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Bhagavad-gītā 13.33

यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते । सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥ ३३ ॥
yathā sarva-gataṁ saukṣmyād
[yathaa sarva-gatam saukshmyaad]
ākāśaṁ nopalipyate
[aakaasham nopalipyate]
sarvatrāvasthito dehe
[sarvatraavasthito dehe]
tathātmā nopalipyate
[tathaatmaa nopalipyate]
Word-for-word
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 .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yathā sarva-gataṁ saukṣmyād
yathā
as
sarva - gatam
all-pervading
saukṣmyāt
due to being subtle
ākāśaṁ nopalipyate
ākāśam
the sky
na
never
upalipyate
mixes
sarvatrāvasthito dehe
sarvatra
everywhere
avasthitaḥ
situated
dehe
in the body
tathātmā nopalipyate
tathā
so
ātmā
the self
na
never
upalipyate
mixes .
Important Words
  • sarva - gatam — all-pervading
    Compound. The sky is *everywhere*. The simile requires this universality — otherwise the comparison would not extend to the soul's pervasion of the body.
  • saukṣmyāt — due to being subtle
    Ablative from sūkṣma. *Because of* its subtlety, the sky does not mix. Subtlety is the *reason* for non-contamination. The same logic applies to the soul.
  • ākāśam — the sky
    The fifth great element. Of the five, ākāśa is the most subtle. Kṛṣṇa picks it precisely because it best models the soul's relation to matter.
  • upalipyate — mixes (lit. is smeared)
    Upa- + √lip. Same root as lipyate in verse 32. The repetition is deliberate — the previous verse stated the doctrine; this one illustrates it with the sky-image. Both verses say: the soul is not smeared.
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.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
The sky-analogy: just as space is everywhere yet cannot be stained by anything because of its subtlety, the Self, present throughout the body, is similarly never tainted. Pervasion does not imply contamination.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Ākāśa is the standard Indian metaphor for present-but-untouched. The argument is causal: not 'the Self chooses not to be stained' but 'because it is subtle' it cannot be stained — staining requires gross contact. The verse anticipates Śaṅkara's later asaṅgo 'yam puruṣaḥ (Bṛh-up.) reading. Vaiṣṇava ācāryas use the same analogy for Paramātmā's antaryāmin presence.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
यथा सर्व-गतम् आकाशं सौक्ष्म्यात् न उपलिप्यते, तथा देहे सर्वत्र अवस्थितः आत्मा न उपलिप्यते ॥
yathā sarva-gatam ākāśaṃ saukṣmyāt na upalipyate, tathā dehe sarvatra avasthitaḥ ātmā na upalipyate ||
Just as all-pervading space, because of its subtlety, is not stained (by what it pervades), so too the Self, though present everywhere in the body, is not stained.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
यथा सर्व-गतं सौक्ष्म्यात् आकाशं न उपलिप्यते । सर्वत्र अवस्थितः देहे तथा आत्मा न उपलिप्यते ॥
yathā sarva-gataṃ saukṣmyāt ākāśaṃ na upalipyate | sarvatra avasthitaḥ dehe tathā ātmā na upalipyate ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
यथा yathā ind. (indeclinable), correlative just as
सर्व-गतम् sarva-gatam सर्व (adj.) + गत (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n., upapada tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) all-pervading
सौक्ष्म्यात् saukṣmyāt सौक्ष्म्य (n.) abl.sg. (ablative singular) because of subtlety
आकाशम् ākāśam आकाश (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) space
न na ind. (indeclinable), negation not
उपलिप्यते upalipyate उप+√लिप् pass. (passive) pres. (present) 3sg. is smeared / tainted
सर्वत्र sarvatra ind. (indeclinable) everywhere
अवस्थितः avasthitaḥ अव+√स्था p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.sg. (nominative singular)m. situated
देहे dehe देह (m.) loc.sg. (locative singular) in the body
तथा tathā ind. (indeclinable), correlative so too
आत्मा ātmā आत्मन् (m.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) the Self
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.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
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.
Commentary

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.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
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.
Commentary

“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.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

1st Analogy: Like the sky (because of its subtle nature) does not mix with anything, although it is all

pervading; similarly the soul in Brahman vision does not mix with the body, though situated in the body

e.g. Air enters mud, stool, water but does not mix with anything
Similarly the living entity is situated in varieties of bodies but remains aloof
Scientists cannot ascertain this
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
13.33 Yatha, as; sarva-gatam, the all-pervading; akasam, space;-though pervasive, still, na upalipyate, is not defiled, does not come into contact; saukmyat, because of its subtlety; tatha, similarly; atma, the Self; avasthitah, present, sarvatra, everywhere; dehe, in the body; na, is not; upalipyate, defiled. Further,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
13.33 As the 'all-pervading ether,' though in contact with all substances, is 'not tainted' by the alities of all these substances, as it is 'subtle' - even so the self, though 'present in all the bodies,' everywhere, namely, in divinities, men etc., is not contaminated by these bodies by reason of Its extreme subtleness.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
13.33 See Comment under 13.34
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
13.33 As the all-pervading ether is not tainted, because of its subtlety, so the Self seated everywhere in the body is not tainted.
Commentary

13.33 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.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
13.33 As the all-pervading space is not defiled, because of its subtlety, similarly the Self, present everywhere in the body [The singular number is used to denote a class, i.e. all bodies. See S.-Tr.], is not defiled.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
13.33 As space, though present everywhere, remains by reason of its subtlety unaffected, so the Self, though present in all forms, retains its purity unalloyed.
Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 9.6 BG 2.70 BG 5.10 SB 1.11.38 SB 11.7.41 SB 11.9.12 CC Madhya 23.106 CC Madhya 8.232 CC Antya 5.79 Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.15Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.12.1
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
As the all-pervading sky is not contaminated due to its subtlety — so the soul, situated in Brahman vision, is not contaminated by the body.
Practical Applications
  • Use the sky-analogy to understand soul's non-contamination.
  • When you feel contaminated by what you've encountered, return to the sky-perception.
  • Cultivate sky-mind.
Reflection Questions
  • When did I last feel contaminated?
  • What sky-perception would have helped?
Analogy

The sky fills the room, the cave, the lung, the pot — yet take any of them away and the sky has lost nothing, gained nothing, been altered by nothing. The soul lives in the body with that same untouchability. Whatever the body has done or had done to it, the soul is the sky inside the room.

Stories
Sītā in Aśoka-vana

Held captive in Rāvaṇa's garden, surrounded by demonesses, threatened daily — Sītā's outer circumstances were dire. Yet her inner life remained unstained. She refused even to look at Rāvaṇa; her mind dwelt always on Rāma.

The Rāmāyaṇa portrays her as the embodiment of this verse's truth. The body was in Laṅkā; the soul was in Ayodhyā. Like the sky in a polluted city — present everywhere, contaminated nowhere — her self was untouched by what surrounded it. Brahman-vision is portable; the captor cannot reach it.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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