Bhagavad Gita 9.4: meaning and translation
Chapter 9: Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that this whole world is pervaded by him in his unmanifest form (avyakta-mūrti).
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Bhagavad Gita 9.4
मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना ।मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः ॥
Maya tatamidam sarvam jagadavyaktamurtinaMatsthani sarvabhutani na chaham teshvavasthitah
mayā tatamidaṃ sarvaṃ jagadavyaktamūrtinā |matsthāni sarvabhūtāni na cāhaṃ teṣvavasthitaḥ ||
Our explanation Krishna says that this whole world is pervaded by him in his unmanifest form (avyakta-mūrti). All beings rest in him, but he does not rest in them. The schools explain this in different ways (see the views).
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि यह सारा जगत उनके अव्यक्त (इंद्रियों से न दिखने वाले) रूप से व्याप्त है। सब प्राणी उनमें स्थित हैं, पर वे उनमें स्थित नहीं। परंपराएँ इसे अलग-अलग ढंग से समझाती हैं।
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- मया mayā · by "me" (Krishna) (pronoun, instrumental singular) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”
- ततम् tatam · is pervaded (past participle (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: 2. tata, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 435, col. 1 “extended, stretched, spread, diffused, expanded”
- इदम् idam · this (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: 1. idam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 2
- सर्वम् sarvam · all, whole (adjective (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: sarva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1184, col. 3 “whole, entire, all, every”
- जगत् jagat · the world (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: jagat, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 408, col. 1 “the world, esp. this world, earth”
- अव्यक्तमूर्तिना avyaktamūrtinā · whose form is unmanifest (compound (masculine), instrumental singular) Dictionary: a-vyakta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 111, col. 2 “undeveloped, not manifest, unapparent, indistinct, invisible”; mūrti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 824, col. 1 “embodiment, manifestation, incarnation, personification”
- मत्स्थानि matsthāni · resting in "me" (compound (neuter), nominative plural) Dictionary: 1. mad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 777, col. 2 “base of the first pers. pron. in the sg. number (esp. in comp.)”; stha, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1262, col. 3 “standing, staying, abiding, being situated in”
- सर्वभूतानि sarvabhūtāni · all beings (compound (neuter), nominative plural) Dictionary: sarva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1184, col. 3 “whole, entire, all, every”; bhūta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 761, col. 3 “that which is or exists, any living being”
- न na · not (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. na, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 523, col. 1 “ind. not, no, nor, neither”
- च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
- अहम् aham · "I" (Krishna) (pronoun, nominative singular) Dictionary: aham, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 124, col. 2 “nom. sg. ‘I,’”
- तेषु teṣu · in them (pronoun (neuter), locative plural) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
- अवस्थितः avasthitaḥ · resting, abiding (past participle (masculine), nominative singular) Dictionary: ava-sthita, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 106, col. 1 “placed, having its place or abode”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 82.
This whole universe is pervaded by me in an unperceived form. All entities live in me, but I do not live in them1.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Because he is untainted by anything. And therefore also the entities do not live in him, as said in the next sentence. See p. 80 supra. ↩
Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 82.
This whole universe is pervaded by me in an unperceived form. All entities live in me, but I do not live in them1.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) - Because he is untainted by anything. And therefore also the entities do not live in him, as said in the next sentence. See p. 80 supra. ↩
You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 87–88.
By Me all this world is spread out, the embodiment of the Unmanifested; all beings have root in Me, I am not established in them,
This sentence goes on in 9.5.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 176; Prabuddha Bharata, May 1908: Gita p. 65 (journal p. 97).
All this world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifested form: all beings exist in Me, but I do not dwell in them.
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. 82. Bhagavad Gita 9.4.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), pp. 87–88. Bhagavad Gita 9.4.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 176; Prabuddha Bharata, May 1908: Gita p. 65 (journal p. 97). Bhagavad Gita 9.4.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 9.4: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/9/4/
Pujadeep’s explanations are free to quote with credit: name Pujadeep and link to the page. How to credit
Classical readings, by school
Each reading is named by its school. None is presented as the only meaning.
What Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita teach, in short
Shankara Advaita
Shankara says beings exist only through the Lord, who is their Self, so they are said to dwell in him. But he does not dwell in them as a thing sits in a container, because, like space, he touches nothing.
Source: The Bhagavad-Gita, with the commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, translated by A. Mahadeva Sastri (2nd ed., Mysore: G. T. A. Printing Works, 1901), commentary on 9.4, p. 218. Summarised in our own words; none of its text is reproduced.
Ramanuja Vishishtadvaita
Ramanuja says the Lord pervades all things as their inner ruler (antaryāmin), and cites the Bṛhadāraṇyaka passage in which the earth and the self are his body. All things depend on him for their being; he does not depend on them for his.
Source: Sri Bhagavad-Gita with Sri Ramanujacharya's Visishtadvaita commentary, translated by A. Govindacharya (Madras, 1898), commentary on 9.4–9.5, pp. 290–291. Summarised in our own words; none of its text is reproduced.
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Bhagavad Gita 9.4
मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना ।
मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थितः ॥
“This whole universe is pervaded by me in an unperceived form. All entities live in me, but I do not live in them.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 82, public domain)
“By Me all this world is spread out, the embodiment of the Unmanifested; all beings have root in Me, I am not established in them,”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), pp. 87–88, public domain)
This sentence goes on in 9.5.
“All this world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifested form: all beings exist in Me, but I do not dwell in them.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 176; Prabuddha Bharata, May 1908: Gita p. 65 (journal p. 97), public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/9/4/ 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 9.4?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 9 (Raja Vidya Raja Guhya 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.
- Commentary
- The Bhagavad-Gita, with the commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, translated by A. Mahadeva Sastri (2nd ed., Mysore: G. T. A. Printing Works, 1901) (Public-domain scan, University of California Libraries). Summarised in our own words; none of its text is reproduced.
- Commentary
- Sri Bhagavad-Gita with Sri Ramanujacharya's Visishtadvaita commentary, translated by A. Govindacharya (Madras, 1898) (Scan uploaded to archive.org (folkscanomy collection)). Summarised in our own words; none of its text is reproduced.
- 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 27, 2026