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Bhagavad-gītā 10.39

यच्च‍ापि सर्वभूतानां बीजं तदहमर्जुन । न तदस्ति विना यत्स्यान्मया भूतं चराचरम् ॥ ३९ ॥
yac cāpi sarva-bhūtānāṁ
[yach chaapi sarva-bhootaanaam]
bījaṁ tad aham arjuna
[beejam tad aham arjuna]
na tad asti vinā yat syān
[na tad asti vinaa yat syaan]
mayā bhūtaṁ carācaram
[mayaa bhootam charaacharam]
Word-for-word
yat — whatever ca — also api — may be sarva - bhūtānām — of all creations bījam — seed tat — that aham — I am arjuna — O Arjuna na — not tat — that asti — there is vinā — without yat — which syāt — exists mayā — Me bhūtam — created being cara - acaram — moving and nonmoving .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yac cāpi sarva-bhūtānāṁ
yat
whatever
ca
also
api
may be
sarva - bhūtānām
of all creations
bījaṁ tad aham arjuna
bījam
seed
tat
that
aham
I am
arjuna
O Arjuna
na tad asti vinā yat syān
na
not
tat
that
asti
there is
vinā
without
yat
which
syāt
exists
mayā bhūtaṁ carācaram
mayā
Me
bhūtam
created being
cara - acaram
moving and nonmoving .
Important Words
  • bījam — seed
    The verse's central image — Kṛṣṇa as the bīja, the originating seed of every being. Anticipates 14.4 ('I am the seed-giving father') and 7.10 ('I am the eternal seed of all beings'). A recurring Gītā metaphor.
  • vinā — without
    'Apart from, in the absence of.' The verse's logical pivot: 'there is no being that exists apart from Me.' Closes every conceivable exception clause. Universal range — moving and non-moving alike.
  • bhūtam — created being
    From bhū — 'to be.' The general word for any existing entity. Combined with cara-acaram (moving and non-moving), the verse covers literally everything that exists in any mode.
  • cara - acaram — moving and nonmoving
    Compound: cara (moving) + acara (not moving). Standard Vedic exhaustive pair — animals and plants, beings and stones. The verse closes both halves of existence under Kṛṣṇa's seed-authorship.
Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being – moving or nonmoving – that can exist without Me.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Kṛṣṇa now condenses the catalogue: He is the seed of every being whatsoever, and no creature — animate or inanimate — exists apart from Him. The opulences listed are illustrative; the principle is universal.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
Bīja (seed) compresses Sāṅkhya-style causality into one image. The negative formulation (na tad asti vinā mayā) matches Upaniṣadic style: cf. Bṛhadāraṇyaka 3.7.3 onwards on the antaryāmin as the inner controller of all. Cross-ref BG 7.10 (bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ) and 9.18.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे अर्जुन! सर्व-भूतानां यत् च अपि बीजं तत् अहम् (अस्मि); मया विना यत् चर-अचरं भूतं स्यात्, तत् न अस्ति ।
he arjuna! sarva-bhūtānāṃ yat ca api bījaṃ tat aham (asmi); mayā vinā yat cara-acaraṃ bhūtaṃ syāt, tat na asti |
O Arjuna, whatever is the seed of all beings — that I am; and there is no being, moving or unmoving, that could exist apart from Me.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
यत् च अपि सर्व-भूतानां बीजं तत् अहम् अर्जुन । न तत् अस्ति विना यत् स्यात् मया भूतं चर-अचरम् ॥
yat ca api sarva-bhūtānāṃ bījaṃ tat aham arjuna | na tat asti vinā yat syāt mayā bhūtaṃ cara-acaram ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
यत् च अपि yat ca api यद् + ind. (indeclinable) + ind. (indeclinable) and whatever
सर्व-भूतानाम् sarva-bhūtānām सर्व + भूत (n.) gen.pl. (genitive plural), karmadhāraya of all beings
बीजम् bījam बीज (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) seed
तत् अहम् tat aham तद् nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. + अस्मद् nom.sg. (nominative singular) that (am) I
अर्जुन arjuna अर्जुन (m.) voc.sg. (vocative singular) O Arjuna
न तत् अस्ति na tat asti ind. (indeclinable) + तद् + √अस् that does not exist
विना vinā ind. (postpos. with ins.) without
यत् स्यात् yat syāt यद् nom.sg. (nominative singular)n. + √अस् opt. (optative) 3sg.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) which could be
मया mayā अस्मद् ins.sg. (instrumental singular) by Me / without Me
भूतम् bhūtam भूत (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) being
चर-अचरम् cara-acaram चर + अचर (adj.) nom.sg. (nominative singular)n., dvandva moving and unmoving
Purport

Everything has a cause, and that cause or seed of manifestation is Kṛṣṇa. Without Kṛṣṇa’s energy, nothing can exist; therefore He is called omnipotent. Without His potency, neither the movable nor the immovable can exist. Whatever existence is not founded on the energy of Kṛṣṇa is called māyā, “that which is not.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
39. I am that seed which causes all living entities to manifest, O Arjuna. No moving or non-moving entities can exist without Me.
Commentary

I am the seed of all beings, the cause of their sprouting, because without Me, moving and non-moving creatures would not exist. This means they would be false things.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
39. I am that seed which causes all living entities to manifest, O Arjuna. No moving or non-moving entities can exist without Me.
Commentary

I am the cause of all entities coming into being. I am the seed of all entities. The reason is given. Whatever moving or non-moving entities exist (bhūtam), which are real, would not exist, or would be false, without Me, the Supreme Lord, possessor of all powers.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

Krsna is explaining how one can actually think about Him and meditate on Him and see Him everywhere. Because nothing moving or non‑moving can exist without Krsna. Anything we see around us is dependent on Krsna and cannot exist without Him.

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
10.39 Ca, moreover; O Arjuna, yat api, whatsoever; is the bijam, seed, the source of growth ; sarva-bhutanam, of all beings; tat, that I am. As a conclusion of the topic the Lord states in brief His divine manifestations: Na tat asti bhutam, there is no thing; cara-acaram, moving or non-moving; yat, which; syat, can exist; vina maya, without Me. For whatever is rejected by Me, from whatever I withdraw Myself will have no substance, and will become a non-entity. Hence the meaning is that everything has Me as its essence.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
10.39 Of all beings, in whatever condition they may exist, whether manifest or not, I alone am that state. Whatever host of beings are said to exist, they do not exist without Me as their Self. In the statement, 'Nothing that moves or does not move exists without Me', it is taught that the Lord exists as the Self, as said in the beginning: 'I am the Self, seated in the hearts of all beings' (10.20). The purport is that the entire host of beings in every state, is united with Me, their Self. By this He makes it clear that He, being the Self of all things, is the ground for His being denoted by everything in co-ordinate predication.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
10.39 See Comment under 10.42
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
10.39 And whatever is the seed of all beings, that also am I, O Arjuna; there is no being, whether moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me.
Commentary

10.39 यत् which? च and? अपि also? सर्वभूतानाम् among all beings? बीजम् seed? तत् that? अहम् I? अर्जुन O Arjuna? न not? तत् that? अस्ति is? विना without? यत् which? स्यात् may be? मया by Me? भूतम् being? चराचरम् moving or unmoving.Commentary I am the primeval seed from which all creation has come into existence. I am the seed of everything. I am the Self of everything. Nothing can exist without Me. Everything is of My nature. I am the essence of everything. Without Me all things would be mere void. I am the soul of everything.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
10.39 Moreover, O Arjuna, whatsoever is the seed of all beings, that I am. There is no thing moving or non-moving which can exist without Me.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
10.39 I am the Seed of all being, O Arjuna! No creature moving or unmoving can live without Me.
Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 7.10 BG 9.18 BG 14.4 SB 2.9.32 SB 3.26.3 SB 10.87.30 CC Ādi 2.117 CC Madhya 19.152 CC Ādi 5.142 Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.1Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.13
Concepts
Maya
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Sciences essays referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
I am the seed of all existences — there is no being, moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me.
Practical Applications
  • Recognize Him as the seed of all being.
  • Look at any being and see the seed.
  • Use this seeing as portable contemplation.
Reflection Questions
  • Where did I last see the seed in a being?
  • Where am I missing it?
Analogy

Every grain you have ever seen — wheat, rice, mango stone, mustard — was once a seed. Behind every seed, another seed. Trace the regress and Kṛṣṇa says: I am that ultimate generating seed of every existence, moving or still. Nothing exists that is not seeded by Me.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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