Upanishads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 115
॥
Devanāgarī
एको देवः सर्वभूतेषु गूढः
सर्वव्यापी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा ।
कर्माध्यक्षः सर्वभूताधिवासः
साक्षी चेता केवलो निर्गुणश्च
Transliteration (IAST)
eko devaḥ sarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ
sarvavyāpī sarvabhūtāntarātmā |
karmādhyakṣaḥ sarvabhūtādhivāsaḥ
sākṣī cetā kevalo nirguṇaśca
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एकः देवःekaḥ devaḥone God; the single Deity
सर्वभूतेषु गूढःsarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥhidden in all beings; concealed in every creature
सर्वव्यापीsarvavyāpīall-pervading; penetrating everything
सर्वभूतान्तरात्माsarvabhūtāntarātmāthe inner soul of all beings; the Ātman within each
कर्माध्यक्षःkarmādhyakṣaḥoverseer of deeds; who watches over actions
सर्वभूताधिवासःsarvabhūtādhivāsaḥdwelling in all beings; whose dwelling is every creature
साक्षी चेताsākṣī cetāthe witness, the conscious one; the eyewitness and the thinking one
केवलः निर्गुणः चkevalaḥ nirguṇaḥ caalone and without qualities; self-sufficient and devoid of the guṇas
Translation
One God, hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the inner soul of all beings, the overseer of deeds, dwelling in all, the witness, the conscious one, alone and without guṇas.
Version
a6489a3be286 · published Jul 28, 2026, 2:36:50 PM UTC
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The famous mantra of the Śvetāśvatara is quoted whole — the very one that stands in its sixth adhyāya. The book closes its teaching with another's words, and this is its usual move: again and again it props itself with universally acknowledged sayings.
The names of the Inner Ruler are listed: hidden in all, all-pervading, the soul of each, overseer of deeds, witness, conscious, one, qualityless.
The last word, nirguṇa, must be read as this very book has already explained at mantra 92: free of the guṇas of nature, but not of His own perfections. Otherwise it would contradict everything said here about the form, the adornments and the pastimes.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa cites this mantra in the Govinda-bhāṣya precisely so — to show that the Lord is hidden in every being as its inner soul, and that the "qualitylessness" of śruti does not cancel His good qualities.
By setting this line beside the litany to Gopāla, the book once more asserts its main point: He of whom the Upaniṣads speak is the Cowherd.