Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 16

Chapter 13 – Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च ।
सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत् ॥

Transliteration

bahirantaśca bhūtānāmacaraṃ carameva ca .
sūkṣmatvāttadavijñeyaṃ dūrasthaṃ cāntike ca tat ॥

Meaning

It is outside and inside all beings; it is the unmoving and also the moving. Because of its subtlety it cannot be known; it is far away and it is near.

Word meanings

बहिः – outside
अन्तः – inside
च – and
भूतानाम् – of beings
अचरम् – unmoving
चरम् – moving
एव – indeed
सूक्ष्मत्वात् – because of subtlety
तत् – That
अविज्ञेयम् – not knowable as an object
दूरस्थम् – situated far away
अन्तिके – near, close by

Anvaya (word order)

(तत्) भूतानाम् बहिः अन्तः च, अचरम् चरम् एव च; तत् सूक्ष्मत्वात् अविज्ञेयम्; तत् दूरस्थम् च अन्तिके च ।

Explanation

This verse recalls the fifth mantra of the Isha Upanishad: it moves and it moves not; it is far and it is near; it is within all this and outside all this. Through such opposing terms Krishna shows that Brahman is confined to no single place, motion or direction.

Bahir antash cha bhutanam: just as one space is inside and outside a pot, so That exists within beings as their Self and outside them as the ground of the world. Acharam charam eva cha: in its own nature it is unmoving, yet all moving things exist by its being, so it is called the moving too. Shankara makes clear that whatever moves or rests is only imagined upon it.

Sukshmatvat tad avijneyam: it is so subtle that senses and mind cannot grasp it as an object. This unknowability is no cause for despair but a pointer to its nature — it is the knower, not a thing known. To the ignorant it is immeasurably far; to the wise, being their very Self, it is nearer than anything. Ramanuja notes that the pure self too is subtle in this way and lies beyond ordinary understanding.

Context

Verse 13.15 described Brahman's detachment and freedom from the gunas; this verse describes its subtlety and its pervasion beyond space and motion. The next verse (13.17) explains that though undivided it appears divided.

Life lesson

What we search for outside is nearest of all, within us. To find it we need not travel far, but turn inward and refine the mind.

Key terms

बहिरन्तः: present both outside and inside
अविज्ञेय (avijneya): not an object of the senses or mind
सूक्ष्मत्व: extreme subtlety; beyond gross perception