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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 8.19
भूतग्राम: स एवायं भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते ।
रात्र्यागमेऽवश: पार्थ प्रभवत्यहरागमे ॥ १९ ॥
bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ
bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate
rātry-āgame ’vaśaḥ pārtha
prabhavaty ahar-āgame
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.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Again and again, living beings appear with Brahmā’s day and are helplessly annihilated when his night comes.
Prabhupāda explains that they receive bodies for material activities during the day and remain without bodies within Viṣṇu at night.
Use human life for devotional service and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This leads to Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual planet, with eternal happiness and no more rebirth.
These notes cover verses 8.17–19
In comparison to spiritual world, Material world is a place of repeated creation and destruction
Material world is
Miserable and
Temporary
Because, here everyone must suffer –
Birth, Old age, disease, death (8.16)
Constant creation and annihilation (8.17 – 8.19) – ‘Bhutva Bhutva praliyate’
Duration of material universe is limited
1 kalpa = 1 day of Brahma = 12 hours of Brahma = 1 night of Brahma
1 kalpa = 1,000 yuga cycles. Each cycle has the following four yugas in this order and duration:
Satya-yuga = 1,728,000 years
Treta-yuga = 1,296,000 years
Dvapara-yuga = 8,64,000 years
Kali-yuga = 4,32,000 years
One lifespan of Brahma = 100 years of Brahma = 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years
Analogy:
Brahma’s lifespan as compared to eternity is like lightning flash
Causal ocean has innumerable Brahmas like bubbles in Atlantic
Brahmaloka if compared to material planets — not free from birth, disease, old-age and death
Who goes to Brahmaloka — Elevated sannyasis
Fate of Brahma — Because of service to the Lord, gets liberation
Bhutva Bhutva praliyate — Repeated creation and destruction because of being captivated by illusory energy – Explained as follows
Annihilation at Brahma’s night – all living entities remain compact in body of Vishnu.
Again manifest at arrival of day.
End of Brahma’s life all living entities remain unmanifest for millions of years, again to be manifest in another millennium FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORTS 8.17 – 8.19 continued…
3 types of annihilation a living entity experiences (as per the purport), with respect to Brahma’s life
At death of the living entity every time he takes a body
End of Brahma’s day
End of Brahma’s life
Intelligent persons– Take to Krishna Consciousness
Use human life fully in Devotional Service, chanting Hare Krishna.
No more Rebirths – Transfer in this life to the spiritual planet of Krishna and become eternally blissful
Texts 8.19 & Texts 8.20
Krishna compares material world with spiritual nature in Texts 8.17 — 8.22
Glories of supreme abode
Material world is continually being created and destroyed
Beyond this ocean of creation and destruction lies Krishna’s abode, where He is present and can be attained only by unalloyed devotion to Him
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: mokṣa, dhāma.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 8.19 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to liberation & destiny?
Reflect on what you want to remember at life's end.
Mahābhārata episodes and stories from the purports that shed light on this verse.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.