A declaration · expansive in mood · builds on earlier teachings
“All birth comes from a source beyond personal control.”
O Bharata, my primal nature is the womb; I place the seed in it. From that, all beings are born.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallymy · womb, source · great nature · in that · seed, embryo · I place · I · coming into being, birth · of all beings · from that · comes to be · O Bharata
All living forms arise from the union of primal nature and the seed placed within it. Krishna is explaining how birth itself unfolds.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga" (The Three Modes of Material Nature).
Verse 3 sits in Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita — Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga, "The Three Modes of Material Nature". The chapter has 27 verses in total.
A child’s first heartbeat appears on a screen, and no one in the room can explain life in a single sentence. The verse reminds you that existence comes through forces larger than personal control.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts attention from isolated individuality to the hidden process that generates every form.
What this verse means
All living forms arise from the union of primal nature and the seed placed within it. Krishna is explaining how birth itself unfolds.
Context & commentary
On Kurukshetra, with Arjuna still caught between collapse and action, Krishna shifts from philosophy to cosmic explanation. After speaking of the supreme reality, he explains how all beings come into birth: primal nature is the source, and the seed is placed within it.
Why this verse still matters
A child’s first heartbeat appears on a screen, and no one in the room can explain life in a single sentence. The verse reminds you that existence comes through forces larger than personal control.
“The world is not random. Life arises through a deeper order already at work.”
Explore related themes: prakriti (31 verses)