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← Chapter 8: The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman

Verse 8.9

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

कविं पुराणमनुशासितारमणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः | सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूपमादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ||९||

Transliteration (IAST)

kaviṁ purāṇam anuśāsitāram aṇor aṇīyāṁsam anusmared yaḥ | sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam āditya-varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt ||9||

Word-by-Word Meanings

kavim-the omniscient
purāṇam-the most ancient
anuśāsitāram-the controller
aṇoḥ aṇīyāṁsam-smaller than the smallest
dhātāram-the sustainer
acintya-rūpam-of inconceivable form
āditya-varṇam-luminous like the sun
tamasaḥ parastāt-beyond darkness

Translation

One who meditates on the Omniscient, the Ancient, the Controller, smaller than the smallest, the Sustainer of all, of inconceivable form, luminous like the sun, and beyond all darkness -

Commentary

This verse provides a magnificent description of the Supreme Being for meditation. Ramanuja notes that each attribute serves as a focal point for upasana: omniscient (kavi), eternal (purana), sovereign (anushasitara), subtler than the subtlest, sustainer of all, beyond conceptualization, self-luminous, and transcending ignorance.

Themes

jnanabhaktiatman