Sarvayonishu Kaunteya

O son of Kunti, in every womb across creation — human, animal, bird, insect — whatever forms come into being, for all of them Prakriti is the mother and I am the seed-giving father. This is Krishna's clear declaration.

Just as both a mother and a father come together to bring a child into the world, all of creation arises from the union of Prakriti (the mother) and the Supreme Lord (the father). The material and the spiritual are both essential. Neither alone accounts for life.

There is something deeply inclusive in Krishna calling Himself the father of every living being. The smallest ant and the largest elephant, the quietest sage and the loudest parrot — all are His children. No creature is excluded from this cosmic family.

This shloka completes the thought introduced in 14.3. There, the process of creation was described. Here, Krishna's specific role is made explicit: He is the seed-giving father. The same idea appears in Gita 9.17 where Krishna says, "I am the father of this world, the mother."

With this cosmic parentage established, Krishna now turns to the central topic of the chapter: the three gunas that emerge from Prakriti and bind the soul to the body.