Devanagari
प्रकृतिर्यस्योपादानमाधारः पुरुषः परः ।
सतोऽभिव्यञ्जकः कालो ब्रह्म तत्त्रितयं त्वहम् ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
prakṛtir yasyopādānam
ādhāraḥ puruṣaḥ paraḥ
sato ’bhivyaṣjakaḥ kālo
brahma tat tritayaṁ tv aham
Synonyms
prakṛtiḥ
—
material nature
;
yasya
—
of which (produced manifestation of the universe)
;
upādānam
—
the ingredient cause
;
ādhāraḥ
—
the foundation
;
puruṣaḥ
—
the Personality of Godhead
;
paraḥ
—
Supreme
;
sataḥ
—
of the real (nature)
;
abhivyaṣjakaḥ
—
the agitating agent
;
kālaḥ
—
time
;
brahma
—
the Absolute Truth
;
tat
—
this
;
tritayam
—
group of three
;
tu
—
but
;
aham
—
I .
Translation
The material universe may be considered real, having nature as its original ingredient and final state. Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu is the resting place of nature, which becomes manifest by the power of time. Thus nature, the almighty Viṣṇu and time are not different from Me, the Supreme Absolute Truth.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Prakrṭi is the material cause, the puruṣa is the foundational cause. Time, the indirect cause, is the agitator of prakṛti. I am all three.
How is the Supreme Lord the highest cause? Prakṛti is famous as the material cause (upādāna) of the effect, the universe. The puruṣa (Supreme Lord) is the adhiṣṭhāna-kāraṇa, the foundational cause (ādhāraḥ), according to some. Time is the indirect cause (nimitta), agitating the guṇas. I, as Brahman, am all of these three, since prakṛti is my śakti, the puruṣa is my aṁśa, and time is my form of action. Because prakṛti is the material cause, I am the material of the universe. But though matter undergoes change, I do not. Though prakṛti is my śakti, it is not my svarūpa-śakti but my external energy. I am famous in scriptures as being beyond māyā in my svarūpā.
Purport
Material nature is the energy of the Lord, Mahā-Viṣṇu is His plenary portion, and time represents the Lord’s activity. In this way, time and nature are always subservient to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who creates, maintains and annihilates all that exists through the agency of His potencies and plenary portions. In other words, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth because He contains all existence within Himself.