tebhyaḥ samabhavat sÅ«traá¹
mahÄn sÅ«treṇa saá¹yutaḥ
tato vikurvato jÄto
yo 'haá¹…kÄro vimohanaḥ
tebhyaḥ - from those modes; samabhavat - arose; sÅ«tram - the first transformation of nature, endowed with the potency of activity; mahÄn - primeval nature endowed with the potency of knowledge; sÅ«treṇa - with this sÅ«tra-tattva; saá¹yÅ«taḥ - conjoined; tataḥ - from the mahat; vikurvataḥ - transforming; jÄtaḥ - was generated; yaḥ - which; ahaá¹…kÄraḥ - false ego; vimohanaḥ - the cause of bewilderment.
From these modes arose the primeval sūtra, along with the mahat-tattva. By the transformation of the mahat-tattva was generated the false ego, the cause of the living entities’ bewilderment.
According to ÅšrÄ«la ÅšrÄ«dhara SvÄmÄ«, sÅ«tra is the first transformation of material nature that manifests the potency of activity, and it is accompanied by the mahat-tattva, which is endowed with the potency of knowledge. In the material world, one’s real knowledge is covered by fruitive activity and mental speculation. As one’s devotional service to the Lord slackens, these two tendencies grow automatically, just as the diminishing of light automatically brings an increase in darkness.
