Bhagavad Gita 13.33
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 33 of 34
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यात् आकाशं नोपलिप्यते । सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥
yathā sarva-gataṃ saukṣmyāt ākāśaṃ nopalipyate | sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate ||
As space pervades all yet is never tainted, so the ātman dwells in every body without being stained.
Word by word (3)
- yathā ākāśaṃ sarva-gatam saukṣmyāt nopalipyate
- — just as all-pervading space (ākāśa), due to its subtlety (saukṣmya), is not tainted (na + upalipyate)
- tathā ātmā sarvatrāvasthitaḥ
- — so the ātman, stationed everywhere (sarvatrāvasthita — pervading all)
- dehe nopalipyate
- — in the body — is not tainted (dehe = in the body; echoes V32 na lipyate)
Just as all-pervading space (ākāśa) is never tainted by whatever it contains — owing to its extreme subtlety — so the ātman, dwelling everywhere throughout the body, is never stained by anything in that body.
A modern analogy
The sky holds clouds, smoke, and storms yet remains forever clear above them all. The ātman holds every experience — joy, grief, hunger, illness — without being defined by any of them. Like sky behind all weather.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
As the all-pervading akasa is, from its subtlety, never soiled, so the Self seated in the body everywhere is not soiled. [1]
As the all-pervading Akasha, because of its subtlety, is not tainted, so the Self existent everywhere in the body is not tainted. [4]
As the all-pervading ether is not tainted owing to its subtlety, so the soul pervading all the body is not tainted. [9]
As the all-pervading ether, due to its subtlety, is not contaminated, so the Self present everywhere in the body is not contaminated. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
When the completely controlled mind rests serenely in the Self alone, free from all desire-pull — that is called yoga.
Three gates to hell, destructive of the self: kāma, krodha, lobha. Therefore abandon this triad.
'Alas' — the word before the argument ends and the grief takes over completely.
Discipline removes the object but longing persists. Only direct experience of the Supreme removes the longing itself.
Senses < mind < intellect < Self. Know the hierarchy — the Self is highest, and from there desire can be defeated.
Verse 33 of 34 · back to Chapter 13