Shloka 13
Secondary Creation Begins: Brahmā’s Productions, the Guṇas, and the Emergence of Orders of Beings
रज:प्रधानान्महतस्त्रिलिङ्गो दैवचोदितात् । जात: ससर्ज भूतादिर्वियदादीनि पञ्चश: ॥ १३ ॥
rajaḥ-pradhānān mahatas tri-liṅgo daiva-coditāt jātaḥ sasarja bhūtādir viyad-ādīni pañcaśaḥ
From the mahat-tattva, wherein rajas predominates, impelled by the destiny of the jīva, arose the threefold false ego. From that ego, in turn, manifested many sets of five principles, beginning with ether and the rest.
The primordial matter, or prakṛti, material nature, consisting of three modes, generates four groups of five. The first group is called elementary and consists of earth, water, fire, air and ether. The second group of five is called tan-mātra, referring to the subtle elements (sense objects): sound, touch, form, taste and smell. The third group is the five sense organs for acquiring knowledge: eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. The fourth group is the five working senses: speech, hands, feet, anus and genitals. Some say that there are five groups of five. One group is the sense objects, one is the five elements, one is the five sense organs for acquiring knowledge, another is the senses for working, and the fifth group is the five deities who control these divisions.
FAQs
This verse states that from the mahat-tattva, threefold false ego arises by divine arrangement, and from that source the five gross elements manifest sequentially, beginning with ether (space).
Here rajas is highlighted because it is the activating mode that drives manifestation and transformation, through which the stages of creation proceed under the Supreme’s direction.
It reminds one that material nature functions under higher governance (daiva-codita), encouraging humility and devotion—using the world responsibly while seeking the transcendent source beyond the modes.