bijam mam sarva-bhutanam
viddhi partha sanatanam
buddhir buddhimatam asmi
tejas tejasvinam aham
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 7.10
O son of Pritha, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Bijam means seed; Krishna is the seed of everything. There are various living entities, movable and inert. Birds, beasts, men and many other living creatures are moving living entities; trees and plants, however, are inert—they cannot move, but only stand. Every entity is contained within the scope of 8,400,000 species of life; some of them are moving and some of them are inert. In all cases, however, the seed of their life is Krishna. As stated in Vedic literature, Brahman, or the Supreme Absolute Truth, is that from which everything is emanating. Krishna is Parabrahman, the Supreme Spirit. Brahman is impersonal and Parabrahman is personal. Impersonal Brahman is situated in the personal aspect—that is stated in Bhagavad-gita. Therefore, originally, Krishna is the source of everything. He is the root. As the root of a tree maintains the whole tree, Krishna, being the original root of all things, maintains everything in this material manifestation. This is also confirmed in the Vedic literature (Katha Upanishad 2.2.13):
nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam
eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman
He is the prime eternal among all eternals. He is the supreme living entity of all living entities, and He alone is maintaining all life. One cannot do anything without intelligence, and Krishna also says that He is the root of all intelligence. Unless a person is intelligent he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
Bija or seed means the cause before transformation, the pradhana. Sanatana means eternal. Intelligence is the essence of the intelligent persons. 1 am that intelligence.
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
7.8 – 7.11 All these entities with their peculiar characteristic are born from Me alone. They depend on Me; inasmuch as they constitute My body, they exist in Me alone. Thus I alone exist while all of them are only My modes.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
Lord Krishna reveals that He is bijam mam sarva bhutanam or the original seed of all existence. This means that He manifest the original seed for all beings that posesses the potency for all species which are moving or stationary to produce effects in the same species uninterruptedly for all successive issues of procreation indefintely and not subject to any modification or decay nor is it ever destroyed with each individual being.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
The pure fragrance is thus to show the pleasure of Lord Krishna as the origin of the wonderful scent of the Earth. The Vedic scriptures declare that merits alone rise to the Supreme Lord and that demerits lacking in purity never even reach the demi-gods. In the worlds of the meritorious and virtuous the creations law of eternal righteousness is enjoyed. The law of creation known as rita represents universal order, truth and righteousness as well as perennial principles from time immemorial which are auspicious activities for the benefit of all living entities. Due to such statements eternal righteous is known as an attribute of consciousness and truth is a condition of the mind which one actually lives. There is no contradiction in statements from the Vedic scriptures stating even while not enjoying the Supreme Lord is still illuminating or even though devoid of food He is still all regarding the Supreme Lord. These perceptions are extremely subtle and difficult to fathom. Even though the Supreme Lord does not enjoy material food like the jiva or embodied being He is more powerful then the atma or soul endowed with a physical body. In this verse the jiva is not mentioned because of reference earlier to the atma being endowed with a body as in a dream state. The Garuda Purana states: There are three different forms for the body one in sleeping, one in dreaming and one while awake.
By the word asmi the Supreme Lord alone is referred too. Bodies are assumed by all the jivas as well as the Supreme Lord. The jiva’s body is material and thus in bondage being subjected to the cycle of birth and death. The Supreme Lord’s body is purely spiritual, eternally liberated and never in bondage. This statement is found in the Narada Purana and thus a definitive distinction between the Supreme Lord and the jivas is clarified in the Vedic scriptures. By such crystal clear statements a person of reason and understanding should see the difference between all embodied beings and the Supreme Lord and not harbour any conceptions concerning the external form of existence of a jiva. The Gita Kalpa has stated: The pleasures and enjoyments of the Supreme Lord are distinctly different and transcendental to those of the jiva. The Supreme Lord is a transcendental enjoyer, He is only enjoying the spiritual and never enjoying anything material.
Now begins the summation.
The Supreme Lord abides in the Earth as its fragrant essence which can only be meritorious; yet He awards all merits and demerits. Abiding in fire He is its brilliant energy, abiding in humans He is the atma the bequeather of life itself, abiding in the spiritually intelligent He is wisdom, abiding in the splendid He is exalted splendour and by the act of manifestation He is the eternal seed of all existence.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
Lord Krishna is revealing His glory as the bijam or permanent seed and original cause of life in all creation, woven through all movable and immovable created beings and that this original seed continues manifesting infinitely through all generations of the same species. He is the tejas or valour of the valiant which allows them to be victorious over all others. He is the spiritual intelligence in the form of spiritual discriminative power in the absence of which a human being is known as an animal. It is stated in the Sanatsujata that: Humans without spiritual intelligence are equal to beasts.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
7.10 O Partha, viddhi, know, mam, Me; to be the sanatanam, eternal; bijam, seed, the source of growth; sarva-bhutanam, of all beings. Besides, I am the buddhih, intellect, the power of discrimination of the mind; buddhimatam, of the intelligent, of people having the power of discrimination. I am the tejah, courage; tejasvinam, of the courageous, of those possessed of that.
Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:
7.10-11 Bijam etc. Balam etc. The seed : the subtle prime cause. The strength, free from desire and attachment : It is of the nature of vigour and is capable of supporting all that exist. Deire : the Will, which is nothing but Pure Consciousness and which is not opposed to any of the attributes (its objects) like pot, cloth etc. For, the Will, because it is the [conscious] energy of the Bhagavat, is immanent in all and nowhere is it opposed, eventhough it is being differentiated (i.e. the wills or desires are classified) on account of its attributes like pot, cloth etc., which are [only] accidental. Thus the wise, because they are devoted to this Will, are of the nature of Pure Consciousness. That has been said also in the Sivopanisad as – ‘[A man of wisdom] would concentrate his mind on the Will or [Self] Consciousness that arises’. (VB, 98) [Here in this quotation] that arises means ‘that has just risen but has not yet spread outside.’ Ignoring this way of interpretation [of the Gita passage] some interpret it so as to bring out the idea ‘He would enjoy the group of the three, not hindering mutually’. These (commentators) are ignorant of the customs (karma) sanctioned by the traditions; yet they interpret the secret about the Absolute ! No doubt they deserve [our] salutation.
Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:
bijam mam sarva-bhutanam
viddhi partha sanatanam
buddhir buddhimatam asmi
tejas tejasvinam aham
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
bījam — the seed; mām — Me; sarva-bhūtānām — of all living entities; viddhi — try to understand; pārtha — O son of Pṛthā; sanātanam — original, eternal; buddhiḥ — intelligence; buddhi-matām — of the intelligent; asmi — I am; tejaḥ — prowess; tejasvinām — of the powerful; aham — I am.
