Bhagavad Gita BG 7.5
Chapter 7, Verse 5 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् । जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥
apareyam itas tv anyam prakrtim viddhi me param jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dhAryate jagat
Meaning
This is the lower (apara). But know My other, higher (para) nature — the life-force (jiva-bhuta), O Mighty-armed, by which this world is upheld.
Understanding
The crucial distinction: aparA (lower) vs. parA (higher) Prakriti. The lower (v4) is the inert material universe. The higher is jiva-bhuta — 'having become the jiva' — the living principle, consciousness, the individual soul. Yaya idam dhAryate jagat — by which this world is UPHELD (not just inhabited). The living Consciousness that inhabits and upholds the universe — that is the para prakriti, the higher nature. This consciousness is both the individual soul (jiva) and the Supreme (both are expressions of the same para prakriti).
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| अपरा | apara | lower, inferior |
| परा | para | higher, superior, supreme |
| जीवभूताम् | jiva-bhutam | having become the jiva (life/soul), the living principle |
| धार्यते | dharyate | is upheld, is sustained, is maintained |
| जगत् | jagat | the world, the universe |
| अपरा | aparā | inferior, lower |
| इयम् | iyam | this |
| इतः | itaḥ | from this, beyond this |
| तु | tu | but, however |
| अन्याम् | anyām | another, different |
| प्रकृतिम् | prakṛtim | nature, energy |
| विद्धि | viddhi | know, understand |
| मे | me | My |
| पराम् | parām | higher, superior |
| महाबाहो | mahābāho | O mighty-armed one |
| यया | yayā | by which |
| इदम् | idam | this (world) |