ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति ।भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥
īśvaraḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ hṛddeśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati |bhrāmayan sarvabhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā ||
- ईश्वरः · īśvaraḥ
- the Lord
- सर्वभूतानाम् · sarvabhūtānām
- of all beings
- हृद्देशे · hṛddeśe
- in the region of the heart
- अर्जुन · arjuna
- O Arjuna
- तिष्ठति · tiṣṭhati
- abides, stands
- भ्रामयन् · bhrāmayan
- causing to wander, turning
- सर्वभूतानि · sarvabhūtāni
- all beings
- यन्त्रारूढानि · yantrārūḍhāni
- mounted on a machine
- मायया · māyayā
- by his maya, mysterious power
“The Lord abides in the heart of all beings, O Arjuna, turning them as if mounted on a machine, by his mysterious power.”
— Original plain-language translation
IN SHORT A caring presence dwells in every heart, gently steering all beings.
One of the Gita's most quoted images: God as the inner dweller turning all creatures like figures on a cosmic mechanism. It resolves the tension of 18.59–18.60 — nature compels, but the Lord indwells and steers nature itself. Intimacy (in the heart) and sovereignty (turning all) meet here; compare 10.20, where Krishna is the self seated in all hearts. It is like a Mumbai local control room guiding every crowded train while sitting unseen at the centre.
— Reader's notes (original)