13.16
Chapter 13, Verse 16
बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च। सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत्৷৷
bahirantaśca bhūtānāmacaraṅ caramēva ca. sūkṣmatvāttadavijñēyaṅ dūrasthaṅ cāntikē ca tat৷৷
Translation
It is within all beings, yet outside; motionless yet moving; too subtle to be perceived; far away yet always near.
Translation — Purohit Swami
Commentary
बहिः without, अन्तः within, च and, भूतानाम् of (all) beings, अचरम् the unmoving, चरम् the moving, एव also, च and, सूक्ष्मत्वात् because of Its subtlety, तत् That, अविज्ञेयम् unknowable, दूरस्थम् is far, च and, अन्तिके near, च and, तत् That. Commentary: Brahman is subtle like the ether. It is incomprehensible to the unillumined on account of Its extreme subtlety. It is unknowable to the man who is not endowed with the four means of salvation.Brahman is known or realised by the wise. It is realised by the first class aspirant who is eipped with these means. It is near to the wise man or the illumined because It is his very Self. It is very far to the ignorant man who is drowned in worldliness or sensual pleasures. It is not attainable by the ignorant or unenlightened even in millions of years.Near and far away This expression is found in the Isavasya Upanishad (5) and the Mundaka Upanishad (3.17).
Commentary — Swami Sivananda
Sanskrit and transliteration of the Bhagavad Gita. Corpus compiled from the vedabase and the IIT Kanpur Gita Supersite.