Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 4

English Translation

O son of Kunti, whatever forms are born from all the wombs, of them the great-sustainer is the womb; I am the father who deposits the seed.

Detailed Commentary

In all *yonis*, O Kaunteya, the forms that arise are of four types: *Jarāyuja* (born from a womb, like humans and animals), *Aṇḍaja* (born from an egg, like birds and serpents), *Svedaja* (born from sweat, like lice and nits), and *Udbhija* (born by breaking through the earth, like trees and creeping plants). These are the four sources of origin for all beings. From these, millions of *yonis* take birth. The forms of beings born in each *yoni* are distinct. Even within the same *yoni*, there are subtle or gross differences in the forms of born beings, meaning no two forms are exactly alike. For instance, in the human *yoni*, billions of bodies have been born over billions of years, yet to this day, no two human forms are identical. A poet once said: "Turban, destiny, speech, nature, form, sound, thought, and handwriting — none of these are ever identical even for two people." Thus, in the eighty-four lakh *yonis*, countless bodies have been born since beginningless time, and all their forms are distinct. Besides the eighty-four lakh *yonis*, deities, *pitṛs*, *Gandharvas*, *bhūtas*, *pretas*, etc., should also be considered under "all *yonis*" here. *Tāsām Brahma mahadyonirahaṁ bījapradaḥ pitā* — These four sources, meaning the eighty-four lakh *yonis*, are the places of origin for bodies, and the origin of all these *yonis* is *Mahad Brahma*, or original *Prakṛti*. I am the father who implants the seed in the form of the *jīva* into that original *Prakṛti*. The Lord implants His conscious essence, the seed, into various bodies of different colors and forms — this proves that the part of the *Paramātmā* residing in each being only appears different due to the distinctness of the bodies. In reality, the one *Paramātmā* is present in all beings (Gītā 13.2). This is explained with an analogy. Cloth and earth — both have a predominance of the same element. If cloth is placed in water, it sinks. Cloth is woven from warp (long threads) and weft (horizontal threads). Between each warp and weft, there is a subtle pore. Cloth has many such pores. When immersed in water, all the fibers of the cloth and its individual pores fill with water. Even when the cloth is removed from the water, the same water uniformly pervades its fibers and countless pores. In this analogy, the cloth is *Prakṛti*, the distinct countless pores are bodies, and the water pervading the cloth and its pores is the *Paramātma-tattva*. This means that from a gross perspective, the *Paramātma-tattva* appears distinct in each body, but from a subtle perspective, the one *Paramātma-tattva* pervades all bodies, all of existence. Connection: The discussion of how *jīvas*, born from the conjunction of *Paramātmā* and His power *Prakṛti*, become bound by *Prakṛti*-born qualities begins with the next verse.