FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 9.10

मयाध्यक्षेण प्रकृति: सूयते सचराचरम् । हेतुनानेन कौन्तेय जगद्विपरिवर्तते ॥ १० ॥
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ
[mayaadhyakshena prakritih]
sūyate sa-carācaram
[sooyate sa-charaacharam]
hetunānena kaunteya
[hetunaanena kaunteya]
jagad viparivartate
[jagad viparivartate]
Word-for-word
mayā — by Me adhyakṣeṇa — by superintendence prakṛtiḥ — material nature sūyate — manifests sa — both cara - acaram — the moving and the nonmoving hetunā — for the reason anena — this kaunteya — O son of Kuntī jagat — the cosmic manifestation viparivartate — is working .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ
mayā
by Me
adhyakṣeṇa
by superintendence
prakṛtiḥ
material nature
sūyate sa-carācaram
sūyate
manifests
sa
both
cara - acaram
the moving and the nonmoving
hetunānena kaunteya
hetunā
for the reason
anena
this
kaunteya
O son of Kuntī
jagad viparivartate
jagat
the cosmic manifestation
viparivartate
is working .
Important Words
  • adhyakṣeṇa — by superintendence
    Adhi + akṣa — over + eye; the one whose eye is over all. An adhyakṣa is a presiding officer, a supervisor. Kṛṣṇa is not the doer of prakṛti's actions; He is the eye under which she dares not stop working.
  • prakṛtiḥ — material nature
    Pra + √kṛ — that which produces forth. Prakṛti is productive, not inert. But she produces only because she is under adhyakṣa. The verse defends both her efficacy and her dependence.
  • sūyate — produces, gives birth
    From √sū — to bring forth. The same root as savitā (the sun who brings forth the day) and sūta (bard, son). Prakṛti is the mother principle, ceaselessly birthing. But what triggers her labour is the adhyakṣa's glance.
  • cara - acaram — moving and nonmoving
    Cara (moving — animals, humans, gods) + acara (nonmoving — plants, stones, mountains). The whole inventory of created species, from oak to elephant, falls under this dvandva.
  • hetunā — for the reason
    Instrumental of hetu — cause, reason. Kṛṣṇa names His superintendence as the hetu of the cosmic process. Modern thinkers seek hetu everywhere except in īśvara; this word points the search home.
  • viparivartate — revolves
    Vi + pari + √vṛt — to whirl around fully. The cosmos is a wheel; the wheel turns; under what hub does it turn? The verb encloses the question; the verse names the answer.
This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.
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)
Prakṛti is not autonomous — she labours under the gaze (adhyakṣa) of the Lord. The world wheels not by accident but because He oversees its turning. He is the silent cause behind every cosmic motion.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
The instrumental 'mayā adhyakṣeṇa' is crucial: not 'I do' but 'with Me as supervisor.' This protects both divine transcendence (He is not soiled by becoming) and divine sovereignty (nothing happens without Him). Compare BG 13.22 (anumantā paramaś ca). Cosmology and theology converge: the world has both a mother (prakṛti) and a witness-king.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
हे कौन्तेय! अध्यक्षेण मया (हेतुना) प्रकृतिः स-चर-अचरं (जगत्) सूयते । अनेन हेतुना जगत् विपरिवर्तते ।
he kaunteya! adhyakṣeṇa mayā (hetunā) prakṛtiḥ sa-cara-acaraṃ (jagat) sūyate | anena hetunā jagat viparivartate |
O son of Kuntī, with Me as overseer, prakṛti gives birth to (the world,) with its moving and unmoving (beings); by this cause the world revolves.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
मया अध्यक्षेण प्रकृतिः सूयते स-चर-अचरम् । हेतुना अनेन कौन्तेय जगत् विपरिवर्तते ॥
mayā adhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-cara-acaram | hetunā anena kaunteya jagat viparivartate ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
मया mayā अस्मद् pron. (pronoun) ins.sg. (instrumental singular) by Me
अध्यक्षेण adhyakṣeṇa अध्यक्ष (m.) ins.sg. (instrumental singular) as overseer
प्रकृतिः prakṛtiḥ प्रकृति (f.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) nature
सूयते sūyate √सू pres. (present) pass. (passive) 3sg. produces / gives birth
स-चर-अचरम् sa-cara-acaram सह + चर + अचर (adj.) acc.sg. (accusative singular)n., dvandva cpd. (compound) inside bahuvrīhi with moving and unmoving
हेतुना hetunā हेतु (m.) ins.sg. (instrumental singular) by cause
अनेन anena dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun) ins.sg. (instrumental singular)m. this
जगत् jagat जगत् (n.) nom.sg. (nominative singular) world
विपरिवर्तते viparivartate वि+परि+√वृत् pres. (present) 3sg.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) it revolves
Purport

It is clearly stated here that the Supreme Lord, although aloof from all the activities of the material world, remains the supreme director. The Supreme Lord is the supreme will and the background of this material manifestation, but the management is being conducted by material nature. Kṛṣṇa also states in Bhagavad-gītā that of all the living entities in different forms and species, “I am the father.” The father gives seeds to the womb of the mother for the child, and similarly the Supreme Lord by His mere glance injects all the living entities into the womb of material nature, and they come out in their different forms and species, according to their last desires and activities. All these living entities, although born under the glance of the Supreme Lord, take their different bodies according to their past deeds and desires. So the Lord is not directly attached to this material creation. He simply glances over material nature; material nature is thus activated, and everything is created immediately. Because He glances over material nature, there is undoubtedly activity on the part of the Supreme Lord, but He has nothing to do with the manifestation of the material world directly. This example is given in the smṛti: when there is a fragrant flower before someone, the fragrance is touched by the smelling power of the person, yet the smelling and the flower are detached from one another. There is a similar connection between the material world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead; actually He has nothing to do with this material world, but He creates by His glance and ordains. In summary, material nature, without the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot do anything. Yet the Supreme Personality is detached from all material activities.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
10. By My direction, prakṛti gives rise to the universe of moving and non-moving entities. By this cause, O son of Kuntī, the universes appears again and again.
Commentary

“I cannot accept that You are indifferent in Your acts such as creation.” By My direction as the efficient cause (nimitta), [Note: The efficient cause (nimitta) is distinguished from the material cause (upādāna), prakṛti. The potter is the efficient cause and the clay is the material cause of the pot.] prakṛti gives rise to this universe of moving and non-moving entities (sūyate). I am only the director. It is like the duties of the kingdom going on under the kings like Ambarīṣa through their ministers. In that situation, the king remains aloof. But just as nothing can be done by the ministers without the king sitting on the throne, so unconscious matter can do nothing without My directorship in the form of My presence and authority. By this cause (hetunā), by My presence, this world is repeatedly created.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
10. By My direction, prakṛti gives rise to the universe of moving and non-moving entities. By this cause, O son of Kuntī, the universes appears again and again.
Commentary

The Lord further expounds this idea. Glanced upon by Me, the Lord of all, the controller of prakṛti, whose every wish is fulfilled, in accordance with the previous karmas of the jīvas (mayā adhyakṣena), prakṛti creates the universe of moving and non-moving beings. By this cause (anena hetunā), by My glance which considers the jīvas’ positions according to previous karmas, this universe appears again and again, O son of Kuntī! The śrutis also say: vikāra-jananīm ajñām aṣṭa-rūpām ajāṁ dhruvām dhyāyate’dhyāsitā tena tanyate preritā punaḥ sūyate puruṣārthaṁ ca tenaivādhiṣṭhitā jagat One meditates on prakṛti, which produces changes, which is ignorance, of eight forms, unborn and fixed. Ordered, expanded and inspired by the Lord, prakṛti again creates the universe and goals for humans, under His direction alone. Mantrika Upaniṣad 4 Being the doer and being neutral are not contradictory because the Lord rules by proximity only. The smṛti says: yathā sannidhi-mātreṇagandhaḥ kṣobhāya jāyate: it is just like fragrance which causes agitation by closeness. (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.2.30) Prakṛti is dependent on My control alone. Without Me, she does not have the power to do anything. In the absence of the authority of the king on his throne, his ministers do not have the power to carry out actions.

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

'Maya adhyksa' means "under My eyes". Everything is happening under Krsna's superintendence, yet He is independent of everything. The example of Maharaja Ambarisha illustrates nicely this point. He was residing in Mathura, the capital of his Empire, and his occupation was doing 'puja' all day long. Yet simply by his presence everything was going on nicely in all the Empire. Srila Prabhupada says in his Purport: "Because He glances over material nature, there is undoubtedly activity on the part of the Supreme Lord, but He has nothing to do with the manifestation of the material world directly. This example is given in the smrti: when there is a fragrant flower before someone, the fragrance is touched by the smelling power of the person the smelling and the flower are detached from one another. There is a similar connection between the material world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead; actually He has nothing to do with this material world, but He creates by His glance and ordains. In summary, material nature, without the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot do anything. Yet the Supreme Personality is detached from all material activities." Krsna is doing everything by His 'acintya sakti'. In Texts 11 and 15, Section C, Krsna is doing this, and is so wonderfully powerful, He is doing it with just a fragment of His energy. Then why people don't surrender to such a powerful personality who is making everything work and yet completely aloof? The answer is in the next Text.

[C. NON‑WORSHIPERS AND WORSHIPERS (9. 11‑15) Fools that think Krsna is an ordinary human being who possesses a temporary form, become atheists and are defeated in each of their endeavors. (11‑12). On the other hand, mahatmas who know Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who possesses a transcendental and eternal form. take shelter of His divine nature and perpetually chant His glories, bow down to Him, and serve Him. Actually, all those who take shelter of a conception of the Supreme and worship, such as a ... 1. monist, one who worships himself as one with the Supreme, 2. worshiper of a demigod, one who imagine and worships a demigod's form as supreme, 3. worshiper of the material, universal form...

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study Key verse
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Ultimately 9.10 emphasizes the Lord’s Supreme will and thus proves that without the

superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, material nature cannot do anything

The Lord is neutral and aloof and He simply sanctions the material energy
Management is done by material nature on His behalf and Lord is detached

SUMMARISED THEME 9A

SUMMARY OF LORD’S AISHVARYA-JNANA

His inconceivable potency in terms of creation, maintainence and destruction

A) Krishna’s role in maintenance

Lord pervades the entire universe by His energies
He pervades in His unmanifested form, which can only be revealed by devotional service
Everything rests in Him, but still He does not lose His personal existence
Inconceivable mystic opulence – He is aloof from all the material creation and everything happens just by His will
Analogy of sky and wind
Sky is the biggest manifestation to conceive. In that sky, wind is the biggest to conceive
Wind is great and influences all the movements. But wind is never beyond sky, it is always subordinate to the sky
All wonderful cosmic manifestations (compared here to the movements of the wind) exist by the will of the Lord (Lord compared to sky) – Still Lord is aloof and unaffected just like sky is aloof and not affected by movements of wind

B) Krishna’s role in creation and destruction

Under the influence of the Lord’s energy, material world is automatically created and destroyed again and again
At the end of the millennium all material manifestations enter into My nature
Maha-Vishnu is the resting place of all material
It is Lord Krishna Himself who controls this process as the purusha-avartaars
At the beginning of another millennium, the Lord again creates by His potencies

C) Lord is neutral – The Lord is not directly responsible for any of the activities of material existence.

He simply sanctions the material energy based on the past deeds and desires of the living entities

Focus of Learning

Lord and material nature

(a) Ref. Bg. 14.4:

Analogy: Lord is Father and Material Nature is Mother
Lord glances, but species are decided based on past deeds and desire of living entity

(b) Ref. Smrti:

Analogy: Fragrance of a flower touched by the smelling power of a person (yet the smelling and the flower are detached):
Similar connection is there between material world and Supreme Personality of Godhead
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
9.10 Maya, under Me; adhyaksena, as the supervisor, remaining changeless as a mere witness under all circumstances; prakrtih, the Prakrti, My maya consisting of the three gunas and characterized as ignorance; suyate, produces; the world sa-cara-acaram. of the moving and the none-moving things. Thus there is the Vedic text, 'The one divine Being is hidden in all beings; He is amnipresent, the indwelling Self of all bengs, the Supervisor of actions, the refuge of all beings, the witness, the one who imparts consceiousness, unconditioned [This is according to Sankaracarya's commentary on this verse. A.G. interprets kevala as non-dual.-Tr.] and without alities' (Sv. 6.11). Anena hetuna, owing to this reason-because of this presiding over; O son of Kunti, the jagat, world, with the moving and the non-moving things, consisting of the manifest and the unmanifest; viparivartate, revolves, under all conditions [During creation, continuance and dissolution.] All the activities of the world in the form, 'I eat this; I see; I hear this; I experience this happiness, suffer this sorrow; I shall do this for that purpose, [Ast. omits this portion.-Tr] I shall do this for this purpose; I shall know this,' etc. indeed arise owing to their being the objects of the conscious witness. They verily exist in consciousness, and end in consciousness. And such mantras as, 'He who is the witness of this is in the supreme heaven' [Supreme heaven, the heart; i.e. He is inscrutable.] (Rg., Na. Su. 10.129.7; Tai. Br.2.8.9), reveal this fact. Since it follows from this that there is no other conscious being part from the one Deity-who is the witness of all as the absolute Consciousness, and who in reality has no contact with any kind of enjoyment-, therefore there is no other enjoyer. Hence, in this context, the estion, 'For what purpose is this creation?', and its answer are baseless-in accordance with the Vedic text, 'Who know (It) truly, who can fully speak about this here? From where has this come? From where is this variegated creation?' (Rg. 3.54.5; 10.129.6). And it has been pointed out by the Lord also: 'Knowledge remains covered by ignorance. Thery the creatures become deluded' (5.15).
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
9.10 Therefore, My Prakrti, looked at by Me, through My will and under My supervision creates the world with its mobile and immobile beings in accordance with the Karma of individual selves. Because of this, namely, My look at Prakrti in conformity with the Karma of individual selves, the world revolves. Behold in this wonderful phenomena the lordly power inherent to Me, the son of Vasudeva, such as My sovereignty, true resolve and being devoid of cruelty and similar blemishes! So declare the Srutis: 'The possessor of Maya projects this universe out of this. The other (i.e., individual self) is confined by Maya in the world. One should know the Maya to be the Prakrti. And the possessor of Maya to be the Mighty Lord' (Sve. U., 4.9.10).
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
9.9-10 Na ca etc. Maya etc. There is for Me no bondage of actions, because I remain unconcerned. That is why, not resorting to any activity, I am the pirme cause in the process of world-creation.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
9.10 Under Me as supervisor, Nature produces the moving and the unmoving; because of this, O Arjuna, the world revolves.
Commentary

9.10 मया by Me? अध्यक्षेण as supervisor? प्रकृतिः Nature? सूयते produces? सचराचरम् the moving and the unmoving? हेतुना by cause? अनेन by this? कौन्तेय O Kaunteya? जगत् the world? विपरिवर्तते revolves.Commentary The Lord presides only as a witness. Nature does everything. By reason of His proximity or presence? Nature sends forth the moving and the unmoving. The prime cause of this creation is Nature. For the movable and the immovable? and for the whole universe? the root cause is Nature itself.Although all actions are done with the help of the light of the sun? yet? the sun cannot become the doer of actions. Even so the Lord cannot become the doer of actions even though Nature does all actions with the help of the light of the Lord.As Brahman illumines Avidya (ignorance)? the material cause of this world? It is regarded as the cause of this world. The magnet is ite indifferent although it makes the iron pieces move on account of its proximity. Even so the Lord remains indifferent although He makes Nature create the world.As the Lord and the Witness? He presides over this world which consists of moving and unmoving objects the manifested and the unmanifested wheel round and round.What is the purpose of creation Why has God created this world when He has really no concern with any enjoyment whatsoever This is a transcendental estion or Atiprasna. It is therefore irrelevant to ask or to answer this estion. You cannot say that God created this world for His own enjoyment because He really does not enjoy anything. He is a mere witness only. (Cf.X.8)

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
9.10 Under Me as the supervisor, the Prakrti produces (the world) of the moving and the non-moving things. Owing to this reason, O son of Kunti, the world revolves.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
9.10 Under my guidance, Nature produces all things movable and immovable. Thus it is, O Arjuna, that this universe revolves.
Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 9.8 BG 7.5 BG 15.7 SB 2.5.21 SB 3.26.19 SB 6.3.12 CC Ādi 5.67 CC Madhya 20.270 CC Madhya 6.159 Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 1.3Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.8.9
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Material nature, working under My direction, produces the moving and unmoving — the world revolves by this principle.
Practical Applications
  • Recognize Kṛṣṇa's directorship behind apparent chaos.
  • Don't take the world to be running on its own.
  • Live with awareness of His underlying direction.
Reflection Questions
  • When have I felt the world running on its own?
  • What restores awareness of His direction?
Analogy

A great train rolls across a continent. A traveller looking only at the cars would say the locomotive is unnecessary — the cars are doing all the work. But every wheel turns under the unseen pull of the engine ahead. Prakṛti is the line of cars producing all moving and nonmoving beings; Kṛṣṇa is the unseen engine. Materialists see only the cars and announce: matter does it. Kṛṣṇa quietly says: under My supervision.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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