📿 Shloka Collection

Purushah Sa Parah Partha

Gita 8.22 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 8 — Akshara Brahma Yoga
पुरुषः स परः पार्थ भक्त्या लभ्यस्त्वनन्यया ।
यस्यान्तःस्थानि भूतानि येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ॥
Purushah sa parah partha bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya,
Yasyantahsthani bhutani yena sarvam idam tatam.
पुरुषः सः परः
that supreme being
पार्थ
O Partha
भक्त्या
through devotion
लभ्यः
is attainable
तु
but
अनन्यया
single-pointed, undivided
यस्य अन्तःस्थानि
within whom reside
भूतानि
all beings
येन
by whom
सर्वम् इदम्
all of this
ततम्
is pervaded

Krishna delivers the method. That supreme being — within whom all creatures reside, and who pervades this entire universe — can be reached only through ananya bhakti: single-pointed, undivided devotion.

"Ananya" means having no other support. A small child holds on to the mother's hand and walks. The child does not need any other support — the mother is enough. Ananya bhakti is exactly like that: God alone is the refuge, the anchor, the destination.

And what kind of being is this supreme Purusha? All creatures exist within Him, and He fills everything that exists. The ocean holds all the waves, and all the waves are made of ocean. God contains all of creation, and creation is saturated with God.

This shloka is the essence of the Gita's bhakti teaching. Krishna has repeatedly emphasized devotion in this chapter — "bhaktya yuktah" in 8.10, "ananyachetah" in 8.14, and now "bhaktya ananyaya" in 8.22. The same sentiment appears in Gita 9.22: whoever constantly thinks of Me with undivided attention, I look after their welfare.

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