Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 Verse 23
भगवद् गीता अध्याय 13 श्लोक 23

उपद्रष्टाऽनुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः।
परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुषः परः।।13.23।।



English Translation - Swami Gambirananda
13.23 He who is the Witness, the Permitter, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the great Lord, and who is also spoken of as the transcendental Self is the supreme Person in this body.


English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary
13.23 The self existing in the body becomes the spectator and approver of this body by means of the will in consonance with the functioning of the body. Likewise, It is the supporter of the body, Similarly, It becomes experiencer of the pleasure and pain resulting from the activities of the body. Thus, by virtue of ruling and supporting the body and by making the body completely subservient, It becomes the great lord (Mahesvara) in relation to the body, the senses and the mind. Sri Krsna will further declare:  When the lord acires the body, and when he leaves it and goes on his way, he takes these as the wind carries scents from their places (15.8). In the body, It is said to be the supreme self in relation to the body, the senses and the mind. The word self (Atman) is applied to the body and the mind subseently. It is said afterwards:  Some perceive the self by means of the self through meditation (13.24). The particle also (api) indicates that the self is the supreme lord?  in relation to the body just as It is the supreme self. The supremacy of the self has been described in the text beginning with It is the beginningless brahman having Me for the Highest (13.12). It is true that the self (in Its emancipated state) has limitless power knowledge. But It becomes the great lord and the supreme self only in relation to the body. Such lordship and supremacy is the result of attachment to the Gunas arising from the beginningless conjunction with Prakrti.


Transliteration Bhagavad Gita 13.23Upadrashtaanumantaa cha bhartaa bhoktaa maheshwarah;
Paramaatmeti chaapyukto dehe’smin purushah parah.


Word Meanings Bhagavad Gita 13.23upadraṣhṭā—the Witness; anumantā—the Permitter; cha—and; bhartā—the Supporter; bhoktā—the Transcendental Enjoyer; mahā-īśhvaraḥ—the ultimate Controller; parama-ātmā—Superme Soul; iti—that; cha api—and also; uktaḥ—is said; dehe—within the body; asmin—this; puruṣhaḥ paraḥ—the Supreme Lord