Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 18, Verse 61
ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति।भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया।।
īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ‘rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
also searched as "ishvarah sarva-bhutanam hrid-deshe arjuna tishthati"
Translation
The Lord, O Arjuna, abides in the heart of every being, spinning them round and round, as if mounted on a wheel, by His power.
Vāṇi's rendering
The Lord stands in the heart of every being, turning them all — as if mounted on a wheel — by his power.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ईश्वरःīśvaraḥ | the Lord, the one who governs |
| सर्वभूतानाम्sarva-bhūtānāṁ | of all beings |
| हृद्देशेhṛd-deśe | in the region of the heart |
| अर्जुन'rjuna | O Arjuna (the initial a is elided after the preceding e) |
| तिष्ठतिtiṣṭhati | stands, abides |
| भ्रामयन्bhrāmayan | causing to turn, spinning round |
| सर्वभूतानिsarva-bhūtāni | all beings |
| यन्त्रारूढानिyantrārūḍhāni | mounted on a machine — set on a turning wheel (yantra + ārūḍhāni) |
| माययाmāyayā | by his own power of appearance |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Verse 61 mean?
Krishna tells Arjuna that the Lord abides in the heart of every being and sets them all turning, as though mounted on a wheel, by his own māyā. The governing power is not distant. It is seated inside each creature, and the motion of every life proceeds from that seat.
What does 'ishvarah sarva-bhutanam hrid-deshe arjuna tishthati' mean?
It means the Lord stands in the heart-region of all beings. Hṛd-deśa is a place, not a metaphor — Krishna names an address. Whatever you have been searching for at a distance has been living at the center of the searcher the whole time.
If the Lord turns everyone like a machine, do I have any freedom?
The verse comes just before Krishna asks Arjuna to take refuge and then to choose. Being turned is not being crushed. The wheel spins from within you, by one who is not other than you. Freedom here is not escape from the turning — it is knowing who turns.
Why does Krishna use the image of a machine and a wheel?
Because a mounted figure moves without moving itself. It looks like the effort is its own. Krishna is showing Arjuna how completely we mistake the ride for our own walking. See the wheel, and the exhaustion of pretending to carry it quietly ends.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Not above the field, not beyond the sky — in the heart, and in every heart. Krishna places the Lord at the exact center of each being and then says he turns them, the way a potter's wheel turns clay, or a mounted figure rides the machine it cannot see. Arjuna has spent eighteen chapters believing the choice was his to make alone. Here he learns the turning was never his doing. This is not a cage. The one who turns you is seated closer than your own thought. When you next feel moved by something you cannot name, notice where it is coming from — inside, not elsewhere.