Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 14, Verse 3

मम योनिर्महद् ब्रह्म तस्मिन्गर्भं दधाम्यहम् । सम्भवः सर्वभूतानां ततो भवति भारत

mama yonirmahad brahma tasmingarbhaṃ dadhāmyaham | sambhavaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ tato bhavati bhārata

Translation

My womb is the great Brahman; in that I place the germ; thence, O Bhārata, is the birth of all beings.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

mama

my

yoniḥ

womb

mahadbrahma

the great Brahman

tasmin

in this

garbham

the germ

dadhāmi

place

aham

I

sambhavaḥ

the birth

sarvabhūtānām

of all beings

tataḥ

thence

bhavati

becomes

bhārata

O Bhārata

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

"My womb": My own Prakṛti — i.e., the Prakṛti which belongs to Me, the Māyā made up of the three guṇas, the material cause of all beings. This Prakṛti is spoken of as great because it is greater than all effects; and as the source and nourishing energy of all Its modifications, It is termed Brahman. In that Great Brahman I place the germ, the seed of the birth of Hiraṇyagarbha, the seed which gives birth to all beings. I who am possessed of the two potencies (Śaktis), the two Prakṛtis of Kṣetra and the Kṣetrajña, unite the Kṣetrajña with Kṣetra, the Kṣetrajña conforming Himself to the upādhis of avidyā (nescience), kāma (desire), and karma (action). This act of impregnation gives rise to the birth of all beings through the birth of Hiraṇyagarbha.