Verse 7.4

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 7.4:

भूमिर् आपोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिर् एव च ।
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिर् अष्टधा ॥ ४ ॥

bhūmir āpo'nalo vāyuḥ khaṃ mano buddhir eva ca |
ahaṅkāra itīyaṃ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā || 4 ||

bhūmiḥ–earth; āpaḥ–water; analaḥ–fire; vāyuḥ–air; kham–ether; manaḥ–mind; buddhiḥ–intelligence; eva–certainly; ca–and; ahaṅkāraḥ–false ego; iti–as follows; iyam–this; me–of Mine; bhinnā–divisions; prakṛtiḥ–material energy; aṣṭadhā–eightfold.

My external material energy has eight divisions: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

In relation to bhakti, the word jñāna only indicates knowledge of the opulence of Śrī Bhagavān. It does not indicate knowledge of the self. Therefore, in this verse beginning with bhūmi and in the next verse, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is delineating knowledge of the grandeur of Śrī Bhagavān by explaining His spiritual (parā) and material (aparā) energies. The words bhūmi-ādi (earth, etc.) indicate the five material elements along with their respective subtle elements, such as fragrance. The word ahaṅkāra (false ego) refers to its function through the senses, and it also refers to their cause, the material nature, or mahat-tattva. Since the intelligence and the mind are most prominent among these elements, they have been mentioned separately.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura quotes Kṛṣṇa as saying, “Knowledge of both My svarūpa and My opulence is called bhagavat-jñāna. It is described in this way: ‘I, the Supreme Absolute Reality Śrī Kṛṣṇa, am always situated in My svarūpa, and I possess all potencies (śaktis) in full. Brahma is only a featureless (nirviśeṣa) expression of My potency and does not have a form. The existence of this brahma is based on the concept of negation of the created world. Paramātmā is also a partial manifestation of My energy in this world. In fact, Paramātmā is specifically related to the temporary material world and does not have an eternal svarūpa. My only eternal feature is My eternal form of Bhagavān, which has two types of energy. One is the external energy and is called bahiraṅgā, or māyā-śakti. Since it is the cause (mother) of the inert world, it is also called aparā-śakti. One should understand the number of elements in this aparā-śakti: the five gross elements, or mahā-bhūta (earth, water, fire, air and ether) and their five respective qualities (smell, taste, form, touch and sound), totalling ten in number. Therefore, there are ten elements. You should understand that the senses are their active components initiated by the element of the false ego, or ahaṅkāra, and that the unmanifested material energy, or mahat-tattva, is their cause. The mind and intelligence have been mentioned as separate elements because of their prominent and distinctive functions among the group of elements, but in fact they are one. This entire group is part of My external energy.’”