Shloka 19
विभूति-योगः (Vibhūti-yoga) — Exemplary Manifestations as a Contemplative Index
१८ ।। भूतग्राम: स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते । रात्यागमेडवश: पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे,हे पार्थ!! वही यह भूतसमुदाय उत्पन्न हो-होकर प्रकृतिके वशमें हुआ रात्रिके प्रवेशकालमें लीन होता है और दिनके प्रवेशकालमें फिर उत्पन्न होता हैः
bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate | rātryāgame 'vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavaty aharāgame ||
O Pārtha, this very multitude of beings comes into existence again and again, and again and again dissolves away. Helpless under the sway of Prakṛti, it merges at the coming of night and is born anew at the coming of day.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
All beings repeatedly arise and dissolve in a cosmic cycle; individual creatures are not fully autonomous but are carried along by Prakṛti’s processes. The ethical implication is humility and steadiness: do one’s duty without clinging to transient outcomes.
In the Bhīṣma Parva dialogue on the battlefield, Arjuna is being instructed about the nature of existence. This verse frames worldly life as recurring creation and dissolution—‘night’ and ‘day’ as cosmic phases—setting a backdrop for acting with discernment amid war and change.