Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 20
सर्वभूतेषु येनैकं भावमव्ययमीक्षते।अविभक्तं विभक्तेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि सात्त्विकम्।।
sarva-bhūteṣu yenaikaṁ bhāvam avyayam īkṣate
avibhaktaṁ vibhakteṣu taj jñānaṁ viddhi sāttvikam
also searched as "sarvabhuteshu yenaikam bhavam avyayam ikshate"
Translation
Know that knowledge to be sattvika, by which one sees in all beings an immutable existence, undivided even in the divided.
Vāṇi's rendering
The knowing that sees one deathless being in all beings — undivided among the divided — that knowing is clear.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सर्वभूतेषुsarva-bhūteṣu | in all beings |
| येनyena | by which |
| एकंekaṁ | one (sandhi: yena + ekaṁ = yenaikaṁ) |
| भावम्bhāvam | being, that which is |
| अव्ययम्avyayam | unspending, deathless |
| ईक्षतेīkṣate | one sees |
| अविभक्तंavibhaktaṁ | undivided |
| विभक्तेषुvibhakteṣu | among things divided |
| तत्tat | that (sandhi: tat + jñānaṁ = taj jñānaṁ) |
| ज्ञानंjñānaṁ | knowing |
| विद्धिviddhi | know |
| सात्त्विकम्sāttvikam | clear, sattvic |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 20 mean?
Krishna begins sorting knowledge into three kinds, and this is the first. Clear knowing sees one undying being present in every being — unbroken even where everything looks broken into separate creatures. It is not a belief about the world. It is what the seeing itself does, before any opinion forms.
What does 'sarvabhuteshu yenaikam bhavam avyayam ikshate' mean?
In all beings, one deathless being is seen. The Sanskrit sets two words against each other — avibhaktaṁ and vibhakteṣu, undivided and among the divided. Both stay true at once. The many are really many; the one is really one. Clear knowing holds both without collapsing either.
Is this saying that differences between people do not matter?
No. Krishna keeps the word vibhakteṣu — the divided remain divided. Bodies differ, roles differ, Arjuna still has an army in front of him. What changes is that the difference is no longer the deepest thing you see. The one being stands underneath, and you act knowing it does.
How can I tell if my own understanding is sattvika?
Watch where it stops. Knowing coloured by rajas divides beings into kinds and treats the kinds as final. Knowing sunk in tamas fastens onto one small thing and calls it everything. Clear knowing keeps widening until nobody is outside it. Notice who your understanding still refuses to include.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna is not naming a fact to be learned. He is naming a way of seeing. The differences do not vanish — beings stay many, bodies stay separate, the field stays crowded with names and sides. Sāttvika knowing sees straight through the partitions to one deathless being, and does not lose the partitions doing it. Arjuna's grief was built on division: these are mine, those are theirs. He was not seeing wrongly about the world; he was seeing only the world. You can test your own knowing this way. Whom does it let you leave out?