Shloka 22
Īśvara-gītā: Vibhūtis of the Supreme Lord and the Paśu–Paśupati Doctrine of Bondage and Release
मनो बुद्धिरहङ्कारः खानिलाग्निजलानि भूः / एताः प्रकृतयस्त्वष्टौ विकाराश्च तथापरे
mano buddhirahaṅkāraḥ khānilāgnijalāni bhūḥ / etāḥ prakṛtayastvaṣṭau vikārāśca tathāpare
Geist (manas), Intellekt (buddhi) und Ich-Sinn (ahaṅkāra); Äther, Luft, Feuer, Wasser und Erde—diese werden als die acht prakṛtis, die Bestandteile der materiellen Natur, verkündet. Ebenso gibt es weitere Prinzipien, die ihre Wandlungen (vikāras) sind.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By listing mind, intellect, ego, and the five elements as prakṛti-categories, the verse implies the Ātman is distinct from these material constituents and their modifications; the Self is the witness beyond prakṛti and vikāra.
This verse supports tattva-viveka used in Yoga: meditative discrimination that identifies mind–intellect–ego and the elements as objects of prakṛti, enabling detachment (vairāgya) and steadiness (samādhi) by not mistaking them for the Self.
Though not naming them directly, the teaching aligns with the Purana’s synthesis: the same supreme Lord (spoken as Kurma/Vishnu) reveals a shared yogic–Sāṅkhya framework also upheld in Śaiva (including Pāśupata) traditions, pointing to one truth expressed through both streams.