Verse 13.17

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 13.17:

अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तम् इव च स्थितम् ।
भूत-भर्त्तृ च तज् ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च ॥ १७ ॥

avibhaktaṃ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam |
bhūta-bharttṛ ca taj jñeyaṃ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca || 17 ||

avibhaktam–He is undivided; ca–although; bhūteṣu–within all beings; vibhaktam–divided; iva–as if; ca–yet; sthitam–is situated; bhūta-bharttṛ–as the sustainer of all beings; ca–as well as; tat–that (Supreme Being); jñeyam–should be known; grasiṣṇu–the annihilator; prabhaviṣṇu–the creator; ca–and.

Although that Supreme Truth is undivided, He appears to be divided, being situated within every being. Know Him to be the sustainer, annihilator and creator of all.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

Situated as the cause within the moving and non-moving living entities, He is undivided, while as the effect, He is divided. Only He, as Śrī Nārāyaṇa, is the sustainer of all beings during the period of maintenance. As Grasiṣṇu (the devourer) He is the destroyer during the time of annihilation, and at the dawn of creation, He is the creator of various effects and forms.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

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

Although He appears differently in all living beings, that Supreme Absolute Truth, the parama-tattva, is situated in one undivided form. This is stated in the Śrutis: “ekaḥ santaṃ bahudhā dṛśyamānaṃ–He is seen in various forms, although He is one.” The Smṛtis also say, “eka eva paro viṣṇuḥ sarvatrāpi na saṃśayaḥ–only one Paramātmā, Viṣṇu, exists everywhere; there is no doubt about this.” Just as the same sun appears differently to people in different places, He appears in various forms by His inconceivable potency, even though He is one. Only He exists as the individual Supersoul within the hearts of all jīvas, while externally He is all-pervading, in the form of the collective puruṣa–the Supersoul and the Supreme Lord. He is also the sustainer and the annihilator of all living entities. Taittirīya Upaniṣad (3.1) says, “yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante yena jātāni jīvanti yat prayanty abhisaṃviśanti tad vijijñāsasva tad brahma–you should understand brahma to be He from whom all living beings are born, by whose help they live and progress in life, and in whom they again enter.”