Shloka 30
अपरिमिता ध्रुवास्तनुभृतो यदि सर्वगता- स्तर्हि न शास्यतेति नियमो ध्रुव नेतरथा । अजनि च यन्मयं तदविमुच्य नियन्तृ भवेत् सममनुजानतां यदमतं मतदुष्टतया ॥ ३० ॥
aparimitā dhruvās tanu-bhṛto yadi sarva-gatās tarhi na śāsyateti niyamo dhruva netarathā ajani ca yan-mayaṁ tad avimucya niyantṛ bhavet samam anujānatāṁ yad amataṁ mata-duṣṭatayā
If the countless living beings were all-pervading and had forms that never changed, O immutable Lord, You could not be their absolute ruler. But because they are Your localized expansions and their forms are subject to change, You do control them. Whatever supplies the ingredients for a thing’s generation must be its controller, since a product never exists apart from its material cause. Thus to think, on the strength of imperfect material knowledge, “I know the Supreme Lord,” who is equally present in all His expansions, is simply illusion.
Because the conditioned soul cannot directly understand the Supreme, the Vedas commonly refer to that Supreme Truth in such impersonal terms as Brahman and oṁ tat sat. If an ordinary scholar presumes to know the confidential meaning of these symbolic references, he should be rejected as an imposter. In the words of Śrī Kena Upaniṣad (2.1), yadi manyase su-vedeti dabhram evāpi nūnaṁ tvaṁ vettha brahmaṇo rūpaṁ, yad asya tvaṁ yad asya deveṣu: “If you think you know Brahman well, then your knowledge is very meager. If you think you can identify Brahman’s form from among the demigods, indeed you know but little.” And again:
FAQs
This verse argues that if the jīva were truly all-pervading and independent like the Supreme, it could not be controlled; but since the jīva is governed by higher laws and dependence, claims of equality with Bhagavān are rejected as flawed philosophy.
The speakers are the personified Vedas (Śrutis), offering philosophical and devotional prayers that establish the Supreme Lord’s unique position as the ultimate controller.
It encourages humility and devotion by recognizing our dependence—accepting guidance, living responsibly under dharma, and turning to the Supreme Lord as the true controller rather than cultivating false notions of absolute independence.