Diversity rests in one undivided reality.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
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||
Use this verse for unity-in-diversity reflection.
Meaning
Though undivided, it appears divided among beings. It is to be known as the sustainer, devourer, and creator of beings.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
The one reality appears as many but remains one.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna explains unity in diversity. The same supreme reality supports all beings, appears through many forms, and governs creation, preservation, and dissolution.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna offers one of the Gita's most important insights: the Absolute is undivided (avibhakta), yet appears as if divided among countless beings (vibhaktam iva). The 'iva' — 'as if' — is decisive. The one consciousness seems to be split into separate selves the way the single sun appears multiplied in many pools of water, but the division is only apparent. In reality there is one Self wearing innumerable masks.
This same reality is the sustainer of all beings (bhuta-bhartri), and it is both grasishnu and prabhavishnu — that which dissolves and that which brings forth. Creation, preservation, and dissolution are all movements within the one being. To know this is liberating on two fronts: it reveals our essential unity with all life, undoing the loneliness of separateness, and it reassures us that the same power which gives rise to forms also gracefully receives them back. Birth and death are not catastrophes but the rhythmic breathing of the one indivisible reality.
In daily life
See differences without forgetting unity.
A team may have many people and roles, yet one shared purpose holds them together.
Try this today
Look for one shared reality beneath a difference.
I see unity beneath diversity.Reflect
Where do I see division but miss the underlying unity?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘प्रभविष्णु च’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on non duality, in other chapters
- Verse 4.24When you see the divine in the doer, the deed, and the offering alike, every act becomes worship and leads to the infinite.
- Verse 14.4All beings, in every form of life, share one universal mother and one divine father — which makes every creature kin.
- Verse 18.20The highest knowledge sees one undivided Reality shining through all the world's countless separate forms.
- Verse 7.6All that is born and all that dissolves rests in the one Source — so meet creation and loss alike with steady trust.
Swipe left for 13.18 · The Divine light lives in the heart.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 13.17
Who says Bhagavad Gita 13.17, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 13.17, in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 13.17 mean?
Though undivided, it appears divided among beings. It is to be known as the sustainer, devourer, and creator of beings. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 13.17 for daily life?
See differences without forgetting unity. A team may have many people and roles, yet one shared purpose holds them together.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 13.17 mean?
अविभक्तम् च — undivided; भूतेषु विभक्तम् इव च स्थितम् — yet existing as if divided among beings; भूतभर्तृ च — the supporter of beings; तत् ज्ञेयम् — That is to be known; ग्रसिष्णु — the devourer (dissolver).
Where does verse 13.17 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 17 of 35 in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 13.18.