Word meanings
- mahā-bhūtāni
- the (five) great elements
- ahankāraḥ
- the ego
- buddhiḥ
- the intellect
- avyaktam
- the unmanifested primordial matter
- eva
- indeed
- ca
- and
- indriyāṇi
- the senses
- daśa-ekam
- eleven
- ca
- and
- pañca
- five
- ca
- and
- indriya-go-carāḥ
- the (five) objects of the senses
Translations
The great elements, egoism, intellect, and also the Unmanifested Nature, the ten senses, and one mind, and the five objects of the senses.
The five great fundamentals—earth, fire, air, water, and ether—personality, intellect, the mysterious life force, the ten organs of perception and action, the mind, and the five domains of sensation—
The great elements, egoism, intellect, and the Unmanifest itself; the ten organs and the one, and the five objects of the senses;
मूल प्रकृति, समष्टि बुद्धि (महत्तत्त्व), समष्टि अहंकार, पाँच महाभूत और दस इन्द्रियाँ, एक मन तथा पाँचों इन्द्रियोंके पाँच विषय ( -- यह चौबीस तत्त्वोंवाला क्षेत्र है)।Commentary
The field and its modifications are described in this verse. The twentyfour principles of the Sankhya school of philosophy are mentioned here. Great elements Earth, water, fire, air and ether are so called because they pervade all modifications of matter. The elements here referred to are the subtle, not the gross ones. Egoism is the cause of the great elements. It is the selfarrogating principle. Intellect is the cause of egoism. The function of the intellect is determination.
Buddhi is the faculty of determination. The cause of the intellect is the Unmanifested (which is the undifferentiated energy of the Lord). (Cf.VII.14 Daivi hyesha gunamayi mama maya duratyaya -- This divine illusion of Mine, caused by the alities, is difficult to cross over.) The above Nature is divided eightfold (Cf.VII.4). The ten senses are the five organs of knowledge (ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose), so called because they enable the mind to get knowledge of the external world, and the five organs of action (hands, feet, mouth, anus and the generative organ), so called because they perform actions.
The one This is the mind. This is the eleventh sense whose function is thinking and doubting (Sankalpa and Vikalpa). The five objects of the senses are sound, touch, form (colour), taste and smell. These are the fivefol pastures of the senses. All the great elements, egoism, intellect, the senses and mind are all absorbed in the Unmanifested at the time of the cosmic dissolution. Mind is Maya. Mind is Avidya (ignorance). Mind is at the root of all activities. It gives strength to desires, fosters fear and builds castles in the air.
It confers force on egoism and stimultates, aspirations. Every tendency has its origin in the mind. It augments passions, gives strength to hope and awakens the sense of duality. It increases ignorance and plunges the senses in the ocean of senseobjects. It creates distinctions and differences. It separates, divides and limits. It is a strong wall or an iron barrier that stands between the individual soul and the Absolute. It is this mind that has brought Brahman to the condition of the individual soul.
It is the storehouse of error, cravings, doubt, delusion and ignorance. It is an everrevolving wheel that generates thoughts. It is a miraculous thoughtproducing machine. It creates at one moment. It destroys at the next moment.