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Chapter 13 · Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness · 35 verses

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Krishna’s natureChapter 13 · Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 13.18

The supreme knower and all-pervading Supersoul

ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमस: परमुच्यते ।

ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम् ॥ १८ ॥

jyotiṣām api taj jyotis

tamasaḥ param ucyate

jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ jñāna-gamyaṁ

hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam

Translation

He is the source of light in all luminous objects. He is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested. He is knowledge, He is the object of knowledge, and He is the goal of knowledge. He is situated in everyone’s heart.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

The Lord in Every Heart

  1. 1The Lord gives light to all shining things and is beyond material darkness. He is knowledge, its object and its goal, and lives in everyone’s heart.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that the Supersoul is the supreme controller and shelter of all beings. He is always different from the individual soul.
  3. 3Surrender to the Supreme Lord for liberation. Only by knowing Him can one go beyond birth and death.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 13, Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness: the supreme knower and all-pervading supersoul.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Recognize Kṛṣṇa as the source of all.

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: bhagavān, vibhūti.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 13.18 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to krishna’s nature?

Practice

Notice something excellent and see it as His opulence.

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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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