Shloka

प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुनः पुनः |
भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात् ||९-८||

Transliteration

prakṛtiṃ svāmavaṣṭabhya visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ .
bhūtagrāmamimaṃ kṛtsnamavaśaṃ prakṛtervaśāt ||9-8||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

9.8. Taking hold of My own nature I send forth again and again this entire host of beings, which is powerless under the control of [My] nature.

Shri Purohit Swami

9.8 With the help of Nature, again and again I pour forth the whole multitude of beings, whether they will or no, for they are ruled by My Will.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

9.8 Prakrtim etc. Taking hold of My own nature : By this much [of statement] it is explained that this host of Beings, though itself insentient, attains luminosity as it is linked to the Absolute nature of [Consciousness]

Sri Ramanuja

9.8 Operating My Prakrti, with its wonderfully variegated potency, I develop it eightfold and send forth this fourfold aggregate of beings, gods, animals, men and inanimate things, time after time. All these entities are helpless, being under the sway of My Prakrti comprising the three Gunas which can cause delusion.

If this is so, it may be urged, inealities of creation can be said to affect the Lord with cruelty, partiality etc. To this, the Lord answers:

Sri Shankaracharya

9.8 Thus avastabhya, keeping under control; svam, My own; prakrtim, Prakrti, which is charcterized as nescience; visrjami, I project forth; punah, punah, again and again; the krtsnam, whole of; imam, this; existing bhuta-gramam, multitude of beings which are born of Prakrti; which, being under another’s sub-jugation due to such defects [See under 8.19, introductory Commentary.-Tr.] as ignorance etc., are avasam, powerless, not independent; prakrteh vasat, under the influence of their own nature. ‘In that case, You, who are the supreme God and who ordain this multitude of beings uneally, will become associated with virtue and vice as a result of that act?’ In aswer the Lord says this"

Swami Adidevananda

9.8 Controlling the Prakrti, which is My own, I send forth again and again all this multitude of beings, helpless under the sway of Prakrti.

Swami Gambirananda

9.8 Keeping My own prakrti under control, I project forth again and again the whole of this multitude of beings which are powerless owing to the influence of (their own) nature.

Swami Sivananda

9.8 Animating My Nature, I again and again send forth all this multitude of beings, helpless by the force of the Nature.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

9.8 प्रकृतिम् Nature? स्वाम् My own? अवष्टभ्य having animated? विसृजामि (I) send forth? पुनः again? पुनः again? भूतग्रामम् multitude of beings? इमम् this? कृत्स्नम् all? अवशम् helpless? प्रकृतेः of Nature? वशात् by force.Commentary The Lord leans on? presses or embraces Nature. He invigorates and fertilises Nature which had gone to sleep at the end of the Mahakalpa or universal dissolution and projects again and again this whole multitude of beings. He gazes at each level and plane after plane comes into being.The term Prakriti denotes or indicates the five Kleshas or afflictions? viz.? Avidya (ignorance)? Asmita (egoism)? Raga (likes)? Dvesha (dislikes) and Abhinivesa (clinging to earthly life). (Cf.IV.6)