Sanskrit
कविं पुराणमनुशासितारमणोरणीयांसमनुस्मरेद्यः । सर्वस्य धातारमचिन्त्यरूपमादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् ॥
kaviṃ purāṇam anuśāsitāram aṇor aṇīyāṃsam anusmared yaḥ sarvasya dhātāram acintyarūpam ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt
Translation
He who thinketh upon the Ancient, the Omniscient, the All-Ruler, minuter than the minute, the supporter of all, of form unimaginable, refulgent as the sun beyond the darkness,
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The description of what’s being meditated upon shifts here to a string of cosmic epithets — the Ancient, the Omniscient, the All-Ruler, subtler than the subtle, sun-colored beyond the darkness — imagery that returns in far more expansive form in chapter 11’s theophany. Verses 9 and 10 form one continuous sentence in a longer meter than the surrounding two-line verses, which is why this verse ends mid-thought and needs verse 10 to complete it. Tamasaḥ parastāt — “beyond the darkness” — is the same phrase the Upaniṣads use for what lies past the unmanifest; the meter change (triṣṭubh) signals the Gita reaching for a higher register, which BG 11 will make an entire chapter.
Study deeper
Word by word
- kaviṃ purāṇam anuśāsitāramकविं पुराणं अनुशासितारं
- the seer, the ancient, the ruler (kavim + purāṇam + anuśāsitāram)
- aṇor aṇīyāṃsam anusmared yaḥअणोः अणीयांसं अनुस्मरेद् यः
- who meditates on [him] subtler than the atom (aṇoḥ + aṇīyāṃsam + anusmaret + yaḥ)
- sarvasya dhātāram acintyarūpamसर्वस्य धातारं अचिन्त्यरूपं
- the sustainer of all, of form beyond thought (sarvasya + dhātāram + acintya-rūpam)
- ādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastātआदित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात्
- sun-coloured, beyond the darkness (āditya-varṇam + tamasaḥ + parastāt)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The object described here is explicitly called “of form unimaginable,” yet the verse doesn’t stop at that admission — it keeps piling on vivid, specific images: ancient, all-ruling, sun-colored, beyond the darkness. The text seems to know that a purely negative description doesn’t actually help anyone meditate; even the unimaginable needs some image to hold onto, however provisional.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When you're trying to hold your attention on something abstract — a value, a long-term goal — don't insist on keeping it purely conceptual; borrow a concrete image or scene to anchor it, even an imperfect one, the way this verse reaches for vivid pictures despite calling its subject unimaginable.
Professional
- When communicating an abstract strategic vision to your team, don't stop at the abstraction — give them a specific, vivid image of what it looks like in practice, even a partial one, because an unanchored abstraction is much harder to act on.
Family & Social
- When trying to express a feeling too big to state directly, reach for a concrete image or memory that gestures at it rather than leaving it as an abstraction — the specific picture carries more than the correct-sounding abstract description would.
Ask yourself
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