Bhagavad Gita BG 11.38
Chapter 11, Verse 38 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
त्वमादिदेवः पुरुषः पुराणः त्वमस्य विश्वस्य परं निधानम् । वेत्तासि वेद्यं च परं च धाम त्वया ततं विश्वमनन्तरूप ॥
tvam adi-devah purushah puranah tvam asya vishvasya param nidhanam vettasi vedyam ca param ca dhama tvaya tatam vishvam ananta-rupa
Meaning
You are the Primal God, the Ancient Person; You are the supreme resting place of this universe. You are the knower, the known, and the supreme abode; by You the universe is pervaded, O Being of infinite form.
Understanding
Adi-devah (the Primal God — before all other gods). Purushah puranah (the Ancient Person — the Purusa of the Purusa Sukta, eternal consciousness). Asya vishvasya param nidhanam (the supreme resting place/repository of this universe — nidhanam: treasury, deposit, the place where all is held). Vettasi vedyam ca param ca dhama (You are the knower, the known, and the supreme abode — the entire epistemological relationship: knower, known, AND the ground of both). Tvaya tatam vishvam ananta-rupa (by You the universe is pervaded, O Being of infinite form). Tatam — spread through, pervaded completely, like cloth pervaded by dye. The universe is not merely made by the Divine; it is pervaded through and through.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| आदिदेवः | adi-devah | the Primal/First God, the Original Divine |
| पुरुषः पुराणः | purushah puranah | the Ancient Person (Purusha), primordial consciousness |
| निधानम् | nidhanam | resting place, repository, supreme treasury |
| वेत्तासि | vettasi | You are the knower |
| वेद्यम् | vedyam | the known, what is to be known |
| ततम् | tatam | pervaded, spread through, permeated |
| त्वम् | tvam | You are |
| आदि-देवः | ādi-devaḥ | the primeval Lord |
| पुरुषः | puruṣaḥ | the Person |
| पुराणः | purāṇaḥ | the ancient |
| त्वम् | tvam | You are |
| अस्य | asya | of this |
| विश्वस्य | viśvasya | of the universe |
| परम् | param | the supreme |
| निधानम् | nidhānam | resting place, treasury |
| वेत्तासि | vettāsi | You know |
| च | ca | and |
| परम् | param | supreme |
| च | ca | and |
| धाम | dhāma | abode |
| त्वया | tvayā | by You |
| विश्वम् | viśvam | the universe |
| अनन्त-रूप | ananta-rūpa | O infinite form |