Bhagavad Gita 8.9

Verse 9

कविं पुराणमनुशासितारमणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः | सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूपमादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् || ९ ||

Transliteration

kaviṁ purāṇam anuśāsitāram aṇor aṇīyāṁsam anusmared yaḥ sarvasya dhātāram acintya-rūpam āditya-varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt

Synonyms

kavim—the omniscient; purāṇam—the oldest/ancient; anuśāsitāram—the ruler; aṇoḥ—than the atom; aṇīyāṁsam—smaller; anusmaret—meditates upon; yaḥ—who; sarvasya—of everything; dhātāram—the sustainer; acintya-rūpam—of inconceivable form; āditya-varṇam—luminous as the sun; tamasaḥ—of darkness; parastāt—beyond.

Translation

One who meditates upon the Omniscient, the Ancient, the Ruler, smaller than the smallest, the Sustainer of all, of inconceivable form, luminous like the sun, beyond all darkness—

Multi-Tradition Commentary

Swami Sivananda

Each epithet in this verse is a complete meditation object. 'Smaller than the atom' points to Brahman as the subtlest substratum of all existence. 'Larger than the largest' (implied by 'all-pervading') points to its infinite scope. 'Beyond all darkness' indicates that Brahman is self-luminous, needing no external illumination.

Practical Application (Modern Life)

Use these divine qualities as meditation anchors. Sit quietly and hold the image of 'light beyond all darkness'—a luminosity that is not the sun but the awareness by which the sun is seen. Even five minutes of this contemplation can shift the quality of the entire day.

Chapter Content

View all shlokas in Chapter 8

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