Sanskrit
अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् । प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया ॥
ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san prakṛtiṃ svām adhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā
Translation
Though unborn, the imperishable Self, and also the Lord of all beings, brooding over nature which is Mine own, yet I am born through My own Power.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Verse 5 explained why Krishna isn’t bound by ordinary birth; verse 6 explains how he can be “born” at all despite being unborn and imperishable: through his own creative power acting on his own nature. This is the first formal statement of the mechanism behind the avatâra doctrine — not a compulsion into rebirth but a deliberate exercise of sovereignty over his own nature — and it sets up the “why” that verses 7-8 supply. The source text marks a printing correction here (स्वामधिष्टाय corrected to स्वामधिष्ठाय), reflected in the Devanagari above. The operative phrase is ātma-māyayā — “by my own māyā.” Māyā here is not illusion in the sense of falsehood but the power to appear within prakṛti while not being subject to it. The ordinary being is carried by nature (BG 3.5); this one presides over it.
Study deeper
Word by word
- ajo 'pi sannअजो ऽपि सन्न्
- though unborn (ajaḥ + api + san)
- avyayātmāअव्ययात्मा
- of imperishable nature (avyaya-ātmā)
- bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi sanभूतानां ईश्वरो ऽपि सन्
- though the Lord of beings (bhūtānām + īśvaraḥ + api + san)
- prakṛtiṃ svām adhiṣṭhāyaप्रकृतिं स्वां अधिष्ठाय
- presiding over my own nature (prakṛtim + svām + adhiṣṭhāya)
- sambhavāmyसंभवांय्
- I come into being
- ātma-māyayāआत्म-मायया
- by my own māyā
Commentary
Site Commentary
The verse pairs two claims that sound like they should cancel each other out — unborn and imperishable, yet born — and resolves the contradiction not by choosing one side but by introducing a third term: deliberate power exercised over his own nature. The paradox dissolves once agency is added as the mediating factor between two states that otherwise looked mutually exclusive.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When two things you want seem to contradict — stability and change — look for the mediating factor of your own agency: you may not need to pick a side once you see how you're actively directing the change rather than just being subject to it.
Professional
- A team can look outwardly stable (unchanging interfaces, steady commitments) while constantly evolving internally — the apparent contradiction resolves once you locate the deliberate governance layer that's mediating between the two.
Family & Social
- You can remain fundamentally the same person to the people who love you while still genuinely growing — the paradox eases once you frame growth as something you're choosing to direct, not a threat to who you already are.
Ask yourself
A few ways to take this verse past reading. Ticks and the note stay in this browser.