Bg. 13.33 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते । सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥ ३३ ॥

Verse text

yathā sarva-gataṁ saukṣmyād ākāśaṁ nopalipyate sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate

Synonyms

yathā — as ; sarva-gatam — all-pervading ; saukṣmyāt — due to being subtle ; ākāśam — the sky ; na — never ; upalipyate — mixes ; sarvatra — everywhere ; avasthitaḥ — situated ; dehe — in the body ; tathā — so ; ātmā — the self ; na — never ; upalipyate — mixes.

Translation

The sky, due to its subtle nature, does not mix with anything, although it is all-pervading. Similarly, the soul situated in Brahman vision does not mix with the body, though situated in that body.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

33. Just as the ether, which spreads everywhere, is not contaminated, because of its subtle nature, the Paramātmā, though situated everywhere in the body, is not contaminated.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

33. Just as the ether, which spreads everywhere, is not contaminated, the ātmā, though situated everywhere in the body, is not contaminated, because of his subtle nature.

Purport

The air enters into water, mud, stool and whatever else is there; still it does not mix with anything. Similarly, the living entity, even though situated in varieties of bodies, is aloof from them due to his subtle nature. Therefore it is impossible to see with the material eyes how the living entity is in contact with this body and how he is out of it after the destruction of the body. No one in science can ascertain this.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this verse the Lord gives an example. Just as the ether, situated in mud and other places, is not contaminated because it is most subtle—not contacting the mud at all, the Paramātmā is not connected with the guṇas or faults of the material body, and therefore is not contaminated.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

“If the jīva is situated in the body, how is it that he is not contaminated by its qualities?” Just as ether, though entering everywhere, into mud or other impure items, is not touched by their qualities because of being very subtle, so the jīva, though situated in all high and low bodies of devas and men, is not contaminated by those qualities, because he is very subtle.