उपनिषद् · Gopāla-tāpanī Uttara 94
॥
देवनागरी
स होवाच तं हि वै नारायणो देवः
आद्या अव्यक्ता द्वादशमूर्तयः सर्वेषु लोकेषु
सर्वेषु देवेषु सर्वेषु मनुष्येषु तिष्ठन्ति
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
sa hovāca taṁ hi vai nārāyaṇo devaḥ
ādyā avyaktā dvādaśamūrtayaḥ sarveṣu lokeṣu
sarveṣu deveṣu sarveṣu manuṣyeṣu tiṣṭhanti
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
सः ह उवाचsaḥ ha uvācaand He said; then He spoke
तम् हि वै नारायणः देवःtam hi vai nārāyaṇaḥ devaḥto him the God Nārāyaṇa; to him precisely the Deity Nārāyaṇa
आद्याः अव्यक्ताःādyāḥ avyaktāḥthe primal, unmanifest; the first, unrevealed
द्वादशमूर्तयःdvādaśamūrtayaḥtwelve forms; the twelve shapes
सर्वेषु लोकेषुsarveṣu lokeṣuin all the worlds; throughout all the universes
सर्वेषु देवेषुsarveṣu deveṣuin all the gods; in every deity
सर्वेषु मनुष्येषुsarveṣu manuṣyeṣuin all men; in every mortal
तिष्ठन्तिtiṣṭhantiabide; stand
अनुवाद
And the God Nārāyaṇa said to him: the primal, unmanifest, twelve forms abide in all the worlds, in all the gods and in all men.
संस्करण
ab1baf57037c · प्रकाशित 28 जुल॰ 2026, 2:34:47 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The answer removes the question's anxiety. The twelve forms, spoken of as placed among the woods, are called abiding "in all the worlds, in all the gods and in all men".
The word avyakta, "unmanifest", explains why they are not seen: they are present without being shown to the eye. The same word stood in mantra 53, of Gopāla Himself.
Hence follows what the question was asked for: access to them is not limited by place. One who cannot come to Mathurā, and to whom it has not fallen to see the manifest form, is still not cut off: the form abides in him too.
Note that men are named in the same rank as the gods and the worlds, with no qualification of rank. So too in mantra 56 the promise was given to one who honours the image "anywhere in Jambūdvīpa".
The next mantra will spell this out in detail: which form manifests in which class of beings.