puruṣaḥ prakṛtir vyaktam
ahańkāro nabho 'nilaḥ
jyotir āpaḥ kṣitir iti
tattvāny uktāni me nava
purushah -- the enjoyer; prakritih -- nature; vyaktam -- the primeval manifestation of matter; ahankarah -- false ego; nabhah -- ether; anilah -- air; jyotih -- fire; apah -- water; kshitih -- earth; iti -- thus; tattvani -- the elements of creation; uktani -- have been described; me -- by Me; nava -- nine.
I have described the nine basic elements as the enjoying soul, nature, nature's primeval manifestation of the mahat-tattva, false ego, ether, air, fire, water and earth.
Prakriti, or nature, is originally unmanifest and later becomes manifest as the mahat-tattva. Although the living entity is purusha, an enjoyer, the real process by which he can enjoy is by satisfying the transcendental senses of the Lord, just as the hand eats by supplying food to the stomach. Within material nature the living entity becomes a false enjoyer, forgetting his subservience to the Lord. The material elements as well as the living entity and the Supersoul are thus systematically analyzed to demonstrate to the conditioned soul his actual constitutional position beyond material nature.
