यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते ।सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥
yathā sarva-gataṃ saukṣmyād ākāśaṃ nopalipyate |sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate ||
- यथा · yathā
- as
- सर्वगतम् · sarva-gatam
- all-pervading
- सौक्ष्म्यात् · saukṣmyāt
- due to subtlety
- आकाशम् · ākāśam
- space, ether
- न उपलिप्यते · na upalipyate
- is not stained
- सर्वत्र अवस्थितः · sarvatra avasthitaḥ
- abiding everywhere
- देहे · dehe
- in the body
- तथा · tathā
- so
- आत्मा · ātmā
- the self
“As all-pervading space, through its subtlety, is not stained — so the self, abiding everywhere in the body, is not stained.”
— Original plain-language translation
Space holds smoke without smelling of it — the Gita's favorite image of unstained presence. Subtlety is protection: what is finer than its container cannot be soiled by it.
— Reader's notes (original)