उपनिषद् · Gopāla-tāpanī Pūrva 16
॥
देवनागरी
वायुर्यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो जन्ये जन्ये पञ्चरूपो बभूव ।
कृष्णस्तथैको जगद्धितार्थ शब्देनासौ पञ्चपदो विभातीति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
vāyuryathaiko bhuvanaṁ praviṣṭo janye janye pañcarūpo babhūva |
kṛṣṇastathaiko jagaddhitārtha śabdenāsau pañcapado vibhātīti
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
वायुः यथा एकःvāyuḥ yathā ekaḥas the one wind; just as a single wind
भुवनम् प्रविष्टःbhuvanam praviṣṭaḥhaving entered the world; having penetrated the cosmos
जन्ये जन्येjanye janyein each thing born; in every creature
पञ्चरूपः बभूवpañcarūpaḥ babhūvabecame fivefold; turned into five kinds
कृष्णः तथा एकःkṛṣṇaḥ tathā ekaḥso the one Kṛṣṇa; just so the single Kṛṣṇa
जगद्धितार्थम्jagaddhitārthamfor the good of the world; for the benefit of the universe
शब्देनśabdenaby sound; by means of the word
असौ पञ्चपदःasau pañcapadaḥHe is of five words; shows Himself in five words
विभाति इतिvibhāti itishines forth, thus; is made manifest
अनुवाद
As the one wind, having entered the world, becomes fivefold in every living thing, so the one Kṛṣṇa, for the good of the world, shines forth in sound as five words.
संस्करण
b4aa9dfe7080 · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:22:17 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The comparison is exact and verifiable: the wind is one, but having entered a living body it becomes the five prāṇas — those five breaths the śāstras call prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna. No one will say that the winds have become five; their work differs, their nature is one.
So too with the mantra. Its five words are not five deities and not five powers but one Kṛṣṇa "shining forth in sound" as five words. The verb vibhāti, "shines, is manifest", stresses it: this is His manifestation, not His parts.
And the reason for such a manifestation is named: jagaddhitārtham, "for the good of the world". The breaking up into words is done not out of His need but out of ours: the one is unutterable, while five words can be taken on the tongue.
This verse is cited in the tradition to explain why the mantra is effective: it is not a set of sounds designating God from outside but His own manifestation in sound. Hence the rule that the name and the Named are not different — the rule on which the whole practice of kīrtana and japa rests.
Note that the comparison with the wind also introduces a measure: the five prāṇas do not quarrel among themselves and do not divide the body, but together hold up life. So too the five words hold up one contemplation.