Verse 7.5
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् | जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ||५||
Transliteration (IAST)
apareyamitastvanyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām | jīvabhūtāṁ mahābāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat ||5||
Word-by-Word Meanings
अपरा-lower/inferior
इयम्-this
अन्याम्-another
प्रकृतिम्-nature
पराम्-higher/superior
जीवभूताम्-the living entities
धार्यते-sustains
जगत्-the world
Translation
This is My lower nature. But know My other, higher nature - the life-principle, O mighty-armed one, by which this entire universe is sustained.
Commentary
The distinction between para (higher) and apara (lower) prakriti is fundamental to Gita metaphysics. The jiva (individual soul) belongs to the higher nature - conscious, sentient, and the sustainer of the material world. Ramanuja sees this as establishing the soul's divine origin and its essential difference from matter.
Themes
jnanaatman