Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14 Verse 3 भगवद् गीता अध्याय 14 श्लोक 3 मम योनिर्महद्ब्रह्म तस्मिन् गर्भं दधाम्यहम्। संभवः सर्वभूतानां ततो भवति भारत।।14.3।। English Translation - Swami Gambirananda 14.3 My womb is the great-sustainer. In that I place the seed. From that, O scion of the Bharata dynasty, occurs the birth of all things. English Translation - Swami Sivananda 14.3 My womb is the great Brahma; in that I place the germ; thence, O Arjuna, is the birth of all beings. English Translation - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan 14.3. The mighty Brahman is a womb for Me; and in That I lay seed; therefrom is the birth of all beings, O descendant of Bharata ! English Commentary - Swami Sivananda 14.3 मम My? योनिः womb? महत् the great? ब्रह्म Brahma? तस्मिन् in that? गर्भम् germ? दधामि bears? अहम I? संभवः the birth? सर्वभूतानाम् of all beings? ततः thence? भवति is? भारत O descendant of Bharata (Arjuna).Commentary My womb is the great Nature. The cosmos is evolved out of His Nature. Nature is called the great Brahma for She is the resting place of the five subtle elements and also the Mahat (cosmic mind). She is callled the great Brahma? because through Her the whole manifestation takes place.All changes arise out of this great Nature. So She has got the name Mulaprakriti or Primordial Nature or the original principle. From the point of view of the Unmanifest She is called Avyakta. The Vedantins call Her Maya (illusion). The Sankhyas call Her Prakriti.This Prakriti is called great because She is greater than all Her effects. This Nature? made of the three alities? is the material cause of all beings. As She is the source or cause of all Her,modifications and also nourishes all the modifications with Her energy? She is called Brahma.I place in it (the Mahabrahma) the embryo of life then all beings begin to come to life therefrom. In the great Brahma or Nature I place the germ or the seed for the birth of Hiranyagarbha and the seed gives birth to all beings. The birth of Hiranyagarbha or Brahma (the Creator) gives rise to the birth of beings. The Primordial Nature is like the clay. She cannot create the forms Herself. She gives birth to Brahma Who creates all beings just as the potter creates various forms from the clay. I am endowed with the two Saktis? viz.? the superior and the inferior Natures (Cf. VII. 4 and 5)? the field and its knower. I unite these two (the Spirit and the matter). The individual soul comes under the influence of the limiting adjuncts? viz.? ignorance? desire and action. On account of ignorance (Avidya)? the individual soul forgets his original divine nature? gets himself entangled in the meshes of desire (Kama) and action (Karma)? and revolves in the wheel of birth and death. The individual soul turns towards ignorance without knowing his own true divine nature. The Jiva (individual soul) being overpowered by ignorance and the modifications? forgets its pristine purity and moves in various forms.The Primordial Nature or the Unmanifested is a dark matrix with infinite potentialities. It is not a substance. Sound and energy are in an undifferentiated state in It. The whole world gets involved into It during the cosmic dissolution. There is no relationship of substance or ality between It and the three Gunas. The alities are the Mulaprakriti and the latter is the former in a state of poise or eilibrium. This manifested world of the three alities is compared to a twisted rope of three colours? viz.? white? red and black. Each colour represents a Guna. Sattvic is white? Rajas is red and Tamas is black. The three are not in a state of eilibrium in the manifested world.Water and the seed coming in contact with the earth produce sprouts which grow into trees. In the womb of Nature? the seed develops into the eightfold elements -- earth? water? fire? air? ether? mind? intellect and egoism. The first fruit of the contact of Nature with the soul is the MahatTattva or intellect. From intellect mind is born from mind egoism from egoism? the five elements.There are four classes of beings? viz.? Jarayuja? Andaja? Svedaja and Udbhijja. The Jarayuja is born of the placenta (viviparous). Human beings? cows? elephants? horses? etc.? belong to this class. In this variety the five senses of knowledge exist. The Andaja is born of eggs (oviparous). In this variety the elements of wind and ether predominate. Lice come under the category of Svedaja they are born of sweat. In this variety fire and water predominate. Trees that are born of seeds are classified under the head Udbhijja in this variety earth and water predominate. (Cf.VII.6IX.17XV.7) English Translation of Sanskrit Commentary By Sri Shankaracharya's 14.3 Mama, My own Maya, i.e. Prakrti consisting of the three alities, which belongs to Me; is the yonih, womb [Here Ast. adds karanam, cause (-off all the creatures).-Tr.] for all the creatures. Since it (Prakrti) is great (mahat) as compared with all its effects, and it is the sustainer (brahma) [Prakrti is brahma since it permeates all of its own products.-A.G.] of all its own transformations, therefore the womb itself is alified as mahat brahma. Tasmin, in that, in the womb which is the great-sustainer; aham, I, God, possessed of the power in the form of the two aspects, viz the field and the Knower of the field; dadhami, place, deposit; garbham, the seed-the seed of the birth of Hiranayagarbha, te seed which is the cause of the birth of all things-; i.e., I bring the field into association with the Knower of the field who conforms to the nature of the limiting adjuncts, viz ignorance, desire and activity. Tatah, from that, from that deposition of the seed; O scion of the Bharata dynasty, bhavati, occurs; sambhavah, the birth, origination; sarva-bhutanam, of all things, following the birth of Hiranyagarbha. English Translation of Commentary - Dr. S. Sankaranarayan 14.3 Mama etc. For Me : [For Me] Who am of the nature of the inexplicable Supreme Bliss, the mighty Brahman : the Brahman that is identical with My own energy, allowing expansion [of all in It]. Taking hold of just My own energy of Self-consciousness, I cause the beginningless tiny [individual] Souls to pass through the cycle of birth and death by way of favouring them. Therefore- English Translation of Ramanuja's Sanskrit Commentary 14.3 In that great brahman forming my womb, I lay the germ. The non-conscient Prakrti is alluded to in the text Earth, water, fire, air, ether, Manas, Buddhi and Ahankara - thus My Prakrti is eightfold (7.4-5). This Prakrti is designated here by the name the great brahman by reason of its being the cause of modifications like the Mahat, the Ahankara etc. In the Srutis also, here and there, even the Prakrti is designated as brahman, as in: He who is all-knowing, all-wise, whose austerity consists of knowledge - from Him are produced this brahman as also food, i.e., the universe of name and form (Mun. U., 1.1.9) The higher Prakrti, which is the mass of conscient selves, alluded to in the passage, Know My higher Prakrti to be distinct from this; it is the life-principle (7.5). It is here expressed by the term Garbha, the source or womb in which all living beings originate. I lay the germ, constituting the mass of conscious beings, in that great brahman, which is non-conscient and forms the womb. From that conjunction between the two Prakrtis, brought about by My will is brought forth the origin of all entities from Brahma down to tuft to grass. He continues to say: I Myself bring about the conjunction of the conscient and unconscient Prakrtis in the manifested state of effect. Commentary - Chakravarthi Ji In order to explain how the contact with the gunas through beginningless ignorance creates bondage, the Lord speaks about the method of appearance of the field and knower of the field. My (Supreme Lord’s) place of impregnation is prakrti, called mahat because it extends of all place and time continuously. It is called brahma because it is the cause of increase (root is brh). In some sruti texts, prakrti is referred to as brahma. I place the seed (garbha) within that prakrti. The Lord said itas rv anyam prakrtim viddhi me param jlva-bhutam: know this other prakrti of mine, which is superior and which gives rise to the jivas. (BG 7.5) From this it is understood that there is a mass of consciousness, the jiva prakrti which is called the tatastha sakti This is called the seed (garbha), because it is gives life to all beings. Then (tatah) from my action of placing the seed (jiva sakti) in the prakrti, the appearance of all the entities such as Brahma and others takes place. Rudra Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary After praising such wisdom and proclaiming the results of what He is about to teach to get the listener attentive, Lord Krishna declares the fundamental purport of the teachings that the emergence of all living entities from the combination of prakriti or the material substratum pervading physical existence and the purusa or the supreme being as eternal consciousness is that it derives itself from the Supreme Lord and is subservient and dependent upon Him. The brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence is not limited by time and space and is the abode and cause of the expanding evolution of praktiti which is the womb Lord Krishna impregnates casting His seeds in the form of limitless atmas or immortal souls which accept unlimited forms as countless jivas or embodied beings. This He does by infusing the reflection of His supreme intelligence which causes the expansion and evolution of all creation. At the commencement of universal creation at the time of conception the Supreme Lord unites again with the corresponding body of each and every jiva. During universal dissolution all jivas were previously absorbed into Him. Now once again spawning them out He abides within each and every jivas heart as paramatma the all pervading supreme soul and is distinguished as the ksetrajna or the knower of the sphere of activity distinctly different from the ksetra or sphere of activity. The jivas are endowed by the impressions of the three gunas which are the modes of sattva or goodness, rajas or passion and tamas or nescience comprised in a kalpa or one day of Brahma, the accumulative actions of their previous 43,200,000 lifetimes for a human. These calibrated results are kept intact and correspondingly transferred into their new existence to reap the exact reactions to there actions thereof. From this dissertation the origins of all jivas from the secondary creator Brahma, the most evolved jiva down to the least evolved jiva such as a one celled amoeba can be succinctly comprehended and practically understood. Brahma Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary The mahat means that which cannot be limited brahma denotes the expansive material energy or prakriti the material substratum pervading physical existence. This represents sakti or the feminine energy such as Sri, Bhu, Durga, etc. Saraswati, Uma and others are partial manifestations of Sri. The same is confirmed in the Kashayana scripture which states: Sri, Bhu and Durga are the three forms of illusion which binds the jivas or embodied beings in this world. Although Saraswati and Uma are only partial expansions of Sri in the Agama texts they to are sometimes referred to as Sri as well. The words mama yonir meaning womb confirms that the feminine sakti is existing to accept the seed of consciousness from the Supreme Lord and give birth to all life forms. In the Sharkarakshya texts it states: For giving birth by the Supreme Lord the goddess Sri, the great illusion is devoid of all suffering. Yet she along with the Supreme Lord displays herself as if suffering to delude the debased and ignoble. An example of this is the sorrow displayed by Rama for the suffering of Sita. Another example is the tolerance of Bhu as the personified goddess of the Earth which is but her reflection. So much destruction and misery takes place on Earth but she is incorruptible and even though she appears as the last of the five primary elements fire, water, air, ether she is the origin of them all. The Anabhimlan scripture states: She willingly accepts the servitude even though she is the matriarch of all the worlds. The Matsya Purana states that prakriti sometimes can be referred by mahat brahma due to her great benevolence and selfless service. Now begins the summation. According to the Shabda Nirnay the word yonir has three distinct meanings. One is the wife. The second is the female generative organ and the third is known as the cause. Here it means the wife because Lord Krishna states that in the womb He impregnates. Shri Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Inanimate and inert earth, water, fire, air, ether along with manas or mind, buddhi or intelligence and ahankara or ego all constitute Lord Krishnas eightfold differentiated aspects of matter. But they only comprise His external energy and are inferior. The mahad-brahma signifies the infinite extension of prakriti or the material substratum pervading physical existence by dint of its being the primal source of all variegations of species and subspecies which emanate thereof correspondingly in the forms of manas, buddhi and ahankara. Passages found in various Vedic scriptures sometime refer to prakriti in specific circumstances in the purview of the brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence. An example is seen in the Mundaka Upanisad II.II.VII. beginning yah sarvajnah sarvavid which states: The Supreme Lord is omniscient and omnipotent and His glory is pervading through all of creation. He eternally dwells in Vaikuntha the eternal, transcendental spiritual worlds and simultaneously with the heart of every jiva or embodied being. The term garbha means seed as in embryo in the form of all the animate myriad trillions of atmas or immortal souls manifesting within the jivas en masse at the time of their appearance. So in the inanimate, womb like nature of prakriti the Supreme Lord casts the animate seeds in aggregate corresponding precisely to the exact finite number of atmas for every jiva in creation. The purport is that the Supreme Lord impregnates material nature with souls in the form of incalculable living enities that assume unlimited forms throughout material existence. The ksetrajna or knower of the field of activity uniting with the ksetra or field of activity. Thus are all jivas from Brahma down to a one-cell amoeba manifested by the combination of the aforementioned principles; generated by the will of the Supreme Lord. That such manifestation is actually and factually from the Supreme Lord will be given next. Kumara Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary Inanimate and inert earth, water, fire, air, ether along with manas or mind, buddhi or intelligence and ahankara or ego all constitute Lord Krishnas eightfold differentiated aspects of matter. But they only comprise His external energy and are inferior. The mahad-brahma signifies the infinite extension of prakriti or the material substratum pervading physical existence by dint of its being the primal source of all variegations of species and subspecies which emanate thereof correspondingly in the forms of manas, buddhi and ahankara. Passages found in various Vedic scriptures sometime refer to prakriti in specific circumstances in the purview of the brahman or spiritual substratum pervading all existence. An example is seen in the Mundaka Upanisad II.II.VII. beginning yah sarvajnah sarvavid which states: The Supreme Lord is omniscient and omnipotent and His glory is pervading through all of creation. He eternally dwells in Vaikuntha the eternal, transcendental spiritual worlds and simultaneously with the heart of every jiva or embodied being. The term garbha means seed as in embryo in the form of all the animate myriad trillions of atmas or immortal souls manifesting within the jivas en masse at the time of their appearance. So in the inanimate, womb like nature of prakriti the Supreme Lord casts the animate seeds in aggregate corresponding precisely to the exact finite number of atmas for every jiva in creation. The purport is that the Supreme Lord impregnates material nature with souls in the form of incalculable living enities that assume unlimited forms throughout material existence. The ksetrajna or knower of the field of activity uniting with the ksetra or field of activity. Thus are all jivas from Brahma down to a one-cell amoeba manifested by the combination of the aforementioned principles; generated by the will of the Supreme Lord. That such manifestation is actually and factually from the Supreme Lord will be given next. Transliteration Bhagavad Gita 14.3Mama yonirmahadbrahma tasmin garbham dadhaamyaham; Sambhavah sarvabhootaanaam tato bhavati bhaarata. Word Meanings Bhagavad Gita 14.3mama—my; yoniḥ—womb; mahat brahma—the total material substance, prakṛiti; tasmin—in that; garbham—womb; dadhāmi—impregnate; aham—I; sambhavaḥ—birth; sarva-bhūtānām—of all living beings; tataḥ—thereby; bhavati—becomes; bhārata—Arjun, the son of Bharat; sarva—all; yoniṣhu—species of life; kaunteya—Arjun, the son of Kunti; mūrtayaḥ—forms; sambhavanti—are produced; yāḥ—which; tāsām—of all of them; brahma-mahat—great material nature; yoniḥ—womb; aham—I; bīja-pradaḥ—seed-giving; pitā—Father