Commentary

Commentary

In this verse, Krishna explains the mechanism of creation. The total material substance — referred to here as mahad brahma — serves as the womb of all existence. The word brahma here does not refer to the Supreme Brahman or the spiritual reality, but to the total material nature, which is sometimes called pradhana or prakriti. Krishna declares that He places the seeds of all living entities into this material womb, and from that union, all beings come into existence.

The analogy is straightforward: just as a father places the seed within the mother’s womb and the child develops from the combination of both, similarly, Krishna places the individual souls (jivas) into the womb of material nature, and the entire diversity of life forms manifests as a result. The material nature provides the bodies, while the Lord provides the living entities who inhabit them.

This teaching aligns with what was explained in the seventh chapter, where Krishna described two natures — the superior spiritual nature (para prakriti, comprising the living entities) and the inferior material nature (apara prakriti, comprising the eight material elements). The combination of these two natures by the will of the Supreme Lord is what produces the entire created world.

The Mundaka Upanishad (1.1.1) confirms this by describing the total material substance as brahma, from which all names and forms emerge. The Supreme Lord, as the seed-giving father, is ultimately responsible for all manifestations of life. Every living being — whether on earth, in water, or in fire — owes its existence to this divine act of creation.