Chapter 7, Verse 5
Gyaan Vigyana Yoga — Sanskrit shloka, transliteration, word meanings, English translation, and commentary.
Original Sanskrit verse
Transliteration
Word meanings
aparā—inferior; iyam—this; itaḥ—besides this; tu—but; anyām—another; prakṛitim—energy; viddhi—know; me—my; parām—superior; jīva-bhūtām—living beings; mahā-bāho—mighty-armed one; yayā—by whom; idam—this; dhāryate—the basis; jagat—the material world
English translation
O mighty-armed Arjuna, this is the inferior Prakriti; know it as distinct from My higher Prakriti, the very life-element, by which this world is upheld.
— Swami Sivananda
Listen to Shloka 7.5
Commentary
The eightfold Nature described in the previous verse is the inferior Nature. It constitutes the Kshetra or the field or matter. It is impure. It generates evil and causes bondage. But the superior Nature is pure. It is My very Self; Kshetrajna (knower of the field or Spirit) by which life is sustained; and that which enters within the whole world and upholds it. It is the very lifeelement or the principle of Selfconsciousness; by which this universe is sustained.
Commentary by Swami Sivananda
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