अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तम् इव च स्थितम् / भूतभर्त्र् च तज् ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च
avibhaktaṃ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam / bhūta-bhartr ca taj jñeyaṃ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca
One yet appearing divided in all; sustaining yet devouring; creating yet consuming — this is the Knowable.
Word by word (4)
- avibhaktam ca bhūteṣu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam
- — undivided (avibhakta) yet appearing as if (iva = as if) divided (vibhakta) in beings (bhūteṣu) — Brahman is one, appearing as many · The heart of Advaita: Brahman is ekam (one, indivisible — avibhakta), yet it appears as the multiplicity of beings (vibhaktam iva — 'as if divided'). The 'iva' (as if) is crucial: the division is APPARENT (vivartavāda = the appearance of diversity does not change the underlying unity). Like how one moon appears as many reflections in many pools — the reflections are vibhakta (separate) while the moon is avibhakta (one).
- bhūta-bhartr ca tat jñeyam
- — that Knowable (jñeyam) is also the sustainer/bearer (bhartr = one who bears) of all beings (bhūta) · Bhartr = supporter, bearer, sustainer (from bhṛ = to carry, sustain). As avibhakta (undivided ground), Brahman supports all the apparently divided beings within itself — as space supports all objects, without effort or attachment. The bhūta-bhartr quality directly connects to the asakta-sarva-bhṛt of V15.
- grasiṣṇu
- — the devouring one, the consuming/reabsorbing one — Brahman dissolves all beings at the end of each cosmic cycle (pralaya = dissolution) · Grasiṣṇu = one who swallows/devours (grasa = gulp/mouthful; -iṣṇu = having the nature of). At cosmic dissolution (mahā-pralaya), all manifestation returns to Brahman — 'devoured.' This is not destruction but reabsorption: waves returning to the ocean. The terrifying 'time-as-devourer' (kālo'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt — Ch.11 V32) is the same principle.
- prabhaviṣṇu ca
- — and the one who causes to manifest/generate/create (prabhaviṣṇu = having the nature of projecting forth, prabhava = origin/emergence) · Prabhaviṣṇu = one who projects creation (pra + bhava = to come forth prominently; -iṣṇu = tendency toward). At the start of each cosmic cycle (sarga = creation), Brahman projects all beings forth from itself. Grasiṣṇu-prabhaviṣṇu = the inhalation and exhalation of Brahman — the cosmic breath that rhythmically dissolves and re-creates the universe.
Three more qualities of jñeyam (the Knowable = Brahman): (1) Avibhakta-vibhaktam iva — Brahman is indivisible One, yet it appears as if divided into the millions of distinct beings. The word 'iva' (as if) tells us the division is apparent, not real. (2) Bhūta-bhartr — it sustains/upholds all these beings within itself. (3) Grasiṣṇu and prabhaviṣṇu — at cosmic dissolution it 'swallows' all back into itself; at cosmic creation it 'projects' all forth again. The cosmic breath.
A modern analogy
Gold and ornaments: the gold is one (avibhakta) but appears as many ornaments — ring, necklace, bracelet (vibhaktam iva). The ornaments do not contain 'pieces' of gold; each contains the full nature of goldness. Brahman-in-beings is the same: each being IS Brahman appearing in a particular form. Dissolution = ornaments melted back to gold (grasiṣṇu); creation = gold fashioned into new ornaments (prabhaviṣṇu).
What it does NOT mean
Grasiṣṇu can seem frightening — Brahman as 'devourer.' But this is the most loving dissolution: returning to the source is not death but homecoming. The waves are not 'devoured' when they return to the ocean; they simply cease the illusion of being separate. Pralaya = cosmic homecoming.
Avibhakta-vibhaktam iva is the Advaita formula: ekam eva advitīyam (one without a second) appearing as the world through the power of māyā/śakti. The 'iva' is non-trivial: Rāmānuja takes it as genuine diversity-in-unity (Brahman really differentiates into souls and world — viśiṣṭādvaita); Śaṃkara takes it as vivarta (apparent transformation only). Both agree Brahman is the ultimate ground — they disagree on whether the multiplicity is real or apparent.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Impartible, yet It exists as if divided in beings; It is to be known as the Sustainer of all beings; It devours and generates. [4]
[Arnold full chapter text; verse covers undivided-yet-appearing-divided, sustainer, devourer, and generator] [7]
And undivided, yet remaining divided as it were in beings; this Knowable supports (all) beings, (and is) the devouring and the creating one. [9]
Though undivided among all beings, it appears to be divided. That which is to be known is the supporter of all beings, the devourer, and the generator. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Steady wisdom begins here: when all desires fall away and the Self finds fullness in itself alone.
Satisfied by knowledge and realisation, senses mastered, gold and mud equally seen — this is the true steadfast yogi.
Noble are all — but the jñānī I regard as My very Self; with united mind, resting in Me alone as the supreme goal.
At the end of many births, the wise takes refuge in Me — 'Vāsudeva is all.' That great soul is exceedingly rare.