Bhagavad Gita 12.3

Verse 3

ये त्वक्षरमनिर्देश्यमव्यक्तं पर्युपासते | सर्वत्रगमचिन्त्यं च कूटस्थमचलं ध्रुवम् || ३ ||

Transliteration

ye tv akṣaram anirdeśyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsate sarvatra-gam acintyaṁ ca kūṭa-stham acalaṁ dhruvam

Synonyms

ye—those who; tu—but; akṣaram—the imperishable; anirdeśyam—the indefinable; avyaktam—the unmanifest; paryupāsate—worship completely; sarvatra-gam—all-pervading; acintyam—inconceivable; ca—also; kūṭa-stham—unchanging; acalam—immovable; dhruvam—constant.

Translation

But those who worship the Imperishable, the Indefinable, the Unmanifest, the Omnipresent, the Unthinkable, the Immovable, the Unchanging, the Constant —

Multi-Tradition Commentary

Swami Gambhirananda (Advaita Vedanta)

This verse describes the object of nirguna upasana — the formless Brahman. The eight qualities listed — imperishable (akshara), indefinable (anirdeshya), unmanifest (avyakta), all-pervading (sarvatragam), inconceivable (achintya), immovable at the peak of creation (kutastha), absolutely still (achala), and eternal (dhruva) — collectively point to that which transcends all attributes while being the ground of all existence.

Practical Application (Modern Life)

Contemplating these eight qualities of the Absolute during meditation gradually dissolves the mind's tendency to limit reality to what it can name and form. Even briefly resting in the recognition that Reality is vaster than any concept is itself a form of this worship.

Chapter Content

View all shlokas in Chapter 12

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