Bhagavad Gita · Vibhuti YogaChapter 10, Shloka 42 (10.42)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
अथवा बहुनैतेन किं ज्ञातेन तवार्जुन
विष्टभ्याहमिदं कृत्स्नमेकांशेन स्थितो जगत्
॥ 10.42 ॥
athavā bahunaitena kiṃ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāhamidaṃ kṛtsnamekāṃśena sthito jagat
Translation
"Or rather, O Arjuna, what need have you to know all this in such detail? I stand, holding up this entire universe with a single fraction of myself."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. athavā bahunā etena evamādinā kiṃ jñātena tava arjuna syāt sāvaśeṣeṇa — what use is incomplete knowledge; aśeṣataḥ tvam ucyamānam arthaṃ — now hear the complete meaning; viṣṭabhya viśeṣataḥ stambhanaṃ dṛḍhaṃ kṛtvā; ekāṃśena ekāvayavena ekapādena, sarvabhūtasvarūpeṇa; with evidence from pādo'sya viśvā bhūtāni (Taittiriya Aranyaka 3.12) — all beings are one quarter of him.
Acharya Ramanuja. idaṃ cidacidātmakaṃ kṛtsnaṃ jagat kāryāvasthaṃ kāraṇāvasthaṃ sthūlaṃ sūkṣmaṃ ca … yathā matsaṃkalpaṃ na ativarteta tathā mama mahimnaḥ ayutāyutāṃśena viṣṭabhya aham avasthitaḥ — I hold up this whole universe, conscious and non-conscious, gross and subtle, so that it does not transgress my will, with one ten-thousandth of a ten-thousandth part of my greatness; with evidence from Vishnu Purana 1.9.53: yasyāyutāyutāṃśāṃśe viśvaśaktir iyaṃ sthitā.
Madhusudana Saraswati. tasmāt kim anena paricchinnadarśanena sarvatra maddṛṣṭim eva kuru — so what use is this limited (thing-by-thing) seeing; see me alone everywhere. And at the end he adds a verse of devotion — tasting the nectar of the Lord's lotus feet.
Shridhar Swami. athavā kim anena paricchinnajñānena sarvatra samadṛṣṭim eva kuru — what use is knowledge in fragments; keep an equal vision everywhere.
Madhvacharya. "Kim" (what use) does not mean the knowledge of the glories is pointless: vakṣyamāṇaprādhānyajñāpanārthaṃ na tūktaniṣphalatvajñānāya — it is to show the importance of what is about to be said, not to call what has been said fruitless. And he recalls 6.30: yo māṃ paśyati sarvatra.
Abhinavagupta. In 10.42 abhedam evopasaṃharati — it concludes finally with non-difference (oneness).
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.