Upanishads · Kṛṣṇa 1.9
॥
Devanāgarī
गोकुलं वनवैकुण्ठं तापसास्तत्र ते द्रुमाः । लोभक्रोधादयो दैत्याः कलिकालस्तिरस्कृतः
Transliteration (IAST)
gokulaṃ vanavaikuṇṭhaṃ tāpasāstatra te drumāḥ | lobhakrodhādayo daityāḥ kalikālastiraskṛtaḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
गोकुलं वन-वैकुण्ठंgokulaṃ vana-vaikuṇṭhaṃGokula — the forest Vaikuṇṭha
तापसाः तत्र ते द्रुमाःtāpasāḥ tatra te drumāḥthe ascetics — those trees there
लोभ-क्रोध-आदयः दैत्याःlobha-krodha-ādayaḥ daityāḥgreed, anger, and the rest — the asuras
कलि-कालः तिरस्कृतःkali-kālaḥ tiraskṛtaḥthe age of kali — rejected
Translation
"Gokula is the forest Vaikuṇṭha; the ascetics are those trees there; greed, anger, and the rest are the asuras; the age of kali is rejected."
Version
b83d1e7552da · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
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It is worth noting two correspondences. The first: tapasas tatra te drumāḥ, "the ascetics are those trees there." That is, the trees of Vṛndāvana are ascetics who took that form in order to be there.
We met the same thought in the Rudrākṣa-jābāla (1.3), where a tree "attained immobility out of mercy toward devotees"; and it was said there that a voluntary descent into a lower form is, in essence, the very thought of avatāra. Let us add here what was not said there. In Vaiṣṇava books this position is carried to its limit: those wishing to be near Him ask to be born as grass in Vṛndāvana, so His feet might step upon them.
Uddhava, one of the wisest, says: "let me become a bush, a vine, or grass in this forest" (Bhāgavatam 10.47.61). To an outsider's ear this request seems mad; but it is explained simply: he asks not for a form but for a place; and one takes whatever form is admitted to that place. The second correspondence: lobha-krodha-ādayo daityāḥ, "greed, anger, and the rest are the asuras."
This is the key to all the stories of demon-slaying, and it is worth keeping. The demons He kills are vices; and every such story is read at once as an account of what happens with what in a person. Let us add that this reading, as was discussed when reading the third verse, does not cancel the story: the demon existed and was slain; but the same thing exists in us too, and the same happens to it.