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Bhagavad-gītā 13.15

సర్వేన్ద్రియగుణాభాసం సర్వేన్ద్రియవివర్జితమ్ । అసక్తం సర్వభృచ్చ‍ైవ నిర్గుణం గుణభోక్తృ చ ॥ ౧౫ ॥
sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ
[sarvendriya-gunaabhaasam]
sarvendriya-vivarjitam
[sarvendriya-vivarjitam]
asaktaṁ sarva-bhṛc caiva
[asaktam sarva-bhrich chaiva]
nirguṇaṁ guṇa-bhoktṛ ca
[nirgunam guna-bhoktri cha]
Word-for-word
sarva — of all indriya — senses guṇa — of the qualities ābhāsam — the original source sarva — all indriya — senses vivarjitam — being without asaktam — without attachment sarva - bhṛt — the maintainer of everyone ca — also eva — certainly nirguṇam — without material qualities guṇa - bhoktṛ — master of the guṇas ca — also .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ
sarva
of all
indriya
senses
guṇa
of the qualities
ābhāsam
the original source
sarvendriya-vivarjitam
sarva
all
indriya
senses
vivarjitam
being without
asaktaṁ sarva-bhṛc caiva
asaktam
without attachment
sarva - bhṛt
the maintainer of everyone
ca
also
eva
certainly
nirguṇaṁ guṇa-bhoktṛ ca
nirguṇam
without material qualities
guṇa - bhoktṛ
master of the guṇas
ca
also .
Important Words
  • indriya — senses
    Repeated three times in the verse. The Lord is named as the *original source* (ābhāsa) of the senses, then said to be *without* senses, then to *enjoy* the qualities. Each repetition pivots the meaning — paradox piled on paradox.
  • ābhāsam — the original source
    Ā- + √bhās — "shining forth." The senses are reflections, radiances, of the Lord's own faculty. They illuminate not by their own light but by His.
  • asaktam — without attachment
    A- + √sañj — "not stuck." The Lord sustains every being yet is sticky to none. This is the divine model the karma-yogi imitates — sustaining work without sticking to its fruit.
  • sarva - bhṛt — the maintainer of everyone
    Compound: "all-bearer." The Lord carries the cosmos as a mother carries a child — and yet remains unburdened. Maintenance without entanglement is His signature.
  • nirguṇam — without material qualities
    Nir- + guṇa. The Lord is beyond the three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas). The Advaita reading stops here; Kṛṣṇa goes one word further.
  • guṇa - bhoktṛ — master of the guṇas
    And yet the *enjoyer* of the same modes. The paradox is the doctrine: transcendent to the guṇas, He nonetheless tastes them. The personal Lord is not exhausted by the impersonal abstraction.
The Supersoul is the original source of all senses, yet He is without senses. He is unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living beings. He transcends the modes of nature, and at the same time He is the master of all the modes of material nature.
Purport

The Supreme Lord, although the source of all the senses of the living entities, doesn’t have material senses like they have. Actually, the individual souls have spiritual senses, but in conditioned life they are covered with the material elements, and therefore the sense activities are exhibited through matter. The Supreme Lord’s senses are not so covered. His senses are transcendental and are therefore called nirguṇa. Guṇa means the material modes, but His senses are without material covering. It should be understood that His senses are not exactly like ours. Although He is the source of all our sensory activities, He has His transcendental senses, which are uncontaminated. This is very nicely explained in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.19) in the verse apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no hands which are materially contaminated, but He has His hands and accepts whatever sacrifice is offered to Him. That is the distinction between the conditioned soul and the Supersoul. He has no material eyes, but He has eyes – otherwise how could He see? He sees everything – past, present and future. He lives within the heart of the living being, and He knows what we have done in the past, what we are doing now, and what is awaiting us in the future. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā: He knows everything, but no one knows Him. It is said that the Supreme Lord has no legs like us, but He can travel throughout space because He has spiritual legs. In other words, the Lord is not impersonal; He has His eyes, legs, hands and everything else, and because we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord we also have these things. But His hands, legs, eyes and senses are not contaminated by material nature. Bhagavad-gītā also confirms that when the Lord appears He appears as He is by His internal potency. He is not contaminated by the material energy, because He is the Lord of material energy. In the Vedic literature we find that His whole embodiment is spiritual. He has His eternal form, called sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. He is full of all opulence. He is the proprietor of all wealth and the owner of all energy. He is the most intelligent and is full of knowledge. These are some of the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the maintainer of all living entities and the witness of all activity. As far as we can understand from Vedic literature, the Supreme Lord is always transcendental. Although we do not see His head, face, hands or legs, He has them, and when we are elevated to the transcendental situation we can see the Lord’s form. Due to materially contaminated senses, we cannot see His form. Therefore the impersonalists, who are still materially affected, cannot understand the Personality of Godhead.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
15. That Brahman illuminates all the senses and sense objects, but is devoid of all material senses. He is without attachment, but maintains everything. He is without material guṇas, but He is the enjoyer of all guṇas.
Commentary

He illuminates all the senses and sense objects (guṇa). The śruti says tac cakṣuṣaś cakṣuḥ (Kena Upaniṣad 1.2): He inspires the sight of the eye. Or the meaning can be “He shines forth or is endowed with all the senses and objects of the senses such as sound.” He however is also without all senses (sarvendriya vivarjitam). This means He is without material senses. Thus the śruti says: apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā paśyaty acakṣuḥ sa śṛṇoty akarṇaḥ. Without hands and feet He moves and receives. Without eyes He sees. Without ears He hears. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.1 parāsya śaktir bahudhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jṣāna-bala-kriyā ca The energy of the Lord is divided into jṣāna, bala and kriyā śaktis. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8 This meaning is valid because it is well known in the śrutis that He is the abode of the svarūpa śakti, His spiritual energy. [Note: The Lord’s energies enable the Lord to fulfill His desires, just as a living entity’s senses enable him to fulfill his desires. He is therefore not devoid of organs to fulfill those desires.] He is without attachment (asaktam), and also maintains everything by His form of Viṣṇu (sarva-bhṛt). He has a form without the material guṇas of sattva, rajas and tamas (nirguṇa). But He is the enjoyer or taster of the six guṇas or bhagas known as aiśvarya, vīrya, yaśas, śrī, jṣāna and vairāgya (guṇa-bhoktṛ). [Note: The six qualities of Bhagavān are defined as follows. Aiśvarya means the Lord’s natural control of everything. Vīrya is refers to the Lord’s inconceivable potencies, by which he manifests jīva and prakṛti and expands as unlimited avatāras. Yaśaḥ refers to the Lord’s ocean of good qualities relating to body, mind and speech. Śrī refers to the Lord’s eternal, beautiful, youthful body. Jṣāna refers to the Lord’s omniscience. Vairāgya refers to the Lord’s detachment from all material affairs.]

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
15. That paramātmā is made glorious by having all senses and sense objects, but is devoid of all material senses. He is without attachment, but maintains everything. He is without material qualities, but he is the enjoyer of all good qualities.
Commentary

Moreover, that paramātmā is made glorious by all his senses and their functions (guṇa ābhāsam). The Lord is devoid of all senses which are different from his svarūpa. The jīva in bondage has senses different from his svarūpa. One should accept that the Lord is without material senses (sarvendriya vivarjitam), but is endowed with senses intimately connected with His svarūpa. The śruti says:

apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā paśyaty acakṣuḥ sa śṛṇoty akarṇaḥ Without hands or feet He moves swiftly and grasps. Without eyes He sees. Without ears He hears. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.19 Jīva Gosvāmī says in the Bhagavat Sandarbha, anuccheda 22: yad ātmako bhagavāṁs tad-ātmikā vyaktiḥ kim ātmako bhagavān jṣānātmaka aiśvaryātmakaḥ śaktyātmakaḥ: What constitutes the Lord becomes manifest as non different from Himself. What constitutes the Lord? The Lord’s very essence is knowledge, power and śakti. The śruti says: buddhi-mano ’ṅga-pratyaṅgavattāṁ bhagavato lakṣayāmahe buddhimān mano-vān aṅga-pratyaṅgavān We describe that the Lord as endowed with limbs, subsections, mind and intelligence. He has intelligence, mind, limbs and subsections. [Note: Source of this is unknown.] Though he holds all elements (sarva bhṛt), He is devoid of contact (asaktam) with them, since He supports everything by His will. He is without the material guṇas (nirgunaḥ): sākṣī ceṭaḥ kevalo nirguṇaś ca: He is the witness, the consciousness, without material qualities. (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.11) This means He is not touched by the material guṇas. But He is the controller and enjoyer of all good qualities (guṇa bhoktṛ). This is expressed in the section starting with guṇānubhavi-vikāra-jananīm ajṣām: ekas tu pibate devaḥ svacchando’tra vaśānugaḥ dhyāna-kriyābhyāṁ bhagavān bhuṅkte’sau prasabhaṁ vibhuḥ There the Lord, by His own will, relishes with delight. That powerful Lord enjoys by both thought and action. Mantrika Upaniṣad 6

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Translation
The Supersoul is the original source of all senses, yet He is without senses. He is unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living beings. He transcends the modes of nature, and at the same time He is the master of all the modes of material nature. (cn/DS) We are in the material nature with material senses and all that we are experiencing is with material senses. The very conception of senses to us is material. In other words, we tend to judge things from our experience, therefore there is a problem with understanding God, because God also has senses but they are not under the material modes of nature, because He is the creator and the controller of the modes of nature. Therefore to help us to understand what God's senses are, we say that He has no senses because the concept of senses has many material ideas about it. But the fact is that the Supreme Lord does have senses ‑ but they are completely transcendental. His senses can do the function of any other sense.
Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Supersoul is “Transcendental”

Text 13.16 *

THEME: Supersoul is “All-Reconciling”

Focus of Learning

(a) Supreme Lord is the source of all senses of the living entities

Does not have material senses like ours
Ref. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.19: Distinction between Supersoul and conditioned soul
Supreme Lord has no hands which are materially contaminated but has transcendental hands – accepts whatever sacrifice offered to Him
Has no material eyes – but has spiritual eyes because He can see past, present and future (e.g. Bg. 7.26)
Has no material legs but has spiritual legs – can travel throughout the universe
Conclusion – The Lord is not impersonal but definitely has spiritual senses
How can we expect ‘part and parcel’ to have something which the Lord (the original source) does not have

(b) Lord appears by His internal potency and not contaminated by material energy (Ref. Bg. 4.6)

Vedic literatures explains His whole embodiment is ‘spiritual’ – some of the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are as follows
Full of all opulences
Proprietor of all wealth and all energies
Most intelligent and full of knowledge
Maintainer of all living entities and witness of all activities

(c) Why we cannot see Him – Because He is transcendental

We are materially contaminated; even the impersonalists are materially affected
Only by transcendental elevation, one can see the Lord’s form

(b) Purport proves that Text 13.14 talks about Supersoul and not the individual soul – as follows:

Individual soul cannot claim that he has legs, hands, etc everywhere
To think this, is the effect of ignorance – If one thinks that under ignorance one is not conscious that his legs and hands are diffused everywhere, but when he attains to proper knowledge he attains to that stage, his thinking is contradictory

▪

Refutation: If living entity has become conditioned by material nature, then

how can he be Supreme

Individual soul cannot extend his hands and legs etc everywhere

▪

Supreme Soul can extend without limit as shown by Ref. Bg. 9.26: ‘’patram

pushpam…” and Brahma Samhita 5.37: “goloka eva…”

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
13.15 Sarvendriya-guna-abhasam, shining through the functions of all the organs: By the use of the words all the organs are understood ears etc., known as the sense-organs and motor-organs, as also the internal organs-the intellect and the mind, for they are eally the limiting adjuncts of the Knowable. Besides, the organs of hearing etc. become the limiting adjuncts from the very fact of the internal organ becoming so. Hence, the Knowable gets expressed through determination, thinking, hearing, speaking, etc. that are the functions of all the organs, internal and external, which are the limiting adjuncts. In this way, It is manifest through the functions of all the organs. The idea is that, that Knowable appears to be as though active owing to the functions of all the organs, as it is said in the Upanisadic text, 'It thinks, as it were, and shakes, as it were' (Br. 4.3.7). For that reason, again, is It not perceived as being actually active? In answer the Lord says: It is sarva-indriya-varitam, devoid of all the organs, i.e. bereft of all the instruments of action. Hence the Knowable is not active through the functioning of the instruments of action. As for the Upanisadic verse, 'Without hands and feet He moves swiftly and grasps; without eyes He sees, without ears He hears' (Sv. 3.19), etc.-that is meant for showing that that Knowable has the power of adapting Itself to the functions of all the organs which are Its limiting adjuncts; but it is not meant to show that It really has such activity as moving fast etc. The meaning of that verse is like that of the Vedic text, 'The blind one discoverd a gem' (Tai, Ar. 1.11). [This is an artha-veda (see note on p.530), which is not to be taken literally but interpreted in accordance with the context.] Since the Knowable is devoid of all the instruments of actions, therefore It is asaktam, unattached, devoid of all associations. Although It is of this kind, yet it is ca eva, also verily; the sarva-bhrt, supporter of all. Indeed, everything has existence as its basis, because the idea of 'existence' is present everywhere. Verily, even mirage etc. do not occur without some basis. Therefore, It is sarva-bhrt, the supporter of all-It upholds everything. There can be this other organs as well for the realization of the existence of the Knowable: Nirgunam, without ality-the alities are sattva, rajas and tamas; that Knowable is free from them; and yet It is the guna-bhoktr, perceiver of alities; i.e., that Knowable is the enjoyer and experiencer of the alities, sattva, rajas and tamas, which, assuming the forms of sound etc., transform them-selves into happiness, sorrow, delusion, etc. Further,
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
13.15 Sarvendriya-gunabhasam i.e., shining by the functions of the senses - means that which is shedding light on the functions of all the senses. The 'Gunas' of the senses means the activities of the senses. The meaning is that the self is capable of knowing the objects with the functioning of the senses. 'Yet devoid of the senses' i.e., It is capable by Itself, of knowing everything. Such is the meaning. It is 'detached', namely, It is free, by nature, from attachment to the bodies of gods etc. 'Yet supporting all,' yet capable of supporting all bodies, such as of gods etc., as declared in the Sruti. 'It is one, is threefold ৷৷.' (Cha. U., 7.26.2). It is devoid of Gunas, i.e., by nature It is devoid of Sattva etc., and yet It is the experiencer of the Gunas' - It has the capability to experience Sattva etc.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
13.15 See Comment under 13.18
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
13.15 Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of alities, yet their experiencer.
Commentary

13.15 सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासम् shining by the functions of all senses? सर्वेन्द्रयविवर्जितम् (yet) without the senses? असक्तम् unattached? सर्वभृत् (yet) supporting all? च and? एव even? निर्गुणम् devoid of alities? गुणभोक्तृ (yet) experiencer of the alities? च and.Commentary Brahman sees without eyes? hears without ears? smells without nose? eats without mouth? feels without skin? grasps without hands? walks without feet. He is the unseen seer? the unheard hearer? the unthought thinker. Other than Him there is no seer? no hearer? no thinker. He is the Self? the Inner Ruler? the Immortal. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad III.7.23) He is free from the,alities of Nature and yet He is the enjoyer of the alities.All the senses The five organs of knowledge and the five organs of action? the inner senses? mind and intellect come under the term all the senses. The organs of action and those of knowledge perform their functions in conjunction with the mind and the intellect. They cannot function independently. Therefore? the mind and the intellect are included in the term all the senses.Brahman is transcendental and unmanifest? but It manifests Itself through the limiting adjuncts of the extrnal and the internal senses. As It is destitute of the senses It is unattached and yet It supports all. It is the support or substratum of everything. It is destitute of the alities of Nature and yet It is the enjoyer of those alities. Brahman is really mysterious.This verse is taken from the Svetasvataropanishad 3.17.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
13.15 Shining through the functions of all the organs, (yet) devoid of all the organs; unattached, and verily the supporter of all; without ality, and the perceiver of alities;
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
13.15 Beyond the senses, It yet shines through every sense perception. Bound to nothing, It yet sustains everything. Unaffected by the Qualities, It still enjoys them all.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 9.4 BG 4.13 BG 7.12 SB 1.7.10 SB 6.16.36 SB 11.6.16 CC Madhya 20.255 CC Ādi 5.14 CC Madhya 21.36 Īśa Upaniṣad 5 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.19
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
He is the original source of all senses, yet without senses; unattached, sustaining all; transcendental to the modes, yet master of all the modes.
Practical Applications
  • Hold the paradox: source-of-senses, without senses.
  • Don't reduce the Lord to either pole.
  • Use paradox as appropriate map.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I demand non-paradoxical neatness?
  • What does paradox appropriately encode?
Analogy

A blind musician composes a song in his head, perfect in every note, though he has no instrument in his hand. The song exists, complete, source of every later performance — yet he himself is touched by none of its sounds. So the Supersoul: source of every sense, possessing none; sustainer of every being, attached to none.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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