Verses 13.6-7

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verses 13.6-7:

महा-भूतान्य् अहङ्कारो बुद्धिर् अव्यक्तम् एव च ।
इन्द्रियाणि दशैकं च पञ्च चेन्द्रिय-गोचराः ॥ ६ ॥
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं सङ्घातश् चेतना धृतिः ।
एतत् क्षेत्रं समासेन स-विकारम् उदाहृतम् ॥ ७ ॥

mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca |
indriyāṇi daśaikaṃ ca pañca cendriya-gocarāḥ || 6 ||
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ saṅghātaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ |
etat kṣetraṃ samāsena sa-vikāram udāhṛtam || 7 ||

mahā-bhūtāni–the five great elements (earth, water, fire, etc.); ahaṅ-kāraḥ–the conception of the self as the doer, false ego; buddhiḥ–intelligence; avyaktam eva ca–and the unmanifest material nature; indriyāṇi–senses; daśa–ten; ekam–the one (mind); ca–and; pañca ca indriya-gocarāḥ–the five sense objects (such as sound and touch); icchā–desire; dveṣaḥ–hate; sukham–happiness; duḥkham–unhappiness; saṅghātaḥ–the aggregate of all these (the body); cetanā–the functions of the mind for acquiring knowledge; dhṛtiḥ–patience; etat–this; kṣetram–field; samāsena–in brief; sa-vikāram–together with their transformations; udāhṛtam–are said.

The five material elements, the false ego, the intelligence, the unmanifest material nature, the eleven senses, the five sense objects such as sound and form, desire, hatred, happiness, misery, the body, knowledge and patience comprise a brief description of the field, along with its transformations.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

Śrī Bhagavān is now explaining the nature of kṣetra, the field of the material body. The following is a list of the twenty-four elements: earth, water, fire, air and sky; their cause–the false ego;intelligence that perceives the self; the cause of the false ego–the mahat-tattva;the cause of the mahat-tattva–prakṛti; the ten working senses and knowledge acquiring senses; the mind; and the five sense objects, such as sound and touch.

Desire, envy, happiness, misery, the body, which is a combination of the five material elements, consciousness knowledge and forbearance are functions of the mind. They are not functions of the soul. Therefore, these characteristics are all part of the kṣetra and are also characterized by qualities such as determination. In the Śrutis it is said that the functions of the mind are desire, determination, doubt, faith, lack of faith, forbearance, detachment, shyness, intelligence and fear. They exhibit the qualities of the field of the body as previously described. “This kṣetra goes through six types of changes, such as birth and death, as described: etat kṣetraṃ savikāram.”

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

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

The constituents of the field of the body are the twenty-four elements consisting of the five mahābhūtas (earth, water, fire, air and sky), the false ego, the undifferentiated form of the total material energy (the mahat-tattva) and its cause, material nature (prakṛti), the ten external senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, speech, feet, hands, anus and genitals), the one internal sense (the mind) and the five objects of the senses (form, taste, smell, touch and sound). This is concluded from the statements of ṛṣis like Vasiṣṭha, Devala and Asita, from the Vedic mantras and from the Vedānta-sūtra. What actually is the kṣetra, or field of the body, and why it is known as such? This can be understood by analyzing these twenty-four elements. Transformations of the material body (kṣetra) are desire, envy, happiness, distress, all the activities of the body (which is a combination of the five material elements), the inclinations and absorptions of the mind (which is but a semblance of the pure consciousness of the soul) and forbearance. Therefore, it should be understood that they are a part of kṣetra. A chart depicting the twenty-four elements is given here.

Table of the Twenty-four Elements:

Transcription: Prakṛti, Mahat, Ahaṅkāra,
Five Working Senses (karmendriya), — Speech, Hands, Feet, Anus, Genitals,
Five Knowledge-acquiring Senses (jñānendriya) > Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, Skin,
Mind,
Form > Fire,
Taste > Water,
Smell > Earth,
Touch > Air,
Sound > Ether.