Topic

Cosmic cycle

5 verses from the Bhagavad Gita on cosmic cycle. Explore teachings across 4 chapters.

All Verses

Chapter 3 • Verse 14 →The Yoga of Action
Annnad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah, yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma-samudbhavah

Living beings are nourished by food; food is produced by rain; rain comes from sacrifice; and sacrifice is born from prescribed action. Thus the wheel of interdependence is set in motion.

  • •All life is interconnected through a cosmic chain
  • •Human action (karma) participates in sustaining creation
  • •Selfless action maintains the natural and cosmic order
foodrainsacrificeinterdependence
Chapter 8 • Verse 18 →The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
Avyaktad vyaktayah sarvah prabhavanty ahar-agame, ratry-agame praliyante tatraivavyakta-samjnake

With the coming of day, all manifestations emerge from the unmanifest; and with the coming of night, all are dissolved back into what is called the unmanifest. The rhythm of cosmic creation and dissolution follows Brahma's day and night — at the dawn of each cosmic day, creation springs forth, and at cosmic night, all returns to the unmanifest.

  • •Creation and dissolution are as regular as day and night on the cosmic scale
  • •All manifest existence emerges from and returns to the unmanifest
  • •The cosmic rhythm reflects the eternal dance between the manifest and unmanifest
creationdissolutionmanifestunmanifest
Chapter 8 • Verse 19 →The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman
Bhuta-gramah sa evayam bhutva bhutva praliyate, ratry-agame 'vashah partha prabhavaty ahar-agame

Again and again the day comes, and all beings take birth; and with the coming of night, all are helplessly dissolved. O Partha, the same multitude of beings comes into being again and again helplessly. Souls are compelled to take birth again and again by the force of karma and cosmic cycles — only God-realization breaks this cycle.

  • •Souls are caught in repeated cycles of manifestation and dissolution
  • •The helplessness of conditioned souls drives the urgency of spiritual liberation
  • •Understanding cosmic cycles motivates sincere practice
rebirthhelplessnesskarmaliberation urgency
Chapter 9 • Verse 7 →The Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret
Sarva-bhutani kaunteya prakritim yanti mamikam, kalpa-kshaye punas tani kalpadau visrijamy aham

At the end of a cosmic cycle, O son of Kunti, all beings merge into My nature, and at the beginning of the next cycle I send them forth again. This describes the universal rhythm of creation and dissolution driven by the Lord's divine nature and will.

  • •Cosmic creation and dissolution follow God's divine cycles
  • •All beings return to the Lord at the end of each kalpa
  • •The Lord is both the origin and destination of all existence
creationdissolutionkalpaprakriti