Bhagavad Gita 13.17
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 17 of 34
अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तम् इव च स्थितम् / भूतभर्त्र् च तज् ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च
avibhaktaṃ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam / bhūta-bhartr ca taj jñeyaṃ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca
One yet appearing divided in all; sustaining yet devouring; creating yet consuming — this is the Knowable.
Word by word (4)
- avibhaktam ca bhūteṣu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam
- — undivided (avibhakta) yet appearing as if (iva = as if) divided (vibhakta) in beings (bhūteṣu) — Brahman is one, appearing as many · The heart of Advaita: Brahman is ekam (one, indivisible — avibhakta), yet it appears as the multiplicity of beings (vibhaktam iva — 'as if divided'). The 'iva' (as if) is crucial: the division is APPARENT (vivartavāda = the appearance of diversity does not change the underlying unity). Like how one moon appears as many reflections in many pools — the reflections are vibhakta (separate) while the moon is avibhakta (one).
- bhūta-bhartr ca tat jñeyam
- — that Knowable (jñeyam) is also the sustainer/bearer (bhartr = one who bears) of all beings (bhūta) · Bhartr = supporter, bearer, sustainer (from bhṛ = to carry, sustain). As avibhakta (undivided ground), Brahman supports all the apparently divided beings within itself — as space supports all objects, without effort or attachment. The bhūta-bhartr quality directly connects to the asakta-sarva-bhṛt of V15.
- grasiṣṇu
- — the devouring one, the consuming/reabsorbing one — Brahman dissolves all beings at the end of each cosmic cycle (pralaya = dissolution) · Grasiṣṇu = one who swallows/devours (grasa = gulp/mouthful; -iṣṇu = having the nature of). At cosmic dissolution (mahā-pralaya), all manifestation returns to Brahman — 'devoured.' This is not destruction but reabsorption: waves returning to the ocean. The terrifying 'time-as-devourer' (kālo'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt — Ch.11 V32) is the same principle.
- prabhaviṣṇu ca
- — and the one who causes to manifest/generate/create (prabhaviṣṇu = having the nature of projecting forth, prabhava = origin/emergence) · Prabhaviṣṇu = one who projects creation (pra + bhava = to come forth prominently; -iṣṇu = tendency toward). At the start of each cosmic cycle (sarga = creation), Brahman projects all beings forth from itself. Grasiṣṇu-prabhaviṣṇu = the inhalation and exhalation of Brahman — the cosmic breath that rhythmically dissolves and re-creates the universe.
Undivided, yet it abides as if divided among beings; this is to be known as the sustainer of all beings, the devourer and the bringer-forth of all.
A modern analogy
Gold and ornaments: the gold is one (avibhakta) but appears as many ornaments — ring, necklace, bracelet (vibhaktam iva). The ornaments do not contain 'pieces' of gold; each contains the full nature of goldness. Brahman-in-beings is the same: each being IS Brahman appearing in a particular form. Dissolution = ornaments melted back to gold (grasiṣṇu); creation = gold fashioned into new ornaments (prabhaviṣṇu).
What it does NOT mean
Grasiṣṇu can seem frightening — Brahman as 'devourer.' But this is the most loving dissolution: returning to the source is not death but homecoming. The waves are not 'devoured' when they return to the ocean; they simply cease the illusion of being separate. Pralaya = cosmic homecoming.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Impartible, yet It exists as if divided in beings; It is to be known as the Sustainer of all beings; It devours and generates. [4]
[Arnold full chapter text; verse covers undivided-yet-appearing-divided, sustainer, devourer, and generator] [7]
And undivided, yet remaining divided as it were in beings; this Knowable supports (all) beings, (and is) the devouring and the creating one. [9]
Though undivided among all beings, it appears to be divided. That which is to be known is the supporter of all beings, the devourer, and the generator. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
Noble are all — but the jñānī I regard as My very Self; with united mind, resting in Me alone as the supreme goal.
At the end of many births, the wise takes refuge in Me — 'Vāsudeva is all.' That great soul is exceedingly rare.
Verse 17 of 34 · back to Chapter 13