अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् । प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया ॥
ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san | prakṛtiṃ svām adhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā ||
Though unborn, imperishable, Lord of all — I come into being through My own Māyā. Divine birth is free, not compelled.
Word by word (3)
- ajaḥ api san avyaya-ātmā
- — though unborn, though of imperishable Self · Aja = unborn (a+ja, from jan = to be born). Api san = even though being so. Avyaya-ātmā = of imperishable Self (avyaya = undecaying; ātmā = Self). The paradox stated directly: the one who is unborn by nature nonetheless takes birth. The eternal manifests in time without becoming temporal.
- bhūtānām īśvaraḥ api san
- — though being the Lord of all beings · Bhūtānām = of all beings (genitive plural). Īśvara = Lord, controller (from īś = to rule). Despite being the sovereign of all existence, Krishna enters creation — not driven by karma (as ordinary beings are) but by free divine will (ātma-māyā).
- prakṛtiṃ svām adhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmi ātma-māyayā
- — presiding over My own Prakriti, I come into being through My own Māyā · Prakṛtim svām = My own Prakriti (divine nature, not the binding material Prakriti). Adhiṣṭhāya = presiding over, taking control of (adhi+sthā). Sambhavāmi = I come into being, I manifest (sam+bhū). Ātma-māyayā = through My own Māyā (ātma = own/Self; māyā = the creative power — not illusion here but divine creative capacity). The divine manifests by its own sovereign power, not by necessity.
Though I am unborn, of imperishable Self, and the Lord of all beings — presiding over My own Prakriti, I come into being through My own Māyā.
A modern analogy
A playwright can enter their own play as a character — not because the play's logic compels them but because they choose to. They are simultaneously the author and a character, subject to the play's rules only insofar as they choose. V6: Krishna enters creation like this — freely, not driven by karma, fully aware of the larger story.
Take with you
- Ātma-māyā — Krishna's own creative power, not the binding māyā of ignorance. The Divine creates freely.
- The paradox of V6 is the paradox of all genuine grace: the eternal freely enters time.
- This verse distinguishes divine birth (free, sovereign, aware) from human birth (driven by karma, unconscious).
- Understanding this is the foundation for V7-8: the Divine appears not by compulsion but by compassion.
V6 contains the philosophical heart of the avatāra doctrine. Three negatives establish the paradox: unborn (aja), imperishable (avyaya), Lord of all (īśvara). Then the positive: yet I manifest — sambhavāmi. Shankaracharya carefully distinguishes ātma-māyā (the Lord's own creative power) from the binding māyā of ignorance that keeps ordinary beings in saṃsāra. The divine Māyā is not a veil but a creative capacity — the same power by which the universe is sustained is the power through which the avatāra appears. The Lord presides over Prakriti (adhiṣṭhāya) rather than being subject to it — the fundamental difference between Puruṣa-as-Īśvara and jīva-as-bound-Puruṣa.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Though I am unborn and of changeless Self, and though I am the Lord of all beings, yet, resorting to My own Nature, I take birth through My own Māyā. [1]
Though I am unborn and of imperishable nature, and though I am the Lord of all beings, yet, presiding over My own Nature, I am born by My own Māyā. [4]
Although I am unborn and of changeless essence, and the lord of all existence, yet in presiding over nature — which is mine — I am born through my own power. [6]
Though I be the Lord of Life immortal, Though I be birthless, changeless, master of all creatures — Yet, by my own Māyā, I take birth. [7]
Though I am unborn and though My Self is imperishable, though I am the Lord of all beings, yet, presiding over My own Nature, I come into being by My own Māyā. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises — I project Myself forth. The divine responds to every crisis.
Fools in human form disregard Me, not knowing My supreme nature as the great Lord of all beings.
Whoever at death remembers Me alone — leaving the body — attains My very Being. Of this, there is no doubt.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
I taught this imperishable yoga to the sun-god at the dawn of time — it has been passed down through kings ever since.
Deluded by the three guṇa-constituted states, all this world does not recognize Me — beyond them, imperishable.