Devanagari
अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् ।
भूतभर्तृ च तज्ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च ॥ १७ ॥
Verse text
avibhaktaṁ ca bhūteṣu
vibhaktam iva ca sthitam
bhūta-bhartṛ ca taj jṣeyaṁ
grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca
Synonyms
avibhaktam
—
without division
;
ca
—
also
;
bhūteṣu
—
in all living beings
;
vibhaktam
—
divided
;
iva
—
as if
;
ca
—
also
;
sthitam
—
situated
;
bhūta-bhartṛ
—
the maintainer of all living entities
;
ca
—
also
;
tat
—
that
;
jṣeyam
—
to be understood
;
grasiṣṇu
—
devouring
;
prabhaviṣṇu
—
developing
;
ca
—
also.
Translation
Although the Supersoul appears to be divided among all beings, He is never divided. He is situated as one. Although He is the maintainer of every living entity, it is to be understood that He devours and develops all.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
17. He is undivided, and also divided in all the living entities. He is to be known as the maintainer, the destroyer and the creator.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
17. He is undivided, and also divided in all the living entities. He is to be known as maintenance, destruction and the creation of all things.
Purport
The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul. Does this mean that He has become divided? No. Actually, He is one. The example is given of the sun: The sun, at the meridian, is situated in its place. But if one goes for five thousand miles in all directions and asks, “Where is the sun?” everyone will say that it is shining on his head. In the Vedic literature this example is given to show that although He is undivided, He is situated as if divided. Also it is said in Vedic literature that one Viṣṇu is present everywhere by His omnipotence, just as the sun appears in many places to many persons. And the Supreme Lord, although the maintainer of every living entity, devours everything at the time of annihilation. This was confirmed in the Eleventh Chapter when the Lord said that He had come to devour all the warriors assembled at Kurukṣetra. He also mentioned that in the form of time He devours also. He is the annihilator, the killer of all. When there is creation, He develops all from their original state, and at the time of annihilation He devours them. The Vedic hymns confirm the fact that He is the origin of all living entities and the rest of all. After creation, everything rests in His omnipotence, and after annihilation everything again returns to rest in Him. These are the confirmations of Vedic hymns. Yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante yena jātāni jīvanti yat prayanty abhisaṁ viśanti tad brahma tad vijijṣāsasva ( Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1).
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
As the cause, which is one (avibhaktiam), He is situated in all the moving and non-moving entities, and as the effect or product, He is situated separately as each object. As the form of Nārāyaṇa, He is the protection of the living entities (bhūtā-bhartṛ) during the duration of maintenance, the destruction (grahiṣṇu) at the time of pralaya, and the creation of all beings (prabhaviṣṇu) at the time of creation. The word prabhaviṣṇu which usually means “lord” is taken here as meaning “what is created” since the word can also mean “he who is the product (prabhavana) because the cause is manifest in the effects.”
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
He is one, not divided up, whereas all the jīvas are separate entities (avibhaktam). But He also is situated separately like separate jīvas (vibhaktam iva). The śruti says that though He is one, He appears as many: eko’pi san bahudhā yo vibhāti. (Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad) Smṛti says:
eka eva paro viṣṇuḥ sarvatrāpi na saṁśayaḥ
aiśvaryād rūpam ekaṁ ca sūryavad bahudheyate
The one Viṣṇu is situated everywhere without doubt. Like the sun, He makes the one form become many by His powers. Matsya Purāṇa
He is the protection of the living entities (bhūta bhṛt) during the duration of the kalpa, and at pralaya, He is the destruction of them (grasiṣṇu) by His kāla śakti. And at the time of creation, He takes the role of production (prabhaviṣṇu), being various effects, through his energies of jīva and pradhāna. Śruti says:
yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante yena jātāni jīvanti yat prayanty abhisaṁviśanti tad brahma tad vijijṣāsasva
You should know that brahman from which all entities arise, by which those who took birth live, and towards which they move and enter. Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1.1
Surrender Unto Me
Krsna is closing the definition of the knowable, and if one examines the sanskrit, he will see that Srila Prabhupada is putting in the Supersoul as the actual conclusion that Krsna reaches. Srila Prabhupada so kindly is doing this to make it easier for us to understand.