Taking hold of my own nature, I send forth again and again this whole multitude of beings, helpless as they are, under the sway of nature.
Explanation
Krishna continues telling Arjuna how creation works: at the start of each cosmic cycle he brings forth all beings by drawing on his own nature (prakṛti), the creative power of matter and mind. Beings are "helpless" (avaśa) because they are driven by the nature shaped by their past actions (karma). Traditions differ on whether prakṛti here is a power wholly belonging to God, as in Vedanta schools that see it as his energy, or an apparent power of illusion (māyā), as in Advaita.