Upaniṣads · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 5
॥
Devanāgarī
कथं यास्यामोऽतीर्त्वा जलं यमुनाया यतः श्रेयो भविष्यति
Transliteración (IAST)
kathaṁ yāsyāmo'tīrtvā jalaṁ yamunāyā yataḥ śreyo bhaviṣyati
Palabra por palabra
SánscritoIASTSignificado
कथम् यास्यामःkatham yāsyāmaḥhow shall we go; in what way shall we get there
अतीर्त्वा जलम्atīrtvā jalamwithout crossing the water; without passing over the river
यमुनायाःyamunāyāḥof the Yamunā; of the river Yamunā
यतः श्रेयः भविष्यतिyataḥ śreyaḥ bhaviṣyatiand how will good come of it; whence will the benefit arise
Traducción
"But how shall we go without crossing the waters of the Yamunā? And how will good come of it?"
Versión
5511fed91603 · publicado 28 jul 2026, 14:30:24 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
The difficulty is stated plainly: between them and the sage lies a river, and there is no ford. The question is practical, and in it one hears not doubt of Kṛṣṇa but ordinary human perplexity.
The second half of the question — "and how will good come of it?" — matters more than the first. The word śreyas in the Upaniṣads means not luck but the highest good, that which is set against the merely pleasant. The cowherd women ask not only about the crossing but about the sense of the errand.
The Yamunā in this whole book is no scenery. Her waves fanned Kṛṣṇa in mantra 10 of the first part; on her bank He frolicked in verse 44; now she becomes an obstacle. One and the same river serves both beauty and testing.
The answer that now follows will be of the kind that resolves a difficulty without removing it: the river will stay where it is, and a word will let them cross it.