पिताहमस्य जगतो माता धाता पितामहः | वेद्यं पवित्रमोंकार ऋक्साम यजुरेव च ||१७||
pitā'ham asya jagato mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ | vedyaṃ pavitram oṃkāra ṛk sāma yajur eva ca || 17 ||
I am the Father, Mother, Sustainer, Grandfather, Purifier, the knowable, OM — and the three Vedas.
Word by word (3)
- pitā aham asya jagataḥ mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ
- — I am the Father of this world, the Mother, the Sustainer, the Grandfather · pitā = Father (pitṛ = father — the masculine creative/generative principle; as Father, the divine is the primordial source that begets existence). aham = I. asya jagataḥ = of this world (asya = of this; jagataḥ = of the world, genitive — 'of this world/universe'). mātā = Mother (mātṛ = mother — the nurturing, sustaining, generative-receptive principle; as Mother, the divine is the womb of all existence, the nurturing ground). dhātā = the Sustainer/Creator (dhātā = the one who holds/sustains/ordains — from √dhā = to hold, to sustain; also used as a name of the Creator; dhātā = the one who sustains and ordains the order of existence). pitāmahaḥ = the Grandfather (pita-maha = father's father = grandfather — the divine as the primordial ancestor, source beyond the immediate parental generation; the cosmic lineage going back to the absolute origin). V17's first half: four familial-cosmic roles — Father (masculine creative source), Mother (feminine nurturing-generative), Sustainer (the one who holds existence together), Grandfather (the primordial ancestor). These four cover the complete familial dimension of the divine's relationship to the cosmos: the divine is not only the abstract ground but the most intimate family — father, mother, and even the grandfather (the source of the parents).
- vedyaṃ pavitram oṃkāra ṛk sāma yajuḥ eva ca
- — The knowable, the purifier, OM — the Ṛg, Sāma, and Yajur Vedas · vedyam = the knowable (vedya = that which is to be known, the object of knowledge — from √vid = to know; the divine is the ultimate knowable, the only thing worth truly knowing). pavitram = the purifier (pavitra = that which purifies — from √pū = to purify; pavitram = 'that which is purifying'; the divine is the supreme purifier, echoing V9.2's pavitram idam uttamam = 'this teaching is the supreme purifier'). oṃkāra = the syllable OM (oṃ + kāra = 'the maker/sound OM'; OM is the primordial sound of the Vedas, the symbol of Brahman in sound-form; V8.13 identified OM as 'ekākṣaraṃ brahma' = the single-syllable Brahman). ṛk = the Ṛgveda (the oldest of the four Vedas, composed primarily of hymns to the Vedic deities; ṛc = sacred verse). sāma = the Sāmaveda (the Veda of melodies/chants — the Ṛg verses set to sacred music). yajuḥ = the Yajurveda (the Veda of sacrificial formulas and procedures). ca = and. V17's second half: six more 'I am' identifications extending from the cosmic-familial to the spiritual-epistemological: the knowable (vedyam), the purifier (pavitram), OM (oṃkāra), and the three Vedas (Ṛk, Sāma, Yajus). Together V17's ten identifications (4 familial + 6 spiritual-epistemological) make the divine the complete ground of both cosmic relationship and spiritual knowledge.
- pitā mātā — Father and Mother as the dual cosmic creative principles
- — V17's Father-Mother (pitā-mātā) pair identifies the divine as both the masculine and feminine creative principles — the complete generative ground of the cosmos · The pitā-mātā (Father-Mother) pair in V17 is philosophically important: it identifies the divine as encompassing BOTH the masculine and feminine principles of creation. In Vedic and Śākta traditions, the creative power of existence has two poles: the masculine (Puruṣa, Śiva, the witness-consciousness) and the feminine (Prakṛti, Śakti, the creative-generative force). V17 declares both to be the divine: pitā aham (I am the Father) AND mātā (and the Mother). This is theologically significant: the divine is not exclusively masculine (as some patriarchal religious frameworks imply) but is the source of BOTH masculine and feminine principles. The Gita's cosmic divine is genuinely all-encompassing. The Grandfather (pitāmahaḥ) adds a temporal depth: not only the immediate creative principles (Father-Mother) but the ancestral source they themselves come from — the divine as the ground of the ground. Together: Father (immediate masculine source) + Mother (immediate feminine source) + Grandfather (the primordial ground that precedes and generates both) + Sustainer (the one who holds it all in ongoing existence).
V17 extends V16's ritual identification to the cosmic-familial and epistemological domains: I am the Father and Mother of this world (pitā-mātā — both masculine and feminine creative principles), the Sustainer (dhātā), the Grandfather (pitāmahaḥ — the primordial ancestor), the knowable (vedyam), the purifier (pavitram), OM (oṃkāra), and the three Vedas (Ṛgveda, Sāmaveda, Yajurveda). Ten identifications in one verse — the divine as the complete ground of cosmic relationship AND spiritual knowledge.
A modern analogy
In family systems, the father and mother provide two different forms of parenting — generative source and nurturing ground. The grandfather is the historical root that gives both parents their origin. The teacher (vedyam = the knowable one) provides the knowledge that orients growth. The purifier (pavitram) maintains health. V17 takes all these family and educational roles and identifies them as dimensions of the one divine: the divine is your father, mother, grandfather, teacher, and purifier — simultaneously, in the deepest sense.
What it does NOT mean
V17's Father-Mother pair is not a patriarchal or matriarchal statement about gender — it is a cosmic statement that the divine encompasses BOTH the masculine and feminine principles of creation. The divine transcends the gender binary while including both. V17 is one of the Gita's clearest texts on the gender-transcendence of the divine.
Take with you
- V17's pitā-mātā (Father-Mother) as a relational practice with the divine: the divine is not an abstract force but the most intimate relationship — more intimate than any human parent. V17 invites a relational orientation: approach the divine as your Father (source, strength, guidance) AND Mother (nurturance, receptivity, unconditional love) simultaneously. Different moments of spiritual practice may call for one or the other quality of this relationship.
- V17's vedyam (the knowable) as the purpose of all learning: every genuine inquiry that seeks to understand the truth of existence is approaching the divine (vedyam = I am the ultimate knowable). V17 makes all authentic seeking of truth a form of approaching the divine, regardless of the domain (science, philosophy, art, psychology). The divine is the answer to every genuine question.
- V17's oṃkāra as a daily practice anchor: OM is the divine in sound-form (V8.13). V17 says I am oṃkāra. Beginning any practice with the conscious utterance of OM (silently or aloud) is invoking V17's teaching: the sound I am making IS the divine. This transforms a rote beginning-mantra into a recognition-practice.
V9.17 expands the V16 ritual-identification to two new domains: cosmic kinship and spiritual epistemology. The verse's ten identifications build on V16's eight sacrificial elements to create a comprehensive 'I am all' statement that covers both the relational (how the divine relates to the cosmos as Father/Mother/Grandfather/Sustainer) and the cognitive (how the divine relates to knowledge as the Knowable/Purifier/OM/three Vedas). The pitāmahaḥ (Grandfather) identification is theologically significant: it places the divine not just as the immediate creative source (Father-Mother) but as the ancestral source that precedes and generates the immediate creative principles. In Indian cosmology, Brahma (the creator god) is sometimes called 'Pitāmaha' — but V17 makes the Supreme (Krishna/Brahman) the true Pitāmaha, going beyond Brahma to the unmanifest ground. The pavitram (purifier) connects directly to V9.2's opening claim: the teaching of Ch.9 is 'pavitram idam uttamam' (the supreme purifier). Now V17 says the divine itself IS pavitram — the teaching purifies because the divine is the purifier; knowing the divine purifies because you are coming into contact with the purifier itself. The three Vedas (Ṛk/Sāma/Yajus) identification makes the divine the source of the scriptural tradition that defines Vedic religion — including the rituals of V20's soma-drinking worshippers. When those worshippers drink soma and worship, they are worshipping the divine that is the Vedas themselves. The irony V20 will reveal: they gain heaven but not liberation, because they worship the divine as Veda-texts without recognizing the divine as the ground of existence (V17-V18).
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: vedyam = Brahman is the ultimate object of all genuine knowledge (brahma-vidyā = the knowledge of Brahman, the highest knowledge); oṃkāra = the sound-symbol of Brahman; three Vedas = the scriptural pointers to Brahman. V17 identifies the source of all human spiritual knowledge with Brahman itself. pitā-mātā = Brahman as both the formal (masculine/puruṣa) and material (feminine/prakṛti) causes of the cosmos.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V17's pitā-mātā is the theological basis for relating to the divine in the mode of vātsalya (parental love) and sakhya (filial devotion). The devotee who relates to the divine as Mother (mātā) is engaging V17's teaching directly — the divine IS the Mother; the relational quality is not a projection but a recognition. Similarly, the devotee who approaches the divine as Father is touching V17's pitā dimension.
Karma-Yoga lens
V17's dhātā (Sustainer) is the karma yogi's cosmic ground: the divine sustains everything. The karma yogi who acts from the recognition that the divine is the Sustainer (and I am one of the sustaining instruments in the divine's field — V5's bhūta-bhṛt) acts from a fundamentally different orientation than the karma yogi who feels alone in sustaining what needs to be done.
Modern parallels
V17's Father-Mother-Grandfather identification parallels the multi-generational depth of family systems psychology: we are shaped not only by our immediate parents (father-mother) but by the multi-generational patterns (pitāmaha — grandfather lineage) that shaped our parents. V17's divine Grandfather is the ultimate depth of this lineage — the ground that precedes and shapes all subsequent creative expression. Recognizing the divine as Grandfather is recognizing one's participation in an infinite creative lineage.
Practice
V17 relational divine meditation: sit quietly. Hold in awareness each of V17's eight roles in turn: Father (feel the quality of strength-and-source), Mother (feel the quality of nurturance-and-receiving), Grandfather (feel the quality of deep ancestral root), Sustainer (feel what holds you in existence right now), Knowable (rest in the openness of genuine questioning), Purifier (feel what in you is being cleansed by this inquiry), OM (let the sound arise in awareness), Vedas (feel the transmission of ancient wisdom flowing through you). Sit in the recognition: all these are one divine.
Public-domain translations (3) compare all →
1 am the Father of this world - the Mother, the Sustainer, the Grandfather, the Purifier, the (one) thing to be known, (the syllable) Om, and also the Rik, Saman, and Yajus. [4]
I am the father and the mother of this universe, the grandsire and the preserver; I am the Holy One, the object of knowledge, the mystic purifying syllable OM, the Rik, the Saman, the Yajur, and all the Vedas. [6]
I am-of all this boundless Universe- The Father, Mother, Ancestor, and Guard! The end of Learning! That which purifies In lustral water! I am OM! I am Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Ved; [7]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
I am the Vedic ritual, sacrifice, ancestral offering, herb, mantra, oblation, fire, and the offering made.
Uttering OM — the single syllable of Brahman — departing while meditating on Me, one reaches the highest goal.
I am the Goal, Lord, Witness, Abode, Refuge, Friend — and the Origin, Dissolution, Seed imperishable.
A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield — and the Gita begins.
You grieve for those who should not be grieved for — and call it wisdom.
That which pervades everything cannot be destroyed — nothing and no one has the power to end it.