Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verse 23

English Translation

He who is the Witness, the Permitter, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the great Lord, and who is also spoken of as the transcendental Self is the supreme Person in this body.

Detailed Commentary

13.23 - The Purusha, as Upadrashta, Anumanta, Bharta, Bhokta, Maheswara – is by nature eternal, all-pervading, steadfast, unmoving, and ever-abiding. When it beholds Prakriti and its effect, the body, then it is termed Upadrashta. It gives consent to every action, hence its name is Anumanta. Uniting with the body, it nourishes it with food and water and protects it from heat and cold, hence it is called Bharta. It experiences pleasure and pain along with the body, hence it is termed Bhokta. It considers itself the master of the body, senses, mind, intellect, and possessions, hence it is called Maheswara. The Purusha is called Paramatma. Although residing in the body, it is inherently free from the body. In the thirty-first verse of this chapter, it is stated about it that even while residing in the body, it neither acts nor is it tainted by it. In this verse, the same one Tattva is addressed by names like Upadrashta and others, in relation to different *upadhis*. In reality, there is no distinction in it. Just as one person is called by different names, so too, Purusha, though referred to by various names, is in reality one and the same. After discussing Prakriti and Purusha from the nineteenth to the twenty-second verse, the fruit of knowing both of them in essence is described in the subsequent verse.