Bhagavad Gita 9.8: meaning and translation
Chapter 9: Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga. Krishna says
Krishna says that, taking hold of his own nature, he sends forth again and again this whole host of beings, which are helpless under the power of nature (prakṛti).
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Bhagavad Gita 9.8
प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुनः पुनः ।भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात् ॥
Prakritim svamavashtabhya visrijami punah punahBhutagramamimam kritsnamavasham prakritervashat
prakṛtiṃ svāmavaṣṭabhya visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ |bhūtagrāmamimaṃ kṛtsnamavaśaṃ prakṛtervaśāt ||
Our explanation Krishna says that, taking hold of his own nature, he sends forth again and again this whole host of beings, which are helpless under the power of nature (prakṛti).
हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि अपनी प्रकृति का आश्रय लेकर वे प्राणियों के इस पूरे समूह को बार-बार रचते हैं, जो प्रकृति के वश में होने से विवश है।
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- प्रकृतिम् prakṛtim · nature (noun (feminine), accusative singular) Dictionary: pra-kṛti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 654, col. 1 “nature, character, constitution, temper, disposition”
- स्वाम् svām · own (pronominal adjective (feminine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. sva, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1275, col. 1 “own, one's own”
- अवष्टभ्य avaṣṭabhya · taking hold of (absolutive (having done)) Dictionary: ava-ṣṭambh, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 104, col. 2 “to lean or rest upon”
- विसृजामि visṛjāmi · "I send forth" (present, 1st person singular) Dictionary: vi-sṛj, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 1001, col. 1 “to send or pour forth, let go or run or flow, discharge, emit”
- पुनः punaḥ · again (indeclinable) Dictionary: punar, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 633, col. 2 “again, once more”
- पुनः punaḥ · again (indeclinable) Dictionary: punar, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 633, col. 2 “again, once more”
- भूतग्रामम् bhūtagrāmam · host of beings (compound (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: bhūta-grāma, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 761, col. 3; bhūta-gaṇa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 761, col. 3 “the host of living beings”
- इमम् imam · this (pronoun (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: 1. idam, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 165, col. 2
- कृत्स्नम् kṛtsnam · whole (adjective (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: kṛtsna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 304, col. 3 “all, whole, entire”
- अवशम् avaśam · helpless (adjective (masculine), accusative singular) Dictionary: a-vaśa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 104, col. 1 “not having one's own free will”
- प्रकृतेः prakṛteḥ · of nature (noun (feminine), genitive singular) Dictionary: pra-kṛti, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 654, col. 1 “nature, character, constitution, temper, disposition”
- वशात् vaśāt · by the power (noun (masculine), ablative singular) Dictionary: 1. vaśa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 929, col. 2 “authority, power, control, dominion”
Old translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 82.
Taking the control of my own nature1, I bring forth again and again this whole collection of entities, without a will of its own2, by the power of nature.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) Compare 3 translations
Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 82.
Taking the control of my own nature1, I bring forth again and again this whole collection of entities, without a will of its own2, by the power of nature.
Footnotes (the translator’s own) You are reading this one
Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 88.
Abiding Prakriti's Lord, I send forth again and again all this multitude of beings, without their force, by the force of Prakriti.
You are reading this one
Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 179.
Animating My Prakriti, I project again and again this whole multitude of beings, helpless under the sway of Prakriti.
You are reading this one
Cite this verse
The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 82. Bhagavad Gita 9.8.
The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 88. Bhagavad Gita 9.8.
The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 179. Bhagavad Gita 9.8.
Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 9.8: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 27, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/9/8/
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Bhagavad Gita 9.8
प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुनः पुनः ।
भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात् ॥
“Taking the control of my own nature, I bring forth again and again this whole collection of entities, without a will of its own, by the power of nature.”
(K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 82, public domain)
“Abiding Prakriti's Lord, I send forth again and again all this multitude of beings, without their force, by the force of Prakriti.”
(Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 88, public domain)
“Animating My Prakriti, I project again and again this whole multitude of beings, helpless under the sway of Prakriti.”
(Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), p. 179, public domain)
Sanskrit: G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922.
https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/9/8/ Nothing is sent from this site. Your own app sends it, to the chat you choose. The picture quotes the translation you chose on this page, with its name and year.
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes
Questions families ask
Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 9.8?
Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 9 (Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga).
Where does the Sanskrit text come from?
Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source
Is the meaning on this page a translation?
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Source and licence
- Sanskrit text
- The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
- Translation
- The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Translation
- Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
- Common wording
- In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Our explanation
- Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
- Checked
- Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
- Updated
- October 27, 2026