Awareness is spacious and unstained.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते |सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ||१३-३३||
yathā sarvagataṃ saukṣmyādākāśaṃ nopalipyate . sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate ||13-33||
Use this verse for sky-awareness meditation.
Meaning
Just as all-pervading space is not tainted because of its subtlety, so the Self, present everywhere in the body, is not tainted.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
The Self is like space: present but unstained.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
The sky is not stained by smoke, clouds, or dust passing through it. Similarly, the Self is not stained by thoughts, emotions, or bodily events.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna gives a luminous analogy to make the untaintedness of the Self vivid. Just as space (akasha) pervades everything yet, because of its subtlety, is never soiled by what it contains — clouds, smoke, dust pass through it and leave it unmarked — so the Self, present throughout the body, remains forever unstained by the body's conditions.
The genius of the image lies in subtlety (saukshmya). Space is unaffected not because it withdraws, but because it is so fine that nothing can adhere to it. It contains all things yet clings to none.
So too the Self is all-pervading within our being, intimately present to every sensation and thought, yet too subtle to be touched or marred by any of them. Illness may afflict the body, grief may visit the mind, but the witnessing Self remains as clear and open as the sky behind passing clouds. This contemplation offers profound solace: at our core we are spacious, free, and forever clean.
In daily life
Let thoughts pass like clouds in the sky.
A person with anxious thoughts can imagine awareness as sky and thoughts as passing weather.
Try this today
Practice sky-like awareness for two minutes.
I am spacious awareness, not passing clouds.Reflect
What thought am I letting stain my identity?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘सर्वत्र अवस्थितः देहे’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on analogy, in other chapters
- Verse 9.6We move within the Divine the way wind moves through open sky — held by it, yet never disturbing its boundless calm.
- Verse 3.42Govern the lower from the higher — senses by mind, mind by intellect, and all by the Self that is your deepest, truest identity.
- Verse 4.5We forget our past lives and deeper nature; spiritual growth is the slow recovery of the awareness we keep losing.
- Verse 5.14Action springs from nature's flow, not from the pure Self — release the burden of believing your ego authors it all.
Swipe left for 13.34 · Awareness is the light of experience.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 13.33
Who says Bhagavad Gita 13.33, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 13.33, in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga (Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 13.33 mean?
Just as all-pervading space is not tainted because of its subtlety, so the Self, present everywhere in the body, is not tainted. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 13.33 for daily life?
Let thoughts pass like clouds in the sky. A person with anxious thoughts can imagine awareness as sky and thoughts as passing weather.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 13.33 mean?
यथा सर्वगतम् — just as the all-pervading; सौक्ष्म्यात् आकाशम् — ether (space), because of its subtlety; न उपलिप्यते — is not tainted; सर्वत्र अवस्थितः देहे — seated everywhere in the body; तथा आत्मा न उपलिप्यते — so the Self is not tainted.
Where does verse 13.33 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 33 of 35 in Chapter 13, Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 13.34.