13.33
Chapter 13, Verse 33
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते। सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथाऽऽत्मा नोपलिप्यते৷৷
yathā sarvagataṅ saukṣmyādākāśaṅ nōpalipyatē. sarvatrāvasthitō dēhē tathā৷৷tmā nōpalipyatē৷৷
Translation
As space, though present everywhere, remains by reason of its subtlety unaffected, so the Self, though present in all forms, retains its purity unalloyed.
Translation — Purohit Swami
Commentary
यथा as, सर्वगतम् the allpervading, सौक्ष्म्यात् because of its subtlety, आकाशम् ether, न not, उपलिप्यते is tainted, सर्वत्र everywhere, अवस्थितः seated, देहे in the body, तथा so, आत्मा the Self, न not, उपलिप्यते is tainted. Commentary: Ether pervades everything. All are immersed in it. There is no point whereunto ether does not penetrate and pervade and yet it is not tainted by anything. Even so the Self pervades the whole body and the whole world. Being subtler than the body the Self is never tainted by it or anything else. It is unattached and actionless. It has no parts or limbs. So virtuous and vicious actions cannot contaminate the Self. It is ever pure and stainless.
Commentary — Swami Sivananda
Sanskrit and transliteration of the Bhagavad Gita. Corpus compiled from the vedabase and the IIT Kanpur Gita Supersite.