8. prakrtim svam avastabhya
visrjami punah--punah
bhutagramam imam krtsnam
avasam prakrter vasat
(8) Taking hold of nature which is My own, I send forth again and again all this multitude of beings which are helpless, being under the control of nature (prakrti).
The unmanifested nature when lit up by the Unmanifested Self produces the objective universe with its different planes. The order and nature of development are determined by the seeds contained in nature. Only the Divine Self must take hold of it.
The ego is subject to the law of karma and is therefore helplessly obliged to take embodiment in the cosmic life. In IV, 6, it is said that the Divine assumes birth through His own maya, atmamayaya. Human souls are not lords of their action. While they are subject to nature, the Supreme controls nature and is not helplessly driven by prakrti through ignorance. In both cases, the means of creation is maya. In the divine embodiment, it is yogamaya, atmamaya, prakrti which is filled with the light and joy of the Supreme and acts under His control. In human embodiment, it is avidya maya". The human soul is entangled in ignorance and is helplessly bound in its work, through its subjection to prakrti.
9. na ca mam tam karmam
nibadhnanti dhanamjaya
udasinavad asinam
asaktam Iesu karmasu
(9) Nor do these works bind Me, 0 winner of wealth (Arjuna) , for I am seated as if indifferent, unattached in those actions.
Though the Supreme controls creation and dissolution, as their spirit and guide, He is not involved in them for He is above the procession of cosmic events. As it is the work of the nature which belongs to God, He is to be regarded as immanent in it, and yet in His cosmic side, He exceeds the cosmic series of things and events. God is thus unweariedly active in the play of the universe and yet above the universe and free from its laws. The Self is not bound by the cosmic wheel which it projects. Countless
individuals are born, grow, strive and suffer, die and come to birth again but the Self is for ever free They reap the fruits of their actions and are bound by their past acts but He is ever free. This evolution proceeds at the cosmic dawn and is withdrawn at the cosmic night.
10. maya 'dhyaksena prakrtih
suyate sacaracaram
hetuna 'vena kaunteya
jagged viparivartate
(10) Under My guidance, nature (prakrti) gives birth to all things, moving and unmoving and by this means, 0 Son of Kunti (Arjuna), the world revolves.
Krsna is here represented as the Supreme Self who pervades the universe, who supports all beings and yet is transcendent and
unaffected. Anandagiri advises that we should not raise the question of the purpose of creation. "We cannot say that it is meant for the enjoyment of the Supreme; for the Supreme really enjoys nothing. It is a pure consciousness, a mere witness. And there is no other enjoyer for there is no other conscious entity
.. nor is creation intended to secure moksa for it is opposed to moksa. Thus neither the question nor an answer to it is possible and there is no occasion for it, as creation is due to the maya of the Supreme." Cp. R.g. Veda: "Who could perceive (it)
directly, and who could declare whence born and why this variegated creation?[1]
Devotion to the Supreme brings its great reward: lesser devotions bring lesser rewards
