Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 17 (BG 13.17)

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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 17 — Meaning & Commentary | Live Gita

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अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् |
भूतभर्तृ च तज्ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च ||१३-१७||

avibhaktaṃ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktamiva ca sthitam . bhūtabhartṛ ca tajjñeyaṃ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca ||13-17||

And undivided, yet It exists as if divided in beings; It is to be known as the supporter of being; It devours and It generates.

In simple words

Krishna continues: "It is undivided — one single reality — yet it appears to be divided among all beings. It creates all beings, sustains them, and takes them back."

Word-by-word meanings

अविभक्तम्undividedचandभूतेषुin beingsविभक्तम्dividedइवas ifचandस्थितम्existingभूतभर्तृthe supporter of beingsचandतत्That ज्ञेयम् to be knownग्रसिष्णुdevouringप्रभविष्णुgeneratingचand

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Chinmayananda

Swami Sivananda

13.17 अविभक्तम् undivided? च and? भूतेषु in beings? विभक्तम् divided? इव as if? च and? स्थितम् existing? भूतभर्तृ the supporter of beings? च and? तत् That ज्ञेयम् to be known? ग्रसिष्णु devouring? प्रभविष्णु generating? च and.Commentary Brahman must be regarded as That which supports? swallows up and also creates all beings? in the three forms of Brahma who creates the world of names anf forms? Vishnu who preserves or sustains? and Rudra who destroys. It is undivided in the various bodies. It is like ether. It is allpervding like space (Akasa). It is indivisible and the One? but It seems to divide Itself in forms and appears as all the separate existing things and beings. It is essentially unbroken. Yet? It is? as it were? divided among all beings.It devours this world during the cosmic dissolution. It generates it at the time of the origin of the next age. It supports all beings during the period of sustenance of this world.Just as fire is hidden in the wood? so also Brahman is hidden in all bodies. Just as the one space appears to be different through the limiting adjuncts (pot? house? etc.) so also the one indivisible Brahman appears to be different through the limiting adjuncts (the body? etc.). (Cf.XVIII.20)An objector says The knowable Brahman? the Knower of the field? is allpervading. It exists everywhere and yet It is not perceived. Therefore It must be of the nature of darkness or Tamas.The answer is No. It cannot be.What? then It is the Light of Lights.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Chinmayananda

# BG 13.17 — Translation of Meaning Though electricity exists everywhere, it manifests as light specifically in the bulb. Similarly, the atman, though all-pervading, manifests distinctly where the limiting adjuncts exist. The one infinite space appears as the space within a pot and the space within a temple through the adjuncts of the pot and temple. In the preceding chapters, it has been described in many places how the Supreme Self, the foundation of all existence, is the creator of the universe's origin, sustenance, and dissolution. The examples of clay, gold, the ocean, and the mind in the waking state are noteworthy—they are respectively the causes of the origin, sustenance, and dissolution of the pot, ornaments, waves, and dreams. This is the knowable reality. In the verses of this section, a descriptive exposition of that knowable reality has been given—to know which as the atman, the instruction was given to purify the inner instrument through the cultivation of qualities such as humility. Though the essence of the atman pervades both within and without us everywhere, if it does not become the subject of direct experience, it would be as if shrouded in darkness. When such a doubt arises, it is said: this is not so, because—

Swami Sivananda

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 17 (BG 13.17) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

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