This shloka completes the teaching begun in 7.4 and 7.5.

In 7.4, Bhagavān introduced aparā prakṛti [lower material nature]. It is the changing, inert, material principle, presented as eightfold: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and ego.

In 7.5, Bhagavān introduced parā prakṛti [higher nature]. It is the conscious principle, the very experiencer, the life-principle because of which the world, body, and mind are known and sustained.

Now, in 7.6, Bhagavān brings these two together.

He says, etadyonīni bhūtāni sarvāṇi iti upadhāraya — “Understand that all beings have these two as their source.” Here etat refers to the two prakṛtis just taught: aparā prakṛti and parā prakṛti. Yoni means source, cause, or womb. So all things and beings are born of these two principles.

This is not merely a poetic statement. It is a precise teaching about the universe.

In the previous two verses, Bhagavān had described the intermediary stage of creation: the eightfold aparā prakṛti and the parā prakṛti. Now Bhagavān says that from this comes the final, experienced cosmos.

The universe that we experience consists of bhūta and bhautikam. Bhūta means the gross elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. Bhautikam means the products made from those elements: bodies, mountains, rivers, planets, plants, animals, and all forms in the universe.

Our own body is a bhautikam [elemental product]. It contains earth in the form of solidity, water in the form of fluids, fire in the form of body heat, air in the form of breath, and space in the form of cavities and room within the body.

But a body is not a living person merely because the elements are present. A body becomes a living, sentient being only because of the conscious principle. When consciousness is available through the body, the body functions as a living being. When that life-principle is no longer manifest, the same body begins to disintegrate.

Therefore every living being requires both: the material principle and the conscious principle.

At the cosmic level also, the same teaching applies. The whole universe is not a dead heap of matter. The cosmos functions in order, harmony, and intelligence because of the conscious principle. The visible part of creation is aparā prakṛti. The invisible sustaining conscious principle is parā prakṛti. Together they form Bhagavān’s total manifestation.

This is why Bhagavān says: ahaṃ kṛtsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ pralayas tathā — “I am the source and also the dissolution of the entire universe.”

Prabhavaḥ means source, origin, or emergence. The universe arises from Bhagavān because both prakṛtis belong to Bhagavān. Pralayaḥ means dissolution or resolution. The universe resolves back into Bhagavān because the product resolves into its cause.

This continues the teaching that Bhagavān is jagat-kāraṇam [cause of the universe]. Bhagavān is not merely an intelligent creator who stands outside the world. Bhagavān is also the material cause. Since the two prakṛtis belong to Bhagavān, and all beings arise from these two, Bhagavān alone has evolved into the form of the creation.

This is a major refinement in our understanding of Bhagavān.

We may begin by thinking of Bhagavān as a person in one place. That is ēkarūpa Īśvara [Bhagavān in one form]. That form is sacred and useful for worship. But Bhagavān is not limited to one form. Since the whole universe arises from Bhagavān’s own parā and aparā prakṛtis, the whole universe is Bhagavān’s manifestation. This is the beginning of viśvarūpa-darśanam [seeing the universe itself as Bhagavān’s form].

This does not mean that every object is independently Bhagavān in a crude sense. It means that no object has independent existence apart from Bhagavān, its cause. The whole universe is dependent on Bhagavān for its emergence, existence, and resolution.

A pot comes from clay and resolves into clay. Ornaments come from gold and resolve into gold. Waves arise from water and resolve into water. In the same way, the entire universe arises from Bhagavān and resolves into Bhagavān.

This shloka therefore asks Arjuna to make a firm shift in vision. Do not think the world is separate from Bhagavān. Do not think Bhagavān is merely outside the world. All beings — from the smallest organism to the most evolved human body — arise from the two prakṛtis of Bhagavān. Therefore Bhagavān is the source and dissolution-ground of the entire universe.