Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 105
॥
Devanāgarī
ओं कृष्णाय देवकीनन्दनाय
ओं तत्सद् भूर्भुवः
स्वस्तस्मै वै प्राणात्मने नमो नमः
Transliteration (IAST)
oṁ kṛṣṇāya devakīnandanāya
oṁ tatsad bhūrbhuvaḥ
svastasmai vai prāṇātmane namo namaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ओं कृष्णायoṁ kṛṣṇāyaoṁ, to Kṛṣṇa; oṁ, to the All-attractive
देवकीनन्दनायdevakīnandanāyato the son of Devakī; to the joy of Devakī
ओं तत् सत्oṁ tat satoṁ, that is the truth; oṁ, that is the real
भूः भुवः स्वःbhūḥ bhuvaḥ svaḥearth, air, heaven; the three worlds
तस्मै वै प्राणात्मनेtasmai vai prāṇātmaneto Him whose essence is prāṇa; to that very soul of breath
नमः नमःnamaḥ namaḥobeisance and obeisance; homage again and again
Translation
Oṁ, to Kṛṣṇa, to the son of Devakī. Oṁ, that is the truth; earth, air, heaven. To Him whose essence is prāṇa, obeisance and obeisance.
Version
35cb832d3184 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:36:50 PM UTC
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The invocation names Him by His Mathurā birth: devakī-nandana, "the joy of Devakī", the son of her from whom He was born in Kaṁsa's dungeon.
This very birth was asked about by Gāndharvī in mantra 28: "how was He born of Devakī?" The book's answer consists in this, that both births — of Devakī and in Vraja — belong to one, and so both names stand in one litany.
Note the ending: the bow is turned "to Him whose essence is prāṇa". The name of Kṛṣṇa and the name of breath are brought together in one invocation, whereas the other invocations kept them apart. Thereby it is said that this alternation is not a listing of two series but one series: life, and He who lives it.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa cites precisely this mantra in the Govinda-bhāṣya when examining the Lord's ages and His birth: it testifies that the one born of Devakī is the same as the one who is eternal.