Upanishads · Kṛṣṇa 1.8
॥
Devanāgarī
गोप्यो गाव ऋचस्तस्य यष्टिका कमलासनः । वंशस्तु भगवान् रुद्रः शृङ्गमिन्द्रः सगोसुरः
Transliteration (IAST)
gopyo gāva ṛcastasya yaṣṭikā kamalāsanaḥ | vaṃśastu bhagavān rudraḥ śṛṅgamindraḥ sagosuraḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
गोप्यः गावः ऋचः तस्यgopyaḥ gāvaḥ ṛcaḥ tasyacowherd girls, cows — His hymns
यष्टिका कमल-आसनःyaṣṭikā kamala-āsanaḥthe staff — the Lotus-born
वंशः तु भगवान् रुद्रःvaṃśaḥ tu bhagavān rudraḥthe flute, however — the lord Rudra
शृङ्गम् इन्द्रः स-गो-सुरःśṛṅgam indraḥ sa-go-suraḥthe horn — Indra with the cows and gods
Translation
"Cowherd girls and cows are His hymns; the staff is the Lotus-born; the flute, however, is the lord Rudra; the horn is Indra with the cows and gods."
Version
37c12cfa8735 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The mapping by figures and objects begins, and its structure is worth examining, for it is inverted compared to the usual. Ordinarily in such correspondences the small is raised to the great: the body is the cosmic egg, the breath is the wind. Here it is the reverse: the great is reduced to the small.
Brahmā, the creator, is a staff in a cowherd's hand. Rudra is a flute. Indra is a horn.
This inversion is deliberate and is, to my mind, the chief content of the whole book. Its meaning is worth voicing thus: in Vṛndāvana, majesty has no use. There the creator is fit to be a stick in a hand; and no one finds diminishment in this.
The Vaiṣṇava side holds this position and calls it mādhurya, "sweetness," as distinct from aiśvarya, "majesty"; and the distinction between these two was discussed when reading the Gaṇapati (9.2). Let us add what she says of the same in figures. The Bhāgavatam tells how Brahmā, doubting, stole the calves and cowherd boys, and how Kṛṣṇa replaced them Himself for a year; and how Brahmā, returning, saw that nothing had changed, and fell prostrate (10.13).
This story is the same thought in action: the greatest of creators turned out to be unneeded, and no one noticed his absence. Hence the staff in this line is not a demotion of Brahmā but an indication of his true place: he is useful precisely insofar as he is with Him.