Sanskrit
यथाऽऽकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः सर्वत्रगो महान् । तथा सर्वाणि भूतानि मत्स्थानीत्युपधारय ॥
yathākāśasthito nityaṃ vāyuḥ sarvatrago mahān tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni matsthānīty upadhāraya
Translation
As the mighty air everywhere moving is rooted in the Ether, so all beings rest rooted in Me—thus know thou.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The simile of air rooted in ether is the chapter’s clearest analogy for the abstract claim of verses 4-5, closing out the three-verse unit that opens the chapter’s core metaphysics before verse 7 shifts registers entirely, from static being to cyclical cosmology. Wind moves within ether without displacing or diminishing it — the beings-in-Krishna relation exactly. It is the same “immanence without merger” as the BG 7.7 thread of pearls, now given a subtler, spatial image.
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Word by word
- yathākāśasthito nityaṃ vāyuḥयथाकाशस्थितो नित्यं वायुः
- as the great wind, ever seated in ether (yathā + ākāśa-sthitaḥ + nityaṃ + vāyuḥ)
- sarvatrago mahānसर्वत्रगो महान्
- going everywhere, mighty (sarvatra-gaḥ + mahān)
- tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāniतथा सर्वाणि भूतानि
- so all beings (tathā + sarvāṇi + bhūtāni)
- matsthānīty upadhārayaमत्स्थानीत्य् उपधारय
- rest in Me — know this (mat-sthāni + iti + upadhāraya)
Commentary
Site Commentary
For three verses running, Krishna has been making claims no one can check against direct experience — pervading unmanifestly, rooted-yet-not-rooted, sovereign yoga. Verse 6 is the first moment the teaching reaches for something everyone already knows firsthand: wind moving through open sky. The abstract claim doesn’t get simpler, but it finally gets a handle a listener can hold, which is a different kind of help than further precision would have been.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
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Lessons
Personal
- When you're stuck turning an abstract insight over in your head without traction, look for an ordinary experience you already know firsthand that carries the same shape — a familiar image can do work that more precise wording can't.
Professional
- When a stakeholder isn't absorbing an abstract architectural claim no matter how precisely you restate it, reach for a physical analogy from something they already understand — the fix for confusion is sometimes a better image, not a better definition.
Family & Social
- When you're trying to explain an inner state to someone who's never felt it, find a shared, ordinary experience with the same shape rather than reaching for more exact words — the right image can carry what precision alone can't.
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