Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 83
॥
Devanāgarī
येन सूर्याग्निवाक्चन्द्र तेजसा स्वस्वरूपिणा ।
वर्तते कौस्तुभाख्यं मणिं वदन्तीशमानिनः
Transliteration (IAST)
yena sūryāgnivākcandra tejasā svasvarūpiṇā |
vartate kaustubhākhyaṁ maṇiṁ vadantīśamāninaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
येन सूर्याग्निवाक्चन्द्रyena sūryāgnivākcandraby which the sun, fire, speech and moon; by which the luminary, flame, word and moon
तेजसा स्वस्वरूपिणाtejasā svasvarūpiṇāby the radiance that is its own nature; by the brilliance constituting its essence
वर्ततेvartateexist; subsist
कौस्तुभाख्यम् मणिम्kaustubhākhyam maṇimthe jewel called Kaustubha; the gem named Kaustubha
वदन्ति ईशमानिनःvadanti īśamāninaḥthose mindful of the Lord call it; so speak those who remember the Master
Translation
The radiance that is the very nature of the sun, fire, speech and moon, and by which they exist — this those mindful of the Lord call the jewel Kaustubha.
Version
93e42939c6fe · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:34:47 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The examination of the ornaments begins, and it turns the adornments into names of the world's principles.
The Kaustubha — the jewel on the Lord's chest — is interpreted as the radiance by which the sun, fire and moon shine and by which speech sounds. In other words, the jewel on His chest is the source of every light in the world.
This echoes the famous passage of the Kaṭha and the Śvetāśvatara: "there the sun does not shine, nor the moon with the stars… by His light all this shines". Here the same thought is said in the language of an ornament.
Note the phrase sva-svarūpiṇā, "by the radiance that is its own nature": the light is not attached to the luminaries from outside, it is what they are — and it comes from Him.
The following mantras will read the conch, the discus, the bow, the mace, the crown and the earrings the same way. The device is ancient: a deity's adornment is read as the structure of the world, and so contemplating the form turns out to be contemplating everything.