असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च ॥
The supreme reality has no senses, yet illumines every sense-object. It is detached, supports all beings, beyond the three qualities, and yet experiences the qualities.
A declaration · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“What sustains everything is beyond the senses that perceive it.”
The supreme reality has no senses, yet illumines every sense-object. It is detached, supports all beings, beyond the three qualities, and yet experiences the qualities.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyshining through the qualities of all senses · devoid of all senses · unattached · supporter of all · and · indeed · without qualities · enjoyer of qualities · and
The supreme being has no senses, yet makes all perception possible. It is free from attachment, sustains everything, stands beyond the three qualities, and still experiences them all.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga" (Field and Knower of the Field).
Verse 15 sits in Chapter 13 of the Bhagavad Gita — Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga, "Field and Knower of the Field". The chapter has 35 verses in total.
You sit in a hospital corridor, unable to fix the outcome. Something larger than your control is still holding the whole scene together.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts attention from visible form to the unseen presence that makes all form possible.
What this verse means
The supreme being has no senses, yet makes all perception possible. It is free from attachment, sustains everything, stands beyond the three qualities, and still experiences them all.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, Arjuna is still stunned by Krishna's teaching about the field and the knower of the field. Krishna now describes the supreme reality in paradox: beyond bodily senses, yet the source of all experience; beyond qualities, yet present to all qualities.
Why this verse still matters
You sit in a hospital corridor, unable to fix the outcome. Something larger than your control is still holding the whole scene together.
“You are held by what is beyond grasping. That can bring quiet trust.”
Explore related themes: gunas (47 verses), kshetrajna (20 verses), indriya (19 verses)