The Divine light lives in the heart.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते |ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम् ||१३-१८||
jyotiṣāmapi tajjyotistamasaḥ paramucyate . jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ jñānagamyaṃ hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam ||13-18||
Use this verse for heart-light meditation.
Meaning
It is the light of all lights and is said to be beyond darkness. It is knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the goal of knowledge, seated in the heart of all.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
The supreme light is within every heart.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna brings the teaching inward. The highest reality is not merely cosmic; it is seated in the heart as the light behind knowledge, awareness, and realization.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna brings the description of the supreme reality to a luminous close. It is the 'Light of all lights' (jyotisham api jyotih) — the consciousness by which the sun, the fire, and the mind themselves are known. Lamps illumine objects, but what illumines the lamp's own appearing? The awareness that knows all light is itself the deeper, original light, and it is wholly beyond darkness, beyond all ignorance.
Remarkably, this same reality is at once the knowledge, the knowable, and the very goal of knowing (jnanam, jneyam, jnana-gamyam) — knower and known converge in it. And then the verse turns intimate: this supreme Light is 'seated in the hearts of all' (hridi sarvasya vishthitam).
What the seeker pursues across scriptures and pilgrimages already dwells within. The grandest cosmic reality is not remote; it shines quietly in the cave of every heart, waiting only to be recognised. The journey outward turns, at last, inward.
In daily life
Seek clarity by turning toward the heart’s deeper light.
A person confused by overthinking can pause and ask what feels truthful in the heart.
Try this today
Sit quietly and visualize light in the heart.
The light of Krishna shines in my heart.Reflect
What darkness needs the inner light today?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘ज्ञानम् ज्ञेयम् ज्ञानगम्यम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on knowledge, in other chapters
- Verse 10.11Divine grace works from within, dispelling ignorance as effortlessly as a lamp dispels darkness.
- Verse 15.15The Divine dwells in your own heart as the source of memory and knowledge, and is the goal of all scripture.
- Verse 18.61The Divine dwells in every heart, intimately guiding the whole play of life from within.
- Verse 4.35True knowledge ends delusion for good, revealing the same Self in all beings and all beings in the divine.
Swipe left for 13.19 · Self-knowledge supports devotion.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 13.18
Who says Bhagavad Gita 13.18, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 13.18, in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 13.18 mean?
It is the light of all lights and is said to be beyond darkness. It is knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the goal of knowledge, seated in the heart of all. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 13.18 for daily life?
Seek clarity by turning toward the heart’s deeper light. A person confused by overthinking can pause and ask what feels truthful in the heart.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 13.18 mean?
ज्योतिषाम् अपि तत् ज्योतिः — the Light of even the lights; तमसः परम् उच्यते — said to be beyond darkness; ज्ञानम् ज्ञेयम् ज्ञानगम्यम् — knowledge, the knowable, the goal of knowledge; हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम् — seated in the hearts of all.
Where does verse 13.18 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 18 of 35 in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 13.19.