Avibhaktam Cha Bhuteshu

Brahman is one and undivided — yet in the world of beings, it appears as if divided. A single moon reflected in a thousand ponds creates a thousand images. The moon has not split. The reflections merely look separate.

That Brahman sustains all beings. It brings them into existence. And it dissolves them back into itself. Creation, sustenance, and dissolution — all three belong to it alone.

This verse touches on the concept traditionally associated with the Trimurti — Brahma (creation), Vishnu (sustenance), and Mahesh (dissolution). Here, all three functions are attributed to one Brahman.

In the Gita Press edition, this is the seventeenth shloka. The word 'iva' (as if) is crucial — Brahman does not actually divide. It only appears to.