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Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 9.19
तपाम्यहमहं वर्षं निगृह्णाम्युत्सृजामि च ।
अमृतं चैव मृत्युश्च सदसच्चाहमर्जुन ॥ १९ ॥
tapāmy aham ahaṁ varṣaṁ
nigṛhṇāmy utsṛjāmi ca
amṛtaṁ caiva mṛtyuś ca
sad asac cāham arjuna
O Arjuna, I give heat, and I withhold and send forth the rain. I am immortality, and I am also death personified. Both spirit and matter are in Me.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioWhat this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.
3 study points
Kṛṣṇa gives heat, withholds and sends rain, and is both immortality and death. Spirit and matter are in Him.
Prabhupāda explains that these are Kṛṣṇa’s different energies. For Kṛṣṇa, there is no distinction between matter and spirit.
Reflect on these energies to understand how one advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness sees only Kṛṣṇa in everything.
For Krishna, there is no distinction between matter and spirit; He is both matter and spirit. In advanced stages of consciousness one can see Krishna in everything
Study translation for all the points
‘Immortality’ — The energy which sustains us and which prolongs the duration of life
Duratmas – Fools who think Krishna’s form is ordinary are defeated in their endeavours (9.11 – 9.12)
Mahatmas – Those who know that Krishna has a transcendental form take shelter of Him and worship Him (9.13 – 9.14)
Indirect worshippers – All who take shelter of a conception of Supreme and worship it, are ultimately worshipping Krishna, but they worship Him indirectly – These are of 3 types:
Ekatvena – the monist, the lowest, worships himself as one with the Supreme (9.11 – 9.12)
Visvato-mukham – a worshiper of the material, universal form is the best (9.16 – 9.19)
Prthakvena – a demigod worshiper, is situated higher than the ‘ekatvena’ (9.20 – 9.25)
Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.
The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.
Key ideas: bhagavān, vibhūti.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does BG 9.19 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to krishna’s nature?
Notice something excellent and see it as His opulence.
Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.
Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.