FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 8.22

పురుష: స పర: పార్థ భక్త్య‍ా లభ్యస్త్వనన్యయా । యస్యాన్త:స్థాని భూతాని యేన సర్వమిదం తతమ్ ॥ ౨౨ ॥
puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha
[purushah sa parah paartha]
bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā
[bhaktyaa labhyas tv ananyayaa]
yasyāntaḥ-sthāni bhūtāni
[yasyaantah-sthaani bhootaani]
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
[yena sarvam idam tatam]
Word-for-word
puruṣaḥ — the Supreme Personality saḥ — He paraḥ — the Supreme, than whom no one is greater pārtha — O son of Pṛthā bhaktyā — by devotional service labhyaḥ — can be achieved tu — but ananyayā — unalloyed, undeviating yasya — whom antaḥ - sthāni — within bhūtāni — all of this material manifestation yena — by whom sarvam — all idam — whatever we can see tatam — is pervaded .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha
puruṣaḥ
the Supreme Personality
saḥ
He
paraḥ
the Supreme, than whom no one is greater
pārtha
O son of Pṛthā
bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā
bhaktyā
by devotional service
labhyaḥ
can be achieved
tu
but
ananyayā
unalloyed, undeviating
yasyāntaḥ-sthāni bhūtāni
yasya
whom
antaḥ - sthāni
within
bhūtāni
all of this material manifestation
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
yena
by whom
sarvam
all
idam
whatever we can see
tatam
is pervaded .
Important Words
  • paraḥ — Supreme (greater than whom none exists)
    Paraḥ — the highest, the beyond. Paired in the verse with puruṣaḥ ('Person'), giving puruṣaḥ paraḥ: the Supreme Person. Personalism stated at maximum strength: after the long discussion of brahma and akṣara, Kṛṣṇa names the destination as a Person, the Supreme. Foundational for the Gauḍīya reading of the Gītā.
  • bhaktyā — by devotional service
    Instrumental of bhakti — from bhaj, to share, to participate, to serve. The whole means of attainment compressed to one word. The verse refuses to keep bhakti waiting in the wings; here it is named as the method.
  • labhyaḥ — can be achieved
    Gerundive of labh — 'to be obtained'. The same root as su-labha in 8.14. Where 8.14 said He is 'very easy to obtain', here He is just 'obtainable' — and obtainable by exactly one means, ananyā bhakti.
  • ananyayā — unalloyed, undeviating
    Same prefix as in ananya-cetāḥ (8.14) — 'no-other'. Bhakti without 'other'. The Gauḍīya line treats this word as the technical name for the highest grade of devotion — devotion that has admitted no second object.
  • antaḥ - sthāni bhūtāni — within whom all of this material manifestation
    Antaḥ (within) + sthāni (situated) + bhūta (beings). All beings are situated within Him. The cosmology is theistic-immanent: the Supreme is not adjacent to creation but encompassing it. Yet — see next word — He remains transcendent in His abode.
  • tatam — is pervaded
    Past participle of tan — to stretch, to spread, to pervade. The same root as tantra (woven web), tantu (thread). The Lord pervades all by His potency, yet remains in His abode — the immanence-transcendence paradox stated grammatically.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.
Purport

It is here clearly stated that the supreme destination, from which there is no return, is the abode of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person. The Brahma-saṁhitā describes this supreme abode as ānanda-cinmaya-rasa, a place where everything is full of spiritual bliss. All the variegatedness manifest there is of the quality of spiritual bliss – nothing there is material. That variegatedness is expanded as the spiritual expansion of the Supreme Godhead Himself, for the manifestation there is totally of the spiritual energy, as explained in Chapter Seven. As far as this material world is concerned, although the Lord is always in His supreme abode, He is nonetheless all-pervading by His material energy. So by His spiritual and material energies He is present everywhere – both in the material and in the spiritual universes. Yasyāntaḥ-sthāni means that everything is sustained within Him, within either His spiritual or material energy. The Lord is all-pervading by these two energies. To enter Kṛṣṇa’s supreme abode or the innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets is possible only by bhakti, devotional service, as clearly indicated here by the word bhaktyā. No other process can help one attain that supreme abode. The Vedas ( Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.21) also describe the supreme abode and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Eko vaśī sarva-gaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. In that abode there is only one Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose name is Kṛṣṇa. He is the supreme merciful Deity, and although situated there as one He has expanded Himself into millions and millions of plenary expansions. The Vedas compare the Lord to a tree standing still yet bearing many varieties of fruits, flowers and changing leaves. The plenary expansions of the Lord who preside over the Vaikuṇṭha planets are four-armed, and they are known by a variety of names – Puruṣottama, Trivikrama, Keśava, Mādhava, Aniruddha, Hṛṣīkeśa, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Śrīdhara, Vāsudeva, Dāmodara, Janārdana, Nārāyaṇa, Vāmana, Padmanābha, etc. The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.37) also confirms that although the Lord is always in the supreme abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, He is all-pervading, so that everything is going on nicely ( goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ ). As stated in the Vedas ( Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8), parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate/ svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca: His energies are so expansive that they systematically conduct everything in the cosmic manifestation without a flaw, although the Supreme Lord is far, far away.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
22. That supreme person, within whom exist all entities and by which this universe is pervaded, is attained by pure ananyā bhakti, O son of Pṛthā.
Commentary

That supreme person, who is just My aṁśa, cannot be known by other means, which have in them desires for karma-yoga or jṣāna-yoga. As I previously said, ananya-cetāḥ satatam.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
22. That supreme person, within whom exist all entities and by which this universe is pervaded, is attained by pure bhakti, O son of Pṛthā
Commentary

This verse describes the easy method of bhakti for attaining the Lord. That person (Myself) is attained by exclusive bhakti (ananyayā bhaktyā) alone, previously described in verse 14. I can be attained by bhakti yoga, but am difficult to attain by bhakti mixed with yoga. The qualities of that Lord are then described in the next line. (Everything is within Him), and by Him this whole universe (sarvam idam) is pervaded (tatam). The śruti describes the Lord similarly: eko vaśī sarvagaḥ kṛṣṇa īḍya eko’pi san bahudhā yo’vabhāti Praiseworthy Kṛṣṇa, though living in one place, is spread everywhere. Though one form, He exists as many. Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.3 vṛkṣa iva stabdho divi tiṣṭhaty ekas tenedaṁ pūrṇaṁ puruṣeṇa sarvam He alone stands firm in the sky like a tree. All the universe is pervaded by this person. Mahānārāyaṇa Upaniṣad 13

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

What a nice description of Krsna. He is in His abode, yet He is all‑pervading. This is the conclusion of this section, it summarizes it that we should attain Krsna through pure devotional service and go to the spiritual world. That should be our conclusion. The next section, last section, will give more explanations about the process to obtain that spiritual world.

[ F . THE SUPREMACY OF DEVOTION IN ATTAINING THE SUPREME (8.23‑28 1 . If one passes from this world in light, he obtains brahman. If he leaves in darkness, he again comes back. (23‑26) ]

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

How to attain that abode of Lord?

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed Devotional Service – Ananya Bhakti
Although He is present in His abode, He is all pervading, and everything is situated within Him

Focus of Learning

(a) Description of Abode – Brahma Samhita (“chintamani...”) Study Purport

(b) As ‘ultimate destination’ – Katha Upanishad

(c) A place of no return – Bhagavad-gita (8.15; 8.21; 15.6)

(d) Absolute nature – Krishna’s abode is non-different from Him

(e) Replica of Goloka Vrindavan – Bhauma Vrindavan (on this planet)

(f) 3 types of annihilation a living entity experiences (as per the purport), with respect to Brahma’s

life

At death of the living entity every time he takes a body
End of Brahma’s day
End of Brahma’s life

(g) Intelligent persons– Take to Krishna Consciousness

Use human life fully in Devotional Service, chanting Hare Krishna.
No more Rebirths – Transfer in this life to the spiritual planet of Krishna and become eternally blissful
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
8.22 O son of Prtha, sah, that; parah purusah, supreme, unsurpassable Person-(the word purusa) derived in the sense of 'residing in the heart' or 'all-pervasiveness'; that Person, compared to whom there is nothing superior-; yasya, in whom, in which Person; antahsthani, are included; bhutani, (all) the beings which are Its products-for a product remains inherent in its cause; and yena, by whom, by which Person; tatam, is pervaded; sarvam, all; idam, this, the Universe, as pot etc. are by space; is tu, indeed; labhyah, reached; through ananyaya, one-pointed; bhaktya, through devotion, characterized as Knowledge; ananyaya, which is one pointed, which relates to the Self. The Northern Path meant for the attainment of Braman by the yogis under discussion, who have superimposed the idea of Brahman on the syllable Om and who are destined to get Liberation in due course, has to be stated. Hence, in order to present the intended idea the verse, '(O best of the Bharata dynasty) of that time৷৷.at which,' etc. is being recited. The description of the Path of Return (in verse 25) is by way of praising the other Path (of Departure, in verse 24):
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
8.22 That Supreme Person has been declared in such texts as 'There is nothing higher than Myself, O Arjuna. All this is strung on Me, as rows of gems are on a thread' (7.7), and 'Who am beyond them and immutable' (7.13) - He is the Supreme Person in whom all beings abide and by whom all this is pervaded. He is to be attained by undivided devotion as described in 'Whose mind is not in anything else' (8.14). Now, Sri Krsna teaches the 'path of light,' described in the Srutis which is common to the knowers of the true nature of the self and to the persons who are devoted to the Supreme Person. The nature of this path is alified as one of 'non-return to Samsara.' In the case of a person journeying through the 'path of light,' as described in the text of the worship of Five Fires is as follows: 'So those who know It (i.e., the eternal nature of the individual self) thus, as taught in the Vidya of the Five Fires, and those too who worhip in the forest with faith and Tapas go to the deity ruling over the rays of light, and from there to the deity of the day' (Cha. U., 5.10.1). The attainment of the Supreme Brahman and the non-return to birth are declared with reference to those who go by the path of light, etc., by the teaching that 'He the Supreme Being leads them to Brahman ৷৷. Those who reach by this path do not return to the (wordly) life of man' (Cha. U., 4.15.5). This declaration of the goal in the text, 'Those who know it thus etc.,' is not with reference to the attainment of the Atman which constitutes ony the limb of the science of Brahman as taught in the beginning of Prajapati's teaching. For there will then arise purposelessness for the separate teaching of the same in regard to the principal science of the Supreme in the text. 'Those who are in the forest worship by means of faith and austerity etc.,' (Cha. U., 5.10.1). It is taught in the Vidya (meditation) of Five Fires: 'Thus, indeed, in the fifth oblation the waters become Purusa' (Cha. U., 5.9.1) and 'Those with a balance of good Karmas ৷৷. and those with a balance of bad Karmas' (Ibid., 5.10.7). What is to be understood here is that the state of existence as men and other beings, which has its origin in good and evil Karmas, refer to the 'waters' which alone are mixed with other elements (i.e., to the body-mind); as for the self, there is only contact with them and not identification. Thus, is declared the difference between intelligent self and inanimate matter. Then, by the texts, 'Those who know this' (Ibid., 5.10.1), 'Those who go to the rays of light' (Ibid.), and 'They who proceed by it return not to the human condition here,' it is instructed that those who know this concerning the sentient and inanimate entities - the one to be attained and the other to be rejected , they jourey along the path described by the terms 'beginning with light and do not return to Samsara'. On account of the passage, 'He leads them to the Brahman' (Ibid., 4.15.5), which holds that the Brahman is attained by both the knower of real nature of the self and the devotees of the Supreme Person and also because of the axiom of 'results according to efforts' (Tat-kratu-nyaya), the entity self, separated from the inanimate matter, should be constantly meditated upon as having its sole joy in absolute subservience to the Supreme Brahman who is Its self. The self's nature of finding only joy consists in absolute subservience to the Surpeme Person. This is proved from the Srutis like 'He who dwells within the self ৷৷. whose body is the self' (Sa. Bra., 14.6.5.5.30).
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
8.22 Parah etc. upto pratisthitam. The Absolute (Vasudevatattva) of the above description is beyond the concept of Time Manifest : [because] It is immanent in all beings. In spite of being so, It is Unmanifest : because It is difficult to attain. That It is, however, attainable by means of devotion has also been made clear already. In This exists this universe which is [Its] perennial nature that remains always the same. Now, what is the meaning of the word, punah 'again' and of the word avrtti 'returning' ? This meaning certainly presupposes a conditon of disruption of one's own nature for sometime in the intervening period. The auspicious Supreme Lord's real nature is His Absolute Freedom viz., the Supreme Consciousness that transcends the universe, yet remains identical with the universe, and serves as the basis of the universe; and It is perennial. Hence, it cannot be assumed that there was some disruption at any time for this real nature and that the Supreme Lord regained that nature. Hence it is rightly said 'Having attained Me' etc. So far the behaviour of those persons who attain the Bhagavat by constant practice without much labour has been described. Now a difference that lies between those who, by departing, will (or attain) emancipation and those who will enjoyment [of mundane life], is described :
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
8.22 That highest Purusha, O Arjuna, is attainable by unswerving devotion to Him alone within Whom all beings dwell and by Whom all this is pervaded.
Commentary

8.22 पुरुषः Purusha? सः that? परः highest? पार्थ O Partha? भक्त्या by devotion? लभ्यः is attainable? तु verily? अनन्यया without another object (unswerving)? यस्य of whom? अन्तःस्थानि dwelling within? भूतानि beings? येन by whom? सर्वम् all? इदम् this? ततम् pervaded.Commentary All the beings (effects) dwell within the Purusha (the Supreme Person? the cause) because every effect rests within its cause. Just as the effect? pot? rests within its cause? the clay? so also all beings and the worlds rest within their cause? the Purusha. Therefore the whole world is pervaded by the Purusha.Sri Sankara explains exclusive devotion as Jnana or knowledge of the Self.Purusha is so called because everything is filled by It (derived from the Sanskrit root pur which means to fill) or because It rests in the body of all (derived from the Sanskrit root pur). None is higher than It and so It is the Supreme Person. (Cf.IX.4XI.38XV.6and7)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
8.22 O son of Prtha, that supreme Person-in whom are included (all) the beings and by whom all this is pervaded-is, indeed, reached through one-pointed devotion.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
8.22 O Arjuna! That Highest God, in Whom all beings abide, and Who pervades the entire universe, is reached only by wholehearted devotion. [The following material (between the asterisks) is an example of what may be a "doctored' inclusion. It does not jibe with the rest of the material because it is not presented as metaphor and clearly implies that worldly phenomena are spiritually determining. Maybe it was added by an individual or individuals who were less cognizant than the originating author. Or maybe was 'craftily' inserted to function as a sort of litmus test - those who get"taken in' by it may be recognized as not having "spiritual discernment'.]
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Maitri (Friendship / Goodwill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 9.22 BG 11.54 BG 18.55 SB 11.14.21 SB 10.14.3 SB 1.2.11 CC Madhya 22.31 CC Madhya 8.280 CC Madhya 19.167 BRS 1.1.11 Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.3
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in whom all beings live and by whom all is pervaded — is attainable by unalloyed devotion.
Practical Applications
  • Recognize unalloyed devotion as the means.
  • Identify and remove alloys (ulterior motives) from your devotion.
  • Aim for purity of motive.
Reflection Questions
  • What alloy is currently in my devotion?
  • How could I purify it?
Analogy

Unalloyed devotion is like a single key cut to a single lock — no other key opens it, and no copy of this key with a second tooth filed on works either. The Supreme Person, in whom all beings dwell, opens only to ananyā bhakti. Other approaches reach His regions; only the unalloyed key reaches Him.

Stories
Ambarīṣa Mahārāja

Emperor Ambarīṣa ruled his kingdom yet kept his mind, senses, words, hands, eyes, ears — every faculty — engaged exclusively in service of the Lord. The Bhāgavatam catalogues his ananya-bhakti faculty by faculty: mind on Kṛṣṇa's feet, words on Kṛṣṇa's qualities, eyes on the Deity, and so on.

When Durvāsā Muni came with his terrible mystic power to test him, Ambarīṣa's unalloyed devotion drew the Sudarśana cakra to defend him — Durvāsā fled across the universe and found no refuge until he returned and begged forgiveness at Ambarīṣa's feet.

Labhyas tu ananyayā — the verse promises that the Supreme is obtained by ananyā devotion. Ambarīṣa is the textbook demonstration that the promise holds.

Rūpa and Sanātana

The two brothers, ministers in the court of the Bengal Sultan, were already wealthy, learned, and famous when Mahāprabhu drew them away. They renounced everything, lived under different trees in Vṛndāvana, wrote the foundational Gauḍīya texts, and gave the Lord nothing less than their entire faculties.

The Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Rūpa's masterwork, is itself a systematic exposition of ananyā bhakti — what it is, how to practice it, what its stages are. Ananyayā labhyas — by unalloyed devotion the Lord is obtained — became their literal life's work.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 8