Complete learning edition. The Sanskrit source remains separate from attributed word meanings, translation, explanation and commentary witnesses. Diagrams and memory aids are study tools, not replacements for the source text.
अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थितः। अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एव च।।10.20।।
aham ātmā guḍākeśha sarva-bhūtāśhaya-sthitaḥ aham ādiśh cha madhyaṁ cha bhūtānām anta eva cha
O Arjuna! I am the Self, seated in the hearts of all beings; I am the beginning, the life, and the end of them all.
English rendering by Shri Purohit Swami. Each source voice remains named.
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Read across once, then cover the meanings and recover them from the Sanskrit forms.
| Sanskrit form | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| aham | I |
| ātmā | soul |
| guḍākeśha | Arjun, the conqueror of sleep |
| sarva-bhūta | of all living entities |
| āśhaya-sthitaḥ | seated in the heart |
| aham | I |
| ādiḥ | the beginning |
| cha | and |
| madhyam | middle |
| cha | and |
| bhūtānām | of all beings |
| antaḥ | end |
| eva | even |
| cha | also |
O Gudakesa I am the soul (Pratyagatma) which exists in the hearts of all beings and I am also the source or origin, the middle or stay, and the end of all created beings. I am the birth, the life and the death of all beings.
Attributed explanatory witness: Swami Sivananda. Chapter lens: Move from the four-verse core to representative opulences without mistaking examples for an exhaustive inventory.
Three named reading witnesses
Śaṅkara edition witness
Swami GambiranandaO Gudakesa, I am the Self residing in the hearts of all beings, and I am the beginning, middle, and end of all beings.
Rāmānuja edition witness
Swami AdidevanandaI am the Self, O Arjuna, dwelling in the hearts of all beings; I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings.
Sivananda commentary witness
Swami SivanandaO Gudakesa I am the soul (Pratyagatma) which exists in the hearts of all beings and I am also the source or origin, the middle or stay, and the end of all created beings. I am the birth, the life and the death of all beings.
These are concise, attributed reading witnesses from identified editions. They are presented for comparison and are not merged into one anonymous interpretation.
Meaning map
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O Arjuna! I am the Self, seated in the hearts of all beings
- 2
I am the beginning, the life
- 3
the end of them all
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