sei ta' mÄyÄra dui-vidha avasthiti
jagatera upÄdÄna 'pradhÄna', praká¹›ti
sei - that; ta' - certainly; mÄyÄra - of the material energy; dui-vidha - two varieties; avasthiti - existence; jagatera - of the material world; upÄdÄna - the ingredients; pradhÄna - named pradhÄna; praká¹›ti - material nature.
MÄyÄ has two varieties of existence. One is called pradhÄna or praká¹›ti. It supplies the ingredients of the material world.
MÄyÄ, the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is divided into two parts. MÄyÄ is both the cause of the cosmic manifestation and the agent who supplies its ingredients. As the cause of the cosmic manifestation she is known as mÄyÄ, and as the agent supplying the ingredients of the cosmic manifestation she is known as pradhÄna. An explicit description of these divisions of the external energy is given in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (11.24.1-4). Elsewhere in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (10.63.26) the ingredients and cause of the material cosmic manifestation are described as follows:
kÄlo daivaá¹ karma jÄ«vaḥ svabhÄvo
dravyaá¹ ká¹£etraá¹ prÄṇa ÄtmÄ vikÄraḥ
tat-saá¹…ghÄto bÄ«ja-roha-pravÄhas
tvan-mÄyaiá¹£Ä tan-niá¹£edhaá¹ prapadye
“O my Lord! Time, activity, providence and nature are four parts of the causal aspect [mÄyÄ] of the external energy. The conditioned vital force, the subtle material ingredients called the dravya, and material nature (which is the field of activity where the false ego acts as the soul), as well as the eleven senses and five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether), which are the sixteen ingredients of the body — these are the ingredient aspect of mÄyÄ. The body is generated from activity, and activity is generated from the body, just as a tree is generated from a seed that is generated from a tree. This reciprocal cause and effect is called mÄyÄ. My dear Lord, You can save me from this cycle of cause and effect. I worship Your lotus feet.â€
Although the living entity is primarily related to the causal portion of mÄyÄ, he is nevertheless conducted by the ingredients of mÄyÄ. Three forces work in the causal portion of mÄyÄ: knowledge, desire and activity. The material ingredients are a manifestation of mÄyÄ as pradhÄna. In other words, when the three qualities of mÄyÄ are in a dormant stage, they exist as praká¹›ti, avyakta or pradhÄna. The word avyakta, referring to the nonmanifested, is another name of pradhÄna. In the avyakta stage, material nature is without varieties. Varieties are manifested by the pradhÄna portion of mÄyÄ. The word pradhÄna is therefore more important than avyakta or praká¹›ti.
