Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 13, Verse 17
Verse 17
The Yoga of the Field and the Knower of the Field
Undivided, yet appearing as if divided among all beings; it is to be known as the sustainer, the absorber, and the creator of all beings.
Context & Meaning
Brahman is ultimately one and undivided — yet it appears as though divided, distributed among the countless individual beings of the universe. The one light appears in different vessels; the one space appears as many rooms; the one ocean appears as many waves. And this single undivided reality performs three cosmic functions: it sustains all beings (bhūtabhartṛ), absorbs them back at dissolution (grasiṣṇu), and projects them forth in creation (prabhaviṣṇu). Creator, sustainer, and destroyer — all three are the one Brahman.
Scholar Commentaries
1 commentary · Public domainMadhvacharya
DvaitaAvibhaktaṃ vibhaktamiva — undivided, yet as if divided. The word iva — as if — is crucial. The appearance of division is not real division. God is fully present in each being, not divided among them. When the sun is reflected in a thousand pots of water, it is not divided — it is fully the sun in each reflection. So God is wholly present in every soul.