Verse 8.20
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
परस्तस्मात्तु भावोऽन्योऽव्यक्तोऽव्यक्तात्सनातनः | यः स सर्वेषु भूतेषु नश्यत्सु न विनश्यति ||२०||
Transliteration (IAST)
paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ | yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati ||20||
Word-by-Word Meanings
paraḥ-transcendental
tasmāt-beyond that
bhāvaḥ anyaḥ-another nature
avyaktaḥ-unmanifest
sanātanaḥ-eternal
sarveṣu bhūteṣu-when all beings
naśyatsu-are destroyed
na vinaśyati-is not destroyed
Translation
But beyond this unmanifest, there is yet another unmanifest Eternal Being, who does not perish when all beings perish.
Commentary
Krishna reveals a reality beyond even the unmanifest prakriti from which beings emerge and dissolve. This 'para avyakta' is the supreme, eternal Brahman that remains unchanged through all cosmic cycles. Shankaracharya identifies this as the supreme Brahman, distinct from the material unmanifest (mulaprakriti).
Themes
jnanaatmanmoksha