Meaning
Supreme God Krishna spoke
O, Kaunteya! At the end of the Kalpa (one day of the Semi-God Brahmā), all the beings return to My {Unmanifest} Nature (Prakriti), and at the inception of the subsequent Kalpa—the dawn of Brahmā's next day—I create them once again {send them forth once again}. (9:7)
Sanskrit
श्रीभगवान् उवाच
सर्वभूतानि कौन्तेय प्रकृतिं यान्ति मामिकाम् ।
कल्पक्षये पुनस्तानि कल्पादौ विसृजाम्यहम्॥
Word-by-word
सर्व-भूतानि, कौन्तेय, प्रकृतिम् यान्ति मामिकाम्
कल्प-क्षये! पुनः तानि कल्प-आदौ वि-सृजामि अहम्।
Commentary
The term "bhoot" can sometimes refer to living beings and at other times to inanimate physical entities or the entirety of them—the physical universe. In the Bhāgawata Purāna, it becomes evident that in this verse, "bhoot" specifically pertains to living beings. These living beings return to the Unmanifest Nature in their subtle bodies, without their physical mass, at the conclusion of the day of the Semi-God Brahmā. One day of Brahmā, or one kalpa, is calculated to be equal to 4.32 billion human years. However, the physical universe itself continues to exist. It undergoes dissolution at the culmination of the Mahākalpa and is subsequently recreated at the dawn of the next Mahākalpa (Verse 46, Ch. 10, Second Skandha, Bhāgawata Purāna).