न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् | भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावनः ||५||
na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni paśya me yogam aiśvaram | bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ || 5 ||
Nor do beings truly dwell in Me — see My divine yoga! I sustain all beings yet My Self does not dwell in them.
Word by word (3)
- na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni / paśya me yogam aiśvaram
- — Nor do beings truly dwell in Me — see My divine power of yoga! · na ca = and not (again — a second negation, deepening V4's paradox). mat-sthāni = in Me abiding (same as V4 — 'in Me abiding'). bhūtāni = beings. paśya = see! (imperative of √paś/dṛś = to see — 'look! see!'). me = My (genitive). yogam aiśvaram = divine power of yoga (yoga = the divine power, the sovereign power; here not in the sense of the practice-yoga but in the sense of divine sovereign creative/sustaining power; aiśvaram = relating to īśvara = the Lord; aiśvara-yoga = the divine Lord's power). The exclamation 'paśya me yogam aiśvaram!' (see My divine power!) is Ch.9's most direct invitation to recognition: don't just hear the paradox (V4: beings in Me; V5: not truly in Me) — SEE the divine yoga-power that makes this possible. This is V5's direct pointing: I am beyond ordinary categories of 'in' and 'not in.' See the sovereign divine power (aiśvara-yoga) that sustains all without being limited by any.
- bhūta-bhṛt na ca bhūta-sthaḥ / mama ātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
- — My Self — sustaining all beings yet not dwelling in beings — is the source that brings beings into being · bhūta-bhṛt = sustainer/bearer of beings (bhūta = beings; bhṛt = bearing, sustaining — from √bhṛ = to bear, carry, sustain; bhūta-bhṛt = the sustainer of all beings). na ca = and not. bhūta-sthaḥ = dwelling in beings (bhūta = beings; stha = dwelling in, situated in — bhūta-stha = one who dwells in beings; na ca bhūta-sthaḥ = not dwelling in beings). mama ātmā = My Self (mama = My; ātmā = Self, the ultimate nature). bhūta-bhāvanaḥ = the source of beings (bhūta = beings; bhāvana = bringing into being, causing to arise, nourishing — from √bhū = to be + causative suffix: 'that which causes beings to be/arise/flourish'; bhūta-bhāvana = the cause-of-beings, the one who brings beings into being). V5's final statement: mama ātmā (My Self) is (1) bhūta-bhṛt (the sustainer of beings — actively supporting/bearing all existence); (2) na bhūta-sthaḥ (not dwelling in beings — not limited to or by any being); (3) bhūta-bhāvanaḥ (the source/cause of beings — the ground that generates all existence). These three together describe the Supreme's relationship to the manifest world: sustainer + not-contained + source. This is the most complete description of divine transcendent-immanence in the Gita.
- The space-air analogy (implied by V4-V5, explicit in V6)
- — V4-V5's paradox is clarified by V6's famous analogy — the vast wind in space — which makes the 'containing without being contained' relationship concrete · V6 (the next verse) will provide the analogy that makes V4-V5's paradox concrete: 'as the vast wind (mahāvāyu) that moves everywhere is always in space (ākāśe), know that all beings are similarly in Me.' Space contains all air; air does not contain all space. Apply to V4-V5: the Supreme (space) contains all beings (air); no being (air) contains the Supreme (space). But V5's additions go further than the space-air analogy: the Supreme is not only the container (like space) but also the sustainer (bhūta-bhṛt) and the source (bhūta-bhāvanaḥ). Space passively contains air; the Supreme actively sustains and generates beings. V5 thus presents a more dynamic relationship: not just container but sustainer and source. This is why V5 says 'paśya me yogam aiśvaram' (see My divine power!) — the sovereign creative power that both sustains and generates while remaining free of containment is the specific teaching V5 offers that goes beyond V4.
V5 deepens V4's paradox with a direct exclamation: paśya me yogam aiśvaram! — 'See My divine power!' The deepening: not only do all beings dwell in Me (V4) — but even that 'dwelling in Me' is mysterious: My Self (mama ātmā) is the sustainer of all beings (bhūta-bhṛt) and the source/cause of all beings (bhūta-bhāvanaḥ) — but does not dwell IN beings (na bhūta-sthaḥ). V5 adds two more attributes of the divine relationship to beings: active sustaining (bhūta-bhṛt) and active causing-to-be (bhūta-bhāvana). The paradox is complete: the Supreme sustains, generates, and contains all beings while remaining free of any being's limitations.
A modern analogy
Dream characters are in the dreamer's consciousness — they appear within the dream. But they don't truly exist as separate beings within the dreamer; they ARE the dreamer's consciousness appearing as characters. V5's 'nor do beings truly dwell in Me' is this: beings are not genuinely separate things that happen to be 'inside' the Supreme — they are the Supreme's creative power (bhūta-bhāvana) appearing as beings. The dream characters are not in the dreamer the way furniture is in a room; they ARE the dreamer's mind appearing. So too with beings and the Supreme.
What it does NOT mean
V5's 'Nor do beings truly dwell in Me' is a deepening of V4's paradox, not a contradiction. V4 said 'all beings are in Me' (mat-sthāni); V5 says 'nor truly in Me' (na mat-sthāni). The 'truly in Me' means: beings appear within the Supreme but are not truly, ultimately separate from the Supreme. The 'not truly' is the Vedāntic insight: from the highest perspective, there is no separate 'being' that is 'in' the Supreme — there is only the Supreme, appearing as beings. This is the depth that paśya me yogam aiśvaram (see My divine power!) is pointing to.
Take with you
- V5's paśya me yogam aiśvaram (see My divine power!) is Ch.9's most direct invitation: don't analyze — SEE. The divine yoga-power that sustains all (bhūta-bhṛt) and generates all (bhūta-bhāvanaḥ) while remaining free of all (na bhūta-sthaḥ) is available to direct recognition (pratyakṣāvagamam, V2). What would it mean to directly see this? V5 invites the attempt.
- V5's bhūta-bhṛt (sustainer of all beings) applied personally: your own existence right now is sustained by the Supreme's bhūta-bhṛt power. This breathing, this heartbeat, this awareness — all sustained by the divine sustaining power. Not as a metaphor but as a direct recognition: 'I am being sustained right now by the divine bhūta-bhṛt.' This is V5 lived.
- V5's bhūta-bhāvanaḥ (source/cause of all beings) as a creativity teaching: every moment of genuine creativity — every novel thought, every genuine act — emerges from the bhūta-bhāvana power of the Supreme operating through you. V5 does not diminish your creativity; it grounds it in its true source.
V9.5 completes Ch.9's opening cosmological statement (V4-V5) and introduces Ch.9's central philosophical mystery: the aiśvara-yoga (divine power of sovereignty) that makes possible the paradox of V4-V5. The exclamation paśya me yogam aiśvaram! (See My divine power of sovereignty!) is unique in the Gita — it is a direct call to recognition rather than conceptual understanding. This matches V2's pratyakṣāvagamam: the mystery of V4-V5 is available to direct recognition, not only to philosophical analysis. V5's three predicates of mama ātmā (My Self) form a complete divine portrait: (1) bhūta-bhṛt: the sustainer — the power that bears/supports the ongoing existence of all beings. This is the sustaining aspect of divine creative power (sthiti-śakti in later Śākta terminology). (2) na bhūta-sthaḥ: not dwelling in beings — the transcendence. This is what paśya me yogam aiśvaram! is pointing to: the sovereignty (aiśvarya) that sustains without being limited. (3) bhūta-bhāvanaḥ: the cause/source — the power that brings beings into existence. This is the originating aspect (sṛṣṭi-śakti). Together: My Self is the source of all beings, sustains all beings, and is free of all beings — all three simultaneously. This is the divine yoga (yoga here = the sovereign creative power, not the practice) that V5 invites Arjuna to see. V5 connects to the Upaniṣadic description of Brahman: 'from whom all beings are born, by whom all are sustained, into whom all return' (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1). V5's bhūta-bhāvana (source) + bhūta-bhṛt (sustainer) + na bhūta-sthaḥ (transcendent) captures the same triple relationship.
Advaita lens
Shankaracharya: mama ātmā = the Supreme Self (paramātman = Brahman). bhūta-bhāvanaḥ = Brahman as the ādi-kāraṇa (primordial cause of all manifestation). bhūta-bhṛt = Brahman as the sthiti-kāraṇa (sustaining cause). na bhūta-sthaḥ = Brahman transcends all — the nirguṇa Brahman is not contained by saguṇa manifestation. Paśya me yogam aiśvaram = see the māyā-śakti (the divine power that produces the appearance of multiplicity while Brahman remains one and undivided). The 'divine yoga' is the mystery of how the one Brahman appears as many without actually becoming many.
Bhakti lens
For bhakti traditions, V5's bhūta-bhāvanaḥ (the source of all beings) is a personal divine attribute of love: the Supreme generates beings out of love, sustains them out of care, and remains sovereignly free — all three as expressions of divine love. The devotee's recognition of this triple relationship is the foundation of V9.22's promise: 'I carry what they lack and preserve what they have' (ananyas cintayanto māṃ ye janāḥ paryupāsate) — divine sustenance (bhūta-bhṛt) applied to the devotee.
Karma-Yoga lens
V5's bhūta-bhṛt (the Supreme sustains all) is the karma yogi's most freeing insight: not the human actor but the Supreme is the ultimate sustainer. The karma yogi acts diligently (bhūta-bhṛt through me) but does not bear the ultimate burden of sustenance (that belongs to the Supreme). This insight frees the karma yogi from the exhaustion of feeling ultimately responsible for all outcomes.
Modern parallels
V5's bhūta-bhṛt (sustainer of all) parallels the concept of homeostasis in biology: the body has inherent self-sustaining mechanisms that operate without conscious control. V5 extends this to the cosmic scale: the Supreme's bhūta-bhṛt is the cosmic homeostasis that sustains all existence. The 'not dwelling in them' is parallel to saying homeostasis is not a particular organ but the property of the whole system that no single organ 'contains.'
Practice
V5 direct recognition: sit quietly. Notice that you are breathing — the breath is arising without effort, sustained (bhūta-bhṛt). Notice that thoughts are arising — generated from below ordinary consciousness (bhūta-bhāvana). Notice that the awareness witnessing all this is not contained in any thought or breath (na bhūta-sthaḥ). This is V5's three attributes experienced directly, right now. paśya! — SEE this.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Nor do beings exist in Me (in reality), behold My Divine Yoga! Bringing forth and supporting the beings. My Self does not dwell in them. [4]
Nor are all things in me; behold this my divine mystery: myself causing things to exist and supporting them all but dwelling not in them. [6]
Yet they are not contained, Those visible things! Receive and strive to embrace The mystery majestical! My Being-- Creating all, sustaining all--still dwells Outside of all! [7]
Nor yet do all entities live in me. See my divine power. Supporting all entities and producing all entities, my self lives not in (those) entities. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
By Me, in unmanifest form, all this world is pervaded — all beings are in Me, but I do not dwell in them.
As the mighty wind rests always in the vast sky, know that all beings rest in Me.
Arise and win glory! These warriors are already slain by Me — be merely the instrument, O Savyasācin!
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.