Prakriti

Na kartritvam na karmani lokasya srijati prabhuh, na karma-phala-samyogam svabhavas tu pravartate

The Lord does not create the agency or actions of people, nor the union of action with its fruits; it is nature that moves and acts. God is not the author of bondage — the individual creates bondage through identification with nature's movements.

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.

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.

Arjuna uvaca: Prakriti purusham chaiva kshetram kshetra-jnam eva cha, etad veditum icchhami jnanam jneyam cha keshava

Arjuna asks Krishna to explain the distinction between Prakriti and Purusha, the field and the knower of the field, and the nature of knowledge and the knowable. This question opens the profound inquiry into the relationship between matter and consciousness.

Prakriti purusham chaiva viddhy anadi ubhav api, vikarams cha gunams chaiva viddhi prakriti-sambhavan

Know that both Prakriti (matter) and Purusha (consciousness) are beginningless. Know also that all transformations and the three qualities (gunas) are born of Prakriti. Both material nature and the conscious observer have always existed without a prior cause.

Karya-karana-kartritva hetu prakriti ucyate, purushah sukha-duhkhanam bhoktritva hetur ucyate

Prakriti is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, while Purusha is said to be the cause of the experience of pleasure and pain. Matter acts; consciousness experiences — this is the fundamental cosmic dynamic.

Purushah prakriti-stho hi bhunkte prakriti-jan gunan, karanam guna-sango 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

The Purusha, situated in Prakriti, enjoys the qualities born of Prakriti. Attachment to these qualities is the cause of its birth in good and evil wombs. Identification with the gunas drives the soul into repeated births according to its attachments.

Ya evam vetti purusham prakriti cha gunaih saha, sarvatha vartamano 'pi na sa bhuyo 'bhijayate

One who understands Purusha and Prakriti together with the gunas in this way, regardless of one's present position, is not born again. This knowledge is the direct means to liberation — understanding the distinction between knower and field breaks the cycle of rebirth.

Prakrityaiva cha karmani kriyamanani sarvashah, yah pashyati tathatmanam akartaram sa pashyati

One who sees that all actions are performed by Prakriti alone, and that the Self is not the doer — that person truly sees. The realization that material nature is the actual agent of all activity liberates consciousness from the burden of doership.