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BG 13.17 — 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.
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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||


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.

Word-by-word meanings

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

Commentaries

Non-dualism. The individual self and Brahman are one. The world is appearance (maya). Liberation through knowledge.

Sri Shankaracharya

13.17 And further, tat, that; jneyam, Knowable; though avibhaktam, undivided, remaining the same in all beings like space; iva sthitam, appears to be existing; as vibhaktam, divided; bhutesu, in all beings, because It is perceived as existing in the bodies themselves. And just as a rope etc. are with regard to a snake etc. That are falsely imagined, similarly that Knowable is bhutabhartr, the sustainer of all beings, sinced It sustains all during the period of their existence; grasisnu, the devourer, at the time of dissolution; and prabhavisnu, the originator, at the time of creation. Further, it the Knowable is not perceived though existing everywhere, then It is darkness? Not! What then?

(Showing excerpt)

Swami Gambirananda

13.17 And the Knowable, though undivided, appears to be existing as divided in all beings, and It is the sustainer of all beings as also the devourer and originator.

This interpretation draws on the Advaita 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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