Bhagavad Gita 9.17
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 17 of 34
पिताहमस्य जगतो माता धाता पितामहः | वेद्यं पवित्रमोंकार ऋक्साम यजुरेव च ||१७||
pitā'ham asya jagato mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ | vedyaṃ pavitram oṃkāra ṛk sāma yajur eva ca || 17 ||
I am the Father, Mother, Sustainer, Grandfather, Purifier, the knowable, OM — and the three Vedas.
Word by word (3)
- pitā aham asya jagataḥ mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ
- — I am the Father of this world, the Mother, the Sustainer, the Grandfather · pitā = Father (pitṛ = father — the masculine creative/generative principle; as Father, the divine is the primordial source that begets existence). aham = I. asya jagataḥ = of this world (asya = of this; jagataḥ = of the world, genitive — 'of this world/universe'). mātā = Mother (mātṛ = mother — the nurturing, sustaining, generative-receptive principle; as Mother, the divine is the womb of all existence, the nurturing ground). dhātā = the Sustainer/Creator (dhātā = the one who holds/sustains/ordains — from √dhā = to hold, to sustain; also used as a name of the Creator; dhātā = the one who sustains and ordains the order of existence). pitāmahaḥ = the Grandfather (pita-maha = father's father = grandfather — the divine as the primordial ancestor, source beyond the immediate parental generation; the cosmic lineage going back to the absolute origin). V17's first half: four familial-cosmic roles — Father (masculine creative source), Mother (feminine nurturing-generative), Sustainer (the one who holds existence together), Grandfather (the primordial ancestor). These four cover the complete familial dimension of the divine's relationship to the cosmos: the divine is not only the abstract ground but the most intimate family — father, mother, and even the grandfather (the source of the parents).
- vedyaṃ pavitram oṃkāra ṛk sāma yajuḥ eva ca
- — The knowable, the purifier, OM — the Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajur Vedas · vedyam = the knowable (vedya = that which is to be known, the object of knowledge — from √vid = to know; the divine is the ultimate knowable, the only thing worth truly knowing). pavitram = the purifier (pavitra = that which purifies — from √pū = to purify; pavitram = 'that which is purifying'; the divine is the supreme purifier, echoing V9.2's pavitram idam uttamam = 'this teaching is the supreme purifier'). oṃkāra = the syllable OM (oṃ + kāra = 'the maker/sound OM'; OM is the primordial sound of the Vedas, the symbol of Brahman in sound-form; V8.13 identified OM as 'ekākṣaraṃ brahma' = the single-syllable Brahman). ṛk = the Ṛgveda (the oldest of the four Vedas, composed primarily of hymns to the Vedic deities; ṛc = sacred verse). sāma = the Sāmaveda (the Veda of melodies/chants — the Ṛg verses set to sacred music). yajuḥ = the Yajurveda (the Veda of sacrificial formulas and procedures). ca = and. V17's second half: six more 'I am' identifications extending from the cosmic-familial to the spiritual-epistemological: the knowable (vedyam), the purifier (pavitram), OM (oṃkāra), and the three Vedas (Ṛk, Sāma, Yajus). Together V17's ten identifications (4 familial + 6 spiritual-epistemological) make the divine the complete ground of both cosmic relationship and spiritual knowledge.
- pitā mātā — Father and Mother as the dual cosmic creative principles
- — V17's Father-Mother (pitā-mātā) pair identifies the divine as both the masculine and feminine creative principles — the complete generative ground of the cosmos · The pitā-mātā (Father-Mother) pair in V17 is philosophically important: it identifies the divine as encompassing BOTH the masculine and feminine principles of creation. In Vedic and Śākta traditions, the creative power of existence has two poles: the masculine (Puruṣa, Śiva, the witness-consciousness) and the feminine (Prakṛti, Śakti, the creative-generative force). V17 declares both to be the divine: pitā aham (I am the Father) AND mātā (and the Mother). This is theologically significant: the divine is not exclusively masculine (as some patriarchal religious frameworks imply) but is the source of BOTH masculine and feminine principles. The Gita's cosmic divine is genuinely all-encompassing. The Grandfather (pitāmahaḥ) adds a temporal depth: not only the immediate creative principles (Father-Mother) but the ancestral source they themselves come from — the divine as the ground of the ground. Together: Father (immediate masculine source) + Mother (immediate feminine source) + Grandfather (the primordial ground that precedes and generates both) + Sustainer (the one who holds it all in ongoing existence).
I am the father of this world, the mother, the sustainer, and the grandfather; the one to be known, the purifier, the sacred Om, and the Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajur Vedas.
A modern analogy
In family systems, the father and mother provide two different forms of parenting — generative source and nurturing ground. The grandfather is the historical root that gives both parents their origin. The teacher (vedyam = the knowable one) provides the knowledge that orients growth. The purifier (pavitram) maintains health. This verse takes all these family and educational roles and identifies them as dimensions of the one divine: the divine is your father, mother, grandfather, teacher, and purifier — simultaneously, in the deepest sense.
What it does NOT mean
This verse's Father-Mother pair is not a patriarchal or matriarchal statement about gender — it is a cosmic statement that the divine encompasses BOTH the masculine and feminine principles of creation. The divine transcends the gender binary while including both. This is one of the Gita's clearest texts on the gender-transcendence of the divine.
Take with you
- The pitā-mātā (Father-Mother) of this verse points to a relational practice with the divine: the divine is not an abstract force but the most intimate relationship — more intimate than any human parent. The verse invites a relational orientation: approach the divine as your Father (source, strength, guidance) AND Mother (nurturance, receptivity, unconditional love) simultaneously. Different moments of spiritual practice may call for one or the other quality of this relationship.
- The verse's vedyam (the knowable) reveals the purpose of all learning: every genuine inquiry that seeks to understand the truth of existence is approaching the divine (vedyam = I am the ultimate knowable). This makes all authentic seeking of truth a form of approaching the divine, regardless of the domain (science, philosophy, art, psychology). The divine is the answer to every genuine question.
- The verse's oṃkāra works as a daily practice anchor: OM is the divine in sound-form — the single syllable of Brahman that one meditates upon even while departing the body. Here the divine says, I am oṃkāra. Beginning any practice with the conscious utterance of OM (silently or aloud) is invoking this teaching: the sound I am making IS the divine. This transforms a rote beginning-mantra into a recognition-practice.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
1 am the Father of this world - the Mother, the Sustainer, the Grandfather, the Purifier, the (one) thing to be known, (the syllable) Om, and also the Rik, Saman, and Yajus. [4]
I am the father and the mother of this universe, the grandsire and the preserver; I am the Holy One, the object of knowledge, the mystic purifying syllable OM, the Rik, the Saman, the Yajur, and all the Vedas. [6]
I am-of all this boundless Universe- The Father, Mother, Ancestor, and Guard! The end of Learning! That which purifies In lustral water! I am OM! I am Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Ved; [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I am the Vedic ritual, sacrifice, ancestral offering, herb, mantra, oblation, fire, and the offering made.
Uttering OM — the single syllable of Brahman — departing while meditating on Me, one reaches the highest goal.
I am the Goal, Lord, Witness, Abode, Refuge, Friend — and the Origin, Dissolution, Seed imperishable.
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
That which pervades everything cannot be destroyed — nothing and no one has the power to end it.
Verse 17 of 34 · back to Chapter 9