All forms arise and return in divine order.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम् |कल्पक्षये पुनस्तानि कल्पादौ विसृजाम्यहम् ||९-७||
sarvabhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṃ yānti māmikām . kalpakṣaye punastāni kalpādau visṛjāmyaham ||9-7||
Use this verse when life enters a transition.
Meaning
At the end of a cosmic cycle all beings enter My nature, and at the beginning of a new cycle I send them forth again.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Creation moves in cycles under Krishna’s power.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna gives a cosmic view of manifestation and return. This makes personal change easier to understand as part of a larger rhythm.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna now lifts the view to a cosmic scale. At the close of each kalpa — an immense cosmic cycle — all beings dissolve back into prakriti, his creative Nature, returning to an unmanifest, seed-like state. Then, as a new cycle dawns, he sends them forth again. Creation breathes in and out across vast ages, a rhythm of emanation and reabsorption.
This grand vision reframes our anxieties about endings. What appears to us as final destruction is, in truth, a return to source — a resting, not an annihilation. The same divine power that withdraws the universe also releases it anew. For the seeker, this is freeing: nothing is ever truly lost, and our small fears of dissolution dissolve before the patient, recurring pulse of the cosmos itself.
In daily life
Accept endings and beginnings with spiritual perspective.
A project ending can become preparation for a new cycle.
Try this today
Write one ending and one lesson from it.
I trust divine cycles of return and renewal.Reflect
What ending may be preparing a new beginning?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘कल्पक्षये’ mean in this verse?
The Gita on dissolution, in other chapters
- Verse 7.6All that is born and all that dissolves rests in the one Source — so meet creation and loss alike with steady trust.
- Verse 8.18All forms arise from and return to an unseen source in an endless rhythm, so hold the changing world lightly.
- Verse 11.2 · ArjunaGrasping how all things rise and dissolve naturally awakens a deeper longing to witness the Source directly.
- Verse 14.3Every living being is born from the meeting of conscious spirit and material nature — neither is the whole story alone.
Swipe left for 9.8 · Unconscious life follows prakriti.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 9.7
Who says Bhagavad Gita 9.7, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 9.7, in Chapter 9, Raja Vidya Yoga (Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 9.7 mean?
At the end of a cosmic cycle all beings enter My nature, and at the beginning of a new cycle I send them forth again. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 9.7 for daily life?
Accept endings and beginnings with spiritual perspective. A project ending can become preparation for a new cycle.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 9.7 mean?
सर्वभूतानि — all beings; कौन्तेय — O son of Kunti (Arjuna); प्रकृतिं मामिकाम् — into My Nature (Prakriti); यान्ति — go / merge; कल्पक्षये — at the end of a Kalpa (cosmic cycle).
Where does verse 9.7 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 7 of 34 in Chapter 9, Raja Vidya Yoga. The next verse is 9.8.