Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 Verse 15
भगवद् गीता अध्याय 13 श्लोक 15

सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम्।
असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च।।13.15।।



English Translation - Swami Gambirananda
13.15 Shining through the functions of all the organs, (yet) devoid of all the organs; unattached, and verily the supporter of all; without ality, and the perceiver of alities;


English Translation - Swami Sivananda
13.15 Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of alities, yet their experiencer.


English Translation - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan
13.15. It causes all the sense-alities to shine;  [yet]  It is without any sense-organ;  It is unattached, yet all-supporting;  It is free from the Strands, yet enjoys the Strands.


English Commentary  - Swami Sivananda
13.15 सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासम् shining by the functions of all senses? सर्वेन्द्रयविवर्जितम् (yet) without the senses? असक्तम् unattached? सर्वभृत् (yet) supporting all? च and? एव even? निर्गुणम् devoid of alities? गुणभोक्तृ (yet) experiencer of the alities? च and.Commentary Brahman sees without eyes? hears without ears? smells without nose? eats without mouth? feels without skin? grasps without hands? walks without feet. He is the unseen seer? the unheard hearer? the unthought thinker. Other than Him there is no seer? no hearer? no thinker. He is the Self? the Inner Ruler? the Immortal. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad III.7.23) He is free from the,alities of Nature and yet He is the enjoyer of the alities.All the senses The five organs of knowledge and the five organs of action? the inner senses? mind and intellect come under the term all the senses. The organs of action and those of knowledge perform their functions in conjunction with the mind and the intellect. They cannot function independently. Therefore? the mind and the intellect are included in the term all the senses.Brahman is transcendental and unmanifest? but It manifests Itself through the limiting adjuncts of the extrnal and the internal senses. As It is destitute of the senses It is unattached and yet It supports all. It is the support or substratum of everything. It is destitute of the alities of Nature and yet It is the enjoyer of those alities. Brahman is really mysterious.This verse is taken from the Svetasvataropanishad 3.17.


English Translation of Sanskrit Commentary By Sri Shankaracharya's
13.15 Sarvendriya-guna-abhasam, shining through the functions of all the organs: By the use of the words all the organs are understood ears etc., known as the sense-organs and motor-organs, as also the internal organs-the intellect and the mind, for they are eally the limiting adjuncts of the Knowable. Besides, the organs of hearing etc. become the limiting adjuncts from the very fact of the internal organ becoming so. Hence, the Knowable gets expressed through determination, thinking, hearing, speaking, etc. that are the functions of all the organs, internal and external, which are the limiting adjuncts. In this way, It is manifest through the functions of all the organs. The idea is that, that Knowable appears to be as though active owing to the functions of all the organs, as it is said in the Upanisadic text, It thinks, as it were, and shakes, as it were (Br. 4.3.7).
For that reason, again, is It not perceived as being actually active? In answer the Lord says: It is sarva-indriya-varitam, devoid of all the organs, i.e. bereft of all the instruments of action. Hence the Knowable is not active through the functioning of the instruments of action. As for the Upanisadic verse, Without hands and feet He moves swiftly and grasps; without eyes He sees, without ears He hears (Sv. 3.19), etc.-that is meant for showing that that Knowable has the power of adapting Itself to the functions of all the organs which are Its limiting adjuncts; but it is not meant to show that It really has such activity as moving fast etc. The meaning of that verse is like that of the Vedic text, The blind one discoverd a gem (Tai, Ar. 1.11). [This is an artha-veda (see note on p.530), which is not to be taken literally but interpreted in accordance with the context.]
Since the Knowable is devoid of all the instruments of actions, therefore It is asaktam, unattached, devoid of all associations. Although It is of this kind, yet it is ca eva, also verily; the sarva-bhrt, supporter of all. Indeed, everything has existence as its basis, because the idea of existence is present everywhere. Verily, even mirage etc. do not occur without some basis. Therefore, It is sarva-bhrt, the supporter of all-It upholds everything.
There can be this other organs as well for the realization of the existence of the Knowable: Nirgunam, without ality-the alities are sattva, rajas and tamas; that Knowable is free from them; and yet It is the guna-bhoktr, perceiver of alities; i.e., that Knowable is the enjoyer and experiencer of the alities, sattva, rajas and tamas, which, assuming the forms of sound etc., transform them-selves into happiness, sorrow, delusion, etc.
Further,


English Translation of Commentary  - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan
13.15 See Comment under 13.18


English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary
13.15 Sarvendriya-gunabhasam i.e., shining by the functions of the senses - means that which is shedding light on the functions of all the senses. The Gunas of the senses means the activities of the senses. The meaning is that the self is capable of knowing the objects with the functioning of the senses. Yet devoid of the senses i.e., It is capable by Itself, of knowing everything. Such is the meaning. It is detached, namely, It is free, by nature, from attachment to the bodies of gods etc. Yet supporting all, yet capable of supporting all bodies, such as of gods etc., as declared in the Sruti. It is one, is threefold ৷৷. (Cha. U., 7.26.2). It is devoid of Gunas, i.e., by nature It is devoid of Sattva etc., and yet It is the experiencer of the Gunas - It has the capability to experience Sattva etc.


Commentary  - Chakravarthi Ji
He illuminates all the senses and sense objects (guna). The sruti says tac caksusas caksuh (Kena Upanisad 1.2): He inspires the sight of the eye. Or the meaning can be “He shines forth or exists with all the senses and objects of the senses such as sound.” He however is also without all senses (sarvendriya vivarjitam). This means he is without material senses. This meaning is valid because it is well known in the srutis that he is the abode of the svarupa sakti, his spiritual energies. The sruti says:
apani-pado javano grahlta pasyaty acaksuh sa srnoty akarnah.
Without hands and feet he moves and receives. Wthout eyes he sees. Without ears he hears. Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.1
parasya saktir bahudhaiva sruyate svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca
The energy of the Lord is divided into jnana, bala and kriya saktis.
Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.8
He is without attachment (asaktam), and also maintains everything within his form of Visnu (sarva bhrt). He has a form without the material gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas (nirguna). But he is the enjoyer or taster of the six gunas or bhagas known as aisvarya, virya, yasas, sri, jnana and vairagya (guna bhoktr).


Rudra Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary

Lord Krishna is the source of the brahman or spiritual substratum  pervading
all existence known as Parabrahma and is the illuminator  of  the  functions
of the senses and their objects in the form of  colour,  sound  and  scents,
etc. maintaining all of the sense organs and  their  functions  while  still
bereft of any material organ.  The  Svetasvatara  Upanisad  III.IXX  states:
Without hands and feet  Parabrahma  the  Supreme  Being  moves  and  grasps.
Unattached and devoid of all  desires  yet  the  substratum  of  everything,
maintaining and sustaining all. That Parabrahma transcendental to the  three
gunas of goodness, passion and ignorance and possess no  material  qualities
or attributes; yet through out creation He is the  preserver  and  protector
of these qualities and attributes.


Brahma Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary


Since the Supreme Lord supports the attributes of  all  the  senses,  He  is
always conscious of the functions of all the sense organs; yet  He,  Himself
possesses no material sense organs. This is what  Lord  Krishna  is  stating
here.


Shri Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary

The words sarvendriya-gunabhasam means that the source  of  the  brahman  or
spiritual substratum pervading all existence  known  as  Parabrahma  or  the
Supreme  Being  who  is  capable  of  illuminating  all  the   senses   with
consciousness along with their faculties such as sight, sound, smell,  taste
and touch, etc. But devoid of all material qualities Parabrahma  is  capable
to perform all the activities of the senses without  the  need  of  physical
sense organs. The same holds true for the atma or  immortal  soul  which  is
capable  of  experiencing  the  activities  of  the  senses  without   sense
faculties and which by its own virtue has the capacity of  omniscience  like
Parabrahma.  The  word  asaktam  means  indifferent  or  unattached  to  the
material and yet is sarva-bhrt  ca  or  capable  of  assuming  all  physical
bodies and is the maintainer of all physical bodies. The Chandogya  Upanisad
VII.XXV beginning sa eva dhastat meaning the Supreme Lord is  everywhere  in
all directions. The Supreme Lord is    nirgunam  meaning  transcendental  to
the three modes of material nature pervading material  existence  which  are
goodness, passion and ignorance  and yet the Supreme Lord  is  the  ultimate
experiencer of these three modes.


Kumara Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary
The words sarvendriya-gunabhasam means that the source  of  the  brahman  or
spiritual substratum pervading all existence  known  as  Parabrahma  or  the
Supreme  Being  who  is  capable  of  illuminating  all  the   senses   with
consciousness along with their faculties such as sight, sound, smell,  taste
and touch, etc. But devoid of all material qualities Parabrahma  is  capable
to perform all the activities of the senses without  the  need  of  physical
sense organs. The same holds true for the atma or  immortal  soul  which  is
capable  of  experiencing  the  activities  of  the  senses  without   sense
faculties and which by its own virtue has the capacity of  omniscience  like
Parabrahma.  The  word  asaktam  means  indifferent  or  unattached  to  the
material and yet is sarva-bhrt  ca  or  capable  of  assuming  all  physical
bodies and is the maintainer of all physical bodies. The Chandogya  Upanisad
VII.XXV beginning sa eva dhastat meaning the Supreme Lord is  everywhere  in
all directions. The Supreme Lord is    nirgunam  meaning  transcendental  to
the three modes of material nature pervading material  existence  which  are
goodness, passion and ignorance  and yet the Supreme Lord  is  the  ultimate
experiencer of these three modes.


Transliteration Bhagavad Gita 13.15Sarvendriyagunaabhaasam sarvendriyavivarjitam;
Asaktam sarvabhricchaiva nirgunam gunabhoktru cha.


Word Meanings Bhagavad Gita 13.15sarva—all; indriya—senses; guṇa—sense-objects; ābhāsam—the perciever; sarva—all; indriya—senses; vivarjitam—devoid of; asaktam—unattached; sarva-bhṛit—the sustainer of all; cha—yet; eva—indeed; nirguṇam—beyond the three modes of material nature; guṇa-bhoktṛi—the enjoyer of the three modes of material nature; cha—although