Devanagari
अयं हि जीवस्त्रिवृदब्जयोनि-
रव्यक्त एको वयसा स आद्य: ।
विश्लिष्टशक्तिर्बहुधेव भाति
बीजानि योनिं प्रतिपद्य यद्वत् ॥ २० ॥
Verse text
ayaṁ hi jīvas tri-vṛd abja-yonir
avyakta eko vayasā sa ādyaḥ
viśliṣṭa-śaktir bahudheva bhāti
bījāni yoniṁ pratipadya yadvat
Synonyms
ayam
—
this
;
hi
—
certainly
;
jīvaḥ
—
the supreme living entity who gives life to others
;
tri
—
vṛt — containing the three modes of material nature
;
abja
—
of the universal lotus flower
;
yoniḥ
—
the source
;
avyaktaḥ
—
unmanifest (materially)
;
ekaḥ
—
alone
;
vayasā
—
in course of time
;
saḥ
—
He
;
ādyaḥ
—
eternal
;
viśliṣṭa
—
divided
;
śaktiḥ
—
potencies
;
bahudhā
—
in many divisions
;
iva
—
like
;
bhāti
—
He appears
;
bījāni
—
seeds
;
yonim
—
in an agricultural field
;
pratipadya
—
falling
;
yat
—
vat — just like .
Translation
When many seeds are placed in an agricultural field, innumerable manifestations of trees, bushes, vegetables and so on will arise from a single source, the soil. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who gives life to all and is eternal, originally exists beyond the scope of the cosmic manifestation. In the course of time, however, the Lord, who is the resting place of the three modes of nature and the source of the universal lotus flower, in which the cosmic manifestation takes place, divides His material potencies and thus appears to be manifest in innumerable forms, although He is one.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord becomes the Lord made of the three guṇas. He is one entity and invisible, but by time, possessing many energies, he becomes many forms, just as a seed on attaining a womb becomes many sprouts.
In order to say that the material world manifested from the Lord is not different from the Lord, first the Lord is described. This Lord (jīvaḥ) is the cause of the worlds composed of the lotus of Brahmā, being the form of māyā made of three guṇas. First of all, before the creation, he was one, with no manifestation of the world. In time, he becomes the Lord (ādyaḥ) who is composed of matter, many śaktis which are divided, such as the voice, and manifest as many forms such as devatās and humans. An example of one object becoming many is described. It is like seeds which obtain a suitable womb. From one seed many sprouts grow.
Purport
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.