Verse 13.14
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् | सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ||१४||
Transliteration (IAST)
sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat sarvato 'kṣi-śiro-mukham | sarvataḥ śrutimal loke sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati ||14||
Word-by-Word Meanings
sarvataḥ-everywhere
pāṇi-pādam-hands and feet
akṣi-śiraḥ-mukham-eyes, heads, and faces
śrutimat-having ears
loke-in the world
sarvam-everything
āvṛtya-pervading
tiṣṭhati-exists/stands
Translation
With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and faces everywhere, with ears everywhere - That exists pervading all in the world.
Commentary
This verse echoes the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (3.16) and describes Brahman's omnipresence through the imagery of universal embodiment. Shankaracharya explains that Brahman does not literally have hands and feet but is the consciousness functioning through all hands and feet everywhere. It is the universal witness present in all beings.
Themes
jnanaatman