Bhagavad Gita BG 15.13
Chapter 15, Verse 13 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा । पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः ॥
gam avishya ca bhutani dharayamy aham ojasa pushnami caushadhih sarvah somo bhutva rasatmakah
Meaning
Entering the earth, I support all beings with My energy. Having become the watery moon (Soma), I nourish all plants.
Understanding
Two cosmic functions are revealed: (1) Gam avishya (entering the earth) — the Divine is the very presence within the earth that gives it its capacity to support. Dharayamy aham ojasa (I support/sustain all beings with My energy/ojas). Ojas is vital force — not just physical matter but the energy-principle within the earth that enables it to bear all life. (2) Pushnami caushadhih sarvah (I nourish all plants) somah bhutva rasatmakah (having become the soma, the watery/juice-natured moon). Soma in Vedic cosmology is the moon's nourishing liquid — the rasa (juice, essence) that nourishes vegetation. The Divine enters the earth as sustaining energy and becomes the moon's nourishing principle for plants. This verse teaches radical immanence: the Divine is not distant but literally within the earth and the moon, sustaining life at every level.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| आविश्य | avishya | having entered, entering into, pervading |
| ओजसा | ojasa | with energy, with vital force (ojas = vitality/radiance) |
| पुष्णामि | pushnami | I nourish, I foster, I sustain (pushti = nourishment) |
| सोमः | somah | the moon; also the Vedic soma, the nourishing fluid |
| रसात्मकः | rasatmakah | of the nature of rasa (juice, essence, moisture) |
| गाम् | gām | the earth |
| आविश्य | āviśya ca | having entered |
| भूतानि | bhūtāni | beings |
| धारयामि | dhārayāmi | I sustain, I support |
| अहम् | aham | I |
| ओजसा | ojasā | with vital force |
| पुष्णामि | puṣṇāmi | I nourish |
| च | cauṣadhīḥ | and the herbs |
| सर्वाः | sarvāḥ | all |
| सोमः | somaḥ | the moon |
| भूत्वा | bhūtvā | having become |
| रस-आत्मकः | rasa-ātmakaḥ | the essence of taste |
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