Bg. 8.19 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

भूतग्राम: स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते । रात्र्यागमेऽवश: पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे ॥ १९ ॥

Verse text

bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate rātry-āgame ’vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavaty ahar-āgame

Synonyms

bhūta-grāmaḥ — the aggregate of all living entities ; saḥ — these ; eva — certainly ; ayam — this ; bhūtvā bhūtvā — repeatedly taking birth ; pralīyate — is annihilated ; rātri — of night ; āgame — on the arrival ; avaśaḥ — automatically ; pārtha — O son of Pṛthā ; prabhavati — is manifest ; ahaḥ — of daytime ; āgame — on the arrival.

Translation

Again and again, when Brahmā’s day arrives, all living entities come into being, and with the arrival of Brahmā’s night they are helplessly annihilated.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

19. In this way all the moving and non-moving entities, having appeared, disappear at the coming of night, beyond their control, and reappear at the approach of day.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

19. In this way all the moving and non-moving entities, having appeared, disappear at the coming of night, and reappear at the approach of day, under control of karma.

Purport

The less intelligent, who try to remain within this material world, may be elevated to higher planets and then again must come down to this planet earth. During the daytime of Brahmā they can exhibit their activities on higher and lower planets within this material world, but at the coming of Brahmā’s night they are all annihilated. In the day they receive various bodies for material activities, and at night they no longer have bodies but remain compact in the body of Viṣṇu. Then again they are manifest at the arrival of Brahmā’s day. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate: during the day they become manifest, and at night they are annihilated again. Ultimately, when Brahmā’s life is finished, they are all annihilated and remain unmanifest for millions and millions of years. And when Brahmā is born again in another millennium they are again manifest. In this way they are captivated by the spell of the material world. But those intelligent persons who take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness use the human life fully in the devotional service of the Lord, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Thus they transfer themselves, even in this life, to the spiritual planet of Kṛṣṇa and become eternally blissful there, not being subject to such rebirths.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Thus, all the moving and non-moving living entities (bhūtā-grāmaḥ), after appearing, repeated disappear.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

But if they all disappear, they may not appear again. This fear arises from the logic that once being destroyed a thing will not manifest again. This verse refutes that idea. All moving and non-moving beings under the control of their karmas (avaśaḥ) appear at the commencement of the day. The meaning here is that the intelligent person will become detached from this world, understanding that the world is disturbed by such a flow of birth and death.

Surrender Unto Me

This is explained to us to break our attachments to the material world and the temporary things within it. From the highest planets of this material world (Brahmaloka) to the lowest, they are all places of misery, because of this fact: created, destroyed, created, deatroyed,... on and on. And each and every destruction rips from us, everyone of our material attachments. Birth and death, birth and death, repeatedly. Krsna kindly gives us this perspective to awaken within us a desire for material renunciation and material detachment, knowing that there is no proper situation within this material world, for the eternal soul. Srila Prabhupada says in his Purport: "Ultimately, when Brahma's life is finished, they are all annihilated and remain unmanifest for millions and millions of years. And when Brahma is born again in another millennium they are again manifest. In this way they are captivated by the spell of the material world. But those intelligent persons who take to Krsna consciousness use the human life fully in the devotional service of the Lord, chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Thus they transfer themselves, even in this life, to the spiritual planet of Krsna and become eternally blissful there, not being subject to rebirths." After hearing about this continuously, unavoidable creations and anihilations, Krsna says, [ 2 . Beyond the manifest and unmanifest nature of the material world is the supreme spiritual abode which is eternal, transcendental, and infallible. Once having gone there, one never returns. Although the Lord is all pervading, He is present in that abode and attainable by unalloyed devotion. (20‑22) ]