ममाइवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः । मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ॥
mamāivāṃśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ | manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati ||
The jīva is an eternal fragment of Me — drawing the 6-sense apparatus (5 senses + mind) toward itself in Prakṛti.
Word by word (3)
- mamāivāṃśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
- — an eternal (sanātana) portion/fragment (aṃśa) of Me alone (mamaiva) has become the individual soul (jīva-bhūtaḥ) in the world of living beings (jīva-loke)
- manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhāni indriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni
- — the senses (indriyāṇi), with mind (manas) as the sixth (ṣaṣṭha), which abide in Prakṛti (prakṛti-sthāni) — the 6-fold sense apparatus situated in material nature
- karṣati
- — draws/attracts (karṣati) — the jīva, individuated, draws the sense-apparatus to itself; karṣati implies effort, pulling, even a kind of struggle
An eternal fragment of My own self has become the individual living soul in the world of living beings. It draws to itself the five senses and mind — the sixth — all abiding in material nature.
A modern analogy
A single flame can light a thousand lamps without diminishing. Each lamp-flame is a portion of fire, with its own wick (body) and oil (karma). Yet all fire is one fire. The jīva is like a lamp-flame — a real portion, burning genuinely, yet the original fire is undiminished.
Having described the supreme dhāma (V6), Krishna now explains why the jīva is not already there — because the eternal fragment (aṃśa) has 'become' an individuated soul by drawing the sense-apparatus of Prakṛti. This is the mechanism of apparent individuation. The question V7 raises implicitly is: how does the eternal and pure fragment come to be bound? The answer will unfold through V8-V11.
The word aṃśa (fragment/portion) is philosophically charged. Śaṅkara's Advaita reads it as upādhi-baddha — the aṃśa is due to limiting adjuncts (upādhis), not an actual division of Brahman. Rāmānuja's Viśiṣṭādvaita reads it as genuinely distinct portions, Brahman as the whole. For both, the jīva's sanātanatva (eternal nature) is maintained. Karṣati (draws) shows the jīva actively pulling — this is the seat of ego, the root of saṃsāra.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
A ray of Myself, the eternal Jiva in the world of Jivas, attracts the senses, with manas the sixth, abiding in Prakrti. [1]
An eternal portion of Myself having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to itself the five senses with the mind for the sixth, abiding in Prakrti. [4]
An eternal portion of me it is, which, becoming an individual soul in the mortal world, draws to itself the senses with the mind as the sixth, abiding in nature. [9]
An eternal portion of me it is, which, becoming an individual soul in the mortal world, draws to itself the senses with the mind as the sixth. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
From all wombs all bodies arise — but the great Brahman is the womb and Krishna the seed-giving Father.
Arjuna sees his own people ready to die — and his body breaks before his mind can argue.
Better to die with clean hands than to win with blood on them.
Cast off this petty weakness of heart — rise. This is not who you are.
Dying in rajas, one is born among the action-attached; dying in tamas, one is born in irrational wombs.
Holding that nihilistic view, ruined selves of limited mind and fierce action, they rise as enemies of the world.