Shloka 11
Sāṅkhya: Categories of the Absolute Truth and the Unfolding of Creation
Tattva-vicāra
पञ्चभि: पञ्चभिर्ब्रह्म चतुर्भिर्दशभिस्तथा । एतच्चतुर्विंशतिकं गणं प्राधानिकं विदु: ॥ ११ ॥
pañcabhiḥ pañcabhir brahma caturbhir daśabhis tathā etac catur-viṁśatikaṁ gaṇaṁ prādhānikaṁ viduḥ
The five gross elements, the five subtle elements (tanmātras), the four internal faculties, the five knowledge-acquiring senses, and the five organs of action—this aggregate of twenty-four principles is known as the pradhāna.
According to Bhagavad-gītā, the sum total of the twenty-four elements described herein is called the yonir mahad brahma. The sum total of the living entities is impregnated into this yonir mahad brahma, and they are born in different forms, beginning from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literatures, the sum total of the twenty-four elements, pradhāna, is also described as yonir mahad brahma; it is the source of the birth and subsistence of all living entities.
FAQs
In Canto 3, Chapter 26, Lord Kapila explains that the five gross elements, five subtle sense objects, the mahat-tattva, four internal functions, and ten senses together make the twenty-four material principles arising from Pradhāna.
Kapila instructs Devahuti in Sāṅkhya to help her discern spirit from matter, understand how the material field is structured, and thereby progress toward liberation through devotional realization.
By identifying experiences as interactions of senses, mind, and material elements, one reduces false identification with the body and cultivates steadiness for bhakti and self-realization.