Upadrashta Anumanta Cha

Five names are given here for the Supreme Purusha who resides in this body. Upadrashta — the silent witness who watches everything. Anumanta — the one who gives permission. Bharta — the one who sustains. Bhokta — the one who experiences. And Maheshvara — the great lord.

All these names point to one being: the Paramatma. Like a single person who is at once the guest in a house, its caretaker, and its owner — the Supreme Self plays every role within this body while remaining one.

This verse names the different aspects of the Supreme Self. The term 'Upadrashta' (witness) is the basis of the meditative practice of cultivating witness-awareness in Yoga.

In the Gita Press edition, this is the twenty-third shloka. This verse and the next one (13.24) together describe what happens to the one who truly understands this.