Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 97
॥
Devanāgarī
विज्ञानघनानन्दघन—सच्चिदानन्दैकरसे
भक्तियोगे तिष्ठति
Transliteration (IAST)
vijñānaghanānandaghana—saccidānandaikarase
bhaktiyoge tiṣṭhati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
विज्ञानघनvijñānaghanaa mass of knowledge; dense knowing
आनन्दघनānandaghanaa mass of bliss; dense joy
सच्चिदानन्दैकरसेsaccidānandaikarasein the single savour of being, consciousness and bliss; in the one taste of sac-cid-ānanda
भक्तियोगे तिष्ठतिbhaktiyoge tiṣṭhatiHe abides in bhakti-yoga; He stands in the yoga of loving devotion
Translation
A mass of knowledge, a mass of bliss, in the single savour of being, consciousness and bliss — He abides in bhakti-yoga.
Version
15660d7e0fda · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:34:47 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
One of the most remarkable lines in the whole of Upaniṣadic literature: it is said where He abides, He who has just been described as "a mass of knowledge and bliss". He abides in bhakti-yoga.
Not "is given through bhakti" and not "is pleased by bhakti", but abides in it, as in a dwelling place. The devotee's love is named His address.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa cites this line in the Govinda-bhāṣya precisely so: it proves that He, "pleased by bhakti, manifests Himself", and that His inward inaccessibility is an ungraspability by anything but prema.
The word ghana, "mass, density", stands twice: not "possessing knowledge" and not "experiencing bliss", but wholly and entirely knowledge and bliss. And "single savour", eka-rasa: the three things named — being, consciousness, bliss — are not three layers but one taste.
After the long examination of the adornments, the guṇas and the classes of beings, the book utters this line — and everything said finds its place: the structure was examined in order to point to love.