Bhagavad-gītā 13.33
Read once with your eyes. Read again aloud.
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते।सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथाऽऽत्मा नोपलिप्यते।।13.33।।
yathā sarva-gataṁ saukṣhmyād ākāśhaṁ nopalipyate sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate
As space, though present everywhere, remains unaffected due to its subtlety, so too the Self, though present in all forms, retains its purity unalloyed.
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.
Build the sentence from its parts
Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| yathā | as |
| sarva-gatam | all-pervading |
| saukṣhmyāt | due to subtlety |
| ākāśham | the space |
| na | not |
| upalipyate | is contaminated |
| sarvatra | everywhere |
| avasthitaḥ | situated |
| dehe | the body |
| tathā | similarly |
| ātmā | the soul |
| na | not |
| upalipyate | is contaminated |
There is no point whereunto ether does not penetrate and pervade and yet it is not tainted by anything. Even so the Self pervades the whole body and the whole world.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Distinguish field, individual knower, Supreme knower, knowledge and knowable while noting this edition’s 35-verse numbering.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaAs the all-pervading space is not defiled, due to its subtlety, similarly the Self, present everywhere in bodies, is not defiled.
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaAs the all-pervading ether is not tainted due to its subtlety, even so, the self abiding in the body is not tainted everywhere.
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaThere is no point whereunto ether does not penetrate and pervade and yet it is not tainted by anything. Even so the Self pervades the whole body and the whole world.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
Follow the thought
- 1
As space, though present everywhere, remains unaffected due to its subtlety
- 2
too the Self, though present in all forms, retains its purity unalloyed
- 3
yathā: as
Look, link, cover, teach
Look
Picture field and knower.
Link
Use the line starts: yathā sarva-gataṁ / sarvatrāvasthito dehe.
Cover
Hide the verse and rebuild one line at a time.
Teach
Explain the flow to another person without looking.
Turn this reading into a study record
Save it, return from memory, and write one idea in your own words. Your record stays in this browser unless you export it.