Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter13.The field and the knower

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13.sarvathah

paaNipaadhamthath sarvatho akshi Siromukham

sarvathaH Sruthimaan loke sarvam aavrthya

thishTathi

 

Everywhere

are His hands and feet, everywhere are His eyes, head and mouth; His ears are

on all sides and He stands all-pervading Everywhere are His hands and feet,

everywhere are His eyes, head and mouth; His ears are on all sides and He

stands all-pervading.

 

Even

though this seems to be the description of the visvaroopa of the Lord, seen in

the 11th chapter, this is actually a reflection of the words of the Upanishad 'apANipAdhO

javanO grheethA paSyathachAkshuH SrnOthyakarNah, (Svet.3-19) without feet

or hands He moves swiftly and seizes things; he sees without eyes, He hears

without ears.' This speaks about the transcendence of Brahman. Even though the

immanence is denoted subsequently, it is also implied in this sloka. The Lord

is everywhere both in His all pervading form and also as individual entity. He

is present everywhere and accepts the offering of the devotees at all places.

This is the meaning of sarvathaH paaNipaadham. He sees everything and

nothing escapes His attention. Sarvatho

akshi Siromukham. He listens to the plea of the devotees everywhere and

their singing of His glory. sarvathaH

sruthimath. Thus He stands all

pervading in samashti, as a whole

and vyakthi, individually.

 

14. sarvendhriyaguNaabhaasam

sarvendhriyavivarjitham

 

asaktham sarvabhrth chaiva nirguNam guNa bhokthr cha

 

He

shines in all indhriyas though he has no indhriyas. He supports all but

unattached. He is the experiencer of the gunas but has no gunas.

 

This

sloka which seems to be an apparent contradiction has to be explained in order

to be understood.

 

The

gunas of indhriyas such as seeing, hearing etc. are experienced only because of

the existence of the inner self, the Brahman, which is manifest through all

experience and hence, sarvendhriyagunaabhaasam.

..Yet Brahman is not the experiencer as he has no indhriyas, sarvendhriyavivarjitham,,as made out in

the last sloka and the Upanishad quoted therein, and nirguna , devoid of gunas. The manifest world is made up of the

three gunas from which everything including the indhriyas came out. The Lord is

the paraaprakthi, the higher self, the

essential nature by which the universe is supported, sarvabhrth.

 

15.bahiranthaScha

bhoothaanaam acharam charameva cha

 

sookshmathvaath thadhavijneyam dhoorasTham

chaanthike

cha thath,

 

He

is within and without all beings; unmoving and yet moving; so subtle that none

can comprehend, far away yet very near.

 

Brahman

is within all beings as their inner Self. He is without, because everything

exists in Brahman. He is unmoving because He is everywhere yet moving as

everything moves only because of Him. He

is subtle, being beyond sense

apprehension and cannot therefore be comprehended. He is far away for those

whose intellect is covered with ego born of ignorance but very near to the

enlightened.

 

This

reminds the remark of a devotee that the Vaikunta is only call away because the Lord came as soon as Gajendhra called Him! To

the devotees He is ever near and close.