Bhagavad-gītā 7.6

Explain simply

Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa

एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय ।
अहं कृत्स्नस्य जगतः प्रभवः प्रलयस्तथा ॥६॥

etad-yonīni bhūtāni
sarvāṇīty upadhāraya
ahaṁ kṛtsnasya jagataḥ
prabhavaḥ pralayas tathā

Word for word (synonyms)

etat
these two natures
yonīni
source of birth
bhūtāni
everything created
sarvāṇi
all
iti
thus
upadhāraya
know
aham
I
kṛtsnasya
all-inclusive
jagataḥ
of the world
prabhavaḥ
source of manifestation
pralayaḥ
annihilation
tathā
as well as

Translation

Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both its origin and dissolution.

Purport

Other scriptures cited in this purport: Kaṭha Upaniṣad

Everything that exists is a product of matter and spirit. Spirit is the basic field of creation, and matter is created by spirit. Spirit is not created at a certain stage of material development. Rather, this material world is manifested only on the basis of spiritual energy. This material body is developed because spirit is present within matter; a child grows gradually to boyhood and then to manhood because of that superior energy, spirit soul, being present. Similarly, the entire cosmic manifestation of the gigantic universe is developed because of the presence of the Supersoul, Viṣṇu. Therefore spirit and matter, which combine together to manifest this gigantic universal form, are originally two energies of the Lord, and consequently the Lord is the original cause of everything. A fragmental part and parcel of the Lord, namely, the living entity, may by manipulation of material energy construct a skyscraper, factory or city, but he cannot create matter out of nothing, and he certainly cannot construct a planet or a universe. The cause of the universe is the Supersoul, Kṛṣṇa, the supreme creator of all individual souls and the original cause of all causes, as the Kaṭha Upaniṣad confirms: nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām.

What this verse teaches

Kṛṣṇa is the creator and destroyer

In thematic compilations 2

Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

  • Kṛṣṇa is both the origin and the dissolution of everything in this world. (7.6 etad-yonīni bhūtani...)

The Five Topics

  • Īśvara is the source of jīva and prakṛti, which are His superior and inferior energies respectively (7.4-7).
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 3

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.