यथायोनि यथाबीजं स्वभावेन बलीयसा ॥ ५४ ॥
vyaktāvyaktaṁ bhavaty uta
yathā-yoni yathā-bījaṁ
svabhāvena balīyasā
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
SYNONYMS
labdhvā—having gotten; nimittam—the cause; avyaktam—unseen or unknown to the person; vyakta-avyaktam—manifested and unmanifested, or the gross body and the subtle body; bhavati—come into being; uta—certainly; yathā-yoni—exactly like the mother; yathā-bījam—exactly like the father; sva-bhāvena—by the natural tendency; balīyasā—which is very powerful.
TRANSLATION
The fruitive activities a living being performs, whether pious or impious, are the unseen cause for the fulfillment of his desires. This unseen cause is the root for the living entity's different bodies. Because of his intense desire, the living entity takes birth in a particular family and receives a body which is either like that of his mother or like that of his father. The gross and subtle bodies are created according to his desire.
PURPORT
The gross body is a product of the subtle body. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.6):
tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ