Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verse 8

Chapter 10 – Vibhuti Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते ।
इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विताः ॥

Transliteration

ahaṃ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṃ pravartate .
iti matvā bhajante māṃ budhā bhāvasamanvitāḥ ॥

Meaning

I am the source of all; from Me everything proceeds. Knowing this, the wise worship Me, filled with loving devotion.

Word meanings

अहम् – I
सर्वस्य – of all
प्रभवः – the origin, source
मत्तः – from Me
सर्वम् – everything
प्रवर्तते – proceeds, moves
इति – thus
मत्वा – knowing, understanding
भजन्ते – worship
माम् – Me
बुधाः – the wise
भावसमन्विताः – filled with devotion and feeling

Anvaya (word order)

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवः, मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते — इति मत्वा भावसमन्विताः बुधाः मां भजन्ते ।

Explanation

This verse is the heart of chapter 10 and the first of the chatuh-shloki, the four essential verses. In two short sentences Krishna gathers the philosophy of the whole Gita: aham sarvasya prabhavah and mattah sarvam pravartate.

Aham sarvasya prabhavah, ‘I am the source of all’. Sarvasya leaves nothing out: gods, sages, humans, animals, plants, the inert and the conscious alike. For Shankara, the Lord is both the efficient and the material cause of the world; as a spider spins its web out of itself, the Lord brings forth the universe from Himself. Mattah sarvam pravartate, ‘from Me everything proceeds’. After creation too, every movement in the world, the circling of planets, the beating of a heart, the rising of a thought, happens through His power. Ramanuja stresses that the Lord is not merely the creator but the inner ruler of all, by whose command everything moves.

Iti matva, ‘knowing this’. Here devotion rests on understanding. When the intellect grasps that everything we love, parents, friends, the beauty of nature, knowledge, strength, has one source, love naturally turns towards that source. One who loves a river comes in time to love its spring.

Such devotees are called budhah, the wise. In the Gita devotion is never superstition; it is the natural fruit of discernment, and in chapter 7 Krishna called the devotee endowed with knowledge the best of all. Bhava-samanvitah: yet knowledge is not enough; feeling too is needed. Shankara reads bhava as intense absorption in the supreme reality; Ramanuja as loving devotion. Knowledge and feeling are the two wings on which devotion flies.

The practical message is that every beautiful and excellent thing in the world can become a reminder of God. Seeing a sunrise, a child’s smile or a great work of art, remember the source behind it.

Context

In verse 7 Krishna said that one who knows His glory and yoga attains unwavering devotion. Over the next four verses He describes that devotion, beginning here with its foundation in knowledge. In the next verse He paints a lovely picture of the devotees’ inner life and conduct.

Life lesson

Everything beautiful, powerful or dear in life has its source in God. Let this understanding become the foundation of your love, and worship Him with both understanding and feeling together.

Key terms

Prabhava: origin, source
Pravartate: proceeds, moves into activity
Budha: wise, discerning
Bhava-samanvita: endowed with loving devotion
Chatuh-shloki: the four essential verses, Gita 10.8 to 11