Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 13

Chapter 15 – Purushottama Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा ।
पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः ॥

Transliteration

gāmāviśya ca bhūtāni dhārayāmyahamojasā .
puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ ॥

Meaning

Entering the earth, I sustain all beings by My vital power; and becoming the moon, full of sap, I nourish all plants.

Word meanings

गाम् – the earth
आविश्य – having entered
च – and
भूतानि – all beings
धारयामि – I support
अहम् – I
ओजसा – by My energy
पुष्णामि – I nourish
च – and
ओषधीः – plants, herbs, food-crops
सर्वाः – all
सोमः – the moon
भूत्वा – having become
रसात्मकः – whose nature is sap or essence

Anvaya (word order)

अहम् च गाम् आविश्य ओजसा भूतानि धारयामि, रसात्मकः सोमः भूत्वा च सर्वाः ओषधीः पुष्णामि ।

Explanation

After light, Krishna speaks of support and nourishment. The earth is inert matter, yet it bears countless beings steadily. That bearing power, He says, is His: He enters the earth and holds all creatures by His ojas, His vital might. Shankara remarks that it is this divine strength which keeps the heavy earth from sinking or falling apart.

The second line turns to the moon. In Indian tradition Soma, the moon, presides over rasa, the sap and flavour of living things. Grains, fruits and medicinal herbs draw their juices and healing qualities from this lunar influence. Krishna says that it is He who, becoming the sap-filled moon, nourishes all the plants on which life depends.

Ramanuja reads the verse in the light of the Lord as the inner controller: the earth and the moon are His body, and He works through them from within. So every act of sustaining in the world is ultimately His act. The sequence of these verses is also worth noticing: first light, then support, then the nourishing of food, and in the next verse the digestion of that food within living bodies.

The teaching fosters reverence for nature. When earth and food are seen not as mere resources but as the presence of God, gratitude and restraint arise of themselves.

Context

In verse 12 Krishna claimed the light of sun, moon and fire as His own. Here He claims the earth’s power to support and the moon’s power to nourish. In the next verse He describes Himself as the digestive fire, Vaishvanara, within living bodies.

Life lesson

The ground beneath us and the food on our plate are gifts of the Divine. Gratitude at meals, respect for food and care for the earth flow naturally from this understanding.

Key terms

Ojas: the divine power that sustains
Soma: the moon, presiding over sap and nourishment
Oshadhi: plants, food-crops and herbs