Devanagari
आद्यस्तु महत: सर्गो गुणवैषम्यमात्मन: ।
द्वितीयस्त्वहमो यत्र द्रव्यज्ञानक्रियोदय: ॥ १५ ॥
Verse text
ādyas tu mahataḥ sargo
guṇa-vaiṣamyam ātmanaḥ
dvitīyas tv ahamo yatra
dravya-jṣāna-kriyodayaḥ
Synonyms
ādyaḥ
—
the first
;
tu
—
but
;
mahataḥ
—
of the total emanation from the Lord
;
sargaḥ
—
creation
;
guṇa
—
vaiṣamyam — interaction of the material modes
;
ātmanaḥ
—
of the Supreme
;
dvitīyaḥ
—
the second
;
tu
—
but
;
ahamaḥ
—
false ego
;
yatra
—
wherein
;
dravya
—
material ingredients
;
jṣāna
—
material knowledge
;
kriyā
—
udayaḥ — awakening of activities (work) .
Translation
Of the nine creations, the first one is the creation of the mahat-tattva, or the sum total of the material ingredients, wherein the modes interact due to the presence of the Supreme Lord. In the second, the false ego is generated, in which the material ingredients, material knowledge and material activities arise.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The first creation is the creation of the mahat-tattva, or the sum total of the material ingredients, in which there is disturbance of the guṇas causes by the Lord. The second is the creation of the false ego, from which the five gross elements, knowledge sense, sense devatās, mind and the action senses are generated.
Starting with this verse the rest of the chapter is a description of the various creations. The first is the imbalance of the guṇas characterized by the appearance of mahat-tattva, instigated by the Lord (ātmanaḥ). The second creation that in which there is the appearance of ahaṅkāra (ahamaḥ), from which arises the five gross elements (dravya), the knowledge senses, sense devatās and mind (jṣāna), and the action senses (kriya).
Purport
The first emanation from the Supreme Lord for material creation is called the
mahat-tattva.
The interaction of the material modes is the cause of false identification, or the sense that a living being is made of material elements. This false ego is the cause of identifying the body and mind with the soul proper. Material resources and the capacity and knowledge to work are all generated in the second term of creation, after the
mahat-tattva.
Jṣāna
indicates the senses which are sources of knowledge, and their controlling deities. Work entails the working organs and their controlling deities. All these are generated in the second creation.