Chapter 9, Verse 5
न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् | भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावनः ||९-५||
na ca matsthāni bhūtāni paśya me yogamaiśvaram . bhūtabhṛnna ca bhūtastho mamātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ ||9-5||
Meaning
9.5 Nor do beings exist in Me (in reality); behold My divine Yoga, supporting all beings, but not dwelling in them, is My Self, the efficient cause of beings.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna deepens the paradox of the previous verse and seems to reverse it: though beings rest in him, 'in reality they do not abide in Me.' This is no contradiction but the unfathomable yoga-aishvara, the divine mystery of the Lord. From the standpoint of dependence, all is in God; from the standpoint of God's absolute nature, nothing limits or touches him.
He describes himself as bhuta-bhrit (the bearer of all beings) and bhuta-bhavana (their very source), yet not bhuta-stha (confined within them). The sun lights and sustains countless lives without being entangled in any. Krishna invites Arjuna not to resolve this with logic but to 'behold' it — pashya — as a wonder. Some truths about the Infinite can only be contemplated, not contained.
💡 Key Takeaway
The Divine sustains every being while remaining wholly untouched and unentangled — a mystery to be contemplated, not merely reasoned out.
Related Verses
मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना | मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः ||९-४||
mayā tatamidaṃ sarvaṃ jagadavyaktamūrtinā . matsthāni sarvabhūtāni na cāhaṃ teṣvavasthitaḥ ||9-4||
9.4 All this world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifest aspect; all beings exist in Me, but I do not dwell in them.
यथाकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः सर्वत्रगो महान् | तथा सर्वाणि भूतानि मत्स्थानीत्युपधारय ||९-६||
yathākāśasthito nityaṃ vāyuḥ sarvatrago mahān . tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni matsthānītyupadhāraya ||9-6||
9.6 As the mighty wind, moving everywhere, rests always in the ether, even so, know thou that all beings rest in Me.
गतिर्भर्ता प्रभुः साक्षी निवासः शरणं सुहृत् | प्रभवः प्रलयः स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम् ||९-१८||
gatirbhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṃ suhṛt . prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṃ nidhānaṃ bījamavyayam ||9-18||
9.18 I am the goal, the supporter, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the shelter, the friend, the origin, the dissolution, the foundation, the treasure-house and the seed which is imperishable.