Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 20
Sādhu-saṅga, the Gopīs’ Prema, and the Veda’s Culmination in Exclusive Surrender
अयं हि जीवस्त्रिवृदब्जयोनि- रव्यक्त एको वयसा स आद्य: । विश्लिष्टशक्तिर्बहुधेव भाति बीजानि योनिं प्रतिपद्य यद्वत् ॥ २० ॥
ayaṁ hi jīvas tri-vṛd abja-yonir avyakta eko vayasā sa ādyaḥ viśliṣṭa-śaktir bahudheva bhāti bījāni yoniṁ pratipadya yadvat
Wie viele Samen, die in ein Feld gelegt werden, aus einer einzigen Quelle — dem Boden — unzählige Bäume, Sträucher und Gemüse hervorbringen, so existiert die Höchste Persönlichkeit Gottes, ewig und lebensspendend, ursprünglich jenseits der kosmischen Manifestation im unmanifesten Zustand. Im Lauf der Zeit, als Zuflucht der drei guṇa und Quelle des universalen Lotus, teilt Er Seine materiellen Potenzen und scheint in unzähligen Formen zu erscheinen, obwohl Er Einer ist.
Śrīla Vīrarāghavācārya comments that one may question as to whom the cosmic manifestation, consisting of demigods, men, animals, plants, planets, space, etc., actually belongs. Lord Kṛṣṇa now eradicates any doubt about the source of the cosmic manifestation. The word tri-vṛt indicates that the three modes of nature are not independent but are under superior control. The suffix vṛt means the vartanam, or “existence,” of the three modes of material nature within the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Analyzing the term abja-yoni, ap indicates “water,” and ja indicates “birth.” Thus abja means the complex material universe, which sprouts from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who lies in the Garbhodaka Ocean. Yoni, or “source,” indicates the Personality of Godhead, and thus abja-yoni means that the Lord is the source of all cosmic manifestations; indeed, all creation takes place within the Lord. Since the three modes of material nature are under the superior control of the Lord, material objects helplessly undergo creation and annihilation within the universal shell by the will of the Lord. The term avyakta indicates the Lord’s subtle spiritual form, which exists alone before the material creation. The Lord’s original form, being spiritual, does not undergo birth, transformation or death. It is eternal. In the course of time, the Lord’s material potencies are divided and manifest as bodies, bodily paraphernalia, sense objects, bodily expansions, false ego and false proprietorship. Thus the Lord expands His conscious living potency called jīva-śakti, which is manifest in innumerable material forms such as those of men, demigods, animals, and so on. From the example of the seeds sown in an agricultural field, we can understand that innumerable manifestations may arise from a single source. Similarly, although the Lord is one, He becomes manifest in innumerable forms through the expansion of His different potencies.
FAQs
This verse explains that the jīva is originally one and unchanged, but appears as many due to the differentiated expression of energies and the soul’s association with various material wombs—like seeds producing different forms when placed in different conditions.
Krishna is instructing Uddhava in spiritual discernment: to see the soul as eternal and unchanging, and to understand bodily variety as a product of material nature (the three guṇas), helping Uddhava become detached and fixed in devotion.
Identify yourself as the steady self (ātman) rather than shifting roles, moods, or labels; this reduces anxiety and attachment, and supports steady bhakti and wise decision-making amid changing circumstances.