Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 10

Chapter 9 – Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

मयाध्यक्षेण प्रकृतिः सूयते सचराचरम् ।
हेतुनानेन कौन्तेय जगद्विपरिवर्तते ॥

Transliteration

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram .
hetunānena kaunteya jagadviparivartate ॥

Meaning

O son of Kunti, under My supervision prakriti brings forth all things moving and unmoving; for this reason the world revolves.

Word meanings

मया – by Me
अध्यक्षेण – as presiding witness, supervisor
प्रकृतिः – prakriti, nature
सूयते – brings forth
सचराचरम् – with moving and unmoving beings
हेतुना – by reason
अनेन – of this
कौन्तेय – O son of Kunti
जगत् – the world
विपरिवर्तते – revolves, keeps turning

Anvaya (word order)

कौन्तेय, मया अध्यक्षेण प्रकृतिः सचराचरं सूयते; अनेन हेतुना जगत् विपरिवर्तते ।

Explanation

This verse completes the thought of the last few verses. The question was: if the Lord creates, how can He be neutral? The answer: ‘Under My supervision prakriti produces the moving and the unmoving.’ It is nature that does the work; the Lord is its adhyaksha, the presiding authority in whose presence everything happens though He Himself lifts no hand, like the chairperson of an assembly whose mere presence keeps proceedings in order.

The finest illustration is the sun. When the sun rises, flowers open, people go to work, plants make food and water turns to vapour, yet the sun resolves to do none of these things. Its presence alone sets everything in motion. Shankara explains that the Lord, as pure consciousness, is the witness; by His proximity insentient prakriti gains the power to act, as iron moves in the presence of a magnet without the magnet striving.

Ramanuja reads adhyaksha more actively as controller: prakriti works only by the Lord’s will and direction; by itself it is a blind force which He guides. In both readings one point is firm: nature is not independent. An ordered cosmos cannot arise from unconscious matter without a conscious ground.

‘For this reason the world revolves.’ Birth, growth, decay, death and rebirth turn like a wheel. The very word jagat means ‘that which keeps moving’. Wisdom is to recognise the unmoving consciousness at the hub of this ever-turning wheel.

For the seeker, this verse teaches the witness attitude. As the Lord witnesses the workings of prakriti, our own Self witnesses the activity of body and mind. Resting in that awareness, one remains inwardly peaceful even in the midst of intense activity.

Context

Verse 9 said that the work of creation does not bind the Lord. Here He gives the reason: nature does the creating while He presides. In the next verse He describes how the deluded, not knowing this supreme nature, disregard Him when He appears in human form.

Life lesson

As the sun’s presence makes everything happen without binding the sun, learn to recognise the witnessing Self within. Act fully, yet remain an inner observer; this is one of the surest roots of peace of mind.

Key terms

Adhyaksha: presiding authority, witness, controller
Sacharachara: all beings, moving and unmoving
Viparivartana: ceaseless revolving, the cosmic cycle
Sakshi: the witness-consciousness, untouched by action