उपनिषद् · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 11
॥
देवनागरी
स होवाच—मुनिं
दुर्वाशिनं मां स्मृत्वा मार्गं वो दास्यतीति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
sa hovāca—muniṁ
durvāśinaṁ māṁ smṛtvā mārgaṁ vo dāsyatīti
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
सः ह उवाचsaḥ ha uvācahe said; he spoke
मुनिम्munimthe sage; the muni
दुर्वाशिनम्durvāśinamas one who does not eat; as taking no food
माम् स्मृत्वाmām smṛtvāremembering me; calling me to mind
मार्गम् वः दास्यतिmārgam vaḥ dāsyatiit will give you a road; it will yield you a path
इतिitithus; so
अनुवाद
He said: "Remember the sage Durvāsā as one who does not eat — and the river will give you a road."
संस्करण
73e30b749cff · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:30:24 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The second word is framed like the first and likewise contradicts the evident: the sage who has just eaten a sweet milk offering bids them call him one who does not eat.
The play is on his name. Durvāsas — "ill-clad"; here it is turned into durvāśin, where vāśa is "food, eating": "taking no food", a faster. So the name of a formidable sage becomes a word about fasting.
The pairing with the first answer is plain: there Kṛṣṇa is called a brahmacārin though He has spent the night in the dance; here Durvāsā is called a faster though he has just eaten. And both words prove effective.
In this lies the teaching for whose sake the whole story is composed. Neither is Kṛṣṇa bound by His pastimes nor the knower of Brahman by his deeds: the body eats and dances, while the one within it remains untouched. Of this mantra 15 and those following will speak, where it is explained who exactly eats and who does not.
For now the cowherd women, hearing the second incredible word, will fall silent and ponder — of which the next mantra tells.