sattvaḿ rajas tama iti
sthity-utpatty-anta-hetavaḥ
rajasotpadyate viśvam
anyonyaḿ vividhaḿ jagat
sattvam -- goodness; rajah -- passion; tamah -- and ignorance; iti -- thus; sthiti -- of maintenance; utpatti -- creation; anta -- and destruction; hetavah -- the causes; rajasa -- by the mode of passion; utpadyate -- is generated; visvam -- this universe; anyonyam -- by combination of male and female; vividham -- becomes variegated; jagat -- the world.
The causes of creation, maintenance and destruction are the three modes of nature -- namely goodness, passion and ignorance. In particular, the mode of passion creates this universe and through sexual combination causes it to become full of variety.
Anticipating the possible objection that a livelihood based on cows certainly depends on Lord Indra, who supplies rain, Lord Krishna here introduces a mechanistic theory of existence known as atheistic Sankhya. The tendency to attribute exclusive causality to the apparently mechanistic functions of nature is an old tendency indeed. Five thousand years ago Lord Krishna referred to a doctrine already well known in human society.
