Bhagavad Gita 13.28: meaning and translation
Chapter 13: Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that one who sees the same Lord present equally everywhere does not harm the self by the self, and so reaches the highest goal.
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Bhagavad Gita 13.28
समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् ।न हिनस्त्यात्मनाऽऽत्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥
Samam pashyanhi sarvatra samavasthitamishvaramNa hinastyatmanatmanam tato yati param gatim
samaṃ paśyanhi sarvatra samavasthitamīśvaram |na hinastyātmanā’’tmānaṃ tato yāti parāṃ gatim ||
Our explanation Krishna says that one who sees the same Lord present equally everywhere does not harm the self by the self, and so reaches the highest goal. Telang's footnote explains “harming the self” as failing to know it truly.
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि जो सब जगह समान रूप से स्थित उसी ईश्वर को देखता है, वह अपने द्वारा अपनी आत्मा की हानि नहीं करता, और इसलिए परम गति पाता है। तेलंग की टिप्पणी “आत्मा की हानि” का अर्थ आत्मा को सच में न जानना बताती है।
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Word by word
- समम् samam · equally (adverb) Dictionary: 2. sama, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1152, col. 1 “same, equal, similar, like, equivalent”
- पश्यन् paśyan · seeing (present participle (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: 1. paś, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 611, col. 2 “behold, look at, observe, perceive, notice”
- हि hi · for (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. hi, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1297, col. 3 “for, because, on account of”
- सर्वत्र sarvatra · everywhere (indeclinable) Dictionary: sarvatra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1189, col. 2 “everywhere, in every case, always, at all times”
- समवस्थितम् samavasthitam · present equally (past participle (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: sam-ava-sthita, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1157, col. 3 “being in any place or position”
- ईश्वरम् īśvaram · the Lord (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: īśvara, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 171, col. 1 “God; the Supreme Being”
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “ind. not, no, nor, neither”
- हिनस्ति hinasti · harms (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: hiṃs, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1297, col. 3 “to injure, harm, wound, kill, destroy”
- आत्मना ātmanā · by the self (noun (masculine), instrumental singular) Dictionary: ātman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 135, col. 1 “the individual soul, self”
- आत्मानम् ātmānam · the self (noun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: ātman, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 135, col. 1 “the individual soul, self”
- ततः tataḥ · so, then (indeclinable) Dictionary: tatas, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 432, col. 2 “thereupon, then, after that, afterwards”
- याति yāti · reaches (present, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. yā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 849, col. 1 “to go towards or against, go or come to, enter, approach, arrive at, reach”
- पराम् parām · the highest (adjective (feminine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. para, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 586, col. 1 “highest, supreme, chief”
- गतिम् gatim · goal (noun (feminine), accusative singular) Dictionary: gati, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 347, col. 3 “going, moving, gait, deportment, motion in general”
1 printing differs
Edition differences. Another printing or text reads this place differently.
- Spelling A digital text reads Same words. The 1922 edition marks the merged vowel with avagraha (आत्मनाऽऽत्मानं); the e-text writes आत्मनात्मानं, as another digital text does.
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 106.
For he who sees the lord abiding everywhere alike, does not destroy himself1 by himself, and then reaches the highest goal.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Not to have true knowledge is equivalent to self-destruction. Cf. Îsopanishad, pp. 9, 15, 16. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 106.
For he who sees the lord abiding everywhere alike, does not destroy himself1 by himself, and then reaches the highest goal.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Not to have true knowledge is equivalent to self-destruction. Cf. Îsopanishad, pp. 9, 15, 16. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 127.
Seeing indeed the same everywhere, Îshvara equally dwelling, he doth not destroy the SELF by the self, and thus treadeth the highest Path.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 266.
Since seeing the Lord equally existent everywhere, he injures not self by self, and so goes to the highest Goal.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 106. Bhagavad Gita 13.28.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 127. Bhagavad Gita 13.28.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 266. Bhagavad Gita 13.28.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 13.28: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/13/28/
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Bhagavad Gita 13.28
समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् ।
न हिनस्त्यात्मनाऽऽत्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥
“For he who sees the lord abiding everywhere alike, does not destroy himself by himself, and then reaches the highest goal.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 106, public domain)
“Seeing indeed the same everywhere, Îshvara equally dwelling, he doth not destroy the SELF by the self, and thus treadeth the highest Path.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 127, public domain)
“Since seeing the Lord equally existent everywhere, he injures not self by self, and so goes to the highest Goal.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 266, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/13/28/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 13.28?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 13 (Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 25, 2026