Creation

Saha-yajnah prajah srshtva purovacha prajapati, anena prasavishyadhvam esha vo 'stv ishta-kama-dhuk

In the beginning of creation, the Lord of beings created mankind together with sacrifice, saying: By this sacrifice you shall prosper; let it be the fulfiller of all your desires.

Utsideyur ime loka na kuryam karma ced aham, sankarasya ca karta syam upahanyam imah prajah

If I were to cease acting, these worlds would perish; I would be the cause of chaos and the destruction of all beings. The continued existence of creation depends on righteous action.

Bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca, ahankara itiyam me bhinna prakritir ashtadha

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and ego — these eight constitute My separated material nature (apara prakriti). Krishna enumerates the eightfold division of His lower material nature, which forms the foundation of all physical and mental existence.

Etad yonini bhutani sarvanity upadharaya, aham kritsnasya jagatah prabhavah pralayas tatha

Know that all created beings have their origin in these two natures of Mine. I am the source of the entire universe and into Me it merges at the end. God is the ultimate origin and dissolution of all existence — both the material and spiritual forces that constitute the cosmos flow from Him.

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.

Yathakasha-sthito nityam vayuh sarvatra-go mahan, tatha sarvani bhutani mat-sthanity upadharaya

Just as the mighty wind, moving everywhere, ever rests in the sky, so know that all beings rest in Me. The analogy of wind and sky illustrates how the Lord holds all existence within Himself without being touched or limited by that existence.

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.

Prakritim svam avashtabhya visrijami punah punah, bhuta-gramam imam kritsnam avasham prakriter vashah

Animating My own material nature, I project forth again and again this entire multitude of beings, which are helpless by their own nature. The Lord creates not out of necessity but as an expression of His divine energy, with all beings operating under the laws of prakriti.

Mayadhyakshena prakritih suyate sa-caracaram, hetunanena kaunteya jagad viparivartate

Under My supervision, material nature (prakriti) produces all moving and unmoving things. By reason of this, O son of Kunti, the world revolves. The Lord is the supreme overseer who directs nature's activity while remaining uninvolved — the witness consciousness behind all phenomena.

Maharshayah sapta purve catvaro manavas tatha, mad-bhava manasa jata yesham loka imah prajah

The seven great sages and the four Manus before them were born from My mind and partook of My nature. From them came all the living beings populating the worlds. The lineage of creation traces directly back to the Lord — the great sages and Manus are instruments of divine creative will.

Sargaanam adir antash ca madhyam caivahm arjuna, adhyatma-vidya vidyanam vadah pravadatam aham

Among all creations I am the beginning, the middle, and the end. Among all sciences I am the science of the self (adhyatma-vidya); and among debaters I am the logical argument. The Lord is both the substance and the method of creation; adhyatma-vidya (self-knowledge) is the king of all forms of learning.

Bhavapyayau hi bhutanam shrutau vistarasho maya, tvattah kamala-patraksha mahatmyam api cavyayam

O lotus-eyed Krishna, I have heard in detail from You the origin and dissolution of all living beings, and also Your inexhaustible greatness.

Avibhaktam cha bhutesu vibhaktam iva cha sthitam, bhuta-bhartr cha taj jneyam grasishnu prabhavishnu cha

Though undivided, Brahman appears to be divided among all beings. It is the sustainer of all beings; it is the devourer and the creator. The one undivided Absolute appears manifold, yet its unity is never actually broken.

Yavat sanjayate kinchit sattvam sthavara-jangamam, kshetra-kshetrajña-samyogat tad viddhi bharatarshabha

Know, O Arjuna, that whatever being, moving or non-moving, is born, it is from the union between the field and the knower of the field.

Idam jnanam upashritya mama sadharmyam agatah, sarge 'pi nopajayante pralaye na vyathanti cha

By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one attains to My own nature. Such persons are not born at the time of creation, nor disturbed at the time of dissolution. Merger with the divine nature is the ultimate fruit — transcending even the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction.

Mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbham dadhamy aham, sambhavah sarva-bhutanam tato bhavati bharata

The total material substance (Mahat Brahma) is My womb, and I impregnate it with the seed of all living beings. The birth of all entities comes from that, O Arjuna. Krishna reveals Himself as the ultimate father of all creation, combining consciousness with matter.

Sarva-yonishu kaunteya murtayah sambhavanti yah, tasam brahma mahad yonir aham bija-pradah pita

O son of Kunti, for all species of life that appear in all forms, the great material nature is their womb, and I am the seed-giving father. Every species of life in all forms traces back to this one source — divine consciousness combining with material nature.

Dvau bhuta-sargau loke 'smin daiva asura eva ca, daivo vistarashah prokta asura partha me shrinu

There are two kinds of created beings in this world — the divine and the demoniac. The divine has been described at length; now hear from Me about the demoniac, O Partha. This verse marks the transition from describing divine qualities to the demoniac, establishing that humanity is broadly divided into these two spiritual orientations.