Chapter 13, Verse 28
समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् | विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं यः पश्यति स पश्यति ||१३-२८||
samaṃ sarveṣu bhūteṣu tiṣṭhantaṃ parameśvaram . vinaśyatsvavinaśyantaṃ yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati ||13-28||
Meaning
13.28 He sees, who sees the Supreme Lord, existing eally in all beings, the unperishing within the perishing.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna delivers a definition of true sight that resounds through the chapter: 'he who sees, he truly sees' (yah pashyati sa pashyati). And what does such a one see? The Supreme Lord dwelling equally (samam) in all beings — the imperishable abiding within the perishable. Bodies are born and they die, but the one indwelling reality remains undying through all the coming and going.
The word samam, 'equally,' is the heart of the verse. The Divine is not more present in the saint than in the sinner, nor more in the human than in the humblest creature; the same imperishable presence shines impartially in all. To see this is genuine vision; everything else is partial blindness, mistaking the changing surface for the whole. This perception is the soil of compassion and reverence. When we behold the deathless Lord equally in everyone we meet, our divisions and contempt fall away, and we relate to all beings as carriers of the same sacred presence.
💡 Key Takeaway
True seeing is recognising the same deathless presence dwelling equally in every being.
Related Verses
क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत | क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम ||१३-३||
kṣetrajñaṃ cāpi māṃ viddhi sarvakṣetreṣu bhārata . kṣetrakṣetrajñayorjñānaṃ yattajjñānaṃ mataṃ mama ||13-3||
13.3 Do thou also know Me as the knower of the field in all fields, O Arjuna. Knowledge of both the field and the knower of the field is considered by Me to be ï1the ï1 knowledge.
सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् | सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ||१३-१४||
sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṃ tatsarvato.akṣiśiromukham . sarvataḥ śrutimalloke sarvamāvṛtya tiṣṭhati ||13-14||
13.14 With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the worlds enveloping all.
अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् | भूतभर्तृ च तज्ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च ||१३-१७||
avibhaktaṃ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktamiva ca sthitam . bhūtabhartṛ ca tajjñeyaṃ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca ||13-17||
13.17 And undivided, yet It exists as if divided in beings; It is to be known as the supporter of being; It devours and It generates.