Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 13, Verse 15
बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च।सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत्।।
bahir antaś ca bhūtānām acaraṁ caram eva ca
sūkṣmatvāt tad avijñeyaṁ dūra-sthaṁ cāntike ca tat
also searched as "bahir antash cha bhutanam acharam charam eva cha"
Translation
It is within and without all beings; It is unmoving yet moving; It is so subtle that none can comprehend it; It is far away yet very near.
Vāṇi's rendering
Outside all beings and within them; still, yet moving; too fine to grasp; far away — and nearer than near.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बहिःbahiḥ | outside; appearing as bahir before the following vowel |
| अन्तःantaḥ | inside, within; appearing as antaś before ca |
| चca | and |
| भूतानाम्bhūtānām | of all beings, of everything that exists |
| अचरम्acaram | unmoving, that which does not stir |
| चरम्caram | moving, that which stirs |
| एवeva | indeed, both at once |
| चca | and |
| सूक्ष्मत्वात्sūkṣmatvāt | because of being so fine, on account of subtlety |
| तत्tat | that |
| अविज्ञेयम्avijñeyam | not to be caught by ordinary knowing |
| दूरस्थम्dūra-stham | standing far off, at a distance |
| चca | and; joined in the verse as cāntike |
| अन्तिकेantike | near at hand, close by |
| चca | and |
| तत्tat | that same one |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 Verse 15 mean?
It says the knowable is outside all beings and inside them, still and moving, too fine for the mind to seize, both distant and closer than close. Krishna is not describing a thing with a location. He is describing what holds every location — and what is already looking out of you.
What does bahir antash cha bhutanam acharam charam eva cha mean?
Outside all beings and within them, unmoving and yet moving. The Sanskrit refuses to pick a side, because both sides are true of it. Whatever stirs, stirs in it; whatever stays still, stays still in it. It is not one half of any pair you can name.
Why is it called avijnyeyam, unknowable, if the Gita asks us to know it?
Sūkṣmatvāt — because of subtlety. It escapes the senses and the thinking mind the way water escapes a sieve, not because it hides but because those instruments are too coarse. It is unknowable as an object. It is unmissable as the one knowing.
How can something be both far away and very near?
Far, as long as you search outward for it; every search assumes it is elsewhere. Near, the moment the searching stops, because it was never anywhere but here, as the awareness in which the search was happening. The distance is made entirely of your looking in the wrong direction.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Every opposite here is left standing. Outside all beings and within them, unmoving and moving, far and near — Krishna sets contradictions side by side and refuses to resolve them. Not because the truth is confused, but because the mind that wants one side is too coarse an instrument. Too fine to grasp, the verse says — avijñeyam. Not hidden behind a veil; simply finer than the net you are casting. And then the last turn, which is the mercy of it: far away, and nearer than near. Whatever you go looking for will be somewhere. Notice what is already here, doing the looking.