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← Chapter 14: The Yoga of the Division of the Three Gunas

Verse 14.4

Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit

सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः | तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रदः पिता ||४||

Transliteration (IAST)

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ | tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā ||4||

Word-by-Word Meanings

sarva-yoniṣu-in all wombs/species
mūrtayaḥ-forms/bodies
sambhavanti-are produced
brahma-Prakriti
mahat-great
yoniḥ-womb
bīja-pradaḥ-seed-giving
pitā-father

Translation

Whatever forms are produced in all wombs, O son of Kunti, the great Brahman (Prakriti) is their womb, and I am the seed-giving father.

Commentary

Shankaracharya explains that all embodied beings across all species arise from the union of Prakriti (the material cause) and Purusha (the efficient cause). Krishna declares Himself the universal father who imparts consciousness to matter. Madhva emphasizes that the Lord is the independent cause while Prakriti is the dependent material cause.

Themes

atmanjnana