उपनिषद् · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 56
॥
देवनागरी
मथुरामण्डले यस्तु जम्बूद्वीपे स्थितोऽपि वा ।
योऽर्चयेत् प्रतिमां माञ्च स मे प्रियतरो भुवि
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
mathurāmaṇḍale yastu jambūdvīpe sthito'pi vā |
yo'rcayet pratimāṁ māñca sa me priyataro bhuvi
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
मथुरामण्डले यः तुmathurāmaṇḍale yaḥ tuhe who in the district of Mathurā; he who in the Mathurā circle
जम्बूद्वीपे स्थितः अपि वाjambūdvīpe sthitaḥ api vāor abiding in Jambūdvīpa; or dwelling on the continent
यः अर्चयेत् प्रतिमाम् माम् चyaḥ arcayet pratimām mām caworships My image; renders honour to My likeness
सः मे प्रियतरः भुविsaḥ me priyataraḥ bhuvihe is dearest to Me on earth; he is more beloved to Me than others in the world
अनुवाद
"He who, in the district of Mathurā or anywhere in Jambūdvīpa, worships My image — he is dearest to Me on earth."
संस्करण
70c1dcf912c5 · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:30:24 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The mantra speaks of the worship of an image — pratimā — and speaks without any reservation: one who honours it is "dearest of all on earth".
Worth noting is the qualification of place: "in the district of Mathurā or anywhere in Jambūdvīpa". Jambūdvīpa is the whole inhabited earth of tradition. That is, nearness to the shrine is desirable but not required: the honouring of the image works far away too.
This passage matters in another respect too. The word pratimā in the Śvetāśvatara stands in the famous line "there is no likeness of Him", sometimes read as a ban on images. Here the very book of the tradition that also honours the Śvetāśvatara directly prescribes the honouring of an image — and thereby confirms that what was denied there was commensurability, not worship.
And note the measure of the reward: not "he will reach the abode" and not "he will receive the fruit", but "he is dearest to Me". The fruit named is His own affection.