9.17 Father and mother both Krishna speaks

पिताऽहमस्य जगतो माता धाता पितामहः
वेद्यं पवित्रमोंकार ऋक् साम यजुरेव च

pitāham asya jagato mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ
vedyaṁ pavitram oṁkāra ṛik sāma yajur eva cha

I am the father of this world, and the mother, the sustainer, the grandsire; the object of knowledge, the purifier, the syllable Om, and the three Vedas.

Explanation

Father and mother both, in the same line.

And the sustainer, the grandsire, the object of knowledge, the purifier, Om, the three Vedas.

The double parentage is worth pausing on. Chapter 14 will separate them — nature the womb, he the seed — and here both are claimed at once, before the distinction is drawn.

Word by word

pitā: Father
aham: I
asya: of this
jagataḥ: universe
mātā: Mother
dhātā: Sustainer
pitāmahaḥ: Grandsire
vedyam: the goal of knowledge
pavitram: the purifier
om-kāra: the sacred syllable Om
ṛik: the Rig Veda
sāma: the Sama Veda
yajuḥ: the Yajur Veda
eva: also
cha: and