Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 14, Verse 27: Krishna to Arjuna — Guṇatraya-Vibhāga-Yoga
Krishna says: I am the ground of Brahman, of the immortal and imperishable, of eternal dharma, and of undeviating bliss.
Bhāṣyakāra purports
- Śaṅkaraadvaita
The pratyagatman (inner Self) is the pratistha (foundation) of Brahman — not as something external to it, but as that in which even Brahman, the immortal and immutable, is grounded. Sankara reads 'aham' here as nirvikalpaka pure awareness: the conditioned Brahman (savikalpaka) rests in the unconditioned 'I', which is its only non-other substratum. Dharma here is jnana-nistha (the discipline of steady knowing), and the ekantika sukha (undeviating bliss) is paramananda, accessible not through action but through samyag-jnana alone.
- Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita
Bhagavan Vasudeva, served through avyabhicari-bhakti-yoga (unswerving devotional service), is the pratistha of Brahman — the immortal, the imperishable, the eternal. Ramanuja reads the verse as the culminating pramana (proof) of Chapter 14: having taught that maya is transcended by prapatti (surrender) alone, Krsna seals the argument by establishing himself as the foundation not merely of liberation but of dharma-as-path and ekantika sukha as the attained state of the jnanin described in BG 7.19. The praptya (goal to be reached) and the upaya (means) both converge in the Lord.
- Madhvadvaita
Madhva's terse gloss identifies 'brahmanah' here as maya — 'brahmanah mayayah' — making Krsna the pratistha of maya itself, i.e., its sovereign ground and controller. This is Madhva's characteristic polemical move: the verse does not subordinate Hari to an impersonal Brahman; on the contrary, even that Brahman-as-maya is wholly dependent on Hari. The jiva remains eternally distinct; liberation is not identity with Brahman but nitya-seva (permanent dependent service) to the one who stands above even maya.
- Vallabhaśuddhādvaita
Vallabha reads the verse as Krsna's own declaration of his absolute para-position: he is the abhinna-asraya (non-separate foundation) of Brahman-as-aksara, of moksa-as-brahmananda, of sanantana dharma, and of ekantika bhajanananda whose svarupa is immeasurable. The verse unpacks 'brahma-bhuyaya kalpate' (14.26) by disclosing what that Brahman ultimately is — not an impersonal absolute but Krsna himself, the aisvarya-dhama (abode of lordship), the one reality both above kshara and akshara. For Vallabha the bhakta's joy in seva is this very sukhasyaikantikasya.
- Śrīdharabhakti
Sridhara reads the verse through the image of condensed light: as the solar orb is nothing but concentrated radiance, so Krsna is ghanibhuta brahma — Brahman itself made dense, given face and form. He is the pratistha of moksa (amrita), of nityamukti (avyaya), of suddha-sattva-atmakadhrama (eternal dharma of pure being), and of akhandita sukha (unbroken bliss). The conclusion is devotional: because Krsna IS Brahman in its fullness, the devotee who serves him necessarily attains brahma-bhava — this was what needed to be proven, and 14.27 is the proof.
- Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti
Madhusudana Sarasvati constructs a layered identity: the 'tat-pada-vacya' (what the word Brahman literally denotes) is the conditioned, world-causing Brahman; the 'tat-pada-laksya' (what Brahman ultimately points to) is nirvikalpaka saccidananda Vasudeva, who is the pratistha of the former. To serve Krsna as nirupadhika brahma (Brahman without limiting adjuncts) is therefore to reach the deepest referent of all Vedantic language. Madhusudana then cites Brahma's stuti and Suka's declaration to triangulate: every object's bhavaartha (real being) rests in the Lord; Brahman itself is just Krsna's kalpita-rupa (constructed appearance), not the other way around.