Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verse 19

English Translation

O son of Prtha, after being born again and again, that very multitude of beings disappears in spite of itself at the approach of night. It comes to life at the approach of day.

Detailed Commentary

।।8.19।। This aggregate of beings, "bhūtagrāmaḥ sa evāyam" – this community of creatures, caught in the cycle of birth and death since beginningless time, is indeed a part of Me. Being Sanatana, it is Nitya. It existed during Sarga and Pralaya, and will continue to exist in the future. It is never destroyed. Through error, it assumes a relationship with Prakriti. While the body and other material things keep changing, it clings to this relationship. It is astonishing that though the objects of relationship perish, the relationship itself persists. Until it relinquishes this relationship, no one else can free it. It is independent in letting go of this bond, yet it continuously forms new ones. Childhood, youth, and the body are not deliberately abandoned by it, yet they are still shed. Prakrita objects keep leaving it, yet the Jiva maintains its connection with those objects, due to which it repeatedly experiences birth and death. Until it relinquishes this bond, the cycle of birth and death will continue. The Lord manifested this community of beings as a toy for the exchange of love. But this being forgot how to play and began to consider bodies as its personal possessions. The phrase "bhutvā bhutvā pralīyate" refers to bodies, which are repeatedly born and destroyed. The Jiva mistakes the changes in those bodies as its own. The Jiva is of the nature of Sat — "this multitude of beings is indeed that" — while bodies are perishable, "coming into being again and again, they dissolve." Therefore, assuming bodies is a foreign dharma (paradharma), and liberation is its own dharma (svadharma). "rātryāgame'vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavatyaharāgame" – The meaning of "avaśaḥ" is that if the Jiva considers the objects of Prakriti as its own, it becomes dependent (paravaśa). The more it appropriates Prakrita objects, the more it becomes bound (paratantra). Even with Brahmaji's Sarga and Pralaya, this Jiva is not freed from birth, death, and Karma. Until the attainment of the Paramatma and the relinquishing of the bond with Prakriti, this dependence does not end. Its helplessness lies in giving importance to objects born of Prakriti. As long as it harbors desires for happiness, it remains subordinate. This dependence is self-created. It can abandon it whenever it wishes. Connection – Now, in the following verse, the special glory of the Paramatma, who is attainable by beings, will be described.