श्रीमद्भगवद्गीताShrimad Bhagavad Gita 📖 Read as a flipbook

Bhagavad Gita · Vibhuti YogaChapter 10, Shloka 8 (10.8)

Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्

अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते
इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विताः
॥ 10.8 ॥

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

Translation

"I am the source of all; from me alone everything proceeds — understanding this, the wise worship me with loving devotion."

Interpretation

Shankaracharya. ahaṃ paraṃ brahma vāsudevākhyaṃ sarvasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ — I, the supreme Brahman called Vasudeva, am the source of the whole world; budhāḥ avagataparamārthatattvāḥ; bhāvaḥ bhāvanā paramārthatattvābhiniveśaḥ — bhava = deep absorption in the supreme truth.

Acharya Ramanuja. sarvasya vicitracidacitprapañcasya prabhavaḥ — the source of the wondrous world of the conscious and the non-conscious; svābhāvikaṃ niraṅkuśaiśvaryaṃ sauśīlyasaundaryavātsalyādikalyāṇaguṇagaṇayogaṃ ca matvā — knowing my natural, unrestricted sovereignty and qualities such as gracious accessibility, beauty and tender affection; bhāvo manovṛttiviśeṣaḥ, mayi spṛhayālavo māṃ bhajanta ity arthaḥ — bhava = the longing to reach me.

Madhusudana Saraswati. He takes Shankara's point further — I am the upādānaṃ nimittaṃ ca of the world, that is, both the material cause (that from which it is made) and the efficient cause (the one who made it). And he gives a second meaning: mayaivāntaryāmiṇā sarvajñena sarvaśaktinā preryamāṇaṃ svasvamaryādām anatikramya sarvaṃ jagat pravartate — I alone, the inner controller, all-knowing and all-powerful, set it in motion, and everything moves while keeping to its own bounds. For him "bhava" means premṇā samanvitāḥ — filled with love.

Shridhar Swami. He takes this as the introduction to the next four verses (10.8–10.11) — how complete knowledge comes from the knowledge of vibhuti and yoga. For him "bhava" = prītiyuktāḥ (endowed with love), and bhṛgvādirūpavibhūtidvāreṇa — I am the cause of origin through sages such as Bhrigu as well.

Vedanta Deshika (a commentator in Ramanuja's tradition). He adds a subtle point: tad eva hi jñānaṃ bhaktirūpeṇa pariṇamata — that very knowledge ripens and becomes devotion.

AI-assisted draft translation — under review.

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