Mūla — the verse
Gita Press numberingTranslation
Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣyaO son of Kunti, all the beings at the end of a cycle go back to My Prakrti. At the beginning of a cycle, I project them forth again.
हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda
हे कौन्तेय ! (एक) कल्प के अन्त में समस्त भूत मेरी प्रकृति को प्राप्त होते हैं; और (दूसरे) कल्प के प्रारम्भ में उनको मैं फिर रचता हूँ।।
Pronunciation — Vaamshii
from VaamshiiWord by word
padārthaThemes
from The Thematic Companion to the Bhagavad GītāMeaning — Questions & Solutions
from Q&A with KnA“At the end of a cosmic cycle all beings return to My Prakṛti; at the beginning of the next I send them forth again.” Creation here is not a manufacture out of nothing at a first moment of time, but a periodic re-emergence — the same beings, carrying their unspent tendencies, streaming out again when the long night ends (echoing 8.18–19). There is no absolute beginning to grope for; there is a beginningless rhythm of manifestation and rest, turning on the one who is himself outside the turning.