Chapter VII · Śloka 5
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥
apareyam itas tv anyāṃ prakṛtiṃ viddhi me parām |
jīva-bhūtāṃ mahā-bāho yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat ||
jīva-bhūtāṃ mahā-bāho yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat ||
This is My lower nature. Know My other, higher nature (parā prakṛti), O mighty-armed one — the life-element by which this universe is sustained.
The parā prakṛti is the conscious, living power — the field of selves (jīva-bhūtā) — that animates and sustains the entire material creation. Unlike the mechanical lower nature, this higher nature is chit, pure consciousness, and nothing in the world holds together without it.