sva-dharma — with each one's own duty. And two conditions are named.
The first: "as declared by Me". Duty is not chosen by taste and not invented: it is given. The second: niṣkāmena — "without self-interest", with no reckoning on the fruit. Both conditions together make up what the later tradition will call the performance of one's own work as service.
"By allotted share", vibhāgaśaḥ, refers back to the fourfold worship of mantra 58: each has his own portion and his own manner of service.
And the places are named: Bhadravana and Kṛṣṇavana — the two woods between which lie the twelve (mantra 42). That is, the reference is to the inhabitants of this whole region.
Note how two things often set against each other are joined here: ordinary worldly duty and worship. Duty performed without self-interest is here itself the form of worship; nothing beyond it is required.