सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम्
सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति
sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṃ tat
sarvato 'kṣiśiromukham
sarvataḥ śrutimal loke
sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati
SYNONYMS
TRANSLATION
Everywhere are Its hands and feet; Its eyes, heads and mouths are everywhere; Its ears are on all sides; and It exists encompassing all things.
PURPORT
Everywhere are Its hands and feet i.e., the self in Its pure form is able to perform everywhere the works of hands and feet. Its eyes, heads and mouths are everywhere; It performs everywhere the task of eyes etc. The Shruti declares; ‘Without feet or hands, He moves swiftly and seizes things; He sees without eyes, He hears without ears? (Shve.U., 3.19). It may be said that it means that the Supreme Brahman performs everywhere the task of hands, feet etc., even though He is devoid of hands and feet. If ‘Brahman’ is taken to mean the self, it can be asked how this power of the Supreme Brahman (namely, having hand, feet, eyes, etc., everywhere) can be attributed to the self, then the answer is that it is established in the Shrutis that the pure individual self has the capacity of performing the task of hands, feet etc., because It is equal to Him. Shruti also declares: ‘Then, the wise seer, shaking off good and evil, stainless, attains the supreme equality with Him’ (Mun.U., 3.1.3). Shri Krishna will also teach later on: ‘Resorting to this knowledge, It partakes of My nature’ (14.2). It exists encompassing all things, whatever aggregate of things that exist in the world; It encompasses them. The sense is that in Its pure state, It is all-pervasive, as It has no limitation of space etc.