त्रयोविंशति तत्त्वानां गणं युगपदाविशत् ॥२॥
kÄla-sañjñÄá¹ tadÄ devÄ«á¹
bibhrac-chaktim urukramaḥ
trayovimÅ›ati tattvÄnÄá¹
gaṇaá¹ yugapad ÄviÅ›at
kÄla-sañjñÄm - known as KÄlÄ«; tadÄ - at that time; devÄ«m - the goddess; bibhrat - destructive; Å›aktim - potency; urukramaḥ - the supreme powerful; trayaḥ-vimÅ›ati - twenty-three; tattvÄnÄm - of the elements; gaṇam - all of them; yugapat - simultaneously; ÄviÅ›at - entered.
The Supreme Powerful Lord then simultaneously entered into the twenty-three elements with the goddess KÄlÄ«, His external energy, who alone amalgamates all the different elements.
The ingredients of matter are counted as twenty-three: the total material energy, false ego, sound, touch, form, taste, smell, earth, water, fire, air, sky, eye, ear, nose, tongue, skin, hand, leg, evacuating organ, genitals, speech and mind. All are combined together by the influence of time and are again dissolved in the course of time. Time, therefore, is the energy of the Lord and acts in her own way by the direction of the Lord. This energy is called KÄlÄ« and is represented by the dark destructive goddess generally worshiped by persons influenced by the mode of darkness or ignorance in material existence. In the Vedic hymn this process is described as mÅ«la-praká¹›tir aviká¹›tir mahadÄdyÄḥ praká¹›ti-viká¹›tayaḥ sapta á¹£oá¸aÅ›akas tu vikÄro na praká¹›tir na viká¹›tiḥ puruá¹£aḥ. The energy which acts as material nature in a combination of twenty-three ingredients is not the final source of creation. The Lord enters into the elements and applies His energy, called KÄlÄ«. In all other Vedic scriptures the same principle is accepted. In Brahma-saá¹hitÄ (5.35) it is stated:
eko ’py asau racayituá¹ jagad-aṇá¸a-koá¹iá¹
yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇá¸a-cayÄ yad-antaḥ
aṇá¸Äntara-stha-paramÄṇu-cayÄntara-sthaá¹
govindam Ädi-puruá¹£aá¹ tam ahaá¹ bhajÄmi
“I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is the original Personality of Godhead. By His partial plenary expansion [MahÄ-Viṣṇu], He enters into material nature, and then into each and every universe [as GarbhodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu], and then [as KṣīrodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu] into all the elements, including every atom of matter. Such manifestations of cosmic creation are innumerable, both in the universes and in the individual atoms.â€
Similarly, this is confirmed in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (10.42):
athavÄ bahunaitena
kiá¹ jñÄtena tavÄrjuna
viá¹£á¹abhyÄham idaá¹ ká¹›tsnam
ekÄá¹Å›ena sthito jagat
“O Arjuna, there is no necessity of your knowing about My innumerable energies, which act in various ways. I enter into the material creation by My partial plenary expansion [ParamÄtmÄ, or the Supersoul] in all the universes and in all the elements thereof, and thus the work of creation goes on.†The wonderful activities of material nature are due to Lord Kṛṣṇa, and thus He is the final cause, or the ultimate cause of all causes.
