Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 18

Chapter 13 – Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते ।
ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम् ॥

Transliteration

jyotiṣāmapi tajjyotistamasaḥ paramucyate .
jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ jñānagamyaṃ hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam ॥

Meaning

That is the light even of lights and is said to be beyond darkness. It is knowledge, the object of knowledge, and that which is reached through knowledge; it is seated in the hearts of all.

Word meanings

ज्योतिषाम् – of lights, of luminaries
अपि – even
तत् – That
ज्योतिः – light
तमसः – darkness, ignorance
परम् – beyond
उच्यते – is said to be
ज्ञानम् – knowledge, pure consciousness
ज्ञेयम् – that which is to be known
ज्ञानगम्यम् – attainable through knowledge
हृदि – in the heart
सर्वस्य – of all
विष्ठितम् – firmly seated

Anvaya (word order)

तत् ज्योतिषाम् अपि ज्योतिः, तमसः परम् उच्यते; (तत्) ज्ञानम्, ज्ञेयम्, ज्ञान-गम्यम्, सर्वस्य हृदि विष्ठितम् ।

Explanation

This is the crowning verse of the description of the knowable. Jyotisham api taj jyotih: sun, moon, fire and lightning illumine the world, but the consciousness that illumines even them is That. The Mundaka Upanishad declares that there the sun does not shine, nor moon and stars; by its light all this shines. The Brihadaranyaka calls it the light of lights. Our eyes, mind and intellect too work only in its light.

Tamasah param: it is untouched by the darkness of ignorance, as the Shvetashvatara speaks of the one of sun-like radiance beyond darkness. Then come three words: jnana, jneya, jnanagamya. Shankara explains that it is knowledge itself as pure consciousness; it is the knowable described in 13.13–17; and it is reached through the means of knowledge — humility and the rest — taught in 13.8–12. Thus the chapter's themes of knowledge, the knowable and the means converge here in a single reality.

Hridi sarvasya vishthitam: it dwells in the heart of all. The same truth returns in 15.15, where Krishna says He is seated in the hearts of all, and in 18.61, where the Lord abides in the heart of every being. Ramanuja and Madhva understand this as the presence of the Supreme as inner controller, while Shankara sees it as the witnessing Self. On either reading the message is the same: what we seek is within our own heart.

Context

The description of the knowable Brahman begun in 13.13 reaches completion here. The previous verse (13.17) called it the cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution; in the next verse (13.19) Krishna sums up this brief teaching on the field, knowledge and the knowable and states its fruit.

Life lesson

The light by which we see and know everything is within us. Remember that inner light for a few moments each day, and the darkness outside will lose its power to frighten.

Key terms

ज्योतिषां ज्योतिः: light of lights; the consciousness that illumines all luminaries
तमसः परम्: beyond the darkness of ignorance
ज्ञानगम्य (jnanagamya): attainable through the disciplines of knowledge
हृदि विष्ठित: seated in the heart of all