Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 15, Verse 13
गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा।पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः।।
gām āviśya ca bhūtāni dhārayāmy aham ojasā
puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ
also searched as "gam avishya cha bhutani dharayamy aham ojasa"
Translation
And, entering the earth, I uphold all beings with My strength. I nourish all herbs, becoming the juicy Soma.
Vāṇi's rendering
Entering the earth, I hold every creature up by my strength; becoming the moon's sap, I feed every plant.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| गाम्gām | the earth |
| आविश्यāviśya | having entered, having pervaded |
| चca | and |
| भूतानिbhūtāni | all living beings |
| धारयामिdhārayāmi | I hold up, I support (sandhi: dhārayāmy before aham) |
| अहम्aham | I |
| ओजसाojasā | by my vital strength |
| पुष्णामिpuṣṇāmi | I nourish, I make grow |
| चca | and (sandhi: ca + auṣadhīḥ becomes cauṣadhīḥ) |
| औषधीःauṣadhīḥ | plants, herbs, growing things |
| सर्वाःsarvāḥ | all |
| सोमःsomaḥ | the moon; the sap of life it is said to pour |
| भूत्वाbhūtvā | having become |
| रसात्मकःrasātmakaḥ | made of sap, whose very nature is juice |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 Verse 13 mean?
Krishna names two ordinary miracles as his own work: the earth bearing the weight of every creature, and the sap that rises to feed every plant. Both happen without being requested. The verse locates Krishna not above the world but inside its holding and its feeding — in soil, in moisture, in growth.
What does gam avishya cha bhutani dharayamyaham ojasa mean?
Entering the earth, Krishna holds all beings up by his own ojas — vital strength. The word āviśya means entering, pervading, not visiting. He is not standing on the ground supporting you; he is in the ground that supports you. The support is not delivered from outside.
Why does Krishna call himself Soma in this verse?
Soma is the moon, long held to be the vessel of all fluids — rasātmakaḥ, made of sap. Krishna takes that form to explain nourishment: the juice inside a leaf, the milk of a grain. Every plant you have ever eaten was fed before you were.
How can this verse give me courage?
Because it removes the burden of self-support. You did not build the strength that keeps you upright, nor the sap that fed what fed you. Courage here is not summoned from within; it is recognised as already underneath. Notice what is holding you before you ask whether you can stand.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna is being shown the small end of vastness. Not a terrifying cosmic form — soil and sap. The earth holding a beetle up. Moisture climbing a stalk in the dark. Krishna says that holding is his strength, that feeding is his doing. The plant does not know it is being fed. It is fed anyway. So the courage in this verse is not the courage of the strong; it is the courage of the held. You have been carried by ojas you never generated, since before you could ask for it. Stand on ground that is already holding you up.