ayaṠhi jīvas tri-vṛd abja-yonir
avyakta eko vayasÄ sa Ädyaḥ
viÅ›liá¹£á¹a-Å›aktir bahudheva bhÄti
bÄ«jÄni yoniá¹ pratipadya yadvat
ayam - this; hi - certainly; jÄ«vaḥ - the supreme living entity who gives life to others; tri-vá¹›t - containing the three modes of material nature; abja - of the universal lotus flower; yoniḥ - the source; avyaktaḥ - unmanifest (materially); ekaḥ - alone; vayasÄ - in course of time; saḥ - He; Ädyaḥ - eternal; viÅ›liá¹£á¹a - divided; Å›aktiḥ - potencies; bahudhÄ - in many divisions; iva - like; bhÄti - He appears; bÄ«jÄni - seeds; yonim - in an agricultural field; pratipadya - falling; yat-vat - just like.
ÅšrÄ«la VÄ«rarÄghavÄcÄrya 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-vá¹›t indicates that the three modes of nature are not independent but are under superior control. The suffix vá¹›t 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 GarbhodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« 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 jÄ«va-Å›akti, 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.