Verse 7.7

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 7.7:

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत् किञ्चिद् अस्ति धनञ्जय ।
मयि सर्वम् इदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणि-गणा इव ॥ ७ ॥

mattaḥ parataraṃ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya |
mayi sarvam idaṃ protaṃ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva || 7 ||

mattaḥ–than Me; parataram–greater; na–not; anyat–else; kiñcit–anything;asti–exists; dhanañjaya–O winner of wealth (Arjuna); mayi–on Me; sarvam–all; idam–this material creation; protam–is dependent; sūtre–on a thread; maṇi-gaṇāḥ–jewels; iva–as.

O conqueror of riches, Dhanañjaya, there is nothing superior to Me. This whole creation is dependent on Me, like jewels strung on a thread.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

Śrī Bhagavān says, “In this way, I am the cause of everything. Just as cause and effect are non-different from each other, so the energy and the energetic are non-different.”

It is said in the Śrutis, “ekam evādvitīyaṃ brahma–before the creation of this universe, there was only one Absolute Reality, without a second” (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.1).

Moreover, “neha nānāsti kiñcana–nothing exists except advaya-brahma, the one non-dual Absolute Truth in its various forms” (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.19).

Also in the Śrutis it is stated, “Since My potencies are the cause of all creations, I am the cause of everything.”

In this way, after first explaining His nature of being everything, Bhagavān is now explaining His quality of being all-pervading, with the words mayi and so on. Sarvam idam means, “Both the cit (conscious) and jaḍa (inert) universes are non-different from Me because they are My creations (effects). In other words, they are My svarūpa, and just as jewels are strung on a thread, they are hanging on Me, who am Antaryāmī, the indwelling witness of everything.” Śrī Madhusūdana Sarasvatīpāda has written sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva. This example merely proves that the universe is resting in Bhagavān, but it does not prove that He is the cause of the universe. The example ‘gold is the cause of a golden earring’, however, is appropriate to establish Him as the cause of the universe.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

In the previous verse, Śrī Bhagavān established Himself as the independent cause of creation and dissolution. Now, in the present verse, He is establishing that as the all-pervading witness, He alone is the cause of maintenance. “I, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, am the Supreme Absolute Truth (parama-tattva) and the cause of all causes.”

Lord Brahmā also establishes this principle in Brahma-saṃhitā (5.1):

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

The Supreme Lord, the embodiment of truth, consciousness and joy, is Govinda Kṛṣṇa. He is without beginning, He is the origin of all that be, and He is the cause of all causes.

To make this subject easier to understand, we will cite concepts from Śrī Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s Govinda-bhāṣya, his commentary on the Vedānta: “Parabrahma-svarūpa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the supreme prominent Absolute Reality. There is no other independently existing entity, either superior or inferior to Him. ‘Yasmāt paraṃ nāparam asti kiñcit–there is no truth superior to that Supreme Person’ (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.9). These statements from the Śrutis have not accepted the existence of anything higher than the all-worshipable brahma. In the Vedas (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8–9) it is said, ‘I know this effulgent brahma, who is like the sun and beyond all darkness (ignorance). One attains immortality and the goal of human life by knowing Him. The only means to attain immortality is by knowledge of this Supreme Person. There is nothing superior to Him.’

“After accepting the superiority of Parabrahma, as established in these mantras, it is further said, ‘Those who know the pure, constitutional nature of brahma attain immortality in due course of time; otherwise there is no cessation to their miseries.’ If something is accepted as superior to brahma, then Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s statement mattaḥ parataraṃ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya becomes false” (Govinda-bhāṣya, Brahma-sūtra 3.2.37).

Śvetāsvatara Upaniṣad (6.8) repeats the same, “na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate–there is nothing equal to or greater than Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth endowed with all transcendental attributes.”