Verse 13.16
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च | सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत् ||१६||
Transliteration (IAST)
bahir antaś ca bhūtānām acaraṁ caram eva ca | sūkṣmatvāt tad avijñeyaṁ dūra-sthaṁ cāntike ca tat ||16||
Word-by-Word Meanings
bahiḥ-outside
antaḥ-inside
bhūtānām-of beings
acaram-unmoving
caram-moving
sūkṣmatvāt-due to subtlety
avijñeyam-unknowable (by senses)
dūra-stham-far away
antike-near
Translation
Existing outside and inside all beings, the unmoving and also the moving; unknowable because of Its subtlety; far away and yet near.
Commentary
Brahman is simultaneously transcendent and immanent - outside all beings as their ground, inside as their innermost self. The Isha Upanishad (5) similarly declares it moves and moves not. Madhva explains that its 'unknowability' refers to the impossibility of grasping it through ordinary sense perception, while its nearness indicates it is one's own self.
Themes
jnanaatman