Bhagavad Gita 13.32अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः।शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥
anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmāyam avyayaḥ
śharīra-stho ’pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate
Sanskrit recitation
Matter, spirit, and freedom · 13.19–13.35 · Teaching
Translation
Being without beginning, devoid of any qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in the body, O Arjuna, neither acts nor is tainted.
Hindi translation
हे कुन्तीनन्दन ! यह पुरुष स्वयं अनादि और गुणोंसे रहित होनेसे अविनाशी परमात्मस्वरूप ही है। यह शरीरमें रहता हुआ भी न करता है और न लिप्त होता है।
Meaning
The Supreme Self is beyond Nature. Therefore It is without alities. It is Nirguna. The activity in Nature is really due to its own alities which inhere in it. The Supreme Self existed before the body came into being and will continue to be after its dissolution. It is eternally the same and imperishable.Avyaya That which is free from the changes of birth and death or appearance and destruction. That which has a beginning has birth. After the object is born it is subject to the changes of being (growth, decay, etc.). As the Self is birthless, It is free from the changes of state (existence, birth, growth, change, decay and death). As the Self is free from all sorts of functions, It is Avyaya. Even if the reflection of the sun in the water moves, the sun does not move a bit. Even so the Supreme Self is not touched by the fruits of action as It is not the doer, as It is without the alities of Nature, or limbs, indivisible, devoid of parts, without action, beginningless and unattached and causeless.This Supreme Self is free from the three kinds of differences, viz., Sajatiyabheda, Vijatiyabheda and Svagatabheda. A mango tree is different from a fig tree. This is Sajatiyabheda. A mango tree is different from a stone. This is Vijatiyabheda. In the same mango tree there is difference between leaves, flowers and fruits. This is Svagatabheda
After Swami Sivananda
Matter, spirit, and freedom· 13.19–13.35→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 13.19Thus, the field, as well as knowledge and the knowable, have been briefly stated. My…
- 13.20Know that Nature (matter) and the Spirit are both beginningless, and know also that all…
- 13.21In the production of the effect and the cause, Nature (matter) is said to be the cause; in…
- 13.22The soul seated in Nature experiences the qualities born of Nature; attachment to the…
- 13.23The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the observer, the permitter, the sustainer,…
- 13.24He who thus knows the Spirit and Matter together with their qualities, in whatever…
- 13.25Some behold the Self within themselves through meditation, others through the Yoga of…
- 13.26Others, too, who do not know thus, worship, having heard of It from others; they, too,…
- 13.27Wherever a being is born, whether unmoving or moving, know thou, O best of the Bharatas…
- 13.28He who sees the Supreme Lord existing truly in all beings, the imperishable within the…
- 13.29For he who truly sees the same Lord dwelling everywhere does not destroy the Self by the…
- 13.30He sees, who sees that all actions are performed solely by Nature and that the Self is…
- 13.31When a person sees all beings as resting in the One and emanating from the One alone, they…
13.32Being without beginning, devoid of any qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though…
- 13.33As the all-pervading ether is not tainted, due to its subtlety, so the Self seated…
- 13.34Just as the one sun illuminates the entire world, so too does the Lord of the field…
- 13.35They who, by the eye of knowledge, perceive the distinction between the field and its…
Word-by-word→
- na
- nor
- api
- although
- ayam
- this
- karoti
- acts
- parama
- the Supreme
- ātmā
- soul
- lipyate
- is tainted
- kaunteya
- Arjun, the the son of Kunti
- avyayaḥ
- imperishable
- anāditvāt
- being without beginning
- nirguṇatvāt
- being devoid of any material qualities
- śharīra-sthaḥ
- dwelling in the body
Related verses
- 5.19Even here in this world, those whose minds rest in reality overcome birth; Brahman is…
- 13.13I will declare that which is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality; the…
- 15.18As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am declared to…
- 4.9He who thus knows, in their true light, My divine birth and actions, having abandoned the…