In the previous śloka, Bhagavān answered Arjuna's first three questions. He now explains the remaining three terms: adhibhūtam, adhidaivam, and adhiyajñaḥ.

First, what is adhibhūtam?

Everything in the material universe is subject to change and destruction. The five elements, Sun, Moon, stars, rivers, mountains, plants, animals, and our physical bodies are all perishable.

Bhagavān calls this entire material creation adhibhūtam. He uses the expression kṣaraḥ bhāvaḥ [perishable existence]. This contrasts with the imperishable consciousness described in 8.3.

Because material things can be damaged, lost, or destroyed, we constantly try to protect them. Even things that appear permanent eventually change. The entire perishable material world is therefore included in adhibhūtam.

Second, what is adhidaivam?

Each of us has a mind and sense organs through which we experience the world. The scriptures also teach that every sense organ has a presiding divine power. For example, the Sun deity is associated with the eyes, while the deity of the directions is associated with the ears.

These divine powers are not being described as entirely independent principles. When all the presiding deities are considered together, they belong to one cosmic totality.

This totality is called Hiraṇyagarbha. It is consciousness associated with the total subtle body, or, more simply, consciousness associated with the total mind and total knowledge.

Bhagavān uses the word puruṣaḥ here to refer to Hiraṇyagarbha and calls this principle adhidaivam. Thus, adhidaivam is not merely the name of one individual deity. It refers to the total principle encompassing all the presiding deities.

Third, what is adhiyajñaḥ?

Bhagavān answers directly: aham eva [I Myself]. He identifies Himself as Īśvara, the cause of the entire universe.

To understand this, consider the universe before its visible creation. All the things that later appear—living beings, planets, objects, and environments—exist in an unmanifest, potential condition.

This potential condition of the universe is called māyā or śakti. Consciousness associated with this total potential universe is called Īśvara.

The difference between the second and third answers is important. Hiraṇyagarbha is consciousness associated with the total subtle body or total mind. Īśvara is consciousness associated with the entire universe in its causal, unmanifest condition.

Bhagavān declares that He Himself is that Īśvara.

A traditional illustration shows Bāla Kṛṣṇa resting upon a banyan leaf during the dissolution of the universe. The waters and leaf represent the universe in its potential condition, while Kṛṣṇa represents consciousness. Together, they symbolize Īśvara as consciousness associated with the unmanifest universe.

Arjuna had also asked how adhiyajñaḥ resides within the body. Bhagavān answers atra dehe [here, in this body].

Īśvara is all-pervading and therefore present within every living being. From the individual standpoint, this presence is called Prājña [consciousness associated with the individual causal body]. Bhagavān is not limited to the body; He is present everywhere.

Why is Bhagavān called adhiyajñaḥ?

Whenever we perform worship or an action, Bhagavān is connected with it in two ways.

First, He is the ultimate receiver of worship. Whether we perform pūjā or offer prayers through a particular divine form, Bhagavān receives the worship.

Second, He gives the results of actions according to the law of karma. No action is overlooked simply because other people do not know about it. Even actions we have forgotten remain part of the karmic order.

We may not remember what we did in previous lives, but forgetting an action does not erase its consequences. The pleasure and pain we experience arise from our own past karma, and Bhagavān administers those results.

For these two functions, Bhagavān is called yajña-bhoktā [receiver of worship] and karma-phala-dātā [giver of karmic results].

Finally, Bhagavān addresses Arjuna as dehabhṛtāṃ vara [O best among embodied beings], respectfully acknowledging his excellence.

With this śloka, Bhagavān completes His answers to Arjuna's six technical questions. Adhibhūtam is the perishable material creation. Adhidaivam is Hiraṇyagarbha, consciousness associated with the total subtle body and the collective presiding deities. Adhiyajñaḥ is Bhagavān Himself as Īśvara, present within every being, receiving worship and administering the results of actions. The next śloka begins His answer to Arjuna's seventh question.