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Rādhopaniṣad textual dossier · Unit 1 of 6

The Supreme Power and the Twenty-eight Names

Unit 1 of 6Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 1Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 1515 source entries

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 1

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ॐ अथोर्ध्वमन्थिन ऋषयः सनकाद्या भगवन्तं हिरण्यगर्भमुपासित्वोचुः देव कः परमो देवः, का वा तच्छक्तयः, तासु च का वरीयसी भवतीति सृष्टिहेतुभूता च केति ।

oṃ athordhvamanthina ṛṣayaḥ sanakādyā bhagavantaṃ hiraṇyagarbhamupāsitvocuḥ deva kaḥ paramo devaḥ, kā vā tacchaktayaḥ, tāsu ca kā varīyasī bhavatīti sṛṣṭihetubhūtā ca keti |

English translation

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Om. Then the celibate sages, Sanaka and the others, having worshipped the blessed Hiranyagarbha, said: ‘O god, who is the supreme deity? What are that deity’s powers? Among them, which is the highest and the cause of creation?’

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 2

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स होवाच—हे पुत्रकाः शृणुतेदं ह वाव गुह्याद् गुह्यतरमप्रकाश्यं यस्मै कस्मै न देयम् । स्निग्धाय ब्रह्मवादिने गुरुभक्ताय देयमन्यथा दातुर्महदघं भवतीति ।

sa hovāca—he putrakāḥ śṛṇutedaṃ ha vāva guhyād guhyataramaprakāśyaṃ yasmai kasmai na deyam | snigdhāya brahmavādine gurubhaktāya deyamanyathā dāturmahadaghaṃ bhavatīti |

English translation

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He said: ‘Dear sons, hear this, which is more secret than the secret. It is not to be disclosed or given indiscriminately. It should be given to one who is affectionate, who speaks of Brahman, and who is devoted to the teacher; otherwise a great fault falls upon the giver.’

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 3

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कृष्णो ह वै हरिः परमो देवः षड्विधैश्वर्यपरिपूर्णो भगवान् गोपीगोपसेव्यो वृन्दाराधितो वृन्दावनाधिनाथः, स एक एवेश्वरः ।

kṛṣṇo ha vai hariḥ paramo devaḥ ṣaḍvidhaiśvaryaparipūrṇo bhagavān gopīgopasevyo vṛndārādhito vṛndāvanādhināthaḥ, sa eka eveśvaraḥ |

English translation

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Krishna, who is Hari, is indeed the supreme deity: Bhagavan, complete in the six forms of sovereignty, served by the gopis and gopas, worshipped by Vrinda, and Lord of Vrindavan. He alone is the Lord.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 4

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तस्य ह वै द्वैततनुर्नारायणोऽखिलब्रह्माण्डाधिपतिरेकोंऽशः प्रकृतेः प्राचीनो नित्यः ।

tasya ha vai dvaitatanurnārāyaṇo'khilabrahmāṇḍādhipatirekoṃ'śaḥ prakṛteḥ prācīno nityaḥ |

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Narayana, sovereign of all the universes, is his other embodiment and a single portion of him—eternal and prior to Prakriti.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 5

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एवं हि तस्य शक्तयस्त्वनेकधा । आह्लादिनीसंधिनीज्ञानेच्छाक्रियाद्या बहुविधाः शक्तयः ।

evaṃ hi tasya śaktayastvanekadhā | āhlādinīsaṃdhinījñānecchākriyādyā bahuvidhāḥ śaktayaḥ |

English translation

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His powers are thus manifold. Hladini, Sandhini, knowledge, will, action, and many others are his many kinds of power.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 6

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तास्वाह्लादिनी वरीयसी परमान्तरङ्गभूता राधा । कृष्णेन आराध्यत इति राधा, कृष्णं समाराधयति सदेति राधिका गान्धर्वेति व्यपदिश्यत इति ।

tāsvāhlādinī varīyasī paramāntaraṅgabhūtā rādhā | kṛṣṇena ārādhyata iti rādhā, kṛṣṇaṃ samārādhayati sadeti rādhikā gāndharveti vyapadiśyata iti |

English translation

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Among them Hladini is the highest, the supremely intimate power: Radha. Because she is worshipped by Krishna she is Radha; because she always worships Krishna completely she is Radhika. She is also designated Gandharva.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 7

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अस्या एव कायव्यूहरूपा गोप्यो महिष्यः श्रीश्चेति । येयं राधा यश्च कृष्णो रसाब्धिर्देहेनैकः क्रीडनार्थं द्विधाभूत् ।

asyā eva kāyavyūharūpā gopyo mahiṣyaḥ śrīśceti | yeyaṃ rādhā yaśca kṛṣṇo rasābdhirdehenaikaḥ krīḍanārthaṃ dvidhābhūt |

English translation

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The gopis, the queens, and Shri are bodily expansions of her alone. This Radha and Krishna, the ocean of rasa, are one in body and became two for the sake of play.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 8

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एषा वै हरेः सर्वेश्वरी सर्वविद्या सनातनी कृष्णप्राणाधिदेवी चेति विविक्ते वेदाः स्तुवन्ति, यस्या गतिं ब्रह्मभागा वदन्ति । महिमास्याः स्वायुर्मानेनापि कालेन वक्तुं न चोत्सहे । सैव यस्य प्रसीदति तस्य करतलावकलितं परमं धामेति । एतामवज्ञाय यः कृष्णमाराधयितुमिच्छति स मूढतमो मूढतमश्चेति ।

eṣā vai hareḥ sarveśvarī sarvavidyā sanātanī kṛṣṇaprāṇādhidevī ceti vivikte vedāḥ stuvanti, yasyā gatiṃ brahmabhāgā vadanti | mahimāsyāḥ svāyurmānenāpi kālena vaktuṃ na cotsahe | saiva yasya prasīdati tasya karatalāvakalitaṃ paramaṃ dhāmeti | etāmavajñāya yaḥ kṛṣṇamārādhayitumicchati sa mūḍhatamo mūḍhatamaśceti |

English translation

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She is the sovereign of all that belongs to Hari, all eternal knowledge, and the presiding goddess of Krishna’s very life. In seclusion the Vedas praise her, whose destination the knowers of Brahman proclaim. I could not finish speaking her greatness even in the full measure of my lifespan. For the one to whom she is gracious, the supreme abode lies as if held in the palm. One who disregards her yet wishes to worship Krishna is the most deluded of the deluded.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 9

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अथ हैतानि नामानि गायन्ति श्रुतयः—राधा रासेश्वरी रम्या कृष्णमन्त्राधिदेवता । सर्वाद्या सर्ववन्द्या च वृन्दावनविहारिणी ॥

atha haitāni nāmāni gāyanti śrutayaḥ—rādhā rāseśvarī ramyā kṛṣṇamantrādhidevatā | sarvādyā sarvavandyā ca vṛndāvanavihāriṇī ||

English translation

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Then the Shrutis sing these names: Radha; Queen of the rasa dance; Lovely One; Presiding Deity of Krishna’s mantra; First of all; Worshipped by all; and She who wanders in Vrindavan.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 10

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वृन्दाराध्या रमाशेषगोपीमण्डलपूजिता । सत्या सत्यपरा सत्यभामा श्रीकृष्णवल्लभा ॥

vṛndārādhyā ramāśeṣagopīmaṇḍalapūjitā | satyā satyaparā satyabhāmā śrīkṛṣṇavallabhā ||

English translation

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Worshipped by Vrinda; Rama; Worshipped by the entire circle of gopis; True; Devoted to truth; Satyabhama; and Beloved of Shri Krishna.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 11

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वृषभानुसुता गोपी मूलप्रकृतिरीश्वरी । गान्धर्वा राधिकाऽऽरम्या रुक्मिणी परमेश्वरी ॥

vṛṣabhānusutā gopī mūlaprakṛtirīśvarī | gāndharvā rādhikā''ramyā rukmiṇī parameśvarī ||

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Daughter of Vrishabhanu; Gopi; Primordial Prakriti; Sovereign; Gandharva; Radhika; Supremely delightful; Rukmini; and Supreme Sovereign.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 12

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परात्परतरा पूर्णा पूर्णचन्द्रनिभानना । भुक्तिमुक्तिप्रदा नित्यं भवव्याधिविनाशिनी ॥

parātparatarā pūrṇā pūrṇacandranibhānanā | bhuktimuktipradā nityaṃ bhavavyādhivināśinī ||

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Higher than the highest; Fullness itself; She whose face resembles the full moon; Eternal giver of enjoyment and liberation; and Destroyer of the disease of becoming.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 13

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इत्येतानि नामानि यः पठेत् स जीवन्मुक्तो भवति । इत्याह हिरण्यगर्भो भगवानिति ।

ityetāni nāmāni yaḥ paṭhet sa jīvanmukto bhavati | ityāha hiraṇyagarbho bhagavāniti |

English translation

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One who recites these names becomes liberated while living. Thus spoke the blessed Hiranyagarbha.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 14

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संधिनी तु धामभूषणशय्यासनादिमित्रभृत्यादिरूपेण परिणता मृत्युलोकावतरणकाले मातृपितृरूपेण चासीदित्यनेकावतारकारणा । ज्ञानशक्तिस्तु क्षेत्रज्ञशक्तिरिति । इच्छान्तर्भूता माया सत्त्वरजस्तमोमयी बहिरङ्गा जगत्कारणभूता सैवाविद्यारूपेण जीवबन्धनभूता । क्रियाशक्तिस्तु लीलाशक्तिरिति ।

saṃdhinī tu dhāmabhūṣaṇaśayyāsanādimitrabhṛtyādirūpeṇa pariṇatā mṛtyulokāvataraṇakāle mātṛpitṛrūpeṇa cāsīdityanekāvatārakāraṇā | jñānaśaktistu kṣetrajñaśaktiriti | icchāntarbhūtā māyā sattvarajastamomayī bahiraṅgā jagatkāraṇabhūtā saivāvidyārūpeṇa jīvabandhanabhūtā | kriyāśaktistu līlāśaktiriti |

English translation

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Sandhini becomes the abode, ornaments, bed, seat, friends, servants, and other forms; when the Lord descends into the mortal world she also becomes mother and father, and is therefore the cause of many descents. The power of knowledge is the power of the knower of the field. Maya is contained within the power of will: made of sattva, rajas, and tamas, external, and the cause of the world; as ignorance she becomes the cause of the living being’s bondage. The power of action is the power of divine play.

Ṛgvedic Rādhopaniṣad 15

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य इमामुपनिषदमधीते सोऽव्रती व्रती भवति, स वायुपूतो भवति, स सर्वपूतो भवति, राधाकृष्णप्रियो भवति, स यावच्चक्षुः पातं पङ्क्तीः पुनाति ॐ तत्सत् । इति ऋग्वेदीया श्रीराधोपनिषत् ।

ya imāmupaniṣadamadhīte so'vratī vratī bhavati, sa vāyupūto bhavati, sa sarvapūto bhavati, rādhākṛṣṇapriyo bhavati, sa yāvaccakṣuḥ pātaṃ paṅktīḥ punāti oṃ tatsat | iti ṛgvedīyā śrīrādhopaniṣat |

English translation

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One who studies this Upanishad becomes observant even if previously without vows. That person becomes purified like the wind, becomes wholly pure, and becomes dear to Radha and Krishna; as far as that person’s gaze falls, the rows of people are purified. Om. That is truth. Thus ends the Rigvedic Shri Radhopanishad.