मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना | मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः ||४||
mayā tatam idaṃ sarvaṃ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā | mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṃ teṣv avasthitaḥ || 4 ||
By Me, in unmanifest form, all this world is pervaded — all beings are in Me, but I do not dwell in them.
Word by word (3)
- mayā tatam idaṃ sarvaṃ jagat avyakta-mūrtinā
- — By Me — in My unmanifest form — all this world is pervaded · mayā = by Me (instrumental of aham — 'by Me, through Me'). tatam = pervaded (from √tan = to stretch, extend; tatam = stretched across, pervaded — 'spread throughout'; same root as Sanskrit tana = body, extension). idaṃ sarvaṃ jagat = all this world (idaṃ = this; sarvam = all; jagat = the moving world — from √gam = to go; jagat = that which moves, the world of change and motion). avyakta-mūrtinā = in My unmanifest form (avyakta = unmanifest, not visible; mūrti = form, embodiment; avyakta-mūrti = unmanifest form, the form that is not visible to the senses; instrumental — 'in/by My unmanifest form'). The claim: I (Krishna) pervade (tatam = stretch across) ALL this world (idaṃ sarvam jagat) but in My unmanifest form (avyakta-mūrtinā) — not visible to ordinary senses. This is the positive first statement of Ch.9's core teaching: the Supreme pervades everything. But immediately, V4b and V5 will qualify this with the paradox.
- mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni / na ca ahaṃ teṣu avasthitaḥ
- — All beings are in Me — and yet I do not dwell in them · mat-sthāni = in Me abiding (mat = My; sthāni = abiding, dwelling — from √sthā = to stand/dwell; mat-sthāni = dwelling in Me, situated in Me; all beings are 'in Me'). sarva-bhūtāni = all beings (sarva = all; bhūta = being, creature — all created beings without exception). na ca = and not (contrastive — 'but not'). ahaṃ = I. teṣu = in them (locative plural — 'in those beings'). avasthitaḥ = dwelling (ava + √sthā = to stand below, to dwell in; avasthita = dwelling, established in). The paradox: (1) mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni — all beings are in Me (the Supreme contains all); (2) na cāhaṃ teṣu avasthitaḥ — I do not dwell in them (the Supreme is not contained by any being). This asymmetry — the Supreme contains all but is not contained by any — is Ch.9's central philosophical mystery. It is not a logical contradiction but a description of the asymmetric relationship between Brahman and the manifest world: all things appear within Brahman, but Brahman is not a 'thing' that could appear within another.
- The V4 paradox: mat-sthāni (beings in Me) + na teṣu avasthitaḥ (I not in them)
- — V4's philosophical mystery: the container-contained asymmetry — how can all beings be 'in' Krishna while Krishna is not 'in' any being? · V4's paradox (all beings are in Me / I am not in them) is one of the most philosophically challenging and fertile statements in the Gita. V5 will attempt an analogy (as vast air moves in space, yet space is not in the air). The philosophical analysis: if 'in' means 'bounded by, contained within,' then: (1) All beings are bounded by the Supreme (they exist within the Supreme's awareness/ground); (2) The Supreme is not bounded by any being (no finite being can 'contain' the infinite Supreme). This is the Vedāntic concept of brahma-vṛtti (the inclusive nature of Brahman) vs. the bounded nature of all finite things. Another way: all manifest things appear within pure awareness (the akṣara Brahman); pure awareness does not appear within any manifest thing — it is the ground of their appearance, not an appearance itself. V22's yasya antaḥsthāni bhūtāni (all beings dwelling within Him) echoed this — V9.4 is the detailed working-out of that V8.22 statement. The 'not dwelling in them' does not mean Krishna is absent from beings — it means He is not limited or defined by any particular being, not identified with any particular form.
V4 states Ch.9's first and most foundational teaching: the Supreme (Krishna) pervades all this world (mayā tatam idaṃ sarvam jagat) in unmanifest form (avyakta-mūrtinā). All beings exist in the Supreme (mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni). But — the paradox — the Supreme does not dwell in any being (na cāhaṃ teṣu avasthitaḥ). This asymmetry is the chapter's central mystery: the Infinite contains the finite but is not contained by any finite thing. The 'unmanifest form' (avyakta-mūrti) connects to Ch.8's sanātana avyakta (V8.20-V8.21) — the same eternal ground is now revealed as the pervasive presence within all things.
A modern analogy
Consciousness is present in every experience but is not limited to any particular experience. Your awareness is within this moment — but this moment is not your entire awareness. All experiences arise within awareness; awareness is not contained within any experience. V4's 'all beings in Me / I not in them' parallels this: all forms arise within the Supreme ground; the Supreme ground is not limited to any form.
What it does NOT mean
V4's 'I do not dwell in them' does not mean the Supreme is absent from beings. It means the Supreme is not limited TO any being — not defined by, not trapped in, not identical with any particular form. The Supreme is the ground of all forms but not itself a form. Analogy: silence is present in all music but is not limited to any particular musical piece. All music contains silence; no music contains ALL silence.
Take with you
- V4's mayā tatam (pervaded by Me) is Ch.9's pervasion-teaching: the Divine is not in some things and absent from others — it pervades ALL (sarvam). This makes every moment and every experience a manifestation of the divine pervasion. The practice: recognize the divine pervasion in ordinary experience — not as a belief but as a direct recognition (pratyakṣāvagamam, V2).
- V4's 'all beings in Me' (mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni) is the foundation for universal compassion: if all beings are within the Supreme, then harming any being is acting against the Supreme's own body. Conversely, serving any being is serving the Supreme. This makes Ch.9's ethics universal and non-sectarian.
- V4's na cāhaṃ teṣu avasthitaḥ (I do not dwell in them) prevents the error of confusing any particular form with the Supreme: no person, no object, no experience, no concept is the Supreme — all are within the Supreme but none is the whole of It. This is the practical protection against idolatry and attachment to any finite form as ultimate.
V9.4 is the most direct statement of Ch.9's (and perhaps the Gita's) central metaphysical teaching: the relationship between the Supreme and the manifest world. The verse presents this relationship in two asymmetric statements that together constitute the Gita's non-dual cosmology: (1) mayā tatam idaṃ sarvam jagad avyakta-mūrtinā: the Supreme pervades all the manifest world — this is the immanence statement. The Supreme is not remote or absent but thoroughly present throughout all manifestation. (2) mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṃ teṣu avasthitaḥ: all beings are in the Supreme, but the Supreme is not 'in' any being — this is the transcendence statement. The Supreme is not limited to or by any particular form. Together these two statements describe what Vedāntic philosophy calls the 'paradox of Brahman': Brahman is both sarva-vyāpin (all-pervading) and sarva-atīta (transcending all). The 'containing without being contained' relationship is the logical structure of non-duality: if Brahman were contained by beings, there would be something outside Brahman (the container), which contradicts the definition of the Absolute. So Brahman contains all without being contained. V4's avyakta-mūrtinā (in unmanifest form) connects directly to Ch.8's sanātana avyakta (V8.20): the same eternal Unmanifest that does not perish when all beings perish is the form in which the Supreme pervades all. The ch.9 revelation deepens Ch.8's cosmology: the akṣara Brahman is not just beyond all cycles — it is the living pervasion of all things right now.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: mayā tatam = by Brahman (my true nature) all this is pervaded — Brahman is the substratum, the ground-consciousness in which all apparent diversity appears. mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni = all beings exist within Brahman's awareness (just as all dream-objects exist within the dreaming mind — the objects are real AS OBJECTS but not real as independent entities separate from the dreaming mind). na cāhaṃ teṣu avasthitaḥ = Brahman is not contained in any being — no finite object can contain the infinite ground. This is the Advaita 'ajāta-vāda' (non-origination doctrine): nothing has actually come 'out of' Brahman as separate things; all apparent separate things are Brahman appearing as diversity without actually becoming many.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V4's 'I pervade all in unmanifest form' is the theological basis for seeing the divine in all creation. The devotee who has absorbed V4 sees the divine pervasion in every being — making every relationship a relationship with the divine. This is the foundation for the bhakti ethical mandate: see God in all, serve all as God. The 'not dwelling in them' qualification prevents the error of confusing any particular being with God — it is the ground of the being that is divine, not any particular form.
Karma-Yoga lens
V4's 'all beings in Me' makes karma yoga's universal service theologically grounded: serving any being is serving the Supreme (since all beings are 'in Me'). V4's 'I do not dwell in them' prevents the karma yogi from becoming attached to any particular service-outcome — no particular being or outcome is the Ultimate. The karma yogi serves the divine presence in all beings (mat-sthāni) while not being attached to any particular form (na teṣu avasthitaḥ).
Modern parallels
V4's 'all things in Me / I not in them' parallels the physical concept of spacetime: all material things exist within spacetime (mat-sthāni); spacetime is not a thing that exists within any material entity (na teṣu avasthitaḥ). Spacetime is the ground of all material existence — present everywhere there is anything, yet not itself a material thing. V4's Supreme is the analogous ground of all existence: present everywhere, not itself a limited thing.
Practice
V4 pervasion meditation: sit quietly. Expand awareness — sense it as a vast space. Notice all thoughts, sensations, perceptions arising WITHIN this space. All these 'beings' (thoughts/feelings/sensations) are in you (in the awareness). Now notice: is the awareness itself limited by any of these thoughts? Does any thought contain all of awareness? No — awareness contains thoughts; thoughts do not contain awareness. This is V4's paradox experienced directly: mat-sthāni (all thoughts in awareness) / na cāhaṃ teṣu avasthitaḥ (awareness not dwelling in any thought).
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
All this world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifested form: all beings exist in Me, but I do not dwell in them. [4]
All this universe is pervaded by me in my invisible form; all things exist in me, but I do not exist in them. [6]
By Me the whole vast Universe of things Is spread abroad;--by Me, the Unmanifest! In Me are all existences contained; Not I in them! [7]
This whole universe is pervaded by me in an unperceived form. All entities live in me, but I do not live in them. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The Supreme Puruṣa — in whom all beings abide, by whom all is pervaded — is attained by undivided devotion alone.
Nor do beings truly dwell in Me — see My divine yoga! I sustain all beings yet My Self does not dwell in them.
Beyond Me there is nothing whatsoever — all this is strung in Me, as gems upon a thread.
Bow down, arrows scattered, warrior collapsed — this is where the Gita begins.
I am your student. My mind is bewildered about what is right. Teach me.
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.