sasarjÄgre 'ndha-tÄmisram
atha tÄmisram Ädi-ká¹›t
mahÄmohaá¹ ca mohaá¹ ca
tamaÅ› cÄjñÄna-vá¹›ttayaḥ
sasarja - created; agre - at first; andha-tÄmisram - the sense of death; atha - then; tÄmisram - anger upon frustration; Ädi-ká¹›t - all these; mahÄ-moham - ownership of enjoyable objects; ca - also; moham - illusory conception; ca - also; tamaḥ - darkness in self-knowledge; ca - as well as; ajñÄna - nescience; vá¹›ttayaḥ - engagements.
Before the factual creation of the living entities in different varieties of species, the conditions under which a living being in the material world has to live were created by BrahmÄ. Unless a living entity forgets his real identity, it is impossible for him to live in the material conditions of life. Therefore the first condition of material existence is forgetfulness of one’s real identity. And by forgetting one’s real identity, one is sure to be afraid of death, although a pure living soul is deathless and birthless. This false identification with material nature is the cause of false ownership of things which are offered by the arrangement of superior control. All material resources are offered to the living entity for his peaceful living and for the discharge of the duties of self-realization in conditioned life. But due to false identification, the conditioned soul becomes entrapped by the sense of false ownership of the property of the Supreme Lord. It is evident from this verse that BrahmÄ himself is a creation of the Supreme Lord, and the five kinds of nescience which condition the living entities in material existence are creations of BrahmÄ. It is simply ludicrous to think the living entity to be equal with the Supreme Being when one can understand that the conditioned souls are under the influence of BrahmÄ’s magic wand. Patañjali also accepts that there are five kinds of nescience, as mentioned herein.