A metaphor · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“What is everywhere cannot be stained by what changes.”
As all-pervading space is not tainted because of its subtlety, so the self, present in every body, is not tainted.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallyjust as · all-pervading · because of subtlety · space · not · is tainted · present everywhere · in the body · so · the true self · not · is tainted
The true self is present in every body, but it is never stained or affected by the body it inhabits.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga" (Field and Knower of the Field).
Verse 33 sits in Chapter 13 of the Bhagavad Gita — Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga, "Field and Knower of the Field". The chapter has 35 verses in total.
A schoolteacher hears a parent shout at her in the corridor and feels it for hours. Krishna's image of space applies: the room holds the shouting and stays unmarked, and so does the self in her.
Did you like this verse?
Space is everywhere and stays untouched because it is subtle, and the self in every body is the same.
What this verse means
The true self is present in every body, but it is never stained or affected by the body it inhabits.
Context & commentary
Krishna explains the difference between the body and the true self. He uses space as an image: just as space is everywhere yet untouched, the true self remains unstained in every body.
What it looks like today
A schoolteacher hears a parent shout at her in the corridor and feels it for hours. Krishna's image of space applies: the room holds the shouting and stays unmarked, and so does the self in her.
“You are closer to awareness than to whatever passes through awareness.”
Explore related themes: kshetra kshetrajna (10 verses)