avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavantyahar-āgame
rātryāgame pralīyante tatraivāvyakta-sanjñake
avyaktāt — from the unmanifested;
vyaktayaḥ — the manifested;
sarvāḥ — all;
prabhavanti — emanate;
ahaḥ-āgame — at the advent of Brahma’s day;
rātri-āgame — at the fall of Brahma’s night;
pralīyante — they dissolve;
tatra — into that;
eva — certainly;
avyakta-sanjñake — in that which is called the unmanifest
In this verse, it's talking about the cycle of life and death in a bigger, universal sense, using the example of Brahma, who is a creator figure in Hindu thought. Imagine Brahma's day like a big clock in the universe. When it ticks to 'day,' all kinds of living beings come into existence. This is similar to waking up in the morning and starting a new day where everything feels alive and fresh. During this time, these beings do various activities, much like how we go about our day-to-day tasks.
However, just like night follows day, when Brahma's night comes, everything that came to life during the day is destroyed, just as we sleep at night and might feel like everything is on pause or has disappeared. This can be compared to how the sun sets and everything gets dark; the activities and lives of these beings stop or come to an end. In the Hindu belief, during Brahma's night, everything goes back into an unmanifested state, meaning that these beings aren't 'alive' in our usual sense—they dissolve back into a more hidden state, like when you cover a toy with a blanket, making it hard to see but it’s still there beneath.
What's important here is that the individual souls stay in a kind of sleep within Vishnu, another divine figure who holds everything together. These souls wait quietly until Brahma's day comes again, when they can be born once more, just like plants sprout in spring after lying dormant in winter.
This cycle continues; when Brahma's lifespan is over, all these souls are once again annihilated or put in a very long pause. They can be in this hidden state for millions of years, which is a long time to be 'asleep.' When Brahma comes back into existence for a new cycle of life, these souls wake up and start their journey all over again. It’s like a video game where you level up only to start again from the beginning. But here’s the uplifting part: those who are wise, who practice devotion and keep their minds focused on Krishna, have a treasure of an opportunity. They can rise above this game of life and death. By constantly remembering Krishna and chanting, 'Hare Krishna, Hare Rama,' they can reach a state of eternal happiness and freedom, escaping the endless loop of rebirth and the struggles of the material world.
In simpler terms, this verse teaches us that life is a cycle, and while everyone goes through ups and downs, it reminds us that wisdom and devotion can help us gain something much more meaningful—lasting peace and joy.