The one who dominates, inactive among the active, the only seed of the many, who rests in the supreme energy of the gods.

This verse describes the Ātman as ekaḥ (the unique one) who remains niṣkriyaḥ (inactive) while everything else is in constant activity (kriyā). This inactivity is not laziness but transcendence — the witness does not act, only observes the actions of the mind-body.

Vaśī (the one who dominates, the ruler) indicates absolute sovereignty. The Ātman is controlled by nothing and no one; it is the principle of ultimate autonomy. All other forms of power — physical, mental, social — are derived from this primordial source.

Bījaṃ (seed) is a metaphor for Brahman as origin of all multiplicity. From the single seed spring innumerable forms. The devānāṃ (gods, cosmic forces) operate through paramāṃ śaktim (supreme energy) that originates in the one. All relative power rests in absolute power.

Āśritāḥ (rests in, depends on) describes the correct relationship between the absolute and the relative. The Ātman depends on nothing; everything depends on Him. In yoga, this recognition produces vairāgya (dispassion) not through denial but through resting in the source. When the seed is known, the fruits lose their power of fascination.