The Bhagavadgîtâ, with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ — SBE Vol. 8 (trans. K. T. Telang, 1882)
The translator’s English as printed (K. T. Telang). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
CHAPTER NV ITS: Yr? Entering the earth, I by my power support all things ; and becoming the juicy moon, I nourish all herbs. I becoming the fire, and dwelling in the bodies of (all) creatures, and united with the upward and downward life-breaths, cause digestion of the fourfold food. And I am placed in the heart of all*; from me (come) memory, knowledge, and their removal; I alone am to be learnt from all the Vedas; I am the author of the Vedântas: and I alone know the Vedas. There are these two beings in the world, the destructible and the indestructible*. The destructible (includes) all things. The unconcerned one is (what is) called the indestructible. But the being supreme is yet another, called the highest self, who as the inexhaustible lord, pervading the three worlds, supports (them). And since I transcend the destructible, and since I am higher also than the indestructible 5, therefore am I celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the best of beings. He who, undeluded, thus knows me the best of beings, worships me every way,, O descendant of Bharata! knowing everything. Thus, O sinless one! have I proclaimed this most mysterious science. He who knows this, has done all he need do, and he becomes possessed of discernment.
portion explains how souls do come back in some cases. As a general rule, ‘all going ends in returning’ But the soul is an exception in some cases, as the ‘going’ to the Brahman is going to the fountain-head. Then the question arises, How does the severance come off at all? And that is what the lines up to this explain. 4
* «Entering in the form of the goddess earth,’ say Anandagiri and Madhusûdana. Support, i.e. by keeping the earth from falling or crumbling away. The moon is said to nourish herbs by communicating to them some of her ‘juice.’ The moon, it may be noted, is called ‘watery star’ by Shakespeare. As to her relation to the vegetable kingdom, see Matsya-purâṇa XXIII, stanza 10 seq. ? I.e. what is drunk, what is licked, what is powdered with the teeth, and what is eaten without such powdering. ° Cf. p. 104 supra.
* See Introduction, p. 18.
5 Cf. Svetasvatara, p. 294.
6 The two are the whole collection of things as they appear and their material cause. The supreme being is a third principle.
CHAPTER XV
Entering the earth, I support all things by my power; and becoming the juicy moon, I nourish all herbs. Becoming fire, dwelling in the bodies of all creatures, and united with the upward and downward life-breaths, I cause digestion of the fourfold food. And I am placed in the heart of all; from me come memory, knowledge, and their removal; I alone am to be learnt from all the Vedas; I am the author of the Vedântas; and I alone know the Vedas. There are these two beings in the world, the destructible and the indestructible. The destructible includes all things. The unconcerned one is called the indestructible. But the supreme being is yet another, called the highest self, who as the inexhaustible lord pervades the three worlds and supports them. And since I transcend the destructible, and since I am higher also than the indestructible 5, therefore am I celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the best of beings. He who, undeluded, knows me thus as the best of beings worships me in every way, O descendant of Bharata, knowing everything. Thus, O sinless one, have I proclaimed this most mysterious science. He who knows this has done all he need do, and he becomes possessed of discernment.
portion explains how souls do come back in some cases. As a general rule, 'all going ends in returning.' But the soul is an exception in some cases, since 'going' to the Brahman means going to the fountain-head. Then the question arises: how does the severance happen at all? That is what the preceding lines explain. 4
"Entering in the form of the goddess earth," say Anandagiri and Madhusûdana. Support, i.e. by keeping the earth from falling or crumbling away. The moon is said to nourish herbs by communicating to them some of her "juice." The moon, it may be noted, is called "watery star" by Shakespeare. As to her relation to the vegetable kingdom, see Matsya-purâṇa XXIII, stanza 10 seq. ² I.e. what is drunk, what is licked, what is powdered with the teeth, and what is eaten without such powdering. ³ Cf. p. 104 supra.
* See Introduction, p. 18.
5 Cf. Svetasvatara, p. 294.
6 The two are the totality of apparent things and their material cause. The supreme being is a third principle.