Chapter 13Verse 22 of 34

Bhagavad Gita 13.22

उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः। परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुषः परः॥

upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ paramātmeti cāpy ukto dehe 'smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ

Translation

The witness, the consenter, the supporter, the experiencer, the great lord, also called the supreme self: such is the supreme purusha in this body.

Five names plus a sixth. Upadrashta, witness who watches without intervening. Anumanta, consenter who permits what happens. Bharta, supporter who holds the whole apparatus in being. Bhokta, experiencer who tastes what arrives. Maheshvara, great lord. Paramatma, supreme self. All six refer to the same purusha-para that dwells in this very body. Not far off. The verse is precise about location: dehe asmin, in this body. The supreme is not elsewhere requiring a journey. It is here functioning under six aspects. When you watch, that is upadrashta. When you permit, anumanta. When you sustain, bharta. When you taste, bhokta. The grandeur compresses into a present functioning.

Reflection

Name one moment today by aspect: witness, consenter, supporter, experiencer.

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Thirteen

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