Devanagari
आदावन्ते च मध्ये च सृज्यात् सृज्यं यदन्वियात् ।
पुनस्तत्प्रतिसङ्क्रामे यच्छिष्येत तदेव सत् ॥ १६ ॥
Verse text
ādāv ante ca madhye ca
sṛjyāt sṛjyaṁ yad anviyāt
punas tat-pratisaṅkrāme
yac chiṣyeta tad eva sat
Synonyms
ādau
—
in the causal stage
;
ante
—
in the termination of the causal function
;
ca
—
also
;
madhye
—
in the phase of maintenance
;
ca
—
also
;
sṛjyāt
—
from one production
;
sṛjyam
—
to another production
;
yat
—
which
;
anviyāt
—
accompanies
;
punaḥ
—
again
;
tat
—
of all material phases
;
pratisaṅkrāme
—
in the annihilation
;
yat
—
which
;
śiṣyeta
—
remains
;
tat
—
that
;
eva
—
indeed
;
sat
—
the one eternal .
Translation
Commencement, termination and maintenance are the stages of material causation. That which consistently accompanies all these material phases from one creation to another and remains alone when all material phases are annihilated is the one eternal.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
That which is present at creation and destruction, which accompanies all the material phases from one creation to another and which remains alone at universal destruction is the one eternal Paramātmā.
There is only one entity, Paramātmā. That is again stated. That which exists during creation and, after transformation, during destruction--that which continues as the shelter while effect after effect is produced, and what remains after the final destruction, is the real and eternal cause. Though mahat-tattva is a cause of particular effects, it is not called the cause since it is not the cause of everything. The one Paramātmā is the final cause. Though these things exist, they are not eternal because they do not continue to exist during all phases of time. Paramātmā however exists at all times. At the stage of jṣāna one should see this oneness of Paramātmā.
Purport
The Lord here reiterates that the one Supreme Personality of Godhead is the basis of unlimited material variety. Material activity is a chain of cause-and-effect relationships by which innumerable objects are produced. A particular material effect is converted into a subsequent cause, and when the causal phase is terminated, the effect disappears. Fire causes firewood to burn to ashes, and when the causal function of fire is finished, fire itself, which was the effect of a previous cause, is also terminated. The simple fact is that all material objects are created, maintained and ultimately annihilated by the supreme potency of the Lord. And when the entire field of material cause and effect is withdrawn, so that all cause-effect relationships vanish, the Personality of Godhead remains in His own abode. Therefore, although innumerable objects may function as causes, they are not the ultimate or supreme cause. Only the Personality of Godhead is the absolute cause. Similarly, although material things may exist, they do not always exist. The Personality of Godhead alone has absolute existence. By the process of
jṣāna,
or knowledge, one should understand the supreme position of the Lord.