📿 Shloka Collection

Na Cha Matsthani

Gita 9.5 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 9 — Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga
न च मत्स्थानि भूतानि पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम् ।
भूतभृन्न च भूतस्थो ममात्मा भूतभावनः ॥
Na cha matsthani bhutani pashya me yogam aishvaram
Bhuta-bhrin na cha bhuta-stho mamatma bhuta-bhavanah
न च
and yet not
मत्स्थानि
dwelling in me
भूतानि
beings
पश्य
behold
मे योगम् ऐश्वरम्
my divine yoga
भूतभृत्
the sustainer of all beings
न च भूतस्थः
yet not dwelling in them
ममात्मा
my Self
भूतभावनः
the source of all beings

Krishna deepens the mystery. He says: and yet, beings do not really dwell in me either. Behold my divine yoga — my extraordinary power. I sustain all beings, I bring them into existence, and still I am not bound by any of them.

The earth holds every tree, every creature, every river upon itself. But the earth does not become the tree. It supports without becoming limited. Krishna's relationship with all of creation follows this pattern — sustaining everything while remaining free.

The word 'aishvaram' points to something beyond ordinary logic. Krishna calls this his yogam aishvaram — the yoga that belongs to the Lord alone. Human minds can approach it, sense its truth, but never fully contain it in words.

Shlokas 9.4 and 9.5 form a pair. In 9.4, Krishna says all beings rest in him. In 9.5, he says they do not. This tension — 'bhutabhrit' (I sustain) and 'na cha bhutasthah' (yet I do not dwell in them) — defines the nature of the divine.

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad (4.1) describes the same reality: 'That one God is hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the inner Self of all creatures.'

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