मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय । मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥
mattaḥ parataraṃ nānyatkiñcidasti dhanañjaya | mayi sarvamidaṃ protaṃ sūtre maṇigaṇā iva ||
Translation
There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Dhananjaya. All this is strung on Me as jewels on a string.
Interpretation
The thread-and-jewels simile is among the most beautiful in sacred literature. Imagine a necklace: the jewels are visible, varied, beautiful — but the thread running through them all is invisible, holding them together. The jewels are all beings and phenomena; the thread is the Divine. Without the thread, the jewels scatter. The thread is formless but essential. Krishna is that invisible, all-pervading ground — 'nothing higher' (parataraṃ na anyat) means the Divine is not a being among beings but the being of all beings.