Bhagavad Gita · Raja Vidya Raja Guhya YogaChapter 9, Shloka 8 (9.8)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुनः पुनः
भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात्
॥ 9.8 ॥
prakṛtiṃ svāmavaṣṭabhya visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ
bhūtagrāmamimaṃ kṛtsnamavaśaṃ prakṛtervaśāt
Translation
"Taking hold of my own prakriti, I bring forth again and again this whole multitude of beings, helpless under the sway of prakriti."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. Prakṛtiṃ svāṃ svīyām avaṣṭabhya vaśīkṛtya; avaśam asvatantram avidyādi-doṣaiḥ para-vaśīkṛtam, prakṛteḥ vaśāt svabhāva-vaśāt — made dependent by faults such as ignorance, under the sway of their own nature. Then a question: tarhi tasya te parameśvarasya bhūta-grāmam imaṃ viṣamaṃ vidadhataḥ … dharmādharmābhyāṃ saṃbandhaḥ syāt — then would the Supreme Lord, who creates this unequal world, not be touched by merit and demerit?
Acharya Ramanuja. Svakīyāṃ vicitra-pariṇāminīṃ prakṛtim avaṣṭabhya aṣṭadhā pariṇamayya — taking hold of my own prakriti, which transforms in wondrous ways, and transforming it into eight forms; caturvidhaṃ deva-tiryaṅ-manuṣya-sthāvarātmakaṃ — four kinds of beings: gods, animals and birds, humans, and the unmoving; madīyāyāḥ mohinyāḥ guṇamayyāḥ prakṛteḥ vaśāt avaśaṃ. A question: evaṃ tarhi viṣama-sṛṣṭy-ādīni karmāṇi nairghṛṇyādy-āpādanena bhagavantaṃ badhnanti iti? — then does an unequal creation make the Lord guilty of cruelty (nairghṛṇya)?
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.